ABSTRACT
By Eastern South Asia is meant the sovereign nations of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Northeastern states of India (i.e. the seven hill sisters – Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur) and the states of West Bengal and Sikkim. South Asia is one of the poorest regions of the world with high population density. Moreover, this sub region is plagued by high level of illiteracy, prevalence of poor health conditions and, above all, a poor degree of gross national product. Historically, the region has been the profitable hinterland for several colonial powers, which perhaps remained as major reasons for backwardness in all sectors from education to health, from agriculture to industries etc. On the other hand, the potentials in the sub region are not too bad. In fact, the region is rich in terms of natural resources, which, if harnessed appropriately, could perhaps change the entire scenario. Despite the opportunities, progress in achieving sub-regional cooperation in South Asia has been at best very modest due to a host of economic and political factors. The political environment needs to be improved by the regional governments and political leaders for a meaningful sub-regional cooperation. In this article it will be argued that sub-regional cooperation was already practised here from ancient times, and that what is required here is re-linking that old historical linkage to really move the wheel of cooperation forward as a foreign policy initiative. Giving autonomy to and planning with the provinces will help the process of sub-regional cooperation in Eastern South Asia move forward towards meaningful development.
