An Indian author's call for a confederation of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh as a means to resolve the decades-long dispute over the Kashmir valley and end poverty in the region seems impractical, according to experts.
Sudheendra Kulkarni, an Indian politician who used to be member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, floated the idea during the launch of his new book "August Voices," which highlighted the point that lasting peace in Kashmir could only be achieved through a confederation agreement on both sides.
The book, however, does not propose the independence of each of the three countries must be undone. "His book argues that the existence of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh as three separate, independent and sovereign nations is a reality that cannot be altered. Partition cannot be undone.
"However, its negative outcomes can — and must — be undone jointly by the peoples and governments of India and Pakistan and Bangladesh," the Pakistani daily, Dawn, reported on Thursday.
Kulkarni's voice for peace and cooperation under such an ideal arrangement comes at a time when tensions between India and Pakistan are at a fever pitch. For months, both sides have accused each other of cross border violations, using terrorists to carry out attacks and now a simmering dispute over the Indus water treaty has emerged as another thorn in bilateral ties.
But while experts tend to reject ideas floated by peaceniks like Kulkarni as a figment of their imagination, could the presence of Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari's presence at the book release be taken as a sign for peace?
Kashmir key to friendship
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency over the phone, Kulkarni admitted that his idea for a confederation may seem impractical under the present circumstances in the region, but it did not mean it would be an unworkable solution in a different, more pleasant time in the future.
"Let me be very clear that I don't expect at all the present government ruling India or for that matter the one in Pakistan to go for this confederacy that I speak of. What I am suggesting is the way things need to be if good sense prevails over the leaders," he said.
He called for an inclusive dialogue over Kashmir. "India and Pakistan must begin by a serious resolution-focused dialogue over Kashmir, and that dialogue must involve the people of Kashmir.
"The resolution of Kashmir issue is a must for any possibility of friendship between the three independent countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. I am not talking of Indian expansionism like the RSS [the ultra-right wing Hindu nationalist party considered as a parent body of the ruling BJP] when I talk of the confederacy but more like three independent brothers working together and helping each other."
He said that dialogue between the two sides must continue despite attacks.
"While Pakistan should do everything to restrain its non-state actors from carrying out any terror activities in India, I believe that the dialogue between India and Pakistan on Kashmir should be held irrespective of any attacks that happen. There cannot be such fragile talks that a terror attack should derail them. But that said, I don't expect anything like that to happen the way things are going right now," he said.
Anadolu Agency
