Prafull Goradia, general secretary, Jana Sangh, is obsessed with the Kashmir lemma which is not the priority at this moment. Still he refers to some interesting points.
Sankar Ray
Valley of no returns 26 Mar 08 (http://dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=OPED&file_name=opd2%2Etxt&counter_img=2)
Prafull Goradia
Civil society in Pakistan has realised that the Kashmir issue is indispensable for the Pakistani Army to sustain its all-powerful role
It was reported that Pakistan successfully proposed an anti-India resolution at the recently held OIC summit in Dakar, Senegal. The crux of the proposal was to express concern at the burning political dispute over Jammu & Kashmir and the alleged violation of human rights by India in the Valley.
In my own experience, traders from Jammu & Kashmir do protest against paramilitary oppression. At the same time, they confirm that the treatment of the then East Pakistan at the hands of Gen Tikka Khan was an unthinkably cruel genocide. They would dread the State going into Pakistan, although they would prefer an autonomous, preferably independent, Kashmir.
At a seminar held at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in March, the Pakistani delegation led by a former Foreign Secretary asserted that Jammu & Kashmir continued to be a core issue in India-Pakistan relations. Instead of countering their argument, I made a request to them that if the delegates were appointed the final arbiters over the Kashmir dispute, what would be their specific prescription? They went round and round but gave no answer as to what, in their one-sided view, the solution would be. In between lines, the message was there was no Pakistani solution any more.
In the heyday of Krishna Menon eloquence, it was an India versus Pakistan match over Jammu & Kashmir. Islamabad, however, appears to have now realised that the Kashmiris do not wish to join Pakistan. If the Valley were handed over to Pakistan, the turbulence would increase rather than disappear. A number of vested interests have grown around Jammu & Kashmir being a part of India. If the Valley cannot be with Pakistan, what is the sense in fighting for it merely for the sake of human rights?
The civil society has realised that Jammu & Kashmir was one of the indispensable tools for the Army to justify itself in a powerful role. The dispute was given an India-Pakistan colour and obviously India would then be a large enemy. Therefore, how could the people of Pakistan feel safe without a dominant role being enjoyed by the soldiers. This feeling has surfaced widely as opposition to Gen Pervez Musharraf's dictatorship grew. Pakistan has now no use for Jammu & Kashmir. Only the military has a vested interest. Those who think of democracy have no real interest left in the Valley.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah had offered a permanent solution to the Hindu-Muslim issue in the sub-continent. The more we look back at the past 60 years, the more we will realise how expensive it has been to ignore the wisdom and vision of Jinnah. If we had only listened to him, there would been no Kashmir problem, therefore no 1965 war, no real provocation for the 1971 war and no Kargil.
The benefits of listening to Jinnah would have gone far beyond the military savings. There would have no problem of over population. A great deal of urban land would have been available for free use by the society; after the state, the largest urban landholders in India are the wakfs. The enormous expenditure that is made by the Centre and the States on minority education, madarsas et al would have been unnecessary. There would have been no continuing influx of Hindus migrating to India from Sindh as well as Bangladesh. The Pioneer (March 9) reported how thousands are using the Thar Express to escape into Rajasthan with or without documents.
However, the greatest damage done by the India-Pakistan bitter relations has been New Delhi's obsession with Pakistan. The world image of our country would have been much larger if only we had not offered the opportunity of being continually compared with Pakistan.
As recorded in volume IX of The Transfer of Power 1942-47 edited by Nicholas Mansergh, Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, and Penderel Moon, Jinnah made a forceful reference to the exchange of populations to be considered seriously. He asserted that he was not fighting for Muslims when he demanded Pakistan; he added, Pakistan and Hindustan alone mean freedom to both Hindus and Muslims. Jinnah had also made direct request to Viceroy Wavell for an exchange of population.
A virtual doctrine regarding an exchange of populations was developed by a committee of the League of Nations headed by no other than former Viceroy Lord Curzon. The doctrine was implemented by the Treaty of Lausanne signed on July 24, 1923, by the European powers. It was the ultimate outcome when it was widely realised that all the earlier arrangements made with the Ottoman empire for the protection of minorities were blatantly violated. Probably because Islam did not appreciate the concept of a minority. Fortunately, the treaty was implemented thereafter in both Turkey and Greece. Earlier a similar exchange had taken place between Bulgaria and Turkey. It is possible that Jinnah's proposal was inspired by this European experience.
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