Several dead in Kashmir as new anti-India protests erupt
April 2, 2018
Twenty people have been killed in Indian Kashmir during clashes between police and suspected militants, as well as during protests. Many civilians support a rebel campaign for independence or a merger with Pakistan.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Khan
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Deadly protests against Indian rule erupted in several parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Sunday following the killings of several suspected militants during gun battles with government forces, officials said.
A total of three Indian soldiers and 13 rebels died in the worst day of violence so far this year as clashes erupted in several locations south of Srinagar, the main city of the region.
Much of the violence took place around the village of Dragad, where seven of the alleged militants were killed, along with two soldiers.
On August 15, 1947, British India split into two nations - Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The two countries continue to be hostile towards each other despite some efforts to improve bilateral ties.
Image: AP
Birth of two nations
In 1947, British India was divided into two countries - India and Pakistan. Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his All-India Muslim League party had first demanded autonomy for Muslim-majority areas in the undivided India, and only later a separate country for Muslims. Jinnah believed that Hindus and Muslims could not continue to live together, as they were distinctly different "nations."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/United Archives/WHA
The line of blood
The partition of British India was extremely violent. Following the birth of India and Pakistan, violent communal riots began in many western areas, mostly in Punjab. Historians say that more than a million people died in clashes, and millions more migrated from Indian territory to Pakistan and from the Pakistani side to India.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/AP Images
The 1948 war
India and Pakistan clashed over Kashmir soon after their independence. The Muslim-majority Kashmir region was ruled by a Hindu leader, but Jinnah wanted it to be part of Pakistani territory. Indian and Pakistani troops fought in Kashmir in 1948, with India taking control of most part of the valley, while Pakistan occupied a smaller area. India and Pakistan continue to clash over Kashmir.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/AP Photo/M. Desfor
Like US and Canada?
Liberal historians say that Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi wanted cordial ties between newly independent states. Jinnah, for instance, believed that ties between India and Pakistan should be similar to those between the US and Canada. But after his death in 1948, his successors followed a collision course with New Delhi.
Image: AP
The 'other'
Indian and Pakistani governments present very different accounts of the partition. While India emphasizes the Indian National Congress' freedom movement against British rulers - with Gandhi as its main architect - Pakistani textbooks focus on a "struggle" against both British and Hindu "oppression." State propaganda in both countries paints each other as an "enemy" that cannot be trusted.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/AP Photo/M. Desfor
Worsening ties
Diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan have remained acrimonious for the past seven decades. The issue of Islamist terrorism has marred relations in the last few years, with New Delhi accusing Islamabad of backing Islamist jihadists to wage a war in India-administered Kashmir. India also blames Pakistan-based groups for launching terror attacks on Indian soil. Islamabad denies these claims.
Image: Picture alliance/AP Photo/D. Yasin
The way forward
Many young people in both India and Pakistan are urging their governments to improve bilateral ties. Islamabad-based documentary filmmaker Wajahat Malik believes the best way for India and Pakistan to develop a closer relationship is through more interaction between their peoples. "Trade and tourism are the way forward for us. When people come together, the states will follow suit," Malik told DW.
Image: Getty Images/S. Barbour
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Civilians killed
Four civilians were also killed and dozens injured when police opened fire on thousands of demonstrators who poured onto the streets of Kachdoora village in Shopian district, throwing stones and chanting slogans against Indian claim on the region.
Many protesters tried to march to the gun battle sites to help the trapped militants escape, and were confronted with tear gas and gunfire from Indian troops.
The new round of anti-India protests and clashes began as Indian troops launched counterinsurgency operations targeting mainly the southern parts of the disputed Himalayan region, where rebels have revived their violent challenge to New Delhi's rule.
Thousands of people poured onto the streets in Indian-ruled Kashmir as gunbattles between Indian troops and rebels worsenedImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Khan
Protests also broke out in Srinagar, where all schools were ordered shut on Monday. Train services to south Kashmir were suspended as a precautionary measure.
Communications cuts
Authorities cut mobile data services in the most restive towns, and reduced connection speeds in other parts of Kashmir to disrupt the communications of protest organizers.
Kashmir has been divided between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947, but both claim it in full.
Indian govt. forces kill militant leader in Kashmir
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Many civilians in Kashmir — India's only Muslim-majority state — support rebels who have been fighting for decades for independence or for a merger with Pakistan. Tens of thousands, mostly civilians, have died.
Last year was the deadliest of this decade in the region, with more than 200 alleged militants killed. That upsurge in violence has escalated in 2018, with 51 alleged militants already killed this year.
