Nature’s Beauty-Kashmir

Kashmiri parties hold Pak Govt responsible for terrorism in valley

Kashmiri parties hold Pak Govt responsible for terrorism in valley
London,
ANI

London, (ANI): Ahead of ‘Black Day’, Kashmir leaders have slammed Pakistan for using their land for proxy wars and terrorism.

“They (Kashmiris in Pakistan occupied Kashmir) are being used from last 15-16 years. The way they started the proxy war. They use the Kashmiris basically, not only Kashmiris, all from the Pakistani jails actually.

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Those people in the jail bring them out and put them in the name of Jihad and we can’t call them Jihad,” Kashmir National Party Chairman Abbas Butt said at a conference here.

‘Black Day’ is observed on October 22, the day Pakistani tribals raided Kashmir.

The leaders of the parties who attended the conference expressed concern over the presence of Chinese troops in the region.

“Ten thousand army is here. They are here to stay. Previously they used to come to complete various projects and they used to go back. This time they are taking part in local politics. They are encouraging politicians and playing role in society. They are building proper houses, which indicates they are going to stay. What the Pakistan government is doing is they are leasing out different areas to Chinese for exploration,” said KNP spokesperson Shabir Choudhry.

The KNP has also decided to hold a public rally and a meeting in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

Sardar Shoukath Ali Kashmiri, the Chairman of the United Kashmiri People National Party, who has been living in exile in Geneva for the last decade said that the Pakistani government is supporting Kashmir valley based terror camps.

“All these organisations have no locus standi, even they have not any representation … because people of Pakistan not actually give them any kind of mandate like Jamat-e-Islami and Lashkar-e-Toiba LeT. They are actually isolated but they have big support from the state institutions,” he said. (ANI)

Huge anti-Pak protests in PoK, violence erupts

Huge anti-Pak protests in PoK, violence erupts

ANI

Published on Sat 24th Oct 2009

 Islamabad, Oct 24: Kashmiris from all walks of life observed a “Black Day” in Pakistan Kashmir, including capital Muzaffarabad, on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of the invasion of the area by Pakistani army men disguised as tribesmen from the North West Frontier of Province (NWFP), known as the Lashkars. A large number of people, carrying black flags and protest placards, participated in demonstrations held in various parts of Pakistan Kashmir. AHuge anti-Pak protests in PoK, violence erupts ANIPublished on Sat 24th Oct 2009 07:45:31Updated On Sat 24th Oct 2009 07:46:51 Islamabad, Oct 24: Kashmiris from all walks of life observed a “Black Day” in Pakistan Kashmir, including capital Muzaffarabad, on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of the invasion of the area by Pakistani army men disguised as tribesmen from the North West Frontier of Province (NWFP), known as the Lashkars. A large number of people, carrying black flags and protest placards, participated in demonstrations held in various parts of Pakistan Kashmir. Among the participants were Arif Shahid, the general secretary of the All Party National Alliance (APNA), Baltistan National Front leader Nawaz Khan Naji and Abdul Hamid Khan, the Chairman of Balawaristan National Front, besides others. So vociferous were the protests by the almost 800-odd participants, that security forces deployed to ensure maintenance of law and order, had to use teargas shells and firing in the air to disperse themmong the participants were Arif Shahid, the general secretary of the All Party National Alliance (APNA), Baltistan National Front leader Nawaz Khan Naji and Abdul Hamid Khan, the Chairman of Balawaristan National Front, besides others. So vociferous were the protests by the almost 800-odd participants, that security forces deployed to ensure maintenance of law and order, had to use teargas shells and firing in the air to disperse them

Kashmir Dispute – The Myth

History vindicated Maharaja Hari Singh’s Stand

By Dr. M.K. Teng

Neither the composition of the population of the  Princely States nor the self-determination of their peoples was recognised by the British, the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress, as the determining factor of the future disposition for the states in respect of their accession.

After the 3 June Declaration, envisaging the partition of the British India, Nehru demanded the right of the people of the Princely States to determine their disposition in respect of their accession Mohammad Ali Jinnah rejected Nehru’s demand as an attempt to thwart the process of the partition. Shortly, before the transfer of power, the Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten advised the Princess to keep in consideration the geography and the composition of the population of the States in reaching a decision on their accession. Mountbatten proposed to the Muslim League as well as the Congress to accept the principles of the partition–geographical contiguity and the composition of the population as the criteria of their accession. While the Congress leaders indicated their inclination to accept the proposals, the Muslim League leadership reacted sharply against the proposals and characterised them as an attempt to interfere with the rights of the Princes to determine the future of the States. At that time the Muslim League was deeply involved in shadowy maneuvers to support the Muslim rulers of several major States to remain out of India and align with Pakistan. It has been pointed out in an earlier part of this paper that Pakistan invoked the partition to legitimize its claim to Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of the Muslim majority character of its population after the last two Muslim ruled States of Junagarh and Hyderabad were integrated with India.

There is enough historical evidence available, which reveals that in persuading the Congress leaders to accept the partition the British assured the Congress leaders that after the Muslim majority provinces and regions were separated to form the Muslim homeland of Pakistan, the unity of the rest of India, including the states would be preserved and not impaired any further.

The Indian leaders rejected the claim Pakistan made to the Muslim majority States as well as the  Muslim ruled States, but they dithered when the time to act and unite the States with India arrived. Instead of taking active measures to bring about the unification of the States with India, they resorted to subterfuge..

The Indian leaders turned to Mountbatten and not the people of the States to bring about their  integration with India. Mountbatten steered the States Department to accept a balance between the Muslim ruled States and the Muslim majority States. The largest of the Muslim ruled States were deep inside the Indian mainland. Neither Gandhi nor Nehru objected to the course, the Indian States Department followed.

The Viceroy did not forgive Hari Snigh for having disregarded his advice to come to terms with Pakistan. He refused stubbornly to deal with Jammu and Kashmir independent of the Muslim States and in the long run did more harm to Jammu and Kashmir than anybody else in India did. He was the main proponent of the policy of isolation, the Indian leaders followed towards Jammu and Kashmir. The way Mountbatten acted as the Governor General of India till 15 August 1947, and the way he acted as the Governor General of the Indian Dominion after 15 August 1947, left wide space open for Pakistan to claim a separate freedom for the Muslim of Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of the Muslim majority character of its population. Not many months after the Security Council adopted its first resolution on Jammu and Kashmir in August 1948, the Muslims laid claim to a separate freedom for them on the basis of the Muslim majority character of the population.

The Government of India and the Indian political leadership failed to rebut the claim made by Pakistan and the Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir that the state was on the agenda of the partition of India. Not only that, the Government of India and the Indian political leadership failed to refute the claim made by the Muslims of the state to a separate freedom, different from the freedom that the Indian people were ensured by the Constitution of India – a separate freedom which was determined by the theological imperatives of Islam. The Indian leaders overlooked the fact that the conflict which led to the partition of India was rooted in the claim the Indian Muslims made to a separate freedom which drew its sanction from the precept and precedent of religion.

The Muslim League followed a meticulously designed plan to use the Muslim rulers of several major Princely States, situated deep inside the Indian mainland to bring about the fragmentation of India. The Indian  leaders walked into the trap when they tried to balance the accession the Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir with the accession of the Hindu majority States ruled by the Muslim Nawabs like Bhopal, Hyderabad and Junagarh. The strategy to refer the issue of the accession to the people of these States tantamounted to the acceptance of the Muslim claim to a separate freedom, the Two-Nation theory envisaged. The Indian proposals to Pakistan to refer the accession of Junagarh with that Dominion, accomplished by the ruler of the State on the eve of the transfer of power, was a tame recognition of the Muslim claim to a separate freedom. When Pakistan made a counter-proposal to hold a plebiscite in all the three States, the Government of India was suddenly faced with a catastrophic choice. It promptly rejected the proposals made by Pakistan.

The Indian Government, for unknown reasons, separated its offer to refer the accession of the State to its people i.e. the Muslims for their endorsement. Why did not the Indian Government propose to refer the accession of Bhopal and Trancore to the Dominion of India, to the people of the two States? The rulers of both the States were opposed to join India and their people took to the streets and forced them to accede to India. Hardly ten months after the accession of the Jammu and Kashmir while the Indian armies were still fighting to drive out the invading forces, United Nations foisted a resolution on India which envisaged a plebiscite to determine its final disposition in respect of its accession. The resolution of the Security Council, virtually underlined the repudiation of the accession of the State to India and opened the option for the Muslims of the State to exercise their choice to join Pakistan. The Security Council Resolution was the first step in the process of the internationalization of the claim of the Muslims of the State to a separate freedom.  The Government of India cried hoarse that it had rejected the Two-Nation Theory inspite of having accepted the partition of India. But its commitment to refer the accession of the State, accomplished by Hari Singh to its people was a tacit recognition of the right to a separate freedom, which underlined the demand for Pakistan.

Another ten months after the August resolution of the Security Council was adopted the Indian Government took a fateful step and formally recognised the right the Muslims for Jammu and Kashmir to a separate freedom, when in May 1949, it agreed to exclude Jammu and Kashmir from the constitutional organisation of India. In November 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India incorporated provisions in the Constitution of India which left out the State from the constitutional structure which it had evolved for the Dominion as well as the Princely States which had acceded to India  and after years of labour. The special provisions for the State, embodied in the Constitution of India, stipulated the application of only Article if the Constitution of India to the State. A blanket limitation was imposed upon the application of the rest of the provisions of the Constitution of India to the State. The Union Government was empowered to exercise powers listed in the Central list of the Seventh Schedule of the India Constitution only in respect of defence, foreign affairs and communications which corresponded with the powers delegated by the State to the Dominion Government by virtue of the Instrument of Accession.

The Interim Government of the State, constituted by the National Conference insisted upon the right to frame a separate constitution for the State, which fulfilled the aspirations of the Muslims who constituted a majority of its population. The Interim Government arrogated to itself unrestricted powers and ruled the State by decree and ordinance. Within six years of its tenure, it completed the task of the Muslimisation of the State by enforcing the precedence of Islam and the Muslim majority in its social, economic and political organisation. In 1953, the Interim Government claimed a separate freedom for the Muslim ‘nation’ of Kashmir. The Indian leaders had conceded to the Muslims the right to constitute a Muslim State of Jammu and Kashmir on the territories of India. Confronted by the demand for a Muslim State outside the territories of India, the Indian leaders were flustered. They refused to countenance the Muslim demand for a separate Muslim State of Jammu and Kashmir, which did not form a part of India. The Interim Government was dismissed and the National Conference broke up.

Pakistan, the Muslim separatist and pro-Pakistan Muslim flanks joined by a large section of the leaders and cadres of the National Conference, called for a plebiscite in the State, which enabled the Muslims to exercise their right of self-determination. They claimed that they had acquired in consequence of the partition of India and which India, Pakistan as well as the United Nations had explicitly recognised.

The Muslim separatist movement led by the Plebiscite Front, committed itself to an ideological framework which was based upon the distortions of the history of the partition of India. The ideological commitments of the Plebiscite Front underlined : (a) that the right of the Muslims to a separate freedom enmated from the partition of India and the creation of the Muslim homeland of Pakistan; (b) that the right of the Muslims to a separate freedom transcended the accession of the State to India, brought about by the ruler of the State; and (c) that as a consequence of the partition of India, the Muslims, constituting the majority of the population of the State, had acquired an irreversible right to exercise their option to join the Muslim State of Pakistan.

In 1990, the Muslim Jehad initiated by Pakistan and the Muslim separatist forces in the State, claimed their aims to be the unification of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan on the basis of the Muslim majority character of its population to complete the agenda of the partition of India. The Jehad claimed that Muslims of the State, as the Muslims elsewhere in India, had acquired a right to a separate freedom which the  Muslim struggle for Pakistan had secured the Muslim nation of India.

The Indian Government and the Indian political class must realise that the Muslims of the State did not acquire any right to separate freedom from the partition of India, which brought Pakistan into being and any attempts to arrive at a compromise with the Muslim separatists forces will lead straight to a second partition of India. The Muslim claim to a separate freedom on the basis of religious is a negation of the unity of India.

Of the many distortions of the history of the transfer of power in India, which form a part of the Kashmir dispute, the most conspicuous is the distortion of the historical facts of the boundary demarcation between the Dominion of India and Pakistan in the province of the Punjab. After the announcement of the partition plan on 3 June, 1947, a Boundary Commission was constituted by the British to demarcate the boundary between the Muslim majority zones and the Hindu-Sikh majority zones in the two provinces of Bengal and the Punjab. The Boundary Commission for the demarcation of the Muslim majority zone in the Punjab was constituted of four Boundary Commissioners, two of them representing the Muslims and two representing Hindus and the Sikhs. Justice Din Mohammad and Justice Mohammad Munir represented the Muslims and Justice Mehar Chand Mahajan and Justice Teja Singh represented the Hindus and the Sikhs respectively. A British lawyer of great repute, Sir Cyril Radcliff was appointed the Chairman of the Commission. Sir Radcliff presided over the Boundary Commission appointed for the demarcation of the boundary in the province of Bengal as well.

The Boundary Commission was charged with the responsibility of demarcating the Muslim majority region of the Punjab from the Hindu-Sikh majority region of the province on the basis of the population and other factors, which were considered to be relevant to the division of the province. Justice Mohammad Munir and Justice Din Mohammad refused to agree upon the criteria to specifically identify the factors other than population ratios. The Muslim Commissioners insisted upon strict adherence to the population proportions as the basis of the division of the province.

Mehar Chand Mahajan and Teja Singh pleaded for a balanced interpretation of the terms of reference of the Boundary Commission and emphasised the need to bring about harmonization between population proportions and the “other factors”, specified in the terms of reference. They felt that the division of the province of the Punjab was bound to affect the lives of millions of people, belonging to various communities living in the province as well as the future of the two Dominions, India and Pakistan. The Commissioners pointed out to the Commission that the population of the Hindus and Sikhs was unevenly distributed over the province of the Punjab. They pointed out that larger sections of the Hindu and Sikh population were concentrated in relatively smaller region of the East Punjab  and the imbalance would be reflected in demarcation of Hindu and Sikh majority regions from the Muslim majority regions of the West Punjab. They expressed the fears that the territorial division of the Punjab on the basis of population would earmark a smaller part of the East Punjab, to the Hindu and Sikh Community which would not commenserate with their population in the province. The Hindus and the Sikhs, Mahajan and Teja Singh pointed out to the Commission formed 45 percent of the population of the province and the territorial division of the province on the basis of the population ratios would leave them with less than 30 percent of the territory of the Punjab.

Mahajan and Teja Singh pointed out to the commission that fair distribution of river waters, irrigation headworks and canal system and cultural and religious centres could not be left out of its consideration in the delimitation of the Muslim majority and the Hindu and Sikh majority regions of the province. They emphasized the necessity of keeping in view the geographical contiguity of the demarcated regions, the communications and the viability of the borders  of the two Dominions of India and Pakistan. They told the Commission that in the demarcation of the borders between the West Punjab and the East Punjab balance would have to be achieved to ensure a fair and equitable division of the territories of the province between the Muslim community and the Hindu and the Sikh communities.

The most controversial and bitterly contested part of the demarcation for the borders was the division of the Doab, comprising the districts of the Lahore Division. Of the four districts of Lahore Division, the District of Amritsar was a Hindu-Sikh majority district and the district of Gurdaspur was a Muslim majority district with the Muslims having a nominal majority of 0.8 percent. Both Din Mohammad and Mohammad Munir insisted upon the inclusion of the entire Lahore Division in the West Punjab. The Muslim Commissioners were men of great ability and legal acumen and had the advantage of representing the majority community of the Punjab. They knew that the inclusion of the Lahore Division in the West Punjab would be of crucial importance to the future of Pakistan. The inclusion of the Lahore Division in the West Pakistan would ensure the Muslim homeland a larger share of water resources, irrigation headworks and the canal system of the Punjab. It would also close the only communication line; the Jammu-Madhopur fair weather road, which ran between the Jammu and Kashmir State and the Dominion of India. The Muslim League leaders were keen to isolate Jammu and Kashmir and build pressure on the ruler of the State to compel him to come to terms with Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir was not wholly isolated from India and had a contiguous frontier with Kangra and the Punjab Hill States, which had acceded to India. The State Government could construct an alternative communication route to connect the State with India. The construction of an alternative road between the State and the Dominion of India would, however, be an arduous task and take a long time, thus exposing the State to more hardship. Logistically also the construction of an alternative road would pose many problems. The borders between the State and the Indian Union running east of the Pathankot tehsil in Gurdaspur district, through which the Jammu-Madhopur road run, were mountainous and rugged and largely snowbound. The closure of the Jammu-Sialkot road and railway line and the Jhelum Valley road, which linked Srinagar with Rawalpindi had been closed by Pakistan and there was little prospect of their being thrown open for transport after the State joined India. By the time, the Boundary Commission begun its work, Pakistan was left with little doubt about the disinclination for the ruler of the State Maharaja Hari Singh to accede to that country.

Mahajan and Teja Singh pleaded for the inclusion of the Division of Lahore in the East Punjab. The two Commissioners raised fundamental issues with unparalleled eloquence in respect of their claim, which Sir Cyril Radcliffe could not overlook altogether. The issues they raised, included:

 

i) the distribution of water resources between the East and West Punjab, the location of the irrigation headworks and the canal system;

ii) the continuation of the communication lines in the East Punjab of which the Lahore Division formed Centre;

iii) the demarcation of a viable and defensible border of the India in the Punjab;

iv) the interests of the Sikh Community which had its largest assets in the West Punjab and its main religious and cultural centres in the Division of Lahore;

v) the Indian interest in the road-link between Jammu and Madhopur, arising out of its proximity to Jammu and Kashmir State for the security of that state as well as its future relations with the Indian Dominion.

Both Mahajan and Teja Singh avoided the heavily value-laden discourse of the Congress leaders, in their presentation to the Commission. They marshalled up concrete facts relevant to the demarcation of boundary in the Punjab and elucidated in detail the consequences – geographic, economic, political and strategic, the division of the province was bound to lead to and their impact on the future of the Hindus and Sikhs in the Punjab. Sir Radcliffe was a man of independent outlook, sent down from his country to draw the boundaries of the new Muslim State of Pakistan, which the British had actively connvived in creating. Sir Radcliffe knew little of the cultural configuration of the Punjab, its economic organisation and its history. Not only the Punjab, Sir Radcliffe knew much less of the history and culture and economic and political organisation of Bengal, the other Indian province he was commissioned to divide between the two communities, Hindus and Muslims, on the basis of population proportions.

Mahajan and Teja Singh were genuinely fearful of the future of their communities in the Punjab. The history of the Punjab had been shaped by Hindus and the Sikhs. The Sikhs established a powerful Kingdom in the Punjab, the borders of which extended from Afghanistan to the eastern fringes of Tibet. The Sikh state integrated the Himalayas into the northern frontier of India. The Himalayas, Sanskritised by the Hindus of Kashmir, formed the civilisational frontier of India. The establishment of the Sikh power put an end to the long history of the invasion of India from the north. The division of Punjab was bound to have serious effect on the future of the Sikh community. The Punjab was considered by the Sikhs to be their homeland. The Sikh places of pilgrimage were located in the eastern part of the Punjab, mainly the Division of Lahore. The responsibility of apprising the Boundary Commission of the sociology of the Sikh religion and its moorings in the Hindu civilisation of India, fell upon the Hindu and Sikh Commissioners. Teja Singh, ravaged by the anti-Hindu riots in the Punjab, exhibited great courage and forbearance, in defending the cause of his community.

The Muslim League carried on a strident campaign to build pressure on the Commission to demarcate the boundary between the east and the West Punjab on the basis of the population proportions. The British Governors of the Punjab and the North-East Frontier province along with the British officials posted in the two provinces acted in tandem to influence the Commission.

The Boundary Commission was entrusted with the historic task, of the demarcation of the Indian frontier in the north. Jammu and Kashmir formed the central spur of the warm Himalayan uplands and the new configuration of power created by the emergence of the Muslim state of Pakistan, was bound to effect the security of the Himalayas. There is no evidence to show that the Indian leaders realised the importance of the crucial changes, the emergence of Pakistan, would bring about in the structure of power-relations along northern frontier of India.

The Hindu and Sikh leaders of the Punjab evinced serious interest in the boundary demarcation. Both Mahajan and Teja Singh kept themselves in close touch with the Hindu and Sikh leaders of the Punjab. Among them were Sir Shadi Lal and Bakshi Tek Chand. Both Sir Shadi Lal and Tek Chand were in the confidence of Maharaja Hari Singh. The Indian leaders had warbled notions about the northern frontier of India. They were carried away by the fraternal regard, the Asian conference held in Delhi in 1946, symbolised. The Indian leaders viewed the solidarity of the Asian people and the emergence of the Asian nation from colonial dominance as basis for coexistence and cooperation among the Asian people. Gandhi disclaimed national frontiers. He claimed commitment to vaguely conceived concept of anarchism which formed a part of the intellectual tradition of the early twentieth century.

They had accepted partition of India, but they refused to recognise its political implications. They were unable to comprehend the significance of the demarcation of the boundary between India and Pakistan in the Punjab. Their inability to link the boundary demarcation in the Punjab with the security of the Northern Frontier of India exposed Jammu and Kashmir and the entire Indian frontier, stretching to its east, to foreign aggression.

Another man, whose future  was linked with the de marcation of the boundary in the Punjab, was Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu-Madhopur fair weather cart-road was the only communication link between the State and India. The two major all weather motorable roads, the Jehlum-Valley Road linking Srinagar with Rawalpindi and the Jammu-Sialkot road ran into the West Punjab. The railway line connecting Jammu with Sialkot also ran into the West Punjab. The border between the State and Kangra and the Punjab Hill States, which had decided to accede to India, was broken by rugged mountainous terrain. An alternate road could be built via Mukerian to connect Jammu with Kangra and via Doda with the Punjab Hill States. Indeed, when Mahajan and Teja Singh pointed out to the Commission the necessity of securing access to Jammu and Kashmir through East Punjab, Mohammad Munir and Din Mohammad suggested the construction of an alternate land route via Mukerian connecting Jammu with Kangra. The Hindu and the Sikh Commissioners  realised, as did Hari Singh, the importance of the tehsil of Pathankot to the viability and the defensibility of the borders of India as well the Jammu and Kashmir State.

Sir Shadi Lal and Bakshi Tek Chand kept Hari Singh informed of the boundary demarcation in the Punjab. They were close to Mehar Chand Mahajan and had apprised him of the interest Hari Singh had in the demarcation of the boundary in the Punjab.

Hari Singh was suspicious of Mountbatten, whose mind he knew. He did not trust the Congress leaders. He had received a communication from States Minister, in which the latter had advised him to release the National Conference leaders and come to terms with them. Unsure of the course Sir Radcliffe would follow in respect of his State, he reportedly, conveyed to the British officials, through some of his trusted British friends, his interests in a balance border with the two Dominions of India and Pakistan and the importance of the Jammu-Pathankot road for the security of his State. Reportedly, he conveyed to the British authorities that in case he was not secured the land route between Jammu and Pathankot he would have no other alternative except to depend upon the Dominion of India for the construction of a new transit route, across the eastern borders of the State with Kangra or with any of the Punjab Hill States, which had already acceded to India.

The British were not averse to a balanced border of the State with India and Pakistan, for they were keen to avoid any diplomatic or political lapse which would push the Maharaja into the lap of India. Some of the British officials sincerely believed that Hari Singh would opt for an arrangement in which he was not required to accede to any of the Dominions, if he was guaranteed peace on his frontiers. Ram Chander Kak, out of stratagem or straight devotion to his master, had spared no efforts to assure the British, that Hari Singh pursued a policy, which enabled him to retain his independence, rather than join India which was beset with serious difficulties.

In view of the extremely divergent views and deep disagreement among the Hindu and Sikh Commissioners and the Muslim Commissioners, the Boundary Commission was unable to reach a mutually acceptable agreement on the demarcation of the boundary across the Lahore Division. In accordance with the procedure laid down for the Boundary Commission, in case of disagreement among the Hindu, Sikh and the Muslim representation in the Commission, it was decided by mutual agreement to entrust the task of the demaracation to Sir Radcliffe, the Chairman of the Boundary Commission. The Commissioners, representing the Hindus and the Sikh as well as the Muslims agreed that the arbitral award made by Sir Radcliffe would be binding on them.

History had cast a unique responsibility on Sir Radcliffe, to lay down the future boundaries of the nation of India, which was on the threshold of freedom from centuries of slavery as well as describe the future boundaries of an independent Muslim state in India. The Congress leaders, were perhaps, oblivious of the elemental  change the creation of Pakistan would bring into the civilisational boundaries of India and the far-reaching effect the establishment of a Muslim power in India, would have on its northern frontiers. Jammu and Kashmir formed the central spur of the great Himalayan uplands poised as the State was, it stood as a sentinel for any eastward expansion of any power from the west as well as the north.

Pakistan was, however, keenly conscious of the strategic importance of Jammu and Kashmir. But the Government of Pakistan was unable to judge the ability of Maharaja Hari Singh to defeat their designs. Hari Singh played a historic role in persuading Sir Radcliffe to accept  that his State could not be completely isolated from the Indian Dominion.

The Muslim League leaders did not trust Hari Singh. They spared no efforts to convince the British officials in the Government of India about the necessity to ensure that the Boundary Commission did not deviate from the principle of the population proportions. The Muslim League leaders were keen to acquire the Ravi Headworks at Madhopur isolate the district of Amritsar and seal the existing road-link connecting Jammu and Kashmir with India. The League leaders sent Chowdhary Mohammad Ali to convey to the British officials in the Indian Government their concern about the future of the Lahore Division. Mohammad Ali met, Lord Ismay, the Political Advisor to the Viceroy to convey to Mountbatten the anxiety of the Muslim League leaders about any deviation from the principle of population-proportions the Boundary Commission may resort to in the demarcation of the boundary in the Punjab. Ismay told Mohammad Ali that the Boundary Commission was an independent body of which the functions were determined by its terms of reference, and the Government of India had no role in its function. Many years later, research in Pakistan revealed that during his meeting with Lord Ismay, Mohammad Ali showed the Political Advisor a sketch map of the demarcation of the boundary between east and west Punjab which was not strictly based upon the principle of population-proportions. Ismay, reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with it.

The award of the Boundary Commission was announced on 18 of August 1947, three days after the transfer of power in India. Sir Radcliffe left India the same day. The districts of Amritsar and Gurdaspur were included in the East Punjab, whereas the districts of Lahore and Sheikhopora were included in the West Punjab. The entire Muslim League leadership flared upon in anger against the inclusion of Gurdaspur in the East Punjab and blamed Sir Radcliffe of connivance in a craftily devised plan to give India access to Jammu and Kashmir and provide the Indian state the strategic ground to grab the State. Communal riots flared up in Lahore and spread to the whole of the Punjab.

Sir Radcliffe followed uniform standards in the delimitation of the boundary between India and Pakistan in Bengal as well as the Punjab. Evidently, he did not overlook the consideration of other factors, specifically mentioned in the terms of reference of the Boundary Commission in the delimitation of the boundary between the East and the West Punjab. He did take into consideration the nominal majority, the Muslims enjoyed over the Hindus and the Sikhs in Gurdaspur. The Tehsil of Pathankote in the Gurdaspur district had a distinct Hindu majority and it could not have been included in the West Punjab by any stretch of imagination. Sir Radcliffe had not followed the district boundaries as the basis of delimitation of the boundaries elsewhere in the Punjab. Besides, the Ravi irrigation headworks were located in Pathankot and they could not have been excluded from the East Punjab, to ensure a just and equitable distribution of water resources in the Punjab between India and Pakistan. undoubtedly, Sir Radcliffe did not overlook the necessity of providing a balanced border to the Jammu and Kashmir State, for which Mahajan and Teja Singh had spiritedly  pleaded. The security of the Jammu and Kashmir State, which constituted the central spur of the northern frontier of India and which was crucial to the security of the Himalays, could not be left out the consideration of the Boundary Commission. The division of the Punjab was a part of the partition  of India and the demarcation of the boundary between India and Pakistan could not be undertaken in isolation from its effects on the Indian States. The delimitation of the boundary in the Punjab around the Bahawalpur State, was undertaken with due consideration of its future affiliations. Bahawalpur joined Pakistan,.

Sir Radcliffe recognised the inclusion of the district of Gurdaspur in the East Punjab as a strategic requirement of the security of the northern frontier of India, including the frontier of India in the Punjab. He accepted in his report that the inclusion of Gurdaspur in the East Punjab was necessary for the security of the district of Amritsar, which would otherwise he surrounded by Pakistan. Perhaps, Radcliffe was aware of the security of the northern Frontier of India, in which the British were more interested than the Congress leaders, who had warbled notions about the security of the Himalayas. Unlike the other officials of the Government of India, Radcliffe was free of the trappings, the British officials of the Indian Civil Service were strapped to. He did not visualise the partition of India as the British officials of the Indian Government did, and he was guided by his own judgement. He refused to recognise the claim to the geographical expression of the Muslim nation of Pakistan, the way the British officials of the Indian Government did. He had little regard for their colonial concerns or Jinnah’s notions of the ascendance of the Muslims power in India.

An important consideration which Sir Radcliffe had in mind in dividing the Lahore Division was the future of the Sikh Community, which was bound to be adversely affected by the partition of the Punjab. The land and the assets owned by the Sikhs were largely situated in the west Punjab but a larger section of their population lived in the East Punjab. Besides, their main religious centres and most sacred shrines, including the Durbar Saheb, were located in the Lahore Division. The division of the Punjab was bound to uproot them from the West Pakistan and deprive them of their land and assets. The claim laid by the Muslims to the whole of Lahore Division, would divest them of their sacred places and shrines. Lahore was the seat of the Sikh empire of the Punjab, which had changed the course of the history of India. The demarcation of the boundary of the East Punjab was therefore, crucial to the survival and future of the Sikh community. Both Mahajan and Teja Singh emphasised upon the need to consider the interests of the Sikh community in the demarcation of the boundary in the Punjab.

The inclusion of Gurdaspur in the East Punjab mitigated, though only partially, the rigours of the division of the Punjab. The delimitation of the boundary in the Punjab, Sir Radcliffe undertook, gave the Muslims, who constituted 55 percent of the population of the Province, 65 percent of its territory. The Hindus and the Sikhs who constituted 45 percent of the population got only 35 percent of the territory of the Punjab. The Muslim League leaders had no reason to grumble. Their reconstruction were politically motivated and aimed to prepare ground to launch a new form of Direct Action to reduce the Jammu and Kashmri State.

Pakistan resorted to the distortion of the history of the transfer of power in India, to justify its claim on Jammu and Kashmir. Inside Jammu and Kashmir the National Conference leaders who ruled the State for decades after its accession to India, resorted to the distortion of the history of the accession of the State to India, to legitimize their claim to a Muslim State of Jammu and Kashmir inside India but independent of the Indian Union and its political organisation. Not only that. The Muslim separatists forces, which dominated the political scene in the State after the disintegration of the National Conference in 1953, also resorted to the fossilization of the facts of the accession of the State to India. Interestingly, the entire process of the distortion of the history of the accession of the State, spread over decades of Indian freedom assumed varied expressives from time to time.

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who headed the Interim Government instituted in March 1948, disclaimed the Instrument of Accession executed by Hari Singh, as merely the Kagzi Ilhaq’ or “paper Accession” and claimed that the “real accession of the state to India” would be accomplished by the people of the State, more precisely the Muslim majority of the people of the State. While the Constitution of India was on the anvil and the issue of the constitutional provisions for the States came up for the consideration for the Constituent Assembly of India, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah claimed that the National Conference had endorsed the accession of the State to India on the condition that the claim the people of the state had to a separate freedom was recognised by India and the leadership of the National Conference had been assured by the Indian leaders that the people of Jammu and Kashmir would be reserved the right to constitute Jammu and Kashmir into an autonomous political organisation, independent of the Indian constitutional organisation.

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and other National Conference leaders, claimed that they had been assured that Jammu and Kashmir would not be integrated in the constitutional organisaion of India and the assurances were incorporated in the Instrument of Accession. They stressed that they had agreed to the accede to India on the specific condition that the Muslim identity of the State would form the basis of its political organisation.

In his inaugural address to the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir convened in 1951, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who was the Prime Minister of the Interim Government of the State, claimed that the Constituent Assembly was vested with the plenary powers, drawn from the people of the State and independent of the Constitution of India. He claimed that the Constituent Assembly was vested with the powers to opt out of India and assume independence or join the Muslim state of Pakistan.

Fifty years later the claims Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah made in the Constituent Assembly were echoed in the first Round Table Conference, convened by the Government of India in 2006, to reach a consensus on a future settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beg, represented the People Democratic Party in the Round Table Conference which was a constituent of the coalition government in the State, headed by the Congress Party. Beg claimed, that the Instrument of Accession was a treaty between two independent states, the Dominion of India and the Jammu and Kashmir State and the Constituent Assembly was a sovereign authority, independent powers inherent in its sovereignty.

The Government of India made no efforts to put the record straight. Frightened at the prospect of losing the support of the National Conference the Indian leaders did not question the veracity of the claims the Conference leaders made. Indeed, they depended upon the support of the National Conference to win the plebiscite which the United Nations Organisation was hectically preparing to hold in the State. The Indian leaders, overwhelmed by their own sense of self-righteousness, helped overtly and covertly in the falsification of the history of the integration of the Princely States with India and the accession of Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian Dominion in 1947. Many of them went as far as to link the unity of India with the reassertion of the subnational identity of Jammu and Kashmir, which the Muslim demand for separate freedom for the Muslim symbolised.

The Indian Independence Act of 1947, laid down separate procedures for the transfers of power in the British India and the Indian Princely States. The Princely States were left out of the partition plan, which divided the British Indian provinces and envisaged the creation of the Muslim state of Pakistan. In respect of the Princely States, the Indian Independence Act, envisaged the lapse of the paramountcy – the power which the British Crown exercised over the Indian States. The British Government clarified its stand on the future disposition of the States in the British Parliament during the debate on the Indian Independence Bill. It categorically stated that the lapse of the Paramountcy would not enable the Princes to acquire Dominion status or assume independence.

The British Government made it clear that the reversion of the Paramountcy to the rulers of the States would inevitably lead to mutually accepted agreements between the Dominions and the Princely States which would involve their accession. The Indian Independence Act did not envisage in the procedure the accession of States. The Nawab of Bhopal approached the Diplomatic Mission of the United States of America in India to seek the recognition of the Independence of his state. The American Government snubbed the Nawab and refused to countenance any proposals for the independence of the Princely States in India. It was left to be formulated by the two Dominions of India and Pakistan.

The Political Department of the British Government of India was divided into two separate Political Departments – the Political Department of Pakistan to deal with the Indian Princely States. The Political Department of India was put in charge of Sardar Vallabhai Patel and the Political Department of Pakistan was put in charge of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar. The procedure for the accession of the States to the two Dominions was evolved separately by their respective Political Departments.

The Muslim League however, insisted upon the independence of the Princely States in order to enable the Muslim ruled states to remain out of India. The Muslim League aimed to Balkanise the Princely States and place the state of Pakistan in a position which provided it a way to forge an alliance with them. The Indian States spread over more than one-third of the territory of India constituted more than one fourth of the Indian population. Some of the Muslim ruled Princely States were largest among the Princely States of India and several of them were fabulously rich.

The claim Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah made in his inaugural speech to the Constituent Assembly of the State that the States had the option to assume independence was a reiteration of the stand the Muslim League had taken on the future disposition of the states following the lapse of the Paramountcy. The lapse of the Paramountcy did not underline the independence of the States. It did not envisage the reversion of any plenary powers to the Princes or the people of the states as a consequence of the dissolution of the Paramountcy. The states were not independent when they were integrated in the British Empire in India. They did not acquire independence when they were liberated from the British Empire 1947. They were not vested with any inherent powers to claim independence to which Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah referred to in his inaugural address to the Constituent Assembly.

The convocation of the Constituent Assemblies in the States was provided for in the stipulations of the Instrument of Accession that the Princely States acceding to India, executed. The Instrument of Accession devised by the States Department of Pakistan for the accession of the States to that country did not envisage provisions pertaining to the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. The power to convene separate Constituent Assemblies was reserved for all the major states the Union of the States, which acceded to India.

The Jammu and Kashmir State was no exception. In fact, Constituent Assemblies were convened, in the states of Cochin and Mysore and the State Union of Saurashtra, shortly after their accession to the Indian Dominion.

The Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was a creature of the Instrument of Accession. It exercised powers which were drawn from the state of India and its sovereign authority. It did not assess any powers to revoke the accession of the State to India to bring about the accession of the State to Pakistan or opt for its independence, as Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in his inaugural address to the Constituent Assembly claimed or as Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beg claimed in the Round Table Conference.

The truth of what happened during those fateful days of October 1947, when the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India was accomplished was concealed by a irredentist campaign of disinformation which was launched to cover the acts of cowardice and betrayal, subterfuge and surrender which went into the making of the Kashmir dispute.

The National Conference leaders, were at no stage, brought in to endorse the accession of the State to India. No one among them was required to sign or countersign the accession and none of them signed or countesigned the Instrument of Accession, executed by Maharaja Hari Singh. The Indian Independence Act, an Act of the British Parliament, which laid down the procedure for the transfer of power in India, did not recognize the right of self-determination of either the people of the British India or the people of the States.

The transfer of power was based on an agreement among the Congress, the Muslim League and the British. The British and the Muslim League stubbornly refused to recognise the right of the people of the British India and right of the people of the Princely State to determine the future of the British India or the Indian states. The Muslim League and the British insisted upon the lapse of the Paramountcy and its reversion to the rulers of the States. Accession of the States was not subject to any conditions and the Instrument of Accession underlined an irreversible process the British provided for the dissolution of the empire in India.

