Kashmir

KASHMIR CONFLICT

The territory of Kashmir has been disputed over for more than sixty years. The dispute has been going on since before India and Pakistan received their independence from the British. Originally Kashmir was allowed to choose which country - Pakistan or India, it wanted to go with. Although they would have preferred to be independent then chose to accede with India. They signed over all of their "key powers" to India in exchange for military aid. Since that time, Kashmir has been the main reason for the wars fought between Pakistan and India. The first war was fought in 1947 until 1948 and the second war took place in 1965.

There are two sides to the dispute over Kashmir; one story or opinion is from Pakistan while the other is from India. Pakistan (Islamabad) claims that Kashmir should have acceded with the Pakistanis because majority of Kashmir's population is Muslim. Pakistan also says that Kashmir should have the right to vote about what happens within their country, especially when it comes to referendums and the UN's involvement in their country. On the contrary, India (Delhi) says that all of these things were resolved through the Simla Agreement of 1972. However, Pakistan and India agree both agree that a third option does not exist for Kashmir, which is independence.

After the first war in 1947-48 a ceasefire line was established. It was established in 1949 through a demarcation line. This line, which is known as the Line of Control (LoC) was reestablished in July 1972, along with the Simla Agreement. The line remained the same, but it went through minor adjustments. The Line of Control divides Kashmir into two boundaries. It gives the Indians control over the east and the south, and the Pakistanis have control over the west and the north. The Indian controlled Kashmir also falls into the Indian state of Jammu. The land controlled by the Pakistan is known as Azad or free Kashmir. Then, there is a small portion of Kashmir that is controlled by china. The part of Kashmir controlled by India has over 60% Muslims, which makes it the only state within India that has a majority of Muslim residents.

The boundaries created by the Line of Control can be seen on the map.

Due to the fighting and the lack of say the people of Kashmir have, there are insurgents now within Kashmir. It first began in 1989, and the most prominent at the time was the Pro-Pakistani Hizbul Mujahideen. There was also a group by the name of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF); they were the largest pro-independence group, but their influence and power eventually disintegrated.

In 1999, another dispute broke out. This time it was due to a border conflict; this dispute is considered by some to be the third war between the Pakistanis and Indians. Then, in November of 2000 another ceasefire was called, but this time it was against militant groups. Despite the ceasefire