The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict between India, Pakistan. It started just after the partition of India. India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir,and the Kargil War Furthermore, the two countries have been involved in several skirmishes over control of the Siachen Glacier. India claims the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, and, as of 2010, administers approximately 43% of the region. They control Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen Glacier. India’s claims are contested by Pakistan, which administers approximately 37% of Kashmir, namely Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas, or Gilgit-Baltistan.
The root of conflict between the Kashmiri insurgents and the Indian Government is tied to a dispute over local autonomy. Democratic development was limited in Kashmir until the late 1970s and by 1988 many of the democratic reforms provided by the Indian Government had been reversed. Non-violent channels for expressing discontent were thereafter limited and caused a dramatic increase in support for insurgents advocating violent secession from India.
In 1987, a disputed state election created a catalyst for the insurgency when it resulted in some of the state’s legislative assembly members forming armed insurgent groups. In July 1988 a series of demonstrations, strikes and attacks on the Indian Government began the Kashmir Insurgency. Although thousands of people have died as a result of the turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir,the conflict has become less deadly in recent years. Protest movements created to voice Kashmir’s disputes and grievances with the Indian government, specifically the Indian Military, have been active in Jammu & Kashmir since 1989. Elections held in 2008 were generally regarded as fair by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and had a high voter turnout in spite of calls by separatist militants for a boycott. The election resulted in the creation of the pro-India Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, which then formed a government in the state. According to Voice of America, many analysts have interpreted the high voter turnout in this election as a sign that the people of Kashmir endorsed Indian rule in the state.
No fruitfull discussion can begin with ‘the Kashmir issue’ as though it were a stand-alone real estate dispute.The root problem between India and Pakistan is not ‘Kashmir’. Neither is it about Islam’s theology nor its internal social practices. Rather, it is the clash between worldviews resulting from the external projection of Islam — dar-ul-islam versus dar-ul-harb. This manifests as Pakistan’s two-nation worldview versus India’s pluralistic worldview. The validity and success of either worldview necessitates the defeat of the other. For, if Pakistan’s worldview were right, then Muslims everywhere require their own country in order to live as good Muslims. This would mean that Indian pluralism would have to fail, and Indian Muslims would need their own separate nation as well. On the other hand, if India’s worldview were right, and Indian Muslims lived happily in a pluralistic society, then the very foundation of Pakistan’s existence would become unglued and there would be a call for re-unification.
If both India and Pakistan were to adopt a common worldview, there could be a stable peace, regardless of which worldview it was. If both adopted the two-nation theory, there would be exclusive and separate nations for Muslims and Hindus, respectively. The practicalities of implementation would be horrendous, given the massive and dispersed Indian Muslim population. But each would eventually become homogeneous internally. If both adopted the one-nation theory, they would re-unify.
In conclusion having said that I would make an important point here that both of the neighbouring countries ie India and Pakistan must start a meaningful dialogue process which can end their decades-long hostilities. Our world will be a much better place to live in if there is a climate of love and respect for mutual coexistence rather than mindless acrimony. The political and military leadership in the two countries owe this to their tormented people. They especially owe this to the people of Kashmir who have been at the receiving end of the Indo-Pak hostilities over the last seven decades of turmoil…..
Shahid Majeed Mir can be reached at mirshahid363@gmail.com
