Library Lessons For India-Pakistan, Centre-States...
The American town of Derby (in Vermont) and the Canadian town of Stanstead (in Québec), share a unique distinction. They’re both home to the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, built atop the Canada-US border and likely belong on the short list of places in the world where such a phenomenon is seen.
The 1904-built opera house and 1905-built library was developed by Canadian philanthropist, Martha Stewart Haskell, whose intention behind the institution's unique location can be summed up as such (per a BBC account):
“[The location of the library and opera house] is by design, not accident…purposefully built along the border more than a century ago to promote cross-border interaction and friendship.”
The border between both nations is demonstrated by the presence of a single black line of electrical tape that cuts across the floor of the building.
While an admirable aspiration, the library and opera house also contend with unique challenges: they abide by two sets of safety regulations, have to follow two sets of construction guidelines when it comes to repairs, have two currencies on hand for in-house purchases, and the list goes on.
Apart from the expected, there are unexpected challenges the non-profit organisation navigates, one of which includes being the site for family reunions for those whose immigration statuses may not allow for crossing over each respective border (this has prompted the library and opera house’s website to include the following instruction: “cross-border meetings including family reunions are prohibited”).
The American side houses the building’s front door and the children’s books, while the majority of the book collection and a reading room find themselves on Canadian soil. Further, the opera house has its stage in Canada, with the majority of its seats in America.
Given that the library’s main entrance was on the Vermont side, it was common practice for Canadians looking to enter the library to use a sidewalk outside the building (with a recommendation from the library to carry identification documents just in case), until an emergency exit at the back of the library was opened for Canadian users.
Come October however, new rules outlined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will come into effect. Canadians looking to enter the library through its main entrance will have to do so through a formal border crossing as part of DHS’ effort to curb drug smuggling and trafficking, and be in possession of a valid library card before being permitted to enter.
By many accounts, far more than navigating the logistics of access to the building, regular users and staff at the library and opera house, smart at the fact that the soon to be implemented rules: “threaten the very spirit of collaboration that has defined this institution for generations” as their website laments.
But balancing acts are not novel to this context alone as you may be well aware, dear reader. It’s the same attitude to be brought to conversation on India-Pakistan military engagement or the relationship between Centre-states to realise the vision of a Viksit Bharat. This week we have both Nitin Pai (Director and Co-Founder) and Narayan Ramachandran (Co-founder, Takshashila) who have written on each respective subject at length in their recent columns in The Mint.
Continue onward to see what nuances need to be straddled in both conversations…
India-Pakistan Military Conflict Misconceptions: Nitin’s View
One of the biggest misconceptions about the recently suspended military conflict between India and Pakistan has been around the concept of deterrence. India, for its part, had never been able to deter Pakistan from using terrorism. The bad news is that despite the military response, it will remain nearly impossible to do so in the future. As I have argued in recent columns, India has over the past three decades raised Pakistan’s costs, leading to a reduction in the frequency and intensity of terror attacks.
Writes Takshashila’s Director and Co-Founder, Nitin Pai, in his recent column in The Mint.
He continues on to elaborate on what has been the balance that the two nations have had to strike in the context of military engagement, with Operation Sindoor demonstrating India’s reliance on “dissuasion, discouragement and disincentivization” when engaging with its Western neighbour.
To take a closer look at his detailed analysis, follow this link.
A Blossoming India: Narayan’s View on Viksit Bharat
Analysing Centre-State relationships in his recent column in The Mint, Takshashila’s Co-Founder, Narayan Ramachandran, outlines the delicate balance the Centre-states must strike in order to realize the full potential of “Viksit Bharat”.
Narayan introduces some missing nuance in the conversation on such ambitions in the context of the 10th Governing Council Meeting of the Niti Aayog, held last week.
Given the Centre’s emphasis on the power of the administrative state, it does not actively encourage an organic ‘flowering’ of the economy. Paradoxically, the Sanskrit word ‘viksit’ is translated into English only as ‘developed,’ but its semantic meaning is closer to ‘opening’ or ‘blossoming.’ For this flourishing to happen, the role of the government must diminish over time and the country’s Vision Plan must be less of a government-manicured garden and more of a natural habitat of freely growing biodiversity led by the private sector. The right balance to strike is one where the Centre and states create enabling infrastructure.
For access to his full article, follow this link.
It’s Here! A New Edition of IPPR!
The latest edition (Volume 6, Number 2) of the Indian Public Policy Review (IPPR) has hit the proverbial stands, dear reader!
Find their latest curation of papers, ranging from the role of the finance commission in judicial reform to an examination of Arvind Panagariya’s analysis of The Nehru Development Model at this link.
NASC Fellowship: Proposals Welcome!
If you’re interested in creating high-quality scholarship on the People’s Republic of China, then Takshashila’s Network for the Advanced Study of China (NASC) Fellowship is for you.
Submit your Research proposal submission by June 15, 2025. For more information, follow this link.
India-EU “Trust, Trade and Technology”: All Things Policy Episode of the Week!
This week’s All Things Policy Episode we’d like to showcase is a conversation between Takshashila Research Analyst for the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme, Vanshika Saraf and Dr. Garima Mohan, Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific Program.
For a thoughtful analysis on everything from the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to Germany’s leadership transition, listen in to their episode here.
Takshashila Tabletop Trove!
For our regular readers, you know of course that this section of Dispatch is intended to be a digital repository of the books that sit in Takshashila’s physical office space in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
This week’s theme is: Know Thy Neighbour, curated by Takshashila Geoeconomics Research Associate, Anisree Suresh and yours truly:
Tibet: An Unfinished Story (Lezlee Brown Halper and Stefan Halper)
Spies in the Himalayas: Secret Missions & Perilous Climbs (M.S. Kohli and Kenneth Conboy)
The Great Game in Afghanistan: Rajiv Gandhi, General Zia and the Unending War (Kallol Bhattacheerjee)
Daughter of the East: An Autobiography (Benazir Bhutto)
But, Wait! There’s More!
Have you wondered, dear reader, about what geodesy entails? Or perhaps you’d like to try your hand at understanding cartography? You’re in luck because our 4-week Introduction to Geospatial Science and Technology Expert Capsule Course is back on offer!
This online course begins on June 14 and offers you the opportunity to learn everything from how to accurately measure Earth's shape, size, and positioning (spoiler alert: that’s geodesy) and the fundamentals of drawing maps (another spoiler alert: that’s cartography!).
But don’t just take our word for it, apply here before June 7, 2025 and learn about all of the above and more.
This edition of the Dispatch was written by Kripa Koshy, Programme Manager for Takshashila’s Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy.