rajeev@sfmag.UUCP (S.Rajeev) (12/12/85)
I heard recently that a South Asian Regional Community had been formed (somewhat along the lines of the European Economic Community) for regional co-operation and economic development. I think this is an idea whose time has certainly come: instead of fighting with each other, the South Asian nations should ease trade barriers and reduce frictions. The current members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan was not invited because its membership is a contentious issue. I think this is a very welcome move; perhaps it's time to start thinking about bilateral talks to remove some of the prominent irritants: India-Pakistan: 1) Kashmir. Would all parties agree to withdraw to 1947 lines and hold a U.N.-sponsored plebiscite? 2) Nuclear weapons. Would both accept a nuclear-free South Asia and open facilities to mutual inspection? 3) Arms Race. Non-aggression pact? 4) Dependence on Western/Communist "friends". Can India and Pakistan trust each other and pay less attention to the US, USSR and China? 5) Sikhs/Sindhis. Can both parties agree not to encourage violence and separatism? (Pakistan claimed before Bhutto was hanged that India had a hand in encouraging separatist sentiments in the Sind.) India-Bangladesh: 1) River waters: Will both riparian states agree to build joint water- management systems that are mutually beneficial? 2) Assam: Illegal immigrants from Bangladesh? India-Sri Lanka: 1) Tamil separatist issue: Can Sri Lanka agree to give greater rights to the Tamils if India cracks down on guerilla movements in India? I don't think any of these is an insoluble problem. Perhaps eventually these nations can join in a loose federation that even shares a single international Parliament (with restricted powers). The ECM has done wonders for Europe (I think); South Asian countries have a lot more in common culturally than say, Greenland and Spain, and there is no reason we cannot cooperate. South Asia as a single unified economic entity will have more than a fifth of the world's population; if we forget our arms race and stop spending our money on buying weapons, we could probably rival China as an economic power within a few decades. One of the problems I see is that India, out of sheer size, will dominate the community and has to be careful not to be Big Bully. Are there Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Sri Lankans who read net.nlang.india? What do you think about SARC? Sri Rajeev (my employer, AT&T, has no views on SARC. If it did, it certainly didn't tell me)