The efforts for the revival of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) are making headlines these days because Professor Mohammad Yunas, the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government seems very keen and determined for the revitalisation of SAARC. Recently, when he met Pakistani Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif on the sidelines of the D-8 summit in Cairo, Egypt on December 19, and expressed his desire in these words, “I am a big fan of the idea of SAARC. I keep harping on the issue. I want a summit of SAARC leaders even if it is only for a photo session because that will carry a strong message.”
SAARC which was established in 1985 with high hopes of building bridges and making South Asia one of the most interconnected regions, on its 40th anniversary has become almost dysfunctional. In 2016 India boycotted the 19th SAARC summit to be held in Islamabad blaming Pakistan for the Uri attack in Indian-held Kashmir. Later on, India insistence Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan also boycotted. Since then, no summit could have been held as India has consistently refused to travel to Pakistan. This has made SAARC dysfunctional as all major decisions of SAARC are to be made with consensus in a SAARC summit.
South Asia which now includes eight countries-India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, and Afghanistan, in historical sources was simply termed “India” taking its name from the mighty river Indus and the centuries-old ‘Indus Valley civilisation’ which is one of the oldest civilisations of the world. The modern South Asian civilisation is the product of cultural patterns established over centuries-old global migrations, conquests, and settlements. This is why in the South Asian civilisation diverse influences from outside are visible, which includes the Mesopotamian, Greek, Arab, Turco-Mongol, Persian, and European influences.
The territorial disputes attached to the British colonial legacy are now the biggest hurdle in South Asian solidarity and regional integration
Before the British occupation of this region in the 18th century, South Asia was never ruled by a single centralised authority. The Britishers brought more than 90 percent of the South Asian territory under their imperial control. Most of the territories in the South Asian region were arbitrarily divided and merged in British India based on the imperial interests of the British without taking into consideration the socio-cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious complexities of the region. Only Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan were never colonised, but even Nepal and Afghanistan had lost some of their parts to the British crown which is why they have their border disputes now with India and Pakistan respectively. As India inherited the biggest part of British India, so it also inherited the territorial disputes with China, Pakistan, Nepal, and Myanmar.
The territorial disputes attached to the British colonial legacy are now the biggest hurdle in South Asian solidarity and regional integration. The India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir, the Sino-Indian disputes over the MacMohan Line, Pakistan-Afghanistan discontent over the Durand Line, and India-Nepal grievances in the Kala Pani area are the real bone of contention which makes regional integration a daunting task. However, in terms of colonial legacy, it is not just the territorial disputes that haunt South Asia. The European notions of territory, border, nation, nationalism, sovereignty, and nation-state which were introduced in South Asia were alien in the South Asian context and they created so many unmanageable frictions and divisions within South Asia.
Now to heal the colonial wounds, South Asia needs a better understanding of its past and a pragmatic outlook for the future. For this collaboration of South Asian scholars, it is important to create a more nuanced understanding of our colonial past and the future ahead. Sugata Bose and Aysha Jalas’s book Modern South Asia was a good attempt in this direction. I was also part of a book project on the 1971 war with Indian and Bangladeshi authors titled, “The Aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971” published by Routledge. I feel we need more such collaborative work among South Asian scholars to help the people and leadership of South Asia imagine beyond their narrow nationalism lines.
The pandemic provided an opportunity as several cloud-based video conferencing platforms appeared for business and education. During one such webinar of South Asian peace activists, on 28th March 2020, the South Asia Peace Action Network (SAPAN) was formed to bring “peace-monger” groups and individuals working towards peace and stability between India and Pakistan under one umbrella.
It is heartening to see Dr. Muhammad Yunus, immediately after taking oath in August as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government has been consistently vying for the revival and revitalisation of SAARC. Apart from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal have also been pushing for the revival of SAARC but because of the uncompromising stance of the Modi government in India, the SAARC revival still looks like a distant dream.
India is trying to portray the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) which was launched in 1997 as an alternative organisation for SAARC. BIMSTEC includes all other SAARC members except Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Maldives. However, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka believe the alternative for SAARC is not possible, as any regional organisation that excludes Pakistan cannot be considered a representative regional organisation for South Asia.
Thankfully this did not stop the peacemongers of South Asia to forge alliances and taking the new initiatives. Just before the pandemic started, India-Pakistan relations touched their lowest ebb when the Modi government unilaterally revoked Article 370 and 35a in the disputed region of Kashmir in August 2019. In such a situation, physical meetings of the peace activists in South Asia were impossible because of the stringent visa restrictions. On the other hand, the peace initiative Aman ki Asha (Desire for Peace) launched by the media conglomerates, The Times of India, and the Jang group of publications in Pakistan has become dormant since 2014.
The South Asian peace activists living abroad and in their home countries who were connected through social media felt they could not keep quiet in such a situation and must do something. The pandemic provided an opportunity as several cloud-based video conferencing platforms appeared for business and education. During one such webinar of South Asian peace activists, on 28th March 2020, the South Asia Peace Action Network (SAPAN) was formed to bring “peace-monger” groups and individuals working towards peace and stability between India and Pakistan under one umbrella.
While congratulating, Narendra Modi on his electoral victory, the Sapan members noted no invitation was given to Pakistan for his oath ceremony in their letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi dated June 11, 2024, and expressed a hope that “In the spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – the world is one family – we hope you will revise your stand and extend a hand of friendship to all SAARC countries, including Pakistan”. Before this in March 2023, Sapan had passed a resolution urging the governments in South Asia to convene an official SAARC Summit at the earliest, “We, therefore, urge the governments of the South Asian region to 1) Commit to holding a future SAARC Summit soon. 2) Provide a clear-cut plan on how SAARC can be revived, 3) Work towards deeper integration in South Asia and allow people-to-people contact and restore road, rail, and air connectivity, 4) Act on the need to uphold the genuine economic and social conditions of all peoples of the region, keeping aside narrow nationalist agendas.”
For convening the SAARC summit, if India is completely unwilling to travel to Pakistan some other alternatives must be thought out. One option can be to organise the virtual SAARC summit hosted by Pakistan. The other alternative can be taking a cue from the International Cricket Council (ICC) decision regarding both India and Pakistan playing each other on a neutral venue, it can be decided until India changes its mind regarding traveling to Pakistan, the SAARC summits may be organised in other SAARC countries except Pakistan and India. In any case, the future of SAARC cannot and must not be held hostage to the Indian unwillingness to travel to Pakistan.