India and Pakistan

Stanley Wolpert is a distinguished scholar on Indian sub-continent politics and the conflicts that emerged soon after the sub-continent was divided into India and Pakistan. In his earlier book, Shameful Flight, he had discussed with empathy the haphazard manner in which British India ceased to exist on 14th/15th August 1947, even though the last Viceroy of British India remained there to govern the new Indian Dominion as its first Governor General. Due to massive communal riots, several millions of Hindus and Muslims were compelled to migrate from both sides of India. In the process, at least 2 million people lost their lives during the loot, arson and killing that remained the order of the day for many months in 1946 and 1947.

In the book under review Wolpert tries to answer an important question that haunts every sensible Pakistani and Indian: should there be continued conflict or co-operation between the two neighbouring countries that are also nuclear powers? The book is dedicated to innocent Kashmiri victims of the deadly cross-fire between India and Pakistan over the past sixty-three years.

There is no doubt that the core cause of conflict between the two countries is the issue of Kashmir. Under the instrument of Independence through which India and Pakistan were born, the princely states of British India were given the option to join either of the two countries. It was usually understood that those states with Muslim majority and adjacent to Pakistan will join Pakistan while those with Hindu majority should join India. Consequently, following this criterion all states joined either Pakistan or India except for Kashmir, Junagarh and Hyderabad. Hyderabad wanted to remain independent or preferred to join Pakistan though it did not have a majority Muslim population. After the death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, India invaded Hyderabad and annexed it. Junagarh met the same fate.