Indo-Pakistani Confederation

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Map of South Asia

The concept of an Indo-Pakistani Confederation advocates for a political

the subcontinent since the partition of India in 1947.[2]

Background

The

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

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

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

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. ^
    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. ^
    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. 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.

External links

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