CUT YOUR LOSSES:

Once diverse, Kashmir is now valley of Muslims (Scott Baldauf, October 22, 2002, The Christian Science Monitor)

Javed's parents always talk about what Kashmir used to be - a land where Hindus and Muslims were friends, celebrated holidays and weddings together, ate each other's food.

But Javed, a high school student here, says his parents might as well be describing life on the moon. He was 3 when a violent insurgency against Indian control tore apart the state, causing Hindus to flee by the hundreds of thousands. He has never had a Hindu teacher or friend, never tasted Hindu food.

"The terrorist activities have destroyed our culture," says Javed, who prefers not to give his last name. "When the Hindu Pandits left the valley, we lost a part of ourselves."

Yesterday, India announced that it will begin pulling back troops from the Pakistan border in eight to 10 days. But while politicians and diplomats search for ways to end the 13-year insurgency - considering everything from state autonomy to joint control by India and Pakistan - Kashmiris themselves are in the midst of a profound social change. The migration of most of the state's Hindus has turned a once-cosmopolitan society of Hindus and Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists, into an Islamic monoculture.

Now, experts worry that an entire generation will grow up never having experienced Kashmiriyat - the thousands- year-old concept of cultural unity through diversity - and in a fundamental way, India will have already lost Kashmir.

As unpleasant as it must be for India to contemplate, they might do themselves a lot of good by just getting out now, before Kashmir becomes their Palestine or Northern Ireland. There are several advantages to acting quickly: first, you excise the cancer before it seeps into your own political system (before "Kashmir now!, Kashmir tomorrow! Kashmir forever!" becomes a rallying cry for the "Right"; second, you can use it as a bargaining chip with Pakistan, maybe even exchange it for their nukes; third, it creates a free-fire zone for when the war with Pakistan comes. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 21, 2002 9:43 PM