Introduction

Professor Sreeradha Datta is Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs at O.P Jindal Global University. Besides being the former director of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata, she has been a Fellow with Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

She has been the recipient of international and national fellowships including Visiting Fellow, German Institute of Global Affairs, Hamburg; Distinguished Indian Scholar Series, National Taiwan University, Taipei; International Leadership Visitors Programme, United States; The Shelton Kodikara Award for South Asian Strategic Studies, Colombo; and Visiting Fellow, Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

Professor Datta’s publications include seven books. These include Act East Policy and Northeast India; Caretaking Democracy: Political Process in Bangladesh, 2006-2008; and Bangladesh: A Fragile Democracy; The Northeast Complexities and its Determinants, co- edited volumes on Bangladesh at 50: Development and Challenges, Changing Security Dynamics in South East Asia, Political Economy of India’s North East Borders and two monographs. She has also published over 100 articles in journals, edited volumes, newspapers, and academic websites. Her latest edited volume on BIMSTEC – The Journey and The Way Ahead will be published shortly.

Specialising in South Asian and South East Asian studies, Professor Datta has a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She continues to serve on the academic boards of several Universities and think tanks. She is a regular participant in Track 2 dialogues in the neighbourhood.

Areas of Interest and Expertise

• Security Studies
• India’s Foreign Policy especially in the Neighbourhood
• Border Studies
• India’s Northeast Region
• Regionalism