South Asia

===Contemporary era===
India and Pakistan clashed several times in the decades after Independence, with disputes over [[Kashmir]] playing a significant role.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-01-25 |title=India and Pakistan came close to nuclear war: Pompeo |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-64396138 |access-date=2023-09-01}}</ref> In 1971, the eastern half of Pakistan seceded with help from India and became the People's Republic of Bangladesh after the traumatic [[Bangladesh Liberation War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=What has been the Impact of the Creation of Bangladesh? {{!}} History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/head-head/what-has-been-impact-creation-bangladesh |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=www.historytoday.com}}</ref> This, along with India and Pakistan gaining nuclear weapons soon afterwards, increased tensions between the two countries.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The nuclear arsenals of China, India and Pakistan are growing |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2022/08/11/the-nuclear-arsenals-of-china-india-and-pakistan-are-growing |access-date=2023-09-01 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> The [[Cold War]] decades also contributed to the divide, as Pakistan aligned with the West and India with the [[Soviet Union]]; modern legacies of this divide include the majority of India's modern-day weaponry being Russian in origin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sen |first=Somdeep |title=Why is India standing with Putin's Russia? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/3/14/why-is-istandwithputin-trending-in |access-date=2023-09-01 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/09/20/russia-and-india-new-chapter-pub-87958 Russia and India: A New Chapter] https://carnegieendowment.org/ Rajan Menon, Eugene Rumer</ref>

Pakistan has been beset with [[Terrorism in Pakistan|terrorism]], [[Poverty in Pakistan|economic issues]] and [[Military coups in Pakistan|military dominance of its government]] since Independence,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mir |first=Asfandyar |date=2023-02-28 |title=Pakistan's Twin Crises |language=en-US |work=Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/pakistan/pakistans-twin-crises |access-date=2023-09-01 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref> with none of its Prime Ministers having completed a full 5-year term in office.<ref>{{Cite web |title=No Pakistani prime minister has completed a full term in office |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/9/factbox-no-pakistani-prime-minister-has-completed-a-full-tenure |access-date=2023-09-01 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> India has grown significantly,<ref>{{Cite web |title=India's rise is beyond doubt |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/India-s-rise-is-beyond-doubt |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=Nikkei Asia |language=en-GB}}</ref> having slashed its rate of extreme poverty to below 20%.<ref name=":2" /> Bangladesh, having struggled greatly for decades due to conflict with and economic exploitation by Pakistan,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-10 |title=There are lessons for Pakistan in the 1971 secession of Bangladesh |url=https://arab.news/cm7f4 |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=Arab News PK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bangal |title=Bangladesh Liberation War: Economic Exploitation |url=https://www.virtualbangladesh.com/the-basics/history-of-bangladesh/independence/history-prelude-independence/economic-exploitation/ |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=Virtual Bangladesh |language=en-US}}</ref> is now one of the fastest-growing countries in the region, beating India in terms of [[GDP per capita]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Bangladesh's economic miracle is in jeopardy |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/03/01/bangladeshs-economic-miracle-is-in-jeopardy |access-date=2023-09-01 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sinha |first=Shishir |date=2023-05-07 |title=Per capita GDP for Bangladesh higher than India till 2022 |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/world/per-capita-gdp-for-bangladesh-higher-than-india-till-2022/article66823548.ece |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=BusinessLine |language=en}}</ref> Afghanistan has gone through several invasions and Islamist regimes, with many of its refugees having gone to Pakistan and other parts of South Asia and bringing back cultural influences such as [[cricket]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-05-04 |title=A historical timeline of Afghanistan |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-02-01 |title=From refugee camps to Kabul: The story of Afghan cricket |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-24614257 |access-date=2023-09-01}}</ref> Religious nationalism has grown across the region, with human rights violations causing millions of Hindus and Christians to flee Pakistan and Bangladesh,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Navtan |date=2019-11-30 |title=Hindus under attack in Bangladesh, Pakistan, face annihilation |url=https://sundayguardianlive.com/news/hindus-attack-bangladesh-pakistan-face-annihilation |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=The Sunday Guardian Live |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-01 |title=The Past has yet to Leave the Present: Genocide in Bangladesh |url=https://hir.harvard.edu/the-past-has-yet-to-leave-the-present-genocide-in-bangladesh/ |first1=Kimtee |last1=Kundu |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=Harvard International Review |language=en}}</ref> and [[Hindutva|Hindu nationalism]] having grown in India with the election of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Muqtedar Khan on Why Religious Nationalism Is Poisoning South Asia |url=https://thediplomat.com/2023/08/muqtedar-khan-on-why-religious-nationalism-is-poisoning-south-asia/ |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=The Diplomat |first1=Sudha |last1=Ramachandran |date=August 21, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> A recent phenomenon has been that of India and China [[Sino-Indian border dispute|fighting on their border]], as well as vying for dominance of South Asia, with China able to use its superior economy to attract countries surrounding India.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Limited Hard Balancing: Explaining India's Counter Response to Chinese Encirclement |language=en-US |publisher=Air University |work=Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs |date=April 24, 2023 |author=Tanveer Ahmad Khan |url=https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3371481/limited-hard-balancing-explaining-indias-counter-response-to-chinese-encircleme/ |access-date=2023-09-01}}</ref>

{{further|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts}}