Briefing NEWS 1124 August 2019 THE WEEKWhat’s so special about Kashmir?
Nestling at the point where the borders of
India and Pakistan meet in the Himalayas,
the state of Jammu and Kashmir (its full
title) is one of only two Muslim-majority
states in Hindu-majority India. And
Article 370 of the Constitution of India
(see box) grants it special status: Jammu
and Kashmir is the only state in India
with aseparate constitution. All actions
not specifically falling under the jurisdic-
tion of the government and parliament of
India (matters of defence, foreign affairs
and communications) have to receive the
support of the state government. That is
why the decision by Narendra Modi’s
Hindu nationalist government to scrap
Article 370 has proved so incendiary.
How long has it beenaflashpoint?
It has beenabone of contention between India and Pakistan since
Partition in 1947, primarily on account of its vital geo-strategic
importance. The glacial waters flowing through Kashmirprovide
water and electricity to hundreds of millions of people in India;
Pakistan’s biggest river, the Indus, also passes through it. But to
both sides it is alsoasymbol of pride,aland famed for its beauty.
“If there isaheaven on Earth,” the Mughal Emperor Jahangir
once remarked, “it’s here, it’s here, it’s here.” Posters of its
mountainous landscape adorn the walls of small restaurants
across the entire subcontinent. So Kashmir is bothasymbolic
and afundamental national security issue to both countries.
And how many people live there?
Some 12.5 million people live in the Indian state of Jammu and
Kashmir–which is made up of the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and
Ladakh. The Valley population (about eight million) is over-
whelmingly Muslim–Hindus having largely been driven out;
Jammu is majority Hindu; mountainous Ladakh, close to Tibet,
has alarge (40%) Buddhist population. About six million people
live in the part of Kashmir now administered by Pakistan.
How did most of Kashmir end up under India’s control?
In the mid-19th century Kashmir’s Sikh rulers ceded the region to
the British, who in turn sold it to the Hindu raja of neighbouring
Ladakh and Jammu. The raja and his successors made no attempt
to involve their Muslim subjects in
Kashmir’s administration, but were
very hospitable to the British for
whom Srinagar, Kashmir’s capital,
becameasummer resort. Upon
independenceacentury later, the
princely states had the right to choose
which country to join. For most, it
was determined by geographical
location. But Kashmir’s playboy
maharaja, Hari Singh, could not
decide, as his state adjoined both
nations. He even pondered turning it
into anindependent “Switzerland of
Asia”. But his hand was forced when,
after Partition, Muslim workers, with
Pakistani backing, rose up against
their Hindu landlords and massacred
them. India’s new PM, Jawaharlal
Nehru,aKashmiri Hindu by descent,
sent in troops toquash the revolt,
and Singh had little choice but to
effectivelycede Kashmir to India.
How was the fighting resolved?
By the time it ended withaUN-brokered
ceasefire, most of the state was under
Indian control, except the northwestern
third, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad
(“Free”) Kashmir, which is controlled by
Pakistan. In 1948, the UN called for both
sides to withdraw troops andlet the
people of Kashmir vote on theirfuture
status. This has never happened. Instead,
the two countries went to war over
Kashmir in 1965, and clashed again in
the 1971 war which led to the creation
of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).
The ceasefire line approved at the Simla
Agreement in 1972 has become the de
facto border, known as the Line of
Control. There have been occasional
talks since, but no deal has been reached.Why has violence inside the state escalated since then?
In the late 1980s, growing opposition to Indian rule was fuelled
by the killing of peaceful protesters. Separatists and pro-Pakistan
groups in the Kashmir Valley, often trained and supplied by
Pakistani forces, took up arms against the Indian authorities.
India responded by flooding the region with troops, making
Kashmir one of the most highly militarised areas in the world.
But the regular curfews and media blackouts haven’t stemmed
the violence. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the
ensuing insurgency; several thousand others have disappeared.
Last year was the deadliest inadecade. Violence has risen steadily
since Indian forces killedayoung militant leader in July 2016.
Last summer, India imposed direct rule; and in February,alocal
Muslim carried out the deadliest attack in Kashmir in three
decades, killing some 40 Indian soldiers. In response, India
launched air strikes on Pakistani territory. Pakistan downed an
Indian fighter jet and captured its pilot, but later released him.What do most Kashmiris want to see happen?
That is hotly-debated.Asurvey conducted by the British academic
Robert Bradnockadecade ago found that nearly half of people in
Kashmir wanted independence, rather than to be part of India or
Pakistan. But opinion in Indian-administered areas was highly
polarised, with the Kashmir Valley supporting independence and
Hindu-majority Jammu strongly against. Bradnock concluded
that the referendum envisaged by the
UN would fail to resolve the conflict.What is likely to happen now?
Modi, India’s PM, is unlikely to back
down. He knows Kashmir is an issue
that fires up the vast Hindu
nationalist base of his party (the BJP)
–stripping the region of its autonomy
is along-held Hindu nationalist
demand.And he claims that scrapping
Article 370 will deepen national unity
and help developaregion that has
lagged behind the rest of India. More
ominously,aBJP spokesman has said
that stripping Kashmir of statehood
was necessary to “take full control of
the security apparatus” atasensitive
juncture. Should the Taliban reach a
peace deal with the US in the coming
months, it is considered likely that
many of the Islamist militants will
turn their attention to Kashmir.Kashmir: trouble in paradiseThe bloody and intractable issue of Kashmir has flared up again, because of India’s move to change its constitutional status“If there isaheaven on Earth, it’s here”The significance of Article 370
Article 370 of the Indian constitution, in force since
1949, has guaranteed the distinctive character of
Jammu and Kashmir, giving it its own constitution,
flag and the freedom to make its own laws. The most
significant of those, enshrined in Article 35A of the
Indian constitution (which derives its authority from
Article 370 and was introduced in 1954), is the right to
define who counts as “permanent residents”, and their
rights and privileges. These include the right to buy
property, to vote, and to receive state benefits. Non-
permanent residents, even if Indian citizens, are not
entitled to such “privileges”. In this way the state’s
delicate demographic balance has been preserved.
But the presidential order of5August, makingArticle
370 inoperative, threatens that balance: Kashmiris fear
that it will allowalarge influx of Hindus, transforming
the nature of the state. Many are also fiercely opposed
to the government’s declared intention to break up
Kashmir into two smaller, federally administered
territories, downgraded to “union territories”–one to
combine Muslim-majority Kashmir and Hindu-majority
Jammu; the other to be Buddhist-dominated Ladakh.