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PARADISE LOST- VII: A ONE SIDED COIN

                                          (A Kashmiri girl walks amid vigil.)

It’s the afternoon of December 8^th, 1989. A bus coming from the Lal Ded Memorial Women’s Hospital  is stopped by four men brandishing Kalashnikovs and a girl of around 20 years of age is forced out of the bus on gunpoint. A Maruti Van is waiting on the other side of the road with engine alive. Hurriedly, the men move the girl to the van, force her in and flee the scene.

The  girl was Rubaiya Syed, the 23 years old daughter of the Home Minister of India, Mufti Mohammad Syed. She was kidnapped only 500 meters away from her home at Nowgam in broad daylight.

At 5.30 in evening, the representatives of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front called a local newspaper and put forth their demands. They were demanding the release of four imprisoned insurgents, namely, Sheikh Abdul Hameed, a JKLF area commander, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, younger brother of  Maqbool Bhat, Noor Muhammad Kalwal, Muhammed Altaf and Javed Ahmed Zargar a Pakistani citizen.

This incident stirred whole regime. Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, rushed back to Kashmir from London where he was holidaying. Senior IB officers, the Director General of NSG and two cabinet ministers- Inder Kumar Gujral and Arif Mohammad were also rushed to Kashmir. Farooq Abdullah was firm against the release of insurgents as he thought that it will boost up the morale of insurgents and give them an upper hand in the Kashmir situation. But with the life of the daughter of Home minister at stake, the Central Govt did not have enough options.

The government buckled at last and at 5.00pm in evening of 13^th of December, all the five militants were released. Thousands of men gathered to give the militants a hero’s welcome. Two hours later, the girl was released.

But this incident shook the Government from within. South block was now confirm that the situation in Kashmir was well beyond control and if Kashmir was to remain under control, heavy hands were to be used. The Government appointed Jagmohan Malhotra, better known as Jagmohan and famous (read infamous) for his dictatorial modus operandi, as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The already discontented chief minister Farooq Abdullah resigned in protest and the state went under President’s Rule.

The night Jagmohan was appointed, Armed forces marched down the streets of J&K. Extensive unwarranted searches aimed at rooting out militants and arms were carried out whole night. As the word of raids spread, next morning, thousands of Kashmiris took to the streets in protests and demanding freedom. Jagmohan responded with a curfew. In evening, a crowd at the Gawakadal bridge on Jhelum confronted the police. The protestors started pelting stones at the forces and the forces retaliated rather mercilessly. They opened fire on the crowd…and 50 people lost their lives.

From this day onwards, these incidents became a routine. By the end of January 1990, the Indian paramilitary forces are believed to have killed around 300 protestors. In July 1990, the AFSPA ( Armed Forces Special Powers Act) was extended to Jammu And Kashmir.

According to this act, an officer of the armed forced has powers to, after giving such due warning, Fire upon or use other kinds of force even if it causes death, against the person who is acting against law or order in the disturbed area for the maintenance of public order. It gives extraordinary powers regarding unwarranted arrest and searches and makes the actions of the officer unquestionable. In addition, Army officers have legal immunity for their actions. There can be no prosecution, suit or any other legal proceeding against anyone acting under that law. Nor is the government's judgment on why an area is found to be disturbed subject to judicial review.

Abraham Lincoln has very rightly said- “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

And AFSPA was a legal incarnation of absolute power. Adding to this, there was a religious fervor regarding the forced exodus and killings of Kashmiri Hindus. So at times, when it came to suppressing the turbulent crowds, the officers did not really think about things like ethics and human rights. The repressive measures, which were sometimes brutal too, brought situation under control as an immediate effect, but left scars on the young Kashmiri minds. It left Kashmir like a logwood bonfire, which seems to be exhausted, but under the ashes, the wood still remains red hot.

There are people who blame Indian forces for the grave violation of human rights in Kashmir and criticize the repressive measures taken by India in Kashmir. But one thing should be noted here. Indian Army has been in Kashmir since 1947 but its methods were not this much repressive until 1990.
Omar Abdullah writes-

"The Indian security forces are guilty of some of the most horrible excesses is a given and I don't dispute that. I don't condone what was done and am a firm believer that the truth must emerge and the guilty must be punished. This must be done in a transparent manner."

"I don't recall crackdowns and searches before 1990, as I don't recall arrogant convoy commanders on our roads before that either. I recall wives of Indian Army officers teaching me in school."

"While I don't deny that people rose in anger in the early 1990s, there are two sides to every story and we need to look at both or we risk losing our  objectivity."           

