Kashmir election
Sat, 2008-10-11 02:32
#1
Kashmir election
Sat, 2008-10-11 02:32
#2
[url=http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showheadlines.php?subaction=showfull&id=1223... Indian Election Commission will decide today whether to call an election in Jammu and Kashmir for November 20.[/url]
quote:
Tempers still run high in the Valley despite a brokered peace in the troubled state. Governor’s rule ends in J&K on January 10, 2009.
[url=http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10251248.html]When the state elections in 1987 in Kashmir were rigged, many from among the youth crossed into Pakistan and obtained arms after getting trained to use them.[/url]
quote:
The first phase of insurgency was not sullied, either by religious fervour or by senseless killings. But that phase ended soon and the fundamentalists took over.Terrorists under different names of Laskar-e-Toiba, with headquarters in Pakistan, continue to indulge in violence and encounters. . . Terrorism cannot be fought if its perpetrators are hailed when they infiltrate into Kashmir and condemned when they operate in Pakistan.
[url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20081011/main3.htm]Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invites all separatist elements in the state to come forward for talks.[/url]
quote:
Taking a break from a prolonged all party meeting here at the Shere Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), the Prime Minister also sent out clear signals that elections in the state could be held in the near future. While appealing to all people to participate in the election process, the Prime Minister pointed out that elections were a process to test the popularity of any party and that the government was committed to free and fair polls in the state.The elections in the valley were due in November with the tenure of the democratically elected government coming to an end on November 20. However, the violence in wake of the transfer of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board led to the imposition to the Governor’s rule in the state.
The all-party meeting continued till late in the night and was still underway at the time of filing of this report. The Prime Minister sought to dispel all fears of the local political parties at the meeting which was boycotted by the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC).
[url=http://etalaat.com/english/News/front-page/3126.html]Self determination is the only viable solution to the Kashmir issue:[/url]
quote:
Hurriyat Conference (G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Friday rejected bilateral or tripartite talks for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.“Kashmir issue can only be solved by implementing the UN resolutions that have been passed and signed by India and Pakistan.” Geelani said.
Tue, 2008-10-28 01:06
#3
[url=http://www.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=003646]As discussed in this thread[/url], results of surveys ranging from the 2007 Hindustan Times to the 2006 New York Times and the NDTV-Dawn, all indicate 70% pro-Azadi (freedom) sentiment. And that's in the whole of Jammu & Kashmir. The majority of Jammu is Hindu and pro-India. The last election had about a 29% turnout in the Kashmir Valley, and about 5% in its heartland, where even "autonomy" has not been enough to attract pro-Pakistan voters.
[url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=0... PDP, which dominated the last Kashmir government until its coalition with Congress dissolved, proposes something designed to look like joining Pakistan: a pan-Kashmir concept:[/url]
quote:
The PDP's self-rule document entails on the concept of, what the party calls, Greater Jammu and Kashmir (GJAK). It seems the party has taken cue from former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf's four-point formula. The formula speaks of self-governance of seven regions of J&K.The formula vouches for a trans-border and a pan-Kashmir concept with “shared sovereignty”. Musharraf had named it as a “joint management” by an “overarching” authority of the two parts of the state divided by LoC and Northern Areas.
[url=http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5697... recent uprising in Kashmir valley and Muslim majority districts of Jammu region will have a telling affect on the election turnout as more than one hundred Kashmiris were killed during the movement. [/url]
quote:
The Peoples Democratic Party of Mehbooba Mufti which won majority of seats in the last elections will try to remain with the aspirations of Kashmiris in the valley.The BJP party along with other Jammu based groups which spearheaded campaign in Jammu against the revocation of Amarnath land transfer order will not be comfortable in Kashmir valley, while Congress party which has high stakes in Jammu region will feel the heat of withdrawal of land transfer order in Jammu region.
Both the groups will find it difficult to appease both the regions of Kashmir at a time on Amarnath land transfer case.
