The region is wracked by internal conflicts and external dangers. The two main countries, India and Pakistan, are not even on speaking terms. The limited trade between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad was suspended a few days ago.
Not that the European countries did not quarrel. They had wars for hundreds of years and killed thousands of each other’s nationals. But they were ultimately seduced by the idea of conciliation and cooperation which has brought them prosperity and stability.
South Asia remains stagnant. It is still stuck in distrust and disruption. Its leaders — apart from its founders — have never risen above pettiness and parochialism. There was realisation that they could benefit through friendship as South Asian countries formed the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). But they have not allowed it to function. They simply cannot cast off their animosity to begin a new chapter.
The result is that South Asia has the largest number of poor and illiterate people in the world, besides the highest rate of child mortality and gross human rights violations. Whatever the governments earn they spend on armament. Moreover, they have enacted so many draconian laws in the name of security that they have encroached on space meant for individual freedom.
What the rulers in the region do not realise is that governance has to be not through the police or paramilitary forces, but through the willing consent of the people. Development is the key.
India’s GDP growth is increasing every year. But when 70 per cent of its people especially in states like Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand and in the eastern part of UP do not have enough for two square meals a day what does this growth mean? The fallout has been the growing sway of the Maoists who believe in armed struggle to ‘free’ the masses from poverty. In Pakistan, Talibanisation has resulted primarily from poverty. Those wallowing in it have come to believe that fundamentalism is the only solution to their problems.
The Taliban menace can be fought provided the army is focused and supported by the joint front of political parties. I was disappointed by Nawaz Sharif’s speech which deprecated the Asif Zardari government for not making amendments to the constitution to make it more democratic but did not have a word against the Taliban.
In Nepal, the government feels that it can reap a rich harvest if it plays the China card against India. The Nepalese prime minister has visited Beijing in the belief that if Kathmandu were to introduce a new factor, China, in its affairs it would end New Delhi’s ‘dictation’. The real malady is that different political parties have not learnt how to behave in a democratic set-up.
In fact it is a point of concern that China is trying to act as the ‘big brother’ in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and even Bangladesh. Islamabad is already on Beijing’s side. However some countries say it is New Delhi which should worry because China’s strategy is to surround India. Yet Beijing’s real ambition is to dominate the region which has different cultures and is striving to establish a society that remains democratic.
The responsibility of unleashing the forces of destruction lies on the eight SAARC countries. Terrorism was Pakistan’s genie. Many gullible people still believe that the Taliban only want true Islam. Does it mean the killing of the innocent and the denial of the right to education and freedom for women?
New Delhi has released the Frankenstein of balkanisation by issuing its fiat at midnight that the government is proposing to take measures for creating the state of Telangana. The Manmohan Singh government’s flip-flop has reignited fires of individual identity throughout the country. Already in schools in some states, songs exalting regional identities have been introduced in textbooks. History books taught in lower classes have disclosed a marked tendency to exaggerate the past achievements of dominant linguistic groups. The government may rue the day when it announced the formation of Telangana because it has led to a sense of frustration, with grave consequences, if similar demands are not met.
In Pakistan, demand for autonomy by the provinces had created a fragile situation. In contrast, Bangladesh has consolidated itself through the present democratic government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has retrieved the disturbed Chittagong Hill Tracts by giving it more authority. Decentralisation of power is the only way to keep nations together. No country in the region seems to realise this. I hope that Sri Lanka has learnt the lesson. Otherwise some other elements from among the Tamils may rise to demand the right to rule.
Busy as politicians are in politicking, which only means power and corruption, governance in South Asia is practically non-existent. There is a nexus of politicians, the police and bureaucrats. India, although more democratic in the region, has small fires of defiance burning all over. More stringent measures, which is the only mantra that Home Minister P. Chidambaram has learnt, may build up resistance. This is a lesson for the rest of South Asia. If countries in the region had a common union, they would have together fought off common challenges — terrorism and backwardness. But they would rather shoot their neighbour than cooperate. This is the reason why South Asia remains a doomed region.
Author: Kuldeep Nayar
