Kashmiri
nation: a triangular hostage?
A close study of Kashmir history
reveals that for the last four centuries, this nation has
been faced with many internal distresses difficult to bear.
Owing to her rich natural resources, this land was also coveted
by foreign intruders. The Mughals, the Afghans, the Sikhs and the
Dogras, one after another carried incursion into the land subjecting
the people to their rapacity. Kashmiris daring these invaders had to
suffer the most inhuman punishment like getting skinned alive. The “civilized
" British sold the land and its people in return for a few
gold coins. While quitting the subcontinent, this imperialist country
left behind the legacy of Kashmir problem which has not become the
cause of suffering and privation of only the Kashmiris but owing to
it hundreds of millions of people in India and Pakistan have become
the victims of the ravages of three wars. This is precisely what the
British imperialists wanted to do, meaning to keep the two emerging
countries in constant acrimony, fighting between them and thus
finding market for their arms. After the two get exhausted in
fighting, they boss over them and perform the role of a mediator. In
doing so, they control the economy of the subcontinent.
Anti-people rulers in both the countries helped the imperialists
achieve their objectives by arraying their armies against each other.
Thus both the countries lagged behind in the race for development and
progress and now seem to be preparing for a fourth encounter. More
than a thousand million people of the subcontinent locked a grim
struggle for bare necessities pass their days under the looming
clouds of life and death and in servitude of oppressive rulers. It is
ultimately the poor of India, Pakistan or Kashmir, who are to bear
the brunt.
Kashmir is caught between the devil and the deep sea. On the one
hand, Indian security forces have unleashed a reign of terror on
innocent people and on the other more than 150 armed groups have made
their own compatriots hostages to the gun. They do not desist from
assassinating one another. Yet from the third side, Pakistani rulers
have taken Kashmiris on both sides as hostages to their
accession to Pakistan. For this reason, this article bears the title
given to it.
Entire Kashmir nation at the moment stands hostage to India, Pakistan
and the armed group in the valley. All the three kidnappers want to
bring the Kashmiri nation as also their own masses to the brink of a
disastrous war. Clichés like freedom, integrity, security and religion
are drummed up to drive the dumb millions of the subcontinent.
For their mistakes, weaknesses and oppressive machinations, all the
three anti-people parties are trying to pass the buck in to those who
stand for a peaceful solution of the issue.
Let us now deal with each one of the three parties. First we examine
the stand of India. As a nonaligned and the largest democratic
country, India is generally shown regard by the comity of nations.
(If any Pakistani feels angry on saying so, we can't help it but the
facts are facts). Even in Islamic countries, India commands some
respect. In the veins of India's economy, there is a thick stream
from Middle East countries. But because of Kashmir question, India's
image as a nonaligned country and a big democracy could get
tarnished. It appears that Indian rulers, bureaucracy and politicians
do not want to or cannot learn a lesson from history. They want to
suppress people's uprising in Kashmir through imperialist policy of
unleashing brute force, oppression and incarceration. The result is
that the respect and dignity which India enjoyed owing to her
neutrality and democracy has been eroded by the atrocious behavior of
her security forces leading to violation of human rights in Kashmir.
Various human rights organizations are issuing reports detailing
human rights violations perpetrated by the Indian security forces in
Kashmir.
In 1992, Amnesty International issued a 195-page report under the
title "India: Torture, Rape & Deaths in Custody."
The report covers the instances of violation of human rights by
the Indian security forces like torture, custodial deaths and rapes
all over India. In regard to Kashmir, the report says as this:
" Yesterday I discharged a patient, aged 18-20, who had been in
this hospital for three months. Twenty per cent or more of his body
had suffered deep burns from a hot iron press; these burns were so
serious that I and other doctors had only just succeeded in saving
his life. He had also been shot at with a bullet in the armpit. His
torturing with the cloth-iron had all been done during interrogation
by the regular army at Sopor". This interview had been given in
December 1990 in Srinagar hospital by a doctor. Further, on
page 21 of the report, we find this: " Mobina Ghani told
one reporter: We were crying bitterly. I told them I had not yet seen
my husband, but they did not listen. Four to six persons raped me, I
think." Under the title 'Death in custody', particulars of 27
persons have been given who died as a result of torture in the
custody of security forces. This all is happening in Kashmir where
the fighting continues. Even in Delhi, it was reported that 73
persons were killed while in police custody and 61 in Madhya Pradesh.
Hence with these stories around, it is unrealistic to agree with the
Indian authorities that nothing is happening in Kashmir. The stories
of oppression against the Kashmiris by the Indian security forces and
for which proofs are available on global level, are labeled as
propaganda against the security forces by the authorities. This is
not acceptable. In the Al Safa of September 18, one K.L.
