WASHINGTON, FEB 25: If posterity captures a defining moment that signaled the political coming of age of Indian Americans in the United States, it could be at noon in the year 2000 on a balmy Thursday in Washington. That’s when a group of 33 well-heeled immigrants trooped into the White House to voice their views on the Presidential trip to South Asia at the invitation of the Clinton administration.

This refers to Iftekhar Hai’s opinion carried in the issue of August 5 on Kashmir in San Francisco chronicle. To understand the problem of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) we have to go back to when India became independent and was partitioned, and Pakistan was created in August 1947. Then, there were 565 Princely States, which were given the option to join either India or Pakistan.Legally, there were three points to note on J&K:

A PERSISTENT THREAT of war continues to flare up between two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. The problem is control of Kashmir, and it could be eased simply by letting the people of that disputed territory make a trip to the ballot box. The majority of the American people do not understand why India and Pakistan are at warin Kashmir. The problem dates back to the end of the British empire. A PERSISTENT THREAT of war continues to flare up between two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. The problem is control of Kashmir, and it could be eased simply by letting the people of that disputed territory make a trip to the ballot box. The majority of the American people do not understand why India and Pakistan are at war in Kashmir. The problem dates back to the end of the British empire.

Attorney General Bill Lockyer is scheduled to attend. So is state Sen. Liz Figueroa, and Assemblyman John Dutra, and Milpitas Mayor Henry Manayan. The high-powered guest list for a dinner Friday in the Fremont hills is an obvious sign that the Indo-American Community Federation is an organization with clout, even though most local residents have never heard of the non-profit group.

Reflecting the growing recognition in Washington of the plight of Kashmiris Pandits influential democrat from Ohio and members of the India Caucus Sherrod Brown urged Home Minister L.K.Advani to consult the Kashmir Task Force (KTF) while resolving the “unfortunate situation”.In a letter to Advani last week, Brown noted the deteriorating condition of the Pandits, their forced exodus by terrorists trained outside India’s borders and decried the harsh living conditions in the make-shift camps set up for them.