No assurance was given to the National Conference leaders that the Constituent Assembly of the State would be vested with plenary powers or powers to ratify the accession of the State to India, revoke it opt for its independence or its accession to Pakistan. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and the other National Conference leaders did not seek the exclusion of the State from the Indian political organization as a condition for the accession of the state to India. Nor did the Indian leaders give any assurance to them that the Jammu and Kashmir would be reconstituted into an independent political organisation, which would represent its Muslim identity.

At the time of the transfer of power in India, the National Conference leaders and cadres were in jail. They were released from their incarceration after the proclamation of General Amnesty was made on 6 September 1947. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the Acting President of the National Conference who had evaded arrest and taken refugee in the British India in May 1946, arrived in Srinagar with several other senior leaders of the National Conference on 12 September 1947. Meanwhile, Mohi-ud-Din Qara the Director General of the War Council, which had been constituted by the National Conference to direct the Quit Kashmir Movement, surfaced from his underground quarters alongwith some of his close aides. Onkar Nath Trisal, who played a historic role in the defence of Srinagar, when the invading armies of Pakistan surrounded the city, was with him. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was released from jail on 29 September 1947.

Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad used the good offices of Pandit Sham Sundar Lal Dhar, a personal aide of the Maharaja to arrange a reconciliatory meeting between Hari Singh and Sheikh Mohammd Abdullah. The meeting did not go beyond usual formalities as the two men who shaped the future of the State looked at each other with cold distrust. Shiban Madan, a close kin of Sham Sundar Lal Dhar, then a man of younger years acted as a help. Shiban Madan told the author in a interview held in Srinagar in 1978, that Hari Singh sat through the meeting glumly. His Highness looked straight when the usual presentation ceremony of the Nazarana was completed. He sat glum and expressionless, his haughty demeanour more than awkwardly visible. The rest of the meeting was strictly formal.”

Hari Singh was unable to judge the far-reaching consequences of the end of the British empire in India. Not only him, the other Princes too refused to realise that their power, which had its sanction in the British Paramountcy had virtually suffered dissolution with its withdrawal. The Princely rulers genuinely believed that the States were their fiefs and the British had usurped their right to rule them. They visualised the end of the British Empire as an act of deliverance for them, which they believed would enable them to regain the unquestioned authority they had as the sovereigns of the states.

They considered accession of their States to India as a new arrangement with the Dominion of India, by virtue of which they would part with the specific powers of the defence, foreign affairs and communications of the states and retain the rest of the powers of the governance without the encumbrances the Paramountcy entailed.

Hari Singh had been shaken by Mountabatten’s advice to come to terms with Pakistan when the Viceroy visited Srinagar. Accession to Pakistan was the last act, Hari Singh was prepared to perform. However, when he turned to India and conveyed to the Indian leaders his desire to accede to India the Indian leaders advised him not to take any perceptible action in respect of the accession, till the transfer of power had been accomplished. The Indian leaders advised Hari Singh to end the distrust with the National Conference,  release the leaders and cadres of the Conference and take them into confidence and commence preparations to associate them with the government of the State.

After the transfer of power in August 1947 Hari Singh promptly ordered fresh recruitment to his armed forces and reportedly sought to secure field guns from Patiala and Hyderabad. Reports appeared in the newspapers in Pakistan that he tried to seek military assistance from India and wanted the Indian Government to take up the conversion of the fair weather road from Jammu to Madhopur, into a national roadway.

He was alarmed by the establishment of the Provisional Government of Pak-occupied-Kashmir at Tran Khel in the district of Mirpur by Sardar Ibrahim Khan on 30 August 1947. Hari Singh knew that the proclamation of the Provisional Government of Azad Kashmir had been made in connivance with the intelligence agencies of the Government of Pakistan and the leaders of the Muslim League to build pressure on him to accede to Pakistan.

Meanwhile Sham Sunder Lal Dhar helped to bridge the differences between Hari Singh and the National Conference leaders. Hari Singh agreed to revive the Dyarchy he had introduced in the State Government in 1944, and provide a wider share of power for the National Conference and accept to entrust a fairly large measure of responsibility in the State Government to National Conference leaders as members of his Council of Ministers. The National Conference leaders had shown their readiness to join the State Government.

For Hari Singh however, the difficulties he faced in regard to the accession were not eased. Several developments in the process of the integration of the States complicated his situation further. Junagarh, situated in the midst of the Kathiawad States, which had acceded to India, acceded to Pakistan on the eve of the transfer of power. The Nawab of Hyderabad refused to join India and secretly plotted with the leadership of the Muslim League to align himself with Pakistan.

Not only that. Mountbatten was at the helm of affairs in India, where he had been placed by the Congress leaders probably, to earn them a favourable disposition of the British. Hari Singh knew that Mountbatten had not forgiven him for his audacity to send him back to the Indian capital, without having agreed to abide by his advice to come to terms with Pakistan. It is hardly possible that the Congress leaders must not report have received the intelligence of what transpired between the Viceroy and the Maharaja in Srinagar. But how did they install him the first Governor-General of the Dominion of India is an enigma, which continues to remain unexplained.

Hari Singh was unsure of the Congress leaders as well, who had, in unabashed self-conceit, indicated their willingness to accept a settlement on the Princely States on the basis of their population and geographical location. Perhaps, they sought to use the influence of the Viceroy to ensure the accession of the Muslim ruled States, inhabited by Hindu majorities and situated within the territorial limits earmarked for the Indian Dominion to India. It is hardly possible that they did not know the mind of the Viceroy and perhaps the strategic implications of the future disposition of Jammu and Kashmir to the British interests in Asia. A section of the Congress leadership was not averse to the division of the States on the basis of their population even after the transfer of power. Some of them believed that Mountbatten would be able extricate Junagarh from Pakistan and bring about the integration of Hyderabad with India. Their prestige in the whole of the Kathiawad peninsula had plummeted down as they had reacted to the accession of Junagarh to Pakistan  pussiliminously. The rulers of the Kathiawad States had to send Jam Sahib of Nawanagar to convince the Congress leaders that Junagarh posed a serious threat to them and to demand immediate and effective action to liberate Junagarh, which was fast slipping into a civil wear.

The Congress leaders looked up to Mountbatten, who advised them restraint. Later admissions made by him in his interviews and memoirs, prove that he was keen to secure the interests of Pakistan and his country, Britain, in Jammu and Kashmir, but he had no mandate from the British Government to secure the Indian interests in the Muslim ruled States of Junagarh and Hyderabad. He disapproved of any perceptible action for the reclamation Junagarh and Hyderabad.

Hari Singh did not lose sight of the problems, arising out of his enemity with Mountabatten and the duplicity of the Congress leaders. Jinnah scuttled the proposals to divide the States on the basis of their population and scoffed at the suggestions made by Mountbatten. Hari Singh knew that if he took a false step, Mountbatten as well as the Congress leaders would nor hesitate to abandon him in a bargain with Pakistan.

This was the greatest act of betrayal committed by the men in power in India. The Indian Government crumbled in its resolve to set right the wrong in Junagarh and rein in the Nawab of Hyderabad. The Indian leaders  looked upto Mountbatten to deliver them from their predicament though experience had shown to them that the major role in the integration of the States had been played by the States people who had struggled for the unity of the States with India and the Hindu rulers of the States who had acceded to India.

The Government of India should have made a bold move to take Hari Singh into confidence, thrash out the issues pertaining to the transfer of power to the peoples representatives with him and helped in removing the prevailing distrust between him and the National Conference leaders. Instead the Indian leaders sulked away. Gandhi had advised Hari Singh to handover the State Government to the National Conference leaders and entrust them the responsibility to conduct elections to the Praja Sabha, the State Legislative Assembly and empower the elected representatives of the people to take a decision on the accession of the State. Hari Singh had refused to abide by Gandhi’s advice and told him that such a course would enable Pakistan to grab the State with the support of the Muslim Conference and the other pro-Pakistan flanks in the state. Later events proved that Hari Singh had chosen the right course. Jammu and Kashmir would have gone the way, North West Frontier Province did if he had opted for elections to the Praja Sabha.

The Indian Princely States were a part of the Indian nation. Partition did not divide the States, nor did the partition empower Pakistan to grab Junagarh or claim Hyderabad on the basis of being Muslim ruled States and annex Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of its population. The Muslim League as well as the British treated the States as their personal preserve and sought to use them to Balkanise India. The Princes as well as the people of the States defeated their designs.

The role played by Mountbatten and VP Menon, in the integration of the Indian States was only marginal. The States’ Ministry did not draw up any plans for the consolidation of the northern frontier of India of which Jammu and Kashmir was the central spur. Nor did the States Ministry formulate any plans for the security of the Himalayas against the threat of their de-Sanskritsation which the creation of Pakistan posed.

Few in-depth investigations and inquiries have been undertaken so far to unravel the forces and factors, which shaped the events in Jammu and Kashmir, during the fateful days following the transfer of power in India. No investigations were ever carried out in the actions of men, who were at the helm of affairs in India, Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, their motivations and their personal prejudices. Much of what happened those days, has been covered under false propaganda by the Government of India as well as the  Government of Pakistan and the  Interim Government which was instituted in Jammu and Kashmir after the accession of the State to India. A widespread disinformation campaign was launched by the Interim Government in collusion with the Government to find scapegoats for their failures and to apportion blame, where it did not belong. The sordid story of what happened in the state, those days, is yet to be told.

Pakistan sought to bend the procedure laid down by the Indian Independence Act for the transfer of power in India, to grab the Muslim majority states as well as the states ruled by Muslim Princes.

The Indian Government failed signally to counteract the stratagem, subversion and military intervention, Pakistan employed to achieve its objectives. Perhaps the British, who had quit India, still cast a shadow on the Indian outlook. The Congress leadership with its liberalist tradition which denied the civilisational boundaries of the Indian nation, continued to play the Muslim card, to prove that Jammu and Kashmir would be more Islamic than the Muslim State of Pakistan after its inclusion in the Indian Dominion.

The Congress leaders wanted Maharaja Hari Singh to follow what they did in collusion with Mountabatten to retrieve Junagarh and bring round the Nawab of Hyderabad to come to terms, with India. Gandhi advised Hari Singh, during his visit to Kashmir, towards the close of July 1947, to (a) transfer the powers of the State Government to the representatives of his Muslim subjects, who formed a majority of the population of the state; (b) hold fresh elections to the Praja Sabha, the State Legislative Assembly, on the basis of universal adult franchise and (c) entrust the Praja Sabha with the task of taking a decision on the accession of the state. The meeting between Hari Singh and Mahatma Gandhi was held on the lawns of the Gupkar Palace, situated on the eastern bank of the Dal Lake in Srinagar. Maharani Tara Devi and the Heir-Apparent Karan Singh were present in the meeting. The only other man present in the meeting was a senior officer of the state army, who acted as an aide to the Maharaja and prepared the situation report of the meeting for the military archives of the state.

Gandhi had lost touch with the developments in the princely states. He was not aware of the dangerous  situation in Jammu and Kashmir. He did not know that an armed rebellion was brewing in the Muslim majority districts of the Jammu province, where arms and ammunition were being dumped by the elements of the Muslim League from a  cross the border of the state with the Punjab. He was hardly aware of the sharp divide between the Kashmiri speaking Muslims and non-Kashmiri speaking Muslims. He did not know that the non-Kashmiri speaking Muslims, who constituted nearly half the Muslim population of state along with a small section of the Kashmiri-speaking Muslims owing loyality to the Mirwaiz, the chief Muslim divine of Kashmir, supported the Muslim Conference, which spearheaded the struggle for Pakistan. He was completely unaware of the fact that the Kashmiri-speaking Muslims constituted about half the population of the Muslims of the State and together with the Hindus, the Sikhs and the Buddhists they formed more than sixty percent of the population of the State. The Hindus, the Sikhs and the Buddhists, a million people, constituted more than a quarter of the population of the State. Gandhi was completely unaware of the impact of the partition on the leaders and cadres of the National Conference, which had its main support bases in the community of the Kashmiri-speaking Muslims, largely concentrated in the Kashmir province. He did not know that an influential section of the leaders and cadres of the National Conference favoured a reconsideration of the commitment of the National Conference to the unity of India.

Gandhi believed that by seeking to divest Hari Singh of his powers to determine the future affiliation of the State in respect of its accession and empowering his Muslim subjects to take a decision on the accession of the state, he would be able to create a precedent for the rulers of the Muslim ruled states, to entrust their powers to determine the future affiliations of their states their Hindu subjects, who formed a majority of their population. Nearly all the Muslim ruled states, barring a few of them situated within the territories delimited for the Muslim State of Pakistan, nearly all the Muslim ruled States in India, including the major states of Hyderabad, Junagarh, Bhopal, were populated by preponderant Hindu majorities.

Perhaps, Gandhi believed that the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir committed to support the accession of the state to India, would opt to join India after power was transferred to them and they were empowered to  determine the future affiliations of the state. He was convinced that the transfer of power in Jammu and Kashmir would provide him a moral ground to bring round Pakistan as well as Mountbatten to persuade the Muslim rulers to abnegate from their power to determine the future affiliations of their states and entrust their subjects and of whom the Hindus formed a majority, to opt for India.

Gandhi and the other Indian leaders did not even get the wind of the secret preparations in Pakistan for military intervention in the Jammu and Kashmir State in the name of the Jehad for the liberation of the Muslims from their subjection to the Dogra Rule, while Gandhi went on a indefinite fast to prevent communal violence in India which threatened the Muslims, Pakistan prepared feverishly for the invasion of the state. Pakistan planned to reduce the state by military force and then deal with India from a position of strength in respect of Junagarh and Hyderabad. Junagarh had acceded to Pakistan and Hyderabad was plotting the align itself with Pakistan to remain out of India.

Had Hari Singh accepted Gandhi’s advice he would have provided open ground for Pakistan and the Muslim League to grab the state by stratagem and force. Gandhi’s suggestion to hold the elections to the Praja Sabha would have enabled the Muslim Conference and the flanks of pro-Pakistan Muslim activists, operating underground, to sabotage the National Conference and use religious appeal for Jehad to pack the Praja Sabha with the Muslim Conference. Any stringent measures adopted by him to prohibit religious propaganda in the elections would have brought him the blame of having settled the expression for the will of the Muslims. In case he did not take effective measures to prohibit the use of religious propaganda in the elections he would virtually leave the field open for the Muslim Jehad to take over.

Hari Singh had borne the ravages of Muslim communalism. He had also faced the scourage of the Paramountcy. The Congress leaders had installed Mountbatten as the first Governor General of the Dominion of India. Hari Singh had rebuffed Mountbatten and refused to abide by his advice to join Pakistan. Mountbatten, later events proved, had not forgotten the slight Hari Singh had caused to him. The Maharaja did not allow himself to be arranged before the man, who had spared no efforts to push his state into Pakistan for his management. He refused to accept Gandhi’s advice.

Hari Singh contested Gandhi’s views on the accession of the state and refused to abnegate from his rightful obligation to determine the future of his state. He told Gandhi, in measured words in the presence of Maharani Tara Devi, who regarded the Mahatma in awe, that the safety and the security of the Hindus and the other minorities in the state was uppermost in his mind, and he would not abandon them at any cost. He insisted upon the recognition of his rights as the ruler of the state to determine the basis of his future relations with India. He reminded Gandhi that nor only had the lapse of the Paramountcy vested in him the right to determine the future of the State, the Indian States Ministry had recognised the rights of the rulers of the States as the basis of their accession to India and he could not be treated in a manner different from the way, the rulers of all other acceding states had been treated.

Gandhi gave expression to his feelings in a statement he gave to the press in Punjab, on his way back to Delhi. He said that Jammu and Kashmir was a Muslim state and therefore, its future must be determined by Muslims who formed a majority of its population. He denounced the treaties between the Princes and the British as “parchments of paper” and decried the claims made by the Princes to any rights arising out of such treaties.

Hari Singh did not accept the surrender to a Muslim majority identity as the basis of a settlement of the accession of the state. He refused to become part of the process to consolidate the borders of the Muslim state of Pakistan, which Mountbatten and the Congress leaders visualised as the guarantee of the unity of India.

Later events proved Hari Singh right. Pakistan strove hard to hold Junagarh and openly supported Hyderabad in its endeavour to remain out of India. Pakistan invaded the State, irrespective of the procedure laid down by the Indian Independence Act, for the lapse of the Paramountcy, showing little regard for the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir and the people of Junagarh and Hyderabad.

Gandhi’s press statement administered a jolt to Maharaja Hari Singh. Maharani Tara Devi favoured reconciliation with the Congress leadership. She cautioned Hari Singh against the isolation into which the State was sinking fast. It is a lesser known fact that the Maharani tried to bridge the gulf between Hari Singh and the Indian leaders.

Shortly after Gandhi left Kashmir Hari Singh removed Ram Chandra Kak from his office and appointed General Janak Singh, one of his close kin the Prime Minister of the state. Ram Chandra Kak headed the State Government during the last years of the British Raj in India. Kak served the Maharaja with unflinching loyalty and devotion. Kak belonged to the Kashmiri Pandit community in Kashmir, which played a pioneering role in the growth of national consciousness in the State. While in office, Kak acted as an interface for the Maharaja with the British as well the Muslim League, at a time, when the Princes were struggling to place the State in between the British Crown and an independent Indian nation. The political Department of the British Govt. of India, with conrad corfield, a diehard British Civil Service officer, as its head, spared no efforts to assure the Princes that the British would not abandon the Princely India and would ensure the continuity of the treaties between the States and the Crown. Like the other Princes, Hari Singh was suddenly brought on the crossroads, when India was divided and the British Paramountcy was withdrawn.

The British refused to continue the protection, the Paramountcy had provided the States and the Muslim League claimed Jammu and Kashmir for the Muslim State of Pakistan on the basis of the Muslim majority of its population.

During the days, the future of the constitutional organization of India was taking shape, Ram Chandra Kak was at the Centrestage of the negotiations between the Princes, the British and the Indian leaders. The Princes were not left with the choice to seek a place outside the constitutional organization of the two successor Dominions of India and Pakistan. The undersecretary of the State for India in the British Government, clarified in the British Parliament, during the debate on the Indian Independence Bill, that the British Government would not recognize the States as the Dominions of the Commonwealth nor would extend it recognition to their independence. Kak was no longer relevant in the political context in which Jammu and Kashmir was left with no choice except to join India, the option to accede to Pakistan was not acceptable to Hari Singh or Kak.

Hari Singh turned away from the British, when he refused to abide by the advice of the Viceroy of India tendered to him to come to terms with Pakistan.

He earned the displeasure of the leaders of the Muslim League, when he refused to grant permission to Mohammad Ali Jinnah to visit Jammu and Kashmir, during the days, the transfer of power in India was in process of completion. Jinnah sent several of his emissaries to persuade Hari Singh to accede to Pakistan on conditions which he specified. A second world war veteran Major General Shaukat Hayat Khan, arrived in Kashmir with a peculiar proposal from him.

Khan met Hari Singh in his palace. He told the Maharaja that he had been commissioned by Jinnah to convey to the Maharaja that he could lay down any conditions that he chose, to accede to Pakistan and that Pakistan would deposit a huge amount of money in British currency worth hundreds of millions of Sterling Pounds, in the Bank of England, as guarantee against any breach of the conditions laid down by him.

Hari Singh was slighted, but he did not lose his poise. He told Shaukat Hayat that he would take a decision on the accession of the State only in consideration of the interests of his subjects.

Naseeb Singh, an Army officer, of the Signal Corps, who was in attendance on the Maharaja those days, told the author in an interview: “I heard him (Shaukat Hayat) tell his aides, how strange of the Maharaja it was to have turned down the offer. As he saw me standing bye, he recoiled and fell silent”. Thakur Kartar Singh, a close kin of the Maharaja and a former Revenue Minister of the State, told the author in an interview in Jammu. “His Highness was severely intolerant of any suggestion about his relations with Pakistan.

He felt hurt by what happened around him. He had given a long rope to Ramchandra Kak. He waited patiently, though that was not in his habit, for an opportunity to save the State from going to Pakistan. Pakistan pressurized him to agree to accede to that country, offering to accept any number of conditions that he would lay to safeguard his interests. But he “withstood all pressures”.

Hari Singh offered a Standstill Agreement to India as well as Pakistan for which the Indian States Department and the State Department of Pakistan had provided the option. The Indian Government did not take any action on the Standstill Agreement, though it extended the period of accession by two months for both the States – Jammu and Kashmir as well as Hyderabad. Hyderabad was the other Princely State, which did not accede to the Indian Dominion by 15 August 1947.

That Pakistan had adopted a policy of confrontation with the State Government was signaled by the formation of the Provisional Government of ‘Azad’ Kashmir, by pro-Pakistan Muslim flanks and the cadres of the Muslim Conference, at Trad Khel on 30 August 1947. Sardar Ibrahim Khan founder of the Provisional Government of ‘Azad’ Kashmir, took the salute of a contingent of armed volunteers of the Provisional Government which march passed before him in a military formation. The volunteers were armed with the rifles supplied to them from Pakistan.

Hari Singh proclaimed a general amnesty for all political prisoners who were involved in the Quit Kashmir Movement and against whom proceedings were in process in the courts of the state. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the Acting President of the National Conference, who had taken refuge in the British India, during the Quit Kashmir Movement, alongwith other leaders of the National Conference, arrived in Srinagar on 12 September 1947. He received a tumultuous welcome, from the people in Srinagar.

The leaders and cadres of the Conference who had gone underground, had already begun to emerge from their underground quarters. Mohi-ud-Din Qara the Head of the War Council, which had been constituted to direct the Quit Kashmir Movement, came out of his underground quarters, alongwith a number of his senior cadres. Among them was Onkar Nath Trisal, a senior communist party activist, who later played a memorable role in the defence of Srinagar, when the invading armies of Pakistan were pouring into its outskirts. Mohi-ud-Din Qara addressed a number of public meetings, where he impressed upon the people of the necessity to maintain intercommunity peace and combat communalism and subversion.

While the National Conference leaders and cadres set out to reconstruct the organizational units of the National Conference, which had been battered by the Quit Kashmir Movement, Pakistan launched a surreptitious campaign in the State to unite the Muslims in support of its accession to that country. The leaders and cadres of the Muslim Conference and the sections of the Muslim community which were ideologically committed to the Muslim struggle for Pakistan, though they did not support the Muslim Conference, carried on the campaign with the support of the widespread network of Pakistani agents, spies and intelligence sleuths of the Government of Pakistan which operated underground and in vast numbers, Muslim League cadres and other political activists who had slipped into the state unnoticed.

The creation of Pakistan symbolized the realization of the desperation of the Muslim Ummah in India and (a) religious obligation devolved on the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir to support its accession to Pakistan to consolidate the Muslim power (b) the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir were part of the Muslim Umah and therefore were bound to Pakistan by the bond of Islam; (c) any deviation from a commitment to the unity of the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir would be an un-Islamic act. The National Conference had spearheaded the Muslim struggle for liberation from the Dogra Rule and now the only option for the leaders and National Conference was to join the struggle for the unification of the State with Pakistan (d) India and the Hindus who formed the main resistance to the struggle for Pakistan, were trying their utmost to scuttle the freedom of the Muslims in the Princely States, where the Muslims were subject to severe repression and the ruler of the State was waiting for an opportunity to join India, scuttle the freedom of the Muslims and perpetuate his power (e) the Muslim struggle for Pakistan was not against the Maharaja and the Muslims of the State had assured him that they would recognize him as the constitutional head of the State if he opted for Pakistan; (f) the National Conference and its cadres and supporters would be accommodated in the Muslim commonwealth of Pakistan on the basis of equality and brotherhood enjoined by Islam upon all the Muslims irrespective of their language and the region which they inhabited (g) any differences between the National Conference leadership and the Muslim leadership of the people of Pakistan could be settled mutually and (h) the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir had to stand united in the struggle for Pakistan in view of the efforts the enemies of Islam were making in India to impair the unity of the Muslims.

The police intelligence of the State reported that it had received information about an underground cell, involved in the raising of a militia, the Muslim Guard, to defend the struggle for Pakistan against any police or military action the State Government resorted to. A woman volunteer of Pakistan was charged with the tasks of recruitment of local Muslim volunteers to the ranks of the Muslims guard. The intelligence report about the Muslim Guard reached the State Government and a summary of the report was sent to Hari Singh as well. As usual, Hari Singh sent it to the State archives. But no action was taken against the sabotage planned by the enemy agents to foment a rebellion in the State, probably to coincide with the invasion of State Pakistan was secretly planning.

The Indian leaders took little notice of the developments in the State. The States’ Minister wrote a cryptic letter to Hari Singh, imploring the Maharaja to bring all punitive measures against the National Conference to an end, release the Conference leaders and cadres from imprisonment and seek their cooperation to meet the challenge the State was faced with.

On September 3, 1947, an intelligence signal was received in the Army headquarters at Delhi, that armed infiltrators of Pakistan had raided a border outpost, three miles inside the state territory. The signal with the staggering import evoked response from the Indian Government. The Indian leaders received information about the border raids and the heavy damage to life and property the Hindus and the Sikhs suffered in the border districts of the State. No voice was raised in India against the depredation, the armed infiltrators spread in the border districts of the State.

Note: The Article, in this series are based upon documentary sources in the Indian Archives, Archives of the Jammu and Kashmir State, Sardar Patel Papers; documents and Papers in Sapru House Library, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi, Contemporary Newspaper Files and Interview.

Source: Kashmir Sentinel

Kashmiri Pandits: On the road to extinction

Kashmiri Pandits: On the road to extinction
By P.N.Razdan

The Kashmiri Hindu���s tragic saga continues to this day with neither the state nor the central governments doing enough to relocate those who fled their homeland.
Kashmiri Pandits, the Hindus of Kashmir valley, have been Kashmir’s original inhabitants. Their roots in the valley can be traced back to 5,000 years. Their history dates back to the time when one of their earliest kings, Gonanda I, fought and died in the Mahabharata battle.

The Kashmiri kingdom comprised the present valley, Gilgit, Baltistan, parts of Punjab and even extended, at one time, to Western Tibet and Afghanistan. It witnessed a religious transformation from Buddhism in the 4th and the 3rd centuries BC to Brahmanism — Shaivites and Shakti worshippers — till the 11th century AD when conversion of Hindus to Islam started with the annexation of Punjab by Mahmud Ghazni in 1021 AD.

Beginning of the 14th century saw mass Islamic conversions with the arrival of a trio comprising a Sufi saint, Bulbul Shah, from Turkey, Rinchan, a rebel prince form Tibet and Shamir, a Muslim religious preacher from Swat valley in Persia. The trio joined hands to transform the Hindu kingdom of Kashmir into a Muslim empire — a dream that Arabs had nurtured for more than five centuries.

Mayhem, plunder and subjugation were unleashed in the next 500 years. Savage methods and brutal force was used to make the innocent locals embrace Islam. Except for a brief period of relief under pious rulers Zain-ul-Abdin and Mughal emperor Akbar, Hindus continued to be forcibly converted. Their temples were ransacked and wrecked, scriptures were burnt, and taxes (jazia) were imposed. People had no option but convert, flee or commit suicide. To escape the wrath of the brutal persecution, there was mass exodus from Kashmir. There are records of at least six mass exoduses during this period and Kashmir history records that only 11 Hindu households were left at one time. All other Kashmiri Hindus were either killed, converted to Islam or had migrated to safer places.

Kashmir returned to peaceful times after its annexation by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1819 at the invitation of a Kashmiri, Pandit Birbal Dhar. Peace and order was restored and all punitive laws against Hindus were revoked. This was followed by hundred years of peaceful rule by Dogras of Jammu till the Indian independence in 1947. Sheikh Abdullah, who led the independence movement in Kashmir, was a great votary of secularism and several prominent Kashmiri Pandits were his closest colleagues during the freedom struggle against the Maharaja. Kashmiri Pandits therefore occupied important positions in Jammu & Kashmir as part or the newly born Indian Republic. Estimate of their population then is about 1.50 lakh forming about 9 per cent of the valley’s population.

Post independence, Kashmiri Pandits lived a peaceful life in the valley and enjoyed all rights available to the citizenry. They formed an important part of the composite Kashmiri Hindu-Muslim-Sikh culture, popularly called Kashmiriyat. During the communal flare-ups of the partition, Mahatma Gandhi saw a ray of hope in the state’s religious harmony. Kashmiri Pandits, however, had to make adjustments with the growing aspirations of the Muslims in a free political set up. Their absentee land lordship over agricultural lands got eschewed under the tenancy and land reforms initiated by the people’s government in 1952 and this affected a large number of Pandit families. Being an educated class, Pandits, who were solely dependant on government employment, had also to concede space to fellow Muslims, who, too, were now educated and were claimants to government employment. These and a long agitation in 1967 over the kidnapping of a Pandit girl by a Muslim boy and the government apathy on the issue started a low-key migration of Pandits outside Kashmir. However this wasn’t so large as to draw the state government’s attention, particularly as Kashmir appeared so peaceful in the 1971-87 period after the 1971 Indo-Pak war that separated East Bengal from Pakistan.

The events of 1989 turned the tables on Pandits. As a follow-up of the Pakistan-sponsored militancy that started in 1989-90, almost the entire community of 2.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits was forced to leave the valley following arson, rape and killing of about a 1,000 members of their community by terrorists. This was their seventh exodus. The state government made makeshift arrangements for these migrants in tented camps around Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi. Many of them stayed voluntarily with friends and relatives in different parts of the country. As of now, there is no change in this situation and these temporary residences of the migrants continue. Although the government provides relief in cash and kind to registered migrants and salaries to those who were in employment, yet the loss of home and snapping of ties with their roots has made a tremendous impact on their physical, social and mental make up. Out of Kashmir’s total population 5.5 million, there are now about 5,000 Kashmiri Pandits left in the valley. They have dared to stay on despite the militancy.

Kashmiri Pandit community is therefore at the cross roads of history today. This diaspora of around 7 lakh people is scattered all over the globe. They live practically in every corner of the world — from the migrant camps in the outskirts of Jammu city, to medium towns and metropolises in India, Europe, North America and Africa. They are stateless Indian citizens, who have no vote, no constituency and no representation in Parliament or the Assembly of their home state. They have become refugees in their own country. Their employment in the state has dropped from 14,000 to just 1,000 and there are no new recruitments happening. Admissions to professional colleges in the state stopped the day they left the state. Had the state governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka not reserved one seat in each engineering institute of the state for the migrant community, Kashmiri Pandit youth would have been on the roadside and turned into bad elements. Their exodus from Kashmir has not only deprived them of their homeland, but also their properties, culture, language, history, rituals and the social milieu they inherited and conserved for thousands of years. They are finding themselves at the cross roads of history where the only road visible is the one leading to their extinction.

Kashmiri Pandits have been a highly accomplished community. It has produced several luminaries in history. Kashmir has been a seat of Buddhist philosophy, Shaivism, Sanskrit learning, and a messenger of Vedic civilization to India. Between the 9th and the 14th centuries, Kashmir produced a galaxy of intellectuals like Kalhana, the great historian of the world. Kalhana’s Rajtarangani, a chronicle of the kings of Kashmir, Patanjali’s Mahabasya commentary on Panini’s works on Sanskrit grammar, Abhinavgupta, the Shaivist philosopher and Saint Suyya, the great engineer who rid Kashmir of incessant floods and built the town of Sopore in northern Kashmir stand a testimony to the intellectual heritage of the Pandits. They are many other Pandit luminaries, including Pingala and his monumental work Pingalasutra on metrics and prosody, Lal Ded, the great mystic poetess and philosopher, Kshemendra the Sanskrit poet and playwright, known as “Vedvyasa of Kashmir” on account of his commentaries on Ramayana. They made priceless contribution in the fields of music, dance, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy and literature. Kalidasa the Sanskrit poet and Caraka, the great physician and author of the famous book on medicine Charaksamhita are also believed to be from Kashmir.

In the last century, Kashmir gave India its first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Swami Lakshman Ji spiritualist and guru on Shaivist philosophy and Tantraloka, Pandit Gopi Krishna, the master and researcher in Kundalini techniques, Anupam Kher the Bollywood actor, R N Kao, the author and first chief of RAW, Suresh Raina, the emerging young cricketer, several administrators, judges, journalists, military personnel, engineers and doctors.

Kashmiri Pandits have won laurels in every field, be it business, computer software or research, in India and abroad. Their ingenuity, analytical mind and sublime nature have been appreciated all over.

A disintegrated community, not unsurprisingly, has so many community organizations to take care of the local needs, interaction with the mainstream communities, and above all to keep their age-old culture protected. Almost every Kashmiri enclave in any town has an organization, which arranges community meets on prominent festival days, yagyas, interactive parties, etc to foster a cultural bonding. The younger generation that has hardly seen its roots is fast merging with the local conditions and societies, hardly speak Kashmiri language, and marry outside their community without any taboo.

Despite occasional outbursts and pleas for their honorable return to the valley, they draw a blank from the government, Kashmiri Muslims and general public. Nobody seems to care to save this illustrious community from becoming extinct.

Kashmiri Pandits are politically irrelevant too. Being an uprooted lot, they do not constitute a vote bank, are not a slogan-shouting crowd and are too self-oriented to be of relevance to the politicians. They do not have an apex political body to represent themselves, which probably is their greatest failure and the reason to be so extraneous to the people, media and the government. The first time they were given a political platform in the last 16 years of their exile was at the first roundtable on Kashmir held in Delhi in February this year. Their demand of a carving out a separate homeland for them in the Kashmir valley – a state or a union territory – was turned down by both the state and the central governments. And, the issue of their return to Kashmir has been relegated to the background and has been tagged with the return of other refugees from across the LOC.

Kashmiri Pandit community is at a precipice. The state and central governments need to appreciate the community’s predicament. More importantly, the Kashmiri Muslims need to welcome the community back to their homes for preservation of Kashmir’s ancestry and the mosaic of cultural synthesis the valley is known for.

Integration of the community and its development as a separate social sect is possible only if it returns back to its homeland roots. It is important for this to delink the issue of the return of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir problem. All separatist and national parties in J&K and migrant Kashmiri pandits need to sit together and chalk out a detailed coordinated plan of action for an unconditional and honorable return of the displaced persons. Return of Pandits is possible through a social initiative. The government role should start only after the community returns to its home.

Other steps that can inject confidence in this community could be the reservation of one seat through nomination in Parliament under Article 331 of the Constitution on the lines of the Anglo-Indian community and similar reservation of two seats in the state assembly. These measures would reassure the community of their safety. Also, certain laws need to be introduced in the state constitution that guarantee quick redressal of the community grievances, reservation in state employment and admissions in professional colleges and creation of a full-fledged Ministry for Return and Rehabilitation of Migrants (MRRM) to liaise with the migrants and redress their problems.

Happily the conditions in the valley are fast changing for the better. Dark clouds of fear and mistrust are giving way to those of hope and goodwill. Service in the spirit of a self-preservation of their heritage by all Kashmiris irrespective of religion, can save the Kashmiri Pandit community from their current hardship and extinction.

Gilgit-Baltistan package termed an eyewash

Gilgit-Baltistan package termed an eyewash

The Dawn

 GILGIT/SKARDU: Public representatives, nationalist and progressive political groups and activists on Saturday rejected the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-governance Order, saying it is gimmick of words to perpetuate the bureaucratic rule over the region. Labour Party Pakistan Gilgit chapter chief Advocate Ehsan Ali rejected the package and said that it would increase the sense of deprivation among the people. ‘The real powers rest with the governor, who is President’s appointee and not answerable to Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly,’ said Mr Ehsan. There is no constitutional protection to the provincial setup. Talking to Dawn Hafizur Rehman, member Northern Area Legislative Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president declared the package mere a gimmickry of words and said once again the centre was throwing dust in the eyes of people. He said a powerful governor, who would be appointed by the President, would enjoy absolute authority. He criticised that other political parties were not taken on board nor any consultation was done in formulation of this package, which was not desired by the people of the region.Chairman of his own faction Nazir Khan Naji bashed the centre and said Gilgit-Baltistan were again deceived in the name of package. He said the so-called packages could not heal the decades-old wounds of the people of this region and they need only their identification. Advocate Fidaullah, member Nala, said Islamabad and PPP-led government won hearts of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan by giving them autonomy and this would ensure that people were governed through their elected representatives. He said independent judiciary was longstanding demand of the people. The PPP member said that the new setup would strengthen democracy. Advocate Aftab Haider, PPP member of Nala, stressed the need for observing a thanksgiving day for this historic package and said the federal government had once again fulfilled the demands of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who had introduced remarkable reforms. Mr Aftab said that the package would usher in the area into a new era of prosperity. He was of the view that now Gilgit-Baltistan would be hub of economical and political activities as the package was guaranteeing social, political and economical uplift. Member Northern Area Legislative Assembly Ghulam Mohammad, also secretary general of PPP, said that the package was complete reflection of the aspiration of the people and the government had taken all members of the society on board before finalising it. Safdar Ali, spokesman for Balawaristan National Front, said his party totally rejected the package, which was mere eyewash. ‘It’s meant to detract the international community from the violation of human rights in this region,’ he added. Local journalist and political analyst, Imtiaz Ali Taj, said the package contained nothing for the people and it would only benefit the representative of the federal government who would enjoy the authority and powers. Shujaat Ali, a nationalist leader, said the centre should allow the people of Gilgit-Baltistan to govern their region. ‘The so-called provincial setup aims at concealing the human rights violations and continue the colonial control over the region,’ said Manzoor Hussain Parwana, chairman Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement Said that the so-called empowerment order was illegal and held no ground at all because Gilgit Baltistan didn’t fall under the constitutional ambit of Pakistan. He demanded an independent judiciary and constitutional assembly until the resolution of Kashmir dispute. He said the government did not take the public representatives and political leadership on board to formulate the packages while the people were expecting and demanding Azad Kashmir like setup. Zulfiqar Ali Khan adds from Hunza The nationalist parties in Hunza-Nagar termed the package ‘old wine in a new bottle’. They said through such cosmetic measures the government was playing with the legal and constitutional rights of the people. They however welcomed renaming of the region as Gilgit-Baltistan. Talking to this correspondent, Baba Jan, chief organiser of Progressive Youth Front, demanded an independent and constitutionally protected governance system for the region. He said the federal government through such packages wanted to justify and prolong its illegal occupancy of the region. The Hunza chapter of Pakistan People’s Party has appreciated the new package however shown their concern for not giving additional seats for Hunza in the Assembly. Karimullah Baig, general secretary of the local chapter of PPP, said the party would issue detailed statement after convening a special meeting regarding the package. Public opinion leaders and representatives rejected the empowerment and self-governance package and said that nothing new had been announced rather old win had been poured into a new bottle. The package was criticised and it was declared as designed to strengthen the bureaucracy and unelected forces which ruled the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The History of Kashmiri Pandits

The Pandit Reborn- By Jia Lal Kilam

ALI SHAH could not maintain himself long on the throne. He had struck no deep roots in the people. The bulk of the people were subjected to a forcible conversion, and though later on they reconciled themselves to the inevitable, yet for the time being the wound was fresh and the resentment alive. There were many others who, though not converted dragged their miserable existence either by paying Jazia or by passing their days in disguise. The result was a universal discontent, Whether stung by a remorse for his own misdeeds or for the mere love of travel Ali Shah planned a pilgrimage to the holy places of Islam, but on reaching Jammu he changed his mind on the advice of the king of that place and he returned back to Kashmir with a considerable force supplied to him by the latter. He had appointed his younger brother Shahi Khan to act on his behalf in his absence. Shahi Khan came out to meet him, but was defeated by the superior forces of Ali Shah. Ali Shah again ascended the throne, but was soon defeated by Shahi Khan, who mounted the throne now and took the title of Zainulabdin. That Shahi Khan would have won an easy victory shows that Ali Shah, the rightful sovereign had lost the confidence of the people.

