While my first book 'Insurgent Crossfire' offered a new insight into thestudy of post-colonial South Asian politics and diplomacy , in which reciprocal sponsorship of insurgency became a handy tool for nation-states, the 'Agartala doctrine' offers a new roadmap for India's neighborhood policy (differing from both US Monroe doctrine of neighborhood dominance and also India's Gujral doctrine of unilateral magnanimity ) , based as it is on how tiny state of Tripuira has handled the neighborhood -- first East Pakistan and then Bangladesh. This is no pacifist doctrine but also does not have room for over-reaction and macho interventionism. It calls for secret and deniable covert action in a offensive defence mode to counter security threats but places much emphasis on reciprocjating friendly gestures by walking the extra mile if necessary. It pitches for calibrated and carefully phased action rather than any headlong rushes like the IPKF intervention in Sri Lanka .