Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction: Contemporary Challenges and Civilizational Wellsprings / Muchkund Dubey -- pt. I DEMOCRACY -- 2. State of Democracy in India / Subhash C. Kashyap -- 3. Pakistan: Striving for Democracy / Hasan Askari Rizvi -- 4. State, Society, and Democratic Futures: Challenges for Bangladesh / Imtiaz Ahmed -- 5. Deepening Democratic Structure in Sri Lanka / Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu -- 6. Reconstructing Democracy in South Asia / Rehman Sobhan -- pt. II INCLUSIVE GROWTH -- 7. Inclusive Growth in India / Biswajit Dhar -- 8. Strengthening Democracy through Inclusive Growth / Akmal Hussain -- 9. Beyond Minimalism of Growth with Safety Net: Is Development `Inclusive' in Bangladesh? / Binayak Sen -- 10. Inclusive Growth in Sri Lanka / Saman Kelegama -- 11. Inclusive Growth and Policies: The South Asian Experience / Fatma Gul Unal -- pt. III THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS -- 12. The Challenge of Global Climate Change: An Indian Perspective / Shyam Saran. Contents note continued: 13. Climate Change: Pakistan's Existential Challenge / Ali Tauqeer Sheikh -- 14. The Environmental Challenges in South Asia: Regional Cooperation for Adaptation Strategies / Leena Srivastava -- pt. IV PEACE -- 15. Persistent Inequality and the Challenges to Legitimacy and Peace-building in Pakistan / Imran Ali -- 16. Unfinished Peace in a Diverse Society: Some Thoughts on the `Peace' Process in Sri Lanka / Sumanasiri Liyanage -- 17. South Asian Union: Vision of a Peaceful South Asia---Of the People, For the People, and By the People / Kamal Hossain -- pt. V SOUTH ASIA'S DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE -- 18.A Regional Financial Architecture for Sustaining Asia-Pacific's Dynamism in the Post-crisis World / Nagesh Kumar -- 19. Reform of Global and Regional Financial Architecture / Ramgopal Agarwala -- pt. VI RECOVERING A SHARED SENSIBILITY FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE SOUTH ASIAN CULTURAL TRADITIONS. Contents note continued: 20. Pluralism and Diversity in South Asia / Kapila Vatsyayan -- 21. Peace, Sustainability, and the Religious Other / Muhammad Suheyl Umar -- 22. Some Aspects of South Asian Cultural Traditions / M. Anisuzzaman -- pt. VII PERSPECTIVE ON SOUTH ASIA -- 23. Democracy and Sustainable Development / Mohamed Nasheed -- 24. Form and Substance of Democracy: Situating South Asia / T.K. Oommen -- 25. Inclusive Growth, Democracy, and Sustainable Development / Ajay Chhibber -- 26. Some Reflections on Development in South Asia: Markets, Democracy, and People / Deepak Nayyar -- 27. Livelihood, Nature, and Peace: A Grihini Perspective / Ela Bhatt -- 28. The Story of Micro-credit: Grameen Bank and Social Business / Muhammad Yunus -- 29. The Impact of Global Warming and the Imperative of Mitigation / R.K. Pachauri -- 30. Natural Disasters, Food Security, and Sustainable Development / M.S. Swaminathan -- 31. State Pathologies, Peace, and Water / Khaled Ahmed -- 32.A Vision for a South Asian Commonwealth / Abul Maal A. Muhith.

This book examines in the context of South Asia, four inter related dimensions that constitute the central policy challenges of our time: consolidating democracy, confronting violent extremism, overcoming mass poverty, and addressing the challenge of climate change. These dimensions are explored at the country-specific as well as the regional level, by some of the leading scholars and eminent public figures from the region, and interconnected by the editors through a new perspective.