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THE
KASHMIR WAR
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The war of Kashmir does not interest many
people but the Kashmir is the area in the world where 2 states equipped
with nuclear weapons face, each other. The CIAs opinion is that
the conflict of Kashmir is the most dangerous conflict of the world and
Collin Powel qualifies the Central question being equivalent
to the comparison of Israelo/Palestinian conflict. It opposes the 2 most
populated countries of the planet and mobilizes the consciences of more
than 2 billion human beings. Kashmir is the center of one of the biggest
geostrategic game. It also confronts 3 nuclears countries whose war alliances
were directed by the political alliances of circumstances planed by the
world powers since the»Great Game»of the 19th century. Nearly
sixty years after the partition of India, where no treaty stipulated the
border: this always remains the pretext for a conflict which, according
to estimates', created 80 000 civil and military victims. Lastly, the
war of Kashmir also effects the stability of Central and Middle-East Asia,
of which the great fragility currently is determined. Without claiming
to make a complete analysis of the war of Kashmir (refer to the end of
this page for access to specific Web sites), this web page proposes a
rapid chronology of the war of Kashmir relating to the force reports which
were part of the war of Kashmir, a reflexion of the major geostrategic
shelves of a badly prepared to start with partition and finally a reflexion
on the changing geopolitics of the Middle-East Asia and its possible implications
on the future of the war of Kashmir.
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Short chronology as well as accompanying notes
about the Kashmir war :
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Rajahs in XIXième century
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The Kashmir area has been fought over for a long time, well before
the war of Kashmir started between India and Pakistan. Hindu ground
and Buddhist since the third century AC, the Kashmir was invaded by
monghols during the 16th century, Afghans (pachtos) during the 18th
century and by Sikhs in the 19th century. The British arrived in Kashmir
under the rajah Gulab Singh dynasty in 1849, unifying the heterogeneous
territories which were populated by divers ethnic groups, this unification
lasted for one century until 1947. On August 15, 1947, the Indians took
over the borders of British Raj, those which had been fixed by»The
Great Game»: if the Kashmir borders and those of the Central Asian
territories met the needs for control by Soviets and the United Kingdom,
they could not answer future logic needs of this century concerning
the partition of India. The Kashmir was a territory which made the partition
of India problematic from the very beginning taking into the account
the great richess of this territory which was called Indians Switzerland
and was desired by many.
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1947, the partition and the first Kashmir war :
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Ghandi and its profligate, symbol
of Indian resistance
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In few weeks, just after the proclaimed partition of August 15, 1947,
14 millions people were moved out of India towards Pakistan and vice
versa; it can be estimated that 1 million people were massacred during
the population transfers, creating enormous hatred on both sides of
the new Indo-Pakistani border. Pakistan was born and at the same time,
the war of Kashmir. Kashmir had a population of mainly Moslems at the
time of partition and was directed by the Maharadjah who was of Hindu
religion. This Maharadja supported Dehli in exchange of military aid
which would drive out the insurrectionists cachemerians who received
their help from the pathans Pakistan and the pachto tribes which threatend
Srinagar (October 28, 1947). India invaded the Kashmir; it was the first
Indo-Pakistani confrontation of which UNO made a resolution of the end
of in January 1, 1949.
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1949, the traced control line :
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Jinnah, the father of Pakistan
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An arbitrary cease-fire line was temporarily traced in Kashmir. At
the time, UNO proposed a referendum for the Kashmir independence, a
referendum that India never respected because they were sure of an unquestionable
failure. Kashmirians found themselves separated by the 2 sub continental
powers even though. India is unable to keep Kashmir which is dear to
Nehru, the Pakistani cannot either seize the Kingdom by force although
its deep in their hearts. From these major frustrations, were
born various wars which still mark the history of the two countries
up to now. The control line was thus temporarly as from
the North to the Chinese border, it still remains temporarly.
During the year, China who became a Popular Republic, did not agree
with the borders of Kashmir, and made the accusation of them having
been imposed on them by the treaty of Drangsté in 1842 and that
they were also never limited.This lead to the first war
between India and China in 1962.
