| Event Name: | Kashmir: South Asia-s Palestine? |
| Description: | The former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir, is seen by many as South Asia's Palestinian counterpart. Bordered by Pakistan, India, China and Afghanistan, each country has laid claim to the territory that lies in the foothills of the Himalayas. It has been caught between continuous contestation of borders and autonomy since the partition of British India.
With India unwilling to acknowledge the demands of the people for freedom, and therefore avoiding debate on resolution, Kashmir's future looks like it will remain in limbo for years to come. But with the recent Jan Lokpal protests and the Arab Spring, will India take note and give the people of Kashmir the right to self autonomy? Or will it continue to arm itself with Israeli weapons and training in the name of counter-terrorism? The Jan Lokpal protests were carried out in support of social activist Anna Hazare and his continuing pressure on the Indian government to push forward an anti corruption bill that would see the establishment and enforcement of legislation against endemic corruption.
Recently discovered unmarked graves of over 2000 bodies, thought to be be insurgents, have brought to the surface the horrific extent of the conflict that has left thousands of women widowed and subsequently abandoned by the Indian state with no knowledge of the fate of their husbands. An often forgotten and unreported conflict, in the name of diplomacy, Kashmir is slowly voicing itself onto the international agenda. But will Western powers support Kasmiri freedom, or will Indian diplomatic relations be put first?
Join us at the Frontline Club with an expert panel to discuss where Kashmir stands in its fight for freedom and the options that lay before it.
Chaired by Victoria Schofield, journalist and author of Kashmir in Conflict. She is an independent analyst and commentator on the Kashmir conflict for news agencies such as BBC World, Al Jazeera, CBS and CBC. She was also an independent rapporteur for the 4th Global Discourse on Kashmir that was sponsored by the International Council for Human Rights.
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| Type of Event: | Political Events |
| Event Agenda: | With:
Mirza Waheed, journalist and novelist. Born and brought up in Kashmir he joined the BBC’s Urdu Service in London in 2001. His first novel, The Collaborator, is set in his hometown during the early 1990s, and depicts the conflict between India and Pakistan and its effects on a border village in Kashmir.
Pankaj Mishra, an essayist and novelist. He writes for publications including the New York Times, the Guardian, the New York Review of Books and the New Statesman. He is author of The Revolt Against the West.
Subhash Chopra, former The Times journalist and author of Partition, Jihad and Peace: South Asia after bin Laden.
Ashis Ray, Times of India journalist and former CNN South Asia Bureau chief and consultant editor.
Additional panelists to be confirmed. |
| Event Location: | Frontline Club |
| Event City: | London |
| Type of Venue: | Private Club |
| Station/Stop: | |
| Directions: | Closest Tube Stations: Paddington,
Edgware Road and Lancaster Gate. |
| Event Start Date | 22-Nov-11 |