Koul issued an appeal from a refugee camp in Jammu which was signed
by many respectable persons of Pandit community. (It is pertinent to
note that these are the very Kashmiri Pandits who are displaced from
their homes and land owing to Kashmir issue). The appeal said,"
We join Shri Koul and strongly condemn the atrocities that are being
unleashed on our brothers by the Indian occupation forces."
Not only this, various human rights groups in India itself have
protested against the violation of human rights by the Indian
security forces. The reports of Justice Tarkunde and of the Civil
Liberties Group are a scar on the forehead of Indian democracy.
India's identity as a country of non-violence as preached by Gandhi
and Nehru is also getting tarnished in the world opinion. Gandhiji
had gone on fast unto death in order to stop Hindu-Muslim riots in
Calcutta. In regard to Kashmir, he had categorically said,:
"
Kashmiris will have to be given their right according to their
wishes. If it means shrinking of India in terms of territory, let it
be. If her soul is pure and just, India can become the cradle of
non-violence. If India cannot keep the Kashmiri people acetified,
then her image will be distorted in the eyes of the world
community". (Quoted from Atesh-e-Chinar)
Would the Indian intellectuals, peace loving people and followers of
Gandhiji, upholders of human rights and lovers of justice and freedom
in India, like to ponder over the oppression of Kashmiri people by
the Indian security forces keeping in mind what Gandhiji had said?
Will they keep in mind the condemnation of these atrocities on
international level and realize that the predictions made by Gandhiji
is coming out true. Is not India's peace-loving and democratic face
getting distorted. India should not also forget the announcement of
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in which he had upheld the right of
self-determination of Kashmiris and said," Kashmiri
nation is not a herd of sheep who India or Pakistan would like to
drive according to their wishes. Kashmiris are intelligent and brave
people who have every right to remain free and self-determined "
the light of these realities, Indian politicians, sympathizers,
intellectuals and rulers need to reconsider their policy on Kashmir
and accept the right of Kashmiris to self-determination so that the
face of Gandhiji's India is not distorted.
Let us now take into consideration the position of the other party
which has made Kashmiris hostages to its aspirations. Basically, the
gun had been taken up in Kashmir for acquiring and protecting
freedom, self determination and the human and other rights of
Kashmiris. But gradually we found that the same gun instead of
protecting and guaranteeing the freedom and the rights of people,
became the source of their oppression and tyranny. No fewer than 154
organizations sprang up in Kashmir. Instead of becoming united,
Kashmiri people got further divided into groups for petty
differences. Instead of providing the masses any alternative
programme of easing their problems, they were further made to carry
the weight of strikes. Having received a few days training instead of
intensive guerrilla training, some youthful mujahideen became
emotional and fired at security forces while mingling up with crowds.
In this way they made the civilian groups as targets of the bullets
of security forces. Not only this, the rich library and science
laboratory of Islamia College were set on fire apart from torching
many other school and college buildings in the valley arguing that
security forces camped in them. Indeed the security forces occupied
the destroyed premises while schools and colleges which are precious
gifts for the nation, were reduced to ashes. It was poverty of
strategy and understanding which resulted in exchanging fire with
the security forces from the library of Hazratbal shrine with
the result that the magnificent library of the shrine was destroyed.
Let us also cast a glance on the social character of the movement.
From the ranks of the movement launched to obtain the lofty
objectives of freedom, activists began interfering in domestic and
personal and mundane matters. They became parties in husband and wife
conflicts. Previously what the Congress and National Conference
goons used to do was replicated by the gun totting youth. Trees
felled in forests were loaded in trucks and brought to towns by
timber smugglers declaring that the truckloads are for such and such
mujahid or militant organization. In this way forests, which are the
property of the people and on which depends the life of future
generations, were cleansed of trees. People began to be
kidnaped at the point of gun in order to pay huge sums. The
conviction of the mujahideen is also worth noting. Those who
called themselves mujahids till the day of their arrest, became the
veiled informers for the security forces just a day later and rode
their vehicles for identifying their comrades in arms.
Towns were brought under severe economic pressures. Hundreds of
people suffered for want of basic requirements forcing them to
penury and deprivation. Many senior citizens were kidnaped which
obviously deprived the movement from being considered for substantial
support on international plane. By kidnaping and murdering
intellectuals, doctors, professors, vice chancellor and civil
servants, the bloody struggle failed to win international support as
a national liberation movement. Only some human rights
organizations speak about the violation of human rights. Then also
ensued inter-gang kidnaping and killing of activists which
caused a severe damage to the national liberation movement.
Ninety-year old elderly Maulana Masoodi was done to death. Strangely
enough, the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Mr. Gilani offered
'fateha' at the grave of Maulana and condemned his killing. Not only
that, the entire property of the disabled son of the Maulana was set
on fire. Mir Waiz Maulana Muhammad Farooq also fell to their bullets.
