Thursday, August 28, 2008

Let Kashmir Go

I know, this is kinda controversial view, but look at the protests.
Obviously, there is plenty of political instigation in the recent blow
up in Kashmir, but it hardly looks like they are thrilled to be with
India. Of course, they have good reason to be pissed off. Our forces no
matter how carefully they deal with the locals, insurgency has strong
local support, and Indian forces have never really been welcome on
Kashmir.

We can make a hundred movies like Roja about how Kashmir is part of
India and blah blah, but at the end of the day, we seem to be
forgetting the average Kashmiri has no love lost for India. Of course,
probably in the long term, they are better off being with India than
being Independent or with Pakistan, but that's for them to decide. What
really stops India from holding a referendum in Kashmir, and if it
turns out to be that they want freedom, then grant it graciously?

Politics, of course. But let it be said: what we just witnessed a few
days ago in the Valley is probably the first, proper Freedom Struggle.
We can hide behind a million excuses about Pakistan is foisting all
this unrest, Muslim fundamentalists are doing this, or Hindu
fundamentalists are playing brinkmanship.That may all be true, but at
the end of the day, an average Kashmiri doesn't care for India. So, I
would say, the most decent thing we can do is pack up and leave.

Of course, this will take another 20-30 years to happen, but happen it
will. We can crackdown on the public, shoot innocent people all we
want, but we can never suppress a people's deepest wishes. If
Independence is what they want, they've got my support. Let's get it
over with. Kashmir maybe a beautiful piece of real estate, but if they
want us to get out, it's the most honourable thing we can do.

3 comments:

Prashanth said...

This won't happen for multiple reasons. The very thought that someone does not want to be part of India is blasphemy to the self righteous Indian. Secondly, if any politician even hints that the problems of Kashmir are different and perhaps deserves a relook, he/she can bid his career farewell.

This is not to say I support the separation of Kashmir at all. My limited knowledge of the topic and absolutely nil knowledge of the experience at ground zero would make anything I suggest irrelevant. However, I do think that we should take a moment to lean back and wonder if all this blood shed is really worth it.

Varsha said...

Vamsee..Pack up and leave where??? Do you know Kashmir has an autonomous government? It has it's own constitution and a government body. If they want to they can feel free to declare independance.Why dont they do it? They are scared of a Pakistani infiltration. We have been protecting their borders for free just because they are a part of India. We are not holding them hostages. Infact we are providing them free security in return for nothing...

I agree when you say a country has to be free f they want to. In TIbet's case, yes there is a point in saying chinese should free them. But we have not fettered the kashmiris. We protetc them. There is a difference. We don't have to pack up and leave because we have never unpacked our bags in the first palce.

Vamsee said...

@prashanth I'm sure there were similar sentiments in Britain when the first arguments for Indian independence were mooted. From what I feel, it's just a matter of time it happens.

@varsha - come on, who are you kidding? Please read this (especially the section '1947'):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir

The promsed plebiscite/referendum never happened. And we won't let that happen. Kashmir was a princely state, and it's accession to India has always been in dispute. Raja Hari Singh has indicated that the Kashmiri people's wishes must be taken into account before the accession. This never happened.