1965 was a watershed year for Pakistan. In it, a highly charged election was contested, in which Ayub Khan won office but lost his reputation and legitimacy in most of the country’s eyes. Then the war of 1965 tested the established military doctrines, which we found wanting.
Aside from geography, there were important differences between East and West Pakistan related to culture, climate, economy, and security requirements. These differences between the two wings were a major cause of deadlock in the constitution-making process of the new state and eventually led to the First Martial Law.
Iqbal, Pakistan’s supposed ideologue, rejected language, race, or land as a basis for nationhood and advocated Islam as the primary basis for the yet-to-be-born Pakistan.
To understand the role of Bengal in the history of India and Pakistan in general and in the independence movement in particular, it has to be understood that Bengal’s role has been greatly influenced by its unique geography, demography, cultural shifts, and history.
![Afghan refugees arrive at the Torkham border crossing in Pakistan to cross over into Afghanistan on November 2, 2023 [Image via Al Jazeera]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Afghan-refugees-arriving-at-the-Torkham-Border-crossing-1699011483.webp "Afghan Refugee")
Every day hundreds and thousands of people cross the borders in pursuit of better economic opportunities and living conditions, perhaps sometimes only for the sake of survival. However, the level of brutality that they have to go through is insane. Such is the case of Afghan refugee.
From secularism to systemic persecution of religious minorities, from proscribing international condemnation to unilaterally and forcefully imposing decisions over bilateral territorial disputes; India is essentially paradoxical in dodging global indicators as well as in its very fabric.
Post 9/11 when the United States launched its War on Terror against AL-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, Pakistan had to suffer the impact. While Pakistan was blamed for playing a double game with the United States, countless lives were sacrificed during War on Terror to root out terrorism from the country.
The killing of Osama bin Ladin has been made the Pakistani Achilles\’ heel despite the fact that it was the effective intelligence sharing of Pakistan\’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which led to the whereabouts of bin Laden.
Islam to Iqbal was a philosophical ethos, more than a mere religion confined to the individual sphere. Thus, he spoke both in terms of the individual and the collective – framed in the concept of the Ummah.
This article argues that the internal workings of Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) indicate that it remains in direct control of senior RSS functionary Indresh Kumar.