KASHMIRentinelS Let Truth PrevailIs Musharraf a liability in theIs Musharraf a liability in theIs Musharraf a liability in theIs Musharraf a liability in theIs Musharraf a liability in the‘War against Terror’?‘War against Terror’?‘War against Terror’?‘War against Terror’?‘War against Terror’?(By Special Correspondent)

There has been no evidence to suggest that Pakistan intends to abandonstate-sponsored terrorism as aforeign policy tool. What is morealarming is that even its politi-cal elite and very limited glitterati

have also never condemnedPakistan’s state-sponsored ter-rorism against India and Af-ghanistan. Despite this, Ameri-can govt. continues to prop upGen. Musharraf as its best bet inthe War against Terror.Pakistan’s votaries in India havebeen building hype that the so-called peace process has become‘irreversible’. What do the factsspeak?

Sectarian ViolenceSectarian violence in Pakistan

has increased, posing an evermore serious challenge to thestate. Between January 1989 andMay 31, 2005 over 1784 Paki-stanis were killed and 4279 in-jured in 1866 incidents of vio-lence. In 2004, the number ofpeople killed and injured was187 and 619 respectively in 19incidents of violence. First fivemonths of 2005 witnessed over120 killings and 286 injured in30 incidents. Arif Jamal,Pakistan’s foremost expert onJihad notes,” Sectarian violencebecame intense after 9/11 attacksin US ,sectarian terrorists startedusing suicide attacks. New mode

of violence was introduced dur-ing current wave of sectarianconflict---a car bomb.” He addsthat the sectarian problem can-not be overcome so long as thestate remains in alliance withextremist elements. The sectar-ian and ethnic essentialism that

came into its own in an orga-nized, militant form during theZia period, now poses an evermore serious challenge to thestate.

War Against TalibanUS’s main concern has been

to enlist Pakistan’s support in itswar against anti-US Taliban/AlQaeda. Musharraf has not deliv-ered on this count also. Instead,he is engaged in enacting adrama of sifting ‘good’ from‘bad’ Taliban for prospectivebuyers. The 9/11 Commissionof the US) in its December2005 report has said that Talibanforces still operate in the Paki-stani Tribal areas and terroristsfrom Pakistan carry out opera-tions in Kashmir. It warns thatPakistan remains a sanctuary andtraining ground for terrorists.The report highlights thatMusharraf has not taken any ac-tion to regulate the madrassasproperly or close down all thosethat are known to have links toextremist groups. It urges theBush administration to pressur-ize Islamabad to shut downTaliban-linked religious institu-tions and terrorist training

camps. Afghanistan and Ameri-can officials complain periodi-cally of the Taliban still trainingand organizing in Pakistan’s bor-der areas but their protests arerejected summarily with rheto-ric similar to the one about do-mestic jihadi groups.

Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, a notedPakistani columnist revealedthat despite tall claims of elimi-nating Al Qaeda from thetroubled Northern Areas ,Gen.Musharraf has actually handedover the once hotbed of foreignterrorists ,the South WazirstanAgency to a former Talibancommander, UbaildullahMahsud The latter has been un-til recently a wanted terrorist bythe army. Mahsud had a headmoney of several thousand ru-pees. He is now running his owngovt. in the Agency ,in Talibanstyle. TV,Satellite dishes ,Music,Videos etc. have all beenbanned. Gun-wielding Talibancarrying AK-47 rifles and rocketlaunchers are being sent to re-mote areas to pressurize peopleto seek intervention of localTaliban commanders in settlingpersonal disputes. Locals de-scribe the situation in the Agencyas atrocious like it was in pre-Sept. 2001 Afghanistan, underthe Taliban rule. What hasstunned the local population isthe sudden transformation of for-tunes of the former Taliban lead-ers and how those who until re-

cently were hunted by the Paki-stani army for months, hadgained legitimacy and returnedto power.

To facilitate UbaidullahMahsud ,Gen. Musharraf haswithdrawn all Pak army troopsfrom the area now underMahsud’s control. Rizvi notes:”This is another episode of themany double games beingplayed by Gen. Musharraf withthe western world and speciallythe US which is providing mil-lions of dollars to the Pak armyto control and eliminate thoseterrorists . Instead,Musharraf isnot only pocketing the money ,heis allowing declared terrorists toreturn to power.”

Pakistan army cut a deal withMahsud on February 2,2005,whereby ceasefire was an-nounced and Mahsud assuredthat his people will not provideshelter to illegal foreigners andhand over wanted individuals toauthorities . Despite his commit-ment ,Mahsud helped the mostwanted terrorist in Wazirstan –Abdullah Mahsud to escapefrom South Wazirstan.Abdullah,returnee of Guantanamo Bay,was the first among Mahsudswho joined the Al Qaeda bandsto organize armed attacks againstthe army . Under Mahsud’s ad-ministration 36 people whohelped Pak army in anti—AlQaeda operations previous sum-mer have been killed .Many oth-ers have received warnings.Similar killings were witnessedin North Wazirstan,where bod-ies of victims were found onroadside or at deserted placeswith messages that those whowill spy for ‘infidel’ Americanswill meet this fate. The killersdid not hide their identities butauthorities did not arrest a singleperson. Some of the most wantedterrorists have now been spottedin WANA , the capital of SouthWazirstan . Earlier, Musharrafrewarded Al Qaeda masters ofWaziri terrorists with millions ofrupees.

Hub of International Ter-rorism

Pakistan’s linkages to suicidebombings in London and else-where firmly establish that it hasbecome the hub of internationalterrorism . This view is rein-forced by the presence of

COVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORY

A FACE OF CROSS-BORDER TERRORISM: Security personnel looking for arms and ammunitionat damaged houses, after an encounter, in Bemina area of Srinagar on 26 Dec 2005.

