September 04, 2026
India needs to catch up, and fast, in new Great Game of Central Asia
New Delhi: India is emerging as the biggest “loser” in the new “Great Game” unfolding across Central Asia, even as China, Russia and the United States make aggressive inroads into the region, said Joseph Epstein, director of the Turan Research Center in Washington and a senior fellow at the Yorktown Institute, in Delhi on Thursday.
Delivering a lecture at an event hosted by the Chintan Research Foundation, Epstein invoked the 19th century rivalry between the British empire and Russia in the region, saying, “The trick to engaging Central Asia is providing a counterbalance to prevent over-dependence on the other great powers in the region.”
Landlocked and ringed by Russia, China, Afghanistan and Iran, the region’s singular goal is avoiding dependence on any one patron, he said. Chinese investment sits alongside American mineral ventures; Russian security guarantees run parallel to European financing; Turkish drones share runway space with Israeli technology. “They are looking for a portfolio, not a patron,” Epstein said.
Read the full interview on The Print.
Joseph Epstein is Director of the Turan Research Center.