Trade, Conflict, and the Crisis of Conscious Learning: A South Asian Perspective

 This article critically examines the interconnection between global trade and conflict, with specific reference to the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and India's strategic role. It interrogates the limitations of South Asia’s prevailing education models and their impact on policymaking and diplomatic foresight. Drawing from contemporary geopolitical developments and intellectual contributions, it argues that structural reform in thinking and administration is essential for transformative leadership and sustainable peace.

Introduction: Trade and the Inevitability of Conflict

“As long as trade persists, conflict remains an inevitable outcome.” This proposition, though sobering, reflects the historical trajectory of global affairs. While humanity collectively aspires to peace, conflict has proven to be a recurrent outcome of competing interests, resource contests, and strategic calculations.

India, as a rising power in the Indo-Pacific, holds a decisive role in determining whether the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) becomes a theatre of constructive engagement or enduring confrontation. The burden of responsibility is significant—and it demands foresight, depth, and strategic clarity.

India’s Role and the Dilemma of Diplomatic Engagement

India’s current diplomatic posture in the IOR warrants close scrutiny. Despite increasing regional engagement, it is unclear whether India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is fully attuned to the evolving geopolitical realities. Our team’s recent multi-state initiatives across India were designed precisely to support preventive diplomacy and encourage deeper strategic awareness. Yet the institutional response has been, at best, opaque.

A growing concern is that key figures within India’s foreign policy architecture may lack the nuanced understanding required for complex regional dynamics. Institutional inertia, risk aversion, and fragmented communication continue to hinder proactive strategic implementation.

The Limits of Influential Literature

Books such as The India Way by Dr S. Jaishankar (2020), Breaking India (Malhotra & Neelakandan), and Snakes in the Ganga (Malhotra & Viswanathan) have generated considerable intellectual discourse. However, while thought-provoking, these works do not always offer fully accurate or actionable conclusions. They often reflect the broader limitations of the intellectual frameworks within which they are produced.

Educational Structures and the Crisis of Thought

The root of this issue lies deeper—in the very foundation of South Asia’s educational system. From the ancient Gurukulam tradition to the contemporary model of rote memorisation, the emphasis has remained on reproduction of facts rather than the cultivation of critical thought.

In practical terms, this means that while individuals may hold academic qualifications, their ability to engage in original, solution-driven thinking remains constrained. These are not independent scholars; they are examination-driven learners—what may be aptly termed “educated labourers.”

A Defining Analogy

Take, for instance, the phrase: “The sun rises in the east.”

One may memorise this and reproduce it flawlessly during an exam. Yet, without asking why it rises in the east, no genuine understanding is achieved. The ability to question, analyse, and explore is what differentiates true learning from mechanical education.

Characteristics of True Learners

True scholars ask:

1. Why did this occur?

2. What are its underlying causes?

3. How did this situation evolve?

4. What are the long-term implications?

Their learning process is unending, self-reflective, and oriented toward innovation and understanding. Those who apply this mindset with vision become not just informed individuals, but strategic thinkers and wise administrators.

A Culture of Insecurity and Resistance

Unfortunately, in many institutions across South Asia, genuine thinkers are met with discomfort. Exam-focused individuals often perceive them as threats—challengers to the status quo, disruptors of comfort zones.

This tension breeds several dysfunctional traits:

• Prejudice and fear-based decision-making

• Resistance to innovation

• Rumour circulation and misinformation

• Emotional immaturity and reactive behaviour

• Competitive insecurity and blame-shifting

• Lack of accountability

• Paralysis in dynamic environments

• Failure to understand systemic causes of crises

Such traits are not merely psychological—they have institutional consequences. They weaken diplomacy, obstruct reform, and entrench mediocrity.

The Eelam Tamil Intellectual Landscape

Among contemporary Eelam Tamils, only a select few can genuinely be considered scholars in the truest sense. Even among those who learn, only a fraction ascend to the level of applied wisdom. This is not a matter of capacity, but of systemic conditioning and societal pressure.

Conclusion: The Rare Value of True Scholarship

Within the broader South Asian landscape, one could argue that the number of genuine scholars—those who combine deep learning, practical application, and independent thinking—can be counted on one hand.

To mitigate conflict and design meaningful policy, there must be an urgent shift: from a culture of memorised reproduction to one of analytical rigour and visionary leadership.

Without this transformation, the Indian Ocean Region—and indeed the entire subcontinent—risks being led not by thinkers, but by technicians of a system that no longer serves the modern world.

Copyright © Balananthini Balasubramaniam (Nila Bala) | Small Drops,

United Kingdom – 1st March 2025

All rights reserved.

(Disclaimer: Images are AI generated and are used for representational purposes only)

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