Course description

South Asia is a region with Geographic and cultural entity, and hence it has enough potential to perform. There are number of areas to extend and strengthen Intra-regional cooperation and also to serve the human resource here in the region. Being located at the geographically advantageous location on the globe, it can hold upon the international trade and politics but due to internal conflicts and grievances, unrest is a permanent feature herein. Despite this all, here is some hope of improving mutual relationship among the members as the exchanges in terms of trade and culture, and also ongoing political dialogues are paving the path for better future and trust building. Basically, this is not the time to blame mutually; rather it is the time to search the opportunities to have trust worthy mutual dialogues, to cooperate in unrest conditions and also to promote intra-regional trade to strengthen regional economy. Terrorism, extremisms and other anti-national activities can be controlled by mutual cooperation and honest support. Internationalization of bilateral issues will make the relations bitter and therefore the issues can be resolved at personal level only with mutual consensus. Before this, India and Pakistan has to make a lot home work to direct and decide the better future of the SAARC. Polarization of SAARC, if happens, will deteriorate its soul and the entire region will suffer with immense economic, social and political damage. The SAARC platform can be the better space to resolve grievances and beginning for better tomorrow.

Way back to the centuries, the relations between Afghanistan and India are famous with Kabuli Wala anecdote in Indian literature. This relation entered into a new political phase after the independence of the Sub-continental sovereigns in 1947. Since then, it was influenced by the regional security dynamics of South Asia. It was undermined during the civil war and Taliban regime but soon after the Taliban ousted in 2001, resuming once again with the generous political and economic support of India to Afghanistan. It was further developed by the strategic Accord in 2011 to help Afghan national security forces in the post-withdrawal of foreign troops. The purpose of this paper is to investigate Indo-Afghan strategic relations in the post-2001 and challenges ahead of this strategic Accord after the foreign troops withdraw from the country. The paper highlights future prospects of Afghanistan and India and the likely policies that would be reoriented by Indian policymakers.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2023

Strategic Analysis, 2004

The uncertainties regarding regular SAARC meetings have clouded the prospect of regional cooperation. Though India has been accused as the main culprit, other member-countries are no less responsible for the organisation's lack of progress. This article analyses how the SAARC process has in fact given a fillip to a better understanding between the member-countries; how Indo-Pak relations have influenced SAARC summits and how the latter has contributed to the furthering of the two countries' relations notwithstanding the fact that the bilateral disputes are out of the purview of the SAARC agenda. The article also focuses on how the inclusion of bilateral problems would derail the SAARC process.

2017

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has not been emerged as an effective regional organization such as the EU and ASEAN. Despite taking several initiatives in this regard, it has not achieved the desired objectives set for at the time of its establishment. Over the thirty years it has become hostage chiefly by the Pakistan-India antagonistic relationship. On the basis of interviews of the Key Informant (KIs) this article investigates the causes for the lack of momentum of SAARC and explores the prospects for SAARC as vibrant economic group of the South Asian nations. Furthermore, the study finds that lack of implementation of SAARC declarations, conflicting issues between India and other neighbouring countries and strict SAARC visa regime are important barriers in enhancement of regional co-operation in South Asia. The article recommends that SAARC countries may enhance regional cooperation by managing bilateral conflicts particularly between Pakistan-India. The...

The SAARC has been in existence for 25 years. However, it has yet to make a mark as a viable regional organisation and achieve its true potential. Insecurity on the part of smaller nations regarding India; mistrust among the member nations; unpleasant Indo-Pakistan relations; the self-centred attitude of member states; and feeble Western support are the major barriers to the SAARC’s progress. The need for India and other member states to work for a relevant role for the SAARC in the development of South Asia is beyond debate. India, given its size and influence, must play a more meaningful role in injecting life into the SAARC. Resolving contentious issues amongst member states will help remove mistrust and create an environment conducive to growth. All member states must shun a bilateral approach in favour of a regional outlook to maximise gains. The SAARC projecting itself as a united and an effective organisation will cause the world to take notice and help it grow like other regional organisations.

