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KASHMIR & PAKISTANI PERFIDY

Two things happened since 31st March 2016. India lost to West Indies in the T20 cricket Semi Final in Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai. All over India, there was a feeling of little sadness, at least among cricket loving section of Indians, over this loss to the Caribeans. Indians were clear favourites for varieties of credits in their favour. But then cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties and as luck would have it, men in maroon pulled it off to the utter chagrin of Indians. It was a magnificent team effort. Hence the sadness of Indians, certainly the Indian team, was clearly palpable. In contrast to what happened in India, a group of students in NIT Srinagar, celebrated the Indian defeat rather than the victory of West Indies. They appeared to be clearly relishing the Indians loss. Why were they celebrating the Indian defeat? Do they also want India to lose in other spear as well? Do they also want India to lose to Pakistan, not just in Cricket, but in all other spears including may be even a war? Indeed this celebration by the youth of NITS, of Indian cricket defeat, has thrown up quite a few uncomfortable questions.

Controversy had not completely died down, a young college girl in Handavara was reported to have been molested. She claimed, it was two boys who attacked her persona, one of them being in school uniform. But a section of Kashmiris insisted that it was an army sentry who attacked the girl. Her mother went to the town to say that it was indeed an army personnel. It was however, to the credit of the young girl when she was called upon to testify before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Handavara. She insisted on the two boys story rather than any army man doing the despicable act. Clearly it appeared that the mother of this young girl was under pressure from anti-Indian elements, which may be even Pro-Pakistani or even Pakistani elements masquerading as Kashmiris.

Clearly there are visible signs of strain, and this is after close to 69 years of Kashmiri leadership having formally accepted India as a nation of their choice.

August 14th 1947, saw the creation of Pakistan as a separate nation from India. Country was divided on Suspicion, lived with Suspicion and there appears to be no hope that Suspicion will go away. Kashmir was offered to make its decision to either join Pakistan or join India. Maharaja Hari Singh had signed the ‘Standstill Agreement’ with Britishers. But obviously Mohd Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan had no patience. On the night of 22nd Oct 1947, Jinnah decided to send Pak army in the garb of Pathani tribals and the history of Kashmir was unilaterally altered forever.

The issue of Kashmir going with either India or Pakistan was still on the negotiating table. It was a reflection of things to come. Yes, Pakistan at the very first instance proved that it cannot be trusted. For all the 69 years of freedom from the colonial yoke and Pakistan became an independent nation, their untrustworthiness was on continuous display.

The tribals came into Kashmir, left their leaders on the way and entered Muzaffarabad only to loot and cause mayhem. Hari Singh, disappears to Jammu. Both Sheikh Abdulla & Hari Singh appeal to New Delhi to save Kashmir. Prime Minister Nehru refuses to interfere without formal accession treaty. Left with no choice, with the Pakistan exposed of its treachery, Hari Singh gladly signs the accession treaty and as the chiche goes ‘rest is history’.

Kashmir physically remained with India, with mind torn among India, independence and Pakistan triangularly, and Pakistan being what Pakistan always was, an untrustworthy friend and neighbour.

Kashmir valley was once upon a time a tranquil lake inhabited by ‘Nagas’ or snake people, informs the legend around the land where snow never seem to melt. Due to the influence of sage Kashyap, the valley was scattered with shrines of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Kashyapamar, a name this land mass acquired, slowly over a period, became Kashmir. From emperor Ashoka to Britishers, the land of Kashmir was ruled by different authorities. It was Ashoka who established the city of Srinagar. It was during the raid of Mangolian descendent of Chengis Khan that Kashmir was really battered. Sahadev, the then Hindu King left the scene for the Tibetan refugee Prince Ranchina, who was a Buddist. He thought of becoming a Hindu ruler, since large majority of Kashmir were Hindus. But due to the caste contradictions of Hindu social system, Prince Ranchina could not become a Hindu. MJ Akbar in his ‘Kashmir Behind the Vale’ writes “Kashmiri Pandits informed Ranchin, solemnly, that he could not become a Hindu because they could not decide which caste he should join on conversion. Ranchin became a Muslim and a sequence of Muslim dynasties began to rule over Kashmir.” It was around 1320.

It always happens, ‘Yatha Raaja Thathaa Prajaa’. Slowly the Hindu population of Kashmir converted to Islam. Could this eventual metamorphosis on religious line become the ‘cause celebre’ of the Kashmiris, not to throw their lot with the Hindu majority, but secular, India!?

