India and Pakistan can be termed as "Patient States" suffering from Prestige-Syndrome.

What is it about?

since their inception, Pakistan and India are locked in an intractable conflict over acquiring prestige against each other. This conflict behaviour and the perception of enmity is directly informed by their indigenous culture of conflict found in the common institution of joint family. This article develops a conflict theory to explain the rationale behind such an emotion-laden rivalry between the two nations. The conflict theory presented in this article (which can be termed as Sharike-Bazi [Culture of Conflict]) explains that peoples’ conflict behaviours in Pakistan and India are rooted in their earliest socialisation within primary kinship institutions.

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Photo by Specna Arms on Unsplash

Photo by Specna Arms on Unsplash

Why is it important?

India and Pakistan can be termed as ‘patient’ states suffering from deep-seated trauma of ‘separation’ from each other. They are prisoners of ‘I am not respected’ and ‘I am wronged’ syndromes, respectively. This paper has examined that the collective hysteria existing in both nations to hate and compete with each other has cultural origins, characteristics and mechanisms (or ‘operating system) emanating from their indigenous culture of conflict at the family level.

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