“If there was a heaven on earth...” - Mughal Emperor Jahngir
Today, the
same heaven on earth is in a condition, which will put even hell to shame. A partition based on religion, accession by one side, help from the other side, which translated to another accession, three wars, number of UN resolutions, a yet to be held plebiscite, thousands killed in proxy and direct wars...
History (collected from various web sites)
Kashmir was one of many princely states in India and Maharaja Hari Singh was the ruler. Under the Partition Plan in 1947, the states were free to join either India or Pakistan. Hari Singh announced his plan of leaving India and forming an independent dominion on June 3rd, 1947. J & K Government announced its decision to enter "Stand Still" Agreement with both India and Pakistan. Even after signing the agreement, Pakistan cut of supplies of food, petrol and other essentials to J & K, and put pressure on J & K to accede to Pakistan. The new Prime Minister, Mr. Justice Meher Chand Mahajan, on 15th October 1947, complained to the British Prime Minister that Pakistan broke Stand Still Agreement and stopped supplies and stopped railway service from Sialkot to Jammu, and requested him to advise Pakistan to deal fairly with J & K and stop raids on the border. Governor General Jinnah was also approached for the same.
On 22nd October, all out invasion of J & K started, along Jehlam Valley road through N. W. Frontier province, the raiders being tribesmen led by regular Pak officers. All Muslim forces in Muzafarabad deserted and joined the aggressors as advanced guard. On 24th Oct, the raiders captured the Mahura powerhouse, supplying electricity to Shrinagar. Shrinagar was immersed in darkness. Raiders declared they would capture Shrinagar by 26th October 1947. Government of J&K approached Government of India for military help on 24th October. In his request for help, Mahajan agreed for Indian accession. The Indian Cabinet rewarded this offer with the decision to send army. V.P.Menon went to Jammu and flew back with Instrument of Accession signed by the Maharaja. After a long discussion in Defense Committee, it was decided to accept the Accession subject to proviso that "a plebiscite will be held in the State when the law and order situation allowed."
The action sequence through which Kashmir was joined to India is described in ‘Freedom At Midnight’ thus: Thousands of Pathan warriors from the North-West Frontier, bordering Afghanistan, rushed into Kashmir, vowing to seize it for Pakistan. Although they were a rabble, they might have succeeded. They were close to Srinagar, the capital, when they were delayed by their lust for loot and women. They wasted one night in pillaging towns and raping girls and nuns, which was just enough for the Indian Air force to set their foot in the Kashmir soil and thus prevent a Pakistan occupation.
In early hours of 27th October, more than one hundred planes - civilian as well as RIAF - carried the soldiers with requirements. Jinnah got furious and ordered General Gracy, the acting Commander in Chief of Pak Army to send Pak troops. But the General refused saying he required orders from Field Marshal Auchinleck, who flew next day to Lahore and explained to Jinnah that in the event of war breaking out, the British Officers in Pak Army would be withdrawn. Indian Military operations were lead by the Mahar Battalions under Major General Kalwant Singh. Their stay was for 18 months. Their work was highly appreciated. They stopped the aggression and repealed the enemy with great valor. It was exclaimed that if they were allowed to fight fully, there would have been no POK.
On 1st November 1947, Governor General Lord Mountbatten flew to Lahore, and suggested to Jinnah that the plebiscite should be under UN, but Jinnah pressed for it to be under joint control of Governor-Generals of both India and Pak. On 4th November, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liyakat Ali Khan announced the accession to India to be a Fraud. India went to the United Nations, for a resolution. India said that Pakistan had attacked a neutral State and that State had now become part of India. Therefore, Pakistan should withdraw its soldiers from the State. The United Nations agreed with the Indian demand and asked Pakistan to withdraw its forces from Jammu & Kashmir. It also told India to ask the people of Jammu & Kashmir whether they wanted to be part of India or part of Pakistan. This was because some people in the State wanted to join Pakistan while others wanted to stay with India. India agreed to ask the people what they wanted through a referendum or plebiscite. Pakistan did not agree and refused to vacate the areas of Jammu & Kashmir it had forcibly grabbed. Because of this a plebiscite could not be held.
