South Asia is a most complex, volatile and one of the most socially and politically divided and region of the world. The region of South Asia mainly consists of eight states: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

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Significance Of South Asia as Strategic Location for India
South Asia is a most complex, volatile and one of the most socially and
politically divided and region of the world. The region of South Asia mainly
consists of eight states: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. It is home to 1.4 billion people, more than 20
percent of the world population. Thus, about one-fifth of humanity lives
between the western reaches of Afghanistan and Pakistan on one side and the
eastern reaches of Bangladesh and India on the other. It is a region that lies
between the sea routes of the Indian Ocean (Persian Gulf and the Asia-Pacific)
and the land routes of Central Asia connecting Europe to the East. It is a large
reservoir of natural and human resources,
making it a prime destination for finance
capital, a lucrative market for trade and a
source of cheap raw material. It also sits at
the confluence of the richest sources of oil,
gas, rubber, manganese, copper, gold, tea,
cotton, rice and jute and is the transit
point for most of the resources and
manufactures that cris-cross the world.
Moreover, it is the most heavily
militarized and bureaucratized zone in the
world and it has a variety of complex and
violent primordial ethnic groups.
Geopolitically, the region of South Asia is identified as that which lies
south of the former Soviet Union and China, south of the Himalayas; bordering
in the east by Myanmar (Burma) and in the west by Afghanistan. In a sense
Myanmar and Afghanistan are border line states of the regions of South East
Asia and South West Asia respectively. The creation of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in 1985 represented the
recognition of the geopolitical entity of South Asia. The methodologies used
for identifying the regional area as consisting of geographically proximate and
interacting states sharing some degree of common ethnic, linguistic, cultural,

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social and historical bonds, became the basis of the formation of the
association. The countries included in this regional organisation are
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
South Asian Regional State System: Basic Features
The basic characteristics of the South Asian regional state system are as
follows:
i) India, by virtue of its geographic size and location, economic and
industrial base and military strength occupies a pivotal
position in the region. The Indian aspirations for leadership,
dominance or hegemony are a product of these geopolitical
conditions.
ii) South Asia, minus India, has two kinds of powers. Pakistan is one
major power that can limit Indian hegemonic aspirations.
Pakistan’s own limitations come from its geographic location
and economic and military potentials. Unlike the pre 1971
Pakistan, the present Pakistan without its eastern linkage lies
on the border of South Asia. It shares close ideological affinity
with the Islamic West Asian State system. Pakistan may be
described as a major power of the region and classified as a
‘bargainer’ or a ‘partner’ in the South Asian state system.
Pakistan does not have the ability to substitute India as a
leader of the region, yet it can bargain with India for
partnership in the decision-making of the region.
iii)The other type of countries would include the smaller countries
like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. They
can pose problems to the core power through extra regional
intervention, or their own internal stability. They can also
legitimise the dominance of the core power by acceptance of
the balance of power in the region.

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iv)The major and most active power relationships in South Asia are
affected by the intrusive powers. These extra regional powers,
like the United States, Russia (formerly USSR), China and
others have influenced policies of the region. All the South
Asian countries, including India, have sought to use the extra
regional powers’ ability to influence to their advantage.
Emergent Order in South Asia
The initial impulse of the Asian States on attaining independence was to
isolate themselves from the Cold War bloc politics. The Indian approach under
Nehru focused on the need to develop an independent understanding of world
affairs and a peace policy. The application of these principles came in the
series of conferences that took place in Asia that sought to establish the
framework of peace through regionalism. The Asian Relations Conference
(Delhi, 1947) was the first such
conference that gathered the leaders of
Asian countries that were still in the
process of emerging from the colonial
fold. It sought to establish an Asian
identity and a common approach to
such issues like peace and
development. The Conference on
Indonesia (Delhi, 1949) sought to
create an international public opinion
against colonialism and support the
freedom movement in Indonesia. The Colombo Conference (1954) and the
Afro-Asian Bandung Conference (1955) laid the foundations of regionalism.
The former was a conference of South and South East Asian countries and the
latter that of Afro-Asian countries. These conferences represented the growth
of regionalism in the Third World, especially Asia. The Bandung Conference
was to spell out the principles of Peaceful Coexistence (Panchsheel) as
principles that should govern the relations between states. The movement
towards regionalism did not create any institutional arrangements in Asia. It
remained as an effort in identifying the common concerns of post colonial
states focusing on the problems of development.