Shahi Khan now known as Zainulabdin opened a new chapter in the annals of Muslim Kashmir. From tenth century onwards and even earlier the Muslims, particularly the Arabs, had almost monopolized the trade in the East. Arab ships went as far as China and Japan. In the fourteenth century these traders had established their colonies in South India, Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, and even in China. Their contacts with races and religions other than their own had widened their outlook. The enormous gains which they reaped from trade abroad made them keep their countries open for non-Muslim traders too. Fresh ideas poured into the Muslim lands. With the free flow of ideas which now broke through the iron ring of strict isolation, it was but natural that the Governments too in most Muslim countries became very tolerant. Poets and philosophers with a radical outlook came into being and inspite of the rigidity of the Muslim Code there came about a revolution in men’s minds. Kashmir also shared the spirit of the age. In the reign of Zainulabdin trade and commerce flourished. Kashmiri traders went as far away as Turkey and with them came new ideas and many learned men. Zainulabdin with his receptive mind fully partook of this new spirit and became very tolerant. He turned his attention to the establishment of real peace in the country. He dealt with lawless elements with an iron hand, and strengthened the defences of the frontiers. This gave a great deal of encouragement to trade, and with the establishment of safe communications learned people and traders and industrialists from all over Asia began coming over to the country. Many industries were started and above all agriculture was made a special concern of the State. Gigantic irrigation schemes were undertaken and completed which exist to the present day. Where ever one may go in Kashmir, he will, in spite of the efflux of five centuries, come across with the name of this king. Zainagir Zainapur, Zainadub, Zaina Lank, Zaina Ganga and Zaina Kadal bear eloquent testimony to the great and glorious rule of this King.

It has already been noticed that the Hindu population was totally uprooted. An overwhelming majority of the people was converted forcibly, though many there were who accepted the new creed with their free will. A good number of Brahmans had left the country and many more were passing their days in ignominy and wretchedness only on payment of Jazia. But they could not openly declare themselves as Hindus nor couId they affix their Hindu mark on their foreheads, much less could they pray in their temples or perform any religious ceremony. But with Zainulabdin coming to power the Brahmans got a respite. Again we find them practising some arts, notably medicine. In this useful art they had achieved from times immemorial a mastery which they had maintained even in spite of the vicissitudes of times through which they had to pass. Their fame began to re-assert itself and in course of time it reached the royal ears as well. Zainulabdin got a poisonous boil which gave him much trouble. The court physicians tried their skill but failed, Jona Raja, the historian says “As flowers are not obtainable in the month of Magha on account of the mischief by snow, even so physicians who knew about poisons could not at that time be found in the country owing to Governmental oppression. The servants of the king at last found out Shri Bhatta who knew the antidotes of poisons and was well-versed in the art of healing, but out of fear he, for a long time delayed to come. When he arrived, the king gave him encouragement and he completely cured the king of the poisonous boil.” The king wanted to make munificent gifts to Shri Bhatta. But the latter refused to accept any. But when pressed hard, he made a request which was to the effect that the Jazia on the Brahmans be remitted, and opportunities be assured to them to develop their mental and moral resources without any let or hinderance. The selflessness displayed by the physician Shri Bhatta had its effect upon the mind of the king. The request was accepted and Jazia was remitted. The Brahman was freed from the position of inferiority to which he was relegated by the previous kings.

Shri Bhatta’s selflessness and the acceptance of his request by the king proved a land-mark in the history of Hinduism in Kashmir. Shri Bhatta’s attitude shows that the will to live as a group by themselves was very predominent amongst the Brahmans which was shared by Shri Bhatta in an equal measure with the whole lot of them. Freed from the shackles of Jazia and other handicaps the Brahmans started their own reorganization and rehabilitation. By now the Persian had become the official language. The desire to share office with others could not be fulfilled without a study of Persian. The Brahmans who were poppularly known as Bhattas took to the study of Persian and in a brief span of a few years they acquired a mastery over this language. But the Sanskrit learning and their religious ceremonies were not forgotten because this was the only distinctive feature to keep them alive as a separate group. There was now practically only one caste, that of the Brahmans which represented Hinduism in Kashmir. From this did now ” Lords Spiritual and Temporal” again take their birth, just as in the past the Lords spiritual and Temporal sprang out of the vis (populace.) The caste was divided further into two sub-castes, the Karkuns and the Bhasha Bhatta or Bhacha Bhat, the former included amongst its fold those who studied Persian and entered Government service and the latter those who studied Bhasha, i.e., Sanskrit and took charge of the religious affairs of the community. But how was the division of labour to be made? It was decided that a daughter’s son of a person should be made a Bhasha Bhatta to administer to the religious needs of his maternal grandfather’s family. The arrangement was simple enough, as it began involving ho loss of status to the Bhaska Bhatta, but in course of time this arrangement became responsible for the creation of two distinct classes with a distinctive culture and mode of life and habits with the result that though there is no legal or religious bar, yet the two classes seldom inter-marry these days. In the beginning the Bhasha Bhattas prided at having been given the exalted position of the custodian of the religion and learning of the country and may be that they were looked at with great esteem and regard by the Karkuns. But for his maintenance the Bhasha Bhatta was dependent upon the Karkuns. In course of time they lost their importance. The rise and fall of the Karkun made a corresponding increase or decrease in Basha Bhatta’s economic position. Gradually the majority of the Bhasha Bhatta’s became like the parts of a soul-less machine destined to perform ceremonies in a mechanical manner in lieu of a pittance they eked out of the munificence of the Karkun, but some of them maintained their highest traditions, and their fame for great learning and culture resounded from one end to the other. But socially, because of their economic dependence upon them, they in course of time came to be looked down by the Karkuns. Thus the Kashmiri Pandit took his birth in his modern shape, though till then the name Kashmiri Pandit was not coined to describe this community which was described as Bhatta. Even now a Kashmiri Pandit at home describes himself as a Bhatta and it is by this name that he is described by others in Kashmir.

Having cured the king and refused to accept a reward, Shri Bhatta rose very high in the official favour. He was made the court physician and Afsar-ul-ataba, the Head of the Medical Department. His influence both with the king and his own people was very great. This influence he utilised in the rehabilitation of his people. The king was all prepared for this. He wanted peace and prosperity. Jona Raja says ” As the lion does not attack other animals in the hermitage of saints, so the Turshkas who were very much alarmed did not now oppress the Brahmans as they had done before. Brilliant as the sun the king bestowed his favours on men of merit (Brahmans) whose very existence had been endangered previously.” The result was that many Brahmans who were forcibly converted during previous times were reconverted without any molestation. Those who had fled away came back in large numbers. The king gave them rent free lands and besides imported a number of Brahmans from Jagannath and Yogis from Kurukhshetra. The Brahmans were free to practise their religion and some temples that were damaged during the previous rule were repaired. Sanskrit books that were destroyed were sent for from India. Many Sanskrit books were translated into Persian and similarly Persian books into Sanskrit. A free kitchen was established for Yogis and other Sanyasis and Pathshalas were established for the propagation of Sanskrit learning. In short no stone was left unturned in giving fullest relief to the Brahmans. No wonder that the Sultan came to be known and is even now known as Bhatta Shah i. e., the king of Bhattas. The Brahmans repaired to the Sultan’s Court with their petty grievances and complaints and like the Hindu kings of old the Sultan listened and redressed them. In Zainpur and Zainagir rent free lands were given to them.

The Brahman, the Pandit or the Bhatta proved a source of great strength to the Sultan. In intellectual field he enriched his court, and in the land assessment work his services were unique. The land settlement records were placed in charge of and prepared by the Brahmans. The village administration was totally in Brahman’s hands and being the only literate man in the village he was a useful member of the village community. This accounts for the existence of Pandits though in very small numbers in villages with a predominant Muslim population in spite of the vicissitudes through which he had to go in course of centuries that rolled by from the time Zainulabdin held sway. With his apptitude for literary pursuits, the Brahmans took to the study of Persian and within a short time acquired a sound and workable knowledge of the language. This made their entry into subordinate services both easy and possible. Jona Raja and Shri Vara, the two Hindu chroniclers, have bestowed unbounded praise upon the Sultan for his open partiality for the Brahmans and their sacred books. A sort of Research Department was established which amongst others performed the task of translating Sanskrit books into Persian and vice versa. This opened the portals of Sanskrit learning to the Muslim savants and the Brahmans themselves learnt Persian and Arabic. Both the communities came to respect the learning of each other. A new culture now began to grow which was the outcome of a synthesis in the mode of thought and way of life followed by the two communities. Saints and sages now appeared who preached oneness of God and brotherhood of his creatures. Common places of worship sprang into existence where both the Brahman and the Sheikh prayed. A common poetry sprang up in Kashmiri language which was sung by both the Hindus and Muslims. The language was beautified further by an admixture of Sanskrit and Persian words used to describe highest ideas pertaining to the mystic faith which all of them shared copiously. In spite of the constant changes which took place on the political horizon after Zainulabdin’s reign there came about little change in the life of the people.

At the top many Kashmiri Brahmans came to prominence. Some of them were in constant attendance on the Sultan whom they described in their writings as Suratrana Shri Jainulavadena. He listened with great pleasure to recitations from Nilmat Purana and other Shastras such as Vashishta Brahama Darshana. Shrivara the historian says, “The king heard me recite the Vashishta Brahma Darshna composed by Valmiki which is known as the way to salvation and when he heard the annotations he was pervaded by a feeling of tranquility. He remembered them even in his dreams.” The influence of these Brahmans was so great that he forbade the killing of fish in cettain tanks and even stopped cow-killing, and also meat eating on some days. No wonder that a Muslim historian deplcres that ” the king imported back all the practices of the infidels which were once vanished from his land.” But the king, unmindful of the Muslim historian, trod his Fath which led to his eternal credit and greatness of the country.

In his reign the country witnessed an unprecedented prosperity. Agriculture reached its highest peak. The produce was as much as it was never witnessed ever since, not even under the glorious rule of the Moghuls. The produce of Shali alone was 774 lacs of Khirwars (154 lacs of maunds). The land settlement including agriculture was in charge of the Brahmans. For these operations the country was divided into two provinces. Each province was placed in charge of a Qanungo whose duty it was to look after the general welfare of irrigation and to prepare settlement records. Madho Kaul, was put in charge of northern province and, Ganesh Kaul in charge of the southern. They both were responsible to an inter- provincial head known as Sadar Qanungo by name Gopala Kaul. Under their supervision huge irrigation schemes were undertaken. L al Kuhl, Shah Kuhl exist even up to this day and feed thousands of acres of land. As was but natural these three Brahmans recruited on subordinate posts of Patwaris and others, men from their own community. The Patwaris prepared village records. This class of Patwaris lives upto this date. Ever since they have been holding these posts in heredity, the son following the father and so on. Sultans came and Sultans went, some of them cruel harsh and oppressive to the Brahmans now known as Pandits, but the Pandit Patwari on account of the usefulness of his job was left unmolested. There were many other Pandits who filled the ministerial ranks or waited upon the king as courtiers. The notable amongst them was Shri Bhatta himself. He was the head of the State physicians and held a ministerial rank. The Sultan was highly kind to him. As already seen, Shri Bhatta was indeed a deserving person. Shri Vara the historian writes that it was due to Shri Bhatta that Brahmans rose high. About him it is stated that

” Shri Bhatta was a Wazir of the king and was very high in his favours. On his death the Sultan not only expressed his great sorrow but settled an early endowment of one crore dinars on his sons.”

A short description of the Pandits who rose high in his reign may not be out of place. Sadasheo Bayu was the royal astronomer, and astrologer and held a very high rank. So did Tilkacharya, a great Budhist scholar. Soma Pandit was a very high dignatory and held a very high and distinguished position at the court and was besides, in charge of the Translation Department. He was greatly gifted for this job on account of his mastery of both Sanskrit and Persian languages. He wrote exquisite poetry in Kashmiri and was well-versed in Persian and Tibetan languages besides Sanskrit. He was the author of a book Jaina Charitra which gives an account of the Sultan’s reign. He was a skilful musician and has written a book on this subject. He translated many Persian books into Sanskrit and besides this, Mahabharata and Raj Taranigni were for the first time translated into Persian under his supervision and direction. He was a great favourite of the king. Sumitra Bhatta was an astrologer of repute who also was in constant attendance at the Court. Rupya Bhatta was another astrologer very much honoured by the king about whom it is recorded that “he could without the labour of calculation, but by merely observing the course of the planets in the past year, know their position in the year to come.” Karpur Bhatta was a physician of renown to avail of whose treatment men from distant lands came to Kashmir. Shree Ramanand renowned scholar of his time wrote an exposition of Mahabhashya. Yodha Bhatta was a great poet in Kashmiri language. He wrote Jaina Prakash and presented it to the king who ” in token of his appreciation bestowed many favours on him.” Bhatta Avatara (or Bhodi Bhatta) as others call him, was a great favourite of the king. He had Committed to memory the whole of the Shah Nama for which the king had a great liking. The duty of Bhatta Avatara was to recite Shah Nama for the delectation of the king. It is said that the king got unbounded pleasure from his recitations. This man was a great musician and has written a treatise on music. Rupya Bhanda was in charge of the palace decorations and Jaya Bhatta maintained the king’s private accounts, and the king’s charities were distributed through him. Jona Raja and Shri Vara were the two historians. The former assisted the Sultan as an assessor in deciding the cases laid before him. Shivara was a great musician who was very much in king’s favour. There were other Pandits also who were given strictly confidential diplomatic missions to execute. In short the Pandits carved for themselves a place in the body politic.

In the foregoing pages we have seen as to how the Pandits again rehabilitated and reorganized themselves. They studied Persian and in a short period of a few years they acquired a mastery over this language and by their useful services they acquired an influence and prestige which put them on par with any favoured class in the realm. It is evidene that the atrocities which were perpetrated on them during the previous rules had not robbed them of their stamina. They possessed it in abundant measure. Those who could not withstand the trials to which time put them changed their faith but those who persisted and went through the ordeal of fire and death came out unseathed and with their stamina undiminished. Zainulabdin breathed his last in the year 1474 A. D.

Though with his passing away the Pandits lost much of their prestige and greatness, yet the structure of society which they had built during his benevolent rule lasted for long and provided them shelter during the vicissitudes that befell them during their chequered career. The vicissitudes they had to go through were many and numerous: vicissitudes that almost brought them to the brink of destruction, but they survived and survive till today

The Kashmir -History

The Kashmir -History

Kashmiri Pandits who have left the Saffron Valley, feel the pain and agony of migration.

Myth and reality move together in the Saffron Valley of mystic splendor. The reclamation of land from Satisar created certain complications. The Saraswati River that flowed into the eastern Punjab, Rajasthan, Sind and other parts of Indian subcontinent suddenly got dried up. Geologists are of the opinion that all those streams, which fed Satisar and form the source of water for the Saraswati river, mostly ran underground. Once the cleft materialized at Baramulla, the water of the Satisar flowed out in an opposite direction, leaving the Saraswati basin dry. The Aryan Saraswat Brahmans, who used to live on the banks of Saraswati river, migrated to the Kashmir Valley to continue their austerities. With the passage of time these people came to be known as ‘Bhattas’ in Kashmir. The word is derivative of Brahman. Now they are called the Kashmiri Pandits or the Aryan Saraswat Brahmans of Kashmir, who believe in the mystic combination of Shaivism, Kali Bhakti, Shakta worship and Tantra.
History of the Kashmiri Pandits is the history of Kashmir since unknown millennia. They are associated with its society, culture, civilization, customs, traditions, myths and realities. The rise of Buddhism and reactions by Brahmans gave rise to a long struggle between the two rival ideologies. The Naga (Snake) worship was also the dominant religion in the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. However, Buddhism flourished in the Valley during the reign of Durnadeo, Simhadeo, Sundersen, Ashoka and Kanishka. The great Buddhist council was held at Kanishpur in Kashmir during the rule of Kanishka and it was presided over by two eminent scholars — Asvaghosha and Vasumitra. About 500 monks from different parts of the subcontinent attended the same. Nagarjuna , a Bodhisattva and the greatest philosopher of Buddhism, lived in Kashmir. During the reign of Abhimanu, a number of people were converted to Buddhism. It was first struggle of the Kashmiri Brahmans for their survival. A number of Kashmiri scholars – Kumarajiva (AD 384-417), Shakyashri Badhra (AD 405), Ratnavera, Shama Bhatta (5th Cen AD) and others went to China and Tibet to preach Buddhism. However, the Brahmans regained their supremacy during the reign of Nara I . The struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism came to an end with the emergence of modern Hinduism. A period of comparative historical validity began with the establishment of the Karkuta rule in AD 627. Avantivarman (AD 855-833) is believed to be the first Vaishnavite ruler of Kashmir. During his rule there was a tremendous cultural development in the Valley. The great Shaiva philosophers of this period were Kayyatacharya, Somananda, Muktakantha Swamin, Shiva Swamin, Ananda Vardhana and Kallata.
The struggle between the Brahmans and other castes, such as Kayasthas, began during the reign of Shankara Varman. The authority of the Brahmans was broken and the sacred character of their citadels was violated. However, the Shaivite thought and philosophy flourished. Pradyumana Bhatta, Utpalacharya, Rama Kantha, Prajnarjuna, Lachaman Gupta and Mahadeva Bhatta have made a tremendous contribution to this philosophy. During the regime of Lohara dynasty, Kashmir came into contact with the Muslim invaders who attacked India. When Mahmud Ghazni annexed the Punjab, most of the tribes on the borders of Kashmir embraced Islam. At that time, the Valley was ruled by Sangram Raja (AD 1003-1028). Even after their conversion to Islam, these people continued to visit Kashmir – as traders, wanderers and even missionaries. There are historical evidences that some of these tribals settled in the Valley and made some venture into propagating their new religion.
Harsha (AD 1089-1101), was a man of extravagant habits and a jumble of contraries. He robbed the temple treasures and melt idols of gold and silver to tide over his financial crisis. Before him two other kings, Jalauka and Kalasa, employed the same approach of plundering the temples and melting the images of gold and silver to augment their depleted treasuries. Harsha also employed Muslim generals, who are called Turushkas by Kalhana, for the first time in the history of Kashmir. Now Muslims as a class appeared in the political field and began to consolidate its roots. Bhikshachara, a descendant of Harsha, organized a cavalry force mainly consisting of the Muslims. During the reign of Gopadeva (AD 1171-1180), the Brahmans consolidated their position. But the Lavanya tribe shattered their roots once again. The Damaras, Lavanyas and other tribes never allowed the Brahmans to monopolize. In the reign of Jassaka (AD 1180-1198), two Brahmans – Kshuksa and Bhima, endeavored to capture the throne. But it was the fear of Damaras or feudal lords that prevented them. Ramadeva (AD 1252-1273) humiliated those Brahmans who had helped him in his coronation. They conspired against him but could not succeed. A reign of terror, loot and plunder was let loose against them. Many Brahmans were killed and others crushed barbarously. This was the first direct assault against them in the history of Kashmir. To save themselves they cried “ Na Batoham” (I am not a Bhatta). The Kashmiri Pandits are even now taunted as Bhattas and Dalli Bhattas.
To counter the supremacy of the Brahmans, the rulers of Kashmir encouraged the influx of Muslims into the Valley. During the reign of Suhadeva (AD 1301-1320) many Muslim adventurers came to Kashmir. The chief among them was a Muslim missionary- Bulbul Shah. Two others were Shahmir from Swat and Rinchana from Tibet. Shahmir came in AD 1313 along with his numerous relations. Suhadeva granted him a jagir in a village near Baramulla. Ramachandra, the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of Kashmir, employed Rinchana and granted him jagir in a village in the Lar Valley. These two adventurers were instrumental in the establishment of the Muslim rule in Kashmir. Another adventurer who received Suhadeva’s patronage was Lankar Chak.
Dulucha, a Tartar chief from Central Asia, invaded Kashmir with 60,000 strong horsemen. Suhadeva tried to induce him to retreat by paying him off a large sum of money. For this purpose he imposed heavy taxes even upon the Brahmans who had never before been taxed. But Dulucha refused to retreat and struck terror. He ravaged the Valley with fire and sword. Monstrous miseries were inflicted upon the people including the Brahmans. According to Baharistan – i -Shahi, “Dulucha and his soldiers killed everyone they could find . People who had fled to the hills and forests were pursued and captured. Men were killed, women and children were reduced to slavery and sold to the merchants of Khita (Turkistan), whom the invaders had brought with them. All the houses in the cities and the villages were burnt. The invaders ate as much of the corn and rice as they could . Whatever was left, they burnt and destroyed. In this way the whole of the Kashmir Valley was trampled under foot”. Suhadeva fled to Kishtwar, leaving the Kingdom to the cruel aggressors. Dulucha stayed here for eight months and took about 50,000 Brahmans with him as slaves. But all the troops and slaves perished while crossing the Devsar pass. It was a terrible experience for the legendary Kashmiri Pandits.
Dulucha went away from the Valley but left it haunted. The cursed people had lost all faith in their ruler- Suhadeva. Taking the advantage of the chaos and confusion, Rinchana- the refugee from Tibet, occupied the throne with the help of some chiefs . He killed his benefactor, Ramachandra, in the fort of Lar by treacherous means and married his daughter, Kota Rani.
Rinchana, a pseudo- Buddhist, wanted to get initiated into the Brahmanical fold to strengthen his political position. At that time, Shaivism was the most extensively practised religion in the Valley. So he called Sri Devaswami, the religious head of the Shaivas, to indoctrinate himself into the Hindu religion. Devaswami called a secret meeting of the prominent Pandits, who refused to accept Rinchana into Hinduism because of his low birth. Jonaraja says,” The King asked Devaswami to initiate him in the mantras of Shiva, but as he was Bhautta (Tibetian), Devaswami feared that the King was unworthy of such initiation and did not favour him”. This was a monstrous blunder on the part of Pandits, which turned the course of history. In fact, the Brahmans were not ready to share their privileges with an outsider. Thus deflected, Rinchana wanted to establish a uniform faith of warring sects and creeds in Kashmir with himself as its head. But Shahmir and Bulbul Shah manipulated his conversion to Islam. Ramachandra’s son, Ravanachandra, and many others also embraced Islam. A Muslim ruling class came into existence. In this way the Kashmiri Pandits were responsible for the destruction of their own ascendency and the ruin of their very existence. They are tremendously paying for it till today.
People of inferior origin and subordinate castes were attracted to Islam by gradual methods. This newly established Muslim class slowly consolidated its position and employed various methods to propagate the new faith. However, the Brahmans put a brave front and resisted the tide. After the death of Rinchana (AD 1326), Udyanadeva, the brother of Suhadeva, was installed on the throne of Kashmir and Shahmir was appointed as Commander-in-Chief.
Achala, a Turkish chief, invaded Kashmir during the reign of Udyanadeva, laying waste the territories he passed through. The king fled to Tibet. Kota Rani – the queen, faced the invader, procured his death and saved the kingdom. In this operation , Shahmir played the dominant role. Jonaraja says, “Strange that this believer in Allah became the saviour of the people. As a dried up river allows men to cross it and gives them shelter on its banks, even so this believer in Allah, calm and active, protected the terrified subjects.” Shahmir’s influence increased tremendously and he further strengthened his position by entering into matrimonial relations with the powerful nobles in Kashmir. A subversive struggle was born between the tolerant Hinduism and the militant Islam.
In AD 1339, after defeating Kota Rain by a foul strategem and procuring her death, Shahmir ascended the throne of Kashmir under the name of Sultan Shamas-ud-Din (The Light of the Religion – Islam). He got khutaba read and the coins struck to his name. Islam became the court religion. Shahmir became the legitimate author and architect of Muslim rule in Kashmir. With the establishment of the new regime Muslim missionaries, preachers, sayyids and saints penetrated into the Valley. Sayyid Jalal-ud-Din, Sayyid Taj-ud-Din, Sayyid Hussain Simnani, Sayyid Masud and Sayyid Yusuf came to Kashmir to avoid the intended massacre by Timur. Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (Shah Hamadan) entered Kashmir with 700 sayyids; and, his son, Mir Muhammad Hamadani, with 300 more. They endured in the Valley under royal protection and disseminated the message of Islam. Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (AD 1314-AD 1385) wrote in “ Zakhirat’ul Maluk ” :
1. Muslim ruler shall not allow fresh constructions of Hindu temples and shrines for image worship.
2. No repair shall be executed to the existing Hindu temples and shrines.
3. They shall not proffer Muslim names.
4. They shall not ride a harnessed horse.
5. They shall not move about with arms.
6. They shall not wear rings with diamonds.
7. They shall not deal in or eat bacon.
8. They shall not exhibit idolatrous images.
9. They shall not built houses in the neighbourhood of Muslims.
10. They shall not dispose of their dead in the neighbourhood of Muslim graveyards, nor weep or wail over their dead.
11. They shall not deal in or buy Muslim slaves.
12. No Muslim traveller shall be refused lodging in the Hindu temples and shrines where he shall be treated as a guest for three days by non-Muslims.
13. No non-Muslim shall act as a spy in the Muslim state.
14. No problem shall be created for those non-Muslims who, of their own will, show their readiness for Islam.
15. Non-Muslims shall honour Muslims and shall leave their assembly whenever the Muslims enter the premises.
16. The dress of non-Muslims shall be different from that of Muslims to distinguish themselves.
This naturally caused animosity among the Brahmans and resulted in frail rebellion during the reign of Shihab-ud-Din (AD 1354-1373). In order to break the upheaval among the Hindus and to make them prostrate, the Sultan turned his attention towards their temples. All the temples in Srinagar, including the one at Bijbehara, were wrecked to terrorize the poor Kashmiri Pandits. It seems that by this time, the sultans of Kashmir were perfectly islamized as a result of their contacts, interactions and intercourses with the sayyids. These sayyids came here as absconders in search of safe harbours, but manoeuvered the events for their own cause and fanatic iconoclastic zeal. The Hindus began to feel deserted and alienated in their own land. To consolidate their rule, sultans institutionalized the “policy of extermination” to eradicate all traces of Hinduism in any form. However, the Kashmiri Pandits stuck to their own religion and traditions, ignoring the atrocities, barbarism and cruelties of the privileged ruling class. But there were many from other castes who, either by conviction or in order to gain royal favour, embraced Islam. These new converts were looked down upon by the Kashmiri Pandits as traitorous and treacherous, with no loyalty for time-honored values. This gave rise to a new class rivalry. Suha Bhatt, who after embracing Islam took the name of Saif-ud-Din, became the leader of the fresh converts during the reign of Sikandar (AD 1389-1413).
Sikandar- the Butshikan, was bigoted with fanatic religious zeal to spread Islam in the entire Valley. This fanaticism was stimulated by Mir Muhammad Hamadani. Suha Bhatt – the convert, was appointed Prime Minister by Sikandar and both hatched a deadly conspiracy to persecute the Hindus and enforce upon the Nizam-i-Mustaffa. Jonaraja says, “ The Sultan forgot his kingly duties and took delight day and night in breaking images … He broke images of Martanda, Vishaya, Ishana, Chakrabrit and Tripureshvara …… There was no city, no town, no village, no wood where Turushka left the temples of the gods unbroken.” According to Hassan (History of Kashmir), “ This country possessed from the times of Hindu rajas many temples which were like the wonders of the world. Their workmanship was so fine and delicate that one found himself bewildered at their sight. Sikandar, goaded by feelings of bigotry, destroyed them and levelled them with the earth and with the material built many mosques and khanqahs. In the first instance he turned his attention towards the great Martand temple built by Ramdev (the temple was rebuilt by King Lalitaditya, AD 724-760) on Mattan Kareva. For one year he tried to demolish it, but failed. At last in sheer dismay, he dug out stones from its base and having stored enough wood in their place, set fire to it. The gold gilt paintings on its walls were totally destroyed and the walls surrounding its premises were demolished. Its ruins even now strike wonder in men’s minds. At Bijbehara, three hundred temples including the famous Vijiveshwara temple, which was partly damaged by Shihab-ud-Din, were destroyed. With the material of Vijiveshwara temple, a mosque was built and on its site a khanqah, which is even now known as Vijiveshwara Khanqah.” The stones and bricks which once configurated a marvelous and splendid temple or monastery, now hold up mosques. Hassan further adds, “ Sikandar meted out greatest oppression to the Hindus. It was notified in the Valley that if a Hindu does not become a Muslim, he must leave the country or be killed. As a result some of the Hindus fled away, some accepted Islam and many Brahmans consented to be killed and gave their lives. It is said that Sikandar collected, by these methods, six maunds of sacred thread form Hindu converts and burnt them. Mir Muhammad Hamadani, who was a witness of all this vicious brutality, barbarism and vandalism, at last advised him to desist from the slaughter of Brahmans and told him to impose jazia (religious tax) instead of death upon them. All the Hindu books of learning were collected and thrown into Dal Lake and were buried beneath stones and earth.” Sikandar issued orders that no man should wear the tilak mark on his forehead and no woman be allowed to perform sati. He also insisted on breaking and melting of all the gold and silver idols of gods and coin the metal into money. An attempt was made to destroy the caste of the Aryan Saraswat Brahmans by force and those who resisted were subject to heavy fines. Farishta says, “ Many of the Brahmans, rather than abandon their religion or their county, poisoned themselves; some emigrated from their native homes, while a few escaped the evil of banishment by becoming Muhammedans”. To strictly enforce the Nizam-i-Mustaffa, Sikandar established the office of Shaikh-ul-Islam.
According to W.R. Lawrence, the Aryan Saraswat Brahmans of Kashmir were given three choices-death, conversion or exile. “Many fled, many were converted and many were killed, and it is said that this thorough monarch (Sikandar) burnt seven maunds of sacred threads of the murdered Brahmans”. As for the statements of Hassan and Lawrence, six maunds of sacred threads of converts and seven maunds of murdered Pandits were burnt. The number of people, to whom these thirteen maunds of sacred threads belonged, might have been tremendously colossal. A mammoth number of the Saraswat Pandits also went into exile, causing the first disastrous mass exodus of the community. When Suha Bhatt- the convert, came to know that many Brahmans were leaving Kashmir, he tried to check their exodus and ordered the frontier guards not to allow any one to cross the borders. The unfortunate Pandits caught while crossing the border were awarded severe punishments. Even the converts were required to pay jazia as they were suspected of secretly clinging to their old religion.
Not only Sikandar- the Butshikan, but Suha Bhatta – the convert, also was responsible for this barbarous, murderous and cruel approach towards the mythical Kashmiri Pandits. Jonaraja says, “ Suha Bhatta- the convert, after demolishing the temples felt the satisfaction, and with the help of sayyids, ulema and newly converts tried to destroy the caste of the people… the illustrious Brahmans declared that they would die rather than lose their caste and religion, and Suha Bhatta – the convert, subjected them to a heavy fine, jazia, because they held to their caste and religion.” There is no parallel of this religious persecution in the history of the subcontinent.
Ali Shah – the tyrant (AD 1413-1430), son of Sikandar- the Butshikan, during his short rule of six years, carried on his father’s 24-year tyrant reign with homicides, conversions, tyranny and enforced jazia. Suha Bhatta – the convert, who retained the prime ministership continued his earlier crimes and atrocities against the Kashmiri Pandits. Jonaraja gives a graphic account of the plight of the illustrious Kashmiri Pandits in the draconian reign of Ali Shah. He says,” Suha Bhatta- the convert, passed the limit by levying fine, jazia, on the twice – born. This evil-minded man forbade ceremonies and processions on the new moon. He became envious that the Brahmans who had become fearless would keep up their caste by going over to foreign countries, he therefore ordered posting of squads on the roads, not to allow passage to any one without a passport. Then as the fisherman torments fish, so this low born man tormented the twice-born in this country. The legendary Brahmans burnt themselves in the flaming fire through fear of conversion. Some Brahmans killed themselves by taking poison, some by the rope and others by drowning themselves. Others again by falling from a precipice. The country was contaminated by hatred and the king’s favourites could not prevent one in a thousand from committing suicide …. A multitude of celebrated Brahmans, who prided in their caste, fled from the country through bye-roads as the main roads were closed. Even as men depart from this world, so did the Aryan Saraswat Brahmans of Kashmir flee to foreign countries. The difficult countries through which they passed, the scanty food, painful illness and the torments of hell during life time removed from the minds of the Kashmiri Pandits the fears of hell. Oppressed by various calamities such as encounter with the enemy, fear of snakes, fierce heat and scanty food; many Brahmans perished on the way and thus obtained salvation.” This was the second miserable mass exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits. Jonaraja calls it “ Chandh-Dandh” – violent, cruel, brutal and horrible punishment, for the abandoned and vulnerable Saraswat Brahmans of Kashmir. History repeated itself again in AD 1989-1990.
The brutal religious persecution of the Kashmiri Pandits has been borne testimony to by almost all the Muslim historians. Hassan, Fauq and Nizam – ud – Din have condemned these excesses in unscathing terms. It was the reign of terror and homicide. The majority of the Hindus were converted forcibly and a large number had left the Valley. Yet many more were passing their days in the most deplorable conditions only on payment of jazia. The allowances of the Brahman academicians were stopped to destroy the ancient learning, literature, education, art and culture. These enlightened intellectuals had to move from door to door for food, like dogs. One can’t imagine a higher level of mental torture!
The Brahmans, even after paying jazia, could not openly declare themselves as Hindus nor could they apply tilak on their foreheads. Neither could they pray in their temples or perform any religious ceremony. Even then they did not forget their past and rich tradition. As the custodians of their extraordinary cultural heritage, they wrote the illuminating treatises on the stupendous Kashmir Shaivism, colossal literature, splendid art, marvelous music, grammar and medicine.
Sultan Zainul Abidin-the Budshah (Great Monarch), ruled Kashmir from AD 1420 to 1460. The son of Sultan Sikandar – the Butshikan, and the brother of Sultan Ali Shah- the tyrant, Zainul Abidin followed the policy of tolerance, endurance, patience, sympathy and broad mindedness. He recalled the Kashmiri Pandits who had left the Valley during the rule of Sikandar and Ali Shah. Jazia was abolished and the Brahmans were given their earlier positions in administration. Demolished temples were rebuilt and new ones constructed. Two temples were built by Zainul Abidin at Ishbar, Srinagar. The Sultan also participated in the Hindu festivals. A large number of houses were built for the widows of the Brahmans who had suffered during the reign of terror. Zainul Abidin stopped the killing of cows, restricted the eating of beef and catching of fish in the sacred springs of the Hindus. Even the personal law as laid down in the Shastras was adopted for the Hindus. The legenday Kashmiri Pandits were resurrected and resuscitated. Ferguson observes that indeed history has very few examples where the policy of a father was so completely reversed by the son. Even the Mughal monarch, Akbar – the great , capitalized on the religious policy of Zainul Abidin. But the conservative and dogmatic Muslims reacted very sharply to this policy of toleration and mutual coexistence . According to Mulla Bahauddin, “ The Sultan reimported practices of infidels which had once become extinct”.
But the honey-moon of the Kashmiri Pandits proved very brief. During the reign of Haider Shah (AD 1470-1472) – the prodigal son of the great Zainul Abidin, Kashmiri Pandits once again suffered tremendously. Under the evil influence of Purni- the Hindu barber, Haider Shah adopted various corrupt and cruel practices against the Saraswat Brahmans. The repression was so terrible that the tolerant Pandits lost their cool. Hassan says, “ the patience of the Pandits having reached the breaking point, they rose in a body and set fire to some mosques which were built with the material of the Hindu temples once demolished by Sikandar. The rising was quelled by the sword; many more Pandits were drowned in rivers; and, loot and plunder was practiced with unbridled licence.” Srivara also illustrates the cruel and inhuman treatment given to the mythical Kashmiri Saraswat Brahmans, “ many Pandits struggled and threw themselves in river Vitasta to be drowned there. The arms and noses of many people were cut off, even of those Brahmans who were king’s servants.” Ravage and arson of the sacred places continued during the indifferent rule of Hassan Khan (AD 1476-1487), when the real authority was with the gang of three persons- Shams Chak, Shringhar Raina and Musa Raina. The pressure exerted on the illustrious Kashmiri Pandits was so barbarous that, in order to save themselves from merciless brutality, some of them gave up their caste and screamed – “ I am not a Bhatta, I am not a Bhatta” ( I am not a Hindu). They went in strict seclusion to avoid any argument or controversy.
Mir Shams-ud-Din Iraqi, who visited the Saffron Valley twice in AD 1477 and 1496, was the founder of Nurbakhshiya order (Shia sect) in Kashmir. His mission was the vigorous propagation of his faith. So, not contented with peaceful preachings, violent methods were employed. In this adventure , Iraqi was helped by the homicidal creature and most dreaded tyrant- Malik Musa Raina, a convertee, whose original name was Soma Chandra. Not only the poor vulnerable Brahmans, but the Sunni Muslims were also violently converted to Shia sect by murderous techniques. This dogmatic fanaticism even crippled the Sunni ruler of Kashmir, Fateh Shah (AD 1510-1517). A khanqah was built at Zadibal (Srinagar) by Iraqi, which became the nucleus of Shia concentration.
Kashmiri Pandits suffered ferociously under the instructions of Shams-ud-Din Iraqi and Musa Raina. About 24,000 of them were forcibly converted to Shia sect of Islam. Iraqi had even issued orders that everyday about 1500 to 2000 Brahmans be brought to his doorsteps, remove their sacred threads, administer Kalima to them, circumcise them and make them eat beef. These decrees were ferociously and brutally carried out. The Hindu religious scriptures from 7th century AD onwards and about 18 magnificent temples were destroyed, property confiscated and ladies abused. Thousands of Brahmans killed themselves to evade this horrific barbarism and thousands migrated to other places, resulting in their third tragic mass exodus from the Saffron Valley of Kashmir. Those who stayed behind were not only forced to pay jazia, but their noses and ears were chopped off. To escape the tremendous pain and agony, they cried. “I am not a Hindu.” After Kashmir , the next destination of Iraqi for war against so-called infidelity was Kargil. It is now a Shia –dominated area and there are frequent sectarian clashes between them and the Buddhists.
In AD 1519, about ten thousand Kashmiri Pandits died during pilgrimage to Harmukh Ganga, where they had gone to immerse the ashes of those eight hundred Hindus who had been massacred during Ashura a year before. Poet-historian Suka says about this cataclysm, “ Ganga was oppressed with hunger, as it was after a long time that she had devoured bones; she surely devoured the men also who carried the bones.” It was after a gap of many years that the people were allowed to go on a pilgrimage to Harmukh lake, which ended in the most devastating tragedy.
Qazi Chak, the founder of Chak rule in Kashmir (AD 1553-1586), carried on ferocious religious policy and made conversion of many Hindus to Shia sect of Islam. According to Suka, one thousand cows were used to be killed everyday without any opposition under the orders of the Chak rulers, who were Shias, just to injure the religious sentiments of the Kashmiri Pandits. These celebrated and highly educated Aryan Saraswat Brahmans were made the objects of laughter and reproach. They were publically taunted, abused and humiliated. The last Chak ruler, Yaqub Chak, had a bigoted zeal for the propagation of Shia sect and planned mass conversion of the Hindus. However, he could not administer his criminal designs because of the Mughal annexation.
Akbar was tremendously influenced by the amazing moral supremacy of the Kashmiri Pandits. Abul Fazl records in Ain-i-Akbari, “ the most respectable class in this country (Kashmir) is that of the Pandits, who, notwithstanding their need for freedom from the bonds of tradition and custom, are the true worshippers of God. They do not loosen their tongue of calumny against those not of their faith, nor beg, nor importune. They employ themselves in planting fruit trees and are generally a source of inspiration for others”. The great Mughal Emperor abolished jazia and other unjust taxes imposed upon the Hindus. He also evinced great interest in the rehabilitation of the Pandits. Suka says, “ The Emperor announced that he would without delay reward those who would respect the Brahmans in Kashmir and that he would instantly pull down the houses of those who would demand the annual tribute from them.” The greatness of Akbar lies in his magnificent and fascinating policy of religious tolerance. Jahangir and Shah Jahan were not so tolerant. But their religious enthusiasm cannot be termed as fanatic. During this period, the Brahmans could perform their religious ceremonies after paying some tribute. But the whole scenario changed with the accession of Aurangzeb to the throne. With his bigoted fanatic and dogmatic approach, the Kashmiri Pandits were once again made vulnerable. Iftkar Khan, the Mughal governor of Kashmir during the reign of Aurangzeb, brutally tyrannized over the Brahmans to such an extent that they approached Guru Teg Bhahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, at Anandpur in Punjab and solicited his personal intervention with the Emperor. This ultimately led to the Guru’s martyrdom and made Guru Gobid Singh to create the Khalsa to fight the oppressors . Muzaffer Khan, Nassar Khan and Ibrahim Khan were other governors of Aurangzeb who ferociously terrorized the Kashmiri Pandits. These celebrated scapegoats were once again forced to migrate from the land of their origin. It was the fourth disastrous mass exodus of the Aryan Saraswat Brahmans from Kashmir.
During the rule of later Mughals, Kashmir witnessed the outbreak of the worst kind of religious intolerance. In AD 1720, Mullah Abdul Nabi, also called Muhat Khan, a non-resident Kashmiri Muslim, was appointed as Shaikhul Islam . In order to assert his religious authority, he asked the Deputy Governor, Mir Ahmed Khan , to start a campaign of persecution of the Kafirs (infidels) – as the Kashmiri Pandits were called. In order to satisfy his satanic ego, the Mulla issued six commandments:

1. No Hindu should ride a horse, nor should a Hindu wear a shoe;
2. That they should not wear Jama (Mughal costume);
3. That they should move bare arms;
4. That they should not visit any garden;
5. That they should not have tilak mark on their foreheads;
6. That their children should not receive any education.

