43
votes
Did all the the -stan sovereign state names appear synchronously?
The Persian suffix stān is much older than any of the “stans” in modern Central Asia. It goes back to proto-Indo-Iranian as represented by Sanskrit sthāna- “standing place” (already in the Rigveda) ...
- 9,756
24
votes
Did all the the -stan sovereign state names appear synchronously?
No, the terms are not all contemporary. Afghanistan is recorded in the 13th century; some of the others appear to date to the 20th century. Pakistan is 1933, the others probably date from either the ...
MCW♦
- 32.3k
15
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Afghanistan accede to Pakistan in 1947?
Because Afghanistan had already been a fully independent country for 30 years, the population of which was no more interested in the being subject to the hegemony of Choudhary Rahmat Ali's Punjabi ...
- 72.3k
12
votes
Why didn't Delhi became part of Pakistan?
Because Delhi was deep within majority Hindu territory.
As @MarkC.Wallace pointed out, the partition of India was made along religious lines. Here is a map of pre-partition India by religious ...
- 97.4k
12
votes
Did all the the -stan sovereign state names appear synchronously?
One additional thing to add to the excellent answers already given is that -stan is actually used productively in Persian for other words as well, such as bimarestan (بیمارستان) for “hospital” — ...
- 2,276
11
votes
What factors explain Indian territorial restraint towards Pakistani occupied Kashmir despite military success against Pakistan?
The question, whatever objections are made to its phrasing, boils down to: India won 3 wars easily and hasn't pushed its advantage to take over Pakistani Kashmir. Why?
This is highly speculative, ...
11
votes
Did the US and Soviet navies really come close to blows in the Indian Ocean in 1971?
I was a navy journalist (JO3), working in the Public Affairs Office onboard Enterprise when we entered the Indian Ocean in December of 1971. We departed Yankee Station on the tenth of December 1971 ...
- 111
8
votes
Accepted
Is there an historical example for the possibility of peaceful resolution of Kashmir conflict?
The Counter Reformation in Europe culminated in the murderous, no-holds-barred, Thirty Years War. That war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, and ushered in a period of ...
- 72.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Why did India use Soviet military hardware during the Cold War?
If I remember correctly, Nehru had several communist sympathies -- or at least, was very tied into and involved with the Soviet Union. Also the U.S. had, in the post-Nixon era, greater ties with China,...
- 241
8
votes
Accepted
Why did India release all Pakistani Soldiers captured during Indo Pak War 1965
That was because of the Peace treaty which was signed between the two nations, moderated by Soviet Union.
Following were the figures for losses of both nations:
India: 3000 men killed or captured ...
- 8,185
7
votes
Accepted
Are there primary sources about Jinnah's vision for Pakistan?
A full transcript of Muhammad Ali Jinnah's August 11, 1947 speech can be found on the website of an instructor at Columbia University here.
In the speech, he makes at least two statements that seem to ...
- 3,544
7
votes
What did the CIA think about the partition of Pakistan in 1971?
First of all, CIA is a part of the executive branch of the US government, and is subordinate to the US president. It's meaningless to speak of "CIA's intention," you should really be asking ...
- 6,263
7
votes
Accepted
Why did Pakistan choose Islamabad as its capital?
Although the Final Report of the Special Commission has never been made public, Sarshar (2017) and Hull (2012) highlight a variety of reasons that were discussed at the time, which were as political ...
- 18.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Why did British Gen. Frank Messervy oppose the invasion of Kashmir?
In October 1947, the armed forces of India and Pakistan remained largely under the command of British officers. General Messervy served as Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, but was answerable ...
- 77.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Did any Muslim empire/kingdom have its capital in modern Pakistan except Lahore?
Thatta was the capital for multiple dynasties, including the Muslim Soomra which ruled Sindh from there continuously in 1026–1356.
- 18.8k
5
votes
What made India pull out troops and return the captured territory at the end of 1971 Indo-Pak war?
Background
In 1970, the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 of the 169 seats ...
- 121
5
votes
What was Gandhi's post-factum view of the Partition?
His views in the Harijan are as follows::
“Like other groups of people in this country, Muslims also have the right of self determination. We are living here as a joint family and hence any member ...
- 51
5
votes
Did the US and Soviet navies really come close to blows in the Indian Ocean in 1971?
As a former crewman of the USS White Plains, I can attest that the Russians subs would have had a hard time blocking and surrounding anybody, because before we caught up with the Enterprise Task Force,...
- 59
5
votes
Do Pashtuns belong to Greek heritage?
At least two wiki pages cover your question:
Theories of Pashtun origin
Pashtuns, section History and origins
The first of these mentions the Greco-Bactrian origin among other legends, and concludes:...
- 23.2k
4
votes
Why did India use Soviet military hardware during the Cold War?
Two of India's enemies, China and Pakistan were allied, beginning with the Chinese invasion of the Kashmir in 1962. Later, beginning in the 1970s, the U.S. "tilted" toward China.
A Soviet Union-...
- 104k
4
votes
Why didn't the Pakistani military try to gain Kashmir from India in 1971 instead of launching an offensive in Rajesthan?
Background
The main thrust of the Indian Army during the 1971 war was directed towards the eastern theatre, with the western sector envisaged as a holding operation to prevent the Pakistan Army from ...
4
votes
What factors explain Indian territorial restraint towards Pakistani occupied Kashmir despite military success against Pakistan?
Based on news reporting on India/China of the last decades, India has taken great care in avoiding a conflict with China.
There have been many border conficts between them in the last decades on ...
- 9,504
4
votes
Do Pashtuns belong to Greek heritage?
The historical origin of the Pashtun is a complex and answered question. Thiis idea of a link to Alexander looks like a made-up theory to me, although a distant Greek link is not impossible as one ...
- 18.8k
4
votes
Accepted
Why did Pakistan get involved in Soviet-Afghan war from 1979 to 1989?
It's important to remember that the Afghan-Pakistan relations were tense and complicated before the Soviet invasion. The nationalist regime of Daoud initially supported the Baloch insurgency in ...
- 5,090
3
votes
Accepted
Are there any details available on 1954 Afghan proposal for a merger with Pakistan?
I have found the details in Soviet-Pakistan Relations and Post-Soviet Dynamics, 1947–92 by Hafeez Malik. The following is all from the above cited book.
It started in ‘56 when a meeting was called ...
- 8,185
3
votes
Did Afghanistan make war with Alexander the Great?
In Alexander the Great's time the region of Afghanistan was known as Bactria. Alexander overran this region but had trouble managing it. Nominal ownership remained that of the successors of ...
- 2,042
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