Sri Lanka and India have successful democracy, Pakistan and Bangladesh have experienced both civilian and military rulers, Nepal had a Constitutional Monarchy, Bhutan is a Constitutional Monarchy, and Maldives is a Republic, but what is common between all these nations?

Aspiration for democracy

Despite the mixed record of the democratic experience, the people in all South Asian countries share the aspiration for democracy. A recent survey of the attitudes of the people in the five big countries of the region showed that there is widespread support for democracy in all these countries. Ordinary citizens, rich as well as poor and belonging to different religions, view the idea of democracy positively and support the institutions of representative democracy. They prefer democracy over any other form of government and think that democracy is suitable for their country.