PEOPLE TO PEOPLE CONTACTS IN SAARC

This article examines the crucial importance of promoting people-to-people contacts within the SAARC region as a foundation for genuine regionalism. It argues that the SAARC process has been overly state-centric and that a sense of a South Asian community can only be built from the bottom up, through the interaction of its ordinary citizens. The study identifies the major barriers to people-to-people contacts, primarily the restrictive visa regimes that make travel within the region extremely difficult. The research then explores a range of potential initiatives to overcome these barriers and foster greater interaction. These include the liberalization of visa policies, the promotion of regional tourism, the creation of exchange programs for students, academics, and professionals, and the strengthening of civil society networks across the region. The paper concludes that investing in people-to-people contacts is not a "soft" issue but a hard-headed strategic investment in the long-term peace and stability of South Asia.

The vision of a South Asian community, as enshrined in the SAARC charter, will remain a distant dream as long as the peoples of the region remain strangers to one another. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the critical importance of fostering people-to-people contacts. The study begins with a stark critique of the current state of affairs, highlighting how the difficult and often-humiliating process of obtaining visas for travel to neighboring countries is a powerful symbol of the region's disunity. The core of the article is an exploration of the transformative potential of greater human interaction. It argues that increased travel and exchange would help to break down the negative stereotypes and enemy images that have been perpetuated by decades of political conflict, particularly between India and Pakistan. The paper proposes a concrete and actionable agenda for promoting these contacts. A central recommendation is the call for a phased and gradual move towards a visa-free regime for certain categories of citizens, such as students, academics, and business people, eventually leading to a "SAARC visa" for all. It also advocates for a massive expansion of cultural and educational exchange programs and the promotion of regional sporting and artistic events. The findings suggest that by creating more opportunities for South Asians to meet, interact, and discover their shared heritage, SAARC can build a powerful and enduring constituency for peace and cooperation that is less susceptible to the vicissitudes of high politics.