On Thursday 21 May 2009, Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia, will speak on ‘India’s New Government: Foreign and Security Policy Perspectives' from 12:30-1:30pm.
General elections to India’s 15th Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) take place in five phases from 16 April - 13 May 2009. With an electorate of nearly 715 million, over 400 million people are expected to vote for 543 Members of Parliament. More than 4.5 million officials will conduct the elections and 2.5 million security personnel are to be deployed. Counting of votes is due on 16 May 2009, with results declared soon afterwards. A new government is expected to be formed by 2 June 2009 when the term of the new parliament begins.
Rahul Roy-Chaudhury will assess the election results of the world’s largest democracy and analyse early trends in the new Indian government’s perspectives on key foreign and security policies. These range from countering terrorism and the Maoist (Naxalite) uprising to managing key foreign relations with the U.S., Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the EU, as well as dealing with global energy and environmental concerns.
Rahul Roy-Chaudhury is the Senior Fellow for South Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Earlier, he served in the National Security Council Secretariat in the Prime Minister's Office in India. Prior to his official appointment, he was on the faculty of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi. He has also been a Senior Research Fellow at the International Policy Institute at King's College, London.
Rahul Roy-Chaudhury writes regularly on South Asia for IISS publications, including the annual Strategic Survey and The Military Balance, as well as the monthly Strategic Comments. The author of two books on the Indian military and security policy, he is currently completing an Adelphi book on “Rising Power India”.
This meeting will be Chaired by Adam Ward, Director of Studies and will take place on the Fifth Floor at Arundel House, 13-15 Arundel Street, Temple Place, London WC2R 3D.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP Clara Catherall at catherall@iiss.org or tel: 020 7395 9156.
