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International recognition can pave the way for lasting peace in Kashmir. By Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman, World Forum for Peace & Justice
India is celebrating its 79th Independence Day today, on August 15, 2025, marking seventy-nine years since it broke free from colonial rule and embraced the dawn of freedom. The people of India should remember that they won freedom with courage and unity & need to preserve their historical and unprecedented achievement. We extend our warm greetings to the people of India on their Independence Day celebration. India certainly has the right to celebrate this historic day within its legal boundary. However, India persists in allying itself with a position that has no legal, moral or constitutional authority to celebrate this auspicious day in occupied Kashmir which is not an integral part of its territory. In fact, under the international law, Kashmir does not belong to any member country of the United Nations. It is recognized by the United Nations as a disputed territory whose future is yet to be decided by its people.
Kashmir was not automatically regarded as an integral part of India even by Mahatma Gandhi – the father of nation of India. Instead, Gandhi championed the principle that the people of Kashmir must be free to determine their future, whether they want to join India, Pakistan, or remain independent. Gandhi said, “They (Kashmiris) should be left free to decide for themselves.” And on October 27, 1947, Gandhi said, “Kashmir has to establish popular rule in the state… The real rulers of the state must be their people. If the people of Kashmir are in favour of joining Pakistan, no power on earth can stop them from doing so. But they should be left free to decide the question for themselves.”
Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India and himself a Kashmiri wrote to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on October 31, 1947, “We shall withdraw our troops from Kashmir as soon as peace and order are restored, and leave the decision about the future of the state to the people of the state is not merely a pledge to your government but also to the people of Kashmir and to the world.”
Again, Pandit Nehru said in the Indian Parliament on August 7, 1952, “It is only the people of Kashmir who can decide the future of Kashmir. It is not that we have merely said that to the United Nations and to the people of Kashmir, it is our conviction…It is for the people of Kashmir to decide their own future. We will not compel them. In that sense, the people of Kashmir are sovereign.”
Arundhati Roy, author, activist and Booker Prize winner said on October 28, 2010 (Daily Hindu, India), “Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact. Even the Indian government has accepted this.”
Columnist Swaminathan Aiyar wrote in The Times of India in 2008, “We promised Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now, and give them three choices: independence, union with Pakistan, and union with India. Let Kashmiris decide the outcome, not the politicians and armies of India and Pakistan.”
Mr. Vir Sanghvi, former Editor of Hindustan Tims wrote in the New Delhi based Hindustan Times on August 16, 2008, “So, here’s my question: why are we still hanging on to Kashmir if the Kashmiris don’t want to have anything to do with us?” “I reckon we should hold a referendum in the Valley. Let the Kashmiris determine their own destiny. If they want to stay in India, they are welcome. But if they don’t, then we have no moral right to force them to remain.” “It’s time to think the unthinkable.”
Gautum Navlakha, former Editor of Economic and Political Weekly of India said, “Long and short of it is that Indian state has become its own worst enemy. There is no point blaming Pakistan, fundamentalists, human rights activists and the usual alibis used by the Indian state. It is time to acknowledge that ‘national security’ paranoia cannot hide the reality that Muslims of J&K have no confidence in the Indian state.”
It is a historical fact that the dispute over the status of Jammu & Kashmir can be settled only in accordance with the will of the people which can be ascertained through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite, internationally supervised, was the common ground taken by both India and Pakistan. It was supported without any dissent by the United Nations Security Council - and prominently championed by the United States, Britain and France. These are not resolutions in the routine sense of the term. Their provisions were negotiated in detail by the United Nations, and it was only after the consent of both Governments was explicitly obtained that they were endorsed by the Security Council. They thus constitute a binding and solemn international agreement about the settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
India has defied the United Nations Security Council resolutions for more than 77 years because she knows that Kashmiris will never vote in her favor. The irony of the fate is that even few world powers would like India to be the member of the Security Council whose resolutions have been blatantly violated by India right from 1948.
The United Nations has the opportunity to affect a positive resolution to the conflict and resulting humanitarian situation by promoting the conditions of the original mandate. It is only through international recognition and inclusive representations that a genuine and lasting peace can ensue. The risks of maintaining the status quo – for Kashmir, South Asia and the world – are too great to ignore.
BBC quoted Prof. Sumantra Bose of London School of Economics who said, “Any notion that the Kashmir conflict has been successfully put in cold storage has been exposed as a delusion during the summer of 2008. The lesson: Frozen conflicts don't stay frozen, and windows of opportunity to make real progress towards solutions don't come often. Stalling on such opportunities can be perilous.”
Dr. Sumantra Bose proved prophetic when in early 2025, renewed violence brought India and Pakistan close to war. In a rare moment of active United States diplomacy, President Donald Trump, working with Secretary Marco Rubio, helped open back-channel talks that led to a short-term ceasefire. Secretary Rubio even suggested that the national security advisers of India and Pakistan meet at a neutral location to discuss Kashmir. This was a bold and constructive idea that could have restarted peace efforts. Sadly, India rejected it outright, repeating its false claim that Kashmir is purely an internal matter. This refusal proved again that outside mediation is essential, because left on its own, India will never allow a fair resolution.
The Kashmiri global diaspora must rise to this challenge. Since 2019, protests have taken place in Washington, New York, London, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, and other cities, but more is needed. Kashmiris abroad must approach various governments in their capitals and urge them to enforce UN resolutions and investigate human rights abuses. Every killing, demolition, and eviction must be recorded for presentation in international courts. Indian propaganda must be countered in global media, and alliances must be built with other like-minded struggles.
