Chapter 5 · Himal Southasian, (January 2007) The Southasia Trust, Nepal. 66 Contemporary World...

OVERVIEWLet us shift our gaze from the largerglobal developments in the post-ColdWar era to developments in our ownregion, South Asia. When India andPakistan joined the club of nuclearpowers, this region suddenlybecame the focus of global attention.The focus was, of course, on thevarious kinds of conflict in thisregion: there are pending border andwater sharing disputes between thestates of the region. Besides, thereare conflicts arising out ofinsurgency, ethnic strife andresource sharing. This makes theregion very turbulent. At the sametime, many people in South Asiarecognise the fact that this regioncan develop and prosper if the statesof the region cooperate with eachother. In this chapter, we try tounderstand the nature of conflictand cooperation among differentcountries of the region. Since muchof this is rooted in or conditioned bythe domestic politics of thesecountries, we first introduce theregion and the domestic politics ofsome of the big countries in theregion.

Chapter 5

Contemporary South Asia

Source: Subhas Rai’s adaptation of ‘Liberty Leading thePeople’, painted by Eugene Delacroix in 1830. Courtesy ofHimal Southasian, (January 2007) The Southasia Trust, Nepal

Contemporary World Politics66

WHAT IS SOUTH ASIA?We are all familiar with thegripping tension during an India-Pakistan cricket match. We havealso seen the goodwill andhospitality shown to visitingIndian and Pakistani fans by theirhosts when they come to watch acricket match. This is symbolic ofthe larger pattern of South Asianaffairs. Ours is a region whererivalry and goodwill, hope anddespair, mutual suspicion andtrust coexist.

Let us begin by asking anelementary question: what is SouthAsia? The expression ‘South Asia’usually includes the followingcountries: Bangladesh, Bhutan,India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistanand Sri Lanka. The mightyHimalayas in the north and the vastIndian Ocean, the Arabian Sea andthe Bay of Bengal in the south, westand east respectively provide anatural insularity to the region,which is largely responsible for thelinguistic, social and culturaldistinctiveness of the sub-continent. The boundaries of theregion are not as clear in the eastand the west, as they are in thenorth and the south. Afghanistanand Myanmar are often includedin discussions of the region as awhole. China is an important playerbut is not considered to be a partof the region. In this chapter, weshall use South Asia to mean theseven countries mentioned above.Thus defined, South Asia stands fordiversity in every sense and yetconstitutes one geo-political space.

The various countries in SouthAsia do not have the same kind ofpolitical systems. Despite manyproblems and limitations, SriLanka and India have successfullyoperated a democratic systemsince their independence from theBritish. You will study more aboutthe evolution of democracy inIndia in the textbook that dealswith politics in India sinceindependence. It is, of course,possible to point out manylimitations of India’s democracy;but we have to remember the factthat India has remained ademocracy throughout itsexistence as an independentcountry. The same is true of SriLanka.

Pakistan and Bangladesh haveexperienced both civilian andmilitary rulers, with Bangladeshremaining a democracy in thepost-Cold War period. Pakistanbegan the post-Cold War periodwith successive democraticgovernments under BenazirBhutto and Nawaz Sharifrespectively. But it suffered amilitary coup in 1999 and hasbeen run by a military regimesince then. Till 2006, Nepal was aconstitutional monarchy with thedanger of the king taking overexecutive powers. In 2006 asuccessful popular uprising led tothe restoration of democracy andreduced the king to a nominalposition. From the experience ofBangladesh and Nepal, we can saythat democracy is becoming anaccepted norm in the entire regionof South Asia.

Identify somefeaturescommon to allthe South Asiancountries butdifferent fromcountries inWest Asia orSoutheast Asia.

Is there a fixeddefinition of theseregions? Whodecides that?

