Owning the Kashmir cause will unite Pakistan: PART-I.

Byline: Majeed Lashari

In the twenty first century it is observable that ideological constructs such as self-interest, material gains, siding with the apparent stronger entity in a conflict and deep societal polarization often outweigh; communal/national interest, siding with those who stand for truth, justice and rights and taking a unified approach towards problem-solving. The Quaid rightly enunciated Kashmir as Pakistan's 'jugular-vein' and precisely for that reason it has been pressed upon since inception in 1947. A polarized and divided Pakistan cannot effectively take up the Kashmir cause in the international arena. Consequentially; ownership of the Kashmir cause and formulating long lasting unity within Pakistanis is outright necessity.

Kashmir and the atrocities faced by the populous identify with Pakistanis on three interconnected facets; as Pakistanis, as Muslims and as Human Beings. Candidly; Pakistanis staunchly support the Kashmir cause first and foremost as patriots, because the issue is an existential threat to 'Pakistan' itself. Undoubtedly, the fundamental basic troikas of ideals underpinning Pakistan are 'unity, faith and discipline'. Nevertheless, internalizing these ideals reveals that 'unity' is to be treated as first amongst equal concepts, for without unity amongst citizens on national-security issues all is lost. Unity is a paramount pre-requisite for nation building, especially for delivering on the promise of 'Kashmir bunay ga Pakistan'

Historically; the dispute dates back 72 years. Long before the damning Indian constitutional amendment of August 2019 the conflict had been labelled as a potential nuclear flashpoint by analysts. The Indian oppression stems from a multitude of reasons. With the culmination WW2 in 1945, the founding-fathers leading the struggle for Pakistan had ideologically based it on the 'Two Nation theory' demanding a separate Muslim dominated homeland free from Hindu subjugation. However, this ideology never resonated with certain fundamentalist Hindus, in particular the RSS ideologues who inspired by Nazism preached the ideology of Hindutva (greater Hindustan). RSS is cornerstone to the quagmire faced by Kashmiri Muslims with the incumbent PM of India a life member and BJP being the political offshoot. Frankly, India never properly recognized the birth of independent states in the sub-continent and since 1947, has eaten away at Muslim majority areas claiming independence. It commenced with...