First half of the video is brief history of Kashmir conflict - facts, facts and more facts and nothing else. Very informative, not many people from the subcontinent know this history, leave alone the westerners. This is a must watch for everyone since there is a good chance this could be the epicenter of WWIII.
Second half of the video is about how to solve the conflict. This is were biases comes into play - Indian , Pakistani, American, Kashmiri and that famous intellectual bias. I was born in India and its very hard to get rid of my bias either. Here's my take:
- Indian in me sees Kashmir as an integral part of India and it's impossible to imagine India without Kashmir. Three generations has seen it as an integral part of India and given the Indian economic/military growth, its quixotic to even imagine India without Kashmir.
- Human in me sees the atrocities Kashmir's have to go through everyday. It's not right, this needs to be stopped. It's disgusting to see humans treated this way. US needs to be more vociferous. What backfired in case of Tibet might work well in this case. A common man in Kashmir is not asking for much. He wants to earn a living and live peacefully with his family. It's a moral obligation of big powers like US and India to heed his call - with big powers comes big responsibilities. But Indian citizens have the most important power to stop this bloodshed (and not US). The notorious Indian bureaucratic red tape, lackluster attitude of police et al are the roots of not only the Kashmiri issue but its also roots other India issues. But fixing this (good luck with this one) is like working for world peace - no kidding. I am optimistic that this will change someday.
- The pragmatist in me sees Kashmir can never be independent state. No Indian politicians will even contemplate this option. It's a political equivalent of President of United States acting like an amalgamation Mel Gibson and Lady Gaga on crack.
- In a defense perspective, Kashmir should never long for an independent state. Kashmir will be decimated by Pakistan and China. It will become much worse than Afghanistan. An independent Kashmir will make WWIII very probable.
- Economist in me sees India should behave with compassion and slowly win over Kashmiris. It's an economic miracle waiting to happen. The same geography which works in favor of Kashmir in defense, also work against it economically. No country in the history of the world flourished without a port. Kashmir will be at the mercy of big powers around it. It's prudent for Kashmiris to work with India. Once the economy booms the aspects of conflict will be put to rest. Remember, this is not similar to Israel/Palestine conflict even though Kashmir has the potential to be more dangerous.
Most importantly, we cannot predict the future. There is always this unknown surprise factors. Everything I wrote could be wrong too but I hope future brings good fortune to Kashmiris for our civilization to move forward.
“I had also been overwhelmed by an agonizing feeling of sympathy for the country which was not only my twin in birth but also joined to me (so to speak) at the hip, so that what happened to either of us, happened to us both. If I, snot- nosed and stain faced etcetera, had had a hard time of it the so had she, my sub continental twin sister; and now that I had given myself the right to choose a better future, I was resolved that the nation should share it too.”
-Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie
“One day, perhaps, the world may taste the pickles of history. They may be too strong for some palates, theur smell may be overpowering, tears may rise to eyes; I hope nevertheless that it will be possible to say of them that they possess the authentic taste of truth….that they are despite everything, acts of love.”
-Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie
For once the romanticist in me is also a realist - everything depends on Indo-Pak relationship.
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