Indo-Pak wars (1948, 1965, 1971, 1999): Projecting the Nationalistic Narrative

Abstract

This study investigates the four major wars between India and Pakistan in the past 52 years in one Pakistani popular and one elite newspaper. Through the textual analysis technique, it was found that Pakistan print media applied nationalistic and highly patriotic approaches instead of doing professional and objective reporting on the four wars in the past. While India was criticized for war-mongering and jingoism, the warring policies of the Pakistani governments were eulogized. Though the key thematic strategies identified in this study like ‘Kashmir being an integral part of Pakistan, India being the sole enemy and the need for unity among Pakistanis’ remained consistent in the discourse, the role of UN and invocation of religion saw significant shifts since the 1965 war.