South Asia, a region encompassing Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives, is home to approximately 2.04 billion individuals, representing nearly one-fourth of the global population. Yet, despite its demographic weight, the region bears a disproportionate burden of the world’s extreme poverty: more than 29 percent of those living in such dire conditions reside within its borders. Out of an estimated 736 million people globally classified as extremely poor, 216 million are South Asian.
In a landscape so afflicted by poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, and unemployment, the specter of war, an enterprise synonymous with death and devastation, should be unthinkable in all possible means. Yet South Asia is gripped by persistent hostilities, especially between its two nuclear-armed neighbors, India and Pakistan. The potential for a future military confrontation between these powers is not merely a bilateral concern but a looming catastrophe that could engulf the entire region. The entrenched territorial disputes of South Asia—many of which stem from its colonial past—remain the most formidable barriers to regional solidarity and integration. The unresolved India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir, the India-Nepal disagreement in the Kalapani area, the Pakistan-Afghanistan discord regarding the Durand Line, and the China-India territorial disputes along the McMahon Line are but a few of the lingering conflicts that stymie collective progress. More than a couple of weeks have elapsed since a fragile ceasefire de-escalated tensions between India and Pakistan. While hostilities have momentarily subsided, the truce remains tenuous. The latest episode of brinkmanship offers a sobering reminder of what is at stake and the urgent need for introspection. South Asia cannot continue to bear the human and economic costs of a rivalry that has now spanned five wars since the 1947 Partition. Nationalist fervor, often amplified by religious rhetoric, has increasingly hijacked public discourse. In India, an assertive form of Hindu nationalism has gained traction, sometimes mirroring the same militant extremism it claims to oppose. The prevailing narrative celebrates military resilience on the Pakistani side and casts each confrontation as a moral and strategic victory. Neither posture serves the long-term interests of regional peace. Within this polarized environment, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has languished, a symbol of unrealized potential. Though established to foster regional unity and collaboration, SAARC has seldom risen beyond symbolic gestures. The fact that the most tangible outcome of its existence is reduced entry fees for citizens visiting one another’s heritage sites is a stark indictment of its ineffectiveness.
As public opinion is manipulated and militarized by political and media establishments, it begins to assume a life of its own, becoming an uncontrollable force that political leaders struggle to contain. In such a volatile climate, the imperative to revive regional dialogue and cooperation is not simply desirable but essential. The revival of SAARC must no longer be deferred. A reinvigorated regional architecture, committed to dialogue, trade, and collective development, offers the most viable path to sustained peace and prosperity. Only through such efforts can South Asia hope to transcend its historical animosities and realize the vast potential of its people.