Journeys to democracy

“What’s in a name?” – veteran journalist, civic and political rights advocate Kanak Mani Dixit from Kathmandu Valley challenges diaspora scholars and academics to deeply study the issue of ‘Southasia’ in a way that has not yet been attempted 

By Pragyan Srivastava and Beena Sarwar / Sapan News

“Southasia,” declares Kanak Mani Dixit, “is about creating space for empathy and compassion.”

The well-known Nepali journalist, writer, civic and political rights activist based in Kathmandu believes that “to address the reality and challenges of a region containing a quarter of humanity, there must first be an agreed name for it”. 

The term Southasia serves the purpose — a neutral, inclusive term free of the colonial baggage carried by labels like Indian Subcontinent or Hindustan.

One word

Writing Southasia as one word is an idea Dixit introduced when launching Himal Southasian, the pioneering regional magazine in Kathmandu, 1997 — “seeking to restore some of the historical unity of our common living space, without wishing any violence on the existing nation states.”

Dixit stepped down as Himal’s editor ten years ago. Under younger professional editors, the magazine has since 2016 been published from Colombo and went fully digital in 2018. The ‘Southasia’ ‘formulation remains part of Himal’s stylesheet. 

The Southasia Peace Action Network launched in 2021, and subsequently Sapan News, adopted this formulation – not something Dixit suggested despite being closely aligned with both initiatives. He is a founder member of the former, and Advisory Council member of the latter.

He is of course happy that the term is catching on. 

He talks about the “inevitability of Southasia” – a region whose time will come, once ‘Southasia’ prevails over the narrow nationalisms that have come to define the countries here.  

The “coagulation of statism” has held the region hostage, says Dixit, talking about the “arc of poverty” that encircles it, from Balochistan to Bangladesh.

Allowing a free flow of economic growth and equity in Southasia would make the entire region richer – as was historically the case.

In fact, the region’s shared history — of cultural exchange, economic interdependence, and migration — necessitates a unified identity that transcends the boundaries imposed by nation-states. We need to “look at the past to feed the present.”

Southasia’s pressing issues range from rising hyper-nationalism to environmental degradation. “Can any country tackle the climate crisis alone?”

It’s all connected. The soot produced by auto vehicles and power generation finds its way into the atmosphere and contributes to glacier melts and underground water. Last year, the brown cloud went as far south as Sri Lanka. It causes species loss and public health issues. It affects wildlife from elephant migration to fresh water dolphins. “There is a white shroud arching from Balochistan to Assam”.

The “angry, exclusivist persona” of nation-states has fragmented the region’s shared identity, hindering cooperation on critical issues like trade, water diplomacy, and climate change, notes Dixit. “Southasia’s challenges know no borders, but our solutions continue to be confined by them.” 

Dixit highlights the absurdity of rigid borders, contrasting the open India-Nepal border with the militarised India-Pakistan divide. Nepal’s shared border with India is a reflection of history, “not arbitrary colonial lines” like the Radcliffe Line drawn between Pakistan and India in 1947.

He critiques the dominance of northern Southasia in shaping the region’s narrative, cautioning against sidelining voices from Sri Lanka and southern India.

Inclusive Southasia

“A truly inclusive Southasia must recognise its linguistic and cultural complexities,” he notes, dismissing the term ‘desi’ as north India and Pakistan-centric, insufficiently representative of the region’s diversity.

“Regionalism is not dead,” he comments. “It has not even been tried” in modern times.

Drawing parallels to the European Union, he envisions a Southasia with soft borders and economic cooperation that could lift millions out of poverty. This vision is enshrined in the Founding Charter of the Southasia Peace Action Network.

“We need a penumbra Southasia,” says Dixit, referring to the soft shadow of the moon, evoking fluidity over harsh borders. 

The penumbras link each society within Southasia and beyond it – Iran, Myanmar, Tibet, Sylhet and Assam, West Bengal and western Bangladesh, Rajasthan and Sindh, and the two Punjabs. 

The answer lies in “real federalism” in the larger Southasian countries, especially India. This is a vision that politicians like Mani Shankar Aiyar, the former parliamentarian from India, also uphold. 

Citing missed opportunities like the abandoned Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, Dixit emphasises how regional interdependence could foster peace. 

“Cultural exchanges by themselves are not enough,” he says. “We need the power of sustained economic collaboration. Corporates with vested interests in peace can play a pivotal role.” At the same time, he warns against “rapacious businessmen who can exploit the situation”.

He shares a profound reflection on the role of empathy in Southasian unity. “Empathy, not hierarchy, must define our activism,” he says, stressing the importance of seeing each other as equals.

In all this, there is a powerful message: Southasia’s future lies in transcending borders and embracing its shared identity.

The vision of a unified Southasia may seem ambitious, but as Dixit says, “Southasia is an idea whose time has come. It’s up to us to make it a reality.”

His advice to the college students and academics in America: Take up Southasia as a serious academic and intellectual pursuit. He emphasised that while Southasia is often studied through the lens of individual nation-states, there is a pressing need for a more holistic, regional approach. 

“Take up Southasia as a field of study. Move beyond siloed, country-specific research and explore the interconnected histories, cultures, economies, and political dynamics that shape this region.”

Pragyan Srivastava is a journalist from India working with Sapan News as an associate editor. Beena Sarwar is a journalist from Pakistan and the founder editor of Sapan News. This article is based on notes from Dixit’s address at the Annual Indu Bhatt Memorial Lecture on What’s in the Name ‘South Asia’? – hosted by the South Asian Studies Council at Yale University,15 January 2025.

This is a Sapan News syndicated feature available for republication with due credit.

Note on Southasia as one word: Sapan News uses Southasia as one word “seeking to restore some of the historical unity of our common living space, without wishing any violence on the existing nation states” – Himal Southasian.

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