Mr. Mohammad Shaban Vakil, the editor of Al Safa was gunned down in
his office for speaking and writing the truth. The blood of Mir
Mustafa was spilled and a practicing doctor of the minority
community, Mr. Koul was called from his house and gunned down
along with his wife. Apart from this people were done to death
for personal vendetta, family feuds or after labeling them as
informers. A girl of the minority community named Rosy was raped and
then she, her mother and her father all the three were gunned down.
The people of Kashmir came out of their houses in protest on this
brutal killing but they were silenced by telling them that the
victims were "Indian agents". Thus instead of meting
out justice and fighting against tyranny and barbarism, the heinous
crime and brutality was sought to be put under cover. But one should
appreciate the courage of Kashmiri women who brought out a
strong demonstration on the roads in protest of the killing of
Rosy and her parents. Oppression is oppression whosoever does it.
Those who swear by justice and Islamic system should remember that
during the caliphate of Hazrat Omar, the Governor of Egypt had
ordered lashing of an innocent person. The caliph ordered that the
victim should strike the lashes on the back of the Governor. In fact
once Hazrat Omar had not hesitated to lash his own son who collapsed
under the torture and died. But today in Kashmir, the so-called
Islamists kidnap one another's people and kill them calling it Islam.
Akhtar Rasul and Mohammad Rashid were kidnaped and murdered.
Both had obtained Ph.D degree in Arabic. What service was rendered to
Islam by kidnaping and then killing the brother of Maulavi
Javed?. Malik Maqbool of Operation Balakot was not only
brutally killed but his eye was gouged out and his beard was burnt.
This brutal act had evoked large scale public resentment. The
secretary -general of Tahreek Hurriyat (Freedom Movement), Mr. Azam
Inquilabi, resigned from his post saying that unless the assassins of
Maulavi Farooq, Muhammad Shaban Vakil and Malik Maqbool were publicly
hanged in Lal Chowk, they would continue to remain outside the
Tehreek Hurriyat Union. The same Azam Inquilabi, who has dedicated
his whole life to national interests, was in tears when he heard
about the killing of Malik Maqbool. In this connection we would do
well to bring to mind what the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has instructed,
" Do not desecrate dead bodies" or " Do not kill like
barbarians. The holy Quran also asks people to desist from shedding
the blood of the innocent.
But in my Kashmir, armed groups have unleashed the tyranny and
brutality of the days of Chengiz, all in the name of freedom of
Kashmir. Malik Maqbool was kept in custody for eight days and finally
made a target of terrorism. He was killed brutally and in most
inhuman manner. Will the Kashmiri nation have the courage to ask the
so-called mujahids of freedom whether Kashmir would win freedom by
kidnaping one another and then killing them? The movement was
initiated suddenly without any concrete planning and far- reaching
strategy. Naturally anti-movement events could not be avoided to
happen.
I wrote in 1990 that with the help of the gun we have established our
bravado but now there was the need for civil disobedience greater
than the gun so that we could register international support. One
could clearly foresee that disorganized and undisciplined armed
groups would succumb to personal and group interests instead of remaining
steadfast to the objective of freedom, and in doing so, they would
indulge in killing one another. This is precisely what they are
doing. Even a more dangerous dimension of the situation is that
evidence is being provided to show that Pakistan is involved in the
affair. For example celebrating 14 August (the independence day of
Pakistan), naming armed groups as Zia Tigers or Qaid-e-Azam Tigers
etc Naturally India presents these acts to the world as proof
that Pakistan is maneuvering the movement in Kashmir and that the
question is not of the freedom of Kashmiris. We must remember
that if the Kashmiri nation continues the struggle in the name of
accession and not in the name of freedom and self-determination, it
will not meet with any success even if the struggle goes on for a
century more.
One fails to understand why religious fanaticism should take
precedence over religious tolerance when essentially this is a war
for national freedom. What does it mean asking Mr. Narasimha Rao
through the newspapers to convert to Islam? What do the
Jamaat-I-Islami activists want to achieve by inviting
mujahideen from Afghanistan and other countries to join the freedom
war in Kashmir? Do they want to drag Pakistan into a war and
thus contrive the destruction of both the countries? By
involving such elements in the struggle as would create the
impression that the struggle is not of Kashmiris but of some other
agency, would only bring untold suffering and destruction of
Kashmiris. The movement will not be able to find any support on
international plane despite making so many sacrifices.
One reason for this debacle is the anti-freedom activities. Is not
Jamaat-e-Islami satisfied with the genocide in Afghanistan so that
she must now turn its guns on Kashmir.? Let us cast a glance at the
record of past three years of the Jamaatis and other pro-Pak parties.
It will show that these parties have been fighting less against the
Indian forces and more against pro-freedom parties in Kashmir.
Patriotic Kashmiris have not only been killed, but their eyes have
been gouged out, beards burnt and their bodies blasted by bombs
blasts.
