I had the good fortune of visiting Mumbai, the past week. Normally the flight takes just about 1 hour and 25 minutes to bridge the gap between Karachi and Mumbai, but for me the distance was mired in several queries. During the course of the flight my imagination took me back in history when the sub-continent comprised of a single territorial entity to be later partitioned into India and Pakistan. It was not the subcontinent that was bifurcated but the hearts of people. Their souls were wrenched from their bodies, nonetheless love could not be partitioned, nor the culture and language of the people.

As our plane was approaching Mumbai, which was only a few minutes away, we were enveloped by monsoon clouds rising from the lap of the Indian Ocean. After a brief period devoted to delectable obscurantism, realization dawned that were we to travel within Europe, the thick entourage of clouds would have been our companion for quite a considerable distance. Little did we realize that the seemingly inconspicuous clouds had wreaked death and destruction on Mumbai. I was being invited to Mumbai for the launching ceremony of the book �€œ South Asia Challenge 2005-2025�€.

Strategic Foresight Group is one of the few think tanks of India, which on the basis of the exhaustive work undertaken by it has managed to carve a niche for itself in a very limited span, not only in South Asia but around the world as an institution with profound depth and expertise on geo-political issues. SFG strives to present policy makers with concrete, alternative policies for the future, inspired by painstaking efforts in unbelievable circumstances. After the tumultuous events of 9/11, the debate is still raging on pertaining to the clash of civilizations in the world. SFG had organized a round table conference in 2004, in order to explore ways aimed at the eradication of the menace of terrorism. The conference was well attended by intellectuals from different corners of the world. After the successful culmination of the conference, SFG managed to build a rapport with the prime ministers and foreign ministers of various countries, including those from North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. The governments of these countries are conferring with SFG in facilitating the streamlining of their policies .SFG is providing sound advice and concrete recommendations to these governments in order to enable them to attain their objectives. In June 2005, SFG working in tandem with the Liberal and Democratic Alliance in Europe, managed to organize a round table conference in European Parliament in Brussels, which was attended by ministers and ex-parliamentarians from various countries .A lot of views expressed at the forum dealt with energizing ways required to root out global terrorism.

SFG has done exemplary work, worth mentioning in relation to South Asia. It played a very commendable role in trying to organize the South Asian Editors Forum in Sri Lanka, especially at a time when relations between India and Pakistan had plummeted to their lowest depths. The aim of the gathering was to bring together the editors of regional newspapers from South Asia, on a single platform in order to prevent the volatile situation as existing between India and Pakistan from degenerating further. Great emphasis was laid on seeking to advance peace and views proffered on the horrendous consequences likely to be accrued if the situation was allowed to slip out of hand. It was due to the strenuous efforts as exerted by SFG that the tenuous efforts to bolster peace in South Asia got a much needed, timely boost .SFG has to its credit numerous research papers and reports dealing with the internal but deeply contentious disputes of South Asia. Their publications have received universal acceptance. Some of the commendable publications attributed to SFG include; �€œFuture of Pakistan�€, �€œRe-thinking India�€™s future�€, �€œShifting Sands�€, �€œPakistan Provinces�€, �€œFinal Settlement�€ and the �€œCost of Conflict�€.

An institute by the name of International Center for Peace Institute, affiliated to SFG had brought out a research paper titled �€œWeapons of War and Purveyors of Peace�€, which was jointly researched by Ilmas Futehally and this columnist The paper won acclaim not only in South Asia but in the whole world. The President of SFG, Sundeep Waslekar, along with the deputy president Ilmas Futehally, working in conjunction with their team has managed to accomplish exemplary work in this arena. In the last few days they unveiled their latest offering, �€œThe Second Freedom �€“South Asian Challenge 2005-2025�€. This book had been sponsored by a German institute by the name of �€œFriedrich Naumann Stiftung�€. The laudatory services as rendered by this institute in South Asia aren�€™t hidden from anyone. Offices of this institution are operating in various countries of South Asia, while its regional head office is based in New Delhi. One of the prime objectives of holding this launching ceremony at this juncture was to pay tributes to the commendable services as rendered by the departing director of this institute, Hubertus Von Wellck. He had played a very constructive role in molding public opinion over the years , in the region encompassing the foreign policy and internal issues afflicting South Asia. Hubertus Von Wellck was not only in the forefront of organizing several debates and seminars to shape public opinion, but was also instrumental in coming out with extensive reports, covering a wide range of issues.