It was post 1585, that Kashmir came under the rule of Mughals. Jahangir, a Mughal descendant had on seeing Kashmir for the first time famously remarked on the beauty of Kashmir, ‘if there is a paradise, it is this, it is this, it is this.’ “As far as the eye could see, flowers of different hues were blooming and in the midst were streams of water flowing; one might say it was a page that the painter of destiny had drawn with the pencil of creation” he had written in “Memoires of Jahangir”. According to Europeans “The whole Kingdom wears the appearance of a fertile and highly cultivated garden, meadows & vineyards, fields of rice, wheat, saffron and many sorts of vegetables among which are mingled trenches filled with water, rivulets, canals and several small lakes vary the enchanting scenes”. Such beautiful place was Kashmir. No wonder Pakistan wanted to have it at all cost. Of course Afghans, post 1750, dethroned weak Mughal governors, and plundered Kashmir for 70 long years, ‘destroyed without pity and stole without mercy’.

However the reign of Ranjith Singh after Afghans, did not bring much of happiness to plundered Kashmiris. Exploitation of people continued, may be without violence. It was only post 1947 that things changed for better. In the meanwhile, Kashmir had changed hands to Dogra dynasty. Around the same time, a stormy petrel, Sheikh Mohd. Abdullah, had emerged as a powerful voice of people. Born in 1905 to an enlightened mother whose father was born a Hindu Pandit, young Abdullah pursued education into Aligarh Muslim University and completed his M.Sc., a very high qualification for those days. He tried for a civil service opening with Maharaja Hari Singh’s government in Kashmir.

Unfortunately, Hari Singh did not give him a job. He ended up being a teacher in a government school in Srinagar. Would things have been different, if young Sheikh Abdullah was employed by the Hari Singh Government? After 60 years of upheaval in Kashmir Valley it’s a moot question.

But it is indeed true that there have been incidents and decisions, which could have been avoided by all stake holders to the future of Kashmir as a peaceful but integral part of India. Therefore blame can be on all starting from Hindu Pandits to Rinchana to Hari Singh to Sheikh Abdullah to Nehru to Indira Gandhi, and of course Pakistan and Pakistan inspired militancy. 

All followers of Kashmir affairs are privy to the knowledge that, besides Pakistanis it was not merely the uncertainty of Maharaja Hari Singh, but also the ambivalence of Sheikh Abdullah, added with political machinations from New Delhi have contributed to the problems of Kashmir.

If Indian political decision in 1948, post-Pakistani attack in Oct 1947, to take the issue of Kashmir to U.N, against Indian Military advice, was a mistake, it has given on a platter to Pakistan, to pin-prick India for all these years. In 1965, Pakistan launched a full scale war on India. Lal Bahaddur Shastri the then Prime Minister ordered an all out retaliation on Pak army in the Chamb sector of Jammu. Pak army crumbling under intense Indian attack cried for international help and no help came. Pakistan lost. In 1971 Bangladesh was born and Pakistan broke into two, due to the atrocities committed by Pakistan army. Sheikh Abdullah was convinced that Kashmir cannot go with Pakistan. However death of Sheikh Abdulla in 1982 was a serious setback in the Indianisation of Kashmiri mindset. As such Kashmir was already divided as Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and J&K of the Indian side. Pakistan, for record, called it Indian Occupied Kashmir and had never accepted the Treaty of Accession to India. Political machinations from New Delhi, post Janata Party fiasco, led to emergence of militancy, especially after the death of Sheikh Abdullah.

Since then, it has not been same for Kashmir and Kashmiris. In 1971 Pakistan again attacked India, thinking India may not be able to handle from both East Pakistan side and from west. In the event Pakistan rather lost it badly. 1980s brought Zia-ul Haq as the ruler in Pakistan. He gave for the first time, unhindered Islamic thrust into Pakistani politics. Zia-ul-Haq’s policy of bleeding India with thousand cuts, started taking toll in the tranquil Kashmiri Valley.

In 1998, the then army Chief Pervez Musharraf engineered the Kargil incursion without the knowledge of political leadership, despite there being an understanding only 3 months earlier, between Atal Behari Vajapayee and Nawaz Sherif. Here too Pakistan lost. Having lost five wars on Kashmir, Pakistan resorted to hit& run border skirmishes, sneaking in either army personnel or militants through the border areas. These militants then join hands with forces inimical to India and try to create unrest and keep the security forces busy and occupied. At this point we need to remember the policy of thousand cuts of Zia-ul-Haq, which was kept alive by all succeeding Pakistani leadership, whether Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif or Pervez Musharraf. Of course it was the Pakistani military and their Inter Services Intelligence which were behind these irritants on India. These covert operations by Pakistan with the help of separatist forces in Kashmir was always at a heavy cost to India, in terms of men, materials and money.

