With all this linguistic, ethnic, and political diversity, how has India stuck together as a single country for so long? Traditional and Non-Traditional Security Threats to South Asia These simmering conflicts can always increase in intensity if underlying political conflicts endure. 0000003934 00000 n WebContemporary South Asia (1992), 1(1), 143-146 Commentary Challenges and opportunities for South Asia M. B. NAQVI The destruction of both communism and the Soviet state in what was the USSR has profoundly changed the geopolitical environment of South Asia. The reliability of data from this conflict environment is extremely limited: disappearances, dubious claims about the identity of the dead, extensive human rights abuses, and restricted media and NGO access have been characteristics of the last three decades. Social movements in southern Asia have been shaped by the social relations dominated by the elites of the south Asian societies who share some common features in terms of culture and ideology. Regions of the World, Return to South Chinese support for insurgents in the Northeast, meanwhile, dropped off dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s. endstream endobj 78 0 obj <>stream The mass migration of workers to Russia has slowed the economic development of Central Asian countries, incentivizing generation after generation to leave the country; this trend creates a negative feedback loop. endstream endobj 79 0 obj <>stream Central Asian Society Drifts From Soviet Past, National Cultures Put on Display at Central Asian World Nomad Games, Central Asian Migration to Russia Brings Money, Social Problems. While the true number of conflict-related fatalities is difficult to ascertain, all indications suggest a sustained and quite dramatic drop in conflict-related fatalities in the Northeast. Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide. While the Pakistani military is currently riding high politically, its track record over time has included miscalculation and counterproductive policies (for instance, repressing unarmed political movements while tolerating Islamist armed groups that later grew out of control). Moreover, migration of mostly young men has led to rising divorce rates in Central Asian countries, where its not uncommon for one parent to be abroad for most of the year. As in the mountainous peripheries where the state waged counterinsurgency against the TTP, due process and rule of law have been troubled in the Karachi operations. Interestingly, while the Peoples Movements in the respective countries were structural and political in nature, subsequent movements have been fuelled with the voices of identity and rights of socially disadvantaged ethnic groups. WebUsing a cross-disciplinary approach, the author discusses evolving physical and cultural landscapes. Key findings about Unlike other regions of the world, many of South Asias most powerful leaders have been and are women; however, a majority of these women come from political dynasties. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is such a political complexity, which remains an economic and geopolitical power of the region. Since 2000, India has faced insurgencies in three geographic areas. The countries of South Asia are incredibly diverse, so there are no simple takeaways from these trends. Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Indias first prime minister, served as prime minister for almost sixteen nonconsecutive years and was a powerful force in Indian politics for decades. Inflation in South Asia, caused by elevated global food and energy prices and trade restrictions that worsened food insecurity in the region, is expected to rise to 9.2 percent this year before gradually subsiding. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. Dragons and Tigers is the only textbook that covers all three regions South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia in one textbook. South Asian countries report the highest prevalence of common mental disorders (CMDs) globally. This triggered a major MHA response combined with the efforts of state police forces, as well as the involvement in some places and times of a controversial progovernment militia. The World Bank Group works in every major area of development. u2mnTThzRH'C9z RQ\O. 6 Environmental Challenges Facing Southeast Asia IN SOUTH ASIA There are various currents of social movements, today, across the region, which have become strengthened and highly vocal over last three decades. In Pakistan, substantial violence in the southern port city of Karachi was joined by a resurgent insurgency in the southwestern province of Balochistan and an extremely bloody rebellion led by the Pakistani Taliban. First, there has been a sizable internal security buildup in India over the last two decades. There have been sustained and credible allegations of human rights violations by Indian security forces and various insurgent groups, major disruptions to civilian life, and mainstream political systems in these areas requiring heavy force deployments to be sustainable. Despite having a long historical background, critics suggest that the social movements are increasingly contested with identity politics and agrarian issues. And Nepal has reduced its maternal mortality by more than 70 percent since 1990 through government and donor-supported investments in education, free child-delivery services, and improvements to road infrastructure, which allow mothers to more easily reach health clinics in the mountains and hills. 