Islamic Republic of Pakistan
The 1947 partition took place on 14th August and 15th August in the year 1947 when British India was subdivided into the Dominion of Pakistan, which afterward formed the Islamic Republic of Pakistan together with Bangladesh People’s Republic; as well as the Union of India which presently is referred to as the Republic of India. During the partition, Bengal province that was in British India gave rise to East Pakistan, whereas in India West Bengal was formed. In the same way, Punjab province division created West Punjab that eventually formed Punjab in Pakistan and the Islamabad Capital Territory (Matray et al. , 2006).
On the other hand, the East of Punjab that also arose from Punjab province afterward formed Punjab in India, Pradesh, Harmachal and Haryana. The partition was not only on geographical terms but also other chattels such as the railways (India’s), the civil service of India and British Indian army. Factors that facilitated the partition included the Indian Act of Independence that consequently led to British Indian Empire termination. However, later on after the partition, wars emerged between the Indians and the Pakistanis, for instance, the Indo-Pakistani War, amongst other clashes.
This paper explores further on partition in India, the conflicts that followed thereafter and the efforts that have been put to resolve the clashes (Matray et al. , 2006). 2. 0 The Indo-Pakistani Wars No sooner had the 1947 partition taken place, than Pakistan and India began fighting. The fight was characterized by three phases: the first and the second wars that took place in 1947-1949 and 1965 respectively and they involved the “Jammu and Kashmir” territories; while the third war took place in 1971 (Dixi, 2002). 2. 1 Background The decision to partition British India came as a result of a malfunction in British India nationalist parties.
The Indian National Congress and the Muslim League failed to bring a solution to their disparities after independence. As the Muslim League proposed Pakistan to be a native land for the Muslims who resided in South Asia, the National Congress wanted a nation that was not based on religious perspectives. But the latter proposal meant that the country was going to be dominated by Hindus because they constituted the majority of the British India Empire (Dixi, 2002). The Jammu and Kashmir states unlike other provinces in the British India Empire were self-governing except that they had to acknowledge the sovereignty of the British.
This meant that the rulers (maharajas) in these states had authority in all other matters with the exception of communication, foreign affairs and security. When the British colonial rule collapsed during the partition, Lord Louis Mountbatten who was India’s British viceroy notified the maharaja on selecting between India and Pakistan; not considering that maharajas were independent. In his announcement he stated that the neighboring Muslim regions in Pakistan were to form the whole nation; meaning he sided on the Congress proposal (Dixi, 2002).
Since Jammu and Kashmir states were chiefly Muslim, bordered with India and Pakistan and with the ruler being a Hindu; the whole issue brought up confusion. Amidst the pressure that Pakistan wanted to absorb Muslims in the neighboring region to make it whole; and India striving to portray that a secular nation could be established through the coexistence of Hindus and Muslims; Mahara Singh, the leader of Jammu and Kashmir wanted to maintain the state of independence, hence, belated crossing over to either of the nations even though the British ruling had ceased (Wirsing, 1998). 2.
2 The first Indo-Pakistani War The ethnic groups of Pashtun that resided to the west of Jammu and Kashmir railed against the reign of the Maharaja. Therefore, following the fall of the British rule, they took advantage of the situation by trying to take over the authority of the Maharaja. The Pakistan forces joined the Pashtun insurgents to help them fight the Maharaja. The subsequent capture of Muzzafarabad town and the advancement towards Jammu and Kashmir created fear in Hari Singh. Consequently, he went further and pleaded for military backing from Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian minister.
However, the prime minister gave the assistance on condition that the Maharaja surrendered Jammu and Kashmir and they had to be permitted by the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference secular leader, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. After the maharaja fulfilling what was required, India was in custody of communication, security and foreign affairs, just like the British Empire had been. But this agreement was strongly opposed by the Pakistanis who argued that it was coercive (Ganguly, 2002). The Indian armies were sent to Jammu and Kashmir on 27th of October and by this time, the Kashmir rebels had seized a third of the whole region.
The war went on for several months, but during spring in 1948, there was an offensive war started by the Indian armies in effort to reclaim the captured region. As a result of the offensive attack, Pakistan was compelled to engage its regular forces; nonetheless, none of the fighting troops emerged victorious. Later in January, 1948, following Mountbatten’s counsel; the disagreement was referred to the United Nations Security Council. They implored the Pakistan to stop the violence in Jammu and Kashmir.
India on the other hand, was to determine which state the Kashmiris desired to join (Ganguly, 2002). The war ceased in 1st January, 1949, upon reaching a consensus between the two nations; however, many fighters lost their lives during the skirmish. Still, a solution pertaining to the territorial divisions was not established; therefore, Jammu and Kashmir was divided on the basis of the war that had taken place. In actual fact, the line of division was referred to as “Cease-Fire line, (CFL)”, which after the year 1972, came to be known as the “Line of Control (LOC)”.
From the time when the partition had taken place, the Azad Kashmiras region, was directed by the Pakistanis; this constituted a third of the Jammu and Kashmir state. Whereas, the remaining portion of the maharaja was dictated by the Indians (Ganguly, 2002). Historical evidence shows that ‘Jammu and Kashmir’ name that is shortened to Kashmir indicates the princely state that existed before the British left. The Jammu and Kashmir state legislative assembly in 1954 had resolved to combine the states, through voting, so that they become Union of India.
Consequently, according to India, the vote justified the agreement that took place in 1947 hence making Jammu and Kashmir a component of India. The United Nations sought to bring a solution that would see the two parties reaching a consensus after the war but India and Pakistan were reluctant (Ganguly, 2002). 2. 2 The Second Indo-Pakistani War The second war that arose in 1965 was prompted by Pakistan because it was displeased with the solution that had been established by the United Nations. Pakistanis wanted to take away Jammu and Kashmir from Indians by using force, but this was in vain since India maintained its stand.
