One grave effect of "divide and rule” policy that prevailed during 19th and early 20th century has been ongoing distrust and enmity between neighboring nations. Sinhalese-Tamils hatred in Sri Lanka, Hindu-Muslim hatred in India and Pakistan, Jew-Arab hatred in Israel and Palestine, and Tutsis-Hutus hatred in Rwanda are some glaring examples. When these neighboring countries need support, they often look up to major world powers. Although there is nothing wrong in approaching major world powers, the tendency to ignore neighboring countries impedes regional security and economic progress.

The European Union - a political miracle: Increasing coordination among neighboring countries can help usher in regional prosperity, harmony, and peace. This has been amply demonstrated by the European Union (EU), which covers most of the territories of ancient Rome. The EU, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, was founded on treaties among sovereign countries and has six main organs: the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, and the European Central Bank (ECB), which manages the euro currency. The EU Parliament members are directly elected by the citizens of all member nations. The EU, a political miracle, has its own budget and tax system and is not dependent on national contributions as is the United Nations (UN). It is remarkable that the EU has eliminated the death penalty within its member nations.                                       

The euro currency is an astounding economic success. The majority of the EU nations gave up their own centuries-old currencies to adopt the euro as their single currency. It was the introduction of the euro currency that united EU countries economically. The euro has achieved reserve currency status because investors have confidence in its future stability.

Proposing an "Indus Union": The European Union has created a model for a successful economic future not only for Europe but also for the rest of the world. A call for the economic unification of neighboring nations within the Indian subcontinent is described in detail in my book, Building a Noble World (www.nobleworld.org).Just as the European Community (EC), established in 1967 became the European Union, so also the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), established in 1985, could become an “Indus Union.” By following the EU model, the economies of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Myanmar, which were once an integral part of the ancient Indian subcontinent, could be molded into a formidable “Indus Union.”

Although creating an “Indus Union” could be viewed as a Herculean task, the economic benefits should be substantial enough to overcome present political differences. The EU region has a history of political differences even more hostile than that of South Asia, yet EU countries are now successfully integrated economically and politically.

In South Asia, also known as the Indian subcontinent, invaders succeeded in keeping people subjugated using the “divide and rule” policy. Knowing that the partition of India on August 15, 1947, would lead to armed conflicts between Pakistan and India, Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948), known as the Father of India, wrote to Lord Mountbatten, the then Governor General of India: “It would be a blunder of first magnitude for the British to be party in any way whatsoever to the division of India.”

The most perilous issue standing in the way of an “Indus Union” is the dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. The territory known as “Kashmir” covers a total area of 85,806 sq. miles. Chinese-controlled Kashmir occupies 19.2%; Pakistani-controlled Kashmir has 35.5%; and Indian-controlled Kashmir has 45.3%. The Kashmir conflict began when the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act 1947, which not only divided the subcontinent into India and Pakistan but also stipulated that the 562 Indian princely states could accede to India or Pakistan, or remain independent. Although both India and Pakistan are against Kashmir’s independence, some Kashmir is believe that Kashmir should become an independent country – a status Kashmir initially had for 72 days after the British granted independence on August 15, 1947.

In the pursuit of peace and prosperity in the Indian subcontinent, the irrational hatred between Hindus and Muslims must be uprooted. The cultural bonds among South Asians, shaped through millennia of history, are much stronger than their superficial religious and ethnic differences. In India’s past, the cultural identities were not Hindu or Muslim, but were multicultural. India has been a homeland for Hindus,Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Jews. Yogananda (1893-1952), the world-renowned author of the book, Autobiography of a Yogi,” commented: “Countless Hindus and Muslims, now as in the past, have lived side by side in amity. Men of both faiths, in immense numbers, became disciples of the ‘creedless’ master Kabir (1450–1518); and to this day he has millions of followers (Kabir-panthis).”

Benefits of an “Indus Union”: With a humanistic and democratic approach, an “Indus Union” could work toward prosperity and peace among its member countries with a key objective of having its own unified currency similar to the euro.

The unification of the Indian subcontinent based on the EU model offers the following benefits:

1. An "Indus Union" will give top priority to solving the dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, which has been standing in the way of regional stability and prosperity for over six decades. Like the EU, an "Indus Union" will have its own Court of Justice to settle legal disputes between its member countries, such as the Kashmir dispute. The competent judges in the Court of Justice will be representatives from each country whose impartiality is unquestionable.

2. An “Indus Union” could end the deadly arms race between Pakistan and India. Imagine if the money spent on the combined defense budgets—over US $41 billion—were used instead to reduce the abject poverty of the people in the Indian subcontinent.

