India Urged to Assume Leadership Role on Concluding Day of SAC, 2013

November 01, 2013

News Delhi: The 7th South Asian Conference on ‘India & South Asia: Exploring Regional Perceptions’ organised by The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses came to a close today with a clearer perception of India in each of the neighbouring South Asian countries. These perceptions are deemed as the key forces that can shape or perpetuate regional solidarity and Cooperation.

The first session on ‘Perceptions on Regional Cooperation’, chaired by Ambassador Sheel Kant Sharma highlighted the need for countries in the region to come together and strengthen economic linkages among them. Prof S D Muni dwelt on the adverse impact of growing Chinese footprints in South Asia and argued forcefully that arguments advanced in favour of membership of China in SAARC were flawed. China’s entry, he argued, would rather enhance misunderstanding between India and Pakistan, complicate inter-state relationship in the region and discourage cooperation among states. Prof I N Mukherji and Dr Nagesh Kumar focussed on economic issues and dispelled the prevailing notion that non-tariff barriers and para-tariff barriers by India were the main stumbling blocks on the way to regional economic integration. Dr Kumar said that the SAARC development fund could be better used to boost connectivity in South Asia which would provide a fillip to intra-regional trade. The participant from Pakistan, Khadim Hussain argued that better relationship between India and Pakistan held the key for regional economic integration and there was a need to create peace constituencies in both countries to give an impetus to processes of peace building between the two neighbours. He noted that people in Pakistan were no longer buying the hypothesis that India was an enemy and India should take maximum advantage of the window of opportunity available to it at the moment.

In the second session the participant from Afghanistan, Mr Miakhel, appreciated India’s developmental contribution in the war-torn country and hoped India would be able to continue with its efforts during the post-2014 period. He urged the countries in the region to shed their suspicions and dispel their negative perceptions about one another to ensure regional peace and cooperation. The participant from Myanmar, Ambassador U Denzil Abel brought out his country’s perspective on regional cooperation and informed the audience about Myanmar’s perception of India. He appreciated India’s role and hoped that India will do more to bring the countries in the region together. Portraying Bhutan as cheese in a burger, the Bhutanese participant Mr Pema Tenzin brought to light the Bhutanese effort to carve out a cautious policy vis-à-vis its two giant neighbours, India and China. However, he held that the Bhutanese people had enormous respect for India and its contribution to Bhutanese society and economy. Focussing on the negative role that media can play in shaping perceptions about states, the Maldivian participant, Mr. Mohamed Naahee Naseem discussed the ongoing political turmoil in the country and argued that certain section the media in his country tend to show India in poor light. He said that the media in the region has a responsible role to play and shape perceptions favourably towards each other.

In the concluding session the participant discussed the ways in which the countries can manage perceptions and enable regional cooperation. They held that it was necessary to encourage people in the region to know each other well, because there was a paucity of understanding about each other’s concerns. A pan south Asian effort could be initiated to reform the textbooks in different countries by incorporating ideas about south Asian unity, shared cultural and historical past and removing negative ideas about each other, the participants held. The India’s security concerns needed to be factored in by neighbouring states while framing their foreign policies, most of the participants agreed. The think tanks and academics while trying to shape perceptions must rope in thought leaders and opinion makers who can convey the noble ideas of regional cooperation in an emphatic manner. The media can be persuaded to have regular coverage of developments in different countries in the region. India’s soft power can be ably used to infuse a sense of unity amongst the people in the region. There was a general perception that India was a reluctant power and the participants concurred that it must shed its inhibitions and assume a leadership role in the region to enable a genuine process of change in favour of greater regional cooperation.