04-15-2007, 06:39 AM
A tale of Hindu genocide in Kashmir
Girdhari Lal Jalali: Jihad in Kashmir - A Critical Analysis, Vakil
Publications, 286 pp, Rs 500.00
A number of books on the above subject have flooded the market since
the onset of insurgency in Jammu & Kashmir, the Kashyap's land. The
book under review is written by a Kashmiri who was born and brought up
in Kashmir and has been witness to years of turmoil and political
strife since December 1989, when insurgency gained momentum catching
unaware and unprepared the powers that be in Kashmir and Delhi. The
author, executive director of The Kashmir Gazette, has closely studied
the socio-political situation, which ultimately snowballed into a
revolt by a particular community backed by India's hostile neighbour,
Pakistan.
<b>The fate of Kashmiri Pandits is an extraordinary occurrence and
perhaps a unique example in the annals of history where a group of
people was subjected to ethnic cleansing in their own land by their
own fellow-citizens.</b>
In 1947, when Pakistan was carved for the Muslims and Hindustan was
left for the Hindus, M.A. Jinnah of the Muslim League demanded
exchange of populationâthat all Muslims should emigrate to Pakistan
while non-Muslims should cross over to Hindustan. <b>The Pakistanis
chased out most of the Hindus from the western wing of Pakistan while
the Muslims, under the garb of secularism, were allowed to remain in
Hindustan.</b>
Varied may be our perceptions of the Kashmir problem but all of us
would agree that the issue was handled (better still, bungled) since
its very inception. The `Kashmir issue' has become a major
international and national question, which most of us tend to treat as
a Pakistani and Indian problem. The author quotes from Prof. Sisir
Gupta's book Kashmir: A Study in India-Pakistan Relations, wherein he
had said that while charges and counter charges were being made in
Pakistan and Kashmir, <b>"tribesmen from the north-west of Pakistan and
other Pakistani nationals entered into Kashmirâ¦Rape and murder, arson
and loot of unprecedented magnitude overtook Kashmir, making the
living worse than dead. In the name of Islamâwhich had come to India
as a religion of peaceâwas now operating a primitive sect, guided
primarily by their thirst for satisfying the basest of animal instincts."</b>
On December 8, 1947, the then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru
and Liyaqat Ali Khan of Pakistan met for the first time. Lord
Mountbatten proposed that the two governments should jointly request
the UNO to mediate and thus referring of the Kashmir issue to the UNO
proved a Himalayan blunder, which was to have wider ramifications over
the course of future events in the state. The author says that by
February 1948, Nehru realised his "grave mistake to pin any faith in
the United Nations", and that he even told Lord Mountbatten that the
"UNO had been a great disillusionment for him for it was clearly an
American racket".
Whatever be the facts, the author makes some very pertinent comments
which need to be read between the lines.
The author cites two important factors that govern the Pakistani
stance on Kashmir: "First, the Kashmir issue is a religious issue in
the eyes of Pakistani establishment. To settle the issue is to wage a
jihad. It is no longer a political issue. Secondly, internal political
compulsions and sociological urges in Pakistan are responsible for
keeping the issue alive." Though not so sure about the first one but
the second one holds water because immediately after the division of
India, movements for Azad Baluchistan and Azad Pathanistan had
gathered momentum and to divert the attention of its people,
aggressive tribesmen were encouraged to enter India.
As the book proceeds further, the author unfolds how by accepting the
cease-fire in January 1949, "a) India acted in haste, without taking
cognizance of the repercussions of the cease-fire move. b) Western
countries led by the USA directly interfered in India's internal
matter. c) India's original complaint to the UNO was relegated to the
background. d) The issue was thrust into backwaters of cold-war
diplomacy."
The author believes that the ongoing terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir is a
jihad unleashed by the enemies of India "who are interested in
dismantling the country's secular super structure and harming communal
harmony, which has been the basis of India's hoary culture."
This is a book to be read to find out what the displaced Kashmiris
feel about the Kashmir issue.
