Abstract
In this essay, we will focus on the evolutions of the relations between Pakistan and India from 1947 to current. From the previous times when both countries locked horns and were rivals on the brink of war in 1947-1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999, to comparison of the current situation, we can argue that a real evolution has taken place, as the Indo-Pakistani relation has moved from traditional conflicts, mainly over the Kashmiri question, to a so-called ‘Cold Peace', guaranteed by what can be defined as a terror equilibrium. This is due to the fact that both of the players own nuclear power. Most of the conflicts between India and Pakistan originated because of the issue over the control of Kashmir (some people refer it to as Switzerland of the east), but there were other causes as well, especially on the conflicts afterwards, for example the historical roots, that means a traditional conflict between the two protagonists. We will study these others causes in our essay.
To deal with this wide subject, evolutions in the Indo-Pakistani relations and the road from what we can call ‘traditional conflicts' to a new balance of power defined by the nuclear force, we will try to follow these changes along our essay. In the first part, we will focus on the different conflicts that occurred between India and Pakistan since 1947, except 1971 (as it was a war that formed Bangladesh), and the creation and both this states, to see what were the evolutions and why can one say that they are still engaged in ‘classical conflicts'. Then we will be able to study the impact of India and Pakistan producing nuclear weapons, and show to what extent it can be argued that India and Pakistan are now in a ‘Cold Peace' situation because of the changes linked to the possession of the nuclear power.
