The Post 9/11 Indo-US Partnership: Impact on the Freedom Struggle in Kashmir

Abstract

Kashmir is the bone of contention between India and Pakistan which is why South Asian region is always surrounded by a threat of war. United States launched a war against terrorism after 9/11 and Pakistan became a part of it. The circumstances changed the strategic interest of United States which made it more inclined towards India. This thesis addresses the question that what impact does the Indo-US partnership have on the Freedom Struggle in Kashmir in the post 9/11 era? This question is reviewed in the light of Stephen Walt’s Balance of Threat Theory. In the light of this theory it is deducted that, India exploited the US war or terror and mended it according to its own interest for defaming Pakistan as a terrorist state by establishing an Islamophobic Ideology. This Ideology built up a perception for the US that India and US are fighting the same war. This Indo-US partnership labeled the Freedom Struggle of Kashmir as terrorism.