<< What is it that is so important about Kashmir that Pakistan and India fight 3 wars over it and risk a 4th that could kill up to 17 million people? I don't understand it. >>
As with any issue, it may appear incomprehensible from the outside. Muslims and Hindus have been struggling for supremacy in the Indian subcontinent for many centuries. There are extremist adherents of both faiths who believe their faith - and only theirs - should and must be dominant, religiously and politically. There are historical reasons for this struggle, which I can't claim to know much about. For the most part, the Muslims in India were content to rule themselves. There were Hindus, however, who objected to the presence of Muslims in their areas. Over time, provinces tended to become mostly one or the other, although there are some that are mixed. During the Indian independence movement, Gandhi wanted the entire country to be unified and secular, but Muslim radicals, led by Mohammed Jinnah, insisted that there be a separate, Muslim country. In 1947, Britain partitioned the subcontinent into India and Pakistan. Many Muslims fled to Pakistan, although over 100 million stayed. The state of Kashmir is the only Indian state that has a Muslim majority. There is a separatist movement in Kashmir that wants either independence or annexation to Pakistan. There are radical Muslims in Pakistan (including some in the government) who assist the Kashmiri separatists. India is in the sad position of Israel, enforcing an occupation on a resentful population, an occupation that hurts them as much as it does the occupiers. But they are convinced that the separatists would not be dangerous without the support of Pakistan. Remember, India and Pakistan have fought several wars. Neither side wants to back down - the current political leaders of each side feel they _can't_ back down without suffering severe internal political defeats. The logic of internal pressure is forcing each to demonize the other and blame the other for the entire problem. The rest of the world is finding it hard to mediate, since the rest of the world has mostly chosen sides over the past decades: the US backing Pakistan (mainly because we had such bad relations with India), Russia backing India. There is very little trust in that part of the world for anybody. It is very complicated, and the fact that each side has nuclear weapons and hates the other is what is making it so dangerous. Hope this explains a little. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org "I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I didn't realize I'd also see the last." - Jerry Pournelle
