Kashmir is a disputed region between India and Pakistan, which has vitiated the political environment of the Indian Subcontinent. The Kashmir issue stands as a debacle for nearly seven decades and there has been almost no progress in resolving the problem.
Kashmir is a mountainous region, which enjoys a very important geopolitical situation. The area is famous for its extraordinary natural beauty and resources. For over seven decades, the region has been devastated by confrontations between the two countries. Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and in the case of another shooting war between them; the entire subcontinent including Kashmir may be destroyed. Presently, it is at the diplomatic hyper point of the bilateral relationships between the two countries.
To understand the causes of the conflict, the historic Partition of India has to be referenced. Under British Rule, Indian Subcontinent was mainly inhabited by two major religious groups, Hindus and Muslims. The two communities had friendly relationships and they offered a united struggle to achieve independence from British Rule during the latter half of the Nineteenth Century. But undercurrents of tension between the two communities became forceful with the lapse of time.
Power politics between the All India Muslim League and Indian National Congress (the two major political powers of undivided India) culminated in widespread communal tension and violence during the 1930s and early 1940s. Consequently, the colossal task of partitioning India became unavoidable. After the Partition in 1947, Pakistan emerged as a Muslim-dominated state while India emerged as a secular, democratic country. And the province of Kashmir, which is situated at the border of the two countries, got tangled and entrapped between them.
With the lapse of time, Pakistan has shown tendencies towards Military Rule and autocratic governance. On several occasions, India has alleged that Pakistan has sponsored different terrorist organizations in Kashmir. Moreover, India holds Pakistan responsible for several devastating terrorist attacks directed against India. On the other hand, Pakistan affirmatively sticks to its policy of extending moral support to the separatists in Kashmir. In such a state of affairs, the common Kashmiris are suffering the most. Innocent people are being victimized by baneful separatist propaganda. Confrontations between the Indian military and armed separatists have caused huge losses of property, money, and lives so far. However, the plight of the Kashmiris is heard more than ever now. In both countries, there is a rising demographic that wants to end the loss of lives and sorrow that Kashmir has become synonymous with. As the world is increasing the measures taken against terrorism, we can hope that Kashmir too can one day be free of it.
The struggle in Kashmir is indigenous and has always enjoyed popular support against the Indian military occupation. Through its latest actions, a belligerent India has lost whatever little support it claimed to have in IIOJK. Kashmiris have always shown bravery, resilience, and perseverance in the face of injustice and state brutality. They will resist Indian occupation till they achieve their political rights, guaranteed to them by the international community under UNSC resolutions.
Pakistan will continue to awaken the world’s conscience to the plight of the Kashmiris. Kashmir stays as an unfulfilled promise on the world’s conscience. The day is not far when the people of Kashmir will be free from the yolk of Indian occupation
