Deep Rifts in the Himalayas

A New Phase in the Old Rivalry

BY IVO MIJNSSEN

LAST THURSDAY MARKED a historic event for the mountainous and contested region of Kashmir. Authorities reopened the bus connection between the Indian and Pakistani sections of Kashmir for the first time in 60 years. A bus will connect Srinagar, the capital of the Indian sector of Kashmir, to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The bus service is the latest in a series of peaceful steps taken by Delhi and Islamabad to calm regional tensions.

The otherwise joyous opening was clouded by an attack made Wednesday, April 6 against a bus compound in the India-controlled region. Hard-line separatists, who oppose the bus service because it could divert attention from their struggle against Indian rule, raided and set fire to the compound. Police killed both attackers and, according to the BBC, all 30 passengers were safely evacuated, though three bystanders were injured. The separatist groups that admitted their responsibility for the act, called Al-Nasirin, the Save Kashmir Movement, and Farzandan-e-Millat, vowed to carry out more attacks in the future.

India and Pakistan have struggled for control of the region since they gained their independence from the British Empire in 1947. When the British created the predominantly Muslim state of Pakistan, the ruler of Kashmir allied himself with India. Since then, the two countries have waged two wars over Kashmir, first in 1947 and then in 1965. The wars resulted in the division of Kashmir by an unstable cease-fire line.

In 1989, Kashmiri separatists started an insurgency in India-controlled Kashmir. According to Reuters, in the past 16 years, this insurgency has claimed over 40,000 lives. While no major confrontations between the two nations took place in that time, both India and Pakistan maintain troops in the area due to the frequency of skirmishes between insurgent groups. Adding to the tension, India has accused Pakistan of funding and arming the separatists, some of which seek to reunite the predominantly Muslim province with Pakistan. Pakistan claims that it only provides moral support to these groups. The rivalry over Kashmir has also been the main cause of the nuclear arms race between the two countries. Both countries tested their first nuclear weapons in 1998. Then in January and October of 2003 respectively, India and Pakistan successfully tested long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

In 2001 it seemed as if India and Pakistan were on the brink of nuclear war. That year, a wave of terrorist attacks swept through India-controlled Kashmir, including a Muslim separatist attack on the parliament building in Srinagar, during which 38 people were killed.

However, intervention by the international community and the pressure applied by the United States to Pakistani president Musharraf prompted the two countries to begin peace negotiations over Kashmir. Despite the election of the more conciliatory Congress Party and the appointment of Manmohan Singh as Indian Prime Minister, neither party has so far been willing to compromise. As the separatists reject talks with India, violence continues in Kashmir.

While the April 6 attack reveals the region's precarious security, the new bus line remains a potential catalyst for reconciliation. The line enables family members, previously separated by the partition, to visit each other. Thursday saw huge crowds greeting bus passengers on the Pakistani side. Many cried upon seeing their relatives for the first time in years. Meanwhile on the Indian side an orchestra playing Bollywood music in addition to an official government delegation welcomed passengers. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the buses "a caravan of peace."

It remains to be seen whether the Indian and Pakistani governments will be willing and able to overcome the violence in Kashmir and convert the atmospheric improvement into an agreement. Since then, a grenade attack on Sunday already killed two people in the Indian sector. Pakistani president Musharraf nonetheless plans to attend a cricket game between the two nations in India next week. His visit suggests a valuable opportunity for change.

Ivo Mijnssen B'05 controls the Swiss sector of Kashmir

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