Causes of War in South Asia

EDITORIAL

Causes of war in South Asia
Khan Ferdousour Rahman
11/16/2006

"WAR has laid its armour down, peace puts it on, we know what war achieves, but by peace what is done?" - said by Friedrich Von Logan. South Asia has long been significant in global affairs, which has been the centre of long 5000 years of civilization. South Asia comprises the states of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - a region of great racial diversity with multiple cultures, languages and religions combining Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mughul, Arab, Persian, Turkic, and West European cultures. No other region of the world possesses such unique distinctions and characteristics. The area is Indo centric, where India shares common boundaries with other six states of the region. No other country shares the same. Geo-strategic reason has made India a regional power, where Pakistan is the contender. Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka are the mid ranking states, where Bhutan and the Maldives are two micro-states in the region.Clausewitz described war as an instrument of foreign policy and 'an act of violence' intended to compel the opponent to fulfill the will. According to Martin Van Creveld, "war is a violent contest between two opponents, each governed by an independent will and to some extent free to do as sees fit." At present war between two states with professional and responsible armies is hardly be found, rather it occurs in the form of violence, terrorist activities and low intensity conflicts.Throughout the history, South Asia was the area of interest of Western powers, which caused many wars in the region. Up to the 17th century religion and territorial, expansions were the main causes of wars. The British came in the 17th century and gradually took control of the region through a number of wars and thereby made it a colony. But with the movement of people they had to quit the region after World War II.Both India and Pakistan fought three conventional wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971 in the region since their independence in 1947. India also fought a war with China in 1962. Other than these, there were number of unconventional wars in the region, i.e. Sikh, Naga and Mizo problems in India; Baluch and Sindh problems in Pakistan; and insurgency problems both in Sri Lanka and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. In all the major wars in the region, India was one of the parties. She was also involved in maximum numbers of unconventional wars. Total numbers of intra-state wars were more than inter-state wars in the region. The influx of cold war, sub-state nationalism, neo-colonialism for market domination, rivalry between two states (i.e. India and Pakistan) were the other causes of war in the region.In all the ages, war has been an important topic of analysis. The world is changing, so the causes of war also have changed at different ages. War used to be fought mainly to preserve social dominance during primitive age. But after that it has become complex and multidimensional due to the technological and social advancement. At present no state probably fights a war for a single cause, unless absolutely necessary.The Indo-Pak war 1948 was fought between India and Pakistan, though the main battles were fought only for two to three weeks. The war was fought on two fronts, i.e. Jammu-Kashmir, and in the West of Kashmir. The Sino-Indian war was fought in 1962 between China and India in the Sino-Indian border along Kashmir and Northeast Frontier Agency due to mainly border dispute. Another cause of this war was the Tibet, where India wanted to maintain the same status as British used to maintain during colonial rule. The second Indo-Pak war was fought between them in 1965. The issue was again Kashmir. The third Indo-Pak war was fought in 1971 on the question of independence of Bangladesh. This war was fought on two fronts; one was in the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and another along the Indo-Pak border. The main causes of this war were old rivalry between India and Pakistan, governance problem and rise of nationalism in the then East Pakistan (presently Bangladesh). Through this war, Bangladesh got liberated from the clutches of the occupation army of Pakistan. In the process, also India achieved its mission in reducing power of Pakistan by breaking Pakistan into two pieces. India and Pakistan also fought a short war in Kargil in 1999.The geo-strategic reason has made India a regional power, which occupies 72% of the total area of the region. She is, directly or indirectly, one of the causes of the war in the region, as she always wants to dominate the region. Other future reasons may be the militancy problem and involvement of powerful outsiders due to their special interest. The interest groups always try to generate war. For example, western business community having a stake of heavy interest in many countries (like Nicaragua) is a major factor of war. Extraction of mineral resources may be another cause of war. Military Industrial Complex (MIC) of the US is often blamed as the major cause of the cold war. Sometimes the state itself becomes the cause of war due to poor governance and wrong political activities.Causes of war are changeable with the world system in various ages. War used to be fought for very silly reasons in the primitive days, which has become complex and multidimensional with the advancement of technology and society. In South Asia, war can be avoided if all the states take appropriate measures to strengthen the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) both in true spirit and practice. ......................................................The writer is a freelancer and can be reached on E-mail: ferdous3820@yahoo.co.uk