In order to rescue the movement from this cauldron of disaster, there
is the great need of patriotic and freedom loving nationalists on
both sides to galvanize themselves into action. These nationalist
forces want to see Kashmir free and sovereign and have also made
valuable sacrifices for that purpose. Otherwise Kashmir will be
divided in the name of religion becoming a slave either of one or the
other. Is it not possible for the nationalist and pro-freedom
Kashmiris to abandon their superficial differences and their egos and
unite into a single force? These elements should have clear
understanding of economic and social problems arising from this
disorderly war. For example, our Pandit brothers and sisters, driven
out or having come out as a result of fear, are living in camps in a
state of utter helplessness. In terms of nationhood, Kashmiri Pandits
are our brother and their womenfolk are our sisters and mothers. The
Pandits born and brought up in Kashmir are as much the inheritors of
Kashmir as those who are fighting her national liberation war.
Apart from this, there are other economic problems in the valley like
labour, tourism and dependence on local productions for sustenance of
life. There are serious problems of the labour class in Kashmir. The
situation has now come close to starvation. The slaves of blind force
have never cared to ponder on the problems of these destitute
compatriots. Addressing these problems is not necessary only for the
reason of enlisting public support for the movement but more so
because India would not be able to bend the people. By overlooking
these problems, the Indian rulers will weaken the spirit of Kashmiris
and disfigure it . Furthermore by taking the people as
hostages and denying them the right of expression of freedom, you
would yourselves become the enemies of the freedom movement.
I make humble appeal to you that by the methods you have adopted,
freedom will not dawn upon us; we may leave behind some stories of
'bravery', some stories of heart-rending tortures, a saga of
helplessness of widows and orphans, and nothing more. Therefore, not
only I, but every sensible and conscientious Kashmiris thinks that
not the gun but civil disobedience would ensure our freedom.
Everybody knows that the gun has made Kashmiris its hostage and
unless true mujahideen liberate the people from this hostage
syndrome, the masses in Kashmir will not be able to attain freedom
either from India or Pakistan. Before making final analysis, I would
like to tell Kashmiri people something about the attitude and the
policy of Pakistan, the third party which has made them its hostage.
I would also like to present some facts about the economic condition
of Pakistan which may, in all probability, cause some pain to some
blind followers of Pakistan in Kashmir. Facts are as bright as the
sun whether we accept them or not. The sun must cast its rays and if
we call autumn by its proper name, it does not mean betrayal of the
garden.
Common and committed Kashmiris are in a delusion that Pakistani
rulers are in favor of the right of self-determination for the
Kashmiris. This, in fact, is only propaganda and if we make its
practical analysis, we will find that the attitude of Pakistani
rulers towards Kashmiris is nothing different from that of the
Indians. If in the Indian constitution of the Indian held Kashmir
loyalty to accession with India and its inseparability from the
Indian Union have been stipulated, In Azad Kashmir taking an oath in
accordance with the interim constitution of 1974, particularly number
7 sub-section 2 which stipulates allegiance to state's accession to
Pakistan. No person or party in the state is permitted to work
against the concept of its accession to Pakistan. In POK, nobody can
fight election without signing the oath of states accession to
Pakistan. In 1984, some of my friends suggested that I fight election
from Murree on a mohajir seat, I declined it owing to the condition
of signing the oath as mentioned above. After my refusal, Farooq Shah
fought on that seat and won it. Furthermore, the President and
Prime Minister of POK are also required to sign the oath document in
accordance with pages 47 and 48 of the same interim constitution
which stipulates loyalty to state's accession to Pakistan and loyalty
to Pakistan. In such a situation, no law anywhere in the world will
accept the stand that a country supports the right of
self-determination of a people but in the same breath considers its
right of self-determination as accession with the same country. This
attitude of Pakistani rulers can in no case be considered supportive
of our freedom. All that one can say is that Pakistan wants to help
us in making us her slave.
Kashmiris should also take into account the treatment of Pakistani
rulers with the
people
of Gilgit and Baltistan in the context of POK. If they fail to
realize what has been happening in these areas since 1947, then of
course I should be excused in saying that the Kashmiris are not alive
in their conscience. In mildest terms you deserve to be called
followers of blind faith and in more reasonable terms you would be
called an instrument of foreign countries in your own home. Pakistani
rulers, first of all detached Gilgit and Baltistan from POK
thus creating an ideological gulf between the people of the two
regions. Relations of political fraternity between them were
weakened. For nearly 25 years ( up to 1975) Pakistan imposed its rule
over the area under Federal Crimes Regulation (FCR) by deputing an
official of the rank of a secretary or deputy secretary as
Resident. In true footprints of the British imperial colonial
system, a secretary or deputy secretary level Resident in Northern
Areas was combining in himself everything, the court, the law and the
government. When the period of autocratic residency came to an end,
the people of Gilgit and Baltistan continued to be denied their rights.
