Sometimes forum ignorance amazes me. India is an ancient nation that pissed away all its potential power in religious fragmentation and an infinite number of warring principalities.
Have you gone mad? Rhetorical question. Yes, you have!
India 'pissed away its potential power'? Maybe the 1000 years of constant invasions by barbaric Muslims followed by 300 years of genocide and subjugation by the barbaric Christians had something, just something, to do with it?
India was the greatest country on the planet and its culture is infinitely higher than the vermin that even attempt at criticizing Bharat Mata (Mother India). The land that civilized the world without sending a single soldier across her border is to be worshiped.
She gave 1/3 of her land to ungrateful vermin who didn't want to coexist with others and now they want to grab even more land (Kashmir).
Of all the 660 princely states in pre-independence India, the only string that tied them together was Hinduism. Where on earth do you get "religious fragmentation"? You mean Christians and Muslims? LOL.. They who have been destroying other cultures, invading ancient civilizations, and stealing from them blindly?
The "warring principalities" were kingdoms that had conflicts but never any worry of being obliterated until the onset of the barbaric Muslims followed by the Christians from Europe.
But the real secret in Indian independence was this 5' nothing guy named Gandhi, who with nothing more than a loin cloth and a hand held spinning wheel defied the military might if England. And the real secret of the Gandhi plan was to put an end to the British divide and Conquer bullshit. As he realized that the two eyes of India were the two great religions of Hindu and Muslim that shaped the Indian past with continual conflict.
Mahatma Gandhi had a lot to do with independence but not everything. It is a great disservice to ignore the titans like Bhagat Singh, Mangal Pandey, Aurobindo Ghosh, Vivekananda, Sardar Patel, Chandrasekhar Azad, Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), and numerous others who gave their all and more for freedom of their mAtrUbhUmI (motherland).
Islam (and the other Abrahamic faiths along with Communism) never was, is, nor ever will be a part of the Indian subcontinent. It is always looked upon as an invading force that has the blood of close to 80 million Hindus over a period of 1000 years on their hands (since 712 CE). Despite all the genocides and atrocities committed by Muslims on Hindus in the past, Hindus were generous enough to give 1/3 of their land to them for them to feel "safe" in their own homeland. Instead of kicking out every single Muslim/Christian in 1947, India said anyone who wished to stay back can do so. One of the biggest mistakes in the history of the world IMO but some people look at that decision with more magnanimity.
Pakistan's goal is to wage war with India and eventually conquer it; a pipe dream but their hatred for India/Hindus keeps fanning the flames in their own country.
With the support of Christian fanatics from the West, Muslim fanatics from the Middle East, and Communists from China, India is being attacked on various levels; physically, politically by powerful nations, culturally by the West, and emotionally by so-called "Indians" who are India-bashers in reality.
The other thing to point out is that Pakistan is the fifth most populated nation, but compared to India its just a midget. That is why its the most needed world peace question, to finally definitely settle Kashmiri questions.
You're forgetting Bangladesh which used to be 'East Pakistan'. And, one of the princely states, Jammu & Kashmir, acceded to Indian rule at independence so there is no dispute at all. Yes, the name of the state is Jammu and Kashmir, not just Kashmir. And that state has another place called Ladakh which is mainly Buddhist; Jammu is Hindu, and Kashmir is Muslim. It is all the anti-Indian and anti-Hindu bums who keep harping that Jammu & Kashmir is a "disputed territory". If it wasn't unequivocal before, I'll reiterate it: Kashmir was, is, and always will be an integral part of India, that is Bharat. Pakistan has illegally occupied parts of Kashmir (PoK) and ceded half of that territory to the communists (China). Instead of lambasting the two aggressive countries, so-called 'humanitarians (who are Christian fanatics in disguise, along with their communist friends) criticize India for asserting itself. Oh, and by the way, the name for Kashmir comes from Kashyap, a Hindu sage from ancient India. LOL..