KASHMIR- THE BLEEDING VALLEY
For over 50 years, India, Pakistan
and China have fought over Kashmir both on battlefield and negotiating table.
Today one-third of the former princely state is administered by Pakistan and
two third is a part of India. In northeast, China lays claim to s part of
uninhabited land- Aksai Chin.
The boundary between India and
Chinese-held territories has never been delimited, and also the cease-fire line
between India and Pakistan administered Kashmir stops short at Siachen glacier,
which extends at forty miles to the de facto border with china. In 1984 Indian
troops took control of part of the glacier; since then it had been world
highest war zone.
HISTORY
Kashmir’s imperial history begins in
the 3rd century BC with the rule of Asoka. He propagated Buddhism in
the valley. After Asoka died, Kashmir regained its independence. In 1st
century AD the valley was invaded by Kushans from north-west China. The
following decades are remembered as the ‘golden age’ of Kashmir.
A predecessor of the European
emperor, Charlemagne, Lalitaditya, who ruled in 8th century, is
still regarded as the most celebrated Hindu king of the valley. From 10th
century onwards, the struggle for power in Kashmir intensified with emergence
of Islam in north India.
The Mughal emperor, Akbar, in 1958
conquered Kashmir and with it Kashmir long history as a Kingdom in its own
right came to an end. Akbar’s son Jehangir is best remembered for his love of
the valley and beautified Kashir with over 700 gardens.
Aurangzeb, who came to throne in
1658, perused an aggressive policy of religious conversation of the inhabitants
into Muslims and persecution of Hindus and Shias Muslims.
In 1751, Ahmed Shah Duranni, the Afghan
ruler, absorbed Kashmir into the Afghan empire and ruled brutally.
Sikh ruler, Ranjit Singh, in 1819
took over Kashmir. Initially the locals were relieved from the suffering under
Afghans but even under Sikh rule Kashmir was one of the most miserable place
with poor and denuded masses.
Gulab Singh, a Ranjit singh’s vassal,
was made raja of Jammu. His famous general, Zorawar Singh expanded his land in
name of Sikh kingdom till Ladakh. After Ranjit Singh death in the first Anglo
Sikh war during the third battle at Sobraon. Gulab Singh offered his help to
the Sikh but didn’t give it. Sikh defeat was inevitable.
British recognized that Gulab Singh’s neutrality had tipped the balance
of war in their favour. Instead of paying indemnity of one crore rupees the
Sikhs the Sikhs were required to cede to East India Company the Provinces of
Kashmir and Hazara. In Treaty of
Amritsar the British rewarded Gulab Singh with the independent sovereignty of
Kashmir in lieu of which he had to pay the one crore rupees. Henceforward,
Gulab Singh was no longer a feudatory of the Sikh, but the Maharaja of Jammu
and Kashmir.
THE LAST
MAHARAJA
The last Maharaja Hari Singh (great grand son of Gulab Singh) succeeded
to throne in 1925. Till now there were hardly any Kashmiris in the government
service, which were invariably filled with the Dogra Rajputs from Jammu. This
led to a movement known as ‘Kashmir for kashmiris’ sponsored by more educated
Kashmiri pundits and so in 1927 a law defining ‘Hereditary state subjects’ was
passed forbidding the employment and purchase of land to non-state subjects.
Muslims were still not allowed in the army.
In the months preceding
independence, Hari Singh was a helpless man unable to cop with
once-in-a-millennium historical phenomenon. Influenced by Swami Sant Dev, a
religious figure who encouraged the maharaja’s feudal ambitions. The people
were agitated towards the Maharaja. Every cow, buffalo and sheep was taxed, and
even every wife.
For over two months after
independence the Maharaja had attempted to remain independent. In an operation
Code named ‘Gulmarg’, about 5000 tribesmen with modern military equipment like
mortars, artillery and mark V mines provided by Pakistan traveling in two to
three hundred lorries crossed into Kashmir
A political activist Seikh Mohammad Abdullah, Educated in Aligarh, came
into limelight by his heroic efforts to organise defense of Srinagar city while
the Maharaja Hari Singh fled to Jammu in early hours of morning at 2 A.M on 26
October.