All that happened was that the nomenclature Resident was replaced by
Administrator who became the arbiter of the destiny of the people
there. It may be a news to the people world over that nearly 1.5
million population of Gilgit and Baltistan still do not have the
right to seek justice in the Supreme court of POK or Pakistan.
In other words the doors of justice for the people of these areas are
closed after the Sessions Court. Thereafter they are at the mercy of
the Administrator.
On the economic front, the situation is that there is no industry or
factory. Means of production are nonexistent. On the educational
front , a university or medical college or engineering college is a
dream. If any bright student wants to continue his further education,
he is relegated to quota system which sends him to some far off nook
of Pakistan to receive higher education, thousands of miles away from
his native place. Then he gets cut off from his cultural environs of
Gilgit and Baltistan invariably forgetting his path of return to his
native place. In short Pakistani rulers have adopted the same policy
and norms of treatment towards the people of Gilgit and Baltistan as
had been adopted by the British towards their colonies including
India. Pakistani rulers took the people of these areas as
slaves inherited with transfer of power. The truth is that in
1947 the people of Gilgit and Baltistan staged an uprising against
the rule of the Maharaja without assistance from anybody. They had
liberated the entire area. But unfortunately they themselves invited
the Pakistani rulers to send their representative to Gilgit and
Baltistan with the result that the people in these areas are reaping
the fruit of this Himalayan blunder to this day.
Let us have a look at Azad Kashmir. The Ministry of Kashmir Affairs
has been created only to bring political jugglers to loggerheads
thereby subjugating them to the will of the secretary of that
ministry. Even an ordinary functionary of this ministry makes
the ministers and advisers of Azad Kashmir to dance to his tune. The
type of 'fraternity', 'Islamic brotherhood' and ' sympathy ' shown
and demonstrated by the Pakistani rulers with Azad Kashmir is fully
reflected in the statements of the Azad Kashmir politicians themselves.
(It
has to be noted that no freedom -loving Kashmiri calls that part as
Azad Kashmir but as Pakistan occupied Kashmir or POK). Here are
a few examples of the statements of AK ministers.
The Dawn of Karachi, in its issue of August 21, 1991,
published a statement of a former Prime Minister of AK in which he
had demanded the royalty on Mangla Dam from Pakistan government. The
amount computed at nearly 40 thousand million rupees. An interesting
facet of this statement was the revelation that the government of
Pakistan had not till date given its share to AK from central revenue
tax fund though according to the Pakistani constitution each province
of Pakistan and the territories of the federation are to receive from
this fund their share according to the respective population
proportion. This share of AK comes to nearly 32 thousand million
rupees. The former AK Prime Minister also said that the property of
AK in Pakistan's possession valued at tens of millions of rupees. AK
has not been paid the rent on this property till date. Again
on August 23, Mumtaz Rathore, the then Prime Minister
of AK demand in a press conference that Gilgit and Baltistan be
merged into AK and Pakistan should withdraw her troops from that
area. The Dawn of Karachi reported that Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan
demanded in a public meeting that the ministry of Kashmir Affairs be
dissolved because, as he put it, the ministry was working against the
interests of Kashmiri people. The Jung of London reported in
its issue of August 11, 1991 " that Sardar Qayyum Khan said in
Lahore that there was neither any literature on Kashmir available in
Pakistani embassies abroad nor was the embassy staff interested in
making available any concrete information on this issue".
Thus such demands are being occasionally made by AK politicians.
Recently as a result of persistent demand made by the people in NWFP,
the province was paid an amount of four thousand million rupees
as royalty on Tarbela dam. If the people of AK speak of payment
of royalty to them on Mangla Dam, they are branded as traitors.
Furthermore, after signing the Shimla Agreement, the regular army of
AK was disbanded and amalgamated with Pakistan army. The personnel
were then forced to sign the accession to Pakistan documents
certainly against their free will. Having done that, the rulers in
Pakistan did not provide a single medical or engineering college or a
technical institute to the forty lakh people of Gilgit and Baltistan
and Azad Kashmir. Radio and Television station are far off things.
Even the namesake university is no better than an intermediate
college. About industries in AK, there is not even a single
industrial unit which could be called as employment generating
unit.
But
of course, in order to evade payment of taxes, a few Pakistani
entrepreneurs have established a factory for assembling motor parts
of Vespa scooter.There are a few units producing plastic bags.
