At the end of the XX - beginning of the XXI century, the main geopolitical forces in Eurasia and its conflict zones are being reconfigured : in addition to the long-standing conflicts (Middle East, Afghanistan), the Iranian problem has become very tense, new internal political fault lines have emerged in the post-Soviet space (the 2010 coup in Kyrgyzstan, political stagnation in other post-Soviet states), and, finally, there are opposition impulses in a whole group of Arab countries that are fraught with military coups or the rise to power of Islamist forces. These circumstances have complicated the strategy and tactics of the leading superpower-the United States, and the American scheme of controlled liberal-democratic changes in the Greater Middle (or Near)region is being questioned East, as it breaks down into many situational actions and political compromises. But the current instability in a number of regions of the Greater Middle (Near)World is still very serious. It contains new opportunities for implementing large-scale American projects to change the political picture of this zone.

Despite real, declared and attributed successes in the economic and geopolitical spheres, China adheres to a cautious line in international affairs, facing serious internal challenges of a natural, environmental, social (including ethno-social) and political nature. Against this background, the potential and real opportunities for activating countries such as Iran, Russia, India and, to a lesser extent, Turkey are growing. Russian diplomacy and political leadership not only did not make serious mistakes, but also increased the positive potential of Asian policy in Central Asia and other areas, including the Middle East. However, its focus on the domestic political agenda and the ongoing latent conflict in the Caucasus do not allow it to fully implement its policy in Asia, which forces the Russian side to limit itself to a certain set of strategic and pilot projects in the regional arena in Eurasia.

Under these circumstances, the role of India in Eurasian politics is objectively increasing, as it progressively multiplies its economic, military, scientific and intellectual potential. At the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. India has become one of the leading regional powers, capable of influencing the situation in Eurasia and around the world. The current Indian leadership, despite certain symptoms of political instability and the presence of many social and other problems in the country, is increasingly positioning itself as an influential participant in international processes, whether economic, state-political ties or conflict nodes. Afghanistan is a typical example of the Indian approach. India has for many decades followed a carefully calibrated line in the Afghan direction and remains faithful to this principle at the turn of the first and second decades of the twenty-first century. The independence of the Indian approach is particularly evident in the criticism of the current American AfPac strategy, which is focused not only on a comprehensive solution to the problems of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also on compromises with regard to the armed Islamist opposition, primarily the inclusion of so-called moderate representatives of the Taliban movement in the negotiation process and power relations. India rejects such a policy, believing that it is too high a price to pay, allowing Pakistan, and above all its military and administrative circles, to influence the political and ethnic configuration of Afghanistan in transition and, in general, the future model of the Afghan state and society. At the same time, the significant contribution of the Indian side to the efforts to pacify Afghanistan and restore its human, political and economic potential is emphasized, which is true, but not sufficiently appreciated both in Afghanistan itself and in the international community.

Regular international conferences and seminars organized and conducted by leading scientific and educational centers (the Moscow University) have become a characteristic form of scientific and propaganda support for Indian policy in Eurasia and specifically in Afghanistan.-

Special attention should be paid to a series of seminars on pacifying Afghanistan and maintaining a foreign presence in the country, while Indian experts pay special attention to the Afghan policy of the European Union. The Indian side is persistently looking for forms of cooperation with the EU in Afghanistan and is ready to offer an alternative strategy for solving the Afghan problem to the US. Its essence is the deployment of assistance programs, economic and cultural cooperation with the inevitable reduction of the role of Pakistan as the main military and political partner of the United States.

The Indian expert and academic community is increasing its criticism of the US policy in Afghanistan, considering it as a prolonged and unsuccessful intervention. These subjects formed the main focus of the international conference "Rethinking International Intervention in Afghanistan", held on January 6-7, 2011 in Delhi on the initiative of the A. K. Azad - IAI Institute for Asian Studies (Calcutta) and the Indian Council on International Affairs (ICMP). The agenda of this and the previous conference devoted to the problems of reconstruction of Afghanistan demonstrates the interest in Afghan affairs of a wide range of Indian diplomats, military personnel, analysts,as well as general orientalists.

General problems of international intervention were discussed at the introductory session of the conference. Binoda Kumar Mishra (IAI), one of the managing directors of the Delhi Forum, addressed this issue in the Afghan context, while Savita Pande (J. Nehru University) focused on international intervention in Afghanistan in the light of its impact on Pakistan's strategic interests. The dynamics of the international community's approaches to Afghan affairs was outlined by the representative of India Shanti Marietd'Souza is a visiting researcher at the South Asia Institute of the National University of Singapore. V. S. Boyko (Russia and the East Laboratory, Barnaul, Russia) analyzed the social aspects and consequences of armed intervention in Afghanistan.