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1960, the Sino-Soviet rupture :
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The China of Mao does not appreciate the growing peace relationship
between the Soviet Union of Khrouchtchev and the United States; the
rupture became real between China and the Soviet Union when Khrouchtchev
refused to provide China with a prototype of a nuclear bomb. In 1960
the Soviets thus withdraw 1390 experts and engineers who worked in China
especially concerning the project of the Chinese atomic bomb.
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1962, the Chinese invasion of Indian Territory:
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Scene of maoist revolution
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In 1962, China made use of its war strategy to invade the territories
of Aksin Chin and inflicts a strong defeat to Aksai Chin («the
desert of the white stones»), which is a vast desolated plain,
with more than 5000m of altitude in the east of the pass of the Karakorum
range. It depends on the kingdom of Ladakh and is without any particular
value, its fate is connected to the Chinese invasion of Tibet and the
Chinese reinforced their control of the unstable Chinese provinces of
Central Asia. October 20, 1962, the troops of the popular army of China
launch an offensive on the plain of Aksin Chin and advance for 18 kilometers.
India answers immediatly; this confrontation produces several hundreds
of deaths. November 18, 1962, China withdraws but keeps the control
of 47 735 km2 of the Aksin Chin plain. The disagreement between them
concern nearly 120 000 km2 today, essentially in the North-West, Aksai
Chin in the North-East, the greater part of the Himachal Pradesh.
The Chinese today maintain that the borders initially set up at the
time of the reaty of Drangtsé signed in 1842, were not legitimate
and were set up only by aligning posts which were first traced on the
ground. They add that they are not supposed to respect the treaty considering
that the Peking government was not part of the draft (however one of
the signatories, Tibetan of birth, of mandarinal origin took part since
the tibetans were wiped of the chart in 1962, so the treaty was declared
unvalid and void). In fact, the Chinese built the Lhassa road to Kachgar
through the Aksai Chin mineral, in the fifties after the invasion of
Tibet : this road is now essential to their political and strategic
device to connect and control annexed Tibet and the autonomous Moslem
province of XianYang. This defeat leads to the political isolation of
India. Nehru thinks of taking the United States as partners but finally
refuses them definite, Khrouchtchev is the only one who doent
adopt the Chinese point of view,China, thus saves Indias honors
and this leads to the signature and break-up of the sino-Soviet. India
learns from its defeat: more than ever, learns to count on its own forces
in the field of security. It is probably at that time that India secretly
plans the nuclear weapon. Still in 1962 always, China acquires even
more territory totalling 5 180 km2 in Karakorum, next to the borders
of Pakistan, validated by a treaty and obviously not agreed on by India.
China since remained closed to all negotiations of settlement of its
border and any disagreements with India. China, since its withdrawal
of this conflict, remains the enemy number one of the Indian Union,
just after Pakistan.
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1964, China becomes nuclear power:
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Image de la révolution
chinoise
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In 1960, when the Soviets rapatriated their experts from China, they
happily went to tear up the documents concerning the nuclear bomb. It
was without taking into account the ingeniousness of the Chinese who,
quickly picked up the pieces, reconstituted the documents and discovered
important information. Only 4 years later, they succeed in building
and testing their first bomb and became a nuclear power without soviets
aids.
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1965, second Kashmir war:
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A new war burst out in August 1965, this time it is the area of Rann
of Kutch located on the border between the Indian State of Gujarat and
the province of Sind which was the target, but the conflict quickly
extended to the Kashmir. Pakistan, who started this war, called the»Gibraltar
operation", probably waned to benefit from the apparent military
weaknesses of India after its defeate with China in 1962. This war was
finally won by India (signature under the good officess of the Soviet
Union the treaty of Tachkent in January 1966) whose army was strengthened
after its defeat in 1962 thanks to the Soviet Unions assistance.
This war broaght about 5000 Indians victims and 4 000 Pakistanis. During
the same year India supported the Afgahn claims of the tribal territories
which are next to the Pakistani borders to the West, this in order to
force Pakistan to scatter its military forces into two directions.
