By Mehmood Hussain
The state of Jammu & Kashmir is known as heavenly place on earth for its mesmerizing beauty, awe-inspiring water falls, snow caped mountains, magnificent flowering meadows and dazzling weather all-around the year.
The origin of modern Kashmiri state can be found in the “Treaty of Amritsar”, when the British sold the Kashmir valley to Dogra ruler Gulab Singh in 1846. Since then the Kashmir had been ruled by the Dogra dynasty. But the Indian independence plan laid the rule for some 562 princely states to join either India or Pakistan based on the geographic, economic, cultural, and religious contiguity.
The state of Jammu & Kashmir has close economic, cultural and religious affinity with areas today known as Pakistan, so it was apparent that the ruler Hari Singh would join Pakistan. However, Maharaja offered a standstill agreement to both dominions only accepted by Pakistan. New Delhi, on the other hand started to mount pressure on Maharaja to accede territory with India, which originated the dispute.
The present commentary tends to investigate why Pakistan consider Kashmir a ‘Shaah-Raag’ and India call it an ‘Atoot-Aang’. Why both states are engaged in enduring conflict over the area? The rationality of Indo-Pak conundrum over Kashmir can be explained in three inter-mingled dimensions; i.e. geography, economic viability, and most important cultural and religious identity.
First and foremost aspect is geography of Kashmir. The state of Jammu & Kashmir is endowed with geostrategic position. Kashmir share border with China, Afghanistan and narrow Wakhan tract separate it from former Soviet Union territory, now Central Asia. In ancient times, traders from Indian Sub-continent travelled through Kashmir to reach out China and Central Asia for merchandise. Its geographic position was vital for the British India to connect with China and Central Asia, which further ensured its connectivity with Eurasian land.
Meanwhile its high altitude mountains provide natural defense to British Indian frontiers. Imperial states of the twentieth century used Kashmir as a buffer state to avoid direct conflict between them. The Great Russian empire always consider Kashmir a gateway to Indian Sub-Continent, whereas, British used it as a fortress to restrict the Russian influence in the British India.
Now consider the mantra of Shaah-Raag for Pakistan. Shaah-Raag means the jugular vein which ensure the continuity of life of a person. Same can be applied in the Pakistani case. Kashmir can be considered a Jugular vein for Pakistan in three important aspects. First and foremost is the religious and cultural affinity. Kashmir was the largest Muslim state in the British India having a Hindu ruler. Pakistan achieved the independence on the basis of the two nation theory. The theory inscribe that India is home of two distinct nations i.e. Hindus and Muslims, as compared to Congress view of single Hindu nation.
When in 1857, reins of power were transferred to British, Muslims realized that being a minority group in India is a sin. They were treated inhumanly, deprived from property, businesses, culture and modern education. So, they decided to form a separate homeland and in 1947 Pakistan emerged as a sovereign state. The religious and cultural distinction was the essence of very idea of Pakistan, which set the rule for Kashmir accession to Pakistan. The leadership argued that Pakistan’s creation is incomplete without the integration of Kashmir.
Second is geostrategic position of Kashmir. The geography of Kashmir connects Pakistan with the Chinese city of Kashger through the Khunjrab Pass. It also help Islamabad to connect with Central Asia. Back in 1966, China and Pakistan achieved the dream of connectivity through the construction of Karakorum Highway to physically connect the two friendly states. At present, the second and final phase has been in full swing with the proclamation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The 3,000 kilometer corridor passes through the territory of Pakistani controlled Kashmir and without Kashmir, the dream of connectivity is a mere imagination. So, if Kashmir becomes the independent state or goes to India, the very idea of connectivity will be seriously harmed.
Third is water resources of Pakistan. Three out of five rivers in the Indus system originated and flow through the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Jhelum, Chenab and Ravi rivers are major source of agricultural productivity in Pakistani Punjab as the province produce the sixty percent of Pakistani agriculture. Pakistan is an agrarian state and heavily depends on the river water to irrigate its agricultural land.
Meanwhile, Kashmir is endowed with natural beauty and fruit orchards. Its dense forests and tourists points can raise billions of dollars. Timber, fruit and handicraft industry can add a higher share in national economy. The economy of Pakistan and Kashmir is dependent on each other. At the time of partition, Kashmir had strong communication connections with the areas of Pakistan and majority of consumer goods were imported from Pakistan.
The Indian case can also be explained in three dimensions. The first and foremost reason for India to integrate Kashmir into the Union territory is its claim of secular state. The inclusion of the largest Muslim state into the Hindu dominant India provides the support to Indian claim of diversity and equality for minorities. From the very first day, the Indian leadership portray India is home to many nations including the Muslims having equal rights and privileges. Sheikh Abdullah, a popular socialist Kashmiri leader and a staunch support for Kashmir’s accession to India highlighted the Indian commitment to “secular democracy based upon justice, freedom and equality”.
In August 2019, New Delhi made a daring move through revoking Article 370 and 35A, stepped down the special status of Jammu & Kashmir. Since then, a constant curfew has been put in place, internet facilities are turned down and entire population is caged. The move has officially cleared the road for India to tighten its grip over the area.
Second, the geostrategic location of the territory left no room for India to negotiate with Pakistan. India want to reach out Central Asia and Russia through a land corridor, and Kashmir is the only viable route which can bypass Pakistan. So, New Delhi time and again mentioned that it is in no mood to free Kashmir for Pakistan. As India is catching the rank of emerging economy and expanding its influence in regional and international politics, so it require affluent economic and political capital.
This capital can be accumulated through the active interaction with likeminded states. So New Delhi has been proposing the various land and sea routes to connect with other states. In this entire gambit, Kashmir has central position as it abridged the distance between India and Central Asia.
Last but not the least, economic viability of Kashmir for India. Kashmir is a rich land with dense forests, fruit orchards, and water falls. The glacial waters that flow through Kashmir provide water and electricity to a billion people in India. With a growing population and industrialization increased the demand for electricity, so India has looked to the region to develop more hydro facilities. In addition to water resources, large orchards in the Valley of Kashmir produce apples, pears, walnuts, peaches, almonds and cherries, which are among the state’s major exports. The valley is the sole producer of saffron in the Indian subcontinent. So the fruit, timber and woven, handicraft, and tourism industry generate billions of dollars for Indian economy.
In a nutshell, Kashmir is a major national security issue for both India and Pakistan, the control of which could pose an existential threat to the other.
Author: Mehmood Hussain (PhD, Jilin University China, Assistant Professor of IR, Women University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Bagh, Pakistan)
(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights).
Image source: Hindustantimes