indik
December 8, 2010, 6:46am
24
Re: Arundahti Roys “Seditious” speech on Kashmir!
Since we are talking strategically, I gather that you would prefer the current setup? I don’t see any chance of India giving up IOK or even the Valley at this point. I can understand where you are coming from but putting an end to the Kashmir issue is worth a lot more than having a few road/rail links with China. Some points:
Setting up an independent Kashmir will be a moral victory for Pakistan and more importantly, will win a lot more goodwill than taking over Srinagar.
Although I still believe that Kashmir is geographically linked to Pakistan and will forever remain so, we simply can not justify the military spending and repeated confrontations with India. I do NOT want to see another Mumbai. This will effectively pull the rug from the Islamists and extremists who are railing against ‘Hindu India’s’ occupation.
Most importantly, the independence of Kashmir might be the most palatable option (excluding the status quo) for India. While India would love significant territory, so would Pakistan.
Finally, we need to move forward, not forgetting the cause of Kashmir, but rather focusing on our economic fundamentals.
e