Evolution of the caste system

The Rigveda, composed around 4,000 years ago, classified Indian society into four : Brahmins, Rajanyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Each varna had a specific social role. Brahmins were tasked with seeking Brahm or universal consciousness. Rajanyas were administrators and warriors. Vaishyas were traders. Shudras were skilled and unskilled workers.

Initially, this classification was based on action. In Sloka 4.13, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita that an individual’s actions determine their varna. From Vedic times, varna was a flexible status that one could change through personal conduct.

Over time, nepotism and self-interest corrupted the system. These changes occurred slowly, allowing non-Rajanyas to become rulers and non-Brahmins to become scholars.

The 14th-century Bhakti movement demonstrates this. Brahmin saint Swami Ramanandacharya led the movement, but most of his disciples came from non-Brahmin communities. Eventually, varna hardened into caste, which became hereditary.

Still, some communities moved upward. The Marathas, who have 96 sub-castes, were not considered Kshatriyas until the 17th century. Their military rise elevated their social status. Other castes also transitioned upward during the colonial era. Between the 1921 and 1931 censuses, many castes previously classified as backward claimed forward status. The Sabha movement of the 1920s helped many communities rename themselves and gain recognition as forward castes. For instance, Ahirs became Yadavs as Yadav Kshatriyas. Banjaras identified as Rathore and Chauhan Rajputs. Nais called themselves Nai Brahmins. Barhais called themselves Dhiman Brahmins. These communities attempted upward mobility.

The caste census is a weapon of political greed

At the first census conference after independence, India’s first Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel said, “Formerly, there used to be elaborate caste tables which were required in India partly to satisfy the theory that it was a caste-ridden country, and partly to meet administrative measures dependent upon caste division. In the forthcoming census this would no longer be a feature.” Freedom fighters like Patel believed caste should be reduced as an identity.

Politicians instead increased caste-based politics. Castes that once sought inclusion as forward during British rule now seek classification as socially and educationally backward to receive reservations. This has become a race to the bottom.

Why did the BJP, after criticizing the caste census for so long, now support it? The answer lies in its poor economic performance and administrative failures. When the BJP under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, it promised to build 100 smart cities, strengthen the economy, increase agricultural income, secure borders, invest in research and development, and upgrade the armed forces. After 11 years in power, it has failed to deliver on its promises. The economy is growing at just 6%. Unemployment is at a record high. Borders remain vulnerable. The neighborhood is unstable. Cities are still shabby. The army adopted the flawed policy of a four-year service period for soldiers. The air force has only 30 squadrons against the required 42. Still, the BJP claims India is growing at an unprecedented pace. A caste census is a convenient distraction.

Indian politicians also have a habit of using resource distribution as a scapegoat. In an , Manu Sharma, a partner at , said that first came land redistribution and the end of zamindari in the 1950s, then banking nationalization in 1969, then economic reforms in 1991, and finally demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2016. All these steps were hailed as silver bullets. Now, the caste census has joined this list. It will likely be followed by increased reservations in government services and possibly their introduction in the private sector. This poses a threat to India’s internal stability. For Modi, the next election matters more.

In his book Falling Over Backwards, veteran journalist Arun Shourie , “If individuals and groups get rewards on the basis of their being different from the rest, leaders will foment a politics that exacerbate the difference. The criterion of differentiation is birth. Politics will swirl around, power will congeal around these, and the chasm in society will widen to the point of sundering.” These words capture the spirit of the reservation movement. Politicians have used caste to build grievance among non-Brahmins and non-Kshatriyas, while instilling guilt among Brahmins and Kshatriyas.

Using caste as a metric of backwardness legitimizes the caste system. Instead, the government should provide quality education, healthcare and nutrition to all impoverished people in India.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect 51�Թ�’s editorial policy.

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What Happens When Nationalists in Israel and India Team Up

The authors then delved into Indian society, claiming that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu organization formed in 1925, engages in violence against “unarmed, unsuspecting civilians … using batons, machetes, strangulation, sulfuric acid to the face and rape, among other horrors.” They drew an ill-considered comparison between Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank and the actions of cow vigilante groups affiliated with the RSS.

The authors also referenced the horrors of the 2002 Gujarat riots but presented a biased account of the train compartment burning, an event that incinerated 58 Hindu sadhus. They labeled the communal riots as “state-sponsored terrorism.” The authors further alleged that the US has turned a blind eye to the “antidemocratic and all-too-violent national visions” of India and Israel.

As an Indian student, I’ve identified numerous inconsistencies in the article. I find many of these allegations baseless and inconsiderate. Therefore, I am presenting a point-by-point rebuttal of the article.