Stories on Afghanistan's security issues were the focus of the next session of the conference. Sanjeev Kumar (ISMP) presented his vision of China's role in Afghanistan, and Vishal Chandra (Institute of Strategic Research) reviewed the overall prospects of the peacekeeping process in Afghanistan. and analysis, Delhi). Sanaullah Tasal, a representative of the American Institute of Peace in Kabul, drew the attention of the conference participants to the particular complexity of the war in Afghanistan.

Peace and democracy issues were discussed at the relevant session, with key speakers from Afghanistan: Jamal Rahman, who completed his mission as an adviser to the Afghan President's office, focused on the role of the international community in restoring Afghan statehood; Syed Mohammad Shah (Afghan Center for Research and Evaluation, Kabul) focused on political processes specific to Afghanistan. today's Afghanistan.

The specifics of the current stage of development of Afghanistan and public administration determined the problem-related nature of the speeches of a number of Afghan and Indian participants at the regular meeting of the Delhi forum: Abdul Rahman Ulfat Mahmudy (UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) emphasized the role of governance and rule of law, Mariam Safi (Center for Conflict and Peace Studies, Kabul) analyzed the latest peacekeeping and Integration initiatives, Nihar Ranjan Das (ISMP) praised India's efforts in this area. Gulyyan Sachdeva (J. Nehru University) drew the attention of the conference participants to the participation of various international organizations in this process.

Scenarios for the upcoming withdrawal of troops were presented by Shah Mahmoud Miyakhel (Afghanistan Branch of the American Institute of Peace, Kabul), Sanjeev Bhadauria (University of Allahabad), Jagmohan Meher (Acad. Defence, Pune), Antara Mitra (IAI).

A special session was devoted to the role of regional Powers in Afghanistan. Vafo Niyatbekov (Center for Strategic Research) President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe) described the role of the Central Asian transit route for NATO operations in Afghanistan, Oybek Makhmudov (Institute of Teachers ' Training, Tashkent) focused on military threats in Afghanistan and their possible impact on the situation in neighboring states. India's role in the strategic balance of power in Afghanistan was highlighted by Anvesa Ghosh (Institute of Foreign Policy. research. University of Calcutta).

The final session took place in the form of a series of interlinked speeches by leading Indian diplomats Sri Krishnan Srinivasan and B. R. Muthukumar, as well as Shah Mahmood Miyakhel, who served as Deputy Foreign Minister in the early 2010s. Minister of the Interior of Afghanistan, and the conference was co-organized by S. T. Dewar (ISMP) and H. S. Vasudevan (IAI).

During the conference "Rethinking International Intervention in Afghanistan", materials from one of the previous forums with an Afghan-related agenda, published in 2011 in book form, were presented ("Rebuilding Afghanistan: Perspectives and Challenges", held in 2009 on the initiative of the A. K. Azad Institute for Asian Studies in partnership with Jamia Millia Islamia University of Delhi, as well as a monograph by IAI researcher Arpita Basu Roy, one of the organizers of the Delhi discussions of January 2011- " Modern Afghanistan. Conflict and Peace Building" (Calcutta, 2010). These and other projects implemented and under development in the field of Afghan studies indicate the formation of a dynamic and proactive center for academic and applied research in modern Afghanistan on the basis of IAI.

The Indian side pays special attention to establishing stable contacts with representatives of Afghanistan and the CIS countries - they are the invited speakers at such forums. The approaches and assessments of the members of the Afghan delegation (employees of government agencies and non-governmental organizations-mainly American research centers such as the Institute for Peace and the Afghan Center for Research and Evaluation, the United Nations Development Program, etc. ) were presented both at the Delhi conference and in the format of a special seminar that followed with a broad agenda for today and tomorrow Afghanistan.

The January conference on Afghanistan in New Delhi demonstrates India's independent approach to the Afghan problem and its uncompromising attitude towards Pakistan (the only Pakistani participant, the president of the Islamabad Institute of Political Studies, failed to solve visa problems), and therefore diverges from the basic principles of the current US policy in Afghanistan, especially with the willingness to dialogue with the moderate part of the the Taliban movement, which, according to the Indian side, differs little from its extremist leaders and Al-Qaeda, which oversees them.

Preferring to pursue its policy in Afghanistan and in relation to Afghanistan by peaceful (diplomatic, economic, etc.) means, India, concerned about the uncertainty of the situation in this country, is increasing its efforts in other areas, including scientific and propaganda means. This practice is partly due to the attempts of the Indian side to fill in its own gaps in the expert corps of the Afghanological profile, but even more - to convey its position to reputable scientific circles and the entire academic community, which is achieved by regular activity, diversification of contacts and the circle of invited experts.

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