Kashmir Issue and the Way Forward
Whether it was an inability and incapability of the Britishers or intentional negligence towards proper demarcation of territorial boundaries before leaving the Indian Sub-continent or even pressure on Lord Mount Batten built by the Congress party’s leadership particularly Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, however, it has left everlasting effects and consequences in terms of loss of innocent human lives, violence, hatred, military escalations, and socio-economic tensions in the fate of the people of South Asia since 1947 to till date.
One of the greatest territorial issues and tensions which I am going to highlight through this article blog is the Kashmir issue which has been remaining the bone of contention between Pakistan and India.
The United Kingdom, currently known as England (Great Britain) which is one of the leading and advanced countries in Europe and the so-called champion of democracy, freedom, and human rights, first looted the local resources and later on sowed the seeds of hatred among the people of Indian Sub-continent and adopted the policy of “Divide and Rule.”
Not only had they intentionally kept pushing back the Muslims of the region but also demarked modern-day Pakistan (Homeland for the Muslims of South Asia) which was economically weak and underdeveloped as well as relatively inaccessible and hence it was not a proper and justice-based partition of the Sub-continent.
Similarly, though the Valley of Kashmir was thickly a Muslim-populated area yet its fate wasn’t decided in favor of the people of Kashmir as it could have been rather it was left for the invasion of the Indian army.
Kashmir has constantly been paying the price ever since by giving the innocent blood of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri people including women and young children. In fact, Kashmiris are under the double yoke of Hindus and the double standard international community, particularly the Western countries of the world including the USA.
Even in today’s modern and advanced world, the Kashmir issue is one of the biggest challenges for the powerful nations of the United Nations Organisation (UNO) and indeed reflects the failure of the UNO as the peacekeeping organization of the world.
Background:
Although Kashmir was a thickly Muslim populated area and as per the census of 1941, 71% out of its total population was Muslims, it was under the control of Hindu dominant forces that used to take heavy taxes from Kashmiri Muslims including offering a few opportunities for growth and advancement for the Muslims of this particular region.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the time of the creation of Pakistan and India had so decided to remain independent because he didn’t want to liberate the Kashmiri Muslims rather he had dismissed his prime minister Ram Chandra Kak just a couple of days before the independence of Pakistan and India because Ram Chandra was in favor of the independence by liberating the people of Kashmir as well.
On the other hand, Quaid-e-Azam in great hope wrote to Maharaja that Pakistan would ensure every sort of comfort and favorable treatment to them but Ranjit Singh had something different in his plans and mind therefore instead of joining Pakistan he decided to have a pact with Indian government led by Nehru who though initially favored Maharaja but soon double-crossed him by advancing his armed forces and invading the Kashmir territory.
Similarly, due to opposition to separation and independence by some prominent and influential Muslim individuals like Moulana Muhammad Ali Johar, Abul Kalam Azad, Shaikh Abdullah, Sikander Hayat, etc. Quaid-e-Azam was having a very critical situation in managing all sorts of issues regarding the establishment and consolidation of Pakistan as well as solving the issue of Kashmir in favor of Kashmiri Muslims.
The Kashmir issue started pacifying in the last quarter of 1947 including the First Indo-Pak War which lasted till 1948. Although mount Batten had assured Jinnah that princely states including Junagadh, Hyderabad Dakhan, and Kashmir will be decided by an impartial reference through the will of the local people however such a promise has never been fulfilled to date which is why Jinnah had once said that India has acquired the accession through fraud and violence.
United Nations Organisation (UNO) Mediation
and Resolutions:
It was India herself who wanted to seek the resolution of the Kashmir Issue at the UN Security Council; however, India has never ever practically accepted the UN Security Council’s Resolution 47 which was passed in 1948 after the recommendations by the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP).
Instead, India has been trying to hide behind that Kashmir Issue is a bilateral issue hence it should be resolved between Pakistan and India but actually India has never shown any seriousness to resolve the issue or seek a referendum in Kashmir.
