The Durian Flavour is a textured exploration of Indias evolving relationship with Asean. Drawing from his rare vantage point as a diplomat who has represented India in two major regional organisations the African Union and Asean Gurjit Singh crafts a nuanced narrative that examines what truly animates the India-Asean partnership after a decade of the Act East Policy (AEP).
The title itself, The Durian Flavour, is brilliantly chosen. Much like the fruit whose pungent aroma divides opinion but rewards those who dare to taste it, the India-Asean relationship demands patience and understanding. Singhs metaphor captures this dynamic perfectly: the partnership isnt effortless, but its rewards are immense if both bypass the initial discomfort of mismatched expectations.
Structured around Aseans three-pillar framework the book reads both as an assessment and a roadmap. Singh commends the AEP for strengthening defence cooperation, naval engagement and strategic dialogues. Indias growing presence in regional forums, its defence exports (notably the BrahMos missiles), and its expanded maritime interactions mark meaningful steps forward. Yet, Singh warns, security cooperation alone cannot sustain a partnership.
The book becomes particularly incisive in its critique of what Singh calls the China Syndrome. He argues that both sides remain trapped in an obsolete reflex of interpreting their relationship primarily in terms of Beijing Asean seeking India as a counterweight, and India measuring its regional moves against Chinas shadow. This China-centric lens, he suggests, has stunted the relationships maturity. To move forward, India and Asean must deal with each other directly, not through the prism of a third power.
Singhs economic analysis offers hard truths wrapped in diplomatic clarity. Despite trade peaking at a record $131 billion in 2023, Indias deficit with Asean remains substantial. His dissection of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) is clinical: procedural bottlenecks, non-tariff barriers, and rules of origin complexities have diluted the agreements potential. The striking statistic that only 35 per cent of Indian businesses actually utilise AITIGA benefits should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers.
Perhaps the most vital section of the book deals with socio-cultural cooperation. Singh highlights that despite shared civilisational ties and the popularity of Indian culture across Asean, institutional exchange remains weak. Here, the statistics tell their own story of 1,000 IIT PhD fellowships offered to Asean, fewer than 80 have been filled in four years. Singhs solution is clear-eyed: move beyond state-led programs and energise private sector, academic and civil society linkages.
Ultimately, Singh envisions a pivot from strategic hedging to functional cooperation a genuine South-South partnership rooted in common developmental aspirations rather than shared fears. He points to emerging opportunities in green growth, digital transformation (like UPI payments) and impact investing as the next phase of the relationship. His optimism is grounded in realism: that India and Asean, together representing a demographic and economic bloc approaching a third of US GDP by 2035, can help define a multi-polar Asia.
The Durian Flavour is deeply informed yet refreshingly unpretentious. With characteristic candour and a diplomats finesse, Gurjit Singh offers not just a retrospective on a decade of policy but a persuasive call for India and Asean to stop sniffing at the fruit and finally take a bite.
Tino de Sa is a former chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh and an author
The Durian Flavour: India and Asean after a Decade of the Act East Policy
By Gurjit Singh
pp. 288; Rs 795
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