NEW DELHI: The Indian authorities have been baffled by the liming as well as the content of the new posture on Kashmir by the U.S. administration.

While prime minister Narasimha Rao did not utter a word, his foreign minister Dinesh Singh ex pressed surprise at the timing of the statement and claimed that it had come at a time when militants were about to “set free” hostages held by them in Hazratbal mosque in Srinagar. The minister also bravely said that India would not tolerate “interference” in its internal affairs by any “outside” power, The U.S. statement could encourage continued confrontation not only in Kashmir but all over.

The Indian media prominently played up the U.S, Assistant Secretary Robin Raphel’s background briefing to Washington based journalists who mentioned her by name, contrary to the normal practice. Raphel was quoted as saying that the U.S. considered the whole of Kashmir as a disputed territory and that her country did not recognize the 1947 instrument of Kashmir’s accession to India, She added that the status of Kashmir needed to be resolved.

India’s three major opposition parties, BJP, CP(M) and CPI, is sued almost similar and strong Statements describing Kashmir as a part and parcel of India and the U.S. stand an act of interference in India’s internal affairs. The Congress (I) spokesman Chandulal Chadrankar was somewhat mild in his reaction when he said that the statements of that nature affected Indo U.S. relations and “are best avoided.” He hoped that the statement expressed the view of an individual and not of the U.S. government.

Most Indian newspapers like The Pioneer, The Tribune, The Indian Express, The Times of India and The Hindustan Times in editorials and articles commented bitterly about the U.S.A.’s “new tilt against India.” These newspapers appear 10 represent the country’s reachonal the popular, mainstream level Calling the U.S. statement as Interference in India’s internal affairs, Some of the articles like the one in The Pioneer by Ajoy Bose hinted at a bloodbath of Indian Muslims in the event of Kashmir going out. “The communal maelstrom that would follow could make the Present turmoil in Kashmir seem like a teddy bear’s picnic,” he wrote menacingly, The Hindu, however, wrote constructively, India’s position, it said, had been becoming vulnerable because of the continuing inability of the Indian government to initiative a political process in the State, the sharpening perception Of the Indian state as an alien Oppressor, reinforced by the image Of the army laying siege to the religious symbols of the Kashmiri people,

But the most troubling is New Delhi’s reluctance to accept the reality that the only way to take Kashmir off the world’s radar Screen is to engage Islamabad in a mutual confidence building exercise.

Two comments one by noted Columnist Ajit Bhattacharjea in ‘The Pioneer and another an editorial by The Economic Times came in sharp contrast with the main Stream Indian reactions. Both these comments readily admitted that the Kashmir problem was largely the product of India’s own ham-handed policies towards the people of Kashmir. A solution could also be induced indigenously by winning over the people of Kashmir. Bhattacharjea, however, made the additional point that successive Indian governments had betrayed the Kashmiris trust by depriving the state of Kashmir of its legitimate aspirations as an integral part of India.

Article extracted from this publication >>  November 5, 1993