Forgotten Brotherhood

Our country India has a rich and varied heritage. It also has a rich history behind its current superiority. It has a lot of resources and is home to a large number of cuisines and delicious dishes. It was also home to the highest mountain ever (Mt.Everest), but then the country got divided and currently, Nepal has the mountain. It is 8848 meters high. The Indian Ocean is the only ocean that is named after a country, that is, India. It is also home to different kinds of eclectic tourist spots and attractive beaches. It has the second longest beach in the world - Marina Beach. It also has one of the biggest metropolitan cities of the world. Delhi is the capital of India. Agra is home to one of the wonders of the world - Taj Mahal, which was built during the Mughal period. It is made up of precious stones and adorning gems. It's architecture is perfect and minute, with picturesque artworks. The kind of colorful and juicy fruits that are available in India dazzle us through their wonderful taste. It is also home to The Tram, which is driven nowhere around the world, except Kolkata. It contains all types of natural land forms - Plateaus, mountains, deserts, plains, rivers, islands, hills, valleys and much more. The tradition, culture and history of this country enrich its uniqueness. It is the 7th largest economy in the world, and the largest democracy in the world. It is the 7th largest country and the 2nd most populous country. It is placed on the 4th rankings in the military capabilities with highly modernized equipment, only behind USA, Russia and China. It is becoming a potential superpower of the world.

Pakistan is placed on the 9th rank based on the military capabilities and is the fifth most populous country. It is the 20th largest economy and the 33rd largest country of the world. It has the second - largest Muslim population in the world. The population of Pakistan is about 227 million while that of India is around 1300 million. Both of the countries have nuclear power. Pakistan too, has spectacular and outstanding specialties.

Because of the above mentioned colossal facts about India and to obtain resources, the Portugal, French, Mughal, Arabic and British people came here and performed trade. The precious gems and stones such as sapphires, amethysts, opals, diamonds, emeralds and so much more were available in India, which are now in The United Kingdom as a result of the British colonial rule. We struggled for centuries for independence, and finally, in 15th August of 1947, by miraculous events, we got our independence, but then, our country got divided. And from that division, formed present day India and Pakistan.

Although some people accuse Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru for the division of India and Pakistan, both the leaders and the Britishers played an important role in this magnificent event.

Because both of these countries originated from the same country, we are like siblings - But the Hindu - Muslim riots forced Muslim people to migrate to Pakistan and the Hindu people to India. So Pakistan has Muslims in majority and India has Hindus. Because of the rivalry between the two religions, tensions developed between India and Pakistan.

Northern India had Jammu and Kashmir, which was, is and will be the target for Pakistan. They continuously fought against each other to force their reign over Kashmir. While Kashmir officially belongs to India, the Pakistanis continuously disturbed India and threatened them. It was not even 2 months since both countries got their independence, when a war broke out. The Indo - Pakistani war of 1947 - 1948 was fought over Jammu and Kashmir. It was the first of four wars between the arch - rivals of the two countries. The war started on 22nd October 1947 and ended on 5th January 1949. In this war, India gained control of about two - thirds of Kashmir and Pakistan gained control of the rest of the land. The result was an Indian victory.

India then fought another war against China. The result of the Sino - Indian war of 1962 was a Chinese victory. India was faced upon many wars, and that has enhanced our experience. Another war was fought between India and Pakistan. The Indo - Pakistani war of 1965 was fought from April 1965 to September 1965. The result was an Indian victory again, although both of the countries claimed to have won.

The next war fought by India was just 2 years later, on 1967 against China. The result of the Sino - Indian war of 1967 was an Indian victory. India was relishing a good time in the wars. A large majority of the number of wars fought by India were victories.

Just 4 years later, another war followed. All of these wars were triggered by Pakistan just to conquer Jammu and Kashmir. The 1971 Indo - Pakistani war almost escalated to a World War! Many other countries were involved. The catch here, is that present day Bangladesh was by then west Pakistan and present day Pakistan was East Pakistan. Bangladesh was struggling for freedom. By then, the Kashmir conflict was at its peak. Pakistan opened the attack on India, and then the Indian troops responded. A war broke out. The United States of America and the United Kingdom (Great Britain) supported Pakistan. China, by then, didn't openly support any country. The Kashmir conflict soon transformed into a war for the liberation of Bangladesh. The Soviet Union supported India. The combined fight put off by India, Bangladesh and the Soviet Union warded off the combined powers of Pakistan, USA and UK. Pakistan had no other way but to surrender. And then, Bangladesh got its freedom. The result of this mega - war between India and Pakistan was an Indian victory and the liberation of Bangladesh. The war began on 3rd December 1971 and ended on 16th December 1971.

