A region without norms

And India is neither feared nor loved in South Asia

The crossed wires of South Asian history keep damaging India's political stature. There is an interesting ferment in the region. The ferment oscillates between moments of immense hope and looming despair. The Shahbag protests in Bangladesh presented the spectacle of a mass mobilisation taking the liberation narrative into its own hands. The ostensible objective, punishment for the perpetrators of 1971, seemed narrow, but here was an attempt to come to terms with history being played out on the streets. The protest was also a sort of rebuke to reactionary forces like the Jamaat. And predictably, reactionary violence followed.

In Pakistan, minorities, from Shias to Christians, are increasingly at risk. Action has been taken in the wake of anti-Christian violence. But how does one explain the near silence, internationally, on the continued violence against Shias? Is it a result of Pakistan's continuing indispensability to great power politics? Or is the human rights imagination circumscribed? In Sri Lanka, a combination of intoxicated nationalism and authoritarianism is taking its toll on the quality of democracy, and slowing progress on reconciliation with minorities. The Maldives are in a political mess. Nepal's constitutional stalemate can still have worrying outcomes.

What is India's skin in the game? Its external affairs minister was quoted as saying that India does not want to play big brother. The intention is fine. But translated into South Asian English it means that we do not have a policy. India's being caught off-guard in the region has put a great question mark on its leadership capabilities. As Nitin Pai recently pointed out in an article, we do not have a coherent framework for the region. Our current policy has only one leg. We were hoping India's growth engine would somehow become attractive enough for our neighbours to want to join the party. And to be fair, India has worked hard to this end, and is prepared to go the extra mile.

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