India Pakistan Relations
India Pakistan Relations
Junagadh dispute:
Junagadh is one of the modern districts of Saurastra, Gujarat
.Junagadh was a state on the southwestern end of Gujarat, with the
principalities of Manavadar, Mangrol and Babriawad. The
Arabian Sea stood between it and Pakistan. The state had an
overwhelming Hindu population which constituted more than 80% of
its citizens, while the ruler of the state was a Muslim. On August 15
1947, the ruler of the state, Nawab of Junagadh
Mahabat Khan acceded to Pakistan. Pakistan confirmed the
acceptance of the accession in September 1947. India did not
accept the accession as legitimate.
The Indian point of view was that since Junagadh was a state
with a predominantly Hindu population it should be a part of India.
Additionally, since the state was encircled by Indian territory it
should have been a part of India. Indian politicians also stated that
by giving Pakistan a predominantly Hindu region to govern, the
basis of the two nation theory was contradicted.
The Pakistani point of view was that since Junagadh had a ruler and
governing body who chose to accede to Pakistan, they should be
allowed to do so. Junagadh, having a coastline, could have
maintained maritime links with Pakistan. Additionally, Pakistani
politicians stated that the two nation theory did not necessarily
mean a clear division of land and absolute transfer of populations as
the sheer magnitude of such a proceeding would wreak havoc upon
millions.
Neither of the ten states were able to resolve this issue amicably
and it only added fuel to an already charged environment.
Sardar Patel, India's then Home Minister, felt that if Junagadh was
permitted to go to Pakistan, it would create communal unrest across
Gujarat. The government of India gave Pakistan time to void the
accession and hold a plebiscite in Junagadh to preempt any violence
in Gujarat. Samaldas Gandhi formed a government-in-exile, the Arzi
Hukumat (in Urdu Arzi: Transitional, Hukumat: Government) of the
people of Junagadh. Patel ordered the annexation of Junagadh's
three principalities.
Kashmir dispute:
Simla Agreement
Since the 1971 war, Pakistan and India have made only slow
progress towards the normalization of relations. In July 1972, Indian
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto met in the Indian hill station of Simla. They signed the Simla
Agreement, by which India would return all Pakistani personnel
(over 90,000) and captured territory in the west, and the two
countries would "settle their differences by peaceful means through
bilateral negotiations." Diplomatic and trade relations were also re-
established in 1976.
Afghanistan crisis
After the 1979 Soviet war in Afghanistan where Soviet Union
military Occupied Afghanistan, new strains appeared in Indo-
Pakistani relations. Pakistan actively supported the Afghan
resistance against the Soviet Union, which was a close ally of India,
which brought opposing political opinions.
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan was strongly supported by
Pakistan - one of the few countries to do so - before the September
11 attacks. India, on the other hand, firmly opposed the Taliban and
criticized Pakistan for supporting it.
Re-evaluation
The insurgents, who initially started their movement as a pro-
Kashmiri independence movement, have gone through a lot of
change in their ideology. Most of the insurgents portray their
struggle as a religious one.
Indian analysts allege that by supporting these insurgents, Pakistan
is trying to wage a proxy war against India while Pakistan claims
that it regards most of these insurgent groups as "freedom fighters"
rather than terrorists Internationally known to be the most deadly
theatre of conflict, nearly 10 million people, including Muslims,
Hindus, and Buddhists, have been fighting a daily battle for survival.
Thecross-border firing between India and Pakistan, and the terrorist
attacks combined have taken its toll on the Kashmiris, who have
suffered poor living standards and an erosion of human rights.
Kargil crisis
Attempts to restart dialogue between the two nations were given a
major boost by the February 1999 meeting of both Prime Ministers
in Lahore and their signing of three agreements.
These efforts have since been stalled by the intrusion of Pakistani
forces into Indian territory near Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir in May
1999. This resulted in intense fighting between Indian and Pakistani
forces, known as the Kargil conflict. Backed by the Indian Air Force,
the Indian Army successfully regained Kargil. A subsequent military
coup in Pakistan that overturned the democratically elected Nawaz
Sharif government in October of the same year also proved a
setback to relations.
In 2001, a summit was called in Agra; Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf turned up to meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee. The talks fell through. On June 20, 2004, with a new
government in place in India, both countries agreed to extend a
nuclear testing ban and to set up a hotline between their foreign
secretaries aimed at preventing misunderstandings that might lead
to a nuclear war. As of early 2005, both countries are committed to
a process of dialogue to solve all outstanding issues. Baglihar Dam
issue was a new issue raised by Pakistan in 2005.
Economic Relation :
Basis on their trade relation India has already accorded the Most-
Favoured Nation status to Pakistan. The MFN status stipulates that
the contracting parties should accord the same tariff restrictions
and concessions to their respective exports and imports as is being
given to other t rading nations. But Pakistan has not yet
reciprocated. According to Pakistan unless and until the Kashmir
dispute is resolved, there cannot be a normalisation of the economic
relations. But, the real reasons are more economic than political.
