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South Asia is one of the very few regions in the world with geographical contiguity as well as linguistic and cultural homogeneity. The region, inhabited by more than one-fifth of global population, is afflicted by a number of social, political and economic problems compounded by political mistrust and suspicion. The South Asian states are plagued by inter-state conflicts over boundaries. In addition, there is a sharp increase in unemployment, poverty, epidemics, drug trafficking, and environmental degradation etc. in the region which have internal and external dimensions. All these issues pose a far more serious and immediate challenge to the region. The South Asian region has potential to acquire a momentum of its own, leading to the total transformation of the region in the near future. The member states have to set aside their disputes, in order to improve their economic and trade relations. They have to realize that it is high time to shift their focus from the security of the borders to regional cooperation. The paper contributors in the volume- diplomats, academia and media - not only focused on the problems being faced by the South Asian countries; but also suggested the amicable solutions to overcome these problems and the possible ways to reconstruct a new South Asia. Thus, the main focus of the volume is to probe into various mechanisms to be adopted to make the South Asian region free from conflicts and enhance economic cooperation amongst the states, thereby improving the welfare of the people. While analyzing the conflicts and misunderstandings between/ among the countries in the region, the volume tries to underline the issues related to human development, traditional and non traditional security and the role of external powers in the peace process of South Asia. Table of Contents : Foreword by Amb. Sumith Nakandala, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Nepal Acknowledgements Introduction T. Nirmala Devi and Adluri Subramanyam Raju PART I South Asia: Connecting to a Globalized World 1. South Asia: Connecting to a Globalized World- I.P. Khosla Colonial Policy / 8; The Forces of History / 9; Measures to Globalize: Removing Trade Barriers / 12; Measures to Globalize: Transport / 13; Trade and Growth / 14; The Asian Level / 15; The South Asian Context / 16; SAARC and Transport Integration / 17; The SRMTS /18; Conclusion / 22 2. Space and Regional Cooperation: The SAARC Story - Shibashis Chatterjee and Sulagna Maitra Security Community, Regionalism and Geo-politics of Space / 28; Liberalism, Free Trade and Regionalism / 35; Community, Space and Regionalism / 39; Conclusion / 44 3. New Horizons in South Asia: A Focus on Indo-Pak Relations 47 Gopalji Malviya Current Initiatives / 49; CSBM - A Dim Hope / 51; Role of Democracy and Civil Society / 52; Conclusion / 53 4. The Peace Process: Challenges and Prospects - Noman Sattar India-Pakistan Context / 56; SAARC and Regional Politics / 57; Post-9/11 South Asia / 60; Conclusion / 62 5. Conflict Resolution in South Asia in an Age of Globalization -Rajpal Budania The Notion of International Conflict in South Asia / 65; The Post-Cold War and Globalization Dynamics / 66; Regional Integration and Conflict Resolution / 69; Reflections on Indo-Pakistan Conflict / 71; Managing the Arms Race and the Nuclear Issue / 75; Interests of Extra-regional Powers / 79; Conclusion / 81 PART II Human Security 6. Human Security in South Asia: The Varied Dimensions- T. Nirmala Devi Introduction / 90; Social Infrastructure in South Asia / 93; Priorities in Public expenditure / 101; India's role in Economic Security of South Asia / 103; Conclusion / 105 7. Peace, Neighbourly Diplomacy and Poverty Reduction for Building a New South Asia- Som P Pudasaini Conflict Resolution and Peace Building / 109; Good Neighbourly Diplomacy / 113; Poverty Reduction / 116; Conclusion / 119 8. Human Security in South Asia: Some Observations - Adluri Subramanyam Raju Fishermen Insecurity in South Asia / 124; Terrorism in South Asia / 127; Energy Security in South Asia / 128; Conclusion / 130 9. Human Security: An Indian Perspective- Nalini Kant Jha The Post-Cold War Discourse on National Security / 133; Ensuring