Kashmir is not a kind of sweater (that’s cashmere) nor is it simply a reference to a Led Zeppelin song title but it is the site of one of the world’s most contentious and longest lasting geopolitical conflicts. Since the independence of India and Pakistan in the late 1940s from Britain, the two have had an ongoing border dispute over who controls the areas of Jammu and Kashmir, of which the Kashmir valley makes up a great deal which is the reason for the name of the conflict.
Passions have been so inflamed at various points over the past 70 years that India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the territory which has resulted in both countries controlling roughly 45% each and China controlling the small remainder. As a result of certain undemocratic policies by the Indian government with regards to local autonomy, a separatist movement has formed and the Indian government has often responded harshly as it did today.
After the death of a prominent separatist militant, Burhan Wani, the police of Jammu and Kashmir instituted a curfew and some internet censorship over the territory which thousands of residents defied in an act of solidarity with the separatists, to which the police responded violently. The violence that ensued left at least ten civilians dead and dozens injured, although the civilians are reported to have injured almost one hundred members of security forces in the ensuing melee.
While it is doubtful that this will escalate into a war between India, Pakistan and the separatists, it is still cause for some concern as security forces in the region feel that Mr. Wani’s death could catalyze other people his age to join in the separatist independence movement and employ violence as a means to do so. Hopefully, Mr. Wani’s death leads to a peaceful renegotiation of the issues that plague Kashmir and this bitter conflict will finally stop after almost 75 years.
