On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 4:19 PM, Udhay Shankar N <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: [...] > Yes, but that's begging the question I raised, which is, for reference, "Do > we actually *want* Kashmir?"
Necessary evil... What do we want as India's future? I am fine with a dissolution into tiny nation states with economic co-operation ala the EU; however it's not very practical given the current state of political chaos and illiteracy. Plus it goes against the national rhetoric of unity in diversity. Besides, I fear that the subcontinent is very much of the "give an inch and take a mile" mindset. Giving up J&K can embolden PK to aggressively stake claims on other parts of India. For example, the MIM still harbors an Islamic future for HYD, outside of the Indian union. J&K is just an excuse for PK to get even with India for the East PK secession, the partition and so on. Giving up J&K is IMO very bad for the rest of India. For one, the right wing Hindu parties will never forgive this decision. The rhetoric from across the border will predictably only increase - about Gujarat, about Hyderabad, about Deoband. It could lead to fervent campaigns from the nut cases in Hindutva, leading to a national split, with some very sad results - could begin to look like another partition with widespread massacre. Talk of giving up J&K is just intellectual wanking. There is no walking away from this stale mate. Cheeni
