ISAS Insights

For long Pakistan's relations with India, its sibling, were based on two considerations: Pakistan's claim over Kashmir and its perception that there were powerful elements within the Indian establishment who, even almost seven decades after Partition, were not reconciled to the division of the Indian subcontinent. What have been called the ideas of Pakistan and India are based on very different definitions of nationhood by the founding fathers of the two states. For India, its future depends on its ability to accommodate dozens of different religious, linguistic and social groups within one nation. Pakistan, on the other hand, was created to provide a homeland for the Muslims of British India.