What is the origin of the Kashmir dispute?

The full name of Kashmir is Jammu and Kashmir, with an area of ??173,000 square kilometers and a population of approximately 10.86 million. The traditional capital is Srinagar. The southern part of the region is under the jurisdiction of India and the northern part is under the jurisdiction of Pakistan. Both countries claim sovereignty over all of Kashmir. In fact, the Kashmir issue and the Palestine-Israel issue are both difficult and basically unsolvable equations. So, how did the partition of India and Pakistan come about? What caused the Kashmir issue? Why has it not been resolved after all these years?

The announcement of Partition

As we all know, the first European country to invade India was Portugal, followed closely by the Netherlands, Britain and France. However, after many battles, they finally won It was the British who became the actual rulers of India. At that time, British India included today's India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and almost all of Sri Lanka. It also once included Aden, Burma, British Somaliland, and Singapore. However, after the huge losses in World War II and the United States' opportunistic suppression, Britain's national power declined rapidly and it was no longer able to maintain its colonial rule.

In 1947, Britain had to give up India, the largest colony in the South Asian subcontinent that was once likened to a pearl in Queen Victoria's crown. However, at this time, Britain came up with the Mountbatten Plan. This largest colony was transformed from a region enjoying autonomy into two independent sovereign countries, India and Pakistan. This is the famous "Partition of India and Pakistan" in history. The essence is that the British cleverly exploited the divisions created by the shield between Hindus and Muslims, making the conflict between Muslims and Hindus increasingly intense.

The basis of the conflict

The subsequent territorial disputes and regional conflicts were all caused by the ethnic conflicts between Hindus and Muslims. This is the contradictory basis of the partition of India and Pakistan. The vast majority of people in India are Hindustani and Sikkimese, and they are native Indians who believe in Hinduism and Sikkimism. Pakistan is more of Central Asian descent, including the Aryans and Central Asians, the first foreign nations to invade India. They all believe in Islam. Ever since the Mughal Empire forced native Indians to convert to Islam, the two ethnic groups and religions have developed a deep hatred.

Mahatma Gandhi had always hoped that India would become a "Greater India" country covering all ethnic groups. However, in front of the British who were masters of creating conflicts, Gandhi's wish became child's play. He had no way to resolve the conflicts between Muslims and The increasingly acute conflicts among Hindus were unable to stop the All-India Muslim League from planning to establish a separate Muslim state, Pakistan. Therefore, both Britain and Gandhi had to face the reality that Indian society had been divided, and had to acquiesce in the split of India after independence into two countries: India and Pakistan.

After the implementation of the Mountbatten Plan, the vendetta between the two communities reached its peak. Even Mahatma Gandhi was killed by Hindu extremists on January 30, 1948. By 1951, more than seven million Muslims had moved to Pakistan, and nearly nine million Hindus had moved to India.

After talking for a long time, how does the partition of India and Pakistan have anything to do with Kashmir? Because according to the provisions of the Mountbatten Plan, areas with a majority Muslim population belong to Pakistan. Kashmir, where nearly 80% of the people are Muslims, should belong to Pakistan. However, the rulers of Kashmir are Hindus and hold the administrative power of this region. Moreover, the plan allows the Kashmir state to freely choose its ownership. The problem arises. The majority of the Islamic people want to belong to Pakistan, while the Kashmiri state is hesitant at first, and then wants to belong to India. This is such a very special situation that the ownership of Kashmir is not finalized, and it has become an Indian state. The focus of the Partition of Pakistan.

The importance of location

Kashmir is important to both India and Pakistan. Kashmir is located in the transition zone between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the South Asian subcontinent. Although it is a plateau, the soil is fertile and suitable for farming. In addition, it borders China, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and its strategic position is very important. In particular, India attaches great importance to this, and Nehru wanted to send troops to occupy it.

