Two thirds in Kashmir want independence: poll

[Tasavur]

Re: Two thirds in Kashmir want independence: poll

@Ruzaan

India is under no obligation to conduct a plebiscite in Kashmir, or for that matter any rigma role that would lead, in any way, to the freedom of Kashmir. Go back to the UN resolutions and look them up.

Or for that matter, neither does India consider Kashmir ‘disputed territory’. The Indian Constitution is very firm on its stance that Kashmir belongs to it in its ‘entirety’.

Pakistan’s position on Kashmir has been imperiled by its unilaterally- and illegally- giving away a piece of Kashmir- what it, in fact, considers to be disputed territory- to China. That stands in contravention to every international law, every convention or code of conduct on the resolution of disputed territories.

India faces a diabolical quandary - on the one hand, we consider Kashmiris to be our own citizens- and want to stop the shedding of their blood. On the other hand, given Jammu & Kashmir’s strategic significance, its resource significance and its political significance, we cannot let things get out of hand. And the protests threaten not just the peace, and sanctity, of that region- but of national security as a whole.

We have shed blood for the last 60 years in defence of our country. We have done it when the situation was far more volatile and things far more rampant. When militancy came to a head and bombs ripped through our cities. What makes you think we are going to stop doin’ it now?

Even though I readily admitted that India considers Kashmir its internal issue, I also declared that that particular position is irrelevant; India is not an isolationist nation which blindly disregards all other nations and does what it wants; as I said before, India is a willing member of that global organisation (the UN) which regards the question of Kashmir as an unsettled, internationally recognised dispute. Which is why it cannot carry through with the suggestion of the Indian member who wrote the following on this very thread: "they should just bring Kashmir into mainstream India, [and] remove all the special clauses…"

This would be, as I am sure you would agree, illegal according to international law. As for the UN resolutions, they are *non-binding *but specifically lay out terms of a cease-fire, withdrawal of troops and a free and democratic plebiscite under the auspice of the UN.

As for Pakistan ceding the Trans-Korakoram Tract to China, this was a good-will gesture to our Chinese friends and is by no means an illegal action because it is not a permanent solution. The ultimate status of this piece of land will be settled subject to the final answer to the Kashmir question. Regardless, India considers Azad Kashmir, GB as well as the T-K Tract to be her territory, and hence, the issue is - according to her own position - one that surpasses her national borders (ergo, hardly the ‘internal’ issue that your government would decry).

To conclude and with regards to your final sentiments: India’s national security or her considerations with regards to Kashmiris being Indian citizens or not are subjects of supreme irrelevance. India has no locus standi on the issue of that people’s fundamental right of self-determination. You may not admit to that now because of the pitiful blinkers of xenophobia over your eyes and ears, but oppression and tyranny last only so long. I end with this poignant quote from Thomas Jefferson who said in 1785: “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.”