Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian WarWhen India and Pakistan held nuclear tests in 1998, they restarted the clock on a competition that had begun half a century earlier. Nuclear weapons restored strategic parity, erasing the advantage of India's much larger size and conventional military superiority. Yet in the years that followed Pakistan went on to lose decisively to India. It lost any ability to stake a serious claim to Kashmir, a region it called its jugular vein. Its ability to influence events in Afghanistan diminished. While India's growing economy won it recognition as a rising world power, Pakistan became known as a failing state. Pakistan had lost to India before but the setbacks since 1998 made this defeat irreversible. Defeat is an Orphan follows the rollercoaster ride through post-nuclear India-Pakistan, from bitter conflict in the mountains to military confrontation in the plains, from the hijacking of an Indian plane to the assault on Mumbai. Nuclear weapons proved to be Pakistan's undoing. They encouraged a reckless reliance on militant proxies even as the jihadis spun out of control outside and inside Pakistan. By shielding it from retaliation, the nuclear weapons also sealed it into its own dysfunction -- so much so that the Great South Asian War, fought on-and-off since 1947, was not so much won by India as lost by Pakistan. |
Contents
1 | |
From 1947 to the Nuclear Tests | 27 |
Pakistans Defeat in the Kargil War of 1999 | 49 |
From the Kargil War to the Agra Summit | 71 |
Pakistan and Afghanistan | 83 |
From the September 11 Attacks to the End of 2001 | 103 |
The Trial of Afzal Guru | 119 |
The IndiaPakistan Military Standoff 20012002 | 133 |
A Short History of the Kashmir Dispute from 1846 to State Elections in 2002 | 151 |
Other editions - View all
Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War Myra MacDonald Limited preview - 2017 |
Defeat Is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War Myra Macdonald No preview available - 2022 |
Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War Myra MacDonald No preview available - 2017 |
Common terms and phrases
Afghan Taliban Afghanistan Afzal al-Qaeda American Amritsar army chief Azhar Aziz became bomb border British Captain Sharan China civilian conflict Delhi diplomatic drone strikes economic elections fighters fighting Foreign Minister former gunmen Haqqani Headley hijackers Hindu Ibid India India and Pakistan Indian Army Indian government Indian security forces insurgency intelligence Interview Islam Islamabad Islamist Islamist militants Jaish-e-Mohammed Jammu and Kashmir jihadis Kabul Kandahar Karachi Kargil Kargil War Kashmir Valley Khan killed Laden Lahore Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Line of Control Massoud mili militant groups military mobilisation Mohammad Mumbai Musharraf Muslim Northern Alliance nuclear tests nuclear weapons Omar operation Pakistan Army Pakistani Taliban Pakistani troops parliament Pashtun passengers plane political President pressure Prime Minister region Reuters senior September 11 attacks Sharif Siachen Singh South Asia Srinagar Taliban terrorism tion told tribal areas turned United Vajpayee Vajpayee’s violence Washington