SAARC (South Asian Association for Cooperation) represents an acronym that could not be easily understood. The acronym is a true representation of the hodge-podge of states that it includes. Other than geographical proximity its member states (India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Srilanka, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan) are completely different from each other in political, economic and social structures. It is strange that Myanmar is still not a member of this group. Similar is the case with NAM. India joined the Non Aligned Movement with Nehru's initiative with lofty goals, but due to the nature of states that joined it, there is very little that it accomplished. It exists only in name, while a number of its members are currently in conditions that are similar to civil war, no diplomatic or military initiative is undertaken by this group. Emerging crises have rendered the NAM become an association that holds periodic meetings with no significant contributions.
Any association dictated by geographical proximity rather than political, social and economic ideals is bound to fail in the face of crisis, which is exactly what the SAARC is attempting to avert. Half of the nations that are members of this group are struggling with internal terrorist organizations, and some are still struggling to establish democratic states. India is the only stable, and established democracy in this group of nations. With the internal and external terror threats, and border disputes, it is impossible for this association to progress beyond the basic economic cooperation.
India if it plans to be member of an association for economic and defense cooperation it should look towards the Indian Ocean. India should take lead in developing an association similar to the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) by including East African nations and other states on the Indian ocean economic zone such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia. It could also include New Zealand and Japan, which could strengthen it further. Asia needs a powerful regional association of cooperation. These nations should cooperate not only in trade, but in military and defense strategy, jointly developing techniques to counter terrorist and military threats.
