The Bay of Bengal should be an economic superpower

Elsewhere natural “macroregions”, a wonkish term beloved by planners, have cohered as reasonably powerful blocs: for example Europe, North America and South-East Asia itself, with its Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). But following post-colonial independence in the late 1940s, India, Bangladesh (first as part of Pakistan), Sri Lanka and Burma (now Myanmar) turned inward. Protectionism and even animosities rose.