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On the Contentious State of Kashmir, Read an Excerpt from The Kashmir Conundrum

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Kashmir has been considered one of the longest-running and most intractable conflicts of the modern world. How does one make sense of the issue and look to the future? Informed by a field expert’s astute perspective, this is a comprehensive and up-to-date account of Kashmir from an army man who has engaged with it at the highest levels. Read Dr. Karan Singh’s insightful Foreword to the timely and comprehensive book by General N.C. Vij below:

Over the last few decades, hundreds of books have been written on the complex situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Authors have approached this topic from many different angles, as a result of which their conclusions have also varied sharply. A number of retired civil servants and high-ranking defence personnel have also expressed their views and given suggestions on how to sort out this highly complicated issue. This book is special because it is written by a retired army chief of staff, General N.C. Vij, who has special insights into Jammu and Kashmir.

After tracing the historical perspective of the state, he covers the invasion, accession and reference to the United Nations in some detail. Thereafter, he deals with the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan and their impact on the state, and then goes on to cover the proxy war by Pakistan, which continues to the present day. After marshalling his facts, General Vij makes several valuable suggestions regarding how to deal effectively with the internal situation in Jammu and Kashmir as well as with Pakistan. He is amongst the few authors who have clearly grasped the tri-regional nature of the state and the fact that the Ladakh and Jammu regions have their own special aspirations, which must be dealt with in any overall settlement. This is in refreshing contrast to the Kashmir-centricity that most authors have adopted.

In my view, as I have expressed in Parliament, there are four clear dimensions regarding the state that must be kept in mind. First, whether we like it or not, is the international dimension. About one-third of the population of the original state of Jammu and Kashmir and one-third of its area are under Pakistan’s control, out of which they have ceded over 5,000 sq. km to China in the Shaksgam Valley to facilitate the Karakoram Highway up to Gwadar Port. In addition, China has captured over 37,000 sq. km of the state’s territory in Aksai-Chin. Thus, both our nuclear-armed neighbours have muscled their way into the picture. This dimension will therefore have to be tackled at some point in time.

The second dimension involves the relationship of the state with the rest of India. The Instrument of Accession, which my father signed on 26 October 1947 in the wake of the tribal invasion unleashed from Pakistan, is, of course, final and irreversible, and is exactly the same as those signed by other princes. However, there was an important difference between Jammu and Kashmir and the other Indian states. Whereas all the others subsequently signed merger agreements with the Government of India, the relationship of Jammu and Kashmir was based on Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution, which recognized the state’s special circumstances.

Subsequent to the accession, a Constituent Assembly was summoned by me on 1 May 1951 to draw up a new Constitution for the state, which came into force when I signed it on 26 January 1957. The Constitution, which clearly reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir would remain an integral part of India, also spelt out its special position. The original understanding was that the relationship would not be changed without the consent of the Constituent Assembly, but when the assembly ceased to exist, this was interpreted to mean the Jammu and Kashmir legislature. Subsequently, a large number of amendments were made by the Government of India that drastically reduced the quantum of autonomy in the state.

The dramatic constitutional developments in August 2019, when both houses of Parliament combined to abolish Articles 370 and 35A and divided the state into two union territories through an unprecedented act of constitutional legerdemain have, of course, drastically altered the situation. The relationship of the two union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir with the Centre has undergone a sea change. Ladakh has at last achieved union territory status, which it had been demanding for decades. As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, far from enjoying a special position, it is now one notch below other states of the Union. While this step has been widely welcomed in Jammu and Leh, there has expectedly been serious opposition in Kargil and the Valley, in that the last vestiges of their special status have vanished.

This has already been challenged in the Supreme Court, and how the whole situation plays out in the future remains to be seen. At the time of writing, it is clear that there is likely to be prolonged unrest in the Valley, while Jammu and Ladakh will consolidate their political situation.

The third aspect, which is often overlooked but which General Vij has clearly appreciated, revolves around the multiregional nature of the state. Jammu and Kashmir was never a single integrated unit; it was brought together by a combination of diplomacy and conquest by my intrepid ancestor Maharaja Gulab Singh in the mid-nineteenth century. The Dogra empire consisted of several far-flung disparate ethnic, linguistic, cultural and geophysical units. In fact, the establishment of the multicultural state of Jammu and Kashmir was one of the major geopolitical events in the subcontinent during the nineteenth century. It extended the boundaries of India all the way up to Tibet and Central Asia, an achievement for which the Dogras have not received due credit. At the time of accession, Gilgit was, in a blatantly illegal act, given to Pakistan by the British commandant of the Gilgit Scouts, Major William Alexander Brown, while the western Muzaffarabad–Mirpur belt emerged as a separate unit after the ceasefire on 1 January 1949. As a result, only three units are now under Indian administration: Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu.

