What fueled the bitter history with regard to India and Pakistan with Essay

What fueled the bitter history with regard to India and Pakistan with relation to government and political beliefs - Essay Example This brief mention of just some of the issues between India and Pakistan is just a preview of the intense rivalry between the two countries. And we haven't even reached the pre-colonial era for discussion till now. The bitter past, present and future of Indo-Pak relations is a reality that can not be ignored. The sheer magnitude of the number of disputes between India and Pakistan can not be denied. But beyond this ignorance and denial, one can safely delve into the past and analyze why it happened in the first place. The aim is then not to question any event or wonder what would be the present situation if any past event such as the 1971 separation of East Pakistan had not taken place. The aim is to provide insight and examine the factors behind facts such as colonialism and the partition of the sub-continent and understand their role on the present and the future of India and Pakistan and, in turn, the entire world.The eventful history of India and Pakistan gives plenty of reason t o attribute to their bitter rivalry. The wars fought in 1965, 1971 and 1947 are a testament to this; so are the various bombings that each country's intelligence agencies have planned on each other's country (Crossette, 2008). Both countries have constantly bombarded each other over the line of control and escalation of forces at the border to mount pressure on each other has become a frequent course of action. Kashmir still remains disputed territory with no sign of resolution in the coming future. Even the control of environmental resources such as water and its use (Indus Water Treaty) have been a cause of concern and argument for each country. It is important for Pakistan because India controls the disputed territory from which flows the most vital asset to mans existence i.e. water. This brief mention of just some of the issues between India and Pakistan is just a preview of the intense rivalry between the two countries. And we haven't even reached the pre-colonial era for discussion till now. Based on research, the author of this paper believes that perhaps one of the most important contributors to the partition and in turn, the rivalry between India and Pakistan is the colonialism of the Hindus and Muslims (Alavi, 2002). That is not to say that the entire future of Indo-Pak relations is to be blamed on the East India Company or the British Empire; but, it is hard to deny that the British are responsible for sowing the seeds of rivalry from as far back as the start of operations by East India Company. The author contends then that there are various factors behind the bitter Indo-Pak rivalry but the most pivotal is the colonialism and subsequent, ill planned exit by the British Empire in 1947. The British occupation in the sub continent not only created differen ces between the various segments of Hindus and Muslims but also left several issues unsettled, such as the accession of provinces (e.g. Kashmir) to either country. It is also believed that the nature of Muslim party politics was such that they followed onto the post-partition period till today and that the bitter history has been etched into the political relations of both countries thereby making the process of reconciliation extremely difficult. This paper will therefore address several issues or differences created by the East India Company and the subsequent British Rule in considerable detail. The first of these issues was the change in official language from Persian to English; this change created drastic differences between the 19th century ashrafi (upper class) Muslims and Hindus who were in competition against each other for state jobs (Alavi, 2002). At this point, it is important to shed some light on the salariat, who are defined by Hamza Alavi (2002) as an auxiliary class that was not the biggest class but certainly the most articulate class in the pre-independence era. These salariat were professionals that were able to get through higher education because of their family's income status. They held important state positions as lawyers or doctors and in other fields as well. The 19th century salariat began to lose key positions in the state