Home Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Dr. Pravesh Kumar Gupta is an Associate Fellow at Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF). He has a doctoral degree in Central Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His PhD. Topic was Tajikistan-Pakistan Relations, 1991-2014. His primary interests of research are society and politics of Central Asian Republics, geopolitics of Central and South Asia, Energy Security and trans-regional energy linkages between Central and South Asia.

Dr. Pravesh Kumar Gupta is an Associate Fellow at Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF). He has a doctoral degree in Central Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His PhD. Topic was Tajikistan-Pakistan Relations, 1991-2014. His primary interests of research are society and politics of Central Asian Republics, geopolitics of Central and South Asia, Energy Security and trans-regional energy linkages between Central and South Asia.

Contributions 
Eurasian Responses to the Pahalgam Terrorist Attack and Operation Sindoor: An Assessment
June 13, 2025 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
The terrorist attack on April 22, 2025, in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of at least 26 civilians, including one Nepalese national, sent shockwaves through South Asia and beyond. The terror attack bore the hallmarks of cross-bo...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, Article, Central Asian Republics, Lashkar-e-Taiba, India-Pakistan relations, Cross-border terrorism, Operation Sindoor, Pahalgam Terrorist Attack, Zero Tolerance Policy, Counter-terrorism cooperation, Strategic partners, De-escalation, Geopolitical cooperation
Growing Regional Cooperation in Central Asia: Implications for Major Powers
May 29, 2025 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Introduction After decades of externally driven agendas and persistent intra-regional fragmentation, the five Central Asian republics (CARs) have taken notable steps toward deepening their mutual regional engagement in the recent past. Th...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, Article, regional cooperation, collective security, Trade facilitation, Economic Development, Border Settlement
Where are the US-Russia Peace Negotiations on Ukraine Headed?
April 02, 2025 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
The return of Donald Trump to the White House in 2025 has significantly reshaped the global geopolitical landscape, particularly in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. His administration's approach to the conflict starkly contrasts with ...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Russia, Article, Ukraine, Peace talks, Riyadh, Black Sea, grain exports, energy infrastructure
The Kyrgyz-Tajik Border Deal: A Step Closer Towards Regional Cooperation in Central Asia
March 17, 2025 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
The recently concluded Kyrgyz-Tajik border demarcation agreement marks a significant milestone in Central Asia’s ongoing efforts to address long-standing territorial disputes. After more than three decades of disputes, violent skirmishes, and polit...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, Article, Central Asia, Soviet Union, Ferghana Valley, Border Dispute, land swap
India and Russia: Navigating the Challenges Amidst Global Geopolitical Shifts
February 24, 2025 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Introduction In the post-COVID era, the global geopolitical landscape has been highly unstable and marked by continuing military conflicts with far-reaching implications globally. Even the countries that are not directly participating in ...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Russia, Commentary, SCO, QUAD, BRICS, EAEU, Ukraine War, Multipolar World
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VIF Papers 
Geopolitics of Eurasia and its Strategic Significance for India
June 21, 2024 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
… Eurasia has assumed greater geopolitical importance … facilitating connectivity and boosting trade and investments are two major requirements … India needs to improve regional engagements and strike an optimal balance between continental and ...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, INSTC, Defining Eurasia, Indo Eurasia relations, Strategic significance of Eurasian Countries, Central Asia-Eurasia politics, outreach to Eurasia Central Asia
Great Game Revisited: China's Grand Eurasian Strategy through the Prism of 'One Belt One Road'
July 05, 2022 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
… despite multiple flaws, China's expanding participation in Central Asia is a long-term phenomenon and a watershed moment in the post-Soviet history and economic development of these countries… China is the only country capable of mobilising mas...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, OBOR, post-Soviet Central Asia, China & Central Asia, China’s economic overdrive, China’s development loans, Central Asian States’ fiscal bondage, loan diplomacy in Euresia
VIF Roundtable on India-Central Asia Relations | Summary of Discussions
April 13, 2020 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
India-Central Asia relations gained momentum in the recent past with Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the five Central Asian Republics in 2015 and India’s permanent membership to Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2017. During Prime Ministe...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, Central Asia, India-Central Asia relations, SCO Summits, Prime Minister Modi's Visit
Book Published / Book Reviews 
The Spectre of Afghanistan: Security in Central Asia by Kirill Nourzhanov and Amin Saikal; London, I.B.TAURIS Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2021, pp. 249.
June 20, 2022 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are three Central Asian countries that share geographical boundaries and cross-border ethnic linkages with Afghanistan. As a result, the developments in Afghanistan have directly impacted these countries. Alth...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, Uzbekistan, United States, NATO, Book Reviews, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Central Asian countries
Buddha in Gandhara by Sunita Dwivedi; Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 2020, 295pp.
July 08, 2021 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
‘Buddha in Gandhara’ is the fourth book by Sunita Dwivedi. She is a Silk Road traveller and has a keen interest in uncovering Buddhist heritage across India Subcontinent. This book presents an account of the ancient Buddhist cities of Gandhara�...

