Kashmir

By Preetham Bachina, Verena Lin, Kevin Zhu

Where is Kashmir?

Kashmir refers to the northernmost region of South Asia and is separated into many parts including Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh (administered by India), Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (administered by Pakistan), and Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract (administered by China).

How did the conflict arise?

During British rule, Britain appointed princes to administer specific regions. When the subcontinent gained independence, Britain broke it apart into two new states: Pakistan for Muslims and India for Hindus and allowed princes to choose which one to join. Jammu and Kashmir, the largest of the princely states, was split on the decision as the Kashmiri people wanted to join Pakistan due their Muslim faith while the Hindu Dogras wanted to join India. The ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh was initially indecisive, but an attack by Pakistan-backed rebels made him turn to India for assistance. Under the “Instrument of Ascension” document, India agreed to drive out the rebellion on the condition that Singh made Jammu and Kashmir become a part of India. Pakistan contended that India could not legitimately govern Kashmir because the Kashmiri people identified as Muslim and thus as Pakistani. This irredentist sentiment sparked the beginning of the conflict.

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Maharaja Hari Singh

What groups are involved in this conflict?

The entire state of Kashmir has many ethnic groups inside of it but the three groups in which the conflicts revolve around are the Kashmiris (Indo-Aryan Dardic ethnic group that is primarily Muslim), Dogras (Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan that is primarily Hindu) and Ladakhis (an ethnic group of the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir sharing a common culture and language with Tibetans).

How has the Conflict Played Out?

In 1947, Pakistan invaded India to claim Kashmir which began the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. With the help of the UN, a resolution was achieved in 1949 and the de facto Line of Control was established giving the northern regions of Kashmir (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan ) to Pakistan and the southern regions (Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh) to India. Since then, numerous skirmishes and major wars like the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Kargil War have been fought by the two nations, but nothing has changed and the Line of Control continues to exist as it did in 1949.

What is the spatial extent of the conflict?

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, involved the entire region of Kashmir. After the line of control was established, violent conflict took place primarily in the Indian controlled regions of Kashmir including Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Ladakh. That being said, the effects of the conflict can be felt throughout both countries as the amount of bloodshed has sparked the migration of people of all ethnicities to different places. In 1947, the vast majority of Muslims in the Jammu area were driven out to the Pakistani side of Kashmir or killed by Hindus. Similarly in 1990, Kashmiri Hindus were systematically killed by their Muslim counterparts with around 100,000-800,00 people being displaced and forced to go to other parts of India.

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How many people have been affected and in what ways?

Some estimates say that separatist violence has killed more than 47,000 people from 1988-2008, which does not include people who have disappeared due to the conflict. However, no one really has a good estimate on how many people have died overall due to the incredibly long time frame of the entire conflict. Both Hindus and Muslims have experienced systematic discrimination and killing and both have committed atrocities such as rape, torture and burning of temples/mosques.

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How does China fit into all of this?

While the primary conflict regarding Kashmir is between Pakistan and India, China has some issues with the region as well. Due to the presence of the Ladakhi people, an ethnicity closely related to Tibetans, in Eastern Kashmir, China believed that it should control the region. As a result, in 1962 China invaded India quickly defeated the Indian Army. The two countries reached a mutual agreement where India gave China the easternmost part of Kashmir (Aksai Chin) while keeping the rest of the Ladakh region of Kashmir. The border between the nations is known as the Line of Actual Control. Compared to the conflict between India and Pakistan, this is relatively minor.

What are the opinions of the parties involved?

How has the international community responded?

In general, the international community has tried to mediate the conflict over Kashmir. All of the wars fought between India and Pakistan have only ended due to successful negotiations monitored by the UN, an unbiased 3rd party. In terms of international relations, the Kashmir conflict has made Pakistan ally with China and both countries have tenuous relationships with India.�

What is the current status?

While both India and Pakistan still claim Kashmir, a massive demilitarization effort has begun resulting in less violence in region. In the last few months, tensions have increased once more as India accuse Pakistan of violating the ceasefire along the Line of Control though nothing will most likely come of it. While the positions of the countries have not changed, the opinion of the Kashmiri people have. While they wanted to be part of Pakistan in 1947, as time has progressed more and more Kashmiris from both Kashmir Valley (controlled by India) and Northern Kashmir (controlled by Pakistan) have asked for independence from both countries and no longer want to be a stateless nation. On the other hand, the Dogra and Ladhaki people overwhelmingly want to be part of India. As long as this discrepancy exists, fighting will continue.