JEDDAH, 10 January — As the world nervously watches two of its nuclear powers on the brink of possible war, many people are asking how a resolution can be reached in the name of global peace and stability in this contested region.
In order to understand the roots of a dispute which has lasted over fifty years and left half a million dead, one must look back at Kashmir’s turbulent history.
The dispute began when India and Pakistan gained their independence from Britain on Aug. 15, 1947.
Under the partition plan of the Indian Independence Act, Kashmir was to be free to become a part of either India or Pakistan. After a few months of indecision, Maharaja Hari Singh, the Hindu ruler of a predominantly Muslim state, decided to accede to India, handing over power to the Indian government.
This so displeased the Pakistani leaders that they attacked Jammu & Kashmir in the belief that areas with Muslim majorities should be under their control. Pakistani troops overran most of Kashmir and the maharaja fled to India. Wanting to defend its territory, India sent troops to Kashmir. By that time, however, Pakistan had captured a large part of the region. This led to localized warfare that continued until the beginning of 1948, and eventually left India controlling the larger part of the contested area. In January 1948, India filed a complaint with the UN Security Council which ended in the establishment of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP). India and Pakistan both agreed to troop withdrawals behind a mutually agreed cease-fire line.
This is what later came to be known as the Line of Control. War again broke out between India and Pakistan in August of 1965 over Kashmir. It ended when both countries agreed to a UN- sponsored resolution to stick to the Line of Control.
Five years later, there was yet anotherwar, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. Another agreement was signed in 1972 in Simla between the two prime ministers — Indira Gandhi and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In 1979 after Bhutto was executed, the Kashmir issue once again flared up.
During the 1980s, massive infiltration from Pakistan allegedly occurred in the region and since then, India has maintained a strong military presence in Kashmir to check movements along the cease-fire line.
On May 11, 1998, India carried out an underground nuclear test estimated at around 25 kilotons.
On May 28 of the same year, Pakistan conducted its own nuclear test, estimated at below 15 kilotons. In 1999, intense fighting ensued between the infiltrators and the Indian Army in the Karg, the western part of Kashmir, which lasted for more then two months.
The struggle ended with India managing to reclaim most of the area that had been seized by the infiltrators. In 2001, terrorists allegedly backed by Pakistan attacked both the Kashmir Assembly and the Indian Parliament in New Delhi.
This has resulted in a war-like situation between the two countries. Pakistani President Gen. Prevez Musharraf has asked his army to be "fully prepared and capable of defeating all challenges." Indian Prime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayee has said, "We don’t want war but war is being thrust upon us, and we will face it." India and Pakistan have positioned troops along their border.
They have also cut diplomatic and transport links, fuelling fears of a possible fourth war in just over fifty years. Surely it is high time the leaders of both countries made a clear choice between conflict and cooperation.
