Unfortunately, unlike its older cousins the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), SAARC has never managed to fully take off and continues to be a nominal entity. While it is common to lay the blame at the door of Indo-Pakistani rivalry, the reasons for SAARC’s failure are in fact deeper and structural in nature. A constellation of geographical, ethnic, historical and political factors have gridlocked SAARC. The gridlock will persist unless India adopts proactive confidence-building measures. India can, and should, act.