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The future's ours to see

Shahriar Feroze peers into the future
WHAT pops up as you look out of the window of your mind thinking of South Asia?
A map, a densely populated region, poverty, political unrest, adverse effects of climate change, fundamentalism, cricket and football, small countries with innumerable political, cultural and social issues and diversified disputes. The list goes on.
In the end the curiosity for knowing the future will always be there and so will be its readership. In the course of reviewing the book, a quote by Edward Weyer JR kept coming hack every now and then: "The future is like a corridor into which we can see only by the light coming from behind."
But what would you think about the yield in the shape of a book that presents an ongoing dialogue among 47 experts from a diverse range of expertise and backgrounds, forecasting how South Asia could look like some 50 years later or more specifically in the year 2060?
Curious and thought provoking isn't it? South Asia 2060: Envisioning Regional Futures is a collection of futuristic essays based on the thoughts of leaders among policymakers, academics and civil society members as also visionaries.
The contributors of the anthology are experts with long collective expertise and experience of South Asia. The experts have written their pieces from their own disciplinary and professional perspectives on an array of issues relevant to the region's future. But it would have been great to know about each of the writer's techniques and methodologies for determining their not-so-absolute future scenarios.
Predicting the future is dangerous business, but the ones who make the effort for practising it based on knowledge perceived from historical track records and traits with some benchmarks deserve some credit. It should be clarified, though, that South Asia 2060 falls mainly under four categories - South Asia as a region, its state relations, development and human well-being factors.
Let's go by categories. From the perspective of South Asia as a region, the essays demonstrate reasons drawn from geography, history and geopolitics. The aspiration of'southasianness' is deeply entrenched in the South Asian mind - an idea that South Asian regional politics has often rejected and fought against. The term "Southasia" is coined by the writer Kanak Mani Dixit in chapter three.
Regarding state relations, quite reasonably almost all the authors have directly or indirectly focused on the fact that no positive scenario for South Asia as a region is plausible, if India and Pakistan remain locked in their age-old rivalry. None of the contributors of this part seem to seriously question the idea of South Asia or propose that if regional identity will wither away soon. On development, coupled with security issues, the essayists focus on breaking the violent-like circularity of conventional arguments. Here the message is the relationship of security and development of the region is co-dependent.
Though South Asia 2060 was not prepared with the aim of seeking optimistic viewpoints from its contributors, but fortunately a greater voice on human well-being is beginning to compel and also incline South Asian states to explore obvious complementarities among them. Concerning human well-being, much of South Asia's challenges and opportunities are common.
In a single review it is not possible to touch on all the essays, but some of the more interesting ones deserve some mentioning. But each and every piece should be read if the reader is thinking to gain a comprehensive understanding on how South Asia may look like 50 or so years from now. Why? Because 47 experts from a diverse range of expertise and backgrounds have taken the effort to predict the South Asian future through 47 lenses and in some cases more.
It was a fascinating experience following which author has followed what regional trends, key factors and possible future trajectories. There are tips and guidelines by the writers for a better South Asia, and of course backtracking to historical events and changes that have played a key role in the transformation of the South Asia of today.
Ramesh Thakur has focused on regionalism and gone back to its roots. He has outlined how regional connectivity and unity can be made through tourism and sports in the coming days. In conclusion, he stresses the need for quality in national leadership. Kanak Mani Dixit explores the geopolitical scenario and predicts that the seemingly South Asian regionalism that rests in the rise of federalism is likely to provide a win-win formula in the future. As a result, a strong platform of South Asian cooperation will be there. Thomson's approach is more technical regarding existing and future diversities on several issues encompassing the region. The historian Asif captivatingly narrates his account of the future by adding in the role of Bollywood in community making.
Regarding conflict and reconciliation issues, Amitabh Mattoo's emphasis on Indo-Pakistan relations as the 'single most critical factor for the region' may be interesting, but somehow predisposed to an extent. Badami and Haider write about population, human development, environment with the challenges of rapid urbanization. But their stress on urban policy, planning and strategies is important. Gupta and Shankar have a forecast, especially in terms of meeting electric power demand in the region. Ishrat Husain's focal point is that the region's economy in 2060 includes the failure and future prospects of intraregional trade. His inclusion of factors related to demography, climate change and bilateral problems to the region's economy also comes with a set of guidelines and the importance of reaping the benefits of technology. Enamul Haque has outlined the economic challenges ahead.
Hoodbhoy, Zia Mian and Synnot all three explain their speculations on the sensitive issue of nuclear risk within the region. Ali Riaz's spotlight is on the implications for scholarships in and on South Asia and his analysis and viewpoints on policy and security oriented scholarships are important bits. And contribution of others follows Till you get hold of the book.
In the end the curiosity for knowing the future will always be there and so will be its readership. In the course of reviewing the book, a quote by Edward Weyer JR kept coming back every now and then: "The future is like a corridor into which we can see only by the light coming from behind."
SHAHRIAR FEROZE IS WITH THE DAILY S1AR