0000007939 00000 n This is not a simple story of state capacity, however: coercive power has been deployed in selective ways, including cases in which a state ignores or cooperates with non-state armed groups, from militias to vigilantes. Following critical discourse analysis, the paper concludes that the social movements has been shaped by the social relations dominated by the elites of the south Asian societies who share some common features in terms of culture and ideology. -- Volume 34, Number 1, March 2019, Editorial Board All rights reserved. We face big challenges to help the worlds poorest people and ensure that everyone sees benefits from economic growth. All that can be credibly inferred is the overall trend, which decreases from the early 2000s to a lower steady state in the 2010s. A map showing the number of movies released from India's states and territories, each of which has its own primary language. With 1.3 Billion People, India Is a Continent of Its Own. The World Banks development updates for Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka were also released today. Children of South Asian immigrants may face challenges associated with the pressure of straddling two different worlds. First, violence suppression is not the same as conflict resolution. Empirical and theoretical research articles are published with a view to promoting and disseminating scholarship in and on the region. Familiar landmarks created by the cold war have not WebMost Indians do not identify as South Asian, raising concerns for the viability of it as a classification. The first is in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), where insurgency arose in the late 1980s following a rigged state assembly election and has continued ever since at varying levels of intensity. Indian films might be famous for their catchy and colorful musical numbers, but they also reflect Indias diversity. Issues like water scarcity, poverty, food insecurity, resource depletion, climate change, environmental degradation, inadequacy of health services, and so forth directly affect millions of South Asians. But mental health is deeply stigmatized in many South Asian communities and symptoms are often trivialized. Top 4 issues for South Asias millennials - World The Indian Army also has an important presence in J&K and the Northeast, contributing to a vast security footprint that can suppress insurgent violence. India's child malnutrition levels nearly double those of sub-Saharan Africa; one in ten Pakistani Click to reveal Figure 4 draws on three datasets on political violence in Pakistan over time.4 While they examine somewhat different definitions of violence, and all of the crucial caveats about data quality outlined above for India hold for Pakistan as well, the basic trend of sharply decreasing fatalities in political violence over the last decade is consistent across them. How has this transformation occurred? With the end of Cold War, social movement discourse of south Asia has been featured with identity-based movements, and it became more apparent after the emergence of non-state activism in the region. As a result, millions of people from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan looking for work traveled north to Russia, where wages were higher, jobs were plentiful, and the language was familiar. Sign up to receive emails from Carnegies South Asia Program! Rapid urbanization has also led to high levels of air pollutionthe region is home to eighteen of the worlds twenty most polluted cities. Its constitution recognizes twenty-two languages, and its population is bigger than Africas. Yet, in some countries, ideas about gender are evolving. Plunged into its worst-ever economic crisis, Sri Lankas real GDP is expected to fall by 9.2 percent this year and a further 4.2 percent in 2023. 0000000016 00000 n -- Volume 21, Number 1, April 2006. To estimate regional aggregates in the calendar year, fiscal year data is converted to calendar year data by taking the average of two consecutive fiscal years for Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan at 2015 constant US$, for which quarterly GDP data are not available. Children of South Asian immigrants may face challenges associated with the pressure of straddling two different worlds. -- Volume 23, Number 1, April 2008, Editorial Board People and Society - South & Central Asia | World101 These changes across South Asia may be permanent, heralding the dominance of the state after a long period of persistent insurgent challenges. HTM0Wj|4,t5LG$};LV$!u~Izke@F(/_z2f:TD&P^GJ,&A)Q)mrv8VVQEb It is the most comprehensive book on the market about the geography of Asia. This campaign did not follow classical counterinsurgency best practices; instead, the Pakistani militarys suppression of the TTP saw high levels of state violence, refugee displacement, disappearances, and expansive surveillance. Finally, the paper anticipates a call for the collective colloquium of south Asian social movements. -- Volume 22, Number 1, April 2007, Editorial Board Yet there are reasons to be cautious in concluding that there has been an irreversible transformation. Following seven decades of Soviet rule, these newly independent countries are reasserting their distinct national identities through events such as the World Nomad Games, where traditional sports like horseback archery, golden eagle hunting, and high-speed yurt-building are on full display. Although reports of some degree of sanctuary in China and possible tacit support for rebels have grown in recent years, there has not been a return to the levels of the past. Third, even noninsurgent violence has the potential to spiral into broader conflict. The decrease in violence in Kashmir since 2003 is also striking. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Pew Research Center -- Volume 38, Number 1, March 2023, Editorial Board Many studies have shown that South Asian immigrants in Canada, the United States and the When young South Asian adults pursue a career that their family approves of instead of one that they find personally fulfilling, they might feel proud for maintaining family expectations. But since the Soviet Unions collapse in 1991, Russian language instruction in schools has substantially decreased, Russian media is now hard to come by, and many of Central Asias younger generations are instead opting today to pursue the languages of rising powers like China. The group has since splintered, with cadres retreating into Afghanistan, abandoning the fight, or lying low. These gender inequalities continue into adulthood. To learn more about cookies, click here. It is a sea change. WebSouth Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions globally to a number of direct and indirect effects of climate change, including sea level rise, cyclonic activity, and changes in ambient temperature and precipitation patterns. -- Volume 30, Number 3, November 2015, Editorial Board State of Social Movements in South Asia: Critical 3 These data are drawn from MHA annual reports. xref The return of tourism is helping to drive growth in Maldives, and to a lesser extent in Nepalboth of which have dynamic services sectors. South Asia SOJOURN is published twice a year, in April and October. -- Volume 33, Number 2, July 2018, Editorial Board {BViLNL7E/eEDaXJ|xPKLDeg bCbxiI5~|6QSkQl2*>UWJ:+LW##9\IMNj~R LkX 0000042665 00000 n Happily, however, the Sino-Indian relations are on an This paper contributes to the debate on the Sustainable Development Goals progress by evaluating the MDGs achievements in South Asia and the policy and institutional challenges deriving from such experience. How Socio-economic Scenario of South Asia: An Overview of Impacts HTMk1tFO(cIJc% In Bangladesh, the highly personalized Awami League uses the security forces as a tool of regime survival. Figure 3 shows the sanctioned strengths of Indias two largest central police forces, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF), from 1988 to 2018.3 The BSF has a major role in J&K, and the CRPF is heavily deployed across Indias areas of insurgency; both have expanded dramatically. Several factors have worked to reduce insurgent violence against the Indian state. The film industry is one of Indias most prominent cultural exports. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that a fulfilling career leads to better life satisfaction, and as a result, lower psychological problems. Three states have populations of over one hundred million people. In less than a decade, for example, India is projected to overtake China as the worlds most populous country. To this day, money sent back home by these migrant workers accounts for as much as a third of some countries economies. -- Volume 37, Number 1, March 2022, Editorial Board Such massive populations present economic opportunities for South Asian countries but also leave the regionone already prone to floods and heat wavesmore vulnerable to climate change and the spread of disease. There has been less political accommodation than in Indias Northeast, and human rights abuses are pervasive, fusing counterinsurgency with the broader political objectives of the military in managing Pakistans political sphere. It emerges amid growing water crises in many regions, which have come to constitute a global crisis. India and Pakistan continue to heavily garrison areas of insurgency, regardless of violence levels. With 189 member countries, staff from more than 170 countries, and offices in over 130 locations, the World Bank Group is a unique global partnership: five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries. India, once the exceptional case of liberal democracy in the region, has seen its rating drop in recent years, echoing a decrease in Freedom Houses assessment. Figure 5 shows trends in V-Dems Liberal Democracy index since 2000 (higher numbers indicate greater liberal democracy). Second, the increasingly volatile international politics of the region may provide new incentives for governments to support armed groups across borders, tapping into preexisting conflicts and grievances. It also helps adjust to shocks such as climate events to which South Asias rural poor are particularly vulnerable, said Hans Timmer, World Bank Chief Economist for South Asia. The Communist Party of NepalMaoist (CPN-M) launched a revolutionary insurgency in 1996, seeking to overthrow the government and create a communist state in Nepal. Survey data from the report suggests that in late 2021 and early 2022, migration flows are associated with movement from areas hit hard by the pandemic to those that were not, thus helping equilibrate demand and supply of labor in the aftermath of the COVID-19 shock. Pakistans counterinsurgency successes have been accompanied by the militarys enduring political power and serious limits on rights. It is based on conversations that took place at