There have been many wars between India and Pakistan since the very formation of the two nations after British rule ended in 1947. And still, they don’t seem to slow down. The main issue still remains the same about Jammu and Kashmir though they were in other major wars as well. Today both the nations contain nuclear power and the whole world is getting tensed since the heat started again in the last 2 months.
Why they never settle down? What could have made them the major enemy to each other? Let us find out the ground history of their war.
Partition and Division:
At the time of independence, the two countries were formed on the basis that India would be dominated by Hindus and Pakistan by Muslims. But, in the wake of shifting from nation to another, many Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs were displaced. Millions were killed because they found themselves on the wrong side, and a million others were left alone without family and friends. This partition and division of borders are the biggest reason behind the Indo-Pak conflict.
Disputed province of Jammu and Kashmir and the war of 1947-48:
The population mix of the state of Jammu and Kashmir has always been a mix of many ethnicities, like Hindus, Muslims, Ladakh Buddhists and others. And, even today a large chunk is that of Muslims. This was the reason why Pakistan wanted to absorb the state in their part of the territory during partition, while India got it because it was being ruled by a Hindu Maharaja and so the reigns were handed to India. The conflict of who actually deserves to keep Kashmir has never been settled upon.
India and Pakistan are two independent countries and both the countries were the results of division of British India. There were 565 princely states in the British India. Pakistan observed its first independence day on 14th August 1947 and India on 15th August 1947.Being a Muslims dominated country, Pakistan expected Muslim majority Kashmir to join Pakistan early. However, the king of Kashmir Hari Singh kept both India and Pakistan in suspense by not disclosing his choice of state. Being restless, Pakistan attacked Kashmir on 20.10.1947 and captured a portion of it. The king of Kashmir-Hari Singh sought military assistance from India to thwart military aggression of Pakistan. On 27.10.1947, Hari Singh, Kashmir’ king got his kingdom merged with India formally. India got involved with the Pakistan’ led war. The IST Indo-Pak war came to an end with a UN-brokered cease-fire from Jan. 1, 1949.
Till now, Pakistan is dreaming of getting Kashmir back from India and so it is doing everything. During the last 68 years, Pakistan has imposed few wars on India. Over the last few years, Pakistan has also conducted a few terror attacks in India. Further, Pakistan has been instigating a section of youths in Kashmir to revolt against India.
War of 1965 (Pakistan tried to invade all of Kashmir):
After the first war ended in 1949 with the establishment of a ceasefire, but it was in 1965 when another war broke out to when Pakistan launched a deliberate covert offensive across the border, in the Rann of Kutch area on the south-western border. And then, in August, Pakistan tried to invade all of Kashmir. But this time around, both sides of the conflict possessed greater firepower thanks to the Cold War. The United States and Great Britain had supported India after a border conflict with China and had armed Pakistan after it joined two organizations to limit communist expansion. This second Indo-Pakistani war quickly reached a stalemate.
The U.S. and U.K. agreed to cut off weapons shipments to both belligerents in support of a U.N. cease-fire, this ban affected both belligerents, but Pakistan felt the effects more keenly since it had a much weaker military in comparison to India. The Soviet Union stepped in to mediate a withdrawal. In January 1966, both governments signed the Tashkent Declaration, vowing to solve future disputes through diplomatic means.
Brigadier (retd) Chittaranjan Sawant says who won and who lost should be determined by two factors: what was the aggressor’s aim and what did he achieve? Pakistan wanted Kashmir. Did they achieve? The answer is a big NO. But India was able to defend its territory against Pakistan’s offensive.
War of 1971(East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh):
The 1971 Indo-Pak war was one of the most major wars ever to have taken place in South Asia in the Modern Era. The conflict erupted as a result of alleged attacks on ethnic Bengalis in East Pakistan, which was later to become Bangladesh, by the Pakistani Army. The War began when the Pakistani Army started cracking down on Bengali civilians and rebel sympathizers. India had already begun providing the rebel Bengali Organization, known as Mukti Bahini, supplies, and diplomatic support.
After the Pakistani Military Establishment realized that the rebels were being supported by India, a pre-emptive air strike was launched into Eastern India. This attempt failed to make a serious dent and soon, the Indian Prime Minister at that time, Indira Gandhi, declared war on Pakistan. As Indian troops entered East Pakistan, Pakistani troops found themselves heavily outnumbered. Just prior to the War, the Pakistani Military had also attempted to expel most of the Hindu Bengali population, who, facing persecution at the hands of the Army, fled to the Indian Union. Estimates put the number of refugees at millions.
