Kashmir : An Understanding Of The Two Religious Groups Present

Disputes over land seem to be a catalyst for almost every hostility and war since the dawn of time. The addition of politics and religion into the matter only serves to aggravate an already tense situation. Kashmir knows this all too well. The conflict between Hindus and Muslims seems to be an ever reoccurring battle. This is also evidenced in population battles. Hindus make up the social majority of the population of India by almost eighty percent. Feelings of tension and uneasiness are a natural reaction to being dominated by a majority and are a problem unto itself.

In 1939 World War II broke out in Europe. Britain proclaimed India’s involvement in the war without consulting the Indian people. This led to increased protest and volatility. In 1942 India established a national army and proposed the Quit India Movement. This movement promised to lend Indian military support to Britain in return for complete independence. If they refused this treaty the Indian people promised civil disobedience. In 1947 India was granted its independence and became self governing (Luscombe, 2012). On January 26, 1950 the Republic of India was proclaimed and it drafted a constitution. The first democratic elections were held in 1952. However the Hindus and Muslims were not united and colonial India was divided into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India (History, 2010).

India and Pakistan have been at odds for over seven decades since the partition that caused each to define itself in opposition to the other, and they have fought four wars since. The primary point of contention between the two countries is the Kashmir dispute, which dates back to 1947. After the Indian subcontinent divided, there was the issue of 650 states existing within the two newly independent countries. These states, which were each run by separate monarchies, had the choice to decide which country to join, or of remaining independent. In practice, the restive population of each province proved decisive. Although many princes wanted their territories to remain independent states, which would have meant hereditary monarchies and no

In this essay I hope to look at the issues of conflict in South Asia focusing on India and in particular the continuing Hindu-Muslim tensions, and look at possible reasons for the continuing conflict which appears to have escalated since the withdrawal of British Rule from India. Multiple events had shaped the Indian subcontinent with

The conflict in Kashmir dates all the way back to 1947 and still continues to this day. Kashmir is an 85,806 square mile territory North of India and East of Pakistan. Kashmir was one of the many states governed by British rule before gaining its independence in 1947. This independence was not truly meant to be permanent; the ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, was meant to join Kashmir to either India or Pakistan. The majority of Kashmir’s population was Muslim, so Pakistan, being a Muslim nation, expected Kashmir to cede to them. Unfortunately, Maharaja was Hindu, so he remained neutral in the decision. This sent Pakistan into an uproar, and in October of 1947, Pakistan sent Muslim troops into Kashmir. Maharaja appealed to the Indian government for military assistance and signed the Instrument of Accession, ceding Kashmir to India; the first Indo-Pakistan war begins.

Kashmir is conflict territory after the partition of India and Pakistan. Conflict is not only between India and Pakistan but also India and the religious militants. Religious Militants are conducting a jihad to govern by the religious law. Historically, Kashmir included Sufis Muslim not orthodox Muslim. Numerous international events had influenced in the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in Kashmir. Jihad is not originally from Kashmir but they are foreign militancy bought during the end of the Soviet –Afghanistan War. Additionally, they are trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan Inter service Intelligence helped them to incorporate into organized militant groups. Pakistan helped Jihad group with full moral,

Since 1947 when India gained independence from British rule and Pakistan was formed, India and Pakistan have fought over the state of Jammu and Kashmir, a fight which has increased the conflict. The conflict over Kashmir is located in the heart of South Central Asia and shares borders with Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and India. It has a population of 12.4 million. After the Buddhist and Hindu rule, Kashmir was converted into Islam and became part of mogul empire in 1586. After the British rule, Maharaja Hari Singh was unable to decide which dominion the state of Kashmir secede to. The decision was to stay independent. In the decision to control the region, the two countries have been involved in numerous war- the war in 1948 and 1965, the Kargil war of 1999. Kashmir is divided into three regions: one controlled by India, one controlled by Pakistan and a small area controlled by China. The current Kashmir conflict is supposed to be solved through bilateral talks, but both India and Pakistan threatens the peace and security over the region by attacking and killing soldiers over the control of line. Where once Kashmir was beautiful, it is now a state where people live in fear for their lives.