Muslims receive special treatment despite Islam’s violent past

India’s geographical landscape has a complex history shaped by over a millennium of military campaigns. During these, the Islamic invaders progressed relatively slowly compared to the rest of the world. For instance, the Arabs Sindh multiple times starting in 636 AD, and finally seized the province in 711 AD. It took Islamic forces over 300 years to capture Kabul and nearly 500 years to conquer Delhi. Nonetheless, after a valiant resistance, the Brahman Shahi Sultanate of Kabul fell to the Ghaznavid Empire in 1026 AD.

After that, Islamic invasions in the Indian heartland became more brutal and frequent. After the of Tarain in 1192 AD, Islamic rule was established in Delhi. It lasted until 1858 when the Mughal Empire was replaced by the British Empire. During these 650 years, it was the minority Muslims — mostly Turks, Central Asians and Persians — who ruled over the majority of Hindus. During this period, the official of India was Persian and the religion was Sunni Islam. Muslim rulers desecrated and countless Hindu temples. Surprisingly, this historical context is completely overlooked in contemporary debates of Hindu-Muslim relations.

From 1858, the British exhibited a preference for Muslims, recruiting them into civil and military positions in disproportionate numbers. This is evident in the Census of India, 1911 : Muslims constituted only 21.24% of India’s total population but made up 41.94% of the “service of the state,” and 50.33% of the police force. Even in higher salary ranges, Muslims were disproportionately represented, with 37.9% earning more than ₹400 salaries compared to 41.3% for Hindus. According to Pakistani military historian Major Agha H Amin, this policy of preferential recruitment a fundamental reason for the Partition of India.

The extraordinarily tolerant Republic of India

Driven by the demands of the Muslim League, the Partition of India resulted in the bifurcation of the ancient geography along communal lines. Post-partition India embraced Hindu values of inclusivity, tolerance and peace. This is reflected in Part III of the Constitution, containing four articles under to protect the freedom of religion. These articles serve as the foundation for India’s engagement with all religions, granting every religious group the right to manage their religious affairs without state interference.

Furthermore, the constitution safeguards the rights of minorities under Articles and , with the latter specifically designed to protect the rights of religious and linguistic minorities. However, the world’s longest constitution does not define the term “minority.” This empowers the Muslim community to establish and manage religious and educational institutions such as madrasas — schools that specialize in Islamic teachings — with little or no oversight. These schools also receive from the secular government of India, yet the state is not empowered to decide their and recruitment patterns.

Additionally, madrasas also receive largely foreign funding. India even allows establishments such as Darul Uloom Seminary, situated in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh. This madrasa is infamously known as the ideological of the Taliban. After independence, India disregarded any perceived animosity towards Muslims and granted them equal rights, if not more, in the newly established democratic republic.

Indian Muslims are governed under the Sharia

While independent India granted equal rights to all citizens, it faced challenges in reforming the Muslim society. The successive governments did not replace the British-era of 1937. Initially designed to create distinctions between Hindus and Muslims in the lead-up to the partition, this legislation granted numerous privileges to Muslims.

The act permits a Muslim man to have up to four wives, stipulates that Muslim men only need to pay alimony for three months, allows double inheritance for sons compared to daughters and includes several provisions that can never be permitted in other democracies. (, an Islamic form of divorce whereby a Muslim man can legally end a marriage by saying “talaq” — “divorce” in Arabic — three times, was allowed until the Indian Government repealed it in 2018.) The successive governments also viewed Muslim society as a vote bank. They continue viewing Muslims through the lens of maulvis, Muslim doctors of law. This meant abhorring any possibility of reforming the Muslim Personal Law. Hence, Muslims of the world’s largest democracy are still governed under Sharia.

In 1973, the Muslim society formed the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). This body acts as the highest religious and legal authority over Islamic laws in India. The AIMPLB’s stated is to “eradicate all non-Islamic rituals and customs in [the] Muslim community.”

This body is predominantly filled with ulemas, groups of Muslim scholars with special knowledge of Islamic theology and law. Their qualifications are generally shady. The AIMPLB has a checkered history: The organization has opposed , the right to , an increase in women’s age and marriages. They support return to Kabul and desire to open in a constitutional democracy, the latter of which would create a second judicial system that would diminish the value of the first. Most recently, the body called terror attacks a “natural reaction to Israeli atrocities.”

While AIMPLB lacks executive powers, their influence on Muslim voters makes them an extremely important part of Indian politics.

