India and Southeast Asia

Dr. Gautam Kumar Jha teaches Bahasa Indonesia at the Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies, School of Language Literature & Culture Studies, JNU. He is the founder of the Indic-Belt Society which studies the Indic civilizational fraternity, and India's Interactions with the Southeast Asian region.

His area of Interests are Political Islam, Indonesian Government, Society & Politics, Southeast Asian Affairs, and Indonesian language. As an expert on Indonesian affairs, he has travelled extensively in Southeast Asia and Caribbean countries giving lectures and attending international conferences in more than 30 universities. He has been instrumental in the signing more than seventy MoUs and AoCs of Indonesian and Thai Universities with JNU.

Dr. Jha has edited and authored 8 Books and numerous Research Articles in various Journals published in India and Indonesia. He is a columnist in Indonesian Media. He has translated the famous Indian classical folk tales Singhasana Battisi from Sanskrit into Indonesian. His latest books published in 2019 include "China's Worrying Eunuchs: Resistance to Beijing's Belligerence in South China Sea, (jointly with Dr Saumyajit Ray). Prathamik Bahasa Indonesia (Basic Bahasa Indonesian) in Hindi for Indian readers. He is the recipient of an Indonesian award conferred on him in 2001, for spreading Indonesian language and culture.

Dr. Pratik Kumar teaches History at Department of History, Ram Lal Anand College, University of Delhi since 2016. Presently he is Fellow at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, New Delhi, He is an alumnus of Ramjas College, University of Delhi and Centre for Historical Studies (CHS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. His area of interest includes religious and intellectual history of ancient and early medieval Indian history and history of Southeast Asia. He served as visiting faculty, PG Diploma in South-East (Agneya) Asian Studies (PGDSEAS) of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) during 2019-2020. His latest book published in 2023 titled "Imagining Kingship, Duty and Love in Ancient India Perspectives from the Priyadarsika and Ratnavali of Sri-Hasrsha". He has published many research papers in national and international journals besides, presenting many research papers in reputed national and international conferences.

Dr. Saurabh Kumar is working as Assistant Professor in the Department of History, Hindu College, University of Delhi. He did his B.A. and M.A. (Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology) from the University of Allahabad and stood First in the Order of Merit. His areas of specialization and academic interest includes epigraphical, cultural and intellectual history of ancient and early medieval Indian history. Dr. Kumar has been awarded the Teaching Excellence Award by the Hon'ble Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi. He has published many research papers in national and international journals besides making presentations in many reputed national and international conferences.

It is my great pleasure to write the foreword for this exciting book. India and Southeast Asian Countries have a rich and longstanding relation which was built on historic ties and civilizational interaction for more than two millennia. This has resulted in a fascinating and complex history that has left a significant mark on the region.

Many examples can be found that explains this strong linkages, among others are maritime trade routes, spread of religion, architecture of temples in Southeast Asia. absorption of Sanskrit words to national language, and stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata which are still widely taught across Southeast Asian Countries.

After India gained independence, it established a concrete foreign policy towards A Southeast Asia, which was initially outlined in a 1946 resolution by the Indian National Congress to collaborate with the countries of Southeast Asia. However, the brief period of friendship between Nehru and Sukarno was disrupted due to India's newly formed relations with China, following the Chinese attack on India in 1962. As a result, India's foreign policy shifted towards western nations, neglecting its commitment to Southeast Asia. India's historical relationship with Southeast Asia is rooted in a shared tradition of knowledge, encompassing essential social values for peaceful and harmonious living. This common objective is based on the social laws that are impacted by the Indic tradition. drawn from Indian epics such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Puranas. This edited volume examines the basis for interactions between India and Southeast Asia and their implications in India's current foreign policy.

The Objectives of the Conference on "Indian Epics and Soft Power in Southeast Asia" and the present volume which is a collection of the papers presented in the Conference is to highlight the historical significance of relationship between India and Southeast Asia since the ages and to further strengthen the interaction in different spheres. Viewing the relationship between the two regions in a historical context brings to light a number of scholarly works that benefit us to understand the various aspects of the contacts. This introduction to the collection of essays is divided into two sections, the first section presents a brief survey of the research on the subject and the second contains the abstracts of the papers. Keeping in mind the diverse topics of the presentations, this volume has been divided into the following themes: The epic traditions, the social and economic interactions between India and Southeast Asia, the social and cultural aspects of life in India and Southeast Asia and the patterns of linguistic interactions.