Diplomacy and peacekeeping stopped each war quickly, but none of them solved the core disputes. The Indus Waters Treaty was the clearest success.
UN diplomacy produced ceasefires in 1949, 1965 and 1971, though only once the fighting had reached a stalemate or a result. Its call for a plebiscite in Kashmir was never carried out.
UN peacekeeping was limited to watching. UNMOGIP, a group of unarmed observers, has watched the Kashmir ceasefire line since 1949. A second mission, UNIPOM, watched the 1965 ceasefire beyond Kashmir. They reported violations but could not prevent wars.
Great-power diplomacy worked better when the combatants were ready. Soviet mediation at Tashkent in 1966 restored the pre-war positions, but it was unpopular in both countries and solved nothing.
Bilateral diplomacy at Simla in 1972 created the Line of Control and kept outsiders, including the UN, at a distance. It reflected India's victory and lasted, but Kashmir remained disputed.
The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, brokered by the World Bank, divided the rivers of the Indus basin between India and Pakistan. It survived all the later wars. Practical issues could be managed even when political ones could not.
- UNMOGIP
- Observers since 1949.
- UNIPOM
- Watched the 1965 ceasefire, 1965-1966.
- Indus Waters Treaty
- 1960, World Bank: survived later wars.
Worked example: Judging effectiveness
How should you judge conflict management?
- Criterion 1: did it stop the fighting?
- Criterion 2: did it prevent new wars?
- Criterion 3: did it resolve the underlying dispute?
- Judgement: effective on the first, weak on the second and third, except for water.
Watch out for this
Conflict management failed completely because wars kept happening.
Each war was short, and ceasefires held. Management limited the damage even though it did not resolve Kashmir.
Check your understanding
Why did the Indus Waters Treaty last when other agreements did not?
- It dealt with a practical shared resource, with clear rules and World Bank support.
- It gave Kashmir to India.
- It was enforced by UN troops.