The Los Angeles Kashmiri American community participated and presented a paper at the conference in 2002 hosted by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Burkle Institute. The title of the conference was Kashmir: Ways to Help Resolve One Of The World’s Most Dangerous Conflicts. Stanley Wolpert, professor of history at UCLA and a renowned expert on South Asian affairs moderated the conference. The following are three attachments:
- Conference introduction statement from the UCLA Pacific Center website.
- The paper presented by the Los Angeles Kashmiri-American Community
- Link to Professor Stanley Wolpert’s 2010 book titled India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Cooperation
Attachment 1.)
Constructive Suggestions on Kashmir Conflict Emerge at UCLA Conference:
Despite a ruckus between unruly hardliners, a recent conference on the conflict in Kashmir represented a general sense of cooperation and a willingness to seek consensus.
Kashmir: Ways to Help Resolve One of the World’s Most Dangerous Conflicts, a one-day conference, sponsored by the UCLA Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations on April 14 at the UCLA Faculty Center, drew over 300 participants, and brought together Kashmiris, both Muslim and Hindu (Pandits), Indians and Pakistanis to identify constructive proposals for defusing the extremely dangerous situation in the region. Stanley Wolpert, professor of history at UCLA and renowned expert on South Asian affairs who moderated the conference, provided a history of the conflict and underscored the need for dialogue.
“For more than half a century, [the conflict] has claimed the lives of 100,000 Kashmiris, Indians and Pakistanis and wounded many more in no fewer than three wars and prolonged periods of shelling across the so-called Line of Control, over the world’s highest battlefield of glacial ice and snow,” said Wolpert.
BCIR director Michael Intriligator said that in addition to the presentation of scholarly papers, the town hall atmosphere of the conference encouraged a free exchange of views among participants. By the afternoon, he said, “there were many genuine expressions of support for the people of Kashmir, as well as mutual support between Muslims and Hindus, who came away with a very positive view of one another.” Most of those who attended, said Rafique Khan, a member of the local Kashmiri-American community, were ordinary citizens “who want only to help bring peace and freedom to their land of birth.”
“By arranging this conference and guiding us through the difficult day,” said Khan of Intriligator and Wolpert, “[they] may have laid a foundation on which the Kashmir-American community can help build the framework for bringing freedom and democracy in Kashmir.”
Particularly promising was a document produced by a group of local Kashmiris that proposed concrete solutions to key issues in the 55-year old conflict.
Background:
Kashmir, which lies along the northern borders India and Pakistan, is an area of approximately 85,000 square miles and is home to over 12.4 million people. It is often called the Switzerland of the East (because of its location between the Himalayas and Pir Panjal mountains), but political neutrality has evaded the region since 1947 when both India and Pakistan declared independence from Great Britain.
The area is divided into an Indian portion, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (J & K, which Pakistan calls “Indian occupied Kashmir”), a Pakistani portion, Azad Kashmir (which India calls “Pakistan occupied Kashmir”), and a small northern portion ceded in 1963 by Pakistan to China. India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir, as well as repeated incidents and clashes, and both nations have close to a million troops at the border.
Further complicating matters are the nuclear weapons held by both India and Pakistan, as demonstrated by the tests each conducted in May 1998. While Kashmir does not receive the attention and press coverage of other political hotspots such as the Middle East, it is considered by many experts to be one of the most potentially explosive regions in the world today.
“An erroneous radar reading by one inexperienced officer at either country’s command and control center could unleash nuclear-armed missiles capable within the first hour of decimating South Asia’s l.2 billion people,” Wolpert said.
Seeking Solutions:
At the end of the meeting a group of local Kashmiris presented a document that identified critical issues in the Kashmir dispute. The document’s seven-point agenda called for free elections to choose representatives of all the people of Kashmir who will negotiate a settlement to the conflict with India and Pakistan, for opening borders for trade, and for the withdrawal of military and paramilitary forces from both sides. Most importantly, it called for third-party mediation, with the United States playing a key role.
Another proposal presented at the conference suggested former President Jimmy Carter as mediator in the dispute, as he has successfully done in other regions.
Speakers at the conference included scholars, diplomats, and community members from Kashmir, India, and Pakistan. Among the other distinguished speakers were Ranna Rahim, the Pakistani counsel general in Los Angeles; Lord Nazir Ahmed of the British House of Lords; and Feroze Hassan Khan, director of Pakistani Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs and fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C. Messages were read from former Prime Minister of India I.K. Gujral, and from Jamsheed Marker, former Pakistani Ambassador to the United Nations and the Secretary General’s personal representative to East Timor, as well as from Lalit Mansingh, Indian ambassador to the United States, and from Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Maleeha Lodhi.
https://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/article/1723
Attachment 2.)
