Contemporary South Asia

Why this chapter matters for UPSC: "Contemporary South Asia" is Chapter 3 of the current Contemporary World Politics (Reprint 2026-27); it was Chapter 5 before the rationalisation of 2022-23, and this site keeps the old numbering in its page order. NCERT's purpose is to explain "the nature of conflict and cooperation" in India's own region, and, because "much of this is rooted in or conditioned by the domestic politics of these countries", it first describes the political systems of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka before turning to the India-Pakistan conflicts, India's other neighbours, SAARC and the outside powers. GS2's neighbourhood questions are a fixed feature of the paper: the Maldives' geopolitical importance (Mains 2024), BIMSTEC against SAARC (Mains 2022), India's role in Sri Lanka's crisis (Mains 2022), SAARC's future under cross-border terrorism (Mains 2016), soft power in India-Pakistan relations (Mains 2015), domestic factors in India-Sri Lanka relations, the Maldives' politics and Bangladesh's Shahbag protests (all Mains 2013); GS1 asked about the Indus Waters Treaty "in the context of changing bilateral relations" (Mains 2016) and India's role in Bangladesh's emergence (Mains 2013). This page follows NCERT's sections in order, quotes NCERT's timeline where aspirants must reproduce it, and dates the governments of the region, the hostilities of May 2025 and the Treaty's abeyance to the governments' own records as read on 4 October 2026.

🧠 First Principles — Read This First

Rivalry and goodwill coexist. NCERT's image is the India-Pakistan cricket match: "gripping tension" and "the goodwill and hospitality shown to visiting Indian and Pakistani fans". "Ours is a region where rivalry and goodwill, hope and despair, mutual suspicion and trust coexist." The chapter refuses to tell the region's story as conflict alone or cooperation alone.

Domestic politics explains foreign policy. The chapter's structure is its argument: four country sections on democracy and its interruptions come before the section on inter-state conflict, because "much of this is rooted in or conditioned by the domestic politics of these countries". A Mains answer on any bilateral relationship in the region should start with the neighbour's domestic politics.

Geography makes India the common party. "The major conflicts and differences, though, are between India and the others, partly because of the geography of the region, in which India is located centrally and is therefore the only country that borders the others." The smaller countries "fear that India wants to be a regionally-dominant power"; India "often feels exploited by its neighbours" and "does not like the political instability in these countries, fearing it can help outside powers to gain influence".

PART 1 — Quick Reference

The Chapter at a Glance

NCERT's Timeline of South Asia since 1947

PART 2 — Concepts & Narrative

What Is South Asia?

The definition is in the key-term box. On political systems, "the various countries in South Asia do not have the same kind of political systems. Despite many problems and limitations, Sri Lanka and India have successfully operated a democratic system since their independence from the British." "Pakistan and Bangladesh have experienced both civilian and military rulers, with Bangladesh remaining a democracy in the post-Cold War period. Pakistan began the post-Cold War period with successive democratic governments under Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif respectively. But it suffered a military coup in 1999. It has been run by a civilian government again since 2008. Till 2006, Nepal was a constitutional monarchy with the danger of the king taking over executive powers. In 2008, the monarchy was abolished and Nepal emerged as a democratic republic." The two smallest countries: "Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy in 2008" and "emerged as a multi-party democracy" under its king; "the Maldives, the other island nation, was a Sultanate till 1968 when it was transformed into a republic with a presidential form of government. In June 2005, the parliament of the Maldives voted unanimously to introduce a multi-party system. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) dominates the political affairs of the island. The MDP won the 2018 Elections." (These are the statements of NCERT's 2024 re-setting; the dated box below gives the governments in office in October 2026.)

