Kashmir after August 5th Decision and its Implications for South Asia

Abstract

After World War II, Great Britain's loss of power in the international system had a great impact on the start of the decolonization process (the beginning of the independence movements in colonial geographies and the acquisition of peoples' independence) and expansion of it. India, one of the most important colonies of the British Empire which is known as the empire on which the sun never sets, was also the most important representative and perhaps even the trigger of this process. The Republic of India (hereafter referred to as India) which gained independence from Britain in 1947, also witnessed the birth of another state from its territory. The newly established state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (hereinafter referred to as Pakistan) has maintained a high-tension relationship with India since the foundation. The main cause of this tension has been the dispute over the Jammu and Kashmir region. The controversial region has again become a conflictual geography with the decision of the Indian Parliament on the 5th of August 2019. By this, the autonomous status of the J&K was abolished and Pakistan and India came to the edge of confrontation. The measures and precautions of the Indian government regarding the region has increased the tension not only in J&K but also in India and in Pakistan. This study tries to analyze the Kashmir dispute in line with the recent developments and how the issue effects the regional political dynamics. In the first part of the paper; there will be a short history of the dispute, the claims of the parties, and the place of this dispute in the international system. In the second part, the current situation will be tried to investigate from the foreign policy and regional policies aspect. The general conclusion of the author is that the recent decision on autonomy of Kashmir will have cumulative negative impacts on the stability of the region in coming years.