The Government of India also introduced a distinctive safeguard for Muslim religious bodies through the . First implemented in 1954, this globally unparalleled legislation grants governing rights over religious and charitable lands to Muslims. No other religious group in India has such a favorable regime for religious land management.

The necessity for this legislation arose in the aftermath of the Partition of India. Many Muslims migrated to Pakistan, leaving their properties in India behind. Consequently, the Indian Government decided that their properties should be allocated exclusively to Muslims. The Wakf Act, 1954 established , Muslim committees that dedicate property permanently to religious or charitable ends, to oversee this process.

This act was later replaced by the Waqf Act, 1995. It granted expanded powers to the waqf boards. Under this act, waqf boards practically have the authority to claim any in India as their own. Unsurprisingly, they rank as the third-largest landowners in India, following the army and railways. The shrewd nature of this act has drawn from legal luminaries and scholars, with concerns about its constitutionality. Regardless, it is still in effect in India.

As a result, the Muslim society enjoys not just constitutional equality but also preferential treatment in the form of Sharia-driven laws, AIMPLB and the Waqf Act, from the Indian state. Considering this, writers who make exaggerated allegations about discrimination against Indian Muslims demonstrate a poor understanding of history and contemporary events. When the Indian Government decides to reform Muslim personal laws, regulate the obscure functioning of madrasas and form AIMPLB to ensure proper representation of Muslim society, it is blatantly ignorant and hypocritical to claim oppression.

Too many communities engage in hate speech but the Indian state does not discriminate

In recent years, India has witnessed several incidents of against Muslims. The and have understandably noticed such events and have enacted stringent legislation to address this menace.

Regrettably, acts of hate speech have been a facet of India’s ugly political landscape, given its multi-ethnic composition. In South India, social activist EV Ramaswamy was known in his heyday for making vociferous hate speeches against the . A spokesperson from the , the ruling party of the state of Tamil Nadu, recently made a speech calling for Brahmin genocide.

Radical groups are equally involved in several incidents of hate speech. Just two years ago, Muslim groups rioted, committed arson and openly called for the of Nupur Sharma after she quoted Ḥadīth verses — statements of words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad — from Sahih Bukhari, a key Islamic text. In of India, every few months, radicals call for “sar tan se juda.” This Islamic slogan means, “separate the head from the body,” and is a for the decapitation of blasphemers.

Therefore, it is essential to understand that these incidents of hate speech do not necessarily reflect the larger policy of the state or a community. Many such incidents arise due to the politicization of local sentiments. Hence, these hate speeches should more appropriately be viewed as law and order issues rather than indicative of the national sentiment.

The status of Indian Muslims remains unchanged, resembling the situation before. Consequently, India is a unique place where all varieties of Muslims, including Shia, Sunni and coexist as equal citizens in the republic. They represent diverse ethnicities such as Pashtun, Punjabi, Bihari, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada, Kashmiri, Tamil and more. They have equal opportunities for education, work, mobility and sustenance, like other religious groups. In fact, Indian Muslims have far greater rights than Ahmadis in Pakistan, Sunnis in Iran and Shias in Saudi Arabia. Critics of India in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, the BBC, Al Jazeera and 51�Թ� might do well to note that everyone in India, including Muslims of all denominations, are equal in the eyes of the law.

[ edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect 51�Թ�’s editorial policy.

The post Does India Oppress Muslims? Not Now, Not Ever. Here’s Why. appeared first on 51�Թ�.

Sharif’s statements sparked a plethora of heated debates among the media and the Indian academic community regarding this alleged “olive branch” from Pakistan. However, given Pakistan’s volatile history, India should remain wary of such grandiose statements. 

The Birth of Terrorism 

The radicalization of Islam in Pakistan due to the open preaching of extremist ideologies has made peace extremely difficult. The number of have grown consistently in Pakistan. Even the , formed in the aftermath of the brutal attack perpetrated by Al-Qaeda, recognizes madrassas as “a particular concern”. However, successive governments in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, have to curb this kind of dangerous religious indoctrination.  

Pakistan, just like India, has a with 64% of the population below 30 years of age. However, when the madrassas teachIslamic texts such as hadith, tafsir and fiqh with puritanical interpretation, they turn demographic dividend into a demographic disaster. The majority of the madrassas in Pakistan are Sunni , who trace their origins to the fall of  Mughal Empire, after the first of Indian independence in 1857. 

The seminary, founded in 1866, is the headquarters for Sunni Deobandi belief. It is situated in the western part of the densely populated Indian state of , in the town called Deoband. The Deobandi beliefs have been a source of controversy due to their alleged links to some notoriously extremist organizations. The , an extremist group founded by Mullah Mohammad Omar, also derives its ideological beliefs from the Sunni Deobandi school of thought. 

