"India?s decision to welcome Senior General Than Shwe, the head of the Burmese junta, in late July 2010 might have exhibited all the radiance of a reinvigorated relationship, but careful consideration of what exactly New Delhi has fostered with its eastern neighbor will reveal that Indo-Burmese relations remain uneasy. Despite enduring sympathies for Burma?s pro-democracy stirrings since 1988, India is now convinced that it must engage Burma for strategic reasons. However, the engagement with Burma?s praetorian leaders is simply not as constructive as often claimed. Furthermore, New Delhi seems divided over the issue of how exactly to engage Burma, and as a result has unintentionally abdicated the evolution of bilateral relations to Naypyidaw?s whims. If it wants to strengthen its leverage, including its democratizing influence over Burma, India needs to reassess its current policy and emerge with a formidable but actionable vision to obtain that goal. As such, India?s new Burma policy must be different from the Western sanctions-led approach, but it should also be better than the predatory arrangements imposed by Asian powers that seek to capture Burma?s natural assets but leave behind few tangible benefits for the Burmese people..."