The Unresolved Kashmir Dispute – The Nation

Kashmir issue is basically a territorial conflict between India and Pakistan .according to demographic division 55% area of Kashmir is controlled by India, and,30% of Pakistan,15% by China. Kashmir is a landlocked region located southwest of the subcontinent. It covers 85,806 square miles, of which 31,643 square miles are occupied by India and 12,387 square miles are under Pakistan. The state of Kashmir is larger than the 140 member states of the United Nations in terms of population and 112 in terms of area.

The Kashmir issue is one of the longest-running disputes in the world which has affected 1.5 billion people of the sub-continent. The presence of nuclear power on both sides of the conflict is making the Kashmir dispute a flashpoint, which can in danger the life of ten million people. Pakistan and India have three wars fought in 1947, 1965, and 1971 on the Kashmir issue and also limited Kargil war 1999. India and Pakistan are once again at war over the Kashmir issue, which has been unresolved for 73 years. After independence from Britain, two independent states, Pakistan and India, came into being. States and princely states were given the power to decide to join any country according to the will of their people. Kashmir had a Muslim majority. But its Hindu Ruler did not make any decision in time.

The Ruler of Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh appealed to Viceroy Lord Mountbatten for military assistance in response to the local uprising and the incursion by the armed tribes of Pakistan, which he rejected, saying that we can not help unless the state decided to annex India. So Maharaja Hari Singh decided Kashmir to merge with India against the will of people.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir was annexed by the Indian government on 27th October 1947, contrary to the wishes of the Kashmiri people, the Indian Army occupied the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The war had begun. According to the Indian rulers, the state of Pakistan which became independent a few months ago is not capable of withstanding the aggression of the Indian army. But with the full support of the tribal people, Pakistan resisted the Indian forces and liberated about 35% of the state of Jammu and Kashmir from the control of the Indian forces and laid the foundation of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government. When India saw that the Pakistani people were easily defeating the Indian forces, the Indian government took the Kashmir issue to the United Nations on January 1, 1948, and requested a ceasefire. In this way, the United Nations declared a ceasefire between the two countries and a unanimous resolution was passed that the Kashmir issue would be resolved in a democratic manner through a referendum.

The ceasefire line between the two countries was called the Line of Control. The United Nations passed several resolutions on the Kashmir issue in 1947-48. According to the resolution of the Security Council dated April 21, 1948, the basic principle was that India would resolve the Kashmir issue through a referendum. In addition, on August 3, 1948, and January 5, 1949, India was forced to comply with UN resolutions. The resolution said that the state of Kashmir was geographically, economically, linguistically, culturally, and religiously closer to Pakistan and therefore should be included in Pakistan.

During the Kashmirs struggle for Pakistans annexation in 1947, more than half a million people were martyred all over Kashmir. However, it is very unfortunate that this situation has not changed even in modern times. Today Occupied Jammu and Kashmir have become a nightmare of atrocities, with 14, 15, and 16 battalions of Indian forces stationed there, totaling more than 10 lac who are involved in serious human rights violations. This means that for every 8 Kashmiris, an average of one soldier is deployed. Kashmiris sacrificed millions of martyrs for independence but due to the hypocrisy of the world powers this war of independence has not only led to oppression and violence but Valley has become a military camp -a picture of fear, despair, and darkness.

Now the BJP government in India has a much tougher stance on Kashmir and has lost the special status of Kashmir under this government. Experts say that the possibility of resolving the Kashmir issue has now become more complex.On August 5, 2019, Articles 370 and 35-A of the Constitution became ineffective and Kashmiris started to become a minority and a never-ending lockdown was imposed on them. Kashmir had a special status under Article 370A of the Indian Constitution. The abolition of this special status is part of the manifesto of the BJP. Modi has forcibly abolished 370A and 35A and removed the constitutional justification for occupied Kashmir to remain with India.However, expressing solidarity with Kashmiris once or twice a year will not solve the Kashmir issue. The world is playing the role of the silent spectator on the ongoing state atrocities in Occupied Kashmir. There will be no other way but armed struggle.

The international community should take notice of Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir and play its role in a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue. Pakistanis around the world demand that Kashmiris be given the right to self-determination to secure peace in the region and that the Muslim world, including the international community, play a role in preventing Indian atrocities in Kashmir.

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The Unresolved Kashmir Dispute - The Nation