KASHMIRentinelS Let Truth Prevail

Vol. 12, No: 1 January, 2007 Pages 20 Price Rs. 10/-

INSIDEEDITORIAL..........................Page 3

HISTORYKashmir DisputeThe Myth-IV.........Page 4

ANALYSISBangladeshElection 2007:A contest betweenJehadis & democraticforces..................Page 5

PERSPECTIVEIndia & Pakistan : CanMindsets & PerceptionsChange?..............Page 6

REVIEW ARTICLERoots of CongressAmbivalencelie in History........Page 8

DIPLOMACYBack channeldiplomacy: whereit will lead to.........Page 9

HUMAN RIGHTSRefugees demandUniform Policy....Page 10

MEDIA SCAN*Sinha questionsMusharraf's sincerity.Pg 12*An AudaciousGamble..............Page 13

CONCERNWho cares forPandits?............Page 14

REPORT*Autonomy,Self Rule secessionistpropositions-PK...Page 15*Kashmiri Panditswill not return to aTalibanisedsociety...............Page 16

BOOK-REVIEWKashmiri Pandits-Exile LiteratureComes of Age....Page 17

CHRONOLOGY.........................Page 18

HOMAGEPandit Janki NathKachroo............ Page 19

JKENG 00333/26/AL/TC/94 JK No: 1213/18 Regd. JK-219/2006

e-mail: kashmirsentineljk@yahoo.co.in

A very Happy New Year

KS CorrespondentNEW DELHI, Dec 16: Describ-

ing communalism as root cause ofKashmir problem and opposingany demilitarisation, the speakersat the seminar-Countering Seces-sionist Politics in Kashmir , organ-ised by Panun Kashmir, askedIndia to be tough against terror-ism, follow the peace-processkeeping national interests in mindand find out a solution to Kash-mir imbroglio that is acceptable toKashmiri Pandits.

Speaking on the occasion, GParthasarthy, former Indian diplo-mat, described "Kashmir" as asymbol of crisis between Indianand Pakistan and observed that'Army establishment in Pakistanwas enemy of strong India.

"Kashmir is not the cause butthe symbol of Indo-Pak differ-ences. A democratic, secular andpluralist India, growing rapidlyand gaining in international stat-ure is something the Pakistani mili-tary establishment cannot accept",said Mr Parthasarthy. ChidingPrime Minister Manmohan Singhfor describing Pakistan as victimof terrorism, Mr Parthasarthy said,"Not just Kashmir,. destabilizationof India is an integral part of thepolicy of Pakistani military estab-lishment".

G Parthasarthy said that usingradical Islam as a weapon is thestate policy of Pakistan and it usedit in India as well as Afghanistan.He said that the radicalisation inthe Valley started from the daysof Zia when even Farooq led Na-tional Conference found it politi-cally expedient to go along with itand the process picked up steamwith introduction of Wahabi ori-ented groups.

Describing Hurriyat leaders asstooges of Pakistan, who havebecome, more affluent after 1990,Mr Parthasarthy said that armedelement is getting closer and closerto the mainstream political partiesor has links with them and as suchwe have to see where the internaldialogue is leading to. He added

PANUN KASHMIR SEMINAR

Don't Follow Weak-kneed Approachon Kashmir, Warn Panelists

that "they (Hurriyat) willchange track if Musharraf orthe armed element operatingfrom across the border changethe track". He rejected that Dr

Farooq Abdullah's demand forpre-52 status and said that In-dia has to bring clarity to itsfocus.

Mr Parthasarthy asked Pan-dits to join hands with othernationalist groups in J&K likeLadakhis and even Shias ofKargil to see that the situationdoes not go out of hand andopined that "the internal dia-logue process has to be kept

within manageable dimensions".Saying that there cannot be

soft options to deal with terror-ism, Mr Parthasarthy regrettedthat India has not a national law

to deal withthe menace."At a timewhen theworld isstrengthen-ing its lawsagainst ter-rorism, we areunique andhaving dubi-ous distinc-tion of beingthe onlycountry with-out a na-tional law todeal with the

terrorism", he regretted.Referring to recent proposals

of Pakistan President GeneralPervez Musharraf, MrParthasarthy said that divisionof state into regions, as is beingsuggested, seems to be a copyof proposal that emanated from"Kashmir Study Group" ofFarooq Kathwari and as long asKashmir is an integral part of In-dia, which it will continue to be,no foreign government can tell

us where to deploy or not to de-ploy the troops.

Mr Parthasarthy added thatself governance is more requiredon the other side of LoC andthere is no problem instrengtheing the bond betweenthe people across the LoC.

Maintaining that we cannotpretend that rest of the world isnot going to be interested inKashmir, Mr Parthasarthy saidthat India should engage Paki-stan in dialogue by rejecting pro-posals like division or demilitari-sation and discussing issues likepeople to people contact etc.

Indirectly blaming the presentleadership for lack of courageand will, Mr Parthasarthy said,"If we have a Prime Minister likeMrs. Indira Gandhi, we can raisethe cost of Pakistan".

Former Intelligence BureauChief Ajit Doval said that Paki-stan President Parvez Musharrafhas left its recent proposals asambiguous and warned Indiathat any change in the statusquo in favour of Pakistan willamount to same mistake Indiadid in 1972. He also asked Indiato accept solution to Kashmirissue that is acceptable to

Panelists during the Seminar from (L) Sh. G.Parthasarthy, Dr. Shakti Bhan, Sh. Ajit Doval,Sh. Manoj Raghuvanshi & Prof. Savita Pandey. --KS photo

Dr. Ajay Chrungoo, Chairman Panun Kashmirspeaking during the seminar. --KS photo

(Contd. on Page 7)

2KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

THOSE WHO LEFT USKashmir Sentinel and Panun Kashmir Foundation mourn their sad demise and pray for the peace to the departed souls.

1. Sh. Madhu Sudan Raina S/o Lt. Sh. Nilkanth Raina ofAnantnag; presently at Shastri Nagar, Jammu. 25/11/2006

2. Sh. Manmohan Fotedar S/o Late Sh MR Fotedar;presently at 103-B, Gandhi Nagar (Near RotaryBhawan), Jammu. 27/11/2006

3. Smt. Sheela Ji W/o Lt. Sh. Arjan Nath Koul, R/o VillageWuyan Pampore, Kashmir. 27/11/2006

4. Sh. Dwarika Nath Raina S/o Late Sh. Arjan Nath RainaR/o Reshi Mohalla Habba Kadal Sgr; presently at SectorB-2, Laxmipuram (Near Pushkar Sewa Ashram) Chinor,Bantalab, Jammu. 27/11/2006

5. Sh. Avtar Krishan Kak/Mandloo S/o Late Sh. ShambooNath Kak, R/o Shivpora Sgr; presently at California USA.28/11/2006.

6. Sh. Kashi Nath Zadoo R/o Ganpatyar Sgr; presently at223, Sector 13, Vasundara Gaziabad. 28/11/2006.

7. Sh. Sham Lal Khosa S/o Late. Sh. Shankar Nath Khosa,R/o H.NO: E-44, Sector-39, Noida. 28/11/2006

8. Smt. Jagat Mohini Raina (Soni Ji) W/o Lt. Sh. Jagar NathRaina Taragam Qazigund Teh. Dooru, Distt Anantnag;presently at H.No: 9, Lane-1, Saraswati Vihar BaraniJammu. 29/11/2006

9. Smt. Renu Koul W/o Lt. Gopi Nath Koul, R/o PulwamaChillipora; presently at Muthi Camp Qtr. No: 486, Phase-I, Jammu. 30/11/2006

10. Smt. Gunwati Munshi W/o Lt. Shambu Nath Munshi, R/o Kilam Anantnag presently at H.No: 151, Sector-3,Faridabad Haryana. 30/11/2006

11. Sh. Bishambar Nath Trisal, R/o Narparistan, FatehKadal, Sgr, at present 68/251, Pratap Nagar, Tonk Road,Sangeer Jaipur. 30/11/2006

12. Smt. Shabawati Dhar W/o Late Sh. Janki Nath Dhar, R/o Chatabal/Jawahar Nagar Sgr; presently at BharatNagar Talab Tillo, Jammu. 30/11/2006

13. Sh. Makhan Lal Sapru S/o Late Sh. Jia Lal Sapru, R/o56, Drabiyar Habba Kadal Sgr; presently at 145-LumbiniAptts., Sector-14, Kaushambi Gaziabad (UP). 2/12/2006

14. Sh. Makhan Lal Kaul (Chaman) S/o Late Sh. Gwash LalKoul (Chaman), R/o Bagh Jogi Lankar, Rainawari, Sgr;presently at 242-G, HIG, Partap Vihar, Ghaziabad (UP).4/12/2006

15. Sh. Pyare Lal Raina S/o Late Sh. Lambodar Raina, R/oGund Ahalmar Nai Sarak Sgr; presently at H.No: 27-A,Luxmi Puram Sector A-I Chinor (Bantalab) Jammu. 4/12/2006

16. Smt. Prabhawati Pandita (Shangroo) W/o Late, Sh. PNPandita, R/o 124-P, Extn. 1A Mandir Lane Trikuta NagarJammu. 4/12/2006

17. Smt. Lakshmi Shori W/o Sh. Sharika Prasad Pandita R/o Bagiyar, Chattabal Kmr; presently at H.No: 12, LaneNo: 4, Sector-1 Bantalab. 4/12/2006

18. Sh. Gopi Nath Bhat S/o Late Sh Sansar Chand Bhat, R/o Village Udroo Sholipora Distt. Budgam; presently atH.No: 137/F Janki Vihar Lane No:2, OLd Janipur. 5/12/2006

19. Dr. Chaman Lal Munshi R/o 231/7, Channi Himmat Jammuformer Head of Deptt. of Geology Jammu University. 5/12/2006

20. Sh. Triloki Nath Bhat R/o Kathwar, Dist. Budgam;presently at Block No:8, Qtr. No:7, Police Colony GulshanGround Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. 5/12/2006

21. Sh. Kuldeep Narian Shangloo S/o Late. Sh Nand LalShangloo, R/o Batyar Alikadal Sgr; presently at 183/1,Vinayak Nagar Upper Muthi Jammu. 5/12/2006

22. Smt. Tulsi Bhat (Pyare) W/o Prithvi Nath Bhat, R/oDangarpora, Shopian Kashmir; presently at 1694Kangposh Jain Nagar, Karala Delhi 11081. 5/12/2006

23. Smt. Mohini W/o Sh. Jawahar Lal Raina, R/o VicharNag; presently at 59-E (JMC-1449) Bharat Nagar, TalabTilllo, Jammu. 5/12/2006

24. Smt. Man Mohini Qanoongo W/o Lt. Sh. Triloki NathQanoongoo, R/o Narparistan 2/3 Bridge Sgr; presentlyat A/32 Upper Shiv Nagar, Jammu. 6/12/2006

25. Smt. Somawati Ganjoo W/o Lt. Sh SN Ganjoo, R/oChowdhary Bagh Rainawari; presently at H.No: 11,Lane No: 7, KB Nagar, Bantalab. 7/12/2006

26. Smt. Roopa Rani Koul W/o Sh. SK Koul, R/o Naqashpora/Raj Bagh; presently at 0-132 Freedom Fighters ColonyNeb Sari New Delhi. 7/12/2006

27. Smt. Krishna Kath W/o Sh. GL Kath R/o Nazuk MohallaAnantnag; presently at 170/2-A, Roop Nagar EnclaveJammu Jammu. 7/12/2006

28. Sh. Bansi Lal Raina S/o Lt. Sh. Prem Nath Raina, R/oDurga Nagar, Talab Tillo at Sea Breez Aptt. Tower No:8,Flat No: 1402 Sector 16, Naroli Washi Mumbai. 7/12/2006

29. Sh. Mohan Lal Saraf S/o Late Amarchan Saraf R/o

Batapora Shopian, Kmr; presently at H.No: 209/6Shantipuram Muthi. 7/12/2006

30. Smt. Sarla Devi, R/o Sheelteng, Habba Kadal Sgr;presently at H.No: 11, Sector A/1, Laxmi Puram,Bantalab, Jammu. 8/12/2006

31. Smt. Pushpa Bhat W/o Late Sh. Brij Nath Bhat R/o H.No:5, Lane Opp. to Indian Oil Pump, Tawi Vihar Colony,Sidhra. 8/12/2006

32. Sh. Mohan Lal Raina (Razdan) S/o Late. Keshav NathRaina, R/o Karshangam; Pahalgam; presently at AnandNagar Bohri, H.No: 127-A, Lane No: 5. 9/12/2006

33. Smt. Meena Wati Razdan W/o Sh. Vasu Dev Razdan,R/o Salia Anantnag; presently at H.No: 780-A, PremNagar New Plot, Tali Morh, Jammu. 9/12/2006

34. Smt. Uma Saproo W/o Late Sh. Nand Lal Saproo, R/oShutrashahi Sgr; presently at H.No: 701, Vishal Nagar,Talab Tillo, Jammu. 9/12/2006

35. Dr. Kanaya Lal Koul, S/o Late Dr Lambodhar Koul, R/oChandapora Habbakadal Sgr; presently at Flat No: 27,Saraswati Aptt. Sector-9, Rohini Delhi-85. 10/12/2006

36. Sh. Pyare Lal Raina (Razgaroo) S/o Late Sh. Nand LalRaina, R/o Drabiyar, Habakadal, Sgr; presently at 111/1, Indira Vihar, Amba Cinema Janipur. 10/12/2006

37. Sh. Kashi Nath Tickoo S/o Late Sh. Madav Ram Tickoo,R/o Koil Pulwama; presently at H.No: 5, Lane No:1,Basant Nagar, Janipur. 10/12/2006

38. Dr. Neena Bambroo W/o Prof S.N. Bambroo, R/o GogjiBagh Sgr; presently at Charamwood Suraj Kund Road,Faridabad /. 10/12/2006

39. Smt. Shobawati Koul W/o Late Sh Jia Lal Koul, R/oDrabiyar Habbakadal, Sgr; presently at H.No: 160,Sector-7, Lower Roop Nagar, Jammu. 11/12/2006

40. Smt. Leelavati Pandita W/o Late DN Pandita, R/oChinigund Verinag; presently at 144 Nowabad, SunjwanRoad, Jammu. 12/12/2006

41. Smt. Sham Rani Mattoo W/o Late Sh. Dawarika NathMattoo, R/o 270-A, Gandhi Nagar, Jamu. 12/12/2006

42. Mrs. Kaushalya Dhar W/o Prof. KN Dhar, R/o Motiyar,Rainawari Sgr; presently at Flat No: 24, Gangotri AptBlock-F Vikaspuri New Delhi. 12/12/2006

43. Sh. Sham Lal Bhat S/o Late Pt. Chander Joo Bhat, R/o282-C Vipin Garden Kakrolla Morh New Delhi original,R/o Rawoocha Rafiabad, Sopore Kmr. 12/12/2006

44. Sh Pridiman Krishan Rishi S/o Late Sh. SarwanandRishi R./o Akingam Fathepora Anantnag, Kmr; presentlyat Muthi Camp Community Hall Jammu. 13/12/2006

45. Sh. Gopi Nath Koul S/o Late Sh Shiv Jee Koul, R/oNaisarak, Gund Ahalmar Sgr; presently at Qtr. No: 213,Nagrota Camp Phase-I. 13/12/2006

46. Sh. Chaman Lal Wanchoo S/o Lt. Madho Ram Wanchoo,R/o Baramulla; presently at H.No: 437, Lane No: 11,Hazoori Bagh Bohri Jammu. 14/12/2006

47. Sh. Sat Lal Pandita, R/o Fohar Anantnag; presently atUdhampur. 14/12/2006

48. Sh Radha Krishan Koul S/o Lt. Sh. Vishan Koul, R/oBungund Verinag Kmr; presently at H.No: 1103 VedantNagar, Parnara Road Bahadurgarh, Haryana. 14/12/2006

49. Sh. Niranjan Nath Chakoo S/o Late Sh. Shridhar Chakoo,R/o 92, Ganptyar Sgr; presently at 36 Shalimar Garden,Lane No: 5 Hazuri Bagh, Bohri, Jammu. 14/12/2006

50. Smt. Lajwanti Mantoo W/o Late Sh. Shuder Joo Mantoo,R/o Mohalla Sangrampora Sopore; presently at H.no:84, Lane No: 9, Anand Nagar, Bhori, Jammu. 15/12/2006

51. Sh. Ved Lal Bhat S/o Late Sat Lal Bhat R/o PohrooBudgam; presently at Ganesh Vihar Phase II Muthi. 15/12/2006

52. Smt. Arandati (Boba) W/o Late Sh. Bal Ji Raina/Razdan,R/o Akhura Anantnag, Kmr; presently at H.No: 216/4Pamposh Colony Janipur, Jammu. 17/12/2006

53. Sh. Amar Nath Raina S/o Late Sh. Thokur Raina, R/oAchan Pulwama, Kmr; presently at H.No: 170, SuryaVihar, TCP Lane Lower Muthi Jammu. 17/12/2006

54. Sh. Chaman Lal Munshi S/o Late Sh. Shyam Lal Munshi,R/o Zanidar Mohalla Habbakadal Sgr; presently at 206,Sector-11, Gangyal Garden Jammu. 17/12/2006

55. Smt. Jai Kishori Wattal W/o Late Sh. Jagar Nath Wattal,R/o Bana Mohalla, Razdan Kocha Sgr; presently at NaviMumbai Vashi. 17/12/2006

56. Smt. Oma Shori Koul W/o Sh. TN Koul at Chandigarh;presently at 23/3 Pandoka Colony Paloura, Jammu. 18/12/2006

57. Smt. Gunwati Talashi W/o Late Sh. Prem Nath Talashi,R/o Dalseer Kunzgam Anantnag, Kmr; presently at LaneNo: 3, House No: 1, Sector-C Muthi Phase-II, Jammu.18/12/2006

58. Smt. Laxmi Shori W/o Late Pt. Rugunath Mattoo, R/o

Ghat Jogi Lanker Rainawari Sgr; presently at SunderNagar (Behind Govt School) Camp Road Talab Tillo. 18/12/2006

59. Sh. Romesh Kumar Raina (Kakaji) S/o Sh. Gopi NathRaina, R/o Handwara; presently at H.No: 6, Lane : 12,Hazuri Bagh, Bohri Jammu. 18/12/2006

60. Sh Triloki Nath Gurtu R/o Kharyar Habbakadal Sgr;presently at H.No:3, Lane-2, 1B East Ext. Trikuta Nagar,Jammu. 19/12/2006

61. Smt. Raj Lakshmi (Govri Shori) W/o Late Vish NathKoul, R/o Sayed Ali Akbar Raghunath Mandir Sgr;presently at Brij Nagar, Miran Sahib. 20/12/2006

62. Smt. Shyam Rani W/o Late Sh. Shamboo Nath Pandit,R/o Zaloora Sopore; presently at F-13A, Milap Nagar,Utam Nagar New Delhi. 20/12/2006

63. Sh. Maheshwar Nath Bhat S/o Late Anand Ram Bhat,R/o Sogam, Lolab Kupwara; presently at Lane-3, H.No:34, Sharda Colony Patoli, Brahmana. 20/12/2006

64. Sh. Omkar Nath Bhat S/o Late Sh. Kanth Ram Bhat R/oSogam Lolab, Kupwara Kmr; presently at Qtr. No: F/9,Muthi Camp, Phase-IInd. 20/12/2006

65. Sh. Narayan Joo Raina S/o Late Sh. Tara Chand Raina.R/o Babapora, Habakadal, Sgr; presently at 357/94,Gali No: 16-A, Ashok Vihar Gurgoan, Haryana. 21/12/2006

66. Sh. Arjan Nath Bhat S/o Lt. Sh. Mahadev Ram, R/oNagam, Chadoora Budgam; presently at H.No: 108-A,Swarn Vihar, Police Colony Durga Nagar, Sector-I,Jammu. 21/2/2006

67. Smt. Durga Ji Koul W/o Late Sh. Sudarshan Koul, R/o414 Jawahar Nagar, Sgr; presently at 52-A, IInd Ext.Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. 21/12/2006

58. Smt Tarawati Koul W/o Late Pt. Prithvi Nath Koul, R/oSirroo Dangerpora Pattan Kmr; presently at C/o BapuBhavan Om Nagar Udaiwala Bohri, Jammu. 21/12/2006

59. Sh. Radha Krishan Mattoo S/o Sh. Raghav Ram Mattoo,R/o Manigam Ganderbal Sgr at present Qtr. No: 386-R,Top Sherkhania, Jammu. 21/12/2006

60. Sh. Lakshmi Naryan Badawan S/o Lt. Sh. Kanaya LalBadawan, R/o Village Charath Ram, Tehsil Pattan,Baramulla Kmr; A/P.H. No: 391-B Sector-1, Durga Nagar,Jammu. 21/12/2006

61. Smt. Lakshmi Shori Raina (Hashia) W/o Late Sh. AmarNath Raina (Hashia) of 33-Karan Nagar, Sgr; presentlyat S-186-Greater Kailash, New Delhi. 21/12/2006

62. Sh. Swaroop Nath Koul S/o Late. Sh. Aftab Ram, R/oFatehpura Anantnag, Kmr; presently at 18-1/3, JDAColony Roop Nagar, Jammu. 22/12/2006

63. Sh. Hira Lal Bhan S/o Lt. Sh Tika Lal Bhan, R/o KaranNagar Sgr; presently at 3-B, Pkt. 6, MiG Flats, MayurVihar-II, Delhi. 22/12/2006

64. Sh. Janki Nath Jee Bhat S/o Late Sh. Srikanth Bhat R/oHyderpora Budgam; presently at H.No: 131, Sector-1,Sharika Vihar Lower Roop Nagar, Jammu. 23/12/2006

65. Sh Maheshwar Nath Raina R/o Tailwari Anantnag Kmr;presently at Unity Hall near Kak Sahib Ashram NagrotaCamp Jammu. 23/12/2006

66. Smt. Prabhawati Safaya W/o Lt. Sh. Prem Nah Safaya,R/o Shallayar Habbakadal, Sgr; presently at Hazuri BaghTalab Bohri. 24/12/2006

67. Sh. Dina Nath Wali S/o Late Sh. Govind Ram Wali R/o91-Jawahar Nagar, Sgr; presently at H.No: 9, Lane No:1, Chandan Vihar Muthi Jammu. 24/12/2006

68. Sh. Tej Bindroo S/o Late Sh. PN Bindroo R/o Ram GhatBaramulla kmr; presently at near Aanchar FactoryBarnai Jammu. 24/12/2006

69. Sh. Pushkar Nath Jalali, R/o Bagdaji Kralyar RainawariSgr, Kmr; presently at H.No: 37, Durga Nagar EnclaveBehind Samaj Sudhar Janjghar Jammu. 25/12/2006

70. Sh. Hriday Nath Pandita S/o Late Sh. Suraj Ram Pandit,R/o Village Krishna Teh. Distt. Kupwara, Kmr; presentlyat Qtr. No: 492, Block-O Phase-III Purkhoo Camp Jammu.25/12/2006

71. Sh. Romesh Kumar Bhat S/o Sh. Radha Krishan Bhat,R/o Sagam Anantnag; presently at Battal Balian CampUdhampur. 25/12/2006

72. Sh. Manmohan Kakroo, R/o Baramulla; presently at CW-42, Malibu Town, Sohana Road, Gurgaon Haryana. 25/12/2006

73. Sh. Brij Krishen Handoo, R/o Qazi Mohalla, Anantnag(Kmr); presently at H.No: 125, Dream City, Lane No:3,Muthi. 26/12/2006

74. Sh. Janki Nath Pandita, S/o Late Sh. Keshav NathPandita, R/o Turigam Devbugh Kulgam; presently at 5/2, Roop Nagar Enclave Jammu. 26/12/2006

75. Smt. Krishan Dhar W/o Late Dr. PN Dhar R/o PatpargunjDelhi. 26/12/2006

3

Recently, the State Governor, Lt. Gen(Retd.)SK Sinha made two statementsof profound significance. One, he said

that religious fundamentalism was the rootcause of trouble in Kashmir. Secondly, he ruledout ‘Joint management’ of Kashmir, as soughtby Pak Military dictator, as impractical andagainst the interests of the country. For thefirst time a State Governor has gone on recordand been so eloquent in attributing alienationin Kashmir to religious fundamentalism. Thisdiagnosis, if carried to the logical conclusion,holds the potentiality of reclaiming Kashmiras part of secular nation-building in India.