67Contemporary South Asia

Similar changes are taking place in the twosmallest countries of the region. Bhutan is stilla monarchy but the king has initiated plans forits transition to multi-party democracy. TheMaldives, the other island nation, was aSultanate till 1968 when it was transformed intoa republic with a presidential form ofgovernment. In June 2005, the parliament of theMaldives voted unanimously to introduce amulti-party system. The Maldivian DemocraticParty (MDP) dominates the political affairs of theisland. Democracy strengthened in the Maldivesafter the 2005 elections when some oppositionparties were legalised.

Despite the mixed record of the democraticexperience, the people in all these countries sharethe aspiration for democracy. A recent survey ofthe attitudes of the people in the five big countriesof the region showed that there is widespreadsupport for democracy in all these countries.Ordinary citizens, rich as well as poor andbelonging to different religions, view the idea ofdemocracy positively and support the institutionsof representative democracy. They preferdemocracy over any other form of democracy andthink that democracy is suitable for their country.These are significant findings, for it was earlierbelieved that democracy could flourish and findsupport only in prosperous countries of the world.

Both these graphs are based on interviews withmore than 19,000 ordinary citizens in the fivecountries of South Asia. Source: SDSA Team, State ofDemocracy in South Asia, New Delhi: OxfordUniversity Press, 2007


In that sense the South Asianexperience of democracy hasexpanded the global imagination ofdemocracy.

Let us look at the experienceof democracy in each of the fourbig countries of the region otherthan India.

THE MILITARY AND

DEMOCRACY IN PAKISTAN

After Pakistan framed its firstconstitution, General Ayub Khantook over the administration ofthe country and soon got himselfelected. He had to give up officewhen there was populardissatisfaction against his rule.This gave way to a militarytakeover once again underGeneral Yahya Khan. DuringYahya’s military rule, Pakistanfaced the Bangladesh crisis, andafter a war with India in 1971,East Pakistan broke away toemerge as an independent countrycalled Bangladesh. After this, anelected government under theleadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhuttocame to power in Pakistan from1971 to 1977. The Bhuttogovernment was removed byGeneral Zia-ul-Haq in 1977.General Zia faced a pro-democracymovement from 1982 onwards andand an elected democraticgovernment was established onceagain in 1988 under the leadershipof Benazir Bhutto. In the periodthat followed, Pakistani politicscentred around the competitionbetween her party, the Pakistan

TIMELINE OF SOUTH ASIASINCE 1947

1947: India and Pakistan emerge as independent nationsafter the end of British rule1948: Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) gains independence; Indo-Pak conflict over Kashmir1954-55: Pakistan joins the Cold War military blocs, SEATOand CENTO1960 September: India and Pakistan sign the Indus WatersTreaty1962: Border conflict between India and China1965: Indo-Pak War; UN India-Pakistan Observation Mission1966: India and Pakistan sign the Tashkent Agreement;Six-point proposal of Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman for greaterautonomy to East Pakistan1971 March: Proclamation of Independence by leaders ofBangladeshAugust : Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship signed for 20 yearsDecember : Indo-Pak War, Liberation of Bangladesh1972 July: India and Pakistan sign the Shimla Agreement1974 May: India conducts nuclear test1976: Pakistan and Bangladesh establish diplomaticrelations1985 December: South Asian leaders sign the SAARCCharter at the first summit in Dhaka1987: Indo-Sri Lanka Accord; Indian Peace Keeping Force(IPKF) operation in Sri Lanka (1987-90)1988: India sends troops to the Maldives to foil a coupattempt by mercenariesIndia and Pakistan sign the agreement not to attacknuclear installations and facilities of each other1988-91: Democracy restoration in Pakistan, Bangladeshand Nepal1996 December: India and Bangladesh sign the FarakkaTreaty for sharing of the Ganga Waters1998 May: India and Pakistan conduct nuclear testsDecember: India and Sri Lanka sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA)1999 February: Indian PM Vajpayee undertakes bus journeyto Lahore to sign a Peace DeclarationJune-July: Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan2001 July: Vajpayee - Musharraf Agra Summit unsuccessful2004 January: SAFTA signed at the 12th SAARC Summit inIslamabad


People’s Party, and the MuslimLeague. This phase of electivedemocracy lasted till 1999 whenthe army stepped in again andGeneral Pervez Musharraf removedPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In2001, General Musharraf gothimself elected as the President.Pakistan continues to be ruled bythe army, though the army rulershave held some elections to givetheir rule a democratic image.

