After the nuclear tests conducted by both India and Pakistan in May 1998 in South Asia, the experts, particularly the former US president Bill Clinton, described the region volatile and a dangerous place in the world. This description of South Asia is to be viewed in the context of the uneasy relations between India and Pakistan since their independence. There are, of course, many other places in the world which are highly risky for the people who live there; the contemporary anarchy in Nigeria, Ukraine and the Middle East countries has provided disturbing evidence of the brutality of mankind. But these conflicts have either been confined to the said regions or have only limited regional significance. The disputes among South Asian countries have remained an area of unresolved and dangerous conflict involving external powers, arms proliferation and ethnic and religious hatred that go back to the evolution of India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—the countries that form South Asia. Due to its strategic location and natural wealth, the region has acquired a very important position from a geostrategic point of view. External powers such as China and the US, to increase their economic stakes, seek to engage South Asian countries with respect to security and energy issues in West and Central Asia, the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. Against this backdrop, the paper has attempted to study and analyze the geostrategic importance of South Asia and the role of China and the US as two major powers that have interests in the region.

South Asia was, prior to 1947, referred to as Britain’s Indian Empire or Raj—a diverse mix of British India and a range of kingdoms with varying degrees of subservience and allegiance to the colonial power.1 Most geographers, such as Sir Dudley Stamp, called it the Indian subcontinent because of its separation from the rest of the Asian landmass by a continuous barrier of mountains in the north. This enabled the development of a civilization in relative isolation through the ages. The strength of colonialism was felt around the world, including in South Asia. South Asia provided an outstanding example of colonialism’s role in establishing most of the current political borders in the world. Foreign powers began to arrive in South Asia to conduct trade from 16th century onward. In the 16th century, the British East India Company was chartered to trade with India. It traded in cotton, silk, spices and other goods. Throughout that time, the local kingdoms in subcontinent were overwhelmed by battles and bitter rivalries among themselves. Observing the situation and wishing to benefit by exploiting the conditions prevailing at that time, the East India Company started establishing colonies in the subcontinent. Till the mid of the 20th century, Britain controlled South Asia either through the East India Company or the British Crown.2 After the end of the Second World War, Britain was not in a position to keep control over the subcontinent, and in the mid-20th century, it left the subcontinent after partitioning it into India and Pakistan.3 With the partition of the subcontinent, many conflicts and controversies related to boundaries came into existence. The partition grew into a tragic civil war, as Hindus and Muslims migrated to their country of choice. More than one million people died in the civil war, a war that is still referred to in the political dialogs between India and Pakistan.

International Relations Journal, Geostrategic Significance, South Asia: Contextualizing, Nigeria, Ukraine, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), South Asian Region, Middle East, External Powers.