Relations between India and
Pakistan have been strained by a number of historical and political issues, and
are defined by the violent partition of British India in 1947, the Kashmir
dispute and the numerous military conflicts fought between the two nations.
Consequently, even though the two South Asian nations share historic, cultural,
geographic, and economic links, their relationship has been plagued by hostility
and suspicion.After the dissolution of the British Raj in 1947, two new
sovereign nations were formed—the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan.
The subsequent partition of the former British India displaced up to 12.5
million people, with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred
thousand to a million. India emerged as a secular nation with a Hindu majority
population and a large Muslim minority while Pakistan was established as an Isan
Islamic republic with an overwhelming Muslim majority population.
Soon after their independence, India and Pakistan established diplomatic
relations but the violent partition and numerous territorial disputes would
overshadow their relationship. Since their independence, the two countries have
fought three major wars, one undeclared war and have been involved in numerous
armed skirmishes and military standoffs. The Kashmir dispute is the main
centre-point of all of these conflicts with the exception of the Indo-Pakistan
War of 1971, which resulted in the secession of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
There have been numerous attempts to improve the relationship—notably, the
Shimla summit, the Agra summit and the Lahore summit. Since the early 1980s,
relations between the two nations soured particularly after the Siachen
conflict, the intensification of Kashmir insurgency in 1989, Indian and
Pakistani nuclear tests in 1998 and the 1999 Kargil war. Certain
confidence-building measures — such as the 2003 ceasefire agreement and the
Delhi–Lahore Bus service — were successful in deescalating tensions. However,
these efforts have been impeded by periodic terrorist attacks. The 2001 Indian
Parliament attack almost brought the two nations on the brink of a nuclear war.
The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, which killed 68 civilians (most of whom
were Pakistani), was also a crucial point in relations. Additionally, the 2008
Mumbai attacks carried out by Pakistani militantsresulted in a severe blow to
the ongoing India-Pakistan peace talk About half a million Muslims and Hindus
were killed in communal riots following the partition of British India. Millions
of Muslims living in India and Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan emigrated in
one of the most colossal transfers of population in the modern era. Both
countries accused each other of not providing adequate security to the
minorities emigrating through their territory. This served to increase tensions
between the newly-born countries.
According to the British plan for the partition of British India, all the 680
princely states were allowed to decide which of the two countries to join. With
the exception of a few, most of the Muslim-majority princely-states acceded to
Pakistan while most of the Hindu-majority princely states joined India. However,
the decisions of some of the princely-states would shape the Pakistan-India
relationship considerably in the years to come.
Kashmir was a Muslim-majority princely state, ruled by a Hinduking, Maharaja
Hari Singh. At the time of the partition of India, Maharaja Hari Singh, the
ruler of the state, preferred to remain independent and did not want to join
either the Union of India or the Dominion of Pakistan. He wanted both India and
Pakistan to recognise his princely state as an independent neutral country like
Switzerland. He wanted to make his state the Switzerland of the East since the
population of the state depended on tourism and persons from all regions could
come to an independent Jammu and Kashmir with ease. For this reason, he offered
a standstill agreement (for maintaining the status quo) to both India and
Pakistan. India refused the offer but Pakistan accepted itJunagadh was a state
on the southwestern end of Gujarat, with the principalities of Manavadar,
Mangrol and Babriawad. It was not contiguous to Pakistan and other states
physically separated it from Pakistan. The state had an overwhelming Hindu
population which constituted more than 80% of its citizens, while its ruler,
Nawab Mahabat Khan, was a Muslim. Mahabat Khan acceded to Pakistan on 15 August
1947. Pakistan confirmed the acceptance of the accession on 15 September 1947.
India did not accept the accession as legitimate. The Indian point of view was
that Junagadh was not contiguous to Pakistan, that the Hindu majority of
Junagadh wanted it to be a part of India, and that the state was surrounded by
Indian territory on three sides.
The Pakistani point of view was that since Junagadh had a ruler and governing
body who chose to accede to Pakistan, it should be allowed to do so. Also,
because Junagadh had a coastline, it could have maintained maritime links with
Pakistan even as an enclave within India.