South Asia

=== Regional politics ===
{{See also|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation}}
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 | caption2 = Indian soldiers in [[Batalik]] during the [[Kargil War]] (1999) between India and Pakistan
 | caption4 = [[Sheikh Hasina]], Prime Minister of Bangladesh, with [[Narendra Modi]], Prime Minister of India, in New York (2019)
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India has been the [[regional power|dominant geopolitical power in the region]]{{sfn|Buzan|2004|p=71}}<<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.twq.com/04winter/docs/04winter_perkovich.pdf |title=Is India a Major Power? |last=Perkovich |first=George |journal=The Washington Quarterly |issue=27.1 Winter 2003–04 |access-date=12 August 2020|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227014858/http://www.twq.com/04winter/docs/04winter_perkovich.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Regions and powers">{{harvnb|Buzan|Wæver|2003|p=55}}</ref> and alone accounts for most part of the landmass, population, economy and military expenditure in the region.{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} India is a [[G20|major economy]], member of [[G4 nations|G4]], has world's [[List of countries by military expenditures|third highest military budget]]<ref>{{Cite news|author=Shaurya Karanbir Gurung|title=India third largest military spender in world, after US and China|url=https://m.economictimes.com/news/defence/global-military-spending-saw-largest-increase-in-decade-in-2019-china-india-in-top-3-study/articleshow/75404166.cms|newspaper=The Economic Times|date=27 April 2020|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref> and exerts strong [[Greater India|cultural]] and [[Regional hegemony|political influence]] over the region.<ref name="college">{{cite journal |last=Fussman |first=Gérard | title= History of India and Greater India |journal=La Lettre du Collège de France |issue=4 |pages=24–25 |year=2008–2009 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/lettre-cdf/756 |access-date=12 August 2020|doi=10.4000/lettre-cdf.756|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="ASAN">{{Cite journal |author=Deepa M. Ollapally |title=India's Evolving National Identity Contestation: What Reactions to the "Pivot" Tell Us|url=http://www.theasanforum.org/indias-evolving-national-identity-contestation-what-reactions-to-the-pivot-tell-us/|access-date=12 August 2020|language=en|journal=[[Asan Institute for Policy Studies#Asan Forum|The Asan Forum]]|volume=8|issue=4|issn=2288-5757|date=July–August 2020|orig-year=2014}}</ref> Sometimes referred as a [[great power]] or [[emerging superpower]] primarily attributed to its large and expanding economic and military abilities, India acts as fulcrum of South Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Immanuel|last=Wallerstein|author-link=Immanuel Wallerstein|title=India: The In-Between Great Power|url=https://iwallerstein.com/india-the-in-between-great-power/|date=1 June 2017|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Madhavi|last=Bhasin|title=India's Role in South Asia Perceived Hegemony or Reluctant Leadership?|url=https://silo.tips/downloadFile/india-s-role-in-south-asia-perceived-hegemony-or-reluctant-leadership|format=PDF|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref>

[[Bangladesh]], [[Pakistan]] and [[Sri Lanka]] are [[middle power]]s with sizeable populations and economies with significant impact on regional politics.<ref name="balancing">{{cite web|url=https://www.clingendael.org/pub/2018/strategic-monitor-2018-2019/a-balancing-act/|title=A Balancing Act: The Role of Middle Powers in Contemporary Diplomacy |first1=Willem |last1=Oosterveld |first2=Bianca |last2=Torossian |work=Strategic Monitor 2018–2019 |publisher=[[Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael|Clingendael Institute]] |access-date=18 May 2019}}</ref>{{sfn|Buzan|2004|pp=71, 99}}

