YiZhong Tan

Part 1:

Question 2:

India as the largest country in South Asia, plays a very important part in the region and
affects the various smaller countries around, whether it be in regards to its security, economy or
even its domestic politics. There are many examples in how India as the regions largest country
has interfered with the domestic politics of the countries in the region, and by doing so, affecting
the region's political or economic landscape.

Probably one of the most well known and important act of Indian interference was during
the Pakistani civil war or as the Bangladeshi would call it, the Bangladeshi war for
independence from Pakistan which started on March 1971. During the course of the civil war/
independence war, the Indian government graciously took care of refugees who were escaping
from then East Pakistan into India. Later in the civil war/ war for independence, the Indian
government intervened military in East Pakistan/ Bangladesh and established the joint
Bangladeshi-Indian command which eventually led to the defeat and the eventual surrender of
Pakistan. The involvement of the Indian government and military in the Pakistani civil war/
Bangladeshi independence war not only resulted in the humiliation and the loss of territory for
Pakistan, but it also resulted in the birth of a new nation, Bangladesh. Furthermore, the
involvement of India in the Pakistani civil war/ Bangladeshi war for independence undoubtedly
changed the geopolitics of the region in perhaps Indias favour. Instead of being located
between two Pakistans, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, India now only bordered one
Pakistan to the West and a new nation to the East, Bangladesh, in which it could try and
influence into becoming an ally or a satellite state..

Another example of how India is such a big player in the region was during the Sri
Lankan civil war that took place on the island of Sri Lanka. During the civil war between the
Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government forces, the Indian government acted as intermediaries
when the Tigers and the government forces negotiated from 1984-1987, although it meet with
little success. Although the negotiations between the Sri Lankan government and the Tigers
broke down, the Sri Lankan government and the Indian government signed the Indo-Lanka
accords which brought Indian troops to Sri Lanka to enforce a Sri Lankan ceasefire.

The signing of the Indo-Lanka accords between Sri Lanka and India gives some
evidence that the Sri Lankan government acknowledges the strength of India in the South Asian
region, as India had managed to end the Pakistani civil war which created an independent
Bangladesh and had hoped to use Indias strength to stabilize their country. Unfortunately, that
did not come to pass as the Tamil Tigers and the Indian peacekeepers engaged in open warfare
against each other in October 1987 which lasted until the Indian Army departed Sri Lanka in
March 1990q. Unlike the Pakistani Civil War/ Bangladeshi war for independence, India was not
able to successfully project its power to end the conflict in Sri Lanka, as civil war on the island
continued on for another two decade. However, the involvement and interference of India