EP Thompson, the great British Historianonce said that disinformation on history wasa nationalized industry in Britain. Thiscomment could well pass on for India in thecontext of Kashmir. Every time parochiallobbies in Kashmir rant against India, the self-apologetic Indian Civil Society and the politicalleadership get a convulsion. They lap up theraked up theses that link-up so-calledalienation in Kashmir to unfulfilled promises,rigging of elections, erosion of autonomy,underdevelopment and rampantunemployment. These are basicallysubterfuges, many times subversive in nature.

This self-deception has led to wrongremedies and prolonged the agony. TheCentral Govt. has been pumping tons and tonsof money into Kashmir, which has notcontributed in any way to development. Thislargesse has only served to fatten the pocketsof the rapacious local rentier class. This class,which shapes the local politics, has been usingthe instruments of communalism,fundamentalism and secessi-onism toblackmail the Centre into yielding moreconcessions and locally, to maintain itsstranglehold of hegemony on Kashmirisociety. Over the years, the pursuit of thispolitics led to serious regional economic andpolitical imbalances against Jammu andLadakh; and pushed Kashmiri Pandits outfrom their homeland through a process ofreligious-cleansing. When Pakistan decided tofish in troubled waters of Kashmir it was thisrentier class that cosied up to it. So long asthe Centre does not muster will to call thebluff of this class there will be ---no peace inKashmir, no end to regional discriminationagainst Jammu and Ladakh,no return ofKashmiri Pandits and reversal of theirgenocide,no secularization of society andpolity in Kashmir.

There have been three genres of Muslimcommunalism in Kashmir. One usescommunalism as part of identity formation,while the second one employs communalismto maximize interests of the local Muslim elite.

Pak has noPak has noPak has noPak has noPak has noclaimclaimclaimclaimclaimSir,

The proposals of GeneralMusharraf lapped up by someof our people need to be stud-ied carefully. His proposalsare i) Jt management, 2) SelfRule & 3) Demilitarisation.

What does 'joint manage-ment' cannote? Is it the 'jointmanagement' of the affairs ofthe state as a whole or of theborders of state? In the lattercase, the borders of the stateof whole need to be identified.Whether these refer to bor-ders of the J&K State as onthe eve of the tribal aggres-sion of 1947 or to the bordersthat are under the control ofthe two states of India and Pa-kistan respectively.

If the joint management isvisualised for the entire state,the suggestion of 'Self Rule'is ruled out: the two being mu-tually exclusive.

As regards phased demili-tarisation as suggested, itcould be considered as a meas-ure of trust and good will assoon as Pakistan withdrawsits forces from the state terri-tory to its own borders.

So far as renunciation ofany claim over the state by thegeneral, less said the better.Pakistan as an aggressor hasno legal or constitutional claimover any part of the state,which need to be clear to allconcerned.

—P.N. KaulTalab Tillo, Jammu

India projectsIndia projectsIndia projectsIndia projectsIndia projectsitself as a softitself as a softitself as a softitself as a softitself as a softstatestatestatestatestateSir

If the Ministry of ExternalAffairs (GOI) reaction to theturning down of the appealagainst Saddam's death sen-tence is anything to go by, itonly highlights Indian na-tion's lack of policy resolveand its projection as a clearsoft state. Time and againwhen it comes to crucial poli-cies on terror and external af-fairs, India does more Sabre-rattling than taking concreteactions and measures onground. This has been evi-dent right from the killing ofKashmiri Hindus in 1990 on-wards, especially the slicing

of a Kashmiri Hindu lady intopieces on saw mill, ‘stage man-aged’ kidnapping of Mufti'sdaughter, Kandhar hijacking, kill-ing of nurse Sarla Bhat etc. to thepending death sentence on Afzaland expressing an opinion on thelatest Iraqi developments Govt ofIndia lacks tough policy mecha-nism which can project India as aglobal leader, not be throttled byanybody—external or internal

—Venkatesh. K.SBangalore

Kashmir ShaivismKashmir ShaivismKashmir ShaivismKashmir ShaivismKashmir ShaivismSir,

After receiving much awaitedissue of KS of November, we haveread it thoroughly by now.Though all articles are readablebut “Down memory lane in theparadise” that was written by SriSumer Koul and the speech ofSwami Amritanand Ji,Shankaracharya ofSharadapeetham to commemoratethe birth centenary of SwamiLakshman Ji have fascinated usvery much.

We were having a list of allKashmiri Sanskrit literateurs rightfrom Kashyap Rishi to presenttimes which we copied from'Kalyan', a monthly magazinebeing published from Gorakhpur(UP) but it was lost. We have notforgotten this loss so far.

Please publish complete his-tory of Institute of KashmirShaivism, Srinagar from itsfounder to Lakshman Ji Maharajand preent position of its library,having collection of rare books.We also want to know about allKashmiri Sanskrit literateurs andscholars with names of bookswritten by them.

—K.D. TiwariBarra-7, Kanpur.

E D I T O R I A LE D I T O R I A LE D I T O R I A LE D I T O R I A LE D I T O R I A L

De-fang CommunalismThe third variety needs communalism to buildup the fundamentalist consciousness insociety.However, what is common to all thethree is that these seek total Muslim precedencein all walks of life in J&K .This has distortedgovernance and held back secularization ofKashmiri Muslim society. Since every policyhas to submit to operatives of Muslimprecedence, every institution, howsoeveregalitarian, ends up strengthening Muslimcommunalism. The sense of heightenedexclusivist Muslim identity makes Kashmiris feelalienated in secular India and turn tosecessionism. Complementary politics ofmoderate \radical Islamist groups on one handand the separatist\mainstream parties on theother need to be viewed in this context.

What are India’s stakes in Kashmir? Whenthe Muslim-majority state of J&K acceded tosecular India in 1947 it knocked out soul oftwo-nation theory priniciple.By raising thedemands of ‘Self-rule’,’Autonomy’,’JointManagement’, as voiced by a section ofregional party politicians in Kashmir, aren’t were-introducing two-nation theory throughbackdoor as all these propositions imply limitedaccession? Also, an active functioning secularsociety in Kashmir would determine whetherIndia would remain secular or not. If the Hinduminority in the only Muslim –majority statecannot live there as a matter of right and choicewhat remains of secularism in India? Howwould Kashmir be secular if reversal ofgenocide and return of Displaced KashmiriPandits is not a priority for Kashmiri politicians?In fact, these politicians have been trying toplead with New Delhi that Kashmir wasbasically a Muslim problem and only Muslimsneed to be consulted. A community whichhas undergone religious-cleansing should haveno say in determining the future of a placewhere they have to ultimately live! What betterproof is needed for such unabashedcommunalism? This surely is not the way tostrengthen India and the practice of its religiouspluralism.

There are no two choices in Kashmir.Without knocking out the material basis ofcommunalism in Kashmir and demythifyingsecessionism tackling terrorism would remaina pipe-dream in Kashmir. Instead of identifyingforward looking elements in Kashmiri society,which do exist,successive Central Govt's havebeen patronizing such varieties of Muslim sub-nationalism which, even while not challengingaccession openly, continue to promoterevanchist forms of communalism. What betternation expects from a political leadership whichhas reduced nation-building to chasing vote-banks and practicing political expediency?

LLLLLETTERETTERETTERETTERETTERSSSSS

KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

JKENG 00333/26/AL/TC/94JK No: 1213/18Regd. JK-219/2006Printer Publisher B.N. Kaul for andon behalf ofPanun Kashmir Foundation.Editor: SHAILENDRA AIMAComputer Graphic:S.K. BabbuPrinted at : The Kashmir TimesPress, Gangyal, JammuOwned by:PANUN KASHMIRFOUNDATIONPublished from PANUN KASHMIRFOUNDATION, 149 Ram Vihar,Old Janipur, Jammu-180007(INDIA)Tele/Fax: 0191-2538537e-mail: kashmirsentineljk@yahoo.co.in

HISTORYHISTORYHISTORYHISTORYHISTORY 4

By Dr MK Teng

Pakistan resorted to the distortion of the history of thetransfer of power in India,

to justify its claim on Jammu andKashmir. Inside Jammu andKashmir the National Conferenceleaders who ruled the State fordecades after its accession toIndia, resorted to the distortionof the history of the accessionof the State to India, to legitimisetheir claim to a Muslim State ofJammu and Kashmir inside Indiabut independent of the IndianUnion and its political organisa-tion. Not only that. The Muslimseparatists forces, which domi-nated the political scene in theState after the disintegration ofthe National Conference in 1953,also resorted to the fossilisationof the facts of the accession ofthe State to India. Interestingly,the entire process of the distor-tion of the history of the acces-sion of the State, spread overdecades of Indian freedom as-sumed varied expressives fromtime to time.

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullahwho headed the Interim Govern-ment instituted in March 1948,disclaimed the Instrument ofAccession executed by HariSingh, as merely the Kagzi Ilhaq'or "paper Accession" andclaimed that the "real accessionof the state to India" would beaccomplished by the people ofthe State, more precisely theMuslim majority of the people ofthe State. While the Constitutionof India was on the anvil and theissue of the constitutional pro-visions for the States came upfor the consideration for theConstituent Assembly of India,Sheikh Mohammad Abdullahclaimed that the National Con-ference had endorsed the acces-sion of the State to India on thecondition that the claim the peo-ple of the state had to a separatefreedom was recognised by In-dia and the leadership of the Na-tional Conference had been as-sured by the Indian leaders thatthe people of Jammu and Kash-mir would be reserved the rightto constitute Jammu and Kash-mir into an autonomous politicalorganisation, independent of theIndian constitutional organisa-tion. Sheikh MohammadAbdullah and other NationalConference leaders, claimed thatthey had been assured thatJammu and Kashmir would notbe integrated in the constitu-tional organisaion of India andthe assurances were incorpo-rated in the Instrument of Acces-sion. They stressed that they hadagreed to the accede to India onthe specific condition that the

Kashmir Dispute The Myth-IVKashmir Dispute The Myth-IVKashmir Dispute The Myth-IVKashmir Dispute The Myth-IVKashmir Dispute The Myth-IVMuslim identity of the Statewould form the basis of its po-litical organisation.

In his inaugural address to theConstituent Assembly of Jammuand Kashmir convened in 1951,Sheikh Mohammad Abdullahwho was the Prime Minister ofthe Interim Government of theState, claimed that the Constitu-ent Assembly was vested withthe plenary powers, drawn fromthe people of the State and inde-pendent of the Constitution ofIndia. He claimed that the Con-stituent Assembly was vestedwith the powers to opt out of In-dia and assume independence orjoin the Muslim state of Pakistan.Fifty years later the claims SheikhMohammad Abdullah made inthe Constituent Assembly wereechoed in the first Round TableConference, convened by theGovernment of India in 2006, toreach a consensus on a futuresettlement of the Kashmir dis-pute. Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beg,represented the People Demo-cratic Party in the Round TableConference which was a con-stituent of the coalition govern-ment in the State, headed by theCongress Party. Beg claimed,that the Instrument of Accessionwas a treaty between two inde-pendent states, the Dominion ofIndia and the Jammu and Kash-mir State and the ConstituentAssembly was a sovereign au-thority, independent powers in-herent in its sovereignty.

The Government of Indiamade no efforts to put the recordstraight. Frightened at the pros-pect of losing the support of theNational Conference the Indianleaders did not question the ve-racity of the claims the Confer-ence leaders made. Indeed, theydepended upon the support ofthe National Conference to winthe plebiscite which the UnitedNations Organisation was hecti-cally preparing to hold in theState. The Indian leaders, over-whelmed by their own sense ofself-righteousness, helpedovertly and covertly in the falsi-fication of the history of the in-tegration of the Princely Stateswith India and the accession ofJammu and Kashmir with the In-dian Dominion in 1947. Many ofthem went as far as to link theunity of India with the reasser-tion of the subnational identityof Jammu and Kashmir, which theMuslim demand for separate free-dom for the Muslim symbolised.

The Indian IndependenceAct of 1947, laid down separateprocedures for the transfers ofpower in the British India and theIndian Princely States. ThePrincely States were left out of

the partition plan, which dividedthe British Indian provinces andenvisaged the creation of theMuslim state of Pakistan. In re-spect of the Princely States, theIndian Independence Act, envis-aged the lapse of the para-mountcy-the power which theBritish Crown exercised over theIndian States. The British Gov-ernment clarified its stand on thefuture disposition of the Statesin the British Parliament duringthe debate on the Indian Inde-pendence Bill. It categoricallystated that the lapse of the Para-mountcy would not enable thePrinces to acquire Dominion sta-tus or assume independence.The British Government made itclear that the reversion of theParamountcy to the rulers of theStates would inevitably lead tomutually accepted agreementsbetween the Dominions and thePrincely States which would in-volve their accession. The IndianIndependence Act did not envis-age in the procedure the acces-sion of States. The Nawab ofBhopal approached the Diplo-matic Mission of the UnitedStates of America in India to seekthe recognition of the Independ-ence of his state. The AmericanGovernment snubbed the Nawaband refused to countenance anyproposals for the independenceof the Princely States in India. Itwas left to be formulated by thetwo Dominions of India and Pa-kistan. The Political Departmentof the British Government of In-dia was divided into two sepa-rate Political Departments—thePolitical Department of Pakistanto deal with the Indian PrincelyStates. The Political Departmentof India was put in charge ofSardar Vallabhai Patel and thePolitical Department of Pakistanwas put in charge of SardarAbdur Rab Nishtar. The proce-dure for the accession of theStates to the two Dominions wasevolved separately by their re-spective Political Departments.

The Muslim League however,insisted upon the independenceof the Princely States in order toenable the Muslim ruled statesto remain out of India. The Mus-lim League aimed to Balkanisethe Princely States and place thestate of Pakistan in a positionwhich provided it a way to forgean alliance with them. The IndianStates spread over more thanone-third of the territory of Indiaconstituted more than one fourthof the Indian population. Someof the Muslim ruled PrincelyStates were largest among thePrincely States of India and sev-eral of them were fabulously rich.

The claim Sheikh Mohammad

Abdullah made in his inauguralspeech to the Constituent As-sembly of the State that theStates had the option to assumeindependence was a reiterationof the stand the Muslim Leaguehad taken on the future disposi-tion of the states following thelapse of the Paramountcy. Thelapse of the Paramountcy did notunderline the independence ofthe States. It did not envisagethe reversion of any plenarypowers to the Princes or the peo-ple of the states as a conse-quence of the dissolution of theParamountcy. The states werenot independent when they wereintegrated in the British Empirein India. They did not acquireindependence when they wereliberated from the British Empire1947. They were not vested withany inherent powers to claim in-dependence to which SheikhMohammad Abdullah referred toin his inaugural address to theConstituent Assembly.

The convocation of the Con-stituent Assemblies in the Stateswas provided for in the stipula-tions of the Instrument of Ac-cession that the Princely Statesacceding to India, executed. TheInstrument of Accession de-vised by the States Departmentof Pakistan for the accession ofthe States to that country did notenvisage provisions pertainingto the convocation of the Con-stituent Assembly. The power toconvene separate ConstituentAssemblies was reserved for allthe major states the Union of theStates, which acceded to India.The Jammu and Kashmir Statewas no exception. In fact, Con-stituent Assemblies were con-vened, in the states of Cochinand Mysore and the State Un-ion of Saurashtra, shortly aftertheir accession to the IndianDominion.

The Constituent Assembly ofJammu and Kashmir was a crea-ture of the Instrument of Acces-sion. It exercised powers whichwere drawn from the state of In-dia and its sovereign authority.It did not assess any powers torevoke the accession of the Stateto India to bring about the ac-cession of the State to Pakistanor opt for its independence, asSheikh Mohammad Abdullah inhis inaugural address to the Con-stituent Assembly claimed or asMr Muzaffar Hussain Begclaimed in the Round Table Con-ference. The truth of what hap-pened during those fateful daysof October 1947, when the ac-cession of Jammu and Kashmirto India was accomplished wasconcealed by a irredentist cam-paign of disinformation which

was launched to cover the actsof cowardice and betrayal, sub-terfuge and surrender whichwent into the making of theKashmir dispute.

The National Conferenceleaders, were at no stage,brought in to endorse the acces-sion of the State to India. No oneamong them was required to signor countersign the accession andnone of them signed orcountesigned the Instrument ofAccession, executed by Maha-raja Hari Singh. The Indian Inde-pendence Act, an Act of the Brit-ish Parliament, which laid downthe procedure for the transfer ofpower in India, did not recognisethe right of self-determination ofeither the people of the BritishIndia or the people of the States.The transfer of power was basedon an agreement among theCongress, the Muslim Leagueand the British. The British andthe Muslim League stubbornlyrefused to recognise the right ofthe people of the British Indiaand right of the people of thePrincely State to determine thefuture of the British India or theIndian states. The MuslimLeague and the British insistedupon the lapse of the Para-mountcy and its reversion to therulers of the States. Accessionof the States was not subject toany conditions and the Instru-ment of Accession underlined anirreversible process the Britishprovided for the dissolution ofthe empire in India.

No assurance was given tothe National Conference leadersthat the Constituent Assemblyof the State would be vested withplenary powers or powers toratify the accession of the Stateto India, revoke it opt for its in-dependence or its accession toPakistan. Sheikh MohammadAbdullah and the other NationalConference leaders did not seekthe exclusion of the State fromthe Indian political organisationas a condition for the accessionof the state to India. Nor did theIndian leaders give any assur-ance to them that the Jammu andKashmir would be reconstitutedinto an independent political or-ganisation, which would repre-sent its Muslim identity.

*Note: The articles in thisseries are based upon the docu-mentary sources in the Archivesof India, Archives of Jammuand Kashmir, All India StatesPeoples Conference Papers,Nehru Memorial Museum;Contemporary NewspaperFiles and Interviews)

-To be continued

KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

ANALYSISANALYSISANALYSISANALYSISANALYSIS 5KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

By Prajnalankar Bhikkhu

Bangladesh is populatedby 147 million people 88%of them are Muslims. It is

one of the poorest countries inthe world. It was ranked the most“corrupt state” in the world forfive consecutive years (2001-05)by Transparency International,a German-based independent in-ternational organization thatstudies corruption in variouscountries.

The 2001 general elections inBangladesh voted a four-partycoalition led by Bangladesh Na-tionalist Party (BNP) to power.Jamaat-e-Islami and Islamic OkyoJote are the two major partnersof the coalition widely known fortheir extreme Islamic radicalism.

Many Islamic extremistgroups and organizations mush-roomed under the Khaleda Ziagovernment and gained strongground in the Islamic state (in thesense of recognition of Islam as“state religion”: Part I, Article 2A, Bangladesh Constitution). Astudy conducted by the DailyStar, an English daily in Dhaka,“over several months”, as itclaims, has come up with somestartling information. It identifiedthe presence of over 30 extrem-ist Islamic radical networks in thecountry.

The study, entitled “Insidethe Militant Groups-1: Trained inforeign lands, they spread in-land”, says “…Over 30 religiousmilitant organizations have setup their network across thecountry since 1989 with the cen-tral objective of establishing anIslamic state. Many of them havegiven armed training to theirmembers to conduct jihad” (TheDaily Star, Internet edition, 21August 2005, Dhaka).

Some of these groups and or-ganizations are Jagrata MuslimJanata Bangladesh (JMJB),Qwami Madrassa, Sama AdhikarAndolan (mainly active in theChittagong Hill Tracts), HarkatulJihad, Jama’atul MujahideenBangladesh (JMB), Islami BiplobiParishad, Shahadat Al Hiqma,Hizbut Towhid, Hizb-ut-Tahrir,Ahle Hadith Andolon, TowhidiJanata, Bishwa Islami Front,Juma’atul Sadat, Al JomiatulIslamia, Iqra Islami Jote, AllahrDal, Al Khidmat Bahini, AlMujhid, Jama’ati Yahia Al Turag,Jihadi Party, Al Harkat al Islamia,Al Mahfuz Al Islami, Jama’atulFaladia, Shahadat-e-Nabuwat,Joish-e-Mostafa, TahfizeHaramaine Parishad, HizbulMojahedeen, Duranta Kafela,Muslim Guerrilla, Al-Haramain

Bangladesh Election 2007: A contestbetween jehadis and democratic forces

Foundation (AHF) and AlRabeta Foundation.

The study reveals that thesegroups have a “nexus with main-stream political parties’ and “un-relenting access to arms”, andthe government’s “blind eye”made it possible for them tothrive in Bangladesh.

Many activists of thesegroups, says the study, are Af-ghanistan and Palestinian warveterans who fought there afterreceiving training in Pakistan,Libya and Palestine. After re-turning to Bangladesh, they scat-tered over the country andstarted militant activities. Ini-tially, a number of them set upmadrasas as cover, mainly toe-ing the Qwami line, which is themore orthodox system of Islamiceducation and needs no govern-ment registration. They chosethe forests of the Chittagong HillTracts (CHT), mosques and theQwami madrasas mainly in thenorth to train their activists.

Camps of these Jehadis witharms are specifically visible inMuslim dominated areas inBandarban Hill District of theCHT like Ruma, Lama, Alikadamand Nakhyangchari and Teknaf,Ramu and Cox’s Bazaar areas inSouthern Chittagong. Many ofthese Jehadis reportedly live inRohingha refugee camps andsettlements in Bandarban andSouthern Chittagong and pro-vide training, arms and funds tothem to fight against the authori-ties in Myanmar.

The Jehadi groups and or-ganisations are funded by Saudiand Kuwait-based Islamic or-ganizations, like Islamic HeritageSociety (RIHS), and have con-nections with international Is-lamist terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, Taliban and Jamia-Islamia(Indonesia) [The Daily Star, 21August 2005, Dhaka].

Many remnants of al-Qaedaand Taleban fled to Bangladeshafter the US-led coalition strikeson Afghanistan and Pakistan’sdrive under US pressure to crackdown on “Islamic terroristgroups” in its territory. Theyhave regrouped in Bangladeshwith support from the BNP-ledcoalition government, militaryestablishments and home-grownJehadi forces. A reporter rightlygrasped this fact in his dispatchcaptioned “Bangladesh is NowNew Rest Stop for Fugitives”(The Herald, 23 October 2002).

Poverty and corruption in thepoor Islamic state and the sym-pathy and support of the coali-tion government were used by

these “fugitives” highly trainedin sophisticated arms and terrorsand rich in resources. It led tothe creation of a suitable envi-ronment for resurrection of na-tional and international Jehadiforces in the country. This isobviously the reason why ElizaGriswold predicts Bangladesh tobe “The Next Islamist Revolu-tion” (The New York TimesMagazine, 23 January 2005). Infact, Bangladesh is now a newmeeting point of national and in-ternational Islamic Jehadi forces.This fact has also been well-documented in the Alex Perry’s“Deadly Cargo” (The New YorkTimes Magazine, 21 October2002) and Bertil Lintner’s “Bang-ladesh: A Cocoon of Terror”(The Far Eastern Economic Re-view, 4 April 2002).

