This MCQ module is based on: India-Pakistan, SAARC & Exercises
TOPIC 9 OF 21
India-Pakistan, SAARC & Exercises
🎓 Class 12
Social Science
CBSE
Theory
Chapter 3 — Contemporary South Asia
⏱ ~28 min
🌐 Language: [gtranslate]
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India-Pakistan Conflicts, India's Neighbours, SAARC & Exercises
South Asia's biggest international story is the long Indo-Pakistan rivalry — three full wars (1947–48, 1965, 1971), a high-altitude clash at Kargil in 1999, the parallel nuclear tests of May 1998, and the unresolved question of Kashmir. But India also borders most of its other neighbours, and each of those relationships has its own arithmetic of cooperation and dispute — Farakka and Teesta with Bangladesh; the IPKF and the Tamil question with Sri Lanka; an open frontier with Nepal; Operation Cactus with the Maldives; hydropower with Bhutan. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), born in Dhaka in 1985, was meant to bind these neighbours together; the SAFTA agreement of 2004 promised a free-trade zone. This Part traces the conflicts and the cooperative architecture that frame contemporary South Asia, and closes with a complete walk-through of every NCERT exercise.
3.12 India–Pakistan Conflicts
Let us now move from domestic politics to the international relations of the region. The post-Cold War era has not meant the end of conflicts and tensions in South Asia. Given the position of India in this region, most of these conflicts involve India. The most salient and overwhelming of them is, of course, the conflict between India and Pakistan.
3.12.1 Wars and the Kashmir Question (1947–1999)
Soon after the partition of 1947, India and Pakistan got embroiled in a conflict over the fate of Kashmir. The Pakistani government claimed that Kashmir belonged to it. The wars between India and Pakistan in 1947–48 and 1965 failed to settle the matter. The 1947–48 war resulted in the division of the province into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Indian province of Jammu and Kashmir, separated by the Line of Control (LoC)?. In 1971, India won a decisive war against Pakistan — but the Kashmir issue remained unsettled.
India–Pakistan Wars and Major Confrontations · 1947–1999
3.12.2 Strategic Issues — Siachen, Arms Race, Nuclear Tests
India's conflict with Pakistan is also over strategic issues like the control of the Siachen glacier and over the acquisition of arms. The arms race between the two countries assumed a new character with both states acquiring nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver such arms against each other in the 1990s. In May 1998, India conducted nuclear explosions at Pokhran? (popularly called Pokhran II). Pakistan responded within a few days by carrying out its own nuclear tests in the Chagai Hills?. Since then India and Pakistan seem to have built a military relationship in which the possibility of a direct and full-scale war has declined.
3.12.3 Mutual Suspicion — Terrorism and "Low-Key Violence"
But both governments continue to be suspicious of each other. The Indian government has blamed the Pakistan government for using a strategy of "low-key violence" by helping Kashmiri militants with arms, training, money and protection in order to carry out terrorist strikes against India. The Indian government also believes that Pakistan had aided the pro-Khalistani militants with arms and ammunition during the period 1985–1995. Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), is alleged to be involved in various anti-India campaigns in India's north-east, operating secretly through Bangladesh and Nepal. Pakistan, in turn, blames the Indian government and its security agencies for fomenting trouble in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
3.12.4 Water and Boundary — Indus Treaty and Sir Creek
India and Pakistan also have problems over the sharing of river waters. Until 1960, they were locked in a fierce argument over the use of the rivers of the Indus basin. Eventually, in 1960, with the help of the World Bank, India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty, which has survived to this day in spite of various military conflicts. There are still some minor differences about its interpretation. The two countries are also not in agreement over the demarcation line in Sir Creek in the Rann of Kutch. The dispute seems minor, but there is an underlying worry that how it is settled may have an impact on the control of sea resources in the area adjoining Sir Creek. India and Pakistan are holding negotiations on all these issues.
⚠ Key Bilateral Agreements You Must Remember
(i) Indus Waters Treaty (1960) with World Bank mediation — has survived all wars. (ii) Tashkent Agreement (1966) — ended the 1965 war. (iii) Simla Agreement (July 1972) — followed the 1971 war. (iv) Agreement of 1988 not to attack each other's nuclear installations. (v) Lahore Declaration (February 1999) — bus journey by PM Vajpayee.
