The historic India-US Civil Nuclear Deal (CND) signed in Washington DC, on July 18, 2005 by President Bush with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, signified a major paradigm shift in the US Nuclear Policy towards India. It heralded the beginning of a new strategic partnership between the two countries. Under the CND, India should identify and separate its civilian and military nuclear facilities and programs in a phased manner, and must place its civilian facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection. In exchange, India will have access to US nuclear fuel and technology. The staunch supporters of the CND contend that India gains access to nuclear technology to generate energy, despite not signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It will end decades of India's nuclear isolation, enhance energy security and propel economic growth. The deal is in the long-term interest of the nation. It's a win-win situation for India. According to Dr. Anil Kakodkar, India's top atomic scientist, "Nuclear energy is an inevitable option for India's sustainable development. Nuclear energy can provide 300,000 mw power to India for the next 250 years". On the US side, the deal revives America's moribund nuclear power industry and its businesses can have access to India's proposed 100 billion civil nuclear energy markets.

However, opponents charge the CND as a severe blow to the international non-proliferation regime. Michael Krepon argues that, "the agreement could spark a nuclear arms race in Asia and weaken international efforts to prevent states like Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons". The Left parties perceive that the deal would undermine the country's sovereignty, indigenous nuclear program and would make India a `junior partner' of the US. The landmark CND has reached a decisive phase. The winning of the trust vote by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government was a very important step towards implementing the nuke deal. This issue, to begin with, examines the key issues involved in the India-US Civil Nuclear Deal (CND), which is followed by articles on peace overtures to the Taliban, learning from Sri Lanka's Eelam wars, India in evolving Central Eurasian matrix, Area Studies and the challenge of globalization and changing migration pattern in Republic of Komi.

P M Kamath, in the paper, "India-US Civil Nuclear Deal: Manmohan Singh Overcomes the CPI (M) Veto", views that the US coming forward to offer the CND is the recognition of India as a de facto nuclear weapons state. The CND ends 30 years of India's isolation in nuclear-tech world and will lead to dramatic transformation in India-US relations. India gets access to nuclear technology to generate energy to achieve energy security without sacrificing its nuclear weapons program. The author opines that with recent political realignment in Lok Sabha and the UPA Government winning the vote of confidence, the CND is likely to be concluded before the year end.

Partha Pratim Basu, in the paper, "Peace Overtures to the Taliban: Widening Rift Between the US and Its European Partners in Afghanistan", gives a vivid account of the growing discord between the US and its European NATO allies over a series of issues since 2005-2006 in Afghanistan. Major differences cropped up over the question of involving the `moderate' elements of the Taliban in a peace dialogue. The Bush administration expressed its strong reservations over the proposed talks. The author also analyzes the wider implications of the talks for Afghanistan as well as the region as a whole including India.

Col R Hariharan, in the paper, "Learning from Sri Lanka's Eelam Wars", illustrates that the study of Sri Lanka's Eelam wars against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) provides a few takeaways for nations facing well-organized and entrenched insurgency groups. The situation Sri Lanka provides experiential learning on issues in such as internationalization of insurgency conflicts, conflict management, importance of non-military issues and mediation process. The author concludes by saying that nations while waging counterinsurgency war should use it as a means for peace rather an end in itself for achieving military glory. Otherwise it will not lead to enduring victories.

Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra, in the paper, "India in the Evolving Central Eurasian Matrix", examines the significance of Central Eurasia in meeting India's growing energy needs and its future energy security. The huge economic potential of the region has made India active in Central Asia. The author opines that India should vigorously pursue a pro-active policy in the region to meet both its security interests and energy needs. He finally sums up by saying that India's overarching position in the evolving Central Eurasian matrix would depend on its balancing the other players in the region.

Aparajita Gangopadhyay, in the paper, "Area Studies and the Challenge of Globalization: Issues and Concerns", portrays the historical antecedents of Area Studies programs and discusses its problems and prospects in the wake of globalization. The author discusses the changes wrought by globalization; the increasing importance of transnational actors and processes call for new approaches from the discipline of Area Studies. The author also emphasizes the need for a new identity to the Area Studies, in order to make these programs face contemporary challenges.

Shabaev Yuri Petrovich, in the paper, "The Republic of Komi: The Changing Face of a Migrant Community", analyzes how the waves of migration changed the social composition and ethno-demographic structure of the Komi Republic. The population's mass consciousness, cultural orientation, and cultural priorities were also influenced by migration. The division of the republic's population into `indigenous' (Komi) and `non-indigenous' was successfully planted by the political elite. The Komi community became extremely segmented with anti-immigrant sentiments and xenophobia. In order to overcome these problems, the author calls upon the regional authorities to change the principles of ethnic policy.

Apart from six articles, this issue also consists of a review of the book Indonesia: Democracy and the Promise of Good Governance by Asish Sexena.

- Kalluri Raj Reddy
Consulting Editor