“For India, South Asia is not just a neighbourhood but a shared space where peace, progress, and prosperity must co-exist.” – Pranab Mukherjee, former President of India.
India is a major power and aspiring country in the South Asian region. Maintaining stability and peace in the region is one of India’s most significant interests under neighbourhood policy. Unfortunately, except India, all other states in the South Asian region are struggling with political instability, food crisis, fundamentalism and lack of democratization. As former National Security Advisor opined “India cannot rise without South Asia. If the region is unstable, India’s rise is an illusion”. As a big brother and largest economic and military power in the region, India should focus on establishing stability, progress and development.
On several occasions, India extended its support to neighbouring countries during civil wars, ethnic conflicts, natural calamities, disasters and pandemic-19. Historically, India has shared very strong relations with countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Despite their small economy and territory, the two South Asian countries play a significant role in the geopolitics of the region. To stabilize the region, prevent Chinese intervention and promote regional integration India should exclusively focus on Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as it shares a strained relationship with Pakistan. India played a very significant role in rebuilding Sri Lanka in the post-civil war period with LTTE.
Even in 2022, Sri Lanka was in the middle of an economic crisis which turned into a food-energy and finally into a political crisis, which led to flee of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. As they were highly dependent on external debts from countries like China and Japan to run their economy. Their extreme dependence on China has been termed as Sri Lanka falling into China’s debt trap as their investment has largely been regarding strategic interests in terms of infrastructure development to strengthen BRI. However, Since 2022, India has provided approximately $ 3 billion to Sri Lanka, the reserve bank of India provided a $400 million currency swap and also provided with fuel over 27000 metric tonnes of diesel and petrol, and food, around 40,000 tonnes of rice.
Similarly, India should also play a significant role in the ongoing political crisis of Bangladesh to establish peace and the rule of law. In 1971, India liberated Bangladesh from Pakistan through military intervention, since then India and Bangladesh have had strong ties. Many Indian students reside in Bangladesh for their education. Hence that is also a concern for India if there is instability in Bangladesh, approximately 6,700 Indian students were assisted by India to safely return home during the crisis. If the conflict escalates, as it is now the refugees will turn to India which will in turn create turmoil and this issue will remain as internal as previously believed by India. India believed that Dhaka should be in charge of handling the domestic issues of Bangladesh. It is in India’s best interest to maintain peace, security, and strong bilateral ties with its neighbour. But now the minorities have been targeted, considering that many of them are Hindus they will turn to India for help. This issue escalated after Sheikh Hasina left, she decided to reside in India for a while, the main opposition party to Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has voiced displeasure with India’s choice to give the ousted prime minister asylum after she fled to India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Yunus and reaffirmed India’s dedication to working with Dhaka to realize their shared aspirations of peace, security, and development for their respective countries. Along with expressing optimism for a speedy return to normalcy, Modi emphasized the significance of making sure that Hindus and other minority communities are safe and protected. There is a chance that if the situation worsens, India will send peacekeeping troops to maintain peace and order.
Currently, the media image of the relationship between India and Bangladesh has worsened because of the targeted violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh which has increased the existing islamophobia in India. The BNP has asked India to extradite Sheikh Hasina which has not taken place so far. India can help ensure free and fair elections in Bangladesh by supporting election monitoring and bolstering democratic institutions, particularly regarding the upcoming elections.
As external minister S. Jaishankar rightly said “India’s destiny is intertwined with that of its neighbourhood; our security and prosperity are linked.” India views itself as the natural leader of the region, and shares borders with several countries in South Asia, making regional stability crucial for its national security. Instability in India’s neighbours can cause problems including cross-border terrorism, refugee crises, and economic disruptions. India’s influence is being challenged by China’s increasing influence in South Asia through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China’s strategies like the string of pearls are affecting India as it encircles India by asserting its dominance, which includes investments in ports, infrastructure, and military bases in nations like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. India strives to maintain a balance of power in the region that serves its strategic interests and keeps no one foreign power from controlling all of South Asia.
