The present text is a slightly revised version of the Ph. D dissertation completed in 2002. Research for this work was facilitated through help and assistance coming from numerous sources. I remain particularly indebted to my teachers in the Department of History. University of Calcutta, for their guidance, assistance and of course, encouragement. I remain particularly grateful to my supervisor Prof. Suranjan Das, Prof. Jayanta Kumar Ray, Prof. Bhaskar Chakrabarty, Prof. Hari Vasudevan, Prof. Basudeb Chattopadhyay, Prof. Arun Bandyopadhyay. Prof. Hasi Banerjee, Prof. Nirban Basu and Dr. Supama Gooptu. Special thanks are also due to my current colleagues in the department like Dr. Rajsekhar Basu, Dr. Amit De, Sanjukta Dasgupta and Ritwika Biswas for enriching my thoughts and expanding my limited horizon of knowledge through regular discussions and numerous chat sessions. A special note of thanks is also due to the non-teaching staff of the department for their valuable assistance at every step.
I also remain grateful to the University Grants Commission (UGC), for awarding me the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) during the initial years of my research (1997-1999) which enabled me to carry on with this research work.
Thanks are also due to the staff of the various institutes and libraries which I have frequented while preparing this dissertation.
These include, The National Library, Calcutta; UGC- Special Assistance Library, Department of History, Calcutta University; The Peace Studies Group Library, Department of History, Calcutta University; Netaji Institute for Asian Studies, Calcutta; Taraknath Das Centre Library, Jadavpur University; Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi; Calcutta; Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta; Maulana Azad Institute of Asian Studies; Ramakrishna Mission Institute for Culture Library; British Council Library, Calcutta and through the internet, Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAONET); Institute for Regional Studies, Islamabad Henry L. Stimson Center; Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies .
Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo etc. I am also indebted to various persons with whom I have been in contact during the course of my research through personal interviews and correspondence.
Finally, I convey my regards to my family and friends for their support and encouragement.
Concept which is defined by a combination of geographical proximity, density of interactions, shared institutional frameworks. and common cultural identities... Regions are not so much measurable building blocs of the international order as spatially defined cultural. economic, and political constructions whose nature and functions are transformed over time...'
Accepting this definition the region of South Asia can be characterized as one with the longest history and as a coherent political, economic and even administrative unity. All the countries belonging to this region and erstwhile parts of the Indian subcontinent are geographically compact. South Asia also constitutes a coherent environmental region with a conjoint ecological cycle and a common river, ocean and mountain system. The region indeed enjoys an extremely rich common historical tradition and legacy as well as cultural and socio-economic commonalities. According to one scholar, the best way to characterize the region is by accepting it as a 'security complex', which he defines following Barry Buzan and G. Rizvi (1985) as:
A subsystem of the international community of states that for reasons of geography, history and culture are intimately related to each other.
The interactions of domestic and international state systems. according to them, are best brought out by this reference.
Raimo Vayrynen, Post Hegemonic and Post Socialist Regionalism: A Comparison for East Asia and Central Europe, Joan B.Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, August 1997. http:// www.ciaonet.org/wps/var 1.html.
In this work, the term 'South Asia' has been used to indicate the territorial area covered by the present seven SAARC countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Very recently. Afghanistan has become the eighth member of the SAARC.
Such legacies, however, have failed to generate momentum for substantial cooperative links among the South Asian countries, which became independent during the post-colonial period. A combination of historical problems along with the problems of a new dimension arising from the circumstantial factors related to the partition of British India vitiated the prospects for regional cooperation during the early years. During the initial decades the South Asian countries were also busy with the process of nation building which was a difficult task, given the individual domestic turmoil and conflicts with their intra-regional linkages, set within the adversarial global paradigm created by Cold War politics. The linkages between South Asian countries with the West, determined by the 'Centre-Periphery' paradigm during colonial rule was again, further reinforced through import of credit and technology from the western countries during the early periods of development. Thus, there was little scope for enhancing economic transactions between countries in the region. Moreover, given the asymmetrical geo-political structure in the region with the greater prominence of India and her central regional location, it was natural for her neighbouring countries to harbour suspicion of her alleged or real 'hegemonic' designs in the region. The next section highlights the regional diversities, which have affected the prospects of regional cooperation in the region.
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