India: wars, agreements and disputes

Pakistan Affairs · Foreign policy and regional issues. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Relations with India follow a pattern: a war or crisis, then an agreement. Learn them as pairs. The 1965 war was followed by the Tashkent Declaration (1966). The 1971 war, which ended with the emergence of Bangladesh, was followed by the Simla Agreement (1972). The Lahore Declaration (1999) was a peace effort that was soon followed by the Kargil conflict.

Three disputes run through the story. Kashmir is the oldest: Pakistan holds that its future should be decided by a plebiscite under UN resolutions. Siachen has been contested since Indian forces occupied its passes in 1984. Water disputes arise over Indian projects on the western rivers.

Rules to remember

1965: Rann of Kutch clashes (April), Operation Gibraltar (August), war in September.
Tashkent Declaration, 10 January 1966: Ayub Khan and Lal Bahadur Shastri, with Soviet mediation.
1971 war: ended on 16 December 1971 with the surrender at Dhaka.
Simla Agreement, 2 July 1972: Z. A. Bhutto and Indira Gandhi; disputes to be settled bilaterally; the ceasefire line in Kashmir became the Line of Control.
Siachen glacier is in the Karakoram; Indian forces occupied its main passes in 1984.
Lahore Declaration, February 1999: Nawaz Sharif and Atal Bihari Vajpayee; the Kargil conflict followed in mid-1999.
The first Kashmir war ended with a UN-arranged ceasefire on 1 January 1949.

Common mistake

Tashkent and Simla are easily swapped. Tashkent (1966) follows the 1965 war and involved a third party, the Soviet Union. Simla (1972) follows the 1971 war and stresses bilateral settlement with no third party.

Worked example

Put these in the correct order: Simla Agreement, Kargil conflict, Tashkent Declaration, Indian occupation of the Siachen passes, Lahore Declaration.

Attach each to its year: Tashkent 1966, Simla 1972, Siachen 1984, Lahore Declaration February 1999, Kargil mid-1999.
Tashkent follows the 1965 war and Simla follows the 1971 war, so Tashkent comes first.
The Lahore Declaration and Kargil fall in the same year; the declaration came first and the conflict followed.

Answer: Tashkent Declaration, Simla Agreement, Siachen, Lahore Declaration, Kargil conflict.

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