If promises are made to be broken, then Kashmir may be summoned to prove the treacherous proposition. Broken promises haunt Kashmir's history, and explain its tragedy.
The United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) passed a resolution on January 5, 1949 wherein it was agreed that “the question of the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite.” The resolution was negotiated with both India and Pakistan and accepted by all five members of the Commission, Argentina, Belgium, Columbia, Czechoslovakia and the United States. Professor Joseph Korbel, father of Dr. Madeleine Albright was the Chairman of the Commission at the time.
Sir Benegal Rama Rau, the Indian delegate spoke during the 399th meeting of the Security Council on January 13, 1949, “On behalf of my Government, I can give the assurance that it will not only cooperate to the utmost with the Commission itself towards a settlement in Kashmir, but also with the United Nations in securing peace everywhere, because it believes that this organization offers the only hope for peace for future generations, on a secure basis.”
Sir Rau further said at the Security Council on March 1, 1951, “The people of Kashmir are not mere chattels to be disposed of according to a rigid formula; their future must be decided on their own interest and in accordance with their own desires.”
Mr. Setalwad, another Indian delegate spoke during the 572nd meeting of the Security Council on January 31, 1952, “I was the first to declare that the people of Jammu and Kashmir should freely decide their own future.”
India, however, was soon undeceived of its delusions over Kashmir's political yearning. Recognizing that its people would never freely vote accession to India, it contrived excuse after excuse to frustrate a plebiscite.
With the lapse of British paramountcy on August 14, 1947, broken promises over Kashmir came not like single spies but in battalions, to borrow from Hamlet. Princely states enjoyed three options: accession to India, accession to Pakistan, or independence. But the choice, according to India's Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and tacitly endorsed by the British, was to be made by popular referendum in cases where the creed of the ruler varied from the religion of the majority. That fundamental democratic principle had been sternly applied by Nehru with military means in Hyderabad and Junagadh where the rulers were Muslim but their inhabitants largely Hindu. Kashmir presented a converse case: the Maharaja was Hindu but the majority subscribed to Islam.
On November 2, 1947, Prime Minister Nehru reiterated, “We have declared that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people. That pledge we have given and the Maharaja supported it, not only to the people of Kashmir but to the world. We will not and cannot back out of it."
In recent past, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India and General Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan agreed at the United Nations on September 24, 2004 “to explore all the possible options to settle the issue of Kashmir.” Then exactly one year later, Prime Minister said at the United Nations on September 16, 2005, “What I do believe, I have also said that borders cannot be redrawn but we must work together to make borders irrelevant.” One fails to understand how can you explore all possible options when the only option available is to make borders irrelevant (status quo).
On September 5, 2005, Dr. Manmohan Singh promised Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman, All Parties Hurriyet Conference that India will have zero tolerance on the human rights violations in Kashmir. Then he responded while replying to a question during a press conference in New York that “The fact that there is so much of violence (in Kashmir), the fact that cross border infiltration continues, the terrorists are active, does impose some burden on the ordinary citizens.”
The train of broken promises over Kashmir might be forgiven if the consequences were innocuous or inconsequential. But I submit the opposite is the case. India exerts an iron-fisted rule over Kashmir. With approximately 700,000 military and paramilitary troops in the territory, gruesome human rights violations are perpetrated with. Torture, rape, plunder, abduction, arson, custodial disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and ruthless suppression of peaceful political dissent have become commonplaces.
Let us hope that the last promise over Kashmir has been broken.
8 comments:
We are to be blamed for the mess we are in-- The previous generations (SORRY TO SAY) of Kashmiris were not serious people, they easily believed others-- may be long years of tyranny had effected their political thinking .I as a young boy in 70s has seen all this-when people used to go in to pointless and fruitless discussions and fight with each other and also ask any elderly person about earlier times he will say the same—The political decisions are not taken on personal or myopic considerations .It has exactly happened ,when people believed blindly in their leaders and took them for granted and the leaders were prejudiced and narrow minded .They lacked nationalism and were against each others throat. This has been tragedy of past kashmiri Muslim leadership –they had never shown tolerance to each other. They kept their false ego above peoples interest.
Today we are reaping for their misdeeds and nation of Kashmir is in turmoil.
One should not fear from introspection. God doesn’t change destiny of nations unless they are ready for a change.
We are to be blamed for the mess we are in-- The previous generations (SORRY TO SAY) of Kashmiris were not serious people, they easily believed others-- may be long years of tyranny had effected their political thinking .I as a young boy in 70s has seen all this-when people used to go in to pointless and fruitless discussions and fight with each other and also ask any elderly person about earlier times he will say the same—The political decisions are not taken on personal or myopic considerations .It has exactly happened ,when people believed blindly in their leaders and took them for granted and the leaders were prejudiced and narrow minded .They lacked nationalism and were against each others throat. This has been tragedy of past kashmiri Muslim leadership –they had never shown tolerance to each other. They kept their false ego above peoples interest.
Today we are reaping for their misdeeds and nation of Kashmir is in turmoil.
One should not fear from introspection. God doesn’t change destiny of nations unless they are ready for a change.
One simple thing that nobody remembers or mentions is that India never digested completely the idea of partition.
The Indian national congress tried for several years to discourage the partition of India. Gandhi threatened to take a fast to death to prevent the partition. Partition was accelerated by the urgency of the political leaders to form the respective governments (Nehru in India, Jinnah in Pakistan).
This is not to say that the idea of partition was completely digested in India.
Partition became inevitable, and along with it, there was a mass population displacement and genocide on both sides. Those wounds are still very fresh.