NCERT's evidence for "the aspiration for democracy" is the State of Democracy in South Asia survey of 2007 ("interviews with more than 19,000 ordinary citizens in the five countries"), which found "widespread support for democracy in all these countries": "ordinary citizens, rich as well as poor and belonging to different religions, view the idea of democracy positively and support the institutions of representative democracy". These are "significant findings, for it was earlier believed that democracy could flourish and find support only in prosperous countries"; "the South Asian experience of democracy has expanded the global imagination of democracy". NCERT's table from the Human Development Report 2018 (life expectancy 2017, adult literacy, secondary enrolment, GDP per capita 2017, infant mortality 2016, tuberculosis, poverty, HDI rank) puts Sri Lanka first in the region on every indicator (life expectancy 75.5, literacy 91.2 per cent, GDP per capita $11,669, infant mortality 8.0, HDI rank 76) and India at HDI rank 130, Bangladesh 136, Nepal 149, Pakistan 150.

The Military and Democracy in Pakistan

"After Pakistan framed its first constitution, General Ayub Khan took over the administration of the country and soon got himself elected. He had to give up office when there was popular dissatisfaction against his rule. This gave way to a military takeover once again under General Yahya Khan. During Yahya's military rule, Pakistan faced the Bangladesh crisis, and after a war with India in 1971, East Pakistan broke away to emerge as an independent country called Bangladesh." Then "an elected government under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came to power in Pakistan from 1971 to 1977", "removed by General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977". Zia "faced a pro-democracy movement from 1982 onwards and an elected democratic government was established once again in 1988 under the leadership of Benazir Bhutto"; politics then "centred around the competition between her party, the Pakistan People's Party, and the Muslim League". "This phase of elective democracy lasted till 1999 when the army stepped in again and General Pervez Musharraf removed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In 2001, General Musharraf got himself elected as the President." "Since 2008, democratically elected leaders have been ruling Pakistan."

NCERT's explanation of "Pakistan's failure in building a stable democracy": "the social dominance of the military, clergy, and landowning aristocracy has led to the frequent overthrow of elected governments"; "Pakistan's conflict with India has made the pro-military groups more powerful", groups which "have often said that political parties and democracy in Pakistan are flawed" and that "the army's stay in power is, therefore, justified". Against this, "Pakistan has a courageous and relatively free press and a strong human rights movement". And "the lack of genuine international support for democratic rule in Pakistan has further encouraged the military": "the United States and other Western countries have encouraged the military's authoritarian rule in the past, for their own reasons", seeing the regime "as the protector of Western interests in West Asia and South Asia" against "what they call 'global Islamic terrorism'".

Democracy in Bangladesh

"Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan from 1947 to 1971. It consisted of the partitioned areas of Bengal and Assam from British India. The people of this region resented the domination of western Pakistan and the imposition of the Urdu language", protested "against the unfair treatment meted out to the Bengali culture and language" and "demanded fair representation in administration and a fair share in political power". "Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman led the popular struggle against West Pakistani domination" and "demanded autonomy for the eastern region" (the Six-point proposal of 1966 in NCERT's timeline). "In the 1970 elections in the then Pakistan, the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujib won all the seats in East Pakistan and secured a majority in the proposed constituent assembly for the whole of Pakistan. But the government dominated by the West Pakistani leadership refused to convene the assembly. Sheikh Mujib was arrested." Under Yahya Khan "the Pakistani army tried to suppress the mass movement"; "thousands were killed", producing "a huge refugee problem for India"; India "supported the demand of the people of East Pakistan for their independence and helped them financially and militarily", and the war of December 1971 "ended in the surrender of the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh as an independent country". (The sister book's chapter on external relations quotes the Instrument of Surrender and the Simla Agreement.)

