Common Folk Using Common Sense

Violence and mass rioting broke out as Muslims fled India and Hindus and Sikhs fled Pakistan. In all, about 500,000 people are believed to have died. Since then there has been continued bloodshed over the disputed region of Kashmir – an area that both India and Pakistan (or better yet the Hindus and the Muslims) claim as their own.

Gandhi was opposed to the Muslims separating from India. A Muslim asked him the following question, “If two brothers were living together in the same house and wanted to separate and live in two different houses, would you object?” Gandhi replied, ” Ah, if only we could separate as two brothers. But we will not. It will be an orgy of blood. We shall tear ourselves asunder in the womb of the mother who bears us.” As it turned out, Gandhi was right. Since then, India and Pakistan have fought four wars which left hundreds of thousands dead. And today, with each nation possessing nuclear weapons, they could destroy each other unless they learn to live together as peaceful neighbors. But Islam rarely, if ever, allows co-existance. Their goal is world domination.

Again in the summer of 1999, Pakistan sparked another battle over Kashmir when Pakistani-backed forces infiltrated Indian-controlled Kashmir. The two-month battle ended when Pakistani forces withdrew. India remains in control of about two-thirds of Kashmir and Pakistan roughly one-third.

The great Mogul Emperor of India of the seventeenth century, Jehangir, once said of the beauty of the Kashmir valley: “If there is a heaven on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.” That heaven now, in the twenty-first century, is marred by streaks of blood. Four wars have been fought between India and Pakistan over it, its status has been pending with the U.N. since 1948, and it has become an issue in superpower politics as well.

Kashmir was for centuries ruled by more than 20 Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian dynasties. The 14th century saw the start of 479 years of Muslim rule, including 240 years of independence that ended with the state’s conquest by the Sikh kingdom in neighbouring Punjab.

The British conquered Kashmir 27 years later in 1846 and sold it to a Hindu general of the Sikh kingdom, Gulab Singh, whose Dogra dynasty ruled the region until Hari Singh’s accession to India.

Kashmir’s importance in Indian politics lies in the fact that it is the symbol of the very ideological basis of the Indian state. Kashmir’s integration in Pakistan could not be acceptable because it would have validated the Pakistani Premiere Mr. Jinnah’s two-nation theory – one for Hindus and one for Muslims – the two, not being capable of living together in peace. Even he understands that Islam rarely, if ever, allows co-existance.

What started out as an indigenous rebellion has now been taken over by extremist Muslim or Islamic militants with the support of Pakistan. It is believed that there are thousands such militants fighting India in Kashmir. Some experts point to the close relations which exists between these groups and Pakistan’s military and intelligence forces. India accused Pakistan of allowing fighters to cross over into India-controlled Kashmir and attacked its forces there. India blamed the Kashmiri militants for the attack on the Indian Parliament, killing twelve people.

Among the international community is a fairly widespread consensus that the onus is on President Pervez Musharraf to curb the activities of Muslim extremists operating out of Pakistan. Musharraf is the ruler of Pakistan after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999. Of course, if these groups, and their official benefactors in the Pakistani military and intelligence elite, were to cease operations tomorrow, then much of the tensions currently palpable would subside. If only things were as simple as that.

The US demands that Musharraff crack down on Islamic extremists operating in Pakistan have been a requirement of the War on Terror from the outset. Terrorist groups proscribed by the State Dept. must be dealt with without exception, and there is no doubt that Jaish-e-Muhammed (the murderers of American journalist Daniel Pearl) and Lashkar-e-Taiba fit the bill more than adequately. As the tensions over Kashmir increased, due to the inability or lack of will to rein in these groups largely responsible for provoking India, the international demands on Pakistan have increased proportionally.

Continued tomorrow …

India is still censoring this website. Apparently, India considers making fun of terrorists and their Islamist supporters more dangerous than the terrorists themselves. I’m #6 (but I’ll try harder) on India’s list of 17 websites that are being censored.

Read “Bypassing The Ban in India“, a wiki from “Bloggers Against Censorship” set up to collate information about and influence opinion against the Indian Government’s apparent notice to various ISPs to block various websites. This effort is aimed at nothing less than ensuring the Government will never again do something like this. There should be no site or group of sites that they will ever again be able to block; in fact, there should be no book they will ban, no infringement on freedoms at all ever again. My Referrer Logs show that some people form India are getting through. I’m getting visits from Bombay and Palam. Maybe it’s the Indian Government (if so can’t you see that I support India?), or maybe it’s Indian citizens. I appreciate all of the support that I have been getting. This would not hurt if it were Pakistan or Iran banning me. I have been a longtime supporter of India and will continue to support India in spite of this slap in my face by her government.

Muslim, India, Hindu, Sikh, Pakistan, Kashmir, Kashmir

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