The issue between the two religions date back before Great Britain colonized the country. In 1846, a Hindu Maharaja ruled the land. His distain for the Muslim population led to poor living conditions. Although the majority of the population was Muslim, The current ruling class was Hindus. As tension between the two cultures grew, so did the difficulty maintaining control. The Muslim population wanted to be separated from the king, which led to the beginning of Pakistan. This separation seemed like a logical solution to the British. The land was then partition the created the countries of Pakistan and India. In the middle of turmoil, Great Britain struggled to maintain control. Great Britain’s colonization of the Kashmir region lasted from 1858 to 1947. Great Britain withdrew their claim to Kashmir and India gained its independence in 1947 (Potter

After the bloodshed among devotees of different faiths resided in South Asia, India, though partitioned, at last gained independence in 1947. Even if it was stated that this ‘’new-born’’ country will be a secular state, the majority of population was regarded as Hindus and fear of possible subordination of other communities was displayed. The majority of Muslims who supported

Conflict in Kashmir has been both devastating and ongoing since the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. The conflicts themselves arose from Partition, stemming from the religious dichotomies between Hindus and Muslims. The question is, was this religious conflict a result of impending and inevitable religious tensions in pre-Partition India, or does it stem primarily from British manipulation, disorganization, and negligence in the withdraw of the British Empire? While there were pre-existing tensions among religious groups in India, it was not until British occupation that these tensions were amplified and manipulated. While the conflict cannot be solely attributed to either preexisting religious tensions or British mishandling of policies, the catalyst for violence can be attributed to a combination of both factors. In an effective power play, the British yoked the differences among Indians in an unprecedented manner. This would act as the platform for a legacy of ongoing violence and discord among people that once lived harmoniously together. To fully understand the nature of the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan in Kashmir, it is necessary to understand the relationship between British manipulation and the differences within the Indian population. By examining the way in which British power influenced the existing perceptions of these differences, one can attempt to understand the dividing (rather than coexisting) diversities. Additionally, the conflicts

Kashmir was originally a part of India when the conflict began, though, due to its high Muslim population, it leaned more towards Pakistan. According to The Times of India, “53% of the population of Kashmir is Muslim” and wants to “secede to Pakistan”. However, the conflict arises because Kashmir is also a part of Jammu. The two combine to make one state with is effectively known as Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu, according to The Times of India, “wants to stay with India”.

After 1947, Pakistan felt that Pakistan is deprived because Kashmir has a majority of Muslim people and they have a right to choose their future

At first, the aim of the Muslim League was to establish friendly relations between the Muslims and the British Crown. After the Royal decision of the annulment of the partition of Bengal in 1911, Muslim League saw that in order to get their requests dealt with, they need to form relations with the Congress, the representative party of Hindus. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the member of Congress, also joined the Muslim League in 1913. After witnessing the annulment, he worked on a pact to unite Muslims and Hindus which was eventually signed on 30th of December, 1916 at Lucknow.

Since the beginning, Pakistan’s two nations theory that The Hindu and Muslim cannot stay together in one umbrella, led to partition of India and birth of Pakistan. Jammu & Kashmir as an unfinished agenda of partition and consider that being Muslim majority state contiguous with its territory should be part of Pakistan. After losing three battle (in 1947-48, 1965, 1971 and Kargil conflict in 1999) on the name of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan, they failed. Pakistan very well knows that in conventional war they will never accession Jammu and Kashmir; they approached the low conflict intensity war with India by using sub-national actors as a relatively cheap and easy way to keep Indian forces to tie down and to balance the conventional asymmetry, for which even death is a laser price to pay. Former Pakistan’s foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in a fiery speech delivered at UN Security Council, condemned India’s aggression and declared his nations intend to “fight for thousand years.” Zia’s policy took shape after General Zia-ul-Haq had deposed Bhutto in coup in July 1977, assuming the office of President of Pakistan, he embarked on a new policy to promote terrorism in India through ‘a thousand cuts in Kashmir.’ The single act has brought a conceptual change in the Terrorism warfare theory where idea terrorism has been used. Radical changes have taken place in the way in which terrorist acts could be committed against

State politics in India has been particularly the hot bed of political casteism. Caste enters much more directly into the composition of political elites at the state level. For example the mysore cabinet is dominated by Lingayats and Vokkaliga, the Maharashtra Cabinet by Marathas,