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Pakistan is a modern creation, one of the two succesor states to follow the British Raj (1947). Pakistn was formed as a Muslim state. The history of the Indus Valley and Islam on the sub-continent goes much further back. The Indus Valley is one of the great centers of civilization (2500–1700 BC). The Indus Valley was isolated by the Himalyas, but there were sea contacts with great Middle Eastern civilizations. Alexander's army entered the Indus Valley and it was here the Army forced Alexander to stop his conquests. A Helenistic influebnce was added to the areas cultural heritage. A series of foreign invaders-—Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Mogols, Arabs, Turks, and others—controlled the region for over a millenia. Islam was introduced (711) and competed with the majority Hindu religion. A Mongol people established the Mogul Empire and many became Muslims, especially in the north eastand west (modern Pakistan and Bangledash. The Mogols ruled most of the subcontinent (16th-17th century). With the arrival of he French and British, Mogol power was already declining. The British became the dominant power and after the failed Sepoy Revolt seized control of the administration of the sub-continent (1857). This period became known as the British Raj. The British built a modern infrastructure and an educational system which provided the leaders of the independence movement. Gradually an independence movenment dominated by the Congress Party developed. Congress included all elements of Indian society, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and others. Muslim elements in Congress were concerned about their minority status. This had several roots. Muslims had ruled India for centuries and were concerned about life in a majority Hindu state. Islam is a religion that evolved in socities where Muslims controlled political power. In addition. conversion to Islam had been most successful among lower-class Indians who faced descrimination in an India governed by caste-conscious Hindus. This dymamic led to the formation of the nationalist Muslim League by Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1906). The independence movement let by Ghandi put increased pressure on British authorities. The rising influence of the Labour Party in Britain pushed self rule and eventual independence. The Muslim League supported Britain in World War II. Conress under Nehru and Gandhi while refusing to rise against the British, refused to support the British war effort. After World War II, Britin decided to grant India independence. Congress wanted a united Indi--all of the former Raj. Jinnah and the Muslim League demanded a separate state. Eventually to avoid comunal rioting Cngress acquiesed in partition along religious lines (August 1947). Jinnah was appointed governor-general. The partition of Pakistan and India along religious lines resulted in the greatest mass-migration in human history, involving 17 million people and unfortunally the communal violence Congress had hoped to avoid. And a series of wars between India and Pakistn over Khasmir followed (1949, 1965, 1971, and 1999). Pakistan declared a republic with Maj. Gen. Iskander Mirza as the first president. This began an era of military rule, in part because of the on-going military confrointation with India. Military rule prevailed for the next two decades. Tensions between East and West Pakistan existed from the creation of Pakistan ad finally outset and finally Begali nationalists declared independence (1971). Limited representative government was restored (1988). Bhutto's daughter and long-time Zia opponent, Benazir Bhutto, became Pakistans prime minister, a novelty in a Muslim state. Political instability followed, in part because of the rising influence of Islamic fundamnentalists. Gen. Pervez Musharraf seized control and formed another military government (1999). Pakistan today is increasingly seen as a failed state with rising levels of violence and abject poverty. The poverty and failed economy of Pakistan stands in sharp contrast to the rapidly expanding economy of modern India which has embraced democracy, plurlism, free market, and the rle of law. Islamic fundamentalists in defiance of the obvious evidence claim that Pakistan's failure is the result of insufficent devotion to Islam and this appears to resonate with many young Pakistanis.
The first wave of human migration out of Africa followed the coast of the Arabian Peninsula and along the coasr of Iran and Pakistan down into the sub-Continent. This is believed to have occurred about 200,000 years ago, although there continues to be considerable academic about the approximate date. Ame anthropologists believe it is more recent. The settlement pattern is unclear. Some are believed to hsve followed the coastline south. Others moved into the interior of the sub-continent. Actual evidence is scant. The sub-continent bis a vast area and the numbers of these early hunter-gathes very small.
They moved in bands composed of a few families.
