Conflict Theory
Conflict theory is a concept that explains the structure of conflict in the society usually between social classes, proletarian and bourgeoisie, and between capitalism and socialism in a society. It was originally created by Karl Marx who emphasized on economic conflict and the theory was later adapted and developed by other theorists such as Max Weber who emphasized on conflict about power in a society. All these theorists brought out one factor clearly, that in social life, importance of interests over norms and values and the way the pursuit of these interests brought conflicts and people viewed them as normal way of life rather than something abnormal. In this theory, Marx argued that society was a two-class system whereby the bourgeoisie, the owners of the means of production dominated the proletariat who are the workers creating a class difference due to the absence or presence of a lot of personal property. His basis was that the exploited would unite and become conscious and thus rebelling against their exploiters. This creates a struggle over values and claims to status, which is scarce, the power and resources whereby the main goal of the opponents are to injure or eliminate their rivals.
Each conflict has its formation then to the point of its transformation, then in between. The life cycle of a conflict begins at its birth, to its maturation and later when it is solved, it faces its death or dissolution. An example of conflicts is the India and Pakistan conflict, which led to war in the 1965. Both countries account for a fifth of the population of the world because of their size. This makes their hostility a major concern to the world because of their size and the people it affects altogether. The birth of the conflict occurred back when the British granted independence to its colonies which both India and Pakistan were part of in 1947. That apparent independence led to two nations instead of one, which was under the British rule. The Hindus constituted the majority in most British India while the minority Muslims, argued that they must be granted their own state to safeguard their rights. India was divided into two and a new state ‘Pakistan’ was created and became a Muslim nation. In the process, India led by its Congress Party argued that religion by itself could not constitute the basis for creating a division, which was evident.
The conflict matured into a division not only of the religions but also of the diverse ethnic and linguistic groupings in the area. The were several disputes which led to war in 1947, the main one being the disputed territory of Kashmir, which is a thin but highly populated province between India and Pakistan. This maturing conflict was partly solved in 1949 when the region was divided into two leading to a cease-fire.
The tensions between the two countries remained high over Kashmir issue, India claiming that Pakistan had taken militants to Kashmir to fight the Indian army. The claim was denied by Pakistan blaming it on local uprising. This issue led to Indian army’s action of crossing the international border into West Pakistan in 6th July 1965. The then India’s Defense Minister Yashwantrao Chavan gave reasons for the actions as a defensive move to prevent Pakistan from attacking Punjab across the international border. In reality, Pakistan was not even prepared for war at the time and India did not find much resistance at the border showing that Pakistani Army did not have any intentions to cross the border.
In the maturity of any conflict, the oppressed always fights back by any means possible. Pakistani Army defended its borders and also moved into the Indian Territory and claimed to have captured 1075 kilometers of Indian land. Pakistani army was able to use air attacks, hide,and seek ways against their oppressors who were larger in number and had higher skills in comparison. The London Daily Times was quoted saying that India had been beaten by a nation, which is outnumbered by four and a half to one in population and three to one in size of armed forces.
The war lasted until September 22, 1965 a time when ceasefire was declared due to intervention of United Nations. A decision was also made that the International border that existed before the war be held by both India and Pakistan.
Pakistan was able to defend its borders after the invasion by the Indian Army. Many Pakistanis who believe they were the ones oppressed consider themselves successful in defending themselves and relate their victory to their unity, bravery, and patriotism, which emerged in the battlefield.
In conclusion, the India – Pakistan case study shows that conflict at times can lead to social change and at times of war threat; it can increase central power whereby whoever wins the war rules the land. It also emphasizes the fact that tension is a constant factor if there is some level of disagreement or disputes. The India-Pakistan conflict demonstrates the Conflict theory especially in areas of conflict’s life cycle. It shows evidently that conflicts should not be allowed to mature and should be solved before they gain their momentum and escalate into something big. Differences in power and social classes are in all types of interactions but they should be used positively to measure the level of maturity of the society and advance in growth and interaction but not in war and civil unrest as in some cases.
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