But Ahmed Khan refused to execute the mischievous decree. The Mullah then excited his followers against the Kashmiri Pandits. He established his seat in a mosque, assumed the duties of the administrator under the title of Dindar Khan and let loose the reign of terror. The Hindus were wickedly tormented, their houses burnt and property looted. Hundreds of Brahmans were killed, prostrated, maimed and humiliated. They began to run away in large numbers and hide themselves in mountainous terrain. This was the fifth dreadful mass exodus of the legendary Kashmiri Pandits from their mystic motherland. Those who remained behind lived in the most horrific and terrible conditions generated by the Mullah and his gang. But soon he was assassinated by his rivals and his son, Sharif-ud-Din, become the new Shaikhul-Islam. The son improved upon the brutal methods of his father and inflicted most barbaric, cruel and inhuman tortures upon the vulnerable Brahmans. The plight of the Kashmiri Pandits during this period became tremendously miserable and tragic.
The Afghan rule in Kashmir (AD 1753-1819) was a period of cruelty, homicide and anarchy. W.R. Lawrence calls it the “reign of brutal tyranny.” The barbarous Afghans employed every wild, inhuman, primitive, ferocious, cruel and brutal method to suppress the Kashmiri Brahmans. A pitcher filled with ordure was placed on the head of a Pandit and stones were pelt on it, till it broke and the unfortunate Brahman become wet with filth. Their brutality and atrocity crossed the extreme limits when Hindus were tied up in grass sacks, two and two, and drowned in the Dal Lake. The victimized Hindu were forced to flee the country or were killed or converted to Islam. There was horrible mass exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits, sixth one, to far away places like Delhi, Allahabad, etc. Many covered the long distances on foot.
Hindu parents destroyed the beauty of their daughters by shaving their heads or cutting their noses and ears to save them from degradation. Any Muslim could jump on the back of a Pandit and take a ride. Mir Hazar – an Afghan governor, used leather bags instead of grass sacks for the drowning of Brahmans. Turbans and shoes were forbidden for them. The Saraswat Brahmans of Kashmir were also forced to grow beards and tilak was interdicted. The Afghans are now only remembered for their barbarity, brutality, ferocity, tyranny and cruelty. They thought no more of cutting of heads than of plucking a flower.
The Shahmirs, Chaks, Mughals and homicidal Afghans tore the fabric of society in Kashmir and left deep scars on it. When the Afghan oppression became intolerable, the Pandits turned with hope to the rising power of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. But they were suspected. The Afghan governor, Azim Khan, confiscated their jagirs and imposed jazia on them. Eminent Pandits were brutally killed, humiliated and their authority was snatched. Nur Shah Diwani – a cruel Muslim official who was in charge of revenue collection, hatched a conspiracy in league with Azim Khan to eliminate the distinguished Kashmiri Brahmans. But this evil manoeuvre was exposed and a galaxy of Pandits saved. Pandit Sahajram, the Diwan, played a prominent role in the rescue operation.
Azim Khan had appointed Sukhram Safaya, Mirza Pandit and Birbal Dhar as revenue collectors. Birbal Dhar could not collect the required amount due to failure of crops. The atrocious Afghan governor browbeated Pandit Birbal to make the payment of one lac rupees. Rowdy and boisterous soldiers were send to threaten him and other Pandits. Sensing the Afghan tsunami, distinguished Kashmiri Pandits called a backstairs meeting in which it was resolved to invite Ranjit Singh for the conquest of Kashmir and salvation of the Aryan Saraswat Brahmans. Accordingly Birbal Dhar and his minor son, Raja Kak Dhar, secretly left for Lahore with a petition signed by the prominent Kashmiri Pandits through which as invitation was extended to Ranjit Singh to take over the Valley. When Azim Khan came to know about these developments, he sent his soldiers to nab Birbal Dhar and teach him a lesson. But when these bandits met with no success, the cruel governor turned his guns towards the wife and daughter-in-law of Birbal Dhar . Both the ladies had taken shelter in the house of a trustworthy Muslim, Qadus Gojwari. Azim Khan asked Pandit Basa Kak to hunt down the innocent ladies. Basa Kak knew about the retreat of ladies but did not disclose it even after monstrous tortures and oppressive penalties. At last his abdomen was ripped open in the most barbarous manner and the dead body discredited – the most unfortunate and brutal crime against humanity in the civilized world. The poor ladies were also captured . Birbal Dhar’s wife committed suicide by swallowing a piece of diamond. The younger lady was violently converted to Islam and handed over to an Afghan noble, who carried her to Kabul.
Nervous to the marrow of his bones and crazy with rage, Azim Khan tormented all those Kashmiri Brahmans whom he suspected to be in league with Birbal Dhar. Prominent Pandits were detained in a concentration camp at Nishat Garden and ferociously tortured. But on learning about the Sikh advances towards Kashmir, he lost all nerve and solicited instruction from Pandit Sahajram Dhar. The illustrious Pandit advised him to sent off his ladies folk to Kabul. It was the only way to save them from the ignominious treatment. Sahajram himself escorted the ladies to Kabul and saved them from disastrous shame. Azim Khan himself ran away from the Valley, leaving the administration into the hands of his brother, Jabbar Khan. However, atrocious Afghans were crushed and the Sikhs annexed Kashmir. Some extremist Sikhs, including Phul Singh, endeavoured to knock down the mosque of Shah Hamadan. But celebrated Birbal Dhar, at a considerable risk to his own life, made them desist from this action. According to GMD Sufi, “ It is to the lasting credit of Birbal Dhar that when a deputation of Muslims headed by Sayyid Hasan Shah Qadiri Khanyari approached him to dissuade the Sikhs from the destruction of the Khanqah, he moved in the matter, used his influence and saved this historical structure from vandalism.” It reveals the true personality and character of a distinguished Kashmiri Pandit.
During the Sikh rule in Kashmir, AD 1819-1846, the celebrated Pandits reclaimed their past glory and magnificence. They claimed back the prominent places of trust and honour. Cow slaughter was banned, temples renovated and the earlier wrongs rectified. The legendary Kashmiri Pandits received a healing touch after centuries of barbarity, ferocity and tyranny. But by the time, the Sikhs conquered Kashmir in AD 1819, about nine-tenths of the population had become the followers of Islam. Out of the 10% Hindu population, a large number had migrated to the Punjab and other provinces. The Pandits in general belonged to the middle class while the upper and lower classes were dominated by the Muslims.
With the formation of Jammu and Kashmir State; and, establishment of the Dogra rule in 1846, Kashmiri Pandits were imperceptibly elbowed to the background. Administrators and officials were deputed from Jammu region. Though they enjoyed comprehensive religious freedom and social emancipation, political rights of the Kashmiri Brahmans were confined. On certain occasions, they even became victims of intrigue and suspicions. The vicious communal forces also turned their wrath against them. During the communal disturbances of July 1931, shops and houses belonging to the Kashmiri Brahmans were not only looted but also burnt. Three innocent Hindus lost their lives. This communalism in the state politics aggravated and magnified with the passage of time . It was fed for years with vicious communal propaganda and brainwashing.
After independence and accession of Jammu & Kashmir state to India, Kashmiri Pandits were pushed back to the barbarous Afghan era. They were given the sugarcoated dozes of poisonous toxics. Article 370 of Indian constitution just reduced them to cipher and liquidated their population. Under the pretext of economic reforms, their jagirs were confiscated and distributed among the Muslim peasants. The administration of Shaikh Abdullah adopted malicious and pernicious approach towards the Saraswat Brahmans of Kashmir. They were taunted on one excuse or the other. Hindu temples were desecrated, looted and plundered. Minor girls of the community were forced to embrace Islam and marry the Muslim youth.
Shaikh Abdullah tried to create “ Shaikhdom” for his dynastic rule in Kashmir. But his dreams were shattered when he was arrested in 1953 for anti-national activities. In 1958, he was released but detained again after three months under the Kashmir conspiracy case. However, the case was withdrawn in 1964 because of political reasons. But he was arrested again in May 1965 for his subversive activities and released in January 1968. Again, in January 1971, a ban was imposed forbidding him to enter the Jammu Kashmir state. This restriction was lifted in 1972.
During 1953-1974 Shaikh Abdullah characterized India as an imperialist power endeavouring to subjugate the people of Kashmir. He asserted that the accession of Kashmir with India was his greatest blunder for which history will never forgive him. He also demanded the right of self determination for the people of Muslim – dominated Kashmir, but ignored the Hindu- dominated Jammu and Buddhist- dominated Ladakh regions. The sophist Shaikh advocated plebiscite and unconditional withdrawal of Indian army from the Saffron Valley. He also campaigned against the import of food grains from India and asked people to eat potatoes grown in Kashmir. For such arguments, Shaikh Abdullah was nick named as “Aaloo Bab” — Feeder of Potatoes. He made emotional solicitations that after death his body should not be buried in the subjugated Valley, but immersed into the sacred waters of Arabian sea. However, today his magnificent tomb stands on the banks of beautiful Dal Lake in Srinagar and is guarded by the Indian security personnel. By such gratuitous and conflicting statement, his secular credentials evaporated into thin air. The prospect of disloyalty and sedition began to haunt the Saffron Valley. Kashmiriyat switched over to political vandalism and bigoted fundamentalism. Shaikh Abdullah desperately held Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, a Kashmiri Pandit, responsible for the shattering of his malevolent dreams in 1953. The mortified Shaikh ambiguously decided to retaliate against the whole Pandit community in Kashmir. In vindictiveness, he instigated his associated that while making a choice between a Kashmiri Pandit and dreaded cobra, kill the Pandit first. A vicious campaign of terror was launched against the Aryan Saraswat Brahmans of Kashmir. They were refused entry to government jobs and institutions of higher learning. Besides hurling strong statement against the Government of India and Kashmiri Pandits, the Shaikh derided that the whole lot of Indian army cannot save the Hindus in Kashmir against the malevolence of Muslims. Farooq Abdullah also employed the same approach towards the crumbled Pandits when his brother-in-law, Gulshah, seized the chief ministership in 1984.The reactionary leaders- Afzal Beg, Maulvi Farooq, Mohi-ud-Din Kara and Maulana Masoodi; ignored the very existence of Kashmiri Pandits during their political adventurism. The Kashmiri Pandits were made to pay for every move on the political chessboard in Kashmir because they represented the pseudo-secularism, incognito- socialism and flowering- democracy of India. They were scolded and emotionally hurt in the Afghan fashion.
But then the whole political scenario in Kashmir took a dramatic turn in 1974, when Indira-Shaikh accord was signed by virtue of which the Shaikh became the Chief Minister of the State after the lapse of 22 years. Ignoring the great expectations he had created among the people in Kashmir and his vigorous campaign for plebiscite, the sophist Shaikh began to speak the language of Indian nationalism, democracy, socialism and secularism. The slogans of plebiscite, self-determination and independent Kashmir melted away. But the Hate- India virus, infused by him into the blood of the Muslim youth in Kashmir, was exploited by other corrupt self-styled politicians for their own interests from time to time. A vacuum was created because the people were betrayed disillusioned, politically raped and left in wilderness by their own leaders.
Omkarnath Ganjoo, who established the Index Branch of the Jammu & Kashmir Criminal Investigation Department under the directions of Union Home Ministry in early 1960 and managed the same upto 1986, established a powerful network in the State. He collected detailed information about the seditious, subversive and treasonous persons and sent the detailed dispatches to the government from time to time . He also excavated the nefarious designs of ISI- the Pak Intelligence Agency, and informed the concerned authorities. But the state as well as the central administration lacked the determination and resolution to act.
The programmes and policies of Bakshi, Sadiq, Qasim, Farooq and Gulshah were also damaging for the Kashmiri Pandits. They were continuously haunted by antagonistic, hostile and rebellious elements. Mufti Syed is even believed to be responsible for the anti-Hindu communal riots of 1986, when cows were slaughtered and temples destroyed in Anantnag district. From 1947-1986 about four lac Kashmiri Pandits silently migrated from Kashmir. Hypocritical atrocities and criminal ignorances of political leaders were responsible for these development. Pakistan, to avenge the defeat of Bangladesh, blatantly sponsored the violence and terrorism in the Valley, resulting in the turmoil of 1989-90. The then celebrated governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Jagmohan, wrote a detailed letter to the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi , on April 21,1990, endorsing the alarming signals earliest transmitted by discerning Omkarnath Ganjoo. But cowardly Indian leadership was still unconcerned.

“Aay Zalimu, Aay Kafiroo,
Kashmir Hamara Choudh Dou”

“Bharat Kay Aiwanu Ko
Aag Lagado, Aag Lagado”

The final assault on the Kashmiri Pandits started with these slogans. Barbarous terrorists from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Sudan and even Saudi Arabia penetrated into the Saffron Valley. Brutal, wild and barbarous techniques were employed to hound and kill the Aryan Saraswat Brahmans of Kashmir. Even the helpless ladies were not spared. Sarla Bhat, a nurse in Soura Medical Institute, was abducted on 19th April, 1990, by JKLF militants who repeatedly gang-raped her and eventually killed her on 25th April. Girja Tikoo, a teacher from Bandipur, was kidnapped, raped and eventually shred to pieces by a saw mill on 4th June, 1990. Bimla Braroo from the Nai Sarak, Srinagar, who along with her daughter, Archana, was raped in the presence of her husband, Sohanlal, before all the three were killed on 31st March, 1992. There are dozens of such brutal instances. Even wicked Afghans will be feeling sorry in their graves for the sanatic holocaust of the legendary Kashmiri Pandits.
The barbarous murder of hundreds of innocent Brahmans of Kashmir caused their seventh and final agonizing mass exodus from the Valley. This was the final knock down of ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Kashmiri Pandits. The mass massacres at Sangrampora (1997), Udhampore (1997), Prankot (1998), Wandhama (1998) and Nadimarg (2003) were the follow up cleansing operations. Pandits in Kashmir dwindled from 10% in 1947 to fewer than 5% in 1989 and to less than 1% today. The pretended world bodies, contaminated human rights organizations, pseudo-secularists, self-styled leaders, so-called policy makers, tainted political parties and slack bureaucracy have failed to express serious concern at this great human tragedy. Danse macabre is going on. During 1990-2005, the security forces seized around 30,000 assault rifles, over 15,000 pistols, more than 20,000 kg explosives, about 2000 UMGs and RPGs , from terrorists. In the barbarous turmoil about 45,000 persons including the Kashmiri Pandits, nationalistic Muslims and Sikhs have been killed. However the government is keen to provide a healing touch to militants. But the legendary Kashmiri Pandits, who were virtually exterminated from the Valley, have not even received the displaced status..

By: Dr.Satish Ganjoo

India Snubs OIC’S Kashmir Resolution

India Snubs OIC’S kashmir Resolution

ANI

NEW DELHI – India has rebuffed OIC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir passed by 36th session of the Council of Ministers in Damascus, Syria recently.

 

The 57-member grouping has made a direct reference to the last year Amarnath land row in Jammu and Kashmir.

A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said: “We note with regret that the OIC has chosen to comment on India’s internal affairs during the 36th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in Syria on 23rd – 25th May 2009. The OIC has no locus standi on India’s internal affairs”.

The OIC in its resolution expressed concern over use of force against the economic blockade during the Amarnath land row agitation and have also regretted that following the Mumbai incident Indian government have put a pause on the composite dialogue.

The Islamic conglomerate also urged India to resume composite dialogue.

India also took umbrage over OIC calling catastrophic 26/11 Mumbai attack as merely an incident.

The MEA statement said: “We also note with dismay that in the resolution adopted, the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November, 2008, has been referred to as a mere “incident.”

For almost two decades, the OIC has been has been advocating the issue of self-determination and resolution of Kashmir in accordance with the UN resolutions of 1948 and 1949, but this time it went a step further by directly referring to the Amarnath Land row in its resolutions.

Pakistan, which is a member of this group, has vociferously raised issues pertaining to Kashmir at this forum. By Naveen Kapoor (ANI)

PoK leaders want merger with India

PoK leaders want merger with India
By d-sector Team

Fast changing geo-political equations have made India extend its helping hand to political groups in PoK who have now been openly seeking New Delhi’s help in their struggle for survival and freedom.

While all and sundry in India are criticising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for bringing Balochistan on to the agenda of Indo-Pak bi-lateral talks, an international seminar organised in New Delhi has once again brought to the fore the approach-avoidance conflict India faces in dealing with the expectations of disenchanted communities from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and frontier regions.

Till recently India did not want to be seen as meddling in Pakistan’s internal affairs, but several political groups in PoK have now been openly seeking New Delhi’s help in their struggle for freedom, dignity and human rights, and now it seems New Delhi is willing to extend a helping hand to the distressed Karakoram communities. India now claims “legitimate interest in territories and peoples that are part of India but under illegal occupation, both to the west as well as to the east”.

These groups say that since India continues to consider the whole of Kashmir, including PoK, as its own territory, it is its duty to protect the local communities against Pakistan, a foreign aggressor for them.

Some of these political leaders and intellectuals from areas around Gilgit and Baltistan in PoK, referred to as Northern Areas by Pakistan, travelled to New Delhi to participate in the seminar on ‘Society, Culture and Politics in the Karakoram Himalayas’. The seminar was dominated by tales of discrimination and persecution of the local people in these areas by Pakistan’s civilian and military establishment.

“I am surprised that India has no concern about what is happening in Gilgit and Baltistan. Pakistan has been openly supporting and encouraging militants in Indian Kashmir and New Delhi doesn’t even want to keep contact with areas that are officially still a part of its own territory,” said Abdul Hamid Khan, chairman of Balawaristan National Front, a political party whose objective is to gain independence from Pakistan. Northern Areas are historically known as Balawaristan.

Khan, like most other political leaders from the region, lives in exile in Europe. He said the Indian position was even more surprising considering the fact that most political formations in the area were now open to a merger with India.

“Even an independent Balawaristan is in larger interest of India as it would not support terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Shaukat Kashmiri, leader of the United Kashmir National People’s Party, one of the largest political formations in the region, also spoke about a reunification with India. Kashmiri, who is chased by the ISI, has been operating out of Switzerland for the past few years.

Though the leaders from PoK complained about the indifference India shows to their concerns, few former diplomats, army officials and intellectuals of India actively participated in the seminar.

Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran made the inaugural address, in which he said, “The destinies of the Karakoram communities and the vision of India as a successful and inclusive plurality are in a sense, linked more than symbolically. We have a duty to be engaged more actively in the survival and I would venture to say, revival of these challenged communities.”

Evidently India is reaching out to the communities in the Karakoram areas – stretching from Swat, Buner, Waziristan, Balochistan and Xinjiang to Gilgit, Hunza and Baltistan in the Northern Areas to Jammu & Kashmir. Significantly, most of these areas lie within the territory of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state.

India’s effort in getting together leaders from these regions is significant considering the rising unrest in several parts of Pakistan’s frontier regions as a result of the stresses of extremism and terrorism. For the first time, India is appealing to these indigenous mountain cultures, regardless of their religion, to bond as communities, rather than as parts of countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and China.

“It is our collective responsibility to preserve and to promote this varied culture, created by people who have a long history, settled existence and outstanding contributions to civilisation. India feels very much a part of this civilisational network which has enriched its own culture,” Saran said.

“In its interaction with Pakistan on Jammu & Kashmir, India has always insisted that all cross-LoC links and potential projects for cooperation in specific areas must cover the entire erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, including Gilgit and Baltistan. Any consultative mechanism across the LoC must be between self-governing and representative entities and that, too, includes Gilgit and Baltistan,” he added.

–

Letter of Maharaja Hari Singh To Lord mountbatten

Letter from Maharaja Hari Singh
to Lord Mountbatten
on the eve of Pak invasion on J&K in 1947

My dear Lord Mountbatten,
I have to inform Your Excellency that a grave emergency has arisen in my State and request the immediate assistance of your Government. As Your Excellency is aware,the State of Jammu and Kashmir has not acceded to either the Dominion of India or Pakistan. Geographically my State is contiguous wit h both of them. Besides, my State has a common boundary with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and with China. In their external relations the Dominion of India and Pakistan cannot ignore this fact. I wanted to take time to decide to which Dominion I should accede or whether it is not in the best interests of both the Dominions and of my State to stand independent, of course with friendly and cordial relations with both. I accordingly approached the Dominions of India and Pakistan to enter into standstill agreement with my State. The Pakistan Government accepted this arrangement. The Dominion of India desired further discussion with representatives of my Government. I could not arrange this in view of the developments indicated below. ln fact the Pakistan Goernment under the standstill agreement is operating the post and telegraph system inside the State. Though we have got a standstill agreement with the Pakistan Government, lhe Govemment permitted a steady and increasing strangulation of supplies like food, salt and petrol to my State.
Afridis, soldiers in plain clothes, and desperadoes wnh modern weapons have been allowed to infiltrate into the State, at first in the Poonch area, then from Sia1kot and finally in a mass in the area adjoining-Hazara district on the Ramkote side. The result has been that the limited number of troops at the disposal of the State had to be dispersed and thus had to face the enemy at several points simultaneously, so that it has become difficult to stop the wanton destruction of life ad property and the looting of the Mahura power house, which supplies electric current to the whole of Srinagar and which has been burnt. The number of women who have been kidnpped and raped makes my heart bleed. The wild forces thus let loose on the State are marching on with the aim of capturing Srinagar, the summer capital of my government, as a first step to overrunning the whole State.The mass infiltration of tribesman drawn from distant areas of the North-West Frontier Province, coming regularly in motortrucks, using the Manwehra-Mazaffarabad road and fully armed with up-to-date weapons, cannot possibly be done without the knowledge of the Provincial Govemment of the North-West Frontier Province and the Government of Pakistan. Inspite of repeated appeals made by my Government no attempt has been made to check these raiders or to stop them from coming into my State. In fact, both radio and the Press of Pakistan have reported these occurences. The Pakistan radio even put out the story that a provisional government has been set up in Kashmir. The people of my State, both Muslims and non-Muslims, generally have taken no part at all.
With the conditbns obtaining at present in my State and the great emergency of the situation as it exists, I have no option but to ask for help from the Indian Dominion. Naturally they cannot send the help asked for by me without my State acceding to the Dominion of India. I have accordingly decided to do so, and I attach the instrument of accession for acceptance by your Government. The other alternative is to leave my state and people to free booters. On this basis no civilised government can exist or be maintained.
This alternative I will never allow to happen so long as I am the ruler of the State and I have life to defend my country. I may also inform your Excellency’s Government that it is my intention at once to set up an interim government and to ask Sheikh Abdullah to carry the responsibilities in this emergency with my Prime Minister.
If my State is to be saved, immediate assistance must be available at Srinagar. Mr. V.P. Menon is fully aware of the gravity of the situation and will explain it to you, if further explanation is needed.
In haste and with kindest regards,
Yours sincerely,
Hari Singh
October 26, 1947

Reply from Lord Mountbatten to Maharaja Hari Singh
My dear Maharaja Sahib,
Your Highness’ letter dated 26 October 1947 has been delivered to me by Mr. V.P. Menon. In the circumstances mentioned by Your Highness, my Government have decided to accept the accession of Kashmir State to the Dominion of India. In consistence with their policy that in the case of any State where the issue of accession has been the subject of dispute, the question of accession should be decided in accordance with the wishes of the people of the State, it is my Government’s wish that, as soon as law and order have been restored in Kashmir and its soil cleared of the invader, the question of the State’s accession should be settled by a reference to the people.
Meanwhile, in response to Your Highness’ appeal for military aid, action has been taken today to send troops of the Indian Army to Kashmir, to help your own forces to defend your territory and to protect the lives, property, and honour of your people. My Government and I note with satisfaction that Your Highness has decided to invite Sheikh Abdullah to form an interim Government to work with your Prime Minister.
Mountbatten of Burma
October 27, 1947

The Blunder of the Pandit Nehru

 

The Rediff Special/Claude Arpi

 

 

Forty years ago, India’s first prime minister passed into the ages. On his death anniversary, May 27, Lieutenant General Eric A Vas (retd) commenced rediff.com’s series to evaluate Jawaharlal Nehru’s legacy with a perspective of the premier’s relationship with the military.

Today, Claude Arpi, the well-known Tibet and Kashmir expert, analyses how Nehru’s obsession with the politics of his ancestral state eventually bequeathed a festering problem for the whole of India.

India’s first prime minister passed away 40 years ago; it should be time to assess his 17 years in office. Unfortunately, historians and researchers have never been allowed access to original materials to write about Nehru’s leadership during the troubled years after Independence. It is tragic that the famous ‘Nehru Papers’ are jealously locked away in the Nehru Memorial Library. They are, in fact, the property of his family!

I find it even more regrettable that during its six years in power, the NDA government, often accused of trying to rewrite history, did not take any action to rectify this anomaly. Possibly they were not interested in recent history!

Apart from Nehru’s official correspondence and notes, government reports such as the Henderson-Brookes Report (see earlier article, The Confiscation of History) are still classified more than 40 years after they were written. Some pretend that if published it would be too damaging for India’s security. It is just laughable!

As a result, today history lovers and serious researchers have only the 31 volumes published so far of the Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru (covering the period 1946 to 1955) to fall back on. This could be considered a partial declassification of the Nehru Papers, except for the fact that the editing has always been undertaken by Nehruvian historians, making at times the selection tainted. The other problem is that these volumes cover only the writings (or sayings) of Nehru; notes or letters of other officials or dignitaries which triggered Nehru’s answers are only briefly and unsatisfactorily resumed in footnotes.

With these limitations in mind, it is interesting to try to assess Nehru’s role in the Kashmir question. Fifty-seven years after Independence, it has remained an unsolved (if not a ‘core’) issue for the subcontinent.

Everything started in early 1946 when the Indian National Congress had to elect a new president. It was an accepted fact that the leader chosen as Congress president would become the first prime minister of independent India. Three candidates were in the race: Acharya Kripalani, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Patel. The working committee of the INC and the pradesh committees had to send their nomination for one of the three candidates.

Sardar Patel was easily the most popular. Everyone knew his efficiency and his toughness for tackling difficult problems. Twelve out of 19 Pradesh committees nominated him. None nominated Nehru.

From the start Gandhi had indicated that he favoured Nehru. His reasoning was that his British education was an asset: ‘Jawaharlal cannot be replaced today whilst the charge is being taken from the British. He, a Harrow boy, a Cambridge graduate, and a barrister, is wanted to carry on the negotiations with the Englishmen.’

Another point Gandhi made was that while Sardar Patel would agree to work as Nehru’s deputy, the reverse might not happen. He also felt that Nehru was better known abroad and could help India play a role in international affairs.

Eventually, in deference to Gandhi, Kripalani nominated Nehru and withdrew from the race. Patel had no choice but to follow his colleague ’so that Nehru could be elected unopposed.’ Dr Rajendra Prasad later stated: ‘Gandhi has once again sacrificed his trusted lieutenant for the sake of the glamorous Nehru.’

It is how India got a Kashmiri Pandit as its first prime minister.

I have always found it strange that a man professing to be above caste or religion agreed to be called ‘Panditji.’ Nonetheless, the fact that a Pandit was the prime minister made Kashmir a state different from the 500 other princely states.

Soon, the conflicting aspects in Nehru’s persona came to the fore. On one hand, he was a democrat and revolutionary; on the other, he was often carried away by his ‘Socialist’ ideals to the point of blundering with India’s destiny.

After his election as Congress president, he gave his support to his friend Sheikh Abdullah (he called him his ‘blood brother’) who had been jailed by Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir. In June 1946, he decided to go to the valley to free Abdullah. The situation was certainly not shining in Kashmir (as in the rest of India), but to take on the maharaja at this point in time was a serious mistake.

However, for Nehru, ‘Anything that happens in Kashmir has a certain importance for the rest of India, but recent events there have had an even greater importance, [they] became symbols of a larger struggle for emancipation. Thus Kashmir became symbolic of the [princely] States in India.’ He wanted to take on ‘the autocratic and often feudal rule that prevails there.’ He did not realise that the princes’ support and collaboration would be indispensable during this all-important transition period for the nation.

Though prohibited to enter the maharaja’s state, in July 1946 Nehru decided to defy the ban. Patel and other members of the working committee tried to dissuade him: there were more important matters to tackle in Delhi after the Cabinet Mission had come to discuss the transfer of power.

In a letter to D P Mishra, Patel explained: ‘He [Nehru] has done many things recently which have caused us great embarrassment. His actions in Kashmir … are acts of emotional insanity and it puts tremendous strain on us to set the matters right.’ However, Patel, always fair, added: ‘but in spite of all these innocent indiscretions he has unparalleled enthusiasm and a burning passion for freedom.’ Patel, thus, pointed out the two powerful (and opposing) aspects of Nehru’s personality.

A year later, hardly two weeks before Independence, Nehru still wanted to go to Srinagar. He wrote to Gandhi: ‘I shall go ahead with my plans. As between visiting Kashmir when my people need me there and being prime minister, I prefer the former.’ Once again he had to be dissuaded.

At the stroke of the midnight hour on August 14, India awakened to life and freedom. Unfortunately, Maharaja Hari Singh remembered the events of the previous year and while most princes signed the Instrument of Accession of their state to the Dominion of India, Hari Singh prevaricated. What would happen to him and his state under Nehru’s rule? He also knew that the future of his state could not lie with Jinnah and his government.

In September, he decided to offer Kashmir’s accession to India. This was refused by Nehru, who first wanted Sheikh Abdullah to be freed and installed as prime minister of the state. This was not acceptable to the maharaja.

Things came to a head at the end of October 1947 when raiders from the North West Frontier Province entered the state, killing, looting, and raping along. On October 26, they had reached the outskirts of Srinagar. Hari Singh agreed to sign the Instrument of Accession.

On the same day a historic meeting was held in Delhi with Mountbatten, the governor general, as chairman. A young army colonel named Sam Manekshaw, who attended the meeting, recalled: ‘As usual Nehru talked about the United Nations, Russia, Africa, God Almighty, everybody, until Sardar Patel lost his temper. He said, ‘Jawaharlal, do you want Kashmir, or do you want to give it away?‘ He [Nehru] said, ‘Of course, I want Kashmir.‘ Then he [Patel] said: ‘Please give your orders.‘

This anecdote perfectly exemplifies Nehru, who could make the greatest speeches, but was unable to take a decision at a crucial moment. Thanks to Patel’s decisiveness, troops were flown to Srinagar the next morning and the airport, the only link with India, was saved. Military operations to expel the raiders started.

Nehru’s colleagues soon discovered they had made another serious blunder, a collective one. They had chosen Mountbatten to be the first governor general of independent India while Jinnah had kept the post for himself in Pakistan. At that time, it was probably easier for the Congress to have a foreigner as the head of the Dominion; it conveniently avoided having to choose among themselves. However, Mountbatten manipulated matters so well that he became chairman of a newly created defence council. Nehru did not see a problem in this: Mountbatten (and his wife) were his best friends.

But this was to have grave repercussions on Kashmir policy. Mountbatten, a British officer, was now at the helm of the executive defence machinery. British generals still serving in India reported to him. Mountbatten was not working for India’s interests, but the British crown’s.

Nehru’s sentimental attachment to the Mountbattens deeply vitiated the Kashmir issue. It was certainly the most important factor for the failure to find a solution in the first years of the conflict.

Events took a turn for the worse at the end of December 1947 when the governor general managed to convince Nehru that India had to refer the Kashmir issue to the UN instead of conducting a military counterattack in West Punjab. Patel did not agree. But at this precise point in time the Sardar, who had so far looked after the relations with the princely states, was sidetracked. On December 23, he wrote his resignation, but was prevented (by Gandhi) from pressing for it. From that day, with Patel out of Kashmir affairs, things went from bad to worse.

In the first months of 1948, during the UN hearings, the British showed where their interests lay. The original Indian complaint was completely left aside and the Security Council began adopting anti-India resolutions.

Abdullah had already started his crusade (particularly with the US administration) for Kashmir’s independence. He remained Nehru’s friend till his scheming became too dangerous for India. In August 1953, he was finally dismissed by Karan Singh, the sadar-i-riyasat. Two months earlier, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, who had been arrested by Abdullah and left without medical care in Srinagar, died in mysterious circumstances. Nehru had visited the capital of Kashmir a few days earlier, but did not find the time to call on his former Cabinet colleague. He later wrote to Mookerjee’s mother: ‘Indeed, I hoped that the healthy climate of Kashmir might lead to an improvement in Shyama Babu’s health.’