Peace and National Security: Ancient Indian Perspective / 134; Maintaining International Peace and Security: Traditional Indian Thinking / 135; The Contemporary Vision of Peace and Security / 137; Striking a Balance between Idealism and Realism / 139 PART III Non-Traditional Security and Other Core Issues 10. From Traditional to Non-traditional Security - M.J. Vinod Ethnic, Linguistic and Religious Pluralism and Security / 145; Environment and Security / 146; Energy and Security / 147; Water and Security / 148; Narcotics and Arms Peddling Networks and Security / 150; Impact of Globalization on Security / 151; Governance and Security / 152; Conclusion / 152 11. Regional Integration in South Asia: From Discord to Free Trade- J. Laxmi Narasimha Rao From Here to Where / 165; Infrastructure and Transit Network / 170; Competitive Economies / 171; Market Access / 172; Customs and Procedures / 173; Services Sector / 174; Tourism / 174; A Common Regional Identity / 175; Conclusion / 176 12. Towards Building a South Asian Union - Syed Ali Mujtaba Is there a South Asia? / 181; Who Needs a South Asian Union? / 182; Why do we need a South Asian Union? / 182; What would we gain from the South Asian Union? / 182; What are the road blocks for a South Asian Union? / 183; What are the launch pads for a South Asian Union? / 184; How do we progress for a common South Asian Union? / 184; Could SAARC be the vehicle for South Asian Union? / 185; What should be the future agenda of South Asian Union? / 186; What are the prospects of a South Asian Union? / 187; Conclusion / 188 13. Ethnicity and the Operation of Social Processes in the South Asian Societies- V. Sreemannarayana Murthy The Origins of the term Ethnicity / 190; Social processes in India / 191; Sri Lanka / 192; Maldives / 195; Pakistan / 195; Bhutan / 197; Bangladesh / 197; Nepal / 198; Conclusion / 199 PART IV SAARC - CHINA, ASEAN and BIMSTEC 14. China's Interactions with South Asia: New Beginnings - Srikanth Kondapalli China and India / 204; China and Pakistan / 207; China and Bangladesh / 208; China and Nepal / 210; China and Sri Lanka / 211; China and Bhutan / 213; China and Maldives / 213; Conclusion / 214 15. Prospects of India's Partnership with ASEAN and BIMSTEC for the Development of Landlocked Northeast India -A. Lakshmana Chetty NER and its Integration with Rest of India / 220; Early attitude of Government of India towards NER / 221; NER and the Look East Policy / 221; India's Economic Interaction with Regional Groupings ASEAN / 223; BIMSTEC / 224; Kunming Initiative / 226; Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) / 227; Factors Impeding NER's Development / 229; Disturbing Security Scenario / 229; Closure of Borders / 230; Lack of Good Governance /230; Hostile attitude of Bangladesh / 231; Conclusion / 232 16. Strengthen BIMSTEC to Revitalize SAARC- Y. Yagama Reddy Conceptualization of Region-Forming Factors / 236; Geology, River Systems and Landforms / 237; Climatic Semblance / 238; Coastal Plains / 239; Agricultural Pattern: Both Semblance and Complementarity / 240; Inherent Complementarity and Imminent Cooperation / 240; Northeast Region of India as the Fulcrum of BIMSTEC / 241; Percolation of SAARC Bickerings into BIMSTEC / 242; Much Needed fillip to BIMSTEC for Revitalization SAARC / 243 Contributors Index About author : Prof. T. Nirmala Devi is Director of the Centre for SAARC Studies, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. She has been working on South Asian studies for over two decades. She was a Baden-Wurttemberg Fellow at the South Asia Institute, University of Hedelberg, Germany. She authored three books; edited one book,; and co-edited two books. She has six reports on South Asia and seventy research papers, covering issues of gender, demography and international economics. Dr. Adluri Subramanyam Raju is Associate Professor of Political Science in the Centre for SAARC Studies, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. He was a Salzburg Seminar Fellow (2006) and the recipient of the Mahbub Ul Haq Award (RCSS, Colombo, 2003); Scholar of Peace Award (WISCOMP, New Delhi, 2002) and Kodikara Award (RCSS, Colombo, 1998). He authored three books; co-authored one book; and edited four books.