Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed :
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict primarily between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as a dispute over the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and escalated into three wars between India and Pakistan and several other armed skirmishes. China has also been involved in the conflict in a third-party role. Both India and Pakistan claim the entirety of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. India controls approximately 55% of the land area of the region and 70% of its population; Pakistan controls approximately 30% of the land, while China controls the remaining 15%. India administers Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen Glacier. Pakistan administers Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. China administers the mostly uninhabited Shaksgam Valley, and the Aksai Chin region.
After the partition of India and a rebellion in the western districts of the state, Pakistani tribal militias invaded Kashmir, leading the Hindu ruler of Jammu and Kashmir to join India and starting the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 which ended with a UN-mediated ceasefire along a line that was eventually named the Line of Control. After further fighting in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the Simla Agreement formally established the Line of Control between the two nations’ controlled territories. In 1999, armed conflict between India and Pakistan broke out again in the Kargil War over the Kargil district.
Since 1989, Kashmiri protest movements were created to voice Kashmir’s disputes and grievances with the Indian government in the Indian-controlled Kashmir Valley, with some Kashmiri separatists in armed conflict with the Indian government based on the demand for self-determination. The 2010 were marked by further unrest erupting within the Kashmir Valley. The 2010 Kashmir unrest began after an alleged fake encounter between local youth and security forces. Thousands of youths pelted security forces with rocks, burned government offices, and attacked railway stations and official vehicles in steadily intensifying violence. The Indian government blamed separatists and Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group, for stoking the 2010 protests. The 2016 Kashmir unrest erupted after killing of a Hizbul Mujahideen militant, Burhan Wani, by Indian security forces. Further unrest in the region erupted after the 2019 Pulwama attack.
Since the partition and independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, the two heavyweights have fought three wars over the tiny region. The conflict in Kashmir is not just between Pakistan and India, but also between militant groups in the region seeking autonomy from Indian rule. Those groups include Hizbul Mujahideen, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, which seeks independence for Kashmir, and Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terrorist group with connections to Islamabad and the 2008 Mumbai attacks. However, sectarian divisions and political ideology only provides half the answer to the conflict in Kashmir. Why is Kashmir so important to India, Pakistan, and China? The answer is the glaciers and fresh water they provide to the region and to India. The glacial waters that flow through Kashmir provide water and electricity to a billion people in India. Pakistan also relies heavily on glacial waters flowing from the region to prop up its agricultural sector. With a growing population and increased need for electricity, India has looked to the region to develop more hydro facilities. Pakistan fears that India may divert water necessary for irrigation, and use water as a weapon against Pakistan.
It should be noted that Nehru never wanted to leave Kashmir because Kashmir was so important to Nehru’s family. The origin of the family was in Kashmir. Kashmir was their first and last passion, although their ancestors came to the plain from Kashmir a few generations ago. As a result, Kashmir remains like a burning volcano. Tensions in Kashmir may have subsided, but the root causes of the violence there have not. In assessment, the Kashmir dispute cannot be resolved bilaterally by India and Pakistan alone – even if the two countries were willing to work together to resolve their differences. This is because the conflict has many sides: India, Pakistan, the five regions of Kashmir and numerous political organizations. Establishing peace in the region would require both India and Pakistan to reconcile the multiple – and sometimes conflicting – aspirations of the diverse peoples of this region. Only when local aspirations are recognized, addressed and debated alongside India and Pakistan’s nationalist and strategic goals will a durable solution emerge to one of the world’s longest-running conflicts.
Will the conflict end soon? The answer is that it is far, because the stripping of 370 has become an issue of the Kashmir’s status as its people enjoyed earlier. By the repeal order, many privileges of autonomous Kashmir have been cut off. With this, their own constitution is being written off. Henceforth, Kashmir will merely be treated as a territory under control of Indian central government. With this sort of act passed in Indian parliament, the status of Kashmir’s people has been declined. This raised reaction, agitation, fear, tension, and protest ultimately may lead to independence movement. Insurgency and separatist’s action will take place from time to time. As a result, violence will be created. As part of counter action, government will handle it in a tougher way. In the long run, general people will have to suffer and face difficulties in their day-to-day normal livelihood affairs. Moreover, it may opine that if Pakistan is involved in the war game against India, Pakistan may also face a big loss. We all know that Pakistan has no strong economy and its military strength is not coping with India. Of late, in the UN Security Council meeting, Pakistan has failed to attain the support from the big powers. So, what is waiting for Pakistan? Only time can say.
(Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed, writer, Columnist & Researcher; email: [email protected])
