Era Of Lal Bahadur Shastri


Lal Bahadur Shastri was India's second Prime Minister and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He was a key figure in the Indian independence movement. After the sudden death of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, he took over as Prime Minister. He is best known for leading India through the Indo-Pakistan War in 1965, despite being a newcomer to the position. He recognised India's need for self-sufficiency and independence, and coined the slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan," for which he is still remembered.
 

Early life of shastri:

•    Lal Bahadur was born in the United Provinces of Mughalsarai (Modern day Uttar Pradesh). His interest in the freedom movement began in high school, when he was taught by Nishkameshwar Prasad Mishra, a dedicated and patriotic teacher. During this time, he began to read extensively Swami Vivekananda's, Gandhi's, and Annie Besant's works. 
 
•    He attended a public meeting in Banaras (Varanasi) organised by Gandhi and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya around the same time, in January 1921. 
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•    After Gandhi's call for withdrawal from government schools as part of the "Non-Cooperation Movement," Shastri left Harish Chandra High School and became a volunteer with the local branch of the Congress party. Shastri was a founding member of Kashi Vidhyapith, a 'nationalist education' school founded by J.B. Kripalani (a close Gandhi follower) and V.N. Sharma.
 
•    Shastri received a first-class degree in philosophy and ethics from the Vidhyapith in 1925, and the title of ‘Shastri' (Scholar) was bestowed upon him. Long after he dropped his caste-derived surname of "Srivastava" and became Lal Bahadur Shastri, he adopted this title as a suffix to his name. 
 
•    After enrolling in Lala Lajpat Rai's Servants of the People Society (Lok Sevak Mandal), Shastri worked for the upliftment of Harijans in Muzaffarpur, following Gandhi's instructions. He went on to become the society's President.
 
•    At Gandhi's request, Lal Bahadur Shastri became one of the most powerful figures in the Congress by 1928. He was arrested and imprisoned for two and a half years in 1930 for participating in the ‘Salt Satyagraha' movement or the ‘Dandi March.' 
 
•    In 1940, he was arrested again for offering individual ‘Satyagraha' support to the freedom movement. Following his release, Shastri travelled to Allahabad, where he began sending instructions to Gandhi's "Quit India Movement" activists from Anand Bhavan (Nehru's home at the time). After that, he was arrested and imprisoned until 1946. 
 

shstri’s work after independence

Era of Lal Bahadur Shastri
•    Lal Bahadur Shastri was appointed Parliamentary Secretary of Uttar Pradesh after India's independence. On the 15th of August 1947, he was appointed Minister of Police and Transport under the leadership of Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant. He was the first minister to appoint female conductors to the position of Minister of Transportation. 
 
•    He instructed authorities to use water-jets instead of lathis to disperse unruly crowds as Minister in Charge of the Police Department. He was successful in containing communal riots that erupted in 1947 as a result of mass immigration, as well as overseeing the re-settlement of refugees from the newly formed Pakistan.
 
•    Shastri was appointed General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee by Prime Minister Nehru in 1951. Shastri was appointed as the Railways Minister in the First Cabinet of the Republic of India in May 1952. 
 
•    Following the death of Jawaharlal Nehru on May 26th, 1964, Shastri was named his successor on June 9th of that year. His appointment as Prime Minister was made possible by the efforts of then-Congress Party Chief Minister K. Kamaraj. Shastri was a ‘Nehruvian-socialist' who is remembered for his calm demeanour even in the most dire of situations, despite being mild-mannered and soft-spoken.
 
•    Shastri addressed many basic issues such as food scarcity, unemployment, and poverty. Shastri asked the experts to come up with a long-term solution to the severe food shortage. This was the start of the well-known "Green Revolution." He was also a driving force behind the White Revolution, in addition to the Green Revolution. 
 
•    During Shastri's tenure as Prime Minister, the National Dairy Development Board was established in 1965. During Shastri's presidency, India faced another attack from Pakistan in 1965, following the Chinese aggression of 1962. Shastri, demonstrating his mettle, stated unequivocally that India would not stand by and watch. “Force will be met with force,” he said, while allowing the Security Forces to retaliate.
 
•    After the United Nations passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire, the Indo-Pak war ended on September 23, 1965. On 10 January 1966, Lal Bahadur Shastri and his Pakistani counterpart Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration after Russian Prime Minister Kosygin offered to mediate. 
 

Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's major accomplishments include:

A.    Honouring the sentiments of Non-Hindi speaking States

 
•    During the Indian Freedom Struggle, Gandhiji led a mass mobilisation to demand that the English language be replaced with Hindi and regional languages. The goal was to bridge the gap between the elite and the general public in order to bring them together for constructive nation-building efforts. 
 
•    In order to encourage provincial languages, the Nehru report advocated for the designation of "Hindustani" as India's official language. English, on the other hand, could not be eliminated because it was used in all official correspondence by the leaders. 
 
•    Furthermore, little attention was paid to the specifics of the vernacular language concept, such as how the choice of the national language would affect relations between North and South states.
 
•    Though there were voices and protests against Hindi in various parts of the country, Madras was the city that vehemently opposed the idea. On January 17th, 1965, the D.M.K. leaders and C. Rajagopalachari attended an Anti-Hindi Conference. 
 
•    The conference harshly criticized the Union government's "language policy" and expressed the people's firm determination to resist the imposition of Hindi. In Madras and Madurai, where the agitations took a violent turn and lasted two months, students organized widespread anti-Hindi agitations. Because of their English proficiency, Madras students were able to compete better in the All India Administrative Service, and they feared losing their competitive advantage as a result of the imposition.
 
•    Following the agitations in Madras, Lal Bahadur Shastri, despite his initial reluctance to translate Nehru's assurances to non-Hindi states that "no switch over to Hindi would take place until they were ready for it," gave assurances to these states that English would remain the official language. Following that, the ruckus subsided.
 

B.    White Revolution 

•    A large portion of India's population is agrarian, relying on agricultural products and cattle milk production for their livelihoods. 
 
•    According to Dr. Verghese Kurien, the milk industry is the only industry that allows a marginalised family to earn a small amount of money every day, requiring only a small investment in the purchase of a milk cow and providing nutritional supplements to the family's children. 
 
•    The lack of an efficient milk collection and distribution system, according to Kurien, is one of the reasons for cattle owners' marginalization.
 
•    Dr. Kurien established the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) or the Amul Dairy Co-operation in 1965 under Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's leadership.
 
•    NDDB's 'Operation Flood,' which became the world's largest dairy development programed, was born out of the White Revolution. It helped India transition from a milk-deficient country to the world's largest milk producer, surpassing the United States in 1998. 
 
•    Milk production per person has doubled in 30 years, making dairy farming India's most self-sustaining rural employment generator. India produced 17 percent of the global milk output in 2010-2011.
 

C.    Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan – Green Revolution

•    In 1919, the British Raj in India reduced India from a net exporter of food to a net importer of food. Furthermore, during the Bengal Famine of 1943, food shortages resulted in the deaths of 1.5 to 3 million people due to starvation. 
 
•    Punjab was divided between the two nations after the British partitioned India. Punjab is India's wheat-growing region, but after partition, most of the irrigated croplands, as well as the majority of India's agricultural research and education facilities, including the 'Agriculture College and Research Institute at Lyallpur,' were transferred to Pakistan.
 
•    Following the departure of colonial rulers, one of India's biggest problems was food scarcity. Lal Bahadur Shastri's tenure as Prime Minister was marked by severe food shortages, with food imports topping 10 million tonnes, averting a famine. To reduce the demand for food, he proposed a weekly one-day fast. India was attacked by Pakistan at the time Shastri assumed the position of Prime Minister. 
 
•    As previously stated, food grain production in the country was scarce during this time. He raised the slogan "Jai Kisan, Jai Jawan" (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer) in a big way to boost the Indian Army's morale and to encourage farmers to do everything they can to increase grain production and reduce imports
 
•    Subramaniam was the elected Minister of Food and Agriculture at the time of his Prime Ministership. Subramaniam and Shastri collaborated to boost food production through increased government funding. Taking the Food grains Prices Committee's advice, offer grain incentive prices that are higher than procurement and market costs. 
 
•    Subramaniam also supports increasing the government's grain reserves by purchasing them on the open market at reduced prices. In 1965, Subramaniam published ‘Agricultural Production in the Fourth Five-Year Plan: Strategy and Plan,' which signalled the government's commitment to the Green Revolution that followed.
 

D.    Sirima-Shastra Pact

•    The Sirima-Shastri Pact was a bilateral agreement between India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) concerning Indian workers' citizenship in Ceylon. On October 30th, 1964, Ceylon's Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and India's Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri signed the pact. 
 