(Contd. on Page 13)

Vol. 11, No: 1 January, 2006 Pages 16 Price Rs. 8/-

INSIDEFOCUSPeace, not the peaceprocess should be India'sconcern.................Page 3

VIEW POINT*Beautiful surroundingsare recipe fordisaster.................Page 4*A Fairy tale of CityStates....................Page 4

SPECIAL REPORT*Homeland Daycelebrated............Page 5*KP's reject self rule inJ&K.....................Page 5

PERSPECTIVEWhat is at stake.....Page 6

ANALYSISJ&K TroopWithdrawal..........Page 7

RITUALSMekhal Ritual ofKashmiriPandits..................Page 8

PILGRIMAGEKonsarnag-Myth, Legendand History........Page 10

HERITAGE:VITASTA............Page 11

NOSTALGIAShall we ever return toour eternalabode.................Page 12

CHRONOLOGY.......................... Page 14

Panun KashmirPanun KashmirPanun KashmirPanun KashmirPanun KashmirFoundation &Foundation &Foundation &Foundation &Foundation &

Kashmir SentinelKashmir SentinelKashmir SentinelKashmir SentinelKashmir Sentinelwish its readerswish its readerswish its readerswish its readerswish its readers

a very happya very happya very happya very happya very happyand prosperousand prosperousand prosperousand prosperousand prosperous

20062006200620062006

2KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2006

1. Smt. Jai Kishori Kher W/o Lt. Sh. Pitambar Nath Kher R/o 76Karan Nagar Sgr; presently at G-34, Company Bagh Qtrs. Jammu.4/12/2005

2. Smt. Bimla Bhat W/o Sh. Triloki Nath Bhat, R/o Raj GhatBaramulla; present at H.No: 208/2, Tomal Anand NagarBohri,Jammu. 4/12/2005

3. Sh. N.N. Koul R/o 35-A, Indira Nagar Sgr; presently at S-53/32DLF Phase-III Gurgoan Haryana, Jammu. 5/12/2005

4. Smt. Sooma Wati Koul W/o Lt. Sh. Sudha Lal Koul, R/o NawaKadal Sgr; presently at 34, Lower Laxmi Nagar Sarwal Jammu.5/12/2005

5. Ritu Dhar D/o Sh. B.L. Dhar. 6/12/20056. Sh. Kanya Lal Bhat R/o Anantnag Kmr; presently at H.No: 115,

Sector 6, Charanjeev Vihar, Gaziabad UP. 7/12/20057. Sh. J.L. Sapru S/o Lt. Sh. Kanth Ram Sapru R/o Lal Nagar

Chanpora Sgr; presently at H.No: 286-A, Vipin Garden KakoralaMorh New Delhi. 7/12/2005

8. Smt. Oma Shori Zadoo W/o Lt. Sh. Prithvi Nath Zadoo R/o ZainderMohalla Sgr; presently at H.No: 1/A, Sec-3, Bhagwati Nagar,Jammu. 7/12/2005

9. Sh. Shyam Lal Bhat S/o Sh. Lt. Madav Bhat R/o Nagam Kmr;presently at 124-P Mandir Lane Extension IA, Trikuta Nagar,Jammu. 8/12/2005

10. Sh. Niranjan Nath Bhat S/o Lt. Hari Ram Bhat R/o Nagam; pres-ently at H.No: 45, Lane No: 2, Adarsh Nagar Ban Talab Jammu.8/12/2005

11. Sh. Prem Nath Koul S/o Lt. Narayan Dass Koul, R/o Magam Kmr;presently at Community Hall Phase IInd Purkhoo Camp Jammu.

12. Sh. Madhusudan Bhat, R/o Chanderhama Kmr; presently atKrishna Nagar Miran Sahib, Jammu. 8/12/2005

13. Sh. Ashok Moza S/o Late Sh. ON Moza, R/o Badyar Bala SgrKmr; presently at 24-Bannu Enclave Pitampura New Delhi. 8/12/2005

14. Sh. Jawahar Lal Kak, R/o A-14/9, DLF City, Phase-I, Gurgoan.8/12/2005

15. Sh. Niranjan Nath Kachru R/o Purshyar Sgr; presently at 1641A,Sec-10, Gurgoan. 8/12/2005

16. Smt. Lalita W/o Sh. Daya Krishen Koul, R/o Budgam Kmr; pres-ently at 18-B, Bawani Nagar, Janipur, Jammu. 9/12/2005

17. Smt. Bimla Koul W/o Sh. Mohan Lal Koul, R/o Pulwama Kmr;presently at H.No: 64-A, Amar Colony Talab Tillo, Jammu. 10/12/2005

18. Sh. Poshkar Nath Munshi S/o Lt. Sh. Sri Kanth Munshi R/oDalhasan Yar Sgr; presently at DLF Dilshad Extension-2Ghaziabad UP. 10/12/2005

19. Sh. Prithvi Nath Koul, R/o Magam Kmr; presently at H.No: 49,Sec-A, Subash Nagar, Jammu. 11/12/2005

20. Smt. Ratna Shali W/o Lt. Omesh Chander Shali, R/o Nai SarakKmr; presently at E702, Rattan Deep Towers CP NagarAhmedabad. 11/12/2005

21. Smt. Sumitra Raina W/o Lt. Sh. MN Raina, R/o Malapora HabbaKadal Sgr; Kmr; presently at 17/1, Adarsh Nagar Bantalab Jammu.12/12/2005

22. Smt. Tarawati Pajnoo W/o Lt. Sh. Prem Nath Pajnoo R/o SathuSheetal Nath Sgr; presently at Bangalore. 12/12/2005

23. Smt. Laxmi Shori Raina W/o Lt. Sh. Amar Nath Raina R/o TrichalPulwama; presently at H.No: 27 Abhay School Lane, Muthi,Jammu. 12/12/2005

24. Smt. Brij Rani W/o Lt. Sh. B.K. Challu R/o Karan Nagar Kmr;presently at 116/2, Shiv Nagar, Talab Tillo, Jammu. 12/12/2005

25. Smt. Nirmala Devi Bakaya W/o Lt. Sh. Niranjan Nath Bakaya R/o Lal Nagar Chanpora Kmr; presently at D-10, I.I.P. QuartersMohkampur, Dehradun. 12/12/2005

26. Sh. Radha Krishan Baboo S/o Lt. Sh. Madhusudan Baboo, R/oKarfali Mohalla Habba Kadal Sgr; presently at H.No: 200 LaneNo: 21, Greater Kailash Jammu. 13/12/2005

27. Sh. Shyam Lal Raina, R/o Hangalgund Kokernag Kmr; presentlyat Q.No: 377-FI Phase-III Purkhoo Camp Jammu. 13/12/2005

28. Sh. Avtar Krishan Kaul R/o Bulbul Lanker Ali Kadal Sgr; pres-ently at 6/C, Om Nagar Udaiwala Bohri, Jammu. 13/12/2005

