scholarly journals Trends of Power Devolution in South Asia: A Comparative Appraisal of Pakistan’s Local Government System under the Civil-Military Regimes

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-359
Author(s):  
Dr. Asifa Jahangir ◽  
Rubeel Zain ◽  
Soulat Dilkusha
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Local System ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Political Class

In the South Asian countries, the trends of power sharing, decentralization and power evolution have not only always remained a pertinent debate for the consolidation of democracy and good governance, but also static political systems due to their multiethnic realities, multilingual differences, multicultural diversification, and their authoritarian orientation in the respective countries. Historically, the transfer of power through the local system of government (LGS) was seen as an important tool to accelerate the transition to representative democracy on the subcontinent. However, it was largely aimed at creating a new political class that would support colonial rule and meet the political demands of the local population for power sharing within the boundaries of the colonial government structure. Due to their embedded interests, the colonial legacies in South Asian states offered non-representative state institutions such as the military enough space to influence the transformation process of democracy. The paper has two main objectives: (1) to explore the concepts of power devolution and their associative nomenclature; (2) to analysis of the political and administrative dimensions of decentralization to underpin the structure of decentralization in South Asia in general and Pakistan in particular. The results of the study are that the lack of the weakest local government system in the South Asian region in general, and in Pakistan in particular, is due to the colonial legacy of an ongoing controlled political mindset in the form of bureaucracy, frequent military coups, a lack of political will to develop a welfare state in Pakistan. It uses the qualitative research methods of phenomenology and correlation, which sheds light on the meaning of relative terms often used to explain delegation of authority for political and administrative purposes.

scholarly journals Growing up South Asian: A Brief Trajectory Drawn from South Asian Novels Targeted for Youths

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 41-49
Author(s):  
Hari R. Adhikari
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Interest ◽  
The Political ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
Significant Change

This paper primarily presents the trajectory of growing up in South Asia drawing insights from the selected novels about South Asian youths (SA youths). In this process, the paper explores the political interest of the West in non-Western children and youths. The focus is on the exploration of whether contemporary youth literatures have still been reinforcing the image of SA youths as the Other of the European youths, or if there has been any significant change augmented by the recent phenomenon of global connectedness. By laying a framework of these forces for analyzing how they are reflected in the literatures for the South Asian youths by foreign, diaspora and home authors, this paper prepares a ground for further exploration.

scholarly journals Climate change, regulatory policies and regional cooperation in South Asia

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habib Zafarullah ◽  
Ahmed Shafiqul Huque
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
South Asian Region

Purpose With climate change and environmental degradation being major issues in the world today, it is imperative for governments within a regional setting to collaborate on initiatives, harmonize their policies and develop strategies to counter threats. In South Asia, several attempts have been made to create a common framework for action in implementing synchronized policies. However, both political and technical deterrents have thwarted moves to accommodate priorities and interests of collaborating states. The purpose of this paper is to assess these issues and existing policies/strategies in selected South Asian countries and evaluate integrated plans of action based on collaborative partnerships. Design/methodology/approach Using a broad exploratory and interpretive approach, this paper evaluates how harmonization of environmental principles and synergies among countries can help reduce the effect of climate change and environmental hazards. Based on a review of ideas and concepts as well as both primary and secondary sources, including official records, legislation, inter-state and regional agreements, evaluation reports, impact studies (social, economic and ecological), and commentaries, it highlights several initiatives and processes geared to creating environmental protection standards and practices for the South Asian region. Findings Climate change has resulted in devastating impacts on people. It contributed to the proliferation of climate refugees and high incidence of poverty in South Asia. The region faces both political and technical obstacles in developing a sustainable approach to combat climate change. This is exacerbated by non-availability of information as well as reluctance to acknowledge the problem by key actors. The best strategy will be to integrate policies and regulations in the various countries of the region to develop strategic plans. The approach of prevention and protection should replace the existing emphasis on relief and rehabilitation. Originality/value The paper provides a critical overview of the climatic and environmental problems encountered in the South Asian region and provides pointers to resolving shared problems through the use of policy instruments for regulating the problems within the gamut of regional environmental governance. It attempts to identify solutions to offset regulatory and institutional barriers in achieving preferred results by emphasizing the need for redesigning regulatory structures and policy approaches for ecological well-being.