Several early civilizations were nased in northern India including the area of modern Pakistan. These civilizations, however, seem more influential on modern India than Pakistan which has been strongly shaped by the more recenbt Islamic traditions. Settlement of the Indus Valley is believed to have begun before 4000 BC. Archeologists have divided the history of ancient India into three principal eras. The early Indus River civilization dominated India for a millenium (3000-1500 BC). This civilization was notable for planned cities which had straight streets. Cotton is known to have been grown in India as early as 3,000 BC, but was almost ceratinly grown much earlier. Ancient Indians are known to have worn brightly colored clothes. Ancient India was conquered by the Aryans about 1500 BC by the Aryans, a nomadic people from from Central Asia. They entered the Indus Valley through the Khyber pass--the traditional invasion route into the Southern Asian sub-continent. As in so many cases, the Aryans were a war-like hearing people that conquuered a more sophisticated settled agaraian civilization. The Aryans employed chariots and engaged in constant warfare. They did not have sophisticated governmental structures and were instead still organized in tribal clans and warrior chiefs called rajas. They left few structures that archeologists could study. They did leave a rich setof stories at first sng and told orally. The principal Aryan beliefs as well as descriptions of daily life were set down in the Vedic Scriptures, a collection of poems and sacred hymns, about 1500 BC. Veda meant simply knowledge and include four parts: the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. The ancient warriors caste, the Kashtriya, are described in the Vedic scriptures. The Aryan dominance gave way with the age of empire which began about 500 BC. There were numerous empires in different regions of India. The greatest of these empires was the Gupta Empire (320 AD to about 500 AD). The Gupta Empire existed at about the same time as the final yearsof the Roman Empire in the the West. The Gupta Empire controlled northern India. The Gupta Empire brought law and order to northern India. Elephants were incorporated into the imperial army. Some call the Gupta period, the "Golden Age" of ancient India. There was religious freedom and the Empire promoted education, literature and art.
Alexander's army entered the Indus Valley and it was here the Army forced Alexander to stop his conquests. A Helenistic influebnce was added to the areas cultural heritage. A series of foreign invaders-—Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Mogols, Arabs, Turks, and others—controlled the region for over a millenia. Islam was introduced (711) and competed with the majority Hindu religion.
A Mongol people established the Mogul Empire and many became Muslims, especially in the north eastand west (modern Pakistan and Bangledash. The Mogols ruled most of the subcontinent (16th-17th century). Curiously when the Mongols in the 13th century exploded upon China, the Middle East and Euope, they left the Indian sub-continent unscathed. It was a later Mongol invasion that overwealmed India. Baber or Zahir ud-Din Mohammed (1483-1530), a descendents of Genghis Kahn and Tamerlanre, was a child warrior King at age 11. He began raids into India for booty (1519-24). He defeated the Sultan of Delhi, taking both Delhi and Agra (1526). Baber founded India's famed Mogul dynasty (1526-1707). He greatly expanded the dominions that had been held by the Sultan of Dwlhi. The Moguls were an Islamic dynasty which governed India for more than 200 years. The Moguls reformed government and promoted the arts. One of their major accomplishments was uniting India. The greatest Mogul ruler was Baber's grandson Akbar (reigning 1556-1605). Akbar significantly expanded the boundaries of the Empire. India was a great challenge for the Islamic Moguls. The subcontinent was populated by a largely Hindu people. Not only did the Mogul's encounter a largely alien religion, but dizzing variety of languages and traditions. Akbar's genius was not only his military conquests but his his toleration toward Hindus, and Christians. Akbar also promoted the arts and learning. The resulting artistic flowering is one of the glories of India, expressed in painting, glass, and carpets. The last of the Mogul rulers was Aurangzeb ( -1707). Unlike Akbar Aurangzeb was intolerant of other religions, resulting in Hindu uprisings which drained the royal treasury.
With the arrival of he French and British, Mogol power was already declining. The British became the dominant power and after the failed Sepoy Revolt seized control of the administration of the sub-continent (1857). This period became known as the British Raj. The British built a modern infrastructure and an educational system which provided the leaders of the independence movement.
