India and Pakistan: The First Fifty Years
Part I: Political Development
India: Democratic progress and problems
One of the strengths of India politically over Pakistan is said to be
the fact that it has elected to take on a democratic system of
government. There are several issues, however, with India as a
democracy due to several factors including numerous cases of
malpractice and corruption in electoral systems, which greatly
undermine the soundness of the democratic institution. Another major
factor that leaves one questioning the functioning of the Indian
democracy is the political hegemony of Congress initially, which took
time to change, and more so the dynamism which resulted in the chain
of inherited leaderships with a power transfer from Nehru to Indira
Gandhi, to her sons eventually and even later Sonja Gandhi, the
daughter-in-law of Indira. Despite this ostensible threat for the
over-centralization of power, the Indian democracy incorporates
various other features that help decentralize the government. This
includes the separation of the judiciary from the executive, a
multi-party system with several coalitions formed to assure that more
than one dominating party competes, the religious and segregated
castes are also free to rally support to make necessary appeals, and
then there’s also minimum military involvement in political affairs.
The only real lapse was the Emergency period of Indira Gandhi.
Throughout the fifty years it has been this transition or competition
between the regionalization and centralization of power that has
defined the political nature of India. A lot of what the
centralization of po...
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...ed that they were receiving aid from the U.S. as well in order
to remain as a buffer nation to control China. The shift in policy
resulted in the Ayub-Chou alliance where U.S. military assistance
continued but a greater interest existed in relationships with
neighboring Islamic states. There would always be certain disputes
with some of these neighbors as a result of the Afghan conflict.
Pakistan remained stagnant however with the Kashmir issue, gaining no
real ground over India. The resolution was to become non-aligned
similar to the position held by India. Currently Pakistan is deep
trouble in foreign affairs due to the adverse demands of the U.S. and
the rest of the Islamic community over such issues as involvement Iraq
etc. This has been the primary cause of the rise of Islamic terrorist
associations in the nation.
Wars and conflicts between India and Pakistan. (n.d.). Princeton University. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Wars_and_conflicts_between_India_and_Pakistan.html
British economic interest in India began in the 1600s when Britain set up trading posts in Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. By 1707, the Mughal Empire was collapsing. Several small states broke away from the Mughal control. In 1757, Robert Clive led the East India troops in a victory over Indian forces at the Battle of Plassey. From this time until 1858, East India Company was the leading power in India. Over time, the area controlled by East India Company grew. Eventually, East India Company governed modern Bangladesh, most of southern India, and almost all the territory along the Ganges River. After the Industrial Revolution, Britain was known as the “world’s workshop,” and India was the major supplier of its raw material. Britain had a firm hold on India; their policies called for India to produce raw materials for British manufacturing and to buy British goods. Any Indian competition with British goods was prohibited. Imperialism between Britain and India had a positive economic outcome for the British during the 1600s, as well some bad impacts on Indian people; leaving their governmental power in the hands of Britain.
Imperialism in India British imperialism in India had many positive and negative effects on both the mother country, Britain and the colony, India. Many people would argue which effects were more prominent in these countries, and some would agree that they were equal. But in both cases, there were actually both. In India, the British colonization had more positive effects than negative. For instance, when the British colonized India they built 40,000 miles of railroad and 70,000 miles of paved roadway.
Edin, Peter. "1947 the Birth of India & Pakistan." New York Times Up Front. 30 Jan 2012: 16-
There is no denying that the colonization and imperialistic exploitation of India during British rule led to the systematic disenfranchisement of an entire subcontinent. Furthermore, for decades, the people of India were effectively relegated to being secondary class subjects in their own country. The British relied on a strategy of pitting religious sects and ethnic groups against one another in order to divide an effective opposition to the their rule, moreover also relied on a network of regional puppet kings known as the raj to give the image of local autonomy when in reality the power at first laid in the British Indian Company and in the aftermath the Sepoy Rebellion the Imperial High Commission. However, despite these many obstacles
During the Cold War, many regional conflicts occurred and were noted as the significant battles which later led to decolonization. One of the regional conflicts were India and Pakistan fighting for their independence. In 1947, India was released under Great Britain’s control and gained its independence. However, the country was divided between Muslims and Hindus, which share different religions. Muslims wanted church and state to become unified while Hindus wanted a separation of these two establishments. Since these two ethnic groups disagreed, it was difficult to create a new government. Therefore, India was divided into two nations: India for the Hindus and Pakistan for the Muslims. Hindus and Muslims were racing to the border in order to get to their nation state which led to killing 500,000 people due to rioting. Although, Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian National Congressman, wanted to obtain peace between these two religions. Pakistan refused the H...