"Bangladesh drafted its constitution declaring faith in secularism, democracy and socialism. However, in 1975 Sheikh Mujib got the constitution amended to shift from the parliamentary to presidential form of government. He also abolished all parties except his own, the Awami League." He "was assassinated in a military uprising in August 1975"; "the new military ruler, Ziaur Rahman, formed his own Bangladesh National Party and won elections in 1979"; "he was assassinated and another military takeover followed under the leadership of Lt Gen H. M. Ershad"; students led the demand for democracy; Ershad "was later elected as President for five years"; "mass public protests made Ershad step down in 1990. Elections were held in 1991. Since then representative democracy based on multi-party elections has been working in Bangladesh." NCERT's photograph is the Jahangirnagar mural of Noor Hossain, killed in the 1987 protests, "Let Democracy be Freed" painted on his back.

Monarchy and Democracy in Nepal

"Nepal was a Hindu kingdom in the past and then a constitutional monarchy in the modern period for many years", in which "the king, with the help of the army, retained full control over the government and restricted the expansion of democracy". "The king accepted the demand for a new democratic constitution in 1990, in the wake of a strong pro-democracy movement", but "democratic governments had a short and troubled career". In the 1990s "the Maoists of Nepal were successful in spreading their influence in many parts of Nepal", believing "in armed insurrection against the monarch and the ruling elite", producing "a triangular conflict among the monarchist forces, the democrats and the Maoists". "In 2002, the king abolished the parliament and dismissed the government, thus ending even the limited democracy that existed in Nepal." "In April 2006, there were massive, country wide, pro-democracy protests", and "the king was forced to restore the House of Representatives that had been dissolved in April 2002"; the "largely non-violent movement was led by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), the Maoists and social activists". Nepal then "formed a constituent assembly to draft the constitution"; "the Maoist groups agreed to suspend armed struggle" and "wanted the constitution to include the radical programmes of social and economic restructuring", with which "all the parties in the SPA did not agree"; the Maoists "were also deeply suspicious of the Indian government and its role in the future of Nepal". "In 2008, Nepal became a democratic republic after abolishing the monarchy. In 2015, it adopted a new constitution."

Ethnic Conflict and Democracy in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka "has retained democracy since its independence in 1948", but "faced a serious challenge, not from the military or monarchy but rather from ethnic conflict leading to the demand for secession by one of the regions". Politics "was dominated by forces that represented the interest of the majority Sinhala community", "hostile to a large number of Tamils who had migrated from India to Sri Lanka and settled there"; "the Sinhala nationalists thought that Sri Lanka should not give 'concessions' to the Tamils because Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhala people only". "The neglect of Tamil concerns led to militant Tamil nationalism. From 1983 onwards, the militant organisation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was fighting an armed struggle with the army of Sri Lanka in pursuit of their demand for a 'Tamil Elam' or separate country"; "at one point of time, the northeastern part of Sri Lanka was controlled by LTTE".

India's role: "there was considerable pressure from the Tamil people in India to the effect that the Indian government should protect the interests of the Tamils in Sri Lanka"; "in 1987, the government of India for the first time got directly involved in the Sri Lankan Tamil question. India signed an accord with Sri Lanka and sent troops to stabilise relations between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils. Eventually, the Indian Army got into a fight with the LTTE. The presence of Indian troops was also not liked much by the Sri Lankans", who "saw this as an attempt by India to interfere in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka. In 1989, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) pulled out of Sri Lanka without attaining its objective." The crisis "continued to be violent"; "international actors, particularly the Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Iceland tried to bring the warring groups back to negotiations"; "finally, the armed conflict came to an end, as the LTTE was vanquished in 2009". Through it all "Sri Lanka has registered considerable economic growth and recorded high levels of human development": "one of the first developing countries to successfully control the rate of growth of population, the first country in the region to liberalise the economy, and it has had the highest per capita gross domestic product (GDP) for many years right through the civil war", and "it has maintained a democratic political system". (The 1987 accord was signed on 29 July 1987 and NCERT's timeline dates the IPKF operation 1987-90; its text says the force "pulled out" in 1989. Print both.)

