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Jammu and Kashmir is a state in India. It is a large state and was ruled by Maharaja Gulab Singh (Indian King) in the past. Jammu & Kashmir is made up of several regions but is called "Jammu & Kashmir because of two most populous regions in the state are called Jammu and Kashmir. There are other regions in the state including Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan and Skardu. India's neighbor, Pakistan, grabbed many of these regions about 50 years ago. Some parts of the state were forcibly taken over by China. The largest portion of the original state of Jammu & Kashmir remains as a state within India.
What is Kashmir?
Kashmir is a beautiful valley in the northern-most part of India. It is part of a state called Jammu & Kashmir. The Kashmir valley is surrounded by some of the highest mountain ranges in the world. The valley itself is green and thickly populated. The people of this valley are highly evolved and have active participation in the history and culture of the state.
Where is India?
India is in the southern part of Asia. It is the world's seventh largest country and second only to China in terms of population.
It is also the world's sixth most powerful nation in terms of military might with the third biggest army in the world.
In short, It is a huge country, Like the United States, India is made of a number of states. Each state has its own laws and customs but in important national matters, like national security and foreign affairs, each state must obey the Central government based in New Delhi. In the USA, a governor rules each state, Similarly, in each Indian state, the people of the state elect a ruler who is called the chief minister.
What is Pakistan?
Pakistan is a south Asian country that neighbors India. It was originally part of India, when the British left India, some Muslims wanted a country of their own and got it. This new country was called Pakistan. The leaders of Pakistan felt that they should rule all areas of India where people belonging to the Muslim faith were in majority. The majority of people in Jammu & Kashmir were Muslims, while others were Hindus and Buddhists. Some Muslims in Jammu & Kashmir wanted to be part of Pakistan while most others did not want that. But the rulers of Pakistan felt that if they could capture Jammu & Kashmir by military force, then the people would have to accept their rule. That is why they attacked the state of Jammu & Kashmir in 1947, At the same time, a Maharaja was ruling Jammu & Kashmir. Pakistani troops overran most of the state and the Maharaja had to escape to India. He asked India for help and merged his state with India. THIS WAS CALLED "THE ACCESSION OF THE STATE OF "JAMMU AND KASHMIR"TO INDIA. Some Pakistani leaders to this day are unhappy that the whole of Jammu & Kashmir is not part of Pakistan with illegally keeping some parts of it.
What exactly happened in 1947?
Jammu & Kashmir in the year 1947 was an independent country for all practical purposes. The Maharaja who ruled the state had signed agreements with both Pakistan and India to remain neutral and not be part of any country. India honored the agreement but Pakistan did not. Pakistani raiders and soldiers attacked the state in 1947 forcing the Maharaja to flee to India. The Maharaja asked India to help his people who were being looted and killed by the Pakistani raiders. He also agreed to make Jammu & Kashmir part of India. The Indian ruler at that time was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He accepted Jammu & Kashmir's accession to India and agreed to rescue his people from the Pakistani looters
Indian troopers were flown into the Kashmir valley and they managed to drive away most of the Pakistani looters from the state. But large area of the state remained under the control of Pakistani soldiers. These areas were difficult to reach because they were surrounded by all mountain ranges. Also, India wanted peace in the region. The fighting ended with Pakistan occupying a large area of the state but India keeping larger part.
How did the fighting end?
The fighting ended in the beginning of 1949 because India wanted peace in the region. India felt that other influential countries like the US and Britain would ask Pakistan to stop fighting and withdraw its soldiers from the state that had legally became part of India. India therefore went to the world body called United Nations, or the UN for negotiations. India asked United Nations that Pakistan has attacked a neutral state and that state has now became part of India. Therefore it should ask Pakistan to withdraw its troops from Kashmir. United Nations agreed on India's demand and asked Pakistan to withdraw its troops from Kashmir. It also asked India to ask the People of Jammu & Kashmir whether they wanted to be part of India or Pakistan. This was because some people in the state wanted to join Pakistan while rest of them wanted to stay with India. The prime minister of India agreed to ask the People of the state what they wanted through a process known as a referendum or plebiscite. Pakistan did not agree and refused to vacate the areas of Jammu & Kashmir it had forcibly occupied. Because of this a plebiscite could not be held. Powerful countries like the US and Britain did not force Pakistan to withdraw its troops from Kashmir. They simple termed the entire state as a "Disputed Territory".
Why was Jammu & Kashmir termed "Disputed Territory"?
This was essentially because both India and Pakistan claimed the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The big powers, like the US and Britain, did not want to take sides and might have felt that it would be best if the problem of the state could be settled between India and Pakistan. India wanted to settle the problem once and for all, but Pakistan will only accept a solution under which it can keep the Kashmir valley to itself. India can not allow this. Therefore, the so called " dispute" continues to this day.
But What is the legal position on Jammu & Kashmir?
