Letters and Editorials 9607 Views by Ameer Tarin

Independent Kashmir key to International peace






Radha Kumar, an interlocutor on Kashmir warned that India could lose Kashmir in the next decade if "serious efforts were not made to resolve the lingering dispute". She added that situation in Kashmir has progressively deteriorated and come to a point of no return. Government of India does not seem to have a policy to find a solution to the problem. The only serious effort made was when General Musharraf was in office in Pakistan and the civil societies of two countries and Kashmiris through back channel had reached a possible solution to the long standing dispute of the world.

India´s leading TV journalist Barkha Dutt in her recently released book ´This Unquiet Land´ unfolds the scenario of cultural, political and religious abnormal sensitivity leading to India´s precarious internal situation. The religious fundamentalism breeding an army of intolerants gives rise to rape, murder, terrorism, religious hatred, corruption, and caste tradition´s appalling cultural practices.

Kashmir´s Chittisinghpura Gurdwara carnage of Sikh community, for instance, a depiction of Indian army version has other side of the story firmly believed by local population as the Indian intelligence intrigue to malign and implicate Kashmiri freedom fighters as an act of terrorism. Barkha is deeply grieved to observe people of Kashmir faced with trauma and psychological disorders, the other side of violence taking an unprecedented toll.

In an Indian TV debate anchored by Barkha Dutt (December 07, 2015) Chandan Mitra a journalist argued that following diplomatic norms, dealings with Pakistan must be based on the policy of "engagement, disengagement and reengagement". The crux of the debate culminating in Pakistan bashing; Indian army´s terrorism creating havoc in Kashmir was conveniently and brazenly ignored. Barkha mentioned of Nawaz Sharif-Narendra Modi secret meeting in Kathmandu in 2014 SAARC Meet and less than two minute meeting of two Prime Ministers in Paris with no details of deliberations.

The mounting international pressure on India to engage in a dialogue process to find a solution for India-Pakistan problems especially the core issue of Kashmir shows some optimism when Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj travels to Pakistan (December 08, 2015) to attend a meeting on Afghanistan political situation. India has all along been stressing a no dialogue stance with Pakistan till, according to India, terrorism issues are resolved.

Barkha asserts that India, during Kargil war with Pakistan, played with the idea of using nuclear option or 6-day limited war or even the talk of surgical strike without taking into account the backlash or retaliatory response from Pakistan. The world at large was alarmed at India´s overambitious war hysteria and swung into quick diplomatic action to restrain India from such an adventure. India was made aware of Pakistan´s nuclear and conventional war capabilities and India´s unilateral action having potentialities to start a World War.

However political observers believe that Indian somersault to dispatch its foreign minister to visit Pakistan for attending meeting on Afghan problem deliberations, at a time when India refuses to play even a game of cricket has more to it than meets the eye. India desperately wants to represent in this high profile Afghan meeting to seek international recognition and to send the feelers to international community that India has a role to play in Afghanistan. India feels comfortable by engaging Pakistan on its own terms and use the new diplomatic term talk about talks to have the cake and eat it as well.

The Indian misadventure in Kashmir sixty seven years back cost many precious lives, resources and devastation. India´s first Prime Minister Pandit JawaharLal Nehru towards the spring of 1964 requested Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah to visit Pakistan to see if a solution acceptable to people of Kashmir could be worked out. Sheikh was warmly received in Pakistan and given a free hand by Pakistani President Ayub Khan to broker such a solution. The news of Sheikh´s success in Rawalpindi was, perhaps, too much for India and same night Pandit Nehru died leaving all concerned in a rude shock.

In a fresh endeavor India´s second Prime Minister Late Lal Bahadur Shastri took the threads from his predecessor Late Pandit Nehru to settle Kashmir dispute. A meeting of Pakistani President Ayub Khan and Prime Minister Shasri was arranged with the participation of Alexei Kosygin, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in Tashkent on January 10, 1966. Under very strange circumstances, the same night Prime Minister Shastri reportedly died in mysterious circumstances as well.

Late Prime Minister Shastri´s son, a senior Congress leader speaking to a news channel had this to say about his father´s untimely demise. "When my father´s body came to Delhi airport, the Palam airport as it was called then, and when it was taken out of the aircraft, that came as a shock because his body had turned blue. His face had turned blue and there were white spots on the temple".

Men, women and children killed in Kashmir have crossed one hundred thousand mark and rest of the population is suffering from trauma and mental problems. This has increased hostile attitude of Kashmiris towards India and hardened their resolve for total independence. The pressure within India is growing as well to give Kashmir what it deserves as per the promise given to them by India and Pakistan through implementation of United Nations Resolutions. Under the circumstances, trilateral talks with China´s inclusion to find a solution supervised by United Nations could be a good starting point.


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