You see, there has never been one united country or kingdom called India until the arrival of the British, the undivided India we are referring to today is the undivided British India which comprises modern-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Now it's super unlikely that these three modern-day countries would ever come together and be reunited again, but imagining is not a crime so today we'll be doing just that. After all many people dream of Akhand Bharat which comprises all the territories of the then undivided British India. So let's say, one morning leaders from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh woke up at the wrong side of their beds and suddenly pick up the phone and tells each other that they need to unite ASAP. Thus now we have one large United country in South Asia ( though the actual process of reunification would be much more complicated, let's just say it happened over a phone call)
So a new massive country has emerged in South Asia, but what would it be called? Would it be called India or Akhand Bharat? Neh. It is very unlikely that this new country would be named India or Bharat. Both Pakistan's and Bangladesh have existed long enough to form their own identity distinct from India, so it would be very unlikely that they would agree to name this new country India, though India might want it to be named "India" as they were all part of British India in the past, the term India for Bangladeshis and Pakistan is a Colonial term connected with the British so, India will have to abandon its plan at naming the country India for the sake of keeping the newly formed country integrated. The most likely name for this new country might be the United States of South Asia or USSA, which sounds like the USA with an extra S. The people of this country will however be called Desis, not USSA-ians. But then again Desi is a cultural term that mostly covers people group of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Mainland India, not the North-eastern Indians, so this whole new Desi thing might be a little controversial in the Northeast. But to keep this simple let's just say Northeast Indians also agree to be called Desis.
Coming to size, the country by area would cover an area of approximately 4317636 sq KM making it the 7th largest country by area right between Australia and Argentina. As for population, it will have a massive population of 1790990812 /1.7 billion people, making it the largest country by population right above China. Based on population, it will become the largest country to ever exist in human history. Pretty epic isn't it? The population will pretty much be equally distributed across the country with northeast India, Thar desert region, Chittagong hill tracts and Ladakh being the least densely populated areas.
Religion wise, Hinduism will be the largest religion followed in this new country with approximately 62% of the people identifying as Hindu by religion, Muslims, on the other hand, will make up approximately 32%, 5% will comprise of Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and others while about 1% may identify as non-religious.
As for geography, the highest point in this new country would be the K2 peak in what is currently Pakistan, while the lowest point would be Kuttanad in India's Kerala which is 2 meters below sea level. Most of the arid areas of this new country would be concentrated in The west, while the eastern section would be the greenest. The Gangetic plains and Bangladesh would have the largest arable land.
Now as for the economy, the country would have an economy of around $3.5 trillion dollars making it the 5th largest economy by nominal GDP. However, the per capita income of the people living in this country would just be $1898. Which would be an improvement for Pakistan but a deterioration for India and Bangladesh. Fuelled by economic growth from India and Bangladesh, the new country would become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Coming to defence, this new country thanks to India and Pakistan will be a nuclear power, bolstering about 356 nuclear warheads It also would have the largest standing army in the history of humanity with a total number of 2.05 million active troops and another 1.5 Million reserve troops. Its army alone would be a force to reckon. In airforce, the country will boast around 3500 military aircraft while its naval force will have a fleet of 347 ships including submarines and one aircraft carrier. In terms of defence, this country does not have to worry much as it would be a regional superpower in Asia-Pacific.
Now Administration will however become a little problematic. You see, given the very nature of partition which was based on religion, it might be a little difficult to put these previously divided people under one administration. Pakistan and India have grown long enough to develop their own firm distinct identity, Bangladesh is far cut off from its Pakistan past and is a very nationalistic country owing to its independence movement history. Will the provinces and state boundaries be redrawn? How would the local government be divided? Will it follow the Indian style of federalism or will they all come under one unitary government?
What's most likely is an Indian style of federalism on steroids for this new country. Each state will be given a certain amount of autonomy especially when it comes to languages and religious affairs. Why the Indian style of federalism? Well, you see, among the three countries, India is the most culturally and racially diverse, so its system of administration is most likely to work than say increasingly theocratic Pakistani administrative setup or the ultra-nationalistic Bangladeshi administrative setup that puts Bangla over everything else. To rule such a vast culturally diverse country with a strong regional or provincial identity, you need Indian federalism.
Now since Pakistan and Bangladesh are located on the North, to many south Indians this may feel like a country dominated by the people of Indus and Gangetic plain, so to bring balance the capital of This new country might have its capital in the south, most likely in Hyderabad or Mysore. As for language like in India, there will be no possibility of introducing a national language. Even if north India and eastern Pakistan pitch Hindustani(Hindu and Urdu) to be the national language, there will be strong opposition from South India and Bangladesh region, hence this country will most likely adopt English as its "unofficial" Official language with states having the option to pick their own state official language.
Now everyone seems to be happy in this new country, USSA seems to look very promising. But wait! There are multiple problems. 1. Kashmir. Now that India and Pakistan have reunited you might be under the impression that the vexed Kashmir issue also has been solved. But that's far from it. India and Pakistan will first have a duel on how to solve the Kashmir issue. Pakistan openly supports Kashmiri independence, while India is not going to let that happen, not to mention the land dispute with China in Akshai Chin or the land claimed by India that is under Pakistan control which it has already gifted to China, how is this going to be handled is a big question. And in the east, with Bangladesh and India becoming one country, this will give a free pass to many Bangladeshis to settle into Northeast India, and laws like CAA and the current drive to expedite Bangladeshi nationals from Assam will make no sense anymore. Hence, this will also increase rebellion and fuel strong separatism in the Northeast. In the end, a country with such a large population with even greater diversity is most likely to collapse under its own weight, a bit to mention the religious tension that will come up as people who have been separated for more than half a decade start moving around in the country. There will be a clash of ideologies, language and religion. So an Akhand Bharat Comprising of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is most likely to remain a dream and should and would most likely never become a country.
So it's best that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh remain their own countries and instead develop a very friendly relationship instead of full-blown reunification. But what do you think will happen if this scenario will ever happen to the three-country? Let us know in the comment! If you've found this article interesting, check out our other articles by clicking Here.