SRINAGAR: The Guinness book of records says Kashmir is the world’s largest militarized zone on the planet. The Dispatch News Desk (DND) reports. Guinness says up to 1 million troops stare at each other across the Line of Control which separates Indian administered and Pakistani administered parts of Jammu and Kashmir state.
Kashmir, once only known for its picturesque beauty has finally made its place in the world facts book, the reason being the world’s largest militarized zones on the planet earth.
According to the CIA world book, the dispute between China, India and Pakistan over the issue of Kashmir has made it the largest and the most militarized territorial dispute in the world. Political activists in Kashmir say the onus of militarizing the region is more on India. Since the partition of sub continent, Kashmir which was a princely state – became a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Both the nuclear-armed countries claim the territory but rule it in parts since 1947.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the territory, and are usually at loggerheads over everything related to Kashmir. In 1989, armed insurgency in Kashmir began and India has since deployed an estimated 1 million troops in the region. The Guinness book of records adds that at any one time, up to 1 million troops confront each other across the Line of Control.
Experts say the silence of international community over the sufferings of Kashmiri people has resulted into more repression.
Kashmir has made its place in the facts book for four reasons and all the reasons are linked to the pending dispute, the book says, Kashmir is the World’s highest battle field and largest militarized zone. It has also the highest number of military bases in the world and finally the lengthiest speech in the United Nations was given over the dispute of Kashmir. It lasted for 8 hours.
