Kashmir: A People Under Seige

Fifty years, three wars, and millions of casualties since the start of the Kashmiri dispute, we are no closer to a resolution than we were fifty years, three wars, and millions of casualties ago. But what is lost in this cynical view of the Kashmiri dispute, and what is often lost when the Indian and Pakistani arguments are made, are the lives of those living in the affected region. Those left out of the equation are those hardest hit.

Economic hardships have hit much of the Kashmiri population. Residents complain of living without the basic necessities of civilized life. In regions such as Kargil, residents don’t have access to proper roads, hospitals or schools and live in tiny homes surrounded by filthy streets.

Kashmir is a disputed territory in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is the centre of a territorial dispute between Pakistan, controlling the northwest, India, controlling the south, and China, controlling the northeast. The dispute began in 1947 when the Indian subcontinent gained independence from the British Empire. The 565 princely states were to choose between two new countries: India and Pakistan. The ruler of Kashmir, a Hindu with a mostly Muslim population could not decide between the two and instead, did nothing.

In October of that year, a group of Pakistanis invaded Kashmir. The ruler of Kashmir, Hari Singh, turned to India for armed help. India complied on the condition that Kashmir would join their country, at least temporarily. The Governor-General hoped this would help calm the intense situation until an election was held to decide which country Kashmir would be a part of. The election was never held and since then, the region has been under intense dispute. The struggle has involved the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1947-48 and 1965. Most recently, the world has seen both countries conduct nuclear tests in a game of political one-upmanship. The current nuclear element has made the situation one of the most dangerous disputes in the world.

A recent expedition by the BBC into the Kashmiri region produced a number of telling interviews with residents of the Indian-administered side. Speaking with blue-collar workers to academics, what seems to be echoed among the general population is a hope for peace, a hope for a life worth living. What the interviews show, and what is also present in much of the current research of the region is a life marred by violence and disappointment since the late 1980s. It was then that the militant wings started to take hold and violence became an everyday occurrence in the region.

With violence a part of daily life, other aspects have suffered too. Once a hot tourist spot for many Europeans, much of the tourist dollars now go to regions with more stability. Economic hardships have hit much of the Kashmiri population. Residents complain of living without the basic necessities of civilized life. In regions such as Kargil, residents don’t have access to proper roads, hospitals or schools and live in tiny homes surrounded by filthy streets.

What makes the current situation worse is the fact that the people of Kashmir have not always faced this devastation. The region under dispute is one rich in its own history and its own culture. Many of those living there first define themselves as Kashmiri. This allegiance to Kashmir is, for many, more important than any allegiance to either India or Pakistan.

The common belief is that the Muslim and non-Muslim populations of Kashmir do not get along and the solutions desired by the disputing countries would in fact help to create a better living arrangement for those in the region. But, many from the area say that Muslim, Hindus, Buddhists, in fact all people of Kashmir, lived in harmony for many years and it is this period that many Kashmiris yearn for.

There was a time where life in Kashmir was good. Many of those interviewed spoke with nostalgia, remembering the days where Muslims, Hindus, in fact individuals from all faiths, all lived in harmony together in Kashmir. The Muslim population, although a majority, practice a liberal form of Islam that worked with the non-Muslim minority. These groups lived together in peace for centuries; religious tolerance was a strong part of Kashmiri identity. But in recent times this has all changed – now many of the Kashmiri Hindus have been driven away from the region, living as refugees in India.

India and Pakistan continue to argue their positions but what is too often lost is the voice of the Kashmiris – the voice of the suffering that is a result of this political competition between the two nuclear powers.

What is illustrated through the interviews with the Kashmiri people is that many feel their interests and concerns are largely ignored. Their voices are not being heard. The international community has backed various solutions to the problem including creating an actual border using what is now known as the Line of Control (LoC). Many of the Kashmiri people argue that these plans to divide their land are being made without consulting those that actually live there. India and Pakistan continue to argue their positions but what is too often lost is the voice of the Kashmiris – the voice of the suffering that is a result of this political competition between the two nuclear powers.

When considering what is best for the Kashmiri people it is hard to side with either the Indian or the Pakistani arguments as it seems neither has taken into account the suffering the Kashmiri people have had to sustain over the last fifty years. The poor infrastructure, violence, and general lack of life satisfaction in Kashmir is a direct result of the Indian-Pakistani feud but seems to be largely ignored by the two countries. It seems as though, unless the two nuclear powers agree to put the interests of the Kashmiri people first, you may be reading a similar article in another fifty years.