January 17, 2025
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was interviewed by India Abroad on “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”.
January 17, 2025
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was interviewed by Nayanima Basu of ABP LIVE on “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” and how he aimed to provide a concise history of how India's foreign policy has shaped up since 1947 through the book.
January 2, 2025
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Suhasini Haidar of The Hindu:
Finally, there’s Dhruva Jaishankar’s Viswa Shastra: India and The World, a scholarly recounting of Indian foreign policy over the ages, that begins with ancient strategic treatises, goes through pre-independence foreign policy thought, followed by the first few decades of the Indian Republic. Jaishankar marks 1991 as a significant turning point of “fundamental change” in Indian foreign policy — broadly as a reaction to global events like the Gulf war, Israel-Palestine peace process, the collapse of the Soviet Union and withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the resultant period of U.S.-led unipolarity in the world.
December 25, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was interviewed by Saurabh Dwivedi of Lallantop on “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” and the foreign policy implications of India's strategic objectives.
December 23, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was interviewed by Divya A of The Indian Express on India's foreign interactions that are mentioned in his new book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”.
You say in the book that India’s future will be largely shaped by its foreign interactions. How is that something new?
The book provides plenty of examples of how India has always been shaped in some way by its foreign interactions, whether its lucrative exports of commodities, its religious composition, the structures of its bureaucracy and military, its educational systems, or even the food Indians eat. Consider the examples of the regimental names and cultures in the Indian Army, or more recently the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) originally established with foreign assistance. Looking ahead, the world at large offers both incredible opportunities for India to make itself stronger and more prosperous, but also risks and challenges that will have to be countered and mitigated.
December 23, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was interviewed by E-International Relations on his new book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”.
As India seeks to become a hub for global innovation, what are the key policy areas that need attention to foster an environment conducive to research and development, especially in high-tech sectors like AI, semiconductors, and outer space?
One of the interesting things I learned to appreciate while writing my book was that India has been on a quest for technological mastery almost since its independence in 1947, in fact slightly before that time. Some of the same challenges bedevilled India’s quest for defence, nuclear, space, and computing technologies from the 1950s to the 1980s. Ultimately, no amount of political intent can make up for creating policy priorities, incentives, and financial outlays, but the good news is we are beginning to see some useful steps being taken now. The power of replication and external competition is also valuable: never waste a good crisis.
December 22, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was interviewed by Barkha Dutt of Mojo Story on India’s foreign policy issues that are chronicled in his new book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”.
December 21, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was interviewed by NDTV on India's growth story, its tech revolution, the impact of AI, and its evolving role in world politics that are highlighted in his new book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”.
Watch the full interview here.
December 16, 2024
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Sreemoy Talukdar of Firstpost:
There are several themes that run through the book as it creates a narrative framework. Chief among those is the theme of timing. That India is in a geopolitical sweet spot has been severally commented. Jaishankar goes down to explaining in painstaking detail the steps that led us through this spot – those decades constituting some of the most challenging times for Indian leaders and policymakers as the country was hemmed in from all sides and caught between rival blocs during the Cold War’s great power competition.
December 15, 2024
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Sridhar Krishnaswami of The Hindu Business Line:
Written for a diverse audience — for a student of social science, civil services aspirant or even a seasoned diplomat — Jaishankar moves away from the polemical to being descriptive and in the process debunking the notion that India somehow lacked a strategic culture or even a capacity for strategic thought. Putting it differently, India has certainly the capacity to look at the return of the second Trump administration not just in terms of the H1B, for New Delhi well understands that issues of immigration are domestic domains of nation states; rather the current dispensation is more interested in the implications for Europe, the Indo-Pacific and issues of bilateral and multilateral trade. India has the strategic wherewithal to think and act to protect its national interests, objectives and priorities.
December 14, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was mentioned in an article by Swastik Sharma of The New Indian on his Dec. 6 visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University where he gave a talk about his first book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”:
The event underscored JNU’s pivotal role as a hub for intellectual engagement on international studies. Faculty members noted the relevance of Dhruva’s work in the context of India’s G20 presidency and its increasing prominence in global decision-making forums.
Dhruva’s book has been well-received in academic and policy circles for its nuanced perspectives on India’s foreign policy trajectory. His interaction at JNU reflects the growing interest in bridging academic discourse with real-world policy challenges, reinforcing the importance of informed debate in shaping India’s global narrative.
December 12, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Keshav Padmanabhan of ThePrint on the release of his first book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”:
“It aims to be a jump-off point for UPSC aspirants or for foreign diplomats coming to India and needing to understand the country,” said Jaishankar, the Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) America, during the near–houseful event.
December 11, 2024
ThePrint published an excerpt of “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”, the first book from Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America:
Finally, there is an opportunity for India to take a bigger leadership role at two legacy institutions: the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Commonwealth. Although their purpose and utility are increasingly in question, India now presents the largest economy in both organizations. This presents it with an opportunity to repurpose these groupings to make them more relevant to the present day.
December 6, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was mentioned in an article by The Indian Express on the release of his first book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”:
Usually among the most sought-after guests in a room, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made his presence felt as an unassuming audience member at the launch of Dhruva Jaishankar’s book on Thursday evening in New Delhi. Among the first ones to arrive and the last ones to leave the venue, the Union Minister cheered for the first book of his son, who helms foreign policy think tank Observer Research Foundation’s US arm. Unlike the usual format, the book launch had no chief guest or any presence from the ruling dispensation.
December 6, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was interviewed by CNN-News18 on the release of his first book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”.
December 4, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was mentioned in ThePrint’s Intellectuals List:
In 2018, ThePrint’s list of India’s leading intellectuals captured the zeitgeist like nothing else. Public conversation about it lasted for weeks.
This year, we bring you a new list—the intellectuals to watch out for in the next decade.
ThePrint formed a jury panel of field experts to nominate a list of thinkers in the fields of geostrategic affairs, economy, social science, and political thought. Members of the jury decided the names individually and in complete secrecy.
For the geostrategic affairs list, jury members identified the following Indians who are thinking, speaking, and writing in transformative ways.
November 28, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was featured in an article by Amrita Priya of Global Indian on the release of his first book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”:
Dhruva is now gearing up for the release of his first book, Vishwa Shastra, published by Penguin Random House India. The book provides a comprehensive exploration of India’s interactions with the world, blending historical insights with forward-looking strategies. Dhruva’s research on foreign policy, defence, security, and globalization, has appeared in several books, policy reports, and prominent publications, cementing his reputation as a thought leader.
November 25, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was interviewed by the Mero Tribune on the release of his first book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”:
What are you currently working on?
It’s been a productive year. In addition to Vishwa Shastra, which I largely completed in April and May this year, I have co-edited a volume with one of my colleagues on the Global South’s perspectives on rebalancing globalization. I also chaired a task force of young China scholars from the Quad countries, whose report is also coming out now.
I hope to use next year to get this story abroad, where there’s growing interest in Indian perspectives on international affairs. I also came across so many interesting primary sources that perhaps an accompanying reader – of Indian thinkers and exponents of statecraft in their own words – might be useful.