Although the international community has failed to agree on a singular definition for terrorism, several scholars have detected underlying themes. American Historian Walter Langueur in 2000, “Nationalism is the core essence of religious terrorism and that, as such, can be categorized as ‘Right-wing Terrorism’.” He connected the obfuscated and ambiguous boundaries separating nationalism and religious terrorism. Other scholars attribute the fear tactics surrounding the Islamic belief in the afterlife to the successful recruitment of more men to carry out terrorism. The term perpetuated by terrorist leaders to promote the war on non-Muslims is ‘’ or ‘holy war’.

UN-designated terrorist has evoked the same , calling his followers to, “Marry for jihad, give birth for jihad and earn money only for jihad till the cruelty of America and India ends”. The Islamic State (IS) uses similar methods to recruit more people to wage the global jihad. These religious dictations have been omnipresent in all conflicts, and are consistently used to recruit fighters for terrorism. 

There exists a misplaced perception among historians that the  implementation of nationalism-based religious terrorism was first witnessed in Afghanistan following the Soviet Union’s of 1979. However, a close reading of contemporary conflicts proves otherwise. It was the then Indian state (now union territory) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) which faced the initial brunt of religious terrorism.

Religiously-imbibed Insurgency

J&K first witnessed religious terrorism during the of 1947-48, also known as the . Pakistan mobilized from frontier areas to capture J&K, including its capital, Srinagar. Pakistanis built the narrative for invasion around the theory that a Muslim majority region can’t be governed under any other religious interpretation. This extremist Islam interpretation is referred to as Dar al-Harb, or  “house of war.”

Dar al-Harb justifies and makes necessary the waging of Islamic holy wars, and the recapture of any territories which Islamic nations had historically controlled. This kind of extremism is the biggest roadblock preventing peace between Islamic and non-Islamic nations. Similarly, the later Indo-Pak war of 1965, code-named , was a military strategy contingent on the expectation that following the invasion of Kashmir,  local Kashmiris would join Pakistani troops and  incite a rebellion against the Indian military. This sagacious plan combined nationalism and religious terrorism, a brew which the Pakistani president, , hoped would fuel a powerful revolt. 

When Khan’s risky hypothesis failed to ignite a revolutionary spark, the Pakistani military changed its approach to the capture of J&K. This novel approach included supporting the of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in 1976, a nationalist insurgent group that fought for Kashmir’s independence from both India and Pakistan. 

By backing the JKLF, Pakistan hoped to instigate violence from within Kashmir by radicalizing the youth. However, the JKLF initially failed to attract enough attention. However, several factors helped the JKLF gradually amass power. These factors included the increase in cross border infiltration, the development of more extremist madrassas in the area, and the unrest following the of 1987.

The resulting insurgency destroyed the syncretic culture of the Kashmir Valley. In 1990, the peaceful minority group known as the , was forced from their homeland and became refugees overnight.. Since then, the environment in the Kashmir Valley has remained tense, as Kashmiri Pandits continue to face from radical forces. Most recently, in February 2023, a Kashmiri Pandit was by terrorists in Pulwama.

On most occasions, these attacks have been led and carried out by local Kashmiri citizens. This antipathy towards Kashmiri Pandits is a result of indoctrination by local clerics, as well as Pakistan’s manipulative meddling in an effort to alter the demographics of J&K to suit its irredentist territorial claims.

The situation across the Line of Control (LOC) is similar, as in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). As stated previously, many mainstream clerics are spreading ideas of religious terrorism and nationalism in J&K.These clerics, in most cases, enjoy the support of the Pakistani military in return for the clerics’ continued indoctrination of much-needed nationalist fighters to wage religious war in both Kashmir and Afghanistan. Both Shia and Sunni Muslim clerics have participated in this military indoctrination, particularly when it comes to radicalizing the youth.

Why Pakistan Needs Afghanistan

While the Pakistani government denies its support for the Taliban, many are convinced that the Taliban began as a special project for the Pakistani military to achieve strategic depth in Afghanistan. When the US finally from Afghanistan in August 2021, a large number of both Pakistanis and Afghans .The then Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief for Pakistan, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, Kabul in September 2021 to set the tone for future Pakistan-Taliban engagement. 