Several factors havecontributed to Pakistan’s failurein building a stable democracy.The social dominance of themilitary, clergy, and landowningaristocracy has led to the frequentoverthrow of elected governmentsand the establishment of militarygovernment. Pakistan’s conflictwith India has made the pro-military groups more powerful.These groups have often said thatpolitical parties and democracy inPakistan are flawed, thatPakistan’s security would beharmed by selfish-minded partiesand chaotic democracy, and thatthe army’s stay in poweris, therefore, justified. Whiledemocracy has not been fullysuccessful in Pakistan, there hasbeen a strong pro-democracysentiment in the country.Pakistan has a courageous andrelatively free press and a stronghuman rights movement.

The lack of genuineinternational support fordemocratic rule in Pakistan hasfurther encouraged the military tocontinue its dominance. TheUnited States and other Western

countries have encouraged themilitary’s authoritarian rule in thepast, for their own reasons. Giventheir fear of the threat of what theycall ‘global Islamic terrorism’ andthe apprehension that Pakistan’snuclear arsenal might fall into thehands of these terrorist groups,the military regime in Pakistanhas been seen as the protector ofWestern interests in West Asia andSouth Asia.

DEMOCRACY IN BANGLADESH

Bangladesh was a part of Pakistanfrom 1947 to 1971. It consistedof the partitioned areas of Bengaland Assam from British India. Thepeople of this region resented thedomination of western Pakistanand the imposition of the Urdulanguage. Soon after the partition,

This cartoon comments on the dual role of Pakistan’s ruler PervezMusharraf as the President of the country and as the army General.Read the equations carefully and write down the message of thiscartoon.

If Germany can bereunited, why can’tthe people of Indiaand Pakistan at leasttravel more easily toeach other’scountry?

Surendra, The Hindu


they began protests against theunfair treatment meted out to theBengali culture and language. Theyalso demanded fair representationin administration and a fair sharein political power. Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman led the popularstruggle against West Pakistanidomination. He demandedautonomy for the eastern region.In the 1970 elections in the thenPakistan, the Awami League ledby Sheikh Mujib won all the seatsin East Pakistan and secured amajority in the proposedconstituent assembly for thewhole of Pakistan. But thegovernment dominated by theWest Pakistani leadership refused

to convene the assembly. SheikhMujib was arrested. Under themilitary rule of General YahyaKhan, the Pakistani army tried tosuppress the mass movement ofthe Bengali people. Thousandswere killed by the Pakistan army.This led to a large scale migrationinto India, creating a huge refugeeproblem for India. The governmentof India supported the demand ofthe people of East Pakistan fortheir independence and helpedthem financially and militarily.This resulted in a war betweenIndia and Pakistan in December1971 that ended in the surrenderof the Pakistani forces in EastPakistan and the formation of

A mural in Dhaka University to remember Noor Hossain who was killed by the police during pro-democracy protestsagainst General Ershad in 1987. Painted on his back: “Let Democracy be Freed” . Photo credit: Shahidul Alam/ Drik


Bangladesh as an independentcountry.

Bangladesh drafted itsconstitution declaring faith insecularism, democracy andsocialism. However, in 1975 SheikhMujib got the constitutionamended to shift from theparliamentary to presidential formof government. He also abolishedall parties except his own, theAwami League. This led to conflictsand tensions. In a dramatic andtragic development, he wasassassinated in a military uprisingin August 1975. The new militaryruler, Ziaur Rahman, formed hisown Bangladesh National Partyand won elections in 1979. He wasassassinated and another militarytakeover followed under theleadership of Lt Gen H. M. Ershad.The people of Bangladesh soon rosein support of the demand fordemocracy. Students were in theforefront. Ershad was forced toallow political activity on a limitedscale. He was later elected asPresident for five years. Mass publicprotests made Ershad step downin 1990. Elections were held in1991. Since then representativedemocracy based on multi-partyelections has been working inBangladesh.