During the [[Partition of India]] in 1947, subsequent violence and territorial disputes left relations between India and Pakistan sour and very hostile<ref>{{cite book |first=Stephen P. |last=Cohen |author-link=Stephen P. Cohen |year=2004 |title=The Idea of Pakistan|url=https://archive.org/details/ideaofpakistan00cohe |url-access=registration |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/ideaofpakistan00cohe/page/59 59] |isbn=978-0-8157-9761-6 |quote=American scholar Allen Mcgrath}}</ref> and [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|various confrontations and wars]] which largely shaped the politics of the region and contributed to the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|emergence of Bangladesh]] as an independent country.<ref>{{cite book|title=Crossing the Frontiers of Conflict in the North East and Jammu and Kashmir: From Real Politik to Ideal Politik|author=V.K. Nayar|year=2005|page=198|publisher=Shipra Publications |isbn=978-81-7541-218-7|quote=Though Indian victory in the India- Pakistan War 1971 and the liberation of Bangladesh refurbished India's image}}</ref> With [[Yugoslavia]], India founded the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] but later entered an [[Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation|agreement]] with the former [[Soviet Union]] following Western support for Pakistan.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hanhimaki|2004|p=165}}</ref> Amid the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], US sent its [[USS Enterprise (CVN-65)|USS ''Enterprise'']] to the Indian Ocean in what was perceived as a [[nuclear threat]] by India.<ref name=Santosh>{{cite book
|last = Burne
|first = Lester H.
|title = Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations: 1932–1988
|publisher = Routledge
|year= 2003
|isbn = 0-415-93916-X }}</ref> India's [[Smiling Buddha|nuclear test in 1974]] pushed Pakistan's nuclear program<ref>{{Citation | publisher = Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and Pakistan Television (PTV) | title = Prime minister Secretariat Press Release | quote = India's so-called Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE) is tested and designed to intimidate and establish "Indian hegemony in the subcontinent", most particularly Pakistan... | first = Zulfikar Ali | last = Bhutto | date = 18 May 1974 | url = http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pakistan/Nuclear/chronology_1974.html | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110918040826/http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pakistan/Nuclear/chronology_1974.html | archive-date = 18 September 2011 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> who conducted nuclear tests in [[Chagai-I]] in 1998, just 18 days after India's [[Pokhran-II|series of nuclear tests]] for [[thermonuclear weapon]]s.<ref name="Ministry of External Affairs, 1998">{{cite web|title=Official press release by India|url=http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/India/Indianofficial.txt|website=meadev.gov.in/|publisher=Ministry of External Affairs, 1998|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref>

The [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]] in 1979 accelerated efforts to form a union to restrengthen deteriorating regional security.<ref name="NIHCR in Islamabad">{{cite web|last=Muhammad|first=Jamshed Iqbal|title=SAARC: Origin, Growth, Potential and Achievements |url=http://www.nihcr.edu.pk/Latest_English_Journal/SAARC_Jamshed_Iqbal.pdf|work=National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research in Islamabad|access-date=11 November 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131111092347/http://www.nihcr.edu.pk/Latest_English_Journal/SAARC_Jamshed_Iqbal.pdf |archive-date=11 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> After agreements, the union, known as the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] (SAARC), was finally established in Dhaka in December 1985.<ref name="About SAARC">{{cite web |url=http://www.mohe.gov.af/saarc.afg/about%20us.html |title=About SAARC |website=SAARC Secretariat |access-date=11 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111090614/http://www.mohe.gov.af/saarc.afg/about%20us.html |archive-date=11 November 2013  }}</ref> However, deterioration of [[India–Pakistan relations|India-Pakistan ties]] have led India to emphasize more on sub-regional groups [[South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation|SASEC]], [[BIMSTEC]] and [[BBIN]].

While in East Asia, regional trade accounts for 50% of total trade, it accounts for only a little more than 5% in South Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Realizing the Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia|url = https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/10/09/realizing-the-promise-of-regional-trade-in-south-asia|date = 9 October 2018|access-date = 23 October 2019|publisher = [[World Bank]]}}</ref>

[[Populism]] is a general characteristic of internal politics of India.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title = The Global Populist Surge Is More than Just a Western Story—Just Look at Asia|url = https://thediplomat.com/2016/12/the-global-populist-surge-is-more-than-just-a-western-story-just-look-at-asia/|date = 10 December 2016|access-date = 23 October 2019|magazine= [[The Diplomat]]}}</ref>

==== Regional groups of countries ====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#ececec;"
! Name
! [[List of countries and dependencies by area|Area]]<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)
! [[List of countries and dependencies by population|Population]]
! [[List of countries and dependencies by population density|Population density]]<br />(per km<sup>2</sup>)
! Capital or Secretariat
! Currency
! Countries
! [[Official language]]
! [[Coat of arms]]
|-
| [[#Definition|Core definition]] of South Asia
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,220,460
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,726,907,000

| style="text-align:right;"| 330.79
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], India, [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], Sri Lanka
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
|-
| [[United Nations geoscheme|UNSD definition]] of Southern Asia
| style="text-align:right;"| 6,778,083
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,702,000,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 270.77
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], India, [[Iran]], [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], Sri Lanka
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
|-
| [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation|SAARC]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,637,469
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,626,000,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 350.6
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Kathmandu]]
| {{n/a}}
| [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], India, [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], Sri Lanka
| style="text-align:center;"| English
| {{n/a}}
|-
| [[South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation|SASEC]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,565,467
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,485,909,931
| style="text-align:right;"| 416.75
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], India, [[Maldives]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nepal]], Sri Lanka
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
|-
| [[BBIN]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,499,559
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,465,236,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 418.69
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], India, Nepal
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
|}