India Pakistan Conflict

¶ … dangerous conflicts threatening to undermine global peace and security is between India and Pakistan. The history of the conflict is described in the article, "On the Brink: Are India and Pakistan Headed for War?" In 1947, after India gained independence from Great Britain, a substantial Muslim minority cried out for an independent Muslim state. Thus, Pakistan was carved out in the north-western part of the subcontinent and Muslim Indians fled there. However, the disputed region of Jammu-Kashmir was a bone of contention.

A cease-fire line was drawn, but the two independent nations have engaged in skirmishes and battles over Kashmir for decades. Although Kashmir is officially considered to be a protectorate of India, Pakistan still claims it as Muslim territory. About sixty percent of Kashmir is Muslim; it is India's only Muslim-majority state. The problem worsened when in 1998, both India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons. The two countries are still bitterly divided over the status of Kashmir, and if tempers flare, an all-out catastrophe could emerge.

Luckily, India and Pakistan are currently at a stand still, in a sort of regional cold war. The India-Pakistan conflict reflects the worst that can happen in a cross-cultural conflict. Hindus and Muslims have allowed their religion and culture to become a source of tension and disaster, rather than a source of mutual respect and admiration. The global community can learn a great deal from the lessons that India and Pakistan are teaching, albeit indirectly.

The only way to avoid ending the conflict in violence is to remember that differences can be celebrated. In many parts of India, Muslims and Hindus live side.