India linkage: US-India relations, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, caste system and more

Danielle Rajendram is a Research Associate in the Lowy Institute's International Security Program whose work focuses on India and China-India relations.

• C Raja Mohan on priorities for the US-India relationship in President Obama's second term.
• Will Afghanistan become the site of an India-Pakistan proxy war post-2014?
• Until now India has been the biggest single recipient of British aid; this may soon change.
• A few weeks late, but still worth noting what Times of India Diplomatic Editor Indrani Bagchi said about India-Australia relations after the Gillard visit: '...we need to give Australia greater mindspace in our strategic outlook.'
• Political candidates of Indian extraction didn't do so well in the US elections on Tuesday.
• Another good one from C Raja Mohan, on how naval interactions are likely to evolve between China, India and the US in the Indo-Pacific.
• The seemingly frivolous opening of India's first Playboy Club in Goa raises serious questions about gender equality in India.
• A fascinating look into the internment of Chinese-Indians during the 1962 Border War.
• Five truths about India, from Milan Vaishnav. A taste:

Social relations in India have long been defined by the peculiar tenets of Hinduism’s hierarchical caste system. But according to a recent study, the social inequalities that have historically defined relations between Dalits (lower castes) and non-Dalits have declined precipitously in the market-reform era. Indeed, India now boasts a talented crop of “Dalit millionaires” who have formed their own Dalit Chamber of Commerce. Moreover, several groups have benefitted from reservations (or ethnic quotas) in government jobs, higher education, and political representation.

Yet caste hierarchies are alive and well in other areas...