Andres Pastrana vs Lord Dalhousie

Andres Pastrana won the Colombian presidential election as the Conservative Party candidate. He campaigned on a platform of peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Pastrana granted the FARC a demilitarized zone (despeje) in southern Colombia to facilitate peace negotiations. The talks began in January 1999 but were plagued by ongoing FARC attacks and kidnappings.

Pastrana secured U.S. approval and funding for Plan Colombia, a major aid package aimed at combating drug trafficking and strengthening the Colombian military. The plan included military training and equipment.

After three years of stalled negotiations and continued FARC violence, Pastrana ended the peace process. He ordered the military to retake the demilitarized zone, ending the largest peace effort with the FARC up to that point.

Dalhousie oversaw the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1848-1849, which resulted in the British annexation of the Punjab. The Sikh army was defeated at the Battle of Gujrat, and the Treaty of Lahore in 1849 formally annexed the region, ending Sikh sovereignty and extending British rule to the northwest frontier.

Lord Dalhousie, as Governor-General of India, implemented the Doctrine of Lapse, a policy that allowed the British to annex any princely state where the ruler died without a natural heir. This policy led to the annexation of states like Satara, Jhansi, and Nagpur, causing widespread resentment among Indian rulers and contributing to the 1857 Rebellion.

Dalhousie championed the development of railways and telegraphs in India. The first railway line from Bombay to Thane opened in 1853, and a telegraph network was established connecting major cities. These projects aimed to improve communication, trade, and military control, laying the foundation for India's modern infrastructure.

Dalhousie annexed the Kingdom of Awadh in 1856 under the pretext of misgovernment. The annexation was highly controversial and deeply resented by the local population and nobility. It became a major cause of the 1857 Indian Rebellion, as Awadh's soldiers and landlords joined the uprising against British rule.