Rajamandala

Rajamandala 

Celebrated with the name "Kautilya", Chanakya was well renowned because of his sheer cunningness, which bears the meaning "liar". Being a person with great pride, ego and an ocean of knowledge, he has helped Chandragupta conquer Bharat in a decisive way.  A person with such wisdom has left a pile of texts for his descendants to follow and lead the world. The script called Arthashastra written by Chanakya plays the role of Geeta for the police, politicians and defense system of India. 

Rajamandala or Chanakya's Concentric Circle is one such theory documented in Chankaya's magnus opus, the Arthshastra devised to defeat his enemies by all means possible (Saam: persuade , Daam: purchase , Dand: punish and Bhed: exploit the weakness). The timeless theories of Chanakya are now exercised by Indian defense and political system to run the country.

 Rajamandala theory is an expression of a kingdom's internal and external dominion. It is purely based on the assumption that " your neighbor is your natural enemy and the neighbor's neighbor is your friend". It can be described as a set of concentric circles surrounding the center. The Center represents the ruler, and the concentric circles around the king represent the neighboring countries that play the part of enemy or ally. The immediate circle (kingdom) encircling the center (king) represents a natural enemy, the consequent circle encircling the previous circle is considered as the ally, and this sequence is followed by the subsequent circles. The concentric circle theory is basically conceptualized on "sandwiching the enemy". 

The said theory has a undeniable resemblance with the post independence relations of India with its's neighboring countries. As one can put it, India has always had a rivalry with it's neighbor Pakistan, and a strained relation with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Meanwhile India has always tried to build a bridge with the nations  having same intermediate neighbors. This gives a clear depiction of the Rajamandala theory amidst Indian and neighboring lands, with the first circle encircling India's immediate neighbor, the second encircling its extended neighborhood and the third encircles the whole global stage.

In this cyber era, the physical border enmity is overcome by the countries and has expanded to a new horizon. Now, it is not only about the country we share borders with but its also about the countries we didn't know even existed in Mauriyan era.  

The Rajamandala has played a major role in structuring the shape of the Indian sub continent, and this concept is still shaping the minds of our stake holders. However, the description above clearly states an act by Kautilya in order to enhance power and self interest. Whereas, war and peace are solely based on profit. This policy has been criticized by many for being ruthless and immoral but in fact it is being practiced everywhere.

Despite the criticism it is still believed that "Every neighboring state is an enemy and the enemy's enemy is friend".