Indocentric view
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From the Editor’s Desk There is an all-round speculation in the media and informed circles about finding a way out to the ever going Pakistani claims on India’s Jammu & Kashmir. Some of us have been wondering how will the Pakistanis give up their assiduously built sixty years claim on the Indian territory. The story of Jammu & Kashmir has undergone many twists and turns during the past six decades. The rulers of Islamabad thought that they could find a military solution. But all their attempts to achieve this goal failed. They thought that Indian policy makers would be overawed by the international support they had in 1950s and 1960s, but this did not happen. Pakistan and its sympathizers strangely never talk about the Pakistani Occupied Kashmir (PoK) including Gilgit and Baltistan areas (popularly known as Northern Areas) which were part and parcel of the J&K state. A number of questions crop up in this context. First of all, what is the status of Pakistani Occupied Kashmir including Gilgit and Baltistan areas in Pakistan? No one in Pakistan explains the rationale of Pakistani claims on Jammu & Kashmir and under what authority they gave away part of the J&K territory to China in 1963. The two nation theory is flawed. This we have learnt from history. If it is according to the UN resolution for holding a plebiscite, Pakistan has not implemented its part on the Resolution, which it supposed to do it first before India takes up the matter of plebiscite. This was almost fifty seven years back. Since then Pakistan had changed the demographic situation in its occupied territory. Through its proxies it altered the demographic pattern in Kashmir valley also. In the post 9/11, India’s ascendancy in the emerging new international order has undergone a change. These changes have exposed Pakistan’s case which is no longer tenable. We, at the World Focus, thought that for an informed debate on Pakistani ‘out of box’ proposals on the J&K issue, we must present the facts about PoK including the Gilgit and Baltistan areas. In this attempt we tried to provide historical facts to substantiate various points of view for an objective assessment. Nevertheless, it is a good sign that in the backdrop of even this kind of scenario we are surging ahead with meaningful dialogue with Pakistan for a brighter future of both the countries. We sincerely wish Indo-Pak relations to get further strengthened as people of both the countries are keen for it. We wish our readers and well wishers a Happy New Year. January 2007 G. Kishore Babu New Delhi Editor
From the Editor’s Desk During the last two decades, dramatic changes are taking place in the Persian Gulf region. Two factors are being attributed to for this development. The first incident was the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait way back in 1990. Since then onwards, there was an action-reaction by various parties concerned. Even extra regional powers have intervened to check-mate the Iraqi predominance. The involvement of so many players had its own impact in the region. The presence of external forces throughout 1990s, in this sensitive area, brought out a new identity crisis among the Arab world. In the process, religion took centre space in resolving the identity crisis. The fall out of it is the emergence of radical Islamic militancy questioning the hegemony of extra regional powers like the US; and their solutions to resolve the crisis of identity in the Arab world. Unfortunately, the fringe countries like Afghanistan became home for many Islamic radical groups and the developments in the post 9/11 period started a new phase in the perceived conflict of ‘civilizations’. In some quarters people have started recalling the period of crusades fought centuries back. Added to this, the US invasion of Iraq in April 2003 in the name of establishing democracy gave a new twist to the chain of events in the Persian Gulf. As has been explained by experts in the subsequent pages, there is an all round uncertainty in the region. At one level, the process of re-alignment of various political forces in the region started. At another level, will the Persian Gulf still remain intact or will be further sub divided and fragmented is anybody’s guess. Still at another level, people are debating about the quest for energy source material, crude oil, in the region by the developed world. The question of supply and demand for crude oil is being focused as part of the energy crises facing the global order. In this uncertain time, what are India’s strategic interests in the Persian Gulf region? The sole secular ruler in the region has been thrown out of power and executed. There is a civil war in Iraq now. The lonely democratically elected government in Iran is facing difficulties due to its own making. India with its large Muslim population and varied interests in the Persian Gulf is worried and restructuring its policy towards the region. The mandarins in South Block are trying to keep the policy options as flexible as possible. We at the World Focus are grateful to Prof. A.K. Pasha for coordinating this issue as the Guest Editor. February 2007 G. Kishore Babu New Delhi Editor
