Author: Hasan Suroor
Publication: The Hindu
Date: November 16, 2002
URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2002/11/16/stories/2002111603751100.htm
The British Foreign Secretary, Jack
Straw, has said that Britain made "serious mistakes'' over Kashmir and
called the festering dispute between India and Pakistan a consequence of
his country's colonial past.
In an unprecedented acknowledgement
of the damaging effects of Britain's colonial legacy on the Indian subcontinent,
Mr. Straw described Kashmir as a "bad story for us.'' His remarks in an
interview to New Statesman came in the course of his savage indictment
of what the pro-Labour journal termed as "British historical errors.''
The situation in India and Pakistan
topped his list of the problems around the world, which, he said, were
a hangover of Britain's imperial foreign policy. ``India, Pakistan - we
made some quite serious mistakes. We were complacent with what happened
in Kashmir, the boundaries were not published until two days after independence.
Bad story for us, the consequences are still there,'' he said.
At the height of India-Pakistan
tensions earlier this year, Mr. Straw described Kashmir as "unfinished
business'' which was seen in Indian circles as a rather unhelpful comment
and at odds with New Delhi's categorical position that Kashmir is an integral
part of India.
Although his latest remarks were
made in an altogether different context, observers said they were likely
to revive the controversy over Britain's stand on Kashmir. Mr. Straw's
predecessor, Robin Cook, provoked an angry row in New Delhi when on a visit
to India he made certain comments which were regarded as amounting to outside
interference.
Mr. Straw also cited Afghanistan
as an embarrassing example of British policies saying his country "played
less than a glorious role over a century-and-a-half.'' And ditto West Asia
where the "odd lines for Iraq's borders were drawn by Brits.'' On the Palestinian
issue too, he said, early British involvement was "not an entirely honourable
one.''
While the Opposition accused Mr.
Straw of "undermining'' the British foreign policy, Downing Street was
quoted as saying that his remarks were a "sensible statement of history.''