3.13 India and its Other Neighbours
3.13.1 India and Bangladesh
The governments of India and Bangladesh have had differences over several issues including the sharing of the Ganga and Brahmaputra river waters. The Indian government has been unhappy with Bangladesh's denial of illegal immigration to India, its support for anti-Indian Islamic fundamentalist groups, Bangladesh's refusal to allow Indian troops to move through its territory to north-eastern India, and its decision not to export natural gas to India or allow Myanmar to do so through Bangladeshi territory. Bangladeshi governments have, in turn, felt that the Indian government behaves like a "regional bully" — over the sharing of river waters, by encouraging rebellion in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, by trying to extract Bangladesh's natural gas, and by being unfair in trade. The two countries could not resolve their boundary dispute for a long while.
Despite their differences, India and Bangladesh do cooperate on many issues. Economic relations have improved considerably in the last 20 years. Bangladesh is part of India's "Look East" (Act East since 2014) policy that aims to link up with Southeast Asia via Myanmar. On disaster management and environmental issues, the two states have cooperated regularly. In 2015, they exchanged certain enclaves. The 1996 Farakka Treaty for sharing the Ganga waters remains in force. Efforts are on to broaden the areas of cooperation further by identifying common threats and being more sensitive to each other's needs.
3.13.2 India and Nepal
Nepal and India enjoy a very special relationship that has very few parallels in the world. A treaty between the two countries allows the citizens of the two countries to travel to and work in the other country without visas and passports. Despite this special relationship, the governments of the two countries have had trade-related disputes in the past. The Indian government has often expressed displeasure at the warm relationship between Nepal and China and at the Nepal government's inaction against anti-Indian elements. Indian security agencies see the Maoist movement in Nepal as a growing security threat, given the rise of Naxalite groups in various Indian states from Bihar in the north to Andhra Pradesh in the south. Many leaders and citizens in Nepal think that the Indian government interferes in Nepal's internal affairs, has designs on its river waters and hydro-electricity, and prevents Nepal — a landlocked country — from getting easier access to the sea through Indian territory. Nevertheless, Indo-Nepal relations are fairly stable and peaceful. Despite differences, trade, scientific cooperation, common natural resources, electricity generation and interlocking water-management grids hold the two countries together. There is hope that the consolidation of democracy in Nepal will lead to improvements in ties between the two countries.
3.13.3 India and Sri Lanka
The difficulties in the relationship between the governments of India and Sri Lanka are mostly over ethnic conflict in the island nation. Indian leaders and citizens find it impossible to remain neutral when Tamils are politically unhappy and are being killed. The Sri Lankan problem involves people of Indian origin, and there was considerable pressure from Tamil people in India to the effect that the Indian government should protect the interests of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The government of India has from time to time tried to negotiate with the Sri Lankan government on the Tamil question. In 1987, the government of India for the first time got directly involved in the Sri Lankan Tamil question. India signed an accord with Sri Lanka and sent troops to stabilise relations between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils. Eventually, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)? got into a fight with the LTTE itself. The presence of Indian troops was also not liked much by the Sri Lankans. They saw it as an attempt by India to interfere in Sri Lanka's internal affairs. In 1989, the IPKF pulled out of Sri Lanka without attaining its objectives.
After the military intervention in 1987, the Indian government now prefers a policy of disengagement vis-à-vis Sri Lanka's internal troubles. India signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in December 1998 with Sri Lanka, which strengthened relations between the two countries. India's help in post-tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka has also brought the two countries closer.
3.13.4 India and Bhutan / Maldives
India enjoys a special relationship with Bhutan and does not have any major conflict with the Bhutanese government. The efforts made by the Bhutanese monarch to weed out the guerrillas and militants from north-eastern India that operate in his country have been helpful to India. India is involved in big hydroelectric projects in Bhutan and remains the Himalayan kingdom's biggest source of development aid. India's ties with the Maldives remain warm and cordial. In November 1988, when some Tamil mercenaries from Sri Lanka attacked the Maldives, the Indian Air Force and Navy reacted quickly to the Maldives' request to help stop the invasion (Operation Cactus). India has also contributed towards the island's economic development, tourism and fisheries.
Bangladesh
Farakka Treaty 1996 (Ganga); Teesta talks ongoing; Look East / Act East partner; 2015 enclave exchange.
Sri Lanka
IPKF 1987–90; FTA December 1998; post-tsunami reconstruction; current policy: disengagement on internal politics.
Nepal
Open border (no visa/passport); river-water and hydro disputes; concerns about Maoists; otherwise stable and peaceful ties.
Bhutan / Maldives
Bhutan: hydroelectric partnership; biggest source of development aid. Maldives: Operation Cactus 1988; tourism & fisheries support.