Though in the following years Nehru hardened his position when different UN commissions (Dixon, Graham, Jarring) visited Delhi, it was too late. Pakistan was certainly not interested in vacating the so-called ‘Azad Kashmir’, rendering the plans for a plebiscite mentioned in the UN resolutions of August 1948 and January 1949 irrelevant.

A few days before his death Nehru sent a freshly released Abdullah to meet Ayub Khan with a proposal to have a confederation of India, Pakistan and Kashmir. The proposal was contemptuously rejected as ‘absurd’ by the Pakistani military ruler. It was Nehru’s last attempt to solve the issue and it failed.

In retrospect, despite Nehru’s love for great principles, his incapacity to take decisions in time, his inability to work with colleagues like Patel, and his friendship with individuals such as the Mounbattens or Abdullah, who had their own interests, blinded him so much that he did not further India’s national interests. The consequences have been tragic and the muddle created 57 years ago remains far from being sorted out.

Nehru, 40 Years On

Sheikh Abdullah’s Photograph: Pana-India

Image: Uday Kuckian

Cortsey by: Acharya Kriplani 

Kashmir: Islamic Territory Vs Democracy (By V.M.Tiwari)

Condemnation of Kashmiri Muslims by Muslims

Mirza Haider wrote in his ‘Tarikh-i-Rashidi’² : “The Sufis have legitimized so many heresies that they know nothing of what is wrongful …They are forever interpreting dreams, displaying miracles and obtaining from the unseen, information regarding either the future or the past. Nowhere else is such a band of heretics to be found….. (They) consider the Holy Law (Shari at) second in importance to the True Way (tariqat, tradition) and that; in consequence, the people of the Way have nothing to do with the Holy Law.” (Quoted in Sufi 1947-8, pages 19-20). The famous traveler Lawrence in 1895 ascribed the delightful tolerance between Hinduism and Islam to “chiefly the fact that the Kashmiri Musalmans never really gave up the Hindu religion…. I do not base my ideas as to laxness of Kashmiris in religious duties merely on my observations. Holy men of Arabia have spoken to me with contempt of the feeble flame of Islam which burns in Kashmir and the local mullas talk with indignation of the apathy of the people. Again the Kashmiri Muslim historian G.M.D. Sufi writes in ‘Sufi 1947-8, p688’: A number of practices of Kashmiri Musalman are un- Islamic….The Buddhist worship of relics has insidiously crept into India’s Islam….The Kashmiri Muslim has transferred reverence from Hindu stones to Muslim relics”.

Though it may sound incomprehensible, by and large Sufis are not considered true Muslims, by other groups esp. Sunnis. Kashmiri Muslims who follow the ‘Rishis’ tradition are certainly considered misguided and untrue Muslims.

Traditionally, Kashmiri Muslims worship a hair of the Prophet Muhammad, as a sacred relic. Some years ago it was stolen from the ‘Hazaratbal’ mosque, and there was violence directed mainly against Hindus, and the Government. It appears logical that neither the J&K government nor Hindus but recently infiltrated terrorists from Pakistan had carried out this sacrilege not only to malign Hindus, but also to teach a lesson in purification to Sufi Muslims.

Majority of Muslims Are Against Separatist Movement

In India also many Muslim rulers persecuted Sufis along with Hindus. Therefore it should not be surprising to find that neither Shias nor Sufis want to have a truck with the orthodox and intolerant Sunnis, as is the reality in J&K. But a small group of terrorists can force the entire group to tow its line, as has happened in Afghanistan, and appears to be happening in Indonesia and is certainly happening in J&K. In reality Shias and Sufis have openly declared³, at the risk of their lives, that they are not with the demand of separatists, who are mainly Sunnis influenced and joined by the terrorists from Pakistan. Similarly, Vice President of J&K Congress, a highly revered leader of the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities, Mian Basheer has strongly urged the Prime Minister to “use force to crush the Jamait-e-Islami, a Sunni organization, which wants to have a stranglehold on the minorities by terrorizing them”. Therefore it is mainly Sunnis of Kashmir (valley) who are influenced by terrorists, that are terrorizing and fomenting trouble in J&K and beyond in India.

In the Valley, which has 99% Muslims, Sunnis constitute only 23 % of the population⁴, and yet they call the shots. Even if we were to include the other Sunnis of J&K, Sunnis are not more than 30 % of all the Muslims in J&K. Further not all Sunnis have the same goal. Some want to join Pakistan, and some want an independent Kashmir, and yet some, more autonomy within India. It may be relevant to note here that high corruption in the Sunni dominated Government of J&K, has also been one of the reasons for a feeling of frustration in all Kashmiris. And as war feeds on war, the long unsettled conditions also cause slowing of development and lack of job opportunities. Thus it is clear that a minority, and not a homogeneous minority at that, of less than 30% is terrorizing the whole of J&K, the whole of India, indeed the whole world, and there is a genuine fear of a nuclear war in the region.

India has no need to use nuclear weapons because it is strong enough to frustrate any conventional aggression from Pakistan, and defeat it. The aggressive Pakistan is likely to use its nuclear arsenal in frustration of defeat and for saving its face. Pakistan could be sure to launch the nuclear attack first and thus gain a definite superiority, and may cripple India’s capability to retaliate with nuclear weapons; and also may hope that by that time the world community would manage to impose a ceasefire. Therefore the fear of a nuclear war is rather real, and is staring at us unless we can do something now to prevent it. Therefore it is necessary for the world to understand the reality of the Kashmiris who are suffering an unending misery at the hands of terrorists.

 

Kashmir: Islamic Territory
Vs Democracy – 2

Historical Background

5000 years of Recorded History. Let us understand the historical position of Islam in U. Kashmir a little more.

Mahabharata epic is one of the two greatest epics of Hindus, and it describes a great war that took place around 3000 BC. In this epic there is a mention of Kashmir’s Kings, the contemporary King was Gonand II. Raj Tarangini is the authoritative history of Kashmir written by the famous author Kalhan. Names of various dynasties who ruled Kashmir then onwards is also available⁵; e.g. Sandiman, Sunder Sen, Nara etc. Emperor Ashok, who ruled from Afghanistan to the Eastern India, and south up to Deccan, established in 250 B.C. the capital of Kashmir ‘Shrinagari’, very near present day ‘Srinagar’. King Kanishka also ruled Kashmir along with major portions of India, during 1st century A.D. He organized a world conference on Buddhism, which has been reported later by the Chinese traveler Hien-Tsang who came in the seventh century A.D. During 724 – 761 A.D. Lalitaditya established another great empire like that of Ashok. He built the famous Martanda (Sun) Temple, ruins of which can still be seen. Ajaatapeeda ruled during 813 – 850 A.D., and the city Pompore famous for Saffron was founded,. Awantiwarman ruled during 855 – 883 A.D., and founded the city Awantipur. Shankarwarman ruled during 883 – 902 A.D., and founded ‘Shankarpura – Pattan’ (now known as Pattan). Chenghis Khan, the well known Mongol warrior during 13th century attacked Central Asia up to Iran, and thus created havoc in those areas because of his brutality. Thousands of Muslim refugees escaped to peaceful Kashmir, and the era of Islamic invasion began. Muslim invaders started attacking Kashmir one after another. In 1320, on the death of King Suhadeva, a Tibetan prince Rinchana, who was given a jaageer, (an area) to rule by the King, became the King by intrigue and sought conversion to Hinduism. When refused, in anger he got converted to Islam and ruled for three years. After his death in 1323, the Hindu Queen Kota Rani (wife of King Suhadeva; the fourth woman in Kashmir to become a Queen) ruled till 1338, when Shah Mir seized the power by defeating the Queen. Shah Mir, who had also been given a Jaageer by the King Suhadeva, established the first Muslim dynasty; and Islam spread quickly.

Muslim Rule (1389 – 1819)

In 1389, came even more brutal King Sikandar⁶ who was so ruthless that all Hindus either got converted or left Kashmir. But during the reign of his son Zain-ul-Abidin (1420 – 1470), who realized his father’s folly, became liberal, and many Hindu families returned. But after him, the persecution continued, sometimes very severe and at others somewhat liberal. According to a tradition, 24000 Brahmin families were converted by the power of sword during one of the proselytizing mission of one of such brutes viz. Mir Shams-ud-din Iraqi in 1492. The Mughal emperor Akbar in 1587 won Kashmir and then it remained with Mughals till 1752, when Afghans won it. Afghans were very inhuman in their proselytizing mission. There 67 years rule was the most tyrannical of all the Muslim rules.

Muslim Rishis : A Unique Blend

While these atrocities, persecution and forced conversions of Hindus in to Islam were going on for 500 years, a unique blend of Hinduism and Sufism was under development in the same Kashmir. In the mid 14th century, a woman saint Lalleshwari (1335-1376) arises from the swamp of persecution, violence and hatred, and sings –

“Shiva⁷ pervades the world
Hindu and Muslim are the same.
If you are wise know your Self⁸
Then you will know the Supreme One

She says that the Supreme One is present in every atom of this world. There is nothing without Him. Therefore Hindus and Muslims are the same as they all are pervaded by the same Supreme. If you want the supreme wisdom, then know who you are, know your Self, which is beyond this mind and body. Once you know your Self, then you will know the Supreme, for then you will realize that the Supreme is nothing else but the same as your Self.

People believed the truth in what she had said –

“I saw my Self in all things
I saw the Supreme shining in everything.
You have heard, stop! See Shiva
The house is His, who am I, Lalla! ⁹

She says, “I have seen mine Self and also seen that Self of mine is in everything. That Self of mine is the Supreme One who is shining in everything”. Then she tells herself, “You have heard what was just said! Then stop, remain still, realize the Supreme One. This house i.e. this mind and body, is His, for He, the Supreme One, lives in this. Who am I? I am not this mind and body; I am the Supreme One living in this mind and body!”

People had tremendous faith in her; they had veneration for her because they could see from her behavior that she had realized the Supreme One. No wonder she had both Hindus and Muslims as her disciples. One of her Muslim disciple Sheikh-ul-Alam became the most revered Rishi for all. Another famous disciple Nur-ud-din (1377-1438) says –

“That Lalla of Padmaapore, she drank
Her fill of divine nectar;
She was indeed an awataar¹⁰ of His
O Supreme One , grant me the same boon!¹¹

He says, “Lalleshwari of Padmaapore had realized the Supreme One and had enjoyed the divine Bliss. She was, no doubt, a realized person who had become the Supreme One herself. O God grant me the same Bliss, same realization.”

People saw that Sheikh-ul-Alam and Nur-ud-din were realized persons, and they had high reverence for them. They had both Hindus and Muslims as disciples. They were given the title of a ‘Rishi’ which means a sage of as high a status as those of Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures. And thus started the ‘Islamic Rishi’ tradition in Kashmir. The well known poets who followed in this Rishi tradition are Mali, Habba Khatun (16th century), Rupas Bhawani (1621- 1721), Arnimal (d.1800), Mahmud Gami (1765 – 1855), Rasul Mir (d. 1870), Paramaanand (1791 – 1864), Ghulam Ahmad Mahjur (1885 – 1952), Abdul Ahad Aazaad (1903 – 1948), and Zindaa Kaul (1884 – 1965) etc. The Rishi tradition, despite persecution by Muslim rulers, was followed by Kashmiris for 500 years. Now the intolerance of Sunni-ism is being spread with the weapon of terrorism. Though feeble and mute, Rishi tradition is still surviving now, but is under grave danger of extinction. However it may revive if the terrorism is stopped soon enough. Genocide, though of a different kind, is going on in Kashmir.

Birth of original J&K

In 1819 Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler, won Kashmir from Afghans and appointed Gulaab Singh, the Dogra ruler of Jammu as his representative for Kashmir. Gulaab Singh won Ladaakh, Baltistan etc and by mid nineteenth century enlarged his Kingdom to that of the pre-partition days (U. Kashmir). British defeated the Sikhs in 1845. In a treaty signed in 1846, the British recognized Gulab Singh as the independent ruler of Jammu and Kashmir. Gulaab Singh had to accept their ‘paramountcy’ and had to pay them 7.5 million rupees (probably annually), for his recognition as the Ruler. That boundary is the boundary of undivided J&K.

Genesis of Kashmir Problem

During the British rule, U. Kashmir was ruled by Gulaab Singh like any other princely state those days. On independence of India, a group of Muslims, under the leadership of Jinnah, with British support, got Pakistan carved out of India. On 15th August 1947, in the British ruled portion of India, Muslim majority areas with contiguity with each other went to Pakistan. The rulers of erstwhile States had to choose between India and Pakistan, subject to contiguity, or independence. All the states chose to join India or Pakistan but not Hari Singh, the then ruler of U. Kashmir. He had full faith on his very small and mostly Muslim army. He obviously was totally out of touch with reality when he dreamt about remaining independent. When he delayed his decision, Pakistan first stopped the route for essential supplies to U. Kashmir, for then main supply routes were in their areas. This was the first violation of the ‘Agreement’ on ‘Partition’ by Pakistan. Then on 22nd October 1947 came the second violation, a disastrous one, which shattered Hari Singh’s dream when a large number of tribals armed and supported by Pakistan Army attacked U. Kashmir. The impractical Maharaja Hari Singh even then delayed his choice, and signed the stipulated, and now famous, ‘Instrument of Accession’ only when the invaders reached close to Srinagar, on 26th October. This signing of the Instrument was supported by Sheikh Abdullah, the leader of the people of Kashmir.

The Governor General of India, Lord Mount Batten accepted the ‘Instrument of Accession’, thus making it legally binding. It is only then that the Indian Forces entered U. Kashmir and, firstly, saved Srinagar and then started driving the invaders back. The Indian Forces got total support of the local people, without which they could not have defended because only a small army could be taken to the airport of Srinagar by air in such a short time, as no proper land route was then existing between J&K and (newly divided) India. The earlier route had been through Lahore which with hair-line-thin majority of Muslim population had gone to Pakistan.

– Continu

Kashmir: Islamic Territory
Vs Democracy – 3

An Idealist’s Solution

As Indian Armed Forces were driving the invaders out, the idealist Nehru, the then Prime Minister, in consultation with the Governor General Lord Mount Batten, decided to take the matter to the UNO. On 31st December 1947 he, in his idealism, also offered plebiscite in the U. Kashmir; although legally and morally India was not bound to do so. Believing in the ideals of democracy, Nehru had offered this so that the people of Kashmir could decide their destiny themselves. Other nations and people may find it difficult to believe that how could a nation ever be so unselfish (foolish?) so as to leave a ‘heaven on earth’ for the sake of an abstract ideal.

As a proof of India’s faith in idealism, may I offer the example of Bangladesh? India sacrificed heavily, both men and material, in getting Bangladesh liberated from the fanatic Pakistan; and then left it entirely free for Bangladeshis to rule their country. As it turned out, this was not in the interest of liberal Bangladeshis because soon the fanatic elements murdered the Father of Bangladesh, and militarily took control of the new-born nation.

Bringing the subject back to Kashmir, on 1st January 1948 Nehru unilaterally declared ceasefire, which was not reciprocated by Pakistan. All such actions should leave no doubt in any body’s mind about India’s intention which was and is that Kashmir should have genuine democracy. But POK continues to be occupied by Pakistan, and J&K is trembling under Pak supported terrorism.

Non-violence : Still An Impracticality?

Today we can easily blame Nehru for being impractical, but let us see the psychological environment at that time in India. India was feeling highly elated for having earned its freedom through non-violence, though at the cost of immense sacrifice of human lives and suffering perpetrated by British Power. This was the first successful major non-violent revolution in the world. It may be worth noting that Jinnah and his Party ‘Muslim League’ had not sacrificed anything, thus they got Pakistan for nothing. At the time of partition, while the populations were transferring themselves from one to the other nation, there was terrible violence almost all over the undivided India. In this inhuman massacre of innocent peoples, Hindus had suffered very much more than the Muslims. This was so because a significant number of Hindus were influenced by the principle of non-violence; and Gandhi went to areas, where Muslims were getting the bad taste of their own medicine, and pacified violent Hindus. Nothing like this happened in Pakistan, on the contrary Pak Government helped the violent Muslims who were killing Hindus. The Muslim League had asked for a separate Muslim nation from secular India, because they were driven by hatred for Hindus. Hindus did not hate Muslims otherwise how could they welcome and invite Muslims to join the non-violent ‘Freedom Movement’ led by Mahatma Gandhi. Obviously a large portion of Muslims had faith in the Hindu’s ‘tolerance’ and in the secularism of India, and they preferred to stay in India rather than go to Pakistan. India has the second largest Muslim population in the world. Nehru thought that both legally and morally Kashmir belongs to India, therefore UNO would do the justice, and another major problem would be solved non-violently. And thus India would set an example for promoting non-violence in the violent world.

Vested Interest of Britain and USA

Obviously Nehru had not understood British machinations against India. British were extremely unhappy to leave their mine of gold – India – and naturally were not friendly to India. They had no desire that India should make technological progress for they very badly needed India to remain a market for British goods, without which they would lose the economic leadership of the world. Unfortunately, in the Kashmir crisis, the US not only supported its long time ally Britain but also had an axe to grind itself. It needed a useful base for its forces against USSR, and Pakistan was suitable from all angles for the purpose. Some flimsy mistakes like dotting of i’s and cutting of t’s etc were found in the ‘Instrument of Accession’ which was signed by Hari Singh, and already accepted by the legal authority – Governor General of India – Lord Mount Batten. Consequently U. Kashmir was not accepted as a part of India although, based on its confession, Pakistan was declared an aggressor by the UNCIP, and was asked to vacate its aggression on 13th August 1948¹² . Pakistan has never complied with that resolution and yet has continuously got support of the UK and the USA.  After a long time, on 1st January 1949 a formal ceasefire was signed between Pakistan and India.

Plebiscite : Pakistan’s Phobia

Almost one year after Nehru’s offer of plebiscite, the UNCIP, on 5th January 1949 passed a resolution which stated : “The question of accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided by the democratic method of free and impartial plebiscite.” Pakistan did not vacate its aggression as agreed by it (Pakistan) and also as stipulated in the UN Resolution of 13th August, 1948. This would have then enabled India to vacate its forces to permit free and impartial plebiscite. As Pakistan was deliberately violating the said UN Resolution, the hope for the plebiscite was diminishing. Therefore in June 1949 Sheikh Abdullah¹³, the most popular and important leader of J&K, declared that, “We the people of J&K have thrown our lot with Indian people not in the heat of passion or a moment of despair, but by a deliberate choice. The union of our people has been fused by the community of ideals and common sufferings in the cause of freedom.”

Pakistan attacks India

In 1961-62 India had suffered heavily with a war against China. Pakistan thought that it could take advantage of this weakness. Despite the mutually agreed ceasefire under the auspices of UNO, Pakistan attacked India in winter of 1965, but got beaten. (As per the Agreement of Tashkent (1962), Pakistan got all its territories inclusive of POK back which were won by India in the war.) In 1971 West Pakistan not only refused the legal and moral right to democratically elected Mujib-ur-Rahman of East Pakistan to become the President of Pakistan but also attacked it and committed most inhuman atrocities on citizens of East Pakistan. As a result East Pakistan rebelled, and with the help from India became a new Nation – Bangladesh. (India not only defeated Pakistan badly but also arrested 91000 Pakistani soldiers.) It should be noted that Pakistan was formed on the basis of hatred against Hindus, and on the faith that their religion would keep them united. Result is there for every one to see. In 1972, an agreement was signed between India and Pakistan, in which both nations agreed to respect the line of ceasefire till the issue gets finally resolved. Having lost three wars to India, Pakistan, from early eighties, started sending terrorists in to Kashmir and brain washing the tolerant Kashmiri Muslims, and murdering Hindus, destroying Hindu temples, killing soldiers and police personnel of J&K. Aircrafts were hijacked. Innocent people all over India were killed by the terrorists – some of the terrorists are Kashmiri, some Pakistani and some even from other Islamic countries.

Brilliant But Foolhardy Attack on Kargil

During winter land around most of the ‘Line of Control’ (LOC) gets buried under heavy snow. After Simala Agreement it was expected that Pakistan would respect the LOC, and for many years Pakistan did appear to be doing so. In winters extremely harsh conditions prevail in LOC areas; e.g. Dras near Kargil is the second coldest inhabited place in the world with temperatures going below -50 degrees C. Therefore, normally, in winters the surveillance on LOC is reduced to minimal, by either side. Taking advantage of this fact, Pakistan made a brilliant plan to attack Kargil with maximum surprise. In a few winters they entered the area beyond the LOC in to India, near Kargil, and built bunkers, stored arms and ammunitions, and other logistics materials. And when they thought they could win Kargil they attacked in April-May 1999, before the summer working conditions. Indian side was really caught napping in their blankets. Indian Forces also could not have come in numbers because the only road to Kargil should have remained snow bound, but for an early summer. A question naturally arises as to how Indian Intelligence could fail so miserably! This question is relevant to understand the Kashmir Problem.

Indian Intelligence Failure

During winter, apart from radio and air reconnaissance, the main source of intelligence is Bakerwals and Gujjars living in those areas. They gladly convey the news of Pak infiltration. To counter this, first, the dominating and separatist Sunni Muslims of Kargil area convinced the Governments of J&K and India that they be separated from the Buddhist-dominated Ladaakh administrative control, and be made an administrative region under Kashmir. In Ladaakh area Muslims are not in majority, but in Kargil they are in absolute majority. Then Pakistan deliberately increased bombing in that area, and at the same time the local Sunnis increased persecuting the non-Muslims and non-sympathetic Bakerwals and Gujjars etc to drive them away from that area. So almost no Bakerwals and Buddhists were there to inform about the infiltration, and thus total surprise could be achieved. That is why this plan was brilliant. It is another story as to how bravery, strategy and superior tactics of Indian Defence Forces could repulse the brilliant attack, albeit at a great sacrifice of both man and material. Here again the impractical idealism of Government of India could be seen in their order to the Defence Forces to not cross the LOC, even while defending their area. The impractical strain of idealism in Indians costs them heavily, every time. The surreptitious attack on Kargil Sector beyond the ‘Line of Control’, which was accepted in the 1971 Simala Agreement by Pakistan as inviolable, again confirms that promises made by and agreements accepted by Pakistan are unreliable.

Islamic Terrorism

After fighting three wars, Pakistan has realized that they cannot win a war with India. Therefore they have chosen the most inhuman way – terrorism with support from international Islamic terrorist organizations. This terrorism has not only caused heavy losses to material, military personnel but also more importantly it has dented the tolerant psyche of Hindus. All Hindus have been driven out from Kashmir after a planned chain of murders of many prominent Hindus. This low intensity war is causing a very heavy financial burden to Indian exchequer and thus obstructing the progress that India, specially J&K, could otherwise make. The Hindu-Muslim riots are increasing in India in frequency and intensity. Now Hindus react very sharply and violently to a riot started by Muslims. Gujarat is a case in example. But what is still remarkable is that burning of Hindus at Godara in Gujarat has resulted in a violent reaction in Gujarat only, the rest of India not only maintained its peace but also condemned the violent reaction. Earlier in History, by and large Hindus had not been reacting in such a rage lasting for so long. Now the trend of intolerance is such that even Hindus feel sad.

Security Personnel Vs Terrorists

The fate of military and police personnel safeguarding lives of Kashmiris, and maintaining law and order there would elicit sympathy from any human being. Though armed, they are easily visible and are easy victims. Terrorists are also armed but are not visible for they do not look different from the locals; therefore they always manage a surprise attack. At the same time security personnel are expected to be protecting the locals and not shoot unless reasonably sure of the terrorists. They cannot be trigger happy, and the terrorists can be as trigger happy as they like. The terrorists also kill the locals in sufficient numbers to terrify them in to co-operation. Can the Human rights Commission not see that the dice is heavily loaded against the Security Forces.? They invariably had been blaming Indian security, and seldom Pakistan Government and its terrorists. The loading of the dice can be easily seen in the ratio of terrorists killed to the security personnel killed. This ratio was very disappointing for a long time – about 1 security personnel for 3 terrorists. Since 9.11 this has improved slightly¹⁴ to 1 to 4.

It is beyond my comprehension as to why western media is so sympathetic to Pakistan. Is it because media is not serving the truth but its own agenda, whatever it may be? Then should media command the high respect that it gets? Or is truth so difficult to judge? And, why does Pakistan invariably gain by a third party intervention. Is it because of under-dog sympathy syndrome? Not really, because even when the democracy in East Pakistan was being trampled under the military boots of West Pakistan, the US was sympathetic to West Pakistan. (After every war Pakistan did not have to pay any penalty for its aggression. It got back money and equipment in aid from oil rich nations, and USA etc.) Ultimately despite being an aggressor, it is illegally occupying a third of the U. Kashmir. Was the idealism practiced by Nehru therefore impractical?

What conclusions can be drawn?

1. The U.N. has proved incompetent in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem. The UN has, inadvertently, encouraged terrorism. Terrorism and drug trafficking help each other in increasing misery in the world.
2. The problem of J&K is religious expansionism through terrorism, and not the so called, rebellion against an oppressive and occupational Government. Whereas the reverse may be true in POK.
3. Ideal of non-violence is not yet practicable in the world.
4. Religion does not guarantee unity of any nation, unless the religion is liberal.
5. In a democratic nation terrorism should have no place, but in an open and democratic world terrorism still works. Terrorism can kill a long established culture of harmony and love among people of different religions as in J&K. Having suffered firsthand, the most powerful nation USA is now trying its best to eradicate terrorism, and it may or may not succeed. Successful fight against terrorism demands international cooperation, which US is in a position to get.
6. India is unable to stop terrorism in J&K so long as it is being supported to the hilt by Pakistan through money, arms and ammunition, military training and the most prolific and cheap breeding ground for terrorists viz. madarasaas.
7. Terrorism will not give Pakistan what it wants but will continue to increase misery and losses of innocent humans in J&K. This frustration may make Pakistan bold to wage a full fledged nuclear war. If terrorism is not stopped in J&K, danger of a nuclear war is very real and imminent.

– Vishwa Mohan Tiwari, Air Vice Marshal (Retd)
May 14, 2002

 

Tales of Kashmir (by Som Nath Dhar)

Mujahid Sherwani
With the heroic tale of the martyr of ‘New Kashmir’, we enter the modern period of Kashmir, ushered after Independence, when the Valley, like the rest of northern India, went through a blood bath. A dedicated and active worker of the National Conference, Maqbool Sherwani, who had had a rub with Mr. Jinnah at Baramulla, his home town, faced the fury of the tribal invaders from Pakistan in the same town. After performing exploits of military strategy, he fell in the hands of the tribals on the fateful day, 7th November 1947, when they literally crucified him. Sherwani, a martyr to ‘New Kashmir’, is not dead. His blood liberated the soil on which it sealed for all time the silken bonds of unity binding the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs of Kashmir – and the rest of India.
India came to the rescue of the people of Kashmir when the State was invaded by tribal hordes on the 22nd of October, 1947. Airborne Indian troops landed on the Srinagar aerodrome in the nick of time. The tribal and other Pakistan-inspired invaders were routed from the suburbs of Srinagar by the Indian troops and the National Militia of Kashmir. The raiders were driven out of Baramulla on the 8th of November, and later, pushed out of the Valley.

Speaking to the people of Baramulla on the 12th November, 1947, Prime Minister Nehru and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah paid glowing tributes to the deeds of valour and consequent martyrdom of Mir Maqbool Sherwani, the hero of Baramulla. In several of his post-prayer speeches, Mahatma Gandhi movingly referred to Sherwani, who fought and died for his country, defending the great principle of intercommunal unity. The story of Sherwani became a beacon to the upholders of secular tradition of Kashmir and the rest of India.

Ever since the founding of the All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference in 1939 by Sheikh Abdullah, Maqbool Sherwani had been a staunch supporter of the national cause of the forty lakhs of Kashmiris who demanded freedom from the Dogra monarchy. Sherwani was then a young man in his early twenties. He actually started taking part in the struggle of freedom when he was eighteen years old. He had seen much of the world about him even as a boy. Several times he had trekked to India whither he had run away from home. His mother died when he was a young child. His wife died in childbirth in the second year of their marriage. Sherwani was twenty-seven years at the time (1939), the year of the founding of the National Conference. He was free to do what he liked. He chose to serve his people. The choice was easy, for his doting father carried a petty trade business in Barmulla and he did not have to work for a living.

As an active member of the National Conference, Sherwani popularised the demand for popular government and the necessity of communal harmony in the district of Baramulla, the goal defined by Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. He was guided by the older political worker of Baramulla, Sufi Mohammed Akbar. Both made the masses of the District politically conscious. Whenever the Wazir Wazarat (as the Deputy Commissioner was called) oppressed the rural folk or a corrupt revenue officer extorted bribes, or, a forest official exploited his authority, Maqbool Sherwani would stand up against the bureaucratic bully. He would organise the erstwhile oppressed and awed people and stage non-violent demonstrations; invariably, he and the people won their point.

Earlier, in his stormy boyhood, while Sherwani was the student of a middle school, he led his friends in folk dance and drama and other activities. That training was an asset to him. He became an effective sneaker and he could sway and control large crowds. Defending his countrymen against the excesses of the bureaucracy, he would lead agitations of the aggrieved people. He was arrested several times. His being guided by the principles of the National Conference, as defined and popularised by ‘Sher-i-Kashmir’, provided him the right lead in every crisis-almost every time he scored a victory.

Sherwani had little respect for leaders who did not agree with the programme of the National Conference. When Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah visited Kashmir and spoke at Baramulla on his ‘two-nation’ theory Sherwani forced him to come down from the platform, and this stopped his speech. The Muslim Conferencites, who had convened the meeting, were taken by surprise, and pursued Sherwani. To escape the fury of the mob, Sherwani jumped from the Baramulla bridge into the Jhelum and dived into the deep, eddying water, to reappear hundreds of feet away!

Sherwani coordinated the programme of the Baramulla branch of National Conference with its parent body whose headquarters was at Srinagar. By tonga or lorry, on cycle or motor cycle, and, sometimes, on foot, Sherwani shuttled between Srinagar and Baramulla. When the momentous session of the National Conference was held at Sopore in September 1944 and the session ratified ‘New Kashmir’, the people’s charter for freedom and self-government, Sherwani was indubitably the most active worker. He was well acquainted with Sopore; he knew almost every peasant by face. They co-operated with him in his round-the-clock work on the Reception Committee. At the session Sherwani heard and saw his beloved leader, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah as well as Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and many other Congress leaders. He dedicated himself, with renewed zeal, to the service of the land in order to usher ‘New Kashmir’, which received the sanction of the people in the open session. Thanks to his fond father, Sherwani could devote himself whole-heartedly to politics.

The struggle for full responsible government, as envisaged in the national document, entitled ‘New Kashmir’, assumed several forms. In 1945 the National Conference cooperated with the Government when certain reforms towards some popular representation in the Government were conceded. The Government’s climbdown, however, soon turned out to be a tactial manoeuvre as the power was concentrated in the hands of Prime Minister R.C. Kak who was the nominee of the Maharaja. The National Conference, therefore, with drew its representative from the Government. The Kak regime there upon tightened its stranglehold over the people. The National Conference leaders sounded the clarion call of ‘Quit Kashmir’ agitation on the eve of the Cabinet Mission in India during May 1946. The Government retaliated harshly. An era of repression was ushered. The Conference leaders, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and others, including Sherwani, were placed behind the bars. Public opinion in India, as voiced by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and other Congress leaders, was against the repressive policy of the Government. Mahatma Gandhi visited Kashmir. The Kashmir Government relented. In September 1946 the detenus were released unconditionally.

Again, there was a stalemate. The Maharaja of Kashmir was sitting on the fence, undecided whether the State should accede to India or Pakistan, adter the partition. A new and realistic policy was not announced at the right time after the exit of Kak as the Prime Minister. The hesitant policy of the Kashmir Government gave an initial advantage to the Pakistan-abetted tribesmen who came via North-Western Frontier Province of Pakistan and invaded Kashmir in October 1947. Situated on the border, Muzaffarabad was the first town to fall. Like leaders of all branches of the National Conference, Sherwani responded to the call of the National Conference whose leaders under the clarion call of Sheikh Abdullah had anticipated the trouble to raise a body of 10,000 National Home Guards fn the Valley.

As is apparent already, the story of Maqbool Sherwani cannot be extricated from that of the National Conference. He had identified himself with the activities of the party to which he owed selfless allegiance. While he was engaged with the organisation of the National Home Guards, he heard the disturbing news of the fall of Muzaffarabad. He witnessed panic spread in the town of Baramulla, as conflicting reports flew about the might and fury of the raiders. He spoke to the people at street corners and calmed their fears. The fifth columnists, were endeavouring to sabotage his efforts. Undeterred, Sherwani went on with his mission, working day and night at a hectic pace.

More disturbing news came about the lightning advance of the well-equipped raiders, who captured Uri and smaller towns The incursion of the hordes into Baramulla appeared imminent. But Sherwani did not lose his nerve in the hour of gloom. He left Baramulla for Srinagar on his motor cycle at the very last hour after he had personally attended to the safe evacuation of a large part of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh population who thus escaped the indiscriminate fury of the vandals.

Sherwani conferred with the National Conference High Command. The leaders were alive to the peril to face which the National Home Guards and the National Militia had been raised. When the tottering machinery of the Maharaja’s government failed, the leaders of the National Conference assumed the duties and powers of the Emergency Administration. The Headquarters were set up in the heart of the City. There was a keen element of precariousness in the situation. Nobody was sure of the morrow What happened to Baramulla might befall Srinagar any moment. The Government of India heeded in time the appeal for help of the Kashmiri leaders. Srinagar was saved; the Indian troops, aided and guided by the National Militia, did a heroic job. The raiders were driven away from the doors of the loveliest city of India, which they would faro have depredated.

Relieved at the turn of events, intrepid Sherwani plunged in the fight against the enemy, who revelled in heinous forms of butchery and sadism to women and children. He resolved to fight them on the propaganda front too their slogan of ‘Holy War’ was a camouflage for an orgy of loot and bloodshed. To stop their infiltration in outlying districts of Srinagar, Sherwani made hurricane tours of Ganderbal, Safapore, Sumbal and other smaller towns, and told the people what these monsters really stood for. To the people he reiterated the necessity of intercommunal harmony. He warned them that they must not give shelter or show mercy to the unholy invaders, comprising freebooters and marauders, sent on the imperialist errand of annexing Kashmir and enslaving her people, even as earlier aggressors in history had done.

A glorious chapter of Sherwani’s life commenced with this mission. It was the climax of a career of service to the country that will go down in the annals of Kashmir in letters of gold. Fearlessly, Sherwani ventured into Sopore, the devil’s den, and nearby villages, where the tribal hordes had entrenched themselves. To hoodwink them, he carried aloft a Muslim League flag in his right hand and wore the blue crescent badge. He said to a leader of the tribesmen: “Wait not. March on. There is terrible communal trouble in the city of Srinagar. This is your opportunity to break in and set up your government in the Maharaja’s Palace, on the banks of the famous Dal Lake. And, you’ll have wine and women and gold!” He thus lured them to certain positions-as he had previously planned with the scouts of Indian troops and the National Militia-where they were shelled and bombarded by the Indian troops. This happened on 30th October, 1947, when Srinagar was in grave danger.

There are different estimates of the number of raiders who concentrated in this manner at certain points and whom Sherwani sent to their deserved doom. Someplace it above two hundred. Be the figure what it may, suffice it to say, that bold Sherwani recklessly performed exploits of military strategy that contributed not a lithe towards saving Srinagar, and which vie with those of well-known pies in the two world wars of this century. He saved the lives of not only the inhabitants of Srinagar but hundreds of others of his countrymen and Indian troops.

How long could the lightning carrier of this youthful patriot last? Venturing into the bear’s den once again, Sherwani fell into the hands of the tribesmen at Sumbal, a party of whom had laid waste the entire village. They had been looking for him for days. They had set a high price on his head-the fearless head of M.M. Sherwani.

The uncouth captors manhandled Sherwani. He flinched not, complained not. Acting under the orders of one of their Amirs, they escorted Sherwani to Baramulla. He was produced before an Amir whom the ‘fifth columnists’ had cited for the vendetta. “Tie the Kashmiri fellow to the verandah pillars”, shouted the Amir.

Tied hand and foot, and feeling the ropes pressing him against the posts, and, staring at the street, Sherwani smilingly observed the Amir who sat in a chair by the roadside. Around the Amir, squatted or stood a platoon of the relentless, pitiless tribesmen, armed to the teeth.

“You are Sherwani”, said the Amir, in a mocking tone. The tribesmen guffawed, gaping at the intrepid captive, whose demeanour and expression compelled attention.

“I am Mir Maqbool Sherwani”, was the dauntless reply.

“Your age?”

“Thirty-five.”

“We know much about you and your foul deeds,” thundered the Amir. “You have betrayed us. You are false to the holy cause of the Jehad, that we wage”. Softening a little, the Amir added, “You are a promising young man. You may live yet. We will forgive you if you forswear yourself and join us. As proof positive of your change of heart, you must tell us the secret position of the Militia and Indian troops in Shalteng and also show us the shortest route to the Srinagar aerodrome”. “What may 1 do first ?” asked Maqbool Sherwani. His voice was calm and confident.

“Say Islam Zindabad and Hindu-Muslim-ittehad Murdabad ! No more fooling us now.” “No, that shall not be”, was the firm, tight-lipped reply of Sherwani, who was a rebel against reactionary authorities ever since his boyhood. “I only desire to say my last prayers”.

“You will not offer prayers. You will say what we want you to say, or, we will make you to”, threatened the ferocious Amir. “No, hundred times No”, replied Sherwani. “I say Naya Kashmir Zindabad! Sher-i-Kashmir Zindabad!”

“What are you waiting for?” the Amir questioned his men.

No sooner was this said than they started belabouring the helpless captive with butt ends of their rifles. He bled but winced not.

The Amir who thought every Kashmiri to be a coward could not comprehend the tenacity of the prisoner. Set at naught, he said to one of his men, “This man is a traitor. Sever his nose and his tongue, if he still refuses.” Sherwani repeated “No” and said the Zindabads over again, before his nose and tongue were cut off. What did Kashmir’s hero look like?

