We have seen that for much of its history, South Asia has consisted of numerous kingdoms which, from time to time, have been forged together into empires. Examples include the Hindu/Buddhist Ashokan empire in the 3rd C BCE, the Muslim Moghul empire of the 16th and 17th Centuries, and the British Empire until 1947. Modern-day India is but the latest example of an attempt to forge a unified country from the diverse peoples and cultures of the subcontinent. True to history, there have been strong tendencies for this large unit to break up since Independence, and these continue to the present. The first example of this process was, of course, Partition and the formation of separate Indian and Pakistani states in 1947.
The important point to remember is that, under the British Raj, India still consisted of numerous princely states under the nominal rule of Maharajas. Many of these states wanted full independence when the British departed, thus wishing to return to the point at which the British had taken control. The Congress Party, under Nehru, worked vigorously to counteract this tendency, and urged local rulers to join to form a larger India which would have political weight on the world stage. Many, however, were reluctant. It was therefore important that there should be no exceptions, and that all states should join India. Nehru believed that if any remained independent, it would not be long before others would wish to leave the confederation. The story of one near exception - Kashmir - created a discord in South Asia that still has profound repercussions today.
Kashmir long has been regarded as one of the most bountiful regions in the whole subcontinent. Located in the foothills of the western Himalayas, it consists of lush valleys nestled among forested hills, with calm lakes reflecting the high peaks above. It has a pleasant, temperate climate, refreshingly cool compared to the searing heat of the Plains. ItÕs main city, Srinagar, was a great favourite of the Mughal emperors, many of whom would spend time there enjoying the fruits of conquest. The British, too, admired Kashmir, and it was regarded as a great privilege to be posted there. Both Nehru - leader of the Indian National Congress - and Jinnah of the Muslim League had strong personal ties with the region. The population of Kashmir is predominantly Muslim. It was one of the areas that, before Independence in 1947, it was hoped would become part of the independent Muslim nation. The ÔKÕ in Pakistan stood for Kashmir. In fact, Kashmir was one of the ÔcoreÕ Muslim regions, with a strong place in the heart of South Asian Muslims because of its long association with the Moghuls.
In 1947 Kashmir was, however, ruled by a hereditary Hindu Maharaja - Hari Singh, whose ancestor had bought the territory from the British following their conquest of the Sikhs. The last viceroy of British India, Mountbatten, assumed that Kashmir would become part of Pakistan. Hari Singh, however, would not consider joining Pakistan. Neither would he consider the alternative: joining India. He wished to become the head of an independent state. Gradually, all of IndiaÕs Maharajas were wooed into joining India, but Hari Singh held out, and Kashmir remained an independent state when Independence came and the rest of the northern subcontinent was plunged into chaos.
In October 1947, an unsuccessful Pakistani-supported invasion of Kashmir took place, the troops mainly being poorly disciplined Pathan tribesmen. The Pathans were more interested in immediate plunder than pushing home the advantage of surprise, and the invading force failed to advance on Srinagar, despite the lack of opposition. Faced with imminent invasion, Hari Singh signed Kashmir over to India, and an Indian airlift and occupation rapidly followed. The well-organised Indian forces rapidly routed the Pathans, but a war over the territory raged for several months. With the intervention of the UN, a ceasefire was agreed on Jan 1 1949, leaving the fertile vale of Kashmir in Indian hands, and the northern, more mountainous part within Pakistan. As part of the ceasefire arrangement, Nehru agreed that a referendum should be held, allowing Kashmiris the opportunity to choose between India and Pakistan. This has never been held, and the Kashmiris have found themselves in the middle of a bitter dispute between the two countries. It was assumed in Pakistan that there would be local support for a transfer of Kashmir to Pakistan, and a second invasion was launched in 1965. However, the Kashmiris, instead of supporting the invaders, alerted the local authorities, and a border war again erupted. International pressure limited the scale of hostilities, and the war lasted only 17 days before both sides agreed to respect the 1949 ceasefire line.
The situation within Kashmir worsened in the late 1980s. The Congress Party, first under Indira Gandhi then her son Rajiv, increasingly intervened in Kashmiri affairs, and undrmined the local government. Elections in 1987 gave Congress a comfortable majority in Kashmir, triggering widespread rumours of rigging. There is no conclusive evidence of rigging, but the rumours were sufficiently persistent to provoke resentment, and increasingly young people within Kashmir turned to violence to achive political autonomy.
This violent independence movement has included shootings, bombings, and kidnappings of tourists. This has clearly seriously affected the economy of the region. What would otherwise be a prime tourist destination is effectively off-limits, and few foreign visitors enter Kashmir. Rising violence effectively ended tourism to Kashmir in 1989, prior to which tourism was an important source of income. As a result, many Kashmiris have emigrated to other parts of India, and large numbers of Kashmiri traders are now settled in all major tourist areas, including the far south.