💡 Why Does Every Neighbour Have a Problem with India?
India is centrally located and shares borders with most of the South Asian countries. Given India's size and power, smaller neighbours are bound to be suspicious of Indian intentions. The Indian government, in turn, often feels exploited by these neighbours and worries that political instability in them can help outside powers gain influence in the region. Not all conflicts in South Asia are between India and its neighbours — Nepal and Bhutan, as well as Bangladesh and Myanmar, have had their own disagreements over the migration of ethnic Nepalese into Bhutan and the Rohingyas from Myanmar into India and Bangladesh respectively.
3.14 SAARC and SAFTA — Peace and Cooperation
Do the states of South Asia cooperate with each other? Or do they only keep fighting? In spite of the many conflicts, the states of South Asia recognise the importance of cooperation and friendly relationships among themselves. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)? is the major regional initiative by the South Asian states to evolve cooperation through multilateral means. It began in 1985 with the SAARC Charter signed at Dhaka. Unfortunately, due to persisting political differences, SAARC has not had much success.
3.14.1 The SAFTA Agreement (2004)
SAARC members signed the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA)?, which promised the formation of a free trade zone for the whole of South Asia. The Agreement was signed in 2004 at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad and came into effect on 1 January 2006. SAFTA aims at lowering trade tariffs among the SAARC members. But some of India's neighbours fear that SAFTA is a way for India to "invade" their markets and to influence their societies and politics through commercial ventures and a commercial presence. India thinks there are real economic benefits for all from SAFTA, and that a region that trades more freely will be able to cooperate better on political issues. Some in India also argue that SAFTA is not worth the trouble since India already has bilateral agreements with Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
3.14.2 SAARC's Eight Members and the Recent Stagnation
SAARC has eight member states — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan (which joined in 2007). Summit-level meetings have been held periodically. The 18th SAARC Summit took place in Kathmandu, Nepal, in November 2014. In recent years, however, summits have been postponed because of political differences — most importantly between India and Pakistan over cross-border terrorism. Despite these difficulties, SAARC has produced cooperation in several areas: agriculture, poverty alleviation, environment, the South Asian University in Delhi, food security, disaster management and people-to-people exchanges.
SAARC — The Eight Member Countries (Founded 1985 · SAFTA 2004)
3.14.3 India–Pakistan Confidence-Building
Although India–Pakistan relations seem to be a story of endemic conflict and violence, there have been a series of efforts to manage tensions and build peace. The two countries have agreed to undertake confidence-building measures to reduce the risk of war. Social activists and prominent personalities have collaborated to create an atmosphere of friendship among the people of both countries. Leaders have met at summits to understand each other better and find solutions to the major problems between the two neighbours. A number of bus routes have been opened up between the two countries. Trade between India and Pakistan had increased and visas had been more easily granted. However, in recent times the situation has changed, and several routes and exchanges have been suspended.
3.15 Outside Powers in South Asia
No region exists in a vacuum. South Asia is influenced by outside powers and events no matter how much it tries to insulate itself. China and the United States remain key players in South Asian politics. Sino-Indian relations have improved significantly in recent years, but China's strategic partnership with Pakistan remains a major irritant. The demands of development and globalisation have brought the two Asian giants closer, and their economic ties have multiplied rapidly since 1991.
American involvement in South Asia has rapidly increased after the Cold War. The US has had good relations with both India and Pakistan since the end of the Cold War and increasingly works as a moderator in India–Pakistan relations. Economic reforms and liberal economic policies in both countries have greatly increased the depth of American participation in the region. The large South Asian diasporas in the US and the huge size of the population and markets of the region also give America an added stake in the future of regional security and peace.
Whether South Asia will continue to be known as a conflict-prone zone or will evolve into a regional bloc with common cultural features and shared trade interests will depend more on the people and the governments of the region than on any outside power.
India's Trade with South Asian Neighbours — Schematic Comparison
MAP WORK — Eight Country Profiles for SAARC Day
Bloom: L3 Apply
Divide the classroom into eight groups, one for each SAARC country. Hand each group a basic country profile (capital, population, year of independence, current head of government), plus a short note on contentious issues with neighbours. Students should assume the role of representing their respective countries. Then negotiate on bilateral and multilateral issues — Kashmir, Farakka, the LTTE legacy, the open Indo-Nepal border, climate change, etc.
- What initiatives have the governments involved already taken to resolve the disputes?
- Why have many of these initiatives failed in the past?
- Conclude by discussing the importance of accommodating each other's interest for the sake of peaceful coexistence.
✅ Pointers
Bilateral disputes (e.g., Kashmir between India and Pakistan, migrant problem between India and Bangladesh) need just two negotiating tables. Multilateral issues (free-trade zone, terrorism, water sharing across the Himalaya) need three or more. The key takeaway: even where outright agreement is impossible, structured negotiation can identify areas of agreement and disagreement, narrow the disputes, and prevent escalation. This is exactly how SAARC is supposed to work — a forum for the difficult conversation, not a substitute for the harder bilateral one.
THINK ABOUT IT — "Indian Hegemony"?
Bloom: L5 Evaluate
The chapter raises a sharp question: if Chapter 1 was titled "US Hegemony", why is this chapter not titled "Indian Hegemony"? Write a 200-word evaluation of whether India's relations with its smaller neighbours amount to "hegemony" — and decide whether the label fits.
✅ Sample Response
"Hegemony" usually means a power that combines unrivalled military strength, agenda-setting economic clout, and a dominant cultural reach. By those tests, India is the largest power in South Asia by every measure — population, GDP, defence budget, trade, soft power. Smaller neighbours frequently complain of Indian "regional bullying" over rivers (Bangladesh on Farakka), borders (Nepal on transit), trade (the SAFTA debate), and military intervention (Sri Lanka 1987, Maldives 1988). Yet three things complicate the label. First, no Indian government in seventy-five years has annexed a neighbour or installed a puppet regime — quite different from US conduct in Latin America during the Cold War. Second, India has often acted within multilateral or invited frameworks (Operation Cactus by request; Indo-Sri Lanka Accord with both governments). Third, all of India's neighbours retain substantial autonomy in foreign policy, including warm ties with China that India dislikes. So India's behaviour is better described as regional preponderance with intermittent unilateralism — not the systematic hegemony of a global superpower. The neighbours' anxieties are real, but so is India's restraint.
Exercises — Class 12 NCERT Solutions
Exercises (Full Model Answers)
Q1.Identify the country.
- The struggle among pro-monarchy, pro-democracy groups and extremists created an atmosphere of political instability.
- A landlocked country with multi-party competition.
- The first country to liberalise its economy in the South Asian region.
- In the conflict between the military and pro-democracy groups, the military has prevailed over democracy.
- Centrally located and shares borders with most of the South Asian countries.
- Earlier, the island had the Sultan as the head of state. Now it is a republic.
- Small savings and credit cooperatives in the rural areas have helped in reducing poverty.
- A landlocked country with a monarchy.
Answers:
- Nepal — Maoists, monarchists and democrats produced a triangular conflict in the early 2000s.
- Nepal — landlocked Himalayan country with multi-party politics today.
- Sri Lanka — first country in the region to liberalise its economy.
- Pakistan — military has repeatedly prevailed over elected governments (1958, 1969, 1977, 1999).
- India — centrally located and borders most South Asian states.
- Maldives — Sultanate till 1968; presidential republic thereafter.
- Bangladesh — small savings and credit cooperatives, including the Grameen Bank, have helped reduce rural poverty.
- Bhutan — landlocked Himalayan kingdom with a monarchy (constitutional monarchy since 2008).
Q2.Which among the following statements about South Asia is wrong?
- All the countries in South Asia are democratic.
- Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement on river-water sharing.
- SAFTA was signed at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad.
- The US and China play an influential role in South Asian politics.
Answer: (a) — "All the countries in South Asia are democratic" is wrong. Pakistan has had repeated military rule, and Afghanistan has been under Taliban rule since 2021. The other three statements are correct: India and Bangladesh signed the Farakka Treaty (1996); SAFTA was signed at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad in January 2004; the US and China both play influential roles in South Asia.
Q3.What are some of the commonalities and differences between Bangladesh and Pakistan in their democratic experiences?
Model Answer:
Commonalities: (1) Both were created out of British India in 1947 — Pakistan as a single country and Bangladesh as its eastern wing. (2) Both have experienced periods of military rule — Pakistan four times since 1958, Bangladesh under Ziaur Rahman and Lt General Ershad after 1975. (3) Both have witnessed strong popular pro-democracy movements, with students often in the lead. (4) Both populations show overwhelming support for democracy in attitudinal surveys.
