Sri Lankan democracy is under attack from the Tamil Tigers who have demonstrated their growing military prowess by using air strikes against air force bases and oil and gas facilities in the country. The peace process is in shambles and the two sides are preparing for a long haul with the unravelling of the 2002 Norway-brokered ceasefire agreement. The LTTE exploited the ceasefire to expand its offensive air capabilities and has displayed little intention of honouring its commitments under the pact. The demand for sovereignty by the Tigers will only grow louder after LTTE’s recent demonstration of their military capability, limited though it remains. Caught between the hardening resolve of the state and the increasing confidence of the rebels, Sri Lankans are facing a rapidly deteriorating human rights environment with abductions, killings, and intimidation of the media at an all-time high.

Nepal is still struggling to come to terms with its new political institutions. More than a year after the king was forced to give up his emergency powers and restore the elected parliament, things have yet to settle down. The Maoists joined the government after the signing of the peace deal only to leave it a few days ago, making the scheduled elections to the Constituent Assembly in November virtually impossible.

The apparent failure of parliamentary democracy and the radicalisation of politics in several states in South Asia throws into sharp relief the danger posed by the rapid decay of political institutions in many emerging democracies. The political ferment in South Asia continues to provide a fertile ground for all kinds of extremist ideologies, be it radical Islam, Hindu nationalism, Tamil separatism, and Maoism. The inability of political institutions to bear the weight of rising expectations in a region that contains more than one-sixth of humanity, and is situated at the junction of three important subregions of the Asian continent, should no longer be ignored as it can have far-reaching consequences for the world at large.

... contd.