Kashmir : An Understanding Of The Two Religious Groups Present

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).

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 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

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

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,

India is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations. With that, it came with a rich history and complex cultures in science, religions, art, and food dating back to at least 5000 years to the birth of Indus valley, an ancient civilization that flourished around 1500 B.C. that consisted of two large cities and more than 100 towns and villages. After the fall of the Indus Valley civilization due to infiltration from Aryan tribes, Hinduism became the dominant religion of the subcontinent. From c. 268 to 232 BCE, almost all of the country was ruled by emperor Ashoka during the Maurya Dynasty, who converted the country to Buddhism. It wasn’t until the eighth century when Islam was introduced to India by Arab traders and established itself as a political force. After years of nonviolent resistance of the two religions and British rule, the independence of India and Pakistan was granted in 1947. Though, the terms “India” and “Pakistan” as we know it today were not called that before the partition of the two countries, it was merely a subcontinent ruled by different emperors. As of today, the two countries has a population of 1.3 billion people, over four times that of the United States, making it the seventh largest country in the world. (Add similarities and differences)

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

While historically the conflict within Kashmir is one of territory and not cultural, Pakistan has recently used their religion, primarily the notion of a Jihad, holy war, to justify their

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

No better understanding of the Kashmir issue could be achieved, other than studying the issue within the context of colonialism and then the eventual process of decolonization. In the 17th and 18th century, colonialism had reached its zenith and almost every known territory on planet earth was in some way or the other was related to a colonial power. The idea of self-determination in the modern-era is in fact the product of the concept of political sovereignty as developed after the Treaty of Westphalia. Then came the Industrial Revolution and during and after the revolution, the colonies slowly gravitated towards the idea of self-determination, as they became more aware of their rights.

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.

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,