Indo-Pakistani Confederation

Map of South Asia

The concept of an Indo-Pakistani Confederation advocates for a political confederation consisting of the sovereign states of India and Pakistan as a means of ending bilateral conflicts and promoting common interests in defence, foreign affairs, and cultural and economic development.[1] While this idea does not propose to end the sovereign existence of either nation through reunification, it is aimed to resolve the conflicts afflicting the subcontinent since the partition of India in 1947.[2]

Background

The partitioning of India formally came into effect on 14 August 1947, dividing the provinces of Bengal (with East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) and Punjab (with West Pakistan, now Pakistan proper) to create a separate nation (from India) as outlined by the Pakistan Movement, which advocated the "Two-Nation Theory" — that Muslims and Hindus cannot sustain a nation together because of religious differences that would prove too difficult to compromise on or, in some cases, simply impossible to reach a mutual consensus on.[3] The partition provoked great communal conflicts and shortly afterwards, a major dispute over the territory of Kashmir (a former princely state under the British Raj which was sovereignly claimed in full by both the Dominion of India and Dominion of Pakistan) sparked a large-scale war between the two neighbouring countries. India and Pakistan have, since their independence, engaged in four armed conflicts against each other (1947, 1965, 1971, 1999), all of them stemming from their disputes in Kashmir with the exception of the war in 1971. However, some diplomatic efforts have succeeded in promoting bilateral trade and sports events between the two nations as well as permitting Indians and Pakistanis to peacefully cross the border and visit through services provided by the Samjhauta Express and the Delhi-Lahore binational bus route. The 1972 Shimla Agreement and subsequent bilateral accords have bound both nations to seek a peaceful solution to the Kashmir conflict while promoting trade and economic cooperation.

Confederation

Some politicians and academicians in India and Pakistan have promoted the concept of a confederation between the two republics as a means to resolve their conflicts while promoting common cultural bonds, economic development and solidarity in major issues, with a ceremonial head of state and important posts held alternately by Indians and Pakistanis.[4][1] Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah supported the idea.[5] In 1972, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator of Pakistan, explored the possibility of a Pakistan-India Confederation and asked "the Government-owned Pakistan Times to write in favour of India-Pakistan confederation."[4] Some advocates of the concept perceive the two-nation theory to have been a failure, being unable to resolve conflicts between Muslims and Hindus, and that a closer bonding of the two nations would be the best possible solution and bring about a greater possibility of peace, prosperity and progress in the region.[6] According to some advocates, such an arrangement would not only end the Kashmir conflict and bring about peace, but would forge a powerful geopolitical entity of equal standing with various global powers such as the United States, European Union, Russia and China.[1] As a result of a confederation between Pakistan and India, M. V. Kamath said that instead of spending exorbitant amounts of money on defense, the Indo-Pakistani Confederation would have funds "available for constructive activities like health, education and economic infrastructure."[1] Kamath appealed to the Hindu–Muslim unity demonstrated in the War of Indian Independence in 1857 as support for an Indo-Pakistani Confederation.[1] The Indo-Pakistani Confederation, according to Kamath, would have a common currency and a common Parliament.[1]

Former Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari called for an Indo-Pakistani Confederation that would be "based on the principle of equality" and in which "India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should remain separate, and yet together on issues of common concern and common benefit."[2] According to Pakistani historian Ayesha Jalal and former Pakistani Prime Minister Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar, the Lahore Resolution originally called for a Hindustan-Pakistan Confederation in a United India, not for Pakistan as a separate state from the rest of India.[7] Chundrigar "said that the object of the Lahore Resolution was not to create Ulsters (a reference to the violent separatist movement aimed at Northern Ireland's independence from the United Kingdom), not to 'destroy the unity of India', but to get the 'two nations (Pakistan and Hindustan)... welded into united India on the basis of equality'.[7] Harry Hodson, the Reforms Commissioner in India in 1941, said that leaders of the All-India Muslim League "interpreted Pakistan as consistent with a confederation".[7]

Lieutenant General Asad Durrani, the former director-general of both Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence, envisioned in 2018 a future Indo-Pakistan Confederation that would possess a common currency and laws.[8] Durrani stated that such an Indo-Pakistan Confederation would soften the borders of India and Pakistan and eventually integrate the armed forces of both entities, paving the way for Indian reunification, in which Delhi would serve as the capital city.[8]

Asghar Ali Engineer envisaged a broader confederation between the members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – akin to the European Union.[9][1] Dinanath Mishra supported such a confederation, and believed that along with India, "Countries like Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka may be willing to start the process this decade itself".[10]

Pakistani Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, advocated an Indo-Pakistani Confederation that would govern the state of Jammu and Kashmir, "taking responsibility for defence, currency and foreign affairs".[1]

