Political Science · Ch 11 — India’s External Relations
Wars and Peace with Pakistan
Wars and Peace with Pakistan
The Roots of Conflict and Cooperation
India's relationship with Pakistan was marked by conflict from the very beginning. The dispute over Jammu and Kashmir began immediately after Partition in 1947, and a proxy war broke out between the two armies in the region that same year. This did not escalate into a full-scale war, and the issue was referred to the United Nations. Over time, Pakistan became a critical factor in India's relations with the United States and, later, with China.
Despite the Kashmir conflict, cooperation was possible. Both governments worked together to restore women abducted during Partition to their original families. A long-term dispute over the sharing of river waters was resolved through mediation by the World Bank. This led to the Indus Waters Treaty, signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan's General Ayub Khan in 1960. Despite the many ups and downs in Indo-Pak relations, this treaty has worked remarkably well.
The 1965 War
A more serious armed conflict began in 1965. By this time, Lal Bahadur Shastri had taken over as Prime Minister of India.
- April 1965: Pakistan launched armed attacks in the Rann of Kutch area of Gujarat.
- August-September 1965: Pakistan launched a bigger offensive in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistani rulers hoped to get support from the local population, but this did not happen.
- Indian Counter-Offensive: To ease pressure on the Kashmir front, Prime Minister Shastri ordered Indian troops to launch a counter-offensive on the Punjab border. In a fierce battle, the Indian army reached close to Lahore.
- End of Hostilities: The fighting came to an end with UN intervention.
- Tashkent Agreement: In January 1966, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan's General Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Agreement, which was brokered by the Soviet Union.
Though India inflicted considerable military loss on Pakistan, the 1965 war worsened India's already difficult economic situation.
The Bangladesh War, 1971
Beginning in 1970, Pakistan faced its biggest internal crisis.
- The Election Verdict: Pakistan's first general election produced a split verdict. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's party won in West Pakistan, while the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman, swept through East Pakistan. The Bengali population of East Pakistan had voted to protest against years of being treated as second-class citizens by the rulers based in West Pakistan.
- Pakistan's Response: The Pakistani rulers were unwilling to accept the democratic verdict or the Awami League's demand for a federation. In early 1971, the Pakistani army arrested Sheikh Mujib and unleashed a reign of terror on the people of East Pakistan.
- The Liberation Struggle: In response, the people of East Pakistan began a struggle to liberate 'Bangladesh' from Pakistan.
- India's Role: Throughout 1971, India had to bear the burden of about 80 lakh (8 million) refugees who fled East Pakistan and took shelter in neighbouring areas of India. India extended moral and material support to the freedom struggle in Bangladesh.
- International Alignments: Pakistan accused India of a conspiracy to break it up. Support for Pakistan came from the United States and China. The US-China rapprochement that began in the late 1960s resulted in a realignment of forces in Asia. Henry Kissinger, adviser to US President Richard Nixon, made a secret visit to China via Pakistan in July 1971.
- The Indo-Soviet Treaty: To counter the US-Pakistan-China axis, India signed a 20-year Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Soviet Union in August 1971. This treaty assured India of Soviet support if the country faced any attack.
- The War: After months of diplomatic tension and military build-up, a full-scale war between India and Pakistan broke out in December 1971. Pakistani aircraft attacked Punjab and Rajasthan, while the army moved on the Jammu and Kashmir front. India retaliated with an attack involving the air force, navy, and army on both the Western and Eastern fronts.
- Victory and Surrender: Welcomed and supported by the local population, the Indian army made rapid progress in East Pakistan. Within ten days, the Indian army had surrounded Dhaka from three sides, and the Pakistani army of about 90,000 soldiers had to surrender.
- Aftermath: With Bangladesh as a free country, India declared a unilateral ceasefire. The Shimla Agreement, signed between Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on 3 July 1972, formalised the return of peace.
The decisive victory led to national jubilation. Most people in India saw it as a moment of glory and a clear sign of India's growing military prowess. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's personal popularity soared further after the 1971 war. Assembly elections in most states brought large majorities for the Congress party.
Impact on India's Economy and Planning
Conflicts with neighbours derailed India's five-year plans. Scarce resources were diverted to the defence sector, especially after the 1962 war with China, as India had to embark on a military modernisation drive.
- The Department of Defence Production was established in November 1962.
- The Department of Defence Supplies was established in November 1965.
- The Third Plan (1961-66) was affected and was followed by three Annual Plans. The Fourth Plan could be initiated only in 1969.
- India's defence expenditure increased enormously after the wars. …
The figure is a political cartoon from the 1970s. It shows a man, clearly meant to represent Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, standing at a podium. She is speaking into a microphone. Behind her, on the wall, hangs a large portrait of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. The caption below the cartoon reads: “This sounds like joining the Soviet bloc.”
The cartoon is a direct comment on the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace and Friendship, signed in August 1971. The treaty was a 20-year agreement that assured India of Soviet support in the event of an attack. For a country that had championed non-alignment — staying away from both the US-led and Soviet-led blocs — this was a dramatic shift. The cartoonist captures the tension: Indira Gandhi is publicly defending the treaty as consistent with non-alignment, but the portrait of Brezhnev looming over her, and the caption, suggest that her words ring hollow. The visual joke is that the treaty looks and sounds like joining the Soviet bloc, even if the government insisted otherwise. …
In the early part of 1999 several points on the Indian side of the LoC in the Mashkoh, Dras, Kaksar and Batalik areas were occupied by forces claiming to be Mujahideens. Suspecting involvement of the Pakistan Army, Indian forces started reacting to this occupation. This led to a confrontation between the two countries. This is known as the Kargil conflict. This conflict went on during May and June 1999. By 26 July 1999, India had recovered control of many of the lost points. The Kargil conflict drew attention worldwide for the reason that only one year prior to that, both India and Pakistan had attained nuclear capability. However, this conflict remained confined only to the Kargil region. In Pakistan, this conflict has been the source of a major controversy as it was alleged later that the Prime Minister of Pakistan was kept in the dark by t …
The figure is a single-panel cartoon. It shows a man standing in front of a large, framed photograph or poster. The photograph is a black-and-white image of a mushroom cloud — the unmistakable shape of an atomic bomb explosion. The man is looking directly at the viewer, with a puzzled or frustrated expression. He has one hand raised, palm open, in a gesture of confusion or questioning. A speech bubble above his head contains the line: "I am confused! Isn’t it all about atom bombs? Why don’t we say so?"
The cartoon is placed in the textbook right after the section describing the 1971 Bangladesh war and the subsequent Kargil conflict. The text has just explained that by 1999, both India and Pakistan had become nuclear powers, yet the Kargil war remained limited to a small region. The cartoonist is making a pointed comment: the textbook has spent many pages discussing wars, treaties, and diplomatic alignments, but the single most transformative fact — that both countries now possess nuclear weapons — is barely mentioned. The man in the cartoon represents a reader who feels the textbook is avoiding the obvious. The mushroom cloud in the photograph is the "atom bomb" he is referring to. …