India-Pakistan Conflict: 70 Yrs of Religious and Political Tension - Annotated Bibliography

Introduction

India and Pakistan have, for the past seven decades, clashed on both the religious and political fronts. The conflict is pegged on the two countries' interests in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Additionally, the religious difference has fueled the dispute. Since 1947, religious and political tensions have forced individuals into innumerable brutal wars. While the tension between the Hindu and Muslims was prevalent long before independence, it was only at the beginning of self-rule that the tension spilled over. This paper, consequently, will endeavor to explain the events surrounding the British colonization of India. Further, it will discuss partitioning of the region as a contributor to the hostilities and highlight some of the massacres born of the two groups' disputes.

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Lawson, P. (2014). The East India Company: A History. Routledge.

Lawson discusses the initial steps the British took to gaining territorial control of the Indian subcontinent. The book describes how the British East India Company played a critical role in the growth of the British Empire in India. Carefully, the author shows how the growth of the company led to the eventual collapse of the influential Muslim Mughals, leading to the colonization of the country. A brief discussion of the implications of colonization is also provided, providing a platform for the understanding of the Hindu-Muslim tensions.

Whereas the British East India Company arrived in India at the beginning of the 17th century, it struggled to get the right to trade and do business in the country. The author observes that roughly a century and a half later, the firm had, nevertheless, established robust business connections, and was, essentially ruling India.

The early years of the seventeenth century saw the British Empire attempt to, unsuccessfully, open trade with the influential Muslim Mughals. In 1614, King James I of England, desperate to start trading in India, sent his envoy, Sir Thomas Roe. Roe, who was naturally a problematic person, used less subservient approaches. His method gained him the Emperor's respect. Thus, the East India Company was given the right to trade and commenced operations in Surat, modern-day Western India. Alcohol, pepper, and other spices were common items of trade. Over the years, nonetheless, Lawson observes that the company shifted its attention to silk and tea. This enabled the company to expand its operation to the Persian Gulf, and eventually, to most of Asia. The detrimental outcomes of the trade between the Mughal empires and Britain became apparent a century later. By the mid-eighteenth century, all three Islamic empires had either collapsed or were significantly weakened.

Nonetheless, their British counterpart, was steadfast in their growth and expansion. The expansion was, in part, due to the East India Company royal charter which gave the British the mandate to attack rival traders The British expansion saw them gain military victories, eventually establishing supremacy in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, consolidating the firm's control over Bengal. Robert Clive became the governor of the region. Further, building on this victory, the British forced the Spanish and French out of the subcontinent. Over the next seven decades, the East Indian Company extended its dominion across the subcontinent, taking full administrative control over new territories. This included the right to collect taxes. This strategy worked since, by the end of the eighteenth century, the Indian subcontinent was under the rule of the East India Company.

However, Lawson reckons that the resentment by the Indians, towards the British, was slowly building up, spilling over in 1857, leading to a series of riots in the country. This incident is the Indian rebellion. The British army thwarted the revolt by killing many Indian combatants and civilians who supported the uprising.

Knight, L. (2012). Britain in India, 1858-1947. Anthem Press.

This publication majorly focuses on events post the Indian mutiny. The author discusses the measures the British government took to prevent future uprisings. Additionally, Knight puts into perspective the events which largely contributed to the rift between the Hindu and Muslims in the country. This source is indispensable as it crystallizes the origin of the religious and political rifts between the two countries.

Immediately after the uprising, the East India Company was abolished in favor of the direct rule by the British government. Also, the unit, in the Indian army, comprising of the Muslims, who were at the center of the rebellion, was replaced by a more British-friendly Hindu unit. Further, in 1885, the Indian National Congress was formed. Indeed, the formation of this secular political party is largely seen as the initial step towards formalizing opposition to the Raj. Its primary goal was to press for better opportunities for all natives, regardless of one's religion. These radical changes made the remainder of the century relatively uneventful.

In 1898, Lord Curzon became the governor. His reign saw an increase in movements of Indian nationalists agitating for independence. A classic example was the Bengal-based nationalist movement. In response to this movement, the British, in 1905, attempted to break-up the Bengal province. A new Muslim-majority province of East Bengal was created. The author cites that breaking up of the region birthed the Muslim political separation. In 1907, an all-Muslim league was founded in Bengal, giving rise to two separate factions pushing for India's self-rule. The league's aim was to secure Muslim representation.

