Kashmir Controversy

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• Kashmir Controversy
• Presented by
• Ven Merja

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• The Kashmir conflict is a territorial dispute
  over Kashmir.
• There are total 4 parties involved in this
  dispute India, Pakistan, China and the people
  of Kashmir.

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Partition and dispute

• Before Independence from British in 1947 from
  1820, Kashmir was ruled by the Maharaja of
  Kashmir who was Hindu although the majority of
  the population were Muslim, except the Jammu
  region.
• The partition was made on religious lines
  resulting in to the formation of two separate
  countries India and Pakistan. Pakistan insisted
  that Kashmir should be given to it.

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• Because of its location, Kashmir could choose to
  join either India or Pakistan. Maharaja Hari
  Singh was the ruler of Kashmir. Unable to decide
  which nation Kashmir should join, Hari Singh
  chose to remain neutral.

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Indo-Pakistani War of 1947

• But his hopes of remaining independent were
  dashed in October 1947, as Pakistan sent in
  Muslim tribesmen who were knocking at the gates
  of the capital Srinagar.
• Hari Singh appealed to the Indian government for
  military assistance and fled to India. He signed
  the Instrument of Accession, giving up Kashmir
  to India on October 26. The Instrument of
  Accession of Kashmir to India was accepted by
  Viceroy Lord Mountbatten of Burma.

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• India and Pakistan fought the first war over
  Kashmir in 1947-48. India referred the dispute to
  the United Nations. In a resolution, the UN asked
  Pakistan to remove its troops, after which India
  was also to withdraw the bulk of its forces.
• India was confident that it will win the
  referendum, because Sheikh Abdullah, the most
  influential Kashmiri mass leader, was firmly on
  its side. Hence an emergency Govt. was formed on
  October 30, 1948 with Sheikh Abdullah as the
  Prime Minister.

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LOC LINE OF CONTROL

• Pakistan ignored the UN mandate and continued
  fighting, holding on to the portion of Kashmir
  under its control. On January 1, 1949, a
  ceasefire was agreed, with 65 of the territory
  under Indian control and the remaining 35 with
  Pakistan.
• The ceasefire was intended to be temporary, but
  the Line of Control remains the military control
  line between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled
  parts of the state of Jammu Kashmir.

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Tashkent agreement

• In 1957, Kashmir was incorporated into the Indian
  Union. It was given a special status under
  Article 370 of India's constitution, which
  ensures, among other things, that non-Kashmiri
  Indians cannot buy property there.
• Fighting broke out again in 1965, but a ceasefire
  was established. Indian Prime Minister, Lal
  Bhadur Shastri, and Pakistani President, M Ayub
  Khan, signed the Tashkent agreement on January 1,
  1966.
• They resolved to try to end the dispute, but the
  death of Mr Shastri and the rise of Gen Yahya
  Khan in Pakistan resulted in stalemate
  (deadlock).

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Simla Agreement

• In 1971 a third war, resulting in the formation
  of Bangladesh was broken out and India declared
  war on December 3, 1971. When Indians entered 50
  km into the area of Pakistan, a ceasefire was
  reached.
• In 1972 Indira Gandhi, the Indian prime minister,
  and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto signed the Simla
  Agreement, which repeated the promises made in
  Tashkent.

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Infiltration of Pakistani guerrillas

• The status quo was maintained until 1989.
  Thereafter Pakistani guerrillas struck in the
  Indian Kashmir valley. They established a reign
  of terror and drove out almost all the Hindus
  from the valley. Meanwhile Indian and Pakistani
  troops regularly exchanged fire at the border.
• India and Pakistan both tested nuclear devices in
  1998, and then in 1999 test-fired missiles. When
  the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee,
  visited Lahore by bus in 1999, the world felt
  that such a genuine effort at friendly
  neighborhood relations would lower the tension
  along the LOC.

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Kargil War Cross-border troubles

• But, again the cross-LOC firing in Kargil began
  during the mid-1998. Indian forces drove them out
  fighting bravely. The death toll, including both
  soldiers and civilians, was more than 30,000.
• India argued that the infiltrators were trained
  and armed by Pakistan, and based in "Azad
  Kashmir" with the full knowledge of the Pakistani
  government. Pakistan said that they were freedom
  fighters (!) from Kashmir and that it was giving
  only moral support.

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A Few Questions to Ponder over

• Was Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru mainly responsible for
  the Kashmir issue?
• Why India always takes soft stand? Shouldnt we
  be offensive rather than defensive?
• Shouldnt the Article 370 of India's constitution
  be removed?
• Isnt Kashmir our Natinal Pride ? Shall we allow
  Pak to snetch it from us ? NEVER.