In AK, there was the scope of establishing sheep and cattle
rearing
farms which could supply milk products and mutton not only to
Pakistan but also
to
the Middle East countries. This is being deliberately neglected to
stay put economic enslavement of the people of AK. People of AK are
generally seen taking up menial jobs like Chowkidars,
Hotel bearers, Dish-washers etc. in Pakistani cities. Many of them
are also forced to abandon their native place and proceed to foreign
countries in search of a livelihood. Through the sweat of their brow,
they earn some money and the foreign remittances come to Pakistan
where Pakistani rulers swindle them thus killing two birds with one
stone. The hardships borne by these self-exiled Kashmiris are
innumerable. They are often overtaken by frustration and are unable
to think about the freedom of their motherland. And if a small
section among these emigres does think about Kashmir, it
is only about the freedom of the Indian part and the prevailing
oppression there as propagated by Pakistani media. If some
'recalcitrant' fellow refuses to fall in this trap, he is sure to be
branded as Indian agent, enemy of Islam and a communist.
In the name of freedom Indian occupied Kashmir, the people of AK,
Gilgit and Baltistan have been subjugated to worst type of economic
and political slavery. The unfortunate people, bereft of medicare and
economic comforts have been made to indulge in infighting only to
catapult this or that person to political leadership of AK and all
this in the name of freedom for Indian part of Kashmir. Who is there
that would not appreciate the art mastered by these 'venerable'
politicians of AK ?
Sometime in July 1983, I was arrested and brought to Rawalpindi. A
ban on my entering AK was imposed and I was set free. I hid myself in
a truck carrying cement bags and traveling by night arrived in
Rawlakot. Addressing a public gathering I said, " You
people of Kashmir, you are spread out in Europe and the Middle East.
You remit crores of dollars in foreign exchange which is more
valuable than the very blood in the economic veins of Pakistan. But
you are not given an industry in AK which could provide employment
and means of subsistence for your future generations. You must not
forget that when your earning in a foreign country comes to an end or
when remittances are stopped, then you will have to sell your
property, refrigerators. TVs and other household goods in the bazaars
of Rawalpindi and you will have to borrow money to pay for the
carriage. Think of your future generations who will have nothing to
sell and they want and necessity will force them to become
highway robbers and looters". At the moment, a
majority of people from AK is to be found in Europe, the Middle East
and the US. They are passing through a difficult phase; they are
rendering hard labour and saving each penny and are remitting
billions of dollars by way of foreign exchange to Pakistani
governments annually. But till date no such scheme of
employment has been conceived and implemented which could provide
assured means of subsistence to the future generations and save them
from moving from pillar to post. Even today when a Kashmiri in
the Middle East loses his job or gives it up, he cannot find an
employment here despite the fact that he is very hard working and
talented. He subsists on a chunk of money he has saved from his
earnings abroad and then gradually begins to dispose off his wife's
ornaments, household goods etc. Then he begins paying regular visits
to some recruiting agency. This practice has been continuing for last
the 25 years and now even the second generation of emigres is also
faced with the same situation.
There does not exist any women's hospital for the medical treatment
of our sisters and mothers. In the town there is a small number of
lady doctors who can be counted on finger tips. But in rural
and mountainous areas, where people, young, old, children and women
are afflicted with various diseases, have no medicare and left to
their fate, the candle of their lives gets extinguished while their
near and dear ones watch them in a helpless situation. Many of my
friends living abroad occasionally pay a visit to their families.
Generally during these visits, they have been seen accompanying their
elderly parents or sisters and brothers to Rawalpindi to provide them
medical treatment. Half the period of their holidays is spent
on this exercise and soon they are forced to part company with their
dear ones and carry back the sad reflections and pain of their
suffering again to work and earn and send foreign exchange for the
comfort of Pakistani rulers. Those who talk about the accession of
the entire state to Pakistan despite distinctly perceiving how they
remain enchained in economic fetters, in truth want to support
further political and economic strangulation of my countrymen.
And they want to legalize all this so that loot and plunder of
Kashmiris becomes more rampant. Now you must consider whether
such people would be called the sympathizers and well-wishers of
Kashmiris?.
Sometimes we hear some murmur about religious links with Pakistan
being raised by those who have taken the Kashmiris as
their hostage—the third party. Let us remember that Hekmatyar,
Rabbani and Ahmad Shah Masud too are Musalmans and so are the people
of Afghanistan. All of them have fought against Najib and
Russia for twelve years. But today the mujahideen, surcharged
with the sentiment of 'jehad' are mercilessly killing Afghan
children, women and old people. Hekmatyar rained rockets on Kabul
killing innocent Afghans and destroying thousands of houses. All this
should be an eye-opener for Kashmiris. If the seeds of hatred
on the basis of religion are sown in Kashmir, then Islam will,
undoubtedly be used for superficial political ends only. This will
not cause only permanent destruction of Kashmir dragging it into the
vortex of communal strife, but it will also bring defamation to Islam
throughout the world. When different groups of Muslims will be
fighting among themselves and a non-Muslim will appeal to them to
spare the hospitals so that the patients could be provided medical
aid, then in such a situation no service will be done to the cause of
Islam. (It will be recalled that when the Muslim commanders in
Afghanistan were raining rockets on one another owing to their
differences, the representative of Red Cross Mr. John Micheal Mono,
appealed to them not to attack the hospitals).
