The Hindu : Not just Pak.'s making

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 25, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Not just Pak.'s making

Sir, — This has reference to Sridhar Sankranti's letter (May 20), in which he writes that "the claim that Kashmiris are waging an indigenous freedom struggle is ridiculous." This statement is the kind made by Hindu nationalist groups seeking to rewrite history and is at odds with the conventional viewpoint held by almost all the scholars — Indian, Pakistani or Western. That Pakistan gleefully supports militancy in Kashmir is undeniable, but to say that Pakistan alone is behind the insurgency is blatantly wrong.

In 1965, General Ayub Khan of Pakistan launched the ill-fated 'Operation Gibraltar' to infiltrate militants across the Line of Control and foment an uprising. It failed miserably because the locals were not dissatisfied enough with India. By contrast, Pakistan's attempts to fuel insurgency in 1990 and during the 1999 Kargil conflict succeeded in varying degrees, because a popular uprising had already started in the late 1980s. There is no doubt that Pakistan is fanning the flames. But surely, there must be flames to fan?

Kashmir can be integrated into India peacefully, but only once we are big enough to admit our faults. The BJP's war-like stance and its dreadful anti-Muslim rhetoric which has exacerbated the problem is not so much a solution as a foolish commitment to lay the groundwork for an indefinite extension of the conflict.

Tariq B. Fancy,

Massachusetts, U.S.

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