India and Pakistan Need Soul Searching: What Is Next after the Ceasefire?
IN FOCUS, 19 May 2025
Mahboob A. Khawaja – TRANSCEND Media Service
Looking Beyond the Formative History
You may call it normal that India and Pakistan are fighting again on Kashmir. But rational observers would wonder why after more than 77 years – the end of British colonialism these two neighbors are unable to define friend and foe. British imperialism lasting a few centuries divided and ruled the subcontinent and history keeps on repeating itself for a week-long warfare transforming ugly words into foolish actions to discard reason for unreason. President Trump seems to have calmed the sadistic minds for a change. Cynicism about politics is endemic across India and Pakistan. There was no winner and no loser as both claimed self-defense – a contentious terminology. The British left the sub-continent in a hurry fearing Nazi Germany onslaught during the WW2 causing ethnic divides and killings in the name of freedom and social-political identities. Kashmir was never part of British occupied India but a semi-independent state with Muslim majority ruled by a Hindu Maharaja who paid millions to become the ruler. History made India and Pakistan enemies and geography made them neighbors.
To learn from history, newly independent Indian and Pakistani leaders needed objectively grounded reasons to reconstruct the societies for political change, freedom and friendship. Its dynamics should have envisaged proactive vision and creative leadership pursuing emancipation of peace and harmony over animosity. The State of Jammu and Kashmir is at the heart of all political and strategic problems which characterize the nature of relationships between the two nuclear rivals. Under PM Nirendra Modi, India is tainted by Hindu nationalism and its ideological and normative connotations and supremacy of thoughts. But its unilateral claim on the people of Kashmir negates the British constitutional act of freedom for both states and does not have the characteristics of truth, wisdom and honesty to assert moral and intellectual justification. There are more than a dozen of UN Security Council Resolutions on the Kashmir dispute accepted by India and Pakistan calling for a plebiscite (referendum) to be held respecting the rights of self-determination of the people of Kashmir. If both countries were responsible in global affairs, an impartial referendum could have paved the way for a peaceful resolution of Jammu and Kashmir. Not so, it is a focal issue of contention between the two nuclear armed nations. Stupidity has its limits and wickedness knows no bound in politics.
Political Cynicism, Kashmir Dispute and Sustainable Future-Making
Fallacy of intent leads to false consequences and innocent civilians become victims. India claims to have attacked a “terrorist” network in Murdeke, Bahawalpur and Rawalpindi but 31 civilians ended up as casualties. Pakistanis claim to have knocked out the S-4000 Russian anti- missile system and crashed 5 jets but reports say 22 people were killed and various military outposts were hit in India. Why should responsible leaders cover up contradictions by adroit? Rationally looking, both nations failed miserably to understand the meaning and truth of national freedom from British colonialism. Please see: “British Colonialism and How India and Pakistan Lost National Freedom.” https://www.globalresearch.ca/british-colonialism-how-india-pakistan-lost-freedom/5765810
“India and Pakistan Freedom Lost and Animosity Flourishes” https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2025/05/04/india-and-pakistan-freedom-lost-and-animosity-flourishes.php
Nation-building for peace and good neighborly relationships is a critical issue for the present and future generations within the sub-continent. Strangely enough, new, educated and proactive generations are denied time and opportunities in neo-colonial dominated cultures of political power and elite class domination.
None of the leaders appear to take initiatives to limit tyranny and oppression against the people of Jammu and Kashmir to avert wars and killings.To imagine a new beginning, people of new educated generations of ideas and ideals should be encouraged to hold power and refocus on navigational change for a progressive politics opening new threshold of interactive politics and relations aimed at resolving the Kashmir dispute and normalizing much needed people to people relations. The policies and practices pursued by PM Modi and PM Sharif are more self-serving utopian than realistic for the common good of masses in both countries. They are wasting time and opportunities on warfare rather building bridges to overcome institutionalized hatred and fear of the unknown.
Politicians of conscience should intervene and clarify that people of Kashmir must have the opportunity to decide whether they wish to join India or Pakistan or remain free of their own choice to maintain collaborative relations with both countries. There is no wisdom to synthesize a gruesome legal and political claim for India to deny freedom to the people of Kashmir. If Indian or Pakistani emotionally charged political activists think of any military solution and nukes, they are wrong now and they will be wrong after the fact. It could be a disingenuous mystery of self-destruction without any favorable outcomes. Only stupid and irresponsible leaders could opt for such a strategy to resolve an international conflict. Both countries need an awakening torch of rational self-analysis and peaceful future-making. All demonstrations and loud crying of emotionally charged agents do not translate into tangible logical actions.
Mean and cheap slogans entrenched both nations as if the ceasefire unfolds some kind of triumph to sickening minds. The military personnel on both sides should remain behind the scenes not to dramatize strangulation of humanity for propaganda and glory. There is credible history of India under several centuries of Mughal Empire, its people and progress. Post colonialism, India built some of its public institutions to enhance democracy, free elections and transfer of power but Pakistan fell victim to conspiracies, dismemberment and military coups and lost the strategic path of institutional development and nation-building. The current egoistic politicians who were not elected for the governance must face the mirror to immediately free Imran Khan (Pakistan Teherk-E-Insaf), leader from captivity and unfair treatment. Individualistically motivated animosities implied to charge Imran Khan with 150 or so bogus cases. Domestic harmony in Pakistan wants coherent rethinking to free Khan and his party members.If not, few indicted criminals cannot be allowed to govern the country without formidable challenges and causing harm to the national interests. https://www.globalresearch.ca/pakistan-imran-khan-victim-hope-future/5798231%22
Time and opportunities call for new ideas and new efforts on both sides to talk about peaceful means to settle the Kashmir dispute. Many former leaders were devoid of moral and intellectual capacity to resolve the Kashmir problem based on international norms and equal rights for all. Frankly, Bhuttos, Sharifs and Zardari and Musharaf were egoistic, corrupt and criminals who stole the time and wealth of the nation to buy palaces abroad. Effective leaders are always people-oriented open to listening and learning and know their strengths and weaknesses.The leaders of India and Pakistan must do soul searching and think critically – how to make a navigational change to ensure a sustainable political change in relationships, national freedom and a progressive future. Both nations have friendly ties with the USA, China, Russia and West European nations and leaders of these countries must take initiatives to make India and Pakistan understand the strategy of peace-making and good neighborly relationships as a preventive measure to stop a dreadful futuristic war. Any substantial rethinking for political change would require habitual practice of honesty, rational candour, frankness and sincerity of purpose to avoid dreadful tragedies. Recall that truth, glory and honor live in righteousness not in wickedness.
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Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution and has spent several academic years across the Russian-Ukrainian and Central Asian regions knowing the people, diverse cultures of thinking and political governance and a keen interest in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution, Dec 2019.
Tags: India, Kashmir, Pakistan, South Asia, Violent conflict
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 19 May 2025.
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