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1971, third Kashmir war:
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The consequences of the third war was the creation of Bangladesh,
the ex Eastern Pakistan: The 2 Pakistans separated by 2000 kilometers,
were then populated by a similar population and religion but of so enormous
different cultural origins that the relations between the 2 parts of
the countries didnt agree and broaght about a repression of the
independent Bengladeshis movements (movement of the Awami league) this
is especially strong on behalf of the armed forces of Western Pakistan.
It is followed by a bloody repression with approximately 300 000 evaluated
victims. This announced division is deviously encouraged by India, its
in their interest to be positioned at the Western and Eastern divided
borders. The migration of millions of Bangladis to India leads India
to declare war aggainst Pakistan in December 12, 1971, always being
supported by its ally, the Soviet Union. In 12 days, Pakistan loses
half of its naval force, a quarter of its aviation, a third of its army
and especially 13 000 km² of territory: This new war sees the recognition
of Bangladesh (the fatherland of Bengalis) with the agreements of Simla,
agreement stipulating that the problem of the Kashmir must be resolved
by the 2 countries with diplomatic support, without international assistance
of the war of Kashmir. This last concession was a hard one to swallow
for Pakistan whose strategy was always to look for international help
of the war of Kashmir.
This defeat then plunges Pakistan into a deep state of shock, political
results are profound, Pakistan is then withdrawn from the Commonwealth
as a sign of protest. Pakistan is no longer in a position to oppose
India, because of the loss of Bangladesh as well as the insurrection
of Balouchistan (India no longer hides this problem). Ali Bhutto gains
the elections, elections quickly followed by the putsch of general Mohammed
Zia ul-Haq, a putsch which will create an islamist integrist dictatorship
without mercy and will hang Bhutto in 1977 for a false crime.
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1974, the year of the Indian bomb:
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India proceeds to a series of 6 underground nuclear tests in the Thar
desert. The Indian bomb uses the technology and plutonium brought from
Canada, the United States, France, Germany and England. The race between
the nuclear powers of India and Pakistan technological, began then.
Since 1980, Pakistan, helped by China, is suspected to have the bomb.
India and Pakistan then sign a treaty of nonaggression of their respective
nuclear sites. These 2 countries which did not sign the nuclear treaty
of non-proliferation (TNP) returned to the very closed club of the nuclearized
nations trough the small door, the only one open conflict in the world
where 2 nations have nuclear power.
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1978, the opening of the KKH:
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The opening of Karakorum Highway, which was equall to the work of
at least the boring of the Channel tunnel, geographically connects the
Entente Cordiale between China and Pakistan. If for Pakistan, the KKH
represents an interest to have a territorial recourse near the Chinese
armed forces in the event of an Indian attack, the KKH is for China
an additional means to be close to the operational area (after the completion
of the Lhassa Kachgar road in 1957) and to connect the unstable provinces
of Sing kiang, Tibet and Aksin Shin. China itself is useful to Pakistan
as a counterweight to India. Thus, the construction of Karakorum Highway
definitively binds Azad Kashmir ("free Kashmir") to China,
the part of Kashmir which is under Indian control. Since 1978, the threat
of the Chinese presence and influence on Kashmir seem to be an established
fact for India, and tends to give a new dimension to the conflict.
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1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan:
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Since 1979, with the help of the United States, Pakistan is more occupied
helping the Afghan moujahidins to errase the Soviet enemy than to fight
India over Kashmir. During this time in 1989, India increases its presence
in Kashmir in order to face, Islamists independent movements and terrorists
which became violant and were increasingly and, constantly armed by
the Islamic integrist government of Pakistan and General Zia. Srinagar
and the surrownding area became zones of nonright where regulary operations
of extreme violence were carried out either by the terrorists against
the Indian interests, or by Indian soldiers against the population.
The successive victories of the guerrilla carried out by Afghans against
the Soviets lead Pakistan to believe it possible to drive India out
of Kashmir by similar means. It is at that time that the independent
Kashmirian terrorist groups of Pakistan become reality. Since the eighties,
terrorist and violence in Kashmir did not stop (about 25 000 Cashmirians
died in terrorisme acts). The assistance brought by the United States
was a means of considerable modernization to the Pakistani army. This
American Pakistani agreement was not well looked upon by India, a historicalley
of Russia.
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See the same topics
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Révision A 20/09/04 (http://blankonthemap.free.fr)
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