World War I was largely limited to Europe, but the British Empire, both dominions and colonies, each played a role. India was an important source of both men and resources for Britain. At the time British India included not only modern India, but Pakistan, Bangaldesh and Sri Lanka as well. Indian units were also imployed in the fighting. As part of the BEF rushed to northeast France and Belgium were 30,000 Indian troops. They helped slow the German advance and prevented the Germans from seizing the Channel Ports. Here the Lahore Division of the Indian Corps played an important role. Khudadad Khan at the First Battle of Ypres was the first Indian to win a Victoria Cross. German possession of the Channel Ports would have greatly complicated Allied supply problems on the Western Front. A total of 0.14 Indians were deployed to the Western Front. About two-thirds were committed to the front-line Indian Corps, and one-third to auxiliary battalions. The Indian Corps served in the front line trenches for about a year. They were then withdrawn, decimated by sickness and casualties. Indians accustomed to a tropical climate were especially affected by trench warfare. Indian units totaling about 0.7 million men were subsequently deployed primarily in the Middle East. They saw action against the Ottomans in the Mesopotamian campaign. Indians were also committed in the costly Gallipoli peninsula as well as actions in East and West Africa as well as China. There was no conscription, but 1.5 million Indians volunteered to serve with British forces. This was a major contribution to the Allied effort. Had the Indian forces not been available, Britain would have had to divert men from the critical Western front. Nearly 48,000 Indins were killed. About 100,000 Gurkhas from Nepal fought in the War.
Gradually an independence movenment dominated by the Congress Party developed. Congress included all elements of Indian society, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and others. Muslim elements in Congress were concerned about their minority status. This had several roots. Muslims had ruled India for centuries and were concerned about life in a majority Hindu state. Islam is a religion that evolved in socities where Muslims controlled political power. In addition. conversion to Islam had been most successful among lower-class Indians who faced descrimination in an India governed by caste-conscious Hindus. This dymamic led to the formation of the nationalist Muslim League by Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1906). The independence movement let by Ghandi put increased pressure on British authorities. The rising influence of the Labour Party in Britain pushed self rule and eventual independence. The Muslim League supported Britain in World War II. Conress under Nehru and Gandhi while refusing to rise against the British, refused to support the British war effort.
The British by 1939 were having increasing difficulties governing India. The Congress Party while refusing to support the War efort, decided not to actively oppose Britain or to take advantage of British defeats in the early stages of the War. Some Indian POWs taken by the Japanese were recruited by anti-British nationalists and formed the Free Indian Army. Under Subhashchandra Bose, they fought alongside the Japanese in Burma. Overall, India played an important part in the Allied war effort. Indian units fought with other British Empire forces in both the Pacific and European theaters. About 2.5 million Indians (including modern Pakistan) were mobilized. Some Indian units played important roles in the early stages of the War before Britain had fully mobilized and American joined the War. The Fifth Indian Division ngaged the Italians in the Sudan ans subsequently the Germans in the western Desert. The Indians played a major role in quelling a pro-NAZI revolt in Iraq. A successful revolt would have cut the British off from the Iraqi oil fields whigh would have undermined the naval and land defenses of Egypt and the Suez Canal. the Division along with eight other Indian Divisions fought in Burma. After the Japanese surrender, the Indian forces then disarmed the Japanese forces in Malayia and Java. India provided important bases for the recinquest of Burma and delivering supplied to the Chinese. India also was a source of food and other supplies for British and Commonwealth forces as well as the British homefront.
After World War II, Britin after the victory of the :Labour Paty in the 1945 General lection decided to grant India independence. Congress wanted a united India--all of the former Raj. Jinnah and the Muslim League,m fearing rule by the Jindu mjority, demanded a separate state. This proved to be the most difficult issue association with independence. Eventually to avoid comunal rioting Cngress acquiesed in partition along religious lines (August 1947). Jinnah was appointed governor-general. The partition of Pakistan and India along sectarian lines resulted in the greatest mass-migration in human history, involving 17 million people and unfortunally the communal violence Congress had hoped to avoid occurred with horendous violence and loss of life. Unsettled at the time of indepndence was the status of Khasmir which was one of the pribcely states. The struggke over Khasmor woulkd poison relations betwen the two new nations.