Differences: (1) Bangladesh was born through a popular democratic mandate (the 1970 election won by the Awami League) and a liberation war, whereas Pakistan's founding was a partition agreement. (2) Bangladesh has remained a multi-party democracy continuously since 1991, while Pakistan slipped back to military rule in 1999 under General Musharraf and returned to civilian government only in 2008. (3) The Pakistani army's "triple alliance" with the clergy and the landed elite, combined with persistent conflict with India, has empowered military arguments — a structural bias largely absent in Bangladesh. (4) Bangladesh's democracy has been driven by two major parties (Awami League and BNP) rotating in power; Pakistan's by the PPP and the Muslim League, with the army frequently the "third actor".
Q4.List three challenges to democracy in Nepal.
Model Answer:
- Maoist insurgency (1996–2006). Maoist guerrillas spread their influence and waged armed insurrection against the monarchy and the ruling elite, producing a violent, decade-long conflict.
- Royal interference. In 2002, King Gyanendra dissolved parliament and dismissed the government, ending even the limited democracy that existed. Massive protests in April 2006 forced him to restore parliament.
- Disagreements on the new constitution. Even after monarchy was abolished in 2008, parties disagreed over how radically to restructure society and on the role India should play. The federal democratic constitution was adopted only in 2015 — and federal restructuring continues to challenge stability.
Q5.Name the principal players in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. How do you assess the prospects of the resolution of this conflict?
Model Answer:
Principal players: (1) The Sri Lankan government dominated by the majority Sinhala community; (2) the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), the militant organisation fighting for a separate Tamil Eelam from 1983 to 2009; (3) the broader Tamil community of Sri Lanka and the Indian-origin Tamils; (4) the government of India, which intervened with the IPKF in 1987–90; (5) outside mediators, particularly Norway and Iceland, who tried to bring the warring sides back to the table.
Prospects of resolution: The armed conflict ended with the military defeat of the LTTE in 2009. But long-run resolution requires more than military victory — it requires devolution of power to Tamil-majority areas, reconstruction of war-affected regions, accountability for civilian deaths, and protection of Tamil cultural and political rights. India now follows a policy of disengagement from Sri Lanka's internal politics, while supporting reconstruction (especially after the tsunami) and trade through the 1998 FTA. Sri Lanka's continuous democracy is its biggest asset; if it can deliver genuine federal-style accommodation to its Tamil citizens, the conflict can be settled politically. If not, ethnic grievances may resurface in new forms.
Q6.Mention some of the recent agreements between India and Pakistan. Can we be sure that the two countries are well on their way to a friendly relationship?
Model Answer:
Recent agreements and confidence-building measures: (1) The 1988 agreement not to attack each other's nuclear installations and facilities; (2) the Lahore Declaration signed during PM Vajpayee's bus journey to Lahore in February 1999; (3) periodic SAARC and bilateral summit meetings, including the unsuccessful 2001 Agra Summit between Vajpayee and Musharraf; (4) the opening of new bus routes across the LoC and at Wagah; (5) easier visa rules and cross-border trade in earlier phases.
Are the two countries on their way to friendship? Not yet. Three big problems persist — (i) Kashmir and the unsettled LoC; (ii) cross-border terrorism, which India holds Pakistan responsible for; (iii) the strategic competition deepened by the 1998 nuclear tests and Kargil 1999. Periods of dialogue have repeatedly been interrupted by terror attacks. Confidence-building measures help manage tensions but do not resolve the core issues. So we cannot yet be sure that India and Pakistan are on a stable path to friendship — though both societies contain strong constituencies for peace, and economic logic argues for cooperation.
Q7.Mention two areas each of cooperation and disagreement between India and Bangladesh.
Model Answer:
Areas of cooperation: (1) Disaster management and the environment — the two states cooperate regularly on cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and on Sundarban-related issues; (2) Bangladesh is a partner in India's "Look East" / "Act East" policy linking India to Southeast Asia via Myanmar; trade and investment have grown considerably in the last 20 years; in 2015 the two countries exchanged certain enclaves to settle long-standing border anomalies, and the 1996 Farakka Treaty regulates Ganga waters.
Areas of disagreement: (1) River-water sharing — including the Ganga (resolved by Farakka 1996), the Brahmaputra and the still-pending Teesta water-sharing arrangement; (2) Illegal migration, where the Indian government complains that Bangladesh denies the issue, plus Bangladeshi refusal to allow Indian troop transit, refusal to export gas, and accusations on both sides about support for insurgents (Chittagong Hill Tracts on one side; ISI activity through Bangladeshi territory on the other).
Q8.How are the external powers influencing bilateral relations in South Asia? Take any one example to illustrate your point.