•    The issue at hand dated back to colonial rule before independence, when the Colebrook Reforms, enacted in 1833, altered the island's socio-economic structure. These reforms ended the government's trade monopolies and paved the way for a capitalist system based on private enterprise. 
 
•    After the introduction of the Waste Land Ordinance in 1840, large amounts of unused land were occupied and sold to newly arrived classes of private planters and entrepreneurs. The British then permitted the establishment of large-scale commercial plantations, which resulted in the influx of South Indian laborers.
 
•    They were brought in because they were willing to provide labor for low wages and were familiar with the cultivation of tea. Furthermore, the Sinhalese in the area refused to work in the plantations. In 1948, the island-nation gained independence, and the citizenship of these Indian workers was called into question. The Indian workers' legal citizenship status was taken away by the Citizenship Act of 1949. 
 
•    Mrs. Bandarnaike visited India in 1964 after a series of failed negotiations, and the pact was drafted after six days of talks. The goals of this pact were to recognize all people of Indian ancestry living in Ceylon who were not citizens of either India or Ceylon and to encourage them to become citizens of one of the two countries. 
 
•    Within 15 days, the Indian government would accept repatriations of people. Ceylon agreed to allow those who were employed at the time of the pact's signing to keep their jobs until their repatriation date.
 

E.    Repatriation of Indians from Burma

•    Burma (Myanmar) had a democratic, Parliamentary government from 1948 to 1962. It was, however, beset by widespread strife and internal strife. The Burmese government was weakened by political and ethnic tensions, as well as constitutional disputes. 
 
•    To restore political order, Burma's Prime Minister, U Nu, was forced to accept military rule under the interim rule of General Ne Win in 1958. After 18 months, the military stepped down, but there were gaping holes in U Nu's government, making it vulnerable to rivals exploiting flaws.
 
•    General Ne Win staged a military coup on March 2, 1962, overthrowing the constitutional and democratic government and establishing military rule. Many Indians who had been assimilated into Burmese culture for centuries are now targets of oppression and discrimination by the people and the government under military rule. 
 
•    General Ne Win ordered the expulsion of Indians from Burma on a large scale. The central government oversaw all repatriation procedures and coordinated the identification and transportation of Indians from Burma. On disembarking on Indian soil, local governments were asked to provide adequate facilities for repatriates. 
 
•    Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and his family paid an official visit to Rangoon, Burma, in December 1965, to re-establish cordial relations with General Ne Win's military government.
 

F.    Indo-Pakistan War and Tashkent Agreement

•    The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 was one of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's most defining moments as the country's leader. In a skirmish with the Indian Army, Pakistan claimed half of the Kutch Peninsula, sparking the war. While India had no intention of causing trouble with its bordering neighbors, and the country's focus was on using its limited resources for economic progress, Shastri stated that in the event of an incursion, the government would be clear in its goal of protecting the nation, and its duty in this regard would be carried out willfully and uncompromisingly.
 
•    “We would rather live in poverty for as long as it is necessary, but we will not allow our liberty to be trampled.” In his report to the Lok Sabha, Shastri stated.
 
•    Between April and September of 1965, the war with Pakistan lasted 5 months and claimed the lives of around 3000 to 4000 people on both sides. The United Nations mandated a ceasefire on September 23, 1965, ending the war between India and Pakistan. 
 
•    Following the declaration of a ceasefire with Pakistan in 1965, Prime Minister Shastri and Pakistan's then-President, Ayub Khan, reached an agreement in Tashkent (formerly of the Soviet Union, now part of Uzbekistan), mediated by Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin. On January 10th, 1966, India and Pakistan signed the Tashkent Declaration, agreeing to hand over the conquered regions of each other and return to the 1949 ceasefire line in Kashmir.
 
•    Lal Bahadur Shastri has a long and illustrious history as a freedom fighter, nationalist, and national leader. He was primarily concerned with the country's basic economic problems at the time, which included food scarcity, poverty, and unemployment. On October 2nd, he shares the same birthday as Mahatma Gandhi. 
 
•    Shastri's death after signing the Tashkent Agreement on January 11th, 1966, is still a mystery, though it was officially reported as a heart attack. He was the first person to receive the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, posthumously.
 

THE INDO-PAK WAR OF 1965 AND THE TASHKENT AGREEMENT

•    The Indo-Pak War of 1965 has a significant relationship with international politics during the Cold War. First, the nature of the conflict and the agreement that followed were influenced by the cold war's international politics. 
 
