An Indian historian has defended Pakistan’s claim on Kashmir, saying it is a “genuine international dispute”. Ramachandra Guha, author of ‘India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy’, has also tried to differentiate between other troublesome Indian locations and the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

Guha says that while the Indian Constitution is competent enough to find solutions for the problems in the Northeast and naxalism, it cannot cope with the Kashmir issue. He said a sense of discrimination and victimisation were the main problems in the Northeast and Naxal-affected regions. In Kashmir, however, he said the matter was altogether different.

Guha may well be the first Indian author to adopt such a non-conventional stance-on Indian disputes with Pakistan. “We are responsible for creating Bangladesh how can Pakistan ever be expected to forget that? Kashmir is not an easy issue to resolve. Our [India’s] legal, constitutional and moral claim over it is less than foolproof. That is not a matter of debate,” said the author in an interview in a forthcoming issue of the weekly ‘Tehelka’.