Although India won its independence in 1947, there continued to be tensions among the Indian population. Beginning with the war of independence, disagreement led to the creation of Pakistan as an Islamic state. However, Pakistan and India still did not agree on one territorial area: Kashmir.
The British authorities sold Kashmir in the 19th century. Until then, Kashmir had been a Hindu Kingdom belonging to a maharaja. However, the majority of the population of this territory was Muslim (94% of the Kashmir population). Muslims were treated brutally under the maharaja’s rule. The Hindu religion was imposed on them, fires were set in mosques and political or religious opposition was not tolerated.
The Kashmiris became increasingly angry under these imposed conditions. They expressed their anger during protests and popular uprisings, beginning in 1931, which were met with vehement repression. The repression only strengthened divisions.
Repression is intended to end rebellious or contentious movements through the use of force and violence. Actions such as these do not respect human rights.
India’s independence from the British and the establishment of Pakistan, gave way to fierce battles between the maharaja’s troops and the members of the uprising in Kashmir. The maharaja asked the Indian prime minister for military aid in order to stop the protests. Nehru, India’s Prime Minister, offered his support to the maharaja by promising Kashmir’s independence.
The Indian army then invaded Kashmir with the expectation of success given their numbers and military superiority over the Kashmir Liberation Front. However, the liberation army, who was supported by Pakistan, had the support of the people and better knowledge of the territory and the mountains. These two assets were enough to slow the Indian invasion.
In the face of this impasse, the Indian government brought a complaint to the UN, criticizing Pakistan for supporting the Kashmiri guerrilla war. Pakistan answered that India had made false promises of independence to the Kashmiris. The UN answered by imposing an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of all foreign troops. The UN then required a referendum on Kashmiri independence to be held, but it did not support any one party. The Indian government was disappointed by the UN’s decision, leading to many attempts to break the deal.
A ceasefire is a temporary cessation of fighting and hostilities between adversaries in time of war. In order to be truly effective and respected by the groups involved, a ceasefire must go through a negotiation process and then be made official in the form of an agreement.
In 1962, Mao was in power in China. The Head of State refused to recognize India’s sovereignty over Kashmir. The Chinese army invaded Kashmir at the end of October. India responded quickly by driving out the Chinese army. Chinese soldiers withdrew on November 18, 1962, but China kept control over the eastern part of Kashmir.
A new border conflict erupted in 1965 between India and Pakistan, extending to Kashmir. The United States reacted quickly and immediately stopped providing financial aid to Pakistan. The UN also reacted by imposing a new ceasefire after which India and Pakistan committed to stop further attacks.
A new conflict broke out in 1971 when pro-independence groups emerged in East Pakistan. The Pakistani government reacted by forcefully repressing these groups whereas the Indian army chose to ally itself with the pro-independence movement. The independence of East Pakistan led to the creation of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The countries of the world quickly moved to recognize this new State.
India and Pakistan signed a new agreement in 1972 calling for the two nations to agree on a ceasefire line and an end to the fighting. In real terms, the Simla agreements were intended to finally put an end to military operations in Kashmir. They called for an increase in diplomatic negotiations for settling conflicts.
Unfortunately, this agreement did not completely resolve the conflict. In 1999, Pakistani militiamen and pro-independence Kashmiris infiltrated the Indian part of Kashmir. This led to new fighting and to bombings of Kashmir by the Indian air force. The United States strongly encouraged diplomacy as the path to resolving the situation. Tensions rose again and several battles took place, despite a withdrawal agreement.
On December 13, 2001, one of these battles directly targeted the Indian Parliament. The Indian government interpreted this attack as a challenge. This government also accused Pakistan of harbouring terrorists and of encouraging their threats. Once again, war between India and Pakistan was imminent. In January 2002, the Kathmandu Summit brought the two leaders together in an attempt to de-escalate the conflict. However there was little improvement given that there had been no real dialogue between the two nations.
Ever since, relations between India and Pakistan have been very tense and marked by violent events such as religious massacres and terrorist attacks. Each act of violence triggers hatred, followed by revenge. Each country attempts to demonstrate its power through military exercises, shootings or nuclear threats. Neither government has officially committed to using nuclear weapons, although both countries say they are ready to use them if necessary.