Edit: The SAARC angle

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown overt enthusiasm towards the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) ever since he came into office in May this year. His gesture of inviting the heads of state and government for the swearing-in ceremony of his government seemed a grand gesture at the time and nothing more. He had followed it up with visits to Bhutan in June and Nepal in August. The Cabinet had on Thursday approved decisions to sign and ratify two agreements related to SAARC, one about railway connections, and the other about free movement of motor vehicles. They have been under preparation for eight years now, and the Inter-Governmental Group on Transport (IGGT) had recommended an agreement which the member-countries have to sign and ratify. The Cabinet’s approval shows the Indian keenness to follow up on the decision with certain alacrity. It is in the run-up to the SAARC summit to be held at Kathmandu November 25 and 26. 

It can be inferred that Modi is interested in pushing forward the process of knitting together the SAARC a little more closely. The easier movement of motor vehicles and trains across the SAARC borders will help the movement of goods and people. It will boost trade within the group. India will not be able to achieve this unilaterally. For example, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan will have to sign and ratify the agreements as well, and they will have to follow this up with the implementation of the agreements. The Cabinet’s approval is a sign that India is in favour of these moves.
India’s attitude towards SAARC has remained ambivalent. While professing friendly and closer ties among the neighbours on the one hand, there was a certain discomfort as well. Policymakers and leaders in the government feel that India is destined for a bigger and more prominent role in the global councils, and that SAARC is much too small for the display of its true potential. There was however the realisation that it cannot be seen to be unfriendly towards SAARC. 

Congress Prime Ministers maintained the friendly façade and did what was needed to be done without making much political or diplomatic investment in it. They did not go out of the way to make SAARC a vibrant regional grouping. BJP Prime Ministers, Atal Bihari Vajpayee during 1998-2004, and now Modi, on the other hand, are keen to make SAARC work in the belief that it is the best way of overcoming bilateral pinpricks. They have displayed greater zeal for SAARC. Vajpayee faced embarrassing moments at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu in 2002 because of the December 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament. The Islamabad SAARC summit in 2004 became an occasion for thaw in bilateral relations. The Indian public and the media too have not grasped the importance of SAARC.

 For many in the Indian media, a SAARC summit had become an occasion for the meeting of Indian and Pakistan Prime Ministers on the sidelines because the relations between the two are always fraught. The Indian media has shown no interest in SAARC in itself. In 2002 and in 2004 the focus of attention was the interaction between Vajpayee and Musharraf. It seems in Kathmandu this time, the media speculation is focused on the bilateral meeting between Modi and his Pakistan counterpart, Nawaz Sharif. Modi will have to contend with the Pakistan factor while pursuing his positive SAARC policy initiatives.