There's been a lot of talk recently about the sub-continent of India. It's probably left a lot of people wondering what exactly is going on in the region, and why there's so much tension.

About 20 years ago a famous Indian singer, the late Muhammad Rafi, sang a popular song which painted beautiful pictures of Kashmir. The song portrayed every Kashmir's face as being as beautiful as the moon. The song also depicted every particle of dust in Kashmir as possessing the glittering characteristics of stars on a dark night. In other words, the song portrayed Kashmir as another name for paradise.

But since the division of India into two separate countries - Paki-stan and India, the valley of Kashmir has been the nightmare of its residents and a bone of contention between the two newly created states.

Almost everyday local news papers carry the news of the killings of men, women and children by Indian Border forces, the Pakistan Army or Kashmiri militants. The Kashmiri militants , who've long established their headquarters and training camps in Pakistan, are determined to win the freedom of Kashmir by Jihad or Holy war against India.

For many The "Kashmir problem" has remained a thorn in the flesh. And even now, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in his recent visit to the region, has been making attempts to wave the magic wand of peace at a problem that appears to be in no mood of disappearing overnight.

As long as the existence of the territory was guaranteed by the United Kingdom, the weaknesses underlying its structure were not of any great consequence. However, following the British with-drawal from South Asia in 1947 cracks in the political foundations became apparent.

By the agreed-upon terms for the partition of the Indian subconti-nent into two countries - India and Pakistan - the rulers of small independent states were given the right to opt to be annexed to ei-ther Pakistan, India, or to remain independent.

The maharaja of Kashmir, Raja Hari Singh initially believed that by delaying a decision he could maintain the independence of Kash-mir. But, caught up in a train of events that included a revolution among his Muslim subjects, he signed an Instrument of Accession to the Indian Union in October 1947.

This was the signal for intervention both by Pakistan, which con-sidered that the state was a natural extension of Pakistan, and by India, which intended to confirm the act of accession.

Localized warfare began in 1948 the region of Kashmier and was terminated by the intercession of the United Nations in a cease-fire, which took effect in January 1949.

In July of the same year, India and Pakistan defined a cease-fire line that divided the administration of the territory. The temporary ceasefire line was supposed to have been just that - temporary - with the hope that a workable solution would have been found. But today, the cease-fire line still exists. Warfare between the two con-testants was briefly resumed in 1965 and again in 1971, not forget-ting the war of Kargal heights in recent years. All this despite the many proposals made to end the dispute

Recently, about six Kashmiri suicide bombers attacked the very heart of India, the Indian parliament, and killed about 14 people.

Terrorist activities appear to be slipping beyond the control of the two country's very sincere leaders and pushing the two neighbourly states to the brink of nuclear war.

The attacks on the Indian parliament by the Muslim fundamental-ists are not supported by the peace loving people of Pakistan at all.

According to a recent London news paper, The Daily Telegraph, The Pakistan army has arrested the leaders of the terrorist groups and ordered the groups to close their office in Pakistan. An en-couraging sign is that there was no public protest, in Pakistan, at the arrests of the suspected terrorists.

All this is helping the two countries to retreat from the brink of war.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the President of Pakistan claimed that , "Pakistan stands for peace, and not want war…and that the people of Pakistan understand all the hazards that could follow".

This statement appears to indicate yet another step along the path from hostility to hospitality. A path and filled no doubt with many difficulties.

The People of Pakistan and India seem to be increasingly full of fear, very defensive and increasingly aggressive in their behaviour toward each other.

My personal view as a Pakistani is that we all need to come out of it as quickly as possible and start thinking positively about each other. We need to live recommence living as peace-loving neighbours with a deep sense of respect for each other.

My personal views stem from the very powerful influence that the Bible has had on my life.

In the old testament of the book I've learned to respect and trust, God says, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord."

Jesus echoed the same thoughts using different words words, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false witness, honour your father and mother, and love your neighbour as yourself."

Both can be summed up with the words "Love does no harm to its neighbour."

The solution to the Kashmir conflict is far from immediate, and may indeed take some time to find. But my immediate prayers continue to be that the God of peace and hope might somehow be able to find a solution to what appears to be a situation which otherwise appears insoluable.

 Return to top.    Return to Network 7 News Main Page.