Kashmir problem

In reference to Mr. F. M. Menon's letter on May 21 in The Jakarta Post, I would like to inform him that while the people of India certainly have the right to make decisions on matters that relate to India, they certainly do not have the mandate to make any decisions whatsoever on the behalf of the people of Kashmir. The United Nations Security Council has explicitly given that right only to the people of Kashmir. It is the Kashmiris themselves who have to exercise their right to self-determination and to freely choose a future for themselves. The Indians taking so-called democratic decisions about Kashmir is against the very fabric of the UNSC Resolution and thus have absolutely no locus standie.

To say that India is not a fanatical Hindu state appears to be extremely presumptuous. The phenomenal rise to power of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India is a glaring example of the increasing fanaticism in India. BJP in 1984 got merely two seats but in 1996 grabbed 175 of the Lok Sabha seats emerging as the largest single party in the parliament.

The destruction of the historic Babri Mosque was an act of extreme fanaticism and a reflection of the religious intolerance and extremism prevalent in India. It is a fact that minorities in this so-called great democracy are increasingly suffering from the resurgent Hindu fanaticism and is a glaring example of the Indian government's failure to guarantee their protection. This incident struck at the universally recognized human values and principles of human conduct accepted by all civilizations and religions. Not only this about 4,000 Moslem homes were also earmarked and destroyed by Hindu fanatics at the same time. This was a violation of all norms of civilized behavior and international conventions granting the freedom of religion and rights of minorities.

The Indian authorities have shown utter disregard for the religious feelings in Indian-held Kashmir and the Moslems all over India. The massive induction of 50,000 into the Indian troops in addition to the present 600,000 clearly reveal the farcical nature of the electoral process conducted by India in Indian-held Kashmir.

In the so-called elections recently held in Indian-held Kashmir employed coercive methods and rigging techniques, including the herding of unwilling Kashmiris to polling stations at gunpoint in an effort to create the illusion of a good turnout. An overwhelming majority of Kashmiris, however, completely boycotted the fraudulent elections. The Kashmiri people were terrorized by way of custodial deaths, torture and detention.

The Indian authorities are undoubtedly bent upon economically and politically strangulating the people of Indian-held Kashmir. To hide their heinous crimes, the Indian government persistently denies human rights groups free access into Indian-held Kashmir. There is a constant restriction on Kashmiris traveling abroad, fearing they would influence public opinion against India by revealing the facts of the crimes being committed by the Indian Security Forces.

I agree that huge sums of money is being spent on defense both by India and Pakistan which either can ill afford. But any curtailment in defense expenditure is only possible if India gives up its openly hegemonic policies in the region and inspires the confidence of its smaller neighbors.

MUHAMMAD

Jakarta