Kashmiris do not look upon this history, because it didn't concern them mostly. (kashmir wasn't a part of the British empire). But it is important to grasp these facts to understand Indian and Pakistani points of view, and ultimately to resolve the conflict and bring freedom and peace to Kashmir.
Pakistan looks upon Kashmir as its fundamental right (a muslim majority region which should have been ideally a part and parcel of the land that is allocated to it).
India looks upon Kashmir as the very proof of its secular constitution, and a way of assurance for its 100 millions of Muslim population.
India looks upon Kashmir (and its own Muslim population) as the very violation of the idea of partition, and thereby its success.
If India can negate the idea of partition, it will consider it a success. This is why the Prime Minister says "we have to make the borders irrelevant".
If Pakistan can claim Kashmir, it will validate the very idea of its existence (a union of all muslim majority regions in the subcontinent).
Kashmiris should seriously consider both the points of view. A final solution to the Kashmiri dispute can emerge by modeling the whole of the subcontinent in the fashion of the European Union, and an extreme degree of autonomy / independence to each individual region.
Working towards this goal is more practical than an armed insurgence against a great military power. Further, Kashmiris have lost several lives and their demographics will seriously suffer if more violence ensues.
Instead of solving the problem democratically, if we curb to the temptations of violence, we will have to re-live the horrors of partition : mass genocide of Muslims and Hindus all over the subcontinent.
Life under the shadow of ugly indian occupation
The terrorism has many forms and the most heinous form of terrorism is state sponsored where an entire population is demonized, harrased and humiliated by a country enforcing its laws by force and military agression. Its a matter of pity that the entire population of a place like jammu kashmir resisting the military occupation is regarded as terrorism by India. The kashmiris are fighting for liberation of their homeland. Its a right given to them by united nations declaration recognized even by India. Now in a world ruled by tyrrants and war mongers, if you resist the army of state and art weaponry by mere stones it is termed as violent militancy often termed as islamic militancy.This is what's going on in Indian Held region of Jammu Kashmir. The peaceful demonstrations are being dealt with brutal force. Indian terrorists in uniform are using rockets, bombs and bullets to disperse the crowd. The mass murder of innocent civilians continues unabated.The picture becomes upside down. In todays world if you dont possess power even your word of truth against a tyrrant is supposed to be a lie, since your statement is not supported by media and other mass communication channels that they possess.
Kashmir valley along with muslim dominated districts of Jamu region
are imprisioned in thier houses as curfew is on for the last three
days. No newspaper no SMS (Banned by Supreme Court on the request of
State Govt)No local news as all local channels have ben banned . No
ration in houses , no food for babies no medicine for ill or old
people. One o my friends has ailing parents who require oxygen and
under these conditions I can only hope for thier survival till curfew
is lifted.. No respite or relaxation as if all kashmirirs are animals .They have been locked inside thier homes for the last three days. No one is bothered about the
situation in most of houses as there is noting to eat at this
juncture as these last days of the month and rations are already
exhausted and there is no cash . With these measures the will of
people cant be subjugated .The people of world should raise thier
voice about this inhuman attitude of Govt of India where 6o 70 lac ( 7 million people ) are being kept hostages at the point of gun and not allowed to even live. This is the worst form of inhuman treatment by the occupation forces and a slap to the Indian democracy for its armed agression against the Innocent souls in Held Region of Jammu Kashmir..
"I cannot drink water It is mingled with the blood of young men who have died up in the mountains.
I cannot look at the sky; It is no longer blue; but painted red.
I cannot listen to the roar of the gushing stream It reminds me of a wailing mother next to the bullet-ridden body of her only son.
I cannot listen to the thunder of the clouds It reminds me of a bomb blast.
I feel the green of my garden has faded Perhaps it too mourns.
I feel the sparrow and cuckoo are silent Perhaps they too are sad.
I feel only one voice inside....revenge..revenge and revenge..
keep it up brothers !!! May Allah bless you all for your contribution towards the freedom struggle of our homeland..Long Live the independence movement.......
For whole life he polished their shoes yet he was humiliated by them when they shunted him out of a meeting in Jammu, The sycophant of Hinduvta forces who closed his eyes during Gujarat massacre is rejoicing on land being given to hinduvta forces .Just now this man is saying it is victory of good and defeat of evil-The people who gave everything to his family and him are now evil. God curse these Abdullahs. They made us slaves. His enactments as told by a poet are just
MEHFIL MEIN HIJDROO KA RAKS BISMIL.
To the comments above and on article----------Kashmir the land of meadows, mountains and lakes has been transformed into valley of death and destruction. It is appalling to see a security man of distant naga land asking a native kashmiri to prove his identity. What a tragedy has befallen on our land, its pristine water has been mixed with the blood of innocents, its glaring snowy peaks have been wounded by millions of shells of gunfire, its flowery meadows have been trampled by military boots and vehicles. The propagators of democracy and secularism has destroyed its ethos of brotherhood and harmony. Some Indian people think we are crazy, narrow-minded and fundamentalists they tell us we are ungrateful because we survive on their tax money, we want tell them this land is not barren-we are from land of agriculture and water—we can feed you-You know Mughals, afghans, Sikhs and Dogras had been running their govts and military on our money. Read historical facts. Our forests were cleansed worth billions rupees logs for railway tracts, all electricity produced here is stolen and we get nothing. It is worth billions. Under a preplan strategy we were deliberately turned into dependent and helpless people. They try to turn us into ashes but a spark from it in the form of 21st young generation will enlighten us with the flame of freedom. This is our motto.
Great work.
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