India-Pakistan Conflicts

"The most salient and overwhelming of these conflicts is, of course, the one between India and Pakistan. Soon after the partition, the two countries got embroiled in a conflict over the fate of Kashmir. The Pakistani government claimed that Kashmir belonged to it. Wars between India and Pakistan in 1947-48 and 1965 failed to settle the matter. The 1947-48 war resulted in the division of the province into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Indian province of Jammu and Kashmir divided by the Line of Control. In 1971, India won a decisive war against Pakistan but the Kashmir issue remained unsettled." The conflict "is also over strategic issues like the control of the Siachen glacier and over acquisition of arms. The arms race between the two countries assumed a new character with both states acquiring nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver such arms against each other in the 1990s. In 1998, India conducted nuclear explosion in Pokhran. Pakistan responded within a few days by carrying out nuclear tests in the Chagai Hills. Since then India and Pakistan seem to have built a military relationship in which the possibility of a direct and full-scale war has declined."

The mutual accusations, in NCERT's words. "The Indian government has blamed the Pakistan government for using a strategy of low-key violence by helping the Kashmiri militants with arms, training, money and protection to carry out terrorist strikes against India. The Indian government also believes that Pakistan had aided the pro-Khalistani militants with arms and ammunitions during the period 1985-1995. Its spy agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), is alleged to be involved in various anti-India campaigns in India's northeast, operating secretly through Bangladesh and Nepal. The government of Pakistan, in turn, blames the Indian government and its security agencies for fomenting trouble in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan."

Water and the Rann of Kutch. "Until 1960, they were locked in a fierce argument over the use of the rivers of the Indus basin. Eventually, in 1960, with the help of the World Bank, India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty which has survived to this day in spite of various military conflicts in which the two countries have been involved. There are still some minor differences about the interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty and the use of the river waters. The two countries are not in agreement over the demarcation line in Sir Creek in the Rann of Kutch", a dispute that "seems minor" but may affect "the control of sea resources in the area adjoining Sir Creek".

India and Its Other Neighbours

Bangladesh. The two governments "have had differences over several issues including the sharing of the Ganga and Brahmaputra river waters". India "has been unhappy with Bangladesh's denial of illegal immigration to India, its support for anti-Indian Islamic fundamentalist groups, Bangladesh's refusal to allow Indian troops to move through its territory to northeastern India, and its decision not to export natural gas to India or allow Myanmar to do so through Bangladeshi territory". Bangladeshi governments "have felt that the Indian government behaves like a regional bully over the sharing of river waters, encouraging rebellion in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, trying to extract its natural gas and being unfair in trade"; "the two countries could not resolve their boundary dispute for a long while". Yet "economic relations have improved considerably in the last 20 years"; "Bangladesh is a part of India's Look East (Act East since 2014) policy that wants to link up with Southeast Asia via Myanmar"; the two "have cooperated regularly" on disasters and environment; "in 2015, they exchanged certain enclaves" (NCERT's reference to the settlement of the boundary). The Ganga waters treaty of December 1996 is in NCERT's timeline; its thirty-year term runs out in December 2026, so its renewal belongs to the next edition of these notes.

Nepal. "Nepal and India enjoy a very special relationship that has very few parallels in the world. A treaty between the two countries allows the citizens of the two countries to travel to and work in the other country without visas and passports." Disputes: trade; India's displeasure "at the warm relationship between Nepal and China and at the Nepal government's inaction against anti-Indian elements"; Indian security agencies' view of "the Maoist movement in Nepal as a growing security threat, given the rise of Naxalite groups in various Indian states from Bihar in the north to Andhra Pradesh in the south"; Nepali views that India "interferes in its internal affairs, has designs on its river waters and hydro-electricity, and prevents Nepal, a landlocked country, from getting easier access to the sea". "Nevertheless, Indo-Nepal relations are fairly stable and peaceful", held together by "trade, scientific cooperation, common natural resources, electricity generation and interlocking water management grids", with "a hope that the consolidation of democracy in Nepal will lead to improvements".