Hameed played an active role in the reconciliation of the Haqqani and Baradar groups, the two leading factions of the Taliban’s internal power structure. His support was also instrumental in defeating the resistance groups operating out of . These groups, known as the National Resistance Front (NFR), operate under the command of , former intelligence chief and vice president of Afghanistan. Also commanding the NFR is Ahmad Massoud, son of , the former commander of the who the Taliban assassinated back in 2001. The younger Massoud continues to against Taliban takeover in his late father’s footsteps, alongside Saleh, who is the current “acting president” of Afghanistan.   Both Saleh and Massoud have allegedly fled to Tajikistan.

Pakistan’s military considers geopolitics to be a , and believes that gaining so-called ‘strategic depth’ in Afghanistan is critical to its goal of confrontingIndia. This approach has led to a decline in Pakistan’s military reputation, as Pakistanis begin to point to the armed forces as a source of many economic and social issues. Excessive military funding has also contributed to the across Pakistan, particularly in the port city of Gwadar, where citizens have lost access to “clean water and other basic facilities”. Pakistan has also contemplated the impacts of the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan for a long time. To secure its interests in such a strategic space, it has formed a multi-pronged strategy. 

Pakistan’s multi-pronged strategy rests on two intertwined pillars. The first pillar encompasses    the advantages to obtaining control of Afghanistan. By dominating the Afghan geopolitical space, Pakistan intends to divert its resources from frontier areas to J&K. Using Afghan resources and manpower, Pakistan can bolster its campaign for control of the region. This strategic alignment would only heighten tensions betweenIndia and Pakistan, and put pressure on India to grant concessions on J&K. 

The second pillar of Pakistan’s ruthless desire to dominate Afghanistan arises from its economic compulsions. Aligning with Afghanistan would give Pakistan control of the key entry point into the and the economic opportunities of Eastern Europe.  For control of J&K and access to the Heartland, Pakistan would “wage a war for 1,000 years” according to former Pakistani prime minister   in his speech to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) back in 1965.  After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several oil companies explored the possibility of building an oil and gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to India, via Afghanistan and Pakistan (TAPI). However, the instability in Afghanistan has brought this plan to a halt. If Pakistan gains viable control over Afghanistan, the TAPI pipeline could become a reality, bringing in billions of petrodollars to Pakistan’s depleted state .

Insurgency and Economic Woes

The Taliban has brought medievalism into Afghanistan, has been funded, supported, and sheltered by the Pakistani state for decades. Despite Pakistan’s aid,, the Taliban havealways maintained that they are fighting ‘to free their land from foreign occupation’, including potential occupation by Pakistan. The Taliban refuse to accept the as a border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Instead, it claims the western parts of Pakistan for Afghanistan, including the historic city of , for historical and demographic reasons. 

Now, the Taliban has completely turned against Pakistan, increasing support to an insurgent group known as the (TTP) which seeks to overthrow the “unIslamic” Pakistani government.  Once the government has been dismantled, the TTP hopes to make Pakistan its headquarters for future jihadi operations, an objective first championed by the now Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri.

In this quest to ‘Islamize’ Pakistan, the TTP has vociferously attacked military infrastructure belonging to Pakistani police and military. The group has also taken the responsibility for the in the Shia Mosque of Peshawar, which killed more than 100 Pakistani citizens. Currently, TTP militants are infiltrating Pakistan in massive numbers, due to the nation’s porous borders and presence of Pashtuns, with whom many members of the TTP share an ethnic background. 

In addition to Pakistan’s fight against insurgency, the nation is also drowning in debt. Pakistan has already defaulted on several debt payment promises, but was temporarily using funds from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a recent , the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) says that its total liquid , as of 24 February, stand at US $9.267 billion while the net forex reserves are only US $3.814 billion, barely sufficient to ensure three weeks of imports. 

This situation is turning worse with forex reserves tanking further with each passing day. The same report says that at the end of fiscal year 2021, the net reserves were US $17.298 billion. These statistics show that while the world is recovering from the economic perils of COVID-19, Pakistan is falling deeper into the abyss. Poor economic management has sent the national rupee into a freefall as inflation rates skyrocket. Even more condemning were the devastating which plagued nearly 15 million Pakistanis, many of whom still do not have access to clean water.Food and water insecurity combined with civil unrest results in the perfect breeding ground jihadi recruits, which will only bring more instability and bloodshed to Pakistan and the region as a whole. 

US Involvement

During the , Pakistan was a key state for the US, acting as a lackey to help contain the Soviet Union while receiving billions in from the western superpower. The Soviet of Afghanistan in 1979 made Pakistan even more critical to the US and its “.” Even today, the US describes Pakistan as important for “.”  

