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发帖数: 4825 | 1 http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/05/indian_pakist
May 18th 2011, 12:25
Disputed borders are both a cause and a symptom of tensions between big
neighbours in South Asia. When the colonial power, Britain, withdrew from
India it left a dangerous legacy of carelessly or arbitrarily drawn borders.
Tensions between India and China flare on occasion, especially along India
’s far north-eastern border, along the state of Arunachal Pradesh. In
recent years Chinese officials have taken to calling part of the same area
“South Tibet”, to Indian fury, as that seems to imply a Chinese claim to
the territory. A failure to agree the precise border, and then to demarcate
it, ensures that future disagreements may flare again.
Pakistan, too, is beset by difficult borders. Afghanistan, to the north, has
long been a hostile neighbour. This is largely because Afghanistan refuses
to recognise the frontier—known as the Durand line—between the countries,
drawn by the British.
Most contentious of all, however, are the borders in Kashmir, where Pakistan
, India and China all have competing claims. By the time of independence, in
1947, it was clear that many Indian Muslims were determined to break off
from Hindu-majority India. It fell to a British civil servant, who knew
nothing of the region, to draw a line of partition between territory that
would become Pakistan and India. Pakistan was given Muslim dominated areas
in the far north west, plus territory in the east (which itself got
independence as Bangladesh in 1971). The rulers of some disputed areas,
notably Kashmir, were told to choose which country to join.
While Kashmir’s Hindu rulers prevaricated, hoping somehow to become an
independent country, Pakistan’s leaders decided to force the issue. Since
Kashmir was (and is) a Muslim majority territory, Pakistan felt justified in
seeing Pushtun warlords charge in from the north-west of Pakistan, late in
1947, to seize control of Kashmir. In response India, apparently invited by
Kashmir’s rulers, deployed its national army and stopped the invaders
taking Srinagar, Kashmir’s capital, located in the Kashmir valley, the most
coveted part of the territory. The resulting line of control, by and large,
remains the de-facto international frontier within Kashmir and, in effect,
is accepted by Paksitan and India. Huge numbers of Indian and Pakistani
soldiers remain in Kashmir today as both countries profess to be the
rightful authority for the rest of Kashmir.
Complicating matters, China has also extended its influence, and control,
over portions of Kashmir, largely with the support of Pakistan, an ally.
The interactive map above allows you to view the various territorial claims
from each country's perspective. |
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