Sri Lanka. The difficulties "are mostly over ethnic conflict in the island nation"; "Indian leaders and citizens find it impossible to remain neutral when Tamils are politically unhappy and are being killed"; after 1987 "the Indian government now prefers a policy of disengagement vis-à-vis Sri Lanka's internal troubles". "India signed a free trade agreement with Sri Lanka, which strengthened relations" (December 1998 in NCERT's timeline), and "India's help in post-tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka has also brought the two countries closer."

Bhutan and the Maldives. India "enjoys a very special relationship with Bhutan too and does not have any major conflict with the Bhutanese government"; the king's efforts "to weed out the guerrillas and militants from northeastern India that operate in his country have been helpful"; India "is involved in big hydroelectric projects in Bhutan and remains the Himalayan kingdom's biggest source of development aid". With the Maldives "India's ties ... remain warm and cordial": "in November 1988, when some Tamil mercenaries from Sri Lanka attacked the Maldives, the Indian air force and navy reacted quickly to the Maldives' request to help stop the invasion", and India "has also contributed towards the island's economic development, tourism and fisheries".

The pattern. The smaller countries "are bound to be suspicious of India's intentions"; India "often feels exploited by its neighbours" and fears that their instability "can help outside powers to gain influence". "Not all conflicts in South Asia are between India and its neighbours. Nepal and Bhutan, as well as Bangladesh and Myanmar, have had disagreements in the past over the migration of ethnic Nepalese into Bhutan and the Rohingyas from Myanmar into India and Bangladesh, respectively. Bangladesh and Nepal have had some differences over the future of the Himalayan river waters." But the major conflicts "are between India and the others" because of geography (First Principles). NCERT's margin bubble asks why, "if the chapter on US was called 'US Hegemony'", this chapter is not called 'Indian Hegemony'.

Peace and Cooperation

SAARC and SAFTA are in the key-term box. "Although India-Pakistan relations seem to be a story of endemic conflict and violence, there have been a series of efforts to manage tensions and build peace. The two countries have agreed to undertake confidence building measures to reduce the risk of war. Social activists and prominent personalities have collaborated to create an atmosphere of friendship among the people of both countries. Leaders have met at summits to understand each other better and to find solutions to the major problems between the two neighbours. A number of bus routes have been opened up between the two countries. Trade between India and Pakistan had increased and Visas had been more easily granted. However, in recent times, the situation has changed."

"No region exists in a vacuum." "China and the United States remain key players in South Asian politics. Sino-Indian relations have improved significantly in the last ten years, but China's strategic partnership with Pakistan remains a major irritant. The demands of development and globalisation have brought the two Asian giants closer, and their economic ties have multiplied rapidly since 1991." American involvement "has rapidly increased after the Cold War": the US "has had good relations with both India and Pakistan since the end of the Cold War and increasingly works as a moderator in India-Pakistan relations"; economic reforms in both countries, "the large South Asian diasporas in the US and the huge size of the population and markets of the region also give America an added stake". NCERT's close: whether South Asia "will continue to be known as a conflict prone zone or will evolve into a regional bloc with some common cultural features and trade interests will depend more on the people and the governments of the region than any other outside power".

PART 3 — UPSC Integration

Three Frameworks

1. Domestic politics first. For each neighbour, state the regime type NCERT gives (military and democracy; democracy since 1991; monarchy to republic; democracy with ethnic conflict), then the government in office with its date, then the bilateral issues. The structure is NCERT's own and it stops an answer from treating a neighbour as a foreign-policy object only.

2. India's two faces. Every neighbour's grievance in NCERT has an Indian counter-grievance (river waters, migration, transit, interference, "designs on its river waters"); NCERT's "regional bully" and "regionally-dominant power" are the neighbours' words, "exploited" and "instability" India's. A balanced answer gives both and ends with geography.

