The Cultural Heritage, National Sovereignty, and Human Life at Stake: A Game of Geopolitical Chess

# By Lucky Chand

The terrorist attack in the Pahalgam area of India-administered Kashmir on April 24, 2025, has once again plunged India-Pakistan relations into a deep freeze. Following the loss of 26 lives, India has responded with harsh measures against Pakistan. However, this attack is merely a surface-level symptom; digging deeper reveals roots entangled with the missions of the American CIA and India’s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW).

While the responsibility for the Kashmir attack was claimed by the “Kashmir Resistance” group, India has linked it to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. Yet, historical context suggests a concerning pattern: just as the CIA armed Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, a similar blueprint may be repeating itself in South Asia.

The destruction of the Buddha statues in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan by Al-Qaeda and the Maoist burning of 500-year-old manuscripts in Nepal both reflect actors operating under a strategic “New World Order.” These groups, though seemingly disparate, serve as pawns in a larger geopolitical game.

In Nepal, Maoist violence and so-called democratic movements were allegedly directed from Indian soil. During Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure as Prime Minister, RAW reportedly trained Maoists in Indian settlements before deploying them to Nepal. Top leaders of Nepal’s Congress and Maoist parties became part of a grand design orchestrated through CIA-RAW coordination in Delhi.

This context casts a shadow over Nepal’s historical tragedies, such as the burning of ancient manuscripts at Mahendra Sanskrit University in Dang and the opaque mysteries surrounding the Royal Palace Massacre. Suspicion lingers over the involvement of India’s right-wing government, the CIA, and RAW in these events. During the massacre, Prime Minister Vajpayee’s administration had deepened military and intelligence ties with the U.S. and Israel, while RSS and BJP-affiliated groups aligned with these forces, targeting Nepal’s monarchy.

In retaliation for the Kashmir attack, India has imposed visa bans, border closures, and threatened suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistan, in turn, has halted trade, blocked airspace, and ordered Indians to leave within 48 hours. Should India attempt to divert the Indus River’s waters, Pakistan has vowed to treat it as an act of war—a potential trigger for water warfare.

Though the U.S. has maintained neutrality, the U.S. Institute of Peace has cautioned against blind support for India’s military response, warning that conflict between nuclear-armed states could devastate the region.

The Kashmir attack is not merely terrorism but part of a protracted CIA-RAW strategic battle in South Asia. Nepal, Afghanistan, and Kashmir form three vertices of a triangle where powerful nations exploit smaller states as geopolitical laboratories.

This game, played at the cost of cultural heritage, national sovereignty, and human lives, demands urgent exposure. As India and Pakistan inch closer to conflict, the need for South Asia to confront external manipulations and prioritize peace over proxy wars has never been more critical.