ABSTRACT
The chapter provides an analysis of Indo-Pakistani relations in the aftermath of the partition and in the formative decades. The circumstances which prompted Maharaja Hari Sing to sign the Instrument of Accession of Kashmir to India heralded the era of protracted conflict. Against the backdrop of the Cold War realities, Indian and Pakistani leaderships crafted antagonistic approaches which accompanied the process of partition and later further developed the narratives of conflicting nationalisms.