3. Conflict and cooperation in one frame. NCERT's "rivalry and goodwill" sentence; the India-Pakistan section's wars beside its confidence-building measures; SAARC's "not had much success" beside SAFTA and the bilateral agreements. Since 2025 the frame holds the Treaty's abeyance and the halt of 10 May 2025 together.

Confused Pairs

• NCERT's South Asia (seven) vs SAARC (eight, with Afghanistan from 2007); observers (nine).
• Cease-fire line (1949) vs Line of Control (NCERT's term; the Simla Agreement's "line of control resulting from the cease-fire of December 17, 1971").
• Indus Waters Treaty "has survived to this day" (NCERT) vs "in abeyance" (Government of India, since April 2025).
• IPKF "pulled out" (NCERT text: 1989) vs "IPKF operation (1987-90)" (NCERT timeline).
• Nepal's 1990 constitution vs the 2002 dismissal vs the 2006 movement vs the 2008 republic vs the 2015 constitution.
• Mujib's 1975 presidential amendment vs his assassination (August 1975) vs Zia's BNP (1979) vs Ershad (to 1990).
• SAFTA signed (12th summit, Islamabad, January 2004) vs in effect (1 January 2006); 18th summit (Kathmandu, 2014) vs 19th (Islamabad, 2016, not held).

Exam Strategy

• Prelims: memorise NCERT's seven-country definition, its timeline as printed above, the Pakistan sequence (Ayub, Yahya, Bhutto, Zia, Benazir, Musharraf, 2008), the Bangladesh sequence (1966, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1990, 1991), Nepal's dates, Sri Lanka's (1948, 1983, 1987, 1989/1990, 2009), SAARC's and SAFTA's dates, and the 2025 sequence (22 April; abeyance; 7-10 May; 1700 hours on 10 May).
• Mains: open with NCERT's "rivalry and goodwill"; structure on domestic politics then bilateral issues; quote NCERT's grievance lists for balance; date the governments and the Treaty's status; end with NCERT's "will depend more on the people and the governments of the region than any other outside power".
• Avoid: "the Indus Waters Treaty has survived every conflict" as a present-tense fact; "Afghanistan is one of NCERT's seven"; "the IPKF left in 1990" without NCERT's 1989; "SAARC's last summit was Islamabad 2016"; naming a neighbour's head of government without a date; seat counts and oath dates for the 2026 elections in Bangladesh and Nepal unless you have the Election Commission's record.
• Cross-reading: the sister book's "India's External Relations" (1965, 1971, Tashkent, Simla, the 1971 treaty) and "Regional Aspirations" (Kashmir to 2019 and the 2023 judgment); page 4 (ASEAN against SAARC); page 7 (terrorism as a security threat; the 2025 record).