Model Answer:
External powers — chiefly the United States and China — significantly influence bilateral relations in South Asia. American involvement increased after the Cold War, with the US working as a moderator in India–Pakistan relations, supporting Pakistan's role in counter-terrorism while building a deepening strategic partnership with India. Economic reforms and large South Asian diasporas in the US also draw America in. China's strategic partnership with Pakistan — including economic cooperation, defence ties and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor — remains a major irritant in Sino-Indian relations. At the same time, Sino-Indian economic ties have multiplied since 1991.
Example — the US and India–Pakistan relations: Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the United States acted as a behind-the-scenes mediator during India–Pakistan crises (Kargil 1999, the 2001–02 stand-off, and after the 2008 Mumbai attacks). American pressure on Islamabad to crack down on terrorist networks, combined with US arms sales and aid to Pakistan, has shaped how each country approaches the other. The example shows that even bilateral disputes between two South Asian states are continually conditioned by the calculations of outside powers.
Q9.Write a short note on the role and the limitations of SAARC as a forum for facilitating economic cooperation among the South Asian countries.
Model Answer:
Role: SAARC, founded by the Dhaka Charter of December 1985, is the major regional initiative by South Asian states to evolve cooperation through multilateral means. Its eight members — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and (since 2007) Afghanistan — meet at periodic summits and have created technical committees in agriculture, environment, poverty alleviation and human resource development. Its biggest economic step has been the SAFTA agreement signed at the 12th Summit in Islamabad in January 2004, which came into effect on 1 January 2006 and aims at lowering tariff barriers across South Asia. The South Asian University in New Delhi is another concrete achievement.
Limitations: SAARC has not had much success because of persisting political differences — most importantly between India and Pakistan over terrorism and Kashmir, but also tensions involving water sharing, transit rights and migration. Smaller members fear that SAFTA will be a route for Indian commercial dominance; some Indian voices argue SAFTA is unnecessary because India already has bilateral FTAs with Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Many summits have been postponed and intra-SAARC trade remains a small share of total trade compared with ASEAN or the EU. SAARC therefore plays a useful but limited role — a forum for difficult conversation rather than a binding regional bloc.
Q10.India's neighbours often think that the Indian government tries to dominate and interfere in the domestic affairs of the smaller countries of the region. Is this a correct impression?
Model Answer:
The impression is partly correct and partly the inevitable consequence of geography. Given India's size, central location and power, smaller neighbours are bound to be suspicious of Indian intentions. Specific grievances are real: Bangladesh objects to Indian behaviour over Farakka and trade; Nepal complains that the Indian government interferes in its internal affairs, has designs on its rivers and hydropower, and prevents easier sea access; Sri Lankans recall that the IPKF (1987–90) was seen as Indian intervention; smaller states feared SAFTA could be a route for India to "invade" their markets.
However, three considerations qualify the picture. First, India has often acted within multilateral or invited frameworks — Operation Cactus (Maldives 1988) was at the host's request; the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord (1987) was signed by both governments. Second, Indian governments have rarely sought territorial expansion or regime change, unlike many great powers. Third, India has frequently taken the initiative on regional cooperation through SAARC, SAFTA, and bilateral free-trade agreements. The Indian government, in turn, often feels exploited by its neighbours and is concerned that political instability in them allows outside powers to gain influence. So the impression is real but exaggerated; it is best understood as the natural anxiety of smaller states facing a much larger neighbour, an anxiety India must continue to manage through patient diplomacy and equitable economic engagement.
Summary — Chapter at a Glance
South Asia includes seven countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — with Afghanistan often added in wider discussions, taking the SAARC family to eight. The region is bounded by the Himalayas in the north and three seas in the south. Its political systems are mixed: India and Sri Lanka have remained democracies since independence; Pakistan has alternated between civilian and military rule (1958, 1969, 1977, 1999) with civilian rule restored in 2008; Bangladesh, born out of the 1971 Liberation War led by Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman and supported by India, has been a multi-party democracy since 1991; Nepal abolished its monarchy in 2008 after the People's Movement and adopted a federal democratic constitution in 2015; Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy in 2008 under the Druk Gyalpo and pioneered Gross National Happiness; the Maldives moved from sultanate to republic in 1968 and to multi-party democracy from 2005. India and Pakistan fought wars in 1947–48, 1965, 1971 and the Kargil conflict of 1999, became nuclear powers with Pokhran II and Chagai in May 1998, and continue to dispute Kashmir, the Siachen glacier and Sir Creek — though the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) survives. India's relations with its other neighbours involve cooperation (Look East with Bangladesh, hydroelectric projects with Bhutan, Operation Cactus with the Maldives, FTA with Sri Lanka, open border with Nepal) and disputes (river waters, illegal migration, ethnic conflict, Maoist movement). The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC, 1985) and SAFTA (2004) provide a multilateral framework for economic cooperation, though political differences continue to limit their effectiveness. Whether South Asia evolves into a peaceful regional bloc depends more on its own peoples and governments than on outside powers.