As the conflict between the Pakistani Army and Mukti Bahini had progressed, most Bengali soldiers had defected to the side of Mukhti Bahini rebels. In prior years to the War, even with aid coming in from the outside, East Pakistan didn’t receive as much economic attention as West Pakistani. Basic facilities such as Education and Healthcare did not develop in the East as much as the West. In the 1960s, East Pakistan hardly had any Higher Education Institutions.
Countries which were allied to Pakistan, such as the USA and the People’s Republic of China saw the Indian advance into East Pakistan with alarm. As the war escalated to the region comprising West Pakistan, there was pressure from both countries for an immediate ceasefire. The US Navy was also able to send one of their ships into the Bay of Bengal but it was chased by the ships belonging to the Soviet Union, which was allied to the Indian Union at that time.
The Indian advance was quick and soon the Pakistanis under Lt. Gen. A.A.K Niazi surrendered in Dhaka. More than 92 thousand prisoners were taken by the Indian Army. This marked the end of the War between the Indian Union and Pakistan. After this, the leaders of the Mukti Bahini took over the Political leadership in the new nation of Bangladesh. The Pakistani prisoners were later released after the Shimla agreement between India and Pakistan.
Kashmir Revolution:
It was during 1989 when armed resistance broke out in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Separate groups were formed. While some asked for independence, others demanded to merge Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan. Armed resistance to Indian rule in the Kashmir valley begins. Muslim political parties, after accusing the state government of rigging the 1987 state legislative elections, formed militant wings.
Pakistan says that it gives its “moral and diplomatic” support to the movement, reiterating its call for the earlier UN-sponsored referendum.
India says that Pakistan is supporting the insurgency by providing weapons and training to fighters, terming attacks against it in Kashmir “cross-border terrorism”. Pakistan denies this. Militant groups taking part in the fight in Kashmir continue to emerge through the 1990s, in part fuelled by a large influx of “mujahideen” who took part in the Afghan war against the Soviets in the 1980s.
Nuclear rivalry and its threat:
It was first in the year 1974 when India conducted its first peaceful nuclear explosion. Then in 1998, India tested its first nuclear weapons and simultaneously in a few days later, Pakistan too conducted six successful tests. This generated a great amount of international concern over the nuclear status of the two enemy countries. So after successfully conducting nuclear tests, by 1998 both countries possessed the power for massive destruction in case of a war. This alerted the international community and America as well as European nations ordered sanctions against the two nations. Ultimately, they both had to sign an accord to assure them early resolving of the Kashmir issue.
Though officials in both countries claimed that they would not use nuclear weapons first, but they seem remarkably keen to use them second. Given the proximity of the two states, it is clear that millions of their own people would die along with millions of their nearest neighbors. India has said that it would not use nuclear weapons first, while Pakistan has clearly stated that it would.
The fear of a full-scale war (with nuclear capability adding a deadly dimension), coupled with precarious economies and the knowledge of what international sanctions could do to them, may have prevailed in both countries.
War of Kargil:
In the year 1999 chief of Pakistan army, P. Musharraf created a plan regarding the Kargil operation. The three other people’s who also played very important role in the drafting of this plan were Chief of general staff(Aziz), General Mahmood and Brigadier Jabed hasan. The group of these four peoples was also known as the gang of four.
Musharaf meet with prime minister Nawaz Sharif and told about their plan but Musharaf did not tell about actual planning they simply talked about a plan to capture Kargil peak using mujahideen and there will be no involvement of Pakistani army. But the actual truth was different, they sent Pakistani soldier. They dressed up like mujahidin to confuse Indian army.
In January 1999 they sent 200 special trained commando to Kargil peak after two months in March 1999 Pakistani forces reached on Kargil peak. They were shocked to see all the peaks were vacant and no Indian troop was there. So they move forward and captured 140+ peaks . At that time India was unaware of the situations and did not know who were those people.
After two months later in may 1999 India knew those people were not mujahidin but Pakistani soldiers. Indian intelligence agencies gathered some radio conversation in which people were speaking Pashto so they fond out that they were not mujahideen. Also at that time Musharaf was present in China and so, so called mujahidin called mister Aziz who was the chief of general staff. The phone call conversation was taped and leaked . Now, India and world knew the truth about the operation.
29 may 1999 India released a press report and said they were Pakistani soldiers, not mujahidin . Now it’s time for India to retaliate the situation India sent its massive forces , they used Air force extensively . Some sources said that India brought 2 lakh soldiers in the Kargil war . India began air strike with Mig and Miraj they also used Ba forced to destroy enemy massively , Pakistan never estimated that the Indian army will respond with such a big strike. Pakistani forces faced lots of problems during the war because they did not have food , Logistics’s support supply line , many soldiers were killed and high casualty of the army and international pressure prevent Pakistan from coming back in this game . Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif went to the US to meet US President Clinton for help but Clinton clearly said Nawaz to withdraw their soldiers from Kargil.