Nepal's convulsions, lessons for India: Rethinking South Asian integration

There have been half-hearted efforts to remake South Asia in the image of the European Union or at least the Asean, but now they seem to have been given up entirely

The common thread among the recent eruptions of popular violence in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, has been the lack of development and employment opportunities among a younger generation that is more educated, more exposed to regional and global currents, and more connected and engaged, both among themselves and with the wider world, thanks to the internet and social media. These produce eddies and currents that may have no real focus but allow the venting of frustration and resentment, even while providing a platform for celebration of dance and music and for expressions of creative energies.

 

 According to one estimate,