The Kashmir conflict - publié le 18/06/2009

Résumé du document

India and Pakistan form a complex and conflicting couple. They are often presented as enemy brothers because they arose from the partition of the British empire of India. The India-Pakistan rivalry remains one of the most enduring and unresolved conflicts of our time. The triangular war between India, Pakistan and Kashmir has been ongoing since 1947 and it is not over yet. The region of Kashmir is the cause of the conflict. It is a region in the northwest of India which shares its borders with China, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Kashmir is a geographic region belonging unofficially to both India and Pakistan. First of all, we will discuss the relationship between both countries prior to the conflict as well as the conflict's genesis. Secondly, we will look at its frequent lapses into crises. Thirdly, we will analyze the current situation of the conflict and present alternative solutions. In 1947, the British rapidly decolonized the country.

Extraits

[...] Each group has his own language. The population is divided by based on religious, social level and professional level. Eighteen languages are spoken in India but there are also 2000 dialects. As a consequence, the two countries feel very different. India also has to manage the presence of more than 400 tribes. All these ethnies create an instability in the area. cf appendice 3 & 4 : religion and language. - A geopolitical dispute : Pakistan and India have a different conception of the nation. [...]

[...] In 2001, three attacks took place in India and Kashmir. Consequently, India decided to mobilized more troops in the boarder and insisted that Pakistan took initiatives against the terrorist groups. The tension was so high that the intervention of a mediator was necessary to restore the dialogue. ( To conclude, the conflict between India–Pakistan is both enduring and asymmetric. Enduring because the conflict is between states that last more than two decades with several militarized inter-state disputes and asymmetric because it involves states of unequal aggregate power capability. [...]

[...] The strategies and the actors are well defined. The actors The actors' map (1948) We can highligh different types of actors: - Primary or active Parties : Britain is an actor because he decided to decolonize India and Pakistan without taking time. As a result, in the case of Kashmir, the Maharadja was free to decide to belong to India or Pakistan. In Kashmir, the main poblation in Kashmir is muslim but the Maharadja was Hindu so he decided to connect the Kashmir to India. [...]

[...] It is illegal in India to exclude all or part of Kashmir in a map. It is also illegal in Pakistan not to include the state of Jammu and Kashmir in Pakistani territory. Both sides had defined a line of control that serves as a de-facto international border. Although these lines are often clearly demarcated, they do not have the legitimacy of an agreed international boundary. This dispute is related to the possession of natural resources such as the river Indus. [...]

[...] We have to underline that there was an internal conflict in Pakistan. Since 1947, the Pakistan is divided in two parts because of cultural and linguistic problems.In 1949, it became also a political outcome lead by the Awami league. In 1970, Pakistan was able to do elections. The oriental Pakistan was recognized as the most important part and had more seats. This result was unacceptable for the other part and they decided to fight. This war provoked the run away of 10 millions refugees in India. [...]