National Conference has announced that the party would not frame separate manifestoes for the Jammu and Kashmir regions. It has adopted a middle way on the issue.
[url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/NCs_autonomy_ide... People’s Democratic Party proposes a ‘greater Jammu & Kashmir’ comprising Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan occupied Kashmir, and the Northern Areas, converting it into a de-militarised free trade area with dual currency and new political super-structures sharing sovereignty.[/url]
[url=http://www.dawn.com/2008/10/27/top12.htm]Thousands joined the funeral procession of the protester – an 18-year-old science student – chanting “we want freedom."[/url]
quote:
Police have been arresting people who take active part in the rallies ahead of elections to be held between Nov 17 and Dec 24.20 people were injured on Sunday when Indian police opened fire to disperse thousands of Muslims demonstrating in occupied Kashmir.
Pro-freedom leaders spearheading the protests have called for a boycott of the polls. They argue elections strengthen India’s occupation of the region.
“Elections are futile and an irrelevant exercise as these offer no solution to Kashmir conflict,” Sajjad Lone, a leader said.
[url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C10%5C28%5Cstory_28-... is deploying an additional 27,120 paramilitary troops in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) for the two-and-half month, seven-phased assembly elections, in addition to security forces already present in the state.[/url]
quote:
Indian authorities deployed thousands of troops across Kashmir on Monday to prevent demonstrations planned to mark the 61st anniversary of New Delhi’s rule over the region.
[url=http://www.kmsnews.org/news/kashmiris-london-present-memorandum]Kashmiris living in London presented a memorandum to the Indian High Commission today:[/url]
quote:
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir living on both sides of the cease fire line and around the globe are observing 27th October as a black day. It was on this day that India sent it forces to occupy The State of Jammu Kashmir against the wishes of its people.The people of Jammu Kashmir State are fighting for their inherent, pledged and internationally recognised right of self-determination.
Recently held massive peaceful demonstrations in Kashmir have vindicated this assertion. India inspite of sound counsels of a large number of saner voices continues to pursue its iron fisted inhuman policy in Kashmir. Instead of accepting the people’s dissent it chokes this expression against all norms of decency. Due to its undemocratic attitude in Kashmir the democratic credentials of India have become doubtful.
Instead of fulfilling its international obligations initiated at the behest of the then Prime Minister of India Mr Nehru in 1948, and the assurances given to the people of Jammu & Kashmir, the Indian governments have used their brute force to suppress the voice of people.
The whole terrain of Kashmir has been turned into killing fields. Men, women and children have been killed with impunity. Arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions, custodial killings, arson, looting and extortions are rampant throughout the length and breadth of valley. We convey to the world in general and to the concerned quarters in particular that state terrorism of India is self speaking in Kashmir. The promise of your zero tolerance remains unfulfilled so far.
The British Diaspora on this black day call upon India to
a) Stop all human rights violations.
b) Release all political detenues.
c) Repeal all draconian laws.
d) Desist from use of brute force against unarmed people of Jammu Kashmir.
e) End its forcible occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
f) Take all measures for giving people of the State, a chance to exercise their right to Self determination.
g) Allow them to decide their future as conceded to them by Pakistan India and approved by the United Nations Organization.
[url=http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showexclusives.php?subaction=showfull&id=122..., Kashmiri-Canadians from coast-to-coast and Kashmiris all across the world are observing 61st anniversary of Indian invasion of Kashmir as a “Black-Day.” [/url]
quote:
Informed and conscientious Canadians can play a vital role in the education process by interacting with parliamentarians and the media. In addition, concerned Canadians can write to the UN Secretary General, NGOs, and call or write to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to voice their concern about systematic human rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir.
