Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka
There hasn't been any noise from China yet, which is quite unusual. It has demanded its own treasures and artifacts stolen by UK to be returned, threatened UN army to not cross the North-South Korea's 38th parallel, and has been in talks with Tibet.
But regarding India and its borders, it is quiet. That's very suspicious.
Anyway, the talks between Soviet Union and India for the India-USSR friendship treaty is going well, and the proposal of natural gas and crude oil pipelines are all but set in stone. Just Afghanistan's approval is needed.
Today, the Shah of Afghanistan will be arriving in Delhi to discuss the border disputes regarding the Durand Line. The main conflict is the Pashtun region, where Abdul Gaffar Khan is the CM.
Abdul Gaffar Khan is a person who was, and is, always in favour of a united India, and against Pakistan.
Afghanistan was also hostile to Pakistan, being the only member of UN which voted against Pakistan's entry in UN.
According to Gaffar Khan, Pashtuns and Afghans are virtually interchangeable terms. Afghanistan was a rich region too, because of saffron, and connecting India to central Asia.
But as the prominence of land routes dwindled in favour of sea, Afghan region started declining. And it didn't help that whoever wanted to invade India went through Afghanistan. And after being defeated by Indian kings for centuries, ravaged through Afghanistan again on their way back. So, Afghanistan has suffered the most from Islamic invasions.
That's why the other tribes that have settled there, like Turks, Uzbeks, etc., are not really taken kindly because of their history.
According to Gaffar, Afghans have very good relationship with India. They are very humble, and friendly to everyone, especially Indians. They also have a code of honor, somewhat similar to the Rajputs. Giving food, water and refuge to even enemies. But due to the centuries of harsh life, they have developed a mindset to properly deliver revenge too if someone messes with them.
Most of all, they deem their independence above anything else.
That's why, it refused to join India as soon as the proposal reached, and India respected it.
The main problem with Afghanistan is that it is sandwitched between USSR and India. So, it is in danger of being invaded by USSR, and entering a civil war orchestrated by US so that the pipelines don't come into existence.
Right now, all the crude oil and natural gas from USSR has to cover a long distance through sea. If the pipelines are established, oil and gas will become much cheaper, and much easier to transport.
Moreover, Afghanistan will be able to get good amount of tax, and security fees for the pipelines going through it, helping in its food shortage.
But with the benefits come the risks, be it a communist takeover, or freedom. That's why, the final decision from Afghanistan is stuck right now.
Several deals with Afghanistan were made during its PM's visit to Delhi today. It included having an open border, banning Communist Party, IIA's support in identifying people who have CIA backing, and the proposition of a South Asian Defence Alliance(SADA), much like NATO.
The pipelines and SADA were set for more discussion on a later date, and Afghanistan was positive about settling the border issue at what position it is for free access to Indian market, migration, jobs, etc., my like Nepal will be.
Nepal and Bhutan also rejected any merger offer, and all the borders were fixed through meetings. Like Afghanistan, the borders were open, only requiring small fees for entering and leaving, and Nepal and Bhutan also wouldn't require any visa to enter, and vice versa. The proposals of SADA was approved by Nepal and Bhutan both, because of fear of China. But, on the condition that India solves their border disputes with China.
As for Sri Lanka(currently Ceylon), it has already kicked out British military presence in 1948 under India's pressure and public anger towards British. Bandarnaike has become the PM of Sri Lanka, who readily gave up claims on Katchatheevu and entered SADA, which also prevented coups.
But, after that, he has introduced the Sinhala Only Bill in the Sri Lankan parliament. Hearing this, India told Sri Lankan government that this will inevitably lead to a civil war. And if such attempts to alienate a linguistic minority are made, India will expel Sri Lanka from SADA.
Thus, the bill was taken back for now.
But, it seems like without such intervention, Civil War will remain a possibility for several years. Sri Lanka is put in a critical watchlist in IIA for a possibility of civil war.
This gave India a headache. It is quite a possibility that the Tamils will demand to join India if they are oppressed, and the Sri Lankan government and majority population will accuse India for playing dirty politics to expand its territories.
And if India doesn't help, Tamils in Sri Lanka will blame India for not helping them and something grave can happen. And it wouldn't be difficult for other countries to benefit from this situation.