How Kashmir and Pakistan Shaped India’s Rise as a Superpower
The Kashmir conflict has been a double-edged sword—crippling Pakistan while inadvertently motivating India to focus on progress and development.
The roots of the Kashmir issue trace back to British and American Cold War strategies. After independence, both nations promised Pakistan military and economic aid in exchange for its allegiance. Pakistan aligned itself with the West, receiving substantial benefits, while India focused on economic growth through Five-Year Plans, placing military priorities on the back burner.
This imbalance proved costly during India’s 1962 war with China and nearly led to Pakistan’s victory in the 1965 conflict except to the disdain of a few generals who crippled the operation and gave India the victory. However, by 1971, India had realigned its priorities, decisively defeating Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Realizing it could not win a conventional war against India, Pakistan turned to nuclear weapons and proxy warfare through Islamic jihadist groups to destabilize Kashmir. A new slogan of Ghazwa-e Hind (Conquest of India) was coined with Pakistani public. While this strategy initially appeared effective, it soon became clear to many Kashmiris that they were pawns in Pakistan’s geopolitical ambitions. India capitalized on this discontent, undermining Pakistan’s jihadist efforts.
Pakistan’s military, obsessed with the Kashmir conflict, diverted resources from critical economic and civil infrastructure projects, plunging the country into financial and social disarray. Over the past three decades, Pakistan has relied on 17 IMF bailouts and substantial Western aid to keep its economy afloat, while its military remained well-funded, often sourcing hardware from China, if the West was not willing to supply.
Today, Pakistan is on the brink of collapse. Decades of prioritizing military needs over civilian development have left the nation grappling with food shortages, power outages, and crumbling infrastructure. Even as IMF bailouts attempt to stave off disaster, the country remains mired in economic instability.
In contrast, India has made strategic choices that have propelled its rise. Over the past 25 years, India has quadrupled its economy, eradicated food shortages, and modernized its infrastructure. Now the world’s fourth-largest economy, India is on track to become the third-largest within three years—a remarkable achievement.
Pakistan’s fixation on Kashmir and its reliance on jihadist tactics have backfired, leaving the nation in ruins. Its public is increasingly questioning its leadership over poor governance and chronic shortages. Unless Pakistan abandons its military-first policies and extremist culture, its chances of recovery remain slim. General public in Pakistan are envious of India but are unable to break the shackles of military and Jihadi culture control. In addition its current Jihadi culture is mired in its Madrassas educated youth, who believe in nothing else but Ghazwa-e Hind war in order to grab economic progress of India.
Meanwhile, India’s focus on economic development and strategic investments has positioned it as a rising superpower—a stark contrast to Pakistan’s decline.
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