The Jehadi forces have al-ready shown the colon of theiractivities in the following inci-dents:

1. Assassination of opposi-tion leaders (bomb blasts on theAwami League rally on 21 Au-gust 2004 in Dhaka in whichformer Prime Minister Ms. SheikhHasina was narrowly survivedand dozen of her party col-leagues were killed, bomb blastskilling former Finance MinisterShah S. A. M. S. Kibria alongwith four other opposition lead-ers on 27 January 2005 in Dhaka;

2. Violent attacks on Westerninterests (grenade hurling on theBritish High Commissioner on 21May 2004 in Sylhet apparentlyfor UK’s role in the US-led “coa-lition campaign” in Afghanistanand Iraq);

3. Control over and suppres-sion of independent media per-sons, human rights activists, in-tellectuals and indigenous politi-cal leaders [bomb blasts atKhulna Press Club hurting fourjournalists on 4 February 2005,threat to the office of the Bengalidaily Prothom Alo in Dhaka on19 August 2004, killing of aDhaka University professorHumayun Azad on 11 August2004, threat to “controversial”writer and feminist TaslimaNasreen and writer and minorityrights activist Salam Azad whichforced them to flee the countryfor personal security recently,barring the PCJSS (ParbatyaChattagram Jana Samhati Samiti,the only political organizationrepresenting the Jumma indig-enous people) President andCHT Regional Council ChairmanJyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larmafrom attending the UN Perma-nent Forum on Indigenous Issues

held in May 2004 in New Yorkand blocking the passport ofRupayan Dewan, Vice-President,External Relations, PCJSS];

4. Coordinated explosions ofover 500 bombs across the coun-try at the same hour on 17 Au-gust 2005 by the Jehadi forcesas part of their showdown;

5. Systematic atrocities, eth-nic-cleansing and racial discrimi-nation against the indigenouspeoples and religious minorities(blatant violation of the CHTAccord signed between thePCJSS and the previous AwamiLeague government in 1997, vio-lent communal attack on the 14indigenous villages on 26 Au-gust 2003 in Mahalchari, militarycrackdown on indigenous politi-cal and student activists on 25May 2004 in Guimara and grow-ing religious intolerance andatrocities against Hindus, Bud-dhists and Christians in plain dis-tricts); and

6. The largest arms haul withover 1 million ammunitions on 1April 2004 in Chittagong is linkedwith Bangladeshi and interna-tional Jehadi groups. Interest-ingly, the authorities often im-plicate innocent Jumma indig-enous people with “illegal arms”and highlight their photos ingovernment-controlled media tocover up the existence of thesegroups and to divert the atten-tion of the international commu-nity from the growing menace ofJehadi forces in the country andto justify the Bangladeshi mili-tary regime in the CHT.

But the Prime MinisterKhaleda Zia on 1 July 2003 toldparliament that no al-Qaeda menexist in Bangladesh. “There areno fundamentalists or zealots inthe country,” she told Ulemas(Islamic scholars) on 6 Septem-ber 2003.

However, as early as March8, 1999, Islami Oikya Jote Chair-man Fazlul Haq Amini told a pub-lic meeting, “We are for Osama[bin Laden], we are for theTaliban and we will be in gov-ernment in 2000 through an Is-lamic revolution”

“An Islamic revolution willtake place by Qwami madrasas,”Amini said at an Islamic confer-ence in Comilla on March 1 thisyear. “By terming us gun run-ners and terrorists, Qwamimadrasa movement cannot bestopped,” he added.

The Jehadi forces are report-edly using the Southern CHT,Cox’s Bazaar, Ukhiya and Teknafas routes to smuggle illegal armsfrom South-east Asian countries.Recently, news was flashed inBangladesh media regardingprocurement of illegal arms byJehadi groups and their alliedpolitical gangs. Experts havevoiced concern over possibleuse of these illegal arms by them

against their political opposi-tions before and during the elec-tions.

The BNP-led four-party coa-lition government demitted officeon 28 October at the end of itsfive-year term. However, it left aCaretaker Government — con-sisting of eleven Advisorsheaded by the PresidentIajuddin Ahmed and assisted bythe Secretaries of various gov-ernment departments and a so-called “neutral” Election Com-mission — fully manned withBNP–Zamat party cadres andsupporters and Jehadi forces andstrongly backed by military of-ficers.

BNP’s four-party coalitionhas made a “fraudulent” voterlist in which 10.7 million voters,who are believed to be support-ers of the Awami League led 14-party alliance, have not been in-cluded. Nonetheless, over100,000 Rohingha refugees fromMyanmar, who are believed tobe supporters of the BNP and itsallies, have been included.

Out of the ten, four membersof the Advisors to the CaretakerGovernment have resigned inprotest of the “dictatorial” and“pro-BNP-Jamaat” role of thePresident Iajuddin Ahmed in theelection process. If the CaretakerGovernment manages to have itsway, it will bring back BNP coali-tion and Jehadi forces to power.

The 14-party alliance has hitthe streets to expose these de-signs. They have set conditionsfor their participation in the elec-tion. These conditions includeconstitution of a non-biased andneutral Election Commission,preparation of a new voter listthat includes all eligible voters.

In response, President ofBangladesh and Chief of theCaretaker government ordereddeployment of the military coun-try-wide to look after the “lawand order” situation. With thisorder the Caretaker Governmenthas granted a license to the mili-tary to kill the leaders of the op-position alliance. It has legalizedrepression of indigenous peopleof the Chittagong Hill Tracts bythe military and electoral fraudsby BNP-led coalition in the re-gion.

I conclude my write-up withthe words of an eminent minor-ity rights activist of Bangladesh(name is being withheld for se-curity reasons): “Bangladeshelection 2007 is a contest be-tween Jehadis and democraticforces. No democratic and pro-gressive force will survive inBangladesh if the Jehadis cometo power in this election.”

*(The author is General Sec-retary, Peace Campaign Group,an Organisation working forrights of refugees of ChittagongHill Tracts, Bangladesh).

PERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVE 6KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

By B. Raman(Observations made at a seminar on“STABILIZING THE INDIA –PAKISTAN PEACE PROCESS”organised at New Delhi on December 11,2006, under the auspices of the PakistanStudies Programme, South Asian StudiesDivision, School of International Studies,Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi,and the India International Centre, NewDelhi)

1. Perceptions and mindsets have tobe examined at three levels----individuals,society and the State institutions. UnderState institutions, one could include theruling class, the civilian bureaucracy, theArmed Forces and the intelligencecommunity.

2. Certain general observations wouldbe in order: In India, negative perceptionsabout Pakistan are more widespread at allthe three levels in the urban areas, but insmaller towns and rural areas the negativeperceptions are not that evident. Even inthe urban areas, the negative perceptionsare stronger in North India than in SouthIndia. In contrast, in Pakistan, thenegative perceptions about India arestronger in the small towns and in therural areas than in the urban cities. Peoplein the urban cities tend to be more positivetowards India.

3. In India, one cannot characterise thedifferent linguistic and ethnic groups onthe basis of their perceptions aboutPakistan. In Pakistan, one can, on thebasis of their perceptions about India. Iwould categorise the Sindhis, theMohajirs and the Balochs as largelypositive towards India, the Pashtuns, theSeraikis of Southern Punjab and the Shiasand the Ismailis of the Northern Areas assomewhat positive, and the Punjabis ofCentral and Northern Punjab, the peopleof Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK),who are largely Punjabi-speaking, and thetribals of the Federally-AdministeredTribal Areas (FATA) as largely negative.In Sindh and Balochistan, one finds thatpositive perceptions of India are widelyprevalent in the urban as well as the ruralareas.

4. The rural areas of Central andNorthern Punjab and the POK, some ofthe rural areas of the North-West FrontierProvince (NWFP) and the entire FATA,where the negative perceptions aboutIndia are the strongest, are also the mainrecruiting ground for the Pakistan Army.The Army gets about 75 per cent of itsrecruits in various ranks from these areas.Thus, the negative perceptions of thepeople of these areas about India getautomatically transferred to the Armywhen the people of these areas join theArmy in large numbers.

5. These areas, where the negative

INDIA & PAKISTAN:INDIA & PAKISTAN:INDIA & PAKISTAN:INDIA & PAKISTAN:INDIA & PAKISTAN:CAN MINDSETS &CAN MINDSETS &CAN MINDSETS &CAN MINDSETS &CAN MINDSETS &PERCEPTIONS CHANGE?PERCEPTIONS CHANGE?PERCEPTIONS CHANGE?PERCEPTIONS CHANGE?PERCEPTIONS CHANGE?

perceptions about India are the strongest,are also the areas where the influence ofreligious orthodoxy and clerics is thestrongest. Religious orthodoxy and theinfluence of the clerics on the minds ofthe people aggravate the innate negativeperceptions of the people of these areas.As a result, one finds that these areas,which send the largest number of recruitsto the Pakistan Army for defendingPakistan against India, also send thelargest number of volunteers to the jihaditerrorist organisations for waging a jihadagainst India and the Hindus.

6. According to a study made by Ms.Rubina Saigol, Country Director, ActionAid, Pakistan, last year, about 8,000Pakistani Punjabis, about 3,000 from theNorth-West Frontier Province and about500 from Sindh are estimated to have diedin the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir since1989. As against this, only 112 Balochshave died in Jihad, mostly in Afghanistan.That is, of the 11,500 Pakistani jihadis,who are estimated by a reputed Pakistanianalyst to have died while waging a jihadin India since 1989, 11,000, that is, 95 percent, came from this negative belt.

7. The largest number of soldiers ofthe Pakistan Army, who died in thevarious wars against India, and the largestnumber of Pakistani jihadis, who diedwhile waging a jihad against India andthe Hindus, came from these areas. Thenexus between the Army and Allah, ofwhich one often talks, has its roots in thisbelt. It is not unusual to find in manyfamilies of this negative belt, a son whohas joined the army and another, who hasjoined a jihadi terrorist organisation.

8. What are the defining characteristicsof the negative perceptions of each otherprevalent in the two countries?

• Firstly, a condescending/contemptuous attitude towards eachother. This is reflected in the Pakistanibeliefs that Islam brought civilisation tothe Indian sub-continent, that Islam issuperior to Hinduism as a religion, thatone Pakistani soldier is equal to two Indiansoldiers etc and in their harping on thefact that the Muslims ruled over theHindus once upon a time. This is equallyreflected in the Indian beliefs thatPakistan is a failed or a failing State, thatPakistan is a state where medieval ideasstill hold sway, that Pakistanis cannotgovern themselves that Pakistan is gettingrapidly Talibanised etc.

• Secondly, a deep distrust towardseach other. Pakistanis feel that the Hindusare a devious people, who cannot betrusted, and many people in India nursesimilar feelings towards Pakistan.

• Thirdly, a deep hostility towardseach other. Each suspects the other ofwanting to destabilise it.

9. What are the reasons for thesenegative perceptions? Partly innate andpartly historic. The innate reasons arisefrom the traditional distrust of the Hindusand the Muslims of each other. Thehistoric reasons could be attributed to thestill lingering memories of the Partition ofIndia in 1947, which was preceded andaccompanied by large-scale communalriots, in which the Hindus-Sikhs on theone side and the Muslims on the otherkilled hundreds of thousands of eachother. In these riots, the Hindus sufferedthe worst in Sindh, Pakistani Punjab andthe then East Bengal, the Sikhs sufferedthe worst in Pakistani Punjab and theMuslims suffered the worst in our presentStates of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi andWest Bengal.

10. Lingering memories of atrocitiesand sufferings create negative mindsets.In India, the impact of the lingeringmemories has been the strongest amongthe Hindus uprooted from Sindh and EastBengal and in Pakistan the impact hasbeen the strongest on the minds of thePunjabi Muslims. That is why, in India,any anti-Pakistan cause finds readyadherents from those who were uprootedfrom Sindh and East Bengal and inPakistan, any anti-India cause finds readyadherents from those uprooted from ourPunjab, Haryana and Delhi.

11. Interestingly, the Punjabi Hindusand the Sikhs, who migrated to India fromPakistan, and the Mohajirs, who migratedto Sindh from India, have by and largegot over the bitterness arising from thePartition memories and no longer nursethe same kind of negative perceptions ofthe country from which they had tomigrate.

12. In India, the Hindu nationalistelements draw considerable support in theareas where the Hindu refugees fromSindh and East Bengal have settled down.The original refugees as well as theirdescendents still nurse negative feelingstowards Pakistan. Similarly, in Pakistan,the Islamic fundamentalist elements drawconsiderable support in the areas wherethe Muslim refugees from Indian Punjab,Haryana and Delhi have settled down. Theoriginal Muslim refugees as well as theirdescendents still nurse negativeperceptions about India.

13. The negative perceptions aboutPakistan are the weakest in South Indiabecause there are hardly any Hindus inthe South with lingering painful memoriesof the Partition.

14. Certain post-partition historicreasons have also contributed tostrengthening these negativeperceptions. As examples, one couldmention, inter alia, the Pakistani belief thatIndia and the Hindus cheated it of J&K,Hyderabad and Junagadh, the wars andconflicts over the Kashmir issue and therole of India in the liberation ofBangladesh in 1971 and the Indianconviction that Pakistan has been behindmany of the insurgencies and terroristmovements in the Indian territory.

15. In India, while sections of thepolitical class may exploit the negativeperceptions in the minds of the peopleregarding Pakistan for partisan politicalpurposes, State institutions such as thecivilian bureaucracy, the Armed Forcesand the intelligence community do not.No attempt is made by the Stateinstitutions to keep alive the negative

perceptions and strengthen them. Theydo draw attention to the negativeperceptions in Pakistan about India andto the negative mindsets of the PakistanArmy and to the activities of the jihaditerrorists and the threats, which they poseto national security, but they do this inorder to safeguard our national securityand not for widening the divide betweenthe peoples of the two countries.

16. In contrast, in Pakistan, the Stateinstitutions---particularly the Army andthe Inter-Services intelligence (ISI), whichis controlled by the Army---act in tandemwith the religious fundamentalistorganisations and the jihadi terroristorganisations for keeping alive thenegative perceptions about India and forexploiting them to serve the Army'sinternal and external agenda. The Army'sinternal agenda is to exploit thefundamentalist and jihadi elements formarginalising the influence of themainstream political parties as Gen. PervezMusharraf did during the elections of 2002in the NWFP and Balochistan and as heis reportedly planning to do in theelections due next year. Its external agendais to exploit these elements for waging aproxy war against India in order to achieveits strategic objective relating to theannexation of J&K.

17. The misinterpretation of theconcept of jihad as justifying acts ofviolence against the external enemies ofIslam and the glorification of acts ofterrorism and suicide terrorism asmartyrdom in the cause of Islam were aconsequence of the exploitation andcalculated exacerbation of the negativemindsets of religious extremist elementsby the Army for serving its agendaagainst India. The Army of jihadi terroriststhus created in Pakistan's anti-India beltfor use against India was also usedagainst the Soviet troops in Afghanistanin the 1980s at the suggestion of theAmerican and Saudi intelligence and withthe funds and arms and ammunitionprovided by them.

18. This resulted in their concept ofjihad, which was till then India centric,acquiring initially a regional dimensionand then, when Osama bin Laden came toAfghanistan in 1996, a global dimension.What was initially projected before 1980as a jihad against India to acquire J &K,became a jihad against the USSR too inorder to drive it out of Afghanistan.Subsequently, under the leadership ofOsama bin Laden and Mulla MohammadOmar, the Amir of the ISI-createdTaliban,it metamorphosed into a globaljihad not only against all those perceivedas enemies of Islam, but even againstMuslims who were perceived ascollaborating with these enemies of Islam.The formation by Al Qaeda and 12 otherjihadi organisations of the Ummah---fiveof them from Pakistan's jihadi belt--- ofthe International Islamic Front (IIF) ForJihad against the Crusaders and theJewish People in 1998 marked thebeginning of this global jihad.

19. This global jihad for the first timebrought international focus on to thisArmy-Allah belt in Pakistan. The reportof the US National Commission, whichenquired into the 9/11 terrorist strikes inthe US, contains over 200 references tothe role of jihadi elements in Pakistan. Itcontains only one reference to India.

(Contd. on Page 10

CONTINUATIONCONTINUATIONCONTINUATIONCONTINUATIONCONTINUATION 7KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

(From Page 1)Kashmiri Pandits.

Referring to recent proposal of ParvezMusharraf, Mr Doval said that we shouldgive Pakistan, at least, the credit that theseproposals actually didn't emanate fromPakistan but from our side but hastenedto add that "it doesn't mean that it meetsour national requirements".

Referring to Prime Minister's assertionof "rendering borders irrelevant" or"loose borders" proposal, Mr Doval saidthat, "India and Pakistan cannot beborderless. If we move it from the existingplaces, it will come to Pathankot, the Pun-jab border by default". He added thatborders shall be managed as InternationalBorders and till the final settlement comes,the borders must be treated as good as"Wagah Border".

Advising not to get swayed by theeuphoria that terrorism will be over soon,the former IB chief said," terrorism is notgoing to end for many decades as Paki-stan as a state shall continue to be gov-erned and influenced by various types offundamentist elements".

Warning India to tread the path cau-tiously keeping in view past experience,Mr Doval said, "If we are going to changestatus quo in favour of Pakistan, which isbased on trust and belief, it will be thesame mistake we did in 1972. We trustedand believed that borders will be man-aged for all times to come but we didn'twrite it".

He added that it was presumed that byvirtue of the agreement the LoC actuallybecomes the border, but the subsequentregimes didn't honour the commitmentand even Bhutto who had made the com-mitment and Benazir Bhutto, who wasprivy to the fact, didn't honour it.

Mr Doval described Pandits as the oneaggrieved party that has suffered most interms of displacement and more dissatis-fied than any other community in Jammuand Kashmir. He said that no settlementshall be acceptable unless it satisfiesKashmiri Pandits. He added that "It willbe a good negotiating position for Indiato say it has no settlement acceptableunless it is acceptable to the uprootedcommunity and it will provide justice tothe community".

Referring to the Homeland demand ofPanun Kashmir, the former IB chief saidthat he was not in favour of divisions onreligious level but supported the demandon the basis of security reasons as it willgive India "a strong area within to sup-port and uphold the national security".Mr Doval said that there is convergencebetween the statements of Musharraf andHurriyat by design and asked India to seethat long term national security interestsare totally upheld.

Dr Ajay Chrungoo, Chairman PanunKashmir, accused Indian political estab-lishment of compromising with secularnation-building, avoiding to identify whatis ailing Kashmir and denying a space toany secular alternative in the state. DrAjay Chrungoo said that at the very out-set we subverted the secular nation build-ing and over the years this attitude hasled to a situation where we think secular-ism means managing those political par-ties which are opposed to the accessionof state with India marginally andmarginalising those political parties whichare blatantly opposed to the accession.

Accusing Indian leadership of com-

promising with Mus-lim subnationalismwhich in due processhas led to conver-gence of moderatesand hardliners andanybody who speaksof the nexus isdubbed as communal."We have tried toidentify the moderatevarieties of Muslimsubnationalism orcommunalism andpatronise them inhope to marginalisethe radical varieties ofMuslim communal-ism. And over theyears a relationshiphas developed be-tween moderate andradical communalismthat is reflected in col-laboration of Jammat-e-Islami with National Conference orHizbul Mujahideen with PDP. Unders-coring the need for abrogation of Article370, Dr Chrungoo said that there is totalreluctance across political parties to de-bate it and over the years we have held ita sacrosanct and tried to circumvent thearea to find a solution to the problem.Questioning the logic of special status tothe state, Dr Chrungoo said. "Is it basi-cally a process to keep J&K outside theconstitutional organisation of India? Is ita concept of creating another territory onthe Indian territory? Is it precisely on theprinciple that J&K state is a Muslim ma-jority state?"

Describing communalism as the basisof ailenation in Kashmir, Dr Chrungoosaid that Indias have been reluctant tocontest it and Panun Kashmir is trying tocorrect the same.

Referring to the peace-process withPakistan, Dr Chrungoo said that givingPakistan a locus standi to decide the fateof Muslim majority state has an ideologi-cal bearing and will be a historical blun-der. He added that "once Congress rec-ognised that Muslim league was the rep-resentative of Muslims, the process ofpartition started and giving locus standto Pakistan in Kashmir is a tragedy thathas happened in the contemporary his-tory of India".

Referring to the concept of porousborders, the PK leader said that there areapprehensions that it will have demo-graphic implications and added that thereare statistics with the Home Ministry thatabout 80 sensitive districts along bordersfrom Nepal to Kashmir have been demo-graphically changed.

Dr Chrungoo said that keeping in viewthese facts, Panun Kashmir demandedcreation of Homeland to the north andeast of river Jhelum with UT status wherethere is free flow of constitution. He fur-ther said that Panun Kashmir relentlesslycontests Muslim communalism and Mus-lim identity politics and will continue toarticulate that there is a section of popu-lation in Kashmir which relates its sur-vival to the free flow of Indian Constitu-tion.

Asking India to strengthen and debatesuch initiatives, Dr Chrungoo said thatthrough RTC we have introduced a de-bate and created a situation for strength-ening integration of the state with India.

Dr Chrungoo saidthat besides talkingto Pakistan, a para-digm needs to beevolved for encoun-tering and neutralis-ing the subversivereach of the separa-tists". The separatistregimes within theValley have demon-strated their subver-sive reach from timeto time by neutralis-ing the various poli-cies which were hav-ing a positive impacton the ground. Thissubversive reachforms a major sup-port structure of theentire militancy andthis capacity needsto be curtailed", as-serted Dr Chrungoo.

Giving a clarion call to the panelists,Dr Chrungoo said that there is a strangesort of consensus on national discourseon Kashmir which does not allow spaceor utilise the opportunities to defeat themenance of terrorism and the discourseneeds to be directed in nationalistic per-spective.

Renowned Journalist and TV Person-ality Manoj Raguvanshi described Islam-ist terrorism as root cause of problem inJ&K and said that unless we recognisethe fact we cannot solve it. "The problemis not of development or unemployment;the problem is of Islamic terrorism andunless you diagnose the problem cor-rectly, you will never be able to solve it".He added that the terrorism is not nowconfined to Valley or state of J&K but thecancer has radiated outside the state andcited Akshardam, Varanasi etc as exam-ples in this regard.

Claiming that he was the first journal-ist to report for "News Track Magazine"in July 1989 that there is gong to be ex-plosion of terrorism in J&K, he said thatfrom Kashmir to Indian Parliament therewere echoes that I was telling a lie andonly in December 1989, Rubiya Sayeed,the daughter of Union Home Minister-Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was kid-napped. Accusing successive govern-ments of pursuing policy of surrender,Mr Raguvanshi said that the governmentdid a stupid act by releasing terrorists andsame stupidity was reflected when AtalBihari government released the terrorists.Pointing towards fundamentalist wavethat has taken the Valley by storm, MrRagunvanshi regretted that "the peopledidn't celebrate release of Rubiya Sayeedbut the terrorists". Describing Madrasasas hub of preaching Jehad, he chided DrMurli Manohar Joshi for his policy of in-troducing element of modern educationin Madrasas. In a satirical way he saidthat while the Madrasas would continueto preach and teach Jihad they would si-multaneously teach computer educationfor better networking of Jehadists.

Referring to recent comment of PMManmohan Singh that Muslims have firstright to resources, Mr Raguvanshi saidthat successive governments have pur-sued appeasement policy and same ten-dency was reflected when Atal BihariVajpayee announced recruitment of twocrore Urdu teachers in a programme in

Kishen Gunj, the constituency ofShahnawaz Hussain.