Critics have described the proposal as naïve and impractical given the extent of mutual distrust and antagonism between India and Pakistan after decades of consistent fighting and skirmishes.[11]

Reactions

The idea of a confederation gained prominence with the endorsement of senior Indian political leader and then-Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, who on April 29, 2004, said in an interview to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, that he envisaged both nations coming together to form a confederation: "I conceive that there would be a time when decades hence, both the countries would feel that partition has not solved matters. Why not come together and form some form of confederation or something like that."[12][6][13] Another senior Indian politician, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia had similarly advocated the idea. This public endorsement from Advani, a prominent Hindu leader, gave rise to much speculation and media coverage, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan responded by calling the idea a "mirage," stating that both nations were sovereign in their own right and this status was in their view "irreversible."[13] On the other hand, Pakistani leader Altaf Hussain who founded the Muttahida Qaumi Movement has had a favourable stance towards an India-Pakistan confederation, saying that such a confederation would "set another example like the European Union."[14] Some leaders throughout other nations of South Asia have discussed the practicality of this idea. Some advocates added ideas such as the two nations retaining their sovereignty but issuing and dealing in the same currency and also signing an accord with which they can resolve problems related to defence with world powers like the United States, European Union and Russia.[1]

Some Pakistani commentators have argued that Indian leaders specifically rejected the notion of such a confederation during the early years of the Cold War, when Pakistan attempted to covertly contact India to outline the possibility of Indo-Pakistani defence cooperation in Kashmir against growing Chinese ambitions in the region,[15] which was rejected by India with the reasoning that the entirety of Kashmir is an integral part of India alone which shuts down the question of any Pakistani presence in the region.[1] Others have contended that two nations did not necessarily imply two states, and the fact that Bangladesh did not merge with India despite the cultural similarities (especially with Indian Bengal) after separating from Pakistan supports the initial two-nation theory professed by the Pakistan Movement. However, many see the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in itself to be a rejection of the two-nation theory,[16] since ethnic nationalism trumped religious nationalism.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Opinions". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  2. ^ a b "Indian author moots confederation to settle Kashmir issue". DAWN.COM. December 29, 2016.
  3. ^ Two-nation theory
  4. ^ a b Qāsim, Sayyid Mīr (1992). My Life and Times. Allied Publishers. p. 102. ISBN 978-81-7023-355-8.
  5. ^ Wright, Denis (1989). India-Pakistan Relations, 1962–1969. Sterling Publishers. p. 50.
  6. ^ a b Advani moots Indo-Pak confederation
  7. ^ a b c Kulkarni, Sudheendra (August 14, 2015). "Pakistan Without Partition: Let's Revive The Buried Idea Of Indo-Pak Confederation". HuffPost.
  8. ^ a b A. S. Dulat, Aditya Sinha, Asad Durrani (2018). The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace. HarperCollins. p. 223. ISBN 978-93-5277-926-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Asghar Ali Engineer – IISCSSS Archived 2008-05-14 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Mishra, Dinanath (July 12, 2002). "Dinanath Mishra on the idea of a confederation". Rediff.com. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Rediff
  12. ^ Indian Express[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ a b Advani's remarks on Indo-Pak union a 'mirage' Archived 2005-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Hussain, Altaf (July 22, 2001). "A Muhajir's Prayer". Times of India.
  15. ^ "Central Intelligence Agency" (PDF). The Kashmir Dispute – Intelligence Memorandum. 20 September 1965. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  16. ^ Jayaram, Rajiv (16 December 2011). "When Two-Nation Theory was Torn". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 October 2021.

Read other articles:

Wives of Pompey the Great

Roman statesman's five marriages Julia, in a 16th century artist's fanciful illustration. Julia, Pompey's fourth wife, was Julius Caesar's only legitimate child The first-century-BCE Roman statesman and commander Pompey the Great was married five times. These marriages were not only romantic matches, but political arrangements, often dictated by Pompey's political career and need to form alliances with other powerful Roman men. Pompey's first marriage, in 86 BCE, was to Antistia, the dau...

 

Garis besar Taiwan

Artikel ini sebatang kara, artinya tidak ada artikel lain yang memiliki pranala balik ke halaman ini.Bantulah menambah pranala ke artikel ini dari artikel yang berhubungan atau coba peralatan pencari pranala.Tag ini diberikan pada Oktober 2022. TaiwanLambang Taiwan Lokasi Taiwan Peta Taiwan Republik Tiongkok atau Republik China atau secara umum dikenal sebagai Taiwan adalah sebuah negara berdaulat di Asia Timur yang saat ini wilayahnya mencakup daerah kepulauan Taiwan, Kepulauan Pescadores, Q...