29. Smt. Shobawati W/o Lt. Gopal Dass R/o Bidder KokernagAnantnag; presently at Salian Talab Udhampur. 13/12/2005

30. Sh. Soom Nath Pandita R/o Hangal Gund Anantnag; presently atQ.No: 2, Block-I, Police Colony Channi Himmat Jammu. 14/5/2005

31. Sh. Virbadar Koul S/o Lt. Sh. Ved Lal Koul, R/o Razdan KochaSgr. presently at 641/1, Rehari Colony, Jammu. 14/5/2005

32. Sh. Triloki Nath Kaul S/o Lt. Sh. Sarwanand Koul, R/o NarpirstanFateh Kadal, Sgr; presently at F/20, Ashok Vihar Gurgoan. 14/5/2005

33. Smt. Oma Shori Bhan W/o Sh. Omkar Nath Bhan R/o MalaporaHabbal Kadal Sgr; presently at Ploura, Jammu. 15/12/2005

34. Sh. Prakash Koul S/o Lt. Sh. Shiv Koul R/o Hardh Tooru Anantnag;presently at H.No:8, Netar Kothian Lower Barnai Jammu. 18/12/2005

35. Sh. Aftab Ram Pandita R/o Athoora, Baramulla Kmr; presently atGhulam Chak, Gole Gujral Jammu. 18/12/2005

36. Smt. Usha Ji W/o Prof. K.L. Moza, R/o 241, Sector 28, Faridabad.18/12/2005

37. Smt. Sarta Ambardar W/o Lt. Sh. B.L. Ambardar R/o 116/2,Motiyar Rainawari Sgr; presently at H.No: 212, Lane 1, Sec 2,Anuradhapuram Barnai. 18/12/2005

38. Smt. Kamlavati W/o Pt. Girdhari Lal Kakroo, R/o 60, PurshiyarHabbal Kadal Sgr; presently 251, Friends Sector Subash Nagar,Jammu. 19/12/2005

39. Sh. Soom Nath Ganju S/o Lt. Anandju Ganju R/o H.No: 272,Sector-17, Faridabad Haryana. 19/12/2005

40. Smt. Shobawati Tikoo W/oi Lt. Sh. Radha Krishan Tickoo, R/oKani Kadal Sgr; presently at 61-Silver Oak Vaishali Nagar, Indore.19/12/2005

41. Smt. Mohan Rani Zalpuri W/o Lt. Sh. Nath Ji Zalpuri R/o ChinkralMohalla Habba Kadal Sgr; presently at Lane No: 7, House No:22, Anand Nagar Bohri, Jammu. 19/12/2005

42. Sh. Som Prakash Kachroo S/o Lt. Pt. Maheshwar Nath Kachroo,R/o Kochia Nidam Sahib Rainawari Sgr; presently at D-48,

Pamposh Enclave Greater Kailash-I, New Delhi. 19/12/200543. Smt. T.N. Dhar R/o Pinglana Pulwama Kmr; presently at Flat No:

257, Indian Express Society Sector 48-A, Chandigarh. 20/12/200544. Smt. Somawati W/o Sh. Janki Nath Bhat, R/o Shulara Kupwara;

presently at Patoli Brahma Jammu. 21/12/200545. Smt. Lalita Ji W/o Lt. Sh. Chaman Lal Handoo R/o 124, Karan

Nagar, Sgr; presently at 160, Shanti Nagar, Jammu. 21/12/200546. Sh. Niranjan Nath Koul S/o Lt. Govind Koul R/o Sholipur Budgam

Kmr;presently at Sec-B-2, Laxmipuram Chinore Jammu. 21/12/2005

47. Smt. Durga Pandita W/o Sh.SN Pandita R/o Bulbul LankerAlikadal Sgr; presently at 187, Rehari Colony, Jammu. 21/12/2005

48. Sh. Shamboo Nath Peshin S/o Lt. Sh. Naryana Peshin R/oWagoora Budgam Kmr; presently at 179-Panchavati PalamColony, New Delhi. 22/12/2005

49. Sh. Makhan Lal Langer S/o Lt. Sh. Kanth Joo Langer R/o ZaindarMohalla Sgr; presently at 220 Laxmi Nagar Sarwal Jammu. 22/12/2005

50. Sh. Chaman Lal Hangloo S/o Lt. Sh. Jager Nath Hangloo, R/oSathu Barbarshah Sgr; presently at 116, Sec-2, Amar ColonyGole Gujral Talab Tillo, Jammu. 23/12/2005

51. Sh. Pitambar Nath Zutshi R/o Bunglow No: 3, Forest OfficersColony Doranda Ranchi. 23/12/2005

52. Sh. Roshan Lal Bhat S/o Lt. Shiv Ji Bhat R/o Darbagh HarwanSgr; presently at H.No: 34, Lane No: 4, Saraswati Vihar AnandNagar Bohri Jammu. 24/12/2005

53. Sh. Pyare Lal Khazanchi R/o 64-C, Pocket 2, Sec-6, DwarikaDelhi. 24/12/2005

54. Smt. Wanmali W/o Lt. Sh. Shridhar Pandita R/o Ranipora KulgamKmr; presently at Sec-3, Pamposh Colony Janipur, Jammu. 25/12/2005

55. Smt.Rupa Devi W/o Sh. Janki Nath R/o Mattan Anantnag; pres-ently at Lane No: 4, H.No: 220 Friends Sector Subash Nagar,Jammu. 25/12/2005

56. Sh. Avtar Krishan Wattal S/o Sh. T.N. Wattal R/o 64, MalyarHabba Kadal Sgr; presently at 1505, Talab Tillo, Jammu. 25/12/2005

57. Smt. Sharika Bhat W/o Sh. P.N. Bhat R/o Dever Tral Kmr; pres-ently at 30-Ashok Nagar, near Power House, Canal Road, Jammu.