MONARCHY AND

DEMOCRACY IN NEPAL

Nepal was a Hindu kingdom in thepast and then a constitutionalmonarchy in the modern periodfor many years. Throughout thisperiod, political parties and the

common people of Nepal havewanted a more open andresponsive system of government.But the king, with the help of thearmy, retained full control over thegovernment and restricted theexpansion of democracy in Nepal.

The king accepted the demandfor a new democratic constitutionin 1990, in the wake of a strongpro-democracy movement.However, democratic governmentshad a short and troubled career.During the nineties, the Maoistsof Nepal were successful inspreading their influence in manyparts of Nepal. They believed inarmed insurrection against themonarch and the ruling elite. Thisled to a violent conflict betweenthe Maoist guerrillas and thearmed forces of the king. Forsome time, there was a triangularconflict among the monarchistforces, the democrats and theMaoists. In 2002, the kingabolished the parliament anddismissed the government, thusending even the limiteddemocracy that existed in Nepal.

In April 2006, there weremassive, country wide, pro-democracy protests. The strugglingpro-democracy forces achieved theirfirst major victory when the king wasforced to restore the House ofRepresentatives that had beendissolved in April 2002. The largelynon-violent movement was led bythe Seven Party Alliance (SPA), theMaoists and social activists.

Nepal’s transition todemocracy is not complete. At themoment, Nepal is undergoing a

Let’s know moreaboutBangladesh’sGrameen Bank.Can we makeuse of the ideato reducepoverty inIndia?


unique moment in its historybecause it is moving towards theformation of a constituentassembly that will write theconstitution for Nepal. Somesections in Nepal still think that anominal monarchy is necessaryfor Nepal to retain its link with thepast. The Maoist groups haveagreed to suspend armed struggle.They want the constitution toinclude the radical programmes ofsocial and economic restructuring.All the parties in the SPA may notagree with this programme. TheMaoists and some other politicalgroups are also deeply suspiciousof the Indian government and itsrole in the future of Nepal.

ETHNIC CONFLICT AND

DEMOCRACY IN SRI LANKA

We have already seen that SriLanka has retained democracy

since its independence in 1948.But it faced a serious challenge,not from the military or monarchybut rather from ethnic conflictleading to the demand forsecession by one of the regions.

After its independence, politicsin Sri Lanka (it was then knownas Ceylon) was dominated byforces that represented the interestof the majority Sinhalacommunity. They were hostile to alarge number of Tamils who hadmigrated from India to Sri Lankaand settled there. This migrationcontinued even after independence.The Sinhala nationalists thoughtthat Sri Lanka should not give‘concessions’ to the Tamils becauseSri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalapeople only. The neglect of Tamilconcerns led to militant Tamilnationalism. From 1983 onwards,the militant organisation, theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Nepal sounds reallyexciting. I wish I wasin Nepal!

Democracy activist, Durga Thapa,participating in a pro-democracy rally inKathmandu in 1990. The second pictureshows the same person in 2006, this time

celebrating the success of the seconddemocracy movement.

