Regionalism, a priority for South Asia

July 1, 2020, 12:00 pm


The 'poverty bomb' is intact and ticking in South Asia. Fresh evidence that this is very much so comes from a recent UNICEF report which says, among other things, that 120 million more of the region's children could slip into poverty in the wake of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. These new entrants to poverty could bring the total child population of South Asia thus wilting in material
want to 360 million.

Governments of South Asia could ignore 'bleeding statistics' of this magnitude only at their peril. There is a relentless rise in expectations among the region's youth and states are already hard pressed to meet them adequately. It need hardly be mentioned that if children who constitute future youthful generations perceive their futures to be bleak and blighted on account of poverty and linked factors, South Asia would need to brace for stepped-up youth unrest, discontent and violence.

There are grave implications in these developments for state stability and social peace. 'National security' is, rightly, seen by some sections of this region as non-negotiable. But it is doubtful whether adequate thought is devoted to unravelling the essential ingredients of 'national security'. It basically denotes the securing and strengthening of state boundaries and governance structures along with the steady provision of human security by governments. And human security is fulfilled in the main when the basic needs of humans, such as food, clean water and adequate shelter, are met by governments equitably.

The COVID-19 pandemic, ironically, underscores the non-negotiable nature of human security in the establishment and provisioning of state security. As social and political upheavals everywhere have time and again driven home, social and economic discontent leads to the destabilization of countries. It stands to reason that governments cannot turn a blind eye on increasing poverty and material deprivation within their countries.

In other words, a lop-sided emphasis on state security at the cost of human security would be counter-productive for governments, in that their efforts at fostering 'national security' would come to nought if the material and emotional needs of their citizens go unaddressed. These truths constitute the proverbial 'silver lining' in the current pandemic.

However, the present material realities of the South Asian region are having the fortunate effect of impressing on many of its governments that the economy is indeed 'the thing'. If that were not so Sri Lanka's authorities would not be appealing to sections of the international community for 'debt relief for developing countries', for instance. Nor would they be in contact with Asian economic heavyweights, such as India and China, for the provision of relief of this kind.

In a related development focusing on the immediate fulfilment of a citizenry's material needs, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on record as stating that 800 million Indians will receive free rations until the end of November. The scheme was initiated three months ago to help the country's poor in the wake of the pandemic. It is also relevant to recollect that at the height of the pandemic a couple of months back, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed to the world community to 'launch an initiative to give debt relief to developing countries.' All this and more is proof that many of the region's political leaders are alert to the growing material needs of the poor of South Asia.

Calling for international financial succour and relief to tide over the current crisis is a compulsion political leaders of South Asia cannot avoid but they would need to think in the medium and long terms if their countries are to achieve a degree of economic stability. A project of such time frames is the effective resuscitation of SAARC, which organization is all but a dead letter in the regional initiatives of the global South.

The countries of South Asia have no choice but to remain committed to multilateral economic initiatives that offer them a degree of financial and material relief, given their allegiance to Non-alignment and the UN system, but one of the swiftest avenues to the same ends is the revival of SAARC. That is, the SAARC Eight must return sooner rather than later to regionalism or the concept that collective efforts at the regional level offer them the best developmental prospects.

The latter is easier said than done, considering the plethora of bilateral issues in the region that has been torpedoing all efforts at joint survival over the decades and currently, but present ground realities of the region suggest no better way to sustained collective material betterment. And the time is now for a revival of SAARC because the 'poverty bomb' is relentlessly ticking by, egged on by COVID-19.

Harmonious ties between India and Pakistan are pivotal to the betterment of the SAARC region but except for short periods of time, these regional heavyweights have been at logger heads over a number of bilateral issues, dealaying in the process sustained well being for the region. Present highly strained relations between the countries over a number of allegations and counter-allegations typify the vexed nature of the ties between the neighbours over the decades. The latest incident to trigger a war of words between the countries was the armed attack on the Karachi stock exchange building a couple of days back.

Accordingly, it is hoped that good sense would prevail between India and Pakistan and that the countries' leaders would prove to be of eminent statesmen material by sinking their states' differences. The priority is to focus on the current economic needs of the region. The latter cannot depend indefinitely on external assistance but must seek economic independence by depending on its own material, scientific and intellectual resources.

India's smaller neighbours would be acting against their own interests by seeking to play extra-regional powers against India in the hope of achieving some short term gain. They would need to learn to live with India and interact cordially with her for the collective good of the region. After all, nothing could be done about geographical realities. Likewise, India would need to be alert to the sensitivities of her neighbours and fashion her regional policy in such a way that the region would be served in a trouble-free manner. It's time to recognize these home truths afresh.