Borders: Physical, Social and Cultural

Borders, borderlands and frontiers emerged as critical academic discourse yet again at the beginning of 21st century. In earlier times, they invited scholarly examination within the broader fields of political geography and political science. However, the effects of globalization and the manifestation of global politics appear to have prompted the formulation of theories and postulations on borders according to it the status as a field of knowledge by itself. International migration, the protests for gender and other rights, and the wheels of economics affecting all walks of life suggest that borders must be appraised from political, economic and social dimensions as a subject of inter or multidisciplinary inquiry.South Asia perhaps invokes memories and contestations over borders quite unlike many other regions of the world. Colonial consequences, aspirations of nations and the footprints of global politics inside the region indeed merit an exclusive examination. Especially, India that is emerging as a major player in global arena, distressed with the fallouts of colonial occupation, needs a greater understanding from the multidimensional aspects that have now become part of the schools of thought on borders. This book attempts to bridge the knowledge gap on understanding borders in Indian context by exploring four distinct dimensions: physical, maritime, socio-cultural and security. With scholarly and practitioner contributions, this book provides a comprehensive appreciation of all the four dimensions taken for evaluation.

Group Captain R Srinivasan VSM (Retd), PhD is Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Journal of Social and Strategic Studies, an online research journal. He is also the Founder-Director of Praghna Centre for Research. He retired as Group Captain from Indian Air Force with over three decades of service, in 2018. He was awarded Visisht Seva Medal for distinguished service to the country, by Hon'ble President of India in 2012. He holds a PhD in Political Sociology, apart from an MSW, LL B and PG Diploma in International Humanitarian Law. He mentors emerging scholars on research writing.