Urdu, a language, which walked a country to its dismemberment

It was early spring in Dhaka, the then capital of the province of East Bengal in Pakistan. Students from the University of Dhaka started gathering for a protest on 21^st February 1952. The protest was a result of more than four years of petitions and requests to give Bengali the status of the national language. A resolution passed in 1947 in Karachi made Urdu the only national language. This meant approximately two thirds (44 million Bengali speaking people out of 69 million Pakistanis) of the population was rendered illiterate and ineligible for government jobs. The Bengalis saw this as an attempt by West Pakistani political machinery to dominate them and eradicate their rich cultural and linguistic history.

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The February protests obviously did not go down well with the administration. Section 144 was imposed to prevent “unlawful” assembly by protesters. Students were arrested and teargas was fired. In their attempt to meet the legislators the students faced gun fire and many were killed. The iron hold of the administration to stifle the movement was understandable. In 1948, none other than the Qaid himself has declared that Urdu and Urdu alone represents the spirit of a Muslim nation.

The language movement or Bhasha Andolan as it was called in Bengali lasted for another four years and the issue was settled with a constitutional amendment of 29^th February 1956. Bengali was accepted as the second national language of Pakistan. The issue may have been settled constitutionally but it continued to be controversial. During the Martial Law imposed by Ayub Khan, attempts were made to reverse the constitutional amendment but it did not succeed.

Bengali was not the only reason for the bitterness between the eastern and western halves of Pakistan. It had much to do with the assumed racial supremacy of West Pakistanis over their eastern brethren. The army was dominated by recruits from West Pakistan and state aid hardly reached the flood and cyclone prone East Pakistan. Amidst all this the final blow came with the overwhelming victory of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s Awami League in the general elections of 1970. West Pakistan never allowed the transfer of power to the legitimate contender, leading to a standoff between Mujibur Rehman and West Pakistan. It led to the Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971 and a humiliating defeat of Pakistan. Ironically the instrument of surrender was signed at the Ramana Race Course, the same place from where the Qaid has once declared that Urdu alone represents the spirit of a Muslim nation.

The polarisation unleashed by Urdu proved to be stronger than the Two Nation Theory on which Pakistan was created. The liberation of Bangladesh was proof that the Two Nation Theory was not only flawed but failed to act as the cohesive bond between the two halves of Pakistan.

The dominance of Urdu in Pakistan happened at the expense of local languages like Punjabi, Baluchi and Sindhi. A section of undivided India, which had many different languages was forced to accept an alien language. A language, which the elite imported from India, a country they refused to call their own.

Urdu influenced literature in much of Northern India and continues to do so. It has given us poets like Ghalib and Mir. It was once the language of the Delhi elite and represented the high culture of cities. Sadly, the language that once incited romance also incited hatred and bloodshed.

The subsidy darlings

Earlier this month the government finally took a bold step to bring down the subsidy bill. It announced increase in price of diesel and a cap on number of subsidized LPG cylinders to just six per year (in some congress ruled states it is since revised up to nine per year). The news enraged the Facebook using Indian middle class. The twitterati went berserk with innovative tweets and the country shut down for a day in protest. Well, almost. However, of all the people upset by diesel price hike, people driving diesel SUVs were the worst hit.

Please do not snatch our crutches 

According to the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, in the year 2010-11, the government gave a subsidy of USD 637 million on Public Distribution System (PDS) Kerosene and domestic LPG (Liquefied petroleum gas). On top of this the oil marketing companies made an under-recovery of USD 17.1 billion. The under-recoveries were paid for by the government cash assistance to the tune of USD 8.995 billion (52%), by upstream NOCs (oil exploration companies) for USD 6.647 billion (39%) and the oil marketing companies paid for USD 1.512 billion (9%). Half of the money was paid for by the government in cash assistance on top of the subsidy.

The cash assistance of USD 8.995 billion must have been financed by tax money or borrowing. Now the interesting thing here is that India is running a huge fiscal deficit. For the year 2011-12 it stood at 5.8%, way above the budget target of 4.6%. The target for this year is 5.1%, which is unlikely to be met, thanks largely reduced economic activity. Ideally the government should look at reducing cost (like most corporations do) to bring the deficit down. Doing away with the subsidy is one of the many steps the government can take.

