Conflict and Development:Lessons from South Asia

When India and Pakistan joined the club of nuclear powers, this region beacame the focal point of global attention. The focus was on various kinds of conflict in this region. There are pending border and water sharing disputes between the states of the region. Besides, there are conflicts arising out of insurgency, ethnic strife and resource sharing. While conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan have attracted global attention, parts of India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal have also experienced long-running conflict. This makes the region very turbulent. South Asian people recognise the fact that the region can develop and prosper only if the members of this region coopeate with each other. It is in this background that the present paper tries to understand the nature of conflict and co- operation among South Asian countries.

The present paper is divided into two parts. The first part attempts to analyze the conflicts in South Asian Region. This is done by highlighting some contentious issues in the region. The second part of the paper accounts the role of SAARC as a regional organization in avoiding conflict, enhancing co-operation and development among the South Asian countries.