Again we see that Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iran are also Muslim
countries. But in the Gulf War, first the Iraqis began destroying
Kuwaitis and thereafter Kuwaitis and Saudis inviting the assistance
of the US and other big powers in the west started the massacre of
Iraqis. An Islamic state even gave a billion dollars dole to
the super powers in order to perpetuate genocide in Iraq. Iran and
Iraq also waged a bloody war for a decade which took a toll of about
1.2 million Musulmans.
For God's sake do not bring defamation to a holy and humane religion
of Islam which teaches goodwill for the entire humanity by using it
for group interests and power politics and blind interests. Do
not complicate the work and life of those who are rendering
dispassionate service in the propagation of Islam. Do not make
things difficult for the Muslims living in western countries. Owing
to submission to group interests and sectarian proclivities leading
to killing co-religionists, the Muslims all over the world are
branded as terrorists and their religion as violent. This is a
travesty of the truth. Islam is based on principles of humanism,
tolerance and mutual respect. The holy Quran says that" shedding
innocent blood is shedding the blood of entire humanity ".
The holy Prophet (PBUH) had, in a battle, spread out his sheet for a
prisoner woman. He forbade making women, children and elderly
people as prisoners of war. But contrary to these teachings, a puritanical
person like Malik Maqbool was kidnaped, tortured and finally
butchered. His beard was burnt. Is this all permitted by the
holy Quran or habit? Should not the Kashmiri nation put this
question to those who claim to be the upholders of Islam?
The truth is that this is a dirty game of politicians, the game of
one-upmanship and the politics of power. Generally common people are
justice loving, honest and peace-loving. Political groups are
not able to register support of the common man if they disclose the
true nature of their intentions and schemes. As such, they take
recourse sometimes to religion and sometimes to the rhetoric of
economic development and sometimes in the name of nationalism
fomenting antagonistic feelings in them and incite them to
violence.
The most unfortunate part is that a common man becomes a victim
because of his simplicity and honesty. He has golden dreams of
the future and therefore falls a prey to group politics. The
result is that such people do not only go astray from the right path
but virtually take the path of murder, loot, oppression and atrocities.
Naturally they have to pay the price of their dreams. This has been
happening with the poor and ordinary people generation after
generation. Who can say how long this exploitation may continue
unless the poor and oppressed people become aware of their
rights, their value and their consciousness which would enable them
to call the exploiters to account. Then only can they identify them
in whatever disguise they might appear.
Therefore nothing can be achieved by making Kashmir issue a religious
issue and then dragging the entire subcontinent into the destructive
flames of a war. By declaring jehad and by inviting the Afghans into
Kashmir, all that the Kashmiris and the people of the entire
subcontinent will face would be the destruction of war. They will
sink further deep into economic backwardness. In this
connection, it would be only relevant to reproduce from the August 1
diary of the elderly Pakistani journalist, Habibu'r-Rahman. He
writes that" Pakistan has entered the worst phase of her
economic crisis. She is virtually standing on the threshold of
bankruptcy. Asian Development Bank has disclosed that Pakistan
owes nearly 50 billion dollars by way of foreign debt, surely a
whopping figure. In the previous year, Pakistan suffered nearly
230 thousand million dollars as trade deficit. Service charges on
debts amounts to 150 thousand million dollars annually. The analyst
writes that if this trend is not arrested , then it may be difficult
to meet our defense requirements; there would be no foreign reserves
to meet the expenditures on account of purchase of new weapons and
spare parts for the existing weapons". Mr. Habibu'-Rahman
has also spoken about the religious frenzy raging supreme in Pakistan
and has warned that like Iraq, Pakistan has come to the brink
of disaster. Here we reproduce some interesting observations of
this journalist.
" Our foolhardiness and lack of prudence have reached the
limit that for last six months we have been repeatedly speaking about
atomic weapons of Kazakhstan trying to make the people believe that
in a situation of need, we could make use of these. As such,
Pakistanis had to fear none. This is a massive self-delusion
and misleading the simple folks of Pakistan through a
conspiracy. In the past, nobody came to our help when we were faced
with predicament and if there befalls any new misfortune,
nobody will have the need to come to our rescue. There appears no
logic in presuming that others would offer themselves to
replace us. It is imperative that we adopt an attitude of
self-comprehension and understanding if we want to ward off any
calamity looming large on our head. There is hardly any sense of
gloating over the victory in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has not
won; she is destroyed, her economy is torn into shreds. The defense
minister is asking for donations to pay the salary of his
soldiers. Scarcity of food grains has created conditions of
famine. If external aid does not reach Afghanistan, then
the lives of thirty lakh Afghans would be threatened with starvation.
