Chaitanya Guide 7

south asia-central asia: issues that bind

Prepared by Sudha Rajagopalan, Ph.D.

 

The Indian sub-continent has plenty of reason to pay attention to the Central Asian Republics (CARs) of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,  Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Located just north of South Asia, this area is of geo-strategic importance to both Pakistan and India for political and economic objectives. Afghanistan is considered by some to be part of Central Asia and by others to be part of South Asia (it is now a member of the South Asian Regional Cooperation forum). By either categorization, Afghanistan is an inevitable part of developments concerning Central and South Asia, and therefore also features in this guide.

Central Asia's old ties with the Indian subcontinent are legendary. Only the mountains separate it from Pakistan and India; Tajikistan, the southernmost Central Asian nation borders on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Babur was born in Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan) and the silk route developed in this region connecting India and China to Europe. In the late 19th century, this region north of the Hindu Kush was slowly absorbed into the Russian empire, and after the October revolution in 1917, five republics with their current names were created here by the Soviet state.

Since the demise of the Soviet Union each country has followed a different political trajectory. Kazakhstan is the largest of these countries and boasts relative political stability and strong economic credentials, whereas the smaller countries of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have spiralled into authoritarian, repressive and/or politically unstable societies with poor economies. They are all highly centralized states.

At the same time they have become crucial to international oil diplomacy and the "war on terror." In this second Great Game, India and Pakistan vie with China, Russia, Turkey, Iran and the United States for influence in the region. The CARs have increasing geo-political significance as Islamic militancy replaces the Soviet bogey in international politics and as globalization, economic interdependence and energy shortfalls redefine political equations between South Asia and the rest of the world. 

Here are links to articles that have over the years discussed the significance of this region to all its neighbours.

This guide offers profiles on each of the CARs, their current political systems, a summary of their economic trajectories and their ethnic compositions.

The main areas where Central Asian developments have always concerned and still concern people and states in South Asia are security, trade and economic ties, and popular culture. Security here refers to how inclusive the new states are and the repercussions of marginalizing certain interest groups. Economic developments matter because India and Pakistan are both seeking an economic foothold in the CARs to rival China's advantage in that region, and looking to acquire access to oil for their rapidly growing economies. Popular culture has always bound these regions as evinced in the spread of Sufism to India, the common music and poetry traditions, and Indian cinema's popularity in the region.