Recent developments have fundamentally altered the situation. Ladakh has, at long last, emerged as a union territory, a step that I had publicly advocated as far back as 1965 when I was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir. This fulfils a long-standing demand of the people of Leh, while Kargil will have reservations because culturally they are very different from the Buddhists of Leh-Ladakh. Although Ladakh will not have a legislature, I presume that the Leh and Kargil hill councils will continue to function effectively and in fact be further empowered. Jammu and Kashmir are still linked together in the new union territory. With the proposed delimitation will come the enfranchisement of lakhs of west Pakistan refugees who crossed over to Jammu in 1947 but have not enjoyed permanent resident status and therefore have been deprived of all its benefits through the decades. There are also likely to be, for the first time, reservations for scheduled tribes, which would include the Muslim Gujjars and Bakarwals in the state.

As a result of all this, there may at last be a fair division of political, economic and administrative power between the two regions for the first time since the state was created in 1846. During Dogra rule, by definition the Dogras dominated, but from 1947 onwards there has been virtually Kashmiri rule, except for the short period when Ghulam Nabi Azad, who comes from Jammu, was the chief minister. This imbalance has led to continuous tension between the two regions, and if this can be balanced it would be most welcome so that both regions can enjoy a spirit of cooperation and goodwill, which will be needed if both are to prosper. Let us remember that the economy of Jammu is closely linked with that of Kashmir. Trade, commerce, tourism, especially the Sri Amarnath Yatra, all support the economy of Jammu, apart from being the mainstay of the Kashmir economy.

The fourth and final point is the humanitarian dimension. In the course of the thirty years from 1989 onwards, there has been terrible attrition and human suffering. Tens of thousands of Kashmiri youths have been killed in the conflict between militants and the security forces, many civilian lives have been lost during incidents of unrest and a large number of security personnel have sacrificed their lives. In the border areas of Jammu, thousands of families have been uprooted due to heavy shelling on the Line of Control and the international border. Their houses have been destroyed and their children’s education rudely disrupted. Although some bunkers have been built in the border areas, they are still far from adequate to meet the requirements. In the Ladakh region, Pakistan’s intrusion into the Kargil heights and our army’s valiant reconquest of those mountain areas disrupted life in the Kargil region. Also, the gifted Kashmiri Pandit community was obliged to migrate en masse out of the Valley that had nurtured them for millennia, causing intense trauma and suffering.

As a result of all these factors, the region is facing a massive humanitarian crisis, especially in the Valley. The wails of widows and the cries of children have not received the sort of aid and sympathy that the nation gives to citizens hit by natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. When we claim that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, we should also extend humanitarian aid and sympathy to the sufferers there, which is clearly missing. Surely our interest is not only in the geographical area but must also include a commitment to the welfare and progress of the millions of Indian citizens who reside there.

As the book was nearing publication, another serious development that took place was Chinese intrusion into Eastern Ladakh in May 2020. The Indian armed forces reacted with speed and the Chinese ingress was stopped, except a few areas wherein they had made some progress. However, after prolonged negotiations, withdrawal from both the north and south banks of Pangong Tso was commenced by both sides on 10 February 2021 and completed speedily. The discussions with regard to the other areas are still under progress. This development has very serious implications with regard to the security of our northern borders, and consequently of Jammu and Kashmir, and needs to be watched very carefully.

Many of the factors that I have mentioned have been covered by General Vij in his well-researched book. He has made several valuable suggestions with regard to the security, strategic, diplomatic and political challenges that we face in Jammu and Kashmir. Coming as they do from a former chief of army staff who hails from the state, all those concerned with the situation there, particularly those in positions of authority, would do well to take these suggestions seriously. I commend General N.C. Vij for writing this book, which will be of great interest not only to Indian readers but to those around the world who are interested in the vexed and, in many ways, tragic history of the beautiful but troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Kashmir Conundrum
About the Book - The Kashmir Conundrum

Kashmir has been considered one of the longest-running and most intractable conflicts of the modern world. How does one make sense of the issue and look to the future?In The Kashmir Conundrum, former Indian Army chief General N.C. Vij –…

About the Author - General N.C. Vij

General N.C. Vij was the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 2003 to 2005. Previously, he was the Director General of Military Operations during the Kargil War in 1999 and was responsible for coordinating the withdrawal of…

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