[url=http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=4268]Ambassador Abrar bluntly admits that “without finding a lasting solution to the Kashmiri problem, sustainable peace and economic progress and social development of the people of both India and Pakistan will not only be stunted but that will also have an overbearing impact on the overall security environment in the South Asian region”.[/url]
[url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=143246]JI leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad said that peace in south Asia would always remain an elusive dream unless Kashmiris were given the right to self determination guaranteed by UN resolutions. Qazi asked the Muslim world to help Kashmiri Muslims the way they were backing Palestinians, to force India to fulfill all promises made to Kashmiris.[/url]
[ 28 October 2008: Message edited by: Wilf Day ]
Sun, 2008-11-02 18:28
#4
[url=http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=3_11_2008&ItemID=45&ca... of Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Sunday hailed the statement of US Democratic presidential candidate, Barrack Obama’s remarks in which he has emphasized the need to resolve the long-standing Kashmir dispute.[/url]
quote:
“I welcome the growing interest of Barrack Obama in resolving the Kashmir dispute. The US and internationally community is gradually recognizing that resolution of Kashmir dispute was imperative for peace in south Asia,” Mirwaiz told Greater Kashmir.In an interview Obama had said, “We should probably try to facilitate a better understanding between Pakistan and India and try to resolve the Kashmir crisis.”
[url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jn1-zJQg9YR88PdHanYBjSANNc4A]Kashmir separatist leader who participated in huge anti-India rallies is arrested, charged under Public Safety Act, and sent to jail.[/url]
quote:
Yasin Malik, 42, was arrested in the northern district of Sumbhal last month after he launched an anti-election campaign in the area.Malik has been charged with threatening India's security under a legal act that could see him jailed without trial for two years. He is the sixth senior separatist to have been charged under the act since September.
Separatists and Muslim rebels oppose Indian-held elections arguing they strengthen New Delhi's hold over the disputed scenic region.
In the past few months, Kashmir has witnessed the biggest pro-independence demonstrations since an insurgency erupted in 1989. The protests have been met by a tough crackdown by Indian security forces.
[url=http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8... detention justified under Public Safety Act, says District Magistrate.[/url]
quote:
". . . the real motive behind the agitation was to propagate the secessionism”.“While addressing the people, Malik criticised the government and asked people to boycott the elections. He raised anti-India slogans and challenged the accession of J&K with union of India. Malik also asked the people to rise against the establishment and join the secessionist movement.
“He criticised the government and accused it of being responsible for killing of innocent people in the State, thereby spreading hatred against the established government,” he said.
He was shifted to District jail Amphala Jammu on November 1 and booked under infamous Public Safety Act.
Claiming that his activities are highly pre-judicial to the maintenance of security of the state, DM said, “By invoking normal laws, he might have got the bail and remained at large, which will be a threat to the security of the state”.
He said, “In order to overcome the menace of terrorism and secessionism, a holistic approach is needed wherein preventive detention will be effective tool against the persons having the potential will, commitment and urge to challenge the integrity and sovereignty of the state”.
[url=http://etalaat.com/english/News/front-page/3468.html]Acting Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front says no chargeable offense against Yasin Malik:[/url]
quote:
He said that the charges of Hunger strike against the economic blockade, entry of JKLF in the Hurriyat conference in 1993, and participation in the anti-poll rally at Hajin under which the leader is booked are not chargeable offenses.
[url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200811021513.htm]Centrally-appoi... state governor pledges free and fair elections "for productive electioneering." [/url]Translation: for those who advocate remaining part of India.
[url=http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=3_11_2008&ItemID=50&ca... of the political parties in Kashmir has been able to hold any major election rally since the notification for the first phase was issued on October 24.[/url]
quote:
Although token banners announcing candidates have been raised in some rural constituencies, the routine fanfare accompanying the elections is missing. Canvassing in urban areas is non-existent as most of the people even don’t even know who the candidates are. Though at several places leaders of various political parties organized some rallies, but they were more of workers’ convention than election rallies.Since October 25, people attacked leaders of political parties at several place. The first in the list was National Conference rally in Naidkhai area of Sonawari constituency. Clashes broke out between workers of NC and the local youth on the visit of NC president Omar Abdullah to the area. Once considered a bastion of counter insurgency, the constituency this time hasn’t seen much activity of political parties.