Photo credit: Min Bajracharya


(LTTE) has been fighting an armedstruggle with the army of Sri Lankaand demanding ‘Tamil Eelam’ or aseparate country for the Tamils ofSri Lanka. The LTTE controls thenortheastern parts of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan probleminvolves people of Indian origin,and there is considerable pressurefrom the Tamil people in India tothe ef fect that the Indiangovernment should protect theinterests of the Tamils in SriLanka. The government of Indiahas from time to time tried tonegotiate with the Sri Lankangovernment on the Tamil question.But in 1987, the government ofIndia for the first time got directlyinvolved in the Sri Lankan Tamilquestion. India signed an accordwith Sri Lanka and sent troops tostabilise relations between the SriLankan government and theTamils. Eventually, the IndianArmy got into a fight with theLTTE. The presence of Indiantroops was also not liked muchby the Sri Lankans. They saw thisas an attempt by India to interferein the internal affairs of Sri Lanka.In 1989, the Indian Peace KeepingForce (IPKF) pulled out of SriLanka without attaining itsobjective.

The Sri Lankan crisiscontinues to be violent. However,international actors, particularlythe Scandinavian countries suchas Norway and Iceland have beentrying to bring the warring groupsback to negotiations. The futureof the island hinges on theoutcome of these talks.

In spite of the ongoing conflict,Sri Lanka has registeredconsiderable economic growthand recorded high levels of humandevelopment. Sri Lanka was oneof the first developing countries tosuccessfully control the rate ofgrowth of population, the firstcountry in the region to liberalisethe economy, and it has had thehighest per capita gross domesticproduct (GDP) for many yearsright through the civil war. Despitethe ravages of internal conflict, ithas maintained a democraticpolitical system.

INDIA-PAKISTAN CONFLICTS

Let us now move from domesticpolitics and take a look at someof the areas of conflict in the inter-national relations in this region.The post-Cold War era has notmeant the end of conflicts and

The cartoon depicts the dilemma of the Sri Lankan leadership intrying to balance Sinhala hardliners or the Lion and Tamil militantsor the Tiger while negotiating peace.

Keshav, The Hindu


tensions in this region. We havealready noted the conflicts aroundinternal democracy or ethnicdifferences. But there are alsosome very crucial conflicts of aninternational nature. Given theposition of India in this region,most of these conflicts involveIndia.

The most salient and over-whelming of these conflicts is, ofcourse, the one between India andPakistan. Soon after the partition,the two countries got embroiled ina conflict over the fate of Kashmir.The Pakistani government claimedthat Kashmir belonged to it. Warsbetween India and Pakistan in1947-48 and 1965 failed to settlethe matter. The 1947-48 warresulted in the division of theprovince into Pakistan-occupied

Kashmir and the Indian province ofJammu and Kashmir divided by theLine of Control. In 1971, India wona decisive war against Pakistan butthe Kashmir issue remainedunsettled.

India’s conflict with Pakistan isalso over strategic issues like thecontrol of the Siachen glacier andover acquisition of arms. The armsrace between the two countriesassumed a new character withboth states acquiring nuclearweapons and missiles to deliversuch arms against each other inthe 1990s. In 1998, Indiaconducted nuclear explosion inPokaran. Pakistan respondedwithin a few days by carrying outnuclear tests in the Chagai Hills.Since then India and Pakistanseem to have built a militaryrelationship in which thepossibility of a direct and full-scalewar has declined.

But both the governmentscontinue to be suspicious of eachother. The Indian government hasblamed the Pakistan governmentfor using a strategy of low-keyviolence by helping the Kashmirimilitants with arms, training,money and protection to carry outterrorist strikes against India. TheIndian government also believesthat Pakistan had aided the pro-Khalistani militants with armsand ammunitions during theperiod 1985-1995. Its spy agency,Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), isalleged to be involved in variousanti-India campaigns in India’snortheast, operating secretlythrough Bangladesh and Nepal.

Discussion on Kashmirsounds like a propertydispute between therulers of India andPakistan! What do theKashmiris feel about it?

A view of the current phase of the Indo-Pak negotiations.

Keshav, The Hindu


The government of Pakistan, inturn, blames the Indiangovernment and its securityagencies for fomenting trouble inthe provinces of Sindh andBalochistan.

