India: An Aspiring Hegemon

Abstract

Pakistan has had difficult relations with India. The relationship between them, which has been punctuated by occasional wars and armed conflicts, was hardly ever free of tensions and strains because of several outstanding disputes, particularly Kashmir. In view of this unhappy history and India’s close geographical proximity, its policies have a direct bearing on Pakistan’s security and economic well-being. Any effort to formulate a grand strategy for Pakistan must, therefore, take into account India’s growth as a major regional power, its hegemonic designs in South Asia, and the huge recent rightward shift in its politics. Pakistan-India relations will continue to suffer from recurrent periods of tensions despite the strategic imperative of peace between them because of their possession of nuclear weapons.

Portions of this chapter previously appeared as earlier versions/adaptations in articles for The Nation (nation.com.pk) and in Javid Husain, “Long-Term Prospects of Pakistan-India Relations,” Criterion Quarterly 9, no. 3 (2014), at http://www.criterion-quarterly.com/long-term-prospects-of-pakistan-india-relations/.