The Peoples Democratic Party candidate of the same constituency, Yasir Reshi, was also attacked by people near Safapora on Sunday.
“Even in 1996 elections when boycott was observed in most parts of Kashmir, several parties organized election rallies here. It was the fear of Ikhwanis (government gunmen), which drove people out of their homes to participate in rallies and vote. But this time the situation is entirely different,” said Tariq Ahmad, a resident of Hajin.
He said that recently thousands of the people from the area participated in massive pro-freedom rallies in Srinagar. “We were crushed by the Army and Ikhwanis. Then we had no other option but to vote. But this time we are firm and determined about our decision to boycott elections. Our constituency has been kept under-developed intentionally and this area suffered most of the causalities in the last 19 years of conflict,” he added.
[url=http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=3_11_2008&ItemID=55&ca... chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party patron, Mufti Muhammad Sayed, condemning the arrest of pro-freedom leaders for organizing anti-election campaign, said that when he was the chief minister he didn’t stop Geelani or Yasin Malik from running a poll-boycott campaign during the parliamentary elections.[/url]
quote:
Mufti said that when they talked of joint currency between the two sides of Kashmir, they received severe criticism from the National Conference, but now the traders community from both the sides have also arrived at the same conclusion.Describing October 21 as a historical day for the people of Kashmir, Mufti said it was because of the sacrifices of the people that the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road was thrown open for trade.
Lambasting the NC president, Omar Abdullah, on his statement that elections had nothing to do with the Kashmir issue and were meant only for administrative purposes, Mufti said, “NC has always hoodwinked people by first talking about plebiscite and then beating the drum of autonomy, but now they can’t befool them any more.”
[url=http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=ar&nid=523]Kashmir needs freedom not elections.[/url]
Wed, 2008-11-26 16:52
#5
Tonight multiple attacks on Bombay appear to be the work of Islamist militants who have repeatedly struck India’s bustling film and financial centre in the last 20 years.But they also seem to be part of a new campaign to hit busy urban targets, popular with foreigners and wealthy Indians, in a bid to cause maximum damage to India’s economy and international reputation.
Many of the targets – especially the Taj and Oberoi hotels -- are popular with visiting tourists, diplomats and foreign business people as well as the city’s own wealthy elite.
Islamic militants have been blamed for all the recent attacks on Bombay, including multiple bombings of trains and railways stations that killed more than 180 people in 2006.
54-year-old Karkare was killed when he was leading an operation at hotel Taj against terrorists who had taken 15 people, including seven foreigners, as hostages.
Referring to the recent arrests for the September blasts in the Maharashtra town of Malegaon, Geelani said: “Allah has exposed saffron terrorism in India which is being carried out to suppress the Indian Muslims so that they don’t raise voices in favour of Kashmiris.”
India rules out third party intervention in Kashmir
Amid reports that the next US administration might appoint former President Bill Clinton as a mediator on Kashmir, India on Wednesday rejected any third party intervention and asserted that the matter would have to be addressed bilaterally with Pakistan.
Wed, 2008-11-26 23:05
#6
It is thought that they may be an Islamic terrorist group with Al Qaeda links and their goal may be to drive India out of the disputed Kashmir region.Another group known as the Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for bombings in September which claimed the lives of 130 people. The message that they left was identical to the one sent to news organisations by Deccan Mujahideen, fuelling speculation that they are the same group.
Below is the message that was sent to news organisations after the attacks started.
"You should know that your acts are not at all left unnoticed; rather we are closely keeping an eye on you and just waiting for the right time to execute your bloodshed. We are aware of your recent raids at Ansarnagar, Mograpada in Andheri and the harassment and trouble you created there for the Muslims," the group said in the email they sent to various media houses on Saturday evening.
"You threatened to murder them and your mischief went to such an extent that you even dared to abuse and insult Maulana Mahmood-ul-Hasan Qasmi and even misbehaved with the Muslim women and children there," the email said.