This war enhanced the friendship between India and the Soviet Union. Because of this reason, even after the Soviet Union collapsed, India remains to be a true friend of Russia and vice versa. Even after so many wars and devastation, both of the countries were still sworn enemies. 28 years after the 3rd Indo - Pakistani war, the two countries went to war yet again. This time, Jammu and Kashmir was the center of attention. It was the Kargil War of 1999. Yet again, Pakistan opened the attack, capturing a large land mass of Kashmir. The Indian troops were forced to retreat. Pakistan was, by then, having the advantage. The Indian army responded strongly, by defending and counter - attacking parts associated with the chaotic border of the two countries. "Operation Vijay" was undergone by the Indian army. India regained the captured parts of the state. The result of this war, again, was an Indian victory. "Operation Vijay" was declared successful.

The Kargil War begun on 3rd May and ended on 26th July.

But still, the conflicts keep on raising. Currently, China is threatening India.

In 2008, an Islamist Terrorist Organization from Pakistan caused shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai which lasted four days. Firings at the border of the two countries and the death of troops and terrorists are common even today at the border. We have to salute those Indian and Pakistani soldiers sacrificing their lives for their country! This is called as patriotism.

But still, Hindus and Muslims fight with each other in the name of religion! I don't understand. All of the Gods are same! It is just like that old saying, "Worship the power, not the form or picture." Kabirdas was a great poet. He lived during the 14th and 15th century, when the fights and riots between those two religions were at their peak.

He wrote, "Hindus eat the goats and Muslims eat the cows. So, we can conclude that both of the religions have forgotten that mercy is the ultimate vehicle that takes us to the God." Now, don't get offended, because he has written this as per the situations of the 14th and 15th centuries, not the 20th century, but still, it is applicable to the life that we are leading now.

Yes, it is true; fighting against other people to survive is human nature. Even small creatures such as viruses and bacteria kill us and other animals for their survival. But there is a major difference; Other organisms fight with OTHER species in order to survive, while humans fight with their OWN species for their own survival. We have to correct our mistakes. Jawaharlal Nehru said, "Emperor Ashoka's edicts still speak to us in a language that we can still understand." Yes, it is true that emperor Ashoka, who ruled the Indian subcontinent, had caused massive slaughter, but still, he corrected himself; He told, "If one is praising one's own religion while underestimating the other's, then one is actually causing more harm to his own religion."

You see, co-existence is possible only by unity and adaptation. These diversities caused the British people to expose the discrimination, which later led to the British colonial rule. So, it must be emphasized that we have forgotten the preciousness of our independence and are taking it for granted. We are doing the same mistakes again and again.

It does not matter who has won the previous Indo – Pakistani wars. It matters of what we decide about our future. If the countries manage to unite together, then they can lead the developing world together as both of the countries have good figures. Both of the countries have unique specialties, and splendor and grandeur is ubiquitous in the two countries.

So it is up to us; whether we will become friends and lead to development, or we will continue to be sworn enemies and cause massive number of martyrdoms. If the choose the former, then we will be as brothers. If we follow the latter, then our brotherhood will be completely forgotten.

Sunita Williams, who was an astronaut, returned from space and said that the earth looked as ‘one’ from space. There were no boundaries. Boundaries and hatred acts are just illusions created by humans. In the reality, they don’t exist.

Unity can make the world a better place to live.

So, I hope you all will understand the importance of unity and will establish unity between Hindus and Muslims. This accomplishment will lead to large scale development. All of this does not apply only to India and Pakistan. It applies to all other countries as well. So, equality is the key for development.

Let us now take a glimpse of the massive devastation caused by the four Indo - Pakistani wars:

Number of fatalities in the 1947 - 1948 Indo - Pakistani War - About 7,100

Number of fatalities in the 1965 Indo - Pakistani War - About 8,700

Number of fatalities in the 1971 Indo - Pakistani War - About 12,200

Number of fatalities in the 1991 Kargil war between India and Pakistan - It is not known clearly. The number of Pakistani deaths has been difficult to determine. On average, it would have been around 1000.

So, the total number of deaths that have resulted from the 4 Indo - Pakistani wars is about 29,000.

That is a massive martyrdom!

And remember, all of this occurred just because of the conflicts between Hindus and Muslims!

"United we stand, divided we fall."

Unity and integrity is the only way by which development can be attained.

(The main purpose of this essay is to establish equality around the globe. Both India and Pakistan are great countries, and so do the other countries of the world. So, all of the countries around the world must treat other countries and religions equally).