Pakistan has not shown any weakness in the disputes surrounding this land. Leaders such as Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, believed that Pakistan’s domestic agriculture requires a large amount of water resources. Most of the water in Pakistan is taken from rivers in the country, and the water in the main rivers in the country originates from the Kashmir region. Therefore, from Pakistan's perspective, sitting back and watching India occupy Kashmir is tantamount to handing over water resources and its own agriculture to others.

Based on this consideration, India and Pakistan are fighting openly and covertly, fighting for each other, refusing to give in to each other, and stepping up their armaments, ready to compete with force at any time. However, at the beginning of the partition of India and Pakistan, Kashmir was neutral and had its own independent ideas. That is to say, when the British did not clearly assign Kashmir to whom, Kashmir was actually controlled by the indigenous prince Singh who controlled the place.

The swing of the natives

Singh’s power was bought from the British. He himself believes in Hinduism, but nearly 80% of the population in the place he governs is Is Muslim. Nationalities and religious beliefs create natural barriers between them. Singh, who should have paid attention to alleviating these conflicts, failed to do so. Instead, he imposed additional taxes, causing public dissatisfaction.

Facing the coveted eyes of India and Pakistan, Singh hesitated. He knew that without the support and protection of the British, it was impossible for him to become independent, and he must have good relations with them to survive. . He thought so, but before he had time to do so, a small popular rebellion broke out in Kashmir. Singer sent troops to suppress it but suffered a disastrous defeat.

After the disastrous defeat, Singh was a little confused. He found that he could not suppress the rebels with his own strength, so he decided to ask for help from India. Singh's move played into the hands of Nehru, who wanted to send troops to Kashmir. Therefore, Nehru did not hesitate to send troops to Kashmir into Srinagar, the capital, and in fact occupied Kashmir by force.

Nehru knew that Pakistan would not sit idly by, so he insisted in public that the rebellion in Kashmir was secretly instigated by the Pakistani government. Nehru's remarks caused a sharp deterioration in India-Pakistan relations. When they learned that India had sent troops to Kashmir and entered the capital, Pakistan's top leaders were eager to take action and geared up to send troops to Kashmir to fight to the death with India.

Fruitless mediation

Just when the war between India and Pakistan was about to break out, the British authorities, who had not yet completely left, wanted to mediate and resolve conflicts and disputes. The British thought that their ruling would satisfy both India and Pakistan, so they proposed an independence referendum in Kashmir to let the people decide their own future.

Pakistan strongly agrees with this opinion because Muslims account for nearly 80% of the population in this region. However, India firmly disagreed. Helu believed that Kashmir joined India voluntarily and that Singh was the plenipotentiary representative of this region. Another fundamental reason for India's opposition is that it already has actual control over this region, so why should it hold a referendum?

Pakistan was very dissatisfied with the British on the issue of sending troops because when the Indian army first entered Kashmir, Jinnah asked the Pakistani army to also enter. However, according to previous practice, the commander-in-chief of the Pakistani army first asked the British to enter Kashmir. India's top military commander sought advice, but met with opposition, and the Pakistani army terminated further operations. Jinnah was very dissatisfied with this. He felt that this caused Pakistan to miss the best opportunity to enter Kashmir and drive away the Indian army.

The British's coordination failed to please both ends, causing the India-Pakistan confrontation to become extremely frustrating. Later, they pinned their hopes on the United Nations for arbitration. The United Nations has also adopted a vague and cautious approach, which is fully reflected in Resolution 47 on the Kashmir issue. The ownership of Kashmir is not clear at all, and this approach has left both India and Pakistan confused. Moreover, the United Nations investigation team has continuously emphasized that both parties must exercise restraint and strive for a peaceful solution. However, there is no specific plan on how to resolve the dispute peacefully.

As a result, the issue of Kashmir's ownership has become more complicated. India and Pakistan, which are at war with each other, have long wanted to compete with each other through force. So far, mediation has failed and they have turned to war. The Pakistani army and local militias invaded northern Kashmir. The new weapons sold to them by the British were used by India in the confrontation with the Pakistani army. From then on, Kashmir was divided into two parts, and it continues to this day.