The special guest at the function was N.N. Vohra, who was the former principal secretary to the Prime Minister of India. He possessed a very profound understanding of all the issues, impacting national and regional concerns. The list of other invited guests consisted of renowned police reformer and Magaysee Awardee, Ms. Kiran Bedi; Prof. Bibek Debroy was present in his capacity as the president of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies, New Delhi; Oscar nominated Director of Lagaan and Swades, filmmaker Ashutosh Gowarikar; Editor of Loksatta, Kumar Ketkar; Katherine Magashe a representative of Friedrich Naumann Stiftung �€“ Germany and this columnist from Pakistan .In spite of the incessant downpour that partially deluged Mumbai , the auditorium at the Indian Chambers of Commerce in Mumbai , boasted of the presence of more than 250 people. Amongst the invitees, a sizeable percentage comprised the educational, industrial and media sectors. Also the assemblage consisted of the presence of diplomats, the most prominent being the Acting Consul General of the American Consulate in Mumbai, Ms. Linda Chatham.

In his inaugural address to the gathering, the president of SFG, Sundeep Waslekar stated that the main objective of the report was to highlight the problems facing the countries of South Asia during the course of the next twenty years and to initiate steps aimed at ameliorating the impact of the approaching crises in the region. Sundeep Waslekar mentioned that in 2025 the population of the entire South Asian region would be 2 billion, which would be equivalent to the population of the entire world as existing in 1925. He went on to articulate numerous options that the countries of the region would need to embrace, in order to come to terms with their burgeoning populations in the future. While referring to the glorious past of the region, Sundeep Waslekar mentioned that in the last 2000 years, it had exhibited extraordinary character and resilience. This was the region where in the past; the people had established and promoted calligraphy, during the Mohenjo-Daro period. Universities were established in Nalanda and Taxila and massive granaries were set up in Jaipur .On the other hand, during the same peiod of time entire Europe was plunged in the darkness of illiteracy and barbarism. It was due to the unquenchable curiosity and relentless pursuit of spiritual excellence of the people of the region , that new religions were nurtured into existence and subsequent eminence . Due to the persistent desire for refinement in finer arts, a cultural renaissance was visited upon the people of the region. Sundeep Waslekar mentioned that this was the region, which witnessed the emergence of the magnificent Chinese Empire in the fifteenth century, to be followed by the Ottoman Empire, extending its tentacles of territorial contiguity over a wide expanse of land. For the past thousand years the people of the region were engaged in Trade and Commerce with different regions of the world but they never harbored imperialistic designs and a desire to conquer other regions. During the course of the last 250 years, the region has been exposed to tremendous political, military and social upheavals with the result leaving an indelible scar on the collective psyche of its people. It is indeed a matter of great misfortune that one of the richest regions of the world has plunged into the depths of poverty, deprivation and ignorance. After the loss at the battle of Plassey, South Asia was incorporated as an additional colony of the British Empire. In the late 1940s they managed to wrest their freedom from imperialism. Nepal was never subjected to colonialism, but the inglorious shadow of autocracy, akin to poor man�€™s imperialism never left the country alone. Pakistan is witness to the imposition of military rule. Bangladesh on its part has managed to wrench itself free from any military control only to enraptured by the rising clout of Mullaiyat. The political outfits of Bangladesh do try to present a veneer of political independence but this is superficial.