In a recent statement by US State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, the US potential peace negotiations between India and Pakistan. However, if peace is desired by all then how come some of the most dreaded terror organizations are operating in the Subcontinent? Why hasn’t the US  sanctioned Pakistan, for its non functioning democracy and for funding and sustaining several terror organizations, while Myanmar, another dictatorship to India’s East, is sanctioned? The answer signifies that interests triumph over values. Myanmar does not sit on the connecting lines to the heartland while Pakistan does. The strategic location of Pakistan makes it much more ‘important’, as the war in Afghanistan demonstrated. 

On several occasions, former US president expressed for America’s relationship with Pakistan, before going back on his campaign promise to end the war in Afghanistan once and for all. However, since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the US has revived its efforts to find with Pakistan and build a modern partnership. Biden even provided Pakistan with in aviation equipment to help fortify the Pakistani military in its fight against terrorism. However, Biden’s goodwill towards Pakistan was not well received by those in India, who still consider Pakistan to be an imminent threat.

Even more alarming to India, in October 2022, Pakistani Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa . Secretary of defense Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed Bajwa to the Pentagon and ceremoniously escorted the general through an honor cordon, a bestowal conventionally reserved for the highest-ranking US officials. 

Many foreign leaders visit the US, but very few receive the hospitality provided to Bajwa. Despite Bajwa’s grand welcome, both nations remained tight-lipped over the agenda of discussion and divulged little to the public. The Department of Defense broadly summarized the encounter, stating that “discussions focused on opportunities to address key mutual defense interests”. 

American citizens, South Asians, and the world at large deserve to know what was actually discussed between the two military officers. Was India a topic of discussion? How do the US and Pakistan plan on containing  the Taliban? These unanswered questions are pertinent to both regional and international security.

Why India Should Not Trust Pakistan

There are three main reasons why India should be dubious of Pakistan’s call for peace.

First, providing aid to Pakistan in the past has made no impact on its geopolitical aim. Pakistan continues to harbor UN-designated terrorists like , and .  Militants of the , , and around 81 other proscribed still currently operate in Pakistan. The madrassas continue to radicalize the young, filling the vessels of their minds with hatred and bigotry. Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to have clandestine with China, allowing Chinese officials and military officers to operate in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and .

Second, the Pakistani government is in a precarious position as deep internal division and civil unrest continue to plague the nation. India cannot rely on the promises of the Pakistani government when so many different separatist groups are still actively trying to dismantle it.

While the Pakistani  military is doing everything it can to ensure the territorial integrity of Pakistan, overstretching, the ambiguity of Pakistan’s national interests and overall political instability are making it very difficult to manage.

Third, at a time when countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE are modernizing and incorporating more tolerant values, Pakistan is falling back into medievalism. The of religious places belonging to Ahmadiyyas, a tolerant Muslim sect, are becoming commonplace  in “modern” Pakistan. 

Since the partition of India and its birth as an independent nation, Pakistan has used ‘jihad’ to achieve foreign policy objectives. Since the dictatorship of General , the Pakistani military has succumbed to religious indoctrination and supported religious wars in J&K and Afghanistan. Pakistani media, police and other governmental agencies have also become strongholds of the ‘mullah’ and militantism.

India would be taking a colossal risk if it engages in peace agreements with radioactive Pakistan. Instead, India should focus on its own economic growth and development, rather than investing time and resources in a nation that ultimately appears to be unwilling to reform.

If Pakistan truly desires peace with India, then it should begin by taking concrete actions against terrorism on the ground. A good place to start would be with the destruction of the terrorist that are spreading across the LOC. Before any real negotiations can begin, both India and Pakistan should take heed of this great proverb: Actions speak louder than words.

[ edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect 51�Թ�’s editorial policy.

The post The Truth About Pakistan’s Peace Proposition appeared first on 51�Թ�.

Unfortunately, much of the existing research published by Indian and foreign scholars covers only the Indian side of Kashmir. The POK has somehow escaped a careful and critical analysis due to lack of initiative by the mainstream media and the narrative of Indian aggression built and sustained by external powers. The only broadcasting any information concerning the conditions in POK is the India Meteorological Department, and still, it only relays the weather forecast. The atrocities, human rights violations, ethnic cleansing and annihilation of Indian culture have all been swept under the rug, and have ultimately failed to raise alarm concerning the actions of the Pakistani military. 

