Contemporary South Asia Flashcards
South asian country
The expression ‘South Asia’
usually includes the following
countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan,
India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka
[Afghanistan
and Myanmar are often included
in discussions of the region as a
whole]
china is not part of the south asian region
pakistan miliatry coup happen in
suffered a
military coup in 1999 and has
been run by a military regime
since then.
democratic govt. in pak -successive democratic
governments under Benazir
Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif
respectively
Nepal moved into democracy from monarchy
2006
when did MALDIVES transformed into
a republic with a presidential form of
government?
there was SULATANATE till 1968
2005 - multi party system
The Maldivian Democratic
Party (MDP) dominates the political affairs
when didSri Lanka (then Ceylon) gains independence; IndoPak conflict over Kashmir
1948
when did : Pakistan joins the Cold War military blocs, SEATO
and CENTO
[1954-55]
when did India and Pakistan sign the Indus Waters
Treaty
1960 sept
Indo-Pak War; UN India-Pakistan Observation Mission
1965
Six-point proposal of Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman for greater
autonomy to East Pakistan
1966
Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship signed for 20 years
march 1971
India and Pakistan sign the Shimla Agreement
1972
India conducts nuclear test
1974
Pakistan and Bangladesh establish diplomatic
relations
1976
: South Asian leaders sign the SAARC
Charter at the first summit in Dhaka
1985 , DEC
Indo-Sri Lanka Accord; Indian Peace Keeping Force
(IPKF) operation in Sri Lanka (1987-90)
1987
: India sends troops to the Maldives to foil a coup
attempt by mercenaries
1988
Democracy restoration in Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Nepal
(1988- 1991 )
: India and Bangladesh sign the Farakka
Treaty for sharing of the Ganga Water
1996
India and Pakistan conduct nuclear tests
1998 may
1998 - ndia and Sri Lanka sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
Indian PM Vajpayee undertakes bus journey
to Lahore to sign a Peace Declaration
1999
kargil conflict -1999
Vajpayee - Musharraf Agra Summit unsuccessful
2001
SAFTA signed at the 12th SAARC Summit in
Islamabad
2004 jan
Pakistan political jouney fronm being an democracy to military rule -
-
General ayub khan - after independence
*. military
takeover once again under
General Yahya Khan.
*.elected government under the
leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
came to power in Pakistan from
1971 to 1977.
*. The Bhutto
government was removed by
General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977.
*.General Zia faced a pro-democracy
movement from 1982 onwards
*.elected democratic
government was established once
again in 1988 under the leadership
of Benazir Bhutto.
*. This phase of elective
democracy lasted till 1999.
*.General Pervez Musharraf removed
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In
2001, General Musharraf got
himself elected as the President.
democracy jouney of bangladesh -
-
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman led the popular
struggle against West Pakistani
domination. - 1970 election- the Awami League led
by Sheikh Mujib won all the seats
in East Pakistan. - Sheikh
Mujib was arrested. Under the
military rule of General Yahya
Khan, the Pakistani army tried to
suppress the mass movement of
the Bengali people. - India and Pakistan in December
1971 that ended in the surrender
of the Pakistani forces. - in 1975 Sheikh
Mujib got the constitution
amended to shift from the
parliamentary to presidential form
of government. - he was
assassinated in a military uprising
in August 1975.
*Ziaur Rahman, formed his
own Bangladesh National Party
and won elections in 1979. - military
takeover followed under the
leadership of** Lt Gen H. M. Ershad**. - He was later elected as
President for five years. Mass public
protests made Ershad step down
in 1990. - Elections were held in
1991.
since then democratic govt followed
Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan
from 1947 to 1971.
nepal democratic journey -
- monarcy was prevalent.
- 1990 - king accepted demand of a democratic const.
- violent conflict between
the Maoist guerrillas and the
armed forces of the king. - 2002, the king
abolished the parliament and
dismissed the government. - April 2006, there were
massive, country wide, prodemocracy protest. - non-violent movement was led by
the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), the
Maoists and social activists. - demand to restore house of representative .
ETHNIC CONFLICT AND
DEMOCRACY IN SRI LANKA-
- dominated by
majority Sinhala
community - hostile to a
large number of Tamils - The neglect of Tamil
concerns led to militant Tamil
nationalism. - From 1983 onwards,Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fighting for “Tamil elam”.
- in 1987, the government of
India for the first time got directly
involved in the Sri Lankan Tamil
question. - In 1989, the Indian Peace Keeping
Force (IPKF) pulled out of Sri
Lanka without attaining its
objective. -
Scandinavian countries such
as Norway and Iceland have been
trying to bring the warring groups to negotiations.
despite that-. Sri Lanka was 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) .
INDIA-PAKISTAN CONFLICTS-
- India and Pakistan in
1947-48 and 1965 failed to settle
the matter. - In 1971, India won
a decisive war against Pakistan but
the Kashmir issue remained
unsettled. - In 1998, India
conducted nuclear explosion in
Pokaran. - Pakistan responded
within a few days by carrying out
nuclear tests in the Chagai Hills - Pakistan had aided the proKhalistani militants with arms
and ammunitions during the
period 1985-1995. -
Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), is
alleged to be involved in various
anti-India campaigns. - , operating secretly
through Bangladesh and Nepal. - The two
countries are** not** in agreement
over the demarcation line in Sir
Creek in the Rann of Kutch.
INDIA’S CONFLICT WITH BANGLADESH
- including the
sharing of the **Ganga and
Brahmaputra **river waters. - illegal immigration to
support anti india groups . - Bangladesh’s** refusal:**Indian troops to move through its
territory to northeastern India. - it’s decision not toexport
natural gas to India or allow
Myanmar to do so. - BANGLADESH thinks encouraging rebellion in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts, trying to
extract its natural gas and being
unfair in trade.
india and bangladesh being cooperative -
- India’s Look East policy
that wants to link up with
Southeast Asia via Myanmar - On
disaster management and
environmental issues.
india and nepal in conflict -
- displeasure at the warm
relationship between Nepal and
China . - maoist movements
- rise of Naxalite
groups in various Indian states
from Bihar in the north to Andhra
Pradesh in the south - interferes in its
internal affairs, has designs on its
river waters and hydro-electricity- by indian govt.
SRI LANKA AND INDIA CONLICT-
- After the military
intervention in 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
INDIA AND BHUTAN RELATIONS -
- Bhutanese
monarch to weed out the guerrillas
and militants from northeastern
India - India is
involved in big hydroelectric
projects in Bhutan and remains the
Himalayan kingdom’s biggest
source of development aid.
INDIA AND MALDIVES -
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.
DISAGREEMENTS BETWEEN SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES -
-
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 into Myanmar,
respectively. -
Bangladesh and Nepal
have had some differences over the
future of the Himalayan river
waters
The South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) . WHEN DID IT FORMED?
8 DEC 1985
CHARTER IN DHAKA
SAARC ACHIEVEMENTS - SAFTA AGREEMENT
- SAARC members signed the** South
Asian Free Trade (SAFTA)** agreement which
promised the formation of a free trade zone for
the whole of South Asia. - SAFTA Agreement was
signed in 2004 and came into effect on 1 January
2006. - SAFTA aims at lowering trade tariffs by 20
percent by 2007.
TRADE -
* Trade
between the two parts of Punjab
has increased substantially in the
last five years. Visas have been
more easily given.