"If this is the degree your arrogance has reached, and if you think that by these stunts you can scare us, then let the Indian Mujahideen warn all the people of Mumbai that whatever deadly attacks Mumbaikars will face in future, their responsibility would lie with the Mumbai ATS and their guardians - Vilasrao Deshmukh and R R Patil," the email said. "You are already on our hit-list and this time very very seriously."
Who are the Deccan Mujahideen?
[quote] One must always be suspicious when a "new" terrorist organization crops up. Today's horrific attacks in Mumbai were claimed by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen. But one India journalist claims the pattern of the attacks suggests that Lashkar-e-Taiba, a nasty Islamist organization based in Lahore, Pakistan, and with a significant presence in Kashmir and links to al Qaeda, may be to blame.
Here's where it gets interesting -- and I stress here that I am just speculating. Lashkar-e-Taiba's main goal is to expel India from Kashmir. In the past, some have accused elements of the Pakistani military and intelligence services of having ties to the group. Pakistan's government has always hotly denied such accusations.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has in recent weeks moved closer to the United States, made some significant gestures toward India, and moved to shut down the political wing of the ISI, Pakisan's powerful intelligence service (that's the unit that tries to steal elections). How likely is it that some angry "rogue elements" of the ISI, aligned with Kashmiri jihadists and a team of Indian domestic extremists, sought to head off these moves? I have no idea, but it's definitely a theory worth exploring.
Wed, 2008-12-31 18:38
#7
While the government has been congratulating itself on the jump in the turnout in Srinagar from barely 5 per cent in 2002 to 20 per cent this year, it has chosen to forget that in a truly free and contested election, such as that of 1983, the turnout in the city was over 80 per cent. In other words, 60 per cent of the population of Srinagar, which had exercised its vote regularly before the outbreak of insurgency in 1989, still chose to ‘vote’ against the present setup by abstaining.The abstention is significant because except in China nearly every successful rebellion has begun in the cities and has been led by precisely the kind of people who remain alienated today. These are the urban, educated, insecure but aspiring middle class. Even in the rest of the Valley, the average vote has remained 20 or more per cent below that of 1983. Even Bandipore’s much quoted 56 per cent turnout was 23 per cent below that of 1983. There is thus a stratum of support for the separatists still very much alive in the Valley, although it is substantially weaker than at its height in 1996 and 2002.
The National Conference’s strong performance is perhaps the biggest surprise of all. But a closer look shows that it owes its success almost entirely to the success of the Hurriyat’s boycott call in Srinagar and other cities. Ironically this call kept at home precisely those who would have gone out to vote for the PDP. Luck, too, has played a part, for in several of the Srinagar seats it has won by as few as 13-70 votes.
The true strength of the two parties is reflected by their share of the vote. That of the NC has actually gone down by about 4 per cent while that of the PDP has gone up by 6. The voting pattern also reflects a sectarian bias. But the way it is being interpreted by the instant pundits of Delhi is hopelessly wrong. The PDP has gained the support of the Jamaat-i-Islami of Kashmir and of the Ahl-e-Hadis. But neither of these groups wants Kashmir to secede from India. But both want the peace process with Pakistan to continue and support Mufti’s call for ‘self–rule’ within the framework of the Indian union.
Unlike the NC, which is prepared to seek autonomy within the present Constitution, the PDP believes that changes such as the gradual elimination of borders between the two Kashmirs and the establishment of consultative mechanisms between them are necessary to give Pakistan a sense of achievement and a reason to leave Kashmir alone in the future.
Wed, 2008-12-31 19:01
#8
Wilf, we have our disagreements, but just a note to thank you for these threads on elections in countries we often don't pay enough attention to. They are a real service to babble, and are greatly appreciated. Thank you. And happy New Year to you and yours.