scholarly journals War or Peace on the Rivers of South Asia?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 242-254
Author(s):  
Muhammad Imran Mehsud ◽  
Azam Jan ◽  
Tariq Anwar Khan
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Water Relations ◽  
South Asian ◽  
The Other ◽  
The South ◽  
Water Sharing ◽  
The Ganges

The renowned water expert, John Briscoe, predicted a bleak future for India-Pakistan water relations across the Indus attributing it to Pakistan’s downstream anxieties vis-à-vis upstream regional hegemon-India. Do the other co-riparian states of India share the same bleak future across the South Asian rivers of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna or are the water relations across these rivers peaceful as compared to the Indus? To answer this question, this study first explores India-Pakistan water disputes on the Indus and then analyses India-Bangladesh water disputes on the Ganges and Brahmaputra, India-Nepal, India-Bhutan, and Pakistan-Afghanistan water relations. The methodology adopted for this study is descriptive, historical, and analytical in its nature. The study concludes that India has not only failed to adopt a conciliatory approach towards Pakistan on the Indus but has generated mistrust amongst other neighbouring countries over water sharing due to its hegemonic hydro-behaviour. It recommends that India should adopt a conciliatory approach to have peaceful relations across the rivers of South Asia.

scholarly journals What Leads to Intra-Industry Trade between Sri Lanka and South Asia?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thilini Saparamadu ◽  
Nesrine Akrimi
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Random Effect Model ◽  
Value Added ◽  
The South ◽  
Industry Trade ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
South Asian Region

This study ascertains the determinants of Intra-Industry Trade (IIT) with particular reference to IIT between Sri Lanka and its major trading partners in South Asia; namely; India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The study uses secondary data published in World Development Indicators, Penn World Table from 1992 to 2017. The level of IIT is calculated by using data gathered from Comtrade Data Base. Using panel data regression, the study adopts Random Effect model to analyze the regression results. The study concludes that economies of scale measured by difference of value added in the net output of the manufacturing sector and market size measured by average gross domestic product exert a significant influence on the level of IIT in the South Asian region. Differences of per capita Gross National Income (GNI - difference in income level) and tariff rate (the proxy for trade barriers) poses a negative influence on the level of IIT. The policymakers should be concerned about the possibility to increase IIT in the South Asian region. Based on the findings of the study, the present research offers policy recommendations to promote IIT within the region.

scholarly journals Analisis Teori Fungsionalisme pada Integrasi Kawasan Asia Selatan (Studi Kasus Konflik India-Pakistan di wilayah Kashmir)

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-195
Author(s):  
Tri Shinta
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
The South ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Real ◽  
Complex Region ◽  
Good Relation

South Asia is a complex region. It is marked with the emergence and continuity of the conflict. India-Pakistan conflict is one of them. This conflict begun on 1947 and the biggest of conflict divided into three conflicts. Functionalism according to David Mitrany in “A Working Peace System” believes that Region Integration is trusted to make the conflict lower and good relation among state. This perception applied on 1985 in South Asia, which known with SAARC (The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). The fact, this conflict still continues till today. However, this paper seeks for the analysis of how’s functionalism theory explain the conflict of India-Pakistan on the regional integration: is that the conflict form an ideal integration of Sout Asia and decline the conflict, or conversely. Furthermore, the result of this research describes that Functionalism is not success on explaining South Asia integration, which means the India-Pakistan conflict still exist and the real integration among member states still not exist yet.

