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| Sunday, March 21, 2004 |
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| Sunday, March 21, 2004 |
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Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending
War
Some salient features of the problem need to be emphasisied, for instance, the fact that the dispute arose out of New Delhi’s complaint to the UN Security Council against Pakistan’s aggression. This transformed a bilateral dispute into an issue that demanded international attention. The subsequent UN resolution of 1948 stipulated that the two countries take steps towards holding a plebiscite so that the people of Kashmir could themselves decide their future. This, sadly, was easier said that done. The Maharaja’s Kashmir did not have either geographical or demographic homogeneity. Thus, on the Pakistan side of the ceasefire line, the people of the northern areas, including Hunza, Nagar, Gilgit and Baltistan, are culturally distinct not only from each other but from those of Poonch, Mirpur and Muzzafarabad. Shia Muslims predominate in the northern areas; Sunnis are in a majority in the rest of Pakistan’s ‘Azad’ Kashmir. In the Indian-administrated part of the state, the Valley is predominantly Muslim with a sprinkling of Hindus and Sikhs. Jammu is largely Hindu, Ladakh Buddhist. In the light of these facts, a single plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir makes little sense. On the other hand, regional plebiscites may provide a more equitable outcome but would lead to a certain division of the state. As a perceptive Indian writer has put it, there is little middle ground between ‘communal compartmentalisation and the chimera of a non-existent oneness." Is it any wonder then that ever since independence it has been hard to discover any consensus on the future of this singularly heterogeneous state? In the absence of such a consensus there is a "curious attachment" to the status quo, lest any change lead to an even greater trauma than what has been experienced already. The plight of the people caught in the crossfire of opposing interests is indeed tragic. Some recent developments need emphasis. For one, 9/11 has to a large extent diluted the earlier distinction between freedom fighting and terrorism. The relative lack of political stability in a Pakistan characterised by domestic unrest, religious extremism and military takeovers, is anything but helpful in sorting out the Kashmir imbroglio. Islamabad’s continued belligerence added to New Delhi’s steadfast refusal to play ball have led to an extremely explosive situation. In a situation where a nuclear war is a possibility, there is ample reason to look for solutions. Happily, there have been some helpful developments, though these are too recent for the author to have taken cognizance of. The SAARC summit in Islamabad in January this year provided an opportunity which the two countries utilised to initiate a process that will, given goodwill on both sides, help break the impasse. Apart from a number of CBMs (Confidence Building Measures) which have generated an atmosphere that is conducive for meaningful dialogue, the recent ‘talk on talks’ between officials of the two sides should help work out the content and timeframe of a dialogue. One hopes tha this dialogue will include Kashmir, apart such issues as peace and security, terrorism and drug trafficking, Siachen, the Wular barrage, and economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries. A settlement may not be around the corner but some positive steps out of the present impasse may help generate a framework in which a modicum of give and take will become possible. Winding up her narrative, the author weaves the rich tapestry of what she calls "a visionary approach". She underlines the fact that the future rests not so much with the "rigidity" of nation states as the "fluidity" of cross cultural and regional communication. Before long South Asia, she avers, will evolve into a new economic union of the East. She also contends that in the new world any violation or abuse of human rights will be taken note of and claim priority over the sanctity of nation states. The author is a well-known expert on South Asia. Her earlier books include Old Roads, New Highways: Fifty Years of Pakistan (1997); Kashmir in the Crossfire (1996), and Afghan Frontier: Feuding and Fighting in Central Asia (2003). |
A
number of books have been written on almost all
facets of the Kashmir problem. While some are pronouncedly partisan
others provide a sober assessment of the issues at stake and proffer
helpful suggestions for the unravelling of a complex problem. Victoria
Schofield’s book belongs to this category. It is a reasonably balanced
account that facilitates a better grasp of the ground realities and
suggests a possible solution.
