The Director General of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) and Dr. S Kalyanaraman, Research Fellow, IDSA, interacted with thirteen students from the Chanakya Institute for Public Leadership, University of Mumbai. The students visited the IDSA with their Directors Prof. Radhakrishnan Pillai and Dr. Ranjit Shetty. The visit was a part of the CIPL India tour programme to introduce its students to the diversity and complexity of the Indian nation. Their main interest in IDSA was to understand the role of IDSA in strategic thinking and policy making. They particularly focused on the project undertaken by IDSA to explore indigenous strategic thinking including Kautilya’s Arthasastra.

During the interaction, the students of CIPL explained how they are being inspired by Chanakya’s thought on Governance and strategy. Most of them reflected that Chanakya’s dispassionate and rational line of thought, added with his commitment to rajadharma, provides an ideal way of leadership. The students, from diverse educational backgrounds, converged on their special interest in the qualities of leadership required to lead the country and formulate and implement wise policies.

Dr Arvind Gupta, DG, IDSA, expressed his wish for more interaction and even academic collaboration, if possible, between the two institutes to explore and research on indigenous strategic thinking, which, though recognised, is latent and underexplored.

Dr. Kalyanaraman answered in detail the diverse queries of the students about the Kashmir issue, military modernisation, leadership, nuclear policy, international image, normative issues in governance and international relations, and many more.

The interaction was arranged by Col. (Retd.) P. K. Gautam. Research Fellow IDSA, who has initiated the IDSA project on indigenous strategic knowledge.