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Kashmir conflict began when Britain pulled out
Kashmir conflict began when Britain pulled out - thestar.com
The battle over Kashmir dates back to the post-World War II era when Britain was negotiating the independence of India and the creation of the Islamic nation of Pakistan.
Britain sent London lawyer Cyril Radcliffe to the subcontinent to draw up borders separating India and Pakistan. After two centuries of British rule, Radcliffe, on his first visit to the region, was given 40 days to finish his job.
While Muslim-dominated states were supposed to become a part of Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir had a Hindu ruler, Hari Singh. He opted to go with India.
An agreement was reached for residents to decide their ultimate future Indian or Pakistani in a statewide plebiscite. India has refused to allow that to happen, saying the original UN-brokered ceasefire demands Pakistan demilitarize its side of the contested border before a vote.
In 1972, after their third war, in which after India helped East Pakistan gain independence as Bangladesh, the Line of Control was established in Kashmir.
For close to 20 years, there was an uncomfortable peace in the valley.
In 1989, disenchanted by repeatedly rigged elections and purportedly inspired by the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Kashmiris began to revolt. Militants trained in Pakistan to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan were redirected to Kashmir and steered across the Line of Control to attack Indian targets.
It became routine for Kashmiri boys to slip into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir for weapons training before returning home to battle for an independent state of Kashmir.
Since 1989, an estimated 50,000 people have died in the bloody, costly conflict.
By 2002, then-U.S. president Bill Clinton dubbed Kashmir "the most dangerous place on Earth."
Many attempts have been made to settle the dispute over Kashmir.
Between 1947 and 2008, 46 proposals were made by Pakistan, India and others.
The U.S. would like the conflict settled so Pakistan can concentrate its efforts on its western border with Afghanistan, a former U.S. diplomat said.
"The U.S. role in the Kashmir conflict has to be as subliminal as possible," said Thomas Pickering, a former U.S. ambassador to New Delhi.
Appointing a special American mediator to work with India and Pakistan wouldn't work because India, in particular, "has special genes to resist 'made by the U.S.' solutions," he said.
Pickering said he could envision a solution where Kashmir is ultimately granted autonomy comparable to that given to New Caledonia, an "overseas territory" of France, 2,000 kilometres off the shore from Sydney, Australia.
Kashmir conflict began when Britain pulled out - thestar.com
The battle over Kashmir dates back to the post-World War II era when Britain was negotiating the independence of India and the creation of the Islamic nation of Pakistan.
Britain sent London lawyer Cyril Radcliffe to the subcontinent to draw up borders separating India and Pakistan. After two centuries of British rule, Radcliffe, on his first visit to the region, was given 40 days to finish his job.
While Muslim-dominated states were supposed to become a part of Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir had a Hindu ruler, Hari Singh. He opted to go with India.
An agreement was reached for residents to decide their ultimate future Indian or Pakistani in a statewide plebiscite. India has refused to allow that to happen, saying the original UN-brokered ceasefire demands Pakistan demilitarize its side of the contested border before a vote.
In 1972, after their third war, in which after India helped East Pakistan gain independence as Bangladesh, the Line of Control was established in Kashmir.
For close to 20 years, there was an uncomfortable peace in the valley.
In 1989, disenchanted by repeatedly rigged elections and purportedly inspired by the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Kashmiris began to revolt. Militants trained in Pakistan to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan were redirected to Kashmir and steered across the Line of Control to attack Indian targets.
It became routine for Kashmiri boys to slip into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir for weapons training before returning home to battle for an independent state of Kashmir.
Since 1989, an estimated 50,000 people have died in the bloody, costly conflict.
By 2002, then-U.S. president Bill Clinton dubbed Kashmir "the most dangerous place on Earth."
Many attempts have been made to settle the dispute over Kashmir.
Between 1947 and 2008, 46 proposals were made by Pakistan, India and others.
The U.S. would like the conflict settled so Pakistan can concentrate its efforts on its western border with Afghanistan, a former U.S. diplomat said.
"The U.S. role in the Kashmir conflict has to be as subliminal as possible," said Thomas Pickering, a former U.S. ambassador to New Delhi.
Appointing a special American mediator to work with India and Pakistan wouldn't work because India, in particular, "has special genes to resist 'made by the U.S.' solutions," he said.
Pickering said he could envision a solution where Kashmir is ultimately granted autonomy comparable to that given to New Caledonia, an "overseas territory" of France, 2,000 kilometres off the shore from Sydney, Australia.
