Rejaul Karim Laskar is an Indian politician and scholar of India's foreign policy. He is a former Congress ideologue and has written extensively on the policies of the

United Progressive Alliance The United Progressive Alliance (UPA; Hindi: Saṁyukta Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a Political group, political alliance in India led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election, 2004 general ele ...

governments. He is also an eminent scholar of India's foreign policy and diplomacy with his scholarly work having been recognized as constituting a "a major contribution to contemporary diplomatic history" of India.“Reviews and Awards”, ''Forging New Partnerships, Breaching New Frontiers India's Diplomacy during the UPA Rule 2004-14'', ed. Rejaul Karim Laskar, Oxford University Press, 2022, https://global.oup.com/academic/product/forging-new-partnerships-breaching-new-frontiers-9780192868060?cc=gb&lang=en& He is the former Secretary of AICC Vichar Vibhag (the Intellectual Department of the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

) and former Spokesperson of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee. He has also served in the past, in the capacity of Observer (Minority Department) of the

for the three states of

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

and Mizoram. Currently, he is the Director of the ''Centre for Advanced International Studies'' at the University of Science & Technology, Meghalaya, India.

Education

Mr. Rejaul Karim Laskar did Bachelor of Engineering from Regional Engineering College, Silchar (Presently known as NIT Silchar). Then he received his M.Phil. and Ph.D. from th
School of International Studies
of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His M.Phil. Dissertation was on India's Economic Diplomacy and his Ph.D. Thesis was on India's Public Diplomacy.

As a Scholar of India's Foreign Policy

According to former ''Foreign Secretary of India'' Amb. Shyam Saran, Dr. Rejaul Karim Laskar has made "a major contribution to contemporary diplomatic history" of India through his book ''Forging New Partnerships, Breaching New Frontiers: India's Diplomacy during the UPA Rule 2004-14'' (published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, a Department of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

). Laskar’s book was published after getting due approval from the ‘Delegates of the Press’ (a body headed by the Vice Chancellor of the

) of the

. According to the former ''National Security Advisor'' of India Amb. Shivshankar Menon, Dr. Rejaul Karim Laskar's scholarly work constitutes "a seminal addition to works on Indian diplomacy". Prof. Sumit Ganguly, Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations, Indiana University-Bloomington— one of the leading authorities on India’s foreign policy— describes Laskar’s book as "most impressive, thoughtful and insightful volume". The Executive Director of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy Dr. Vivian S. Walker has prescribed Laskar’s book as a "required reading for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners interested in the emergence of India as a rising power".

Activities as a Congress Ideologue

As an ideologue of the Congress party, Laskar has written extensively on the

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

of the Congress party led UPA Government. He asserts that "the ultimate objective" of the

of the UPA Government has been "to shape

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

’s external environment" in a way that enhances

’s security and brings about its "rapid, sustainable and inclusive"

economic growth In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and Service (economics), services that a society Production (economics), produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted Outp ...

. He claims that by means of an "enlightened"

, carried out through "dynamic and effective"

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

, the UPA Government has “successfully promoted”

’s interests on a “broad range of issues, including trade, development, economic recovery, climate change, energy security and counter terrorism”. Laskar argues that the UPA government has successfully removed the "imbalance" which was allegedly brought in by the previous NDA government in

’s

. He observes that while the

of the UPA government has been "firmly committed" to

’s "core national values", the government has, at the same time, pursued a strategy of "dynamic adaptation" to changes in

's external environment. Laskar is a strong supporter of the Indo-US nuclear agreement concluded by the UPA Government led by Dr. Manmohan Singh and the G. W. Bush administration and claims that the agreement is the first step for

to become a part of the management of the global nuclear order in particular and that of the new world order in general. He terms this agreement as a "diplomatic masterstroke" of the UPA Government, which has put

on the "path of becoming a privileged member" of the global nuclear order from that of being a "victim of discrimination" by the same regime. In fact, he claims that "nuclear diplomacy" of the UPA government has been the "most brilliant component" of UPA government's