Introduction In late 1947, the newly created states of India and Pakistan went to war over the valley of Kashmir. A United Nations brokered ceasefire divided the state into Indian and Pakistani controlled territories, and resolved that a referendum would be held in which the people of Kashmir would be able to choose to join either country. The referendum has not been held to date. India granted its portion of Kashmir a special status within its constitution, allowing for a great degree of self-autonomy.
India is Sri Lanka’s closest neighbor and natural ally with its historic, cultural and linguistic similarities. Relationship between Indian and Sri Lanka is highly matured considering the asymmetric differences and India’s consistent commitment towards Sri Lankan policy. In this decade, India and Sri Lanka build a very strong relationship and came to close contacts at the highest level in terms of politics, growing trade and investment, cooperation in the fields of development, education, culture and defense, and understanding on major issues of international interest. Though there is some turbulence in Indo-Sri Lankan relations particularly with domestic politics playing a new dynamics in relationship between neighboring countries. In a vast
The most threatening conflict between Hindus and Muslims is the province of Kashmir. This is where the decision to divide India into India and Pakistan seems to have been a terrible mistake. Kashmir, which is the only Muslim majority city in India, lies between the divided India and Pakistan. After India’s independence in the 1940’s, Kashmir had to choose to either unite with India or Pakistan. The Prince of Kashmir chose India but Pakistan invaded the province soon after and have occupied part of Kashmir since then. Controversy still surrounds the province today because naturally, Muslims want to control it. While many Muslims relocated to Pakistan and the Hindus to India, half of the Muslim population was left in India and their relations did not improve after being partially separated.
The Third World is the name that was given to the part of the world that was not part of the Industrialized World in the beginning of the Cold War. The First World was America while the Second World was the Soviet Union. The Developing World represents much of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. After most of these countries became independent of western influence and recourses, their infrastructure began to fall apart. The United States and the Soviet Union used their allies for raw materials and markets, which was a big part of the cold war. India was a non-aligned country so the two superpowers did not focus much attention on its internal conflicts. Until the Indian-Pakistan War the US and the USSR did not want to get involved with the country’s internal struggles. During the Cold War almost all developing countries including India were influenced by the two major super powers in political and economic areas.
South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-PK) initiated existence in 1987, only one year since the lifting of military rule from Pakistan. The military ideology had kept the development and advancement of Civil Society organizations. The smothering political and social environment intensely required that civil society organizations be established and fortified. Keeping this sensitive need in view, a group of intellectuals and social activists established the framework of SAP-PK. The target of the organization was to empower the poorest of Pakistan raise their voice for their rights. With energetic interest of International organizations, SAP-Pakistan devoted its efforts working on different projects, striving to carry through its organizational mission and purpose.
Ruby Kaur May 10, 2014 Source 1 Ricardo Pollack is distinguished as a director because of the documentary, Partition: The Day India Burned (2007). The documentary itself discusses the detrimental consequences of the withdrawal of Britain's reign from India in 1947, which led to the forced relocation of men, women, and even children across newly defined border lines, along with violence, rape, and murder. The film makes its argument through dramatized reconstructions and witness testimonies, which offer personal insight into the horrors of the partition and conjure up feelings of sympathy and remorse. The film intends to make an educated public more aware of how an ethnically diverse nation was tragically divided and its effects on civilian lives. This is a secondary source with primary sources because it is based on witness testimonies and an actual historical event, but offers its own evaluation on the issue through dramatized reconstructions of the event.
“India and Pakistan: Tense Neighbours.” BBC. N.p., 16 Dec. 2001. Web. 15 May 2011. .
We can start by recounting history, where the roots of the conflict lie. India was one massive nation made up of several states, ruled by the British. A long and difficult independence struggle culminated with the British choosing to leave India in August 1947. The Muslims of the land decided that instead of just a Free India, they would create a Free Pakistan for themselves as well. They were fearful that as a minority, the Hindu majority would trample their rights and religion. Both countries would be formed as soon as the British handed back control in August. The rulers of each individual state constituting India would chose which country to join, hopefully following the wishes of its people. This idea was fraught with problems. There were quite a few states that had a majority of one religion yet the ruler belonged to another faith. The states of Hyderabad and Junagarh were examples of this. Both had Hindu majorities and M...
Overall India’s recent political environment has been largely unstable due to international events & continued tension with Pakistan.