Kashmir part of Pakistan

[Michael]

What if the british had decided to make kashmir part of pakistan or an entirely separate country (which the people of kashmir didn't want)? What would india have done? And how would the world be different

[aktarian]

Probaly first Indo-Pak war happens, but then things calm down. There are probally some tensions, but nothing that can turn into war soon. India probably developes nuclear bomb around same time as OTL but PAkistan doesn't follow. Both societies are much less militarised, military doesn't have tendency to seize power in Pakistan, they stay on good side with US constantlly, not on and off like in OTL. Pakistan is more leaning toward US than China. Bangladesh probablly part of Pakistan.

[David Howery]

would the situation be all that different? Instead of India having a restive muslim population in Kashmir, Pakistan would have a restive Hindu population there. I imagine there would still be some hostility over it....

[aktarian]

would the situation be all that different? Instead of India having a restive muslim population in Kashmir, Pakistan would have a restive Hindu population there. I imagine there would still be some hostility over it....

Isn't Kashmir mostly muslim? So Pakistan would have less people who don't like their rule than India does.

[David Howery]

I guess it depends on the percentages... if it's 90% muslim, then the small Hindu population is irrelevant. If it's 30 or 40%, then there will be problems.

[tom]

David:
It's about a third Hindu...

[David Howery]

then you'd still have problems. Even though there is a substantial Muslim majority, you can bet that India will watch close to see how the Hindus are treated. Any mistreatment at all will lead to Indian protests and threats (outweighing Pakistan as much as she does, India has never been shy about confronting them)...

[horticultureandmelodrama]

Kashmir in 1947 was a large princely state under a Hindu Ruler. The Kashmir valley was 90% Muslim, the Jammu area was 88% Hindu and the Ladakh region was 90% Buddhist (Tibetian Vajrayan school). Kashmir like all 500 other princely states was given the choice of joining either India or Pakistan. The Maharajah was angling for independence and was rumored to be talking to America. The Pakistan army and irregulars invaded the valley and alarmed the Maharajah enough to acceed to India.

The popular movement in Kashmir was led by the National Conference whose leader Sheikh Abdullah was a populist secular leader with close ties to Nehru and the Indian National Congress and an abiding dislike of Jinnah and the Muslim League.

[PJ Norris]

I can't imagine that the world would be any better than real life. Instead of two large nations eyeballing each other, you'd have two nations meddling, two ideals (communism and capitalism), border tensions and another Yugoslavia that can't afford to break up.
So yeah, another Afghanistan or Yugoslavia in a blood bath that has no end in sight.

[simonbp]

Just fyi, the 'k' in Pakistan is for Kashmir....

Simon ;)

[AuroraBorealis]

Kashmir in 1947 was a large princely state under a Hindu Ruler. The Kashmir valley was 90% Muslim, the Jammu area was 88% Hindu and the Ladakh region was 90% Buddhist (Tibetian Vajrayan school). Kashmir like all 500 other princely states was given the choice of joining either India or Pakistan. The Maharajah was angling for independence and was rumored to be talking to America. The Pakistan army and irregulars invaded the valley and alarmed the Maharajah enough to acceed to India.

The popular movement in Kashmir was led by the National Conference whose leader Sheikh Abdullah was a populist secular leader with close ties to Nehru and the Indian National Congress and an abiding dislike of Jinnah and the Muslim League.

well lets posit kashmiri independence instead....no Pakistani invasion...

hmmm I guess this should have been a different thread i suppose...:-)

[Justin Green]

What if it were just partioned with the muslim areas to Pakistan, and the hindu areas to India?

[horticultureandmelodrama]

Just fyi, the 'k' in Pakistan is for Kashmir....

Simon ;)

Actually Pakistan means "land of the pure". (Pak= pure, Stan= Land of). The whole P for Punjab, K for Kashmir is credited to the vivid imagination of post independence Pakistani propagandists.

[Dave Howery]

What if it were just partioned with the muslim areas to Pakistan, and the hindu areas to India?
are they conveniently adjacent to Pakistan and India?

[Justin Green]

Even if there wasnt, their would be a precident, East Pakistan (Bangladesh) is across the sub-continent.

[aktarian]

I can't imagine that the world would be any better than real life. Instead of two large nations eyeballing each other, you'd have two nations meddling, two ideals (communism and capitalism), border tensions and another Yugoslavia that can't afford to break up.
So yeah, another Afghanistan or Yugoslavia in a blood bath that has no end in sight.

Well Kashmir (and to a degree refugee problem) ensured India and Pakistan will view each other with hostility in future. Which means they will take opposite sides in cold war and thus ensure superpower interest. And with India having to watch Pakistan they can't focus on other things in neighbourhood.

Had these issues been resolved differently, to sort of mutual satisfaction, then lots of troubles wouldn't be there. Who knows, Paksitan might be more stable, more democratic prone.

[raharris1973]

That's what happened to the great bulk of those who lived in what became Pakistan.