Key Terms
South Asia
The seven (or eight, including Afghanistan) countries of the region bounded by the Himalayas and three seas. About 1.9 billion people.
SAARC
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, founded by the Dhaka Charter, December 1985. Eight members.
SAFTA
South Asian Free Trade Agreement, signed at 12th SAARC Summit, Islamabad (January 2004); came into effect 1 January 2006.
LTTE
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — Sri Lankan militant group fighting for "Tamil Eelam" 1983–2009.
Mukti Bahini
The Bengali "Liberation Army" of 1971 — backed by India in the Liberation War that produced Bangladesh.
IPKF
Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka, 1987–90, withdrew without attaining its objectives.
Maoists (Nepal)
Armed insurgents (1996–2006) who joined electoral politics after the 2006 People's Movement.
Druk Gyalpo
"Dragon King" — title of the king of Bhutan; led the country's 2008 transition to constitutional monarchy.
Gross National Happiness
Bhutan's holistic measure of progress — economic, environmental, cultural and spiritual well-being.
Pokhran II
Indian nuclear tests, May 1998, conducted in Rajasthan.
Chagai Hills
Site of Pakistan's nuclear tests, May 1998, in response to Pokhran II.
Line of Control (LoC)
Military boundary in Kashmir between Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Indian Jammu & Kashmir, drawn after 1947–48 war.
Operation Cactus
Indian military operation, November 1988, that foiled a mercenary coup in the Maldives.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Leader of the Awami League and the 1971 Bangladesh liberation movement; assassinated in 1975.
Awami League / BNP
The two main parties of Bangladeshi democracy since 1991.
Taliban
Afghan Islamist movement; ruled 1996–2001 and again from 2021.
Sinhala–Tamil conflict
Ethnic confrontation between Sri Lanka's majority Sinhala community and minority Tamils, source of 30-year civil war.
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Competency-Based Questions — Part 3
Case Study: India and Pakistan, the two largest South Asian neighbours, fought wars in 1947–48, 1965 and 1971, agreed to the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960, signed the Tashkent (1966) and Simla (1972) agreements, and parted ways nuclearly in May 1998 with Pokhran II and Chagai. The Kargil conflict of June–July 1999 came barely four months after PM Vajpayee's bus journey to Lahore. Around the same time, India was negotiating the Farakka Treaty (December 1996) with Bangladesh, signing a Free Trade Agreement (December 1998) with Sri Lanka, and being commemorated for Operation Cactus in the Maldives. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, founded by the Dhaka Charter of December 1985, signed the SAFTA agreement at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad in January 2004, which came into effect on 1 January 2006. Afghanistan joined SAARC in 2007. The 18th SAARC Summit was held in Kathmandu in November 2014.
Q1. In which year did India and Pakistan conduct nuclear tests, with India testing at Pokhran and Pakistan responding at the Chagai Hills?
L1 RememberAnswer: (C) 1998 — In May 1998, India conducted nuclear explosions at Pokhran (Pokhran II), and Pakistan responded within days with its own tests at the Chagai Hills.
Q2. SAFTA was signed in 2004 at the 12th SAARC Summit. Where was the summit held, and when did SAFTA come into effect?
L2 UnderstandAnswer: (B) Islamabad, 2006 — SAFTA was signed in January 2004 at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad and came into effect on 1 January 2006.
Q3. Analyse, in five sentences, the role of external powers (US and China) in shaping bilateral relations in South Asia.
L4 AnalyseModel Answer: First, the United States has expanded its presence in South Asia after the Cold War, supplying arms and aid to Pakistan, building a strategic partnership with India, and acting as an off-stage mediator in India–Pakistan crises. Second, large South Asian diasporas in the US and the region's market size have given Washington an added stake in regional security. Third, China's strategic partnership with Pakistan — including the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor — remains a continuing irritant in Sino-Indian relations. Fourth, China and India have nonetheless deepened economic ties since 1991, showing that competition and cooperation coexist. Fifth, the lesson is that bilateral disputes in South Asia are continually conditioned by the calculations of outside powers, even though the future of the region depends more on its own peoples and governments than on any external player.
