FORTY years after its establishment in December 1985, why is the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation still struggling to become relevant for South Asian countries? One major reason is India’s lingering suspicion that the Saarc platform could be used by its smaller neighbours to join hands and push back or counter-balance India, the largest country in South Asia. That mindset has nearly always influenced India’s approach to regional cooperation under Saarc.

India’s apprehension about smaller states banding together against it does not stand to scrutiny. Had Germany continued with its suspicion of its peers in Europe, like France and the UK, the idea of the European Union would have never materialised. Had Indonesia tried to be hegemonic in East Asia, the ambition to make Asean the leading regional actor would have remained a pipe dream. The day the US loses complete faith in the United Nations, an organisation it had helped create as an essential element of the post-1945 world order, the UN could totally lose its relevance, as is beginning to happen now. In world politics, great power status comes with prodigious responsibilities. India can either lead Saarc, and with that the entire South Asia, to the next level of prosperity or relegate the organisation to the rubble of irrelevance, as is the case now.

Another reason why Saarc could not emerge as a force for the economic integration of South Asia is related to the lingering conflicts between India and other Saarc members, particularly Pakistan. In 2016, when it was Pakistan’s turn to host the Saarc........

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