Mahatma Gandhi, however, in 1916, attempted to forge a permanent Hindu-Muslim political alliance. By supporting Muslim's religious leaders' demand for Turkey's control in the Middle East, Gandhi convinced more Muslims into civil disobedience. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the All-Muslim League, however, viewed Gandhi's tactics as too radical. Consequently, in 1920, he parted ways with Gandhi. This forced Gandhi, in 1922, to call-off the passive resistance. Following the suspension of civil-disobedience, Gandhi was arrested and jailed. The suspension of non-cooperation renewed the Muslim-Hindu competition for elite seats.

To counter the growing demands from the Muslim League, Hindu-interest organizations pressured Congress not to yield to Muslim's political needs. Ultimately, the Congress, which was dominated by Hindus, resolved to cap-off Muslims' representation in the central government to one-quarter of the seats. Following his release from prison, Gandhi re-launched the passive-resistance campaigns in 1930. This time, compared to 1922, Muslim participation was negligible.

In 1935, mounting pressure from both the Hindus and Muslims forced the British government to grant self-government to Indian provinces, while maintaining control of the central government. In the ensuing 1937 elections, the Hindus did tremendously well to secure most of the seats. Nevertheless, the Muslim League's performance was dismal. This gave birth to the theory of two nations. Jinnah, seemingly relentless in his resolve to have two governments stratified along the lines of religion, postulated that Hindus and Muslims, based on religious differences, could not co-exist. Therefore, he stated, it was imperative that the nation was split into two, based on religious affiliation.

Chester, L. P. (2018, November 26). Borders and conflict in South Asia - The Radcliffe boundary commission and the partition of Punjab. https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/9781526117632/9781526117632.xml

This book is a detailed description of the 1947 drawing of the Indo-Pakistani border, and its attendant consequences. Concisely, Chester summarizes the interests of the political leaders, which could have prompted the witnessed religious clashes. This source is useful since it puts into perspective how a rushed drawing of the boundary, and declaration of independence, led to the deaths of millions of Indians.

In August 1946, the Muslim League made a call that incited all the natives into a day of strikes. This prompted violence between the Muslims and Hindus, popularly known as the Great Calcutta Killing. More than four thousand people lost their lives that day, and a further then-thousand got injured.

At the beginning of 1947, the Indian National Congress, together with the Muslim League, resolved to create two countries separated along religious lines. Further, the British government disclosed that it would hand over power to the natives by June of 1948. Nevertheless, the British granted India self-rule a few months earlier than originally scheduled. On August 15, 1947, the Independence Bill took effect, giving birth to the Republic of India and Dominion of Pakistan. Nevertheless, Chester observes that the ensuing religious turmoil and atrocities ensured that these new nations were born with shared distrust and dislike.

Loss of life was a consequence of subdividing the nation. On August 17, 1947, two days after independence, a borderline, which cut through the east of Bengal, and West of Punjab, was confirmed. Truly, this partitioning triggered riots and a great wave of relocation. Between 1947 and 1948, approximately fifteen million people crossed the borders to a supposedly safer haven of religious majority. Nonetheless, the outcome was that of a communal holocaust. Train beds of corpses traveled in both directions during this period. An estimated one million individuals died in sectarian violence. A further fourteen million were displaced. It is said that many were killed by members of opposite religious groups.

Behera, N. C. (2016). The Kashmir Conflict: Multiple Fault Lines. Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, 3(1), 41-63. doi: 10.1177/2347797015626045

The journal explains why tensions between the two countries are still high, almost seven decades after the partitioning. It also states some Indo-Pakistani wars that have taken place since independence. Behera generally provides a thorough and fair assessment of the Kashmir state and notes that it is the reason underlying the two nations' unending conflicts. This is an indispensable source for anyone keen on understanding the never-ending conflict of the South Asian nations.

Following the hasty partitioning of the subcontinent, the princely states, which were not under the direct British rule, were given the option of joining either nation or remaining independent. During this time, Hari Singh, a Hindu, governed the princely state of Kashmir, which consisted of five regions, and whose population was majorly Muslims. Since he did not want to give in to the pressure of joining either of the new nations, he signed a standstill agreement with Pakistan, allowing her traders to travel to the princely state. With mounting partition-related violence, Pakistan pressured Kashmir to join her. However, Singh sought India's military support. To get India's help, Kashmir had to accede to India. Therefore, Kashmir aligned with the Republic of India. Behera cites this decision as that which ushered in decades of conflicts in this highly contested region.

Following the agreement between India and Kashmir, the Indian and Pakistani troops, for three years, fought over the Kashmir territory. The first war resulted in the torture and or deaths of thousands of military officials and civilians. In 1949, with the help of the United Nations, a cease-fire was called. Further, the hotly contested Kashmir was split into an Eastern portion controlled by India and a Western region under the control of Pakistan.

In 1965, a second Indo-Pakistani war at Kashmir erupted. The second war was fueled by the Pakistani attempts t...