The Amir wrote “Sherwani, the traitor, his punishment is death”, on a piece of paper in Urdu and had it pasted on the forehead of Sherwani. Suddenly and unaccountably, the Amir flew into a rage and commanded twenty-four of his men to stand to the position of a firing squad.

“Fire and mark a crescent on the chest of the traitor,” commanded the Amir. A volley of shots did the fanatic chore. Our martyr, the hero of New Kashmir, breathed his last. He died a martyr’s death on the cross, as it were.

“Tie the ears of the traitor and his drooping head and arms straight to the posts so that every passer-by can see him,” was the last bark of the Amir before he left the spot.

Little did the petty tyrant and his men realise that on the following day, i.e., 8th of November, 1947, they would be driven out like plagued rats from Baramulla. One of the first acts of the freed people was to reclaim the dead body of Mir Maqbool Sherwani and to bury it in the graveyard of Juma Masjid of the town with full military honours.

Sheikh Abdullah, and the leaders of Kashmir and India, paid touching tributes to the memory of the martyr of Baramulla. Sherwani is not dead. He will never be. By his glorious sacrifices, he has sealed the silken bonds of amity that bind the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs of Kashmir and the rest of India.

The National Cultural front of the All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference staged a Kashmiri-cum-Hindustani Play which depicted the heroic story of ‘Martyr of New Kashmir-the Mujahid who waged a ‘holy war’ in the best sense of the word. A lifesize Portrait of Sherwani in the last pose was painted by the artists of the Front.

Pir Pandit Padshah

Pir Pandit Padshah
The most remarkable thing about miracles is that they do sometimes happen.
- G.K. Chesterton

In the life of the saint, called Pir Pandit Padshah, miracles happened many times, rather, were made to happen. These miracles are not gleaned from any legend. These are a part of the history of the Valley on the lips of Hindus and Muslims. No one disbelieves them.
In India, the land of mystics and occultists, these feats happen still, though few and far between.

Even the puritan Muslim Emperor Aurangzeb, whose long sway over Kashmir lasted from 1659 to 1707 A.D., recognised the powers of the Hindu Pir and conferred a high title on him. To know as to in what circumstances the Emperor did so, is very interesting to the visitor to and lover of the Happy Valley. Every Kashmiri knows this part of the story, having heard it at the feet of the grandma some day, in his or her childhood.
Rumour ran wild in the city of Srinagar, as it always does. Everybody asked everybody else, “Have you heard? Mulla Akhun Shah transports a most comely girl from Lahore every night.” The newsmonger added, in a whisper, “She stays with him for the night. Next morning she finds herself back in her chamber in Lahore!”

The intriguing hearsay reached the ears of Abu-ul-Nasar Khan, the Governor of Kashmir. Already he regarded Akhun Shah with suspicion. He had the girl traced at Lahore. She was asked to bring back some token of the place whereto she was conveyed every night by the miraculous agency. She fetched an apple with her, when, in the morning, she was back at Lahore. She said she experienced a strange sensation of being flown in the atmosphere during the night.

On this confirmation, the Governor of Kashmir determined to exploit the opportunity to humble the Mulla. But his councillors desired otherwise. One of them, Fidai Khan, asked, “Subedar Sahib, have you heard of Rishi Pir ?”

“Yes, the one people acclaim as Pir Pandit Padshah. To the pandits, his co-religionists, he is a Pandit. To Muslims, he is a Pir. To all of them, he is the Padshah (Badshah), the powerful Faqir, who though uncrowned has been enthroned by some saint, Pandit Krishan Ji Kar. We have heard he is a miracle worker.”

“Precisely”, agreed Fidai Khan, “It is he who hops the Mulla with this black magic kidnappings of girls. Akhun Shah is largely innocent. It is his master, Rishi Pir, falsely styled ‘Pir Pandit Padshah’, who gives him all his powers. You must have heard how Akhun Shah came to accept the Pir as his master?

“No, we have not, for we were away in suppressing the turbulent Chaks. Do tell us.”

“One day”, narrated Fadai Khan, “Mulla Akhun invited Rishi Pir and his disciples, numbering hundreds, to a feast, holding that when he talked so much of the oneness of God, he should accept a Muslim’s invitation. The Pir consented, saying, We will come, on one condition. Nobody must taste the edibles before we and our disciples eat’. On the fixed day, the Pir and other guests sat down to the feast. The covers were taken off the plates. Lo! an astounding metamorphosis of the dishes and other viands took place, as Rishi Pir threw a libation on his plate. Rice was converted into paddy plants, vegetables into respective plants, mutton into sheep that stood up in life and so on! A one-legged cock crowed and hobbled towards the Pir, who addressed the amazed Mulla, ‘Look, someone has tasted the leg of this fowl. Our wager has been broken. We will not eat’. The head cook was called. He confessed to having tasted a leg of the fowl. The Pir and his disciples rose and departed. From that day the Akhun recognised the Pir as his master”.

“Oh! is it?” the Subedar expressed surprise.

“Yes, Subedar Sahib, it was the talk of the town. I advise you to curb the rising power and influence of this saint-Padshah.”

Abu-ul-Nasar Khan thought over the proposition. He remembered the words of his father, Shaista Khan (the maternal uncle of Emperor Aurangzeb) spoken to him at Delhi, “Son, don’t prove an unsuccessful Subedar of Kashmir like your brother, Muzarffar Khan, whom Alamgir called back only after two years. Rule with an iron hand. Don’t allow any Kashmiri to become more powerful than he may reasonably be.” He sent for Qazi Abul Karim and his preceptor, Mir Hussain Sabzwari. The latter, a faqir who gave himself airs of more spirituality than he possessed, was especially jealous of Rishi Pir, ever since Kashmiris started presenting him tributes as if he were a king.

When Sabzwari incited the Subedar against Rishi Pir, like Fidai Khan, the Qazi, more sagacious, agreed with him to an extent; but he added: “Subedar Sahib, twenty years back in Ramzan 1086 (December 1675) the Great Fire of Srinagar, which destroyed twelve thousand houses of Srinagar, was at once brought under control, when Rishi Pir had one of his wooden sandals thrown into the fire. The Emperor heard of this when he visited Srinagar and sent the Pir presents. May be, the Emperor still honours him like that”.

“That is exactly what must be stopped”, remarked the Governor. “No Kashmiri must grow too powerful for me. We shall send a special messenger to Alamgir, telling him all about this disgraceful rumour which we have confirmed. We would tackle the Pir ourselves but we are, to be frank, afraid of the people’s reaction. Don’t you think when the Emperor hears the tale he will teach the Pir a good lesson?”

Mir Hussain and Khan agreed.

—————–
“Strange but true”, spoke Alamgir Aurangzeb in his serious tone, “here come reports from Kashmir Governor against a faqir whom we have respected”.

“Which faqir, Sire? asked Shaista Khan.

“Rishi Pir, also known as Pir Pandit Padshah. We met him when we visited Kashmir”.

Aurangzeb, in his usual secretive way, told him and the courtiers only a part of the contents of the Kashmir letter.

Shaista Khan understood that his son was acting on the instructions that he had given him. He astutely corroborated his son’s desire that “the haughty and powerful Pir ought to be summoned to Delhi in the presence of Alamghir.”

A rich Kashmir trader was present in the court. He begged permission to speak. The Emperor granted it.

“Sire”, the trader addressed the Alamgir with folded hands, “Rishi Pir is a very great saint, the like of whom I have not found in the many countries of Asia that I have travelled. Last year I was returning from Constantinople. A storm rose. It appeared that the ship was about to be sunk. I was perturbed, for most of the cargo belonged to me”.

Raising his hands, he added: “After praying to Allah, I somehow, remembered Rishi Pir, for I had heard of his beneficent miracles. In my prayer, I made a pledge that I would pay a tithe of my profit as tribute to the throned faqir. The storm, believe me, Sire, bated as soon as I opened my eyes. We found ourselves near the safe shore. The weather cry eked. We were saved.

“When, Sire, I reached Srinagar, I forgot to fulfill my mental pledge to Rishi Pir. Imagine my self-consciousness when I accosted him one day in a street. All at once I remembered and felt inwardly guilty. He pointed at me with his raised forefinger and said, ‘Look at my shoulder’ – taking up the Pheran from his neck -’there is the mark of a wound on it which I sustained on the day when I pulled your ship ashore, and, you, good man, quite forgot your promise to a faqir ! Is that like a Musalman ?’

“Sire, I trembled from head to foot. I folded my hands, even as I do now, begging pardon for the delay. Next day, I presented the pledged tithe to Rishi Pir. There raged a famine in the city at the time. He had provisions purchased with the money – which ran over a thousand mohurs – and distributed it among the destitute folk, Hindus and Muslims.”

The Emperor and the courtiers heard the trader with rapt attention. They were all impressed, except the calculating Shaista Khan, who was preoccupied with maintenance of the prestige of the Subedar of Kashmir, his second son.

He wanted to speak, but, Souf Khan, a former Governor of Kashmir, forestalled him: “Sire, Rishi Pir is truly a very great faqir. In the year of our Prophet, 1079 (1668 A.D.) my elephant ran amuck in Srinagar. The mad elephant worked havoc in the city. There was panic everywhere. Shops were closed. People, hither and thither, driven like flies before the wind. The elephant crossed the path of Rishi Pir. His Hindu disciples and Muslim admirers fled in all directions-but not he! He raised his hand, and lo! the elephant came to a standstill, crouching down before him. From that day, Sire, I paid the tribute myself to this great Kashmir Pandit saint.”

“Allah! Great Allah !” exclaimed the courtiers, “this is no ordinary mortal.”

“True, true”, agreed the Emperor, “but what does the present report signify?”

“That, Sire”, put in Shaista Khan at the opportune moment, “this Pir is misusing his powers already. He is a unique enthroned saint. His powers may whet his ambition. He may become dangerous to the outpost of Moghul Empire”.

“We are inclined to agree”, said the Emperor, “We will summon Rishi Pir. At least we will be enlightened with more facts. Jaswant Singh, issue a farman commanding the audience of Rishi Pir in the Moghul Court of Delhi” .

Subedar Abuul-Nasar Khan anxiously awaited his messenger back from Delhi. Weeks passed and rolled into months. He had provided the messenger the completest and most speedy means of transport at every stage of the difficult journey which was especially hazardous between the Kashmir frontier and Srinagar.

Meanwhile, the prestige of Rishi Pir continued to increase. People were enamoured of his mystic, attractive personality. Not only did they call him ‘Pit Pandit Padshah’, they also spoke of him as the “Saviour who eases every difficulty”. He did perform miracles like a prophet in aiding suffering humanity.

A Muslim middle-aged woman, rich but barren, appealed to Rishi Pir to remove the curse on her which made her husband so unhappy.

“What has a fagir to do with your progeny?” he asked her.

“Sire, Pir Pandit Padshah relieves every adversity of every man, wherefore I beg you my boon.” She fell at his feet, weeping.

“Stand up, sister”, he said to her in assumed anger, “get away. Throw away all your ornaments in the Vitasta when you cross Zaina Kadal. Allah will help you!”

The woman left. She flung her ornaments, but, out of her costly jewellery, she preserved a priceless pearl. In due time a son was born to her. But he was blind of one eye!

With the customary people’s tribute of eleven and a half fractions of many things, she repaired her way to Pir Pandit Padshah. She expressed her gratefulness, but complained of the one eye of which her son was bereft.

“Why did you preserve a pearl out of the ornaments, you lover of ornaments?” the Pir questioned her. “Go away and drop that pearl in the river.”

She cast away the precious pearl. Her sons’s eye was restored!

The people heard of this. So did the Governor, who burned to see Rishi Pir growing immensely popular – a formidable rival, he thought, as he was reminded time and again of the admonition of Shaista Khan, and, he realised that Kashmiris, Hindus and Muslims, were united in the growing spirit of resistance against tyranny; Rishi Pir gave an indirect subtle lead to this national sentiment.

Every citizen came to know how Rishi Pir, for the sake of his aged mother/brought’ the water of Har Mukat Ganga to the Jhelum ghat of his mohalla, Batyar. When Kashmiri pilgrims went to Har Mukat Ganga, she said to her son, Rishi Pir, that she desired to bathe in the holy mountain lake of Ganga Bal. He pointed out, “Mother, you are aged and infirm, you cannot undertake the risky journey. However, you may give one of your bracelets to our Puroohat who is going there and ask him to drop it in the lake at the time of the holy bath”. She did so.

On the day, when pilgrims bathe in Ganga Bal bake, after dropping over the ashes of the dead, Rishi Pir said to his mother, “Mother, go to Batyar ghat and have your morning bath”.

She went and there, to her wonderment, she saw the bracelet floating in the Jhelum water ! Har Mukat Ganga had ‘come’ to her own ghat ! Her life’s ambition was fulfilled, as she bathed in the ice-cold water.

Shortly after, she died. Rishi Pir was smitten with grief at the loss of one who had suffered much for his sake, in bringing him up as an orphan boy. He went on a fast for many days.

At this juncture did the messenger of the Subedar return from Delhi, having been delayed by inclement weather on the road to Kashmir. He was accompanied by a courier and a company of soldiers, who had the summons for Rishi Pir. The Subedar was overjoyed at the success of his scheme. He deputed an additional unit of soldiers to carry out the Emperor’s farman.

The soldiers spread a cordon around the house of Rishi Pir while the courier went inside to serve the summons.

There was panic in Batyar. The Pathan soldiers did not allow the people to gather anywhere. They ejected the hero-worshipping people from Rishi Pir’s house.

Rishi Pir was left with his two chief disciples, Pandit Nana Joo and Pandit Atma Ram. He heard Alamgir’s courier over a cup of special Kashmiri tea that he had during fasts. His eyes were bloodshot with anger, but, retaining his poise with a supreme effort, he allowed a smile to play across his lips.

To the courier, he said, “Your Emperor desires us to start on the long and hazardous journey as soon as the farman is read out. This is late afternoon now. We must make preparations.”

“Yes, Pir,” said the blunt Pathan. “You get ready. We’ll leave tomorrow morning”.

The soldiers’ cordon continued as tight as it was. Others dispersed the mob; of people, who protested against the incarceration of their Pir.

—————–
Emperor Aurangzeb was in bed. He was a light sleeper, for he was always alert, suspicious of everybody. He heard a sound, a low thud in the chamber. Quickly, he sat up and lighted several candles with the one that was burning at the side of his pillow.

What did he see ?

There, before him, was Rishi Pir, riding – a leopard !

“Rishi Pir ! At this hour ?” he asked, clearing his throat with difficulty.

“Your Majesty called me”, Rishi Pir replied mockingly, in Persian.
“Oh, yes! First please send away the fearful leopard – we will talk”.

Rishi Pir dismounted. The leopard disappeared !

“You are a great, pious, God-fearing Emperor”, casually remarked Rishi Pir. “People may call me Pir Pandit Padshah and pay me tribute of their love. For their sake, I use the royal ‘we’ in my talk with them. But I am a faqir after all. Why do you injure a faqir’s feelings ?”

“We are sincerely sorry”, replied the Emperor in a penitential tone. “You are great. You have vouchsafed us a new vision. You are the ‘Emperor of Both Worlds’. I bestow that title upon you, great Pandit”.

“But, Sire”, sarcastically spoke Rishi Pir, “your mustachioed soldiers have besieged my poor cottage”.

“No, no, we don’t want your attendance at court now.”

“And, the proof?”

“Here and now, we will write a new farman”.

Fo a Emperor looked about- he found pen and paper, but not an ink pot. To himself, he said, “Where is the inkpot ? I had placed one here”.

“Sire, blood is used as ink in an emergency.”

“Yes, yes, you are right, ‘Emperor of the Both Worlds’ “, the emperor hustled as he pricked the index finger of his left hand for blood. Not much blood came out of the shrunken frame. He collected the drops on a tray and wrote a farman, revoking the previous one. He addressed Rishi Piras “Emperor of Both Worlds” and commanded the Subedar of Kashmir to personally pay an annual tribute to the Pir. He then sealed the farman with his signet ring.

The leopard reappeared with another thud. Rishi Pir rode the spotted fierce-looking beast and vanished…

The outspoken Pathan knocked at the door of Pir Pandit Padshah next morning. The two disciples, who were still there, asked the courier to take a seat. He would not sit down. He was about to walk, with shoes on, towards Rishi Pir’s throne, when the Pir shouted at him, “Foolish Pathan, know your manners!”

The ring of the voice stunned the courier. He stopped short.

“Here is your Emperor’s new farman”, added Rishi Pir. A disciple handed over the envelope to the courier. He was amazed as he saw the mark of the signet ring of the emperor. He looked at it once again, in great bewilderment. He opened the envelope carefully, and read -Allah, what was it all? He retreated, bowed low, and lower still, before Rishi Pir, saying, “Emperor of Both Worlds, forgive me. I was doing my duty”.

“We have eyes to see that. Now go to the Subedar. We want to have a chat with him”.

The news of the incredible miracle spread like wild fire. People, Hindus and Muslims, were happy that Rishi Pir’s honour was vindicated. And, now Pir Pundit Padshah was “Emperor of Both Worlds!” This triumph symbolised the end of tyranny. Mulla Shah came with his disciples and expressed his increased admiration of and gratefulness to the great Pir. So did hundreds of noblemen and commoners, Hindu and Muslim alike. Rishi Pir just smiled at them.

—————————-
Abu-ul-Nasar Khan was very much disappointed when the courier showed him the Emperor’s second farman. Reluctantly, he, accompanied by Fidai Khan, went to Pir Pundit Padshah in the afternoon. He saw the Batyar locality bustling with excited, happy people who shouted slogans in praise of Pir Pundit Padshah, “Emperor of Both Worlds”, “Reliever of Every Difficulty”, and so on. They knew of the intrigue of Mir Hussain Sabzwari and, therefore, they asked the Subedar to make Sabzwari quit Kashmir. Consequently, the bogus saint himself fled.

Rishi Pir smiled as the Governor bowed deferentially. He pointed him to a pillowed seat near him. The Governor presented a huge regal tribute in obedience to the Emperor’s command.

While they talked formally, in came a disciple of Rishi Pir and addressed him, “Pir Pandit Padshah, my mother is dead! Help me!”

“What help, Nanak Shah?” questioned Rishi Pir, “Your mother was old. It is good she is dead at a ripe age. Console yourself”.

“Sire, you are the reliever of every difficulty of man. You are the Emperor of Both Worlds. You command both this and the next world. Help me, Pir Pundit Padshah, I can’t live without my mother!”

Rishi Pir mused for a few moments. “Nanak Shah, the predestined span of life can be changed only one way”, he proposed. “Will you sacrifice the years of your own life that you want your mother to live?”
“Yes, Sire.”

“How many?”

“Fourteen”.

“All right, Nanak Shah”, commanded Rishi Pir, “go to your home. Break fourteen water chestnuts under her pillow”.

Nanak Shah did as he was told. Lo! the spring of life returned to his erstwhile dead mother. She was alive!

The Subedar, or the others who succeeded him, presented the yearly tribute to Pir Pundit Padshah. More and more miracles in relief of the unhappy and the suffering fetched him added renown.

In Batyar, in Srinagar, there is the shrine of Rishi Pir whither repair men in the straits of life; they touch a sandal of the Pir, the only memento left- the other one was thrown in the Great Fire of Srinagar – and pay the tribute. So did every Governor of Kashmir, annually, until the late forties of this century

Courtsy: S.N.Dhar

Balawaristan National Front’s letter to Indian Prime Minister (November 27th 2001)

Balawaristan National Front’s letter to Indian Prime Minister (November 27^th 2001)

Ref: BN/4-14/1

His Excellency
Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
New Delhi

Sub: Reminder

Dear Sir,

I have the honour to draw your kind attention towards my earlier petition (Sub: “Include Gilgit Baltistan in J&K (Jammu and Kashmir) dialogue” dated December 18, 2000), on the subject cited above, and inform you further about the prevailing anti-people activities of Pakistan in Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (POGB)). You may kindly recall, I represent the Balawaristan National Front (BNF) on behalf of two million people dwelling in 28,000 sq miles (44,800 sq km) of Gilgit-Baltistan. While Pakistan calls it the Northern Areas, we call it Balawaristan, which is the disputed part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Balawaristan National Front (BNF) has been struggling against the illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1992. The people of Balawaristan are deprived of all their basic human rights, political and economic rights, and are subject to incessant oppression by Pakistan. We suffer untold miseries at the hands of the Pakistan Army and its intelligence agencies, which are deployed in strength to subdue the nationalists of our area. Because the people of Balawaristan have been demonstrating their anger about, and rejection of, the Pakistani occupation, they continue to be targeted and eliminated silently. Your honour can imagine that more than 100 political leaders and workers, including me, are facing state treason charges (Pakistani section 124 A), while there is no single person who faces such charges in your part of J&K instead of their anti-India campaign on the direct instigation of Pakistan.

In the light of the abovementioned atrocities and evil designs of Pakistan, we the people of Balawaristan, do not want to become a votary of Pakistan in any way if plebiscite/referendum is held. We also request your honour to invite the nationalists of Balawaristan and POK (Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) to participate in the J&K dialogue to strengthen the Indian stand.

We request your honour to invite the candidates of Balawaristan and POK to fill the 25 vacant seats in the J&K Assembly, which have been laying vacant for the last many years. Therefore, the elected representatives of Balawaristan and POK would represent their areas, and reveal the oppression of Pakistan before the civilised world on the one hand; on the other, India will automatically gain the favour of the people of these areas.

I also appeal to your government to deliver the orders to the concerned authority to ensure the representation of Balawaristan (POGB) and PoK in the J&K Assembly by following the Indian and J&K constitutions.

Abdul Hamid Khan
Chairman
Balawaristan National Front (BNF)

Head Office:-
Majini Mahala, Gilgit, Balawaristan
(Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan)

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Revolt Brewing in the so-called Northern Areas of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

Amir Humza Qureshi says Northern Areas people facing more Human Rights Violations than anywhere else in the world

The part of the state of Jammu & Kashmir called the Northern Areas by Pakistan was annexed through an illegal attack in 1947 even before India and Pakistan became independent. This was possible due to the chicancery of the British who at that time controlled the two opposing armies. They ensured that the Pakistan flag was unfurled in Gilgit even before the British Government conferred independence on Pakistan. Ironically, the very Gilgit Scouts that unfurled the Pakistani flag in Gilgit, capital of the so-called Northern Areas, has long been disbanded because its Pakistani masters no longer trusted the people of Gilgit. While the legatees of those perfidious colonial Britishers continue to talk about justice for J&K, the people of the so-called Northern Areas continue to live in an area of utter political darkness. Even after 50 years of independence they remain a colonised people without the right to vote or exercise their democratic option in any other way. They remain shadowed in poverty and underdevelopment without recourse to basic human rights. The heirs of the same scoundrels who imprisoned Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last emperor of India, in Burma where he did not have two “gaz zameen” for his grave, have been enlisted by the illegitimate rulers of Pakistan to espouse the cause of Kashmir in international fora.

Pakistanis can only talk about elah – accession – and every Kashmiri group seeking help from Pakistan must promise to accede to Pakistan. Otherwise like the JKLF they will be killed and their sisters raped. This is the truth. And what is accession – it is to suffer the fate of the miserable millions in the so-called Northern Areas where even after 50 years, the Punjabi rulers and their agents continue to kill Muslims.

A prominent leader of Occupied Kashmir (only the Pakistani part of Kashmir can be considered occupied) has been abducted by the agencies and is currently under torture. His name is Shaukat Ali Kashmiri. Appeals by various individuals and organisations, including Amnesty International, have not secured his release. We appeal to you to write to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and ask him to take control of his dogs. But who will talk of all the others who have been silently killed by the Punjabis of Pakistan, who only see Gilgit as a good holiday resort? Much is happening in the last forgotten valleys of the so-called Northern Areas and by the grace of God the people of Northern Areas, shall find their destiny as a free people. They shall stand one day shoulder to shoulder with their brothers of Jammu & Kashmir and the followers of the great peers of this land, proud and free and masters of their own destiny.

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Amir Humza Qureshi says Northern Areas people facing more Human Rights Violations than anywhere else in the world

Urdu daily Jasarat, the mouthpiece of the Jamaat-i-Islami, carried a long letter from emerging leader of Gilgit, Amir Humza Qureshi, rejecting the official propaganda about human rights violations in Indian side of Kashmir. “It is a fact that people of this region (northern areas) are facing more human rights violations and whenever the official media talks of repression in (Indian) Kashmir people with strong hearts laugh at this hypocritical attitude and people with weak hearts cry.”"India is not perpetrating even one hundredth part of the repression that people spread over an area of 28,000 miles have been facing for the past 50 years. The Indian Government has given people all their fundamental human rights and in spite of that they are in a state of confrontation against the government. But the people of this region (northern areas) are far behind the rest of the world in matters of fundamental human rights, justice and economic development.”The Pakistan Government says since northern areas are not a part of its territory it cannot give its people constitutional rights. But the people are not willing to stay like this anymore. The Balawaristan National Front (BNF) recently passed a resolution demanding autonomy for northern areas. Another party, the Muttehada Quami Party (MQP) wants a status like that of “Azad” Kashmir.

Shaukat Ali Kashmir Arrested & Tortured

Kashmiri political groups in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) have threatened state-wide agitation to press for the release of a pro-independence leader. Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, chairman of the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) based in POK, was picked up by men from the Pakistani security forces near Bagh on 18 January according to the Kashmir International Front (KIF) based here.The London group is the international office for several political groups fighting Pakistani occupation of Kashmir. UKPNP secretary general Sardar Ishtiaq Hussain addressed a press conference in Bagh following the arrest of Shaukat Ali Kashmiri to warn of an agitation if the party leader is not releasedThe Kashmir International Front has sent SOS messages to several governments in Europe and to human rights institutions such as Amnesty International. The Geneve-based International Secretariat of the World Organisations Against Torture, which claims to be the largest network of human rights organisations in the world, has sent a letter of protest to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

 

Its is ironic that the world is more worried about the falling trees; they are sad that our white leopard are vanishing day by day; the dead bodies of our Markhor frightens them; they are going all out to preserve our eco system.But nobody ever thinks of the people of this land,” says Raja Hussain Khan Maqpoon, editor of K2, Gilgit-Baltistan’s only newspaper, a weekly. The tinge of sarcasm in his comment is obvious in his publication too.

‘This land’ refers to Pakistan’s Northern Areas, spread over 28,000 sq. miles with a population of two million, comprising Gilgit and Baltistan on the border of Azad Kashmir-a sensitive and strategic area from Pakistan point of view.

“They Have Never Trusted Us”, says PoK Leader

‘Sarzamin-Be-Ain Ki Awaz’ (the voice of constitution-less land) flashes from K2 masthead, a brave attempt in a region where where everything is considered suspicious by the power-that-be. Even ordinary documents are jealously guarded an attempt by to get hold of the copies of the Northern Areas Council’s (see fact files) Rules of Biasness, Rules of Procedure, Legal Framework and even their annual development plan (ADP) failed. Apparently, in the Northern Areas these Apparently documents. Elsewhere in the country, similarly documents are openly accessible.From 1947 till 1972 the northern areas were governed by the FCR (Frontier Crimes Regulations), denying the locals even their basic rights. There is much resentment here at the fact the FCR remained in force 25 years after independence, until it was belatedly lifted by Z.A. Bhutto.

“They (the pakistan government) have never trusted us. From day one, that is , November 1, 1947, till now we cannot govern our own land. If we are given that right, they think all hell will break lose,” says the fiery Amir Hamza, a resident of Gilgit and a former SSP of Gizr district.

Amir Hamza has been fighting for the rights of the people of Gilgit and Baltistan since his college days, 1967-71, when he and his friends formed Gilgit-Baltistan Jamhoori Mahaz. His family wanted him to join civil service but he knew he wont be happy there, being inclined towards politics. His party one point demand was: allow us participation in Pakistan National Assembly or give us status like Azad Kashmir Assembly. A demand for which Hamza was jailed various times in his youth.

India may sign 123 Agreement on October 10

India may sign 123 Agreement on October 10

 

The Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Deal — or the so-called 123 Agreement — is expected to be signed in Washington on October 10, two days after the US President George W Bush would sign into law the legislation in this regard passed by the US Congress last week.

 

Informative sources in the State Department told NDTV.com that the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to arrive in Washington later this week to ink the deal with his US counterpart, the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The 123 Agreement was initially expected to be signed over the weekend in New Delhi during the visit of Rice to India. But this could not be signed because of what the officials termed as procedural matters.

However, it is believed that India was reluctant to sign the agreement before Bush signs the US India Civilian Nuclear Cooperation and Enhancement Act into law. The Act was passed by the Congress last week.

At a function at the White House on October 8, President Bush is scheduled to sign the bill in presence of a select group of Indian-American leaders and eminent officials and lawmakers who played a key role in its Congressional passage.

The signing of the 123 Agreement — the text of which has already been agreed upon and was released by both the US and Indian governments on August 3, 2007 — would bring to an end the process which was started with the issuing of a joint statement by Bush and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 18, 2005, when the latter visited Washington on a state visit.

The agreement would also start a new era of relationship between India and the US, with the American corporate world entering into separate agreements with India on civilian use of nuclear technology by India, mostly for generation of electricity.

A number of US companies have already expressed their keen interest in entering into business tie up with India in the field of civilian nuclear energy. With the US economy in a bad shape, US companies and the Bush Administration now expects that the Indian Government would expedite the process.

India has insisted that all international players would get a level playing field and economical viability of the projects would be the sole criteria while awarding projects. Besides US companies, those from Russia and France too are vying for Indian nuclear energy projects. France already inked a deal with India last week when Manmohan Singh was in Paris.

Terror email case cracked, cops say hacker employed with top IT company

Terror email case cracked, cops say hacker employed with top IT company 6 Oct 2008, 1816 hrs IST,Times Now

MUMBAI: Mumbai Police claimed to have made a major breakthrough in the blast terror e-mail case. Highly placed sources in the Mumbai Police claimed t hat they have taken into custody the elusive hacker behind the Indian Mujahideen terror emails. ( Watch ) The cops also claimed to have arrested as many as 15 people for their involvement in the Delhi, Ahmedabad, Surat and Bangalore blasts. Those arrested include Mohammad Azghar (31), Mohammad Shaikh (24) and Asif Bashiruddin Shaikh (22). Police said that the hacker is a highly qualified software engineer working with a top IT multinational in Mumbai at a senior position. Police sources also said that he belongs to a highly educated family and is also a high net-worth individual. The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had traced the e-mail sent to a media house by people claiming to belong to the Indian Mujahideen to the WiFi network of Matunga’s Khalsa College of Arts, Science and Commerce. The email had been sent at 7.05 pm on Saturday. Earlier investigations had shown that the senders hacked into the WiFi facility of the college, said the cops. But investigations reached a dead end when the senders deleted their log entries immediately after using the network. The Indian Mujahideen group had earlier used a non-secure WiFi network at the Navi Mumbai residence of American national Kenneth Haywood to send an email to various news organizations on July 26, just five minutes before the Ahmedabad explosions. In that case, Haywood’s WiFi router had its security features disabled.

VIRTUAL MILITARY RULE IN POK

With the election of Maj.Gen.Sardar Mohammad Anwar Khan, former Vice-Chief of the General Staff, as the so-called President of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) on August 1,2001, POK has been brought under virtual military rule, with Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, the elected Prime Minister, reduced to a figurehead.  Maj.Gen. Anwar Khan had earlier taken premature retirement from the Army on July 30,2001, to enable him to contest the election.

As already reported, Maj.Gen.Anwar Khan, of the Sudhan tribe, is believed to be related to Lt.Gen.Mohammad Aziz Khan, one of the two Corps Commanders at Lahore, who is the clandestine Chief of Staff of Pakistan’s Army of Islam, consisting of Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) and the Al Badr, of the East Pakistan notoriety.

Maj.Gen.Anwar Khan has been operating more from the GHQ in Rawalpindi than from Muzaffarabad, the capital of POK, and has already started imposing his will on the POK administration.  He rejected a proposal from Sikandar Hayat Khan for the inclusion of Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, son of Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan of the Muslim Conference, in his Cabinet.

Gen.Pervez Musharraf, the self-reinstated Chief of the Army Staff, the self-styled Chief Executive and the self-promoted President of Pakistan, has been unhappy over the statements issued by Qayyum Khan last year welcoming the initiatives of Mr.A.B.Vajpayee, the Indian Prime Minister, for peace in Jammu & Kashmir. He had earlier ruled out the election of Qayyum Khan as the President of the POK and has now made Maj.Gen.Anwar Khan disapprove the inclusion of his son as a Minister.

The swearing-in of the new Cabinet was delayed by a fortnight since Maj.Gen.Anwar Khan wanted the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Muree, Major General Shahid Aziz, to clear all the names before they were sworn in.  Ultimately, a Cabinet consisting of the following eight members was announced on the night of August 13, 2001: Syed Mumtaz Ali Gilani and Mufti Mansoor from Muzaffarabad, Sardar Ameer Akbar Khan from Bagh, Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan from Rawalakot, Raja Nisar Ahmad Khan from Kotli, Chaudhry Masood Khalid from Mirpur, Shah Gulam Qadir and Hafiz Raza.  The place of origin of the last two Ministers is not known.

It is reported that while the pay and allowances of the first six Ministers would be paid from the budget of the POK, which is actually prepared by Abbas Sarfaraz Khan, Federal Minister for Kashmir and Northern Areas Affairs, and got approved by the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council presided over by Musharraf, those of the last two would be met partly from the budget of the ISI-run Kashmir Liberation Cell and partly from the zakat fund.  The reasons for this difference are not clear.

Maj.Gen.Anwar Khan, who has reportedly been entrusted with the task of intensifying the terrorist activities of the jehadi organisation in J & K, has already had separate meetings with the United Jehad Council headed by Syed Salahuddin of the Hizbul Mujahideen and the leaders of the constitutent units of the Army of Islam.  Both the meetings were reportedly held in the Kashmir House in Islamabad.

He is also reported to have already ordered a series of measures to revamp the working of the Muzaffarabad-based Kashmir Liberation Cell—such as stepping up its psywar activities through radio, TV and Internet with greater focus on audio recordings and video clips recording the intifada of the Palestinians against Israel in order to motivate the Kashmiris to emulate the Palestinians, greater co-ordination of the ground operations etc.

He has also taken up the priority task of pressurising the local leadership, administration, non-governmental organisations and public opinion to give up their opposition to the proposal initiated by the Musharraf Government last year to increase the height of the Mangla Dam in order to make more water and electricity available to the farmers of Punjab.

There were widespread demonstrations against the proposal all over the POK last year and the previous Government of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) headed by the then Prime Minister, Barrister Sultan Mahmud Chaudhury, had also strongly opposed it.

There was a running dispute between the former POK Government and the military junta in Islamabad over the following questions:

* The Federal Government’s failure to share with the POK administration the profits from the Mangla Dam constructed in POK territory for the benefit of the farmers and electricity consumers of Punjab in the 1960s.  A spokesman of the previous PPP Government in Muzaffarabad said: “Mangla Dam, one of the major projects of the country, is constructed within the territorial limits of AJ&K (Azad Jammu & Kashmir) and the net profit earned by the authority (the Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan ) from the dam should have been shared with the Government of AJK, but WAPDA did not do so.”  He also said that the WAPDA had earned a net profit of Rs 87,772,560 million from the Mangla Dam since its commissioning, but it had not shared a single rupee out of this with the POK Government.

* Reimbursement to the POK Government of the expenditure incurred by it on the construction of the power transmission and distribution network inside the POK. According to the previous PPP Government, “the agreement signed by the WAPDA and the AJK government at the time of the dam’s construction had provided that the construction of the power supply infrastructure in AJK was the liability of WAPDA, but WAPDA could not do so. Consequently, the AJ&K government completed this job by incurring an amount of Rs 3500 million from its own pocket and also maintained the same.” The previous PPP Government was demanding that this amount should have been reimbursed to it by the Federal Government, which it has not done so.

* The refusal of the previous PPP Government to pay to the WAPDA outstanding dues amounting to Rs 1,567 million for the period ending March 2001.  The WAPDA has been claiming this for the power supplied by it to the consumers in the POK.

* The refusal of the previous PPP Government to pay General Sales Tax on the power supplied by the WAPDA on the ground that the WAPDA had no jurisdiction to levy GST in POK territory.

 In a statement issued on August 6,2001, the President of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation League (JKLL) and former Chief Justice of the POK High Court, Abdul Majeed Malick, said there was no justification for raising the level of the Mangla Dam.  He added:”The people of Mirpur should not be disturbed once again and if there is a water crisis in Pakistan, then the Federal Government should construct the Kalabagh Dam (outside the POK).”He disputed the WAPDA’s claim that only 40,000 people would be displaced as a result of the extension and asserted that around 100,000 people would be displaced and two tehsils of district Mirpur would be submerged.  He pointed out that the people of the POK, who were displaced by the original construction of the dam in the 1960s, had not been provided with any relief so far.  According to him, they were promised alternate land in Punjab, but this promise was never kept.

 

There has been considerable pressure on Musharraf from the Punjabi farmers and from the Punjabi Generals, many of whom come from rich Punjabi land-owning families, for the implementation of the project for raising the height of the dam.  Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan has given indications that he might be inclined to go along with Islamabad on this issue provided effective measures were taken for the relief of the affected people.

In the meanwhile, there were three explosions in POK organised by unidentified elements coinciding with the election of Maj.Gen.Anwar Khan as the President.  One Pakistani Army soldier was killed and two others were injured when a bomb exploded in a bus in POK near Forward Kahuta village on August 3, 2001.  In another incident the same day, three armymen were killed and four others injured when a vehicle in which they were travelling from Muzaffarabad fell into the Jhelum river near village Tandali after an explosion.  The previous evening, there was another explosion on the roof of a passenger bus, killing a soldier and injuring another soldier and a passenger near Tungeri village in Bagh district of POK.  The bus was proceeding to Rawalpindi. 

