| Title | : | Shooting for a Century: The India-Pakistan Conundrum |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0815721862 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780815721864 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 236 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2013 |
In recent years the stakes have increased as India and Pakistan have each acquired a hundred or more nuclear weapons, blundered into several serious crises, and become victims of terrorism, some of it from across their borders. America is puzzled by the problem of dealing with a rising India and a struggling Pakistan, and Cohen offers a fresh approach for U.S. policy in dealing with these two powers.
Drawing on his rich experience in South Asia to explore the character, depth, and origin of Indian and Pakistani attitudes toward each other, Cohen develops a comprehensive theory of why the dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad is likely to persist. He also describes the terrible cost of this animosity for the citizens of India and Pakistan, including the region's high levels of violence and low level of economic integration. On a more hopeful note, however, he goes on to suggest developments that could ameliorate the tension, including a more active role for the UnitedStates in addressing a range of issues that divide the nations. Kashmir is one of these issues, but as much a consequence as a cause of the rivalry.
Can India and Pakistan resolve their many territorial and identity issues? Perhaps the best they can expect in the near term is a limited degree of normalization, including bottom-up ideas generated by the peace and business communities, as well as a realistic assessment by strategic elites of the two states' shared common interests.
"Right now, full normalization seems unlikely," Cohen writes in the preface, "so this book is suffused with conditional pessimism: normalization would be desirable, but there are worse futures than a projection of the present rivalry for another thirty years or more."
Shooting for a Century: The India-Pakistan Conundrum Reviews
-
If you're looking for a pithy and to-the-point summation of one of the modern world's longest-lasting rivalries, look no further. One of Professor Cohen's little tongue-in-cheek observations is that several American Presidents have taken it upon themselves to try and solve the India-Pakistan conflict, perhaps with visions of a Nobel Peace Prize dancing before their eyes. In the end, they go on to try and deal with something simple, like the Arab-Israeli struggle. This is one of those international problems that simply refuses to go away, and the causes are many: culture, territorial conflict, a long memory of real and perceived insults and defeats, religion, etc. Add a healthy dose of nuclear weapons, mutual proxy warfare and plenty of nationalist rhetoric and you have a situation that keeps people up at night, not least in the two countries involved. Cohen points out that the difference between the antagonists would seem to play heavily into India's hand, and Pakistan's weaknesses other than military place it almost in the "failed state" category; a struggle that Pakistan can't win and India can't lose. And while some Indians might be willing to simply wait until Pakistan's "inevitable" collapse takes place, Cohen is probably right to point out that Pakistan is "too nuclear to fail." Are there chances for the situation ameliorating? No, probably not, but work can be done to keep it from getting much worse.
-
Can India and Pakistan ever reconcile and move towards peace? The author has tried to answer this intractable conflict which he maintains is almost as bad as the Israel-Palestine issue!
Why in his opinion in our communications age of almost transparent people to people contact is the hate not disappearing? It could only mean that the people of both countries are susceptible to their respective countless propaganda which is stopping the relations from getting better.
He starts by establishing the context of the conflict. There were three forces vying for power in pre-partition India, the nationalist Congress, nationalist Muslim League and the separatist leaning Independent states, who never wanted to merge either with India or Pakistan. Cohen makes an important observation which as a Pakistani I can vouch for, 'important stories (of the great Partition) of members of both communities who helped and rescued members of different faiths are mostly undocumented. The great authors and cultural figures who recognised and opposed Partition to unmentioned. Even official history projects in both countries pay little attention to these stories and are devoted mainly to building national solidarity around negative distrust or hatred of another religious or ethnic community.' This atmosphere of mutual hate has created a strong prejudice against one another. Cohen makes very astute observations, India has taken the mantle of the Raj dominance, while Pakistan has adopted a defensive Israel like stance. While India shuns outside interference in this regards, Pakistan cultivates it actively. In fact Pakistan is expert in lobbying its defensive position, constantly reminding anyone who listens of its vulnerability and strategic position.
Cohen cites three major reasons for the animosity between India and Pakistan, water, Kashmir and Siachin, with no real tangible progress being made on either of the three issues. The only resolution achieved was on Rann of Kutch.
So what prevents India and Pakistan from peace? Cohen presents six reasons:-
Insecure and distrustful relationship.
Both sides threatened for their identities.
Time, both are sure that in time other will collapse.
Both act as victims.
Both feel morally superior to the other.
Inability to rely on outsiders to solve the impasse.
Overall Cohen is pretty pessimistic that any normalisation of relations can happen by 2047, but his last chapter is an appeal to the US government to be more proactive about initiating some meaningful dialogue between the two archaic enemies. -
The brilliance of Cohen clearly in evidence. Perhaps the most incisive analyses of Indo-Pak relations. Cohen also suggests the way forward and it is a plausible one. He is concerned that "For many decades India and Pakistan have been moving in the wrong direction- digging the hole deeper, talking more about insecurity than about opportunity". Despite the problems in Pakistan, he wants India to indulge because "if your neighbours house is on fire, isn't it in your interest to help put out the fire".
-
I Think it is the best review of Hindo-Pak relations I ever read book is short and well prepprepared in small Headlines (Stephen us master in diving book into small topics or headongs
But I think there is some flaws in it
1) His commentary is mostly pro Indian (may be because Indian policy is Ally of America)
2) His commentry on Pakistan is very pessimistic (As was shown in Future of Pakistan)
3) He is in favour of strengthning Trade relationships which according to him would gave to good relations. (I think it is oversimplifying or exaggeration of Trade impacts or in other words applying of Western theories on South Asian States which mostly failled)
4) A person who is beginner to South Asian History will disappoint from this book because it is not history Pak -Hind relations book but just commentary on important events and issues
5) It looks from his writing mostly as if Pakistan is the main hurdle in Pak-Hind good relationships but
I THINK BOTH ARE EQUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR IT (Maybe Pakistan is slightly more Responsible because of Kashmir issue but it is also the result of what India did in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) -
History is well covered, however author's view on the contemporary status of Indo Pak relationship as well as future recommendations have been looked through the prism of US interest.
-
I was looking for a non biased account of the situation.. I don't think this is that.
![The South Asia Papers: A Critical Anthology of Writings [Paperback] STEPHEN PHILIP COHEN](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476622885i/32618784.jpg)