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South Asia in the world South Asia in the world: Problem solving perspectives on security, sustainable development, and good governance Edited by Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen United Nations a University Press TOKYO u NEW YORK u PARIS ( The United Nations University, 2004 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations University. United Nations University Press The United Nations University, 53-70, Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8925, Japan Tel: þ81-3-3499-2811 Fax: þ81-3-3406-7345 E-mail: [email protected] (general enquiries): [email protected] http://www.unu.edu United Nations University Office at the United Nations, New York 2 United Nations Plaza, Room DC2-2062, New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: þ1-212-963-6387 Fax: þ1-212-371-9454 E-mail: [email protected] United Nations University Press is the publishing division of the United Nations University. Cover design by Joyce C. Weston Cover photographs Background: UNHCR/P. Benatar Lower left: UNICEF/C34/7/Carolyn Watson Printed in Hong Kong UNUP-1093 ISBN 92-808-1093-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data South Asia in the world : problem solving perspectives on security, sustainable development, and good governance / edited by Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 92-808-1093-6 (pbk.) 1. South Asia—Politics and government. 2. South Asia—Foreign relations. 3. National security—South Asia. 4. United Nations—South Asia. I. Thakur, Ramesh Chandra, 1948– II. Wiggen, Oddny. DS341.S647 2004 954—dc22 2003025281 Contents Acknowledgements. ................................................. ix Listofcontributors.................................................... x Listoffigures.......................................................... xvii Listoftables........................................................... xviii Listofabbreviations................................................... xx Foreword: Mutual interest – The United Nations and South Asia xxii Lloyd Axworthy 1 Introduction: South Asia’s manifold challenge to the internationalcommunity .......................................... 1 Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen Part I: Overviews ..................................................... 19 2 South Asia in the family of nations . ......................... 21 Inder Kumer Gujral 3 South Asia: Melting pot of global faultlines. .................. 27 Sartaj Aziz v vi CONTENTS Part II: Security ...................................................... 37 4 Nuclear weapons and nuclear war in South Asia: Unknowable Futures . ...................................... 39 Stephen P. Cohen 5 International security in a nuclear South Asia . ................. 58 Christophe Carle 6 National security: Inter-state conflict in South Asia (a Nepali perspective)....................................................... 67 Lok Raj Baral 7 Terrorism and political agitation in post-colonial South Asia: Jammu-KashmirandSriLanka.................................. 84 Kingsley de Silva 8 South Asian contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations, with particular reference to India’s participation . 104 Satish Nambiar 9 The United Nations and South Asia: Bangladesh’s contributiontoUNpeacekeeping ............................... 115 Syed Fatemy Ahmed Roomy Part III: Development ............................................... 129 10 Pro-poor policies in South Asia. ............................... 131 Hafiz A. Pasha 11 Trade and investment in South Asia. ........................ 145 Farooq Sobhan and Riffat Zaman Part IV: Governance................................................. 171 12 Democratic governance in South Asia: Problems and prospects 173 Gautam Adhikari 13 Pluralism, democracy and governance and South Asia: ThecaseofSriLanka............................................ 185 Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu CONTENTS vii Part V: Environment ................................................. 203 14 Critical links between environment and development in South Asia................................................................. 205 Zafar Adeel and Awais Piracha 15 The environmental challenge to human security in South Asia................................................................. 225 Adil Najam 16 Diffusion of environmental peace? International rivers and bilateral relations in South Asia . ................................ 248 Ashok Swain Part VI: Regional cooperation ....................................... 267 17 A Security Organization for South Asia: Mechanism for conflict resolution in South Asia . ................................ 269 Niaz A. Naik 18 SAARC as an institutional framework for cooperation in South Asia . ........................................................ 279 Nihal Rodrigo Part VII: Human security ............................................ 293 19 Human security: The perspective of children and women in South Asia . ........................................................ 295 Manzoor Ahmed 20 Child malnutrition and gender discrimination in South Asia: Is the worst malnutrition linked to the worst gender discriminationintheworld? ...................................... 315 Santosh Mehrotra 21 ‘‘Hum honge kamiyab . [We shall overcome . .]’’: Non-governmental organizations, the state and human securityinIndia.................................................... 335 Rekha Datta Part VIII: ‘‘9/11’’, Afghanistan and South Asia ..................... 355 22 Post-Taliban Afghanistan and South Asian security. ........... 357 Samina Ahmed viii CONTENTS 23 South-WestAsiaaftertheTaliban............................... 373 Mohammed Ayoob 24 The changing geopolitics of Central, West and South Asia after11September................................................ 395 Amin Saikal Part IX: Towards a brighter future ................................. 411 25 PakistanandIndia:Thewayforward............................ 413 Samina Yasmeen 26 India–Pakistanrelations:Waysforward......................... 429 Gopalaswami Parthasarathy Index.................................................................. 441 Acknowledgements A number of individuals and organizations have provided invaluable assistance and support at various stages of this book project. We are grateful for the support from the embassies of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as the UN agencies in Japan in the organization of the conference on ‘‘The United Nations and South Asia’’ at UN House in Tokyo in May 2002, on which the contributions to this volume are based. We deeply appreciate the logistical and administrative assistance offered by Yoshie Sawada of the Peace and Governance Programme of the United Nations University. We are grateful to Lysette Rutgers for excellent editorial assistance in the preparation of the manuscript. We would like to thank UNU Press, particularly Gareth Johnston, for his support in the publication process, and Liz Paton, the copyeditor of this volume. Finally, we wish to thank our contributors for sharing their insights. Ramesh Thakur Oddny Wiggen September 2003 ix Contributors Zafar Adeel is an assistant director of Enterprise Institute in Washington, the United Nations University D.C., USA. He is a consultant on (UNU) International Network on democracy, media affairs, develop- Water, Environment and Health ment communications and South (UNU-INWEH), Canada. He earlier Asian affairs. He is the author of served as an Academic Programme Press Councils: The Indian Experience Officer in the Environment and (1971) and author/editor of India: Sustainable Development The First 50 Years (1997). Programme at the UNU Headquarters in Tokyo. He has Manzoor Ahmed is the convenor of experience in a variety of Education Watch, an independent environmental issues, including research group in Bangladesh, and water quality and pollution, water adviser to UNICEF and BRAC and natural resource management (a major development in dry areas, modelling of non-governmental organization) in environmental systems, and Bangladesh. He previously served as environmental policy development. associate director of programmes at By training, Dr. Adeel is an UNICEF headquarters and as its environmental engineer with country director in China, Ethiopia postgraduate degrees from Carnegie and Japan. He is the author and Mellon University and Iowa State co-author of several books on University, USA. education and development. Gautam Adhikari,formerexecutive Samina Ahmed is project director for editor of The Times of India,isa Afghanistan and South Asia at the visiting