Then comes the season of stone pelting. For quite some time, this stone pelting was a lucrative business funded from across the border. It was providing jobs to unemployed youth offering these stone pelting services for a price. Reliable sources informed that several youth were also operating stone pelting cartels funded by Pakisatani sources routing it through separatist organizations and some political parties like PDP. Separatist groups owing allegiance to Pakistan-terror outfit Hizbul Majahideen and Lashker-e-Tayiba were alleged to have formed several groups for the purpose. These groups were paid hefty amount ranging between Rs 5 to 8 lakhs, part of this money was paid to another group known as ‘initiators’, who collect stones and target Police and paramilitary forces. On any kind of issues they get worked up mostly for wrong reasons. Reportedly overall funding ran into crores.

Special Director General of (SDG) CRPF in J&K had gone on record that ‘a new form of gunless terrorism in the shape of stone pelting had emerged in Kashmir’. According to him, it is being funded by Pakistan and its agencies through hawala or men sympathetic to Kashmiri militants. There are large number of instances of unprovoked stone- pelting by hostile mobs on CRPF that has left some 1500 jawans and close to 400 vehicles damaged, the SDG had quoted.

Thus, the policy and practice of inflicting thousand cuts has been going on unabated. Comes 2010, larger conflagration between security forces and Pakistan backed militants became the order of the day.

However in June 2010, an unfortunate killing by Indian Army soldiers, 3 civilians as Pakistani infiltrators, led to series of violent protest that led to widespread unrest in the valley. Taking advantage of the incident, Pakistani intelligence agencies started to send its men to support the protesters and Kashmiri militants. According to reports, a meeting was held in Muzaffarabad in the Pakistani Occupied Kashmir, chaired by then ISI Chief Hamid Gul, United Jehad Council called for reinvigorated jihad until Kashmir was free of Indian occupation. As a result large number of militants had setup camps in the border areas with plans to crossing into Kashmir valley, locals had reported.

In the protest after the June 2010 incident of 3 civilian deaths, there has been large scale deaths among protesters. Protesters had even burnt down a Christian Missionary School, a Church and some government buildings.

Of course, it was the mistake by the army sentries without the knowledge of the army higher-ups. It led to large scale involvement of Pakistani elements only to foment trouble for India and Indian army. Those who are aware of the Pakistani intransigence are aware of the mean Pakistani mindset when their men in Oct-1947 had looted, assaulted Kashmiri women folks and even murdered both men and women. Hence, there was no love from Pakistanis towards Kashmiris. It was the Kashmir that Pakistani leadership wanted to usurp by means foul rather than by fair means.

Of course, as for India, its leadership acted with responsibility over the wanton killing 3 Kashmiri civilians. Army convicted seven soldiers, including 2 officers and sentenced them to life imprisonment over the staged killing for personal rewards. This act was certainly a positive development to soothe the frayed tempers. Of course, the local population, divided as it is, was not really impressed, especially the section influenced from across the border.

It is indeed true that despite continuous efforts by Pakistan, the status of Kashmir has not changed. And it is not likely that it will change with the way things are. Also, it is unlikely that Pakistan will stop meddling in the affairs of Kashmir in the foreseeable future. And as it happens, Indian Defense Review informs that Pakistan of late launched a campaign to attract Kashmiri youth towards terrorism. This campaign by one Burhan Muzaffar Wani, a terrorist aligned with Hizbul Mujahedeen (HM) is being supported with stories of policemen running away from the force to join HM. They even planted stories through their agents in Kashmir, of some 60 youth, mostly educated, joining HM after being motivated by this Wani. This was also circulated on the internet. In a video, this Wani was seen exhorting police personnel and special Police officers of Kashmir to leave service and join the ranks of the HM to ‘fight for their land’. Such campaigns, although has not helped in attracting large number of youth, some misguided youth have joined the terror rank. But what these youth have not tried to understand and appreciate, is that those misguided youth who left India to POK have remained stuck there, are not in a position to return and are feeling bad. Somehow this harsh truth is not dawning on them. But the stories of disillusionment among their elder generation who crossed over to POK is percolating down. Hence, Pakistan is experiencing a low turnout from Kashmir for their cause. Obviously they are desperate. Hence trying to infiltrate institutions of higher learning like NITS to fan hate mongering. Almost 69 years have gone, since India’s independence and the J&K formally becoming an integral part of India. Pakistan has tried every trick in the book for this almost seven decades to sway Kashmiris towards Pakistan. Truth is while there are elements in Kashmir, like Andrade and her ilk, Kashmir is unlikely to go all hog to Pakistan, since there is a huge trust deficit towards Pakistan, among majority of Kashmiris. This is the saving grace. Hope this stays.

J. SHRIYAN