The South Asia states recognition of importance for cooperation among themselves led to the formation of SAARC.
1. The SAARC is a major regional organisation for cooperation through multilateral means. In the economic field, SAARC members signed the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) which promised the formation of a free trade zone for whole of South Asia.
2. The aim of SAFTA is for all to free trade across the borders. The agreement was signed in 2004 and came into effect on 1 January 2006. SAFTA aims at lowering trade tariffs by 20%.
3. There is difference of opinion about SAFTA. Some countries feel that by SAFTA India will invade their markets by her goods. They think India will influence their societies and politics through commercial ventures and a commercial presence in their countries.
4. On the other hand, the Indian opinion is that all countries will benefit from SAFTA and there will be more cooperation on political issues. While others think that SAFTA is not useful to India because India has already bilateral agreements with Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.                           
 

1. It is true to state that the peace and prosperity of countries lay in the establishment and strengthening of regional economic organisations
2. While evolving regional solutions to their historical enmities and weaknesses, both the European Union and the ASEAN have developed alternative institutions and conventions that build a more peaceful and cooperative regional order and have transformed the countries of the region into prosperous economies.
3. For example, Germany fought against England and France in the Second World War but now all these countries are members of the European Union. Earlier under the Marshall Plan, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation was established and it became a forum where the west European states began to cooperate on trade and economic issues. The EU in fact is the world’s biggest economy with a GDP of more than $12 trillion in 2005.
4. Similarly South East Asian region suffered economically due to European and Japanese colonialisms. The region confronted problems of poverty and economic backwardness. The establishment of ASEAN has accelerated economic growth of the region.                           

The Soviet system gave primacy to the state and the institution of the party. This system centred around the Communist Party and no other political party was allowed. The economy was planned and controlled by the state.

Jawaharlal Nehru was born into an affluent Kashmiri Brahman family in Allahabad on November 14, 1889. Tutored at home until the age of 15, Nehru subsequently attended Harrow in England and, later, Trinity College, Cambridge. After studying law at London’s Inner Temple, he returned to India at the age of 22 where he practiced law with his father and prominent barrister, Motilal Nehru.
On August 15, 1947, India finally gained its independence and Nehru became the nation’s first prime minister. Amid the celebration of newly acquired freedom, there was also considerable turmoil. The mass displacement that followed partition into the separate nations of Pakistan and India, along with disputes over control of Kashmir, resulted in the loss of property and lives for several hundred thousand Muslims and Hindus.

NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an international alliance that consists of 29 member states from North America and Europe.
In 1949, there were 12 founding members of the Alliance: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. The other member countries are: Greece and Turkey (1952), Germany (1955), Spain (1982), the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland (1999), Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (2004), Albania and Croatia (2009), and Montenegro (2017).

In the initial years it was felt that linguistic states may foster separatism and create pressures on newly founded nation. But India considered democracy and federalism by making a favour to linguistic states only:
1. Linguistic states enhanced democratic practices.
2. Linguistic states reduced separatist attitude by accepting the regional linguistic claims of all regions.
3. Linguistic reorganisation provided a uniform base to the nation and strengthened unity of nation.
4. Linguistic states promoted the principle of unity in diversity, a distinct feature of nation.