Kashmir

Our group topic: "Causes and Effects of Wars" provoked me to write about the threatening dispute of "Jammu and Kashmir" which has become more threatening after the nuclear capabilities of India and Pakistan. My main claim revolves around the theme that the burning dispute of Kashmir, between India and Pakistan can play a vital role in the emergence of third world war and can act as battle-field for a nuclear war. Due to geographical and social impacts on the world these countries have realized some big nations to resolve the issue. South Asia, a land of deep historical and cultural representations has more than one billion population. Dominated by British colonization for nearly a century, this region contains a variety of imprints of British rule. South Asia is the region that holds evidences of one of the ancient civilization of the world. The unsettled conditions of the eighteenth century provided an opening for the European imperialism in this region. In 1957, British Empire took hold of the Indian sub-continent and South Asia was colonized by British Empire. In 1947, when British Empire surrendered control of the Indian sub-continent, the land was divided into two major parts. The Hindu majority area became the independent nation of India and Muslim majority area became the independent nation of Pakistan. Since then they have fought many wars and several battles that have affected the both nations as well as the neighboring countries. Now as both nations have gained the nuclear capabilities so they are predicted as the battleground for a possible nuclear war. " If one were to take to praise Kashmir, whole books would be writtenÐ'...Kashmir is a garden of eternal spring, or an iron fort to the palace of kings-a delightful flower-bed, and a heart expanding heritage for dervishes"(Danger In Kashmir 3). Kashmir, with its lush valley nestled among some of the world's most spectacular mountains, was once one of the South Asia's premier tourist destinations; now, however, it is a battle-scarred war zone. Kashmir is an area on the northern borders of India and Pakistan: officially known as Jammu & Kashmir. Kashmir is famous for its natural beauty and has often been referred to as the "Switzerland of the East". "The population according to latest data exceeds than fourteen million inhabitants" (Diversity Amid Globalization 505). The heart of the area is the fertile Valley of Kashmir, which lies between the Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range. Here the climate is mild and the soil well watered. "Kashmir covers an area of 222,237 Km2 (85,800 square miles). Mount Godwin Austen/K2 (8,611m/28,250 ft) and Mount Nanga Parbat (8,123m/26,650 ft) lie in Northern Kashmir" (http://www.ummah.org.uk/kashmir). The root causes of the Kashmir problem are to be found in the events leading to the partition of the Indian subcontinent and the ideological perspectives of the All-India Muslim League (AIML) and the Indian National Congress (INC). The AIML stood for Muslim separation and the creation of a Muslim homeland while INC stood for the Hindu separation and the creation of Hindu homeland. During the British rule on South Asia, Kashmir was a large province having a majority of Muslim population. Kashmir also included a Hindu district named as Jammu in its territory. Due to the difference in religion, culture, social life, customs and opposite traditions and believes it was very hard to mix the both religions. At the time of partition, Kashmir had being ruled by a Hindu Maharaja (King) who was sharing Kashmir as a legacy of his forefathers. The people of Kashmir wanted get rid of their Hindu ruler due to the difference in the religion. At that time the Maharaja called on India to help him. He knew that he could not count on Pakistan for help, as Pakistan was a Muslim country. On the contrary, India was willing to help him. They sent their troops into Kashmir to help Maharaja. India soon took over the Kashmir by deploying its army. At that time, Indian authorities, which had good relationships with Viceroy from British Empire, conspired against Pakistan and Kashmir. Due to this secret conspiracy, Kashmiri inhabitants were left alone. India stated that it would arrange fair elections and that kashmiri inhabitants would be able to choose their own leader. Till then, neither an election nor a referendum has been introduced by Indian government. "The partition of Indian continent, as was to be expected, did not resolve the problem of two communities. Instead of ending the Hindu-Muslim conflict, the division of the country merely elevated the inter-community blood-bath into inter-state rivalry. By the time India was partitioned, considerable venom had been injected into the body politics of both countries. Partition itself was accompanied by some of the worst carnage in Indian history and all semblance of goodwill, decency, and sanity disappeared" (Perspectives on Kashmir 48). Pakistani authorities did not accept the partition of Kashmir and objected the decision made by Viceroy. Ultimately they decided to fight. In the first war that was fought in 1948, Pakistan gained a slice western and northern Kashmir, but the main territory's core remained under Indian control. Since then both nations have fought several wars and remained locked today in bitter animosity and has caused an extreme political instability in the region. The two main wars between these two nations were fought in 1965 and 1971 respectively. These two wars, accompanied by several battles and extreme exchange of military attacks on the line of control (border between India and Pakistan) are the outgrowth of the burning issue of Kashmir. These two wars resulted as serious political tensions, economic disaster and loss of property and lives. These two wars proved as nightmares for the inhabitants of this region and stopped the development of the two nations, that is why, the region is one of the poorest region in the world. According to famous generalist: Alastair lamb (US), " In one sense the Kashmir problem can be seen as a consequence of British failure to find a satisfactory method for the integration of the Princely States into the independent India and Pakistan which succeeded the British Raj. There were 562 Princely States in British India by the time of the transfer of power, and they covered over one-third of the total area of the Indian Empire" (The Kashmir Problem 3). So it can be assumed that issue of Kashmir has proved the bone of contention between the relationships of both nations and has resulted in the bitter animosity. Each country claims Kashmir as a part of its territory. As a result of a rebellion in 1947 and the subsequent wars between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the area is separated by a Line-of-Control (LOC or cease-fire line). To the east of the LOC lies the vale of Kashmir, Jammu that is