 More next time...

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PARADISE LOST- VI: WHO THE HELL IS INNOCENT HERE

                                                      ( Kashmiri Pandits, 1895.)
The 26 passengers of ‘Ganga’. an Indian Airliner coming to Delhi from Srinagar, did not know that their flight is going to be hijacked midair by two men armed with a pistol and a hand grenade on that fateful morning of 30^th of January, 1971. After claiming the plane, the hijackers diverted it towards Lahore and after landing there, they put forward their demands that they be granted asylum in Pakistan, that the Government of India release thirty-six political prisoners belonging to the Kashmiri National Liberation Front and further, that, the families of the two hijackers should not be harmed by the Indian authorities.

These hijackers declared themselves Kashmiri freedom fighters under the leadership of Maqbool Bhat. Later, they released all the passengers and burnt down the plane.

                                                                                                    

Maqbool Bhat was escalating as sort of a hero among the Kashmiris. He was involved in an ambush in which a CID officer was killed and in that case, he had already been awarded death sentence by the Government. But dramatically, he dug a tunnel in Srinagar prison and escaped to Pakistan. Operating from Pakistan, Bhat orchestrated the hijack of Ganga. Pakistani authorities kept him under arrest till 1974 and then he was released.

He sneaked into India afterwards…only to be arrested again. The murder case added with the kidnapping case was reopened and Bhat was awarded death sentence. Bhat applied for clemency. But his efforts for clemency were marred by an incident which took place on February 3, 1984. An Indian Diplomat named Ravindra Mhatre was kidnapped in Birmingham, UK. A ransom money of 1 million dollars and release of Maqbool Bhat was demanded, and two days later, he was killed. A baffled Indian Government rejected the clemency of Bhat and he was hanged in the Tihar jail on 11^th February..

Bhat’s claim for clemency was based on allegation of unfair trial. In Pakistan, there was a conspiracy theory regarding the kidnapping of Ganga. This theory stated that Ganga was kidnapped and destroyed by RAW agents who wanted to malign the face of Pakistan and curb the rise of Maqbool Bhat. The main argument in support of this theory was that Ganga was one of the oldest aircrafts of India, which had  already been retired from active service. It was reintroduced only days before the kidnapping. Destroying an already retired plane for massive future gains was not a bad business for India.

These theories made Kashmiris believe that Bhat was tried unfairly and was hanged in cold blood for a crime which he had not done. Bhat morphed into a hero….he was declared a Shaheed and 11^th February was decided to be held as day of Shahaadat.

Meanwhile, another development of events was taking place in Afghanistan. In 1979, the USSR moved into Afghanistan. Pakistan, supported by America, engaged in training and motivating the Mujahidins using Islamic propaganda…to liberate Afganistan and rescue their Muslim brothers. In 1989, the USSR withdrew their troops . Now the Mujahideen were jobless. They had to rescue someone…but there was none to rescue. Then Pakistan suggested them Kashmir. And this was the start of militancy in Kashmir.

In 1987, Farooq Abdullah won the elections. But the Separatist organizations claimed that these elections were rigged in favour of Farooq. The tension in valley was soaring. The candidate of opposition, Mohammad Yousuf Shah, was imprisioned. Feeling cheated, he later rose to militancy and became the head of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, assuming the name Syyed Salahuddin.

The valley was in anger. On 13^th February, militants killed the Director of Srinagar Doordarshan because they thought that he was relaying pro-India stuff. By the end of February, about 4,00,000 Kashmiris took to streets demanding a plebiscite. On March 1, the number of protestors rose to One million. 40 were killed in police firing. In fact whole valley was on fire. It had started ...…the insurgency.

So what fuelled this insurgency so intensely? Was it the demand of a separate nation….or was it the willingness to merge with Pakistan. In fact, it was neither. The fuel of the agitation was religious fanaticism. The highly motivated and heavily armed militants which infiltrated the valley in late 80’s painted the struggle for separation in religious colours. Suddenly, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front no more the flagbearer of the movement….the onus shifted to Muslim United Front. Slowly and very cleverly a program for ethnic cleansing of Kashmir was executed. Kashmiri Pandits were being targeted. They were being killed, raped and looted. Threatening pamphlets asking them to leave the valley were being stuck on their doors. This led to an exodus during which the 2,00,000 strong Kashmiri Pandit population left the land of their forefathers to take shelter in mainland India as refugees. Today, only 8,000 of them remain in the valley, amid constant fear.

