“Unraveling the Kashmir Knot”

Reviewing proposed solutions to the Kashmir conflict

“Unraveling the Kashmir Knot’ is a book by Aman M Hingorani, which was recently launched in a ceremony at India International Centre, Delhi. The learned author, who is a lawyer by profession, has opined that to unravel the Kashmir knot, it is imperative to first depoliticise the issue and then take recourse in legal analysis. Mr. Hingorani’s book reaches the proposed solution with the help of a comprehensive analysis of court rulings, UN papers, political observer reports and international law.

Aman M Hingorani has recommended that India should approach the International Court of Justice under the aegis of the UN to resolve the prolonged Kashmir dispute, which has become a festering sore. The book launching ceremony was attended by Mr. Hingorani’s colleagues and peers from the judicial community. His idea was not supported by most of the speakers on the occasion while Justice Dalveer deliberately avoided commenting on the issue. The most interesting view was presented by Indian Chief Justice TS Thakur, who opined differently.

Siddharth Varadarajan, an Indian American journalist and former editor of “The Hindu”, who has reported on the NATO war against Yugoslavia, the destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and the crisis in Kashmir, also spoke on the occasion. Varadarajan, a sensitive author, has also edited a book titled “Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy” which is about the 2002 Gujarat riots. Siddharth Varadarajan criticised draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) aimed at controlling and gagging the Kashmiri people. He proliferated the fact that Indian army has been operating under the black laws, maiming, killing and raping the hapless Kashmiris, without fear of any prosecution.

Indian Chief Justice TS Thakur opposed the idea of India seeking arbitration of Kashmir dispute with Pakistan at the international court of Justice (ICJ). He said that had this (approaching the ICJ) been a viable solution, Indian government would have opted for it long ago. He admitted that at the moment Kashmir issue seems beyond solution. He lamented that Kashmir had become a much divided society – people of Jammu wanted abrogation of Article 370 and total integration with India; Ladakh residents want to be controlled by centre directly and people of Kashmir valley are yearning for independence. He said the present situation makes Kashmir a much divided house and therefore the solution to it was not easy.

Interestingly, CJ Thakur, who himself is a Kashmiri Pundit; commented that the generation of Kashmiri Pundits which had attachment with Kashmir, who lived there, are resettling in different parts of India. The future generation is happy outside and sees it only as a historical fact that they belong to Kashmir. They are well-off; they are doing extremely well and have no desire of returning to Kashmir.

Kashmiri people are over-whelmingly anti India and Pakistan cannot be blamed for it. Inhuman and brutal treatment by Indian forces has alienated the Kashmiris. Every Indian Independence Day and currently during the protest rallies by Kashmiris; the flag of Pakistan is held aloft, much to the chagrin of India but emphasising a hard fact.

India knows that it is on a weak footing in Kashmir and will lose the case, if it approaches the ICJ.

The erudite author of the book, “Unraveling the Kashmir Knot”, who is a Supreme Court advocate, posits a unique solution to the Kashmir issue. He states that since, it was India which raised doubts about the unconditional nature of the accession of the J&K state to India and internationalised the Kashmir issue by taking it to the UN, India should, as a first step, appeal to the ICJ to confirm, as it were, its title deed to the state. It is only when no one can claim that it is a freedom struggle underway in Kashmir, argues Hingorani, that steps by the Indian government to win the trust and confidence of the people of the state can be effective. “Post a successful reference to the ICJ”, says Hingorani, “India can win back the love of the people of the state.”

Justice Thakur’s conclusion is that the problem was not entirely due to Pakistan’s support for Kashmir. “How many of us can vouchsafe that Kashmir was given the same kind of democratic freedom that was provided to other parts of the country? In Kashmir, we’ve heard that mayors are elected, but there were deputy commissioners who would be the returning officers who would reject all the nomination papers and declare the candidate of a particular party as elected and therefore the government would be formed even before the vote being cast.”

The only way out, Justice Thakur felt was to embrace inclusiveness. “When we rejected two nation theory we went for an inclusive society. We need to nurture it. It is only with love that we can hold Kashmir,” he said.

Narendra Modi, who assumed the mantle of Prime Minister of India, came with a heinous agenda. His plan was to abrogate Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and integrate Kashmir with India. His plan to rig the elections in Kashmir was foiled by the Kashmiris themselves. Now he seeks to wreak such a reign of terror in Indian Held Kashmir that the inhabitants are silenced. He has chosen to browbeat Pakistan through incessant cross border firing and false flag terror operations, implicating Pakistan. He refuses to hold meaningful dialogue with Pakistan under the plea that Pakistan is supporting terrorism. His hawkish coterie of extremist advisers recommends stern action against Pakistan, including surgical strikes against alleged terror camps. They forget that both Pakistan and India are equipped with nuclear weapons and indiscriminate adventurism can spark the nuclear flashpoint, triggering massive destruction.

Sane Indian voices like Hingorani, Justice Thakur and Varadarajan need to be heard. Sushma Swaraj plays to the gallery, when she rejects Pakistan’s support for the Kashmiris but the writing on the wall is clear, the Kashmiris want the plebiscite to indicate accession to Pakistan or India and it is obvious their option will be for Pakistan.