The Chart Online

Debate over Kashmir continues
Michelle Conty

Public Forum Editor

Students, faculty and members of the community gathered Sept. 26 in Webster Hall Auditorium to hear Dr. Stephen Cohen and Dr. Ayesha Jalal lecture on South Asia and the problems in Kashmir.

College President Julio Le n gave the welcoming address for the evening session of the Gockel Symposium. He said the Institute of International Studies and theme semesters are unique to Missouri Southern, unequal to any college or university in the United States or abroad.

Harry and Berniece Gockel were among the most beloved members of the Southern family, Le n said. When the College declared the international mission, they decided to leave the bulk of their estate to international affairs, including history, geography and travel.

The Institute began preparations months in advance for this symposium. Speakers were selected based on knowledge of the subject and scheduling availability.

The speakers are sometimes handicapped by the format and time frame, said Dr. Larry Martin, vice president for academic affairs. It s hard to lay the background, present the problem and solve the problem all within a 40 minute speech.

Jalal, MacArthur fellow and professor of history at Tufts University, gave the first presentation.

There will be no solution to Kashmir s conflict if its people are left out in the cold, Jalal said. For centuries, these people have been forced to melt into the landscape.

She spoke about the brutality against the people and the human death toll spiraling at an enormous rate.

She (Jalal) was very passionate, Martin said. Hers was a personal viewpoint.

We got a look at the problem in Kashmir through internal eyes. There is an advantage to seeing that different viewpoint.

Cohen, who presented a lecture in the morning session of the symposium, gave the second address of the evening.

There are many perspectives on Kashmir and its history, he said.

India sees Pakistan as such a threat because Pakistan is such a cat s paw for a larger threat against India. These countries are impaired by a minority conflict - both sides see the other side as a threat and themselves as vulnerable.

The solution is one side or the other beats the other militarily, thus forcing both sides toward a peaceful, sovereign relationship.

India and Pakistan have been engaged in conflict since 1947 after reaching independence.

I walked away feeling secure that something has to be done in the Kashmir area in South Asia by the United States, said Julie Martin, junior secondary education major, whether it be subsidies or something, because they are not going to work things out by themselves.

Several students expressed confusion after the discussion to the moderator, Dr. Karl Schmidt, Project South Asia director and associate professor of history and international studies.

Some students said they didn t understand the whole discussion, but that is OK, Schmidt said. We need to keep the discussion on a high level.

This is a benefit to the campus and the community, because we can go more in depth and present a topic as a whole versus a few seconds of information on the news.

Of the program itself, I thought the speakers engaged in a stimulating discussion of the Kashmir issue, said Dr. Chad Stebbins, director of the Institute. While they agreed on some points, it was obvious they (the speakers) had different perspectives on the viable solutions.

An estimated 300 people attended the evening discussions.

You never know how many people you will get in the evening, Stebbins said. The community really turned our for the discussion.

Dennis Morris, owner of Morris Mobile Lube and Power Wash in Carl Junction, attended the evening lectures to learn more about the situation in South Asia.

I walked away with a different perspective, he said.

India is a nuclear power with a growing economy, a burgeoning middle class, and one of the world s oldest civilizations.

As an Indian, lots of what they suggested isn t very practical, said Monicca Shanthanelson, senior biology major.

Both of the solutions offered were not feasible with the present stand of things unless something miraculous happens, she said. Shanthanelson is a native of India. She moved to the United States from Madras to attend Southern.

It would have been nice if the speakers would have broken it down a bit instead of assuming everyone knew the topic as they know it, Shanthanelson said. Being Indian, I understood all the speakers were saying.

Both speakers had arguments about how to handle the situation in Kashmir. Cohen was pressing for more intervention, while Jalal argued the people will be able to sort matters out better if left alone.

The real issue in Kashmir is not so much the people, like the politicians like to put it, Shanthanelson said. Rather, it is the money generated by tourism. Kashmir is a very pretty state, and the tourism dollars stimulate the economy. Once you face the true issue, then you can get a solution.

Jalal said bloodshed is a daily occurrence in South Asia and the blood spills across all frontiers in Kashmir, India and Pakistan.

I d hope students would walk away with the awareness that life is not always stable, Shanthanelson said. Sept. 11 gave that lesson. People can t take stability for granted. There (India), every day is like Sept. 11.