 

 

More die as clashes continue in India’s troubled Assam

By Biswajyoti Das

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) – Police used helicopters to spot armed mobs attacking Muslims in India’s troubled northeast on Tuesday, where clashes between indigenous tribesmen and settlers have left 47 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Police said four people died from their wounds overnight. More than 85,000 people have lost their homes and are being sheltered in government camps after the clashes broke out last week between mainly Hindu tribesmen and Muslim Bangladeshi settlers in the oil and tea-rich state of Assam.

“At least 47 people had lost their lives so far,” said R.N. Mathur, Assam’s police chief. Muslims have responded with some violence as well, he said.

The clashes have reignited a long-simmering conflict as local Assam tribes, mainly Hindu but with some Christians, fear being overrun by Muslim immigrants. More than 40 percent of Assam is now Muslim, mainly immigrant settlers.

The violence is some of the worst since 1983, when more than 2,000 people, mainly Bangladeshi immigrants, were killed in clashes with tribal peoples in central Assam.

The current conflict was sparked by an increasingly strong student movement that has been campaigning against immigrants, analysts say.

Police said fresh clashes were being reported from southern Assam where at least 25 rubber plantation workers were attacked by Muslim settlers in Goalpara district.

Mathur said an additional 500 federal police had been deployed in the state where hundreds of security forces were already trying to control the situation.

He said helicopters were being used to spot movement of mobs in remote areas.

“It is not possible to have static security posts in each and every village, so we have intensified patrolling in remote areas,” said Himanta Biswa Sarma, a minister supervising security and relief measures.

These clashes are the latest bout of violence to hit India. In the eastern Orissa state, clashes between Hindus and Christians over conversions have killed at least 36 people.

In Assam, officials have blamed the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), a tribal separatist group, for being behind the violence. Security forces have caught four NDFB militants with weapons in the violence-hit area.

The NDFB, a largely Christian group, has held to a cease-fire with New Delhi over the past few years and has denied the charge. Tribal groups blame New Delhi for neglecting their welfare, ignoring development of the region and flooding the area with outsiders.

Ringed by China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, India’s northeast is home to more than 200 tribes and has been racked by separatist revolts since India gained independence from Britain in 1947.

McCain’s jabs fall short of Obama

By Richard Wolffe
NEWSWEEK

In some ways, it wasn’t a fair contest.

John McCain was facing not one but two opponents. One was the Democratic nominee sitting on the bar stool across the red-carpeted stage from him. The other was his own veep nominee – who drew 70 million viewers to her debate against Joe Biden last week.

For McCain to “win”, Obama would’ve had to slip on a banana peel during one of his ambles – whether rhetorical or actual. He didn’t come close.

 

Sarah Palin understood clearly the techniques that work on television. The substance is not what matters most; rather it’s the optics, and the angles, and the ability to project affability and warmth through the lens of the camera perched over the moderator’s shoulder.

That lesson was lost on John McCain in Nashville on Wednesday, who seemed to think that a town hall debate on television was the same as a town hall debate in a real town hall.

He paced up and down in fits and starts as he spoke. He leapt from subject to subject, soundbite to soundbite. Between answers, he sat down and scribbled page after page of notes, then jumped up and paced around silently.

Early on, he seemed ill at ease in engaging with his questioners; how close should he stand? And how much should he look at them? His approach seemed to present a serious challenge to the show’s producers, as they struggled to find the best way to frame McCain’s interactions.

There was no questioning the Republican nominee’s energy level; he seemed to have enough pent-up force to power a sub-station.

Pressure on McCain

Barack Obama, by contrast, barely touched his note pad, sat firmly in his seat when he wasn’t answering, picked a spot to stand in addressing his questioner and stuck to it.

He didn’t light the place up with his energy level, and critics will maintain that his cool demeanour still doesn’t connect with Main Street voters. But he moved easily about the stage, and seemed far more comfortable without a podium than his rival did.

Which is unusual, given McCain’s professed love of the town-hall setting. It was the McCain camp, after all, that had proposed a town-hall forum every week during early discussions about the debate schedule.

Despite McCain’s attacks, Obama seemed more at ease

Given the instant polls gauging the outcome Tuesday night, McCain ought to be grateful that Obama said no: a CNN poll showed a 24-point lead for Obama.

Heading into the showdown in Nashville, the pressure was largely on McCain.

Trailing in national polls and in a number of the key battleground states, he knew he needed to play up his national security credentials, raise questions about Obama’s experience-and try to reverse voters’ rising confidence in the Democratic Party’s ability to address their economic concerns.

He came out swinging, as he had done in the first debate. He bashed Obama on earmarks, and hit him again over his diplomatic posture vis-a-vis talks with Iran.

But at times, McCain seemed to sense that the audience might not be buying it – as though he was aware of the risks of attacking when many surveys suggest that the blows have driven his own negatives up.

Addressing a question that touched on the Bush administration’s energy legislation, he said: “By the way, my friends, I know you grow a little weary with this back and forth. It was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one,” McCain said, pointing to Obama.

“You know who voted against it? Me.” With that, he grinned like he’d just hit the jackpot on the slots.

Family values

Obama smiled through the attacks, but he was less generous with his praise than he’d been during their previous meeting in Mississippi.

Gone were the frequent nods to “John” being “right”, or absolutely right, on a whole host of issues.

At one point, he feinted in that direction, allowing that his opponent regarded him as “green behind the ears” (cliche police: that’s green, senator, or wet behind the ears).

But even as McCain called out a thank you, Obama wheeled and stuck in the shiv, reminding audiences that the supposedly mature one on stage had been the guy who once sang “Bomb Iran” to the tune of a Beach Boys ditty, and called for the “annihilation of North Korea.”

Obama also seemed determined to defuse another line of criticism – that he fails to connect with voters on a personal and emotional level.

He talked about how his mother had scrapped with insurance companies on her death bed, how the family had been on food stamps, and how his grandmother scrimped so that the family could afford to give him a first-class education.

And he sought to express empathy with his questioners as they described their own financial struggles. He hardly rivalled Bill Clinton’s ability to feel their pain- but he did express some of his own.

McCain remains a formidable presence – a tough debater relentlessly on the attack. But he needed a knockdown Tuesday night to help change the narrative of the campaign. At the end, Obama was still standing, and smiling.

On to Round Three.

Report on Pandit killings rekindles communal fissures in Valley

Kashmiri Pandit groups have reacted sharply to media reports that the Jammu and Kashmiri Police has prepared a report saying that ‘only’ 209 Kashmiri Pandits have been killed in the Valley since 1989. The police, however, deny having prepared or published any such report.

Some recent media reports had claimed that the first such report by the J&K police said that 209 Kashmiri Pandits had been killed by militants since 1989. In only 24 of these cases had chargesheets been filed whereas in 115 cases the killers remain unknown. The 24 chargesheets resulted in 31 local militants being booked but the only conviction that has taken place is of three militants for gunning down rights activist HN Wanchoo on 5 December 1995.

“We have not prepared any such report and don’t know what these media reports are alluding to,” Kashmir IGP SM Sahay told Sakaal Times. The six pages long report is said to list more names of more than 1500 minorities, but most of them Sikhs and non-Pandit Hindus from Jammu.

“This is a grossly under-reported figure,” said Agnishekhar of Panun Kashmir. “I have myself made a presentation before Amnesty International in 1993 about 450 killings and AsiaWatch NGO has recorded 1,200,” he told Sakaal Times from Jammu. He demaded that this list of 209 be published so that families of those who have not been named can make there representations before the police.

“That it took them 18 years to even make such a report speaks of their callousness,” said Agnishekhar of Panun Kashmir. “It shows they never wanted to do it in the first place as they want to hide the truth about the ethnic cleansing and Islamic communalism.” He alleged that this comes at a time when the government is trying to force the Pandits to return to the Valley without a guarantee of peace. “It is part of an effort to hoodwink the nation and the world,” he told Sakaal Times.

Ajay Churjoo of another faction of Panun Kashmir said that the Relief Commissioner recognizes 750 killings and even in the 90’s the J&K government recognized 450 and granted ex-gratia compensation to more than 350. “Many killings were not even recorded. Instead of investigating them they are busy reducing the figure,” he said.

“Even if one goes by a layman’s account of Pandits killed in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989 the number would be higher than 1000 but it isn’t about mere numbers,”  said one of Kashmiri Pandit organization.

“The Panun Kashmir website itself lists around 300 names. I don’t know how they claim 1,200″ said Zahiruddin, editor of the Kashmiri paper Etalaat. “Even if one Pandit was killed it is bad enough. It is not about numbers,” he said, adding, “but some groups want to exaggerate the numbers and then compare it with the Holocaust. That does not make sense.” The website http://www.kashmiri-pandit.org/projectr3/ lists names and details of 363 Pandits killed between 1990 and 2003.

Khurram Parvez of the Jammu & Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society said that while the killing of even one Pandit was condemnable, his organization is investigation how many of the known Pandit killings were due to the religious identity of the victims and how many due to their political identities. “If a Kashmiri Pandit politician or intelligence agent was killed he is not killed because he was a Pandit,” said Parvez, adding, “And many are listed as unknown. If you don’t know their identity how do you know they were Pandits?” He alleged that the police was denying making such a report as the elections are approaching and the ruling Congress party does not want to alienate the small but powerful voting block of Pandits in the Valley who have traditionally been Congress voters.

The alleged report has rekindled communal fissures in the valley. Khurram’s colleague Parvez Imroz said, “A lot of people in the majority community (Muslims) who have sympathy for the plight of the Pandits are discomfited when Pandits get national media attention but not the killing of innocent Muslims. The recent discovery of a mass anonymous grave of over 900 Muslims has been largely ignored by the Delhi media,” he said.

Amongst the accused for Pandit killings are Yasin Malik and his organization, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. JKLF member Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karatay, called “Butcher of Pandits” by Pandit groups, was released in 2006 for want of evidence. He had already spent 16 years in jail. JKLF president Yasin Malik refused to comment. “There are no charges against me and I have nothing to say,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition in the J&K Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather of the National Conference said the the reason for almost no conviction was a practical problem: “When militancy was at its peak in the valley nobody would dare to come out and be a wwitness. Militants would often be masked and kill in the night. You couldn’t identify them,” he said.

Agreeing with him, People’s Democratic Party spokesperson Mehbooba Mufti told Sakaal Times: “Conviction rates are low even for killings of Muslims as well. We can’t see violence against Pandits in isolation. And why forget the Sikhs of Chattisinghpora or the Hindus of Jammu who have been killed?”

She refused to comment on the Pandit groups’ demand for an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation or by a committee heahed by a Supreme Court judge. However, Mukul Sharma of Amnesty International supported such a demand, adding that one good option for an inquiry are the UN agencies who have been banned from doing so in Kashmir by the Indian government.

Balawaristan: BNF Chief Abdul Hamid Speech to a Historic Gathering

English translation of Chairman Balawaristan National Front (BNF) Abdul Hamid Khan’s telephonic address to a public gathering at Gahkuch dated June 8, 2008

Balawaristan: BNF Chief Abdul Hamid Speech to a Historic Gathering

My dear brothers, sisters of Gilgit-Baltistan, Ladakh, Chitral and Kohistan; youth of BNSO, GBDA Leaders and distinguished guests,

I am proud of the fact that after ten years’ separation, I have the opportunity to address a public gathering at Gahkuch today. My brothers, sisters and respected elders, I am not a leader nor a Quaid but a servant of my people. The word leader or Quaid is not a self-proclaimed title but a trust of a nation. Whoever a nation likes bestows the honor on him. This can only be possible when a person remains steadfast in his struggle for a national cause and stand by his nation, not the one who takes side with the usurpers. If anyone of you comes forward and dedicates himself to the struggle for taking the nation out of the whirpool and lead the people, the nation will choose him/her as their leader.

I want to let you know, I never keep my nation in dark by make cheap and emotional statements. I try to clear my stand according to the international laws and principles. Our stand does not only fulfil UNO but also matches with the legal stand of Pakistan. But this an ironic that Pakistan has always been discouraged our peaceful and democratic struggle, whether it’s so-called democratic government of Military dictatorship. This was not because our illegal stand, but because of the double standard of government of Pakistan itself. The stand of Pakistan to its public and national media was different than its international and legal stand, this was the reason the treatment of every consecutive governments of Pakistan either Military of civilian were pro-people. Sometimes Pakistani regimes were being avoiding to give our deserved rights by the pretext of sensitivity of our country (Balawaristan) and sometimes by the pretext of Kashmir dispute and its own constitution. In spite of all that if any one dared to raise any question or challenge their occupation, Pakistan has been trying to eliminate such people from its way. This was the reason, my life was under threat when I brought its inhuman treatment and illegal occupation to the UN and other member countries of the democratic world. Our bosses (not our rulers, because we never caste any vote to them) do not like bitter truth and whoever speaks truth they use bullet to silence his/her voice, like what they did with 80 years old Balochi leader Nawab Akbar Bugti. Government of Pakistan also wants to eliminate me forever, because I am alone ,who presents the true face of Pakistani occupation forces in Balawaristan (Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) to the international community.

As you know that I did not leave my country because of livelihood of me or my children, but because to save my life as well as the life of 2 million enslave people of this region. I have to inform the international community about the misery caused due to the illegal occupation of Pakistan since 16th Nov. 1947. This will be your assessment and you are the judge, whether I have been able to put your case in good direction or not.

I would like to tell something about religious or sectarian violence. This is a kind of diseases, which has been injected in to the bodies of our nation, when our people stood united against the occupation of Pakistan and it’s ill-treatment and un-democratic behaviour since 1971. The deceased national leader of Punyal Fazlur Rahamn Alamgir and Adv. Sher Wali who is luckily present among you, were released from Jail by breaking it by the public when we were united without religious and sectarian differences. Since then Pakistani occupying regime and its intelligence agencies are creating sectarian tension among us. As a result hundreds and hundreds innocent people lost their lives, but no one has been given punishment even for a single day so far. The reason of giving free hand to the murderers and conspirators, because the murderer, conspirator and judge were the same occupation regime. How a killer and conspirator can diliver judgement against himself? This was the reason behind our 60 years long slavery. Our motherland has become the last colony of 21st Century. We don’t have any share and any right to say anything in our house (motherland). We were innocent and simpleton, that why we querrled each other on sectarian basis and the enemies (Pakistan Pathans and Punjabis) ruled us without hindrance because of our disunity. Today we have no control over our water resources, we don’t have control over our mountains and plains. All kind of our resources are plundered by Pakistani occupying regime, who do not face any challenge from us, because we don’t fight them and we don’t have any institutional or representative body to challenge their authority. I appeal to the sisters, brothers, don’t involve in to any kind of crime like killing a religious or sectarian culprit, if we need our properties and motherland is under our control. You should not kill anyone on the basis of religious differences even if anyone provokes you. If you kill anyone it means you are fulfilling the evil design of our enemy, whose design is to divide us by sectarian clashes and then rule on us without any hindrance. I hope that you all will promise to be united and don’t involved yourself in to sectarianism. Revive your historical blood relation without any discrimination and get your rights guaranteed.

Some people blame us that we are anti-Pakistan and want to break Pakistan. This is wrong and misinterpretation of intelligence agencies and their puppets.

As a country we are not against Pakistan. But we are against the illegal occupation of Pakistan and it’s wrong policies since 16 Nov. 1947.

I sent congratulation to the Pakistan Muslim League N and Pakistan People’s Party, when they got success in recent elections against the Military dictator. This is because we support democracy and do not support dictatorship and monarch and kingdom throughout the world. This congratulation to Pakistani Political parties does not mean that we have changed our stand and accepted the illegal occupation and atrocities of Pakistan NO NEVER.

We don’t take any plea for making dispute our motherland with the J&K. This was Pakistan which has made this area as disputed part of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) for its own interest not for us. This was Pakistan long stand in UN and other international fora that Balawaristan (Gilgit Baltistan) is not part of Pakistan because it’s a disputed part of J&K. If we quote the same thing, that Gilgit Baltistan is not part of Pakistan then why government of Pakistan and it’s agencies become ferocious and try to eliminate such people who speak the truth.

You are the witness in the past that we did not take part in the elections of Pakistan and you observed recently, that the 2 million people of Balawaristan have no right in the elections of Pakistan. What does it mean, because we are not Pakistani citizens. We don’t have any involvement in the elections of Pakistani President, Prime Minister and Ministers and even members of Pakistani Assemblies. There is no single word in the constitution of Pakistan about our area. If we are not a part of Pakistan , then how the question of breaking it arises and how we can break it. There is no logic behind this blame, that we the nationalists of Balawaristan are trying to break and disintegrate of Pakistan.

We don’t have any evil intention against Pakistan. We don’t want to disintegrate Pakistan. Pakistanis themselves are involved in the disintegration of Pakistan, because of its long Military rule. Pakistanis themselves broken Pakistan in 1971 by killing and raping Bengalis. Now Pakistani are trying to break Baluchistan and Sindh provinces by killing them and creating terror. Pakistan have 4 provinces and 8 tribal regions. Pakistan compromises on these 4 Provinces and 8 Tribal agencies. Pakistan can be divided in to pieces or can be disintegrated, if and when any of its province or Tribal agency is separated. Pakistan does not break or disintegrate if and when Balawaristan gets FREEDOM, because its not part of Pakistan. Its the obligation of Pakistan to end its occupation over Balawaristan and its occupied J&K according to UNCIP resolutions.

According to UNCIP resolutions, the stage of Balawaristan and J&K to annex or merge in to Pakistan OR India is still awaited.

But Pakistan could have given Special Provincial powers OR it occupied J&K like setup till the decision of the whole J&K issue. But Pakistan cannot make this part as its own territory or province in the presence of UN resolutions. The people who demand for province of Pakistan or Pakistani constitutional rights are either sycophants and want to get personal benefits and do not bother about the interest of the people and don’t bother about the International laws. Due to such people the hatred and opposition among the people of Balawaristan against Pakistan is on the high ever today.

The audience, instead of rulers, when I say Boss or masters, some people may raise objection. Objection and different opinion is the soul of the democracy and we accept it. But we don’t consider those as our rulers, who we did not elect by our votes. Those can be termed as rulers and are respected as rulers, who have become elected by our votes. Pakistanis do impose themselves on us without any legal agreement or any justification, because we did not vote them and we did not endorse them. Pakistani do impose them by the force. Some time they choose the designation of Minister of Kashmir and Northern Areas Affairs (KANA) with full powers like an ancient king and sometimes they use the designation as Chief Executive and no Chairman, whatever the designation the same Pakistani imposed Minister is acting as king with impunity and above the law.

My dear brothers and sisters, I am very happy that the youth of our nation has gained political wisdom and our nation is awakening today. This is a result of the struggle of all of you. The main proof of this national awakening is that the nation and especially our colleagues in GBDA did not waste even a second and informed the nation about the hollowness of the so-called package announced by Pervez Musharraf. This was a sign of unity of the nation too.
You know that what are the obstacles and hindrances in the path of freedom. A propaganda has been launched against me in connivance with the occupiers since 1999 in which some of our constrained brothers in the media are also involved. It has been made a crime even to take my name. Last year when I stepped into a free world from the life of solitude and started to represent you in the European Parliament and other international forums, the intensity of the smear campaign against me intensified at the national and international levels. I am happy to say that our people through their wisdom and sagacity have foiled the conspiracies of the usurpers and their agents. It shows that our destiny is not far away, because the nation is not in slumber and illusion like in the past. The nation now understands that sectarianism and lack of political awareness are the main causes of slavery.
My brothers and respected colleagues, you tell me is there any nation in the world who accepts slavery of others in the name of religion. Don’t you deserve freedom? Will you not remain Muslim if you got independence? Were we not Muslims before Pakistan occupied us? In fact, before 1947, we were good Muslims and good human being but as soon as our interaction with the Pakistanis increased our standard of character started to degrade. To be a good Muslim, a person should possess a good moral character and should not fall prey to the shenanigans of occupiers and their agents. These people exploit your resources by enslaving you and push you to the abysmal depth of immorality by eliminating your culture, history and identity.
Pakistan very cleverly made us its slave in 1947 due to our innocence and political immaturity. It also made the area liberated by our forefathers disputed without even their information. On April 28, 1949, the United Nations through a resolution asked Pakistan to withdraw its troops from Gilgit-Baltistan within seven weeks. Pakistan sought twelve weeks to implement the UN resolution which was acceded to by the world body. Besides, Pakistan was also asked to ensure self-rule in Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Did the Pakistani troops went back or self-rule was ensured in the area? No, instead of implanting the UN resolution Pakistan kept on consolidating its occupation. Look at Pakistan’s sincerity: the day when the UN asked it to withdraw its troops from the region on April 28, 1949, Pakistan entered into a bogus agreement with Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas and Sardar Ibrahim of Kashmir to perpetuate its rule on you. Later, Sardar Ibrahim himself declared the so-called pact fake. Even our revolutionary troops and the so-called Mirs were kept out of the bogus agreement.
Pakistan has also looted our land and resources like war booty. The construction of Basha Dam is also a part of the conspiracy to drown our land and destroy our culture and history.
Dear friends, under the divide and rule policy, Pakistan has succeeded to divide the people of Gilgit-Baltistan on sectarian lines and deprive them of their rights. Pakistan’s so-called leaders sent thousands of NLI personnel to Kargil like mercenaries and when they sacrificed their lives the credit was given to the so-called mujahideen. In this war, our 3,000 brothers were killed and hundreds others made paralyzed. Ironically, Pakistan accepted the dead bodies of its citizens but refused that of our brothers terming them mujahideen. As a result, scores of bodies of our brothers were buried in the mountain of Kargil. Through human rights organizations we appeal to the elected government of Pakistan to arrange the return of the NLI personnel’s bodies to bury them in their hometowns. We also demand that Musharraf should stand trial for killing 3,000 NLI personnel in the Kargil misadventure.
My brothers and sisters, our elders were sent to jail when they demanded a separate province; when they talked of constitutional rights they were put behind bars and when they sought right to vote they were also imprisoned. When emergency was declared in Pakistan, the whole Pakistanis rose in revolt, but no one cares about Gilgit-Baltistan where two million people have been rotting under a perpetual martial law –like rule for the last over 60 years. Did our elders liberate Gilgit-Baltistan only to live a life of slavery in the 21st century.
Our brothers are not trusted for the posts of a DCO or an SSP. Government officials from Gilgit-Baltistan are looked down upon. Have we no right to become the prime minister, president, chief justice of the Supreme Court or the army chief? But if you join Pakistan your destiny would be to become voters of Pakistani leaders only. We have not one but hundreds of able personnel in the NLI and outside in the presence of whom people like Ziaul Haq and Musharraf have no quality even to become a Havaldar. But as long as we remain under the control of Pakistan our destiny would remain the same.
Ladies and gentlemen, Pakistan always refers to the UN resolutions due to which it cannot amalgamate Gilgit-Baltistan in its constitution nor can make it its province. In the constitution, there is no mention of Gilgit-Baltistan, because the international community does not recognize Gilgit-Baltistan as part of Pakistan, but a disputed part of Kashmir. As a result, the demand by some of our friends for the constitutional rights or a separate province is not given much importance, because Pakistan cannot include Gilgit-Baltistan in its constitution by separating it from the Kashmir dispute. By making it a province or allocating a few seats in parliament, Pakistan cannot take the risk of violating its own stance or that of the UN. However, the region can be given a special provincial status without bringing it under the constitution of Pakistan.
But Pakistan has treated us as its slave for the last over 60 years, not due to constitutional constraints but because of the ill intentions of its rulers. Pakistan has maintained its control on Gilgit-Baltistan not through any law or principle but under the fake law of April 28, 1949. Now the time has come we exposed the fakeness of the document and take action against those behind the bogus document. Now our nation should expedite efforts to become a respectable nation of the world instead of remaining slaves of others by dividing itself on sectarian lines.
Dear friends, you should never pin any hope on these occupiers of our land who divided you on sectarian basis and destroyed your unity besides looting your natural resources. In the presence of the usurpers, our rights and honor can never remain safe. To expect anything good from those who have kept us in slavery for the last over 60 years would be equal to deceive your future generation.
My dear brothers and sisters, today we have to ask ourselves whether we have to further waste our time in struggling to become voters of Pakistani leaders or have to think of attaining our own rights and live as an independent nation in the civilized world. This is a decision which you have to take. As far as BNF is concerned, we have long ago decided not to live a slave’s life, not to remain Pakistan’s voters, we do not need the continuation of judicial commissioner but need our own high court and supreme court which would not be under the control of Pakistan. We do not need NALA but want an independent legislative assembly. The NA council has been renamed as NALA as it deserved. This is not a legislative assembly but is in a true term has become a Nallah of Pakistani cities. The Nallah is not of the pure water flowing down from our land but a congestion of gutter and sewage which has become stinking like Nallah Lai of the 1970s. The members of NALA cheat not only themselves but the whole nation by considering themselves as equal to MNAs. Since 1970s, these councillors have always preferred their own interests on the interests of the people. Today a responsible citizen of Pakistan understands the injustices done with the people of the region but for these councillors even the interest of a PWD engineer has more value than that of the nation and the region. These councillors have always felt proud of meeting an SP or a DC and have betrayed the people and supported the usurpers. They have never raised a voice for the rights of the masses and always preferred their own vested interests. This does not mean that I have personal grudge with a few councillors but I am referring to all the members of the council as a whole who have kept our people in the dark. These opportunist members of NALA are equally responsible, along with the Pakistani rulers, for keeping our people deprived of their basic human and constitutional rights. I know that from today these NALA members will go two steps forward than the security agencies and their cohorts in spreading propaganda against me. But I do not care and would continue to inform my people about the actual situation and hope that the people would never be carried away by deception of the rulers like introduction of a package etc.

We appeal government of China to handover back our lands the part of Hunza, which had been given to it during British Empire before 1947 and the portion of Shimshal Hunza given by Pakistan in 1963. China is urged not to help Pakistan’s illegal and immoral occupation by constructing Railway track throughout Balawaristan and not to construct the disputed Diamar Dam. We also appeal government of China for not occupy our land and mountains by the pretext of mines lease of Yasen area and other places. It should be noted, that Pakistan has no legal authority to give any lease or to make any agreement on behalf of the people of Balawaristan, because it’s a disputed land and Pakistan has no legal authority. China is a super power of Asia and it should not involve itself in the occupation process of Pakistan.
We demand that the government of Pakistan withdraw its troops and civilian officials from Gilgit-Baltistan in accordance with its promise, Retrieve the land given to outsiders and allot it to the local owners. Our people do not need any NALA but an independent legislative assembly, we do not want the continuation of chief commissioner in the name of chief and appellate courts, we need an independent supreme court. We do not want a Balochistan type of identity but want an independent Balawaristan.
Long live GBDA

Abdul Hamid Khan
Chairman
Balawaristan National Front (BNF)
Head Office: Majini Mahla, Gilgit, Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan)
Website:

My dear brothers, sisters of Gilgit-Baltistan, Ladakh, Chitral and Kohistan; youth of BNSO, GBDA Leaders and distinguished guests,

I am proud of the fact that after ten years’ separation, I have the opportunity to address a public gathering at Gahkuch today. My brothers, sisters and respected elders, I am not a leader nor a Quaid but a servant of my people. The word leader or Quaid is not a self-proclaimed title but a trust of a nation. Whoever a nation likes bestows the honor on him. This can only be possible when a person remains steadfast in his struggle for a national cause and stand by his nation, not the one who takes side with the usurpers. If anyone of you comes forward and dedicates himself to the struggle for taking the nation out of the whirpool and lead the people, the nation will choose him/her as their leader.

I want to let you know, I never keep my nation in dark by make cheap and emotional statements. I try to clear my stand according to the international laws and principles. Our stand does not only fulfil UNO but also matches with the legal stand of Pakistan. But this an ironic that Pakistan has always been discouraged our peaceful and democratic struggle, whether it’s so-called democratic government of Military dictatorship. This was not because our illegal stand, but because of the double standard of government of Pakistan itself. The stand of Pakistan to its public and national media was different than its international and legal stand, this was the reason the treatment of every consecutive governments of Pakistan either Military of civilian were pro-people. Sometimes Pakistani regimes were being avoiding to give our deserved rights by the pretext of sensitivity of our country (Balawaristan) and sometimes by the pretext of Kashmir dispute and its own constitution. In spite of all that if any one dared to raise any question or challenge their occupation, Pakistan has been trying to eliminate such people from its way. This was the reason, my life was under threat when I brought its inhuman treatment and illegal occupation to the UN and other member countries of the democratic world. Our bosses (not our rulers, because we never caste any vote to them) do not like bitter truth and whoever speaks truth they use bullet to silence his/her voice, like what they did with 80 years old Balochi leader Nawab Akbar Bugti. Government of Pakistan also wants to eliminate me forever, because I am alone ,who presents the true face of Pakistani occupation forces in Balawaristan (Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) to the international community.

As you know that I did not leave my country because of livelihood of me or my children, but because to save my life as well as the life of 2 million enslave people of this region. I have to inform the international community about the misery caused due to the illegal occupation of Pakistan since 16th Nov. 1947. This will be your assessment and you are the judge, whether I have been able to put your case in good direction or not.

I would like to tell something about religious or sectarian violence. This is a kind of diseases, which has been injected in to the bodies of our nation, when our people stood united against the occupation of Pakistan and it’s ill-treatment and un-democratic behaviour since 1971. The deceased national leader of Punyal Fazlur Rahamn Alamgir and Adv. Sher Wali who is luckily present among you, were released from Jail by breaking it by the public when we were united without religious and sectarian differences. Since then Pakistani occupying regime and its intelligence agencies are creating sectarian tension among us. As a result hundreds and hundreds innocent people lost their lives, but no one has been given punishment even for a single day so far. The reason of giving free hand to the murderers and conspirators, because the murderer, conspirator and judge were the same occupation regime. How a killer and conspirator can diliver judgement against himself? This was the reason behind our 60 years long slavery. Our motherland has become the last colony of 21st Century. We don’t have any share and any right to say anything in our house (motherland). We were innocent and simpleton, that why we querrled each other on sectarian basis and the enemies (Pakistan Pathans and Punjabis) ruled us without hindrance because of our disunity. Today we have no control over our water resources, we don’t have control over our mountains and plains. All kind of our resources are plundered by Pakistani occupying regime, who do not face any challenge from us, because we don’t fight them and we don’t have any institutional or representative body to challenge their authority. I appeal to the sisters, brothers, don’t involve in to any kind of crime like killing a religious or sectarian culprit, if we need our properties and motherland is under our control. You should not kill anyone on the basis of religious differences even if anyone provokes you. If you kill anyone it means you are fulfilling the evil design of our enemy, whose design is to divide us by sectarian clashes and then rule on us without any hindrance. I hope that you all will promise to be united and don’t involved yourself in to sectarianism. Revive your historical blood relation without any discrimination and get your rights guaranteed.

Some people blame us that we are anti-Pakistan and want to break Pakistan. This is wrong and misinterpretation of intelligence agencies and their puppets.

As a country we are not against Pakistan. But we are against the illegal occupation of Pakistan and it’s wrong policies since 16 Nov. 1947.

I sent congratulation to the Pakistan Muslim League N and Pakistan People’s Party, when they got success in recent elections against the Military dictator. This is because we support democracy and do not support dictatorship and monarch and kingdom throughout the world. This congratulation to Pakistani Political parties does not mean that we have changed our stand and accepted the illegal occupation and atrocities of Pakistan NO NEVER.

We don’t take any plea for making dispute our motherland with the J&K. This was Pakistan which has made this area as disputed part of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) for its own interest not for us. This was Pakistan long stand in UN and other international fora that Balawaristan (Gilgit Baltistan) is not part of Pakistan because it’s a disputed part of J&K. If we quote the same thing, that Gilgit Baltistan is not part of Pakistan then why government of Pakistan and it’s agencies become ferocious and try to eliminate such people who speak the truth.

You are the witness in the past that we did not take part in the elections of Pakistan and you observed recently, that the 2 million people of Balawaristan have no right in the elections of Pakistan. What does it mean, because we are not Pakistani citizens. We don’t have any involvement in the elections of Pakistani President, Prime Minister and Ministers and even members of Pakistani Assemblies. There is no single word in the constitution of Pakistan about our area. If we are not a part of Pakistan , then how the question of breaking it arises and how we can break it. There is no logic behind this blame, that we the nationalists of Balawaristan are trying to break and disintegrate of Pakistan.

We don’t have any evil intention against Pakistan. We don’t want to disintegrate Pakistan. Pakistanis themselves are involved in the disintegration of Pakistan, because of its long Military rule. Pakistanis themselves broken Pakistan in 1971 by killing and raping Bengalis. Now Pakistani are trying to break Baluchistan and Sindh provinces by killing them and creating terror. Pakistan have 4 provinces and 8 tribal regions. Pakistan compromises on these 4 Provinces and 8 Tribal agencies. Pakistan can be divided in to pieces or can be disintegrated, if and when any of its province or Tribal agency is separated. Pakistan does not break or disintegrate if and when Balawaristan gets FREEDOM, because its not part of Pakistan. Its the obligation of Pakistan to end its occupation over Balawaristan and its occupied J&K according to UNCIP resolutions.

According to UNCIP resolutions, the stage of Balawaristan and J&K to annex or merge in to Pakistan OR India is still awaited.

But Pakistan could have given Special Provincial powers OR it occupied J&K like setup till the decision of the whole J&K issue. But Pakistan cannot make this part as its own territory or province in the presence of UN resolutions. The people who demand for province of Pakistan or Pakistani constitutional rights are either sycophants and want to get personal benefits and do not bother about the interest of the people and don’t bother about the International laws. Due to such people the hatred and opposition among the people of Balawaristan against Pakistan is on the high ever today.

The audience, instead of rulers, when I say Boss or masters, some people may raise objection. Objection and different opinion is the soul of the democracy and we accept it. But we don’t consider those as our rulers, who we did not elect by our votes. Those can be termed as rulers and are respected as rulers, who have become elected by our votes. Pakistanis do impose themselves on us without any legal agreement or any justification, because we did not vote them and we did not endorse them. Pakistani do impose them by the force. Some time they choose the designation of Minister of Kashmir and Northern Areas Affairs (KANA) with full powers like an ancient king and sometimes they use the designation as Chief Executive and no Chairman, whatever the designation the same Pakistani imposed Minister is acting as king with impunity and above the law.

My dear brothers and sisters, I am very happy that the youth of our nation has gained political wisdom and our nation is awakening today. This is a result of the struggle of all of you. The main proof of this national awakening is that the nation and especially our colleagues in GBDA did not waste even a second and informed the nation about the hollowness of the so-called package announced by Pervez Musharraf. This was a sign of unity of the nation too.
You know that what are the obstacles and hindrances in the path of freedom. A propaganda has been launched against me in connivance with the occupiers since 1999 in which some of our constrained brothers in the media are also involved. It has been made a crime even to take my name. Last year when I stepped into a free world from the life of solitude and started to represent you in the European Parliament and other international forums, the intensity of the smear campaign against me intensified at the national and international levels. I am happy to say that our people through their wisdom and sagacity have foiled the conspiracies of the usurpers and their agents. It shows that our destiny is not far away, because the nation is not in slumber and illusion like in the past. The nation now understands that sectarianism and lack of political awareness are the main causes of slavery.
My brothers and respected colleagues, you tell me is there any nation in the world who accepts slavery of others in the name of religion. Don’t you deserve freedom? Will you not remain Muslim if you got independence? Were we not Muslims before Pakistan occupied us? In fact, before 1947, we were good Muslims and good human being but as soon as our interaction with the Pakistanis increased our standard of character started to degrade. To be a good Muslim, a person should possess a good moral character and should not fall prey to the shenanigans of occupiers and their agents. These people exploit your resources by enslaving you and push you to the abysmal depth of immorality by eliminating your culture, history and identity.
Pakistan very cleverly made us its slave in 1947 due to our innocence and political immaturity. It also made the area liberated by our forefathers disputed without even their information. On April 28, 1949, the United Nations through a resolution asked Pakistan to withdraw its troops from Gilgit-Baltistan within seven weeks. Pakistan sought twelve weeks to implement the UN resolution which was acceded to by the world body. Besides, Pakistan was also asked to ensure self-rule in Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Did the Pakistani troops went back or self-rule was ensured in the area? No, instead of implanting the UN resolution Pakistan kept on consolidating its occupation. Look at Pakistan’s sincerity: the day when the UN asked it to withdraw its troops from the region on April 28, 1949, Pakistan entered into a bogus agreement with Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas and Sardar Ibrahim of Kashmir to perpetuate its rule on you. Later, Sardar Ibrahim himself declared the so-called pact fake. Even our revolutionary troops and the so-called Mirs were kept out of the bogus agreement.
Pakistan has also looted our land and resources like war booty. The construction of Basha Dam is also a part of the conspiracy to drown our land and destroy our culture and history.
Dear friends, under the divide and rule policy, Pakistan has succeeded to divide the people of Gilgit-Baltistan on sectarian lines and deprive them of their rights. Pakistan’s so-called leaders sent thousands of NLI personnel to Kargil like mercenaries and when they sacrificed their lives the credit was given to the so-called mujahideen. In this war, our 3,000 brothers were killed and hundreds others made paralyzed. Ironically, Pakistan accepted the dead bodies of its citizens but refused that of our brothers terming them mujahideen. As a result, scores of bodies of our brothers were buried in the mountain of Kargil. Through human rights organizations we appeal to the elected government of Pakistan to arrange the return of the NLI personnel’s bodies to bury them in their hometowns. We also demand that Musharraf should stand trial for killing 3,000 NLI personnel in the Kargil misadventure.
My brothers and sisters, our elders were sent to jail when they demanded a separate province; when they talked of constitutional rights they were put behind bars and when they sought right to vote they were also imprisoned. When emergency was declared in Pakistan, the whole Pakistanis rose in revolt, but no one cares about Gilgit-Baltistan where two million people have been rotting under a perpetual martial law –like rule for the last over 60 years. Did our elders liberate Gilgit-Baltistan only to live a life of slavery in the 21st century.
Our brothers are not trusted for the posts of a DCO or an SSP. Government officials from Gilgit-Baltistan are looked down upon. Have we no right to become the prime minister, president, chief justice of the Supreme Court or the army chief? But if you join Pakistan your destiny would be to become voters of Pakistani leaders only. We have not one but hundreds of able personnel in the NLI and outside in the presence of whom people like Ziaul Haq and Musharraf have no quality even to become a Havaldar. But as long as we remain under the control of Pakistan our destiny would remain the same.
Ladies and gentlemen, Pakistan always refers to the UN resolutions due to which it cannot amalgamate Gilgit-Baltistan in its constitution nor can make it its province. In the constitution, there is no mention of Gilgit-Baltistan, because the international community does not recognize Gilgit-Baltistan as part of Pakistan, but a disputed part of Kashmir. As a result, the demand by some of our friends for the constitutional rights or a separate province is not given much importance, because Pakistan cannot include Gilgit-Baltistan in its constitution by separating it from the Kashmir dispute. By making it a province or allocating a few seats in parliament, Pakistan cannot take the risk of violating its own stance or that of the UN. However, the region can be given a special provincial status without bringing it under the constitution of Pakistan.
But Pakistan has treated us as its slave for the last over 60 years, not due to constitutional constraints but because of the ill intentions of its rulers. Pakistan has maintained its control on Gilgit-Baltistan not through any law or principle but under the fake law of April 28, 1949. Now the time has come we exposed the fakeness of the document and take action against those behind the bogus document. Now our nation should expedite efforts to become a respectable nation of the world instead of remaining slaves of others by dividing itself on sectarian lines.
Dear friends, you should never pin any hope on these occupiers of our land who divided you on sectarian basis and destroyed your unity besides looting your natural resources. In the presence of the usurpers, our rights and honor can never remain safe. To expect anything good from those who have kept us in slavery for the last over 60 years would be equal to deceive your future generation.
My dear brothers and sisters, today we have to ask ourselves whether we have to further waste our time in struggling to become voters of Pakistani leaders or have to think of attaining our own rights and live as an independent nation in the civilized world. This is a decision which you have to take. As far as BNF is concerned, we have long ago decided not to live a slave’s life, not to remain Pakistan’s voters, we do not need the continuation of judicial commissioner but need our own high court and supreme court which would not be under the control of Pakistan. We do not need NALA but want an independent legislative assembly. The NA council has been renamed as NALA as it deserved. This is not a legislative assembly but is in a true term has become a Nallah of Pakistani cities. The Nallah is not of the pure water flowing down from our land but a congestion of gutter and sewage which has become stinking like Nallah Lai of the 1970s. The members of NALA cheat not only themselves but the whole nation by considering themselves as equal to MNAs. Since 1970s, these councillors have always preferred their own interests on the interests of the people. Today a responsible citizen of Pakistan understands the injustices done with the people of the region but for these councillors even the interest of a PWD engineer has more value than that of the nation and the region. These councillors have always felt proud of meeting an SP or a DC and have betrayed the people and supported the usurpers. They have never raised a voice for the rights of the masses and always preferred their own vested interests. This does not mean that I have personal grudge with a few councillors but I am referring to all the members of the council as a whole who have kept our people in the dark. These opportunist members of NALA are equally responsible, along with the Pakistani rulers, for keeping our people deprived of their basic human and constitutional rights. I know that from today these NALA members will go two steps forward than the security agencies and their cohorts in spreading propaganda against me. But I do not care and would continue to inform my people about the actual situation and hope that the people would never be carried away by deception of the rulers like introduction of a package etc.

