The first thought that comes to mind when thinking of the Kashmir region is conflict, located in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, it borders China to the northeast which became active in the area around the 1950s and gained control of most of the eastern part in 1962, Tibet to the east, India to the south, Pakistan to the west, and Afghanistan to the northwest, having said that, one can easily imagine the history of disputes over this strategically positioned country, especially between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 which led to numerous massacres that still take place today, in spite of this, some attempts were made in the 19th century to define the boundaries of the territory, but they have been defeated in many cases by the nature of the country and by the lack of a permanent human settlement, furthermore, to shed some light on how the border administration should theoretically work, the northern and western portions are supposed to be under Pakistani rule and the southern and south-eastern ones are to be administered by India.
Looking back to the territory’s history, as long as its existence was guaranteed by the United Kingdom things were more or less running smoothly, the catalyzing moment though has been the British withdrawal from South Asia in 1947, at the time it was agreed by both India and Pakistan to provide freedom of choice when it came to choosing between annexing to either one of them or going for independence but, although the at-the-time king of Kashmir thought that stalling was going to be the right move in order to maintain independence, soon a revolution among Kashmir’s Muslims subjects broke out along the western borders, which pushed him to sign an Instrument of Accession to the Indian union in October of the same year, this event encouraged intervention both by Pakistan, which considered the state to be its natural extension and by India, which intended to ensure a positive outcome for the act of accession previously mentioned.
Kashmir was later given a special status within the Indian constitution under article 370 which guaranteed that it would have had independence over everything but communications, foreign affairs, and defense, little did they know that this special status would have been revoked by the Indian government in August 2019.
Tensions between the two countries were put momentarily at ease thanks to the United Nations’s intercession which resulted in the installation of the so-called “line of control” in 1949 along the border but, in spite of this settlement, neither one of the countries recognized it as an international boundary.
Moreover, the heterogeneity of this area also extends to culture, religion, and all aspects of everyday life.
In justifying Article 370’s revocation, the BJP government argued that the move would “prevent terrorism” and “restore Kashmiri youth’s faith in the Indian state”, yet one year later, the number of militancy-related incidents remains more or less constant if it hasn’t increased.
Despite turning out as mostly unsuccessful, there were a few attempts to keep the peace between the two sides during the years, for example in 2014 the newly elected Indian prime minister invited the Pakistani one to attend his inauguration raising hopes around a possible meaningful pace negotiation being pursued by the newly installed government, however, their expectations plummeted when India canceled talks with Pakistani foreign minister after the Pakistani high commissioner in India met with Kashmiri separatist leader, newfound tenseness came along in September 2016 when armed militants attacked an Indian army base near the line of control killing a bunch of Indian officials, to be blamed was Pakistan’s main intelligence agency, in addition, violent demonstrations and anti-India protests coming from the separatist faction in Kashmir continued.
Even though in 2018 India and Pakistan agreed to a cease-fire along the disputed border, the proximity of jihadi fighters coming from Afghanistan threatens to increase violence in the area and fear is spreading that another series of savage attacks could potentially trigger a severe military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed states.
The unilateral decision of the BJP government to revoke Kashmir’s administrative and legal status participated in aggravating relations with Pakistan which is now being accused of infiltrating militia across the line of control, as a matter of fact, Pakistan did initially support financially and logistically the secular Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front which had the goal of creating an independent and unified Kashmir, but as more factors and groups entered the equation, Islamabad’s support shifted towards a merger with Pakistan.
Although Pakistan exploited the unrest in the Indian part of Kashmir for its own ends, the conflict remained rooted in the area against the Indian state, and rather than searching for political solutions, New Delhi intensified its military repression, gravely abusing human rights by targeting civilians, killing activists, and extorting money from local businesses.
In addition, in the following months, the governor’s administration took several steps to neutralize prominent actors linked to Kashmir’s non-violent separatist movement only resulting in Kashmir’s political life coming to a halt leaving a dangerous gaps in the state’s political landscape.
For what concerns the international arena both the EU and the U.S. reacted to the August 2019 events giving public statements on the Kashmir situation and even though the issue does not appear central to their interaction with the Indian government, the two powerhouses should take this problem into consideration more, since as India’s largest trading partner, the EU, could play a more active role in the effort of bringing peace to the contended territory, especially supporting the reinstalling of the special constitutional status in Kashmir which will eventually contribute to rebuilding trust between the two sides, notwithstanding the difference that the EU would make if it sponsored direct communications between India and Pakistan as well as if it advocated for the local press to function normally, and the installation of a more inclusive and understanding government willing to establish a dialogue with Kashmiri separatist parties instead of opposing them.
References:
Raising the Stakes in Jammu and Kashmir, available at:
https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/kashmir/310-raising-stakes-jammu-and-kashmir
Kashmir: why India and Pakistan fight over it, available at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/10537286
Shaping the politics of peace, available at:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/kashmir-conflict-how-did-it-start
Conflict between India and Pakistan, available at:
https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-between-india-and-pakistan
The forgotten massacre that ignited the Kashmir dispute, available at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/6/the-forgotten-massacre-that-ignited-the-kashmir-dispute
The Kashmir problem, available at:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashmir-region-Indian-subcontinent/The-Kashmir-problem
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