Prof. Savita Pandey, Professor of In-ternational Relations and Expert on Paki-stan made a lucid presentation. She saidMusharraf's four point formula was a di-versionary move to escape the strong in-dictment made by European Parliamentreport. She informed Madam Nicholsonin her report 'Kashmir Present situationand future prospects' had strongly criti-cised neglect of PoK by Pakistan. It criti-cised Pak Federal government in handlingearthquake disaster, neglect of civil, po-litical rights of PoK people. Prof. Pandeysaid close on the heels of this report therewas another report 'Human RightsWatch Report', which said there was noinfrastructure in PoK and people therewere suffering from all sorts of depriva-tions. She added that after visiting PoK,European Parliament and other externalagencies were amazed to see how goodIndia had been handling J&K.

Prof. Pandey observed that there wasno change in Pakistan's policy. Pakistancontinues to harp on 'Self-Determination'of Kashmiris. Elaborating on 'self-deter-mination' principle, she said the term hadcome into vogue during the phase of'decolonisation'. She emphasised this prin-ciple of 'Self-Determination' was neverequated with secession, even in the caseof Congo, Biafra. The only exceptionswere Yugoslavia and Soviet Union. TheJNU Professor opined that 'Self-determi-nation' essentially means that peopleshould have the right to determine thenature of governance and not seek se-cession.

She exposed hypocrisy of Pakistan,which harped on 'self-governance'. Prof.Pandey informed that no party is allowedto contest elections in PoK if it did notaccept PoK's accession to Pakistan, samewas the case in Judiciary. Whenever Fed-eral government in Pakistan had a change,PoK government was also dismissed. Shesaid 'self-determination' bogey startedfrom the time of Jinnah. Prof. Pandey saidthat 12 refugee seats in PoK were alsomanipulated by Pak government. Whenacting Election Commissioner said itwould issue new I-cards, AJK Assemblypassed a resolution that neither I-cardswere needed nor there was any require-ment for revising electoral rolls.

Prof. Pandey said the situation waseven worse in Northern Areas, which waspredominantly Shia, She informed thateven during earthquake tragedy therewere serious sectarian riots there. Shepointed towards lack of political rights ofNorthern Areas people.

Prof. Pandey said that there was noconsensus among Pakistanis on Kash-mir, Sindhs, Baluchs, Potharis feel that ifPak grabbed Kashmir, Punjabis would befurther strengthened to their detriment.She said there was no consensus on 'Self-determination' issue either at political par-ties level or at the level of ethnic groups.

The seminar was attended by a largenumber of people, particularly KPs liv-ing in and around Delhi.

Dr Shakti Bhan, Vice ChairpersonPanun Kashmir and Sh. Kamal WangnooSecretary Panun Kashmir compered theprogramme. Kashmiri Pandit Associa-tion Rohini, Kashmiri Pandit SabhaShalimar Garden and Smt. Indu Jalaliwere felicitated on the occasion for theircontribution to the community cause.

Don't Follow Weak-kneed Approach on Kashmir, Warn Panelists

Sh. Kanwal Wangnoo Secy. PanunKashmir compering the proceedingsof the seminar. --KS photo

8KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007 REVIEW ARTICLEREVIEW ARTICLEREVIEW ARTICLEREVIEW ARTICLEREVIEW ARTICLE

By Raman Kumar Bhat

Two major decisions of theIndian National Congress-led UPA govt in recent

times have been a matter ofserious concern for the nation-alistic sections in the country.These are appointment ofSachar Committee and PrimeMinister’s welcome ofMusharraf’s four-point formulaon Kashmir. The former has rec-ommended reservation on reli-gious grounds, while the latteraccords parity to Pakistan inKashmir. “Ideology of IndianFreedom Struggle”, authoredby Dr. Santosh Kaul tracesambivalence of Congressthrough history to the questionof the political unity of India. Thebook though published in 1998has remained unnoticed bythose who deal with Kashmir ei-ther in official capacity or asexperts/activists. Serious distor-tions in nation-building in postindependence period and inepthandling of the Muslim questionby the national politicalleadership of India has onlyserved to strengthen the forcesof Muslim reaction and seces-sionism in the country. The bookfocuses on the national move-ment in the states and theresponses of the Congress andthe Muslim League. Waywardresponses of successiveregimes at Centre in handlingKashmir could be understoodbetter by understanding thetrends in pre-independenceIndia.

Did Congress in its anti-colonialist incarnation have anyvision of building a strongsecular India on the basis ofpolitical unity? If rhetoric wereto be sifted apart, the experienceof post-independence politicsclearly indicates that theCongress never had any visionof nation-building . Its handlingof Kashmir, and cultivation ofMuslims as vote banks insteadof bringing them in secularmainstream did enough harm inbuilding secular institutions.Had not Congress governmentcollaborated with Jamaat Islami/other communal elements inKashmir, Muslim communaloutfits in Assam andBhindranwale in Punjab therewould have been a far bettersecurity scenario. The nationkeeps its fingers crossed on theprospects of so-called track-2diplomacy going on withPakistan on Kashmir.

Dr. Santosh Kaul hasmarshalled enough evidence topropound a thesis that the

POLITICAL UNITY OF INDIA

Roots of Congress Ambivalence lie in HistoryCongress leaders never had anorganic approach to the unity ofIndia. India had always been asingular political entity. How canit remain stable and perpetuateitself without evolving anintegrated political culture.

An Indian renaissance wasalready at work when Congresswas launched in 1885. To presenta civilisational response toBritish Colonialism thisrenaissance movement waspreparing the ground-work forpolitical integration of India. Thismovement got better responsein Princely Indian States than inBritish India. Within Congressthere were two trends. The'extremists' owned therenaissance movement; the'moderates, steeped in Britishliberalist tradition, disowned it.The moderates carried the day.The nation had to pay great costfor it. A stronger India based onpolitical unity still eludes us.

With the advent of Gandhi onthe political scene the efforts toevolve a national consensus onpolitical unity of India suffered asetback. His support to Khilafatmovement and the proposals tosecure national unity on thebasis of the balances of poweramong different sub-nationalidentities of India, wasdestructive of the evolution ofan integrated political culture ofIndia. Cliches 'Unity in Diversity'mouthed by Congress stalwartsin essence reflected this spirit.The whole edifice fell when theMuslims refused to acceptpower-balances as the basis ofco-existence in India.

It was Gandhi who formulatedCongress policy towards thestates. He did not accept that thestates and the British Indiaconstituted one political unit. Hefailed to see freedom from theBritish colonialism could not bepartial. Gandhi's erroneousthinking also lay in leavingparamountcy to the princes torule the states. He could notunderstand that the princelystates were the outer flanks ofthe British Colonial empire.

The Congress stalwart whohas been elevated to the statusof 'Mahatma' sided with theprinces, rather than with thepeople in States. The rigours ofthe Paramountcy and thecrippling weight of Britishcolonialism was borne by thepeople, not the princes. Gandhiignored the aspirations of thestates' people and the misrule ofthe princes.

Gandhi's views on the politicalunity of India were closer to

British Colonialist perspectives.In his 1924 Kathiwad address atthe political conference Gandhiunabashedly opposed solidaritywith states' people. He saidCongress should adopt a policyof non-interference with regardto questions relating to thePrincely states.

The Congress leadershipignored that the division of Indiabetween the Princely States andthe British Indian Provinces wasthe creation of British imperialrule. The Indian States were notindependent entities in the

Mughal India. The territories ofthe Indian States had not naturalboundaries but were carved outby the British to suit theirexpansionist designs. The stateswere left under the tutelage oflocal potentates who governedtheir states on behalf of theBritish.

The people's movement in thePrincely States accepted thefundamental unity between thePrincely States and the BritishIndia. Its leaders rejectedGandhi's assertion that thestates were foreign territory andthe people of the states wereoutside the fold of Indian unity.The impact of Indian renaissanceas well as the anti-colonialmovement was widespread andprofound in Indian states.Though the state peoplesmovement was primed to replacethe autocratic rule, yet in essenceit aimed to end the British rule inIndia.

The Congress policy toexclude the States from thepolitical organisation of Indiaand in national struggle againstthe British destroyed the very

basis of the anti-colonialstruggle in states. It distorted thenational movement in the statesby putting pressure on the states'leaders to limit the struggle tothe demand for "self-govt".Thanks to myopic vision ofCongress leadership, theglorious anti-colonial struggle inthe states degenerated into apetty reformist movement. Thedemand for 'self-govt'. did notquestion the basis of the IndianPrincely order. It, in fact,recognised the inevitability ofthe British Paramountcy. The

C o n g r e s sleadership refusedto allow theestablishment ofthe Congressunits in the States.The All India StateP e o p l e ’ sC o n f e r e n c e(AISPC) lacked theinstitutional basesto coordinate thep e o p l e ’ smovements in thestates.

However, theAISPC leadersdenounced theclaim made by thePrinces to specialTreaty relationswith the crown.They tried toreason that thepolicy to isolatethe states would

ultimately prove disastrous forthe nation.

The Congress policy onstates faced strong resistancefrom AISPC and even a sectionof its own leadership. ButMachiavellian Gandhi had hisway. Even after the release ofsubversive recommendations ofButler Committee Gandhirefused to be wiser. Butlercommittee proposals aimed toforge Indian Princes into a citadelof resistance against Indianresurgence. The vitalrecommendations of the NehruCommittee, which took a morecourageous stand on the States,was overruled by Gandhi.

NC Kelkar, the President ofthe AISPC lambasted Gandhiand accused him of havingconceded to the Princes the rightto govern the states without anyconstitutional checks. Theconflict between the Congressand AISPC came out in open atthe fifth session of AISPC atKarachi in 1936. PattabhiSitaramaya openly chided Gandhiand asked Congress leaders:

"Are you working for a

federation or are you working forthe Swaraj for British IndianProvinces only?"

In October 1937 whenCongress at its Calcutta sessioncame out strongly againstMysore Government for itspolicy of repression, Gandhionce again intervened topromptly reverse the resolution.This was sharply resented byAISCP leaders at special sessionof AISPC at Navasari. Thisconvention also condemnedFederal Scheme envisaged by theGOI Act, 1935. In Haripurasession of the Congress (1938),Subash Bose had stressed uponthe need to extend support to thestates' People Movement.Gandhi torpeded this byensuring that the operative partof the resolution re-emphasisedthe Congress policy-Isolationfrom the states.

The insistence on theseparate identity of the States bythe Congress suited the MuslimLeague and the British. TheLeague sought the exclusion ofthe states from India (a) toabstract the unification of India(b) to localise nationalresurgence to the British India(c) to maintain an inter-communal balance in Indiafavourable to the Muslims. TheBritish were interested inkeeping out the Princely India toensure a partition of India whichwas not necessarily confined tothe demand for Pakistan butwhich left the option open forfurther balkanisation of India.This would also facilitate thestrategy of only partialwithdrawal from thesubcontinent. Policy of isolatingstates from British India suitedMuslim League because onlyfew states were Muslimdominated or had Muslimprinces. Jinnah knew that in aUnited India the Muslim ratiowould be far less than what itwould be if states were keptisolated.

The Congress Policytantamounted to a tacitrecognition of the politicaldivision of India, visualised bythe British to retain a part of theircolonial empire in the sub-continent. Dr Kaul makes aprofound observation:

"The Congress leaders failedto realise that India would notwin freedom in disunity andeven if a part of British India wasliberated into a Hindu majoritystate, it would be far smaller andtruncated and would ultimatelyfall asunder. The States were

(Contd. on Page 14)

DIPLOMACYDIPLOMACYDIPLOMACYDIPLOMACYDIPLOMACY 9KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

By Special Correspondent

'Joint-Parliament':

Two days before the visitof Mr Pranab Mukerjee,the Minister of External

Affairs, Dr Mehboob Beg, sen-ior leader of National Confer-ence, while participating in de-bate on Governor's address inthe Legislative Assemblyclaimed that he had authenticinformation that India and Paki-stan were discussing a proposalon Kashmir through back chan-nel diplomacy. He said as perthis proposal the people of J&Kand PoK will have dual citizen-ship and a joint parliament called'Kashmir Parliament'. This wouldhave, as per Dr Beg, representa-tives from the two sides, withIndia and Pakistan jointly super-vising it. According to him theproposed 'parliament' wouldhave all powers minus externalaffairs and defence. The NCleader claimed that his informa-tion was based on a very sensi-tive document being discussedat bureaucratic level. He de-manded that such an initiativeshould be discussed at politicallevel. Dr Beg went on to demandgreater autonomy to J&K, hold-ing unconditional talks with 'al-ienated class' of Kashmir onNaga pattern. He said 'attractiveproposals' should be given tothem.

Why did Dr Beg chose to gopublic on the eve of Mr PranabMukerjee's visit to Islamabad? Isthe 'sensitive document 'referredto by Dr Beg the 'non-paper'submitted by India to Pakistanfor discussion in back-channeldiplomacy? Pre-visit briefing byMEA, however, clearly rejectedjoint management as a solution.It said that India was open toideas like setting up of joint con-sultative mechanism on variousissues including tourism andhealth. UPA government alsofavoured 'softening of LoC', par-ticularly to allow trade relations.The Army Stand:

More significant is Army'snor to any move on 'joint

management' and de-militarisation'. Earlier, the armyopposed any withdrawal oftroops on Siachen. Three daysbefore Mr Mukerjee's visit, aspokesman of the Indian Armyin Jammu told the press that anythought of a 'joint management'was a dangerous idea. Thespokesperson stressed that

BACK-CHANNEL DIPLOMACYBACK-CHANNEL DIPLOMACYBACK-CHANNEL DIPLOMACYBACK-CHANNEL DIPLOMACYBACK-CHANNEL DIPLOMACYWhere it will lead to?Where it will lead to?Where it will lead to?Where it will lead to?Where it will lead to?

there could not be joint manage-ment between a military dictatorof Pakistan and a democracy likeIndia. He said the 'Joint Manage-ment' proposal would dilute In-dia's control on 2/3rds of theoriginal state of J&K.

The spokesman also rejectedthe 'de-militarisation' proposal.He said 'the withdrawal of forceswould be fatal at a time whenstate was facing terrorism' andadded Army could not affordany measure that compromisedwith the defence and internal se-curity of the nation. The spokes-man elaborated, "Even ifnormalcy is restored and peacereturns, troops can go back tothe barracks but 'demilitarisa-tion', as such, cannot be consid-ered, as the need to defend thecountry's borders still remainsparamount, in fact, non-negoti-able". He said, "Disarmamentalong the LoC is not possible".The spokesperson said, "thePakistani demand for de-militarisation has also beenvoiced and repeated parrot-likeby separatist leaders of the Val-ley".

The spokesperson said un-der the UN Resolution of August13, 1948, Pakistan was asked todemilitarise the illegally occu-pied portion of Kashmir, but Pa-kistan has not done so till today.He added that Pakistan was alsoasked to demilitarise theMinimarg area between Guraizand Burzil by the UN Commis-sion for India and Pakistan onJuly 27, 1949, but was given ashort shrift completely ignoringthe written acceptance given bythe country. A few days earlierArmy had clearly told the gov-ernment that 'de-militarisation'would hamper counter-insur-gency operations as more andmore number of locals were help-ing security forces with action-able information against terror-ists. De-militarisation, armybrass feels, would help terroriststo re-group and make pro-secu-rity forces elements vulnerableto terrorists' pressure.The BJP Role

The BJP has been consistently attacking UPA govern-

ment's handling of dialogue withPakistan. On December 29, 2006Mr Arun Jaitley, former LawMinister in NDA government,said Prime Minister was in hurryto resolve Kashmir. He claimed,"He wanted to change geogra-

phy to get into history. That po-sition will never he accepted byIndia or any Indian. By callingPakistan a victim of terrorism heallowed Pakistan to foot intodoor".

Mr LK Advani, formerDeputy Prime Minister echoedthe same views. He told the Na-tional Executive and Councilmeeting of BJP that 'UPA gov-ernment was planning major sur-render on J&K to Pakistan'. Hedemanded that the governmentshould table 'non-paper' given toPakistan. On January 5, 2006 hesaid BJP would oppose toothand nail any move for 'joint man-agement' with Pakistan to solveKashmir problem as also a jointmechanism with that country totackle cross-border terrorism. MrAdvani said, "the present gov-ernment is trying anyhow to gofor a pact to form a joint man-agement to tackle terrorism". Headded, "what is the joint man-agement? Does it mean that Pa-kistan will also share power inJ&K"?

Reacting to J&K Chief Min-ister Mr GN Azad's proposal ofjoint management of States' re-sources Mr Prakash Javadedkar,BJP spokesperson said in Jammuon January 6, 2006," It is ashameful capitulation. Like Ha-vana where PM bowed beforePakistan by asserting that Paki-stan is also a terror victim, thetalk of joint management alsoreflects UPA's inclination to-wards Pakistan". He also ac-cused the Chief Minister of tak-ing a total U-turn to his earlierstand on militancy, cross borderterrorism and Self-Rule. Th BJPspokesperson said, "this Govt.has betrayed the people andgovernment has betrayed thepeople and today Pakistan is set-ting agenda and India is yield-ing to that". Mr Javadekar criti-cised the PM for saying that thegovernment was ready to with-draw Army and Pakistan wasalso a victim of terrorism. He lam-basted the UPA government forsending the PDP leader, MuftiMohammad Sayeed to head adelegation to UNO, where hetalked of 'shared sovereignty'during the month long session.

On January 11, 2006 MrVenkaiah Naidu former Presidentof BJP warned at Kathua thatjoint mechanism on J&K was notacceptable to BJP and Indianpeople. He cautioned against

signing any treaty with Pakistanthat undermined India's positionon Kashmir.

The Prime Minister calledsenior BJP leaders for a lunch-eon meeting to brief them on for-eign relations with neighbours.The BJP, however, refused to goto press on what transpired inthe meeting. A few days later,Mr Advani said that there wasno shift in the BJP stand vis-a-vis Pakistan and UPA's han-dling of Pakistan. He reiteratedBJP would not accept any dilu-tion of stand by UPA govern-ment on terrorism. Another BJPspokesperson, Mr Ravi ShankarPrasad said the BJP wants gov-ernment to hold Pakistan to itsagreement of January 2004 notto allow its territory to be usedby militants for strikes againstIndia.

In another development topre-empt any deal the BJP J&Kunit passed a resolution demand-ing re-organisation of J&K State.It also criticised the move to in-crease the number of assemblyseats which will give edge of 12seats as against earlier 9 to Kash-mir Valley. With BJP planning anational campaign against theUPA's policy on Kashmir, thegovernment has suffered a ma-jor setback. Without consensusno deal with Pakistan can comethrough.The Congress Position:

The ruling Congress Party atthe Centre is also facing a

split down the middle in its han-dling of relations with Pakistan.A powerful faction is opposedto giving concessions to Paki-stan on Kashmir. Media reportssaid Mr Ahmed Patel and MrPranab Mukerjee were opposedto PM's giving okay to welcomeMusharraf's four point formulaon Kashmir. Pressure byKashmiri politicians overuledtheir opposition. National Secu-rity Advisor MK Narayanan andJ&K Chief Minister were againstgiving any importance toHurriyat, while another lobbybacked by a Kashmiri politicianwas pushing forward for PM-Hurriyat meeting. The group op-posed to Hurriyat has warnedabout the potential costs of giv-

ing too much importance toHurriyat. They say it means giv-ing veto to APHC over peaceprocess. This would pushAPHC's competitors to adopt in-transigent postures. Mr Azad isof the view that Pakistan wasmaking proposals for media con-sumption and New Delhi shouldtake initiative for firming up theproposals so that Pakistan's se-riousness about resolving theKashmir issue can be gauged. Heis reported to have said thatthere should be synchronisationbetween public posturing andthe stand taken at the negotiat-ing table. Earlier, on January 4 inNew Delhi Mr Azad had said thatIndia and Pakistan could makeheadway on Kashmir issue byworking out a plan for joint man-agement of trade, tourism andwater resources in two parts ofregion. He also asked Pakistanto spell out its views in writingwhat it meant by 'joint manage-ment' rather than speakingthrough electronic media.

The Prime MinisterManmohan Singh is also facingflak for "creating confusion" onKashmir. He recently said timewas coming when we will "havebreakfast in Amritsar, lunch inLahore and dinner in Kabul". ThePak Foreign Minister, MehmoodKasuri, reacting to it said 'it isbecause PM knows much aboutwhat was going on Kashmir'. Pa-kistan is also engaged in a dubi-ous game to selectively showerpraises on Indian Prime Minis-ter.

In Amritsar Prime Ministerhad said 'borders will become ir-relevant'. This drew sharp criti-cism from country's foremost ex-perts-Messers GP Parthasarthyand Ajit Kumar Doval. MrParthasarthy says that borderswill never become irrelevant, theyare sacrosanct. What we canhave is that we can transcendborders, he added.Pro-Concession Lobby:

A caucus in Delhi is deliberately trying to push India

into yielding concessions to Pa-kistan on Kashmir and other is-sues. Some of the weak state-ments on de-militarisation,Siachen, soft borders, self-rule,joint management emanatingfrom UPA government are beingattributed to concerted efforts ofthis lobby. The majority view inDelhi is why should India suc-cumb at a time when it was in anadvantageous position and wasgoing to be a world power eco-nomically. Instead, they advo-cate that India should firm up itsinterests in consonance with itsstatus as an emerging power.This section believes and citesevidence that Pakistan has not

(Contd. on Page 11)

Pranab Mukerjee

HUMAN RIGHTSHUMAN RIGHTSHUMAN RIGHTSHUMAN RIGHTSHUMAN RIGHTS 10KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

KS CorrespondentJODHPUR, Dec 15: It is a fa-

mous adage: Wearer knows werethe shoe pinches". And, his paincan be appreciated by a personwhose shoe also pinches. Samewas the case when the refugeesfrom neighbouring countries andinternally displaced KashmiriPandits met here for a two day-conference on 15th and 16th ofDecember to share their pain andagony. The conference, named"Conference on Refugees," wasjointly organised by PakVisthapit Sang and Seemant LokSanghathan Rajasthan. Whilethe participants resolved to ex-press solidarity with each other,they demanded a uniform policyto deal with the refugees livingin India.

Addressing the conference,the President of Pak VisthapitSangh Hindu Sangh Sodha saidthat India being a democraticcountry the refugees have moreexpectations from her. He addedthat it is a fact that India is not asignatory to the UN Declarationof 1951 on refugees and 1967Protocol but it is expected that auniform policy is made to dealwith all the refugee of the neigh-bouring countries living in India.It was regretted that the refugeesfrom Tibet, Myanmar or Sri Lankaare not treated equally.

Kashmiri Pandits, who wererepresented by Major YoginderKandhari, made a forceful pres-entation and described politicsbased on religious fundamental-ism as the root cause of theiruprooting from the Valley. Ma-jor Kandhari gave a detailed ac-count of the genesis of the prob-lem, their sufferings in 17 yearlong exile and the roadmap forreversal of the exodus. He saidthat the exiled Pandits are alsofaced with all those problems

Conference on RefugeesConference on RefugeesConference on RefugeesConference on RefugeesConference on Refugees

Refugees Demand Uniform PolicyRefugees Demand Uniform PolicyRefugees Demand Uniform PolicyRefugees Demand Uniform PolicyRefugees Demand Uniform Policywhich other refugee groups arefaced with and only differencebeing that they are refugees "intheir own country.” "The onlydifference between us and therefugees, as recognised by the"International Convention onRefugee", and other perceptsand precedent of InternationalLaw, is that the Kashmiri Pan-dits are refugees who are dis-placed and live outside the landof their birth but within the terri-tories of India. This has reducedus to an anomalous status,"Major Kandhari regretted.

Tracing the course of perse-cution, the KP leader said thatKashmiri Pandits were subjectedto severe accusations and reli-gious persecution through twen-tieth century in the recent times.