We appeal government of China to handover back our lands the part of Hunza, which had been given to it during British Empire before 1947 and the portion of Shimshal Hunza given by Pakistan in 1963. China is urged not to help Pakistan’s illegal and immoral occupation by constructing Railway track throughout Balawaristan and not to construct the disputed Diamar Dam. We also appeal government of China for not occupy our land and mountains by the pretext of mines lease of Yasen area and other places. It should be noted, that Pakistan has no legal authority to give any lease or to make any agreement on behalf of the people of Balawaristan, because it’s a disputed land and Pakistan has no legal authority. China is a super power of Asia and it should not involve itself in the occupation process of Pakistan.
We demand that the government of Pakistan withdraw its troops and civilian officials from Gilgit-Baltistan in accordance with its promise, Retrieve the land given to outsiders and allot it to the local owners. Our people do not need any NALA but an independent legislative assembly, we do not want the continuation of chief commissioner in the name of chief and appellate courts, we need an independent supreme court. We do not want a Balochistan type of identity but want an independent Balawaristan.
Long live GBDA

Abdul Hamid Khan
Chairman
Balawaristan National Front (BNF)
Head Office: Majini Mahla, Gilgit, Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan)
Website:

Christians flee Iraqi city after killings, threats, officials say

Story Highlights
Muslim extremists order Mosul Christians to convert or face death, officials say

Officials: 13 Christians killed; more than 900 families have fled Mosul

Deputy governor: Election-related protests may have triggered the killings

Leaflets in Christian neighborhoods threatened families, official says

From Mohammed Tawfeeq
CNN

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — At least 900 Christian families have fled Mosul in the past week, terrified by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face possible death, officials said Saturday.

 

 

 

Christians protest in Mosul last month ahead of elections. An official says protests may have led to the attacks.

1 of 2 The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by the end of January, the deputy governor of Nineveh province said.

Deputy Gov. Khasro Goran said 13 Christians have been slain in the past two weeks inMosul, about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Fleeing Christians have sought refuge in monasteries and churches and with family members in other towns, an Interior Ministry official said.

The attacks began after hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, seeking greater representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.

Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula, Nineveh’s governor, told The Associated Press that the exodus was “a major displacement.”

“Of course, al Qaeda elements are behind this campaign against Christians,” Kashmoula told AP.

The Interior Ministry official said the homes of three families were destroyed with explosives Saturday after the occupants left. No injuries were reported.

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A week ago, leaflets were distributed in several predominantly Christian neighborhoods, threatening families to “either convert to Islam or pay the jizyah or leave the city or face death,” said the Interior Ministry official.

Historically, jizyah is a tax paid by non-Muslims in exchange for protection.

Goran said that a few days after the leaflets were passed out, gunmen set up checkpoints in parts of Mosul, stopping vehicles to inspect identification papers, searching for Christian names or other signs of religious affiliation. Many of the Christians killed were targeted in this way, he said.

Bashir Azoz, 45, told AP he fled his Mosul home after gunmen warned a neighbor to leave or be killed.

“Where is the government and its security forces as these crimes take place every day?” asked Azoz, a carpenter who is staying with his wife and three children in a town about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Mosul, according to AP.

The Rev. Bolis Jacob, of Mosul’s Mar Afram Church, told AP he couldn’t understand the attacks.

“We respect the Islamic religion and the Muslim clerics,” he said. “We don’t know under what religion’s pretexts these terrorists work.”

Goran said police have set up security checkpoints in Christian neighborhoods.

In response to the violence, Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qader al-Obaidi visited Mosul on Saturday morning, conducting meetings with local authorities and military commanders.

His spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, said that in addition to ordering more checkpoints in Christian neighborhoods, al-Obaidi ordered more troops deployed, additional security patrols and an increase in aerial surveillance of Christian areas.

Al-Obaidi also ordered more guards for Christian clerics, al-Askari said.

Remembering The war (The 1962 India-China war)

 

The Rediff Special/Col (retd) Anil Athale  World history is full of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ when it is commonly assumed that if only a certain action had been taken, history would have been different.

In India it is almost an industry since we have surfeit of disasters that litter our 5,000-year history. The 1962 military disaster is no exception and has spawned works like the ‘Guilty Men of 1962′ or self-justificatory works like the ‘Untold Story’ by General B M Kaul, et al.

The first missed opportunity to avoid the conflict came in December 1960 when Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai made a brief stopover in Delhi. Under the so-called ‘Krishna Menon Plan’ it was mooted that India would lease the Aksai Chin area to China and in return the Chinese would lease the strategic (from the Indian point of view) Chumbi valley that is like a dagger pointed at the line of communication with Assam and the Northeast.

This would have been a very fair deal as the Aksai Chin area, besides being strategically useless to India, was also very difficult to defend.

But it is believed that under the pressure from the right wing of the Congress and fear of vociferous opposition, Nehru rejected it. A hint of this is available in Michael Breacher’s ‘India & World Politics: Krishna Menon’s view of the world’ (Oxford University Press, 1966, p 145-154) as well as an account of that visit in Swadhinta (January 26, 1966) by Pandit Sunderlal.

China at that time was no superpower and wary of American designs on it through Taiwan (then called Nationalist China, which occupied the Chinese seat in the UN Security Council). Indian friendship was of great value to China then.

But an obdurate Nehru missed the chance. In subsequent years this proposal was revived, but by now a confident China saw no merit in it.

From the professional military as well there were many warnings and suggestions that confrontation with China should be avoided till we build our strength. But these objections were summarily dismissed due to ‘political considerations’. Once India embarked upon the disastrous, legalistic, and militarily foolish ‘forward policy’ (of establishing small posts in Chinese-dominated areas), the die was cast and like a Greek tragedy the events moved towards a disaster.

In the popular mind the 1962 conflict evokes memories of an unimaginable defeat. This is not strictly true. In the northern sector, on the Ladakh front, the Indian Army, despite heavy odds, gave a good account of itself and Chinese gains were small. The airfield at Chushul, one of the major prizes, remained in Indian hands.

 The impression that it was an unmitigated disaster is fostered by the Indian rout at Sela. But for the Sela defeat and panic retreat, 1962 would have at worst been classed as a setback, not a disaster.

The discredit for this debacle belongs to Lieutenant General Brij Mohan Kaul and his catastrophic leadership. After the initial setback in Tawang district, in the last week of October, Kaul fell ill and Lt Gen Harbax Singh took over the command of 4 Corps.

Harbax consolidated the position at Sela and was quite confident of holding back the Chinese there. The order for withdrawal from Sela was a panic reaction by Kaul who had no fighting experience (he spent World War II in charge of a drama troupe for the entertainment of troops).

Harbax was a veteran and had faced the Japanese enveloping tactics in Burma. He was also confident that even if cut off from ground, Sela could be maintained by air. But to India’s ill luck, as soon as Kaul felt that the situation had stabilised on the front, he hastened back to 4 Corps not wanting to miss on the ‘credit’! The rest, as they say, is history. If instead of Kaul, Harbax had been in charge, the Sela disaster may not have happened at all.

But the biggest ‘mystery’ of 1962 is the non-use of offensive air power by India. The whole conflict was run as a personal show by Kaul and there was very little co-ordination with the air force. At that time the Chinese had barely two airfields in Tibet and their fighter aircraft were decidedly inferior to India’s British-made Hunters.

The Indian Air Force was guaranteed virtual air superiority on the battlefield. With air power on its side, India could have overcome the tactical disadvantage of lack of artillery in Ladakh and could have intercepted the foot and mule columns of the Chinese in Tawang area (like it did during the Kargil conflict in 1999). But such was the irrational fear of Chinese retaliation against Indian cities that India did not use its air power.

This fear of danger to cities was a result of panic in Calcutta… The only long-range aircraft the Chinese had at that time was the Ilyushin 24, operating at extreme ranges. The Indian Air Force with its network of airfields in the East (thanks to World War II) was well capable of dealing with it.

 Right till the end, Krishna Menon was in favour of use of air power, but was overruled by a leadership that had lost its nerve. Use of offensive air power could have tilted the balance on the ground and boosted the morale of our troops. The morale factor is of great importance as essentially even the Sela disaster was due to loss of morale.

The above analysis is not complete given the constraints of space. The full details will be before readers when the official history, of which I am the co-author, is released.

At the very basic level, the Indian Army was fighting a repeat of the 1947-48 Kashmir war, a campaign against tribal invaders, while the Chinese, veterans of the Korean War, were a well-oiled military machine.

The above analysis may seem unduly harsh, but that is the job of an analyst and it is time we face the truth, for in that lies the germ of future success.

Colonel (retd) Anil Athale, former director of war history at the defence ministry and co-author of the official history of the 1962 war, is a frequent contributor to these pages.

 

 

 

Facts on Pakistani Terrorism Against Kashmir

 

Facts on Pakistani Terrorism Against Kashmir

Number of Terrorist Camps in Pakistan: 37

 

Number of Terrorist Camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir: 49

 

Number of Pakistani-run Terrorist Camps in Afghanistan: 22

 

Total Number of Hardcore Terrorists Operating in Jammu and Kashmir: 2300

 

Total Number of Foreign Mercenaries Operating in Jammu and Kashmir: 900

 

Number of Pakistani terrorists killed by Indian security forces: 291

 

Number of Pakistani terrorists in Indian jails: 125

 

Number of Indian civilians killed by Pakistani terrorists: over 29,000

 

Number of firearms recovered from Pakistan-trained terrorists in India: 47,000

 

Amount of explosives recovered from Pakistan-trained terrorists in India: 60 tons (30,000 kg)

 

Number of explosions carried out by Pakistan-trained terrorists in India: 4,730

 

Nationalities of Foreign Mercenaries Operating in Jammu and Kashmir:

 

Pakistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Afghanistan, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq

 

Deadliest Pakistani Terrorist Groups Active in Jammu and Kashmir:

 

Harkat-ul-Ansar (recently renamed Harkat-ul-Mujaheedin) Headquarters: Muzaffarabad (Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir) Lashkar-e-Toiba Headquarters: Muridke (Pakistan) Hizbul Mujahideen

 

Peak time of annual infiltration of terrorists into India:

Summer months, when the snows have melted, under cover of Pakistani Army firing

 

Number of people in Jammu and Kashmir killed in violence waged by Pakistan-supported terrorists over the last decade: over 20,000.

 

Ethnic Cleansing in Kashmir: Nearly 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits (original Hindu inhabitants of Kashmir valley) driven out of their ancestral homeland by Pakistan-supported terrorists.

 

Pakistan’s response to charges of terrorism support: “It only provides diplomatic and moral support to the terrorists”. To see through this outright lie, read about the “credible reports of official Pakistani support to Kashmiri terrorist groups…” in the US State Department 1997 report on global terrorism.

 

The US Tomahawk missiles killed Pakistani terrorists belonging to Harkat-ul-Ansar in the Khost camps in Afghanistan this year. These terrorists were training to fight in Kashmir.

 

The Harkat-ul-Ansar and the Lashkar-e-Toiba threatened US citizens recently in open news conferences in major cities in Pakistan (Kashmir Chronicle, Vol. 1, No. 6).

 

The Pakistani government makes no attempt to shut down any of these groups.

 

Most recent recruits to Pakistani terrorist camps: Kashmiri Muslim children as young as 12 years old, coerced into a dead-end career by Pakistani terrorist groups.

 

Why is the Pakistani economy in shambles? 70% of its budget goes to the military plus its debt payments, much of the military spending being on sustaining the Kashmiri terror

 

References:

 

Web Data Published by Indian Army

US State Department Patterns of Global Terrorism, 1997

News Sources

Atlas of the World

A UNIQUE EXHIBITION ON TERRORISM UNLEASHED

François Gautier

Source: Kashmir herald

 

Do you know the FACTS about Kashmir?

Over 400,000 Kashmiri Pandits, constituting 99% of the total population of Hindus living in the Kashmir Valley, have been forcibly pushed out of the Valley by terrorists. Since 1989, they have been forced to live the life of exiles in their own country. Terrorism has unleashed in Kashmir a systematic campaign of terror, murder, loot, arson and rape against Hindus in Kashmir. About 70,000 of them still languish in makeshift refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi. Scores of temples in Kashmir have been desecrated, destroyed, looted. More than 900 educational institutions have been attacked by terrorists. Properties of Pandits have been vandalized, businesses destroyed or taken over, even hospitals have not been spared.

Did you know that this huge human tragedy is taking place in Free India?

Kashmir was known as “Sharda Peeth” , the abode of learning. Now the Pandits, the original inhabitants, have been forced to flee. 5000 years of civilization is at stake. THE ROLE OF PAKISTAN IN KASHMIRI TERROR is clear: Terrorism in Kashmir is an ideological struggle with specific fundamentalist and communal Agenda.

 

Terrorist violence aims at the disengagement of the state of Jammu and Kashmir from India and its annexation to Pakistan. It is a continuation of the Islamic fundamentalist struggle. The major dimension of terrorist violence in Kashmir is the terrorists’ commitment to the extermination and subjugation of the Hindus in the state, because Hindus do not subscribe to the idea of separation from India, nor will they allow governance by the tenets of Islam. Kashmiri Pandits have always been in the forefront of the struggle against secessionism, communalism and fundamentalism. Hence this peace loving minority with a progressive outlook became the main victim of terrorist violence.  The strategies involved in the terrorists’ operation against the Hindus in Kashmir are simple:

 

- The extermination of Hindus, i.e., subjecting Hindus to brutal torture, to instill fear among them in order to achieve their submission.

- To engineer a forced mass exodus of Hindus from the land of their ancestors by way of issuing threatening letters, kidnappings and torture deaths on non-compliance of the terrorists’ dictates and ensure the destruction of the secular and pluralistic character of Kashmiri Society.

- Attacks, molestations, kidnappings, gang rapes of the women folk of the Hindu Pandits to instill fear and humiliation.

- Destruction and burning of residential houses of the Hindus who have been compelled to abandon their homes.

- Looting of their properties and appropriation of their business establishments are undertaken to ensure that they do not return.

- Attachment of the ancestral and landed property of Pandits. Destruction of the social and religious institutions of the Hindus by the desecration and destruction of their places of worship.

- Appropriation of the property of the Hindu shrines.

BURNING BOOKS, LOOTING OF CULTURE is also a very important part of the plan. Kashmir was the crucible of Knowledge, Spirituality, a hallowed centre of learning and the cradle of Shivaism. Kashmiri Pandits excelled in philosophy, aesthetics, poetics, sculpture, architecture, mathematics, astronomy and astrology. Sanskrit was studied, propagated and spoken by women and men. Scholars and saints such as Kalhan, Jonraj, Srivar, Abhinavgupta, Somanand, Utpaldev, Somdev and Kshemendra created here an intellectual centre of unrivalled repute. Fundamentalism and terrorism have been ruthless in their assault on “Sharda Peeth”, zealous in ravaging its heritage, and consistent only in bloodthirsty intolerance. The destruction of Hindu places of worship, forced conversions of Pandits and death and ignominy to those who resisted, were accompanied by a savage assault on literary activity. This process has been going on since centuries.

Commencing 1998, the assault on learning began afresh. How else to erase 5000 years of civilization? The Jammaat-i-Islami, a fundamentalist organization, launched a campaign to ransack libraries in the educational institutions and flared ban on books which did not correspond to their ideas about man, world and God. The Kashmir university funded by the University Grants Commission and headed by the Governor of the state was denuded of two thousand books including the works of Milton, G.B. Shaw, Shakespeare, H.G. Wells and tomes on Hindu Philosophy. Book-shops were looted in broad daylight at Batamaloo, Srinagar. The library of the Information Centre run by Government of India was looted and set on fire.

As a correspondent covering India for more than 20 years, I have witnessed the terrible damage that terrorism in Kashmir has inflicted upon people’s lives, their family, their culture, the very fabric of society, not only of the Kashmiri Pandits, but also of the Muslims of the Valley, who after all, are the victims too of Pakistan’s bloody designs.

Hence, with two journalist friends, we started a Foundation: FACT – Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism. The first task of FACT has been to mount an exhibition on terrorism, focusing on the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, so that the people of India who do not suffer directly from terrorism understand what it does to others.

We need your support and we invite all of you, whatever your class, caste, religion, or ethnic origin, to come and witness it. Come and see the FACTS. Later, we would like this exhibition to travel not only to all major India cities, but also to the United States, England, France and Switzerland, so that the world understands what India has been going through in the last fifty years. 

Abdul Hamid Khan, Chairman of Balawaristan National Front: An Interview

Abdul Hamid Khan, Chairman of Balawaristan National Front:  An Interview.

Courtesy:  Hindu Sitah

February 23, 2003:  Unidentified gunmen killed at least nine Shiite Muslims and wounded eight as they headed to evening prayers in Karachi; the interesting fact is that all the victims hail from northern region  (GILGIT BALTISTAN).

In an exclusive Interview with Mr. Abdul Hamid Khan Chairman of BNF (Balawaristan National Front), gives some insight into their problems of the people of Gilgit Baltistan and their movement, which wants freedom from Pakistan occupied Gilgit and Baltistan (Balawaristan) and are in favour political and economic integration with India.  It’s website http://balawaristan.net/english.htm says ” Pakistan was given the gift of the 2 million innocent and simpleton people of BALAWARISTAN, …on 16th Nov. 1947 treacherously, NOTHING BUT…. sectarianism, disharmony, intolerance, poverty, ruined our culture, history, youth (NLI), introduced terrorist camps, snatched resources, land and peace, deprived Human Rights, Justice, Free Movement, Expression, Writing and insulted our Heroes and Martyrs “.  Please read the interview!

1. Can you brief us about genesis of your movement, and why it is not covered in the Indian media?

We were not against Pakistani occupation by birth due to unawareness situation created in the area.  We were sympathizers of Pakistan till the last of 1980’s because lack of knowledge and non-existence of political environment in Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan).  Sympathizers in the sense, because we are not legal and constitutional citizens of Pakistan unlike India. We realized the ugly behaviour and satanic intention of Pakistan, when late general Zia the dictator and godfather of terrorists managed to attack our innocent Shia brothers by terming them as infidels by using Afghan terrorists in 1988.  We can say it is not US, which has victimized by terrorists first, we the people of this disputed region first came under attack of terrorism in 1988 much before Sep. 11th in 2001.

 As for as your question about the non coverage our issue by Indian media is concerned, we are in the opinion, that government of India and it’s media do not want to create problem for Pakistan by promoting anti Pakistani nationalist voice.  It is astonishing that Pakistani newspapers give more coverage to the nationalist political parties of Balawaristan and PoK than Indian media.  It is better to say that Indian media totally ignores the political struggle in Pakistan occupied areas.  Government of India and its media neglect all kind of atrocities and victimization of Pakistan against the people of Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) and PoK.  While government of Pakistan and its media’s all efforts to encourage anti Indian feeling in J & K particularly and in Indian Muslims generally. It indicates that government of India and its media believe that their younger angry brother Pakistan will realize its mistakes soon rather than later, but this will again and again prove a nightmare for India.  This illusion of Indian government and its media has caused irreparable loss, to its security, economy and dignity.  Meanwhile both Pakistan and India have undeclared similar views on J & K issue. Both countries are facilitating the same party, i.e. APHC by media and other means. Both countries are opposing nationalists, who demand for freedom.  Both the countries are encouraging terrorism in J & K directly or indirectly.  Pakistan openly provide funds, training and weapons to the terrorists and send them towards Indian occupied J & K, while India shows very soft corner to the Pakistani sponsored terrorists and supports by providing full media coverage to promote their designs.  The Indian media besides VOG, BBC and VOA are the main source of terrorists to propagate their agenda for terrorize the general masses.  Indian Judicial system also facilitates terrorism by providing all kind of sympathies and help to the arrested terrorists.  This is the reason that that terrorism does not stop at one point. This is the reason that Indian media overlook the political struggle against Pakistani occupation in Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) and PoK.

2. How would you characterize the present state of Affairs in Pakistan occupied Balawaristan?

Pakistan have deprived all kind of Political, Economical, Cultural, Educational Rights, Human Rights, Fundamental Rights, Right of Speech, Right of Movement, Right of Writing to the 2 million people of Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) by declaring them as disputed part of J & K. While enough rights have been given to the people of PoK with compare to that of Balawaristan.  Our right of free movement, Right of writing and Speech are checked totally.  Our people are not allowed to appeal in any court against Pakistani atrocities and Human Rights violation.  We are not allowed to write a single word against Pakistan.  Those political persons who raised their voice against Pakistani occupation have been victimized brutally and put them behind bars and registered sedition cases against them.  More than 150 political workers and leaders of Balawaristan including me are facing death sentences in the false sedition charges.  While APHC and other anti Indian people of J & K are free to speech, movement, writing and even in act within J & K, India and out side the world and no single person in J & K facing sedition charges.  The people of J & K have access to their own High Court and Supreme Court of India.  The people of J & K have the right of vote to choose their representative in J & K Assembly as well as Indian Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabaha.  We the people of Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) don’t have the right of even to  vote what to say for representation in Assembly.  It is a sin to think for Assembly and High Court in Balawaristan.  We don’t have the right of access to Justice.  The people of Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) do not have the right of appeal / writ in High Court or Supreme Court against the death Sentence, if Pakistani imposed Session Judge (Which is called Chief Court) awards them.  Pakistan has even snatched those  rights which were given to them by the non-Muslim Muharaja of J & K before 1947.

3. What do you expect from India?

Only Political, Diplomatic and media help we need from India, nothing like that what Pakistan does to APHC and it’s terrorists Jehadis in the name of Political, Diplomatic and Moral help.

4. What is your interim strategy for drawing international attention to your movement ? Do you believe in armed struggle?

 It is unfortunate, that international Community and world media attention cannot be diverted towards peaceful moment, unless and until blasts or large scale human losses occur. Instead of this international community and world media trend, we believe on peaceful political struggle.  It will be a foolish act of Pakistan, if war is thrust upon us.  Armed struggle is the worst compulsion for us, not option.

5. What are the most urgent challenges facing your movement, and how do you propose to meet them?

Financial problem is the main hindrance in the way of our struggle, because Pakistan has snatched all our resources.  We request our brothers of Balawaristan who live in Pakistan and other countries of the world and sympathizers to support us financially and morally against the occupation of Pakistan, otherwise the aborigines people of this region will  vanish as per Pakistani plan, which has settled its armed nationals in different areas of Balawaristan by violating UN resolutions as well as State Subject Rule. While in PoK and Indian occupied J & K State subject Rules are strictly followed.

6 Do you advocate or oppose economic and political integration with India?

Balawaristan’s independence, sovereignty and integrity are our main motto.  I also appreciate the political and economical integration with India.

7. We came to know from an article that Musharraf was posted in this region, what were his activities in those days?

 I don’t have any knowledge about general Musharraf’s ugly role during Zia regime.  One thing I can say that Musharraf has committed crime, who killed hundreds of our brothers (NLI soldiers) by sending them on the Hills of Kargil in 1999.

8. What is the role of ISI in this region , and how strategic is Gilgit and Baltistan for both Pakistan and India ?

 ISI’s main role in Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan), PoK and even Pakistan and elsewhere is to brain wash the innocent Wahabi un-employeed youth for terrorism.  ISI teaches them hatred lessons against other religions and even other sects of Islam, trains them in handling all kinds of lethal weapons, making bombs and suicidal attacks against pro Indian Kashmiris, Indian citizens and Indian forces.  ISI also kills those Kashmiris who deny to accept its directions. ISI also use these brain washed Wahabis against its own political and religious rivals within Pakistan beside Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan), and PoK.

 The strategic importance of Balawaristan can be imagined by the concentration of both India and Pakistan’s futile endeavour to occupy Siachin glacier by deputing their forces  below 50 and 60 degree freezing point peaks.  One can imagine how the rest of the area is important for both the countries.  The importance of Gilgit Baltistan had been realized even at the time of British rule in it’s great game.  Besides India and Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Russia and America also consider it as strategically important.  Balawaristan really plays as backbone for Pakistan’s agriculture, and trade with China. Pakistan imports all kind of items from needle to Missile via KKH from China.  In spite of all these benefits Pakistan is being denied fundamental, economical and political rights to the people of this disputed land.

9. How many terrorist training camps are there in your region? Can you you explain the mode of recruitment of your people into ISI training camps?

A.9. Darel, Tangir, Astore, Skardu City, Ghowadi near Skardu, Juglote on KKH near Gilgit and Gilgit City are used to train terrorists by ISI.  Last week of 2000 August to first week of September, ISI shifted many Al-Qaida and Talibaan leaders and other important persons to Darel and Tangir of district Diamar from Dahrkoot border of Yasen, Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan).  In one case one Abdur-Rehman a Wahabi  fanatic from Yasen Bahrkoohlti arranged a Jeep No GLT 5566 to carry Talibaan/Al-Qaida from Tehrchhet of Yasen valley near Afghanistan and Chitral border to Gilgit between last week of August to the first week of September 2002, besides many ISI own vehicles.  They were drooped inside the Kargah valley some 5 Kilometer north of Gilgit City on the way to Darel.  Among those one person was covered in veil. These camps were/are being used by ISI to train terrorists for Indian occupied J & K, besides Afghanistan, Chechenya and other parts of the world as a part of Saudi Arab and Pakistan campaign against infidels.

10. As Shia Muslims, did you ever approach Iran for support ofyour movement ?

 I don’t mix religion with politics. Because I am a nationalist who believes in nationalism, not religion.  Therefore I condemned those who are involved in terrorism and religious hatred by using the name of Islam.  I/We did not contact Iran for support to our movement.

11. There are many reports which are predicting balkanisation of Pakistan , what is your opinion on this ?

I don’t know any Balkanization in Pakistan. But it is open fact that Pakistan Army and its ISI are trying to turn the whole Pakistan besides Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan) and PoK in to Talibaanisation to revive the vanishing Talibaan/ Al-Qaida from Afghanistan.  The sweeping win of fundamentalists in the pre-poll managed Elections of Pakistan, was nothing but an attempt of Pakistan Army to boost their falling morale and grip over the general masses as well as to gain more benefits from US and world community.

12. What factors you attribute to the failure of Balouch and Sindh movements, since their movements are  older than Balawaristan ?

 Lack of clear motto and direction of the leadership of Sindh and Baluchistan were the main causes of their failure in the moments, otherwise they would have been freed from the clutches of Punjabi dominated Pakistan much earlier with the help of their dedicated workers.  It is unfortunate for the leadership of Muhajirs particularly, who failed to achieve their goal in spite of heavy sacrifices of the youth. 

13. What is your vision for Balawaristan’s future?

There is no option for Pakistan, except to quit Balawaristan (Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan)  and let the2 million  people of this disputed region to choose their fate, who are distinct in character, Culture and history.  Free Balawaristan will revive its historical character of a powerful buffer state among other neighboring countries like Pakistan, India, China, Afghanistan and Central Asia. Balawaristan will create the sense of  peace in the region one side and terrorism will die by itself on the other.

This is the most unfortunate story that  deadly human rights voilation in  POK and internationl human right cannot   see what is happening in other side of india they run after the indian part of kashmir were peoples have every right ,shame on indian media and electronic media including policticians and human right organisation…………………..KP

We Want Free Balwaristan

Serious human rights violations in POK
Author: Samuel Baid Publication: The Free Press Journal Date: April 30, 2004 URL: http://www.samachar.com/features/300404-features.html
The focus of debates on Kashmir at the annual meetings of United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva (UNCHR) has certainly changed over the past about 10 years. Ten years ago the Commission heard mainly what the Pakistan funded non-government organizations (NGOs) had to parrot about the right of self-determination of Kashmiris in the part of Kashmir that is on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC) and India’s alleged violations of human rights.
One remembers the furore the Prime Minister of Pakistan kicked off in March 1994 when she moved a resolution on alleged violations of human rights in Kashmir. Ms. Bhutto had hoped that at least Muslim countries would support this resolution. Pakistan had to withdraw it because no support came from the Muslim countries. This was a serious setback to Pakistan’s diplomacy. But worse was the fact that since Pakistan was not willing to stop trans-LoC terrorism, it began to lose its credibility in the world community specially after the killing of some tourists in Kashmir in 1995 by Al Faran, which was really Pak-based Harkatul Ansar. The report of these killings came when the Sub-Commission of the UNCHR was in session in Geneva. The delegates were shocked. Some of them very vehemently spoke against demand, such as the right of self- determination when national boundaries had already been settled.
There were a number of young who had run away from occupied Kashmir. They also attended the session but were too afraid to tell the UNCHR about inhuman conditions in their part of Kashmir. They whispered to this writer that Kashmiris in “Azad” Kashmir and Gilgit and Baltistan were treated as serfs by Pakistan. Gilgit and Baltistan are parts of that region in occupied Kashmir, which Pakistan calls its Northern Areas but is not willing to give the locals any constitutional identity and civil rights. Any body protesting against this treatment would be called an Indian agent and then he would disappear, they said. They were not exaggerating. A Belgian human rights activist Ms. Claire Galez who had visited “Azad” Kashmir with the permission of Sardar Abdul Qayyum, had shocked delegates (in 1994) by her tales of human rights violations in “Azad” Kashmir. She told this writer that she had been threatened of dire consequences by some Pakistani supporters after she spoke out the truth before the delegates.
But Kashmiris from occupied Kashmir have taken some time to pluck courage and rubbish Pakistan’s demand for self-determination for them. At the 60th session of the UNCHR, which started on March 15 and finished on April 23, 2004, the Commission heard a number of representations from Kashmiris from occupied Kashmir. In his intervention on behalf of European Union of Public Relations, Mumtaz Khan said the demand for the right of self-determination for Kashmiris was hypocritical because Pakistan, through its imposed constitution of 1974, has already provided for pre-determination in favour of Pakistan. The said constitution says: “No person or political party in Azad Kashmir shall be permitted to propagate against, or take part in activities prejudicial or detrimental to, the ideology of the State” accession to Pakistan.” He requested the Commission to examine the human rights situation in “Azad” Kashmir and Gilgit and Baltistan. The Secretary General of International Kashmir Alliance (IKA) Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmir, who also intervened on behalf of the European Union of Public Relations gave details of human rights violations in occupied Kashmir where 4.2 million people lived in subjugation. He made the following points :
a) In these inaccessible areas, away from the gaze of the international community, the security forces and intelligence agencies of Pakistan continue to violate the locals’ human rights.
b) The people of occupied Kashmir are deliberately kept in illiteracy, ignorance, poverty and backwardness. These problems have been compounded by the infiltration of jehadi outfits by Pakistan. The students who go out to Pakistani cities for education get no job when they come back.
c) Despite so-called elections in “Azad” Kashmir, it is the Chief Secretary and Inspector General of Police who are the defacto rulers.
d) Political workers are constantly persecuted.
e) There is no economic development.
f) No proper educational facilities.
g) The construction of the Mangla Dam rendered 100,000 people homeless. They have not yet been given any compensation. The state is denied royalty from this Dam.
h) The people of occupied Kashmir are forced to only listen to Pakistani propaganda on its official radio and TV.
i) The ISI has made Gilgit and Baltistan a safe haven for international terrorists. Speaking for Afro-Asian Peoples’ solidarity organization (AAPSO), Amir Shah said “Religious discrimination has been sought to be institutionalised by manipulating the school syllabus and deleting all references to the Shia tradition. Students protesting against the imposition of this biased syllabus have been beaten up and jailed.”
Gul Nawaz Khan who spoke on behalf of the Interfaith International related stories of atrocities on the population in Gilgit and Baltistan alleged that the Sunni majority in Pakistan had tried to “sunnise” education through its Ministry of Kashmir Affairs.
Human rights activists such as Haider Shah Rizvi and Basharat Shafi of Balwaristan National Front (BNF) have remained detained for more than one year on fabricated charges of sedition. Other prominent leaders such as Nawaz Khan Naji of Balwaristan National Front, Ghazi Anwar Khan of the Karakoram National Movement and Shafqat Ali Inqalabi of the Karakoram Students Organisation have also been subjected to intimidation and harassment and attempts made on their lives by Pakistani agencies. Similar views were expressed by Dr. Shabir Choudhry, spokesman of the International Kashmir Alliance and chairman of Diplomatic Committee, JKLF, UK and Europe who had recently visited Gilgit and Baltistan. The “Azad” Kashmir High Court in 1993 had ordered that Northern Areas be reverted to “Azad” Kashmir as they were not part of Pakistan.
This view was upheld by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in May 1999. These judgments also called upon Pakistan to ensure that people of Northern Areas enjoy their fundamental rights, including right to be governed by their chosen representatives. But so far Pakistan has not shown any inclination to obey these orders.

By Shafqat Inqalabi  

India Reels Under Terorism

October 20, 2008 by kilo3

For decades, India has blamed Pakistan for supporting terrorist activities inside India and funding and training Islamic militant groups in India’s part of Kashmir. In recent times, New Delhi has pointed to Bangladesh, too, where it claims militants responsible for some terrorist attacks find shelter. India-Pakistan friction over Kashmir also trickles down to India’s Muslims.

 

India is one of the major partners in America’s fight against terrorism. Recent reports have shown that India is facing a wave of terrorists attacks that threaten the stability of the nation.

Current tenstions between India and Pakistan have lead to a significant amounts of deaths caused by terrorism since 2007. U.S. government assures that,

 

“According to the latest report on global terrorism by the U.S. government’s National Counterterrorism Center, more than one thousand people died in India because of terrorist attacks in 2007, ranking the country fourth behind only Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Most of these deaths relate to the territorial dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir. But internal causes contribute significantly to this violence, including conflict with India’s Maoists-the Naxalites-and other separatist and insurgent movements in the country’s northeastern states.” (Council on Foreign Relations)

 

The disputed territory of Kashmir has been the significant driving force between Hindus and Muslims for centuries. Now that the United States is helping fund both Pakistan and India, Pakistan with military aid and India with nuclear technology, it begs to question when this will blow up in the U.S. face and turn to a drastic regional conflict in which both sides possess nuclear weapons. India has been a significant ally in the war on terror compared to Pakistan, which its intelligence services and the Pakistani army are sympathetic to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Recent reports have surfaced regarding Pakistani troops firing on the U.S. Military when they are engaging Taliban fighters. Letting them get away from the Americans and being able to take shelter in mountainous region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

The U.S. has found itself in a dangerous position but in its fight against terrorism, it would be better to have both of these nations as “allies” than not at all. I perceive that the war on terror will continue depending on who becomes the next president. But if we were to keep our guard down, then we are in big trouble. Ter