The Maharaja had reiterated his request for Military help. The last
English Governor General Mountbatten contented, however, ‘that it would be
height of folly to send troops in a neutral state, since Pakistan could do
exactly the same thing, which could only result in war’. The maharaja sent the
instrument of accession for acceptance by the Indian government through VP
Menon. The Maharaja had left instructions with his ADC that if Menon came back
from Delhi, it would mean that the government of India had decided to come to
his rescue and therefore should not be disturbed in his sleep; but if Menon
failed to return, it meant everything was lost, in that case, the ADC was to
shoot him in his sleep.
In a meeting of Defense committee, it was decided that the accession of
Jammu and Kashmir be accepted, subject to the provision that a plebiscite would
be held in the state when the law and order situation allowed so. Morning on 27
October, 300 troops from first Sikh Battalion were airlifted for Srinigar. It
was the most momentous and quick decision ever taken by politicians in India.
JUNAGARH
Junahagarh was the same as Kashmir,
but in inverse. The small state surrounded by Indian Territory had no link with
Pakistan. When the Nawab of Junagarh, Sir Mahabatkhan Rasulkhanji, acceded to Pakistan.
India called for plebiscite and invaded Junagarh in end of October. Plebiscite
was held February 1048, when majority of Hindu population overwhelmingly voted
in favor of India.
UNO
The Kashmir dispute was one of the
major issues which the newly found UNO was to deal. Nehru referred the dispute
under article 35 of the UN charter which provided to bring to attention of Security
Council a situation whose continuance is likely to endanger the maintenance of
International peace. Sardar Patel believed that referring the dispute to UNO
was a mistake.
Ceasefire was finally imposed on 1
January 1949, signed by General Gracey on behalf of Pakistan and General Roy
Butcher, on behalf of India. It was the last document to be signed by two
Englishman on behalf of their respective Dominions.
SPECIAL
STATUS
The special status accorded to
Kashmir was not accorded to any of the former princely states. Legally, India’s
jurisdiction only extends to external affairs, defense and communication.
Maharaja Hari Singh had put
safeguards to his sovereignty in the instrument of accession.
Nothing in this instrument shall be
deemed to commit me in any way to acceptance of any future constitution of
India...(Clause 7)
The special status was later
proposed as an article in Indian constitution, drafted first as 306-A and later
finalized as article 370. Kashmir was allowed its own flag, Its democratically
elected Prime minister and a sadar-i-riyasat (governor) elected by state
legislature and not nominated from Delhi.
Pundit Nehru had a deep soft corner
for Kashmir, it being his ancestral homeland and so he took a special interest
in Kashmir. Unfortunately, he was not the best person for this job. Had he left
Kashmir to be handled by the then home minister Sardar Patel, the iron man of
India, it would have been a better alliance although without the special
status.
PEOPLE WHO MAKE HISTORY
Seikh
Abdullah also called the lion of Kashmir; first political role in government
was as head of Emergency Administration in J&K. His programme for the ‘New
Kashmir” envisaged that the Maharaja would only be a figurehead and condemned
the special rights and privileges of Maharaja who had all 2,200,000 acres of
cultivated land in Kashmir as his personal property.
Seikh Abdullah in March 1948 became the prime Minister of the state
while the Maharaja was sent on a prolonged holiday to Delhi and only his ashes
returned to Kashmir.
Although Abdullah overtly was loyal to India; but he never lost sight
of the third option- Independence of Kashmir. On 8th August 1953
Seikh Abdullah was dismissed as the Prime Minister and put under arrest.
On 8th April 1964 Abdullah was honorably acquitted and
released from Jammu Central jail. He later again became the chief minister of
J&K in alliance with congress, which he stated as not a change of policy
but a change of strategy.
Sheikh Abdullah appointed his progeny Farooq Abdullah as the president
of National Conference. On 8 September 1982 he died. A time when there was
peace in the valley of Kashmir and the apple orchids were blooming.
DIPLOMACY AND
WAR
The years that followed had been of diplomacy and war. The endless
talks between India and Pakistan resembled badminton. Each one pushing hard the
blame to others court.
India lost the war with China in 1962 which made Pakistan president
Ayub Khan and the other military commanders believe that that Hindu has no
stomach for a fight and the Pakistanis were elevated by the knowledge that
China had become Pakistan’s friend and ally.
