Pakistan's international conflict between secularism and Islamic Essay

Pakistan's international conflict between secularism and Islamic militancy - Essay Example However, the Indian population had its own cultural characteristics with the original Hindu majority interspersed with a large population of Muslims, a remnant of the country’s bygone Mughal era. The Muslim population feared dominance in a vastly Hindu populated region and this fear prompted its leaders to suggest a separate state for the Muslims. The British rulers, who had handled such issues in their two centuries old reign in the region, recognized this factionalism in Indian society and with the perception that the demand was reasonable, acceded to the creation of a separate country for the Muslims. With the Muslim higher intensity of Muslim population in the Northern region of Punjab and the Eastern state of Bengal, it was decided that East and West Pakistan were two entities that would suit the purpose. Accordingly, the Sub-Continent was carved into two states, the independent republic of India and Pakistan, the latter with its two landmasses separated from each other. West Pakistan lay in the north west of the subcontinent with majority population being Punjabis, and East Pakistan at the extreme east of the subcontinent, the majority population being Bengalis. ... The remaining Pakistan in the West was the only surviving Muslim dominated region in the Indian sub-continent which has been driven by hatred for its neighbours, India and Afghanistan, rather than being an independent, progressive state as was envisaged by its creators. The country has been through numerous coups, alternating with short periods of a semblance of democracy, the latter being throttled ruthlessly by military rulers through assassinations, murder and mayhem. The Cold War era saw attempts of domination in the region by the then two superpowers, the United States and the former USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Afghanistan had its own internal problems and remained occupied by Soviet forces for almost ten years during the Cold War. This prompted the United States to pump in economic and arms aid to Pakistan, which gleefully accepted the alms to fuel its hatred and threat to India. Although claiming to be a Muslim country, the Pakistani rulers did not hesitate to ally with China, an atheist state, taking advantage of its border dispute with India. The United States assisted Pakistan to form the Taliban, a radical Muslim organization, with an aim to cripple the USSR presence in Afghanistan, which it did with some degree of success. However, after designs of the west and internal economic and political unrest forced the dismantling of USSR, it lost interest in Afghanistan. The Taliban was left without any purpose, or the need for its existence as an entity. But the large number of youth who were recruited into the organization rebelled and trained their guns on the very creators of their organization, the United States of America. Muslim radical organizations like the now famous Al Qaida grew from West Asia and expanded into the Muslim