The Progressive Writers Association

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maia Ramnath
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Social Change ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Third World ◽  
Popular Front ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Significant Component ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
At Home

The Progressive Writers Association (PWA) was founded in the mid-1930s by a group of South Asian leftist intellectuals who moved between metropolitan and colonial contexts. Announcing itself with a manifesto written in London in 1934 and reaching its peak of influence as a movement and an organization inside India in the 1940s, the PWA was a significant component of the South Asian cultural left. Its interlinked political and literary aims (founded upon the principle that the political and the literary must be interlinked) addressed anticolonialism and radical social change at home, while simultaneously positioning itself as part of the international popular front against fascism. As the Progressive writers moved into the post-independence decolonizing period, they identified closely with communist movements in India and Pakistan, while simultaneously positioning themselves at the forefront of Afro-Asian or Third World liberation solidarity formations during the Cold War. Thus these writers occupied a dual position, as simultaneously the cultural wing of the South Asian left and the South Asian manifestation of an international anti-imperialist movement that in both periods viewed art, literature, and ideology as crucial components of building socialism and decolonization.

Climate change and women in South Asia: a review and future policy implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-166
Author(s):  
Sangram Kishor Patel ◽  
Gopal Agrawal ◽  
Bincy Mathew ◽  
Sunita Patel ◽  
Biswajit Mohanty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Policy

Purpose South Asian region is a focal point owing to its vulnerabilities to climate-sensitive diseases, dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods, projected levels of crop decline in the region, and high rates of poverty and malnutrition. Women are particularly vulnerable to climate change and this affects women disproportionately during different extreme events. The purpose of this paper is to understand the issue of climate change and its impact, and climate resilience among women in South Asia. Further, it also identifies the gaps and suggests future policy implications. Design/methodology/approach Climate change is increasingly being recognised as an alarming issue and the present review is important when South Asian countries are facing the brunt of climate change impacts. This paper tries to understand the issue by review of the literature and conceptual framework methodology. To understand women’s vulnerability due to climate change and its aftermath, the authors conducted both offline and online desk reviews for this study. Findings The findings of this study show a clear linkage between climate change and women’s vulnerabilities in South Asia. Climate change has significant socio-economic impacts on women, and it affects them disproportionately in various domains of agriculture, livelihood, food security, both physical and mental health, water and sanitation in the South Asia region. Practical implications The paper also highlights that the programmes that aim at combating the effects of climate change require a gender-sensitive approach so that climate change does not obstruct the development and reduction of poverty in the region. Social implications The findings of this paper will add value in helping families to come out of poverty by undertaking adaptive measures with proactive assistance from the government and grassroots level organisations. Originality/value The present study also advocates for more gender- and climate-sensitive measures from governments, and implementation of intervention- and evidence-based research in the South Asian countries.

Presidential Address: Too Little and Too Much: Reflections on Muslims in the History of India

1995 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 951-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara D. Metcalf
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Presidential Address ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Religious Nationalism ◽  
British India ◽  
The South ◽  
Untimely Death ◽  
Muslim Minority ◽  
History Of

I want to begin this evening by recalling my immediate predecessor as AAS president from the South Asian field, Barbara Stoler Miller, whose untimely death in 1992 took from us a distinguished Sanskritist, a gifted teacher, and a generous colleague whose absence we mourn. In my address I continue themes taken up by Barbara Miller four years ago (Miller 1991) as well as by Stanley Tambiah, as president from the Southeast Asian field, the year before (Tambiah 1990). Then, as now, scholars across the disciplines—whether, like Barbara Miller, a scholar of classical texts; or like Stanley Tambiah, an anthropologist; or myself, a historian of British India—have struggled to understand the religious nationalism of South Asia, one of whose most tragic outcomes has been an accelerating violence against the Muslim minority.

Bilingualism in South Asia (India): National/Regional Profiles And Verbal Repertoires

1985 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 169-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamal K. Sridhar
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
The South ◽  
Contact Situation ◽  
Individual Contact

Anyone who undertakes to do an overview of so large an area as studies on “the South Asian bilingual's verbal repertoire and the functional allocation of languages” within so small a space as permitted by this review deserves her predicament. The problem lies in the complexity and diversity of the situation, and the danger of inanity resulting from oversimplification. However, since the alternative is to wait for book-length treatments which have yet to be written, and in the meanwhile, suffer the omission of a prime example of a multilingual region from a volume devoted to multilingualism, I shall compromise by treating only the broadly representative situations and trends and ignoring the (sometimes more interesting) particularities of a given language or an individual contact situation.

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