Limaye, Satu

Abstract
Pakistan has been a persistent, major irritant in US-Indian relations. This article is principally concerned with Pakistan’s place in US-Indian relations during the 1980s. It examines the factors which motivated and facilitated US and Indian efforts to accommodate each other’s interests and sensitivities regarding Pakistan, and the nature of the accommodation achieved. The main thesis is that, despite inauspicious beginnings, the USA and India exhibited a substantial degree of mutual accommodation in their handling of the Pakistan irritant. Moreover, the reasons underlying the ‘pursuit of accommodation’ and the nature of the accommodation itself suggest a possibly diminished future role for Pakistan as an irritant in US-Indian relations.