DID PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI BETRAY THE NATION?




Mukesh Devrari

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opened a Pandora’s box by asking Donald Trump to mediate in Jammu & Kashmir. Asking for mediation by United States is the first step of losing Kashmir. Prime Minister Nehru did the same blunder by asking for the United Nations intervention in 1948. All right-wing politicians still abuse Nehru as he acquired only half of the Kashmir and ran to UN for intervention, rather than repelling all Pakistani invaders from entire Kashmir. Pakistan still controls one-third of the Kashmir.


Why Modi has not been briefed properly by seasoned bureaucrats around him? Why did he ask for Trump’s mediation? What did he intend to achieve through US mediation in Kashmir? What are the implications of Modi’s tactical blunder? Why is he keen to internationalize Kashmir issue further? Is he such a novice on foreign policy issues? Did he think he can make a joker out of Pakistan like he did to his main political opponent Rahul Gandhi? Has he misunderstood the depth of Pakistani obsession to wrench Kashmir from India? Only Prime Minister Modi can answer the reasons for his betrayal to this country.   


This controversy started when President Trump was addressing a press conference with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in Washington DC. On the question of mediation between India and Pakistan, Trump claimed that he discussed issue of Kashmir in Osaka, Japan with Prime Minister Modi on the side lines of the G-20 summit.


Trump said, “I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago and we talked about this subject (Kashmir). And he actually said, 'would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator?' I said, 'where?' and Modi said, ‘Kashmir'. Then Trump further added there are bombs everywhere in Kashmir why India and Pakistan could not resolve it.  


It is a big jolt for us. Modi threw India under the bus by seeking US intervention in Kashmir. India and Pakistan are fighting over the region of Kashmir for the last 70 years. India wants to maintain the status quo as it already has half of the Kashmir. Pakistan wants to resolve it through negotiations with India as it currently has only one-third of it.  


What did Pakistan mean by ‘resolution’? has to be understood first. It simply means Kashmir is a disputed territory. As a Muslim majority region, it belongs to Pakistan. It is an unfinished business of partition plan of British India based on two-nation theory, which simply means Hindus and Muslims cannot live together in one country. India does not have a legal right to have J&K as it is a Muslim majority province and the majority of people in India are Non-Muslims. Status quo is unacceptable and it must change.


Their strategy is simple. Keep Kashmir on the boil by encouraging separatists. Encourage militancy.  Pressurize India to negotiate Kashmir and accept Pakistani claim over the entire state. Pakistan is confident that if it succeeded in forcing India to conduct the plebiscite, India will certainly lose Kashmir as Muslims in the Kashmir valley unlikely to vote to remain in a secular nation.


The Pakistani establishment is aware that in bilateral talks India cannot be compelled to accept its argument based on two-nation theory, but through the mediation, India will be in trouble. If Modi wanted Trump to nudge Pakistan to accept status quo and convert LOC into international border through mediation. Then, he can be considered novice and highly unaware of international arbitration. He must be informed that Kashmir is not a piece of land. It has more than ten million people living in it.


Any western intervention will result in the inclusion of Kashmiris in it. In the case of a stalemate, the white man’s solution will be - ask the people of J&K where they would like to go? If that happens, India will lose Kashmir. As Muslims in Indian administered Kashmir and Pakistan administered Kashmir far outnumbers Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and other minorities, who strongly support India.

Modi has compromised with the national interest. It took decades of diplomacy for India to ensure that none of the countries in the world demands intervention in the Kashmir region. All of them suggest India and Pakistan must resolve all their disputes bilaterally and as a stronger nation, it is easier for India to handle Pakistan, at least Pakistan cannot force India to redraw the border. Modi has changed all this. For worse or for better, make your guess.


It makes no difference to people in India internally, as most of the media is controlled by corporate houses having close links with Modi government, they are likely to declare Trump liar, instead of questioning Modi’s blunder.  


End.

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