Pakistan argues that the Maharaja was forced by India to sign over Kashmir to them while India maintains that this was not the case. Pakistan also argues that the people of Kashmir (Kashmiris) were never given a chance to decide their future as the Maharaja never consulted with them. Since Muslims make up the majority of the population, Pakistan claims that Kashmir should be a part of Pakistan. The United Nations passed three resolutions calling for a plebiscite to be held but India ignored such calls. Many believe that India refuses to hold a plebiscite for fear that the majority of Kashmiris would vote to join Pakistan. Since then, India and Pakistan have gone to war thrice over Kashmir, the first in 1947-48, next in 1965 and the recent Kargil War. Over the years, sporadic clashes have taken place between the two sides.
Following the first war, a cease-fire was declared and a Line of Control (LOC) was drawn separating the two sides. The LOC left two thirds of Kashmir under Indian control and the remaining one-third under Pakistani control. The Indian-controlled part of Kashmir is called Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistani-controlled sector is called Azad or Free Kashmir.
Current Affairs
So who is right and who is wrong? Whose rightful claim is Kashmir? Ours or theirs? Who are they? Weren’t we all part of a country which ‘is merely a geographical expression, which is no more a single country than the Equator’, sometime back? The head portion of Indian maps which you and me used to painstakingly draw in our geography classes, with those twin hat like projections, are no longer part of the land within Indian LOC. Are the issues between India and Pakistan bigger than what can be solved by bilateral talks?
Nobody wants a solution. The Indian political top-shots and the Pakistan military top-shots want a presentable cause for all their problems. Onion price rise in Mettuppalayam is attributed to the heavy shelling in Kargil point 4550 which causes an increase in the ‘year to date military expenditure’. Each and every kid of Lahore or Peshawar is aware, thanks to the newspapers and TV channels, that the bomb blast occurred in the nearby street is masterminded by RAW. And then there are foot soldiers on both sides getting sacrificed at the alter of our pseudo national pride. What do we gain by this incessant war? Why cant we just draw a line wherever we stand right now and call it the end of the day, or conduct an opinion poll and then move on with life? The cover page of an issue of ‘The Week’ some years back had a big question mark at the end of a sentence.
Peace or a piece of land?
13 comments:
Since the formation of the dream land of the Muslims, called Pakistan, not a day of peace has reigned in Pakistan. It is a State of Turmoil.
India on the other hand stabilised and grew as a democracy with relative peace.
Pakistan survives as a country because of its strategic importance to the US. It is kept afloat by US funds and will collapse into smaller states the day the US removes the lifeline.Pakistan for all its sabre rattling is just a pawn in the US game, to keep India occupied and to keep its arms industry in good health.
Giving up Kashmir is not the solution but the beginning of more problems. The Muslim majority areas of India will be their next demand. Then Pakistan will abet and support other regional organisation within India to splinter the country. Remember, Verrappans demand for an independent Tamil Nadu had the ISI backing.
All these factors have to be taken into consideration when talking of peace in the Kashmir region. It is a very complex issue and a dangerous game that vested interests are playing out in The Paradise on Earth.
hmmm... i dint know most of these facts...
great post geo...
@Silverine:
1. If nothing could be done in the last 59 years, nothing will be done in the next 159 years also, unless we decide to sort out the issue in 59 hours or even 59 minutes.
2. Significant decisions WILL have dangerous consequences. It’s a fool’s strategy to procrastinate the act of decision making, because of fear of the consequence. Your decision should have a contingency plan to deal with any adverse situation.
3. By letting go of Kashmir, we are not setting a new precedence. We are merely keeping an old promise.
4. I am not advocating giving up Kashmir as the only way out. Its just one of the options. Another one would be to attack the POK and finish off the deal in a matter of days. That way, Kashmir will be a part of India. What I look forward to is a decision, an end to the current stalemate.
@Ximeite: This is no political column. This is my jot page. And NO, u wont find a post abt my dream girl here ;_D
@HnL: It was by design that you were unaware of these vital facts. None of the governments want their citizens to know the real picture.
Thanks for that compliment :_D.
geo, at the heart of why we havent found a solution is that
1-pak cant be trusted
2-kashmir and the himalayas offer india a natural barrier which once crossed lies the gangetic plains which any army can invade easily.
3-the ppl of kashmir dont support us - they did till 1987 when our central govt fixed the elections to enable a cong govt to take control.irony is kashmir has the least poverty in india thanks to all the money the govt pumps into their economy...instead of being grateful and seeing how their kashmiri brethren across the border struggle for subsistence.
4.sadly there will never be a solution to kashmir. pakistans army, democracy and citizens have failed to build a forward-looking state in 50 years.