KASHMIR: Ways to Help Resolve One of the World’s Most Dangerous Conflicts
INTRODUCTION:
In response to the invitation by the UCLA Burlde Institute a group of Kashmiri-Americans living in Los Angeles discussed ways to help resolve the conflict in Kashmir. This paper provides a summary our discussions.
We begin with a 7-point context setting of the Kashmir dispute. Following this we expand on seven key issues including recommendations for their resolution.
Based on our discussion we concluded that India and Pakistan need to engage freely elected representatives of all the people of Kashmir as full and equal partners in negotiating a settlement to the conflict over Kashmir. We also conclude that third party mediation is essential to resolve the dispute between India and Pakistan. The people of Kashmir want an end to the gun-culture. They want a halt to all military and militant activities. All prisoners held without charge must be released. All refugees must be allowed to return. And just compensation must be paid for loss of life and destroyed private property. The people of Kashmir want their homeland demilitarized, they want to live in peace with all their neighbors.
CONTEXT SETTING:
- At the outset we recognized that both India and Pakistan are two of the world’s poorest countries where more than half the population do not have adequate food supplies, shelter, clothing and basic healthcare are spending an enormous portion of their meager resources on their military confrontation. The main cause of this over half-century of confrontation, if not the only cause, between the two countries is the unsettled status of Kashmir.
- As a consequence of this confrontation the people of Kashmir are denied the basic human right to control their lives in freedom and democracy. The people of Kashmir are oppressed. This oppression, if continued and the resulting violence in Kashmir can escalate into larger scale warfare; like the intractable nightmare we have now in the Middle East, and, even a nuclear holocaust.
- The world community has a responsibility to prevent two nuclear laden countries from driving into extinction one fifth of humanity living in South Asia. The world community did not allow apartheid to be perpetuated in South Africa or allow Indonesia to rule East Timor by force. Turning a blind eye to these lessons of history will only result in an escalation of Kashmir’s already bloody situation.
- Under peaceful circumstances, India and Pakistan have a huge potential for economic prosperity. The continued conflict over Kashmir denies full realization of this potential. The conflict in Kashmir has created restricted borders and thus loss of trade and missed opportunity for development both within the Indian subcontinent and between the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.
- There are many other costs: some measurable in currency like the money spent on defense, destruction of property, loss of foreign investment. And then there are other costs, not measurable in hard currency the brunt of which is borne by the people of Kashmir: the degradation of the environment, loss of life and the misery and poverty of refugees. The people of Kashmir, all of them, are denied their human dignity and basic human rights.
- The resolution of the Kashmir dispute is made intractable over the years due to the premise of bilateralism of India and Pakistan in dealing with the dispute. Kashmir will remain a zero-sum game between India and Pakistan as long as the dispute over Kashmir is seen as a territorial or an ideological dispute. We maintain that one or two parties alone cannot divide Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Kashmir embodies a distinct identity with distinct aspirations on the part of its 13 million people. The people of Kashmir must be central to the resolution of the conflict. The Kashmir conflict is not a border dispute or a debate over secular or theocratic government; it is about the fundamental human right of Kashmir people to decide their own future.
- India and Pakistan must seek creative solutions in honoring Kashmiri aspirations. We recognize that no immediate breakthroughs are possible in a situation like Kashmir where relationships between the parties are distrustful and over-contentious. However, if the focus is on creating a positive atmosphere in Kashmir that can bring about a context for peace and prosperity in South Asia.
With this as context the following outlines seven issues and recommendations for their resolution:
- ISSUE: ELECTING REPRESENTATIVES
Election of representatives is a basic process to practice democracy. Free and fair elections do not happen in Kashmir. Even India’s present ruling party officials have admitted to the legacy of rigged elections in Kashmir.
The people of Kashmir have not been permitted to elect representatives to decide the future of Kashmir on their behalf.
The elections to let the people of Kashmir choose their representatives to decide the future of Kashmir must be held in a democratic manner. The elections to choose representatives need to be held in all parts of Kashmir, from the Indian side and the Pakistan side, simultaneously -supervised by the United Nations or by an entity designated by the United Nations and agreed upon by the governments of India, Pakistan.
People of all religious and ethnic backgrounds, from all regions of Kashmir must be allowed to choose representatives for the purpose of negotiating a solution for the Kashmir dispute with India and Pakistan. The representatives will have no role in the day-to-day governance of Kashmir.
Indian, Pakistani and Kashmiri representatives can then conduct good faith negotiations for peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute that takes into account genuine concerns of both India and Pakistan and respects the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir.
If a consensus cannot be reached between Indian, Pakistani and Kashmiri representatives, then each should give recommendations for a settlement to be approved by the people of Kashmir in an internationally conducted and supervised referendum to be held on a regional basis taking into account contiguity and linguistic preferences.
The most challenging aspect of this issue is how to select true representatives of the people. India insists on an oath of loyalty to the Indian Constitution in order to participate in any elections. Kashmiris’ position is that Kashmiris must first decide their future and they be allowed to elect their representatives to establish a mechanism of dialogue for this purpose. As a result of Indian policies, the present system in Kashmir only continues the corrupt system and illegitimate rule; it does not advance democracy and rule of law and does not address the basic issue of Kashmiris’ right to decide their future.
The Indian administration has a history of engineering dissolution of Kashmir’s governments who do not tow the New Delhi line. (Kashmir’s history from Bakshi Gulam to Gul Shah to Sheikh Abdullah of today provides examples.)
We believe that elections in Kashmir (free and fair of course) will be meaningful only if India agrees to speak with the true representatives of the people of Kashmir about a peaceful settlement of the dispute.
The most challenging aspect of this issue is how to select true representatives of the people. Recently a People’s Election Commission has been formed by a coalition of political parties in Kashmir to oversee the representative selection process.
This move to establish neutral election mechanisms is a positive step that shows a commitment on the part of people of Kashmir to actively engage in resolving the dispute. The government of India has refused to accept the “people’s initiative”, thus missing a real opportunity to promote peace and democracy in Kashmir
Points For Resolution: ELECTING REPRESENTATIVES
- India and Pakistan must engage freely elected representatives of the Kashmiri people as full and equal partners in all Kashmir negotiations.
- Full political freedoms throughout Kashmir must be honored, including freedom of assembly, speech, and press. Kashmir must be open to the international community, with open access to foreign organizations for monitoring elections.
- There must be an end to the practice of disqualification of candidates for public office who decline to pledge allegiance to India and/or accession to either or India and Pakistan.
2) ISSUE: THIRD PARTY MEDIATION:
Because India and Pakistan cannot come to a settlement, third party mediation is a must.
We discussed at length the need for third party mediation. Our conclusion: that without third party mediation the Kashmir dispute cannot be resolved. India and Pakistan are incapable of reaching an agreement on Kashmir, as proven by 55 years of failure of bilateral talks.
As a super power friendly to both India and Pakistan, the United States Government must use its diplomatic and economic muscle to make India and Pakistan end their current confrontation in Kashmir, if we are to save one fifth of humanity from economic deprivation and the perils of nuclear war.
The United States should begin a long-term diplomatic process of engagement in the region, to which it can play a facilitating role in negotiations. Our administration should make future strategic collaboration with India and Pakistan subject to their willingness to participate in this diplomatic process.
Points for Resolution: THIRD PARTY MEDIATION
- President Bush should appoint a special envoy of international standing to adopt the role of a facilitator in promoting Kashmir talks.
- The guiding principal for the United States Government policy on the resolution of this conflict must be based on previous international commitments and the core American values of human rights, justice and the rule of law.
3) ISSUE: JUSTICE, PRISONERS AND REFUGEES
Thousands of Kashmir’s are jailed throughout India, without trials. Thousands more languish in refugee camps in India and in Pakistan.
All refugees and prisoners should be brought home to Kashmir.
Reputable non-government agencies, like the Red Cross and Amnesty International must be entrusted to investigate and account for persons that have “disappeared” from government custody since 1990. Prisoners must get a fair trial or be freed immediately.
Every refugee, Muslim or non-Muslim who was forced to, or chose to leave home, whether on his/her own initiative, under intimidation or at the behest of the government should have the option to return to Kashmir as Kashmiri citizen/ state subject.
Points For Resolution: JUSTICE, PRISONERS AND REFUGEES
- Release all detainees who are held in custody without charges.
- Create conducive conditions to allow peaceful return of all refugees to Kashmir.