Han and Hindu Nationalism Come Face to Face

The Strategic Significance of Gilgit and Baltistan 

The region of Gilgit Baltistan (GB) connects the Xinjiang region of China to Pakistan, providing China with easy access to the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This scenario weakens India’s position of power in both maritime and continental affairs. With presence in , a port city that is “strategically located at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the mouth of the Persian Gulf,” China will not only be able to monitor the area, but will also severely limit India’s  retaliation options during wartime. The modern day economic progress only sustains due to large scale manufacturing and impeccable human capital, and Pakistan has neither. Hence, Gwadar is unlikely to become a trading hotspot, or even a significant cargo hub.. 

Furthermore, the GB  region has  historically fallen  on the trade route, by which Indian culture reached Central Asia and beyond. Not having a physical presence in GB imbibes a parochial  mindset and limits India’s  political influence to South Asian geopolitics. Currently, Indian trade with Central Asia is minuscule due to a variety of reasons, but the most significant inhibitor is a nonexistent land route. This is also the primary reason why Indian involvement in Afghanistan was so minimal, even though India’s  concerns in the conflict were much more immediate than other countries who intervened.

The GB region is also home to a treasure of glaciers which sustain Pakistan’s surface water-based economy. This region is also home to massive due to the presence of the Indus River and its many tributaries. The controversial of 1960 negotiated under the World Bank awarded a whopping 80% of water rights to Pakistan, robbing India of any edge when it comes to the hydrography of the subcontinent. These losses are of extreme importance, given India’s dependency on the area as a vital water source. 

What Lies Behind India’s Bold Bet on Kashmir?

China’s Long Game Strategy

In May 2022, China announced that it plans to connect the Chinese city of Kashgar with , the capital of Uzbekistan and the largest city in Central Asia, via railways. This strategic development is meant to ensure China’s continued rise as a global superpower. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is of the opinion that its presence in the Pacific is not enough to replace the US as global leader. Hence, China is actively connecting its hinterlands to more industrial areas. Using these new railways connecting Kashgar to Tashkent, China will be able to reach Turkey and Europe more easily by avoiding its vulnerability in the IOR. For these reasons, the GB region is critical to Chinese expansion. 

China is also aware of the fact that, notwithstanding their quest for expansion, the geography of the IOR cannot be defied, and will remain the primary economic and geopolitical theater of warfare for the eastern side of the continent. In the words of 19^th century naval thinker Alfred Mahan, control over the IOR is “the key to the .” As of today, the new land routes being constructed are not designed to carry large amounts of cargo. This means that for now, China will continue to conduct trade via routes in the IOR. 

China is actively executing a twin strategy in the GB region. Its first goal is to establish a connection with Persia, and its second, more long-term goal is to encircle India, denying it any strategic depth. As part of this strategy, the “” created between China and Iran plays a very important role. 

China’s push into West Asia is driven by its need for energy security as well as its long term quest to replace the US as global hegemon. A land route, via GB, is the most profound way of asserting its global role. Indeed, there are other factors at work in China’s persistent push towards Iran; however, China’s avid quest to increase land-based connectivity suggests that the main intent of the Chinese  is to perturb India. 

The Chinese are also looking to use Pakistan as a base to extract resources out of Afghanistan, and the (BRI) is a vital part of that strategy. The BRI, the developing modern version of the Silk Road, intends to connect China to all major economic centers of Asia, Africa and Europe via maritime and land routes. It broadly defines five of investments in connectivity, policy coordination, unimpeded trade, financial integration and connecting people. 

Is China’s Belt and Road Initiative Strategic Genius, Arrogant Overreach or Something Else?

Several believe that “India is set out to replace China,” and thus must be mitigated. Within the GB region, China sees an opportunity to ensure that India is weakened and less likely to take action against China’s continued threat. 

Unsurprisingly, Chinese investments in Pakistan are above $60 billion, providing China with a major influence in Pakistan’s administration of the GB region. According to from June 2022, Pakistan was seriously considering the lease of the GB region to China to pay off its “mounting debts.” However, Pakistan’s primary hesitation in finalizing this agreement is the fear that after empowering China, the United Nations (UN) will discontinue all financial assistance being provided to Pakistan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). For all of these reasons, it is imperative that India prevent the fate of the GB to be decided by such avaricious powers.  

 War on the Horizon?

In June 2020, reports indicated the presence of Chinese transport and at the Skardu air base, increasing fears of a possible two front war along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, an Indian union territory. These reports however, were not verified by the Indian government or military.

Considering Chinese investments in Pakistan, it is likely that China will station its  troops in the GB region at Skardu airbase even during peacetime. The dispute of 2020, in which Indian and Chinese soldiers fought using fatal hand-to-hand combat, also sparked concerns of impending war. Even more alarming are reports that Pakistani soldiers have been spotted consorting with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops , indicating a worrisome synchronization between the two hostile nations.