Often there are emails and Facebook shares suggesting how Indians are being crushed under expensive fuel prices while our neighbours enjoy fuel at less than half of what we pay. The truth however is

Country	Petrol	Diesel	LPG
India	68.46 (Delhi)	46.95 (Delhi)	400/14.2 Kg (Delhi)
Pakistan	55.55	52.19	786/11.8 KG
Sri Lanka	59.72	48.4	881/12.5 Kg
Bangladesh	57.60	38.61	443/12.5 Kg
Germany	114	103.3	-
U.K	111.4	114.79	-
USA	51.87	51.87	-

India still has the lowest diesel and LPG prices in the region, while the highest petrol prices are the highest. Petrol prices in India are 15 – 23% higher compared to our neighbours, having said that we should also look at the impact of subsidised prices on their economies. All three neighbouring countries are running virtually on international aid money. The local currency is weak. International donors like IMF (International Monetary Fund) and others are putting pressure to reduce the subsidy burden in order to receive further aid money. There have been recent hikes in fuel prices in order to placate the donors. Pakistan has an erratic supply of fuel despite low prices and natural gas which is abundant in Baluchistan is sold at a price of Rs. 53, while it is sold at Rs. 38.35 in Delhi.

Subsidies might ease the burden on our pockets but in the longer run will ruin the economy. India needs large scale reforms, which includes elimination of subsidies. While it is fun to be treated as subsidy darlings, it is in our long term interest as a country to pay the market prices and use the resources judiciously.

All prices quoted in Rs are in Indian Rupee and converted as per prevailing rates of 4-10-12 (xe.com)

Winds of change in India’s east

Indian summer

Changes in Myanmar are often glacial if not unheard of. Politically isolated by international sanctions and heavily guarded by its generals, Myanmar has virtually closed its doors to the world. Extreme poverty and rampant corruption has put lives of ordinary Burmese in the slow lane. The 8888 uprising (pro democracy movement lead by Ms Aung San Su Kyi on 8^th August 1988) was brutally crushed by the junta. Since then Ms Kyi has been languishing under house arrest. She was released in November 2010 with limited freedom to her movement.

Things have started changing ever since. Ms Kyi’s release came six days after a stage managed general election, which she and her party refused to recognise. The government is still controlled by ex-generals including the current president Mr Thein Sein (inaugurated in March 2011), who served four decades in the armed forces. But it is civilian in its appearance. Mr Sein has discarded his military uniform in favour of a democratic government. However, a change in constitution in 2008 vests immense powers in the military. But in Myanmar any change is a welcome step.

There have been instances in the past when things looked bright on the banks of the Irrawaddy. In the mid 1990s and then in late 2002, the generals and Ms Kyi seemed to make some headway towards reconciliation. Sadly nothing came out of the efforts. It will be interesting to see if 2011 proves to be Burma’s Indian summer.

Spring in India

India’s relationship with Myanmar has been cold at the best. The last time Myanmar was discussed widely in India was during the twilight days of the Second World War. Japanese army was in Myanmar hoping to control Assam and later Calcutta (now renamed Kolkata). Once the World War came to an end, Myanmar slipped into a corner in Indian foreign policy. A second, Myanmar wave struck India during the prodemocracy 8888 uprising, but pragmatism won the day. Economic changes of the 90’s and rise of an assertive China put an end to India’s support for democracy in Myanmar.

India maintained its distance from sensitive topics of democracy and human rights in Myanmar, while it still engaged with the Junta keeping an eye on its natural resources. Myanmar has a huge potential to serve India’s growing demand for minerals and energy. It is also a link between India and economically successful ASEAN trade bloc. India was however left behind in its efforts to harness the potential Myanmar has to offer. Long period of military rule and international sanctions pushed Myanmar closer to China. With dictatorships like North Korea and coup prone countries like Pakistan as close friends, it did not bother China to have another member in its club.

China made huge investments in Myanmar’s infrastructure with an eye on its vast natural resources and strategic location close to India. But the winds of change are blowing now. Like every where else Chinese presence is being seen as a threat. Earlier this month Myanmar announced that it will suspend construction of Myitsone dam, a $3.6 billion Chinese hydro electric power project (due to environmental concerns) in north east of the country. The project had a capacity to generate 6,000 MW electricity and almost all of that was supposed to be sold to China’s energy hungry grid. Another ambitious plan to link Myanmar’s north eastern state of Shan to the port city of Kyauk Phyu on the Bay of Bengal (at a cost of $ 20 billion) was supposed to start in December 2011. After the scrapping of the power project, the project might get delayed if not stalled.

