THE KASHMIR WAR
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Short chronology as well as accompanying notes about the Kashmir war
1947, the partition, the first Kashmir war

1949, the traced control line
1960, the Sino-Soviet rupture
1962, the Chinese invasion of Indian Territory
1964, China becomes nuclear power
1965, second Kashmir war
1971, third Kashmir war
1974, the year of the Indian nuclear bomb
1978, the opening of the KKH
1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
1984, Sikh revolts in Penjab and Indian attacks against Siachen
1986, the Brasstacks operation
1990, death of Rajiv Ghandi
1992, fall of the Soviet Union and diplomatic Indo American revival
1996, the Kashmir election
1998, nuclear power proliferation on the move
1999, the Kargil crisis
2000, the recrudescence of terrorist acts worsen the war of Kashmir
September 11 2001
2002, a new bigger conflict
December 2003, attacks against président Pervèz Mousharraf
Last political events, signs of a possible outcome of the war of Kashmir ?
May 2004, the defeat of BJP at the indian legislaive elections
Geostrategic mistakes wich were the origin of the war of Kashmir
3 means of reflections concerning the future of the war of Kashmir
The American new deal
The new energy stakes and its consequences for Kashmir
Towards a fight of civilization or under a continental reconciliation?

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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 CIA’s 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 :

Rajahs in XIXième century

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 :

Ghandi and its profligate, symbol of Indian resistance
Nehru

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 :

Jinnah, the father of Pakistan

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 it’s 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 :

Mao Zedong

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:

Scene of maoist revolution
Popular speech of Mao

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 doen’t adopt the Chinese point of view,China, thus saves India’s 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:

Image de la révolution chinoise

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:

Pakistani heavy gun

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 Union’s 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:

M. Ali Bhutto

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 didn’t 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, it’s 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.

Colonel Zia


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:

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:

La Karakoram Hignway

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:

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 :
Kashmir exploration
Climbing in Kashmir
The Kashmir Conflict Historical statistics Historical index

Révision A 20/09/04 (http://blankonthemap.free.fr)


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