vendredi 11 janvier 2013

Kashmir, from decolonization to present

Dear students,dear readers,
Let's have a look on Kashmir dispute, it will lead you to make links between your history curriculum and news from Asia. Indeed, Kashmir dispute must be seen as a consequence of decolonization.

Kashmir dispute

  • Claimed by both India and Pakistan; de facto partitioned when ceasefire line agreed in January 1949
  • Jammu and Kashmir is the only Indian state with a Muslim majority (60%)
  • Sparked wars between India and Pakistan in 1947-48 and 1965
  • Third conflict in 1999, when Pakistani-backed forces infiltrated Indian-controlled territory in the Kargil area
  • Armed revolt against Indian rule erupted in 1989, since when thousands have been killed
  • Fears it could trigger a nuclear conflict, as Pakistan and India both declared themselves nuclear powers in 1998
  • Ceasefire across Line of Control (LoC) agreed in 2003

Indian troops shot dead near Kashmir's Line of Control

Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for 60 years
Two Indian soldiers have been shot dead in the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, officials say.
The Indian army said a patrol was attacked by Pakistani soldiers in "a grave provocation" near the so-called Line of Control.
Pakistan denied the accusation. The deaths came two days after a Pakistani soldier was killed near the LoC.
Kashmir is claimed by both nations in its entirety and has been a flashpoint between them for more than 60 years.
Tuesday's shootings took place near Mendhar, 220 km (140 miles) north of the Indian city of Jammu, Indian officials said.

Which follow the indian analysis, much more critical toward Pakistan.

Pak troops kill two jawans, behead, mutilate one of them

An Indian soldier was beheaded and another killed by Pakistani troops after they crossed over into Indian territory in the Mendhar sector of Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday, in a grim reminder of the brutality perpetrated during the 1999 Kargil conflict which can make peace making even more difficult.

The "border action team" of the Pakistani Army took advantage of the thick fog in the thickly-forested mountainous region to sneak 500 to 600 metres across the Line of Control (loC) before they were driven back after a fierce gun-battle and even close-quarter combat with Indian troops that went on for over 30 minutes shortly before noon on Tuesday.

Unfortunetly, a Pakistani soldier was shot down few days later...

India crosses the line again, kills Pakistani soldier

 Indian forces shelled a Pakistani post in Tatta Pani sector on the Line of Control (LoC) killing a soldier on Thursday, just as a spokesman of the United Nations said the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) had received an official complaint from the Pakistan Army and it would conduct a probe into the ceasefire violations on LoC.
India, however, rejected Pakistan’s offer for a UN investigation into the alleged killings of two Indian soldiers.

A. Cuvelier, http://saintremi.com/
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