India and Pakistan also havehad problems over the sharing ofriver waters. Until 1960, they werelocked in a fierce argument overthe use of the rivers of the Indusbasin. Eventually, in 1960, withthe help of the World Bank, Indiaand Pakistan signed the IndusWaters Treaty which has survivedto this day in spite of variousmilitary conflicts in which the twocountries have been involved.There are still some minordifferences about the interpretationof the Indus Waters Treaty and theuse of the river waters. The twocountries are not in agreementover the demarcation line in SirCreek in the Rann of Kutch. Thedispute seems minor, but there isan underlying worry that how thedispute is settled may have animpact on the control of searesources in the area adjoining SirCreek. India and Pakistan areholding negotiations on all theseissues.

INDIA AND ITS OTHER

NEIGHBOURS

The governments of India andBangladesh have had differencesover several issues including thesharing of the Ganga andBrahmaputra river waters. TheIndian government has been

unhappy with Bangladesh’sdenial of illegal immigration toIndia, its support for anti-IndianIslamic fundamentalist groups,Bangladesh’s refusal to allowIndian troops to move through itsterritory to northeastern India,and its decision not to exportnatural gas to India or allowMyanmar to do so throughBangladeshi territory.Bangladeshi governments have feltthat the Indian governmentbehaves like a regional bully overthe sharing of river waters,encouraging rebellion in theChittagong Hill Tracts, trying toextract its natural gas and beingunfair in trade. The two countrieshave not succeeded in resolvingtheir boundary dispute.

Despite their differences, Indiaand Bangladesh do cooperate onmany issues. Economic relationshave improved considerably in thelast ten years. Bangladesh is apart of India’s Look East policythat wants to link up withSoutheast Asia via Myanmar. Ondisaster management andenvironmental issues, the twostates have cooperated regularly.Efforts are on to broaden the areasof cooperation further byidentifying common threats andbeing more sensitive to eachother’s needs.

Nepal and India enjoy a veryspecial relationship that has veryfew parallels in the world. A treatybetween the two countries allowsthe citizens of the two countriesto travel to and work in the othercountry without visas and

Why is it that everyone of ourneighbours has aproblem with India?Is there somethingwrong with ourforeign policy? Or isit just our size?


passports. Despite this specialrelationship, the governments of thetwo countries have had trade-related disputes in the past. TheIndian government has oftenexpressed displeasure at the warmrelationship between Nepal andChina and at the Nepalgovernment’s inaction against anti-Indian elements. Indian securityagencies see the Maoist movementin Nepal as a growing securitythreat, given the rise of Naxalitegroups in various Indian statesfrom Bihar in the north to AndhraPradesh in the south. Many leadersand citizens in Nepal think that theIndian government interferes in itsinternal affairs, has designs on itsriver waters and hydro-electricity,and prevents Nepal, a landlockedcountry, from getting easier accessto the sea through Indian territory.Nevertheless, Indo-Nepal relationsare fairly stable and peaceful.Despite differences, trade, scientificcooperation, common naturalresources, electricity generationand interlocking watermanagement grids hold the twocountries together. There is a hopethat the consolidation of democracyin Nepal will lead to improvementsin the ties between the twocountries.

The difficulties in therelationship between thegovernments of India and Sri Lankaare mostly over ethnic conflict inthe island nation. Indian leadersand citizens find it impossible toremain neutral when Tamils arepolitically unhappy and arebeing killed. After the militaryintervention in 1987, the Indian

STEPSDivide the classroom into seven groups (as manyas the number of countries). The number ofstudents in each group may vary, reflecting thesize of the countries of South Asia.

Name each group after a country and hand overa brief country profile to respective groups. Besidesthe basic information, include a short note on thecontentious issues/disputes among the South Asiancountries. The issues could be those discussed inthis chapter or an issue of relevance but notdiscussed in the chapter.

Allow students to select an issue of their choice.The dispute could be bilateral or multilateral (theissue could be related to India, given thegeographic peculiarity of the region).