August
1965 in ‘Operation Gibraltar’ the Pakistani crossed the cease-fire line. The
objective was to takeover Srinagar and after sizing the radio station ad the
airport declare ‘Liberation An additional operation Grand Slam was to take
procession of Akhnoor Bridge across the Chinab river and isolate the state of
Jammu and Kashmir, tapping the Indian army in the state.
The Indian counter offensive was more far reaching than the Pakistanis
had anticipated. India set offensive across the International frontier and the
Pakistanis were taken by surprise, Pakistan captured Khen Karan, a village near
Amritsir, when on 11 September India opened the floodgates of its dams trapping
nearly 100 Pakistani tanks. It became the graveyard of Pakistani tanks... for
Pakistan the war was over.
The ceasefire came into force on midday on 23 September. At Tashkent in
January 1966, Ayub and Lal Bhadur Shastri accepted the declaration which agreed
to return to positions prior to 5 Aug 1965.Within hours of close of
negotiations Sastri died of heart attack.
BIRTH OF TERRORISM
Algeria’s successful struggle against France and Vietnamese resistance
against America in 1965, build up hopes of Kashmiri nationalist that there
might be a way to change status quo in Kashmir. Prominent terrorists like
Amanullah Khan, Maqbool Bhatt and others formed a political party called
Plebiscite Front in Azad Kashmir (POK), with an armed wing called Jammu and
Kashmir National liberation Front (JKNLF). Bhatt who earlier acted as a double
agent for India and Pakistan, was the first one to secretly cross in the valley
to begin Operation against Indian Domain (OID). Four months later Bhatt was
apprehended. Charged for sabotage and murder he was sentenced to death and
created a sensation by escaping from the jail.
Bhatt was nabbed again when he returned from Pakistan and hanged to
death on 11 Feb. 1984.
Later within the valley, young Muslims were attracted to schools run by
Jammat-i Islami inspired by Muslim fundamentalist in Middle east. In 1975
Seikh Abdullah who wanted to build a secular Kashmir and thus was in favor for
association with India rather the largely feudal and dictatorship prone regime
of Pakistan, ordered closure of Jammat schools.
The growth in support of Islamic movement came after Iranian revolution
and Afghan resistance to Soviet occupation in 1979. it was further boosted when
five Muslim states emerged out of disintegrated Soviet Union.
BANGLADESH
Seikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, led tha Awami
League to victory in 1971 elections in East Pakistan, but was challenged by
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his Peoples Party in West Pakistan and he called for
independent country for Bengalis, Bangladesh. Pakistani Army began severe
repression of the secessionist movement.
There was a break up of third Indo-Pak war in 1971.On 16 December 1971
Pakistani Army surrendered to India in Dhaka racecourse. India retained 94,000
prisoners of war, the largest POW’s ever taken. India also occupied 5,000
square miles of Pakistani territory in Sindh, including part of Rann of Kutch,
which was lost to Pakistan in 1965 arbitration.
SHIMLA ACCORD
At the end of third Indo-Pak war in June 1972, Indira Gandhi met
Zulfakir Ali Bhutto, the new Pakistan president, at Shimla. Bhutto agreed to
cease fire line to line of control, for which he earlier proposed the term
‘line of peace’ and would gradually be endowed with characteristics of
International border. Bhutto secured the release of the POW,s and 5,139 square
miles of territory.
THE BLOOD BATH BEGINS
By the end of 1980’s the law-and-order
situation in the valley deteriorated. There was widespread unemployment in the
valley as there were hardly any new Industries, grievances were raising and
there had been steady erosion in the ‘special status’ promised to the state in
1947, accompanied by the gross neglect of the people by their leaders.
1989 marked the beginning of
insurgency. The protest strikes in that year took up one-third of the year’s
working days. The governor Jagmohan had been sending ‘warning signals’ of the
‘gathering storm’ which were as usual-ignored. He was replaced by retired
general, KV Krishna Rao.
Several Muslim political parties
formed militant wings. Some groups like JKLF favored independent Kashmir while
others like Hizb-ul-Mujaheddin, Harkat-ul Ansar, Lashkar-i Toibaand numerous
other splinter groups supported unification with Pakistan
Pakistan with its
history of animosity with India, naturally was tempted to make the best of the
opportunity and so Pakistanis ISI- the inter service intelligence- set up by
General Zia-hi-Haq, which had played a leading role in Afghanistan, begin
active in Kashmir.
