The media has been pronouncing the threat of nuclear war between India and Pakistan, but the average person may have no idea why the two powers are at each other’s throats.

Kashmir has been the cause of tension between India and Pakistan since the independence of both countries in 1947. During the partition of the Indian subcontinent between mostly Muslim Pakistan and predominantly Hindu India, the princely states near border regions were given the option to choose what country to belong to.

Hari Singh, the Hindu Maharaja of majority Muslim Kashmir decided to join with India. However, the majority of the population wanted to be a part of Pakistan. Since then, India and Pakistan have gone to war twice over Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir is a part of their country (with China controlling Aksai Chin, a part of Kashmir they have occupied since the Sino-Indian war of 1962).

For both countries, there are high stakes with large numbers of troops at the Line of Control (a border that divides Indian and Pakistani territory in Kashmir) and skirmishes and violence that have escalated since 1989.

But what of the people of Kashmir, what do they want? In the struggle for possession, the voice of the Kashmiris have been ignored. Numerous United Nations resolutions have called for a plebiscite to allow the Kashmiris to decide their own future. Whether they belong to India, Pakistan, or desire to remain independent should be left to them.

India, however, refuses to honor the U.N. resolution, stating that Kashmiri participation in national elections is proof enough that they desire to remain a part of India. However, since 1986, the groups agitating for independence stepped up their activities. Accordingly, India increased its military presence in the area and on Jan. 19, 1990, the central government imposed direct rule.

Since direct rule was imposed, the Indian government’s actions in the area have been deplorable. Large numbers of Indian soldiers have been deployed to the area, with one soldier for every 10 Kashmiris-the highest soldier-to-civilian ratio in the world. The human rights of the Kashmiri people have been grossly violated. Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch have documented civilian massacres, the shooting of unarmed demonstrators, widespread rapes, and torture. In the mid-1990s India began arming paramilitary organizations in the area, and these groups have been the most egregious offenders of human rights. Although India has justifiable security concerns in Kashmir, human rights violations are never justifiable.

Pakistan also has played a part in fomenting the unrest over Kashmir. Several of the groups the Pakistani government supports in Kashmir are also guilty of human rights violations.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India said, “Kashmir has been wrongly looked upon as a prize for India or Pakistan. People seem to forget that Kashmir is not a commodity for sale or to be bartered. It has an individual existence and its people must be the final arbiters of their future.”

Both India and Pakistan are at fault for the problems in present-day Kashmir. And both the Muslim and Hindu populations of Kashmir have suffered as a result. The Kashmiris have been a forgotten people in the Western world, and it is time for our collective conscious to focus on their plight.

For Kashmiris today, their lives are full of tragedy. The tragedy of the Line of Control dividing families, the fear of repression and violence, and the loss of normalcy that has existed for so long that it has become “normal.”

Although Kashmir is a land far away from the United States, it is an important issue nonetheless. The dispute over Kashmir undermines the stability of the Indian subcontinent and the rest of Asia, as well as discourages the further development of both countries.

The threat of nuclear war looms over the region, and the United States has the chance to influence the direction of Kashmir policy for the future.

Our activities in Afghanistan are dependent on the continued stability of this Asian region. This stability will occur once human rights are re-established for Kashmiris and they are given the right to voice their opinion on their future through a plebiscite. At this moment, our government has the ability to be the voice for the voiceless Kashmiris and solve the problem once and for all. Let’s hope it does the right thing.

Lubna Alam is a junior majoring in history.