Example of essay on kashmir religious militancy

– What are the historical origins of the conflict over Kashmir?
In the year 1947 the British governors in the Indian region partitioned the bigger colony into two, and one of them became India and the other was to be Pakistan (Berkley Center, 2013). The former was to be dominated by the Hindu as the majority, and the latter was to be dominated by the Muslim majority. This situation created to regions that were in complete contrast with the majority in one country being the minority in the other country and therefore the majority in one country felt the need to protect the rights and fight for the interests of the minority in the other country and vice versa.
2. How are religious factors involved in the conflict?
In the year of the partitioning that formed the two countries which were all made various provinces, Kashmir happened to be one of the provinces forming the region. The leader of the Kashmir province which was a Hindu in a Muslim-dominated province decided that they should join the Hindu-dominated India. The Pakistan administration were of the view that it should have been in order for Kashmir to join Pakistan and so they were further of the idea that the Muslims in that region were being ruled by India against their will and decided to fight for the annexing of this province to Pakistan.
3. How important were international religious and political forces?
The international religious and political forces were important in calling for restraint to the conflict in the region. The British government is the one that colonized the region and were the ones who took an active role in dividing the region into the two countries that they are today. It follows from this that they have a responsibility to call for an international arbitration of the two conflicting sides. With an amicable agreement, the international community can send representatives to monitor the situation on the ground to see whether the clauses of the agreement are being adhered to. It is wrong for the international religious groupings to take sides in the conflict instead.
4. What roles do socioeconomic factors play?
The people in the Kashmir region are not well endowed economically, and this has not been made easy by the earthquake that took place in 2005 (Berkley Center). Houses businesses and educational institutions and other social amenities were destroyed. With this in mind the region is looking up to sponsors to assist them in rebuilding and recovering their economic life. When it comes to education, this is now where radical Islamic organizations are funding and getting actively involved in the construction of madrasa classes and others aligned to their faith. In a way, they are using this strategy in garnering support for their cause in the conflict.
5. How does religion intersect with these other factors in driving outcomes?
The locals are looking up to the sponsors for the reconstruction of their lives. It goes without saying that they are likely to align themselves to the ones who are assisting them in their reconstruction process. The two religions that are in conflict in the region would take this opportunity to recruit insurgents to their side of the conflict in order to boost their numbers in the conflict.

The following religious and non –governmental organizations could have the most influence in creating a more peaceful environment.

The Ladakh Buddhist Association, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashsar-e-Taiba religious organizations can form a committee with members drawn from the three organizations (Berkley Center, 2013). By the fact that they have so much influence in the region their peaceful decisions are going to be respected by the local inhabitants. The non –governmental organizations like International Center on Religion and Diplomacy, the Pugwash Conferences and UNMOGIP can have a monitoring role in whatever agreement is reached by the religious committee.

Reference

Berkley Center. (2013). Kashmir: Religious diversity Becomes Religious Militancy. Berkley Center.