Major Kandhari said that Is-lamic fundamentalists heraldedthe onset of armed uprisingagainst Indian State by resort-ing to brutal and merciless kill-ings of Kashmiri Pandits. Thisact of wanton vandalism had adistinct design to purge Kash-mir of Kashmiri Pandits with anultimate aim to convert it into apure Muslim State and its finalcessession from Indian Union.

Accusing the government offailing to stem onslaught on Pan-dits, Major Kandhari said," Weare victims of a war which unfor-tunately the government andmost political parties refuse torecognise. Most of our land anproperties have been encroachedupon by Muslims, supported bymilitants and administrative, trig-gering off distress sales. Therehas been widespread destruc-tion and disappearance of theirplaces of worship. History ofKashmir sans Pandits and theircontribution is being rewritten.All these and many more acts arebeing perpetuated to ensure Pan-dit refugees are compelled to

give up their claim on their ownland".

Referring to Indo-Pak CBMS,Major Kandhari said that con-trary to the hope generated, insome refugee groups by CBMSinitiated between India and Pa-kistan, these hold no relief insight for Kashmiri Pandit refu-gees for their lot can get no bet-ter with these steps.

The PK representative de-manded that Government of In-dia should carve out Homelandto the North and East of theJehlum for permanent rehabilita-tion of Kashmiri Hindus and tillthen they should be recognisedas "Refugees within their owncountry".

Dr Prajnalankar Bhikhu, whorepresented Chakma Refugeesfrom Chittergonj Hill Tracts inBangladesh, decried the treat-ment met out to them in theirhomeland. He said that thoughBangladesh claims to be consti-tutionally a "Republic" yet it rec-ognises Islam as the only "statereligion" and Bangla as the only"State Language". Dr Bhikkhusaid that as such the republic isan institution of one ethnic groupBangali one language Bengaliand one religion-Islam.

Decrying the state policy he

said that "The republic has a hid-den agenda to culturally wipe outthe indigenous people ofChittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) anddemographic invasion—that en-courages and supports BengaliMuslims to settle in the CHT, isused as a weapon to force theirnefarious designs". He addedthat all such acts are done in ne-gation of "CHT Peace Treaty"of 1997" and indigenous politi-cal and human rights activistswho try to uphold 'CHT PeaceTreaty" are falsely implicated forinvolvement in "terrorists activi-ties", arrested and put into jails.

He accused Bangladesh ofcarrying out a silent genocide ora systematic ethnic cleansingcampaign against the indig-enous people of the CHT.

The Bhutanese Refugee rep-resentative Laxman Dalal saidthat the causes of their problemare complex with ethnic, politi-cal, religious and others issuesintricately interwined. He addedthat even the Royal Governmentof Bhutan (RGOB) initially de-nied the existence of anyBhutanese citizens in refugeecamps and claimed the removalof over-staying non-nationals inBhutan to the unfounded claimsof voluntary migrants.

Asking India to play a pro-active role in seeking a solutionto their problems, Laxman Dalalsaid that Bhutan should be pres-surised to effect substantivechanges in the circumstancesleading to present refugee situa-tion in order to enable the returnand reintegration of refugees inthe national mainstream of thecountry.

After a long discussion andexhaustive deliberations, the rep-resentatives signed a statementof "Expression of Solidarity"which says that "we have shareda variety of concerns related tothe issues of forced migration,refugees, migrant workers andinternally displaced people andexpress our solidarity and sup-port to each other". The state-ment implores upon the coun-tries Tibet Burma, Srilanka, Bhu-tan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistanand India to play as proactiverole in resolving the current prob-lems of forced migration andother issues and encourage fre-quent meetings of the delegatesto discuss and arrive at durablesolutions.

Refugees from Pakistan wererepresented by Hindu SinghSodha of Pak Visthapit Sang,Tibetean Refugees by AcharyaYeshi Phuntsok of 'Parliament ofTibet in Exile' and YoundonAukatsang of 'Tibetean YouthOpportunity Trust', BurmeseRefugees by Salali Nicer andJoyice of Women League ofChinland, Bhutanese Refugeesby Laxman Dalal, Srilankan Refu-gees by G Ashok GladstonXavier of OFFER, BangladeshiRefgueese by D PrajnalankarBhikhu and Kashmiri PanditRefugees by Major YoginderKandhari of Panun Kashmir,Many Human Rights Groupswere also represented in the con-ference.

(From Page 6)The London blasts of July 2005

in which three suicide bombers ofPakistani origin were involved andthe arrests of over 10 people----allbut one of them of Pakistani origin--- by the London Police in August,2006, on a charge of planning to blowup a number of US-bound planes,brought out that all the suspectedterrorists or their parents came tothe UK from this jihadi belt betweenCentral Punjab and the FATA.

20. Consequently, Musharrafhas been under growing internationalpressure to rid this area of itsnegative mindsets and perceptionsby exercising a greater state control

over the madrasas, to reform theirworking and syllabus, to introducemodern, non-religious education andto dismantle the jihadi terroristinfrastructure. He himself hasrealised that the past actions of theArmy and the ISI in encouraging andexploiting these negative perceptionsand mindsets against India haveresulted in Pakistan becoming thespawning ground of a variety ofFrankenstein's monsters and that ifhe did not control, if not eliminate,them, they could pose a threat toPakistan's own security andprosperity.

21. He has already initiated anumber of measures for a better

control over the madrasas andstarted a campaign against negativeideologies in the name of enlightenedmoderation. The implementation has

been unsatisfactory due to a dilemmafaced by him. He is convinced of theneed to reduce their influence, but atthe same time he needs them to keepthe political parties of Mrs. BenazirBhutto and Mr. Nawaz Sharif outof power and to sustain himself inpower. He is similarly convinced ofthe need to rid their minds of theirgrandiose ideas of a global jihad andto persuade them to downsize their

agenda and keep their focus restrictedto India and Afghanistan. However,having acted on the global scale sincethe formation of the IIF in 1998,they are not prepared to be lessambitious.

22. Can Pakistan's perceptionsand mindsets towards India change?Not in the short and medium terms.Before they start changing, its Stateinstitutions and its religious classhave to be convinced of the need forsuch a change. There are noindications of any such change ofconviction. All the talk of enlightenedmoderation is meant to mitigateconcerns in the rest of the worldabout Pakistan. It does not as yet

indicate an attempt to encourage achange of the mindset vis-à-vis India.We have to be patient. We can affordto be patient. Time and reason areon India's side.

23. This is not an argumentagainst the promotion of confidence-building measures, people-to-peoplecontacts etc. It is an argument tokeep our feet firmly on the ground,to keep our eyes and ears open, notto mistake wishful-thinking forsound analysis and not to lapse intobhai-bhai reveries.

*(The writer is AdditionalSecretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat,Government of India, New Delhi,and, presently, Director, InstituteFor Topical Studies, Chennai

INDIA & PAKISTAN: CAN MINDSETS & PERCEPTIONS CHANGE?

CONTINUATION

The representative of various Refugee and Displaced PeoplesOrganisations interacting at Gandhi Bhawan Jodhpur.

CONTINUATIONCONTINUATIONCONTINUATIONCONTINUATIONCONTINUATION 11KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

(From Page 9)changed its policy on sponsor-ing cross border terrorismagainst India. Engagement is OKbut no concessions, they aver.Pak Game:

Pakistan is playing a calculated game-scoring brownie

points through media hype andusing pro-separatist groups inKashmir and PoK as proxies. Re-cently, a senior Hurriyat leadercalled for ceasefire, talks on thebasis of "equality". He ha-rangued against patriotic Indianbureaucracy, blaming it for"deadlock". His faction also metEuropean Union team. Pakistanhad been seriously perturbedover EU's report on PoK. Manyseparatist groups had been float-ing so-called "Roadmaps", all ofwhich support Pakistan throughadvocation of dilution of Indiansovereignty over Kashmir. Paki-stan's demands are repeated par-rot-like by separatist leaders inKashmir. Mr Usman Majid, MLAcriticised APHC for visiting Pa-kistan frequently to take ordersfrom there before meeting theIndian leadership. What Indiagains out by giving importanceto these proxies of Pakistan atthe cost of pro-Indian groupsbaffles average Kashmiri.

Pakistan's moves were statedby Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan,Prime Minister PoK. On January8, he told an Indian press agencythat "joint management need notbe defined at this stage as thiswould create obstacles in theprocess. These concepts wouldacquire clarity as the processcontinued". He harangued thatPoK was a model of 'self-govern-ance'. He added that Musharraf'sproposal for autonomy or self-governance would have to beimplemented in J&K first' to bringit on the same level as PoK! ThePoK PM demanded-IntraKashmiri talks, issuance of'South Asia Travel documents'for travel for Kashmiris, 'Tokenwithdrawal' of troops from popu-lation centres in Kashmir by In-dia. When asked for reciproca-tion by Pakistan, he claimed thatthere was no build-up or escala-tion of military in PoK'. On Janu-ary 9, Ms Tasleem Aslam, For-eign office spokesperson of Pa-kistan said peace and securitypact with India could not besigned till Kashmir was resolved.

Observations:

There are two views on the ongoing dialogue with Paki-

stan. One section says India isbargaining from a position ofstrength. According to it, thefreedom, development and con-stitutional guarantees in PoK are

far below than that in the Indianside. First, Pakistan has to alignand harmonise PoK's constitu-tion with that of Indian side. Sec-ondly, Pakistan, will at no cost,give up the Northern Areas, thestrategically most sensitive areaof Pakistan into such an arrange-ment. The strategic links be-tween China and Pakistan, theexisting Karakoram highway andthe proposed rail link, runsthrough the area, besides riverIndus, and Pakistan has pumpedin hundreds of crores into thearea over the years. Also, Paki-stan has brought about changesin the demography in this areaby pushing Pushtuns andPunjabis into this part. All thishas to be undone first. Lastly,the issue of Kashmiri Pandits,ethnically-cleansed from Kash-mir is to be addressed. Theyhave to be resettled first in Kash-mir where they would enjoy fullsecurity, political, economic andsocial rights. In any settlementon Kashmir it is they who holdthe key. They have alreadyraised a powerful demand forcreation of Panun Kashmir formore than 7 lakh Pandits, withfull integration with India. Evenif Jammu, Ladakh and NorthernAreas are kept out of discussion,how any settlement on Kashmircould be decided without firstrehabilitating the entire Hinduminority of Kashmir. All thesegive India enough leverage at thenegotiation table. This is whyPakistan is ambiguous on its pro-posals and seeks unilateral in-cremental concessions to im-prove its strategic position andmaintain its potential for spon-soring cross border terrorism asa long-term strategy to weakenIndia.

There is yet another viewwhich says India and Pakistanare inching towards a settlement.Rajinder Puri, a well-known col-umnist says that Pakistan hasdiluted its position--it was notclaiming Kashmir saying it hadno legal claim to Kashmir; it al-tered its school text-books. Inthese it attributes 1947 partitionto unequal treatment of Muslimsin India and not to two-nationtheory. Puri surmises that aroundthe same time, PM ManmohanSingh declared that priority mustbe given to Muslims while allo-cating government funds. Hecites initially PM was cool to joinmanagement idea but on his re-turn from Japan he dramaticallychanged tune. The PM said: 'Iwelcome the efforts whosoeverputs into normalize relations be-tween India and Pakistan. If anynew ideas come, we welcome

them. In the last 2½ years wehave had a very intensive dia-logue with Pakistan". Puri claimsthat the appointment of Sacharcommittee was not dictated bygarnering votes in UP polls butas reciprocation of gesture to Pa-kistan's alteration of school text-books. Puri observes that, "Thefinal goal of the secret dialoguewould, in this case, surely besome sort of institutional ar-rangement that allows both na-tions a confederal relationshipon certain subjects that affect thesub-continent".

On Pakistani side also thereare two views on change inMusharraf's strategy on Kash-mir. Ijaz Hussain, former dean ofSocial Sciences at the Quaid-i-Azam University observes: "Thepublic diplomacy could have thepurpose of mentally preparingthe people of Pakistan to accepta solution based on new reali-ties in Kashmir. Or else Musharafappears to be targeting the west-ern audience in order to occupya moral high ground on Kashmirin case the current peace proc-ess aborts as a result of the In-dian intransigence. It is this think-ing rather than anything else thatexplains his nu-merous and gra-tuitous conces-sions to Indiao nKashmir...Musharrafappears to be aman in a greathurry. Heseems to believethat now is thetime for a dealon Kashmir fa-vourable to Pa-kistan, as Indiais destined tobecome a globalplayer beforelong". Hussain,however, feelsM u s h a r r a f ' sstrategy of pub-lic diplomacy isflawed on threecounts-one heis bypassingpublic repre-sentatives; sec-ondly there maybe no takers forhim in army;lastly westernpublic opinionwas favouringIndia and ex-pects Pakistanto align its posi-tion with the lat-ter's.

Meanwhile,the US Institute

of Peace in its latest reportauthored by A.Heather Coyne,has come out with suggestionswhich endorse 'joint manage-ment". Do Musharraf's propos-als emnate from Washington? IsUS through its semi-official in-stitutions overseeing back chan-nel diplomacy.Impact:

Whether any deal will reallycome out of back-channel dia-logue is a moot point. The disas-trous impact of the secret diplo-macy and public posturing byUPA government is being al-ready felt in Kashmir. There isno consensus for UPA govern-ment's moves within the coun-try. This rules out striking anydeal with Pakistan which dilutesIndian position on Kashmir, na-tional security or weakens pro-India forces in J&K. BJP is all setto make it a campaign issue inthe country, deepening the po-larisation further.

In Kashmir this has sentwrong signals that a deal wasaround the corner and India wasall set to agree to dilution of sov-ereignty. Not only separatistgroups, regional parties like PDPand NC but even mainstream na-

Back-Channel Diplomacy: Where it will lead to?tional parties and pro-India ele-ments are readjusting their poli-tics and adopting hawkish posi-tions. Even a moderate leader likeMr Omar Abdullah, who has re-mained country's Minister of Ex-ternal Affairs had the temerity toask Centre to "reciprocate theflexibility shown by the Pakistanileader (Musharraf" and 'take im-mediate steps to remove all im-pediments in early resolution ofKashmir issue'. His father, DrFarooq Abdullah who aspires forthe exalted office of President ofIndia went to the extent of de-manding Special Economic Zonefor Kashmir on the pattern ofSwitzerland or channel Islands.This is the greatest damagewhich peace process has in-flicted on the Kashmiris. It is easyto discuss roadmaps in ivorytowers and float solutions to wininternational publicity but muchmore difficult to keep eyes to theground.

The UPA leadership must dosome soul-searching to ask itselfwhy many Kashmiri politicianstoday are supporting variationsof 'joint management'. Solutionsto Kashmir will emanate fromhere.

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NEW DELHI, Dec 19— Com-menting on President ParvezMusharraf’s latest proposal forjoint supervision in . Jammu andKashmir, the Governor Lt Gen-eral (Retd) SK Sinha today saidthat it is an effort to gain foot-hold in the Valley through thebackdoor.

Talking to media personshere, the Governor said that theproposal of joint control or jointsupervision is an effort to seekentry for gaining foothold inKashmir when efforts to do sothrough wars or terrorist vio-lence had no succeeded.

In reply to a question, Gen-eral Sinha said that the Pak Presi-dent has also been proposingself-rule and demilitarization inthe State without doing any-thing concrete or dismantlingterrorist infrastructure in hiscountry. He emphasized that de-militarisation or more appropri-ately return of troops to barracks,can be considered only whencross border terrorism and ter-rorist violence within the Slateceases.

Earlier, addressing a high pro-file function of intellectuals andopinion makers here, the Gover-nor touched Volley of subjectsand gave his observations, mak-ing it clear that these were hispersonal views, and not official.On President- Musharraf’s Outof Box solutions and self-rule,the General said that such rheto-ric shows lack of sincerity as ter-rorist camps across the borderare still intact. He said that it wasvery strange that the neighbourwho has derailed democracy inits own country, throttled it inPOK and totally denied it inNorthern Area, is wanting to givelessons in self-rule to India. Self-rule and democracy are synony-mous. India is the most vibrantdemocracy in the Third World,he said adding that within India:J&K has more self-rule than anyother State in the country. A lawenacted by the Indian Par-liament automatically applies toall States in the country but notto J&K, unless it is endorsed bythe State Assembly, he elabo-rated and pointed out that nolegislation passed by POK As-sembly can become a law till ap-proved by the Minister in chargeKashmir Affairs in Pakistan Cabi-net. Similarly, no one who doesnot accept Kashmiris accessionto Pakistan is allowed to partici-pate in politics in POK.

‘We have no such stipulationin our administered Kashmir, he

Sinha questions Musharaf's sincerity

Pak eying to gain foothold inPak eying to gain foothold inPak eying to gain foothold inPak eying to gain foothold inPak eying to gain foothold inKashmir through backdoorKashmir through backdoorKashmir through backdoorKashmir through backdoorKashmir through backdoorsaid, adding that the separatistleaders in Kashmir openly preachsedition and indulge in anti-In-dia rhetoric. This cannot be im-agined in any other democracy.On top of this, these separatistleaders are provided security-and even medical treatmentwhen required, at the expense ofthe Indian taxpayer, he said.

Associated with Kashmirfrom day one the Governor in hisscholarly statement cleared mis-conceptions about the problem,saying that it is being constantlypropagated that Partition tookplace on the basis of religion andKashmir being Muslim majorityState, should have formed partof Pakistan It is not widelyknown that both Jinnah and theBritish warned that in the caseof the 500 odd Princely States,their ruler should decide the fu-ture of their State and not thepeople. The Indian NationalCongress wanted that this bedone on the basis of the wishesof the people of the States butboth Jinnah and the British op-posed this proposition. Theyhad their own hidden agendas,Jinnah wanted Nizam ofHyderabad to accede to Paki-stan. Hyderabad was the richestand largest State in India of thesize of France. In those days inwinter, Kashmir Valley used toget geographically isolated fromthe rest of India. Srinagar airfieldwas only a fair weather landingstrip and Banihal Pass used toget blocked with snow. Therewas no Banihal tunnel at thattime. Jinnah unleashed a tribalinvasion of the Valley led by hisArmy officers on 22 October1947. Had he done so ten dayslater, he could have easilyachieved his objective duringthe winter and presented a faitaccompli to the world, in theevent, he could get neitherHyderabad nor Kashmir. TheBritish advanced a legal argu-ment. The Princely States . hadentered, into a treaty with theBritish Sovereign acknowledginghis paramountcy. On withdrawalof the British from the Sub-Con-tinent, paramountcy wouldlapse. They had a hidden agendaof a strategic consensus with Pa-

kistan to be formed in NorthWest India. The Indian Inde-pendent Act passed by the Brit-ish Parliament, specifically pro-vided that the decision on thefuture of the Stales will be left totheir rulers. Maharaja Hari Singhsigned the Instrument of Acces-sion merging Kashmir with India.The tallest political leader ofKashmir, Sheikh Abdullah, en-dorsed this accession. Thus,Kashmir became an integral partof India both legally and morally.Even the UN recognized the le-gality of this position, Its reso-lution accepted by both Indiaand Pakistan, required Pakistanto withdraw all its forces fromKashmir but allowed Indianforces to remain in Kashmir forthe Plebiscite. After the CeaseFire, the 200 square mile TilelValley, which had been no Man’sland, was made inclusive to In-dia, respecting India’s valid le-gal position in Kashmir. Ques-tioning the validity of this acces-sion or referring to Kashmir asdisputed territory flies in the faceof facts of history, he said.

The second propagandapoint, the Governor said is aboutconsulting the wishes of the peo-ple and implementation of theUN Resolution of. 13 August.1948. Here again fact’ are soughtto be buried under a barrage offalse propaganda. Plebiscitecould not be held because Paki-stan violated the provisions ofthe UN Resolution in not with-drawing its forces which it hadagreed to do and which was theprerequisite for holding ofplebiscite. Pakistan, of course,had its reasons for not abidingby its commitment. Its raiders had.alienated the “people of Kash-mir by the rape of Baramula in

which thousands of KashmiriMuslims were butchered andhundreds of young Kashmirigirls were taken away. Further,Sheikh Abdullah was a toweringpolitical figure who had a masspolitical base. Pakistan feared theresults of plebiscite at that stage.Yet the propaganda unleashedhas been that India’s intransi-gence and not abiding by the UNResolutions was the reason forplebiscite not being held. Paki-stan flouted the UN resolutionboth, in terms of not withdraw-ing its forces from Kashmir andalso in illegally ceding 27.000square miles of Kashmir territoryto China. Another false propa-ganda being carried out is thatbecause plebiscite was . not held,the people of Kashmir did notget an opportunity to expresstheir choice. The people of Kash-mir have been repeatedlyparticipating in the electoral proc-ess despite terrorist threats andviolence as also repeated boy-cott call of separatists. In the re-cent bye-elections in Kashmir,the voter turn out was 70%. indefiance of boycotts, threats andviolence. Moreover, both in1947-48 and in 1965 wars, thepeople of Kashmir made it abun-dantly clear where their prefer-ence lay. General MohammadMusa, the Pakistan Commander-in-Chief in the 1965 War. hasstated in his book. My Version,that Pakistan failed to achieve itsobjective in that war, because oflack of support from the peopleof Kashmir. In 2002, Opinion Pollconducted by Mori, a BritishNGO under the patronage ofLord Avebury. a known Pakistanprotagonist revealed that. 61%of the people of Kashmir wan! toremain With India, 6'% want tojoin Pakistan and 33% are unde-cided. Yet another propaganda.constantly unleashed in thePress is on the score of humanrights violations by the IndianArmy. In such, operations, oddviolations are inevitable. When-ever ‘ these occur, immediate andsevere action is being taken bythe Army. During the ongoingmilitancy in the State, the IndiaArmy has court martialled andconvicted 71 personnel with

sentences, varying from 2 yearsto 14 years rigorous imprison-ment. The record of the IndianArmy in Kashmir in respectinghuman rights is far superior tothat of -foreign armies engagedin such operations anywhere inthe world, as we see today inWaziristan, Baluchistan, Af-ghanistan and Iraq, he main-tained. One should also note thatthe brutality being committed byterrorists against Kashmiri civil-ians like slitting throats, rapingwomen, hanging people, and soon. These arce being ignoredwith a thundering silence. Theterrorists have killed some20,000 innocent Kashmiris in-cluding women and children.Over 90 % of civilians killed bythese Jehadis are their co-region-alists. While the vilification of theArmy on the basis of false orhighly exaggerated facts contin-ues unabated-a Nelson’s eye isturned towards the constant hu-man rights violations by terror-ists, he argued.

Giving an overview of theKashmir problem by statingfacts, the Governor expressedoptimism about the settlement ofthis-vexed issue by the processof dialogue at various levels; Hesaid the common man in Indiaand Pakistan wants to have cor-dial relations between the twocountries. The people of Jammuand Kashmir are sick and tired ofviolence and are yearning forpeace. He said internationalopinion is getting mobolisedagainst terrorism in any form.There is greater evidence of in-ternational understanding of theIndian view point as found dur-ing Clinton’s visit to the SubContinent in 1998. in interna-tional reaction to’ihe Kargil Warand in the report of CountessEma Nicholson to the EuropeanParliament, he said.

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subscription byremitting Rs 200/- to

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—BusinessManager

Lt. Gen (Retd.) S.K. Sinha

MEDIA SCANMEDIA SCANMEDIA SCANMEDIA SCANMEDIA SCAN 13KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

By K.P.S. GILLAs year 2006 ran towardsclosure, General PervezMusharraf threw out another ofhis ostensibly 'out-of-the-boxsolutions' for the Jammu &Kashmir tangle, and this waspicked up with unwarrantedenthusiasm by an uncriticalmedia and certain sections withinthe Indian political community.Those at the helm of nationalaffairs have, however, remainedcautious, and Prime MinisterManmohan Singh countered GenMusharraf's proposals with anoffer of a 'comprehensive treatyof peace, security andfriendship'. A great deal of theseproposals and counter-proposals is mere posturing, partof the entertainment South Asianleaders are required to generatefor Western political audiences.There is, nevertheless, a tacticaland strategic core to GenMusharraf's proposals,variously, for 'joint management','joint governance' and now 'jointsupervision' of J&K.

