This book examines India's foreign and defence policy changes in response to China's growing economic and military power and increased footprint across the Indo-Pacific. It further explores India's role in the rivalry between China and the United States. The book looks at the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean Region in the Indo-Pacific geopolitical landscape and how India is managing China's rise by combining economic cooperation with a wide set of balancing strategies. The authors in this book critically analyse the various tools of Indian foreign policy, including defence posture, security alignments, and soft power diplomacy, among others, and discuss the future trajectory of India's foreign policy and the factors which will determine the balance of power in the region and the potential risks involved. The book provides detailed insights into the multifaceted and complex relationship between India and China and will be of great interest to researchers and students of international relations, Asian studies, political science, and economics. It will also be useful for policymakers, journalists, and think tanks interested in the India-China relationship.

This book examines India's foreign and defence policy changes in response to China's growing economic and military power and increased footprint across the Indo-Pacific. It further explores India's role in the rivalry between China and the United States. The book looks at the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean Region in the Indo-Pacific geopolitical landscape and how India is managing China's rise by combining economic cooperation with a wide set of balancing strategies. The authors in this book critically analyse the various tools of Indian foreign policy, including defence posture, security alignments, and soft power diplomacy, among others, and discuss the future trajectory of India's foreign policy and the factors which will determine the balance of power in the region and the potential risks involved. The book provides detailed insights into the multifaceted and complex relationship between India and China and will be of great interest to researchers and students of international relations, Asian studies, political science, and economics. It will also be useful for policymakers, journalists, and think tanks interested in the India-China relationship.

The thesis reports re-discovery of lexical repertoire of Meluhha language. Meluhha language was in vogue during the Bronze Age from ca. 5th millennium BCE. Meluhha hieroglyphs of symbolic forms relate to Meluhha life-experiences as sphota 'burst forth' expressions in Meluhha language. The function of Meluhha writing system deploying Meluhha cipher as mudra is to catalog wheelwright-lapidary artifacts of stone, shell, metal traded by maritime seafaring merchants and artisan-merchant caravans along the famed, extensively documented Tin Road. The cipher key here is artha translated as composite of entities and also 'meaning'. In the Indian tradition, the word artha is a gloss which signifies both 'meaning' and also 'wealth' as seem in the compound: Arthashastra used as a title for Kautilya's treatise on wealth-creation and polity. This meaning is consistent with the word used for a polity: Rastram (lit. 'the firm, lighted path') personified as divinity, vaak. Sphotavaada elaborates on philosophical foundations of symbolic forms as media for 'meanings'. In Indian rhetoric tradition mudra refers to 'the natural expression of things by words, calling things by their right names' (Kuvalayaananda). It is an energetic seal of authenticity. The gloss mudra also signifies a seal, stamp, or impression made by a seal. Thus, by definition, the process of 'sealing' to create a 'seal impression' is an expression of words deploying symbolic forms. To call things by their right names, a rebus cipher with glosses of underlying glosses and related sounds of Meluhha language are used. The semantics get expanded to evolve mudra as a particular branch of education (e.g., reckoning by the fingers). In Tantra 108 mudra are used; in Yoga, mudra are used together with praanaayaama (breathing exercises) and aasana-s ("seated postures"). Natyashastra lists 24 asamyuta ("separated," meaning "one-hand and fingers") and 13 samyuta ("joined," meaning "two-hand and fingers") mudra-s. A commentary on Hevajra Tantra refers to symbolic bone ornaments as seals or mudra-s. (Sanskrit: asthiamudra) In the entire corpora of Meluhha hieroglyphs there are only two significant symbolic forms which may relate to 'veneration' or 'worship'. Even these two symbolic forms are read rebus and are consistent with the archaeological context of working with ores, minerals, metals and alloys as life-activities. One form is of a person seated in a penance and is read rebus: kamadha 'penance' Rebus: kammata 'coiner, mint'. The second form is of a pair of persons flanking a person seated in persons; the pair of persons are shown using a mudra 'with folded hands - as salutation'; this is called in Indian tradition anci- 'to reverence' read rebus: anjana 'antimony' (Chemical symbol: Sb) This is a sequel to Meluhha - tree of life which evaluated hieroglyphs as sacred carvings incised, to convey rebus substantive messages in Meluhha as we traverse, in a pilgrim's progress, through mists of time into the Bronze Age. Language glosses tag to symbolic forms and get associated with divinities and tree of life are Meluhha sacred carvings; they connote -- rebus -- metal artifacts of a kole.l 'smithy/forge' which is, kole.l 'temple'. Archaeological evidences from Ancient Near East point to the practice of worship in temples of divinities associated with these hieroglyphs. Kabbalah of the Ancient Near East tradition is a synonym of aagama of Indian tradition with the roots found in Meluhha as a visible language. Both traditions venerate altars as models of temples. Many metal artifacts are shown as aayudha 'weapons' in the hands of pratima in Indian iconographic tradition with an intimation of memories of smithy traditions of ancestors. In Indian tradition. Pratima lakshana, bimba reflections in a tranquil pool of consciousness transform into stone or metal or wood hieroglyphs in a temple. Pratima or mudra-s are not mere abstractions but firmly p