In 1989, Azad Kashmir radio
eliminated the entertaining programmes to concentrate on inspiring programmes
related to freedom struggle and also relayed some programmes from radio
Pakistan
AZAD KASHMIR
The Pakistan occupied Kashmir also called Azad Kashmir have a puppet
independent self-government which is ostensibly elected. It owes its alliance
to the government in Pakistan.
The northern areas with its Shia dominated population although
administered by Pakistan is not a part of it and have only become a ‘fifth
zone’-zone E.
KIDNAPPING, LOOT AND ARSON
In early days or Insurgency, the
women were attacked for not adhering to the prescribed dress code of burka. The
apple orchards owned by Hindus, who fled, have now been divided by top
militants.
Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, India’s first Muslim home minister after six
days of his holding office
received the news of his 23 years old daughter, Dr
Rubaiya Sayeed, kidnapped by JKLF. On 13 December 1989 two hard-core militants
including JKLF leader Seikh Hamid, were released in exchange of Rubaiya Sayeed.
THE TOUGH APPROCH
General Krishnam Rao who had been
office as the governor for just over six month was replaced by Jagmohan and Farooq
Abdullah resigned as Chief minister stating he could not co-operate with “a man
who hates the guts of Muslims”.
Kashmir’s problem was put aside in
favor of policy of repression. There was restriction on press and press
releases were issued from the governor’s office. On 19th Feb. 1990
Jagmohan dissolved the State legislative assembly and the only avenue for
political expression now was the mosque. Jagmohan’s strategy was to militarise
the state, with Delhi’s backing.
The continuing curfew led to severe
shortages of food, medicine and other essential items. The hospitals were full
of victims of insurgency that a Bone and joint hospital in Srinagar was changed
to the Hospital for Bullet and Bomb blast injuries.
The mass exodus of the Hindus from
the valley begin from March that year, who took residence in Delhi or in
squalid tents in over fifty camps on outskirts of Jammu.
By end May Jagmohan was replaced by
a new governor Girish ‘Gary’ Saxena. However, the repression and retaliation
went on.
For the Kashmiris, the familiar pattern of attack by militants on
specific targets, reprisal by the government, cordon and search operations to
flush out militants and find weapons and the call by militants for strike, had
become a part of daily life with little dialogue in between.
There had been apparently inexhaustible supply of weapons from
Afghanistan through Pakistan to the Kashmiri militants, which include AK
rifles, universal machine guns, Chinese pistols, snipers, rocket launchers, and
grenades. Strangely, the belief persists that Kashmiris, despite all the guns,
were not dedicated fighters. ‘In Kashmir you talk of paper-thin almonds,
paper-thin walnuts and also of paper-thin militants’. The Kashmiri militants
usually complained of being bullied around by their counterparts from
Afghanistan and other Arab countries.
Sometimes JKLF laminated that Hizb-ul Mujahadeen being pro-Pakistan
found more support in Pakistan at their expense and sometime other militant
groups got distressed at JKLF gaining support on the slogan of azadi at the
expense of pro-Pakistani sentiments.
The militants, who could not withstand torture under interrogation,
were turned as ‘Cats” (Concealed Apprehension Tactics) to identify fellow
militants. A series of security forces operations began from August 1992 with
Operation Tiger, Shiva, Eagle Cobra, with the aim to suppress the militants
with ‘Catch and kill’ policy.
In February 1993 over thirty political parties grouped together to form
All Parties Hurriyar (Freedom) Conference (APHC) with the late Maulvi Farooq’s
teenage son, Omar, as its chairman.
NORMALISATION
The nature of legislation in force in Jammu and Kashmir was without
redress. Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (1978) permitted people to be
detained for up to two years on vaguely defined grounds. The Terrorist
activities and Disruption Act 1987 (TADA) was a blatant contravention of the
right to freedom of speech. The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers
Act (1990) could be 8used to suppress legitimate political activity. In
February 1992, the state was brought under extended President Rule
Throughout insurgency government remained highly sensitive about the
behavior of security forces in Kashmir as alleged excesses, indiscriminate
killings, abuses, arbitrary disappearances and human rights violations further
alienated the people. In March 1993, General Krishna Rao was sent as governor
for the second term of office. He was also supposed to install more discipline
among the security forces.