Wed, 2008-12-31 19:12
#9
The British Diaspora on this black day call upon India to
a) Stop all human rights violations.
b) Release all political detenues.
c) Repeal all draconian laws.
d) Desist from use of brute force against unarmed people of Jammu Kashmir.
e) End its forcible occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
f) Take all measures for giving people of the State, a chance to exercise their right to Self determination.
g) Allow them to decide their future as conceded to them by Pakistan India and approved by the United Nations Organization.
Peter Chamberlin said at the beginning of 2008:
The CIA did not pull out of the jihadi program after the Soviet withdrawal, leaving it solely in the ISI's hands. There is a massive trail of evidence which proves that all the Islamist extremists who were trained under this program, to undermine Kashmir, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Egypt, the US and England, were not all Pakistan's doing. This has always been a CIA program. The attempt to pretend that we were washing our hands of it, was to give "plausible deniability" to the President of the United States, that he had ordered an end to the effort. CIA appeared to comply, as they covertly ignored the position of their old boss and set their own foreign policy. The ensuing Kashmiri conflict, started in 1989 by American and Pakistani trained forces, was an act of war against India. . .According to India's Embassy, Pakistan's terrorism network consisted of :
"38 terrorist training centres from where recruits were regularly sent on "jehad" missions to Kashmir and other parts of the world...Facts and figures about Pakistan's role in fostering terrorism in India compiled by Indian security forces are as follows: Number of terrorist camps in Pakistan 37; number of terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 49; number of Pakistan-run terrorist camps in Afghanistan: 22; total number of hardcore terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir: 2300; total number of foreign mercenaries operating in Jammu and Kashmir: 900; number of Pakistan terrorists killed by Indian security forces: 291; number of Indian civilians killed by Pakistan terrorists: over 29,000...Harkat-ul-Ansar, Al-Badr, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, all associated with terrorist financier Osama bin Laden."
Sat, 2009-04-04 21:43
#10
Pakistan and India have been at war since 1948. . .
The removal of India and Kashmir from the strategic review makes clear Delhi's growing influence in Washington. During his campaign Obama argued that Pakistan would be more likely to stay focused not on India but on the militants on the Pakistan-Afghan border if there was a concerted effort to resolve the Kashmir crisis. In a lobbying push of near Israeli proportions, however, Obama was told that Richard Holbrooke, his special envoy, would be shunned in Delhi if any link were made between Kashmir, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and by January it was announced that Kashmir would not be part of Holbrooke's portfolio.
The announcement was met with scorn in Islamabad, but many Pakistani analysts (and military officers) agree that Kashmir is better handled bilaterally. They also agree that the four-year-old Pakistan-India peace process suffered a near mortal blow with the discovery that Pakistanis were behind the attacks in Mumbai. This is particularly troubling because the process had achieved not only quiet but progress, including on Kashmir: an outline for a deal based on demilitarisation, open borders and a form of self-government or autonomy that would unite the divided territory. The Pakistani army attempted to defuse tensions along the Line of Control, closing militant training camps and co-ordinating security with the Indian army.
The process collapsed partly because of the political crisis that engulfed Musharraf after he sacked Pakistan's chief justice in 2007. But it also fell apart because India did not reciprocate: military rule in Indian-occupied Kashmir remained as entrenched as ever. 'The army's recent experience with India is very bitter,' a Pakistani analyst told me. 'After 2004 the army scaled down militant intrusions into Kashmir by 95 per cent. And India's response was to refuse to talk about Kashmir. The army thinks it would be the same in Afghanistan if it abandoned the Afghan Taliban.' In the last year Indian Kashmir has seen increased penetration by Pakistani militants and skirmishes between the Pakistani and Indian armies. The spike seems to have less to do with Kashmir, where violence is at its lowest ebb in 20 years, than with the proxy war in Afghanistan. And it would suggest that - far more than on strategic reviews - peace in Afghanistan rests on peace between India and Pakistan. The road out of Kabul goes through Kashmir.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n07/ushe01_.html
Sat, 2009-04-04 22:13
#11
Since Afghanistan's corrupt government cannot satisfy two muslim sects, the narco warriors and the west at the same time, a solution may not be found there before Kashmir comes to resolution. I suspect there will be a great deal of death first.