With Chinese relations souring, Myanmar is looking at India. President Mr Thein Sein is visiting India (12 – 15 October 2011) and will hold talks on increasing bilateral trade and matters of cross border security. This visit has the potential of transforming the cold relations between India and Myanmar into a spring of opportunities.

The shining pagodas

Things are looking up in Myanmar (or at least appearing so). A quasi democratic government, increased political freedom for opposition, setting up of labour unions and release of political prisoners are all steps in the right direction by Myanmar. Rest of the world will soon recognise these efforts and the sanctions might be rolled back in a phased manner. India’s proximity to Myanmar and Myanmar’s strategy of counter balancing China can spell boon for both the countries.

India’s north eastern states have huge potential to engage in trade activities with Myanmar. In the long run as and when the transit corridors with Bangladesh become operational an extension can be offered to Myanmar, giving it easy access to sea ports and a larger market to India. Closer relation between India and Myanmar will also help in handling the insurgency in north east India. There is a whole new spectrum of opportunities to be explored by India and Myanmar to forge closer and deeper ties. What remains to be seen is how long the pagodas can retain their shine.

SAARC – The untapped potential

The poor cousin

The year 2011 marked thirty years* of existence of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). After all these years, SAARC has little to show to its flourishing cousins like the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) or the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization). Both regional associations have transformed themselves into globally respected trade blocs and are far more active compared to their South Asian cousin. SAARC on the other hand has proved no more than an alternate (and perhaps less controversial) venue for Indian and Pakistani ministers and bureaucrats to talk. So what really went wrong? 

Partly the timing of the association is to be blamed. The idea was mooted in late 70s by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh. However, the formal incorporation of the association did not happen till 1981, when the heads of the states of seven countries (Afghanistan joined in 2007) met in Colombo. This was the time when India witnessed a tide of insurgency in Punjab which later transformed into a full blown terrorist movement. The insurgency in Punjab was followed by a similar unrest in the northern most Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan for the terrorist activities in both the states. India’s involvement in Sri Lanka’s civil war and the subsequent fall out was another reason for India to go slow on SAARC. Domestic politics in the respective countries prevented them from actively engaging in trade dialogues with India.

As a result intra SAARC relationship went into a deep freeze even before it could mature into a meaningful dialogue. The very fact that the SAARC has barely met for sixteen times during its thirty years of existence is a proof of it being neglected by the member states. Meanwhile India, the largest member in terms of population, size and economy was looking at off shore forums like the ASEAN and SCO where domestic politics played little role and economic dividends were substantial. Regional politics had taken its toll, reducing SAARC to the status of a poor cousin among the Asian trade blocs.

Spring cleaning

Much has changed in the past couple of years, especially on the security front. The twenty six year old civil war in Sri Lanka has come to an end, militancy in the Indian state of Punjab has faded away from public memory, Jammu & Kashmir is witnessing lowest level of terrorist activities in two decades and India – Bangladesh are making tremendous progress to mend their relationships. However, Pakistan is still shrouded by the war against terrorism and its complex domestic politics. It will be some time before Pakistan returns on the path of growth.

Time has come when India should take the initiative to resurrect SAARC. According to 2009 estimates the SAARC region has a total population of 1.6 billion in an area of 5.1 million sq km and the total GDP amounts to USD 4.3 trillion (PPP). These statistics are exciting for any organisation looking at a business venture in the region. Sadly intra SAARC trade reached USD 687 million in 2009, a fraction of its global trade. On the other hand other regional organisation registered significantly high trade volumes among their member countries. ASEAN registered total intra regional trade to the tune of USD 387 billion in 2009 and SCO registered USD 8.4 billion in 2010. For a region which accounts for almost a quarter of the global population, the trade figures come as a shame. The proposed India – Bangladesh transit agreement will be a major step towards cleaning the mess hindering SAARC integration.

The extra mile

Will SAARC move beyond a photo opportunity?

Various global agencies including the European Union, Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, etc and countries like the United States show active interest in SAARC. These organisations publish working papers & statistical analysis to gauge the progress. However, the real job has to be done by the member countries. India being the largest country in the region should walk that extra mile to revive SAARC. Other SAARC members too should shed their inhibitions and take some bold steps (as Bangladesh has taken) to address concerns of India and enter into a relationship on equal footing.

