Indian History
After India’s nuclear tests in May 1998, India’s Jaswant Singh engaged in a series of dialogues with Strobe Talbott, the US Deputy Secretary of State. Now Mr. Talbott has written a memoir, Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy, and the Bomb based on his discussions with Mr. Singh.
Talbott
While India’s Arab appeasement policy does not seem to be working, it has become important for the Indian Govt. to spell the policy on the state of Jammu and Kashmir very clearly.
Even as the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)decided to continue the on-going dialogue process with Pakistan, it asserted that New Delhi could neither accept Islamabad
The new Indian Govt. as a policy has decided to support the Palestinian Issue without any condemnation of their terrorist policies. There is also no acknowledgement of the fact that it was Israeli help that was a decisive factor in the Kargil war. This Arab appeasement policy was followed by India during the cold war era and the new Govt. seems to be stuck there. The interesting fact is that we do not get any support for Arabs on any issue that matter to us and still we manage to crawl on our knees for them.
For example, the Arab appeasement did not win us any rebates on Oil. In terms of breaking away Kashmir valley from India, the OIC stand is to support the United Nations resolutions. In the 2003 OIC Meeting, the OIC even welcomed the restraint shown by Pakistan in face of Indian provocation.
After visiting India and not making any statement about Kashmir Valley, the Foreign Minister of Kuwait has done a “U” turn in Pakistan and now suggested that the United Nations resolutions be implemented. This is directly in opposition with the Indian viewpoint that, the whole thing is a bilateral issue.
A set of people who were seriously affected by terrorism in Jammu and Kashir are the Kashmiri Pandits. They are Hindus who lived in the valley, but were forced to move out of the state by Islamic terrorists. These Hindus live in refugee camps in their own country, where Hindus are a majority. Over the years various political parties have milked them for votes, but they never got to get back to their homes. Now it takes Frank Pallone, a US Congressman to remind the Prime Minister of India to take care of these Hindus.
Democratic US Congressman Frank Pallone appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to include Kashmiri Pandits in “developing the future course of action in Jammu and Kashmir,” and expressed disappointment over the government not mentioning the community in its policy statement on the issue. “Given the urgency of addressing the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, I was disappointed that the new government did not mention the Pandits as part of its policy on Kashmir,” Pallone said in a letter to Singh, copies of which were released Wednesday.
“I urge you to include the Pandits in any negotiations with Kashmiri constituents and in developing the future course of action in Jammu and Kashmir,” Pallone said, asserting, “Pandits have suffered more than any group as a result of the conflict in Kashmir.” “It is more important now than ever for a public commitment from your administration to include the Pandits in future policy discussions,” he added. By doing so, they will be ensured a much-needed voice in determining the future of their security and return to the valley, Pallone said.[via vichaar.org]
While Pakistan is trying various techniques to breakaway Kashmir Valley from India, many commentators have come up with various solutions to the Kashmir Problem. Some border on the insane, while some have got the basic idea.
Money can do wonders and wealth creation is a great way to find solutions to complex problems, or as Thomas Friedman would say, progress is made by societies who move away from Olive Trees to the Lexus. An example of people moving away from Olive Trees is this news from Jammu and Kashmir where Muslim traders are writing signboards in Hebrew to attract Israeli tourists who are flocking to the valley. Anywhere else in the Muslim world, this would be considered a sure path to hell, but not in India.
Gulzar Ahmad, owner of a handicraft shop near scenic Dal Lake in Srinagar, recently changed the language of his outlet
When asked about the US, she said she admires Americans and thinks that because the people here are far more well off than the rest of the world, the Americans can mobilize and make a difference to humanity as a whole by influencing the role of Govt. and the military establishment than people any other part of the world.[Arundhati Roy’s talk at UC Berkeley]
While the name Madrassa may evoke images of a terrorist factory from what we have seen in Pakistan, it is not always so. In India, in a madrassa, Hindu and Muslim students learn together, all the subjects, not just Quran.
The morning prayers begin with an ode to Mahatma Gandhi followed by traditional Islamic teachings and a patriotic song. Needless to say, the resonance of children learning Urdu and Sanskrit together and singing patriotic songs is a heartwarming sight for a nation ridden by some dangerously deep religious divides.
“It is different from the way rest of the madrasas work. Here children from all the castes study, whether they are Muslims or Hindus alongwith Urdu language children are also taught English, Hindi and Sanskrit,” Maulana Ansar Ahmed, the Madarsa head-master said. ocals said they remained unaffected by the communal undertones and were more interested in chalking out a better future for their children. “Children are taught everything in this madrasa and they are also taught Urdu so we send them here,” Devi Prasad Gaud, a parent said.[Hindu students study at a Madrasa]
Dr. Sana Rajah has a wonderful solution to the Kashmir problem in an article written in The New Nation, Bangladesh’s Independent News Source. First he starts by analyzing the problem and identifies that the UN Resolutions are impossible to implement now. He then describes the adamant stand taken by both nations and says that the plebiscite might be a bad idea as many parts of both nations might ask for the same. But then after that he loses his marbles and suggests
A viable solution to the issue would be to facilitate a plebiscite restricted to the Valley, where the demand for independence is the strongest and in its most violent manifestation. The populace of the rest of the Indian Kashmir and Pakistan’s part of it have not displayed any potent desire for freedom, and seem content in their present situation.
This would allow Pakistan and India to maintain control of the Northern Areas and Ladakh respectively. However, an independent Valley would still be economically dependent on India and Pakistan, as it is a land-locked region. Let us hope that the issue can be settled, so that lasting peace becomes a reality.[The UN Resolutions on Kashmir]
No mention of the fact that it was violence from Pakistan that caused them to lose Kashmir in the first place. No mention of the fact that the current violence is coming from Pakistani sponsored militants which has been proven again and again.
So here you go, just have a plebiscite in the Kashmir valley because it is the most violent place. Just because India did not create trouble in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan gets to keep it. No self determination for them. What a brilliant idea.