On plebiscite in Kashmir

The issue of plebiscite is deliberately misrepresented not only in the
world, but by many of the 'intellectuals' in India. The issue can be
stated as follows:

1. Pakistan invaded Jammu & Kashmir to force the ruler to join that
country instead of India.

2. Pakistan's fiction that the ones who invaded were Kashmiris
themselves is the beginning of the fiction that it has been indulging in
right from the inception of that country.

3. The ceasefire that was brokered by the United Nations on the basis
that Pakistan would withdraw its forces from the part that it is
occupied.

4. After this withdrawal, India would administer the whole of Jammu &
Kashmir, and then reduce the forces to the extent of the need to
maintain normal law and order.

5. It is only six months later that the plebiscite is to be held in the
whole of Jammu & Kashmir.

6. Pakistan did not fulfil its part of the obligation, and after waiting
for a reasonable time, India went ahead with instituting the democratic
institutions in the part that is under its control.

7. Pakistan never even pretended to have genuine democratic system in
the part that it is occupying.

8. Consecutive elections have been held in Kashmir, and in all the cases
the ones who were elected to the state assembly were always Kashmiris
themselves, and the chief minister and ministers have always been from
the state.

9. There have been central rule for only part of the time, and this was
instituted only to counteract terrorism instigated by Pakistan.

10. While the demographic character of the state of Jammu & Kashmir
under the Indian control is intact, Pakistan has made special efforts to
send non-Kashmiris to settle in the part occupied by it. Thus, the
plebiscite in that part will not reflect the true intention of Kashmiris
themselves.

11. Much is made of the fact that Jammu & Kashmir is a Muslim majority
state. This is not true in case of the Jammu and Ladhak regions of the
state. In fact, the people of these regions have always complained that
they have been neglected by the administration, and that the development
funds are not allocated to them in an equitable manner.

12. If Jammu & Kashmir is to receive a special treatment merely because
it is a Muslim majority state, then it is legitimate to ask a question
why? Does it mean that Muslims cannot coexist with the Hindus?

All these facts, in particular the conditions laid in the UN resolution
prior to the holding of a plebiscite, are well known to all. If not,
then the person has no business to talk about Kashmir at all, let alone
plebiscite.

Because of the substantial changes that have taken place, as narrated
above, the present Secretary General of the UN has said on more than one
occasion that plebiscite is not an option available today. Also, a
recent opinion poll conducted in the part of the state under the control
of India has clearly shown that the people prefer to stay within India
by a very large margin.