South Asia – Did you know about this?

South Asia has assumed much importance in international politics today. The region is homeland of three prominent religions namely the Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Ethnically Balochi, Punjabi, Bengali, Kashmiri and Tamils are major groups in South Asia. Historically all South Asian nations share a link to British colonialism. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka were pure colonies while Bhutan and Maldives were protectorates and Afghanistan and Nepal had been controlled by the British imperial power.

What region comes under South Asia?

South Asia is consisted of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Bangladesh. Geographically the North is separated by Himalayan mountain, the West is demarcated by desert of Balochistan, the Eastern end is identified by Bay of Bengal and the Rests is shores of Indian Ocean. India is at the centre of South Asia as Indian land and maritime borders separate all the South Asian nations from each other, except Pakistan and Afghanistan. So, the region is geo-strategically India-locked and India-centred.

• The term south Asia was used first in American literature during the second world war. It was coined to denote the areas Previously known as Indian subcontinent during British era. Americans began to call the region south Asia on the basis that they anticipated balkanization of the continent into several states. After the appearing demise of Pax Britannica, on the other hands, U.S.A had been assertive in defining affairs of world in its terms, replacing British Empire.
• Many political analysts had also connected  South Asia with Southeast Asia.  K.M Pannikar, writing in “ The future of India and Southeast Asia”(1945) identified India with Southeast Asia and dealt with all the  countries from India to Indonesia as a single region. Even in 1954 Pakistan became  a regional member of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization along with  Thailand and the Philippine. Later there was a trend to refer to the area as  Southern Asia which included South Asia and Southeast Asia together.
• However, now South Asia is considered to be a region in itself but there is no unanimity among scholars  regarding the definition of this region. The problem of inclusion and exclusion is persistent till now. Burma cartographically belongs to Indo-Chinese peninsula (Southeast Asia) while historically it was under the administration of British India (South Asia), so its inclusion or exclusion is contested. Similarly Afghanistan has never been actually part of South Asian region since rulers of Afghanistan who invaded Indian subcontinent are considered extra regional powers and outsiders. On the other hands Afghanistan became a member state of SAARC which is a South Asian grouping.

Factors behind in shaping the South Asia

Several factors has contributed in shaping the region as South Asia. Sinderpal Singh in his work “ Framing South Asia: whose imagined region? ” identified four bases for region formation in South Asia that are : Geography, Culture, Economics and Geopolitics.  

• Geography- It is considered one  the most defining factors  to delineate a region. The presence  of  natural geographical  barriers  like  vast  oceans  and  high  mountain ranges  serve  to separate  certain  lands  from  others. In the case of South Asia Himalayas and Hindukush in the north, desert in the west, thick forest in the east and Indian Ocean in the south have demarcated the boundaries of South Asia.
• Culture: The second  criterion for the formation of  region is Culture. Leaders and scholars have taken the culture as defining factor for region formation. For instance Samuel P. Huntington talked about civilizational areas in his work “ Clash of Civilizations” (1996). The region has predominantly embraced the Hindu or Hindustani culture, originated from Indus Valley Civilization.
• Economics: The third basis for regionalization which has grown in importance  is economics. Increasing prominence of trading blocs such as EU and ASEAN and in the case of South Asia, SAARC has been a economic  base for region formation in the world  
• Geopolitics:  Fourth and the last basis for regional demarcation has been geopolitics. In presenting the concept of regional security complexes, Barry Buzan took the South Asian region as the case study where he argues that security concerns and issues are common for all South Asian nations. Thereby China is not the part of the region as it is seen as global player in security, protection and defence. Thus South Asia is considered to be  the backyard of China.

Role of South Asia in World Politics

South Asia has increasingly become assertive and active in world politics.

• After the cold war two major players India and Pakistan declared themselves nuclear powers  and entered in nuclear possessor states club.
• On the other hand India is aspiring to become world power next to China and USA respectively.
• Similarly South Asia is going to be best brains in technology and engineering.

Challenges

Many differences exist among the regional states. Border dispute between India and Pakistan and Tamil ethnic issue between India and Sri Lanka and illegal migration to India from Bangladesh have hindered the possibility to form a cohesion and integration.