Cultural relation
Pakistan Culture and People have great similarity with their Indian
counterpart as the origin for both is same. Both Hindi and Urdu are
widely used in India as well as Pakistan. Urdu has a strong writing
script while Hindi is mostly used for speaking. Though there are
distinct cultures in the two countries, there are similarities as well.
Salwar kameez is a popular dress among the women of India as well
as Pakistan. Both the cuisines being different have some common
dishes as well are cherished in both the countries.
Recommendations/Conclusion:
1. CONFLICT OF IDEOLOGY:
2. KASHMIR:
This issue is the one that has attracted the most attention and has
become the centerpiece of relations. I shall not go into details as to
how this problem was created and shall limit myself to the extent
that Kashmir is a dispute between two countries and needs to be
resolved. After the fighting of 1947 between newly independent
states of Pakistan and India the matter finally reached UN. UN
arranged a ceasefire and hence Line of control (LOC) came into
being. After almost 62 years we are at the same place where we
were when the matter went to UN. UN did made halfhearted
attempts but failed. Then the problem was sort of filed and only
persisted in the statements made by the two Nations leaders.
Indians made a policy declaring Kashmir to be an “Atoot Ang”.
Pakistan’s policy was that the problem be solved according to the
UN resolutions. This policy persisted for almost four decades. Then
in late eighties a new twist happened and peaceful struggle of the
people of Kashmir turned into armed struggle. The armed struggle
became so strong that India had to position a sizeable number of its
troops to control it. A large number of people lost their lives and
wide spread human rights abuses took place. This situation took
another turn when the incident of Kargil occurred in 1999. Pakistan
and India nearly went to war. Kashmir issue once again came to
light with a new threat it posed because both India and Pakistan had
become nuclear powers. This matter had hardly come to normal
when USA suffered its worst terrorist incident and a global war on
terrorism started. Pakistan once again became a front line state. At
around the same time Indian parliament was attacked and India
blamed Kashmiri groups for that and linked them to Pakistan. India
moved its forces to border and increased military pressure on
Pakistan. Pakistan responded and tension again increased. Since at
this time USA was tied down in Afghanistan and needed Pakistan
therefore it stepped in to avert a war between the two nations.
Although Indians had their own plans but as a result of all this
exercise Kashmir issue again came to light. Since USA and other
developed nations are worried about the possible use of nuclear
weapons they perhaps are feeling the importance of the need to
resolve this issue. However the difficult thing now facing USA is that
on the one hand is India a giant market for American products and a
strategic partner and on the other hand is Pakistan a frontline state
and presently an important member of the coalition. The Americans
know that India and Pakistan can not solve their problems bilaterally
however India is opposed to any third party mediation therefore
they have adopted the role of facilitators. As a result of this both
sides are talking of a change of positions on stated policies. Pakistan
has as a result shifted its stated policy. Indians have not yet publicly
done that. Pakistan has even floated certain brave suggestions,
which in my view are not all in best interest of Pakistan. In present
circumstances we should have formed a stronger position on the
issue instead we are showing signs of weakness. In my view Indians
are not serious in dialogue they are trying to pass time and waiting
for opportunity to break off dialogue process. Incidents like
parliament and Mumbai attacks just provided them with the excuse.
The reason is that India perhaps is in the weakest position on the
issue. If there is a party who is going to loose the most it is the
Indians provided a fair solution of the problem is sought.
Referendum is not acceptable to them, independence is out of
question then what they plan on doing about this problem is not
clear. Pakistan would find it difficult to accept any sort of Indian rule
and so will Kashmiri’s. Then what is the solution to this problem? In
my view only plebiscite is the answer, a genuine plebiscite.
3. MISTRUST:
This perhaps is the factor causing all problems. We do not trust each
other and there are a lot of reasons for this. Unfortunately this will
not end in a short span of time. It will take quite some time before
an air of understanding replaces that of mistrust. However it is
important that both countries do try this if we are to survive in this
world, which is changing rapidly.
4. MINORITIES:
5. MILITARY BALANCE:
6. WATER DISPUTE:
This issue has not received the attention it deserves. Ever since the
Indus basin treaty both nations hardly ever had a dispute on the
utilization of water as agreed in the agreement. However in the
recent years this has changed. With Indians building dams on rivers
that were agreed to be Pakistani, Pakistan is suffering from water
shortage. Also Indians release the water at the most inconvenient of
time that causes flooding and damage to the crops in Pakistan.
Recently this issue has started gaining importance in Pakistan and
government of Pakistan even went to the World Bank for the
resolution of the dispute of Krishan Ganga dam. Tension between
the two nations might intensify because of the sensitivity of the
issue. It is important that both nations implement the Indus Water
Treaty in letter and spirit to avoid unnecessary tension.
These in my view are the major matters that affect the relations
between the two nations most. If these matters are settled amicably
then I do not see any reason why these two nations cannot live in
peace. If both nations wish to live in peace and harmony they need
to address them and settle amicably. After more than six decades of
independence both nations should have matured to an extent that
they be able to negotiate and settle their issues.