Assign each group to find out what initiatives thegovernments involved have taken and the reasonsfor their failures in resolving the disputes.

Students should assume the role of representingtheir respective countries and share their findings.

Ideas for the Teacher

Pair up the countries sharing the common issue/dispute. Itcould be two groups in the case of a bilateral issue or more incase of a multilateral issue (examples of bilateral issues includethe Jammu and Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan,the migrant problem between India and Bangladesh;multilateral issues include the creation of a free trade zone ortackling terrorism).

Groups should negotiate on the proposals and counter-proposals within a time limit. The teacher is to take note of theoutcome of the negotiations. The focus should be on the areasof agreement and disagreement.

Link the outcome of the negotiations with the prevailingsituation among the countries of South Asia. Talk about thedifficulties involved in negotiating on a political issue basedon the observation made. Conclude by discussing theimportance of accommodating each other’s interest for thesake of peaceful coexistence.


government now prefers a policy ofdisengagement vis-à-vis Sri Lanka’sinternal troubles. India signed a freetrade agreement with Sri Lanka,which strengthened relationsbetween two countries. India’s helpin post-tsunami reconstruction inSri Lanka has also brought the twocountries closer.

India enjoys a very specialrelationship with Bhutan too anddoes not have any major conflictwith the Bhutanese government.The efforts made by the Bhutanesemonarch to weed out the guerrillasand militants from northeasternIndia that operate in his countryhave been helpful to India. India isinvolved in big hydroelectricprojects in Bhutan and remains theHimalayan kingdom’s biggestsource of development aid. India’sties with the Maldives remain warmand cordial. In November 1988,when some Tamil mercenariesfrom Sri Lanka attacked theMaldives, the Indian air force andnavy reacted quickly to theMaldives’ request to help stop theinvasion. India has alsocontributed towards the island’seconomic development, tourismand fisheries.

You may have noticed thatIndia has various problems with itssmaller neighbours in the region.Given its size and power, they arebound to be suspicious of India’sintentions. The Indian government,on the other hand, often feelsexploited by its neighbours. It doesnot like the political instability inthese countries, fearing it can helpoutside powers to gain influence in

the region. The smaller countriesfear that India wants to be aregionally-dominant power.

Not all conflicts in South Asiaare between India and itsneighbours. Nepal and Bhutan, aswell as Bangladesh and Myanmar,have had disagreements in the pastover the migration of ethnicNepalese into Bhutan and theRohingyas into Myanmar,respectively. Bangladesh and Nepalhave had some differences over thefuture of the Himalayan riverwaters. The major conflicts anddifferences, though, are betweenIndia and the others, partlybecause of the geography of theregion, in which India is locatedcentrally and is therefore the onlycountry that borders the others.

If the chapter, on USwas called ‘USHegemony’ why isthis chapter notcalled ‘IndianHegemony’?

What does this cartoon tell you about the role of India andPakistan in the process of regional cooperation in South Asia?

Surendra, The Hindu


PEACE AND COOPERATION

Do the states of South Asia cooperate with eachother? Or do they only keep fighting with eachother? In spite of the many conflicts, the statesof South Asia recognise the importance ofcooperation and friendly relationship, amongthemselves. The South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation (SAARC) is a major regionalinitiative by the South Asian states to evolvecooperation through multilateral means. Itbegan in 1985. Unfortunately, due to persistingpolitical differences, SAARC has not had muchsuccess. SAARC members signed the SouthAsian Free Trade (SAFTA) agreement whichpromised the formation of a free trade zone forthe whole of South Asia.

