Navigating Independence: Climate Challenges and Nationalism in India and Pakistan

Ashraf Patel, IGD 

As India and Pakistan celebrated another Independence day, the death toll from flash floods across northern Pakistan, Kashmir and India has risen to at least 321 people in past several days is a sobering reminder that the power of nature and the climate crisis  Every year with pomp ceremony India and Pakistani’s military might is on full display in a era of hyper nationalism. Yet their citizens face the epicentre of the climate-driven polycrises.

This year is particularly poignant given the April border conflict in Kashmir.  On Indian Independence Day, Modi addressed the country from New Delhi’s 17th-century, Mughal-era Red Fort, saying India has established a “new normal” that does not differentiate between “terrorists” and those who support terrorism. He said he would not tolerate what he called Islamabad’s “nuclear blackmail.”

India has decided that it will not tolerate nuclear threats. For a long time, nuclear blackmail had been going on, but this blackmail will not be tolerated now,” Modi said. ( BBC, 15 August 2025) 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the creation of a new “Army Rocket Force Command” to bolster the country’s defense capabilities. Sharif made this announcement during a speech marking Independence Day celebrations, but gave no further details.  BBC, 15 August 2025) 

Alas, the vicious cycle continues.

 The bloody partition of 1948, ill-managed in the dying days of the British Raj, cost  2 million lives in the most harrowing post-colonial violence,   scars that have festered into hyper nationalism that has characterised these two states for decades.

Self-serving elites, corrupt politicians, a crass nationalist media, and the military establishment in both societies have siphoned off national budgets away from real development.  This ‘military political economy’ has reproduced violence, repression, and gender abuses on both sides, with ordinary citizens suffering immensely. 

This year is particularly volatile against the background of Trump Tariffs, the Gaza genocide, and global nationalism that have seen Development Aid in the West being slashed. The UN's Pact of the Future 2024 has elaborated on the dire polycrisis, warned of a great risk to the UN Development SDG agenda,  with peace being critical for development. 

Unfortunately.  Though they celebrate 75 years of independence, trapped in religiosity and nationalism with deepening social-economic, climate, and gender crises, the UNSC< BRICS and G77 nations can provide an anchor in which regional conflicts can be downgraded and managed towards sustainable peace.

A new narrative is required, one rooted in objective reality.

Challenges that need to be addressed:  

Arms race, defence expenditure, and risk to the UN SDG agenda

If both nations reduce defence spending by just 15% they would unleash billions for social development and investment.  The only beneficiaries of the arms race in the Global South are the large arms industry, who bank billions on conflicts in Africa, South East Asia, and the Middle wars. Of concern is that both these nuclear-armed nations are not members of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty NPT). A sobering reality. 

Confronting the Gender Inequality and the GBV Crisis

Another major challenge is the struggle for gender equality. Both nations have the highest rates of gender inequalities and gender-based violence, GBV, and femicide rates, deeply harrowing given their deeply religious and conservative societies. According to Action Aid, women suffer deep-seated structural challenges  in South East Asia: 

Women and marginalised groups are disproportionately affected by corporate abuse, such as labour exploitation, gender-based violence, land grabbing, and pollution. While women make up the majority of the workforce in many global supply chains (textiles, agriculture, etc.), they are often underrepresented in or excluded from decision-making spaces. They are more likely to face gender-specific violence and repression when they fight to defend their rights and face additional barriers to access justice. Therefore, it is essential that legislation is gender-responsive and ensures the protection of women's rights. (Action Aid India, 2024)

 Addressing unemployment and the new skills revolution  in the 4IR era

Unemployment and youth bulge present a clear and present danger to social stability and fuel the global migration crisis.   The largest challenge by far in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is the hundreds of millions of youth and good-quality jobs in the 4IR world. High unemployment rates are the biggest challenge to social stability.

Here, they invest in social entrepreneurship, agriculture, and new industries of the future to create sustainable jobs. In order to create jobs, resources are needed for new generation green industrialisation policies, mass infrastructure programs, investment in innovation, and new technology hubs. An updated education and training system should underpin. The role of diaspora communities can contribute positively to new developments. 

A damning report from the International Labor Organization (ILO), meanwhile, further underscored the extent of India’s jobless youths. Published in March, the report revealed that India’s graduates were experiencing much higher levels of unemployment than those without formal education. “The youth unemployment rate has increased with the level of education, with the highest rates among those with a graduate degree or higher and higher among women than men,” the report stated.  Educated female youths also experienced higher levels of unemployment compared with educated male youths, with the ILO report noting that India had a mammoth proportion of youths, particularly young women, who were not in employment, education, or training. Women also accounted for around 95 percent of the total youth population who were not in employment, education, or training in 2022. (International Banker,2025 )

Pakistan’s unemployment remains a complex issue, and youth joblessness is particularly alarming, with 44.9%  of jobseekers aged 15–24, and female unemployment far exceeding male, the budget document says. Pakistan, having a substantial domestic labour force of 71.8 million, holds the sixth-largest workforce globally.

Each year, approximately 2 million young Pakistanis join the labour market, contributing to an expanding talent pool. There is a significant gap between the demand and supply of workers, especially a serious mismatch between the jobs demanded and the supply of skills and trained manpower in the country. ( Dawn, June, 2025) 

In the 4IR era driven by AI, these techno disruptions will further exacerbate the labour market in the short to medium term. Both nations need massive investments in post-school training and development to create millions of jobs per annum.

Possible co-operation? 

The current tensions are deeply concerning and speeding up a new arms race, of which both nations can ill afford.  The vast majority of citizens are exhausted of conflict and war talk, knowing the dire social costs. Their focus on bread-and-butter issues – jobs and a better life for aspirational youth. The best minds should be invested in addressing. 

The current floods and recent droughts are Climate crises that recognize no borders, most vulnerable ordinary citizens who need support from states to mitigate and rebuild 

Finally, due to the highly repressive societies in both India and Pakistan, authoritarianism has risen; authoritarians on both sides have seen mass repression of society, workers, and the media. Human rights abuse cases are mushrooming, and human rights safeguards and standards have fallen with every new  UN Human Rights Council report scathing. Yet, both nations are full members of the United Nations. 

There is a need for more genuine people-to-people civil society dialogues and processes between the countries to foster dialogue on real people's issues. If anything, the Climate crisis- flash floods, droughts, and monsoons are a stark reminder that climate change knows no boundaries, race, religion, or language.

A new narrative is required for these two Asian nations in a Polycrisis world. 

* Ashraf Patel is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Global Dialogue, UNISA.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.