5.when all the wars of the future will be fought in the global market-place this one will continue to kill our soldiers and deprive us of peace of mind.
my earnest hope for a solution is not a line being drawn...but terrorism failing...we need support of local ppl or a strong police force like in punjab for that...atleast democracy is back and our jawans are doing such a great job. cheers to them!pakistan army cant do much from outside once terrorism fails.
i wonder y u missed out that part of kashmir which is under chinese control!
"Peace or a piece of land?"
I must say, a great shibboleth!
As someone else also said, there are many aspects of Kashmir issue, not just border or religion. Kashmir is a very stratigic point for any country. and if Kashmir is gone, means, you are giving an open invitation to your neighbors to invade you. Would you trust China, which already is encroaching our land inch by inch in Arunachal and Northeast Kashmir? Kashmir is an integral part of India, and it will remain so. If you let go Kashmir today, tomorrow, there will be Tamil separatist movements, and many other northeast separatist movements will get momentum. If you want 500 independent states/countries, we let kashmir get separated, and don't forget that Sardar Vallabh Patel foresighted this problem coming, and he removed the root of this problem. Sardar's efforts will go to total waste if you allow them to separate. Do you know, Hyderabad and Junagadh wanted to join with Pakistan?
About @ so-called "Azad" Kashmir, they saw what their govt can give them when needed the most, they had to, at last, come to us! Do you know, at the time of separation, we gave them loads of money too? and they placed weapons orders on the very same day! You can not trust them, people might be nice there, but the govt there, the maulvies there, I don't trust them! For them anything non-Muslim is Jihad. Any voice against Mullah Military is either assassinated or exiled or jailed in Pak, did u forget Navaz Sharif, Zia, Benazir Bhutto, Bhutto Sr.? There is no question of spending even 59 mins or 59 seconds, there is one only statement: Kashmir was, is and will be an integral part of India, End of story!
quite informative. with two countries fighting for a piece of land, all i can think abt is the the state of mind of the people there. with the recent earthquake in PoK and the help rendered by India to the people affected, lets hope that new definitions of brethren would be established between the two coutries which finally resolves the Kashmir issue. but there are always people in paksitan as well as india who hate a fraternity being evolved and its with them that we have to fight. the bastards who ensure that no peace will exist between india and pakistan for god knows whatever reason it is.
kashmir is never going to see peace in our lifetime..
there is no solution.
Very informative post.
However, I don't believe redefining our borders is the solution to the Kashmir problem. The plight of the ppl living in Kashmir is a very serious cause of concern, but we cannot buckle down to these problems at the cost of our national security. And also, who is to say that giving up Kashmir to Pakistan would solve all the conflicts b/w the 2 countries? Where is the guarantee that they'll not harp on abt some other Muslim dominated part of India? (Seeing that their major argument for Kashmir is its Muslim population)
From the reports that we've been hearing, the average population of Pakistan is more concerned with peace b/w the 2 countries than their claim to Kashmir.Its a small portion of people on both sides of the border who refuse to let go of the subject, as it is in direct conflict with their agenda.
Arent there other ways to achieve peace b/w us without taking this drastic step?
And Poison, stop being so cheerful, mate. You don't want to go about giving people false hope, do you? ;-)
loads of documents abt the issue can be found here
Claims such as Kashmir is an integral part of India or if we let go of Kashmir, our national security will be at risk are good from an argument point of view. But they are not reason enough for a forceful accession against the wish of the people of the region. Pakistan has never approved of Indian accession. And even the UN suggestion was to conduct a plebiscite. The best way out of the situation is to conduct one and then honor the result. In case we win, then our full force should be used to clean up the valley. During Kargil conflict, our military had promised to make all the terrorist camps of POK history, if they were given permission to cross the border for just 3 days.
Dealing with internal conflicts like Assam Liberations Movement or Tamil Separatist Movement can not be compared with the conflict with a neighboring country. As Nagu mentioned, a part of Kashmir is under the control of China. I thot it best not to mix that issue with this.
The amount of money given to Pakistan was as per the partition agreement which was agreed by both the countries and it was not a gift from one side to the other. (There are a lot of associated stories about India refusing to pay up, Mr. MKG going on a fast-unto-death, Indian leaders relenting and such stuff...)
Vajpay govt’s strategy of shooting the militants at sight (rather than capturing them, making them undergo trials, filling our prisons with them, and then finally releasing them after some general amnesty and pardon drama) was more effective than many of the other measures in controlling terrorism.
Geo this is a very serious topic...and i dont know what to write about it...plz write some thing new naa..
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