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The first one, and the more obvious one of the two, is that India decided to remain as a secular state. Whilst Pakistan might have what looks like a good reason to declare Kashmir as its own, India's democratic secularism deems the "majority Muslim so Pakistan gets it" argument irrelevant.





The second reason is that the ruler of Pakistan gave it to India. This may seem stupid at first glance but there was a reason for Pakistan to be given to India. After the partition, the ruler of Kashmir decided to stay neutral, but as armed tribesmen from Pakistan began attacking the state of Kashmir their ruler Hari Singh had to turn to India for help. This problem still persists in the form of Pakistan funded terrorist organisations whose only objective is to scare people into submitting to Pakistan.





There exists a proper rationale behind Kashmir being the battleground.

Kashmir is resourceful- it is the origin of majority Indo-Pakistani perineal rivers. Rivers not only provide us with drinking water but things like hydro-electricity which are super important to developing nations like India and Pakistan. The Indus water treaty was created just to prevent abrupt war due to water shortage because the loss of rivers in Indian and Pakistani control could pose an existential threat to both the nuclear giants.

Now that we have established a basic sense of the overall problem, let us talk about why India is pushing for bilateral talks-





a) China

China is a BIG supporter of Pakistan. Pakistan supplies china with dog and chicken bones for medicines and get support if China in return. Jokes apart, the real reason is that China and Pakistan have a common enemy which is sadly India. India can take Pakistan in a war but it cannot take both Pakistan and China. (As seen in the wars of 1965 ,1971,1999)





b)Trump

If the issue has a mediator it would be Trump. Trump in pro-India but the problem is that he is in talks with Taliban over demilitarization of Afghanistan. If he openly supports India then his deal with Taliban may be hampered due to Taliban having good relations(openly funded by) with Pakistan. This chance of Trump being in favour of Pakistan is a major reason why India is pushing for bilateral talks.





c) Caution

India doesn't want to be the reason for another world war to happen. We have seen how even small issues can become sources of big conflict. Kashmir is needed to be taken care of.





d) Value of Kashmir

We have already talked about why none of the countries want to give away the control of Pakistan however good it may seem for the world from a neutral standpoint. It is located on the Indo-Pak border which is reminiscent of a bloody partition.









e) Pride and politics

Kashmir is now not just a issue of mere possession. There is an instilled hate for Pakistan in India and I am pretty sure the vice-ā-versa is true. If a politician wants to win election she/he has to talk about national sentiments and how Kashmir has always belonged to our country. Kashmir has a become an issue of international pride and this is what prevents both the countries from forming a viable policy, a logical solution and, a relief for Kashmiris.





We all know historically even Pakistan was a part of India's part which was wrongly and hastily divided by British. I'd like to end by quoting one of the most influential person in Indian politics Atal Bihari Vajpayee(said during a visit to Pakistan)- "We feel incomplete without you(Pakistan)".





Source - BBC







