Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy presented his documentary "Crossing the Lines: Kashmir, India, and Pakistan" to a diverse group of about 70 undergraduates, graduates, and faculty Monday evening in the Cabot Auditorium.
The film is about the India-Pakistan conflict as it relates to issues of Kashmiri control.
History professor Ayesha Jalal described Hoodbhoy as "a household name in Pakistan because he is what you would call a public intellectual." He is currently a visiting professor of physics at MIT.
Hoodbhoy specializes in issues of nuclear disarmament, which he considers crucial to the conflict between India and Pakistan.
Hoodbhoy first addressed positive movement in relations between the countries, as "we have seen a restoration of diplomatic [relations] this year." He specifically cited the meeting of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf in New York last week.
But according to Hoodbhoy, his film showed "a story of people at war over borders and boundaries, driven by nationalistic and religious fervor."
The Indian territory of Kashmir, formerly thought of as a prime example of secular rule in India, is now occupied by an Islamic majority. India claims that Kashmir is necessary to keep the country grounded in a secular regime, while Pakistan claims that their Islamic nation is incomplete without it.
"What was basically a territorial issue, they've made an ideological issue," Hoodbhoy said.
This transition took place when the Kashmiri struggle became identified with the Muslim concept of jihad, the film explained. The analysis was accompanied by footage of protesters proclaiming to be "united under Allah," which had "tragic consequences for Kashmir's minorities."
Massacres of Hindus began occurring in Kashmir, which led the largely Hindu India away from secularization as it sought to unite against "Islamic terrorism," according to the film.
The reason for this, Hoodbhoy said, was the "urgency and immediacy of the situation" due to the continuing loss of human life, which he places at five to10 Kashmiris a day. He also posited that India's desecularization is due to the pervasiveness of hatred in both societies.
An audience member asked the academic if Kashmir was the source of the conflict between the two countries, or a manifestation of the conflict. Hoodbhoy responded that while there are other issues - such as the division of waters - between them, control of Kashmir is responsible for 80 percent of the conflict.
Many audience members, including Jalal, voiced criticism of the lack of representation of the Kashmiri people in the conflict, claiming that the issue had been reduced to one between the two larger countries.
In response, Hoodbhoy said that since the rigged democratic Indian elections of 1987, "religion's increasing role has been responsible for the loss of Kashmiri identity. Now, people are primarily religious, and second, are Kashmiri."
The people of Kashmir observe a variety of religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism, according to Hoodbhoy. He also said that "where religion is such a defining voice in our identity, there is no one Kashmiri voice."
Hoodbhoy addressed the possibility of a "South Asian solution" by suggesting, "we have to primarily regard ourselves as South Asian, not Indian or Pakistani, and let these divisions blur to allow us to go from one side to another."
"[Until now] suggestions have been involving the physical division [of Kashmir], and this is a mindset that has to be changed," he said. "Let the line of control be where it is; don't declare a geographic divide. Let the borders become soft; let families reunite."
Hoodbhoy felt that the events of Sept. 11 led to positive steps toward rapprochement.
"Musharraf had to abandon his friends, the Taliban, and he made the right choice," he said, and opened the door for peace talks between the nations.
The event was sponsored by the Tufts Center for South Asian Studies, the Department of History, and the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies.
It is the first in a series of events for the semester. The next event, "Globalization and the Indian Economy," will take place on Nov. 17.
