The American Spectator

In my defense, I did note that Mr. Hentoff had written about the subject in a recent column.

p> KASHMIR EXCHANGE br> Jed Babbin says in his article Order of Battle in Kashmir on 5/28/02 the following: /p>

“However, because the people of J & K are mostly Muslim and India is predominantly Hindu, Mountbatten provided for a plebiscite to be held to determine whether the Kashmiris wanted to be part of India or of Pakistan. India has refused to allow the vote, and it and Pakistan have already gone to war twice over who owns Kashmir.”

This is historically and factually wrong. The Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir had a Hindu King who sign the articles of Accession with India and Lord Mountbatten officially in his capacity as the last Viceroy of India accepted this. This was how all the previously independent states ruled by various Kings and Princes agreed to the accession with the new Indian nation. It was only when the Pakistani army attacked the state of Jammu and Kashmir and occupied parts of Jammu and Kashmir that the United Nations passed a resolution which called for the plebiscite after the Pakistani army withdrew from the occupied J&K .

p>I expect more accuracy from Jed Babbin whom I listen to when he comes on Lee Rodgers’ show on KSFO and enjoy his analysis. br> — Harish Chinai /p>

Jed Babbin replies: My thanks to Mr. Chinai for his kind words, but I don’t believe he’s correct. Indeed there was a Hindu maharajah who ruled mostly Muslim Kashmir. The minority population was — and still is — Hindu or Buddhist. The “accession” to India was never completed. Not even the U.N. accepts it. In fact, Lord Mountbatten made accession to India contingent on the plebiscite. At that point, the Kashmiri maharajah asked for Indian troops in the same way the puppet Afghan regime asked for Soviet troops in 1979, and with much the same result. Indian troops came in, and then so did Pakistani troops. The first Kashmir war ended like the other two: in a bloody stalemate. Which is where this one is likely to go, unless someone does something extraordinarily stupid, and a bloody stalemate turns into history’s first nuclear exchange.

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