The protracted hostility between India and Pakistan has persisted for over seven decades, becoming an entrenched feature of South Asian geopolitics. Yet this hostility is not solely the product of historical grievances, religious cleavages, or territorial disputes. Rather, a more profound explanation lies in India’s sustained construction and reinforcement of Pakistan’s identity as an “enemy.” Drawing from constructivist approaches in international relations, which emphasise the formative role of identity in shaping state behaviour, this essay argues that India’s perception of Pakistan as an inherently antagonistic actor drives its adversarial policies. This enemy identity becomes particularly salient in the aftermath of terrorist attacks, wherein India’s responses are often emotionally charged and confrontational. The perception of Pakistan as a threat is thus not merely a reaction to material provocations, but the manifestation of a deeply embedded identity construct that sustains a self-reinforcing cycle of enmity.

From the Indian perspective, Pakistan is not simply a geopolitical rival but a cultural and ideological “other.” India’s self-identification as the world’s largest democracy, grounded in secularism and pluralism, stands in sharp contrast to Pakistan’s Islamic ideological foundations and centralised religious identity. This civilisational divergence exacerbates India’s tendency to frame bilateral tensions in terms that transcend conventional political disputes. In moments of crisis—particularly........

© The Friday Times