Legally, Jammu & Kashmir is an integral and inseparable part of India. The british had ruled India as one undivided country made up of many provinces and princely states. When they left, India was partitioned into two separate countries. The new country, as mentioned earlier, was called Pakistan. The British as well as the leaders of both India and Pakistan had agreed to one basic principle - every inch of land must go either to India or to Pakistan. In other words, people living in India before the partition of 1947, had only two options: they could either join Pakistan or they could join India. They could not remain independent.
Jammu & Kashmir was actually an exception. The Maharaja of the state had wanted time to decide whether he should join India or Pakistan, But the rulers of Pakistan did not want to give him the opportunity to decide and instead attacked his state, killing hundreds of people and causing extensive damage to property. The Pakistani action forced the Maharaja to join India.
Was the Maharaja's decision to merge his state with India legal?
It was absolutely legal. According to the agreement on which the partition of India was based, the rulers of princely states, like Jammu & Kashmir, had the absolute right to decide whether they wanted to join India or Pakistan. There was never any question of holding a referendum or a plebiscite. All the same, the then Prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to hold a plebiscite because he was a democrat and wanted to find out what the people of the state of Jammu & Kashmir wanted.
Then why was a plebiscite not held?
The plebiscite was not held because Pakistan refused to vacate the large parts of Jammu & Kashmir that it had cowardly occupied. The plebiscite was meant of all the people of the state of Jammu & Kashmir and not just for those who lived in the Kashmir valley but also Gilgit, Baltistan and Skardu which Pakistan cowardly occupies and Aksai Chin which it had illegally ceded to China. Pakistan felt that parts of the state they had captured was theirs and would not part with it. Pakistan defied the agreement reach by the world body called the United Nations and refused to vacate its troops. The powerful countries of the world did nothing to ensure that Pakistan honored the UN resolutions on Jammu & Kashmir, India could not therefore hold a plebiscite.
Why could not India hold a plebiscite in the part of Jammu & Kashmir it controls?
In 1947, when the pakistanis attacked Jammu & Kashmir, the most popular leader of the state was a man named Sheikh Abdullah. He was a friend of the Indian Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Both men believed in secularism, which is a concept that allows people of all religions and creeds to live together. Pakistan on the other hand, was created on the basis of religion. The leaders of Pakistan wanted a country where only Muslims would rule. Indian leaders, on the other hand, felt that anybody could rule as long as people elected that person. Sheikh Abdullah preferred the idea of secularism. He therefore wanted Jammu & Kashmir part of India rather than part of Pakistan. At the same time, the Hindus, who were a majority in the Jammu region, also did not want to join Pakistan, nor did the Buddhists of Ladakh region. Since all these groups wanted to be with India, there was not point in holding a referendum on the Indian side of Jammu & Kashmir, Also, in 1954, the people of the state of Jammu & Kashmir elected a government of their own. This government made it clear that their was part of India and not part of Pakistan. Officially speaking, they "Ratified Jammu & Kashmir's accession to India". This meant that henceforth there could be no question of holding a plebiscite in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
Why could not a plebiscite be held today?
A plebiscite can not be held today for two reasons, Firstly, Pakistan continues to illegally occupy a large chunk of Jammu & Kashmir and does not allow the people here any freedom of choice. In most parts of Pakistani occupied part of Jammu & Kashmir, the local people have no democratic rights. They can not elect a government and they cannot dare to even talk against Pakistan for fear of being killed. For all practical purposes, the territory and the people captured by Pakistan in 1947 have been incorporated into Pakistan. These people have always been ruled directly by central government of Pakistan and have not been given their basic right to elect government in their territory or the opportunity to learn what democracy is all about. Unless, Pakistan agrees to give them a chance to participate in a plebiscite, it will be of no use.
Secondly, Jammu & Kashmir became a legal, integral and inseparable part of India as long as 50 years ago. Today, no Indian Government can allow some people in Jammu & Kashmir to break away from India. The Indian Government tolerates some people in Jammu & Kashmir who talk about separation from India but does not like them. In other countries, people who want to break apart a country by creating a separate independent country are called "Traitors", they are usually punished by "Death Penalty". India is a more tolerant country.
Why is there so much trouble in Kashmir now a days?
This is bacause a section of leaders belonging to the Kashmir valley want to break away from India. Some of them want to form a separate country while others want to join Pakistan. Making such demands is against the law. The Indian government has been forced to arrest some of these leaders and put them in prison. Most of them have later been released. Some of them, how ever, decided to become terrorist and started to kill people in the Kashmir valley and in other parts of the state. To protect the lives of the people and to counter these terrorists, the Indian Government posted soldiers in the Kashmir valley, The terrorist then started killing soldiers as well. The soldiers started fighting back and for all practical reasons, the Kashmir valley bacame battlefield. Indian soldiers have killed many terrorists but some remain to this day and continue to frighten the people of Jammu & Kashmir.
