Q.Analyse the mutual relations between the smaller countries of South Asia and India.

Mutual Relations Between Smaller South Asian Countries and India

India's relations with its smaller South Asian neighbors have been shaped by a complex mix of geography, history, and power asymmetry. As the largest country in the region, India occupies a dominant position that influences every bilateral relationship, yet this dominance has not always translated into smooth ties.

Nepal and Bhutan share deep cultural and economic links with India. Both landlocked nations depend heavily on Indian markets and transit routes. Bhutan's foreign policy is closely coordinated with India, and the two countries enjoy warm relations built on mutual trust. Nepal, however, has experienced periodic tensions with India over issues of sovereignty and interference, particularly when domestic politics in Nepal have involved India's concerns about security or stability along the open border.

Bangladesh emerged from a war in which India played a decisive military role, and the two countries share strong economic ties, river-water agreements, and cooperation on connectivity. Yet disputes over water-sharing, border management, and illegal migration have occasionally strained the relationship.

Sri Lanka has oscillated between closeness and distance with India. India's involvement in the ethnic conflict during the 1980s, including the deployment of peacekeeping forces, left a legacy of mistrust. Sri Lanka has since balanced its relations by engaging with China, which has caused unease in New Delhi. …

India occupies an unusual position in South Asia: it accounts for roughly three-quarters of the region's landmass, population, and economy. This sheer size creates an inherent asymmetry in its relations with neighbours like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Geography compounds this—most of these countries share borders or maritime boundaries with India, making their security and economic fortunes deeply intertwined with Indian policy. The challenge for India has been to translate this natural advantage into genuine goodwill rather than resentment.

In the early decades after independence, India's approach was shaped by Nehru's vision of regional leadership and non-alignment. India extended support to anti-colonial movements and offered economic assistance, but this paternalistic attitude sometimes bred friction. Smaller neighbours worried that India's size and ambitions might translate into interference in their internal affairs. The 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Nepal, for instance, granted special privileges to citizens of both countries but also gave India a say in Nepal's defence and foreign policy—a clause that later became a source of nationalist resentment in Kathmandu.

Relations with Bangladesh illustrate both the promise and the pitfalls. India played a decisive role in Bangladesh's liberation in 1971, earning immense goodwill. Yet over the decades, issues like river water sharing (particularly the Ganga and Teesta), border management, and the treatment of minorities have periodically strained ties. The 1996 Ganga Water Treaty was a landmark, but disputes over Teesta remain unresolved, partly due to domestic political complications in India. Trade imbalances—Bangladesh exports far less to India than it imports—also fuel perceptions of inequity.

Sri Lanka's experience with India has been more turbulent. India's support for Tamil groups during Sri Lanka's civil war, including the controversial Indian Peace Keeping Force deployment in 1987–90, left deep scars. The IPKF mission, intended to enforce peace, became mired in conflict with the very Tamil militants it was meant to support, and India withdrew after significant casualties. Since the war's end in 2009, relations have improved, but Sri Lanka's balancing act between India and China—evident in Chinese infrastructure projects like the Hambantota port—reflects lingering wariness of Indian dominance.

Bhutan stands apart as India's closest partner. The two countries have a special relationship rooted in a 1949 treaty (revised in 2007) that commits Bhutan to be "guided by" India on foreign policy, though this language has been softened over time. India is Bhutan's largest trade partner and aid donor, and the countries coordinate closely on security. Bhutan's hydropower projects, financed and often executed with Indian assistance, supply electricity to India and fund much of Bhutan's budget. Yet even here, Bhutan has begun to assert greater autonomy, establishing diplomatic relations with more countries and seeking to diversify its partnerships.

Several recurring themes shape these relationships:

• Security concerns: India views South Asia as its sphere of influence and worries when neighbours tilt toward external powers, especially China and Pakistan. This has led to accusations of heavy-handedness, as when India imposed an unofficial blockade on Nepal in 2015 over constitutional issues.

• Economic asymmetry: India's economy dwarfs those of its neighbours, creating trade imbalances and dependence. While India has offered preferential market access and aid, smaller countries often feel they lack reciprocal leverage. …