ABSTRACT

South Asia, comprising eight member countries – Afghanistan, 1 Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), is a geographically coherent region. The northern boundary is defined by the Himalayan mountains and thick forests along the Myanmar border, and the southern boundary is defined by the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. The western boundary is relatively open, with deserts and mountains. The South Asian countries share a common historical and colonial past. Of these, the countries India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of one country – India – until 1947 when independence from British colonial rule divided the country into two, the other country being Pakistan. Bangladesh, the erstwhile East Pakistan, is an outcome of its war of liberation in 1971. Overlapping cultures, religious traditions, social norms and linguistic affinity are therefore characteristic of the region.