SAARC needs a giant step forward. That would mean significant changes in current tariff regulations. Despite SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) being in force since 2006, no substantial trade movements have happened with in the region (though intra SAARC trade jumped from USD 14 million to USD 687 million in 2009, it still remains dwarfed by its rivals like ASEAN and SCO). The member countries fail to understand the benefits of a real free trade area where goods and services can be exchanged without tariff or non tariff barriers. Such arrangements have immensely helped countries of ASEAN. India as a country too benefited from liberalisation of its economy. These are living examples of modern day economies harnessing benefits of increasingly globalised trade.

Lesson should be learnt from India – Bangladesh transit agreement which will help not just India but Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan to better their international trade by using Indian and Bangladeshi roads and ports. Physical integration of infrastructure of the region will pave way for smooth transit of goods across borders and will save time and wastage during transit. The challenge will be to integrate the two unstable western members in the folds of SAARC.

*The foreign secretaries of the seven founding countries met in 1981 in Colombo, Sri Lanka for the first time

Of encirclement and counter-encirclement

Look! the dragon is coming

In the past few years India has constantly expressed its deep concern for what is termed as the “string of pearls”. A term coined by the US defence department with reference to China’s active involvement in ports across the Indian maritime borders. China has engaged in developing ports in Sittwe in Myanmar, Chittagong in Bangladesh, Hambantota in Sri Lanka and Gwadar in Pakistan. This has given China access to India’s maritime boundaries and a future where China might have its naval bases at these ports. This is indeed alarming for India, especially when China is also building up its military capabilities with Intercontinental ballistic missiles and a refurbished aircraft carrier. China’s cosy relationship with Pakistan is another eye sore.

China is also becoming aggressive in the South China Sea with maritime disputes with all its neighbours (and in East China Sea with Japan). If all the disputes were to be resolved to China’s satisfaction it will virtually claim sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, hence controlling the shipping lanes vital for trade among South East Asian countries and between South East Asia, Far East and India.  Western countries including America have shown their concern over the increasing China presence in Asian region.

And look what the elephant was up to

This all looks extremely serious and at times worrying. But if seen from a neutral point of view, there is nothing alarming in the present situation. China is the second largest economy of the world (although a distant second to America), is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and has grown in the global pecking order in last few decades. It is only natural for an emerging country (and in some areas emerged) to expand its influence in its neighbourhood and near abroad. America has done this after the second world war, the UK did it till it came under sever financial strain after the two world wars and India is doing its bit post liberalisation.

Stop encircling me

While India’s concerns may sound valid, a deeper look reveals that most of this is self inflicted. India has played cold to the opportunities arising in its immediate neighbourhood. The state owned enterprises of India are inefficient and struggle to perform on the home front (barring a few like ONGC, an oil exploration firm). Expecting them perform abroad will be naïve. India after months of delay and going back and forth on a joint venture power plant in Northern Sri Lankan city of Trincomalee, has finally agreed on the terms and conditions of an agreement which it intends to sing later this month. The first power plant went to China.

Hambantota, the much talked about strategic foothold of China was initially offered to India. Lack of interest by India proved to be China’s gain and it is now developing an integrated project including a sea port, an airport, a city centre, a stadium and a convention centre. If every thing goes well Hambantota will welcome its first ship six months before the deadline. Meanwhile a USD 300 million project of Colombo port expansion has been awarded to another Chinese company (no Indian company bid for the project). Given all the inefficiencies the Indian system has and does little to eradicate, can China really be blamed for encircling India?

The counter circle

Across the border, China too has its own concerns about India trying to encircle it, especially in its strategic neighbourhood. The first and oldest issue is of Tibet. India has given refuge to Dalai Lama ever since he fled to India following the Chinese annexation of the kingdom. India has also allowed Dalai Lama to establish a Tibetan government in exile, which virtually undermines Chinese sovereignty (however India officially maintains one China policy). More recently India has become extremely active in Afghanistan by means of its non military aid to rebuild the country. This has upset Pakistan, which sees Indian presence as an attempt to encircle it. Deep running friendship between China and Pakistan has prompted China to share Pakistan’s vision on Indian involvement in Afghanistan.

