India-Pakistan Relations

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  • Nawaz Sharif’s Return and Prospects for India–Pakistan Relations

    Nawaz Sharif's statements on forging 'good ties' with India after his return to Pakistan are unlikely to translate to any meaningful forward movement in bilateral ties.

    November 16, 2023

    India's Military Strategy: Countering Pakistan's Challenge

    • Publisher: Bloomsbury
      2022
    This book explores what military strategy is and how it is interconnected with policy on one hand and military operations on the other. In the process, it traces the transformation of the notion of strategy from its original military moorings to a more policy-oriented and-influenced conception and elaborates upon a tripartite framework of policy, strategy and doctrine to think about, understand, and analyse the use of force. The book explores the politics of India-Pakistan conflict in order to root the study of Indian military strategy in the political sphere. It discusses three main issues that have ensured the persistence of conflict: incompatible national identities, Pakistan's congenital quest for parity with and compulsion to challenge India, and irreconcilable positions on the Kashmir issue. The book argues that India has invariably pursued limited political aims that did not threaten Pakistan's survival or form of government or regime in power albeit containing a counter offensive elements. It states that India employed the strategy of exhaustion during the Indian Army's campaigns in the 1947-48 conflict and 1965 war, which made way to strategy of annihilation during the 1971 war (East Pakistan), but after Pakistan's acquisition of nuclear weapons capability the strategy is back to exhaustion. The book highlights the importance of designing an overall military strategy for waging limited war and pursuing carefully calibrated political and military objectives by creatively combining the individual doctrines of the three services by establishing a Chief of Defence Staff system.
    • ISBN: 9789356400023 ,
    • Price: ₹ 1299/-
    2022

    1971 India-Pakistan War: 50 Years Later

    • Publisher: Pentagon Press
      2022
    India’s decisive and historic victory in the 1971 India–Pakistan War is considered to be one of the landmark geopolitical events in the history of the sub-continent. One of the shortest wars in world history, fought for a mere 13 days, the lightning campaign brought about a change in the world’s perception of India, marking its recognition as an important regional power.

    The combined impact created by the resolute people of Bangladesh and the professional approach of the Indian state, successfully converted a catastrophe of epic proportions into a victory of the people, won through their stoic resolve and the professionalism of the armed forces.

    There have been a number of books, memoirs and articles over the years that have documented first-person and academic accounts of events that marked this period of history. Not surprisingly, most were written during the period succeeding the war and after the birth of Bangladesh. This book is an attempt to evaluate events with the benefit of a five-decade time lapse. In doing so, the focus remains firmly on the military aspects of the war, accompanied by a brief account of political events, diplomacy, influence of major powers, public perception and the role of Mukti Bahini.

    • ISBN:9789390095698 ,
    • Price: ₹ 1495
    • E-copy available
    2022

    Vineet Ravindran asked: Why do almost all global debates on Kashmir, irrespective of democratic or Islamic countries, seem to focus mainly on the Indian side of Kashmir and not Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK)?

    Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: This is not entirely true. There has been wider criticism of the way Pakistan has handled PoJK over the years. The Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the European Union have castigated Pakistan for its high-handed behaviour in the PoK/PoJK (which includes the so-called “Azad Jammu and Kashmir” and “Gilgit–Baltistan”). 

    Developments in Pakistan: The More Things Change…

    As the civilian political space shrinks and the capacity of the state gets hobbled by political dissension and internal resistance from forces armed with an alternate blueprint for action, Pakistan is likely to rely more on its anti-India stance to build national unity, seeking especially to suck in the militant religious groups into its orbit.

    December 03, 2021

    Samarpan Samajdar asked: What should be the long-term approach of Indian foreign policy towards Pakistan? Can social constructivism be a viable alternative?

    Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: Indian policy towards Pakistan is based on principles of sovereign equality and bilateralism. India has, on a number of occasions, conveyed its desire to discuss all outstanding issues in a comprehensive manner at the bilateral level and resolve them through meaningful dialogue. It is Pakistan’s obsession with the Kashmir issue and its insistence that it should be resolved as per UN resolutions that has derailed the process of dialogue, time and again.

    India’s Changed Approach to Kashmir Settlement

    If India-Pakistan dialogue does resume, India is unlikely to return to the Manmohan-Musharraf framework of negotiations because of the Modi government’s commitment to regain Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

    March 30, 2021

    India-Pakistan LoC Ceasefire Decision: A Thaw in Sight?

    Even as the India-Pakistan ceasefire decision on the LoC is in effect, India has affirmed that there would not be any let-up in its counter-terrorism efforts.

    March 12, 2021

    Akhila Naidu asked: What is the impact of climate change on India-Pakistan relations?

    Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: India and Pakistan do not have any bilateral mechanism to deal with climate change issues, although both have pledged to be part of the evolving global consensus on the need to address the issues associated with climate change.

    Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons (NCBW) in India & Pakistan Equation: Past & Present

    Relations between India and Pakistan have remained hostile, since partition, owing to varied geopolitical reasons. They both compete against each other in conventional and nuclear arms. While the threat of CBW remains low in the region, it cannot be completely ruled out.

    July-December 2020

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