According to a UN report, there are no funds available to
defuse millions of land mines in Afghanistan. Even if the
requisite funds are made available, it would take more than ten years
to defuse these mines. All roads in that country are damaged
and most of the bridges are broken. Despite this grave picture of all
round destruction, civil war continues to be waged with all the
fury. And look at us. We are bragging of bringing gas via
Afghanistan or running trains to Central Asia via Afghanistan. This
is all like building castles in the air. One purpose of these bragging
could be to divert the attention of simple folks from economic issues
like rising prices. This is also a device of not allowing the people
to take up core issues ".
Some weeks ago, an educated lady was participating in a friendly talk
on independent Kashmir. Referring to my articles, she put a
question to me," Do you want that we should forget Kashmir whose
songs we have been singing in our childhood? By way of reply I
asked her if she meant that in return of the songs she had sung for
Kashmir, we should hand over Kashmir to her. She tried to change the
wavelength. She said that once she had approached me in
connection with her research on Pakistani nationals in Holland.
In reply I said that I was not a Pakistani but a Kashmiri.
I asked her if she wanted to speak in the context of myself
being a Kashmiri, I would have no hesitation to respond. In
short all that I brought home to her was that I was proud of being a
Kashmiri and I make my identity known to all without any fear and
hesitation.
What I mean to say is that this kind of thinking persists in
Pakistan that we sang songs for you, hence you shift Kashmir to us or
that letter 'K' is to be found in the name of our country and that
Quaid-e-Azam had called Kashmir the lifeline of Pakistan, therefore
we in Kashmir should accede to Pakistan even if Pakistan is not going
to find support on international level for Kashmir's accession to
Pakistan. Even if the Pakistani nation is itself destroyed the
pro-Pakistani Kashmiris will go on raising the slogan of accession to
Pakistan. Evidently this type of thinking will bring the whole
subcontinent to the brink of annihilation.
Therefore all the three parties, India, Pakistan and the armed groups
in Kashmir shall have to make some introspection. It is of utmost
necessity that a common front of all progressive elements,
peace-lovers, poor masses, intellectuals, students, sincere politicians
of the South Asian region should be formed who would fight against
the warmongers and pressurize both India and Pakistan to withdraw
their forces from Kashmir. They should be goaded into banishing war
from the subcontinent. Indian citizens shall have to make
strenuous effort to bring a halt to the violation of human rights in
Kashmir and the oppression of the Kashmiris at the hands of the
security forces shall have to be resisted. Bunkers made by security
forces in the streets and lanes of Kashmir shall have to be
removed. If bunkers are not there, armed groups would not
attack those sites. All political prisoners shall have to be
set free. The political process inside Kashmir, too, shall have to be
liberated so that the masses get an opportunity of expressing
themselves.
The people of Pakistan, too, shall have to stand up to religious
fanaticism. They must protest against raising of the cries of
jehad and against the decision of dispatching thirty thousand Afghan
mujahideen into Kashmir so that Kashmir issue does not end up in a
disastrous war between the two countries.
Solution of Kashmir through division has to be discouraged.
Instead an assembly comprising peoples' representatives from all the
regions (Jammu, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, valley and Azad Kashmir)
should be empowered to take a decision about the future of the state.
The issue has risen out of the division of the state, and the control
by various countries of the parts of its territory. Owing to
the existence of regional cultures, religions and local
specificities, the entire question has become very complicated. Such
complicated questions are not solved through wars and through acts of
destruction but through patience and mutual understanding. On both
the sides, resistance to the nefarious designs of warmongers and
religious fanatics should be launched.
To the armed groups inside Kashmir, my humble submission
to them would be to make some patient introspection. They should
evaluate and analyze their past struggle. Those leaders
who are today talking about civil disobedience, I most help them
recollect that way back in 1990, I had advised the activists to
launch a civil disobedience movement. The question that will be asked
is what did you gain after shedding the blood of thousands of people
during these three years?
However, instead of continue killings, kidnaping, and spoiling and
arraying against one another , recourse should be taken to launching
a peoples' movement and expression of opinion for one's rights.
Kashmiris involved in accession movements should wriggle themselves
out of these and stop singing to the tunes of other people. They must
think for their own people and for the betterment and in the
interests of their own country. By celebrating August 14 under
certain impulse of emotion and allowing thirty precious lives to be
destroyed may give a momentary emotional satisfaction but this
is certainly going to leave behind negative impact on the freedom
movement. On international level, this type of event reinforces
India's argument that this movement is being carried out at the
behest of Pakistan. Have we ever tried to put this simple question to
ourselves? Is not celebrating the independence day of others as
one's own independence day a kind of mental slavery?
(
Amsterdam, August 1992)
This article is published in my book "Kashmir: The unveiling of
truth", 1998
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