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The "military occupation" of Kashmir by New Delhi despite the unwillingness of its people is a tragedy for a democratic society like India, according to Fareed Zakaria, managing editor of Newsweek International.
It is a tragedy for India, "because we have a democratic society", that it continues to have "a military occupation of people who do not want to be occupied", Zakaria said while responding to questions after delivering the keynote address at the annual South Asian Journalists Association awards ceremony in New York on Sunday.
Zakaria said he felt that both India and Pakistan were unwilling to take steps to change the situation. Pakistan, he said, is a complicated case in the sense that it is "in danger of virtual collapse".
General Musharraf has declared himself president, but he cannot ignore either the Inter-Services Intelligence or the military, he noted.
"I am of the view that India should recognize the reality [of the Kashmir situation] and should start asking itself how it can live with substantial autonomy for Kashmir," he said.
Earlier, Zakaria, who spoke on globalization and India, was given the 2001 Journalism Leadership Award by Sreenath Sreenivasan, administrator of the award and professor at the Columbia School of Journalism.
"He [Zakaria] has built a reputation as a thoughtful, passionate observer of American foreign policy and is one of the most influential voices, South Asian or otherwise, in journalism today," Jyoti Thottam, SAJA president, said in her introductory remarks.
Among those who got awards in different categories was Suleman Din of rediff.com, who was awarded a special recognition award for his coverage of the immigrant smuggling ring run by California landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy, and Amitav Kumar, whose commentary on the popularity of curry outside India was published in India Abroad.
An estimated 500 journalists, including some from India, Bangladesh and Britain, attended the three-day jamboree, including Tarun Tejpal of tehelka.com
"I would like to see more people involved in SAJA," Thottam said. Sreenivasan felt the coverage of South Asia has been better this year because of President Bill Clinton's visit to the region.
EARLIER REPORT: Old friends and colleagues reunite at SAJA convention
The Lakireddy Case: The complete coverage
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