HOT Q. Imagine you are India's foreign secretary in 2025. Design a five-point "Neighbourhood First 2.0" policy that addresses the legitimate anxieties of every South Asian neighbour and revives SAARC. Justify each point.
L6 CreateHint: A serviceable five-point plan could include: (1) a binding regional water-sharing framework anchored on the Indus Waters Treaty model, extending to the Teesta and the Himalayan rivers; (2) a SAARC-wide energy and connectivity grid built on the existing India–Bhutan hydropower model; (3) an asymmetric SAFTA 2.0 that opens India's market further to smaller members while phasing tariff cuts on their side, defusing the "invasion" fear; (4) a Joint Disaster-Response Mechanism, building on cyclone and tsunami cooperation; (5) a SAARC counter-terrorism framework that allows continued bilateral talks with Pakistan on the basis of verifiable commitments. Each point matches a long-standing neighbour grievance to a concrete Indian instrument.
⚖️ Assertion–Reason Questions — Part 3
Options:
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true, but R is false.
(D) A is false, but R is true.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true, but R is false.
(D) A is false, but R is true.
Assertion (A): The Indus Waters Treaty (1960) has survived all major military conflicts between India and Pakistan.
Reason (R): The Treaty was signed with the help of the World Bank and gave India and Pakistan separate, well-defined rights over different rivers of the Indus basin.
Answer: (A) — Both A and R are true, and R explains A. The clarity of the Treaty's allocation and the credibility of World Bank mediation made it durable enough to outlast wars in 1965, 1971 and 1999.
Assertion (A): SAARC has been less successful as a regional grouping than ASEAN or the EU.
Reason (R): Persisting political differences among South Asian states, especially between India and Pakistan, have repeatedly blocked summit-level decisions.
Answer: (A) — Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A. NCERT itself notes that "due to persisting political differences, SAARC has not had much success".
Assertion (A): India sent the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka in 1987 to stabilise relations between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils.
Reason (R): The Indian Air Force foiled a mercenary attack on the Maldives in November 1988 through Operation Cactus.
Answer: (B) — Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A. The IPKF deployment in 1987 was a Sri Lankan ethnic-conflict mission; Operation Cactus in November 1988 was a separate Maldives-rescue operation. Both illustrate Indian regional engagement, but they are independent events.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the major India-Pakistan wars?
India and Pakistan have fought four major wars: 1947–48 over Kashmir, 1965 over Kashmir again, 1971 over the liberation of Bangladesh (which India won decisively), and the 1999 Kargil conflict in Ladakh. Both countries became overt nuclear powers in May 1998.
What is the Kashmir issue?
Kashmir is a territorial dispute over the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, divided since 1947 by the Line of Control between Indian-administered J&K and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India regards the entire state as its integral part. Article 370 was revoked by India in August 2019, and J&K and Ladakh were reorganised as Union Territories.
What is the Indus Waters Treaty?
The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, signed by Nehru and Ayub Khan with World Bank mediation, allocates the three eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) to India and the three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan. It has survived all India-Pakistan wars and is one of the most durable bilateral water-sharing treaties in the world.
What is SAARC?
SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), founded in Dhaka in December 1985, is the regional organisation of South Asia. Members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and (since 2007) Afghanistan. SAARC promotes economic, social and cultural cooperation but has been hampered by India-Pakistan tensions.
What is SAFTA?
The South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), signed at the 12th SAARC Summit in 2004 and effective January 2006, aims to lower tariffs and create a free trade area in South Asia. Implementation has been slow due to political tensions, leaving intra-South Asian trade among the lowest in the world (around 5% of total trade of these countries).
What is India's neighbourhood policy?
India follows a "Neighbourhood First" policy of building economic, infrastructure and connectivity ties with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan. Tools include subregional groupings like BIMSTEC and BBIN, special lines of credit for infrastructure, and rapid disaster-relief assistance.
How are India-Bangladesh relations today?
India-Bangladesh relations are among the strongest in South Asia. The 2015 Land Boundary Agreement settled enclaves, the 1996 Ganges Water Treaty addressed river-sharing, and trade, transit, energy and connectivity have grown sharply. Tensions remain over migration and Teesta water-sharing, but the partnership is deep.
End of Chapter 3 — Contemporary South Asia
Continue to other chapters of Class 12 Contemporary World Politics
Continue to other chapters of Class 12 Contemporary World Politics
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Class 12 Political Science — Contemporary World Politics
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