Chapter 14 — India and Her Neighbours

India's land-based neighbours are Pakistan and Afghanistan in the northwest, China (Tibet), Nepal, and Bhutan in the north, and Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. India's total land boundary stretches over 15,100 km, passing through diverse landscapes such as deserts, plains, mountains, forests, marshes, and river valleys.

A maritime neighbour is a country connected to another by a shared sea or ocean, even without a direct land border. For India, Sri Lanka is the nearest maritime neighbour — separated only by the Palk Strait (about 32 km at the closest point). The Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Iran, and Oman are also India's maritime neighbours.

Buddhism originated in India and spread in different directions. Emperor Ashoka's son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra introduced it to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE. It reached China around the 1st century CE via trade and pilgrimage routes, with Indian monks like Bodhidharma and Kumarajiva carrying the teachings there. Guru Padmasambhava introduced the Vajrayana school to Bhutan in the 8th century CE. Theravada Buddhism is practised mainly in Sri Lanka and Myanmar today.

The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free border crossing between India and Pakistan, opened in 2019 to mark Guru Nanak Dev's 550th birth anniversary. It allows Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan — the final resting place of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism — using only a permit instead of a visa. For decades, Indian devotees could only see this gurdwara from a distance using binoculars near the border.

Under the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, India and Nepal allow their citizens to cross the border freely without passports or visas. This enables people on both sides to access education, healthcare, and employment, and maintain family ties. India is Nepal's largest trading partner, supplying petroleum, medicines, food items, and manufactured goods; Nepal exports agricultural produce, handicrafts, and garments.

Bhutan's own name for itself is 'Drukyul', which means 'Land of the Thunder Dragon'. The dragon on Bhutan's emblem and flag is said to symbolise 'the thunderous voice of the Buddha's teachings'. Bhutan is a small, landlocked Himalayan kingdom, and its ties with India are strong through Buddhism, hydroelectric power (rivers originating in Bhutan flow into India), and broad cooperation.

Bangladesh was born in 1971 as the outcome of a war between India and Pakistan. The land border between India and Bangladesh — running along West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram — is even longer than India's border with China. The two countries share major river systems originating from the Ganga and Brahmaputra, and jointly protect the Sundarban National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. It was formed in 1985 by eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. SAARC aims to share resources around development in science, education, health, and other areas. However, political tensions among some members have at times disrupted its functioning.

India was one of the first countries to recognise the Maldives when it became independent in 1965. India provided quick assistance during the 2004 tsunami, the 2014 water crisis in Malé (the Maldives' capital), and the COVID-19 pandemic. Both countries also cooperate through the International Solar Alliance, an Indian initiative focused on solar energy research and technology.

The chapter describes three schools: Theravada ('School of the Elders'), which took shape around the 3rd century BCE and is practised mainly in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia; Mahayana ('Great Vehicle'), which arose around the 1st century BCE and spread to China, Japan, and Korea; and Vajrayana ('Diamond Vehicle'), which emerged around the 6th century CE as an extension of Mahayana and is the basis of Tibetan Buddhism.

Myanmar shares a land border with India's northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram — as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal, making it India's gateway to Southeast Asia. The India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway connects Manipur through Myanmar all the way into Thailand, boosting trade and overland connectivity. The Land Border Crossing Agreement of 2018 also eased movement for people living in border areas.

India's people-to-people ties with Oman date back about 5,000 years, to the time of the Harappan (Indus-Sarasvati) civilisation. Oman is rich in copper, and it is believed that Harappan traders brought copper ingots from Oman to the coppersmiths of Indus-Sarasvati cities. Today, over 10% of Oman's population is of Indian origin, and Oman is India's closest defence partner in the Gulf — the first country in the region where India holds joint military exercises with all three armed forces.

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