Introduction: C.Rajamohan, Indian strategist has said Pakistan is like a monkey on the back. It annoys you no matter whatever you do. India–Pakistan relations are shaped by a complex mix of history, politics, geography, and identity. Since their partition in 1947, the two neighboring states have experienced cycles of conflict, uneasy peace, and attempted engagement. Core issues such as the Kashmir dispute, cross-border terrorism, and water sharing have often strained ties, while efforts at dialogue, trade, and people-to-people contact have occasionally opened windows for cooperation. The relationship remains one of the most sensitive and consequential in South Asia, influencing regional stability, security dynamics, and the broader geopolitical landscape. Add nuclear weapons to the mix and you have a diabolical cocktail.
So how do we understand this complex relation? As a scholar sitting in India, let me uncover the unforgiving relationship between India and Pakistan as simple as possible. After reading this, you will be able to understand, appreciate and further sharpen your perspective. So lets begin.
The Begining: The melodious song Sare Jahan Se Accha, Hindustan Hamara was written in 1904 by Allama Iqbal, this dude gave an idea that Hindus and Muslims cannot live together and they need two different homeland to live. This is called the Two Nations Theory. This idea was picked up by Mohamed Ali Jinnah and he convinced the Britishers to slice India into two halves, thus the birth of two independent states India and Pakistan in 1947. As you expect the partition was not a good idea. The Hindus who were residing on the Pakistani side were forced to move out and Muslims in this side of Punjab and neighboring states were uprooted. The violence caused nearly 10 lakh deaths and 15 lakh people were displaced.
To complicate matters, Jinnah was not happy with the Pakistan he got. He was a angry man. He said the Pakistan he got in the bargain was not the one he dreamt. He said it was a “moth eaten Pakistan”. He wanted Jammu and Kashmir so bad that he felt the Muslim majority in Jammu and Kashmir will readily accede to Pakistan. But there was a problem. Jammu and Kashmir was ruled by a Hindu King and he felt like, “If you are bad, I am your dad”. He refused to accede to either Pakistan or India and wanted to remain independent. “How is this even possible?” Jinnah thought.
Just a month after independence, on October 22, 1947, the angry Pakistan sent its solders disguised as civilians to annex Jammu and Kashmir by force.