South Asia in and After the 1980s
| Published date | 01 June 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/23210230241235357 |
| Author | Amit Ranjan |
| Date | 01 June 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Special Section on South Asia in and after the 1980s |
South Asia in and After the 1980s
Amit Ranjan1
Contemporary South Asia can be explained in four major ways. First, South Asia is one of the most
militarily tensed regions of the world. The region has two nuclear arch-rivals—India and Pakistan—who
have fought four wars (1947–1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999), engaged in militarily tense situations (1987,
2001–2002, 2008, 2016 and 2019) and, after the revocation of the Special Status of the Indian side of
Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution in August 2019, they have downgraded
diplomatic missions at each other’s capitals. Then, India’s political tensions and skirmishes at the border
with China, an extra-regional power with a geographical spread and political influence in South Asia,
have increased in the last few years. Indian and Chinese armies were in a stand-off situation for 73 days
at the Doklam trijunction in Bhutan in 2017. Three years later, in 2020, the armies from two countries
clashed at Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian and 4 Chinese soldiers died. In addition to inter-state
tensions and intermittent clashes on the border, a part of South Asia is infested with terrorism, militancy
insurgency and identity-based tensions. Second, majoritarianism, populist politics, shrinking space for
democratic dissent, patriarchal social structure and colossal economic inequality broadly characterize
the politics and societies of the respective South Asian countries. Third, notwithstanding the huge
economic inequality, South Asia is a big market for the global economy. India's economic strength and
capability are continuously rising. India is the fifth-largest economy in the world and is expected to
occupy the third spot by 2030. Bangladesh has transformed itself from a ‘basket case’ in 1971 into an
economic model for many smaller countries. Conversely, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are in severe economic
trouble. Finally, the South Asian identity and regional self-consciousness are largely missing. Despite
having a shared history, religious and ethnic similarities and same cultural background, sharp differences
exist between India and some of its neighbouring countries.
Although many of the aforementioned problems existed since the region was decolonized in the late
1940s, contemporary issues are largely linked to political developments in the 1980s. It was the last
decade of the Cold War (1947–1991) between the United States of America (USA)-led Western Bloc and
the Soviet Union led Eastern Bloc. Developments in global politics, fierce military tensions between the
two blocs and a decline in the economic condition of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s ended the Cold
War and changed the world order from bipolar to unipolar. During the 1980s, there was a sharp rise in
Introduction to the Special Section
Studies in Indian Politics
12(1) 48–51, 2024
© 2024 Lokniti, Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies
Article reuse guidelines:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/23210230241235357
journals.sagepub.com/home/inp
1 Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Corresponding author:
Amit Ranjan, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, 119620
Singapore.
E-mail: amitranjan.jnu@gmail.com
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