South Asia: Vision for the 21st Century

Fasahat H. Syed

The impending visit of General Pervez Musharraf to India has inspired the writing of this article. Time and tide does not wait for any one. The same is true for opportunities. Individuals and nations shouldn't let them slip by. Repeated initiatives taken by Gen Musharraf resulted in the response by Atal Behari Vajpayee inviting him to visit India. Both leaders deserve the credit for creating this unique opportunity. This is not the first time that a summit of heads of two major states of South Asia is taking place but this does not in any way reduce the immense politico-economic significance of this summit. However, such an important occasion can be wasted, if India and Pakistan, fail to adopt a visionary approach. The summit should be managed with far-sightedness with the objective of utilizing it for turning the destiny of South Asia. Indeed it is the demand of our times and a compulsion emanating out of the deprived state of peoples of South Asia. In the global village of today, states have become interdependent. The challenges posed by the process of globalization can best be faced jointly, therefore, peace and politico-economic cooperation between the seven independent and sovereign states of South Asia is an imperative of our times, which cannot be ignored. Vajpayee and Musharraf are expected to talk on developing a vision for South Asia, which will not only bring peace to the region but riding above the territorial and political ambitions, will commit the 1.3 billion people on a path of progress and prosperity. What could be that vision? The main issue between India and Pakistan is the "mindset" and the "historical baggage" of many centuries, which is influencing the political behavior of our two nations. The behavior pattern and responses become further complicated when traditional politicians exploit the political environment for making gains in the domestic politics. This is precisely that has been happening in the past. It is a common perception that Kashmir is the core issue and by resolving it relations will normalize. Indeed it is the core issue, but without any prejudice to the Kashmir dispute, will the relations normalize if it is resolved? There was no Kashmir issue in August 1947 but one of the worst carnages of human history took place at that time. Kashmir issue came on the scene in October 1947 and was really the outcome of the mindset emanating from internalized communal hatred. If the people of the two countries in general and the leadership in particular, decides to shed off prejudices and accept each other as independent sovereign states which are there to stay as geographical neighbors, all issues, including the most burning Kashmir dispute, can be resolved on a fair and equitable basis. Elimination of mistrust and fear is the first step. Languishing poverty in India and Pakistan can only be eradicated if the two countries decide to work jointly and altruistically for this cause.The nuclear and conventional arms race between India and Pakistan is to the disadvantage of both. It only benefits the arms manufacturing and exporting countries. We are paying for their good quality life and prosperity at the cost of our own people. Similarly, Indian confrontation with China will only benefit and serve the politico-military-economic interests of extra regional powers. Asian countries must learn from the European experience and accept to co-exist peacefully with its geographical and regional neighbors. Antiquated concepts of "territorial ambitions" and "areas of influence and control in the Oceans" need to be replaced with the concept of "socioeconomic progress" and development of "civil society" with emphasis on "human security". Since more than one hundred years the strategists and political Philosophers of the West have been prophesying that the 21st century will be the "Century of Asia". The "armament lobby" is exploiting this fear among the policy makers in the West to keep the old conflicts alive and also create new ones so that their armament industry continues to flourish. Their efforts are giving rise to new concepts. In the case of USA and China, it has made "strategic partnership" change into "strategic competition". New ideas such as "clash of civilizations" etc. have been generated to plant the seeds of dispute amongst the nations.
India, Pakistan along with China should work together towards fulfillment of the above-mentioned prophesy and make the current century truly Asian. All Asian countries, as well as regional economic cooperation groups, should join hands in this effort for mutual gain. South Asia should realize that they have already missed many opportunities. ASEM (Asia Europe Meeting) was inaugurated in Bangkok in March 1996, and its fourth summit will be held in Copenhagen in the second half of 2002. It is basically an Asian activity, which has already been in progress for five years. ASEM has undertaken a series of initiatives involving both the public and private sectors of member countries. The grouping includes ten Asian (Brunei Darussalam, China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and fifteen European (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) countries, as well as the President of the European Commission who attends the meetings as a member.India and Pakistan should note that they have been left out Of ASEM and eventually they will be left out of the "Asian Century" also. Nobody likes fighting cocks to join the club, which is focusing on economic progress. It should be a shame for South Asian leadership that ASEM has achieved more in five years than what SAARC could achieve in fifteen years. The countries of South Asia in general and India and Pakistan in particular, should join hands to develop the concepts of "Asian Identity" and "Eurasian Economic Cooperation". This should form the "Vision for the 21st Century" for South Asia and should be declared as such by Musharraf and Vajpayee. It needs a formal declaration so that history may attribute the credit to the initiators of this bold initiative and turn the history of future events for 1.3 billion South Asians. The prerequisite for realizing this dream would entail discarding of ideological prejudices and one-up-manship as these are negative strategies. Kashmir, which has been the burning issue for over fifty years, can be resolved by India on an equitable basis by taking a bold, positive and pragmatic decision. Such a historic decision will actually enhance India's political empowerment, both regionally and internationally. The dispute relates to the right of self-determination for the people of Kashmir and is a legacy of the unfinished agenda of the 1947 partition of the sub-continent. It should not be made a national prestige issue and misperceived as a victory - defeat option. Peace and Human Security are more important than territorial or political power ambitions. Once an environment of peace and tranquility is achieved in South Asia, its benefits will proliferate in many directions. Then, India, Pakistan and Iran can also cooperate to bring peace in war torn Afghanistan thus opening the Central Asian region to South and South West Asia for economic cooperation. Let us hope that the summit will succeed in changing the course of South Asian destiny and the two leaders will mutually agree to adopt a visionary process that may lead the lives of over a billion South Asians to peace, progress and prosperity.