Poles Apart: The Military and Democracy in India and Pakistan

Is there a predominant reason why India is not Pakistan? Many would likely point to the omnipresence of the military in the polity of the latter. While the interventionist attitude of the army in Pakistan easily explains the democratic shortfall in its history, the mirror opposite in India is rarely studied or credited.

Poles Apart is a unique and original investigation of the comparative roles of the military, to study their influences on the growth of democracy in the two nations. The book highlights the divisive outcomes of military coups on Pakistan’s democratic trajectory while also closely analysing potential scenarios in India when the army could have gone astray, but chose to stay apolitical.