The history of the Asian region is filled with events that have been influenced by the presence of their Western colonizers. In the southern part of Asia, the British colonial rule has monopolized the place and succeeded in influencing the Asians. India is one of the known countries that have been colonized by the British Empire. The control of the British Empire has significantly influenced the country as evidences are seen in the history, structure and its political viewpoint. Problems had persisted before the British rule as the East India Company was unable to combine both business and leadership in their responsibility. Through a mutiny by the Indians working for the company, the East India Company had to discontinue due to the worker shortage. The British Empire then took over the area around the mid-18th century starting from 1857 up to 1947. Much wars and strife have led to the separation of India upon its independence from the British government as settlement was nowhere in sight. As a result, Pakistan came to form. Although both nations are neighbours and once the same state, the changes that have transpired throughout the years significantly separate them from one another . How has India and Pakistan changed over the decades and would it still be possible for them to reunite and rebuilt the decolonized India? At present, it seems highly unlikely for both India and Pakistan to consider some kind of cooperation given the differences in its political, economic and social capacity and the on-going rift between the two nations regarding Kashmir and Jammu.
In terms of these country’s differences, it could be explained in each country’s demographic and financial figures. Although influenced by the country’s administrative position in introducing developments and solutions to present problems, these figures illustrate how the public reacts to these actions. Geographically, Pakistan is much smaller than India with 796,095 sq.km area and its territory is filled with flat plains mountains and plateaus. The climate in the country is hot on most months making it difficult for crops to be cultivated in the 198,700 (sq). km of irrigated land. The environment image of Pakistan also affects their job of locating resources and life expectancy given its lack of clean water resources, the scarcity of access to drinking water and the desertification of most lands. India, on the other hand, has been gifted with at least 3,287,263 (sq). Km area and its landscape filled with plains, deserts and mountains. The climate of the country enables crops to be cultivated in its 622,860 (sq). Km irrigated land due to tropical monsoon rains. But in terms of its environmental image, Pakistan is better off as India’s population slowly eats out the nation’s water and land resources and the country experiences air pollution due to its various industries.
Demographically, India’s total area enables it to provide up to 1, 189,172,906 people from different ethnic groups and migrants. Each year, it increases up to 1.344% with its annual birth rate up to 20.97 births per 1,000 in the country. Some of its citizens living in cities reach up to 30% and increases only 2.4% per 5 years. Despite its vast population, India was able to increase its literacy and unemployment rates. At least 61% of the entire population can read and write while 10.5% are unemployed. Mostly females are illiterate in the country and usually the ones unemployed due to the impression that they should be the ones taking care of their children. Pakistan, on the other hand, hosts up to 187,342,721 people each year. The country’s population increases up to 1.573% each year due to the 21.81 births per 1,000 people in the country. Most of the Pakistani living in cities only average up to 36% as it only increases up to 3.1% per 5 years. Since the country has continuously been under dispute with India and other groups in the country, the literacy rate has dropped significantly. Over 50% are knowledgeable in Pakistan while unemployment is at 7.7%. Economically, India has an open-market economy which puts their annual GDP to $4.06 trillion. They have concentrated in developing its ICT and software sector and have managed to override the global financial crisis as domestic demand increased. Pakistan, on the other hand, is classified as an underdeveloped country due to the internal disputes in the country. There is no investment entering in the country and the government have failed to diversify its economy to provide merchants and companies. As of 2010, the country’s GDP is only up to $464.9 billion.
Given these differences, a cooperation settlement between these earlier united countries is unlikely as India would not accept to take the responsibility to help Pakistan. Although these countries have the same history of being a colony of Britain in the 18th century, its current condition against one another will prevent a seize fire and a change of heart in both governments. India would not accept the responsibility to support an unstable Pakistan because of the internal conflicts happening in Pakistan. Should a situation demand for their cooperation, India and Pakistan’s actions against one another will affect the function of the partnership agreement they have signed. Unless all arguments and conflicts are resolved and Pakistan recovers from its shaky economy, cooperation is still far away from construction.
Works Cited
Central Intelligence Agency. India. CIA- The World Factbook, 15 November. 2011. Web. 25 November. 2011 <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html>.
Central Intelligence Agency. Pakistan. 10 November 2011. CIA - The World Factbook, 10 November. 2011. Web. 25 November. 2011 <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html>.
De Blij, H.J and Peter Muller. Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts. 14th. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 2010. Print.