Kashmiri seperatists have often operated out of Pakistani-controlled northern Kashmir, heightening tensions between Pakistan and India. In 1999, around 600 troops from the Pakistani side occupied Indian territory in the Kargil area of Kashmir. In the ensuing hostilities, two Indian jet fighters and a helicopter were shot down, and bitter fighting followed. All this was occurring at altitudes of around 14,000 - 18,000 feet, in the cold, thin air of the high mountains. Indian troops managed to regain the disputed territory, which was located close to a strategic road. Under international pressure, the Pakistani government agreed to stop supporting the Muslim forces, but this decision was not well received within Pakistan. It appears to have been a major factor in the military coup that followed, returning Pakistan to a military dictatorship.
13th Dec 2001: a suicide attack was launched on the Indian Parliament building in New Delhi. The attack was halted by security forces, seven of whom were killed. All five terrorists also died. The attack was blamed on Kashmiri seperatists who, India claimed, were supported by Pakistan. The attack immediately raised tensions between India and Pakistan, leading to a build-up of troops along the borders. India has emplaced landmines along its border with Pakistan, forcibly evicting farmers from their lands in the process.
The Kashmir issue remains a major problem, and no solution appears to be in sight. India wishes to retain Kashmir, as independence would inspire seperatist movements elsewhere in India. Pakistan wishes to acquire Kashmir, as part of its greater Muslim homeland. A significant number of the Kashmiri people want independence. Many simply want peace.
The escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan are especially worrying, since both countries have acquired nuclear capability. In 1999, renewed bomb tests by both sides proved that India and Pakistan now have the capability to deliver nuclear warheads to the otherÕs soil. The names of the missiles reflect a deep backward-looking nationalism on both sides. One Indian system is named Agni, after the ancient Hindu fire-god. The main Pakistani missile system is called Ghauri, after Sultan Muhammad Ghauri who defeated the Hindu ruler Prithvi Raj in the 12th Centruy. "Prithvi" is the name given by India to its Short-range Ballistic Missiles).
The border settlement of 1947 left Pakistan in two halves - West and East Pakistan - widely separated by Indian territory. This inevitably led to problems. East Pakistan (comprising much of the former region of Bengal) was primarily an area of agricultural production and was left without a major port, manufacturing, or administrative centre when the premier city of Bengal - Calcutta - was placed in India. Thus, East Pakistan was immediately placed at a disadvantage compared to East Pakistan. The capital city of Pakistan - Islamabad - was located in the west, and the country was effectively ruled from there. Bengalis felt increasingly disenfranchised, a feeling accentuated when Urdu (which was spoken in the west) was adopted as the official language of Pakistan. In 1970, the first democratic elections were held in Pakistan. In the east, the pro-autonomy Party - The Awami League - received overwhelming support, a result that displeased both the military establishment and the election winner in West Pakistan: Zulfikar Bhutto. Demands for self rule grew in the east, and in March 1971 martial law was imposed in the east, and the Pakistani army launched into a program of mass murder.
A refugee crisis rapidly developed, with several million East Pakistanis fleeing to India. Faced with this refugee crisis, and also wishing to weaken Pakistan, India supported East PakistanÕs claims for Independence. India immediately began training guerrilla forces in E Pakistan, and in December 1971, Pakistan declared war on India. The war was brief, lasting only 2 weeks, and led to the creation of an independent Bangladesh from east Pakistan. Bengal has not been treated well by history. The region was once very fertile and rich, due to the alluvial soils of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. However, development of Bengal was stifled in British India, who concentrated commercial activities in Calcutta, and regarded rural Bengal as a source of primary agricultural produce - mainly rice and jute. Stifling of development continued under the dominance of West Pakistan, so Independence resulted in one of the worldÕs poorest, least developed nations. Bangladesh has been struggling bravely with that legacy ever since.
The Partition of British India polarised into a Hindu-Muslim issue, which tended to disregard other ethnic and religious groups in the subcontinent. Numerous regional independence movements have been active since 1947, which have conducted sporadic campaigns, protests, and terrorist activity. Here we will concentrate on two: Sikh militancy in the Punjab, and Tamils in Sri Lanka, both of which resulted in the assassination of the Indian head of state.
