The conflict between India and Pakistan topped the news again today, when a gun battle left at least 29 people dead.  The dispute between the two nations is over possession of the territory of Kashmir.  The most recent attack comes at a time when both China and the United States have been engaging in diplomacy to try to ensure peace in the region of Kashmir.

The BBC offers a timeline of the events concerning Kashmir (also at their web site):
Kashmir's troubled history:
August 1947=India and Pakistan gain independence. Kashmir's status undecided.
October 1947=War between India and Pakistan after Kashmir's Maharaja hands key powers to Delhi.
July 1949=Ceasefire agreed. Pakistan gains one third of Kashmir.
September 1965=War breaks out as India blames Pakistan for insurgency
Late 1971=Heavy fighting in Kashmir during India and Pakistan's war over Bangladesh
July 1972=Line of Control in Kashmir agreed, similar to the 1949 ceasefire line.
1989=Insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir
July 1999=Kargil conflict begins when Pakistan crosses Line of Control
October 2001=Worst fighting for more than a year breaks out as India starts shelling what it calls Pakistani military positions

Background information from the BBC.

The most recent news from the region.
 

First Review: Conflict Between India, Pakistan Runs Deep (Thursday, May 23)
    This article from CNN.com portrays the history of the conflict between Pakistan and India over the last fifty years.  Without a doubt, the greatest area of discontent between the two countries has been Kashmir, a small region nestled in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains.  Tensions between Pakistan and India began to grow almost immediately after they were both given independence following World War II in 1947.  When Britain granted the almost entirely Muslim area of northwestern India its independence under the name of Pakistan, Britain also granted Pakistan the neighboring region of Kashmir.  Despite the fact that Kashmir was mostly Muslim, its leader was Hindu, and Kashmir eventually gave in to Indian pressure and was annexed without the recognition of the Pakistani government.  The following conflict was the first great conflict between the two nations, and a tentative treaty was designed in which India was able to keep two-thirds of Kashmir.
    The next great conflict between the two countries was over the Himalayan Mountains in 1965.  The fighting proved to be inconclusive, but both countries pledged to solve the dispute peacefully.  That promise was quickly broken in a third major conflict in 1971 in which India helped a rebel army in eastern Pakistan to break free from its mother country and form the independent nation of Bangladesh.  The future of this conflict seems bleak, for the two countries have exchanged fire almost daily over the last five decades and have made no effective steps towards peace in a conflict that is already very deeply rooted.
       This was a pretty effective article, for a quick overview.  The article touched on the major events in a logical sequence, but there could have been a better explanation of how and why each event happened.  However, if you look further into CNN.com’s resources on the Pakistan-India conflict, there if a lot of helpful and thorough information.
 

Second Review: India Border Violence Kills Five (Tuesday, May 21)
    The Indian Prime Minister was set to visit Kashmir today, hoping to ward off another large-scale open conflict.  The ambassador from Pakistan to Great Britain said that India and Pakistan are close to war.  This statement is very alarming, considering the fact that it comes from a member of one of the nation's governments.  The thought of war is also frightening due to the possibility of the use of nuclear arms in any dispute over Kashmir.
    I think that it would be frightening to have nuclear missiles whizzing through the air, even though I am "safe" all the way around the world.  For me, it is scary to think about the destructive powers that these weapons have.  This article was easy to locate, because Kashmir is in the top of the news during this outbreak of conflict.  This article did not provide an update on the background of the conflict, which would have been helpful, but this information is readily available elsewhere in Yahoo!, and is cross-referenced thoroughly.  The article also did not provide much information about the realistic possibilities of a war, or a nuclear war.  It also did not provide information about how the United States would act were a conflict to erupt in Kashmir.  I enjoyed using Yahoo! because of its easy accessibility and maneuverability.  Any information that was nor in one article was easily accessed through the long list of links on the side bar.
 

Third Review: War Scenario Beyond Conventional Wisdom (Thursday, May 23)
    This article from the Asia Times Online discussed the mechanics of a war between India and Pakistan.  The article, written May 23, 2002, was written in the wake of another instance of fatal attacks between India and Pakistan the previous weekend in which Pakistani Islamic militants killed four Indian soldiers.  Pakistan denies that they backed the attack, but India disagrees.  The Pakistani government has pledged to open all lines of diplomacy between them and India but they also have said they can only be pushed but so far.  As war seems more and more imminent, it is important to consider what may happen if the two countries enter a conflict.
    First of all, India would hold an obvious and significant advantage.  India has a much larger and more powerful military, a greater population, and a stronger economy.  India has a world-renowned air force and a standing army of 1.1 million, Pakistan’s standing army consists of about 550,000.  The scariest part of a possible war between these two countries would certainly be the possibility of nuclear war, for, according to this article, Pakistan only has an army big enough to last for 72 hours before it has to consider nuclear retaliation.  What’s more is that while India has issued a policy that states that it refuses to be the first to drop a nuclear bomb (it will, of course, retaliate), Pakistan has refused to issue such a proclamation.  Another dangerous component of the Pakistani government is its always-unpredictable Islamic militants of whom many operate in the government.
    This article was very insightful and interesting while, at the same time, very horrifying and scary.  The article did a nice job of explaining how the door is wide open for nuclear war in this part of the world.  I would have been interested to know a little more about the countries’ respective policy on using nuclear weapons.  However, the article was able to keep the reader interested with shocking fact after shocking fact.  The article did a great job of helping the reader understand how alarmingly close India and Pakistan are to nuclear war.

By Matt Diehl and John Molster
Class of 2004
Ms. Williams Second Period Seminar
Last Updated on May 14, 2002