•    In fact, foreign powers' attitudes influenced the conflict, and the conflict's changing scenes influenced their approach to the parties involved. India was fighting a war on two front: 
 
a.    On the battlefield and the other on the diplomatic front, and the two were inextricably linked. 
 
b.    1965 war brought the United States and the Soviet Union together in ways that set the tone for future superpower involvement in the region.
 

Situation at the time of outbreak of war of 1965

•    The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the former Soviet Union had an impact on South Asia, as it had on the rest of the world. Pakistan joined SEATO and CENTO in the hopes of receiving arms and other forms of assistance in dealing with India. 
 
•    Pakistan aided the United States in its anti-communist containment strategy in the region. Pakistan received the first high-performance jet aircraft from the United States, including 12 F-86 Sabres and hundreds of World War I and Korean War vintage tanks. India, on the other hand, opted for neutrality and backed the Non-Aligned Movement. 
 
•    Because of India's involvement in this movement, the US has remained wary of it. Following India's prominent role at the Bandung Conference in 1955, the United States' view of regional power balance shifted. Its main goal was to prevent India from influencing the political development of other South Asian countries.
 
•    Initially, the Soviet Union saw India as a tool of the United Kingdom's imperialist power. After Stalin, the Soviet Union began to view India favorably, realizing that it was not a US ally. Following the Bandung Conference, the Soviet Union endorsed India's Panchsheel policy. 
 
•    During this time, the Sino-Soviet split became apparent, which was a significant development during the Cold War. After Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin's legacy in 1956, China and the Soviet Union gradually diverged on Marxist ideology.
 
•    Premier Nikita Khrushchev referred to Mao Zedong as a "nationalist, an adventurist, and a deviationist" in 1960, while Mao referred to Khrushchev as a "Marxist revisionist," calling him "patriarchal, arbitrary, and tyrannical." The Communist Party of China formally denounced the Soviet variety of communism as a product of "Revisionist Traitors" in 1961, when doctrinal differences proved intractable. Tibetans received moral support from the Soviet Union as well. This drew India and the Soviet Union closer together.
 
•    The incident involving the U-2 spy plane in 1960 demonstrated to the Soviet Union that Pakistan's territory was being used for US operations against it. This increased India's importance to the Soviet Union. India chose the Soviet Union to purchase supply planes and helicopters because the latter was willing to accept Indian currency. 
 
•    During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the Soviet Union maintained a neutral stance, though its media, Pravda, remained critical of India. The United States' attitude toward India changed as a result of this war. It began supplying India with arms. The United States had dispatched twelve C-130 Hercules transport planes, complete with crews, to assist India in transporting its troops and supplies across the mountainous border. 
 
•    During the 1962 War, plans were made to move the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean to support India. Following the war, the Soviet Union began to support India. Following Kennedy, however, US support dwindled as Lyndon B. Johnson focused on improving relations with Pakistan and hoped to improve relations with China.
 
•    Pakistan took advantage of the situation when it presented itself. Because Pakistan's sympathies were with China during the Sino-India war in 1962, it was instrumental in improving relations between the two countries. The Boundary Commission began negotiations in 1963, which were successful and led to the Border Agreement. 
 
•    Pakistan also conveyed to China that its alliances with the United States, such as SEATO and CENTO, were not hostile to China. Significant Sino-US relations were discussed during Chinese Prime Minister Chou En-visit lai's to Pakistan in July 1964. Ayub Khan visited China in March 1965, prior to the Rann of Kutch attack. 
 
•    On the 7th of March, during his visit, a joint communiqué was issued in which common interests were highlighted and full assurances of friendly mutual cooperation were given. President Ayub Khan's visit to China in 1965 was significant because it was the first visit by any Pakistani president to China, signalling a shift in Pakistan's foreign policy in the 1960s. Since then, almost all of Pakistan's presidents have visited China. 
 
•    The Kashmir issue should be resolved in accordance with the wishes of the people, according to the joint communique. To counter India, China began to support Pakistan.
 
•    This was a time when the Soviet Union wanted Pakistan to stay out of the Chinese camp, so it was willing to continue to play with Pakistan despite its close ties with the US. In April 1965, Pakistan's foreign minister, Z A Bhutto, paid a visit to the Soviet Union, which was followed by Ayub's visit. 
 
