Abstract
Five India-specific studies in the compilation aim at offering perspectives on contemporary India and bring to the readership a better appreciation of thematic issues that are relevant to Pakistan’s interface with India. The ensemble makes a broad-brush picture of the transformations, whether accumulated or in the making, in our neighborhood, thus relate to assessing the scenario and policy options. This carries a focus on India’s aspirations for a global role, dynamics of minorities situation in the secular setting, interstate water management issues, militancy as a case study and recent electoral process that unfolds the new elite’s twin track approach on ‘Hindutva’ and ‘economic revival’. The themes when seen as part of an organic whole, offer a reference point for more specialized studies in the days ahead.