India-Pakistani Relations for Asian Peace in the New Millennium.
Abstract
The India-Pakistani perennial conflicts over the past six decades, in the struggle to possess Kashmir, have been posing serious problems to the international community.
This anomaly in their relations has raised some crucial questions by this study such as: Does the continuing dispute between India and Pakistan, over Kashmir, carry the risk of nuclear war in Asia?
Furthermore, would the resolution of the India-Pakistani dispute create the opportunity for the settlement of other boundary problems in Asia?
In this context, this study was undertaken to determine whether the continuing dispute between India and Pakistan, over Kashmir, carries the risk of nuclear war in Asia.
It will also establish if the resolution of the India-Pakistani dispute would create an opportunity for the settlement of other boundary problems in Asia.
A literature review of books and articles in respect of the various wars were used to unveil the critical facts. To achieve this, the qualitative method of data collection and analysis was used.
Afterwards, the study found out that religious fundamentalism had eroded peaceful relations between India and Pakistan.
In a bid to describe the tenets of the study, the balance of power theory was employed as analytical framework.
In line with these, it hypothetically held that the continuing dispute between India and Pakistan, over Kashmir, carries the risk of nuclear war in Asia.
Introduction
Background of Study
The hope that the end of the Cold War would usher in a new world order in the form of international peace and security, as well as economic prosperity to many parts of the world, has not been realized following persistent and intractable disputes, which seem to have become a permanent feature in international relations up to this new millennium.
The India-Pakistani dispute over the Kashmir region for the past six decades is one of the strong indications as regards the escalating erosion of peace and security in the global arena, especially in the South Asian subcontinent.
As posited by Effendi, M.S (2010:3) “Many lives have been lost since the inception of these conflicts and the Kargil conflict of 1999 highlighted how perilously close the region could be to nuclear war, which would be devastating not only for both countries but also for the whole region.
In this light, the normalization of relations between the two countries as well as the reduction of the mounting human and financial costs of the conflicts is highly needed and this, therefore, necessitates a speedy and sustainable resolution of the Kashmir issue.”
This study, invariably, was undertaken to examine the impact of these conflicts on Asia and strategies for possible resolution.
Historically, India and Pakistan have a long complicated relation with each other. When the British-India became independent, it was divided into two parts; areas consisting up to 75% of Muslims became Pakistan and the rest of the territory, India.
This arrangement did not include the Princely States, one of which is Kashmir.
References
Abbas, Hassan (2004). Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism: Allah, The Army, and America’s War on Terror. New York: M. E. Sharpe.
Acosta, Marcus P. (2003). High Altitude Warfare: The Kargil Conflict and the Future.California: Storming Media.
Adekeya Adebajo and Chandra L.S (2001). Managing Armed Conflicts in the 21st Century. London: Frank Cass Publishers.
Alastair, Lamb (1997). Incomplete partition: The Genesis of Kashmir Dispute 1947- 1948. Britain: Roxford Books.
Ali, Tariq (1983). Bitter Chill of Winter. London: Penguin Books Ltd.
Ali,Tariq (1997). Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State. London: Penguin Books Ltd.
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