Dhaka, March 31 -- For many of us who grew up in the 90s, SAARC was not just an acronym--it was a feeling. It was the pride of seeing Bangladesh take the lead in bringing South Asia together. It was school atlases marked with neighbouring flags that somehow felt familiar, not foreign. It was the idea-simple but powerful--that our region, with all its diversity, could still sit at one table. In many ways, SAARC felt like our version of the United Nations; closer, more relatable, and somehow ours.

But somewhere along the way, that feeling faded. The flags remained, the institution survived on paper, but the sense of purpose quietly eroded. Summits stalled, cooperation thinned, and SAARC gradually slipped from being a symbol of regional pos...