- Provide access to investigative press and agencies to records and the premises of interrogation centers and detention centers
4) ISSUE: OPEN AND TRANSPARENT ADMINISTRATION:
Excessive government and centralized government controls are the cause of pervasive corruption in Kashmir. Repressive laws, such as the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO), are used to arrest and jail without any due process.
Government controls need to be minimized and decentralized to enable grass-roots participation and local control. Decentralized government can empower the local people at the grassroots level. Local government becomes responsive and accountable when entrusted to raise resources to provide basic services. As a beginning, education and essential services could be made a local responsibility.
Both India and Pakistan must create space for local leadership to operate without intimidation from either side. The cycle of violence and intimidation must end. The people of Kashmir and the leadership of Kashmir must have the opportunity to freely express views, to inculcate a spirit of confidence with a sense of deep responsibility. The two governments must involve true, genuine leaders, including those who disagree with both India and Pakistan.
Points For Resolution: OPEN AND TRANSPARENT ADMINISTRATION
- Provide freedom of assembly and peaceful demonstration, withdraw all repressive laws.
- Establish an independent mechanism for a neutral third party investigation of human rights violations including massacres like those in Amarnath Yatra and Chattisinghpora.
- All government proceedings and records must be accessible to the public and the press and non-government institutions, both local and international.
5) ISSUE: OPEN BORDERS FOR TRADE:
Kashmir lies on the historic Silk Trade Route, connecting Central Asia and the Indian Sub-continent through many of its mountain passes. Before the last World War, when the trade routes were closed, Kashmir’s commerce was with Central Asia through Ladakh and Gilgit. The Jehlum Valley Road, the only all-weather road to and from the Kashmir Valley, remains closed since 1947. Only the treacherous fair weather route through the Banihall Pass is now open. Opening all borders will promote commerce, unite families and bring prospect for peace and prosperity to all four regions of Kashmir and adjacent parts of India and Pakistan.
Points for Resolution: OPEN BORDERS FOR TRADE
(a) Open the Srinagar-Muzzafarabd-Muree Road and make Kashmir’s Cease-Fire Line permeable to permit the 13 million people of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Gilgit to forge the understanding necessary for productive negotiations towards a Kashmir settlement.
6) ISSUE: DEMILITARIZE KASHMIR:
There is one army soldier for every ten Kashmiri civilians, besides guns with the militants. The presence of nearly a million armed men in Kashmir is an enormous drain on the meager resources of India and Pakistan, and, in addition, is destroying the physical environment and civil society of Kashmir and damaging the psyche of generations of Kashmiris. The people of Kashmir want to end the gun-culture in Kashmir. They want to remove all weapons of war from Kashmir. Let the armed forces pull back to the 1947 international borders. Kashmiris wish to live in peace with their neighbors.
In order to achieve the withdrawal of the military and para-military forces, there must be quid-pro-quo on the side of the militant groups. A cooling-off period of 2 to 6 months during which no hostilities are committed by either side should be established.
Points for Resolution: DEMILITARIZE KASHMIR
- There must be an immediate and complete cessation of all military and militant action. Disband government sponsored militant gangs like ‘Ikhwan’.
- The military presence in towns and villages must be withdrawn; military personnel must be restricted to cantonment areas. Bunkers and barricades in towns and villages should be dismantled.
- Phased withdrawal of military to the pre-1947 boundary should commence with the goal of making the entire area ‘fire-arm.” free.
7) ISSUE: ECONOMIC REPARATIONS
Those who suffer most as a result of the half-a-century old conflict over Kashmir between India and Pakistan are the people of Kashmir. Kashmir’s ecology is devastated. People are made prisoners in their own homes. People are languishing in refugee camps. Life and property continues to be destroyed by the military and militants.
Points For Resolution: ECONOMIC REPARATIONS
- Provide just compensation for loss of life and destroyed private property.
- Allow international agencies to sponsor local projects to promote sustainable economic development.
CONCLUSION: QUEST FOR A SOLUTION:
The people of Kashmir have an inalienable right to progress and develop alongside the other free nations of the world. The people of Kashmir want to get on and build a healthy democratic society in Kashmir. They want to live in harmony and peace with their neighbors.
But there are real obstacles to achieving the peace in Kashmir. And, as noted above, to avoid in South Asia an untenable situation as that in the Middle East, the dispute over Kashmir, the world’s most dangerous conflict must and can only be resolved with a third-party mediation.
Attachment 3.)
Professor Stanley Wolpert’s 2010 book India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Cooperation: