Revision summary
August 2021 ended India’s two-decade Republic partnership in Kabul. Terrorism and Pakistan’s strategic depth are the sharpest Indian fears. Chabahar–Central Asia connectivity needs a workable Afghan landmass. Aid projects became stranded assets of influence. Policy is a recognition-versus-engagement dilemma, not a restored embassy as before.
Model answer
Introduction
The Taliban took Kabul in August 2021 as the United States left. India’s interests there are terrorism, connectivity, a friendly balance against Pakistan’s depth, and the safety of past investments. The takeover damaged all four at once.
Body
Immediate hits
- The Republic that hosted Indian aid, the parliament building, and the Zaranj–Delaram road collapsed.
- Embassy drawdown and the loss of a political partner in Kabul erased twenty years of presence.
- Pakistani influence and the risk of anti-India groups finding space rose in New Delhi’s threat perception.
Core interests
- Terrorism: Indian concern is Lashkar, Jaish, and other groups using Afghan soil, not only Afghan civil war.
- Connectivity: Chabahar and a land path to Central Asia need a usable Afghanistan. The Taliban freeze that bet.
- Strategic denial: India does not want a Pakistan-run western neighbour. It also does not want a chaos that exports fighters.
- People: minorities, women, and Indian-origin workers affect reputation and consular load.
Policy dilemma
- Engage the Taliban for access and counter-terror pledges, or stay out and lose the board.
- UN sanctions, recognition, and humanitarian aid are the diplomatic tools. None restore the 2001–21 Republic.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD T[Taliban 2021] --> X[Republic collapse] X --> TE[Terror risk] X --> C[Connectivity Chabahar hit] X --> P[Pakistan depth fear] TE --> I[Indian interests] C --> I P --> I
Conclusion
The Taliban takeover set back India’s aid footprint, western connectivity, and counter-terror buffer. Implications are a harder Pakistan-facing map and a choice between pragmatic contact and principled distance. Interests did not disappear. The partner did.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
"Non-alignment was little more than a rational strategy on the part of a materially weak India to maximise its interests with a bipolar distribution of global power." Comment
Next question in the 2021 paper (Q6). View answer →
-
Did India support the Taliban?
No. It backed the Republic. After 2021 it has weighed limited contact for security and aid, not an alliance.
-
Is Afghanistan only a Pakistan problem for India?
Pakistan is central. Terror, energy, and Central Asia make it a wider Indian interest.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2023 · Q5(a) · PSIR GS 2 · 10 marks
Explain the major features of India's Foreign Policy in the 21st century. -
2022 · Q5(a) · PSIR GS 2 · 10 marks
Peaceful co-existence remains the cornerstone of India's foreign policy. Comment. -
2022 · Q6(b) · PSIR GS 2 · 15 marks
Critically examine the major factors responsible for a turnaround in the trajectory of India's foreign policy in the post-cold war period -
2022 · Q8(a) · PSIR GS 2 · 20 marks
How does India-Israel bilateral ties reflect the autonomy of India's foreign policy choices? -
2022 · Q8(c) · PSIR GS 2 · 15 marks
Discuss India's vision of a New World order in the 21st century -
2021 · Q1(e) · PSIR GS 2 · 10 marks
Discuss the five proposals made by India in the recent COP-26 conference held in Glasgow. -
2021 · Q5(b) · PSIR GS 2 · 10 marks
Explain the philosophical foundations of India's foreign policy. -
2021 · Q5(c) · PSIR GS 2 · 10 marks
Explain India's position on the waiver of intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines in WTO.
More from this paper
Q1(a) · UPSC Mains 2021 · PSIR GS 2 · 10 marks
Discuss the political economy approach to the comparative analysis of politics.
Comparative Politics
Political economy joins the study of power with the study of wealth. Marx and Wallerstein locate States in production and in a hierarchical world-economy. Almond’s functions describe roles; they do not explain ownership and dependence. Alavi’s overdeveloped State is a comparative PE thesis about post-colonial bureaucracy. The method compares markets, classes, and external ties, not only constitutions.
Q1(b) · UPSC Mains 2021 · PSIR GS 2 · 10 marks
"Political parties and pressure groups are sine qua non of democracy." Comment.
Politics of Representation and Participation
Schumpeterian democracy is a party contest for the vote. Almond split aggregation to parties and articulation to groups. Dahl’s polyarchy needs organised opposition, which parties supply. Groups carry specialised claims between elections. Mere organisation is not democracy; pluralism and contest are.
Q1(c) · UPSC Mains 2021 · PSIR GS 2 · 10 marks
"Marxist approach to the study of international relations has lost its relevance in the post-cold war era." Comment.
Approaches to the Study of International Relations
The USSR’s fall discredited State socialism, not every Marxist question. Waltzian polarity does not explain core–periphery production. Wallerstein and Cox remain usable after 1991. WTO, finance, and a capitalist China keep class and hierarchy on the agenda. Relevance is critique of order, not a second Soviet Union.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.