A Contrarian View

A   Contrarian   View

Pakistani prime minister , Nawaz Sharif , yesterday suggested that America should get “ involved “ in solving the “ Kashmir Issue “

Expectedly , Indian politicians are all united ( at least on one issue ! ) in telling USA :

“ Keep your hands off Kashmir . We don’t need third party intervention to solve , what is essentially , our bilateral problem , as agreed in Shimla Agreement . “

Except that no politician is willing to admit the harsh ground reality that , after 30 years of LoC skirmishes – and thousands of deaths , India and Pakistan have failed to resolve the issue “ bilaterally “ !

Late Vasant Sathe was the only politician who had the ( suicidal ? ) courage to say ,

“ Only practical solution is for both countries to accept LoC as the international border “

And such a “ practical solution “ can come about only through a third-party mediation , without making either Indian or Pakistani politicians losing face !

Let us admit :

Ø  Without a peaceful solution of Kashmir Issue , thousands of innocent Indians living close to LoC will continue to die

Ø  Unlike Israel , India cannot engage in “ Hot Pursuit “ of the terrorists into Pak-Occupied Kashmir , without risking an all-out Nuclear war

Ø  Western Nations ( especially USA ) need Pakistan to fight  Al Qaida

Ø  China is encircling India by establishing strong economic / military presence in Tibet / Nepal / Myanmar / Sri-Lanka / Maldive / Pakistan etc

Ø  Even Russian support to India is waning , as Russian economy gets more and more integrated with EU

Let us ask ourselves :

“ Is it right to continue spending billions of rupees in maintaining our military presence in Kashmir , when 400 million BPL Indians don’t get 2 meals a day ?  How long must 1.6 million Indian children ( below the age of 5 ) continue to die , year after year , due to starvation ? “

Alas ! Neither Rahul Gandhi nor Narendra Modi would have the moral courage to answer this question !

In their party’s Poll Manifestos , there will be a deafening silence on this practical solution !

·          hemen  parekh  ( 20  Oct  2013  )