India-Pakistan Relations Through the Lens of Realism

India and Pakistan have had many conflicts in their relationship because of the multitude of problems in the political sphere throughout history leading to their current state of affairs. To best understand the relationship between the countries, I used 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 economic 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 only worried about themselves and theissues that only involve them. Realists have a higher regard for issues such assecurity 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 actor. Usually, Realists have the view thatconflicts with other nations are needed and these conflicts are to beconclusively 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 Hindu.  Beforethe partition, there weren’t many acts of violence between the three mainreligions of Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus, the Partition changed that. Countlessacts of sexual violence towards women and slaying of families became a resultof this Partition. “Some seventy-five 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, after the longlasting 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 manner in which the two independentnations came into being is the hurried nature of the British withdrawal (BBC,2011).” These reasonings behind the Partition makes gives me a sense of aRealism perspective 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 move to havetheir own country would get that for them. Sadly, this didn’t 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. Even 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 apart of or they could also choose tostay by themselves and they would make the decision by having the people vote.Many of these Monarchs wanted to stay independent but they had to stick 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 join 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 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. After 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 occasions and still have battles tothis day. The fact that India and Pakistan have gone to four wars, that aloneshows how important and significant Kashmir is. Realism considers Security as a major priority, and forIndia, if they were to claim 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 India’s 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 strengthen its economy (aarcentre, 2016).As far as Realism goes in theBattle 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 trick 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 like 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 side 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 Depth:The 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.Get Help With Your EssayIf you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!Find out more