World powers, including the United States need to know that the lasting peace in Kashmir can only be achieved through genuine international recognition and inclusive representation that reflects the will of its people.
(Dr. Fai is also the Secretary General of World Kashmir Awareness Forum. He can be reached at: WhatsApp: 1-202-607-6435 or gnfai2003@yahoo.com www.kashmirawareness.org
Kashmir was not automatically regarded as an integral part of India even by Mahatma Gandhi – the father of nation of India. Instead, Gandhi championed the principle that the people of Kashmir must be free to determine their future, whether they want to join India, Pakistan, or remain independent. Gandhi said, “They (Kashmiris) should be left free to decide for themselves.” And on October 27, 1947, Gandhi said, “Kashmir has to establish popular rule in the state… The real rulers of the state must be their people. If the people of Kashmir are in favour of joining Pakistan, no power on earth can stop them from doing so. But they should be left free to decide the question for themselves.”
Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India and himself a Kashmiri wrote to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on October 31, 1947, “We shall withdraw our troops from Kashmir as soon as peace and order are restored, and leave the decision about the future of the state to the people of the state is not merely a pledge to your government but also to the people of Kashmir and to the world.”
Again, Pandit Nehru said in the Indian Parliament on August 7, 1952, “It is only the people of Kashmir who can decide the future of Kashmir. It is not that we have merely said that to the United Nations and to the people of Kashmir, it is our conviction…It is for the people of Kashmir to decide their own future. We will not compel them. In that sense, the people of Kashmir are sovereign.”
Arundhati Roy, author, activist and Booker Prize winner said on October 28, 2010 (Daily Hindu, India), “Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact. Even the Indian government has accepted this.”
Columnist Swaminathan Aiyar wrote in The Times of India in 2008, “We promised Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now, and give them three choices: independence, union with Pakistan, and union with India. Let Kashmiris decide the outcome, not the politicians and armies of India and Pakistan.”
Mr. Vir Sanghvi, former Editor of Hindustan Tims wrote in the New Delhi based Hindustan Times on August 16, 2008, “So, here’s my question: why are we still hanging on to Kashmir if the Kashmiris don’t want to have anything to do with us?” “I reckon we should hold a referendum in the Valley. Let the Kashmiris determine their own destiny. If they want to stay in India, they are welcome. But if they don’t, then we have no moral right to force them to remain.” “It’s time to think the unthinkable.”
Gautum Navlakha, former Editor of Economic and Political Weekly of India said, “Long and short of it is that Indian state has become its own worst enemy. There is no point blaming Pakistan, fundamentalists, human rights activists and the usual alibis used by the Indian state. It is time to acknowledge that ‘national security’ paranoia cannot hide the reality that Muslims of J&K have no confidence in the Indian state.”
It is a historical fact that the dispute over the status of Jammu & Kashmir can be settled only in accordance with the will of the people which can be ascertained through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite, internationally supervised, was the common ground taken by both India and Pakistan. It was supported without any dissent by the United Nations Security Council - and prominently championed by the United States, Britain and France. These are not resolutions in the routine sense of the term. Their provisions were negotiated in detail by the United Nations, and it was only after the consent of both Governments was explicitly obtained that they were endorsed by the Security Council. They thus constitute a binding and solemn international agreement about the settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
India has defied the United Nations Security Council resolutions for more than 77 years because she knows that Kashmiris will never vote in her favor. The irony of the fate is that even few world powers would like India to be the member of the Security Council whose resolutions have been blatantly violated by India right from 1948.
The United Nations has the opportunity to affect a positive resolution to the conflict and resulting humanitarian situation by promoting the conditions of the original mandate. It is only through international recognition and inclusive representations that a genuine and lasting peace can ensue. The risks of maintaining the status quo – for Kashmir, South Asia and the world – are too great to ignore.
BBC quoted Prof. Sumantra Bose of London School of Economics who said, “Any notion that the Kashmir conflict has been successfully put in cold storage has been exposed as a delusion during the summer of 2008. The lesson: Frozen conflicts don't stay frozen, and windows of opportunity to make real progress towards solutions don't come often. Stalling on such opportunities can be perilous.”
Dr. Sumantra Bose proved prophetic when in early 2025, renewed violence brought India and Pakistan close to war. In a rare moment of active United States diplomacy, President Donald Trump, working with Secretary Marco Rubio, helped open back-channel talks that led to a short-term ceasefire. Secretary Rubio even suggested that the national security advisers of India and Pakistan meet at a neutral location to discuss Kashmir. This was a bold and constructive idea that could have restarted peace efforts. Sadly, India rejected it outright, repeating its false claim that Kashmir is purely an internal matter. This refusal proved again that outside mediation is essential, because left on its own, India will never allow a fair resolution.
The Kashmiri global diaspora must rise to this challenge. Since 2019, protests have taken place in Washington, New York, London, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, and other cities, but more is needed. Kashmiris abroad must approach various governments in their capitals and urge them to enforce UN resolutions and investigate human rights abuses. Every killing, demolition, and eviction must be recorded for presentation in international courts. Indian propaganda must be countered in global media, and alliances must be built with other like-minded struggles.
World powers, including the United States need to know that the lasting peace in Kashmir can only be achieved through genuine international recognition and inclusive representation that reflects the will of its people.
(Dr. Fai is also the Secretary General of World Kashmir Awareness Forum. He can be reached at: WhatsApp: 1-202-607-6435 or gnfai2003@yahoo.com www.kashmirawareness.org
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