“ IF THERE IS HEAVEN ON EARTH IT IS HERE , IT IS HERE - Emperor Jahangir on Kashmir .
This couplet seemed so far off to the Kashmiri policeman , who was being thrashed by an angry mob on the streets of Srinagar , as indeed it has seemed to the security personnel of both the army and other para military personnel who serve their posting in the valley , for more than two decades now .
For me , who grew up with images of the cine star Shammi Kapoor yoodelling away in Kashmir , in innumerable movies or with the image of Sharmila Tagore in and as Kashmir Ki Kali or for that matter Amitabh Bachchan in the movie Bemisaal , with the song “ Kitni khoobsoorat yeh zamin hai , …..yeh Kashmir hai , yeh Kashmir hai ,” the image of the helpless policeman being thrashed mercilessly , which appeared in the newspapers , a couple of days ago , is another reminder of the hell Kashmir has been transformed into .
The reason for this brutal assault was the culmination of the protests against the decision of the Jammu and Kashmir govt. to transfer 39.88 hectares of forest land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board to erect pre fabricated structures for temporary accommodation of pilgrims on the Amarnath yatra . Pertinent to mention that the Amarnath yatra proceeds for two months every year , so these temporary structures are to be taken down after being used for two months .
The response of Syed Ali Shah Geelani of the Hurriyat Conference –“This will alter the demographic character of our state”, he thundered at a recent rally in Srinagar , he further went on , “ I caution my nation that if we do not wake up now , India and its stooges will succeed and we will lose our land forever.”
Incidentally , Geelani who is an outright proponent of Kashmir acceding to Pakistan , still draws the pension he gets from the consolidated fund of India , in his capacity as an ex-M.L.A . Readers might wish to brush up on the definition of hypocricy and double standards . This time around , I will not oblige them with the definition .
And the reaction of the Indian state:
The newly appointed Governor N.N.Vohra , in his capacity as chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board , drops the land transfer request and requests the state government to take over the yatra arrangements , thereby making the transfer of land as null and void .
Please brush up on the definition of appeasement also , while you are it , dear readers .
That the transfer of land had been approved by the coalition govt of PDP and the Congress , and the fact that after approving the decision as part of the cabinet , the same PDP withdrew its support to the government , is nobody’s case . We in Indian polity have lost the respect for the collective decision of the cabinet a very long time back . Remember the charade in Karnatka , a few months back .
But the implications in Kashmir of an event of such magnitude , are very different from the rest of the India, as our enlightened political commentators keep reminding us . Indeed respected sirs, where else do we get reminded as the state being “their nation” as Geelani reminded us .
Well even though nothing emanating out of Kashmir surprises anybody , but this takes the cake . In a state of the country ( I seek forgiveness from Geelani sahib for referring to Kashmir as such , He might send his ‘freedom fighters’ after me ) , where nobody except the Kashmiris are allowed to buy a piece of land , thanks to Article 370 in the constitution of India , Geelani is scared of the demography being changed by temporary arrangements for pilgrims for two months in a year .
How ? Well who has the time to ask such questions . You might have a few Mujahideens knocking at your doors .
Well maybe Geelani and his cohorts , including the presumably ‘secular’ Omar Abdullah , whose father , Farooq, struts around the country in his capacity as member of BCCI ( cricket board) , Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP , who interestingly , refers to her father Mufti Mohd . Sayed in every alternate sentence ( remember him , readers , the same man who while he was the minister of state for home affairs under V.P. Singh , ensured the release of five terrorists in lieu of his kidnapped daughter ) , have an idea of demography change , since lakhs of Kasmiri Pandits were driven away from Kashmir with their complicity , resulting in an ‘ethnically pure’ Kashmir . So who better than these people to be scared of ‘demographic change’.
The tragedy of Kashmir can be traced back to 1947 and the decision regarding accession . Maharaja Hari Singh , encouraged by the indulgence of the British and Pandit Nehru , who himself had an underlying soft corner for Kashmir , vacillated on the decision to integrate with either India or Pakistan , presumably because he wanted to remain independent , but apparently because he wanted to drive a hard bargain .
The Pakistanis were in no mood to oblige , and true to its style , sent in thousands of its army regulars as tribals into Kashmir , in a bid to forcibly accede it to Pakistan . Maharaja Hari Singh , at this stage was still in a fix , but the pillage and loot , indulged in by the Pakistanis , forced his hand , and he hurriedly acceded to India. Field Marshall Manekshaw , who was present at the meeting convened by Pandit Nehru to discuss the accession request from The Maharaja, had an interesting anecdote to narrate regarding the meeting :
“ Jawaharlal kept on talking about the U.N , Africa, Europe , God Almighty . Sardar Patel finally got exasperated , and said, Jawahar Lal do you want to obtain Kashmir or not ? Jawharlal said that he did want Kashmir , to which the Sardar replied , Then please pass your orders.”
This incident sums up the vacillating approach the Indian state and its polity has adopted towards Kashmir , ever since .
Anyway , following the P.M’s orders , the Indian army landed in the valley and wrested the state from the Pakistani grip, at great expense . But the moment India gained an upper hand , Mountbatten , in his capacity as Gov. Gen and Chairman of the newly created defence council , engaged in deceit at the behest of his masters in London , and convinced Nehru to refer the issue to U.N . The Indian army which was on the verge of driving away the Pakistanis , stopped in its tracks , and the rest , as they say , is history .
