Security discourse has radically changed over the years, especially since the Post–Cold War period. The traditional concept focuses on state security and national security, and is essentially based on realist and neo-realist paradigms. However, in 1994, the United Nations Human Development Report for the first time elaborated the notion of human security and the associated Human Development Index (HDI). Human security advocates a people-centric approach to security. The two foundational principles on which human security is based are “freedom from fear” and “freedom from want.” I evaluate the notions of state security versus human security and examine how South Asian countries have fared regarding the human security indices. I conclude that, despite advances in some areas, various HDI parameters show that the human security record is still rather dismal in South Asia. There remains a critical need to improve it.
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