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The socio-economic empowerment of the marginalised is also of vital importance. Decentralised government must encourage local communities to partake in the development of the region. The disadvantaged must be empowered to think beyond the structures of patronage that tie them to politicians who promise everything and deliver nothing. Communications infrastructure, coupled with roads and waterways must link rural communities to the economic hubs of countries. Furthermore, rural areas must be encouraged to develop and sustain coherent, inclusive political organisations, and engage pro-actively in politics.Imagining the future
Our region is often challenged to question its often half-hearted commitment to its own cultural values and norms (the fact, to take one example, that suicide is condemned in the Quran and yet not a single Islamic government has condemned the suicide bombers on the West Bank). It is challenged to do more for itself by admitting its own responsibility for many of the social inequalities that breed terrorism. Islamic countries need to address the issues capitalised on by the radicals such as the lack of schools which has driven children to be educated at Islamic maddrassahs and the existence of corrupt judiciaries and bureaucracies which have fuelled the anger of the zealots.
Oil unfortunately does not automatically bring with it social development. Neither, as Pakistan and India have found out, nuclear arms struggles. While Colonial histories and legacies have long been blamed for the present state of affairs in the region, it is difficult to posit the squalor of refugee camps in Sri Lanka, the insufferable living conditions of slums in Calcutta, the starvation of peoples in Ethiopia, or the illiteracy that ravages the entire region on colonial policies alone.
Above all, countries in the region must both not fall back on crude anti-Americanism and have greater self-belief, as well as greater self-respect. This self-respect should entail responsibility for one’s own actions. Failures in development are not to be blamed on colonial powers. Lip-service to world summits on sustainable development and environmental issues must not be allowed to pass without real, tangible changes in polity and society. A firm and sustained commitment to root out corruption is of vital importance. Using Information Communications Technology (ICT) along with more traditional developmental mechanisms is another priority. Perhaps more than anything else, engaging and using innovative ideas in the formulation of policy should help our region overcome its problems and illuminate the path towards prosperity, democracy and social justice.
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Sanjana
Sanjana Hattotuwa is a Rotary World Peace Scholar presently pursuing a Masters in International Studies from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. The views expressed here are his own. He can be contacted at hatt@wow.lk.
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