Myanmar, the Golden Land, has for ages been the last frontier, steeped in mysticism and mystery. However, knowledge about Myanmar remains woefully inadequate in most spheres including Indian academia, media and in some cases, even foreign policy. The irony is such that premier educational establishments in India provide exotic courses on countries with which India has no borders and are thousands of kilometres away, but do not offer Myanmar studies or language courses, despite India sharing a 1643 km border with Myanmar.

India’s two-track engagement with Myanmar commenced in 1991 and today, in 2021, has completed 30 successful years of bilateral engagement. The realpolitik driven two tracks being, to engage with Myanmar on functional levels, while concurrently pressing for democratic reforms. On 1 February 2021, all that changed with Senior General Ming Aung Hlaing’s coup d’état and the ensuing violence which has already claimed over 700 lives. In such tragic circumstances, ‘business as usual` is no longer a viable foreign policy option.