This monumental book is a master-piece in world literature, theory of knowledge, Vedic hermeneutics and boundaries of the sacred. It makes path-breaking contributions to understanding links of life-activities with language, art and written communication for 3 millennia from ca 4th millennium BCE. The change in paradigm of art appreciation is hermeneutics -- hermeneuo, 'translate' or 'interpret' -- of ancient texts. The book shows most of the early art forms and symbols not as abstractions but founded on underlying, meaningful speech and as innovations to match artificers' inventions, which define the transition from chalcolithic age to bronze age, particularly in the Ancient Near East. Masterpieces of bronze-age art demonstrate Meluhha semantics. This is a tribute to the artisans of the Bronze-age Indo-Eurasia who laid the foundations for 1) an industrial revolution with the invention of tin-bronzes and brass and 2) a cultural revolution with the invention of writing systems. The glyphs of early writing systems of Bronze-age in Ancient Near East, represent a visible language of Meluhha. A synonym of 'visible language' is 'incised speech' takshat vaak, (a metaphor used in what is possibly the oldest human document, the Rgveda.) It is likely that many unique pictorial motifs on cylinder seals of contact areas of Sumer-Elam-Mesopotamia were inspired by the Meluhha cipher since some hieroglyphs used in a metallurgy-lapidary context are also used in the contact areas, together with cuneiform texts. This calls for a re-evaluation of some art-historians' interpretation of some symbols explained in astronomical or religious contexts. Homonymous glosses matching the glyphs explain the semantics of Meluhha. The writing systems were intended to document trade and workshop processes of the bronze-age merchants, smiths and lapidaries. This context is exemplified by two terms used in ancient texts naming writing systems: 1. mlecchita vikalpa (cipher of mleccha/meluhha), a term attesed ca. 6th century BCE by Vatsyayana; 2. kharosti (cognate harosheth hagoyim, 'smithy of nations'). The writing systems on cylinder seals of Sumer-Elam-Mesopotamia and on Indus script corpora are based on rebus method -- rendering mleccha language metallurgy-related or bronze-age workshop-related sememes. Such sememes are attested in many languages of Indian sprachbund providing a framework to outlinine features of mleccha (Meluhha) language of artisans/traders of Bronze-age. Meluhha were sea-faring merchants and artisans working in tin, zinc, copper and other bronze-age alloying minerals (attested in cuneiform texts). Meluhha settlements are also attested in Ancient Near East archaeology. Meluhha Smithy (kole.l) denotes the divine space, a temple (kole.l). Implements produced in a smithy and repertoire of a smithy denote attributes of the divine. This world-view of Meluhha is discerned from hundreds of cylinder seals with hundreds of hieroglyphs - as visible language or incised Meluhha speech. A list of Meluhha glosses evidenced in Indian sprachbund is presented. A list of languages and dialects listed in Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and Munda lexicons annexed to the list constitutes a resource base for identifying and clustering semantics of Meluhha. The intimations of semantics conveyed by Meluhha cipher should be augmented by further language explorations and studies to detail the grammatical features of Meluhha/mleccha language. Such studies could be on the lines of Jules Bloch's La formation de la Langue Marathe and of Prakrit grammars. apurvyaa purustamanyasmai mahe viiraaya tavase turaaya; viripzane vajrine zantamaani vacaamsyaasaa sthaviiaaya taksham (RV. VI.32.1) Trans.: a seer has composed, inscribed, unprecedented, comprehensive and gratifying praises for the mighty Indra. The word 'taksham' is a reference to the metaphor of incised speech. The composers of the chandas, our ancestors, are artisans, architects, inquirers par excellenc

