Experience of SAARC has not been encouraging: Hamid Ansari -Governance Now

Experience of SAARC has not been encouraging: Hamid Ansari

Idealism has to be tempered with realism and common action is easier done in areas of convergence than of divergence

Geetanjali Minhas | December 29, 2016 | Mumbai

#Hamid Ansari #Sudheendra Kulkarni #SAARC #book launch

Vice President Hamid Ansari has called for a practical, accommodative and inclusionary approach to ease negative perceptions of post partition tensions between India and Pakistan.

Emphasising that political commitment and modalities were needed to resolve outstanding areas of disagreement, Ansari said that foremost amongst these is what the Simla Agreement of 1972 called ‘a final settlement of Jammu and Kashmir’.

Addressing a gathering on Wednesday after releasing the book ‘August Voices: What they said on 14-15 August 1947’ by Sudheendra Kulkarni, Hamid Ansari said: “The State is doing all that is necessary to confront and repel terrorism. The State also has a duty to ensure that the rights and dignity of our citizens in the State are respected and ensured and shortcomings effectively addressed.”

The book explores, thoughts, actions and writings of, among others, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammed Ali Jinnah as well as Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad on August 14-15, 1947.

The vice president said the experience of SAARC has not been encouraging and therefore alternate strategies need to be explored. He added that the proposed new structure would have to be voluntary and devoid of overt or covert coercion. There may be lessons to be learnt from other regional organizations.

“Idealism has to be tempered with realism and common action is easier done in areas of convergence than of divergence. This convergence is to be sought by moving beyond the traditional paradigm of conventional security into those of human security and human wrong. Both are ignored by the governments and societies in our region; there is a crying need for the recognition and implementation of both,” added the vice president.

“A beginning therefore has to be made in regional cooperation with a focus on human security problems, on movement of people and on trade without unreasonable restrictions. The common traits in cultural traditions and historical narratives need to be transmitted to younger generation through conscious promotion rather than studied prevention of cultural exchanges, films, and other cultural activities,” he said.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, author of the book and chairman, Observer Research Foundation, told Governance Now: “The book aims to correct the mistakes of the past and the manner in which two partitions took place in the years in 1947 and 1971 which have created problems for three countries. The partitions cannot be undone but the negative effects of the partition should be undone by bringing the three countries together in a confederal framework so that all the three nations are separate, yet together.”

Comments

Other News

Income Tax dept holds Ghatkopar Outreach on new IT Act

The Income Tax Department organised an outreach programme in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, to raise awareness about the key features of the Income Tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026. The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to promote taxpayer awareness, simplify compliance, and strengthen a transparent, eff

Making AI work where governance is closest to people

India’s next governance leap may not solely come from digitisation. It will come from making public systems more intelligent, more adaptive, and more responsive to the dynamics at the grassroots. That opportunity is especially significant at the panchayat level, where governance is not an abstract po

Borrowing troubles: How small loans are quietly trapping youth

A silent crisis is playing out in the pocket of young India, not in stock markets or government treasuries, but in smartphones of college students and first-jobbers who clicked on the Apply Now button without reading the small print. A decade ago, to take a loan, you had to do some paperwor

A 19th-century pilgrim’s progress

The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas By Jaladhar Sen (Translated by Somdatta Mandal) Speaking Tiger Books, 259 pages, ₹499.00

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations. A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That