 

Ontario

Pour les articles homonymes, voir Ontario (homonymie). Ontario Armoiries. Drapeau. Carte de localisation. Administration Pays Canada Capitale Toronto Plus grande ville Toronto Entrée dans la Confédération 1er juillet 1867 (1er) Lieutenante-gouverneure Edith Dumont Premier ministre Doug Ford (PPC) Législature Assemblée législative de l'Ontario Sièges à la Chambre des communes 121 (sur 338) Sièges au Sénat 24 (sur 105) Code postal K L M N P Abréviation postale ON ISO 3166-...

University of California, Santa Cruz

Public university in Santa Cruz, California University of California, Santa CruzMottoFiat lux (Latin)Motto in EnglishLet there be lightTypePublic land-grant research universityEstablished1965; 59 years ago (1965)[1]Parent institutionUniversity of CaliforniaAccreditationWSCUCAcademic affiliationsAAUAPRUURASpace-grantEndowment$294 million (2021)[2]ChancellorCynthia LariveProvostLori KletzerStudents19,161 (fall 2020)[3]Undergraduates17,207 (fall 202...

 

كأس فنلندا 2012

كأس فنلندا 2012 تفاصيل الموسم كأس فنلندا  النسخة 58  البلد فنلندا  التاريخ بداية:6 يناير 2012  نهاية:29 سبتمبر 2012  المنظم اتحاد فنلندا لكرة القدم  البطل هونكا  عدد المشاركين 198   كأس فنلندا 2011  كأس فنلندا 2013  تعديل مصدري - تعديل   كأس فنلندا 2012 (بالفنلندية:...

 

Mer Adriatique

« Adriatique » redirige ici. Pour les autres significations, voir Adriatique (homonymie). Mer Adriatique Carte de la mer Adriatique. Géographie humaine Pays côtiers Albanie Croatie Bosnie-Herzégovine Grèce Italie Monténégro Slovénie Géographie physique Type Mer épicontinentale, mer intérieure Localisation Mer Méditerranée Coordonnées 42° 48′ nord, 15° 30′ est Superficie 139 000 km2 Profondeur · Moyenne 252 m · Maximale 1...

Kneph

Kneph is a motif in ancient Egyptian religious art, variously a winged egg, a globe surrounded by one or more serpents, or Amun in the form of a serpent called Kematef.[1] Some Theosophical sources tried to syncretize this motif with the deity Khnum, along with Serapis and Pluto.[2][3] Under the Greek theonym Chnuphis, this figure adopts a serpent-bodied, lion-headed (leontoeidic) visage, being particularly common in magical artifacts in Late Antiquity.[4] It ...

 

Giovanni Coppa

Giovanni CoppaKardinal-Deakon San LinoKardinal Coppa pada tahun 2012ImamatTahbisan imam2 Januari 1949Tahbisan uskup6 Januari 1980oleh Paus Yohanes Paulus IIPelantikan kardinal24 November 2007oleh Paus Benediktus XVIPeringkatKardinal-DeakonInformasi pribadiLahir(1925-11-09)9 November 1925Alba, ItaliaWafat16 Mei 2016(2016-05-16) (umur 90)[1]KewarganegaraanItaliaDenominasiKatolik RomaJabatan sebelumnyaUskup Agung Tituler Serta (1980–2007)Nunsius Apostolik untuk Cekoslowakia (...

 

Синелобый амазон

Синелобый амазон Научная классификация Домен:ЭукариотыЦарство:ЖивотныеПодцарство:ЭуметазоиБез ранга:Двусторонне-симметричныеБез ранга:ВторичноротыеТип:ХордовыеПодтип:ПозвоночныеИнфратип:ЧелюстноротыеНадкласс:ЧетвероногиеКлада:АмниотыКлада:ЗавропсидыКласс:Пт�...

إل أنخيل

هذه المقالة يتيمة إذ تصل إليها مقالات أخرى قليلة جدًا. فضلًا، ساعد بإضافة وصلة إليها في مقالات متعلقة بها. (أبريل 2019) إل أنخيل معلومات شخصية الميلاد 19 أغسطس 1977 (47 سنة)  ولاية زاكاتيكاس  مواطنة المكسيك  الحياة العملية المهنة مصارع محترف  الرياضة المصارعة المحترفة ...

 

Sigismondo III Gonzaga

Disambiguazione – Se stai cercando altri significati, vedi Sigismondo Gonzaga (disambigua). Questa voce sull'argomento nobili italiani è solo un abbozzo. Contribuisci a migliorarla secondo le convenzioni di Wikipedia. Sigismondo III Gonzaga (11 febbraio 1625 – Mantova, 31 dicembre 1694) è stato un nobile italiano. Stemma dei Gonzaga Indice 1 Biografia 2 Discendenza 3 Ascendenza 4 Bibliografia 5 Voci correlate Biografia Era figlio di Francesco Giovanni Gonzaga della linea dei Gonza...

