India- Pakistan Relations and Causes of Inconsistency

Abstract

India-Pakistan relations have always been fraught with ambiguity and the pursuit of positive and negative interactions at the same time. Despite both countries' good intentions and noble sentiments for one another, deep-seated apprehensions and historical experiences continue to shape their perspectives on one another. Three factors have historically been viewed by Indians to be impediments to normalisation between India and Pakistan. First, Pakistan has a position in Kashmir. Second, Pakistan is forming an alliance with the West, and third, Pakistan refused to accept India's dominance in the region. Following the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict, India detonated nuclear weapons in 1974. India saw itself as a regional superpower with authority to intervene in the affairs of South Asian nations. Pakistan has long opposed India's dominance doctrine and believed in sovereign equality. This study is qualitative in character, and an effort has been made to fully comprehend the variables that contribute to India-erratic Pakistan ties.