Since the Partition of India in August 1947, which resulted in the formation of the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, there have been three major wars, one minor war and numerous armed skirmishes between the two countries. The most violent outbreaks came in 1947–48, 1965, and 1971.Most believe that the roots of the conflicts lie in the hostility between Hindus and Muslims and, initially, in the disposition of self-governing princely states.
Here we tried to place some brief information on 4 major wars between India and Pakistan.
The 1947–48 War (October 21, 1947 – December 31, 1948)
The first war between India and Pakistan also called the First Kashmir War arose over Kashmir, in NW India, in 1947 when Muslim subjects revolted and were supported by Pakistani troops. The Hindu ruler appealed to India for aid, agreeing to cede the state to India in return. India moved quickly to consolidate its position in Kashmir, pushing Pakistan’s “volunteers” back. Conflicts also arose in the Punjab and in Bengal. The undeclared war in Kashmir continued until Jan. 1, 1949, when a truce was arranged through UN mediation; negotiations between India and Pakistan began and lasted until 1954 without resolving the Kashmir problem. Pakistan controlled part of the area, Azad (Free) Kashmir, while India held most of the territory, which it annexed in 1957. The war ended in December 31, 1948 with the Line of Control dividing the erstwhile princely state into territories administered by Pakistan (northern and western areas) and India
People Effected
Indian army – 1,104 killed – 684 killed (State Forces) – 3,152 wounded
Pakistan army – 1,500 killed -2,633 killed (State Forces) – 4,688 wounded
Result - Indian victory; however princely state of Kashmir and Jammu dissolved due UN mandated ceasefire. (Line of Control)
The 1965 War (April – September 23, 1965)
The second war began in Apr., 1965, when fighting broke out in the Rann of Kachchh, a sparsely inhabited region along the West Pakistan–India border. Much of the war was fought by the countries’ land forces in Kashmir and along the International Border between India and Pakistan. In August fighting spread to Kashmir and to the Punjab, and in September Pakistani and Indian troops crossed the partition line between the two countries and launched air assaults on each other’s cities. After threats of intervention by China had been successfully opposed by the United States and Britain, Pakistan and India agreed to a UN-sponsored cease-fire and withdrew to the pre-August lines. Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri of India and President Ayub Khan of Pakistan met in Tashkent, USSR (now in Uzbekistan), in Jan., 1966, and signed an agreement pledging continued negotiations and respect for the cease-fire conditions. After the Tashkent Declaration another period of relative peace ensued.
Our L.Colonel Hari Singh posing outside a captured Pakistani police station (Barkee) in Lahore District.
People Effected
Indian army – 3,264 killed – 8,623 wounded
Pakistan army – 8,000 killed
Result - Indian tactical and strategic victory.
The 1971 War (December 3-December 16, 1971)
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a major military conflict between India and Pakistan. This war is closely associated with the Bangladesh Liberation War. Indo-Pakistani relations deteriorated when civil war erupted in Pakistan, pitting the West Pakistan army against East Pakistanis demanding greater autonomy. The fighting forced 10 million East Pakistani Bengalis to flee to India. When Pakistan attacked Indian airfields in Kashmir, India attacked both East and West Pakistan. It occupied the eastern half, which declared its independence as Bangladesh, on Dec. 6, 1971. Under great-power pressure, a UN cease-fire was arranged in mid-December, after Pakistan’s defeat. Pakistan lost its eastern half, an army of 100,000 soldiers, and was thrown into political turmoil. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto emerged as leader of Pakistan, and Mujibur Rahman as prime minister of Bangladesh. Tensions were alleviated by the Shimla accord of 1972 and by Pakistan’s recognition of Bangladesh in 1974, but tensions have periodically recurred. The war ended with the surrender of the Pakistani military to the allied forces of India and Bangladesh, jointly known as the Mitro Bahini. Bangladesh became an independent nation, the world’s third most populous Muslim state. The loss of East Pakistan demoralized the Pakistani military
Lt. Gen A. A. K. Niazi signs the instrument of surrender on December 16, surrendering his forces to Lt. Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora.
People Effected
Indian army – 3,843 killed – 9,851 wounded
Pakistan army – Not yet declared
Result - Decisive Indian and Mukti Bahini victory, dissolution of East Pakistan and creation of Bangladesh
The 1999 War (May-July 1999)
The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir. The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC), which serves as the de facto border between the two states. During and directly after the war, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces, led by General Ashraf Rashid. The Indian Army, supported by the Indian Air Force, attacked the Pakistani positions and, with international diplomatic support, eventually forced withdrawal of the Pakistani forces across the LOC.
People Effected
Indian army – 527 killed – 1,363 wounded
Pakistan army – 357 killed – 4,000 wounded
Result - India regains possession of Kargil
List of Wars Between India and Pakisthan « WorthvieW