Author: Smruti S Pattanaik
Publisher: Manohar
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 191
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8173045771
Description
The Task of educating people on foreign-policy issues is largely performed by the elite. Although people in India and Pakistan have a keen interest in the furtherance of bilateral relations, various intricacies of the relations are not known to the masses. It is the elite who inform the masses regarding various issues and the existing challenges to their resolution. This prepares people to be more amenable to changing circumstances and appreciate solutions that strengthen peace in the region.
In this context the English language newspapers role is crucial in making the views and opinions expressed accessible to a wider audience thereby generating well-informed opinions that act as crucial inputs in foreign policy making. The present study focuses on the entire gamut of Indo-Pak relations post 1989 based on the content analyses of five English language newspapers each from India and Pakistan. It reflects the trends in bilateral relationship and how elite in both the counties have prioritized various bilateral issues and discussed possible solutions on each issue.
It also reveals the parameter of mistrust and apprehensions within which opinions are conceived and articulated. What generates hope and optimism in the topsy-turvy path of Indo-Pak relations is the convergence of realization on both sides that war is not a solution and negotiation, however tedious, is the only path to peace and development. This study encapsulates that with every setback and pessimism there is a reinvigorating new dynamism in building peace and renewed attempts are tirelessly made to reach out to each other.
Contents
INTRODUCTION
Kashmir: A Zero-Sum Game
Alternative Mode of Solution of the Kashmir Issue: An Analysis of Options
Nuclear Stand-off: From Elitism to Populism
Into-Pak Trade: Hostage to Politics
Indo-Pak Bilateral Talks: Need for a Pragmatic Approach
Conclusion
BIBLIOGRAPHY