The ongoing conflict betwwen Moslems and Hindus dated back to Mongul invasions of the 16th century. Many Indians converted to Islam under Mongul rule. There were economic advantages. Some Mongul emperors forced conversion. In addition, Islam offered relief from untouchibility. Areas of northern and eastern India in particular became strongly Muslim. After the decline of Mogol Empire tensions developed between Muslim and Hindu communities. This was kept in check by the British Raj, altjhough the British also played on this division in administering India. The current conflict dates from the independence of India after World War II. Lord Mountbatten was sent to India by Britain's post-War Labour Government to be the last Viceroy and oversee independence. India's independence was achieved by the Congress Party. Ghandi through the Congress Party had promoted the idea of a secular Indian state in which people of all faiths could live harmoniously. Muslims were an important part of the Congress Party coalition. In the negotiations over independence, Muslim leader Jenna decided that Muslims needed a separate state--Pakistan. Britain granted India independence August 15, 1947. Inter-communal rioting in 1947 resulted in hundred of thousands of deaths if not million as Muslims fled from India and Hindus from Pakistan--one of the largest migrations in history. Thousands more died in violence as these collums foraged or food and were set upom by villagers also inflamed by religious and national zealotry. The two collumns also fought with each other. The flash point for armed conflict between India and Pakistan was Kasmir. The formula agreed to by Congress and the British was that the aristocratic rulers were allowed to chose whether to join India or Pakistan. This was a complicated process as colonial India was composed of 565 separate states. Pakistan expected Kashmir to affiliate with their country because of the majority Muslim population. Local extremists supported by Pakistan attempted to seize control. Kashmir's Hindu maharajah decided to affiliate with India and pleaded for military support. The result was the first India-Pakistan War. United Nations Resolutions in 1948 and 50 called for a referendum, but India has never allowed this. Pakistan since 1989 has supported a violent insurgency in Kashmir. The conflict has been further complicated in the 1990s. Both India and Pakistan developed and tested nuclear weapons. Hindu nationalists have defeated Congress in Indian elections. Since the 9-11 attacks, the Pakistani Government has reassessed its support of terroism in Khasmir, but Islamacists in Pakistan object to this and other actions by the country's secular Government, especially cooperation with America on the war against terrorism.
Pakistan declared a republic with Maj. Gen. Iskander Mirza as the first president. This began an era of military rule, in part because of the on-going military confrointation with India. Military rule prevailed for the next two decades.
Tensions between East and West Pakistan existed from the creation of Pakistan (1947). Pakistan was an odd creation woth the two parts, East and West Pakistan separated by more than 1,000 miles. The two parts of Pakistan shared few cultural and social traditions other than Islam. The lack of common bonds was accentuated when political figures in the West seized control of the new state, dominating both political and economic power. This causes resentment in East Pakistan that gradually grew. East Pakistan's Awami League, led by the Bengali leader Sheik Mujibur Rahman, won a majority of the seats in the National Assembly (1970). President Yahya Khan responded by postponing the opening of the National Assembly to prevent the Wwami League from pursuing greater autonomy for East Pakistan. The result was civil war.
Begali nationalists declared independence (March 26, 1971). The Pakistani Army attempted to regiain control in East Pakistan and committed terrible attrocities. Indian troops entered the war and quickly defeated the Pakistani Army. The Pakistanis conceded defeat (December 16, 1971). President Yahya Khan resugned. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over Pakistan and recognized Bangladesh as an independent country. Formal diplomatic relations were initiated (1976).
Pakistan's first democratic elections resulted in the overwhelming victory of Zulfikar Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), but opponent denounced the victory as fraudulent (1977). Domestic disorder resulted in a military take over by Gen. Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. Zia declared himself president (September 16, 1978). Bhutto was tried and convicted for the 1974 murder of a political opponent, and despite worldwide protests he was executed (April 4, 1979) His supporters rioted.
General Zia ruled by martial law until killed in a midair explosion of a Pakistani Air Force plane (December 30, 1985).
The military restored limited representative government (1988). Bhutto's daughter and long-time Zia opponent, Benazir Bhutto, became Pakistans prime minister, a novelty in a Muslim state. Political instability followed, in part because of the rising influence of Islamic fundamnentalists.
Gen. Pervez Musharraf seized control and formed another military government (1999). Pakistan today is increasingly seen as a failed state with rising levels of violence and abject poverty. The poverty and failed economy of Pakistan stands in sharp contrast to the rapidly expanding economy of modern India which has embraced democracy, plurlism, free market, and the rle of law. Islamic fundamentalists in defiance of the obvious evidence claim that Pakistan's failure is the result of insufficent devotion to Islam and this appears to resonate with many young Pakistanis.
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