Golden Temple, Amritsar
After the collapse of the Mughal empire at the beginning of the 18th C., a Sikh kingdom was formed in the northern region of Punjab. Sikhs had become increasingly militant under persecution by the later Mughals, and when the Mughal empire weakened, they expanded their control. The Sikh kingdom reached its brief maximum in the early 19th C., under the charismatic leader Ranjit Singh. Sikh independence was short-lived, and their territory was incorporated into the rapidly expanding British possessions. On independence, Punjab was split into East (Indian) and West (Pakistani) parts. The old capital of Punjab - Lahore - was in Pakistan. The turmoils of Partition resulted in the migration of large numbers of Sikh refugees into East Punjab, crowding the Sikh population into a diminished territory. Punjabi resentments increased after Indian Independence. The Punjab played a major role in establishing IndiaÕs self-sufficiency in food, and remained predominantly agricultural. It was felt, however, that the region was under-represented in Congress, and that it was denied its due share of development funding. Many other issues - mostly political but with communal undertones - grew in the post Independence years. Such resentments are commonplace in Indian states: they reflect the conflict between strong local feelings and the interests of a central government that seeks to balance conflicting interests (and promote its own), In the Punjab, these resentments were given additional focus by the strong sense of community among Sikhs, and by the 1970s separatist movements had emerged, urging the formation of a Sikh state - Khalistan - in the Punjab.
The Delhi government reacted strongly against these movements, which only tended to increase dissent. One group took refuge in the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs. The Indian government responded with force, and in June 1984 sent in armed troops and tanks: Operation Blue Star. In the escalating violence, troops launched an attack on the temple, resulting in widespread destruction and the death of 400 people. The news of this shocked the Sikh community, as they felt that the Indian government had used undue force and violated their most revered place of worship. Throughout 1984, the Indian government pursued its campaign against Sikh militants, then on Oct 31, less than 5 months after assault on Golden Temple, Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards. This act unleashed communal violence against innocent Sikhs, especially in Delhi. In the days following the assassination, many thousands of innocent Sikhs were killed by mobs. The true numbers may never be known, but estimates vary from around 3,000 to over 15,000. The picture is grimly familiar. One act of violence leads to reprisals, not against the original perpetrators, but against their innocent co-religionists.
The former British colony of Ceylon gained independence in 1948, 6 months after India and Pakistan. Two main ethnic groups occupy the island; The majority are Sinhalese (74%) who mainly occupy the more densely populated south-west; a significant minority (12%) are Ceylon Tamils, who originated in south India, and occupy the north and east. Indian Tamils consitutue a further 6%. Tamils are also a major ethnic group in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a fact that tends to oppress Sri Lankan Sinhalese. The two communities tend to be highly segregated, and mix little. Under British rule, the Tamils enjoyed disproportionate access to education and government jobs, and after independence the Sinhalese majority sought to redress this imbalance with populist and discriminatory policies. Sinhala was introduced as the official language of the country, and there began a system of positive discrimination against Tamils. Over time, the two sides hardened their positions, and an increasing militant tendency emerged among the Tamils after the mid 1950s. By the 1970s, Tamils were calling for a separate Tamil nation in the north and east of the Island. Separatist parties gained electoral control in Tamil areas, and the terrorist Tamil Tigers were formed, using violence towards the same ends. In 1983, 13 soldiers were killed by Tamil terrorists, and a wave of backlash violence was unleashed on Tamils: hundreds were killed, and 100,000 fled to South India. India became involved, and Indian Head of State Rajiv Gandhi (son of Indira) committed an Indian Peace Keeping Force to help Sri Lankan government to disarm Tamil militants, while the Sri Lankan government committed itself to increase Tamil autonomy. This led to a popular backlash, and an increase of Sinhalese nationalism. India was drawn deeper into fighting the Tamil Tigers, and in 1991 Rajiv Gandhi, was killed by bomb while in Madras, south India, on election campaign. The Tamil Tigers were held responsible, and 22 are currently serving long sentences and a further 4 sentenced to death.
In 1995, the government launched an all-out offensive against the Tamil Tigers, but the terrorists have broad support and considerable resources, and show no signs of weakening. Overall, an estimated 50,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
All of the conflicts considered in this lecture - Kashmir, the rift of Pakistan, Sikh separatism, and Sri Lanka - have deep roots. Nations and states have been formed as part of regional power politics during Mughal, British, and post-independence times, and resentments run deep. The post-colonial period saw turmoil throughout the world, as new nations were born out of the colonial past. Large units were favoured as a means of ensuring a voice on the international stage, but this meant the fusing of disparate cultural groups and religious communities who had little in common. They had previously been held together by force, in large empires, but within newly-fledged democracies, naturally demanded a voice. When this was ignored, frustrations and tensions grew, which were too easily exploited by extremists. Acts of violence provoked backlashes, and an further escalation of violence. Reconciliation of regional, communal, and national interests remains a major challenge for South Asian nations at the beginning of the new century.
Internet resources
Kashmir: http://cbc.ca/news/indepth/kashmir/
Sri Lanka: http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1998/sri_lanka/newsid_50000/50926.stm
Indian-Pakistani nuclear arms race: http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/southasia/CEIP041599.html