India-Pakistan Relations Through the Lens of Realism

India-Pakistan Relations Through the Lens of realnessIndia and Pakistan have had more conflicts in their relationship because of the multitude of problems in the political sphere throughout history leading to their current stir of affairs. To best visualise the relationship surrounded by the countries, I use realism as a theory of international relations through the examples of the Battle of Kashmir and the riots of 1947 during the Partition of India. India and Pakistan both have associations through the cultures, history and also sparing and geographic issues. Therefore, these two states have led themselves to high tensions, making their relations unpredictable and in some cases destructive. In International Relations, thereare many ideas that influence the theory of Realism, but the one idea thatstands out is that states are generally altogether worried about themselves and theissues that however involve them. Realists have a higher regard for issues such as guarantor and national interests instead of ethics or ideals.When it comes todealing with others, whether it is regarding war or any other issue, it is onlyfor one reason and that is because they are in the struggle for power. Eversince the Post-World War II era started, Realism has been known to be theleading theory in International Relations. In world politics, Realism stressesthe idea that state is the main deed of conveyanceor. Usually, Realists have the view thatconflicts with other nations are needed and these conflicts are to be conclusively dealt with by war.The partition of 1947, was a periodof time involving unrest and violence. In 1947, India and Pakistan hadseparated and became their own countries. Pakistan was predominantly Muslimwhile India was majority Hindi. Beforethe partition, there werent many acts of violence between the three mainreligions of Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindis, the Partition changed that. Countlessacts of sexual violence towards women and slaying of families becam e a resultof this Partition. Some 75 thousand women were raped, and many ofthem were then disfigured or dismembered By 1948, as the great migration drewto a close, more than fifteen million people had been uprooted, and between oneand two million were dead (The New Yorker, 2015). Punjab had been split inhalf between India and Pakistan because of the Partition and this is where mostof the violent acts on women and families happened. However, aft(prenominal) the languishlasting struggle, India and Pakistan did gain their independence in August of1947.Some of the reasons for thePartition of India were Mohammed Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League,simply wished to use the demand for a separate state as a bargaining chip towin greater power for Muslims within a loosely federated India (BBC, 2011).Also, One explanation for the chaotic modal value in which the two independentnations came into being is the hurried nature of the British withdrawal (BBC,2011). These reasonings butt end the Partition makes gives me a sense of aRealism panorama because the definition of a Realist in InternationalRelations is Realists considerthe principal actors in the international arena to be states, which areconcerned with their own security, act in pursuit of their own nationalinterests, and struggle for power (Stanford Philosophy, 2013). Mohammed AliJinnah wanted to win a greater power for the Muslim people so this jaunt to havetheir own country would get that for them. Sadly, this didnt happen withoutthe tragedies of tons of people. Since the Partition of India was in1947, this leads right into our next topic. The Battle of Kashmir dates back to1947 as well. withal after India and Pakistan had formed into their owncountries, there was still an issue of having hundreds of states that werewithin these two countries that were lead by Monarchs. These states coulddecide which country they wanted to be asunder of or they could also choose tostay by themselves and they would ma ke the decision by having the people vote.Many of these Monarchs wanted to stay independent but they had to sit withthe decisions of the people and go with what they wanted. During this time,Maharaja Hari Singh was the ruler of Kashmir, which had the option to chooseeither country to centre because of the location of Kashmir. The only issue aboutHari Singh, was that he was Hindu while all of his people were Muslim (Daily O,2015). In order to keep the issue calm, he decided to just stay and not joineither. However, this did not last very long, his hopes of remainingindependent were dashed in October 1947, as Pakistan sent in Muslim tribesmen whowere knocking at the gates of the capital Srinagar. Hari Singh appealed to theIndian government activity for military assistance and fled to India. He signed theInstrument of Accession, ceding Kashmir to India on October 26 (The Telegraph,2001). India and Pakistan ended up goingto war over Kashmir, however, this was only the first time. Af ter India went tothe United Nations for help, they decided they would leave it to the people ofKashmir to vote for their own. They ended up going to war on four different occasion and still have battles tothis day. The fact that India and Pakistan have gone to four wars, that aloneshows how important and significantKashmir is. Realism considers Security as a major priority, and forIndia, if they were to affirm Kashmir it would be very resourceful security wisefor them against China and Pakistan. It serves as a barrier to the philosophyof Pakistan Government which could threaten Indias internal security(aarcentre, 2016). Kashmir is very important for either country because of itseconomic benefits as well. The amount of revenue they can get from tourism ofKashmir would be a huge factor. As for Pakistan it is vital for its securityzone as well the presence of two major roads and railway network in the border helpto intone its economy (aarcentre, 2016).As far as Realism goes in theBa ttle of Kashmir, power is shown by India by the fact that after getting itsindependence, many states chose to join them. Another instance of Realism inthe Battle, was when India supported Hari Singh. When the Pakistani troopsshowed up to Kashmir and tried to take over, India backed him up withouthesitating. However, India had a reason behind it, which was that they would bein good standing with Hari Singh. Which is exactly how it worked out, HariSingh ended up signing Kashmir over to India soon after that. This shows thatIndia only stepped in for their own personal benefits and as a Realist wouldsay, for their struggle of power.India showstheir sense of Realism once again as well when Pakistan wanted to go to the UNto solve the issue. India played a play on them by saying they should justnegotiate between themselves, but then soon after that they went to the UNthemselves asking them to step in. This made it look desire India was concernedabout the people of Kashmir which made them look better to the United Nations.This shows the Realist standpoint of doing whatever it takes for the struggleof power. Through the examples of The Battle of Kashmir, and the Partition of India and the riots during the time, Realism helped me understand the relationship between India and Pakistan throughout the years.Using The Partition of India, Realism was shown through the leader of the Muslim League Jinnah, because he wanted to separate from the loose Indian government and have more power for his own Muslim people. During this movement, an estimated 1-2 million people had died and about 15 million people had to relocate their homes. Lastly, The Battle of Kashmir showed us the Realism perspective through the many ways Kashmir would have brought security and money and power into the countries. India showed us their Realist views by doing whatever was needed to gain their power by supporting Hari Singh even though they had their own intentions in mind. They also showed a fake sid e by going to the UN and making themselves look better after recently telling the Pakistani government that no one needs to intervene and the best to solve the issue is by negotiating within themselves.WorksCited A Brief History of the KashmirConflict. The Telegraph.Telegraph Media Group, 24 Sept. 2001. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.Alam, Mohd. Shekaib, Muhammet Ali Guler, andMoyenul Hasan. KASHMIR CONFLICT BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN A REALISTPERSPECTIVE. Journal of Asian andAfrican Social Science and Humanities (ISSN 2413-2748). N.p., n.d. Web. 09Apr. 2017.BBC History British History in DepthThe Hidden Story of Partition and Its Legacies. BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.Dalrymple, William. The Mutual Genocide ofIndian Partition. The New Yorker.The New Yorker, 21 June 2015. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.Khajuria, Manu. Hari Singh Was More than aHindu King Who Ruled over a Muslim Majority State. DailyO Opinion News & Analysis on Latest Breaking News India.Living Media India Limited, 21 Sept. 2015. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.Korab-Karpowicz, W. Julian. PoliticalRealism in International Relations. StanfordEncyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 26 July 2010. Web. 09 Apr.2017.