Opinion

On the eve of destruction

Nuclear powers square off in Kashmir

By Vrishali Javeri

Posted on April 28, 2003, at 12:00 a.m.

While our attention has been focused on the events in Iraq, the situation in Kashmir has deteriorated from bad to worse. On April 12, there were a series of explosions, which killed one person and injured 41 others in the capital Srinagar. Less than a month ago, 24 Kashmiri Pundits were slaughtered in their homes by gunmen dressed as Indian security forces. This is just the latest chapter in the bloody violence that has ravaged Kashmir since 1989.

Things were not always so grim in Kashmir. It is, or should I say was, India’s vacationland. Like Maine, the livelihood of most Kashmiris was tied to tourism.

The beautiful state of Kashmir, nestled in the Himalayas, was a popular summer destination. It was a place to escape the broiling heat of the Indian summer. The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the person who built the Taj Mahal, called it paradise on earth.

More recently, it has been described by former President Bill Clinton as the most dangerous place on the earth. Since Kashmir’s formation in 1947, it has been the bone of contention between India and Pakistan. They have gone to war twice, possibly three times depending on how you count.

Kashmir is the only state with a Muslim majority in a predominantly Hindu India. Armed Muslim insurgency that began about 13 years ago has claimed thousands of innocent lives. According to the Indian government and other independent sources, many of the separatists are actively aided by Pakistan.

The beginning of spring and melting snow brings mud to Maine. Spring brings death and destruction to Kashmir. Tensions will steadily escalate as summer arrives.

Militants funded by Pakistan will easily cross over the “line of control,” which is supposed to separate the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistani administered Kashmir.

What makes this conflict so dangerous is that these hostile neighbors are not talking to each other and both have nuclear weapons. They keep upping the ante by successive testing of medium range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Last summer, India deployed armed forces numbering more than a million along the Indo-Pak border. There was no war last year, but tensions are still high.

Successive Indian governments have tried dialogue with Pakistan without success. Pakistan has not let up support for this low intensity war, which mainly targets civilians. Government officials were hopeful that after Sept. 11 the United States would use its leverage over Pakistan and make it fall in line – especially since Pakistan was a mentor to the Taliban and still harbors many of the Al-Qaeda remnants.

When nothing else works war seems to be the only option. Indian hawks feel they have a better case for launching a war against Pakistan than the United States did for the war in Iraq. The hawks said Pakistan is ruled by a military dictator but has nuclear weapons. It has provided safe harbor, training and aid to militants who have been waging a violent separatist movement with fundamentalist overtones for the last 13 years on the Indian soil.

This summer could bring a new face-off between the increasingly bellicose neighbors, and the war on Iraq may not be the bloodiest manifestation yet of the doctrine of preemption.

Vrishali Javeri is a graduate student in business

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2003, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.