Conceptualizing Resilience Practices for Enhanced Social Inclusion in South Asia: A Theoretical Framework

The pursuit of social inclusion remains a critical challenge across South Asia, a region marked by diverse cultural landscapes and complex socioeconomic disparities. As countries in this region grapple with rapid urbanization, climate change, and shifting demographic patterns, the need for resilient social systems that can withstand shocks and promote inclusive growth has never been more urgent. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for conceptualizing resilience practices that can enhance social inclusion in South Asian contexts. Resilience, in this context, refers to the capacity of social systems to adapt, transform, and thrive in the face of adversity. Social inclusion, on the other hand, encompasses the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups participate in society. By integrating these two concepts, we aim to explore how resilience-building strategies can be leveraged to create more inclusive societies in South Asia. This theoretical framework draws upon interdisciplinary insights from sociology, development studies, and resilience theory. It seeks to address several key questions:

• How can resilience practices be tailored to address the unique social, cultural, and economic contexts of South Asian countries?
• What are the potential synergies between resilience-building efforts and social inclusion initiatives?
• How can policymakers and practitioners operationalize this framework to design more effective interventions?

By examining these questions, present paper contributes to the growing body of literature on resilience and social inclusion in developing contexts. It offers a novel perspective on how resilience thinking can be applied to tackle persistent issues of marginalization and exclusion in South Asia.