By Ilyas Chattha

In West Pakistan, the Bengali officers were neither declared ‘enemy’ nor POWs but were treated as ‘war necessities’ while harsher treatment was reserved for the soldiers (p. 63). Details of internees and their interaction with their fellow Punjabi course mates and friends given by Chattha reveal how affinity for fellow officers overtook the impending division of the country. Documentation of individual correspondence reveals the humane side of the relationship. Pakistan struggled to arrange the safe upkeep of the Bengali detainees to prevent them escaping


Reviewed by: Smruti S Pattanaik
By Wasantha Karannagoda

But, to get there, the author, as the navy’s first ever chief appointed from an area command, had to do a lot to improve the navy in every sphere. He points out certain weak areas when he took over as the SLN Chief: absence of basic facilities, uniforms, accommodation, insufficient fighting capabilities, lack of leadership and confidence in the senior officers on the part of junior officers and sailors


Reviewed by: N Manoharan
By Kalyani Ramnath

Also notable in Ramnath’s work is an acknowledgement of the imposition of Western knowledge systems on a region that did not feature in the West’s intellectual consideration. Colonial law did not account for subcontinental practices, and by inheriting fundamental frameworks from colonialism, the new nation-state’s law alienated the people it was meant to serve. For example, people were classified as per borrowed administrative definitions like citizen, stateless, immigrant, refugee, etc., while in reality,


Reviewed by: Fiona Raval
By Swasti Rao

Internally, India’s neighbourhood policy suffers from sluggish execution, bureaucratic delays, and limited financial resources compared to China. Refugee inflows, internal security spillovers, and unfulfilled trade potential have compounded these challenges whereby India has not been able to leverage enough the people-to-people ties with countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and so on.


Editorial
By Vamsi Vakulabharanam

Its greatest strength lies in its comparative and class-based approach. Vakulabharanam is successful in using comparative political economy frameworks while managing to avoid the problems associated with Methodological nationalisms. By placing class at the centre of his analysis, he effectively questions mainstream economic theories that reduce inequality to mere income or consumption gaps. The integration of global capitalist forces into national inequality trends contribute significantly to his analysis, as well as to the broader literature. In terms of structure, clear chapterization, periodization, and the use of both primary and secondary data enhance the flow of arguments as well as the credibility of the author’s findings.


Reviewed by: Tapan Bharadwaj
By Nandita Haksar and Soe Myint

Structurally, the book adopts an unusual and effective format. After an introductory chapter that offers a concise overview of Myanmar’s military since 1962 for the benefit of unfamiliar readers, the volume consists of fifteen chapters presented as personal narratives by five different voices. In addition to the two authors, three Mizzima associates contribute their accounts.


Reviewed by: VS Seshadri