How did Kashmiri terrorists dare to take on Indian Soldiers?
Basically, Kashmir is the territory, which has given birth to lots of Saints and Sufis, and Kashmiris proud on their culture and have strong belief in secularism and tolerance towards other religions. But the islamists in the neighboring Pakistan did not like it.
In the first phase of their strategy they started evil propaganda against India on the name of islam by illegally infiltrating into the valley of Kashmir. During this period the pakistani infiltrators in large, circulated lots of fanatic islamist pamphlets and audio cassettes to the people of Kashmir to provoke their feelings against India.
In the second phase of their strategy, they established lots of terrorists machinery or camps in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir ( POK) and their Punjab province adjoining India to give arms and guerilla warfare training to misguided kashmiri youth.
But soon kashmiri youth recognized the nefarious designs of Pakistan, and quit the path of terrorism and separatism. To desperately revive the dying militancy in Kashmir, Pakistan has made yet another abortive and cowardly attempt of sending foreign mercenaries and hard core criminals and assassins languishing in pakistani jails to fight against Indian rule in Kashmir valley.
What is the situation in the Kashmir valley today?
Most Kashmiris are disillusioned with all the killing and fighting. They want peace. Elections were held in Kashmir last year and Dr. Farookh Abdullah, the leader of Jammu & Kashmir's main political party, the national conference, was elected Chief Minister. He is ruling the state today and has clearly said the Jammu & Kashmir cannot and will not part of Pakistan. He has pledged full support to the Indian Government to fight against the terrorists and the traitors who want to break away from India.
Why does violence continue in Kashmir?
When Kashmiris began to grow disillusioned with the fighting, the pakistanis realized that the opportunity of grab the Kashmiri Valley was slipping out of their hands. They, therefore trained people from Pakistan, Afghanistan and other fanatic muslim countries like Egypt and Sudan to fight in Kashmir. Most of these fighters were mercenaries and were paid to fight in Kashmir.These mercenaries were also told that the muslim faith was in danger and they were fighting a holy war. These are the people who are creating the most trouble in the Kashmir valley today. They are also responsible for killing former Kashmiri terrorists who have stopped fighting. These foreign mercenaries have no love for the ordinary Kashmiri and have caused them a lot of harm, killing their men and raping their women. They are also responsible for the abduction of six foreign tourists three years ago, One of the tourists, who was an American, managed to escape while another, a Norwegian, was cruelly beheaded. Four tourists remain hostages. Their fate is not known.
what do the people in other parts of Jammu & Kashmir feel?
The people in other parts of the Indian side of Jammu & Kashmir are very alarmed with all the fighting in the Kashmir valley. They are also afraid of the demands for separating Jammu & Kashmir from rest of India.They want to be part of India and in recent years have been demanding that the state of Jammu & Kashmir be broken up and the other main regions, including Jammu, Ladakh, be put under direct rule of the Central Government in New Delhi, but Indian Government does not want Jammu & Kashmir to be broken up any further.
What about the people on the Pakistani side of Jammu & Kashmir?
The pakistani side of Jammu & Kashmir has been diveded into two main parts. The largest part is called "Northern Areas". Here the people have no political or human rights and are ruled directly by Pakistan. They cannot express an opinion. But of late they have begun to rebel against pakistan.The pakistani army has crushed these rebellions with brute force. The other part of "Pakistan occupied Kashmir" is a tiny portion called "Azad Kashmir". Azad in Urdu language means "Free".The people settled here are also been tortured and their rights crushed. Movement to get separate from Pakistan is picking up momentum like in "Northen Areas"
In Pakistan proclaimed "So-called Azad Kashmir", a Pakistan military backed "puppet government" rules. The leader of this puppet government is called a "prime minister" in rest of pakistan, and is also supplied and supported by pakistan's islamabad besed government with lots of wealth and money. But the people of this area are not happy at all and unrest is boiling up.
Will Peace ever come to Kashmir?
yes it will, The newly elected Chief Minsiter of Jammu and Kashmir has promised to end terrorism in his state with the help of the Indian Government. The common man in Jammu and Kashmir also wants peace and the resumption of normal life. Once the people of Kashmir can safely vent their feelings and foreign merceneries are captured or killed, peace has to come. But peace can never come if the Kashmiri decides to go on fighting. His honour has to come first.
How can others help?>
The violence in Jammu and Kashmir continues because terrorists fighting here are sent and trained by Pakistan. The government of pakistan refuses to reconcile to the fact that Jammu & Kashmir is part of India. Therefore, the pakistanis do not want peace to return to Jammu and Kashmir. They are determined to keep the fires of violence and hatred burning on the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir. In the meanwhile, innocent people in Kashmir are getting caught in the crossfire. People from all over the world can help by urging their leaders to tell pakistan to accept the reality in Kashmir and withdraw its forces from so called"Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir", so that Indian rule can be maintained there and both countries can live in peace.