However, the Kashmiri leaders deny that they had any hands in this ouster. They blame it to Pakistani militants. But let us look at what Omar Abdullah, the CM of J&K has got to say on this issue.

"It's so easy to say that we will lay down our lives to bring Kashmiri Pandits back to the Valley and I appreciate the sentiment as I am sure the Kashmiri Pandits reading it will. Pity that sentiment was missing when our mosques were being used to drive these people out."

"None of us was willing to stand up and be counted when it mattered. None of us grabbed the mikes (microphones) in the mosques and said 'this is wrong and the Kashmiri Pandits had every right to continue living in the valley."

"Our educated, well-to-do relatives and neighbours were spewing venom 24-hours a day and we were mute spectators either mute in agreement or mute in abject fear but mute nonetheless." 

"And talking about mosques -- what a great symbol of mass uprising they proved to be. While I can't claim to have lived through it I have enough friends who did and they tell me about the early 90's where attendance was taken in mosques to force people to pray."

(From Omar Abdullah’s official blog)

Now in Indian Army, more than 95% of them are Hindus. When they cracked the whip down, they did not think twice about the ethics taught to them in the Military Academies. The road to the valley ran through the refugee camps of the Pandits who had lost their every asset….be it money, be it dignity or be it soul. Vengeance was in the air…..

More next time…

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PARADISE LOST- V: ANOTHER BROKEN HEART

                                  ( Brig. Hari Singh at the captured post of Barkee, distt. Lahore)

August in Kashmir is a really beautiful month. The valley is lush green, sun is bright, the sky crystal clear. Only the slight tinge of cold in the air reminds you of the advance of the winter season at doors. One phenomenon is also common. At nights, the jackals come down to the valley from the heights to escape the cold weather. Their howling makes the air vibrate in melancholy.

But the jackals which slithered down the hills in the cold nights of August 1963 were not the common ones. These were Pakistan army’s 50^th Airborne Paratroopers. Operation Gibraltar was on the go. Gradully, 40,000 trained and motivated irregulars and Army men infiltrated the valley. The aim was, in the words of retired Pakistani General Akhtar Hussain Malik,"to defreeze the Kashmir problem, weaken Indian resolve, and bring India to the conference table without provoking general war.” And this was to be done by mixing with the local populace and incite them for a popular revolt against the Indian regime. It was a full proof plan.

India was in serious trouble. Gibraltar Force gained success and overran many Indian positions, destroyed bridges and carried out Ambushes over Indian Conveys killing number of Indian troops. Ghaznavi Force Commanded by Major Malik Munawar Khan Awan SJ captured Indian garrison of Rajouri. Indian army needed a morale boost up….immediately and desperately.

This was the time when the petite Indian Prime Minister rose to occasion. Lal Bahadur Shastri was not a man of flamboyance which Nehru was. He did not have the panache of a cunning diplomat in him. What he had was a resolve, a tough heart of iron which was moulded by the difficulties faced in the course of life. And this resolve was the very thing India which India needed.

The short old man from Benaras addressed the nation,

“In these circumstances, the duty of Government and people is quite clear and this duty will be discharged fully and effectively... We would prefer to live in poverty for as long as necessary but we shall not allow our freedom to be subverted.”

 He got a letter of threat from China to which he responded, “If China attacks India it is our firm resolve to fight for our freedom. The might of China will not deter us from defending our territorial integrity."

And finally….he urged his nation to stand up, united. He gave the nation “ Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” call.

And it was enough. The lost morale was reinvented and the Indian forces pushed on. The infiltrators were repulsed by the end of August. Pakistan got baffled and launched a massive attack using its real strength and launched Operation Grandslam, reclaiming the lost land. Ayub Khan stated, "Hindu morale would not stand more than a couple of hard blows at the right time and place".

But Ayub once again underestimated the Indian PM. Shashtri did the thing which Pakistan had not thought even in the faintest of her dreams….he opened the western front and Indian forces marched towards Lahore. Now it was Pakistan’s turn to shiver,….if you have Kashmir, we will have Punjab. It was Shashtri who knew the right time and place to hit the blows, not Ayub.

Pakistan hastily had to relocate her forces. Operation Grandslam failed, Kashmir once again was lost. In the push, Indian Army reached within the range of Lahore Airport.

The war saw the legendary Battle Of Asal Uttar (real answer ). 120 Indian tanks hidden in sugarcane field ambushed 180 Patton tanks, which were very much powerful. The Indians waited until “the whites of the eyes of the enemy were visible”…..and then opened the hellfire of their turrets. 100 Patton tanks were destroyed.

