In considering the value of the concept of Southasia, the answer can be formulated as a neutral assessment of whether or not the term carries descriptive weight. It could be
In May 1998, first India and then Pakistan tested nuclear weapons. War erupted in the Kargil region of Kashmir a year later. This was the first war between two nuclear-
It is easy to imagine the sensitive intellectual of Southasia wringing his hands in dismay at the peripheral place the region occupies in India's public discourse. You too
There are periods when the Southasian political milieu gives us hope. One such was the huge popular upsurge and Maoist win for democracy in Nepal. What emerged as a success
At one point, the creation of SAARC was viewed with both optimism and anticipation, for two reasons. First, the organisation provided a forum in which member countries, who otherwise could
Worldwide, greater regional integration is on the upswing. The "intent to challenge global hegemony through constructing regional autonomy", in the words of the New Left intellectual Wang Hui,
In his comparatively recent and strikingly honest book Rescuing the Future: Bequeathed misperceptions in international relations, India's former foreign secretary, Jagat Mehta, points out that no other mainland
Imagine a new Southasia, where borders are transformed into bridges and bonding, where all children go to school, where no one goes to bed hungry, where the human rights of
A serious criticism of SAARC is its non-implementation of decisions taken. The organisation has been criticised variously for being "ritualistic", a "magnificent paper tiger", a
How exactly does SAARC help the common people of all of the countries of the region? It does not ensure that these countries have standards with regard to education, nutrition,
Southasia is a term that is now in vogue. There are histories of Southasia, there are journalists' associations that style themselves Southasian, there's SAARC, and every time
