SAARC aims at integration of south Asian nations for undertaking collective efforts to achieve common objective of regional stability and prosperity. Despite geographical contiguity and historical and cultural links, the SAARC region remains the most disconnected regions in the world.

SAARC has failed in achieving its objectives because:

• India-Pakistan rivalry: This has become a bottleneck in achieving effective coordination. India has conveyed that terrorism and talks cannot go on simultaneously.
• Bilateral issues: Long pending issues between members like fishermen issue between India and Srilanka, Teesta water sharing between India and Bangladesh, lack of direct access to Afghanistan to other members except Pakistan have restricted in arriving at common ground for regional integration.
• Perceived Big-Brother attitude of India: Asymmetry in the region due to sheer size of Indian economy and stature in international arena requires India to play an over active role. However, this is perceived as big brother attitude by other members creating mistrust.
• Internal Crises: Almost every member is facing numerous internal crises like Tamils issue in Srilanka, Constitutional crisis in Nepal, religious fundamentalism in Pakistan and Bangladesh, Terrorism and instability in Afghanistan. Consequently, there is no much enthusiasm to achieve collaboration in the sub continent.
• China’s inroad into SAARC countries: Increasing presence of china in the region and reservations of India with China is creating roadblocks. India cannot match the levels of financing by China. China with its grand plan of BRI has lured the small nations.
• Poverty- Ridden: Even though the region accounts for 21% of world population, its share in global GDP is just around 3%. Being one of the poverty ridden areas of the world, there is limited avenues to achieve synergy.

The recent issues which highlight the growing redundancy of SAARC in terms of achieving its stated objectives as well as India’s national interests are:

• SAARC summit scheduled in Islamabad in 2016 was cancelled due to continued support of terrorism by Pakistan. The other nations like Bhutan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan also reiterated the same view.
• A meeting between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan was scheduled on sidelines of UNGA last year. Within 24 hours after announcing talks, India chose to pull out.
• Pakistan’s decision not to sign agreements on regional connectivity at the Kathmandu summit in 2014. Last minute pulling out of Bhutan from BBIN agreement.
• Sri Lanka has begun to describe itself as an Indian Ocean country. It is merely rediscovering its geographic centrality in the Indian Ocean and celebrating it.
• Maldives, too, has so much to gain by leveraging its Indian Ocean location rather than pin its hopes on the dystopian SAARC.
• Increasing sway of China by signing FTA’s, leasing out land for infrastructure projects has affected Indian interests and SAARC as an organization.

Way forward for India to better realise its strategic and economic interests in South Asia are:

• BIMSTEC is seen as complimentary for various initiatives of India like forming a bridge between ASEAN and India, new found concept of Indo-pacific, neighbourhood first policy.
• As the largest bay in the world, Bay of Bengal is a pivot for BIMSTEC countries. Their combined GDP — at 2.85 trillion US Dollars — and one of the largest combined population in the world, gives BIMSTEC an inherent advantage.
• India’s Trilateral highway project all the way to Cambodia will further strengthen the connectivity with South East Asian nations.
• The BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement will help in connectivity, economic development and regional integration. This will also help in the development of North-East India, which has hitherto been neglected.
• Focus on SASEC which is SAARC minus Pakistan;
• The RCEP initiative will form a bigger regional and economic entity, thus strengthening our Act East policy.
• The informal QUAD grouping with USA, Japan and Australia and increased focus on Indo-Pacific region must be leveraged to counter to Chinese hegemony in South Asian region.

Conclusion:

Geographies are not static; they evolve, sometimes slowly and quickly at others. How we imagine and construct regions changes according to circumstances. India must look at her national interests and strategic autonomy. In the process, she can take along the likeminded neighbours together.