FOR four decades, over a dozen countries have tried to control Afghanistan’s political destiny. India has been an active player since the post-colonial great game first began in 1978. India’s influence has waxed and waned with changes in Kabul. But several recent developments have again sent India’s stock in Afghanistan soaring. Prime Minister Narendra Modi figures in two of them. Last week the Prime Minister inaugurated the Salma Dam in Afghanistan. Before that he presided over a leasing ceremony for an Iranian port that would be India’s route to Afghanistan’s Pashtun areas. In between, and to India’s relief, a US drone attack killed Taliban’s anti-talks chief Mullah Mansour Akhtar.The Indian strategic community, especially its diplomats and security managers, must now ensure that the hard work done and the lives sacrificed by our unsung engineers, architects and foot soldiers do not go in vain. The project was delayed by six years not just because of extremely difficult working conditions. Ministries often sat on requests for the release of funds and engineers would cool their heels in Kabul because travel by road was too dangerous. The story was the same for the crucial Delaram-Zaranj road built by Indian engineers that will eventually connect to the Iranian port of Chabahar. Unlike India’s two completed projects in Afghanistan — the Parliament House building and a power transmission line to Kabul —dams and transport corridors cannot exist in isolation. In order to capitalise on the goodwill generated by the two projects, India should opt for a cooperative model. This will mean integrating the power generated from Salma Dam with the Central Asia backed electricity grid and connecting the proposed Iran-Afghanistan road to the existing routes such as Taftan-Quetta highway (where Mullah Mansour was droned). India had consciously selected these projects to put across its policy of providing wholesome assistance to Afghanistan. India should now dovetail them with other projects to benefit the wider region, and not just small parts of Afghanistan. This will ensure a lasting influence in the region that is not circumscribed by national boundaries.