Lahore, 15th June: In 1947, as the devastation caused by World War II changed the global dynamics, borders were drawn in the Indian subcontinent and two states were carved as a legacy of British colonialism. India and Pakistan, despite gaining independence in the same year, took different paths from then onwards. At another end, from the ashes of World War II, a new bipolar world order emerged. The US camp, dispensing democracy and liberalism, and the Soviet camp, spreading communism based on socialist thought. As a result, countries began gravitating towards their respective orbits. Pakistan, owing to the immediate crisis brought by partition, economic strangulation and governance deficit, sought refuge in the US-led camp. On the contrary, India restrained itself from indulging in global disputes. It opted for a policy of neutrality and non-alignment for the sake of bolstering national integration, fostering democracy, and achieving sustainable economic growth. As a result, despite being one of the most heterogeneous societies in the world, India remained intact with representative polity and commendable economic growth.  Pakistan on the other hand suffered extensively for siding with the US. Unnecessarily, it became an adversary of the Soviet Union. Pakistan was also granted easy access to … Continue reading Indian Neutrality during the Cold War and Lessons for Pakistan