I refer to the letter on Kashmir by Salim Currimbhoy, headlined, 'Broken pledge' (South China Morning Post, July 22) replying to my letter to these columns, on July 15.
My statement that 'Kashmir has always been an indivisible part of India' is not misleading. If we look at ancient history, from the time of the Indian emperor Chandragupta Maurya, who ruled more than 2,000 years ago, up to the present day, Kashmir has always been in India. Kashmir's cultural, geographical and political affinity with the rest of India cannot be disputed.
Regarding the issue of the plebiscite, the basic aim of a plebiscite is that the people should be given a choice. The same goal can be met through elections.
If I was a Kashmiri and I didn't support my state being a part of India, I would not vote in the elections in which political parties have to take their oath on the Constitution of India which clearly stipulates the integrity and unity of the country.
Since the 1950s there have been a number of elections in Kashmir, with a huge voter turnout. In the last elections in 1996, more than 60 per cent of the electorate turned out to vote and the staunchly pro-Indian National Conference Party, a Kashmiri Muslim party, won an overwhelming victory.
This was despite the fact that the militant-controlled Hurriyat Conference had asked the people to boycott the elections.