How kashmirconflict has affectedthe economy and politics here?
Answers
The Kashmir conflict is a political problem that has existed since 1947 consisting of a territorial dispute between Pakistan and India regarding the “princely” state of Jammu and Kashmir. India claims sovereignty over what is Kashmir mainly due to the document “Instrument Of Accession”, which the Maharajah Hari Singh (Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir at the time) signed on the 26th of October of 1947. Pakistan claims that, it should either be and independent state or part of the same. This is because the population of Kashmir does not wish to be part of India, as could be considered after viewing the Kashmiri insurgencies. The reason being, according to the Pakistanis, that when the document “Instrument of Accession” was signed, it was signed by what the Kashmiris considered a tyrant. As such, the document was only signed because the Maharajah suppressed the population by force. The main dispute about the territory was first originally about the religious views, and the resources that were to be found there. But since then, this ever changing world has changed, and it is no longer just that, but a show of strength from both countries. Neither is willing to cede, because of all the resent and suffering that the conflict has caused. Niether can afford to look weak in the other’s eyes. All due to economic privileges and political trade-offs with rivals.
In 1947, Lord Mountbatten (the last viceroy of India) divided what was once British India into two countries, India and Pakistan. This was done based largely on religious grounds. The religious demographics were divided between a Muslim population, and a Hindu population. Kashmir had Sikh rulers and a Muslim population, so there was no obvious place to go for the Muslim population once the partition had taken place. The rulers opted to join India when most of the population would have chosen Pakistan. Because of this, Both Pakistan and India claimed the territory.
The second Indo-Pakistan war was in 1965 took place between April and September of the same year. The war began as a consequence of India’s Operation Gibraltar, which was an operation to move military forces into the region of Jammu and Kashmir to control an insurgency against Hindu rule. The war lasted 5 weeks, in which thousands of people died from both countries. The confrontation escalated quickly , relatively no time passed, and it was soon a full scale aerial war and naval war as well. During this war, there were some extremely large tank confrontations. The Pakistani army had a numerical advantage regarding tanks, as well as equipment. Despite these advantages, Pakistan was outfought by India in a number of confrontations. Both countries made relative progress during the war, but were both held back by small, yet efficient defensive forces. At an effort to peace, the United Sates and the Soviet Union, both hosted ceasefire negotiations. Pakistan, worried about the lack of war supplies, accepted the ceasefire readily. India, on the other hand, was more opposed to the ceasefire, but finally ceded to it, due to the growing diplomatic pressure from other countries. The post war aftermath involved a series of ceasefire violations which were constituted mainly to the exchange of small arms and artillery fire. This ceasefire was in effect until the renewal of military exchanges in 1971.
The third Indo-Pakistan war was in 1971. This war is considered one of the shortest wars in history due to its duration of only 13 days. It started with of Pakistan’s “preemptive” strike on 11 Indian airbases titled Operation Chengiz Khan. The war was fought mainly on the eastern and western fronts. The conflict was sparked by the Bangladeshi Liberation War, which was, in short, the fight for the liberation of East Pakistan from the whole. The Pakistani army, which was made up of Western Pakistanis in its majority attacked the eastern population leading millions of Pakistanis to go into exile or refuge to the open arms of India. India appealed several times to the international community, but failed to get a response. After these attempts, the Indian government decided that it was more convenient for the population if the Indian military intervened rather than just open its borders to refugee camps. Western Pakistan was becoming extremely agitated towards eastern Pakistan and India. India started amassing troops on the border with East Pakistan. Due to this, on December 3rd, the Pakistani government issued operation Operation Chengiz Khan.