Tags: Historical and Civilisational Studies, Kashmir, Book Reviews, Philosophy, Buddhist, Gandhara, Buddha, Greco-Roman, Buddhas Dhamma
The Rise and Fall of Khoqand: Central Asia in the Global Age, 1709-1876. By Scott C. Levi, Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017. 2017, 258pp.
June 03, 2020 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Until recently, a few books have been published on the history of Central Asian Khanates of Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand. In his book, Levi C. Scott, a professor of Central Asian history at Ohio State University, focuses on the historical significance ...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, Book Reviews, Central Asian history, Ferghana Valley, Crimean War, Russian forces, Khanate of Kokand
VIF Briefs 
Revitalization of INSTC and Prospects of the Greater Eurasian Connectivity
December 30, 2022 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
The geostrategic significance of Central Asia is very much important from India’s foreign policy and domestic policy points of view. Central Asia shares a border with China in the East, Caspian in the West, Russia in the North, and Iran and Afghani...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, China, Russia, INSTC, Chabahar Port, Central Asia, Iran, North-South Transport Corridor
Turkey’s Role as a Regional Actor in Central Asia: An Assessment
March 29, 2022 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Central Asia’s geostrategic location at the crossroads of East and West has shaped substantial geopolitical rivalries in the region. Even though the region is within Russia’s sphere of influence, China has made significant advances in Central Asi...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, energy, Azerbaijan, Gas pipeline, Drones, Turkic States, Georgia, Trans -Caspian, Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan, Karabakh War
India-Central Asia: Defence and Security Cooperation
February 28, 2022 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Central Asia has emerged as an important geopolitical space after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. Its geostrategic location at the crossroads of East and West, South, Central, and West Asia has often resulted in the spread of challeng...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Defence production, Taliban, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, India-Central Asia Dialogue, Delhi declaration, Khanjar, Kazind, Defence Expo, India-Central Asia Summit
India-Tajikistan Relations: The Security Factor
March 03, 2019 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
India and Tajikistan share great historical and cultural relations. Tajikistan was a part of Kushana and Persian Empires which had close cultural linkages with the Indian subcontinent. During the Islamic rule in India, Persian language and Sufism fro...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, India, India-Tajikistan Relations, Tajikistan, India’s Central Asia policy
Event Reports 
VIF Delegation Visit to Uzbekistan
May 15, 2023 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Uzbekistan held a nationwide referendum on constitutional reforms on April 30, 2023. A delegation from Vivekananda international Foundation (VIF) which included Dr Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF and Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow (Central Asia...

Tags: Conference, International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, agriculture, Climate Change, Uzbekistan, Food Security
VIF Interaction with the visiting delegation from Iran On Interfaith Dialogue in the Historical Perspective, especially from India and Iran Point of View
December 26, 2022 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
On December 15, 2022, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organized an interaction with a high level delegation from Iran. The theme of the discussion was 'Interfaith Dialogue in the Historical Perspective, especially from India and Iran P...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Historical and Civilisational Studies, Interaction, Conflict Avoidance, Samvad, Religions, Interfaith Dialogue
Interaction with Delegation from the Institute of Political and International Studies IPIS, Iran
December 19, 2022 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
On November 11, 2022, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) had a discussion with a visiting delegation from Iran's Institute of Political and International Studies (IPIS). Dr Arvind Gupta, Director VIF, delivered the introductory remarks, w...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Conferences, India, Iran, Russia-Ukraine
Discussion on Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Achievements and Prospects
September 30, 2022 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), organized a Round Table Discussion on “Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Achievements and Prospects” on September 5, 2022. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director VIF, delivered the welcome remarks, followed by r...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Central Asia, Interaction, SCO, INSTC, Chabahar, FTA, Shanghai Cooperation, SCO Startup Forum
VIF-IPIS Webinar on Bilateral, Regional and International Issues
August 03, 2022 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
In order to assess the dynamics of India-Iran relations, the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) Iran, in collaboration with the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organized a webinar on Bilateral, Regional and Internatio...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Seminars, bilateral, Regional, International Issues
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Outreach 
SCO’s counter-terrorism credibility crisis
May 20, 2025 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Published in Hindustan Times on 20th May 2025....

Unpacking Donald Trump’s unpredictability
March 28, 2025 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Published in Hindustan Times on 28th Mar 2025....

US-Russia relations under Trump 2.0
January 11, 2025 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Published in Hindustan Times on 11 Jan 2025....

India-China détente: Cautious optimism over outright enthusiasm
November 06, 2024 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Published in Hindustan Times on 06 November 2024....

India and the evolving geopolitics of Eurasia
October 17, 2024 Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF
Published in Hindustan Times on 08th October 2024....

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