Renewed clashes in Kashmir threaten the fragile country again. Separationists are demonstrating with renewed force, and the Indian military has responded heavy handedly. But is there more to these protests than meets the eye
The state in which the latest unrest occurred is a majority Muslim state, in a region that is under Indian control, Srinagar.
The deterioration of the frail cease fire started when Muslim extremists killed five Indian soldiers on August 6th of this year. The India-Pakistani rift immediately deepened, with India accusing Pakistan of providing material and strategic support to the Islamists.
Since then, the border region is on high alert, and small fights break out here and there almost costantly.
The counterattack from Indian forces however, has made little distinction of civilian from militants. That, in itself, could cause the skirmishes to ignite into all out revolt or at least long term unrest. And that is because India's military is protected by a law that guarantees immunity from prosecution for 'collateral' damage, i.e. the accidental or willful killing of civilians.
The problem of Kashmir has been created by both British rule and the subsequent partition, when the British relinquished Hindustan. The Indian Maharaja who ruled over that part of Kashmir, failed to obtain independence for his lands, and placed Kashmir square in the middle of one of the most contested and violent zones in the world. His inability to achieve independence, immediately provoked an attack from tribal Pakistani overlords who tried to conquer Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in India's occupation to save the Maharaja from outright invasion.
The Indian military oversight of the Jammu Kashmir region means that the Kashmiris are perenially caught between the Indian forces' attempt at stopping separatists and the militant factions. But separatists are not necessarily indigenous people. They are in good part Pakistani or Pakistani trained terrorists who do not want independence for the Kashmiri, but the imposition of Sharia rule and/or the annexation to neighboring Pakistan.
The heavy handedness of the Indian military however, is not creating any goodwill with the locals. Many civilians casualties occured this summer, which has led to more frequent protests.
The Muslim majority in Kashmir thinks that with time, India will have to relinquish Kashmir simply in virtue of the fact that it is majority Muslim. But whether that translates into independence is an entirely different matter.
One of the proposal that could improve the picture in Kashmir is the proposal to annul the immunity rule which protects the Indian military. Without civilian casualties, the Indian army could focus more successfully at preventing militant attacks, and civilians could be pacified into letting the Indian oversight occur without much protest.
However, a new president has just been elected in Pakistan, who is believed to hold moderate beliefs, and a new premiere will be chosen next year in India. Both the sitting Indian president, Singh, and the new Pakistani premier have agreed to hash out a plan to stop violations of the ceasefire achieved in 2003.
Source : Spiegel int'l/ 10.30.13
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