The spreading of religion has been the catalyst of numerous conflicts in world history, and in the past several decades it has been occurring in a land known as Kashmir. This territory, located in Central Asia, sits between India, Pakistan and China, and is known for its beauty and strife, all stemming from religious and cultural differences. In 1948, Mahatma Gandhi, a freedom fighter for Indian nationalism, was terrified at the possibility of war, and delivered a famous speech at a prayer meeting, as he said, “Pakistan is being requested to get out of Kashmir and to arrive at a settlement with India over the question through bilateral negotiations. If no settlement can be reached in this way then a war is inevitable.” Unfortunately, to this day, no settlement has been reached, and the predicted war has occurred. Although the tensions in the region have been growing recently, this is not a new problem.
Hindus of India and Muslims of Pakistan have fought for land and power over the centuries, as each culture has attempted to spread their beliefs. This has led to India and Pakistan violently attempting to take control of the Kashmir region to reap the benefits of its vital resources. The conflict between these two countries has been tense since the Partition of British India in 1947, creating an independent India. As borders were determined, the Muslim and Hindu region of Kashmir was an area that India and Pakistan both wanted to control, making it nearly impossible to come to a peaceful solution. The situation has carried over to present day, as people struggle to survive in a war that should not be fought. In modern society, there should be a way to solve the issue, but the situation continues to become more complex with increa...
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To this day there is still rivalry between Hindus and Muslims because of the efforts to bring Kashmiri independence from India. Hindu’s today are receiving 10,000 ashams. (Fisher 116)
India holds a prominent place in the history of imperialism and decolonization, making recent events in this country of nearly one billion especially important to the current day citizen. India also faces problems associated with accommodating religion and diversity within a large federal republic, making their experience important for Americans concerned with these issues. India faces growing action of governing which invites the use of violence to achieve political objectives. In spite of India's size and importance, it is hard for an American to gain an understanding of the issues and conflicts which have set the stage for the most recent revival of Hindu nationalism. The central feature of this new reform in Indian federal politics is the clash between Hindu and secular nationalists.
During the Cold War, many regional conflicts occurred and were noted as the significant battles which later led to decolonization. One of the regional conflicts were India and Pakistan fighting for their independence. In 1947, India was released under Great Britain’s control and gained its independence. However, the country was divided between Muslims and Hindus, which share different religions. Muslims wanted church and state to become unified while Hindus wanted a separation of these two establishments. Since these two ethnic groups disagreed, it was difficult to create a new government. Therefore, India was divided into two nations: India for the Hindus and Pakistan for the Muslims. Hindus and Muslims were racing to the border in order to get to their nation state which led to killing 500,000 people due to rioting. Although, Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian National Congressman, wanted to obtain peace between these two religions. Pakistan refused the H...
Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan is a horrific read. Though the characters and the village of Mano Majra are both fictitious, the reality of the 1947 Partition is not. Approximately one million men, women and children died as a result of communal violence during that time. The cynical part of me says that religious feuds and riots have always been a reality of South Asia – even before the medieval times, so this should not be shocking. But then the rational part of me questions why there are millions of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and other religious communities living in peace today. If there really was a blood lust which we inherited from our ancestors, we would have all been dead a long time ago.
In late 1947, the newly created states of India and Pakistan went to war over the valley of Kashmir. A United Nations brokered ceasefire divided the state into Indian and Pakistani controlled territories, and resolved that a referendum would be held in which the people of Kashmir would be able to choose to join either country. The referendum has not been held to this day. India granted its portion of Kashmir a special status within its constitution, allowing for a great degree of self-autonomy. However, successive Kashmiri governments have been dissolved by the government of India, and elections have only been held in the presence of its armed forces. In 1965, Pakistan and India waged a second indecisive war over Kashmir. In the 1980s, resistance within Kashmir itself against the Indian government took on a violent nature, with guerilla attacks against Indian army bases. India responded with heavy army clampdowns, and since then the situation has only escalated and get worse. It is estimated that well over 34,000 people have died within the valley, and the relations between the two countries have become increasingly acrimonious. India blames Pakistan for the militant uprising, claiming Islamabad is supporting cross border terrorism. Pakistan responds that it merely provides diplomatic and moral support arguing, furthermore, that India’s history of human rights abuses in the valley is to blame. With both countries now in possession of nuclear arms; the recent war in KARGIL and the increasing number of civilian deaths, refugees, and other human rights issues within Kashmir, the conflict seems to be taking on a more serious nature. In this paper I will discuss the Kashmir conflict in some depth, examining the problem in...