A new chapter of peace and cooperation mightevolve in South Asia if all the countries in the regionallow free trade across the borders. This is the spiritbehind the idea of SAFTA. The Agreement wassigned in 2004 and came into effect on 1 January2006. SAFTA aims at lowering trade tariffs by 20percent by 2007. But some of our neighbours fearthat SAFTA is a way for India to ‘invade’ theirmarkets and to influence their societies and politicsthrough commercial ventures and a commercialpresence in their countries. India thinks that thereare real economic benefits for all from SAFTA andthat a region that trades more freely will be able tocooperate better on political issues. Some in Indiathink that SAFTA is not worth the trouble sinceIndia already has bilateral agreements with Bhutan,Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Although India-Pakistan relations seem to be astory of endemic conflict and violence, there havebeen a series of efforts to manage tensions andbuild peace. The two countries have agreed toundertake confidence building measures to reducethe risk of war. Social activists and prominentpersonalities have collaborated to create anatmosphere of friendship among the people of bothcountries. Leaders have met at summits tounderstand each other better and to find solutions

Every associationseems to haveemerged for trade!Is trade moreimportant thanpeople-to-peoplerelations?

The two cartoons, one from India and the otherfrom Pakistan, interpret the role of two keyplayers who are also interested in the region. Doyou notice any commonality between theirperspectives?

Keshav, The Hindu

Pakistan Tribune


to the major problems between thetwo neighbours. A number of busroutes have been opened upbetween the two countries. Tradebetween the two parts of Punjabhas increased substantially in thelast five years. Visas have beenmore easily given.

No region exists in a vacuum.It is influenced by outside powersand events no matter how muchit may try to insulate itself fromnon-regional powers. China andthe United States remain keyplayers in South Asian politics.Sino-Indian relations haveimproved significantly in the lastten years, but China’s strategicpartnership with Pakistanremains a major irritant. Thedemands of development andglobalisation have brought thetwo Asian giants closer, and theireconomic ties have multipliedrapidly since 1991.

American involvement in SouthAsia has rapidly increased after theCold War. The US has had goodrelations with both India andPakistan since the end of the ColdWar and increasingly works as amoderator in India-Pakistanrelations. Economic reforms andliberal economic policies in bothcountries have greatly increasedthe depth of American participationin the region. The large South Asiandiasporas in the US and the hugesize of the population and marketsof the region also give America anadded stake in the future ofregional security and peace.

However, whether South Asiawill continue to be known as aconflict prone zone or will evolve intoa regional bloc with some commoncultural features and trade interestswill depend more on the people andthe governments of the region thanany other outside power.

1. Identify the country:

a. The struggle among pro-monarchy, pro-democracy groups andextremists created an atmosphere of political instability:

b. A landlocked country with multi-party competition:c. The first country to liberalise its economy in the South Asian

region:d. In the conflict between the military and pro-democracy groups,

the military has prevailed over democracy:e. Centrally located and shares borders with most of the South

Asian countries:f. Earlier the island had the Sultan as the head of state. Now, it’s

a republic:g. Small savings and credit cooperatives in the rural areas have

helped in reducing poverty:h. A landlocked country with a monarchy:

Ex

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s


E x

e

r

c

i

s

e

s

2. Which among the following statements about South Asia is wrong?

a) All the countries in South Asia are democratic.b) Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement on river-water

sharing.c) SAFTA was signed at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad.d) The US and China play an influential role in South Asian politics.

3. What are some of the commonalities and differences betweenBangladesh and Pakistan in their democratic experiences?

4. List three challenges to democracy in Nepal.

5. Name the principal players in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. How doyou assess the prospects of the resolution of this conflict?

6. Mention some of the recent agreements between India and Pakistan.Can we be sure that the two countries are well on their way to afriendly relationship?

7. Mention two areas each of cooperation and disagreement betweenIndia and Bangladesh?

8. How are the external powers influencing bilateral relations in SouthAsia? Take any one example to illustrate your point.

9. Write a short note on the role and the limitations of SAARC as a forumfor facilitating economic cooperation among the South Asiancountries.

10. India’s neighbours often think that the Indian government tries todominate and interfere in the domestic affairs of the smaller countriesof the region. Is this a correct impression?

Chapter 5 · Himal Southasian, (January 2007) The Southasia Trust, Nepal. 66 Contemporary World...

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