From ‘Darkness’ into Light

South Asia is quite unfortunate when it comes to energy resources. It is home to about one-fifth of the global population, yet it has less than one percent of global oil and gas reserves. Its endowment is slightly better for coal and hydropower resources, but still they are less than 10 per cent. In fact, barring the two Himalayan nations of Nepal and Bhutan, other South Asian countries cannot think of an energy supply scenario without depending significantly on foreign sources in the foreseeable future. Given this, it is quite natural that ensuring energy supply in the region may have serious security implications. Hence, a new book on the subject is bound to evoke interest.

The author makes a case for ensuring energy security to address political instability in different parts of South Asia. Despite a long history of regional cooperation, actual cooperation, particularly in the field of energy has been elusive with some notable exceptions in the form of the Indus Water Treaty and India-Bhutan energy cooperation. Replicating such success stories is an imperative to provide energy security in the region.