ISSSP Reflections No. 22, October 14, 2014
Author: Dr. Arun Vishwanathan
The
Regional Center for Strategic Studies (RCSS), Colombo launched the
Summer Workshop Series in a bid to bring together young Indian,
Pakistani and Chinese scholars in 1993. The Workshop was held regularly
on an annual basis till 2006 when it was discontinued due to funding
issues. Recently, RCSS led by its Executive Director, Dr. Mallika Joseph
was successful in garnering funds for organising the 13th Summer Workshop (September
15-25, 2014) at Kalutara, Sri Lanka (~40kms from Colombo). The theme of
the Workshop was “Nuclear Disarmament, Safety and Stability.” I was
fortunate to be selected to participate in the Workshop which brought
together thirty odd young scholars from India, Pakistan, China and the
US for an intensive ten-day fully residential workshop.
The
workshop is probably the only of its kind as it brings together young
scholars from India, Pakistan and China for a decent length of time. The
fact that the organisers house participants from different countries in
a room on twin-sharing basis and provide opportunities for joint
activities and presentations, leads to fostering of friendships and
understanding of the others’ point of view. Given the intertwined
histories and security challenges the region faces, one cannot but
emphasise the importance of such endeavours and lament at the fact that
occasions for such interactions – especially for young researchers – are
too few and far between.
