Question

India's relations with south-Asian countries.

Points:

1. Pakistan
2. Himalayan Kingdoms
3. Bangladesh
4. Sri Lanka

Answer 1

SAARC was formed in 1985 at Dhaka. Originally, SAARC had seven members, namely India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. The main aim of SAARC was to establish a dialogue in South Asia. With this context, South Asian Association for Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA) came into existence in 1993. Later in 2006, SAARC's free trade arrangement was activated through South Asian Association Free Trade Area (SAFTA) which replaced the earlier regime of SAPTA. Following are few of the countries India has relations with in south-Asia:

1. Pakistan: The partition of India in 1947 created Pakistan (East and West Pakistan) as an independent state. There have been tensions between India and Pakistan since independence. The main cause of these tensions has been the status of Kashmir. The first Indo-Pak conflict of 1947-48 took place over Kashmir. This war saw the division of Kashmir take place. Later in 1965 the two countries fought another war over Kashmir. The 1971 war led to the creation of the state of Bangladesh. In the initial years the Kashmir was looked at as a Indo-Pakistan border issue. Later in the decade of 1990s the problem became that of terrorism. Pakistan’s relations with China are also a matter of concern for India. There have been several efforts made for improving the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. The 1972 Shimla Agreement and the 1999 Lahore Agreement are some of the examples.
2. Himalayan Kingdoms: Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, known as the “Himalayan Kingdoms”, were British protectorates during the colonial period. After independence, India made similar treaties with these countries. The landlocked Himalayan Kingdoms got access to sea from the Indian territory and India accepted the responsibility of the defence of these countries. India has mostly followed the policy of nonintervention in the internal affairs of these neighbours. Sikkim opted to integrate with India in 1975 and is now a State in the Indian Union. India’s relations with Nepal have experienced many ups and downs. In 2006, India helped Nepal overcome the crisis of civil war and move towards a constitutional government. Relations with Bhutan have mostly been very cordial. India has helped in Bhutan’s recent exercise of moving towards a constitutional monarchy.
3. Bangladesh: India’s intervention was very crucial in securing independence for Bangladesh in 1971. Its relations with the new neighbour were very cordial in the beginning. However, after the assassination of Bangladesh’s first Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the relations began to worsen. Disputes over land and maritime boundary and over distribution of waters of Teesta were some of the irritants in the relationship. However, the relations between the two countries have remained friendly for the last more than five years. Cross-border terrorism and insurgency are common areas of concern for both. In the recent time, India and Bangladesh have resolved the maritime boundary dispute as well as the problem of land enclaves.
4. Sri Lanka: Relations with Sri Lanka have experienced both good and bad phases. The two countries had a disputed maritime boundary and a related problem of fishermen of both sides crossing into the territory of the other and being captured by the coastal forces. Similarly, the Tamil question in Sri Lanka has often proved to be an irritant for the relations. Sri Lanka had accused India of supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE – the rebel Tamil group, which later became a terrorist group). India sent a Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka in 1987 at the request of the then Sri Lankan President Jayewardene. This led to a prolonged period of bad relations between the two. However, under the current governments in both countries, the relations have improved again.