Dominion of Pakistan – East Turkestan Republic (1947–1949) relations
 
| |
| |
PAKISTAN
(Occupied Kashmir)
|
Uyghur Kingdom
|
.svg)
In 1933, Uighurs established the short-lived Islamic Republic of Eastern Turkestan and again in 1944 Uighur leaders set up an independent state called the East Turkestan Republic, ruled by an autonomous military governor who nervously sought aid and sponsorship first from the Soviet Russia and then from the Nationalist Party of China, before ultimately surrendering to the Communists in Xinjiang in September 1949. Xinjiang’s relations with Beijing have been fractious ever since. The reason is simple: the native population of Xinjiang has no cultural, ethnic, linguistic or religious connection with China which, in essence, is a "foreign" occupying power. In fact, the very name "Xinjiang" meaning "New Frontier”, emphasizes the region's place at the periphery of the Han Chinese Empire.
Pakistan emerged as an independent state in 1947 & has always been beset with innumerable problems – particularly the security problems. We joined SEATO & CENTO mainly because of our security concerns. In spite of the fact that these pacts were US sponsored & were meant to ensure the containment of Communism (& by implication were equally opposed to both China & Soviet Union). Still China has been more appreciative of our constraints. Since then Pak-China relations have remained pretty stable & reliable. Of late Xinjiang province, a Muslim population area has emerged a serious irritant in our relations. This province claims that Muslims never been an integral part of Chinese cultural & community and as such are legitimately entitled to independence. China is apprehensive for the fact that Pakistan– at least some sections of its population – are sympathetic to Muslims’ struggle for a separate homeland. In this article, we have tried to touch upon some of the sensitive issues involved in this problem. Our main objective is to understand this issue.
Although China was initially declared a multinational state in 1949, the Communist Party’s policy of 1957 opposed “local nationalism” among ethnic minorities and clamped down on religions.11 A decade later, the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) caused even greater injustices against ethnic minorities. Religion was especially suppressed, so were ethnic languages, cultural foods and dresses. The Uighur in Xinjiang, like other Muslim minorities throughout China, saw their religious texts and mosques destroyed, their religious leaders persecuted, individual adherents punished and ancient religious sites desecrated.12 The Mao era of Cultural Revolution was particularly hard for all religious groups in China, especially the Muslims. After Deng Xiao Ping (1975-83) took power, the situation improved rapidly for the Muslims and there was are turn to religious tolerance. With the more open policies adopted during the late 1970s and the early 1990s, restrictions on minorities and religions began to loosen. Mosques were rebuilt or reopened and greater interaction between China's Muslims and the wider Islamic community was permitted. Chinese Muslim participation in the annual Haj pilgrimage to Makkah grew steadily from the mid-1980s, exposing many ordinary people to international Islamic thought and political developments. Similarly, foreign Muslims were allowed to visit Islamic sites in China, creating a greater awareness of the wider Muslim community. This opening resulted in more minorities speaking out against what were seen as discriminatory economic, religious, and political practices. Very quickly, these openings generated renewed affinity with Islam in Xinjiang and created an intellectual climate conducive to thoughts of separatism and autonomy. Sensing a threat to its power, the Chinese government responded by restricting contacts between its Turkic Muslims and visitors from the Middle East. By the early 1990s, mosque construction and renovation was severely curtailed, public broadcasting of sermons outside mosques was banned, religious education was forbidden, only religious material published by the state Religious Affairs Bureau was allowed, religious activists were removed from state positions and Haj pilgrimages were tightly controlled and limited to participants over 50 years of age. The first serious outbreaks of violence directed at the Chinese authorities occurred in response to the imposition of these restrictive measures and reflected the local communities' anger and frustration at Beijing's about-turn on greater religious freedom. China feared that instability in Xinjiang could bring instability to Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Taiwan.
The Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) is a largely Muslim populated area (about 21 millions) in the northwest of China. In area, it is the largest province in China covering about one-sixth of China’s total area. The Xinjiang is home of 47 ethnic groups, the larger ones include: the Uighur, Han, Kazak, Hui, Mongolian, Kirgiz, Xibe, Tajik, Ozbek, Manchu, Daur, Tatar and Russian, most of them of Central Asiankinship.1 The most populous ethnic group is the Uighur, after which the XUAR is named. The Uighurs are Turkic ethnically and culturally, and mostly Sunni Muslims. It is one of China’s five autonomous regions for ethnic minorities. Economically, it is backward than the interior and western provinces of China.
The Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region has 5,500 km of international borders. It holds important position at the crossroads of 8 states: Russia, Central Asia (bordering the independent republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan), Mongolia, the Indian sub-continent (sharing common borders with Upper Indus Valley (Ladakh), Pakistan and Afghanistan), Tibet, and China proper. This geo-strategic position which made Xinjiang a crucial passageway for the Silk Road in the distant past and a stake in the "Great Game" between the Russian, British and Chinese empires, now even more sensitive amidst regional tensions. Standing high on the list includes: a territorial dispute with India (which declared in 1998 that its nuclear armaments were pointed at the PRC); the Pakistani-Indian conflict over neighbouring Kashmir; the never-ending war in Afghanistan; the volatile situation in the Ferghana Valley (where a mixture of ethnic groups are divided between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan); and the precarious situation within Tajikistan (torn by a civil war until 1996). It also lies at the cultural crossroads between the Islamic world, the Middle East and the Han Chinese heartland.
References[edit]
 | This article about politics is a stub. You can help EverybodyWiki by expanding it. |
