What Fueled the Bitter History with Regard to India and Pakistan - Essay Example

What Fueled The Bitter History With Regard To India And Pakistan With Relation To Government And Political Beliefs 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 to 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 differences 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 structure because Hindus were more willing and able to learn English whereas the salariat themselves had been brought up on Persian rather than English. This created several problems that then took the shape of political demands such as employment safeguards and quotas for Muslims in general. This was the beginning of a move to organize mass support for the problems faced by the salariat in the wake of the present system. As will be discussed later in the paper, the author will show that the salariat were instrumental in at least playing a significant political role to ensure that their safeguards were not compromised. Although Hamza Alavi (1988) argues in his other work that the salariat were the most instrumental in securing the independence of Pakistan, the author believes that the salariat were indeed successful in only creating a political movement under the party known as the All India Muslim League to only guarantee their own safeguards against Hindus (represented by the Congress) (Alavi, 2002; Jalal, 1999). In any case, the point being made here is that the change in language was the first among many instances that mobilized party politics between the ashraf and the competing segments of Hindus. There was another section of the ashraf, the ulema or religious scholars that followed the Sharia and hated the English rulers and their language. This was because the change in language brought about a loss in clientele as previously, Persian and Arabic language used to be taught by these scholars (Alavi, 2002). Also, with the introduction of the statute law, the scholars experienced a loss in power as they were used to issuing fatwas or religious decrees before British Rule. These ulema reactions in turn, manifested themselves as aggressive and violent behavior that was evidently visible in the 1857 war of independence and the Khilafat Movement in 1916. In fact, the ulema have been found to create religious agitation among muslims (Alavi, 2002). The use of cartridges made out of pig fat or tallow greased cartridges were the single biggest contributor the outrage and mutiny by Muslim soldiers in 1857 (Kalam, 2008). What is worse is that the British used the Hindu soldiers of the army to fend off this mutiny. This large loss of life created an enormous amount of hatred between the people of both religions that proved irrepairable. The role of the British in creating alienation in this case was two fold; firstly, it awakened the ulema that were small in number but still had an agitating effect on Muslims worth noting. Secondly, it worsened the situation by adding fuel to the fire among religious elements and the Muslim masses enrolled in the army. There was another issue that created feelings of alienation among Muslims. And that was the annulment of the partition of Bengal in 1911. The partition of Bengal was initiated to recognize the mass Muslim majority in the province and to provide this majority some representation to this grossly underrepresented Muslim population. The annulment of the partition was an obvious sign to Muslims who realized that the British, and particularly the viceroy, Lord Minto, held no regard for the rights and demands of the Muslims. A more pressing issue was the continuation of property and tax qualifications that were pre requisites to representation in the electorates. The Muslim candidates complained because despite Muslim majority in areas such as Bengal and areas of Punjab, there was no proportionate representation of Muslim candidates to the present Muslim population. This again was overlooked by the British following the Simon Commission Report. The Congress on the other hand was pressing a similar agenda with great success. Their candidates were able to grab key electoral positions by using mass party politics or in other words, adoption of all inclusive electorate rights (such as the rural poor). To reiterate, the intent is not to get into the minute details of the pre-partition era but to illustrate that there were many issues between Hindus and Muslims which resulted in serious party politics between the two significant political parties, the Muslim League and the Congress. The research conducted does not in any way suggest that all segments were involved in party politics rather, it was salariat and the feudal elites who had the greatest to benefit from a separate electorate; in other words, the type of party politics being used were solely to pursue interests of the feudal landlords that controlled the mass Muslim votes and the salariat who wanted to guarantee their economic interests. Although detailed discussion of party politics in the 1946 election is not really necessary, a discussion of pre partition party politics is important to demonstrate how Indo-Pak relations have carried over to the post partition period; In essence, the party politics were such that on the Muslim side, the electorate was provided by the elite feudal lords. In turn, the Muslim league and Jinnah were merely a tool and bargaining device for the feudal elites whereas the Muslim league and elite partnership guaranteed that the league could confidently demand a right to separate electorate and a separate Pakistan under the 'Muslim' banner (Jalal, 1999) . In other words, the creation of Pakistan under the name of Islam was a device used by both the elites and the Muslim league to further their own interests. This partnership did in turn guarantee the landslide victory of 1946 elections (Alavi, 1988). The reason why the discussion of these relations between elites and the Muslim league is necessary is because there is considerable evidence to suggest that this same connection between the elites and the major political parties exists today in Pakistan. In fact, there has been another addition to this partnership i.e. the inclusion of the Pakistan army that has remained highly politicized since the 1950s (Karim, 2001). On the other hand, the Indian government has been actively engaged in a valid and army-free democratic rule since the partition in 1947. Coming back to the main point, the author contends that India and Pakistan's bitter rivalry has continued from its pre-partition era to the present day primarily because the same structure of politics exists as it were in the 1946 elections. And because of the continuation of this political structure, this rivalry surely has remained at the forefront of any form of interaction between the two countries. This rivalry has been worsened by the inclusion of the army into government affairs; the divergence in political structures is another reason why the two countries have been unable to reconcile their differences (Wilke, 2001). It is true that that the Pakistan army has used the Kashmir issue and other security threats such as escalation of forces along the border to increase its sphere of influence not only in government matters but also in state spending on the defense budget (Chawla, 2001). The paper is no way suggests that the sole contributor to bitterness between India and Pakistan is due to colonialism. Rather, by providing just some specific instances and acts by the British and tracking the effects of these acts on the interplay and creation of party politics between the Hindus and Muslims, the author has tried to show that colonialism has played a huge role in the evolution of Indo-Pak relations till today. However, at present, the author believes that on an external level, foreign policy, and other nations and events such as the Afghan War and September 11 attacks on the US are also major determining factors of Indo-Pak relations. The internal and historical perspective of how politics have actually been formed is more suited to the requirements of this paper. Therefore, the entire emphasis remained on how the bitter rivalry was created and how it still exists till today. Bibliography 1. Alavi, Hamza. "PAKISTAN AND ISLAM : ETHNICITY AND IDEOLOGY." State and Ideology in the Middle East and Pakistan. Ed. Fred Halliday and Hamza Alavi. New York: Monthly Review P, 1988. 2. Alavi, Hamza. "Misreading Partition Road Signs." Economic and Political Weekly 2 (2002). 3. Chawla, Shalini. "Pakistan's Military Spending: Socio-Economic Dimensions." Aug. 2001. 4 Aug. 2008 . 4. Crossette, Barbara. "Indira Gandhi's Legacy: Vying for Mastery in South Asia." World Policy Journal (2008): 36-44. 5. Jalal, Ayesha. The Sole Spokesman : Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan. New York: Cambridge UP, 1994. 6. Kalam, Abul. "Muslims and 1857 War of Independance." Radiance Viewsweekly. 4 Aug. 2008 . 7. Karim, Ahmad T. "Pakistan: stalking Armageddon" Contemporary South Asia 10 (2001): 131-49. 8. Wilke, Boris. State-Formation and the Military in Pakistan: Reflections on the Armed Forces, their State. University of Hamburg. Vers. 2. 2001. . Read More