In the past decade India has refreshed its Look East Policy and has forged closer relationships with its South East Asian neighbours. The most important regional force in the region is the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). India has rapidly risen to a summit level partner in 2002 from a sectoral dialogue partner in 1992. India’s bilateral trade with ASEAN has increased dramatically from a paltry USD 2.9 billion in 1993 to USD 40 billion in 2009 (ASEAN forecasts bilateral trade to cross USD 70 billion by 2012). India also entered into a free trade agreement with ASEAN in 2009, giving it greater economic access in the region.

In 2000 India along with five other South East Asian countries (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam) formed the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC). MGC was formed as a group of six countries, focusing on tourism, culture, education and transportation. The bloc failed to take off and in 2003 was replaced by Thailand initiated Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy or ACMECS, essentially the same countries as in MGC minus India. Not withstanding the fact, China might still see it as Indian entry into its backyard.

India has improved its bilateral relationships with Japan and South Korea in the past few years. India is increasing its naval footprint by conducting joint exercises with Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, The Philippines, New Zealand, etc. It also carried out an exercise with America and Japan in the Pacific in 2007. In 2008, India and Japan signed an agreement on joint patrolling of the Asia – Pacific region.

Whose circle is it anyways?

The situation might look worrying when seen through the patriotic lenses; however both India and China seem to do their bit to secure their economic and strategic interest in the region. On 25^th August Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-develops-cold-feet-on-talks-with-Japan-US/opinions/9726482.cms) reported that India has developed cold feet on a planned joint naval exercise with Japan and America. Undisclosed officials in the establishment say that India does not want to antagonise China. However, China has not lodged a formal protest regarding the planned exercise. Such an approach by India can be interpreted as being intimidated by a superior military neighbour.

Pre empting a non existent crisis should be replaced by confidence building measures. Both India and china are a growing power in their own right and have significant interest in each other’s affairs. Imagining a conventional war between the two is far fetched, if not hysterical. Both countries are busy fighting domestic problems and expanding their business interests. A war will set both countries back by a few decades. India and China should shed some of their fears (more in case of India) and enter into closer relationship by more people to people contact. In 2010 a paltry 600,000 tourists were exchanged between India and China. It is a shame for neighbours whose combined population is above 2 billion.

India’s improving Bangla relations

Out from the cold storage

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will breathe a little easy on September 6^th and 7^th. He will be on a state visit to Bangladesh, away from heat of the anti corruption movement back home. Prime Minister Singh’s visit is closely watched by many in India and Bangladesh (more closely by Bangladesh media). After a long period of hostile and unfriendly governments in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has come as a welcome change. Relationships between the two countries have improved significantly with a state visit by Prime Minister Hasina in early 2010. The current visit by India is expected to further strengthen the relationship.

After the first military coup in Bangladesh which eliminated the entire family of its first Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rehman (from which Sheikh Hasina escaped), India lost interest in its neighbour. Domestic issues, Pakistan and an escalating cold war kept India busy. Lack of active Indian interest and successive regimes hostile to India were used by China and Pakistan to nurture insurgency in North Eastern states of India. Matter got worse with thousands of Bangladeshis migrating illegally into India for economic reasons. In effect India Bangladesh relations were strained.

Off late it has dawned upon India to actively involve Bangladesh and forge a mutually beneficial relationship. India sees a great prospect of connecting its North East with rest of the country by means of transit corridors. Currently it is extremely difficult to connect its North East through the existing Siliguri corridor (also known as ‘chicken neck’), which is barely 20 km wide at some points. For people living in India’s North East, transportation is a major issue and is often expensive. Air travel is the only means to travel quickly. Other critical matters like disaster management, health services, food supply, etc proves to be difficult owing to long distances to be covered and wastage in transit.

Bring it to the table

With Bangladesh doing its bit to curb anti India activities on its soil, India wants extend the deal and include infrastructure to connect to its remote region. India and Bangladesh together have identified transit corridors which will help not just India and Bangladesh, but Nepal and Bhutan too will be able to make use of transit corridors to connect to the ports in Bangladesh. India has extended a credit line worth $ 1 billion on concessional terms to implement the project.

Let the barbed wire not stop the dove

India and Bangladesh are also working hard to resolve their border issues. The two countries share the longest international border in the world (4,100 km) and also have a unique situation of enclaves and counter enclaves in each other’s territories. A solution is expected to be arrived at before Prime Minister Singh visits Dhaka early next month. Available information suggest at a possible land swap to firm up the border. This will be a first complete border settlement case for India.

