There have been numerous negotiations taken place between India and Pakistan since 1947. They have ranged from inconsequential issues such as Border Railway Crossing and Time Tables to highly disputatious ones like National Security interests including Nuclear Confidence building measures and to the highly infamous Kashmir issue.
Before discussing the negotiations which occurred over the Kashmir issue, we need to know the origin of the Kashmir problem!
A Walk into the History
After the departure of the British Empire from the Indian Subcontinent, it led to the formation of two different countries- India and Pakistan along religious lines (Hinduism and Islam). (Kux, 87) These two new dominions had around 650 states run by princes. Theoretically these states had the option of choosing either of the countries or remain independent. By remaining independent they would have let monarchy leap over democracy. These ‘independent’ states were advised by the British Government to get associated with either of the two dominions keeping in view the geographical and other relevant considerations, for the sole purpose of securing their defence, foreign relations and other specified matters.
One of these newly independent states was Kashmir, which according to its geographical positioning had the option of choosing either of the two dominions but there lied a problem which was, the ruler of Kashmir was a Hindu believer but the majority of the population in Kashmir was Muslim. Being
“India has never been a symbol of unity of Hindu-Muslim civilization. It is not possible for the British Government to create homogeneity between Hindu and Muslim culture and civilization as the two systems are distinctively opposed to each other. There is no way other than the partition of India”
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 case is about a negotiation with a competitor to buy Pakistani prunes in order to use them to save lives. In fact, being a world leader of genetic engineering processes, I need Pakistani prunes to work on people. However, my direct competitor needs Pakistani prunes too and we have to find a deal before the day after.
The general cause of the Indian Independence Movement was India’s desire for independence from British, French and Portuguese Rule. The aim of the movement was “Swaraj, a self-governing India” (Sharma, 2005, p. 22). One, more specific, cause of the Indian Independence Movement took place in 1905 when the province of Bengal was divided into two provinces,
n. During the freedom movement, Muslims and Hindus fought against each other. There were arguments over whether India should be a secular state or a Hindu state in its times of Independence.
In 1939 World War II broke out in Europe. Britain proclaimed India’s involvement in the war without consulting the Indian people. This led to increased protest and volatility. In 1942 India established a national army and proposed the Quit India Movement. This movement promised to lend Indian military support to Britain in return for complete independence. If they refused this treaty the Indian people promised civil disobedience. In 1947 India was granted its independence and became self governing (Luscombe, 2012). On January 26, 1950 the Republic of India was proclaimed and it drafted a constitution. The first democratic elections were held in 1952. However the Hindus and Muslims were not united and colonial India was divided into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India (History, 2010).
Many people believe that in the 1940’s most of India’s problems involving independence was to do with divisions within India rather than British imperialism. In this essay I will be looking at both points of view and finally giving my opinion. I will be using three sources also to help me show both sides of the story. I will also be using my further knowledge to add a wider range of knowledge.
Modern day Pakistan’s land has traditionally been Muslim for many years. In the early nineteenth century it was ruled by Britain and considered part of the British Indian Empire. In 1947, a partition was granted from the British, and Pakistan and India were created as their own countries. As the previous British Empire divided,
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).
The 1935 Government Act of India proposes more governmental reforms and allows for an assembly made up of Indian but it is rejected by Indian nationalists who want dominion status granted to them immediately. Beginning in 1946, the Muslim League begins to advocate for an independent Muslim state, which causes widespread panic. India receives its independence from Great Britain in 1947 but as their last major act the British governors separate India into two new countries: India and Pakistan. Many people are forced to leave their homes in order to get to the new country and refugees become an issue in both countries. Widespread fighting breaks out along the borders as people try to get to the country that corresponds with their religion. The new governments struggle to agree on who will get what parts of the natural resources, military and financial resources along with the regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Great Britain sold Kashmir to a maharajah during the colonial era and as they were withdrawing, gave him the option to going to either country. Most other states sided with religions but Kashmir was ruled by a Hindu yet had a predominantly Muslim population. The maharajah hesitates and is forced to leave the region. He signs over the territory to India and Pakistan sends troops to protect the Muslims in that area. War breaks out and continues for three years until a ceasefire is declared and
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 :
In this essay I hope to look at the issues of conflict in South Asia focusing on India and in particular the continuing Hindu-Muslim tensions, and look at possible reasons for the continuing conflict which appears to have escalated since the withdrawal of British Rule from India. Multiple events had shaped the Indian subcontinent with
Second, British India, which included today’s India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, was a region so large that there were areas in which Britain exercised direct control over the subject population and others where it exerted indirect control. It is exceedingly difficult, therefore, to extrapolate from one experience to another. Although it is impossible to determine how India would have developed had England never established a dominating presence there, I find the results of British colonialism to have been a mixed bag for India: the negatives, however, far outweighed the positives.
Oldenburg describes India and Pakistan as “fraternal twins” due to their shared levels of extreme poverty and extreme inequality in 1947. However, the struggle to be free of British rule was distinct which set a vital precedent for the subsequent regimes of Pakistan and India. The British withdrawal was hasty due to their realization they could no longer afford to hold on to its over-extended empire. One of the main reasons for the creation of a separate Muslim nation in the Indian subcontinent was due to the conflicting religious views of Hindus and Muslims. These issues had existed prior to British colonial rule, however the differences were exacerbated by British policy. Britain as a colonizer, followed
After 1947, Pakistan felt that Pakistan is deprived because Kashmir has a majority of Muslim people and they have a right to choose their future