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pan- Islamic alliance ran against the dominant pan-Arabist discourse.
Nasserism and his brand of secular, socialist and pan-Arabism also prevailed
over the US-sponsored Cold War–centric military alliances.
The second phase began with the Arab military defeat in the June War
and the ushering in of the resurgent pan-Islamism spearheaded by Saudi
Arabia. If the Rabat Islamic summit signalled the ascendance of conserva-
tive forces, the Saudi claims for leadership were cemented by the oil boom.
This was the fructification of continued Pakistani efforts for a pan-Islamic
bloc partly both to consolidate its influence and to overcome its strategic
vulnerability vis-à-vis India. The formation of OIC provided an institu-
tional framework for Pakistan to further its anti-India agenda in the latter
part of the Cold War.
The third phase of the Pakistani factor in India’s foreign policy calcula-
tions began with the end of the Cold War and had two distinct features.
New Delhi’s willingness to delink Pakistan from its Middle East policy
partly contributed to the normalization of relations with Israel. India’s
aspiration for a significant role in Asia and beyond came into conflict with
its preoccupation with Pakistan and boxed it within the subcontinental
politics. However, a formal delink had to wait until the late 1990s when
economic reforms began showing results. After decades of being an aid
recipient, India was slowly becoming an economic power and potential
market for the outside world, including the oil-producing Arab Gulf
countries. The decoupling of Pakistan from the region became pro-
nounced following the visit of External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to
the Kingdom in January 2001.
For clarity, these developments are organized into four subthemes,
namely, Kashmir issue, Indo-Pakistani wars, the formation of OIC and its
implications and the shift in the trajectory of Indo-Saudi relations in the
wake of the delink.
Kashmir issue
The partition of British India along religious lines was accompanied by the
erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir becoming vital for the
national ethos of India and Pakistan and a bone of contention. The
Himalayan state of Kashmir comprised of three distinct ethno-religious
subdivisions: the Muslim-majority Kashmir, Hindu-dominated Jammu
and the largely Buddhist Ladakh. The overall population was predomi-
nantly Muslim but was ruled by a Hindu king, Raja Hari Singh. Both
P. R. KUMARASWAMY AND MD. M. QUAMAR