The most threatening conflict between Hindus and Muslims is the province of Kashmir. This is where the decision to divide India into India and Pakistan seems to have been a terrible mistake. Kashmir, which is the only Muslim majority city in India, lies between the divided India and Pakistan. After India’s independence in the 1940’s, Kashmir had to choose to either unite with India or Pakistan. The Prince of Kashmir chose India but Pakistan invaded the province soon after and have occupied part of Kashmir since then. Controversy still surrounds the province today because naturally, Muslims want to control it. While many Muslims relocated to Pakistan and the Hindus to India, half of the Muslim population was left in India and their relations did not improve after being partially separated.
Athwass in its spirit and essence mirrors the ethos of Kashmir, which, for centuries, has represented peace, nonviolence and brotherhood of man (Kaul, 2012). Since 1989, the low-intensity conflict in Jammu and Kashmir has been the most important issue in India's internal security scenario. Possession of the State of Kashmir has been an issue of dispute since 1947 starting with India and Pakistan. After tw...
Until a child is eighteen years old, the parents have full responsibility. They provide a stable and loving environment for their children. As the leaders in a household, caring and loving parents also maintain the bonds that hold the family together. However, absence of loving parental guidance can create tension between family members. Anita Desai’s Clear Light of Day shows how war, specifically the partition of India, affects a particular family. The partition of Indian in 1947 created the separate countries of India and Pakistan, consequently ripping families apart. The partition, initiated by India’s independence from Britain, attempted to accommodate irreconcilable religious differences between Muslims and Hindus by forming the Islamic Pakistan. In Clear Light of Day, the Das children’s relationship with their parents causes lasting sibling conflict that mirrors this social and political upheaval of India.
Lawrence Auster wrote an eye-opening blog excerpt titled India and Pakistan: Why the Mass Killing Occurred. The content of this excerpt explore the fundamental issues of identity and religion that led to the violence in 1947. The author makes his point by utilizing current event such as the train massacre in 2002, in which 50 Hindu women and children were burned alive. The blog is for an audience with some prior knowledge on the topic and continues to expand upon that knowledge. The blog is a secondary source because it introduces its own unique ideas regarding the issue and was written after the time of the event. It was very helpful to my research because it simplifies the wordy information often found on scholarly sites and condenses it into something comprehensible and relatable to the reader.
“India and Pakistan: Tense Neighbours.” BBC. N.p., 16 Dec. 2001. Web. 15 May 2011. .
There is a distinct difference between popular Indian nationalism, that is the nation believing in a state independent of Britain, and Indian nationalist movements, for example the Muslim League or the Hindu revivalist movement. These movements fought for independence but were far more religiously orientated and were fighting in their own interests. Although Indian nationalism initially found expression in the Mutiny of 1857, its deve...
Kashmir — a beautiful mountain state with clear rivers, evergreen forests and one of the highest death rates in the world. It is at the center of an age-old dispute between Pakistan and India that has dragged on from the independence of both nations over fifty years ago to the present time, with no resolution in sight. The combined population of the two nation totals over a billion, so no conflict between them is of passing importance, especially when nuclear weapons are involved. Pakistan and India share a common heritage, language, and traditions, yet the subject of Kashmir can push them to the brink of annihilation. Fifty years of animosity have built up as a result. A proxy war still brews in Kashmir, claiming dozens of lives every day, running up a casualty total over time into the hundred thousands. Kashmiris have suffered untold horrors and Kashmir has the notorious reputation of being one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints.
As the Hindu’s in northwest India moved south, the Muslims moved north into Pakistan; millions were displaced, thousands were slaughtered as a result of the riots and the birth of both countries was met with death and destruction. Many believe that Muslims went along with the partition and moved to Pakistan “not because they viewed it, as official Pakistani narrative suggests, as the lan...