Do chowkies represent their people's opinions on kashmir?

People in India, Pakistan want governments to resolve all issues

July 17, 2008 02:04 IST


People in both India and Pakistan are open to resolving all issues between the two countries.

The survey has shown that on neither side is there strong majority opposition to Kashmir becoming an independent country or dividing Kashmir between Pakistan and India.

"Given the deep roots of the conflict over Kashmir, it is surprising that the conflict does not muster clearly polarised majorities in Pakistan and India, falling in line behind their governments positions," remarked Clay Ramsay, research director of WorldPublicOpinion.org.

"Instead, many show openness to considering different possibilities for resolving the conflict," Ramsay added.

In the survey, Indians and Pakistanis were asked to consider a range of possible outcomes for Jammu and Kashmir [Images] and to say whether they found them desirable, acceptable, tolerable or unacceptable.

Respondents were asked to "suppose the majority of all Kashmiris, including those on both sides of the Line of Control and refugees, want Kashmir to be an independent state."

In that case only 35 per cent of Indians would find independence unacceptable. Among Pakistanis, only 11 percent found this outcome unacceptable.

On the issue of militant groups fighting in Jammu and Kashmir and carrying out attacks against civilians, a majority of Pakistanis say their country's government does not provide support to militant groups that carry out such attacks.

Overall, both sides endorse their own governments' approach to the conflict over Kashmir, especially Pakistanis (Indians 57%, Pakistanis 68%).

Only minorities on either side call for their government to take a harder or softer line on the Kashmir issue in its dealing with the other country.

The organisation has said that the survey of the urban population of Pakistan was carried out by AC Nielsen Pakistan using a questionnaire developed by WorldPublicOpinion.org.

All interviewing was conducted in Urdu. A total of 907 face-to-face interviews across 182 primary sampling units in 19 Pakistan cities were carried out between September 12 and September 28, 2007.

Sampling error for a sample of this size is approximately +/-3.3 percentage points.

In India, the survey was carried out by Team C Voter, using a questionnaire developed by WorldPublicOpinion.org.

A face-to-face survey with 1,258 urban respondents was conducted in two waves during October and November of 2007 in 10 of the largest metropolitan areas.

India's population is approximately 30 per cent urban. Sampling error for a sample of this size is approximately +/-2.8 percentage points.

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