The tactical is relativelyobvious. Gen Musharraf seeksto retain control of the trajectoryof the discourse on the 'Kashmirconflict', forcing the Indian sideinto a state of perpetual reaction,and often making India seem themore recalcitrant and obstructiveelement in the counterfeit 'peaceprocess' that is being staged. Heseeks, moreover, to use hisprojected 'reasonableness' as acover for the continuedcampaigns of terror in J&K andacross India. All this is obviousand now commonly known.

What is less evident andlargely ignored is theenormously dangerous anddestabilising strategic intent ofall Pakistani proposals—anintent that has displayed nosigns of change or dilution overthe past years, and that has onlywitnessed tactical adjustments inthe instrumentalities for itsattainment.

Gen Musharraf's new call for'joint supervision' is at one withearlier proposals of a 'regional'—but in fact communal—divisionof J&K in that it would secure anextension of Pakistani control

An Audacious GambleAn Audacious GambleAn Audacious GambleAn Audacious GambleAn Audacious Gambleand further the Islamistradicalisation of the region. GenMusharraf's moves towardsIndia need to be assessed withinthe context of broader Pakistanipolicies and strategies in theneighbourhood, and widerchanges that are beingfashioned across the Asianregion—particularly the UScoalition's increasinglyunsuccessful campaigns in Iraqand Afghanistan, as well as aresurgence of Islamist radicalismand terror in expanding areas ofWest Asia.

This is the backdrop againstwhich the handing over of largeparts of Waziristan and theNWFP to the Taliban —andthrough them, to the Al Qaeda—need to be viewed, even asPakistan continues to support aferocious campaign ofdestabilisation against Kabulthrough Taliban proxies. It issignificant that Islamist violencein Afghanistan has a clear andinverse relationship with thedistance from Pakistan's borders,and North Afghanistan remainssubstantially unaffected by the'discontent', 'alienation' and'anger', that manifest themselvesall along the Southern frontierswith Pakistan. The 'Afghanresistance' —essentially anIslamist extremist movement —receives full support fromPakistan, and seeks nothingmore than to further Pakistan'sstrategic objectives.

At the same time, significantareas and operations in PakistanAdministered Kashmir (PAK),including both what is referredto as 'Azad Jammu and Kashmir'and the 'Northern Areas' (Gilgit-Baltistan), are beingprogressively transferred intoradical Islamist control,particularly, though notexclusively, into the hands of theLashkar-e-Tayyeba —anotherAl Qaeda affiliate and acontinuing member of Osama binLaden's International IslamicFront. The 'management ofdissent' in the Northern Areas isalso given over to extremist Sunnielements, who, from time to time,carry out campaigns ofintimidation and assassination inthe region, to quell the feeblevoices demanding no more thanminimal political rights andrepresentation.

Against this background, anyscheme of joint 'supervision','management', 'governance' orother euphemism for control,would essentially translate, overtime, into an escalating demand

described as the 'seduction ofprocess' —the continuous andgeneral agitation over the detailsof ever-new 'proposals' and'statements'. What is missed isthe fact that Pakistan hassubstantially restored, after anapparent post-9/11 reversal, itscapacities for strategic projectionthrough terrorism, and does thisfrom a position of greaterstrength than before, since theUS and its allies are caught inquicksand in both Iraq andAfghanistan. The lessonPakistan's military leaders aredrawing from this is simple:Powers that have failed inconflicts with these nations,

whose populations are less thana sixth of Pakistan's, can hardlyact decisively and in concertagainst a Pakistan of over 160million, and growing. This is theassessment that creates thespaces for the Islamist terroristadventure in which GenMusharraf is currently engaged,and within which Pakistanpursues its strategies of Islamistextension.

*(K.P.S.Gill is a formerPunjab DGP and is currentlyadvisor to the Chhattisgarhgovernment on Naxalite affairs.This piece first appeared in thePioneer)

for the reduction of Indianmilitary deployment in J&K, anda systematic entrenchment ofIslamist extremist groups andforces in the wider region.

It must be clear that, underthese circumstances, theKashmiris would have nocapacity to keep the terroristsout, and the entire populationwould be at their mercy, even asIndian capacities of responsewould not only be constrainedby internationally validatedagreements with Pakistan, butwould also gradually diminish,with a correspondingconsolidation of Pakistani proxycontrol. Crucially, the Islamistterrorist enterprise, within thiscontext, is executed under theprotection of Pakistanisovereignty.

What Gen Musharraf seeks,consequently, is to insulatePakistan's core within a wideswathe of territories controlledby Pakistani-managed proxies,and to unite this region with aradicalised Islamist crescentextending from J&K to theMediterranean.

There are, of course,extraordinary and direct risks forPakistan itself, in this strategy.Significantly, the 'blowback'factor that is already visible in'renegade' Islamist terroristelements that have escapedcontrol of Pakistan's InterServices Intelligence, and someof who have already executedassassination attempts againstGen Musharraf and other seniorelements in his junta.

This cannot, however, deterGen Musharraf or sway him fromthe fundamentals of Pakistanistrategy. For one, GenMusharraf has already shownhimself to be a consummate risk-taker. For another, thealternatives for Pakistan —fromthe perspective of its ruling elite,and particularly the Army thatholds the nation captive —arean unacceptable but inevitabledecline into the margins ofstrategic and historicalirrelevance. Success, on theother hand, holds out thepossibility of direct or indirectPakistani control in a wide arcbeyond its current borders, andof significant influence in regionsas far a field as Central and WestAsia. It is an audacious gamble,but in its brief history, Pakistanhas not displayed any lack ofaudacity, or of ruinous folly.

The world, in the interim, andwith it, India, remains enmeshedin what another writer has

PANUN KASHMIR19th January Holocaust Day

IT REMINDS US:Of the process of total cleansing being perpetrated uponus by Islamic Fundamentalists on one hand and by theinsensitive successive state and the Central Governmentson the other, for the last 16 years.WE PLEDGE TO DEDICATE OURSELVES TO—A fight to get our rights recognised as the original inhab-itants of the Valley of Kashmir.To achieve for more than 7 lac displaced Kashmiri Hindus,a "Home Land" to the North and East of river Vitasta witha UT status in Kashmir ValleyTo expose the farce being enacted in the name of peaceprocess and resist all such moves which legitimate it at ourcost.To delink displaced Kashmiri Hindus from state adminis-trative setup.To fight for constituting a "Ministry of Rehabilitation" atthe Central level to deal directly with the displaced com-munity affairs.To fight for constituting a Tribunal to look into the rea-sons of our designed expulsion from Valley.To fight for an employment package to the tune of 20,000for unemployed community youth.To fight for declaring distress sale of Pandit property inValley as null & void.

THE DAY REMINDS US OF OUR DUTIESTo preserve our cultural traditions and languageTo remain united and to resist all those moves which con-fuse the communityTo effectively contribute to the Movement of Panun Kash-mir

Please join us on Friday, 19th January , 2007

At 2 PM at REGAL PALACE, SURYAVIHAR(ANAND NAGAR) BHORI, JAMMU.

&(AT 2:00 PM AT JANTAR MANTAR NEW DELHI)

&11 A.M. NEAR VICTORIA TERMINUS MUMBAI.

JAI PANUN KASHMIR

CONCERNCONCERNCONCERNCONCERNCONCERN 14KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

By M.L. Kotru

It was a family do, partly tosay farewell to me as 1 waspreparing for my first visit to

the US in ten years and in theother part to mark the celebra-tion of 'khichri' amavas', a pecu-liar Kashmiri Pandit event, when,as is their wont, entire Panditfamilies get together for anevening repast. For me it hadmeant a 25 km drive from Gurgaonin the darkness of heavily con-gested roads, to Delhi. But thenit was good that I did it make it.

For, apart from reviving linkswith the aged and the young inthe family it brought to my no-tice, lying on the centre table ofthe drawing room, a glossy-look-ing mini magazine entitled"Kasheer" published in the USand giving you a fleeting viewof the Kashmiri Pandit diasporain far away United States. Themagazine by itself may not havemeant much to any non-Kashmiribut there was plenty in it to in-terest someone like me who hadsaid his byes to (he Valley somesix decades ago.

The writers were for the mostpart young professionals, engi-neers, doctors, students, manybom in the US itself and otherwho had gone as students butstayed on. Expectedly, one wasconfronted by lots and lots ofnostalgia, like one of the con-tributors recalling her summervacation visits from Delhi toKashmir to spend delightfultimes with her grandparents andcousins there. There were a fewwho recalled their first encoun-ter with a famous Pandit shrinenear Srinagar. There were theyounger ones for whom Kash-mir stood for nothing more thantheir forbears' home, strange yetin many ways very close to theiryoung personas.

They had questions to ask.

Who cares for Pandits?Will they ever be able to visitKashmir, the valley Thai is ? I wishto tell them ' 'yes, you can, but onlyas tourists", for to my mind, I don'tsee the Pandits returning to theValley. Not even at a time when

both Prime Minister ManmohanSingh and his Pakistani counter-part, Gen. Parvez Musharraf are ap-plauding each other's efforts to re-solve the "dispute". Not evenwhen most leaders from the Val-ley, including former Chief Minis-ters and, needless to say, the sepa-ratists of all hues, are seeing theValley as an exclusively KashmiriMuslim problem.

The Pandits just don't figure intheir plans. Some 3.5 lakhs of themmight have been forced out oftheir Valley homes in the aftermathof the jihad launched by the Paki-stanis and their cohorts in theValley and they, it would seem,should consider themselves luckythat they continue to survive,some in

to heal. I for one have been vis-iting the Valley regularly and stay-ing always with a Muslim friendand his charming family, evenregularly in the family's well ap-pointed cottage in Pahalgam. Not

every Pandit is that lucky.The Pandits, for their part,

never tire of seeing themselvesas the original Kashmiris, theaboriges, if you will, but timessurely have changed. They will

never tire of telling you how thePandits had once ruled theState, before the advent of Bud-dhism and Islam. The harsh re-ality is that centuries of sup-pression, resulting in massconversions and occasionalmigrations to the plains, havereduced the Pandits to a minus-cule minor-Men, Matters &Memories By M L Kotru sub-human conditions, in camps inJammu and other parts of thecountry. The more enterprisinghave carved out spaces forthemselves within the rest ofthe country and many in otherparts of the world but the vastmajority of the 'migrants' mustonly hope and pray. Becausenot one in New Delhi or inSrinagar is really botheredabout the community's returnto the Valley.

For the record it will alwaysbe said that the Centre hassanctioned Rs 200 or even 5,00

crores for the rehabilitation ofthe Pandits but that must remainon paper only. Some two-roomtenements may have been builtsomewhere near Badgam inSrinagar or in Mattan in theAnantnag district in South Kash-mir but it will be a daring Panditwho will move into one of these,given the palpably hostile envi-ronment.

Personally many of the Pan-dits might find their old KashmiriMuslim acquaintances friendlyand warm but the 17 years of in-surgency have left many scaresdifficulty. There might be about10 lakhs of them spread ail overthe globe, about half of whomhad clung to their roots in theValley mainly because of theirability and skills in the art of gov-ernance.

Forget the Dogra Maharajaseven the Pathan rulers of Kash-mir had relied on the Pandits forkeeping the system going, fromrevenue collection to manningvarious positions in the admin-istration. That was also largelydue to their amazing adaptabil-ity. It didn't take them long toswitch from Sanskrit to Shardaor vice-versa, from Sanskrit toFarsi and from Farsi to Urdu. Inthe later parts of I9th and earlyin the 20th century they did aquick makeover and suddenlymany of them had caught upwith Macaully's percept for edu-cating British Indians. And mindyou many of them travelled outof the Valley to earn degreesfrom Indian universities to returnhome to man positions in the pre-vailing system(s) of administra-tion.

But, then, what do you do witha people so small in number thatno one, apart from paying lipservice, is

willing to lake up their causein the ongoing Indo-Pak dia-logue. I have not heard a wordfrom any Pakistani leader, fromBhutto, Sharif down to Gen.Musharraf, speaking of an

honorable resettlement of thosewho left the Valley 1989 on-wards. They invented the terminternally displaced to describethem as a people. They were notrefugees running away to savetheir lives (Yes, many Panditswere killed in the first flush ofmilitancy), they were just inter-nally displaced. Thank you.

It is not that simple, though,for any civilised Government orGovernments to ignore the reha-bilitation of those living in campsoutside the valley in Jammu andthose who have moved to otherparts of India. Rehabilitation itmust be understood, does notmean merely providing them withclusters of tenements; it meansgiving them a sense of security:it means making them economi-cally viable. I don't think thatmany of those wanting to returnto their abandoned homes (ifthese are still in existence) wouldbe welcome there.

Remember that there is a ri-diculously large number of out-siders, belonging to different Is-lamic orders, the Wahabis, theDeobandis, the Barelvis whohave moved into the Valley dur-ing the last three decades (longbefore the insurgency) and withthe help of a string of Madrassashave preached intolerance ofother faiths. The old Rishi-Sufiethos of the Valley culture is vir-tually on the nine as was dem-onstrated not long ago by thekilling of a highly respectedMuslim preacher who believedin Rishi-Sufism; he was killedwhile coming out of a mosque.Not so much by the local peopleas the preaching of hatred by thefundamentalist Islamists. Noth-ing to do with Islam at its purest.For I do believe that Islam, re-gardless of Bush and Blair, ispredominantly a religion ofpeace. But that doesn't help thePandits. They must at least beallowed a safe homeland of theirown. And within the Valley forthat. --Courtesy: Daily Excelsior

Kashmir Pandit Women demanding Homeland during ademonstration in Jammu (File Photo)

(From Page 8)spread over 1/4th of the territoryof India and constituted severalstrategic sea and land frontiersof the Indian empire".

The Congres's two majorformulations on states i)Acceptance of the right of thePrinces to determine theconstitutional relationships in afuture Union of India and ii)Recognition of separate politicalidentity of the states drove it toaccept the Cabinet Missionproposals with regard to IndianStates. It took it sometime torealise the dangerous fall out ofacceptance of lapse ofparamountcy. But it was too latein the day. The British refusedto countenance the change in

the Congress policy in thestates. The acceptance of thelapse of paramountcy led to aseries of crisis in—Junagarh,J&K and Hyderabad.

Even on the eve of partition,the Congress leaders naivelybelieved that the Princesprovided a fairly more stableguarantee for a United India thanthe States Peoples’ Movementwould be able to ensure. Theiracceptance of the right of princesto determine the accession issueand future constitutionalrelationships with Centre wasnot only negation of the anti-colonial struggle, it led to severecrisis in integration of states,which were ultimately resolvedby the pressure of strong

leadership. In a statement beforethe CWC, Maulana Azadaccepted self-determination"even to the extent of separationunder certain circumstances andwith certain safeguards for thecommunities affected and thecountry as a whole". He pro-posed, "the decision to separateshould not rest on the majorityvote of the Assembly but on thevote of representatives in theAssembly of the areasconcerned." Azad stated," alarge section among the IndianMuslims does not seem to be inthe mood to view realities intheir proper perspective. Thissection can be expected to doso only when it is assured thatthe determination of their

destinies rests with the Muslimsthemselves, without externalcompulsions. When this isrealised, suspicion and doubtwill largely disappear, solutionof the communal problem will befruitful". Dr Khan Sahib (ofNWFP) took a similar positionwhen he said: "Self-determination is the only thing.Actually, the principle wasconceded by the Congress longago, but it was wrapped up in arigarmole".

Title: Ideology of IndianFreedom StruggleAuthor: Dr. Santosh KaulPrice: Rs 500Published By: AnmolPublications Pvt. Ltd.4374/4B, Ansari Road,Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002

Roots of Congress Ambivalence lie in Historypeople’s movements in theStates.

Dr. Santosh Kaul has dealt atlength how Congres's isolationpolicy created serious tensionsin integrating Junagarh,Hyderabad and J&K. The book

also discusses the impact ofLeague’s stand on Muslimleadership in the Congress. TheMuslim leadership in theCongress accepted the mainpostulate of the Leaguedemanding "self determination"for the Indian Muslims. TheCongress Muslim leaders took atotally different ideologicalposition from the Hindu

CONTINUATION

15REPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTKASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

By SM Pandit

Describing demands like'Autonomy', 'Self Rule'and 'Self Governance' as

secessionist propositions,Panun Kashmir warned theCentral government that anymove aimed at weakening con-stitutional integration of J&Kwith India will deepen the crisisthan inspiring a way out of it. Re-iterating the demand ofHOMELAND, the speakersdescribed the MargdarshanResolution-1991 as the roadmapfor the reversal of the designedexodus and genocide of the com-munity.

Addressing a well attendedgathering on the occasion of the16th Homeland Day, PanunKashmir Chairman Dr AjayChrungoo said that partition ofIndia was not applicable toPrincely states but the BritishRuled India and as suchresolution of Kashmir imbrogliocannot be linked to it. He addedthat the argument that fiddlingof Article 370 will lead tosecession of J&K is a myth. DrChrungoo said that Panun Kash-mir is strongly opposed to anymove aimed at reversing the stateto the Pre-1953 status. Heasserted that 'Article 370' wasincorporated in the constitutionas 'transitory' and not out of willbut out of duress.

Referring to the 'WorkingGroup on ‘State-CentralRelationship', Dr Chrungoo said’,"The deliberations shall be aimedat reinforcing the bond betweenthe state and the Centre in thetrue spirit of the terms ofreference". He said that duringhis presentation, he made it clearthat J&K State on the Indian Ter-ritory but outside purview ofIndian Constitution wouldn't beacceptable to Panun Kashmir."One country two systems, aRepublic within a Republic is anabsurd proposition', he asserted.He added that accepting a Mus-lim State on the body of SecularIndia would be a blatantcompromise with "Two NationTheory". He further said that theorganisation is opposed toturning a defacto Muslim Stateinto De-jure Muslim State.Decrying the ambiguous standof even those who are publiclyspeaking against Article 370,Panun Kashmir leader said thathe made the organisersunderstand that he cannot shyaway from taking a stand on theCentre-State relationship as wecannot allow balkanisation of thestate and jeopardise the safetyof Kashmiri Hindus, JammuHindus and even the minoritiesof India.

Dr Chrungoo said thatKashmiri Pandits are now

Homeland Day CelebratedAutonomy, Self Rule Secessionist Propositions-PK

of Panun Kashmir and launchedscathing attack on UPA govern-ment.

Accusing UPA governmentfor pursuing a compromisingpolicy on Kashmir, Prof Hari Omsaid that the nation has no ex-pectations from the combination.He regretted that the Centralgovernment is run by those whohave been rejected by theelectorate and sited examples ofPrime Minister, Home Ministeretc. in this regard. CongratulatingJ&K Governor, Lt Gen (Retd.) SKSinha for describing Kashmircrisis as the outcome of funda-mentalism, the BJP leader saidthat such a stand by theconstitutional head of the stategenerates a ray of hope amongthe nationalist forces.

Prof. MK Teng, ChairmanAdvisory Panun Kashmir,described present Kashmir crisisas a war with greater dimensionsagainst a civilisation. He saidthat "Islamic fundamentalismtook a new dimensions in 1990when a community was thrownout". Decrying peace process,Dr Teng said," Peace Process isnot a Peace-Process but a peace-

offensive as it is manifestationof civilisational war." Rejectingthe latest proposition of ParvezMusharraf, Prof. Teng describedit as an attempt to transfer thepower in J&K State to JehadiMuslims and allow Pakistan a toehold in J&K for further intrusion.

Describing MargdarshanResolution 1991 as flagstaff of

struggle, he said that the demandof Homeland was not an escapistroute but expressionist in natureand respond to the war thrustupon the community.

Tracing the course ofpersecution, Prof. ML Koul,member Advisory Panun Kash-mir, said that Pandits weresubjected to persecution since14th century when Sayeeds fromMiddle-East landed in Kashmirand guised themselves as Sofis.Terming 20 condition laid byShah-e-Hamdan as barbaric,Prof. Koul said that Pandits werekilled and their aesthetic andreligious activities prohibited.Prof Koul added that KashmiriHindus had a sigh of relief for abrief period in Sikh and Dograrule and they were again sub-jected to victimisation since1931.

Mr Koul described creationof Homeland as a weapon to endthe persecution and repeatedexodus.

Mr Koul said that ShrujaBhat's would not be born againto reverse the exodus andexhorted Kashmiri Pandits toshape their own history.

All Kashmiri Pandit SolidarityConference President Sh ONTrisal underscored the relevanceof Panun Kashmir and accusedthe majority community of theValley of rejecting the principleof co-existence. Mr Trisal saidthat Kashmiri Pandits weresubjected to discrimination bythe successive state

governments and the communitywas finally hounded out of theValley lock, stock and barrel bythe Islamist zealots. He addedthat the Independence strugglewas fight against BritishImperialism and Pandits arefighting the Islamic fundamental-ism and termed it as conflict ofcivilisations.

Describing Mufti MohammadSayeed as a great opportunist,he said that Mr Sayeed was partof government of Sadiq, whostood for greater integration ofJ&K State with India and it wasduring his tenure that jurisdictionof Supreme Court and ElectionCommission were extended to thestate, but Mr Sayeed wasspeaking now a differentlanguage. He described threeyears of Mufti rule as anarchistand dictatorial in nature.

Mr Trisal thanked people ofIndia in general and people ofJammu in particular for their co-operation extended to Pandits inhour of crisis and describedHomeland as a weapon to endethnic and administrativecleansing the community hasbeen subjected to.

Panun Kashmir GeneralSecretary Sh Kuldeep Rainadescribed 28th December as animportant date in the history ofKashmiri Pandits. He said that thecommunity that had sufferedlong political persecution andeconomic strangulation, passedthe MARGDARSHANRESOLUTION on this day in1991 which symbolises theaspirations of the community.Mr Raina said, "the resolutionserves as a roadmap for thereversal of the genocide andexodus". PK leader described thedemand of Homeland as theassertion of the community tolive in the Valley on their ownterms and conditions than thewhims of the majoritycommunity.

Exhorting Kashmiri Pandits toassociate the youth with thecommunity struggle, Mr Rainasaid that we should educate theyouth of our rich culturalheritage, victimisation andpersecution that led to theexodus and the struggle thathelped the community to comeout of the morass of helpless-ness. He added that they shouldbe educated and inspired toassociate themselves with thestruggle for return to theHomeland. Mr Raina alsoemphasised the preservation ofthe language.

The programme wascompared by PK Secretary BLKoul and vote of thanks waspresented by the press andpublicity secretary Sh SKHandoo.

recognised as a primary party tothe resolution of Kashmirimbroglio and same is reflectedby invitation to Pandit leadersto represent in the highest fora,including the Round TableConference. Chiding GhulamNabi Azad for his comments ondissent in the community, FarooqAbdullah for 'disunity amongcommunity leadership' and thecommunity leaders fordenigrating the community, DrChrungoo said that it were onlyKashmiri Pandit leaders whopresented a united opinion inRTC-II and all the three spoke infavour of 'Homeland'. Patting thecommunity for relentlessstruggle, the PK leader said thatit was the outcome of thecommunity struggle that eventhe European Union and TonyBlair, who at one time describeduprising in Kashmir as "freedomstruggle", are now accepting itas manifestation of terrorism.