FWU Journal of Social Sciences, 2018

Regional Organizations in the developing World are generally marred due to political problems and bilateral disputes among their member states. However, improved relations among members can have a positive impact on the process of regionalism. Pakistan and India are the two major countries of South Asia and the main members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Generally, they had tense relations and also have fought wars since their independence in 1947. Interactions between their leaders can, however, help improve their bilateral ties. The paper analyzes the impact of SAARC summit diplomacy that enables regional leaders to meet quite often on regular basis, on bilateral relations of the two countries. SAARC summits have generally helped improve bilateral relations of India and Pakistan as they provided the forum and opportunities to the leaders of both countries to discuss mutual problems and concerns directly, both at official or unofficial level. They helped defuse tensions, mange crises, begin or resume parleys and negotiate or sign important bilateral agreements.

2019

Nicola Missaglia is a Research Fellow at ISPI’s Asia Centre, in charge of the India Desk and of the Institute’s Digital Publications. IN D IA ’S G L O B A L C H A L L E N G E S “India wins yet again!” Narendra Modi announced in May 2019, just after securing a second term as prime minister of the world’s largest democracy in a landslide general elections victory. When Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party were elected for a first term five years ago, they promised India would win back its place at the high table of leading world powers. Indeed, after decades of sustained growth, India today is at a tipping point both in terms of economic progress and of the human potential of its 1.35 billion citizens. As the global balance of power and economic growth shifts towards Asia, and a whole new set of forces is seeking to redefine the international order, opportunities abound for the subcontinent to carve out its place as a leading, democratic, global actor. Is India ready to do so? Which do...

As in 2015, in 2016 India’s political and economic landscape appeared to be dominated by Narendra Modi, the incumbent Prime Minister. Differently from what was the case in 2015, behind the pervasive self-praising rhetoric of the Indian government and the deafening chorus of applause of the bulk of the Indian media for Modi’s work, at least at the economic level some concrete results were reached, and some reforms were implemented. Particularly important was the passing of the Goods and Service Tax (GST), an objective which had been vainly pursued by several previous governments. If the objectives and potential benefits of the GST were clear to all to see, the situation was different in the case of the other major economic reform, abruptly carried out by the Modi government, namely the demonetisation of much of India’s paper currency. This quite unexpected measure was justified by the government in different ways at different times. What was clear at the time of the closing of the present article was that demonetisation had badly hurt particularly the poorer strata of the population, but, paradoxically enough, had not had any discernible adverse effect on Modi’s still burgeoning popularity. Also, in the state elections held during the year under review, Modi’s party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), strengthened its position and was also able to get a resounding victory in Assam, where, for the first time ever, formed the state government. Strangely enough, in spite of the fact that the Modi government’s economic policy had become more incisive in the year under review than in 2014 and 2015, the attitude of the US private capital, assiduously courted by Modi, continued to be, as it had become in 2015, one of disillusionment. US entrepreneurs, while convinced of Modi’s desire to open up India’s economy to foreign enterprise and capital, doubted his ability to do so. This, however, did not bring about a slowing down in the process of rapprochement between New Delhi and Washington, but made of the military aspect of such process its «major driver» (as claimed by US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter). In turn, the increasing US-India closeness – and the increasing relevance of its military dimension – contributed to the worsening of the relations between New Delhi and Beijing, which appeared more and more involved in a policy of reciprocal containment. This played a role in the evolution of the India-Pakistan and India-Nepal relations. In the year under review, the relationship between New Delhi and Islamabad spectacularly worsened, but the latter was able to withstand the pressure of the former also because of Beijing’s help. On the other hand, India was able to re-establish its paramountcy over Nepal, engineering the fall of the Oli Government, which had challenged New Delhi with the support of Beijing.