 India, with a higher than ever morale, now was gaining an upper hand in the war. Meanwhile, USSR and America tried to prevent further escalation of war and an agreement was proposed. Pakistan greedily accepted the offer fearing the battle tilting in India’s favour, and their diminishing stockpile of arms and ammunition. The Gandhian in Shastri gave way to the warrior in Shashtri. Despite strong opposition from the military leadership, India bowed to growing international pressure. Tashkent declaration was signed….and the little old man’s heart perhaps could not bear it…it failed.

India lost another leader. The Ministry of broadcast said, “The war of 1965 was fought and won for our self-respect and our national prestige. For using our Defence Forces with such admirable skill, the nation remains beholden to Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. He will be remembered for all times to come for his large heartedness and public service.” Indeed.

But why did Pakistan loose the battle when all this was so well planned and well calculated?

The answer is- The Kashmiris did not behave in the way that Pakistan had expected them to. In 1963, the holy hair of the Prophet ( PBUH) went missing from the Hazratbal mosque of Srinagar. Mass protests from the Kashmiri populace erupted. This Pakistan mistook as an anti-India uprising and rushed to cash the opportunity. But this was a wrong assumption. It was only a religious uprising. In fact many of the Kashmiris helped the Indian forces in sorting out the infiltrators. So the Pakistani plan was flawed right from the beginning.

 Kashmiris were not ready to stand against the Indian Regime.

But they did….in 1989, stand against it.

And to know the how and the reasons behind it, wait for the next part…

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PARADISE LOST-IV:EVERY THING IS FAIR IN KASHMIR AND WAR

                                                       ( Such was the charm of Nehru...)

Never in life had Nehru begged even a penny from someone. But he was compelled to beg to America for some Jets and ammunition in 1962 when the Chinese advance magnified. The Kennedy Government refused to do so citing the Cuban crisis. It was a heart break!

India lost the 1962 war badly…mostly due to inexperience and lack of resources. It is evident from Time magazine’s comment on the war, “ In this war, India needs all most everything, except courage.” At last, China declared a unilateral ceasefire and occupied the Aksai Chin. Yet another heartbreak.

Nehru was against the election of her daughter Indira as the Congress president . An over ambitious Indira stood against her father, opposing one of the finest diplomats of the world, on a petty issue of a communist Kerala Govt. This heart break was final.

Nehru lived his youth like a Prince of the City and spent his prime fighting for his motherland and romancing vicereines. After independence, he left no stone unturned to secure her future…..but in his final days, Nehru was just a betrayed old man. The charming bachelor of the Court of Inns, whose friend circle, which included the likes of Einstein and Shaw, was a matter of envy for many a Euoropian princes, was now a lone warrior whose had lost the last battle of his life.

The dejected Nehru retired to Kashmir, the land written on his heart. But even the temptress which the vale was, could not seduce his weary soul this time. Nehru died in May 1964, the month he returned from Kashmir, as if it was Kashmir which was making him live.

It was only when India lost Nehru, that his importance was fully recognized. India was an orphan…literally. There was no visible leadership. And Indira…? Who wanted a dictator for a country so nascent. An untested petite man, who earlier had resigned from his post of Railways Minister was made the Prime Minister. His name was Lal Bahadur Shashtri.

But India’s loss was someone else’s gain. Any problems guessing whose?

Julfikar Ali Bhutto, the foreign minister of Pakistan, had some plans in mind. He went to Ayub Khan, the then dictator President of Pakistan, and proposed his plan. The liberal dictator, who actually introduced capitalist economic reforms in Pakistan, got tense on hearing the plan. Eyes still on the file, he asked Bhutto, “ Is it even fair? ”

“ Everything is fair in Kashmir and war”, replied Bhutto, a feline smile on his face.

Yes it was a fair deal. India had lost a full scale war only two years ago. Her morale was down and the only man who could raise it, was gone. Pakistan armour was beaming with the new Patton tanks supplied by America and airforce was boasting of the state of the art Sabre jets, one of the most dreaded jets of that time. India had only the old British Folland Gnats and a diminished rusty armour.

Moreover, it was now or never for Pakistan. However dejected Nehru had been, he had not lost his zeal to strengthen his country. It was the time when India’s relations with the Soviet Union were growing sound. The purchase of arms was going on. So if Pakistan was to conquer Kashmir, it was to be done immediately.

The operation was codenamed operation Gibraltor and was designed to rip Kashimr apart from India, and that too, from within. 

But it backfired....yet again.

Next time... :)