•    Several trade and economic cooperation agreements were signed, as well as a cultural agreement in June 1965. Ayub decided to find a military solution to the Kashmir issue because the strategic environment was favorable to Pakistan. Ayub was also encouraged by the fact that China supported Pakistan during the invasion of the Rann of Kutch, and the UK-sponsored Rann of Kutch Agreement gave Pakistan hope that international pressure would prevail on India.
 
•    Under Ayub's orders, a "Kashmir Cell" was established in Pakistan's Foreign Ministry to prepare two plans, "Operations Gibraltar" and "Operation Grand Slam," to encourage and support sabotage and guerrilla operations. The Pak Army prepared these operations under the direction of General Akhtar Malik, GOC 12 Division. 
 
•    On the 13th of May 1965, Ayub travelled to Murree for a briefing on the operations. It was learned that at this meeting, Ayub suggested capturing Akhnoor, which would cut off supplies from India to forces in J&K.
 

Foreign powers during the 1965 War

•    On August 5, 1965, Pakistan dispatched 30,000 trained infiltrators. Salahudin, Ghaznavi, Tariq, Babur, Qasim, Khalid, Nursat, Sikandar, and Khilji were among the infiltrators who were divided into nine groups and given different code names, most of which were named after historically significant Muslim rulers. The strategy was multi-dimensional in nature. Infiltrators would blend in with the locals and incite them to revolt. 
 
•    Simultaneously, guerrilla warfare would begin, destroying bridges, tunnels, and highways, harassing enemy communications, logistic installations, and headquarters, and attacking airfields in order to create the appearance of armed rebellion and lead to Kashmir's separation from India. 
 
•    On September 1, 1965, Pak Army regulars launched Operation Grand Slam, an attack on J&K. Indian forces retaliateed by launching operations against the Pakistani army, capturing the heights of Haji Pir, Tithwal, and Kargil. The war raged on until September 22, when a cease-fire agreement was reached.
 
•    U Thant, the UN Secretary-General, worked tirelessly to put an end to the conflict. On the advice of General Nimmo, he summoned the representatives of both countries and conveyed to Pakistan UN's grave concern about the situation that had developed as a result of the crossing of the CFL by a large number of armed men and their attacks on military positions on the Indian side, and he appealed for CFL observance. 
 
•    He appealed to India for restraint in retaliatory attacks. He later stated that while he was unable to obtain assurance from Pakistan, he did receive assurance from India. This indicated that U Thant believed the trouble began as a result of Pakistani action. By resolution 209 (1965), the Security Council called for a ceasefire and asked the two governments to fully cooperate with UNMOGIP in its task of supervising the ceasefire's observance. 
 
•    Two days later, the Council adopted resolution 210 (1965), by which it requested the Secretary-General “to exert every possible effort to give effect to the present resolution and to resolution 209 (1965), to take all measures possible to strengthen the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, and to keep the Council promptly and currently informed on the implementation of the resolutions and on the situation in the area”.
 
•    The Secretary-General visited the subcontinent from September 7 to 16, in accordance with the Security Council's mandate. He noted in his report to the Security Council on September 16 that both sides had expressed a desire for a ceasefire, but that each side had imposed conditions that made accepting a ceasefire very difficult for the other. 
 
•    The Council adopted Resolution 211 (1965) on September 20, after hostilities had spread to the international border between India and West Pakistan, calling for a ceasefire to begin at 0700 hours GMT on September 22, 1965, and a subsequent withdrawal of all armed personnel to positions held prior to August 5. 
 
Era of Lal Bahadur Shastri
•    During the 1965 War, there were noticeable shifts in power attitudes. Despite its alliances with Pakistan, the US maintained neutrality and worked with the Soviet Union to achieve a ceasefire. On September 8, the United States imposed an arms embargo on both India and Pakistan. Pakistan, on the other hand, was severely impacted. 
 
•    Pakistan was also enraged because it had expected the US to continue to support it as a member of SEATO and CENTO. It had hoped that the United States would use its clout to prevent India from launching a counter-offensive. China's threats to India compelled the US to remain neutral. The US had also warned China to stay out of the Indo-Pak conflict.
 
•    The Soviet Union, on the other hand, was willing to play a larger role in bringing the conflict to an end. Moscow had conceded that Pakistan was to blame for the unrest in Kashmir. In the UNSC, the Soviet Union had also backed India on technical issues and objections raised by the latter. 
 
