Why is America turning a blind eye to the Kashmir conflict?

Short history of the Kashmir Conflict

The history of Kashmir conflict goes back to the times of British Raj.  East India Company took control of the Jammu and Kashmir region as a result of the first Anglo-Sikh war. The East India Company then sold the territory to Gulab Singh under the treaty of Amritsar for an amount of 7,500,000 Nanakshahee Rupees. The Muslim-majority under the non-Muslim Maharaja faced discrimination.

The ruler’s bias against Muslim was visible, giving rise to many uprisings and protests.
When British announced the partition of Indian sub-continent into two separate states, India and Pakistan, the independent states were allowed to join either India or Pakistan or to keep their independent position intact. The indecision of state led to a massive uprising from the Kashmiri people and ultimately forcing the Maharaja to flee Kashmir. India in cahoots with the Dogra Raja landed its troops in Kashmir and occupied the territory.

The United Nations Organization passed resolutions urging India and Pakistan to hold an impartial plebiscite in Kashmir under UN supervision. Three-fourth of the Kashmir is now ruled by India whereas one-fourth is governed by Pakistan.

Why is there an armed struggle in Kashmir?

Indian Soldier in Kashmir with pro-freedom slogans in background

The Kashmir conflict took the shape of an armed confrontation after the rigged elections of 1987. Muslim United Front, an amalgamation of Islamic parties, seemed to be winning elections but rigging of National conference at the behest of the central government reduced their seats to a mere 4. This rigging caused alienation among the youth, and most of them took arms against the oppressing Indian army. From there on, the Kashmir conflict has always been in the headlines for the armed battles between rebels and Indian army, mass killing of innocent Kashmiri youth and peaceful protests of civilians for the right to self-determination.

Why America supportive of Indian line in Kashmir conflict?

The American support for India on the issue of Kashmir can be attributed to some of the following reasons.

Firstly, America is interested in selling fighter Jets and other defense products to New Delhi. The United States of America has already taken over Russia regarding exports military products to India and is looking to exploit the huge market. Secondly, the America Government apart from exporting defense products is also seeking to utilize more than one billion market.

Thirdly, America sees China a regional and global competitor. The US establishment thinks that India is the only country with economic and military might to keep a check on the growing Chinese power. US government last year signed a memorandum of logistics exchange to further boost up the military cooperation in the India Sea and elsewhere. The primary purpose of the memorandum was to give Chinese the message that all American allies are on one page to not let China flourish.

Fourthly, the powerful Indian army in Washington is also presenting the Kashmir freedom struggle as a foreign-backed terrorist movement, which is nowhere near to the reality.

These reasons are keeping the Kashmir conflict in a low profile but for how much longer? Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint between Pakistan and India and any misadventure can result in nuclear war.

What next for the Kashmir conflict?

Kashmir conflict cannot be connected to terrorism because it is an indigenous struggle by Kashmiris to gain freedom. The UNO has promised with Kashmiris to hold a referendum in Kashmir to give them their right of free will. Trump’s administration hardline against Kashmiri leaders at the behest Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a dangerous trend to somehow link freedom movements with terrorism. This trend should stop otherwise the youth which is vying politically to liberate their land will pick up arms. The trend will not only flare up the Kashmir conflict but will also put regional and global peace at stake.

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About Muhammad Asim

Muhammad Asim is a passionate blogger and the founder and editor of the Politicalaxis.com