Jammu - Kashmir

India-Pakistan: Jammu-Kashmir

The beautiful state of Jammu & Kashmir is comprised of many regions and people. It is located in the north of both India and Pakistan. Pakistan was originally a part of India. In 1947, when the British left India, Muslims wanted a country of their own. As the two states were formed, more than 12 million Hindu (India) and Muslim (Pakistan) refugees crossed the India-Pakistan borders in a mass transferal. About 200,000 were killed in communal fighting.
According to the instruments of partition of India, the rulers of princely states were given a choice to accede to either India or Pakistan. They were to consider geographical and ethnic issues. In Kashmir, the ruler, the Maharajah hesitated. The principally Muslim population saw the early and covert arrival of Indian troops. They rebelled and things got out of the Maharajah’s hands. The people of Kashmir demanded to join Pakistan. The Maharajah, fearing warfare, gave way to Indian pressure and agreed to join India by “signing” the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947. It stipulated that India would claim this region if ratified by a plebiscite. That was in 1947. No plebiscite has ever been held. Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region has remained in dispute since 1947. After heavy and nearly continuous fighting, a cease-fire was negotiated by the UN on Jan. 1, 1949; it gave Pakistan control of one-third of the area, in the west and northwest, and India the remaining two-thirds, the region of Jammu & Kashmir. In the 1990s repeated clashes between Indian army troops and pro-independence demonstrators were triggered by India’s decision to impose government rule. This led to renewed heavy fighting. The area remains unsettled. It is worth noting that both India and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons.

THE QUESTION BEFORE THE CONFERENCE WILL BE:

Should the conflict in Jammu-Kashmir be resolved by
a. Establishing Pakistan’s sovereignty over the region?
b. Establishing India’s sovereignty over the region?
c. Establishing Jammu-Kashmir as an independent, sovereign state?