Neighbourly conduct

It has been a cliché for some time now that India lives in a tough neighbourhood. The evidence for that, over the years, has been plentiful. Just two years ago, the picture in South Asia was bleak: Pakistan in turmoil, with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and chaos in the streets; Bangladesh under military rule; Nepal and Sri Lanka convulsed by civil war; Bhutan managing a delicate transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional democracy; Afghanistan battling the forces of a resurgent Taliban; and even the Maldives facing mass disturbances in the lead-up to elections. The cliché could not have seemed truer.
And yet, we can now point to how much has begun to change for the better in our neighbourhood. In the last year and a half, there has been progress almost everywhere. Bangladesh has held a free election and restored civilian democratic government (with a moderate secular party in power). Nepal’s civil war is over and a coalition government holds the reins. In Sri Lanka, the military victory over the murderous forces of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was followed by elections that consolidated the government’s ability to deliver on its promises. Bhutan’s political experiment is going remarkably well. The Maldives has elected a former dissident as President and he is bravely facing his country’s many challenges. Only in Afghanistan and Pakistan do fundamental difficulties persist. The prospects for peace, security and development look promising everywhere else on the subcontinent.
Large parts of South Asia have made great progress — economically, socially and politically — over the last few decades. Yet, there are a number of challenges that continue to beset the region, that hold back the true potential of our countries, individually as well as collectively. These include terrorism and extremism, and the use of these as instruments of state policy; and the daily terror of hunger, unemployment, illiteracy, disease and the effects of climate change. And less obvious but equally potent, restrictions on regional trade and transit that belong to an older, more mercantilist century. These are among the factors that drag our people back from the path of sustained peace, development and prosperity.
Our region has been blessed with an abundance of natural and human resources, a rich spiritual and civilisational heritage, a demography where youth is preponderant and a creative zeal manifest in all spheres of human endeavour. Our collective identity may be rooted in a turbulent history but the challenge is to translate the many factors that bind us into a self-sustaining, mutually beneficial and cooperative partnership that transcends the vicissitudes of the recent past. The people of South Asia have already made their choice and the spirit of an organisation like the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) embodies their aspirations. But it would be insincere to pretend that Saarc has even come close to what it should be.
The Government of India, from our Prime Minister on down, has a strategic vision of a peaceful subcontinent. We genuinely believe that the peace, prosperity and security of our neighbours is in our interest. Unlike some, India has never believed in undermining or destabilising other countries; we believe that each of us deserves an equal chance to attend to the needs of our people without being distracted by hostility from any of our neighbours. Where we have disagreements, we will never abandon the path of dialogue and reconciliation. We are resolute in our commitment for peace as we are firm in defending our country.
India desires friendly, good neighbourly and cooperative relations with all its neighbours. As by far the biggest country in the subcontinent (in size, population and gross domestic product terms), we are often wrongly perceived as throwing our weight around and rightly expected to show magnanimity in our dealings with our smaller neighbours. This we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future. However, while it is not our expectation that our neighbours display an equal measure of reciprocity, we certainly expect that they remain sensitive to our concerns regarding our sovereignty, our territorial integrity and our security. We do not think this is an unreasonable expectation. Within this framework a great deal can be achieved to our mutual benefit. People to people contacts, intra and inter-regional connectivity, cultural exchanges, trade, investment flows and integrated approaches to issues like water, food, health, education and climate change will define any future architecture for the region.
The scourge of terrorism has cast its malevolent influence across the region and remains a major threat to all of us. It is a global menace, the epicentre of which is unfortunately located in our region. This threat needs to be addressed purposively and with grim determination. Terrorism must be repudiated, and terrorists and those who provide them succour and sustenance must be tackled resolutely. There are no “good terrorists”, and those who strike Faustian bargains with such elements are often left to rue the consequences for their own countries.
As British Prime Minister David Cameron recently declared, countries need to eschew the temptation to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy or to selectively target only those terrorist entities that are at present perceived to be a threat to them. This is a short-sighted and self-destructive strategy as those elements that profess an ideology of hatred, intolerance and terror often bite the hand that feeds them. The famous fable of Dr Frankenstein offers a salutary and timeless reminder that those who create monsters must not assume they will always remain under their creator’s control.
India must refuse to be dragged down by such forces. We need to look to the future, to an interrelated future on the subcontinent where geography becomes an instrument of opportunity in our mutual growth story, where history binds rather than divides, where trade and cross-border links flourish and bring prosperity to all our peoples. Some will say these are merely dreams; yet there are few worthwhile achievements in the world that have not been preceded by ambitious aspirations. But dreams will only turn into reality if all of us — India and its neighbours — take action to accomplish this brighter future together.

Shashi Tharoor is a member of Parliament from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram constituency