The war lasted for two months; however, many lives were lost compared to the previous war. Various factors led a second dispute between India and Pakistan for the second time. Even though other states, e. g. British and the U. S joined hands to bring the fight to a halt, besides the UN, a solution to the territorial dispute was not found. Moreover, India after affliction in the border war with China expanded its military power. India also had begun to incorporate Jammu and Kashmir as part of India, for instance putting it in the control of the Supreme Court of India.
The above mentioned factors aggravated Pakistan to go ahead and fight over Kashmir. The stealing of a religious artifact from the mosque of Hazratbal as a result of a riot in Srinagar during December in 1963, made the Pakistanis go into war as an effort to support the Muslims who were in Kashmir (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2007). The Pakistani president, Muhammad Ayub Khan and Zulifakar Ali Bhutto- the prime minister made a decision to seize the region out of India. The Pakistani army started getting into Kashmir as early as August of 1965, pretending to be Kashmiris.
Their major aim was to incorporate themselves into the Kashmir population and increase insurgence in the Muslims of Kashmiri in an action known as “Operation Gilbratar”. Contrary to their expectations, the Kashmiris reacted in a different way. The Pakistani people, who had pretended to be Kashmiris, were presented before the local authority. For that reason, security in this region was maintained by the Indian soldiers, including the bordering regions. This move enabled the Indian soldiers to emerge triumphant even though the fight involved massive weapon usage (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2007).
Nonetheless, the Pakistanis did not give up and on 1st September, they caught the Indians unaware. The Indian soldiers fought back through the air leading to the subsequent defeat of the Pakistanis. Yet, the Pakistanis persisted into the war on the 5th of September, frightening the Indians that they would take Jammu and Kashmir completely out of the Indian Territory. Even though the Pakistanis went as far as Khem Karan near Punjab, trying to retaliate the Indian troops in Lahore; they faced major opposition and many of them died during this quest.
Again, the United Nations decided to intervene following the outcomes of the fight, by putting forth a cessation of hostilities pledge, which both the Pakistani and the Indian government hearkened to. By 21st September, the war had come to an end; accordingly, the two groups took part in a peace talk that was hosted by the Uzbek Soviet Social Republic, Toshkent. This event was marked by the signing of the Toshkent Agreement and afterwards renewing the CFL (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2007). 2. 3 The Third Indo-Pakistan War
Unlike the other wars, the third war mainly involved the East of Pakistan. The 1947 partition led to the formation of West Pakistan (Pakistan) and East Bengal (East Pakistan, now Bangladesh). These two regions were divided by a 1600km region of Indian land. Following the 1970 election in Pakistan, a power sharing deal between the East and West of Pakistan was not established. Consequently, the Pakistan government launched attacks to the East of Pakistan. The war led to the death of many Bengalis, with some seeking refuge in the Indian Territory in the West of Bengal.
The Indian government had to react to the Pakistani war because Bengalis were getting into India at an alarming rate (Ganguly, 2002). As a solution to the conflict, the Indian authority gave the Bengalis a separate state and backed up the resistance movement that was headed by Mukti Bahini; these helped the Indians in fighting the Pakistanis. The first attack of the third Indo-Pakistani war began in December, 3rd 1971, by the Pakistani who had attacked the major areas in the Northwest of India, going as far as the Kashmir and Punjab areas, Azad Kasmir and Chhamb.
But the Indian army fought back vehemently and the attack on Dhaka made the Pakistani army to admit defeat. East Pakistan pulled out of Pakistan and became Bangladesh (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2007). 3. 0 Conclusion A meeting organized by the Indian Prime minister Gandhi and the Pakistan president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was aimed at finding a solution towards the conflicts that had occurred between India and Pakistan. An agreement on acknowledging the LOC was made as well as withdrawal from using force in solving issues; India conceded to set free the 90, 000 prisoners it had taken captive.
The Kashmir region has continued to bring tension through the nineteenth century to the twentieth century. Pakistan and India in 1998 ventured into creating nuclear weapons that meant to terrorize both states. Thereafter, an intense pressure mounted about reaching an agreement over the Kashmir issue. It was a relief to the citizens when the Pakistan leader invited the Indian leader over building a good relationship. However, the Pakistanis still continued escalating attacks in various parts of India until the U. S intervened on diplomatic terms (Shuja, 2002).
In 1999, when Musharaf was in power, the relation between India and Pakistan became poorer. Musharaf was accused of offering support to the rebels, but he denied this. In 2001, the situation was worse when the national congress of India in Delhi was attacked. A lot of tension was created in the year 2002 ensuing harassment by terrorists, increased ammunition and intense security along the boarders. Accordingly, many nations arbitrated and in 2003, the two states settled reinstating the diplomatic deals. Even so the territorial ownership of Jammu and Kashmir is still the major cause of misunderstanding (Shuja, 2002).
References: Dixi, J. N (2002): India-Pakistan in War & Peace, ISBN 0415304725, 9780415304726, Routledge Ganguly, S (2002): Conflict unending: India-Pakistan tensions since 1947, Columbia, ISBN 0231123698, 9780231123693, University Press Matray, J. I. , Hay, J & Mitchell, G. J (2006): The Partition of British India, ISBN 079108647X, 9780791086476, Chelsea House Publishers Shuja, S (June 2004): The Indo-Pakistan Peace Process and the Kashmir Issue, Contemporary Review, Vol. 284 The Columbia Encyclopedia (2007): Sixth Edition, India-Pakistan Wars
Sample Essay of PaperDon.com