Indian Perspective on Afghanistan

Confronted with a host of· books on Afghanistan the overwhelmed reader needs to have good reason not to consign to unread oblivion yet another work on the subject. What distinguishes this selection of essays is their analytical presentation of an Indian perspective on the Afghan crisis and its implications for the region and the international system. With India having adopted a singular position on the Afghan question, the reflections of Indian academics on the various aspects of the crisis holds special interest. However, it is regrettable that in this selection, there is no sustained analysis of ‘Iran and the Afghan crisis’. The security thesis that interprets the Soviet intervention of December 1979 as desig­ned to preempt imminent US military action in Iran, finds no mention in either Agwani or Damodaran’s dismissal of the security dimension underlying the Soviet move. K. Bahadur in ‘Pakistan’s policy towards Afghanistan’ touches upon the implications of US military intervention in Iran, aimed ultimately at restoring the monarchy, in the wake of the hostage crisis, which he argues,