The U.S. Secretary of the State Madeleine Albright's father Dr Josef Korbel the Czechoslovakian member of the UN Commission on Kashmir (UNCIP) nominated by India, served the cause of Kashmir more as a conscientious, talented, scholarly and humane person than as a member of that impotent world body. He felt agonised at the miserable plight of Kashmiris and also at the utterly unjustified arrogance of his own nominator. At the same time, his vision penetrated through the dark mist of ambiguities that surrounded the arena and reached the core reality which made him conclude, as far back as in 1954, that "Kashmir has become a veritable powder keg for the whole of Asia." (page 304 of his famous book 'Danger in Kashmir'). The 'powder keg' has exploded twice and is aflame for the last over 9 years costing hundreds of thousands of human lives since 1947, bringing unimaginable miseries to a billion people and loss of hundreds of billions worth of property. That is besides keeping India and Pakistan hostage to what is termed by them as defence against each other. To be more precise, this 'powder keg' has, besides causing death and destruction on large scale, forced the bulk of one billion people of the sub-continent to languish in poverty, disease and ignorance as the money that could and should have been spent to rid the people of these evils is spent on 'defence'. What is still worse, the 'powder keg' is now nuclear charged and can completely destroy the entire sub-continent.

In the second edition of the book published 12 years later in 1966, Dr Korbel comments with authority, "The people of Kashmir have made it unmistakably known that they insist on being heard.........The accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India can not be considered as valid by canons of international law........The issue itself can not be side-tracked. The history of the case has made it clear that time has only aggravated, not healed, the conflict.........a prolonged neglect on the part of participants would certainly turn against their own fundamental interests, their national security, indeed perhaps their national existence.......No high hope should be entertained that bilateral negotiations will lead to a settlement...... If these and other factors are kept in mind, an equitable and honourable solution of Kashmir conflict may yet be found." (pages 351-52).

Every word of this analysis speaks volumes about realities concerning different aspects of Kashmir issue. The first comment explains the importance and unignorable nature of the will of Kashmiri people which has of late injected a new life into erstwhile half-dead issue. The second sentence pinpoints the hollowness not only of Indian claim to legal proprietorship of Kashmir but also of her hope that time would not aggravate but heal the conflict. Time has only aggravated not healed the wounds. Attempts to side-track the issue have proved costly to those who tried to do so. Time has also proved that bilateral talks to solve the issue have failed in the past and will continue doing so in future too. Most important among these analyses and comments is the prophecy that if the issue is neglected continuously, it will prove disastrous to the national interests of both India and Pakistan and may even prove a strong danger to their very existence. That speaks of the seriousness and destructive capability of the conflict. Nevertheless, the very prophecy gives a ray of hope that if tried effectively and sincerely, keeping all these facts in mind, an honourable and equitable solution of the issue could be found.

The state of affairs now prevailing in the Sub-continent and on global level presents a unique opportunity. On one hand India-Pakistan talks have of late started though so far as an exercise in futility, yet their very continuation counts a lot. And on the other, Ms Madeleine Albright, Dr Josef Korbel's dynamic daughter, is incharge of world affairs of the sole super power. Although in matters like international affairs, personal or blood relations don't usually count much, but what Mrs Albright owes to Dr Korbel, not in his capacity as her father but as a man of principles, a statesman and a humanist, is not to ignore his repeated and strong warnings that if left unsolved, Kashmir can really prove rather a nuclear keg and destroy the entire region and that until that tragic hour reaches, will keep the bulk of the one billion people of the region tied up with the shackles of poverty, disease and ignorance. Mrs Albright, the main policy-maker of the sole super power, also owes it to her position and responsibility to take some daring steps to rid this part of the world of the dangers and evils referred to above. If for a reason far less important, she could fight the collective might of 14 members of the 15- member UN Security Council single-handed and show the door to Mr Boutros Boutros Ghali, the then UN Secretary General, why can't she prevail upon those who stand in the way of an equitable solution of Kashmir problem which has been eating into very vitals of one billion people for the last half a century and is a constant threat to world peace. Keeping in view a number of historical facts and bitter and sweet ground-realities and tendencies, one reaches the clear conclusion that the best practicable solution of Kashmir issue is to re-unite Indian and Pakistani controlled parts of Jammu Kashmir State ( the Vale of Kashmir, Jammu, Ladakh, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan) and make it a fully independent country with a democratic, non-communal and federal system of Government and having friendly relations with the international community especially with India and Pakistan.

JUSTIFICATIONS : There are a number of justifications for reunification and complete independence of Jammu Kashmir State. They are:

OVERALL GAINS: This peaceful, practicable, equitable and permanent solution of Kashmir issue will not only herald the dawn of a new peaceful, prosperous and glorious era for both India and Pakistan and benefit rest of the world indirectly but will also rid 13 million Kashmiris of the continuous agony that they have been in for the last half a century. All that India and Pakistan will have to do to achieve this all-important objective, is to part with the territories of Jammu Kashmir now under their respective control. This price is not even one-thousandth part of what India and Pakistan will get in return in the shape of permanent peace, prosperity and glory.