Pakistan and India Conflict: Federalism as a Peace Policy

Abstract

India and Pakistan were formed out of erstwhile British India when the British left the colony and transferred power to Indian leaders. Pakistan was carved out of India to create a separate homeland for Muslims of Indian subcontinent. The demand for separate nation for Muslims was driven by the idea of “Two Nation Theory” essentially outlining (in the words of M. A. Jinnah) that “In all things (Muslims’) outlook is not only fundamentally different but often radically antagonistic to the Hindus. We are different beings. There is nothing in life, which links us together” (Jinnah, Bhutto and the legacy of intolerance).India and Pakistan are today nuclear armed countries and at loggerheads with each other. Both countries started at the same platform but have taken different paths since 1947 and represent different ideas to the world. Even though both are diverse and share much of the cultural heritage, different paths taken by them have shaped them differently and how it has aggravated the conflicts. This allows us to investigate on how some political reforms can be used to resolve this never-ending conflict. The essay will first go into some historical background on both the countries and the conflicts between the two and then will cover how the state structure differs between them. Finally it will go into some of the recommendation on how federalist governance structure would assist in resolving the conflict.