The role of the U.N , the issue of plebiscite , the Indian stand of the Pakistani army withdrawing to pre 1947 days ………..the list is endless .
Then came the biggest blunder of them all …..ARTICLE 370 , of the constitution .
Apparently , in the wisdom of the leaders , Kashmir was , well…’different’ and therefore needed special treatment . Why ? Well we in India neither demand explanations nor expect one .
Therefore a non Kashmiri cannot buy land in Kashmir , the laws of the land do not apply to Kashmir , unless and until the state govt. ratifies it , and so on and so forth . Can we really blame Geelani for referring to Kashmir as ‘their nation’. Did our leaders at any point of time really wanted a complete integration of the state into the country ? Pray tell me , as to what makes Kashmir ‘special’ compared to say Chattisgarh or Arunachal Pradesh or a Tamil Nadu ? Things have reached such a stage where it is taboo to talk about Article 370 , for raising questions regarding its essentiality is liable to get one branded ‘communal’.
The drift in Kashmir continued ever since 1947 , for our leaders and bureaucrats (that unholy nexus ) could not make up their collective mind on which leader to support and whom to oppose , sometimes it was Shaikh Abdullah , sometimes Mohd. Ghulam Bakshi , sometimes Farooq Abdullah and sometimes G.M. Shah . A game of musical chair went on and so did a systematic loot of the resources of the state . The secessionist leaders and the polticians ,who are raising such a hue and cry over allotment of land to the shrine board , should also verify about the extent of the exploitation of forest trees in the state to build the majestic farm houses of some of these leaders also.
The Indian state has remained a mute spectator , while the state drifted away . Pro Pakistan slogans were raised throughout the stadium in Srinagar , when India played the West Indies , in a one day international match , way back in 1983 . Incidentally , India had just recently won the world cup . The Indian players were heckled .
New Delhi , remained silent .
The drift continues .
In the recent agitation , the grand mufti of Kashmir , Mufti Bashiruddin , raised Pro Pakistan slogans ,in full public view . The same mufti draws his salary from the Govt . The PDP of Mufti Mohd. Sayed and Mehbooba Mufti , during the last assembly elections , was openly supported by the cadres of the terrorist outfit , the Hizb –ul-Mujahideen , who eliminated the supporters of the National Conference of Farooq Abdullah . Not to be left behind , the National Conference has reportedly taken the lead in mobilsing the agitation , this time around . With the assembly elections around the corner , there is a great fight amongst the parties to secure the support of you know who ....
Do not expect New Delhi to speak .
Interestingly the life span of an elected assembly in J&K is six years , compared to five years for the rest of the country . The effects of article 370, you see. After all , this state has ‘special’ needs .
Any child psychologist will tell you that the requirements of a child in his formative years are special , and that the child need special attention of its mother . But if the mother prolongs the ‘special’ needs of the child when he has crossed the formative years , rest assured that the child will grow up as a stunted individual , who will keep clamouring for those ‘special’ needs , throughout his life .
Kashmir , it appears has been developed into one such child .
The ability to maintain our silence has cost the nation dear . The inhumane manner in which the Kashmiri Pandits were hounded out of their home and hearth , has parallels with only the genocide of the Jews in Nazi Germany . As the threats were being issued openly from the loudspeakers installed in the mosques , the Pandits were at times given one hour to leave their homes . Even then they were not allowed to take their belongings , and the women folk brutally raped and harassed . Imagine being driven out of your home , where your family has lived for centuries and that too under these circumstances . One of the leaders of these marauders was Yasin Malik , the latest entrant to Gandhigiri . The way this great man is treated by our 'liberals’ is an exercise in duplicity .
New Delhi obviously never speaks , but the shame is that neither did we , the common men .
Thousands of Kashmiri pandits still live in refugee camps in various parts of the country , trying to come to grips with reality . As they do not constitute a vote bank , why bother !!
To hear the Geelanis and the Mehbooba Muftis speak of ‘demographic change' , in view of a yatra of two months, is , well……..
For years we have been fed on a diet of the virtues of ‘Kashmiriyat’ , and its apparently ‘secular’ outlook , by our media. Even today we are being provided stories of Kashmiris feeding the yatris . No reference is ever made to the outpourings of ‘our land ‘ , ‘our nation’ which also emnates from these very people . Furthermore , with the treatment of the Kashmiri Pandits and the ethnic cleansing , you decide for yourselves .
The attack on the policeman , referred to in the first column and which appeared in the newspapers , was not an attack on an individual but an attack on the Indian State . The same state instead of imposing the rule of law appears powerless to react . The Governor , who represents the Central Govt . ,withdraws the request for the land for the shrine board . All concerned claim moral victory . The only entity which loses , is the country .
It appears that we refuse to learn from history .
“ I believe it is Peace for our Time .” –Neville Chamberlain , after the Munich Pact with Hitler in 1938. the results of the ‘peace’ need no elaboration
Before signing off , I wish to take this opportunity to pay my tributes to Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw , who has been an inspiration . His integrity , forthrightness
and nationalism has and will always remain a guiding light . I consider myself too small a man to discuss his achievements , but the fact that the defence minister did not attend his funeral , due to 'political preoccupations , in view of the unfolding political scenario', and the Chief of the Army Staff could not make it because he was 'in Moscow' , gives us ample hints about the fact that Sam Bahadur was a real MAN , who cared for the truth and nothing else . Wish we had more of the breed , so that this blog would not be required .
MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE .
