ABSTRACT
The Indo-Pakistani conflict over Kashmir and the Sino-Indian border conflict constitute the two principal strategic fault lines in South Asia. Both of these conflicts emerged in the wake of the emergence of India and Pakistan as independent states following the end of the British Indian Empire in 1947. This chapter discusses the evolution of the regional balance of power in the region, its present state, and its likely future. India and Pakistan had emerged as independent states from the collapse of the British Indian Empire in 1947. The end of the Cold War shattered the comfortable assumptions that had long undergirded India’s foreign and security policies. The dramatic shift in the global power structure forced Indian policy-makers to re-appraise the country’s fundamental foreign policy orientation. The question of Afghanistan’s future remains fraught. In August of 2021 President Joseph Biden arranged a complete withdrawal of all American forces from Afghanistan.
