Relations Between India and Pakistan

Disputes over land seem to be a catalyst for almost every hostility and war since the dawn of time. The addition of politics and religion into the matter only serves to aggravate an already tense situation. Kashmir knows this all too well. The conflict between Hindus and Muslims seems to be an ever reoccurring battle. This is also evidenced in population battles. Hindus make up the social majority of the population of India by almost eighty percent. Feelings of tension and uneasiness are a natural reaction to being dominated by a majority and are a problem unto itself.

The ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan has been the subject of speculation and study by political scientists and historians for a number of years. The ethnic conflict seems to have been sparked at the very beginning in 1947, when the British used Muslim and Hindu mercenaries against each other before the area finally split into today’s countries of India and Pakistan (Spiegel et al. 2015, 185). The timeline since then has been full of conflicts, both major and minor. Brutal tactics used by security forces and a high rate of unemployment have added to the issue (BBC News 2016).

Since 1948, India and Pakistan have fought three more wars over the territory. Moreover, both states started testing nuclear weapons in 1998 and tensions have only escalated. Pakistani policy on India, under all administrations has remained contingent on the resolution of the Kashmir issue. The Pakistani position is that relations cannot be improved until the territorial dispute is negotiated. In this sense, and in its military support of the separatist movement, Pakistan remains an actively revisionist power. India, while formally claiming Pakistan’s portion of Kashmir, has never sought to negotiate its claim and is in favor of the status quo. From the

Indeed, the Partition of India and Pakistan, a decision made by lawmakers far from the front-lines, unleashed an episode of brutal depravity that might be unmatched in recent history. Growing tensions between Hindus and Muslims throughout the 1940s gave a ride for the desire for a Muslim state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who is regarded as the father of Pakistan, believed that a unified nation would only lead to marginalization of Muslims and, eventually, violence and civil war. An independent state seemed a solution to this danger. However looking at the grave situation of Pakistan today, was this a good decision or not is a highly debatable point of discussion running past the minds of

The epicenter of Pakistani culture is in danger. Punjab is a region that spans from Pakistan to India, is about the size of the U.S. state of Wyoming, contains over half of Pakistan’s population, and is home to an immense amount of Pakistani culture. One particular city in Punjab, Lahore, is described as Pakistan’s “cultural capital.” Islamic extremists known as the Taliban are now trying to dismantle the so-called “cultural capital” in hopes of assuming control of the country. Over the past couple of years, the Taliban have assaulted the province with waves of terrorism. The National Geographic Magazine article titled “Pakistan’s Heartland Under Threat” is about author John Lancaster’s adventure into the Pakistani province with the objective

Maya Rani then comments that little over a year after the Partition she got married “and then completely forgot about Pakistan” (Butalia, 2000, p. 267). However, how much of that which she did not elaborate on or ‘forgot’ is because of the imagined community’s sense of nationhood and the unspoken agreement of communal silence on the issue of the abuse of women’s rights, rape and the abduction and ‘recovery’ of women across borders during and after the Partition. From her point of view the whole process of hatred and ethnic cleansing was instigated by the English, by troublemakers who wanted ‘blood up to the knees’ to show that “we were incapable of ruling so that the

Waltz suggests that though it is important that states arm themselves and be ready for possible hostile actions, most states will attempt to work within the post WWII status quo that exists because their ultimate goal is survival and they have better odds of surviving by thinking strategically and cooperating with other states at times while still having the ability to defend themselves when needed . In this scenario the military capabilities serve not as a tool that states would use in an offensive capability, rather as a deterrent from potential threats. A particular example of this is the relation between Pakistan and India. Pakistan has a population which is around 15% that of India and an economy which is slightly larger than a tenth of the Indian economy . Given the history of conflicts and disputes between the two nations it is no surprise that relationships are often tense and prone to deterioration. India’s rapid economic growth coupled with a large military expenditure and nuclear capability have been great concerns to Pakistani policymakers and it is evident that Pakistan would not be able to ensure its defense against India using conventional means. The lack of security was a great cause of concern for the Pakistani government and the newly acquired nuclear weapons by India further tipped the scale in India’s favour. This left Pakistan feeling

In her book Rich introduces the beginning of the hatred between Hindus and Muslims with the fact that in 1947 India was divided into two nations, Pakistan the new Muslim homeland, and the Union of India (Rich 127). Up until this point they were living peacefully together, and the contention only grew worse as time went on. A critical historical moment that shows growth of the tension between the two ethnicities is the demolition of the Babri Mosque in 1992, which caused ”furious riots that left three thousand dead most of them Muslims”(Rich127). She learns that this war against the minority in India resembles closed circle that leads from one attack to the next. Muslims trying to defend themselves but unrightfully proclaimed for the

Bengal's growing need for an identity, equal and ethnic acceptance and a pride in their mother language eventually led to many conflicts both emotional and political. Having been recently independent from British India, the Two Nation Theory was engraved in everyone's minds. But the geographical division of East and West Pakistan was much more than distance; it was felt as a conspiracy for West Pakistan to govern the entire country (Bose, 1).The war was considered an unnecessary act by some as autonomy was the desired result and not a new country. However as the story of the lives of civilians unfold the distrust and unfairness of the situation in the country is seen to be evident.

On 14th August 1947 we received freedom and got a separate homeland named “Pakistan”. But on 16 December 1971 after the war we lost our one hand that is East Pakistan. The separation has many causes which are following :

Pakistan is the most misunderstood country in the world and the phenomenon of terrorism and religious extremism, arguably, is a leading factor in distorting its image on the global level. Pakistan as a front line state in the war on terror has suffered the most in men and material, has helped in dismantling the terrorist network of Osama bin Laden but regrettably our allies and western countries look suspiciously at our endeavors, doubt our commitment to the cause at hand and decidedly remain oblivious to our national and strategic interests in the region.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is considered to be a rising star within the international community. According to the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook, “The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East sections) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved.” The emergence of this persisting rivalry began with the partition of British India, which mostly divided Pakistan and India along ethnic and religious lines. The relationship between India and Pakistan further devolved with three conflicts, starting in

In conclusion, the Shameful Flight recounts how the ill-informed partition of India and Pakistan prompted widespread violence that displaced tens of millions of people from their homes and left another one million dead. From the evidence provided by Wolpert, it is clear that this partition was ill-planned and unnecessary. The argument of Wolpert is straightforward and backed by traceable evidence. The author ensures that he writes an easy to read book to pass a fortune of historical information and whet the appetite of readers for further reading regarding the India/Pakistan situation. This book has enlightened my

There was incredible suffering that the Partion of India caused in areas of Birtish India through exchanges of population …Dealing in various ways with the human tragedy endured by people on both sides of this newly created border. One of the best, and perhaps most famous, partition story clearly reveals this sense of bewilderment,“Toba Tek Singh” was written in Urdu, Pakistan’s national language, by Sadat Hasan Manto, a Kashmiri who left his home in 1948 and moved to Karachi, Pakistan’s capital. The story recounts the effects of partition on a very particular portion of the population.

Sixty years ago, in the summer of 1948, our nation, then newly born, was struggling for its very survival. In January, Mahatma Gandhi had been murdered by a Hindu fanatic. The act had shocked many Indians, but apparently it had the approval of some. According to one news report, the jailed assassin, Nathuram Godse, received an average of 50 letters a day expressing admiration for his action. This was part of a much wider right-wing, religious, reaction against Partition. Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan were calling for retribution against the Muslims who had stayed behind in India. The relations between the two communities were poisoned further by the tribal invasion of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. With the raiders aided and