Issues and challenges to the revival of Silk Route: A South Asian perspective

Named after the most famous Chinese product silk, Silk Route is a commercial trade route across Eurasia and prior to prosperity of sea route it had created a legendry history of Eurasian continent. Treated as the important connecting link and an effective agency of cultural exchange in the past silk route/road is a huge communication project connecting east and west. Apart from being a major trading route this road was of immense significance in the establishment and maintenance of diplomatic relations across the different nations as well. The revival of this historic route in contemporary globalised era amidst the technologically advanced and a more sophisticated information communication network with increasing independence among the states is the need of the hour. The route can serve for the dynamic development of healthy political relations, trade and better economic relation which in turn will strengthen the states if mutually advantageous partnership gets developed among all states on the Silk Road. This paper mainly focuses on the socio-cultural significance and more specifically upon the revival of the historical silk route along with the underlying issues and impediments. This paper also highlights the state of the land locked states of Afghanistan and other few central Asian countries and dependence on their neighbors.