The Peacock and the Garuda: An Overview of India-Indonesia Relations

At the cusp of the Asian Century India and Indonesia are undergoing massive churning at theforeign policy as well as domestic fronts triggered by the 2014 General Elections held in boththese countries. India and Indonesia are in the league of the most powerful Asian nations –demographically economically and politically. The cultural bridge that has been in existencesince the Neolithic period operates at several levels including art architecture popular drama andliterature societal configuration of Indonesia and its freedom struggle. One of the most strikingfeatures that bind us together is Bhinneka Tunggal Eka which we in India call Vividhata meinEkta.In the past more than half-a-century especially since India initiated its Look East/Act Eastpolicy the two countries have undergone mutational transformations. Our policies towards theworld and particularly towards each other have factored in mutations in the global politics.The inter-linkages between security and sustainable growth and development drive our foreignpolicies.This book brings together a set of incisive papers presented by Indonesia watchers andexperts during the ICWA delegation visit to Indonesia in May 2014 and the ICWA Roundtableon Indonesian elections in July 2014. The book attempts to cover a range of significant themes:the international situation the geo-political landscape of the region; assessment of India'srelations with ASEAN; and nature and scope of India and Indonesia’s role in internationalfora such as G-20 IORA WTO EAS and other ASEAN-centred mechanisms in addition tofocussing on the challenges and opportunities that we may face in the coming decades.