•    Moscow agreed with India that the UNSC should only deal with the armed conflict and not drag the Kashmir issue into it. In the event of a Chinese attack, India was also assured of Soviet support. As Mao Zedong later revealed to Ayub, the Chinese received the message that in the event of nuclear war, Peking would be the target, not Rawalpindi. 
 
•    The United Kingdom was biassed in favour of Pakistan. “Both Governments bear responsibility for the steady escalation which has subsequently occurred, and today's attack in the Lahore area presents us with a completely new situation,” UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson wrote to Ayub and Shastri shortly after India began its move towards Lahore. His mention of Lahore indicated the United Kingdom's preference.
 
•    China attempted to use this conflict to settle old scores with India. China blamed India for violating the ‘Sikkim–China border' on September 8, the day the UK sent its note to India and Pakistan, in order to put pressure on India. 
 
•    On September 17th, China accused India of maintaining 56 military installations on the Tibetan side and demanded that they be dismantled immediately. China also claimed that India had ignored its 13 representations on approximately 300 incursions and accused India of kidnapping 59 Chinese Yak. 
 
•    As a result, both the Soviet Union and the United States worked to keep China out of the Indo-Pak conflict. However, international pressure, combined with General J.N. Choudhury's incorrect statement that India had run out of ammunition, may have influenced the Indian leadership's decision not to proceed to Lahore. 
 
•    If the Indian leadership had known that only 14 percent of the ammunition had been used, it is possible that Indian forces would have occupied more strategic areas. Fortunately, General Harbaksh Singh made the correct decision, and the Indian Army was able to take control of some strategic areas.
 

The Tashkent Declaration

•    The Soviet Union had offered its good offices for a peaceful settlement between the two warring states during the 1965 War. From January 4 to 10, 1966, the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan met in Tashkent to discuss the issues at hand. 
 
•    Initially, both sides were adamant about their demands. While Shastri pressed for assurances that all infiltrators sent by the Pakistan Army would be withdrawn and that such operations would not be repeated, as well as a "no war pact," Ayub harped on the Kashmir issue and demanded a plebiscite in Kashmir.
 
•    Kosygin stepped in and used all of his diplomatic abilities to persuade them to reach an agreement. Both sides agreed to withdraw their forces to the positions they held on August 5. 
•    Other points included a pledge by both sides to make every effort to build good neighborly relations in accordance with the UN charter, as well as a reaffirmation of their commitment not to use force and to resolve their differences through peaceful means. They also agreed to refrain from spreading propaganda against one another.
 
•    After a conflict, it is common to reach an agreement to bring an armistice and, if possible, to resolve the war's issues. It was dubbed a peace agreement because it aimed to "restore normal and peaceful relations between their countries" as well as "promote understanding and friendly relations among their peoples." 
 
•    The main point was the withdrawal to the August 5 positions, which required India to hand over the Haji pir and other areas.
 

Significance of agreement:

a.    For starters, this was the first successful operation that not only thwarted Pakistan's attempt to seize Kashmir, but also occupied a strategically important area, putting significant pressure on Pakistan. Pakistan's attempt to change the situation in J&K failed. 
 
b.    Second, war enhanced India's international standing, particularly following the Sino-Indian War of 1962. India would be Asia's power, according to an editorial in The New York Times.
 
c.    Third, it improved relations with the Soviet Union significantly and paid dividends during the 1971 War. 
 
d.    Fourth, in response to the Chinese threat, India began to concentrate on its nuclear programme. 
 
e.    Fifth, India has increased the pace of its defence acquisition programme in order to improve its capabilities. 
 
f.    Sixth, India improved its intelligence collection and assessment capabilities, which had been identified during the war. India established a separate external intelligence agency and placed the Joint Intelligence Committee under the Cabinet Secretariat to provide a comprehensive assessment that considers all factors. Later on, these changes paid off handsomely.
 

Who won the war? 

•    The question of who won the war has gotten a lot of attention recently, and it's important to address it. Victory and defeat are measured in terms of achieved goals. 
 
•    Pakistan's attempt to create problems in Kashmir and ensure its separation from India failed miserably. It also lost strategic areas, confirming its status as a loser. Its internal situation deteriorated, resulting in its dissolution. 
 
•    The Indian goals were reactive: to defeat Pakistan's attempt to seize Kashmir and to teach Pakistan a lesson about the consequences of its nefarious plans. India achieved these objectives, and as a result, India was victorious.

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