One of the most sensitive issues between India and Bangladesh was of shooting of illegal migrants (most of them are Bangladeshis). India’s Border Security Force (BSF) killed 33 Bangladeshis in 2010, while they were crossing over illegally into India. This had not gone down well with the government and common man in Bangladesh. Killing of Felani, a teenage girl by the BSF was widely criticised by Bangladesh and international media and human rights agencies. A meeting between home ministers of the two countries has resolved the issue with India promising not to shoot any one crossing the border.

On the trade front India and Bangladesh did trade worth $ 2.6 billion, which is close to 0.58% of India’s total trade. This can definitely be improved. Prime Minister Singh should take this opportunity to foster closer business ties with Bangladesh, offering greater private investment in the country. Taking advantage of India’s strengths in information technology, companies like TCS and Infosys should be encouraged to set shops in Bangladesh. Active involvement in Bangladesh’s economy will ally fears of a sell off to India. India and Bangladesh should eventually move towards a free trade agreement where there is no list of negative trade items.

For all this to happen, both countries should upgrade their surface transport. A road or train trip to Dhaka from Indian state of West Bengal can take as long at 12 hours, to cover 400 km. To ensure more people to people contact, a convenient transport system is very important. A swift system will ensure more cross border movement and hence closer cultural ties. India and Bangladesh share a lot in common, from Rabindra Nath Taogre who wrote the national anthem of both countries to a common language (in West Bengal) to culinary habits and of course the love for cricket. Bringing the two countries closer will not be difficult provided India plays its cards wisely. 

India and its near neighbours

Six Decades and counting

After sixty four years and five wars, India is yet to sort a single dispute with its neighbours. On the contrary it has got itself into uncomfortable situation in the past. Be it the peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka or constant meddling in the internal affairs of Nepal. Relationships with the neighbours are anything but cordial.

In 1971, India championed the cause of Bangladesh and helped carve a new country in South Asia. The first government of Bangladesh lead by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman looked all set to enter into a long lasting friendship with Mrs Gandhi. The dream met a premature end with the coup in 1975, which wiped out most of Bangladesh’s first family. India hardly took a second look at Bangladesh after that. With India getting more and more obsessed with its western neighbour Pakistan in the past few decades, there was hardly any attention paid to rest of neighbourhood.

India’s issues with Pakistan are deep rooted and extremely sensitive with its political class. It can be safely assumed that all the issues with Pakistan (including Kashmir) can not be resolved overnight or even in the medium term. However, this should not distract the attention of Ministry of External Affairs from its near neighbours. Pakistan is and will be an ongoing affair for a long time to come. India should spare some energy and resources to mend its ties with countries which can prove to be long term partners in regional cooperation.

What can we do?

Handing out aid is not a guarantee to good relations. Had it been the case, America should have been the world’s best friend. Secondly India can not afford to offer aid on a large scale, given the fact that there is a pressing need for social development with in the country. Under such circumstances the best way forward is to engage in increased business activity. And for once, these business activities should move beyond exchanging a few truck loads of onion and sugar, which only helps a handful of people that too for an extremely short period of time.

The long term strategy for India should be to establish business relations with countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal on a larger scale. Bangladesh after a long time has a friendly government in power. Civil war in Sri Lanka has come to an end and Nepal will sooner or later have a full time prime minister. Given these favourable situations India should push for large scale contribution to these countries in form of setting up manufacturing facilities and some kind of secondary outsourcing (which some big Indian companies already are doing with South East Asian countries).

India should look for incentives for its private sector companies from sectors like two wheelers, pharmaceuticals, FMCG, BPOs, etc to set shop in countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. This will prove to be a win all situation for the countries. The local population will benefit from employment generated at the manufacturing unit, the economy will benefit from the money pumped in, the parent company will benefit from incentives and possible relaxation in export rules to foreign markets (Bangladesh gets substantial tariff exemption for its textile export to Europe).

Economic and trade connection will inevitably bring in more people to people contact, which in turn will help reduce the trust deficit. All three countries mentioned share very close cultural, linguistic and religious bonds with India. A little push on the economic front can change the way South Asians see each other. But before India does any of this, it should raise the profile of the ministry of external affairs.