American cold war expert & historian Robert J. McMahon has stated in this context that India in order to reject various UNCIP truce proposals, has tried to hide behind certain dubious legal technicalities so that plebiscite can be avoided.
Similarly, India has tried to insist to UN mediators that first Pakistan has to withdraw her forces from the region, and later on, India will do the same however Pakistan has been denying this demand because Pakistan has doubts and concerns that India will never withdraw her forces even after Pakistan’s withdrawal hence Pakistan has been asking for a guarantee from the UN mediators but in vain.
This is where the issue is stuck off and hence no agreement has been reached by both the countries on the process of demilitarization and later on referendum. On the other hand, many scholars and critics consider and count this deadlock as a failure of the Security Council and UNO.
Similarly, the
declassified British papers reflect that both Britain's and USA’s cold war
calculations influence the UN policy and ignored the merit and genuineness
of the Kashmir Issue.
How
Kashmir Issue Could Be Resolved?
One thing is damn sure India will never ever liberate the people of Kashmir as per their wish and will. Similarly, UNO, the USA, and western powerful countries will never build any sustainable pressure or impose any sanctions on India to resolve the Kashmir issue as per UN resolution and recommendations given by UNCIP mediators.
However Kashmir issue could only be resolved through agitation and freedom fighting by the people of Kashmir but that is not so easy and possible, particularly without the financial, armed, and moral support from Pakistan, Iran, China, Afghanistan, and other Muslim countries of the world. India has on the other hand always been in a state of fear and worries about any possible agitation and freedom-fighting movement which may take place inside Kashmir.
This is why India has been increasing the number of military personnel to control and counter insurgencies since the 1980s including recent developments in terms of abrogating article 370 which had given special status to the occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1954 to 2019.
India, by amending article 370 and imposing the president’s rule under Article 356 of the Indian constitution, is actually trying to convert the Muslim majority into a minority inside the occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir. In this regard, India is adopting the same model which Israel has been practicing inside Palestine from 1968 to till today.
USA’s
Failure in Afghanistan and India’s Concerns:
After the failure and complete withdrawal by the US troops from Afghanistan, India is very much concerned about its consequences and future developments which are certainly not in India’s favor by any means. India’s recent tensions with China which emerged in 2020 in Ladakh and Sikkim regions (Galwan Valley) are a great setback for her which may weaken the Indian grip over the occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Additionally, India knows very much that the Muslims from Afghanistan and Tribal areas of Pakistan will not only support Kashmiri freedom fighters but also join them shoulder by shoulder-against Indian troops which they have already been doing back in 1947, and because of their agitations India couldn’t control the present-day Azad Kashmir area which is under the control of Pakistan.
This is why India desperately wanted the presence of US troops inside Afghanistan which was a double benefit for them as they have been using Afghan soil against Pakistan in terms of supporting and launching terror attacks inside Pakistan. Not only that but the “Hindutwa Movement” launched by RSS, BJP, and the Modi government is actually a result of fear even from the Indian Muslims.
As it is said that history repeats itself and according to the rule of nature, every action has an equal but opposite reaction, a day has to come when India has to pay back to the people of Kashmir for what they had done with Pakistan during the separation of East Pakistan (Bangladesh). Even I am looking further collapse of India into different states including another separate state for Indian Muslims.
Conclusion:
It is for sure that a day has to come when Kashmir will emerge as an independent and free Muslim state on the map of the world. However, it is up to the Kashmiri people when and how they start their freedom fight movement in full swing. In this regard, Pakistan has to come up with propagation and support from all the Muslim countries of the world.
Pakistan has to understand that the Kashmir issue is not a piece of cake that India will offer them by putting on a plate and through dialogues rather it is only possible through freedom fighters and launching agitation from every single nook and corner. In fact, Pakistan can only recover the wound of the separation of East Pakistan by taking revenge from India through the independence and freedom of the occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Author Raja Bahar Khan Soomro
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