The Issue of Kashmir

Anyone with even a vague notion of diplomatic relations amongst the South Asian nations will know that Indo-Pakistani relations have been strained since independence and the bone of contention has always been the Kashmir Valley. Since gaining independence from the British and being partitioned into India and Pakistan, there have been four armed conflicts between the two nations, of which three were directly related to claims over Kashmir.
At the time of British India’s partition in 1947, Kashmir was ruled by Raja Hari Singh, a Hindu king who aspired for an independent state, not committing to either India or Pakistan as was the directive for all kingdoms in the region. Pakistan claimed the kingdom on the basis that Kashmir was home to a predominantly Muslim population. As a nascent Pakistani army descended upon Kashmir, Hari Singh chose to join the Indian side and requested military help, resulting in a war that ended with the division of Kashmir into two contested regions. The issue remains unsolved today with the most recent armed conflict occurring in 1998. The Kashmir issue is one that is close to every Indian and Pakistani’s heart. Over the years it has turned into an issue of national pride, which most people find hard to look past.
Even though Indians and Pakistanis look alike, speak similar languages, eat the same food, follow similar lifestyles, there is always this shadow that hovers somewhere in the distance ensuring a rift between people who share everything but a national identity. Some of my closest friends on campus are Pakistani but somehow we always avoid discussions about Kashmir. I realize that this isn’t because we find it hard to broach such a sensitive topic but because we realize the uselessness of the conflict and are tired of agreeing with each other over that fact. Our nations don’t need to spend billions on the military when there are much more pressing needs to be addressed.
Despite sitting quite low on the UNDP’s Human Development Index rankings, both India and Pakistan (ranked 126th and 134th respectively) continue to allocate around three percent of their respective GDPs to military expenditure. Around thirty percent of either country’s population is living below the poverty line. The respective public spending on education is no more than military expenditure while more than half of either country’s adult population remains illiterate. Public spending on healthcare is less than half of the expenditure on the military. One could go on and on and never come across a statistic that made sense to anyone when compared with the presence of a war that has lasted over sixty years.
I came across a button that said, “Don’t act stupid! We have world leaders for that.” It is easy for one to forget about bigger issues from around the world, particularly if they don’t directly affect one’s college life, and it is easy to push them aside by using jokes, but those issues never go away. They only wait in the distance, threatening to grow bigger than they are. The only route to peace in South Asia is through a resolution on the Kashmir issue and our generation is the first that has the opportunity to pursue that goal. Only those who have the ability to move beyond issues from the past, to look past illogical prejudices and to replace the narrow-mindedness of a minority with the hopeful outlook of tolerance, can begin the peace process that is so essential for improving living conditions in South Asia.