By Daisy Robinson
Located in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, Jammu and Kashmir, often referred to as Kashmir, has been the subject of conflict between India and Pakistan since they gained independence from England in 1947. It is a valuable state in terms of both national security and its resources, with the Indus River being crucial in supplying water for both countries. Geographically, it also creates a bridge between South Asia and Central Asia that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is run through. Both countries have been fighting over whether Kashmir belongs to India or Pakistan for decades, and it’s been an intense source of friction between them. It has continued to impact the people of Kashmir well into the 21st century.
The Partition of India
Before the Partition, large parts of the Indian subcontinent were under British rule for just under 200 years. Eventually, in 1947, Britain relinquished its rule over India. This can be partly attributed to the resistance of revolutionaries, such as the Quit India Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. It was also the result of a lack of military and economic power that made it increasingly difficult for England to maintain control. This national struggle for independence lasted nearly three decades. After they gained independence, Cyril Radcliffe, a barrister who had never set foot on the continent, was given 5 weeks to split the subcontinent into Hindu majority India and Muslim majority Pakistan. This ill-conceived partition was a central event in 20th century South Asian history and resulted in more than 10 million refugees crossing the India-Pakistan border to move to where they felt safer. It was a traumatic experience for many people, with over 1 million civilians dying in riots and mass violence.
Where did Kashmir come into this?
Kashmir was a Muslim majority state but ruled by the Hindu Maharaja, Harri Singh. Whilst facing pressure from both India and Pakistan to accede to them, Singh initially wanted independence for Kashmir. As an independent state, Singh signed an agreement with Pakistan that allowed citizens to travel and trade, but India did not accept the same proposition. However, within the same year, the government of Pakistan continued to pressure Kashmir to join their country, and Pashtun tribesmen, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who lived in tribes in Pakistan, took over the majority of Western Kashmir. To help push them back out of the region, the Maharaja signed a treaty of accession with India, on the condition Kashmir would become part of India. This alliance between the two regions meant Indian and Kashmiri Troops joined forces to push Pashtun tribes, and the Pakistani army that backed them, out of Kashmir, and this event is known as the first Kashmiri War. A ceasefire was called in 1948 in a UN commission. India was left with roughly two-thirds of Kashmir and Pakistan controlled just over a third, separated by the ceasefire line.
Later on, India granted Kashmir a special autonomous status under Article 370 that gave them independence over most elements of governance except for foreign affairs, defence and communications. Despite this relative independence, the decision to align Kashmir primarily with India has led to decades of conflict over the region. This has involved three brief wars between 1962 and 1972: one in 1962 where China (who came into the conflict this year and had no previous quarrel over ownership of Kashmir) fought India to claim part of Kashmir known as Aksai Chan that bordered both countries and a 1965 war between India and Pakistan over the ownership of the whole of Kashmir which ends in a ceasefire. The final war in this decade was the 1971 war over the same subject as the previous war but ends in a ceasefire that results in the 1972 Simlala agreement, that renames the previous ceasefire line the ‘Line of Control’ and called for pledges from both India and Pakistan that they would settle future disagreements over ownership of Kashmir through negotiations. Despite the agreement, several decades of insurgency and violence between all four regions continued, and still does to this day.
What recent conflicts have occurred in Kashmir?
Since 2000, efforts to boost relations between India and Pakistan over Kashmir have been punctuated with continuous violence, both from each nation’s military and civilians. Insurgency has only escalated, and in 2016, authorities imposed a curfew in parts of Indian-administered Kashmir, due to the killing of a popular militant named Burhan Wani. This involved the suspension of internet and mobile services and closing of schools and main roads. Although this sparked further violent protests, the curfew lasted approximately 60 days.
Moving forward to 2019, in August the BJP (a right-wing Hindu nationalist party elected to government in 2016) stripped Jammu and Kashmir of their special autonomous status granted by Article 370 decades earlier. They decided to split the area into two federal territories, essentially erasing the region altogether.
This decision was made without consulting Kashmir’s state legislature and hundreds of Kashmiri political leaders were detained. Furthermore, another curfew restriction was imposed, again including a strict communication blackout, allowing for little information about the current situation to be relayed to the outside world. In anticipation of the intense backlash from the Kashmiri people, huge numbers of military personnel were deployed into the region.
What are the realities for the people of Kashmir in 2020?
In 2020, charity ‘Muslim Hands’ reported that there is no sign of these curfew restrictions being limited, with there being little internet available, schools still being closed, and an estimated half a million people who have lost their jobs. Equally, hospitals have not been running to full capacity and ambulance services have not been operating. This treatment has understandably angered many Kashmiri people and led to great anti-Indian sentiment.
According to Kashmiri born writer Mirza Waheed,, India has reprogrammed the economic and social life of Kashmiris through the amendment of laws. This has included disbanding a children’s commission and women’s rights body. The internet shutdown is one of the longest ever imposed by a democracy and thousands of young people have been incarcerated, to the extent that some hotels have been converted into detention centres. Furthermore, COVID-19 has provided a scapegoat for this lockdown, and therefore the unjust conditions Kashmiri people continue to endure currently appear inescapable.
What issues are Kashmiris likely to face in the future?
Due to the value of Kashmir to both India and Pakistan, it is suspected that neither region will back down in the conflict soon. India’s powerful nationalist government refused to accept the US’s offer of mediation between India and Pakistan, standing by their decision to revoke Article 370. Furthermore, they have a large military and can therefore keep riots and protests from Kashmiri people under control. Equally, Pakistan’s beneficial relationship with China relies on their economic corridor of land, and although their military strength isn’t as powerful, they still have significant nuclear power. However, political analysts have predicted that a Kashmir independent of either of these powers may dissolve into anarchy.
Therefore, there is no apparent solution in the near future to this 72-year disagreement, and the future of Kashmir is still wholly unclear.
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