Hieroglyphs are sacred carvings incised, to convey rebus substantive messages in Meluhha. Symbols associated with divinities and tree of life are Meluhha sacred carvings. Many carvings relate to specific varieties of plants, buds, flowers which are associated with sacredness because they connote -- rebus -- metal artifacts of a kole.l 'smithy/forge' which is, kole.l 'temple'. Archaeological evidences from Ancient Near East point to the practice of worship in temples of divinities associated with these hieroglyphs. Kabbalah of the Ancient Near East is a synonym of agama of Indian tradition with the roots found in Meluhha as a visible language. Both traditions venerate altars as models of temples. What lessons can be learnt from the evidences to delineate the roots of religious experiences of our ancestors? This inquiry primarily based on archaeologically attested artifacts is an incomplete religious inquiry. Kabbalah is a school of thought, a magnificent statement resulting from an intense inquiry into the nature of phenomena including living and non-living forms and cosmic order. One thought is apparent and central. There is some energy which permeates the universe and a name ws given to this energy, calling it by various appellations includes divine creation which can only be modeled on hieroglyphs. The hieroglyphs then become attributes of that divinity manifested in the cultural world order. When the king kneels in adoration in front of an altar which has as the center-piece a mere staff or pole, how did he vocalise the phenomenon which the sculpture has created? Is the sculpture an attempt at representing thought resulting from the inquiry? Or is it just a limited manifestation of the sculptor's life-experience? Or, is it a model of the ziggurat, the temple itself? Ziggurat as a temple is a leap in inquiry. It is a mere accumulation, a piling up of dhatu, earth forms containing minerals and what is left of minerals, may be ashes, after the processes in the crucible, smithy and forge. Or, is it a memory of accumulated memories bequeathed by ancestors in a life-continuum? The agama tradition in ancient India also has its roots in inquiry resulting in representation of attributes in human and non-human forms in an architectural model of a temple. The story of the agama and the kabbalah has to be fully told to understand the boundaries of the sacred observed and practised as religious experience. What is the difference between hakira (philosophy) and darash (inquire, seek ) Is the darash traceable to the Indian traditions of dars'ana? How do Rabbinic meanings ( midrashic) explain the traditions evolved over time, narrated in Tanakh? Is there a cosmic law? The sememe dars'an has its root dRs', 'to see'. Is the seeing mere visual experience or an experience of the conscious mind? The beholding could be a series of flashes or glimpses seen by the inquirer. The cognate wor darash thus becomes a series of events, related or unrelated. events of conscious thought of the devotee. A fantastic metaphor emerges in the Vis'warupa, divine, wondrous manifestation holding many weapons, ornamented with celestial flowers and perfumes. Before such a form, the devotee kneels down in adoration, like Tukulti-Ninurta I (1243-1207 BCE), King of Assyria or like Arjuna in front of Sri Krishna as narrated in the Mahabharata and the Gita. Is there any significance or meaning assignable, from a narrative, which refers to artifacts of gypsum, strong copper and the Magilum boat of Meluhha fame, apart from Anzu who had stolen the tablet of destiny? It appears that Meluhhan artificer who created a writing system referred to strong copper by using the rebus metaphor of the sunflower, karaDa which also connoted 'strong copper' or hard alloy. When copper was hardened by alloying, it became 'useful' or 'meaningful' as a resource for making weapons and tools or as a resource for engaging in trade transactions using the Magilum boat.

Based on corpora of Indus writing and a dictionary, the book validates Aristotle's insight on writing systems. Indus writing is composed using symbols of spoken words. The symbols are hieroglyphs of meluhha (mleccha) words spoken by artisans recording the repertoire of stone, mineral and metal workers. The writing results in a set of catalogs of metalworking of bronze age. Evidence of this competence in metallurgy which evolved from 4th millennium BCE of bronze age, is provided in corpora of metalware catalogs and a dictionary of melluhha (mleccha). Indus writing was a principal tool of economic administration for account-keeping by artisan and trader guilds and did not record literature or, history. Some sacred ideas and historical links across interaction areas between India and ancient Near East, may be inferred from the writing.