58. Sh. Triloki Nath Koul S/o Lt. Sh. Sona Koul R/o ChawalgamKulgam; presently at Qtr. No: 522, R-I, Phase-III Purkhoo Camp,Jammu. 27/12/2005

59. Smt. Shobawati Bhat W/o Lt. Sh. N.L. Bhat R/o WanpohAnantnag; presently at F-148, Jawahar Nagar, New Plots Jammu.27/12/2005

60. Smt. Prabhawati Dulloo W/o Lt. Sh. Jia Lal Dulloo R/o MalikanganSrinagar; presently at Gurgaon. 27/12/2005

61. Smt. Dulari SAS W/o Lt. Sh. J.L Sas R/o Malyar Sgr; presently atC-11/3, SFS Flats Saket New Delhi. 27/12/2005

62. Smt. Indira Kaul W/o Sh. Roop Krishan Koul, R/o DanawariChattabal Sgr; presently at Lane-6, Block-B, Roop Nagar EnclaveJammu. 28/12/2005

63. Prof. N.N. Bhat R/o Natipora Sgr presently at187/14, Faridabad.28/12/2005

64. Smt. Kantayani Koul W/o Lt. Kashi Nath Koul, R/o RajbaghSrinagar; presently at Muradabad. 28/12/2005

65. Sh. Satish Koul S/o Sh. PN Koul R/o Subash Nagar Jammu;presently at H.No: 132, Sec-1, EWS Colony Roop Nagar, Jammu.29/12/2005

66. Sh. Jia Lal Pandita S/o Lt. Raghav Ram R/o Kokernag Kmr; pres-ently at Surya Vanshi Ext. Muthi Jammu. 29/12/2005

67. Sh R.K. Kaul R/o H.No: 99, Sector-5, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu. 29/12/2005

68. Smt. Radhika Bhat W/o Lt. Radha Krishan Bhat R/o HardturuAnantnag; presently at Ward No: 17, Kathua. 30/12/2005

69. Sh. Prem Nath Dhar R/o Chinkral Mohalla Habba Kadal Sgr; pres-ently at H.No: 21, Sec-1, Laxmi Nagar, Muthi Jammu. 30/12/2005

70. Smt. Dhanwati W/o Lt. Kanth Bhat R/o Murran Pulwama Kmr;presenly at 307-C, Jeewan Nagar Digiana, Jammu. 31/12/2005

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

LETTERLETTERLETTERLETTERLETTER"Quadripartition"Quadripartition"Quadripartition"Quadripartition"Quadripartitionof J&K-the onlyof J&K-the onlyof J&K-the onlyof J&K-the onlyof J&K-the onlypeacefulpeacefulpeacefulpeacefulpeacefulsolution"solution"solution"solution"solution"Sir,

It is in reference to "Qu-adripartition of J&K-the onlypeaceful solution, published inKashmir Sentinel Dec, 2005 is-sue.

Independence, shared sover-eignty, enlarged Autonomy, arebasically secessionist, the conta-gious political disease. The se-cession of Ireland trigged thedecimation of Great Britain.Within three decades, GreatBritain became small Britain-from super power to no power.Pygmy Argentina, unilaterallyannexed her falk-land islands,which were recovered onlythrough war. What a fall!

Kashmir's complex problemof 1947 was further worsenedduring Soviet-Anglosexon ColdWar. When the latter neededKashmir as military post to keepwatch on USSR, China andBharat-Pakistan, the Anglo-Sexon's creation became readytool. Had it been mere Indo-Pakproblem, Nehru would havesolved it long ago.

Since US honeymoon, disin-tegration of USSR, new foundIndo-US friendship, failed tosolve Kashmir knot. Sole SuperPower's greedy eyes are now fo-cussed on new found gas depos-its in the Central Asian Repub-lics of the erstwhile USSR,which needs Kashmir as militarybase. Natural route from southbeing unsafe, due to hostile Ar-abs, despite their pro-US rulers.

In this Bull fighting, clash ofcivilisations, interest rivalry,Kashmirs suffer, Hindus as wellas ex-Hindus, both sons ofmother India. While cats fight,monkeys (Imperialism) gain.Legendary lion-horse rivalry,made horse slave of man. But thepity is in both being cubs, off-spring of common ancestry.

Stake in Kashmir is Nation-alism vs two nation theory; secu-larist peace vs fundamentalistwars; integration vs secession,the potential integration of thismulti-religious, multi-linguisticBharat State duringMahabharata war was 'Dasim ofPandavas', not partition ofHastinapur Empire; the formerbeing product of out dated slavesystem. Were the contemporaryelite Rajas of Vishaal Bharatmad, who shed rivers of bloodfor five villages? If Sri Krishnacould carve New Dwarka King-dom within Vishaal Bharat, whynot Pandvas? Always rememberGandhi's (Father of Nation)scripture "Nationality does notchange with the change of one'sreligion".

Few centuries ago RomanCatholics and Protestants of Eu-rope suffered mutual savagery,which ended through constantscriptural reforms;nationalisation of education-outdated religious schools(madrassas) giving way to Pub-lic schools. To nip the evil in thebud, France has recently prohib-ited all the visible religious sym-bols displayed by public schoolchildren. Need of the hour is ax-ing evil roots, Chhantee (cuttingof branches) accelerates tree'sgrowth.

Your's SincerelyPran Salhotra

574, Krishan Nagar,Gurdaspur

HOMAGEPanun Kashmir & KashmirSentinel pay homage to lateSmt. Kamla Kandhari W/o Sh.Brij Krishen Kandhari andMother of Major YKKandhari, who attained Nir-vana on 26 October, 2005 atJammu. Smt. Kamla Kandhari was a caring motherbesides being an inspiration for all of us. May 'MaaSharika' bestow peace to the departed noble soul

JKENG 00333/26/AL/TC/94JK No: 1213/18 Regd. JK-219/2005Printer Publisher B.N. Kaul for and on behalf of Panun Kashmir Foundation.Editor: SHAILENDRA AIMAComputer Graphic: S.K. BabbuPrinted at : The Kashmir Times Press, Gangyal, JammuOwned by: PANUN KASHMIRFOUNDATIONPublished from PANUN KASHMIR FOUNDATION, 149 Ram Vihar, Old Janipur,Jammu-180007 (INDIA)Tele/Fax: 0191-2538537

KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2006 FOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUSFOCUS 3

New Delhi. June 15. 2005Dr. Manmohan Singh.Prime Minister of India,New DelhiDear Dr. Manmohan Singh ji.

I am writing to draw your at-tention towards the disturbingturn that the peace process withPakistan has taken.

