Published in association with Academy of Third World Studies, New Delhi. Few countries have been more affected by the US-led war against Afghanistan than India. There was initial hope that the war would stamp out the terrorism plaguing India but this was soon belied, and the Afghan situation remains highly unpredictable. By now, America's interest has shifted elsewhere, yet the military presence it has established all around Afghanistan profoundly affects the geopolitical picture in the heart of Asia. The powerful lure of oil and gas has begun to open up a region once off limits to the West, and new commercial and political rivalries are taking shape. The Academy of Third World Studies of Jamia Millia Islamia recently organized a seminar where a number of noted experts looked in depth at events in an around Afghanistan, its history, current situation and future prospects; also what it tells us about today's unipolar world. The newly acquired significance of Central Asia is highlighted and the special situation of Iran analysed. There is also an account of how developments in Central Asia explain policy-making processes in the former hegemon Russia. Collectively, these papers are an illuminating study of events whose full implications can only be guessed at but whose relevance to India's future strategy cannot be bypassed.