<i>(Vakil Publications, Samachar Post Bhavan, C-50, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. )</i>
Girdhari Lal Jalali: Jihad in Kashmir - A Critical Analysis, Vakil
Publications, 286 pp, Rs 500.00
A number of books on the above subject have flooded the market since
the onset of insurgency in Jammu & Kashmir, the Kashyap's land. The
book under review is written by a Kashmiri who was born and brought up
in Kashmir and has been witness to years of turmoil and political
strife since December 1989, when insurgency gained momentum catching
unaware and unprepared the powers that be in Kashmir and Delhi. The
author, executive director of The Kashmir Gazette, has closely studied
the socio-political situation, which ultimately snowballed into a
revolt by a particular community backed by India's hostile neighbour,
Pakistan.
<b>The fate of Kashmiri Pandits is an extraordinary occurrence and
perhaps a unique example in the annals of history where a group of
people was subjected to ethnic cleansing in their own land by their
own fellow-citizens.</b>
In 1947, when Pakistan was carved for the Muslims and Hindustan was
left for the Hindus, M.A. Jinnah of the Muslim League demanded
exchange of populationâthat all Muslims should emigrate to Pakistan
while non-Muslims should cross over to Hindustan. <b>The Pakistanis
chased out most of the Hindus from the western wing of Pakistan while
the Muslims, under the garb of secularism, were allowed to remain in
Hindustan.</b>
Varied may be our perceptions of the Kashmir problem but all of us
would agree that the issue was handled (better still, bungled) since
its very inception. The `Kashmir issue' has become a major
international and national question, which most of us tend to treat as
a Pakistani and Indian problem. The author quotes from Prof. Sisir
Gupta's book Kashmir: A Study in India-Pakistan Relations, wherein he
had said that while charges and counter charges were being made in
Pakistan and Kashmir, <b>"tribesmen from the north-west of Pakistan and
other Pakistani nationals entered into Kashmirâ¦Rape and murder, arson
and loot of unprecedented magnitude overtook Kashmir, making the
living worse than dead. In the name of Islamâwhich had come to India
as a religion of peaceâwas now operating a primitive sect, guided
primarily by their thirst for satisfying the basest of animal instincts."</b>
On December 8, 1947, the then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru
and Liyaqat Ali Khan of Pakistan met for the first time. Lord
Mountbatten proposed that the two governments should jointly request
the UNO to mediate and thus referring of the Kashmir issue to the UNO
proved a Himalayan blunder, which was to have wider ramifications over
the course of future events in the state. The author says that by
February 1948, Nehru realised his "grave mistake to pin any faith in
the United Nations", and that he even told Lord Mountbatten that the
"UNO had been a great disillusionment for him for it was clearly an
American racket".
Whatever be the facts, the author makes some very pertinent comments
which need to be read between the lines.
The author cites two important factors that govern the Pakistani
stance on Kashmir: "First, the Kashmir issue is a religious issue in
the eyes of Pakistani establishment. To settle the issue is to wage a
jihad. It is no longer a political issue. Secondly, internal political
compulsions and sociological urges in Pakistan are responsible for
keeping the issue alive." Though not so sure about the first one but
the second one holds water because immediately after the division of
India, movements for Azad Baluchistan and Azad Pathanistan had
gathered momentum and to divert the attention of its people,
aggressive tribesmen were encouraged to enter India.
As the book proceeds further, the author unfolds how by accepting the
cease-fire in January 1949, "a) India acted in haste, without taking
cognizance of the repercussions of the cease-fire move. b) Western
countries led by the USA directly interfered in India's internal
matter. c) India's original complaint to the UNO was relegated to the
background. d) The issue was thrust into backwaters of cold-war
diplomacy."
The author believes that the ongoing terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir is a
jihad unleashed by the enemies of India "who are interested in
dismantling the country's secular super structure and harming communal
harmony, which has been the basis of India's hoary culture."
This is a book to be read to find out what the displaced Kashmiris
feel about the Kashmir issue.
<i>(Vakil Publications, Samachar Post Bhavan, C-50, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. )</i>