The countries of South Asia are still undergoing a period of transition in the sense that they are striving to attain lost glory, and establish economic and societal independence. Though the region managed to assert its sovereignty 58 years back and attained success in various spheres, they are still very far away from the elusive Utopia o their dreams. Sundeep Waslekar in his speech delved on the issue of Per Capita Income, related to China in direct contrast to the sub-continent .If we were to look at the past twenty years of PCI for China, India and Pakistan the results of this observation reveals some startling results. If the barometer of introspection is assigned to the period covering the past twenty years then this troublesome reality confronts us in the form of the abysmal nature of inactivity and isolation that has plagued South Asia. Nepal and Pakistan are two countries of the region whose Per Capita Income has failed to show any sign of progress in the past twenty years .It seems that the PCI of these two countries has hovered between 200 to 400 dollars. All these calculations have been derived from the Human Resources Development Report 1994-2004.Though Bangladesh had been lagging behind Pakistan it has managed to bridge the gap as far as the PCI is concerned in the last twenty years as its previous PCI of 200 dollars has increased to nearly 400. In 1985, the PCI of India was comparatively less than Pakistan but it has shown a steady increase to the extent that it has touched 500 dollars .Sri Lanka has managed to register a two-fold increase in its PCI, which has increased from 400 dollars to near about 800 dollars .In comparison to other countries of the region Sri Lanka was afflicted with numerous problems in the past twenty years. It is common knowledge that it has been facing the armed rebellion of the Tamil Tigers.

If the PCI of the neighboring countries for the past twenty years is taken into consideration, very starling revelations come to light. For example with regard to china where the PCI was less than 500 dollars in 1985, but which has progressed by leaps and bounds and presently the PCI is hovering a little over a thousand dollars. In 1985 the PCI of another Asian country, South Korea was 2800 dollars but it has managed to register quantum success in increasing its PCI to the extent that it has nearly touched 13,000 dollars .We may strive to present many evolving futuristic scenarios pertaining to South Asia and try as much as possible to present a rosy picture, it is simply impossible to expect that the PCI of approximate-400 dollars as prevalent in most South Asian countries would jump to 13000 dollars . This is a very pertinent question confronting the people and governments of South Asia.

Dr. N.N. Vohra highlighted various problematic issues plaguing the region and the diminishing reservoir of resources. He emphasized that in order to attain and preserve second freedom for the region, it was essential that the people face up to the challenges and adversities prevalent and confront them with fortitude. Renowned Police Reformer, Kiran Bedi was the cynosure of all eyes when she took the podium. While elaborating on the interpretation of second freedom, she stressed that it was imperative that the moth-eaten, antiquated policing system and laws should be done away with, to be replaced by a more streamlined, adaptive and reformed police system. Prof. Bibek Debroy in his address to the gathering explained that interpretation of what in reality constitutes second freedom differs from person to person. He raised a very pertinent question when he demanded to know as to whether, we had in reality, truly achieved our first freedom and could sincerely refer to it as being complete.

Filmmaker Ashustosh Gowarikar while delving on the subject of second freedom, emphasized energetically on the importance of education. His argument centered on the theme that as long as the rapidly increasing population of the region is not brought under control and subsequently the level of education improved it was practically impossible to attain second freedom. Gowarikar was of the firm opinion that it was only due to education that a person can attain the level of maturity and understanding, required to tackle each and every problem. This columnist while speaking on the numerous challenges facing India and Pakistan stressed the urgent need to improve bilateral ties between the two countries. The destiny of the people of this region is inextricably interlinked. Their joys and sorrows, problems and resources, were more or less the same, hence the need to strive for a joint strategy to confront the problems afflicting them. We had managed to attain freedom but were still unable to come out of grandiose visions of the past. We lacked a sincere and concerted effort to tackle the problems afflicting the region. Europe was a case in point as it managed to resurrect itself from the ashes of World War-2 and cast aside the bitter acrimonies of the past in the pursuit of a better future for its people. It was never prone to displaying a negligent attitude as far as the welfare of its people was concerned. This is the reason that the tremendous economic progress as achieved by Europe had wiped way all traces of poverty from European societies. It has been our greatest curse that we have been unable to get ourselves rid of past acrimonies. Our ruling establishment has always given the culture of intolerance a boost. They have been guilty of curbing civil liberties in the name of liberalism .In light of the progressive trends that have engulfed the world, it neither possible nor advisable to expect the people of South Asia to remain dormant and immune to change. The people of the region are suffering because of incompetent leadership. It is imperative that the people step forward and espouse their rights and aspirations.