> > How the self-determination is to be achieved?
> i wish there was an easy answer that i could sum up in a mailing list
> post. in truth, i am not even qualified to answer that. but i think (at
> a meta level) it is a finitely solvable problem. do you see fundamental
> problems with a referendum that includes certain provisions (to disallow
> foreign elements) and protections (to enforce these provisions and to
> prevent fraud by the indian govt)?
1. You have not explained why India should hold a referendum in Kashmir.
2. Nobody can force India to hold a referendum, even if it is required. There is no provision in the Indian constitution that would allow such a referendum.
3. Indian Parliament has passed a resolution stating that Kashmir is an integral part of India. _This resolution was passed unanimously_. Even Indian CPs have voted for that resolution. So there is no possibility that a referedum will ever be held. So Kashmiri self-determination by a referendum is a remote possibility, even if we accept for the sake of argument that that is a desirable.
4. How do you hold a free and fair referendum in Kashmir, unless terrorism is stopped?
5. If you hold a referendum in Kashmir, there could be similar demands from other parts of India. Sikhs in Punjab and Christians in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland are in majority. Tamilians can demand a referendum in Tamilnadu. Look at Sri Lanka !
6. Btw, how do Indian leftists support referendum in Kashmir without doing so elsewhere, say, in Tibet and Xinjiang without destroying their credibility? Don't you know people in India will ask why we have double standards?
Ulhas