. He argues that UPA Government's "nuclear diplomacy" has ensured that

gets international recognition as a "responsible state with advanced nuclear technology" in addition to bringing to an end the "three decades of technology denial to India". Laskar also claims that the UPA government has made "great strides" in India's Look East policy and at the same time ensured that this policy "contributes substantially" to India's national interest-both economic and security. As regards neighborhood policy, Laskar argues that the UPA Government's

strived for a "stable, prosperous, democratic and peaceful neighborhood" by means of "sustained political engagement, economic partnership, enhanced connectivity, developmental assistance and people-to-people contacts". On economic diplomacy of the UPA Government, Laskar argues that the factors which helped India to be largely unharmed by the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

include not only the good management of the domestic economy by the government but also the success of the UPA government's

in "maintaining an external environment" conducive to

’s "sustained economic growth”. Laskar has also written on foreign policies of previous

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

governments of

. On the

’s first Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

, Laskar argues that the adoption of the policy of Non-alignment and its "deft implementation" by Nehru has "secured" for

"a leadership role in world affairs" although

was neither major economic power nor a major military power at that time. On Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s

, Laskar maintains that former’s neighbourhood policy was based on the belief that "the pre-eminent position" of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

gives it "unique and special responsibilities" for the maintenance of peace and stability in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Apart from foreign policy, he has also written on other policy initiatives of the UPA Government such as the MGNREGA, Direct Benefit Transfer as well as its other economic and social policies.

As AICC Minority Observer for
Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...
,
Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...
, and Mizoram

In October 2016, Laskar was entrusted by the Minority Department of

to develop a strategy for attracting religious minorities (Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.) belonging to the North East region of India towards the Congress party. In April 2017, he submitted his 148-page report containing detailed recommendations to the AICC. In May 2017, Laskar was appointed as

(AICC) Minority Department's Observer for the three states

and Mizoram. On 15 October 2017, Laskar submitted his "interim report" to the AICC. He will submit his final report to the AICC in January 2018 for

and

and in October 2018 for Mizoram. Earlier in February 2017, Laskar was appointed as the Observer of AICC Minority Department for

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

Legislative Assembly elections to coordinate the election campaign in the 60 Assembly constituencies of the Indian state of

. On 9 April 2017, he submitted his report on the Manipur elections to the AICC. Recently, Laskar has been very vocal about alleged harassment of religious minorities, especially

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, in India and alleged attacks on Churches. He has also been vocal about what he terms as "discrimination meted out by the Modi Government against the minorities". He has also criticized the Presidential candidate of NDA Ram Nath Kovind over his alleged remark terming

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

as alien. He is a critic of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, which, he claims, can change the demography of sparsely populated states of

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

such as

and Mizoram. He claims that the BJP is "dreaming" about coming to power in

with the support of NPP. However, he claims that BJP- NPP alliance will not succeed in

. He even claims that the BJP's increased profile in

will actually indirectly benefit the

. Laskar is known for his good relations with the Church leaders of North East India. Recently, Laskar has been working in close cooperation with

Chief Minister

Mukul Sangma Mukul Manda Sangma (born 20 April 1965) is an Indian politician and physician who was the 11th Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 2010 to 2018 and is currently leader of the opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly since July 2024.Sangma al ...

. Laskar-Lotha "Debate" In response to the allegations of corruption against him by the National Secretary of BJP Scheduled Tribe Morcha Hayithung Bill Lotha,

Chief Minister

threatened to take legal action against Lotha. In response, Lotha dared

for a five hour long "open debate". Immediately, Laskar came to the defence of Chief Minister Mukul Sangma asking Lotha to debate with him for ten hours on the policies of BJP and the

on tribals and minorities instead of the Chief Minister

. Laskar argued that the Chief Minister

should not be distracted from his "work of development of the state". In response, Lotha said that he is ready for a two day long debate with Laskar on the condition that the Chief Minister

also joins the debate on the third day. Laskar accepted Lotha's challenge of 48 hour long debate on the policies of BJP and the

on tribals and minorities but rejected the condition that the Chief Minister

joins the debate arguing that

is a "Man of Action".

Resignation from Congress party

On July 14, 2023, Dr. Rejaul Karim Laskar, in a statement to the press, announced his resignation from the Congress party.Dainik Samayik Prasanga, Silchar, Saturday, 15 July 2023, p.3, https://samayikprasanga.in/archive.php?dt=2023-07-15&pn=3 He also announced that he is not joining any political party “at the moment” and will rather focus on teaching and scholarship on India's foreign policy.

References

{{Reflist Indian National Congress politicians from Assam 21st-century Indian politicians Indian political writers Foreign policy writers Indian foreign policy writers Scholars of Indian foreign policy Year of birth missing (living people) Living people

Education

As a Scholar of India's Foreign Policy

Activities as a Congress Ideologue

Resignation from Congress party

See also

References