Will India shape alternate regional platform to BIMSTEC?

Send
Saleem Samad
Published : 19:56, Jun 19, 2019 | Updated : 20:10, Jun 19, 2019

Saleem SamadThe decision to invite BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) leaders for the recent Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in-ceremony gives a clear indication that India considers it the only regional engagement platform in South Asia.
It is understood that New Delhi deliberately did not invite Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan, as a South Asian leader. India along with Bangladesh and other South Asian countries does not seem to treat the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as an effective structural regional platform.
By inviting only leaders of BIMSTEC for the ceremony, India clearly indicates that it feels the SAARC has no future....it's regrettable but it's a fact of history. South Asian cooperation is not going forward for the time being through the activities of SAARC.
In the years, India-Pakistan bilateral relationship has dipped in a quicksand of distrust and suspicion, far from developing into long-lasting neighbourly bondage.
After several wars and border skirmishes in disputed Kashmir, since October 1947 and recent Indo-Pakistan military standoff after a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant attack in February 2019 in Palwama in Jammu-Kashmir, such a situation was inevitable.
The attendance of all the invited leaders at the swearing-in-ceremony of Narendra Modi for the second time as PM of India demonstrates that BIMSTEC members are determined to take the platform forward.
BIMSTEC is formed with Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan as members.
The platform was born on June 6, 1997, in Bangkok, but its organisational stature increased after Nepal and Bhutan became full members in February 2004.
BIMSTEC leaders in a group photograph with the HODs of Ministerial delegations and senior officials, during the 4th BIMSTEC Summit, in Kathmandu, Nepal in August 2018.. PHOTO/PTIIn contrast to SAARC, BIMSTEC is a stronger structured regional platform, as it is still spreading its wings, centred around the Bay of Bengal. The platform includes all members of SAARC minus Afghanistan and Maldives which are expected to be engaged separately by New Delhi.
In this situation, BIMSTEC has been given certain significance by the Narendra Modi government and inviting its leaders for the swearing-in sends a very strong message that BIMSTEC would receive priority from India.
The Prime Minister of India in his first stint ushered in a series of reforms. As he seals his legacy as one of post-independent India's most powerful leaders, he has also been described by the opposition as being the most contentious and divisive leader.
With the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) highlighting national security as a core area of interest, Modi may have to walk a tightrope between normalizing ties with Pakistan and also continue its tough approach in dealing with cross-border terrorism.
It would be interesting to see whether Modi scraps Article 370 and Article 35A, dealing specifically with Jammu and Kashmir, in the face of strong opposition from various groups in the state.
Article 370 grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir and limits Parliament's power to make laws concerning the state. Article 35A empowers the state assembly to define 'permanent residents' for ensuring special rights and privileges for them.
Saleem Samad, is an Ashoka Fellow (USA), recipient of Hellman-Hammett Award and Bangladesh correspondent of Paris based international media rights organization, Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Email: [email protected]

/hb/
***The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions and views of Bangla Tribune.
Top