Cultural Cooperation in South Asia: The Search for Community

"The South Asian Regional Dialogue took off in 1991 to promote a greater sense of community within South Asia. Between 1991 and 1995 successive dialogues were organised in New Delhi, Kandy, Lahore and Kathmandu. The fifth dialogue was held in Dhaka on 25-27 February 1997. The dialogue focused on the way in which different art forms address the themes viz., Social Justice and Human Rights, Women in Society and Fundamentalism and Communalism. The purpose of the dialogue was to examine the extent to which the creative imagination within South Asian Region, expressed in the different disciplines of literature, drama, the plastic arts, music and dance view these important social issues. Leading cultural figures from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the dialogue and explored the presence of a shared cultural identity within the South Asian Region which may provide a more substantive basis for cooperation between not just the Governments but also the peoples of South Asia."