I may indeed hold a different opinion if i were a muslim kashmiri, however in reply to Alpha Bravo and Rii, i’ll take India over China and Pakistan combined thanks very much.

At this point it is not about Kashmir being Muslim, contiguous with Pakistan, etc — 1947 is long past. Today it is about how India has systematically alienated the population by its brutal occupation. The popular sentiment is not for union with Pakistan, it is for the eviction of India!

In seeking to provide succor and sustance for all the only thing you achieve is a strengthening of those who would seek to dominate all others.

If by this you mean that Kashmir independent of India would be taken advantage of by Pakistan, I agree. Neither nation is interested in a solution, and this is why one has not emerged. Like Okinawa for Japan and the United States, Kashmir is a mere political football for India and Pakistan with scant regard for those who live there. Nevertheless, as the occupying power engaged in upholding an unjust status quo, the lion’s share of the blame lies with India, as it lies with Israel on the Palestinian issue.

The only difference is that globally, India’s occupation of Kashmir is legitimised by its “democratic” credentials, while China’s occupation of Tibet is not acceptable due to its communist single party system.

Yes, this is what I meant by India being a benefactor of the weak relationship between injustice and condemnation in the theatre of ‘world opinion’. It is not merely that India is ‘the world’s largest democracy’ (a claim which does more to undermine the concept of democracy than it does to elevate India) although that is certainly part of it. A variety of factors have combined to give India a squeaky clean image in the theatre of world opinion. And this façade works to enable all the traumas, injustice and horror which reliably accompany state power. To be clear: it is not that India’s crimes are intrinsically worse than those of e.g. France, America, Russia, China, etc. but that they pass almost unnoticed in the theatre of world opinion. Unfortunately, India’s ‘protected status’ looks set to endure for at least another generation as it is contrasted in global consciousness with both Pakistan (associated with terrorism, instability) and China (threatening, oppressive).

Given the choice, most Kashmiris would love to see the back of all three powers in the region.

And this is the crucial point. Like China in Tibet, India is intent on denying the Kashmiri people the right of self-determination, which is why it will not allow a plebiscite. Newton’s first law applies to peoples as well as states; that Kashmiris would, given the choice, overwhelmingly reject the status quo, is something occasioned by and proof of the oppression to which they have been subjected by India.

India, China end stand off; withdraw troops from Ladakh

Well now that doesn’t make for good TV at all. 🙁

The correlation between injustice and condemnation in the theatre of world opinion is, sadly, very weak. And India is one of the major benefactors of that. For all its inefficacy, Tibet is at least an active issue in world opinion. The same can’t be said for India’s ongoing occupation of Kashmir.

PLA-MKII‘s use of ‘privy’ is entirely correct.

This was my understanding also — that MiG-35 involved significant airframe modifications. But others claim that MiG-35 airframe is the same as MiG-29M/K and the only difference is systems fit. :confused: