Looking only at India-Nepal scholarship as example, a Kathmandu historian finds little reason to be optimistic about the production of quality scholarship among SAARC countries about each other.
Official SAARC process: Track One
One of the key components of the official SAARC Process is the Integrated Programme of Action (IPA). Twelve areas of cooperation have been agreed upon under the IPA, each looked after by a technical committee. One area designated is "Education, Culture and Sports". The technical committee which looks after education, culture and sports has prioritised several themes in the field of education and listed activities such as "expert group meetings" on various subjects including higher education. In its own words, the committee is "also engaged in the improvement and expansion of the SAARC chairs, fellowships and scholarship schemes", which are described as having a "tremendous potential to facilitate greater interaction among the intelligentsia in the region."
Needless to say, this "potential" remains far from realised. As much has been admitted in government circles. It was back in December 1995 at the Commemorative Session of the Council of Ministers held in New Delhi to celebrate the 10th anniversary of SAARC that the then Foreign Minister of Nepal, Prakash C. Lohani, said in his statement: "The SAARC chairs, SAARC fellowships and SAARC scholarships schemes need to be rescued from the limbo they have descended into… We need to expand education links."
Even before the founding of SAARC in late 1985, various academic exercises had been held regarding the potential benefits that would accrue to the entire region after the realisation of the regional association. Many position papers were commissioned from academics of the various countries as part of the exercise leading to the foundation of SAARC. Several surveys focusing on different aspects of the regional economy and developments that could be achieved through regional cooperation were published as monographs in the early 1980s.