Referring to thepresentations of G.Parthasarthy,former diplomat and a frontlineleader in Track-II diplomacy andMr Ajit Doval Former IB Directorin a seminar at Delhi, Dr

Chrungoo said that it is not amean achievement of thecommunity that such personali-ties openly advocated that onlysuch solution would beacceptable to them that is accept-able to Pandits.

The state BJP vice-presidentProf Hari Om reiterated hissolidarity with Pandits and cause

(L) Prof. M.L. Koul, Prof. Hari Om, Sh. ON Trisal & Sh. Kuldeep Raina speaking on the occasionof Homeland Day. (R) View of the audience) --KS photo

(L) View of the audience (R) Dr MK Teng, Sh. SK Handoo & Sh BL Koul addressing on theoccasion. --KS photo

REPORTREPORTREPORTREPORTREPORT 16KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

KS Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 8: The meetconvened here today to discussthe issue of return of DisplacedKashmiri Pandits turned out tobe a clever move by the organis-ers to float the concept of a uni-versity under the aegis of Stategovernment, but with minoritycharacter. The main presentationin this regard was made by Prof.Amitabh Mattoo, Vice-Chancel-lor Jammu University. He claimedthat creation of such a Univer-sity was an interim plan for re-turn of migrants. Prof. Matttoosaid creation of a 'Shardapeeth'University in Kashmir would pro-vide "an intellectual Homeland"to Displaced Kashmiri Pandits.He went on to say that the movewould provide 'physical, intellec-tual, reconciliation and economicspace to Pandit Community.Matto added that this Universitywould not be a technical Univer-sity but a place to promote lib-eral and secular thoughts. Hepleaded to the majority commu-nity in Valley to come forward todonate the land for this purpose.Prof. Mattoo claimed that noother road map would work. Hedid not elaborate but concededthat in diaspora Pandits had wit-nessed greater political and cul-tural assertion. He, however,went on to say that KPs cannotsurvive as a real community out-side the Valley. Prof. Mattooavoided discussion on all issueslinked with exodus, continuedgenocide, role of majority com-munity in Valley, various mod-els for return etc.

Mr Ved Bhasin, editor TheKashmir Times made a brief in-tervention and said return issuehas to be evolved within the dis-placed community. He added thatPandits in Kashmir should havean equitable sense of participa-tion in socio-political and eco-nomic affairs. A speaker wentlyrical, probably to describe suchmeets as futile but endorsed theUniversity proposal. He said, "17years of problem, 17000 solu-tions, 1700 players and hencegoes this musical chair game".Another speaker described the

Asia Hotel MeetAsia Hotel MeetAsia Hotel MeetAsia Hotel MeetAsia Hotel Meet

Kashmiri Pandits will not returnKashmiri Pandits will not returnKashmiri Pandits will not returnKashmiri Pandits will not returnKashmiri Pandits will not returnto a Talibanised Society: ON Trisalto a Talibanised Society: ON Trisalto a Talibanised Society: ON Trisalto a Talibanised Society: ON Trisalto a Talibanised Society: ON Trisal

proposal as peripheral, other ob-served it as an escapist route. Aspeaker from the majority com-munity in Valley rose up to rakeup urban/rural divide among Dis-placed Pandits. This wasstrongly resented by KPs, whofelt it as yet another stratagemto create confusion in Pandits.Their feelings were expressed bySh. Hira Lal Chatta, a seniorleader of ASKPC, who rose upto counter", there are no ruraland Urban Kashmiri Pandits. Weare one and united".

However, there was one in-tervention which raised funda-mental issues connected withreturn. It was that of Shri OmkarNath Trisal, a Left Congressleader of yesteryears and Presi-dent All State Kashmiri PanditSolidarity Conference. Hestrongly contested Prof.Mattoo's proposal, saying uni-versities have never solvedproblems in history. He asked,"If Sri Lanka sets up a Univer-sity in Jaffna would it solve theTamil problem?"

In a spirited interventionTrisal mocked the meet and said,"It is an irony of fate that theissue of return of DisplacedKashmiri Hindus who are rottingin sub-human conditions in refu-gee camps is being discussed ina 5 Star Hotel". He said that 3.5lakh Kashmiri Pandits, who havebeen victims of snake bites, sun

strokes and diseases like Diabe-tes, Hypertension, Pre-matureaging were facing negative popu-lation growth. He quoted reportsto show how falling birth ratesand increasing death rates haveled to a doomsday scenario forPandit refugees.

Mr ON Trisal, in a tone of sar-casm, asked leftist members inthe audience 'what contradictionwas responsible for religious-cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus'.He said it was unfortunate andintriguing that no speakertouched the issue—Why exo-dus took place? It was not evenreferred to in the report read atthe meet. He said that during theautocratric rule it was said thatprincipal contradiction was be-tween Hindu Maharaja and Mus-lim Praja. With removal of Ma-haraja this contradiction stoodresolved. Then it was said thatKashmiri Pandit was landlord/exploiter, while Tenant was poorMuslim. Land reforms withoutcompensation resolved this con-tradiction. Then it was raked upPandit was Shylock/Soodkhar/Usurer. Debt cancellation Boardswere instituted and all debtsstood cancelled. Subsequently,it was said Muslims sufferedfrom educational backwardnessand had to pay Mujwaza. Thegovernment did away withmujwaza and introduced freeeducation up to the University

level.Mr Trisal said during those

days communists had changedthe slogan from "All roads leadto Telengana" to "All Roads leadto Kashmir". It was said thatKashmir would become the firstsocialist state in the country. Heobserved that it was an irony offate that the state which was pre-dicted to become harbinger ofsocialism in the country hadturned into a fundamentaliststate, with its society totallyTalibanised. Mr Trisal asked the

organisers and the members ofthe audience, "How would Pan-dits return to a Talibanised soci-ety, where Civil Society failed it-self by not registering its pro-test over genocide and expulsionof its only Hindu minority? Wewere hounded out from ourhomeland by Islamic Zealots.This was the truth". The majorcontradiction that Kashmiri Pan-dits were facing today was Is-lamic fundamentalism, he ob-served. He went back to historyand said in 1947 When Pakista-nis had launched aggressionKashmiris had raised slogans ofsocialism and land to the Tiller.Mr Trisal asked the audience toponder over why Kashmir haddegenerated into a Talibanisedsociety. The 'Naya Kashmir' slo-gans stands buried, he added.Mr Trisal raised the point 'WhyDr Farooq Abdullah is not ableto talk about 'Hindu-Muslim-SikhItihad' in Kashmir today?' In thissituation how dare you askKashmiri Pandits to return to afundamentalist society, heasked. Mr Trisal said his com-munity stands for peace, but notpeace process. He said, "ourhands are not soiled with bloodof our neighbours. You cannotcite a single instance in historywhere we have harmed others".Mr Trisal concluded by saying,"the majority community inKashmir has rejected peacefulcoexistence. Its civil society hasfailed to protest over our geno-cide. My community will onlyreturn to a safe homeland inKashmir where there is free, fullflow of Indian Constitution".

We Want Muthi Not JagtiKashmiri Pandits from Camps protesting

outside Relief Commissioners Office againstfresh rehabilitation proposal

Prof. Amitabh Mattoo & Sh. Ved Bhasin look on with curiosity while one of the speakers isdelivering his speech during the seminar.

17BOOK-REVIEWBOOK-REVIEWBOOK-REVIEWBOOK-REVIEWBOOK-REVIEWKASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

By Kuldeep Raina

A genocide is a terrible event.Every member of the victim-

ised community has his own ex-periences-horrific and non-hor-rific to relate to. Yet it needsParineeta Khar to weave theseexperiences into pieces of greatliterature. She was not part of thegreat exodus the Kashmiri Pan-dit community had to resort to inearly 1990. But as a socially re-sponsible writer she had a keenear to listen to the experiencesher relations and the members ofthe community underwent dur-ing the turbulence of 1989 and1990 that left the Pandit commu-nity totally uprooted with perma-nent rootlessness staring it inface.

Parineeta Khar has suc-ceeded where others members ofher writers' tribe have failed thecommunity. A genocide and asituation of exile is no dinnerparty. Jose Marti, the famed LatinAmerican poet of 19th Centuryonce said 'Now is the time of fur-naces, and only light should beseen'. Exile is no time for writ-ing 'nostalgic tracts' or engag-ing in 'devotional escapism'.The literature of exile should helplink exile with consciousness ofexile and raise the social aware-ness in the victimised communityto facilitate reversal of genocideand exile. What distinguishesKhar from others is that she iscourageous enough to depictsocial realism as it is, unmindfulof whether it is part of the politi-cal correctness. Her deepinsights into the sociology ofKashmiri Pandit society, thepride in Kashmiri ethnicity andits subset-battagi and the lovefor homeland has helped herproduce a masterpiece-an an-thology of short stories—"Wewere and We will be". The titleis taken from the first story.About it she writes," we are thechildren of legendary elevenfamilies who tenaciously refusedto accept anything, other thanbattagi (being a Kashmiri Pan-dit). I have an uncanny belief;the tyranny of bigots will abate,the contempt and conceit willend sometime and somewhere.The bruised and pulped upbattagi will come out of the de-bris of ruined mansions, peep outof the heaped up rubble, andstand erect again. Hence, wewere and we will be".

Parineeta Khar is not only asuperb craftswoman in the art of

KASHMIRI PANDITSKASHMIRI PANDITSKASHMIRI PANDITSKASHMIRI PANDITSKASHMIRI PANDITSExile Literature Comes Of AgeExile Literature Comes Of AgeExile Literature Comes Of AgeExile Literature Comes Of AgeExile Literature Comes Of Ageshort story writing, she bringsnew innovations as well. This isthe hallmark of originality in awriter. Her earlier work 'on theshores of the Vitasta' (1994) re-flects on the social milieu ofKashmir when terrorism was analien concept among Kashmiris.The stories in that collectionemerged out of after-dinner ses-sions in Kashmir's dreary win-ter. The present book, the authorwrites, "is the manifestation ofinundating currents of fero-cious magnitude ebbing in myown psyche". She is candid insaying, "I have not chronicledthe history of atrocities metedout to Pandits, neither did I enu-merate the gruesome killings ofthe people of my community atthe hands of terrorists. My talesallude to circumstances of dis-tinct nature, some strange andothers intriguing. These storiesare an attempt to depict how ter-rorism affected and influenced allof us, one or the other way...Mystories depict a celebration oflife—a continuation of life".

The author uses the settingof a society gripped by terror-ism, fundamentalism and socialconflict to explore the humanpsychology—its frailties as wellas strengths. She does not con-struct a fictional scenario abouta social milieu. The society, isdepicted as it is, with no theori-sation or building imaginary sce-narios to tailor it to the needs ofpolitical correctness. Thegenerational conflict in KashmiriMuslim society where two gen-erations hold varying views onpluralistic coexistence and tol-eration when terrorism entersinto the social life of Kashmiris,is delineated beautifully. Urbanstereotypes about rural Panditsociety, gender exploitation in anextended family system, psycho-logical state among Pandit exilesand their passing into regressionby turning to Godmen and soothesayers, the devastation sufferedby Pandits in the wake funda-mentalism and terrorism, the di-lemma-roots or pragmatism andthe essential goodness of humanbeings, all these themes touchedby the writer have not been ex-

plored before by Kashmiri Pan-dit writers in exile with such sen-sitivity and freshness. With thepublication of this excellentbook, literature in exile amongPandits comes of age.

Exile haunts Parineeta Khar.She says, "we had left Kashmir,for the betterment of our indi-vidual lives...She (ever pardon-ing mother: our Kashir) waitedfor long and then discarded uswith the bitterness of a motherwho disowns her children afterbeing left to dereliction...Now,when I am alone...the treasuredrove of the reminiscences is myhaven. I close my eyes, delvedeep and peep into the days ofmy childhood, my early youthand my bridal days—in Kash-mir". The pain experienced bythe author when her husband'sfamily decides to sell the housein Srinagar is described by her in'A Lost Paradise-Home'. Shewrites," He and his siblings hadthe legal authority to liquidatetheir property, I felt helpless. Thethought of having no home inKashmir made me feel like an or-phaned and lost child. Theirpragmatism called the unfortu-nate house a helpless liability.To me, it was a natural bond withKashmir for us and our poster-ity".

Parineeta is bitter not onlyagainst the brokers and the ter-rorists but also against her owncommunity. In a tone of indict-ment, the author says", The bro-kers, who traded in disposing ofthe matriarchal edifices, sought

out my husband's family andsucceeded. The terrorists hadvandalised it, but never couldclaim a genuine hold on ourlovely home, but alas, we, theoriginal inhabitants, sold it for asong. My moonlit glassroomsmashed to smithereens; thehomestead wept bruised and lac-erated. The phone call (from thebroker) left me agonised and agi-tated. The walnut tree, underwhich lay intertwined my chil-dren's baby hair, was auctioned.The Kalpavriksha marked wallthat had supported the dreamsof a young bride and seen methrough an unripe youth to amellowed womanhood, hadslipped from behind me. My hus-band calls my sentimental attach-ment to Kashmir and home, anexaggerated romantic outlook. Iask him why his eyes catch thecool degrees of temperature inSrinagar first watching theweather report".

Five stories in this tome un-der review deal with displace-ment and exile as its theme. Theother two stories—Yati and theApsaras, The Deity of theChinar are meant for that gen-eration of Kashmiri Pandits whonever saw/or lived in Kashmir.Kashmiri Folklore abounding insuch supernatural characters—dyav, Sheen Mohniv etc. comesalive in these stories.

We were and we will beThe story is set in a migrant

camp in Delhi. A young physi-cian, Dr Raman Raina, scion of amillionaire Kashmiri Pandit fam-ily that had left Kashmir four dec-ades ago, while on his visits tothe migrant camp to providemedical help, falls in love with arefugee girl, called TriporaSondari. This fructifies into mat-rimonial alliance between thetwo. This is not accepted by theboy's mother, Khema. Throughthis conflict the author exploreshuman psychology of charac-ters. It is not the class but thehuman frailty that is the cause ofthe conflict.

The InvincibleIn Invincible the impact of ter-

rorism is shown more directly.The family of Poshkuj Kaul lives

in a village, not far from Srinagar.Poshkuj's family lived in per-

fect harmony with their neigh-bours of the majority community.This harmony is reflectedthrough two chracters—Malaand her son Rasool. Terrorismraises its head in the villagethrough the appearance of acharacter-a foreign mercenarywho succeeds in brainwashingRasool's son. Mala resents thepresence and behaviour of thealien—the bearded mercenarywho had no respect for valuesand ethos of the land. Rasoolshows helplessness when hisson begins to trouble Poshkuj'sfamily. But Mala hurls curses onher grandson. One day this Pan-dit family's cowshed and barn areset on fire by a frenzied mob,Shamboo and his wife go out tosave poor cows. They never re-turn. Mala comes to her friendPoshkuj. She is accompanied byher son Rasool. He tells her thatshe should immediately leave thevillage alongwith two daughtersof Shamboo. Rasool had beenwatching the misdemeanours ofhis son, first enthusiasticallythen with a disgust. He fearedfor the safety of Shamboo'sdaughters, and advises Poshkujto take the daughters to Mumbai.Rasool arranges some space forladies in a Jammu-bound truckcarrying cattle. Subsequently,Rasool's family contacts Kaulsat Mumbai through a phone calland seek a bargain. Remains ofShamboo and his wife could begiven back only if Kauls agreeto give them the entire propertythey owned in the village.Poshkuj wonders why had thefriends turned predators.Poshkuj tells them that remainsof their son and daughter-in-lawneeded to be kept in Kashmir it-self as they belonged to Kash-mir's earth. She reminds themthat 'selling their property inKashmir was like selling one'smother’. Poshkuj, unable to bearthe phone call, passed away thesame night.

Look who got Azadi:An extended (joint) family in

traditional Kashmiri society wasthe norm rather than an excep-tion. It provided security-emo-tional and financial to the mem-bers of the family. With economicempowerment of the woman andtheir social emancipation the twomajor flaws of the extended

(Contd. on Page 19)

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTSCHRONOLOGY OF EVENTSCHRONOLOGY OF EVENTSCHRONOLOGY OF EVENTSCHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 18Dec 4: Security forces killed one of the most wanted JeM

terrorist in Bandipore and killed two Al-Badar terror-ists in Sopore. Terrorists killed a 20 year old Imtiaz atSopore. Two terrorists were killed in an encounter atLabloti in Khari, Banihal.

Dec 5: A civilian was killed and 15 others injured in a grenadeexplosion in Baramulla town.

Dec 6: 13 civilians and two CRPF personnel were injured in agrenade attack at Batmaloo, Srinagar. A Punjabi car-penter Daleep Singh was stabbed to death at TibetanColony, Srinagar. Terrorists failed to cause any dam-age when they lobbed a grenade towards Gool PoliceStation. Army recovered explosive material fromDushnan forests in Doda and arrested an OGW ofHM. A terrorist hideout was destroyed at Danar,Surankote.

Dec 7: Terrorists gunned down a civilian Maqbool Wani atBrinti Batpora, Anantnag. An infiltration bid was foiledand a terrorist killed in Poonch sector. Geelani re-jected Musharraf's proposal saying that "General'sfour-point formula is the negation of Kashmiris free-dom struggle".

Dec 9: A terrorist was gunned down in Ganderbal. Two ter-rorists, including HM Div Comdr Hekmatyar, an Armyjawan and a civilian were killed and two soldiers in-jured in two encounters at Gool and Mendhar. As 18demonstrators were injured in Pulwama, Zee and ETVstringers were caught in a sting operation. PresidentAPJ Abdul Kalam asks military to be ready for nukeand chemical wars.

Dec 10:A youth was allegedly shot at by an Army jawan atMirbazar, Anantnag. Various KP organisations andseparatists organised demonstrations on the WorldHuman Rights Day. Defence Minister AK Antony saidthat Musharraf's proposal has no importance. A USdelegation meets Mirwaiz and Lone there are reportsthat Centre-Hurriyat talks may be held next month.

Dec 11:Two HM terrorists were killed in an encounter atSofigund, Tral. Terrorists fired at and injured a womanMaimoona at Chak Kawoosa while body of Rehana, amentally unsound lady, was fished out of the Jhelum.An Army jawan ended his life at Kaluchak. TwoKashmiri terrorists with 1.5 kg RDX were arrested inDelhi. Working Group on Centre-State relations meetstoday at Delhi amidst boycott by NC. Dr Ajay ChrungooChairman Panun Kashmir represents KPs at the meet.US diplomats meet Yasin.

Dec 12:An HM terrorist surrendered in Doda. A hide-out wasdestroyed at Marhot, Surankote. Chief Minister GhulamNabi Azad and Union Home Secretary VK Duggal re-viewed security situation at a meeting in Delhi. Thewidows of Parliament attack martyrs return medalsand demand. Afzal Guru's execution. The govern-ment denies infiltration of LeT cadres in Indian Army.

Dec 14:Budgam Police claimed to have busted an Al-Badarteenage module by arresting eight teenagers who hadallegedly taken contract killings at the rate of Rs 30,000each. Eight SIM cards were reportedly provided to theterrorist organisation by a private operator. UnionHome Minister Patil assures Parliament that All KPswould be provided jobs. External Affairs Ministry in-formed that China was occupying 38,000 sq km inJ&K.

Dec 15:Villagers of Chandiyal, Mendhar chased two terror-ists, who had kidnapped a girl, and hacked to death aPakistani terrorist Istiyaq while another managed toescape. The local terrorist killed the kidnapped girlbefore his escape. Two terrorists were killed atThanala, Bhaderwah. Two Bangladeshi exfiltratorswere gunned down in Arnia sector. Top wanted ter-rorist Munna Janwari gave police a slip yet again butpolice arrested his associate-discharged J&K PoliceConstable Abdul Rehman Dar and recovered armsand ammunition hidden in a tyre. Police seized Rs 1.5lakh meant for LeT and arrested three operatives fromPalhalan Pattan. Ghulam Nabi Azad visited NorthernCommand HQrs and reviewed situation in the stateand on the LoC.

Dec 16:Terrorists gunned down a young girl and a boy atPateli Daraj in Budhal. Two infiltrators were killed inKrishna Ghati and JeM district Comdr was shot deadat Mahore in Reasi. Even as PM described Musharraf'snew ideas as welcome, his Defence Minister AKAntony said that terrorist infrastructure was intact inPakistan and DG BSF admitted that Pak made full useof cease-fire to build defence structures close to theInternational Border. GoC 15 Corps Lt. General ASSekhon said that 76 securitymen were punished forrights violations. Tension grips Kot Bhalwal jail as about300 ultras refuse to go into the barracks.

Dec 17:The terrorists lived luxurious life in Kot Bhalwal jail asfour rooms were found decorated with wall to wallcarpets, CTVs and coolers. Even a poultry farm wasdetected in the premises. Amidst tension, 36 persons-21 detainees and 15 cops-were injured; iron rods,knives, tokas, two SIMs and cylinders were recov-

ered and four terrorists shifted out of the state. Policebusted an LeT module by arresting four of its mem-bers in Sopore while six terrorists were reportedlyholed up in three gun-battles in Bandipore and Lolab.Army regretted incident of killing a village headman formistaken identity at Tarigam-Dooru. Mufti Sayed de-scribed NC's autonomy as just a part of PDP's self-rule and claimed sky as limit without changing bor-ders. Two terrorist hideouts were busted in Dodadistrict.

Dec 18:Three holed-up terrorists were killed while some sepa-ratist organisations, call for a shut down against KotBhalwal jail incident failed to evoke any response.Even if state government transferred Mr. RajinderTickoo as new DG prisons, two more SIM cards wererecovered and three others burnt in Kot Bhalwal jail.A jawan ended his life in Kishtwar. Governor Lt Gen(Retd.) SK Sinah described fundamentalism as gravethreat to national security but claimed that differenceswith Pak on LoC were narrowing down. 115 civilianscross LoC from Poonch-Rawalkote bus service.

Dec 19:Army recovered arms and ammunition, including 21kg of explosives from Parhas, Budgam. An Armyjawan committed suicide in Baramulla district. Five in-filtrating Bangladeshis were arrested in Kathua dis-trict. Aamir of the detained terrorists Altaf Choudharyand his two associates were shifted out of the KotBhalwal to restore order in the jail. Three LeT terror-ists from Manipur were arrested from near the RedFort in New Delhi.

Dec 20:Security forces recovered arms and ammunition, in-cluding two RPG rockets, in Kashmir valley. A Paki-stani smuggler Mohammad Ashraf was arrested nearIB in RS Pura sector and recovered heroin worth Rs25 crore from his possession.

Dec 21:Four terrorists were arrested with arms and ammuni-tion and more than Rs one lakh recovered acrossKashmir Valley. Nine Pakistanis were released fromdifferent jails and police stations in Jammu and Kash-mir to be deported via Wagah.

Dec 22:Two people were killed and seven others, includingfour security personnel, injured in an encounter inSopore. Terrorists killed a former LeT terrorist AbdulHamid at Ajas, Bandipore. Security forces averted amajor tragedy by recovering a live grenade from apassenger bus at Batmaloo Bus Stand; the grenadewas found in a organe-box and one suspect wastaken into custody. Two terrorist-hideouts werebusted in Kishtwar and Surankote and arms and am-munition recovered. HC released a women, accusedof helping terrorists and detained under PSA, in opencourt.

Dec 23:13 members of two families of terrorists and eightother terrorists surrendered in Kupwara after theirreturn from PoK. As six terrorists were trapped ingunbattles, Col GS Sarna of RR 29 Bn sacrificed hislife in Bherampora encounter. 14 prisoners wereamong 70 repatriated by Pakistan. Four months afterdeportation, a Pakistani Abid crossed over India andwas arrested in Arnia sector.