 

Autostrade of Italy

National motorway system of Italy Autostrada redirects here. For other uses, see Autostrada (disambiguation). For the company previously known as Autostrade, see Mundys. Map of the autostrade of Italy The autostrade (Italian: [autoˈstraːde]; sg. autostrada [autoˈstraːda]) are roads forming the Italian national system of motorways. The total length of the system is about 7,016 kilometres (4,360 mi), as of 30 July 2022.[1] To these data are added 13 motorway spu...

コルク

この記事は検証可能な参考文献や出典が全く示されていないか、不十分です。出典を追加して記事の信頼性向上にご協力ください。（このテンプレートの使い方）出典検索?: コルク – ニュース · 書籍 · スカラー · CiNii · J-STAGE · NDL · dlib.jp · ジャパンサーチ · TWL（2017年4月） コルクを打ち抜いて作った瓶の栓 コルク（木栓、�...

 

Starčevo culture

Starčevo cultureHorizonFirst Temperate Neolithic, Old EuropePeriodNeolithic EuropeDatescirca 6,200 B.C.E. — circa 4,500 B.C.E.Type siteStarčevo sitePreceded byIron Gates culture, Lepenski Vir culture, Sesklo culture, Neolithic GreeceFollowed byKaranovo culture, Vinča culture, Tisza culture, Hamangia culture, Gumelnița culture, Kakanj culture, Sopot culture, Linear Pottery culture See also: Old Europe (archaeology) and Danube civilization The Starčevo culture is an archaeological cultur...

 

مادة متحللة

مادة متحللة في الفيزياء (بالإنجليزية: degenerate matter) هي مادة توجد غالبا في النجوم تحت ضغط عالي جدا جدا ولها كثافة عالية جدا جدا، تلعب في تولدها صفات كمومية لتلك الأجرام. ويقصد بتحلل المادة هنا أنها ليست غاز إلكترونات أو غاز بروتونات. ولا تنطبق تلك التسمية مع مفهوم انفطار (فيزياء...

Kamarudin Jaffar

Ini adalah nama Melayu; nama Jaffar merupakan patronimik, bukan nama keluarga, dan tokoh ini dipanggil menggunakan nama depannya, Kamarudin. Yang Berbahagia Dato'Kamarudin JaffarDSNS Wakil Menteri Luar NegeriMasa jabatan10 Maret 2020 – 24 November 2022Perdana MenteriMuhyiddin YassinIsmail Sabri YaakobMenteriHishammuddin HusseinSaifuddin AbdullahPendahuluMarzuki YahyaPenggantiTBADaerah pemilihanBandar Tun RazakWakil Menteri PerhubunganMasa jabatan2 Juli 2018 – 24 Februari...

 

Persikubar Putra

Persikubar PutraNama lengkapPersatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Kutai Barat PutraJulukanMacan DahanBerdiri2021; 3 tahun lalu (2021)StadionStadion Swalas GunaaqSendawar, Kutai Barat(Kapasitas: 15,000)PemilikHengki, SHPelatihVictor SimonLigaLiga 3 Kalimantan Barat Kostum kandang Kostum tandang Persikubar Putra (atau singkatan dari Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Kutai Barat Putra) adalah klub sepak bola Indonesia yang bermarkas di Stadion Swalas Gunaaq, Kabupaten Kutai Barat, Kalimantan Timur. Tim...

 

FC Blau-Weiß Linz

Association football club Football clubFC Blau-Weiß LinzFull nameFußball Club Blau-Weiß LinzFounded2 July 1997; 26 years ago (1997-07-02)StadiumHofmann Personal StadionCapacity5,595ChairmanJens GroßmannManagerGerald ScheiblehnerLeagueAustrian Bundesliga2023–24Austrian Bundesliga, 9th of 12WebsiteClub website Home colours Away colours Current season FC Blau-Weiß Linz or BW Linz are an Austrian association football club playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga, the t...

Transatlantic telegraph cable

Decommissioned undersea telegraph cable Contemporary map of the 1858 transatlantic cable route Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is an obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data are still carried on other transatlantic telecommunications cables. The Atlantic Telegraph Company led by Cyrus West Field constructed the first transatlantic tele...

 

Boxing at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Featherweight

Olympic boxing tournament Featherweight boxingat the Games of the XX OlympiadVenueBoxing Hall, MunichDates27 August – 10 SeptemberCompetitors45 from 45 nationsMedalists Boris Kuznetsov  Soviet Union Philip Waruinge  Kenya Clemente Rojas  Colombia András Botos  Hungary← 19681976 → Boxing at the1972 Summer OlympicsLight flyweightmenFlyweightmenBantamweightmenFeatherweightmenLightweightmenLight welterweightmenWelterweightmenLight middleweigh...