Practice Questions

NCERT's exercises, worked

1. (a) Nepal; (b) Nepal (landlocked, multi-party competition; Bhutan also fits after 2008); (c) Sri Lanka; (d) Pakistan; (e) India; (f) the Maldives; (g) Bangladesh (the Grameen Bank); (h) Bhutan.
2. (a) is wrong: not all South Asian countries are democratic in NCERT's account (Pakistan's record; Bhutan's monarchy until 2008); (b), (c) and (d) are correct.
3. Commonalities: both began as one state; both had military rulers and popular movements that restored elections (Pakistan 1988, Bangladesh 1990-91); both saw assassinations and coups. Differences: Bangladesh has had "representative democracy based on multi-party elections" since 1991 and NCERT counts it a democracy in the post-Cold War period; Pakistan "suffered a military coup in 1999" and NCERT lists structural causes (military, clergy, landowners; the conflict with India; Western support for military rule) that it does not list for Bangladesh.
4. The monarchy's control of government and army; the Maoist insurgency and the triangular conflict; the Maoists' radical programme and suspicion of India; the parties' disagreements over the constitution (which took until 2015).
5. The Sinhala-dominated governments and Sinhala nationalists; the Tamils and the LTTE; India (the 1987 accord and the IPKF); Norway and Iceland as mediators. Resolution: the armed conflict ended with the LTTE's defeat in 2009; the political accommodation of Tamil concerns remains the test, and NCERT's "ethnic conflict leading to the demand for secession" is the frame for assessing it.
6. NCERT's list: confidence-building measures, summits, bus routes, easier visas and more trade, the 1988 agreement on nuclear installations; its own answer is "however, in recent times, the situation has changed", and the 2025 record (Pahalgam, the Treaty's abeyance, Operation Sindoor, the 10 May halt) means no, not on the present evidence.
7. Cooperation: disaster management and environment; the 2015 enclave exchange and boundary settlement; Act East connectivity; the 1996 Ganga waters treaty. Disagreement: river waters; migration; transit for Indian troops; natural gas; trade.
8. China: its "strategic partnership with Pakistan remains a major irritant" in India-China relations even as economic ties grow (page 4 carries the 2024-26 record). The US: "a moderator in India-Pakistan relations", with a stake through diasporas and markets; the May 2025 record shows both external powers engaged.
9. Role: the only multilateral forum of all eight states; SAFTA (2004, in force 2006) as its main economic instrument; the Charter and summits since 1985. Limits: "persisting political differences"; no summit since 2014 and the 19th "pending"; fear of India "invading" markets; India's bilateral agreements making SAFTA seem "not worth the trouble"; India-Pakistan hostility.
10. Partly: NCERT records the neighbours' perception ("regional bully", "designs on its river waters", "interferes in its internal affairs") and India's own ("exploited", fear of instability and outside powers), and attributes the pattern to geography; the record of aid (Bhutan), rescue (Maldives 1988), reconstruction (Sri Lanka) and the open border (Nepal) argues against "dominate", while 1987 and the water disputes explain the impression.

Practice (UPSC-pattern, not past papers)

11. "The 1947-48 war resulted in the division of the province ... divided by the Line of Control." Using the Government of India's wording, trace the India-Pakistan conflict from the cease-fire line of 1949 to the abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty in 2025. (GS2, 15 marks)
12. NCERT explains Pakistan's "failure in building a stable democracy" by three factors. Examine them against the Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2025. (GS2, 10 marks)
13. "Democracy is becoming an accepted norm in the entire region of South Asia." Assess NCERT's claim against the elections of 2026 in Bangladesh and Nepal and the record in Pakistan and Myanmar. (GS2, 15 marks)
14. Why has SAARC "not had much success"? Compare its record since 2014 with ASEAN's and suggest what India should do about regional cooperation. (GS2, 15 marks)

📦 Revision Capsule

Sources

• NCERT, Contemporary World Politics (Class XII), ch. 3 "Contemporary South Asia", Reprint 2026-27: ncert.nic.in PDF.
• SAARC Secretariat, saarc-sec.org (About SAARC; the Secretary-General's address; the Kathmandu Declaration of 26-27 November 2014).
• PIB, Global Solidarity with India: A United Front Against Cross-Border Terrorism, May 2025: PIB PDF; Akashvani News, "India says Indus Waters Treaty to remain in abeyance until Pakistan ends support to terrorism", 20 March 2026: newsonair.gov.in.
• PIB, "Prime Minister congratulates Mr. Tarique Rahman on BNP's victory in the Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh", 13 February 2026: pib.gov.in; Government of Bangladesh, Cabinet Division and Prime Minister's Office.
• Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Nepal, Prime Minister; PIB, 9 March 2026: pib.gov.in.
• The Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part I, Islamabad, 13 November 2025 (Senate Secretariat): the Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2025, Act No. XXXII of 2025, as published on the National Assembly of Pakistan's document server (the host does not accept connections from India, so no link is given).
• Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka, president.gov.lk; The President's Office, Maldives, presidency.gov.mv.
• United Nations Security Council, Current Members.