The image of the army was improved with provision of free medical aid
to people, free film shows of some latest bollywood films and greater
transparency in actions.
Kukka Parrey, a folk singer, with support of the Indian government,
assembled a group of over 1,000 fighters to liberate a part of valley from
militant control and restrict activities of Hizb-ul Muhaheddin. Other counter
insurgency groups were formed and BSF also succeeded in creating Kashmir
Liberation Jihad force out of former surrendered militants. Later these
militants were rehabilitated into CRPF and BSF.
HAZRATBAL
Since the spring of 1993, militants controlled the area around
Hazratbal Mosque. By the autumn, Indian government decided to take action. The
area was cordoned off, leaving about hundred militants and some civilians
inside the mosque. People feared the outcome to be similar to the storming of
Golden temple in Amritsir. After thirty-two days of negotiations the militants
surrendered.
THE SUB-CONTINENT GOES NUCLEAR
Since its first nuclear test in1947,
on May 11 and 14 without warning, Indian government conducted five underground
nuclear test thus challenging the monopoly of the five member nuclear club.
Pakistan’s nuclear capability was a open secret and on May 28 it announced to
have conducted five tests in Chagai in deserts of Balochistan, and one more
test on 30 May to equal out with India.
Pakistan was far more venerable
economically than India, still both counties continued to carry out long-range
missile test capable of carrying nuclear warhead. However, during SAARC meeting
in July both countries resumed formal talks.
On 20 February 1999, the Indian
Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpai visited Pakistan on the inaugural run of
Delhi –Lahore bus service. He was welcomed by Pakistan Prime minister Nawaz
Sharif to a banquet in Lahore Fort and a Lahore declaration was signed agreeing
to refrain from intervention and interference into each other’s internal
affairs.
KARGIL
Soon after the both Prime ministers
shaking hands, in the spring of 1999, under cover of heavy artillery and motor
fire from Pakistan, about 600 hundred militants including Afghan mercenaries
and regular Pakistani solders moved into the 16,000 feet mountains in Kargil.
This operation-involved occupation of 130 previously held Indian piquet’s. Now
they were able to threaten the security of the Srinigar-Leh road and also
Indian supply routes to Siachen glacier. India’s costly aerial bombing was not
sufficient to flush out the insurgents holding the high ground positions amidst
the difficult terrain. So the Indian army moved in.
India resorted to aerial
bombardments of militants. Tempers ran high in India when bodies of six Indian
solders, badly mutilated were returned to Indian government by Pakistani army.
A force of 600 men needs a ton of food a day. Food rationing and ammunition
back was provided from Pakistan which denied involvement. However on Aug 14, 64
personnel, mostly from the Northern light infantry were given gallantry awards
for their role in Kargil, and NIL was induced into regular army.
Along the 85-mile battlefront, the
recapture of point 5140 on the Tololing height, is described as
unparallel in the history of mountain warfare marked the beginning of series of
series of victory in operation ‘Vijay’; the battle for Tiger hill marked the
turning point since the 16,500 ft peak overlooked the main road from Kargil to
Leh. Finally on 26 July – ten weeks after aerial bombardment begin –Lieutenant
Genera N.C Vij, Indian head of Military operations; announced that the last of
the Kashmiri infiltrators had been expelled. The Indian army also prepared to
maintain a year-round watch of about 8,000 to 10,000 soldiers at the estimated
cost of 1.8 million dollars a day along Kargil district.
Kashmir
with an armed rebellion which is no where close to ending and with the LOC
requiring constant supervision, has led to mental breakdowns and ‘faggin’, when
soldiers go berserk, shooting their comrades and then themselves.
On 12 October, General Musharraf
staged a bloodless coup ousting Nawaz Sarif as prime minister.
