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Kashmir's so-called integral part mantra at UN







The spewed hyperbole parroting Kashmir as an "Integral part" at United Nations Security Council (September 28, 2013) charged up already very high emotions, dashing all hopes for any immediate dialogue between India and Pakistan. However, many believe that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was complying with his Congress Party´s political requirement for upcoming elections in India. While many others believe that Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif´s address earlier for his domestic consumption ´raking up´ Kashmir Issue stressing for an early resolution as per various United Nations Resolutions touched Indian sensitivities raising the temperature.

Indian Express in its July 08, 2013 issue reports that "the predominant narrative inside Pakistan is that people don't care about sidestepping of Kashmir, it isn't an absolute consensus — and these fissures would become more evident if Islamabad fails to tackle the other pressing issues". Indian attempt to sideline people of Kashmir to project the decade’s old uprising as a "domestic issue" does not carry weight on Indian or international level. Pakistan may have its own problems but that does not make Kashmir an "integral part" of India. Kashmir has lost more than one hundred thousand people facing wrath in the form of killings, rapes, disappearances and destruction of property from one million people in uniform which does not make the ground situation as hunky dory.

Kashmir for the last sixty six years witnessed a deliberate and wanton cruelty of occupational forces in the form of three generations of men, women and children wiped out to fulfil expansionist designs. In a brazen manner flouting all descent norms, a pretext to help hapless people was used to occupy their land and rule them with an iron fist. Kashmir while trying to seek an answer fails to comprehend the punishment meted out when history tells that Kashmir is not even remotely connected with what happened with India in 1947. More than half a century of occupation has taught Kashmir nothing but a political fraud as on December 04, 1964 India´s Home Minister Gulzari Lal Nanda said "It (Article 370, in a political convenience giving Kashmir a special status) would be used to serve as a tunnel in the wall to increase the Centre’s (India’s) power".

Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal, Kashmir´s patriot, very well known columnist journalist and a humanist commented on Kashmir situation and wrote: "The perils are that a conflict that was not essentially communal or regional in nature becomes more vulnerable to such divisions and polarisation. While the gun was introduced with the slogan of azadi (freedom) and talk of a secular Kashmir, it was essentially the government response through its various agencies and sponsored or patronised organisations that ensured that seeds of division and consequent fanaticism were sown."

The "reorganisation" of Kashmir on the basis of some "Indian commission" cannot be applied to Kashmir as Kashmir as a whole entity is occupied illegally and various United Nations Security Council Resolutions are waiting implementation. Any effort to divide Kashmir State will be resisted by the people and fought tooth and nail to thwart such nefarious designs. The State of Kashmir includes all the areas those formed an integral part on and before October 25, 1947.

Burkha Dutt, senior well known TV anchor of India on a twitter message showed serious concern about Kashmir´s volatile, potential & destructive organised communal divide which many believe is a deliberate attempt of government agencies to put out feelers to check the reaction of people in Kashmir and fundamentalist forces within the country. An opinion is being built on Indian national level to find a solution to the vexed problem as with international compulsions the political pressure from within India of moderate right thinking forces to settle the issue once for all is mounting.

A large section of Indian people in the right frame of mind see the ground reality and seek to find a solution to this long standing human problem, keeping in view Kashmir’s aspirations, sensitivities, historical needs and circumstances to grant it full independence. In such a political settlement agreed to by all stake holders including leadership of Kashmir, an external security threat, if any, for a fixed time period can jointly be looked after by India and Pakistan. The emotionally and politically charged up people of two nuclear nations will easily overcome the ingrained nostalgia and give them a reason to shun any sense of defeatism.

BBC News Channel explored the possibilities of finding a lasting solution offering seven scenarios including a viable independent sovereign nation of Kashmir as it existed on October 25, 1947. The report mentions of history of wars India and Pakistan have fought since British left India in 1947. Lord Louise Mountbatten entrusted with the job of Indian partition left Kashmir untouched as it had never been a part of India. It was days after the partition the patriotic forces of Kashmir held by Pakistan now, panicked to see Maharaja Patiala´s forces entering Kashmir to prepare the ground for Indian occupation. The inexperienced, unorganised group of fighters marched into the valley to capture and save it from Indian designs which in turn provided a pretext for Indian regular army battalions to consolidate the occupation facing minimal resistance.

Punjab’s senior Akali Dal leader, Simranjit Singh Mann believes that India-Pakistan dialogue on Kashmir issue could not be resolved as forcible occupation renders the exercise futile and the problem cannot be solved without mediation of any third country. The Akali Dal leader further added that "It is a harsh reality that Kashmiri people want freedom from India and India is ruling over this piece of land by military might, and that India has let loose a reign of terror in Kashmir and it is following the policies which it had followed in Punjab".

Omar Abdullah Chief Minister of Kashmir in a stark reminder stated that "Kashmir can erupt anytime and people in Delhi have misconceptions about cosmetic peace in Kashmir. Kashmir issue is not of money or gun but a political genesis requiring a political solution and a given chance for peace must not be assumed as permanent to take people of Kashmir for granted". Omar Abdullah, perhaps, is reminded of the political betrayal his grandfather faced at the hands of leaders of a country supposed to value justice, people’s political rights and basic right to live freely out of bondage.

Preceding Indian occupation in Kashmir on October 26, 1947, India´s first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru sent a telegram to British Prime Minister Clement Attlee on October 25, 1947 saying "I should like to make it clear that question of aiding Kashmir in this emergency is not designed in any way to influence the State to accede to India. Our view which we have repeatedly made public is that the question of accession in any dispute territory or State must be decided in accordance with the wishes of the people and we adhere to this view".


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