the Our Future is Public conferencein Santiago, Chile, in 2022, and is part of the movements critical response to- and reflections on the UN 2023 WaterConference. High-quality, standards-aligned classroom resources, lesson plans, teaching inspiration, and professional development opportunitiesall inspired by our mission that Global Civics is essential for twenty-first century citizenship. Held every two years, the Olympics-style gathering boasts over forty sports, including horseback archery, golden eagle hunting, bone tossing, seventeen types of wrestling, high-speed yurt-building, dog racing, and kok boru, a game in which horse-mounted players throw a headless goat carcass into a large goal. After devastating climate-change-fueled floods submerged one-third of the country this year, itsoutlook remains subject to significant uncertainty. -- Volume 34, Number 3, November 2019, Editorial Board Climate change in South Asia The journal includes articles, research notes and comments, notices on conferences, workshops and seminars, and book reviews, as well as occasional English translations of pivotal research published in Southeast Asian languages. Firstly, cutting the costs migrants face should be high on the policy agenda. (Clockwise starting from top left) Keystone/Getty Images, Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images, AFP/GettyImages, Eric Piper/Getty Images, How the World Works and Sometimes Doesnt, Return to -- Volume 35, Number 3, November 2020, Editorial Board 0 0000003857 00000 n Moving from corporate responsibility to impact, US Fed likely to make final interest rate hike in May, and other economy stories you need to read this week, World Economic Outlook shows economies facing high uncertainty, Mehdi Benatiya Andaloussi and Chiara Maggi, Heres what the mixed economic messages mean for business, IMF: Fiscal policy can promote economic stability and address risks to public finances, Francesca Caselli, Vitor Gaspar, Gee Hee Hong and Paulo Medas, Inflation reaches lowest point in almost two years, is affecting economies, industries and global issues, with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale. -- Volume 36, Number 2, July 2021, Editorial Board Nevertheless, the homeownership rate is on the rise among Asian Americans, increasing from 53% in 2000 to 59% in 2019. The major insurgencies in India have seen a downward trend in lethal violence; the TTP has been badly degraded; the Tamil Tigers have been destroyed; Nepals Maoists have been incorporated into a new Nepali political system; and Bangladeshs descent into competitive authoritarianism has been grimly accompanied by a reduction in direct anti-state violence.1. ISSUES IN SOUTH ASIA - JSTOR Indias coercive apparatus, meanwhile, is vast and growing, but ideological hubris and political exclusion risk backlash. 1. In parts of Pakistan, nearly one-third of all primary schoolaged girls are not in school. Six Pressing Issues in Asia and How We're - The Asia Foundation In the first decade of the 2000s, both Nepal and Sri Lanka grappled with major insurgencies. There have been sustained and credible allegations of human rights violations by Indian security forces and various insurgent groups, major disruptions to civilian life, Traditional psychotherapy has been founded on normalized versions of western, middle-class families. This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. Exports and the services sector in India, the regions largest economy, have recovered more strongly than the world average while its ample foreign reserves served as a buffer to external shocks. However, in South Asian families individuals can also feel pressure to sacrifice their personal desires for the expectations of their family. Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees. Two prominent causes of family conflict arise when South Asian adolescents and young adults wish to start dating or pursue a career that is discerned to be unacceptable by the parents. A map showing the major religion in each country of South Asia. Pew Research Center Using cross-country regressions and aggregate indicators of poverty, health, education and gender parity outcomes, we offer The governments of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistanthe three richest and most populous countries in the regionwill also transition their languages away from the Russian Cyrillic script to Englishs Latin alphabet by 2025. There has been a dramatic transformation of Pakistans security environment since the height of the TTPs power. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c066082ba9642ea endstream endobj 80 0 obj <>stream Without cookies your experience may not be seamless. Unlike in the other countries examined here, large-scale anti-state insurgency has not been a major feature of Bangladeshs politics in the last two decades; a 1997 peace deal with the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti, a political party formed to represent the Indigenous peoples in the eastern Chittagong Hill Tracts, marked the end of a classical insurgency. And religious minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh often face severe persecution and receive almost no government protections. In the Northeast, the 1990s saw a resurgence of violence by Naga insurgent factions in Nagaland and neighboring states, the expansion of multiple insurgencies in the state of Assam, and ongoing or new violence in the states of Manipur, Meghalaya, and Tripura.