Sun, 2009-04-05 10:12
#12
Rexdale_Punjabi
whats scary is that pakistan and india almost went to nuclear war. and the situation around the border is still uneasy and there been ceasefire violations between the 2 armies.
Tue, 2009-04-14 01:58
#13
The Indian double standard on Kashmir is plain when you look at the history of partition, as found in Wikipedia.
Junagadh was a former princely state of India, outside but under the suzerainty of British India.
In the independence and partition of India and Pakistan of 1947, the 565 princely states were given a choice of whether to join India or Pakistan or to remain independent.
The Muslim Nawab of Junagadh, Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III, whose ancestors had ruled Junagadh and small principalities for some seven hundred years since the time of Sultan Mehmood Ghaznavi, decided that Junagadh should become part of Pakistan, much to the displeasure of the people of the state, an overwhelming majority of whom were Hindus. The Nawab acceded to the Dominion of Pakistan on 15 August 1947. Pakistan accepted this on 13 September. When Pakistan confirmed the acceptance of the accession in September, the Government of India was outraged that Muhammad Ali Jinnah could accept the accession of Junagadh despite his argument that Hindus and Muslims could not live as one nation.[1] Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel believed that if Junagadh was permitted to go to Pakistan, it would exacerbate the communal tension already simmering in Gujarat.
The princely state was surrounded on all three sides by India, with an outlet to the Arabian Sea. The unsettled conditions in Junagadh had led to a cessation of all trade with India and the food position became precarious. The region was in crisis and the Nawab was forced to flee to Karachi with his family fearing for his life and established a provisional government with his followers.
Patel offered Pakistan time to void the accession and to hold a plebiscite in Junagadh. Samaldas Gandhi formed a government-in-exile, the Aarzi Hukumat (in Urdu:Aarzi: Temporary, Hukumat: Government) of the people of Junagadh. Eventually, Patel ordered the forcible annexation of Junagadh's three principalities. Junagadh's state government, facing financial collapse and lacking forces with which to resist Indian force, invited the Government of India to take control. A plebiscite was conducted in December, in which approximately 99% of the people chose India over Pakistan.
The Muslim ruler of Hyderbad, the last Nizam, and his followers, Razakars, wished to remain independent.
When Indian Home Minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel requested the Hyderabad Government to sign the instrument of accession, the Nizam refused, and instead declared Hyderabad as an independent nation on 15 August 1947, the same day that India declared its own independence.
In June 1948, Mountbatten prepared the 'Heads of Agreement' deal which offered Hyderabad the status of an autonomous dominion nation under India. The deal called for the restriction of the regular Hyderabadi armed forces along with a disbanding of its voluntary forces. While it allowed the Nizam to continue as the executive head of the state, it called for a plebiscite along with general democratic elections to set up a constituent assembly. The Hyderabad government would continue to administer its territory as before, leaving only foreign affairs to be handled by the Indian government.
Although the plan was approved and signed by the Indians, it was rejected by the Nizam who demanded only complete independence or the status of a dominion under the British Commonwealth.
The 1948 Invasion of Hyderabad, also termed as "Hyderabad Police Action" and code-named "Operation Polo" by the Indian military was the Indian armed forces action that ended the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad and led to the incorporation of the princely state of Hyderabad in Southern India, into the Indian Union.
Wary of a Muslim ruled state right in the middle of India, Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel decided to annex the state of Hyderabad. Though backed by Qasim Razvi's armed militias, known as Razakars, and a distant moral support of Pakistan,[1] the Hyderabad State Forces were defeated by the Armed Forces of India within five days.
But the reverse situation in Kashmir was quite acceptable to India. Jawaharlal Nehru had agreed to give a plebiscite to the State. But due to Pakistan's forced attempt to integrate Kashmir, it was helped and integrated by India, the plebiscite never being held.