Kashmir Blog - Fall Quarter

What about Kashmir? (and I don’t mean the sweater…)

When my alarm went off on Tuesday morning, NPR was playing softly in the background. As I lay there listening, a story about Indian relations with Pakistan came across the airways. http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3&prgDate=11-17-2009

As India emerges on the international stage as the most populated democracy in the world, there is always talk of the future. But there is one large aspect of the past that still may still play a large part of the future, the Indian relations with Pakistan and the conflict in Kashmir.

In 1947, the British declared India an independent secular nation, and Pakistan a Muslim nation. The already existing rivalry between Muslims and Hindus only grew stronger. Since 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars. The geographical area called Kashmir (located in the North of both countries) is still a disputed territory. Each night at the boarder between India’s Kashmir and Pakistan’s Kashmir, there is a flag ceremony on both sides. Bleachers full of hundreds of people come to watch and cheer for their respective country and yell taunts at those across the boarder.

There is a group in Kashmir that wants their own autonomy. They want to separate from Pakistan and India, and become their own country. Earlier this week, Indian leaders held secret meetings with Kashmir separatists. Kashmir has requested that India’s troops file back and the release of some prisoners before they continue the talks. At the time I am writing this, I could not find any information on whether or not India has complied.

Recently, Rahul Gandhi, of India’s ruling Congress party, and son of the party’s president, Sonia Gandhi, has spoken out for a change in attitude toward their Pakistani neighbors. “I actually feel we give too much time in our mind to Pakistan. We are now becoming a serious international player. Pakistan is a very small piece of our worldview.” Many people share this view, and are ready to forget the tension of the past and move on to a peaceful future. Many youth of both nations don’t care about the rivalry and have already moved past it. This may be easier said than done.

Can you sweep a deep seeded religious conflict under the rug in a generation? How similar is this to the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the debated region of Jerusalem? Can we draw any conclusions and similarities? Can diplomacy work to resolve this conflict?