HIJACKING
On 24 December 1999, a group of
Kashmiries hijacked an Indian Airlines airbus, with 178 passengers and 11
crewmembers, on its way from Nepal to New Delhi. The plain tried to land in
Lahore but was denied permission by the Pakistani government. The hijackers
forced the plain to land in Amritsir, before making an emergency landing in
Lahore to refuel and to take food; it then took off to Kabul where authorities
stated safe landing was impossible at night. The plain went off to Muscat,
Oman’s capital but was refused permission to land so it went to United Arab
Emirates for refueling and flew on to Kandahar next morning. They demanded
release of 35 Kashmiri militants, and a 125-million-dollar ransom. After three days
they reduced their demands and Indian government agreed to three militants
including Maulana Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Zargar and Sheikh Omar Saeed who was
involve in kidnapping of three Britons (later released) and being a British
passport holder was legally free to return Britain.
AGRA HONEYMOON
In spring of 2001, Vajpayee invited
Mushrraf to India. Prior to his visit Mushrraf also assumed the office of
president. In mid July after Mushaeeaf’s nostalgic visit to his ancestral home
in Old Delhi, the Indo Pak talks were held in Agra with no mutually acceptable
outcome. Mushrraf was not prepared to concede to include a mention of the word
“cross-border terrorism” and concluded the summit by returning abruptly to
Islamabad in middle of the night.
SEPTEMBER
11
On
Tuesday 11 September, four plains were hijacked, two of which were flown into
the World Trade Center in New York, and another into pentagon, while fourth
crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
United stated government was
convinced that that the terrorist attacks were instigated by Saudi dissident,
Osama bin Laden, based in Afganistan since 1996 and supported by Taliban regime
of Mullah Omar, which was in turn supported by Pakistan. After a brief
deliberation, President Musharraf affected a complete U-turn in his Afghan
policy and announced his alliance with President Bush against the Taliban in a
‘war on Terrorism’.
ATTACK ON
INDIAN PARLIAMENT
On 1 October there was a suicide
attack on the Srinagar assembly in which 38 people died. Mushrraf immediately
telephone Vajpai to condemn the act of ‘terrorism’.
On 13 December there was a attack on
Indian Parliament in which 14 people were killed. Vajpayee immediately ordered
closure of the border between India and Pakistan and suspended all flights to
Lahore. The only on foot entry and exit point at Wagah – mid-way between Lahore
and Amritsir – was open for use of foreigners and nationals ‘on official
business” only. India geared up its military for a strike which after
postponements was finally called off.
India demanded extradition of 20
most wanted Indians, sheltered in Pakistan to be handed back. Although General
Mushraff made some gestures and statements for peace, but would do no more.
DANIEL PEARL
A Wall Street correspondent Daniel pearl
was kidnapped in Kranchi on 23 January. Finally a month after his kidnap, his
death was confirmed by a videotape sent to US consulate in Kranchi exhibiting
pearl throat being slaughtered with a knife. Seikh Omar Saeed, released after
December 1999 Hijacking of Indian airlines airbus, confessed his involvement in
the kidnapping. Terrorist could no longer be compartmentalized.
KASHMIR TODAY
Of the entire happening, Kashmiri
people had been on the receiving end. Following 13 December attack on Indian parliament,
all STD dialing out of state and Internet facilitates were cut off.
Agriculture, fruit orchards and carpet business have been effected by poor
management and marketing. Usually, the funds do not reach those to whom it is
destined.
After thirteen years of insurgency,
an estimated 5,000 thousand were widows, with possibly more of women whose
husbands have disappeared, leaving them as breadwinners, neither free to grieve
nor re-marry. Over 50,000 children are orphans.
The pundit community still remains
exiled from their homes. The tourist industry has dwindled and many latest
tourist guidebooks do not mention Kashmir.
SOLUTION
Across the border in Pakistan,
despite the warmth that exists between Pakistanis and Indians at social and
intellectual level, the Pakistani establishment have fallen victim to the
belief that India is committed to destabilizing and fragmenting Pakistan.
There needs to be a change of hearts
by mature politics. Pakistan is caught up in its own cynical trauma of domestic
unrest, religious extremism and military takeovers.
Attempts must be made to consolidate
the Line of Control as International boundary. Indian government must
understand that the inhabitants of Pakistan occupied Kashmir have never shown
any desire for union with India. Areas like Siachen glacier, where more people
die of frostbit and avalanches than in battle must be demilitarized. Both
Pakistan and India may find it too great a climb down to accept it. But it is
worth the losses otherwise made and for the stability and peace of the region
and development and prosperity of both the nations.
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