Thousands of Pakistanis rallied over Kashmir once again in Pakistan today on 5th of July the day Pakistan observes as the "Kashmir Solidarity day" a national holiday every year.The media in India choses to ignore it for the most part but out there in Pakistan, young Pakistani Men and Women formed human chains, put up banners and chanted slogans demanding the "Azadi" of Kashmir from Indian rule. Qazi Hussain Ahmed of the Ameer-e-Jammat-e-Islami party in Pakistan came up with the idea of observing a day every year such as this in 1990 and it is since then that Kashmir Solidarity day came in to existence.
It is obvious then, as far as the people of Pakistan are concerned, Kashmir does indeed belong with it or at least free from the 'oppressive' rule of the predominantly Hindu Indian state. If you want to know how subjective this dispute for the territory of Kashmir is, go to Google.pk and search for Kashmir or better yet, search the blogosphere in Pakistan for Kashmir and you'll find passionate voices crying out for Kashmir's integration of Pakistan, repeat the same process and now tune in to the voices from India and you'll find that there are equally passionate voices in favor of somehow bringing the Issue of Kashmir dispute to end peacefully once and for all with the end result that Kashmir is integrated in to India as any other state in India. There are also a few voices which emanate from Kashmir itself which want what they call Azadi, that is Kashmir be a separate state ruled by itself.
From the above it is obvious then that Governments on both sides of the disputed border have at least been successful in creating favorable public opinion in accordance with their own and in sustaining it for the most part though they have have been thoroughly unable to solve the conflict or at least the Issue if you will of dispute of Kashmir which continues to be a thorn in India - Pakistan relations. That this dispute has been able to rage on for so many decades now also seems to suggest that leaders on all sides - Pakistan, India and in Kashmir are certainly not in a lot of hurry to bring an end to it, possibly because of the avenues for political point scoring it offers.
Jinnah's demands slowly caught on with the Muslims and it was decided that in 1947, India newly liberated from the rule of the British would be partitioned in to two separate countries, the predominantly Muslim North would become Pakistan and the region south of it, which was predominantly Hindu starting from Kashmir was to be India. The partition of the Indian subcontinent that took place in 1947 has been recognized by several historians as one of the bloodiest chapters in all of human history. Close to a million people lost their lives in widespread rioting predominantly between Hindus and Muslims over an extended period and more than 10 million people were displaced. Old passions and insecurities had crept up on the surface and taken control of the masses, many a times trains would arrive from Pakistan filled with corpses badly mutilated - not a single soul alive, in revenge, the same harsh fate awaited the people trying to migrate to Pakistan from the Indian side.
The two countries then fought another war in 1971 in which Pakistan lost badly. The war resulted in the partition of Pakistan. Bangladesh was created as a result of the war and then in 1999 another major skirmish between two countries broke out. It is popularly known as the Kargil war. The skirmish began with Pakistan's army trying to make a push in to Indian territory but once again, Pakistan's plans were foiled by Indian forces. India alleges that despite suffering defeat every time, Pakistan continues to sabotage peace in Kashmir by backing terrorist activity in Kashmir financially and in others ways as well. The government in Pakistan instead continues to raise the issue of the brutal atrocities which it believes the Indian state commits on Kashmiris on a routine basis to sound as the saviors of fellow Muslims and the Separatist leaders in Kashmir demanding an Independent Kashmir continue with their demands and refusing to take part in elections in state.
The other is the fate of Kashmiri people themselves, the whole Kashmir conflict where they themselves have had little say in the issue may have angered them. But the Indian Economy is prancing on all fours gracefully and predicted to be third biggest in the world before 2040 now. So there is no doubt that if peace were to be achieved for a long in the state, the ensuing creation of jobs and other opportunities in the state would be far better than they could ever dream of achieving in Pakistan.
The good news is that the people of Kashmir have repeatedly demonstrated that they are not naive or gullible as Pakistanis want them to be, in elections held many times in the state since the early decades, Kashmiris have always proved that they are for democracy and a future with India, in fact the last elections held in 2009 saw a record number of voters turning out for elections proving all doom sayers wrong. Sushant Singh and Rohit Pradhan over at the Indian Muslims blog said,
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| Kashmir Solidarity Day |
It is obvious then, as far as the people of Pakistan are concerned, Kashmir does indeed belong with it or at least free from the 'oppressive' rule of the predominantly Hindu Indian state. If you want to know how subjective this dispute for the territory of Kashmir is, go to Google.pk and search for Kashmir or better yet, search the blogosphere in Pakistan for Kashmir and you'll find passionate voices crying out for Kashmir's integration of Pakistan, repeat the same process and now tune in to the voices from India and you'll find that there are equally passionate voices in favor of somehow bringing the Issue of Kashmir dispute to end peacefully once and for all with the end result that Kashmir is integrated in to India as any other state in India. There are also a few voices which emanate from Kashmir itself which want what they call Azadi, that is Kashmir be a separate state ruled by itself.
From the above it is obvious then that Governments on both sides of the disputed border have at least been successful in creating favorable public opinion in accordance with their own and in sustaining it for the most part though they have have been thoroughly unable to solve the conflict or at least the Issue if you will of dispute of Kashmir which continues to be a thorn in India - Pakistan relations. That this dispute has been able to rage on for so many decades now also seems to suggest that leaders on all sides - Pakistan, India and in Kashmir are certainly not in a lot of hurry to bring an end to it, possibly because of the avenues for political point scoring it offers.