Many speculate that if India had not lost control of the GB region, the region would not have become a breeding ground for terrorism, and could have prevented thousands of casualties. Furthermore, India would have had a convenient land corridor to Afghanistan, sitting just 20 km away from Central Asia. It is also possible that the of 1962 could have been averted, or at least could have had a different outcome. India’s past mistakes will continue to haunt the nation in next two decades if the subcontinent’s political map remains the same. 

Governments Must Recognize the Importance of the Youth

India has tried to establish alternative routes to Central Asia via Chabhar, an Iranian port city, by joining it with a railway line to Afghanistan and then crossing into the Central Asian Region (CAR). However, Afghanistan’s volatile history threatens the security of these routes, and India cannot afford to become dependent on a regime as brutal as the Taliban. Therefore, India’s best alternate route still lies in the GB region, a region of immense strategic value involving three nuclear-armed powers. 

India’s potential for economic stability relies on its access to critical materials, including precious stones and rare earth minerals. The CAR is full of critical materials, enough to sustain a global from fossils to clean energy. Between 1850 and 2015, India has contributed only of global carbon emissions. However, India’s expected economic boom will undoubtedly contribute to a rise in per capita and historical carbon emissions, both consequences which the CAR offers solutions to. 

Another vital resource that is abundant in the GB region is the availability of  freshwater. The Indus river system, Pakistan’s primary source of water, has major tributaries located in the India-controlled territory of Kashmir. This region also has some of the largest glaciers on the planet outside of the polar regions. The Upper Indus Basin (UIB), situated in Gilgit, is home to many small streams that flow from the melting glaciers, and have the potential to generate  50,000 GW of hydroelectricity. Access to this incredible power source provides a colossal advantage to whichever nation controls the region at the time.

For India, water security is likely to become a major issue in upcoming decades. Several reports by the UN and Indian government agencies have concluded that India is likely to face severe water shortages in the upcoming decades. The mismanagement of major bodies of water in Indian cities, rapid and poorly planned urbanization and uncontrolled population growth is only adding fuel to an already dire situation. 

Plastics Threaten the Himalayan Environment

In 2019, the Indian government’s public policy think tank, NITI Aayog, found that nearly 60% of cities in India have already run out of ground water. Even more threatening to the impending water crisis in India are China’s plans to over the Mabja Zangbo, the main tributary to the Ganges River. India is currently facing many major threats to water security – but will this increasing tension escalate into a full-blown water war?

India and China are poised to have an increasingly competitive relationship in the upcoming decades, and Gilgit and Baltistan will indeed be a recurring aspect of contestation. China will do everything in its power to ensure its control over Gilgit and Baltisan. For India, I believe that the most  prosperous future lies in the reintegration of the upper Himalayan region, which has water, navigable land routes and strategic significance far beyond any other region of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

In 1963, Pakistan ‘gifted’ to China the , an area ofJ&K rich in water potential and other resources, in an effort to secure a powerful ally in future conflicts. The Shaksgam Valley is home to 242 glaciers, and is known as the third most glaciated region in the world, after the North and South poles. 

In 2021, China unveiled plans to construct the world’s largest polysilicon in a green oasis of the Taklamakan Desert, located in the western part of China. It is estimated that the production of a single 30 cm silicon wafer (used to make valuable microchips) requires approximately 10,000 liters of fresh water, for which China will rely on the oasis. When completed, China will reap great benefits from the facility as they cheaply manufacture microchips for itself and the rest of the world. While China also faces water scarcity, its occupation of Tibet provides it with control over much of the liquid veins throughout Asia. 

In the next few decades, India will need Central Asia to source energy and other resources more than ever before. China is already taking advantage of these resources, as it has been in the process of building a from Turkmenistan to Xinjiang since 2010. If India intends to become a truly influential power over the  POK,including the regions of the GB and the Shaksgam Valley, it must take critical action to regain access to much -needed resources. 

As early as 1904, British geographer underlined the importance of Eurasia and the CAR. Perhaps it was India’s strategic blindness, bureaucratic hassles, nonexistent national security measures, or isolationist attitude as a result of repeated invasions which culminated into the loss of the GB region. Whatever the reasons were, India’s neglect of the resource-rich region  was a critical mistake that has haunted the nation for decades. 

India must shed its habit of disregarding national threats until the damage has been done. In order to right our past mistakes, we need to prepare to use all means possible to reintegrate the region of Gilgit Baltistan. [ edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect 51�Թ�’s editorial policy.

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