3. An “Indus Union” would become the world’s largest consumer market. With a combined population of 1.48 billion people living in the Indian subcontinent (World: 6.6 billion), it would attract unprecedented levels of commerce and foreign investment.

4. Like the EU, an "Indus Union" can have its own central bank to issue and manage its common currency, say Indo. This common currency will protect incomes and savings, lower borrowing costs, and promote trade, investment, tourism, job creation, and prosperity in the Indian subcontinent. The strength of the euro during recent financial crisis has already demonstrated that in turbulent financial waters it is far better to be on a large ship than in a small boat.

5. An “Indus Union” could influence regional human rights issues such as those in Tibet. The plight of the Tibetans is a human tragedy. To survive as a cultural and religious entity is a basic right of the peaceful Tibetan Buddhists. With solid support from an “Indus Union,”the Dalai Lama, the world famous leader of the Tibetan Buddhist religion, could negotiate more effectively with China.

6. An "Indus Union," with the world's largest population, could get a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. According to Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations, the United Kingdom (UK) and France can merge their permanent seats on the Security Council to form a single EU seat. It is only a matter of time before the EU gets a Security Council seat.

Prosperity projected for the Indian subcontinent: Despite many difficulties, the Indian subcontinent is approaching a brighter future. Rama Tirtha (1873-1906), a renowned professor of mathematics, observed and identified cycles of time, which he called the Law of Periodicity. In accordance with this law, financial prosperity has been moving in the past 5,000 years from the peak of civilization in India. Prosperity passed through Persia, Assyria, and further west to Egypt; next came the turn for Greece; after that, Rome, and then Germany, France, and Spain; then it traveled to Great Britain. It did not stop there; it traveled further west to America. In America, prosperity traveled from the east coast toward the west, until it reached California. It then crossed over the Pacific Ocean with the cycle of prosperity turning back to the East. In the Far East, Japan has already become a prosperous country. In his book, “In Woods of God-Realization, Volume IV,” Rama Tirtha declared: “After Japan, China will rise and gain prosperity and strength. After China, the sun of prosperity and learning will again smile at India.”

Solution to the lack of democratic representation in the UN's Security Council: Currently, there is a missing link between individual nations and the United Nations (UN). Since its foundation on October 24, 1945, the UN has grown from 51 to 192 member nations. It strives to maintain global peace and security through its Security Council. Five nations (P5) - Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and the USA hold permanent seats in the Security Council and have the right to veto any resolution. If one of the P5 says “No” to any resolution, then it is “No” even if the rest of the world supports the resolution. This cannot be called democratic. The Iraq war has proved the ineffectiveness of the UN. Therefore, the best hope for peace and harmony in the world is to develop a strong unity amongst neighboring nations by forming effective regional unions. These regional unions can become the vital links between nations and the UN, thus adequately representing the world's population at the UN level.

It is significant to note that South American countries have already formed a regional union, which is based upon the EU model. Effective May 23, 2008, South American countries evolved into the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), from its predecessor, the South American Community of Nations (CSN).

With the EU growing in Europe and the UNASUR in South America, it is now time for other regions to follow suit. The UN would do well to facilitate the evolution of the existing regional unions such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the African Union (AU), the Arab League, Central American Integration System (SICA), Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the EU model. Once regional unions are evolved throughout the world, their memberships, instead of present memberships of individual nations, in the UN's Security Council would transform the United Nation (UN) into a more representative, democratic, and effective world-governing body.

In the interest of humanity, the rule of "right is might," not "might is right," must prevail in the world. To this end, powerful regional unions need to be evolved, no matter how difficult the task is. The sooner people realize that the earth is but one country, and that there is only one race—the human race, the better off humanity will be. It is humanism, not nationalism, that can ultimately spread peace and prosperity in the world. In his book, Imagine All the People, the Dalai Lama states, “We need a world body where each member’s function is to protect humanity in general, without considering 'my nation,' 'my continent,' 'my religion,' or 'my culture' first. The well-being of humanity at large would be their main concern, beyond all notions of artificial frontiers.”

About the Author

[Shiv R. Jhawar is the founder of Noble World Foundation (www.nobleworld.org) and the author of the book, Building a Noble World available at www.amazon.com. He holds a Master’s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. Licensed in 1979 by the United States Treasury Department as an Enrolled Agent to practice before the IRS, Jhawar has been representing clients before the IRS in income tax audits and appeals. His credentials include: Illinois CPA Society, International Affiliate Member; A fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.]