The History of the Kashmir Dispute
The Kashmir dispute is not without history which is also the cause of a slightly subjective take that permeates the dispute now. It's history dates back to a time of a great suffering and loss for hundreds of thousands of people in the Indian subcontinent. In the later half of the 1940's when the plans to grant India Independence were being finalized by the British, a Muslim party known as the Muslim League had made very vocal demands for a separate Muslim country after India's independence, it's leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his followers believed that it was not possible for Muslims to be able to live with freedom and dignity in a country which had a population comprising of a majority of people from a different religion, in the case of India, the to be oppressing majority were Hindus.The Partition of India
Jinnah's demands slowly caught on with the Muslims and it was decided that in 1947, India newly liberated from the rule of the British would be partitioned in to two separate countries, the predominantly Muslim North would become Pakistan and the region south of it, which was predominantly Hindu starting from Kashmir was to be India. The partition of the Indian subcontinent that took place in 1947 has been recognized by several historians as one of the bloodiest chapters in all of human history. Close to a million people lost their lives in widespread rioting predominantly between Hindus and Muslims over an extended period and more than 10 million people were displaced. Old passions and insecurities had crept up on the surface and taken control of the masses, many a times trains would arrive from Pakistan filled with corpses badly mutilated - not a single soul alive, in revenge, the same harsh fate awaited the people trying to migrate to Pakistan from the Indian side.Kashmir's Maharaja decides to go with India
In the case of princely states - states ruled by Maharajas and Sultans, a choice was offered to them whether to accede themselves to Pakistan or to India. Though the Maharaja of Kashmir took his time in making up his mind over this decision, he eventually decided that Kashmir should be a part of India. He also negotiated Kashmir's terms of Accession to India unlike any other state, which meant that Kashmir would enjoy many special privileges, including it's own currency and it's own Prime Minister. Crucially though by the time he had made his decision, Pakistan had sent in it's army comprising mostly of nomad brigands from what it calls the tribal regions. The fighters from Pakistan were defeated by India's army which was sent there at the eleventh hour. The UN was approached and it mandated a ceasefire, Kashmir too was divided, approximately 35% of it remaining under Pakistan's control which the Indians call POK or Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan however likes to call it Azad Kashmir. Instead of accepting defeat gracefully or being happy with the arrangement UN had worked out, Pakistan continued to lay claim to the entire territory of Kashmir, and has continued to do so till date, India too asserts that the whole state belongs to it.Diplomacy and the two India-Pakistan Wars
Pakistan tried switching over to diplomacy to try and snatch Kashmir for itself but of course this did not work because for one, most of the International community except China refused to get too involved in the issue and for another, because of the internal turmoil within Pakistan. General Ayub Khan, first of it's long line of dictators in Pakistan initiated a war with India in 1965 three 3 years after war between India and China, both sides suffered casualties. Their belief in the supremacy of Muslim aggression over Hindu fighters notwithstanding, it is agreed widely that Pakistan suffered heavier casualties and would have continued to do so had the war been allowed to continue beyond the point of the actual ceasefire.The two countries then fought another war in 1971 in which Pakistan lost badly. The war resulted in the partition of Pakistan. Bangladesh was created as a result of the war and then in 1999 another major skirmish between two countries broke out. It is popularly known as the Kargil war. The skirmish began with Pakistan's army trying to make a push in to Indian territory but once again, Pakistan's plans were foiled by Indian forces. India alleges that despite suffering defeat every time, Pakistan continues to sabotage peace in Kashmir by backing terrorist activity in Kashmir financially and in others ways as well. The government in Pakistan instead continues to raise the issue of the brutal atrocities which it believes the Indian state commits on Kashmiris on a routine basis to sound as the saviors of fellow Muslims and the Separatist leaders in Kashmir demanding an Independent Kashmir continue with their demands and refusing to take part in elections in state.
Public Perception in Pakistan and Elections in Kashmir
It is sad that the leaders in Pakistan continue to mis lead their people in to believing that Kashmir should be with them and that it is better off with them when in fact the reality is far from it. For one, their reason for believing that Kashmir should be with them has to do with the fact that Muslims are a majority in Kashmir, history has repeatedly shown us that countries with religion as the sole basis of their creation or existence do not end up very well, ironically, history has used Pakistan itself for this demonstration. With dictator after dictator having been able to set up shop in the country, the country continues to struggle even today depending upon the US for aid heavily. That it siphons of much of the aid and spends it on arming itself further to 'feel safe' from India is another matter of great disgust.The other is the fate of Kashmiri people themselves, the whole Kashmir conflict where they themselves have had little say in the issue may have angered them. But the Indian Economy is prancing on all fours gracefully and predicted to be third biggest in the world before 2040 now. So there is no doubt that if peace were to be achieved for a long in the state, the ensuing creation of jobs and other opportunities in the state would be far better than they could ever dream of achieving in Pakistan.
The good news is that the people of Kashmir have repeatedly demonstrated that they are not naive or gullible as Pakistanis want them to be, in elections held many times in the state since the early decades, Kashmiris have always proved that they are for democracy and a future with India, in fact the last elections held in 2009 saw a record number of voters turning out for elections proving all doom sayers wrong. Sushant Singh and Rohit Pradhan over at the Indian Muslims blog said,
As these elections have demonstrated, Kashmir, like Nagaland, Assam and Punjab earlier, has returned to the Indian democratic fold after a violent detour. It is important not to underestimate the challenges India faces in Kashmir. It is equally important, however, not to overestimate them.
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