Sagan in search of Sarasvati ends up in Muztagh Ata and encounters Chinese guards guarding the treasure of ancu. There were other seekers of ancu before him. He ends up in a bizarre court case in America. He visits Disney World Animal kingdom and takes a ride on the Kali River rapids. As the waters splash over him, he finds a friend on the ride. That friend from Kidarankondan guides him through the story of about seven millennia of people in search of ancu which is called amsu in an old human document called the Rigveda. Sagan finds the alchemical formula for making gold from mineral rocks of Muztagh Ata.

Sagan owns an ancestral brass foundry in Jagadhri, India, where copper and zinc are alloyed to create trade mark Jagadhri brass vessels. The author born in Kidarankondan Tamil-speaking province and educated in Telugu in Penukonda meets Sagan after returning from Manila, Philippines. Together they travel around the globe and visit Louvre and other museums in search of Sarasvati, the Himalayan river and attempt to read the message of Shu-ilishu cylinder seal in cuneiform writing. The novel reports that Sagan has found Sarasvati and her divine message, using ancient links between Ancient Near East and South-Southeast Asia. Sagan Munda and Karmi Hatu, manage the brass foundry close to the place where Sarasvati surfaces into the plains, flowing from Manasarovar glacier. They are like a pair of monogamous extraordinary Anser Indicus, hamsa birds, which can fly at heights above 24000 feet during their annual migrations with their goslings, and across the Himalayan ranges from Europe into India. The couple are caught up in a court-room drama contending with academics from an Ivy League University. Sagan acts like a detective in his search for Sarasvati River which is venerated in ancient songs and dances of India. Father Brown is the role model for Sagan as a detective. Sagan was charged with the crime of forgery of an Indus seal image from Daimabad, the proceedings in the court recollect a Harvard Donkey case to provide a spirited summing up to prove Sagan's innocence and literacy of his ancestors. Defense proved allegedly forged image to be that of a rim of a narrow-necked jar. The narrative moves beyond the evidence phase, browsing across Indus script corpora and Karmi Hatu presents in an ABC News interview the true story and functions served by the Indus script inscriptions. The defense convinces the Jury with evidence drawn from expansive civilization areas of not only seals, tablets, cultural-religious traditions, religious, visionary and metaphysical insights from South-Southeast Asia but also Code of Hammurabi, cylinder seals, ritual basin, Sit-Shamshi bronze sculpture excavated at Susa in Sumer, Ancient Near East. Method used to writing in Egyptian hieroglyphs is demonstrated for the famous Narmer Palette by a combination of catfish (n-r) and chisel (m-r) which together read rebus to denote the name of Emperor Narmer of the 31st century BCE while the earliest evidence of writing on Sarasvati River basin is archaeologically dated to 33rd century BCE. The narrative spans over 7 millennia of civilization history and cites the examples of glyphs and metaphors of a dancing-girl shown, respectively, on a potsherd from Bhirrana and on a bronze statue, from Mohenjodaro both excavated from the banks of the same Sarasvati channel which continued into Sindh province, Clinching evidence comes from an unsuspected source which Father Brown had declared was due to the failure to notice the postmen who carry large-sized bags which could also be used to carry corpses after committing a murder. It is from a paper presented in a World Sanskrit Conference by a linguist who finds two concordant words, one from the Vedic language and the other from Tocharian, spoken in the foothills of Muztagh Ata. This clinching evidence resolves the mystery of Soma yajna performed for millennia on the banks of River Sarasvati. The narrative covers geological domains of plate tectonics to explain the Himalayan range which extends from Teheran in the west to Hanoi in the East and river migrations resulting in celebration of Kumbh mela at Prayag every 12 years to worship the confluence of Rivers Sarasvati, Yamuna and Ganga. The monogamous pair of Anser Indicus birds are the witnesses, in time and space, across the vast geographic domain of civilization contact areas. Reflectence Imaging Technology, and lexicon of 25 languages of Indian sprachbund are used to prove Sagan's innocence and that Bos Indicus was a smelter-furnace of a Guild of metalsmiths.