Elections to the Kashmir Assembly will be held from Sept. 16 to Oct. 8. The million-dollar question is, will they be meaningful and bring about peace in a state that has been a bone of contention since 1947, when the British colonial masters divided the subcontinent into India and Pakistan before leaving?
The two Asian countries, now armed with nuclear weapons, have fought four wars over Kashmir. Worse, Islamabad has been waging a proxy battle in Kashmir for 13 years, and thousands of civilians have died. Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, promised U.S. President George W. Bush to end this form of conflict by stopping cross-border infiltration. The continuing extremist violence in Kashmir indicates he has not.
The elections and the installation of a people's assembly in the state will legitimize New Delhi's oft-repeated argument that Kashmir is an integral part of India and that its accession from Maharaja Hari Singh's rule in 1947 was legal.
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