Dec 24:Three trapped up terrorists and a civilian were killed inBaramulla; one of the killed terrorists was claimed tobe "Chief of Operations" of Al-Mansoorian-Abu Usama.Army recovered huge cache of arms and ammunitionat Sheri on Baramulla-Uri road. Terrorists gunned downMohi-ud-Din Dar of Turka Batpora at Shooch Palpora.LK Advani claimed that UPA was planning a majorsurrender on Kashmir.

Dec 25:Terrorists gunned down an Awami League activistand contractor Mohan Lal Bhandari at Chingam, Chatru;Bhandari had contested unsuccessfully last Assem-bly elections from Inderwal. A LeT terrorist was ar-rested in Rajouri and arms and ammunition recoveredfrom him. KPs reject Musharraf's latest four point for-mula.

Dec 26:A Sumo driver and a soldier were killed and threeothers injured as terrorists targeted the vehicle carry-ing Armymen at Rakeh Liter, Pulwama. A top LeT ter-rorist Mohammad Iqbal of Bharat Doda was arrested.

Dec 27:Two Kulhand massacre accused-Mohammad AshrafGanai and Mohammad Yunus-were killed in an en-counter at Udhianpur, Doda. Police arrested two OGWsof LeT from Dhaggal Halal, Kalakote. A civilian waskilled and a dozen others injured as police opened fireon mob protesting the death of one Ramzan Sheikh inpolice custody. Police claimed Shah as an OGW ofLeT. Two people were injured as terrorists caused inIED explosion near Degree College Baramulla. Chair-man Municipal Committee Dooru was injured in a mis-fire by his PSO. Several localities of Pulwama-Shopianbelt observed shut down against the killnig of TataSumo driver. HC is to hear Armyofficer's petition inPathribal killing case tomorrow. Arun Jaitely described

perverted defiinition of secularism responsible for KPsagony. Army Chief JJ Singh said that terrorists wereentering through Nepal and Bangladesh borders.

Dec 28:Three infiltrating terrorists were killed in an encounterin Boniyar near LoC in Uri Sector. Terrorists gunneddown a civilian Shenawaz Ahmed War at Nadihal,Baramulla. Six RPG rockets were seized in Lehranforest area in Nowshera, Rajouri. Arms and ammuni-tion was also recovered from Sathutri, Poonch. Probewas ordered into Marwah killings. Three more mobilephones and SIMs were seized from Kot Bhawal Jail.Pandits celebrate Homeland Day.

Dec 29:A young JE Shabir Hussain Khan of Bhagwanporawas killed as terrorists caused a major IED blast atMirza Kamil Sahib Chowk in Hawal area of Srinagar;some vehicles were also damaged in the incident.Body of a mentally unsound Irafan Gujiri was recov-ered from Malpora, Pattan. A youth Nazir AhmedWagay was freed from the clutches of his kidnap-pers-Mohd. Yusuf Haji and Abdul Rasheed Bhat, Hajiwas described to be a Congress activist. Two OGWsof terrorists were arrested for pressurising youth tojoin terrorism in Doda district Hurriyat Chief MirwaizUmar Farooq said that Hurriyat was ready for talksand demanded declaration of cease-fire. 13 cross-over to PoK via Teetwal crossing. BJP said that PrimeMinister was in a hurry to solve Kashmir in 2006.

Dec 30:Terrorists gunned down SHO Pampore and a civilianand injured four others in broad daylight attack; SHOManzoor Ahmed was instrumental in counter insur-gency operations and had also worked with SOG. Ina bizzare incident Nazir Ahmed fired upon his sonallegedly over a dispute over a pigeon in ZaildarMohalla, Srinagar. An LeT terrorist was arrested inHandwara. Two OGWs were arrested in Doda forsheltering terrorists.

Dec 31:As top terrorist Muna Janwari is believed to be trappedalongwith two associates in an encounter in Sopore,people protested against the knocking down of a civil-ian by an Army vehicle in Kupwara. Two Kashmiriterrorists-Samiullah and Ali Mohammad were arretedin Delhi who were planning blasts on the eve of NewYear Day in Paharganj area. Sources claimed that 47top terrorists exfiltrated to PoK via LoC amidst dwin-dling local support and fear psychosis. Defence Min-ister AK Antony asked Pakistan to match words withdeeds and make sincere efforts to end the problem.

Jan 1: Muna Janwari was killed alongwith one associate asforces demolished the non-residential structure wherethey had taken shetter. Massive anti-US demonstra-tions were held after Eid prayers in Jammu and Geelaniraised anti-India and Pro-Pak slogans in his addressafter prayers. Panun Kashmir demands arrest ofGeelani under IPC for preaching secessionism. TADACourt acquitted four Muslim Mujahideen terrorists whohad surrendered in 1993.

Jan 2: An Al-Badr terrorist was killed in Mendhar while twoimpersonating as terrorists were arrested in Dodadistrict.

Jan 3: A Naib Subedar was killed and two jawans injured inan encounter at Khadoon, Budhal (Rajouri). Two ter-rorist-hideouts were busted in Bhaderwah andSunigarh in Doda. Two infiltrators were arrested nearLoC in Karnah sector. A CRPF jawan was found deadunder mysterious circumstances inside a camp inAnantnag. Two more mobile phones, a charger andkirch were recovered from Kot Bhalwal Jail wheretwo barrcks are reported to have functioned as com-munication centres. A court discharged a terrorist-conduit Alam Din at stage of framing charges. As perpolice, Alam Din was running a shop outside KotBhawal jail and serving as terrorist conduit. The Val-ley protests Sadam's execution.

Jan 4: Four top Comdrs of JeM and HUJI were killed in anencounter at Barf Wali Gali in Gool. A OGW was killedand another seriously injured as an IED, they weregoing to plant at Khari-Banihal, exploded in their handsat Lavlota. 50 travel across LoC in the Carvan-e-Aman.Salahuddin denied any links between Al-Qaeda andHizbul-Mujahideen. 25 injured as massive anti-US pro-tests continue in Kashmir valley. Dogra Liberation Frontactivists stormed Eid Milan of Syed Ali Shah Geelani.A Bangladeshi intruder was arrested in Samba sec-tor. Mr Azad favours joint management of Kashmir'sTrade Tourism.

Jan 5: Terrorists hearled a grenade towads PS Sopore whichfailed to cause any damage. Terrorists injured a civil-ian at Rajouri Kadal. An SHO, a photo-journalist wereamong 45 injured as Valley witnesses anti-US pro-tests. Hurriyat likely to meet PM next week beforetheir visit to Pakistan. Advani opposes joint manage-ment. A Kashmiri terrorist Imran was arrested inBangalore; CM Karnataka claimed that attempts to at-tack airport, Wipro and Infosys were foiled by thearrest.

December 4, 2006—January 5, 2007

KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

HOMAGEHOMAGEHOMAGEHOMAGEHOMAGE 19KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

By MK Dhar

Pandit Janki Nath Kachroo,former Principal-National

School, Karan Nagar, Srinagar,Kashmir, left for heavenlyabode in September 2006. ShriKachroo was a person withvast experience who hadmastered the art of teaching.On one hand he was an expertin teaching of Englishlanguage and on the otherhand he was excellent inteaching of Mathematics andScience. He was among thepioneers of school B'casts pro-grammes from Radio Kashmirin the Valley. A J&K Stateawardee for best teacher hehad carved out a special nichefor himself in the educationalfield of the Valley.

I knew him as a teacher, asa colleague and as a principal.In all the three capacities hehad his own specific charac-teristics. He was an excellentteacher, an amiable colleagueand a strict administrator.

When I joined the schoolas a student in Class-VII, heused to teach the 9th and 10thclasses. He was known for hismethodic and innovativeteaching in Science andEnglish language especially.When I reached 10th Class, hewas assigned the teaching ofEnglish to our class, besideshe was our form teacher. As aclass teacher he believed in

Pandit Janki Nath Kachroo, Former Principal,National School, Srinagar, Kashmir

A Homage To

involving students in variousactivities. We were givenspecific responsibilities in orderto develop our specificcapacities. Today, when I lookon those days I am convincedthat Shri Kachroo tried todevelop in us critical attitude, sci-entific temper and a sense of re-sponsibility. While teachingEnglish language he would usestructural approach to bringhome to us certain grammaticalstructures and forms. Duringthose days translation methodwas in use and structuralapproach had not developedmuch. However due to hispersonal reasons he had toproceed on long leave and wasaway from the Valley. This putan end to our interaction with himas a student and the teacher. Butduring that short period I couldrealize that he believed "indrawing out what is already in astudent". His method of teach-ing was scientific, innovativeand that he followed the maxim"from known to unknown".

I joined the school again in1962 as a teacher. This time ShKachroo was my senior col-league. He at once took me intohis arms and assured me of hisguidance and cooperation. Thisprovided me with an opportunityto work with him closely. I foundthat has academic activities werefocused on promoting andintroducing innovations. He

believed in proper planning andalways advised me to makeproper plans before going toteach in the classes. He believedin free and frank interaction withthe students. Although he borea stern face yet he was friendlyto them.

In 1969 he was promoted tothe post of headmaster. This wasthe beginning of modernisationfor the School. English mediumsections were added. KG classeswere started. The academic at-mosphere of the school wasgiven a new and fresh direction.

In 1972 he became principalon the retirement of Sh DN Raina,the then Principal. Under theagile leadership of Sh JNKachroo, the school started anumber of projects in order toimprove the academicenvironment of the school. Aninstitutional plan was framedwhich defined in concrete termsthe goals that the school had toachieve in the coming decade.From here onwards the studentsof school got sufficientopportunities in exhibit theirtalent in co-curricular and extra-curricular fields. Debate, Sympo-sia, musical programmes, games,races, literacy competitions be-came integral part of the schoolcurriculum.

Sh Kachroo had a vision andas the leader he tried to fulfil thatvision. In this he was able to carrythe staff with him. He got full

support from the members of thestaff in implementing all the newand innovative measures.

From 1982 to 1986 the schoolpassed through a difficult andtrying period. The school build-ing was gutted in a devastatingfire in October 1982. Thereafterstarted a period of toughstruggle against odds. His ablehandling of the situation and ne-gotiations with various agenciesenabled the management toacquire the building and conse-quent reconstruction. Theschool got a new lease of life.

In 1986, Sh Kachroo retiredfrom the services of the school.The management made a specialmention in appreciation of hisdedicated and commendableservices of the school :

"It gives the members of themanaging committee of NationalSchool, Srinagar, immensepleasure to place on its recordthe appreciation for thededicated, commendable andmeritorious services rendered tothe school by Sh JN Kachroothroughout his devoted anddedicated service of 40 years. Hiscontribution to the schoolespecially during the tryingperiod from October 1982 de-serves a special mention. Hisguidance and leadership asPrincipal of the school gave theinstitution a place of pride in theeducational map of the state".

Sh Kachroo was associated

with a number of educationalactivities of the Valley. He wasa resource person in teachingof English and participated ina number of workshopsconducted by the ExtensionServices Department ofCollege of Education, Srinagar.He was an excellent broad-caster and was associated withschool B'cast programmes ofRadio Kashmir. He wassecretary, Kashmir AidedEducational Association for anumber of years.

He was a scholarly personwho believed that to besuccessful in life one has to bea human being. He had a keensense of observation andanalysis. He always advised usto do things creatively anddifferently in order to achieveexcellence.

May God grant peace to hisdeparted soul!

*(The author was formerlyPrincipal, National School,Srinagar).

(From Page 17)family came to the fore-undemo-cratic atmosphere and social re-pression in the name of preserv-ing ethos of the joint family.'Look who got Azadi' is situatedin this ambience.

Beg your PardonThis is not only the finest

story written in the collection,but also the best original storyever written by a Kashmiri writer.In terrible times of 1989-90 someof the Kashmiri Pandit familiesadopted an ostrich-like mental-ity and decided to stay back de-spite threats and provocation.They paid for it and lost theirnear and dear ones. The survi-vors overwhelmed by the guiltlapsed into severe reactive de-pression. Parineeta Khar has pre-

sented the four case stories.In one family a six year old

girl is the only survivor. Her fa-ther had braved every provoca-tion to stay put in Kashmir. Thiswas taken as challenge by thepredators on the prowl. He be-gan receiving threatening mail.One evening he was shot deadwhile returning from office. Thelittle girl’s shrieks who was wit-ness to the killing brought hermother out. With her mouthagape a bullet consumed heralso. Neighbours, taking pity onthe little girl, send her to Jammu.The girl, who saw her parentsdying, landed in severe depres-sion. The only word she spokewas "Khotsan" (I am scared). Amigrant psychiatrist tries astrange remedy for her. He uses

'auto-suggestion' to cure her andthrough her the other membersof displaced community suffer-ing from the same syndrome. ThePsychiatrist tells her that she wasa goddess who had no business

to fear men with pistols. He toldher she was Sharika, the doomfor the sinners and the messiahof sufferers. The girl slowlycomes out of depression. She isthen trained to help other guilt-ridden Kashmiris.

A hut temple with supernatu-ral setting is built on the upperheights of Kud. The child god-dess goes there on the first dayof every dark fortnight in the darkhours of night. People turn up to

seek child goddess's "pardon"for atonement of their "sins".There are three bone-shakingcase studies narrated in the story.The girl's therapy is simple. Sheasks them to narrate their "guilt",and go for atonement and repent-ance. This she says would ridthem of their guilt. The child god-dess prescribes treatment whichis itself unique-helping the mis-erable ones in the Pandit refu-gee camps.

The TumbaknariIt focusses on reconciliation.Parineeta Khar's narrative

style is easy, reflecting commandover vocabulary, usage of wordsand distinctively Kashmiri meta-phors. She profusely uses collo-quial Kashmiri expressions. Herfemale characters bear names af-

ter Kashmiri goddesses—Tripora Sondari, Ragniya, ShriChakri, Sharika etc. The plots inthe stories are well constructedand the characters are full of life.The endings culminate in recon-ciliation, rather than in conflictand uncertainty. With two an-thologies already under her beltone wonders when would shebring out her first HistoricalNovel. We wish her goodluck.

Title: We were and We will beAuthor: Parineeta KharPrice: Rs 300 (Cloth Bound)Published by: Utpal Publica-tionsR-2, Khaneja ComplexMain Market, Shakarpur,Delhi-110092*The author is the Gen. Secy. ofPanun Kashmir

Kashmiri Pandits-Exile Literature Comes Of AgeKashmiri Pandits-Exile Literature Comes Of AgeKashmiri Pandits-Exile Literature Comes Of AgeKashmiri Pandits-Exile Literature Comes Of AgeKashmiri Pandits-Exile Literature Comes Of Age

CONTINUATION

Late Janki Nath Kachroo

DIASPORADIASPORADIASPORADIASPORADIASPORA 20KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2007

By Upender Ambardar

My stay at Shimla was an odyssey offamiliarization with the community

diaspora settled here. The inquisitivenesson my part to equip myself fully with therelated information, made me to trudgethe downslide hilly path leading to IndiraCottage, Summer Hill Shimla. It is the resi-dence of Dr VK Mattoo, a Professor inthe Post Graduate department ofBiosciences at the Himachal Pradesh Uni-versity, Shimla. Dr VK Mattoo's fatherlate Sh Amar Nath Mattoo, an inhabitantof Sona Masjid locality of Fatehkadal,Srinagar migrated to the princely state ofBilaspur in the year 1947 at the invitationof the then ruler late Raja Anand Chand.He was the ruler of the erstwhile Bilaspurstate from the year 1931 to 1947. Dr VKMattoo's father, Sh Amar Nath Mattoohad double post-graduation degrees inHindi and Political Science besides beinga B.Ed. He served in the education de-partment of the Princely State in variouscapacities.

Dr VK Mattoo did his M.Sc. in Zool-ogy in 1977 from the Himachal PradeshUniversity, and subsequently obtainedthe Doctorate degree in the year 1982 fromthe same University. The topic of his re-search work in PhD was 'Honey Bee Ge-netic Diversities in the Himalayn Region'.

Dr VK Mattoo's spouse Dr NeelamMattoo is also serving in the Biosciencesdepartment of the Himachal Pradesh Uni-versity, Shimla. Dr Neelam Mattoo hasbeen awarded the PhD degree on the topicof "Honey Plant Resources of HimachalPradesh" in the year 1989. Though beinga native of Himachal Pradesh, Dr NeelamMattoo is quite familiar with the culturaland social traditions of our community.She wears the auspicious and significantmarriage symbol of 'Dejhor' without anyinhibitions. During one of the chitchats,Dr Neelam Matto proudly revealed thatshe is adept in the preparation of tradi-tional Kashmiri cuisine. She also sharedher elation for being a member of theMattoo family. Both Dr VK Mattoo andhis spouse Dr Neelam Mattoo are down

Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora in Himachal Pradesh-Shimla-IIIto earth people, endowed with affiablenature and religious disposition.

Sh. PL Tikoo residing at Anand Cot-tage, Sanjouli, Shimla, is an original in-habitant of Tikoo Mohalla Shalla Kadal,Srinagar. He retired as PA in the HimachalPradesh State Electricity Board, Shimla.The lure of making a livelihood inHimachal Pradesh made Sh. PL Tikoo mi-grate to Shimla in the year 1960. He hastwo daughters and a son-Mr AshwaniTikoo, who is working as a project officerin Life Insurance Corporation officeSanjouli, Shimla. One of the daughters ofSh. PL Tikoo-Ms Nimmi is married to MrRavinder Bakshi, while the other one-MsSimmi is married to Sh KK Tutoo of RoopNagar Jammu, who is working as an Agri-culture Assistant in the J&K Agriculturedepartment. Though a permanent residentof Shimla for about five decades, his longspell of absence from the birth place hasnot deterred Sh PL Tikoo to abandon hisemotional hold on his mother-tongue ashis entire family is Kashmiri speaking be-sides being sincerely devoted to the tra-ditional Kashmiri moorings.

Sh JN Koul, who retired as Superin-tendent in the Himachal Pradesh Ac-countant General's Office, is settled atJakho area of Shimla. He came to Shimlain the year 1952-53. Prior to his joiningthe AG'S office Shimla, Sh JN Koul hasserved in the Northern Railway Account'sdepartment at Shimla.

Sh. Bhola Nath Aima, an original resi-dent of Habba Kadal, Srinagar is also oneof the early settlers at Shimla. He hasserved in the Monitoring Service of AllIndia Radio at Shimla and retired asDeputy Director from the said department.He is now settled at Kaithu. One of hissons, Sh Jai Krishan, a correspondent inthe Central Information Service is pres-ently serving in the north-east region ofthe country, while his other son is a rep-resentative in a pharmaceutical concern.

Sh. Bhola Nath's daughter, married toa Himachali, is serving in a bank of Shimla.Sh Nand Lal Raina, settled at Phagli,Shimla has retired as a Superintendentfrom the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat,Shimla. He migrated to Shimla in the year1952. One of his sons, Sh Roshan LalRaina has served in the State Public Rela-tions department and is now settled atNabha estates, Shimla, while the otherone-Sh Bushan Lal Raina has been anemployee of Himachal Pradesh PWD.

Sh Shyam Lal Thathu, an erstwhile resi-dent of Sopore came to Shimla in the year1949-50. He joined as a stenographer inthe secretariat of Himachal Pradesh andeventually retired as a Superintendent.His brother Sh Brij Nath Thathu hasserved in the medical department, whilethe other one-Sh Omkar Nath Thathu wasan employee of MES in Himachal Pradesh.

Sh KN Wali, an original resident ofRainawari, Srinagar migrated to HimachalPradesh in the year 1956. After doing postgraduation in Mathematics, he joined thedepartment of Economics and statisticsand by dint of his hard work and dedica-tion rose to the post of the Director. Sub-sequently, he occupied the prestigious

post of Deputy Director, Planning Com-mission, Government of India Delhi andwas later on inducted in Indian StatisticalService, ISS. His son Mr Ashok Wali isan engineer at Delhi. The Wali family iseven now wedded to Kashmiri traditions.Sh Chander Mohan Razdan is one of theoldest Kashmiri Pandits of Shimla, hav-ing his residence in the area betweenLakkar Bazar and Sanjoli. He came toShimla sometime around the year 1935,when Shimla was the summer capital ofBritish India. Sh AN Zalpuri, a native ofChinkral Mohalla, Srinagar migrated toShimla in the year 1950. He has served inthe Himachal Pradesh Accountant Gen-eral's office. One of his sons has nowmoved out of Shimla to Vadodara, wherehe is presently managing his own busi-ness, while as his second son is workingas an engineer in HCL, Delhi. Sh PyareLal Koul, a native of Srinagar his servedin the Horticulture department of HimachalPradesh. He has done B.Sc. in Horticul-ture Sciences. Now retired, he is perma-nently settled at Shimla.

Late Prof Ravinder Kumar, an oldKashmiri Pandit of Allahabad (UP) hasserved as Head of the Post Graduate de-partment of History in the HimachalPradesh University, Shimla from 1976 to1982. Later on he served as Director ofthe Nehru Museum. Prof. Ravnider Kumarwas a renowned historian and an author-ity on the Modern history. Late Sh. HridayNath Mattoo, an original inhabitant ofHabbakadal, Srinagar migrated to Shimlain the year 1950.He served in thestate medical de-partment andworked as a thea-tre assistant inthe Rippon hos-pital, Shimla. Avery social per-son of graciousnature, Late ShHN Mattoo wasactively in-volved in the ac-tivities of theKashmiri PanditA s s o c i a t i o n ,Shimla.

Dr. PrabhuKrishan Raina, anative of the vil-lage Wanpoh inthe district ofAnantnag, firstserved a s a lec-turer and later onas a Reader in thePost-Graduatedepartment ofPhysics in theH i m a c h a lPradesh Univer-sity, Shimla.

A brilliantstudent and atopper through-out his career, hewas a Gold Med-allist in M.Sc.

Physics. Dr Raina left the HimachalPradesh University Shimla in the year 2000to join as a Reader in the prestigious In-dian Institute of Technology, Khargpur.He is married in a Himachali family. Hisfather has also served in the state educa-tion department and retired as Headmas-ter. He is now settled at Upper Shimla.

Sh. Sanjay Raina, one of the cousinsof Dr Prabhu Krishan Raina is runninghis own computer related business atShimla and is permanently settled at VikasNagar, Shimla. Dr. Krishna Raina, an origi-nal resident of Bana Mohalla, Srinagarjoined as a faculty member in the depart-ment of Hindi in the Himachal PradeshUniversity, Shimla and later on becamethe Head of the department in the sameUniversity. Sh Arvind Koul after servingas the Chief Secretary in the governmentof Himachal Pradesh became the chair-man of the Himachal Pradesh Public Serv-ice Commission in the year 2004. Mr VipinKoul, a civil engineer by profession isworking in the Himachal Pradesh Hous-ing Board, Shimla as an Assistant Engi-neer. He is permanently settled at Sanjouli,Shimla. His spouse is employed in MES,Shimla. His father, Sh ML Koul after serv-ing the state education department retiredas the Principal, Govt. Higher SecondarySchool, Lalpanu, Shimla. Sh Vipin Koul isdeeply attached to the traditional valuesand is intimately involved with the vari-ous socio-cultural activities of theKashmiri Pandit Association, Shimla

—(To be continued)

HOMAGE

Sh. Shamboo Nath PanditaPanun Kashmir & Kashmir Sentinel

pay respectful Homage to Sh.Shamboo Nath Pandita resident of

Lalad Sopore presently at 35-A/B VipanGarden Dwarika New Delhi, who

passed away on 16th Nov, 2006 atDelhi. Sh. Shamboo Nath Pandita father

of Sh. Dinesh Pandita, PK activistsRohini Delhi was a source of

inspiration to all of us. We pay ourheartfelt condolences to the bereaved

family.

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