With great efforts and a sus-tained strategy, Pakistan wasmade to commit to a comprehen-sive process of normalizationleading to the joint statement ofJanuary 6, 2004. But it seems thatthe peace process has now be-come Kashmir centric, an objec-tive cherished by the establish-ment in Pakistan. This impressionis based on the following threedevelopments.

First of these is the promi-nence being given to the Hurriyatvis-a-vis the democraticallyelected government of Jammuand Kashmir. A year ago therewas a distinction between themoderates and the hard-liners.

Full unedited text of the letter by the formerPrime Minister Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee to thecurrent Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan SinghToday the moderates are totallypro-Pakistan. I would havethought that the Hurriyat lead-ers would have talks with you oryour Home Minister before go-ing to Pakistan. But no, they goto Pakistan, repeat every state-ment made by Gen Musharraf,and then condescend to say thatthey would go to Delhi as well!The growing demand for trilat-eral talks, “international guaran-tee” for settlement and includ-ing Hurriyat as a representativeof the people of Kashmir, seemto be undoing the labouredachievements of the past fewyears.

The second disturbing ele-ment is the way Hurriyat visit toPakistan was mishandled by ourauthorities. General Musharraf

claims that they were invited toPakistan with your approval. Ini-tial stand that they would not beallowed to go without passportand visas was reversed. Offi-cials gave the impression that ourGovernment is running afterthem to hand them passports andfinally they travelled to Pakistanagainst the established norms ofinternational travel. Since we didnot prevent the Hurriyat leadersfrom crossing the LoC with theavowed intention of going toIslamabad, Lahore, Karachi, etc.Pakistan and Hurriyat treatedour protest about the violationof “some understanding” withscorn. They should have been,given Indian passports andasked to enter Pakistan acrossthe international border, All this

has held our country up to mock-ery.

Thirdly, our Governmentseems to be allowing Pakistan toslip out of the commitments it hadmade in the January 6, 2004 state-ment - that terrorism shall be es-chewed, that there shall be nothird party, and so on. Events ofthe last fortnight show that onceagain Pakistan is reviving andkeeping open the options of in-corporation of Kashmir throughviolence, through “indepen-dence” or through “autonomy/self governance”. The murder-ous attack in Pulwama, the rev-elation by JKLF leader Mr. YasinMalik, the statements ofSalahuddin, the head of HizbulMujahidden and the MuttahidaJihad Council, all point to this

disturbing trend.All of us want the peace pro-

cess to succeed. But that suc-cess would consist in Pakistanabandoning the violence it hasbeen sponsoring and in creatingan atmosphere in which thepeople of India and Pakistanhave enough inter-dependenciesto make other things irrelevant.

I do hope that you will takesteps in the coming days that willallay these apprehensions. Withwarm regards.

Sincerely yoursAtal Behari Vajpayee

(By Political Correspondent)

The Standing Committeeon External Affairs,headed by ShriLaxminarayan Pandey recentlysubmitted its report to the Par-liament. It warned the UPA govt.not to hasten the pace of peaceprocess in an unrealistic mannerin view of concerns expressed bythe international community andasked the Govt. to prepare theroadmap for improving its rela-tions with Pakistan with greatestcare.

The report said,” Every careshould be taken to protect thevital interests of the nation . Thefact that the terrorist trainingcamps inside Pakistan’s territoryare still operating though infil-tration into J&K has come downconsiderably points to the gravedanger inherent in thesituation…..The GOI should notallow itself to be taken by sur-prise at any stage.Govt shouldprepare the roadmap for improv-ing its relations with Pakistanwith the greatest care.” It wenton to add ,”The compulsionsgenerated by the concerns of theinternational community overthe perpetual tension prevailingbetween two nuclear powersshould not force the Govt. intohastening the pace in an unreal-istic manner.”

The Parliamentary Commit-tee makes three profound obser-vations. One, the peace processhas not put a halt to cross-bor-der terrorism. Secondly, the in-ternational community waspushing GOI into hastening thepace of peace process withouttaking cognizance of India’s vi-tal interests. Thirdly, peace pro-cess retains the potential of turn-ing deceptive, India should re-main on guard. The fact that thecaution has come from the Par-liament Committee, should in it-self lead to a national debate onwhether the ongoing ‘peace pro-cess’ and ‘peace’ were synony-mous.

The general assessment at thelevel of independent securityexperts and the patriotic groupsis that peace process could undo

Peace, not the Peace Process should be India’s ConcernPeace, not the Peace Process should be India’s ConcernPeace, not the Peace Process should be India’s ConcernPeace, not the Peace Process should be India’s ConcernPeace, not the Peace Process should be India’s Concernmany of the positive moves thatGOI has taken from time to timeto promote peace in J&K. Peaceprocess remains faulty on threecounts.

One, it bestows parity to Pa-kistan on Kashmir at a time whenPakistan was getting isolatedglobally due to its role in spon-sorship of jihadist terrorism.Also, India was under lesserwestern pressure over Kash-mir .According parity on Kash-mir to Pakistan has serious ideo-

logical implications for India. Thelatter has 14 crore Muslim popu-lation, who are part of the demo-cratic mainstream. Only a secu-lar state ensures their right asequal citizens of India. By accept-ing Pakistan as a party toKashmir,India’s secular visionwould be critically compro-mised.

In the pre-independence daysIndian National Congress com-mitted a serious mistake by rec-ognizing Muslim League as thesole arbiter for Muslims. By giv-ing Pakistan a locus standi inKashmir, India’s huge Muslimpopulation would be unhinged

from the democratic process. Pa-kistan would then seek a role forIndian Muslims as well. Areaslike North-east, West Bengal,UP and Bihar would becomenew faultlines, difficult to stop.India is already reeling under amassive demographic assaultfrom Bangladesh. Growing inse-curity would lead to Hindu stri-dency. Conflict would deepenand crystallize to a situationwhere the very survival of ournation would be at stake.

Secondly, the peace processis not guided by a logic whereterrorist violence has been com-pletely de-legitimized and politi-cal engagements have taken overthe role of peace. Pakistan is try-ing to dictate the course of peaceprocess through terrorist vio-lence and nuclear blackmail.Political engagements are beingguided and sustained by the logicof violence. Nuclear blackmailis the lever being used to coerceIndia to go on with the shampeace process. Map-making ,andbalkanizing proposals e.g. ‘Self-Governance’,’de-militarisation’are part of the blackmail game

that Pakistan is pursuing underthe camouflage of peace pro-cess. A situation, wherein politi-cally weaker India has to offeronly concessions peace processwould only serve to damageIndia’s interests.

Though India has rightly re-jected “Self-governance”, "de-militarisation”proposals, thereare disquieting signals too. Whywas the discredited and unrep-resentative Hurriyat leadershipallowed to go to Pakistan in firstplace and debate balkanizingproposals against India? In asimilar situation in 1964, soonafter Sheikh Abdullah met Chou-en Lai in Algiers, the then GOIacted firmly to impound his pass-port and put him in jail for work-ing against India. This served asa deterrent to the other elementsin Kashmir, who understood thatGOI would not countenance anycompromise on national secu-rity. The long rope given by thesuccessive govts. at Centre to theseparatist leadership from timeto time has only served to demor-alize the pro-nationalisticKashmiris in the valley, besidespeople of Jammu and Ladakh.Aslong as kashmiris feel that thereare elements more powerful thanIndia, they would continue toremain neutral in their commit-ment to national unity.

Lastly, the peace process hasserved to undermine India’s so-cial base in J&K. Despite peaceprocess, LOC fencing, Interna-tional war against terror anddelegitimisation of terrorism,Pak commitment to scale downviolence, terrorism has shown anupward trend. Pakistan is usinggoal of peace process for tacti-cal reasons, while continuing tosponsor cross-border terrorism.Fidayeen attacks continue.Cadre base of the terrorist infra-structure remains intact. Thereseems no cadre depletion despitespectular successes by the secu-rity forces. Peace process hashamstrung India’s efforts to de-liver effective blows to the ter-rorist infrastructure both withinJ&K and across the border.Peace process creates an illusionthat peace was around the cor-

ner and things would settledown on their own. Continuedterrorist violence has increasedattrition on the civilian popula-tion and the minority non-muslimcommunity.

Another negative fallout ofpeace process has been that evensome mainstream politicians be-longing to NC,PDP and CPI(M)have begun parroting such dan-gerous proposals like ‘Self-governance’,’de-militarisation’,‘Internal Ceasefire’. Interna-tional freebooters like Kathwarihave been hopping around inSrinagar and New Delhi sellingideas on how India should diluteits sovereignty over Kashmir. Inthe din of hype created by thepeace process real issues at stakeare being obfuscated .It is notsubversion but open borders thathas become the main focus of theso-called peace process. It is notethnic-cleansing of KashmiriHindus and others in Jammu butcommunal-fundamentalist aspi-rations of a section ofKashmiris,packaged as ‘Self-governance’ that have stole thelimelight in the externally-scripted peace process.Similarly,dilution of Indian sovereigntyover Kashmir ,rather than ensur-ing participatory democracy forall sections of people in J&K,has become a priority agenda inthe peace process. How areIndia’s vital interests protectedin this peace process?

It is reassuring that some se-nior Congress leaders have be-gun emphasizing that therewould be no Kashmir-centricsolution. GOI’s move to callnon-Hurriyat groups for talkssounds a warning to Hurriyatleaders to restrain from double–dealing. If in the name of win-ning over ‘alienated’ elements inKashmir patriotic groups andmainstream political parties aregiven a short shrift it would be aself-defeating exercise. The truthremains that unless India con-solidates its social base in thestate it won’t be able to keep atbay the forces of destabilizationand subversion. This is the careGOI needs to ensure while deal-ing with either separatist ele-ments or Pakistan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President PervezMusharraf shake hands after a joint press conference in NewDelhi.

The views expressed in the signed articles are strictly the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of the paper. --Editor

KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2006 VIEW POINTVIEW POINTVIEW POINTVIEW POINTVIEW POINT 4

Beautiful surroundings are recipe for disasterBeautiful surroundings are recipe for disasterBeautiful surroundings are recipe for disasterBeautiful surroundings are recipe for disasterBeautiful surroundings are recipe for disaster

A Fairy Tale of “City States”

By Bilhan KaulDostoveisky once wrote that beauty

will save the world. Had the Russian bardseen the destruction wrought on Kashmirby terrorists he may well have said thatbeautiful surroundings are recipe for di-saster.

Ever since militancy wrecked thebeautiful Valley in early nineties, varioustheories have been put forth for its birth.Kashmiri Muslims themselves perceivethat militancy in the Valley is due to theirdemand of separation of Kashmir fromIndian Union and push the fate of Kash-mir either with Pakistan or separately. Itis being said that Kashmir was annexedwith Indian Union unfairly and thatpeople’s view was not taken when HariSingh handed over the sovereignty ofKashmir and merged it with India.

However, it is not correct to say thatpeople’s view was not taken as the fore-most leader of Kashmiri Muslims, SheikhAbdullah strongly asked Nehru to sendIndian forces to drive away Pakistani raid-ers and stood for Kashmir’s accessionwith India. It stands to merit that Sheikhwas the tallest leader of Kashmiri Mus-lims at the time of partition with massivefollowing. He was revered by averageKashmiri. But immediately after Instru-ment of accession was signed, Sheikhprevaricated and expressed doubts. Hisdoubts reflected many moods includingthe one of toying with IndependenceKashmir. After spending considerabletime in jail, Sheikh was much mellowedman. He began to realize that it is uselessto fight forever with Indian state. Thedefeat of Pakistan in 1971 war and carv-ing out of Bangladesh convinced Sheikhthat he had to make truce with Indian gov-ernment. After Indra- Sheikh Accord,Sheikh finally became chief minister in1975. In his new "avtar" Sheikh perfectedthe art of running with hare and huntingwith hounds. On one hand Sheikh was en-couraging Muslims to come out of com-munal politics, on the other he was en-couraging Muslim Communalism. Sheikhwon the 1977 elections with thumpingmajority and his popularity was at itspeak. Sheikh, at the same time, cultivatedhis constituency painstakingly. To his

credit goes the marginalisation of Jamaatcadres and Awami league. Though fun-damentalism has been gaining ground inKashmir at fast rate as long as Sheikh wasalive, Jamaat Islami and Awami Leaguewas kept in check and though their wassentiment for Pakistan it did not wentbeyond that but with Sheikh’s death in1982, Farooq Abdullah became his suc-cessor. To begin with Farooq was nottaken seriously by Kashmiri Muslims ashe had a playboy image. He was also seenas a westerner who had no regard forMuslim values. This resulted in declinein personal fortunes of Farooq and dip inpopularity rating of NC as a whole. Withthe Centre’s interference his brother inlaw GM Shah seized the power in 1984.It was in GM Shah’s tenure as chief min-ister that Governor Jagmohan came intolimelight. He built the roads, cleaned thepolluted Dal Lake and held a daity durbarwhere common man was admitted. Allthis made Jagmohan popular in the Val-ley and GM Shah was happy to play sec-ond fiddle to him.

Farooq realising that he cannot be se-cure in his seat without Centre’s help wentfor Rajiv-Farooq accord in 1987. Peopleas such resented the accord as separateMuslim Identity was an important factorin Kashmir’s Muslim politics. FarooqAbdullah made one critical mistake in theform of making friends with rival Farooqof Awami league. The “Double Farooq”as the alliance came to be known was adisaster for National Conference. Onemajor fallout of the accord was that it al-lowed N.Conference cadres to move toAwami League but there was no suchmovement of cadres of Awami Leagueto National Conference.

The elections in 1987 was closelyfought between NC and MUF with formeremerging the winner but not before theclaims that Farooq had rigged the elec-tions. The close nature of the battle foughtadded to suspicions. Farooq did rule butit was in 1988 that first batch of youthwent to Pakistan for arms training. YasinMalik, the JKLF ‘Commander’ wasamong the first to receive arms training.

In 1988, there were occasional bombblasts and an unsuccessful attempt was

made to assassinate DIG Mr Watali. Thesituation continued to become worse in1989 with total hartals on 26th Januaryand 15th August. Muslims were begin-ning to see something exciting in the airand Pandit community felt increasinglyinsecure. By the end of 1989 situation hadcompletely detoriated as an era of mili-tancy had arrived in Kashmir. Hartals,killings, edicts became order of the day.Pandit community became the target withthe killing of Tikka Lal Taploo on 14thSeptember 1989. To quell the violencein the Valley Jagmohan was recalled asGovernor. Pandits were initially at lossto understand what was happening aroundthem. Some thought to migrate to plainsof India until situation eased in the Val-ley. Some of them went to Jammu to theirrelatives and others went to New Delhi.As population of Kashmiri Pandit wasthinning in the Valley, he sensed some-thing amiss. Besides, daily dose of dem-onstrations and processions his conditionbecame Increasingly worse. Panic set inwhich reached its culmination on thatdreaded day 19th January 1990. Almostall of Valley was agog with demonstra-tions at night and simultaneous demon-strations all over the Valley proved be-yond doubt that demonstration was di-rected and carried by Pakistan.

Pandits now what was initially an un-planned departure from the Valley beganto pack their baggage consciously. Thosewho were already in Jammu received thenews that situation is grim back home. AsPandits in Srinagar started packing bagsvillage Pandits too panicked. This panicwas kept alive by terrorists who began totarget the Pandit community with a viewto drive them out and by the end of MarchKashmir was well cleansed of its Panditpopulation. Those who remained werealso planning to leave and by the end ofJune sight of Pandit in the Valley was wellnight impossible.

A section of Kashmiri Muslim by andlarge were party to terror and were activesupporters of militancy in the Valley butsome of them were taken aback by Panditdeparture from the Valley. They could notunderstand that terror expelled KashmiriPandits as by and large they had sympa-

thy for terrorists. Soon a rumour wasfloated that it was Jagmohan who droveout the Kashmiri Pandits. Those who cir-culated the rumour had twin purpose.They did not want the movement to bestained. Also, by involving Jagmohanmeant that militancy was not given badname. As a whole Kashmiri Muslim fromcommoner to intellectual subscribe to theview that Pandits were ordered to leavethe Valley by Jagmohan. Perhaps, believein Hitler’s dictum falsehood repeatedcountless times becomes truth. It is of noconsequence to general Muslim popula-tion that terrorism has been raging in theValley for part 15 years. It is of no con-sequence to him that edicts were issuedasking Pandits to leave. It is of no conse-quence to him that posters were pastedand advertisement issued asking Panditsto either support militancy or else facemusic.

As conditions worsened, Jagmohanincreasingly became nervous and his stayin Valley became hot after “Gowkadal”massacre. With the assassination ofMaulvi Farooq and subsequent killings ofscores of people Jagmohan was finallyrecalled by the Centre.

Jagmohan tried best to give his ver-sion of story and his best seller on Kash-mir is a painful account of a man who wasnot allowed to function and who amidstthe grim battle in Kashmir carried the flagof India in Kashmir high. Jagmohan's ear-lier stint as Governor of Kashmir cappedhim with many achievements but in 1990mood in Kashmir was totally different. Itis perfectly true that Jagmohan was usedas sacrificial goat and many now wronglyblame him for escalating the violence inKashmir. It need not be forgotten that innineties he was facing a formidable op-ponent-an opponent who was determinedto win this time. Also was Pakistani fac-tor which provided main logistics supportto Kashmiri militants in the shape of armsand moral support. Jagmohan rightly sawthe battle in Kashmir as a full fledged waragainst Indian state and his measures wereto counter that war. With or withoutJagmohan militancy was not going to stopas was proved by his replacement.

(Contd. on Page 9)

By PN KoulThe resuscitation of once dis-

solved outfit of “Panun Kash-mir” headed by Agnisekhar is asinconsequential as was its disso-lution.

Whether the core group hasovercome its ennui is yet to beseen. It, however, appears thatthe revival has been necessitatedmerely for the enlistment of aDelhi based activist who rotatesfrom one outfit to the other withequal ease, as else there is noreason for its revival, as therewas none for its dissolution.

If, however, it has been for theaforesaid reason or and for lay-ing down the dimensions of theproject, the effort is wasted, bothbeing inconsequential anyway at

this stage.Essentially the idea seems to

have been mooted to derail thestruggle for ‘Panun Kashmir‘and to sow confusion in theranks. Concretely the concept of‘City State’ vis-a-vis ‘Homelandis indeed an exercise in futilityand an instance of imaginationrun riot. It is in fact a reversioninto the past which can not bebrought back as history does notrepeat itself and if it does, it doesso only as a ‘farce’.

Having remained dormant forsome time now the group has setitself to revival with an adven-turous idea which would appearboth novel as well imaginative.

A word about city state ; theseexisted in hoary past in Greeceway back in 5 -4 century B.C.

and also practiced slavery , arelic of the forgotten past de-stroyed /replaced by higherforms of State organizations inthe forward march of history.The idea is not only quixotic , itis also unrealizable, indeed anexperiment in futility with thedeliberate purpose to derail themovement for ‘Panun Kashmir’, the only realistic solution of theproblems of the minority com-munity in the valley.

There is no scope for intru-sion and distortion either fromhistory or from contemporaryideologies opposed to ‘PanunKashmir’ as adumbrated in theMargdarshan Resolution of1991. No interferences, devia-tions or impositions in this be-half would be accepted from any

quarter, even from friendly setups, be it ‘Kashmirii Samiti’ or‘Kashmiri Samaj’. The future ofthe community is to be decidedby the exiled community of1989-1990 and officially andironically designated as ‘Mi-grants’ instead of “Displacedpeople.”

Seeing the groundswellagainst the airy concept of ‘CityState’, which to authors musthave seemed fabulous and novel,the propounders thereof havenow come out with an explana-tion that their concept of ‘CityState’ is no deviation from theMargdarshan Resolution of1991, but the evolutionary firststep towards the achievement of‘Homeland’ and those opposingit have a frozen mindset. All this

explanation is however, a nullityand a cover up of the betrayal.

We are very well aware thatthe achievement of ‘Homeland’envisages a political restructur-ing through political struggle andnot by engaging in ‘map makingexercises’ without the ‘locale’which certainly is not a politicalstruggle or political process, butwaste of time and energy.

And only the people withlittle or no sense of history doindulge in such tantrums. It is aswell a warning to the communityto beware of the opportunistsposing as patriots.

History is no Muse! Not po-etry! Toying with the idea of re-peating it invites annihilation.

KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2006 SPECIAL REPORTSPECIAL REPORTSPECIAL REPORTSPECIAL REPORTSPECIAL REPORT 5

KS Correspondent

To commemorate “The 15thHomeland Day”, PanunKashmir organised “Promi-nent Citizens Meet” at JKTDCBanquet Hall, Jammu. The speak-ers underscored the relevance ofPanun Kashmir and opined that re-organisation of J&K State is the onlysolution to solve the vexed Kashmirissue in conformity with the aspira-tions of various sections of the so-ciety living in the state. They saidthat Indian state should hold talkswith all ethnic and minority com-munities of the state, includingJammuites, Ladakhis, KashmirisHindus, to know about their aspira-tions and accommodate them in anysolution to the Kashmir problem.

Sh. Kuldeep Raina, General Sec-retary Panun Kashmir, in his ad-dress, described December 28, 1991as historical and moment of pridefor Kashmiri Hindus when theypassed Margdarshan Resolution forcreation of Homeland in the Kash-mir Valley. He said that after longpersecution, it is this day whenKashmiri Hindus asserted that be-ing aborigines of Kashmir, they willreturn and live in the Valley on theirown terms and conditions and noton the whims of the majority com-munity.

Describing demand of Homelandas "Child of Circumstances", MrRaina said that taking into consider-ation repeated exodus from the Val-ley and continued persecution of thecommunity, the community resolvedthat creation of Homeland withUnion Territory Status, is the onlysolution to allow the community tolive with honour, dignity and guar-anteed social, economic and politi-cal rights.

He said that in the present sce-nario, Panun Kashmir is becomingmore and more relevant and is beingdiscussed in the highest fora. MrRaina added that for the first time,Kashmiri Pandit is recognised as pri-mary party to the Kashmir imbro-glio and that no solution is possibleto the vexed problem that does not

take care of genuine aspirations ofthe Kashmiri Pandits reflected in theMargdarshan Resolution.

He said that despite unanimityon the demand of homeland amongthe community, some individualswho have been associated with thepolitical power or for petty vestedinterests are trying to injure thecause. He exhorted that such forceswill be exposed and no one will beallowed to sabotage the community

cause.He exhorted community breth-

ren to identify "right" and "wrong"and follow the right person and pathrather than remain wavering whichhurts the community cause.

Describing demands such as au-tonomy, self-rule, demilitarization,free viza-zone etc. as separatist de-mands, inimical to the territorial in-tegrity of the country, Mr KuldeepRaina said that re-organisation of thestate is the only solution to satisfyall sections of the society and undothe injustice done with the religious

HOMELAND DAHOMELAND DAHOMELAND DAHOMELAND DAHOMELAND DAY CELEBRAY CELEBRAY CELEBRAY CELEBRAY CELEBRATEDTEDTEDTEDTEDand ethnic minorities of the state.

He informed that theorganisation had decided to hold aone-day convention on the day butcould not do so due to non-avail-ability of the suitable venue. He saidthat the same will be held on Febru-ary 11, 2006. He appealed all towork to make the convention a greatsuccess.

Sh. O.N. Trisal, President AllState Kashmiri Pandit Solidar-

ity Conference, lambasted major-ity community of the Valley for re-jecting co-existence. He said that cre-ation of Homeland is not just to re-verse the exodus but to reinstal In-dian, democratic and secular valuesback in the Valley.

Mr Trisal said that the commu-nity is not ungrateful and recognisesthe role played by Jammuites inproviding shelter to the community.Mr Trisal said that Pandits don'tspeak about the wrongs done to thecommunity only but is champion-ing the cause of other ethnic and re-ligious minorities of the state. He

hoped that Jammuites, Ladakhis andKashmiri Hindus shall get their right-ful role in any solution to Kashmirissue.

Describing Kashmir Sentinel asthe voice of Kashmiri Pandits, Sh.Trisal appealed the community tocontribute to the journal.

Prof. M.L. Koul describedMargdarshan Resolution as historicconsensus of Kashmiri Hindus. Hesaid that there is no alternative to

creation of "Homeland" with UnionTerritory status.

Professor Koul gave a detailedaccount of the persecution and suf-ferings of the community and de-scribed 1989-90 exodus as the sev-enth in the series. Referring to Mr.Nehru's "Independence Dayspeech", Mr Koul said that whenthe nation was having "tryst withdestiny" "tryst with destruction"as their persecution continued evenafter independence and democracyby their economic and political stran-gulation. He described Panun Kash-mir as "Crystal Ball" in which the

community was gazing at its future.He said that there is no scope

for religious fundamentalistic soci-eties in present democratic andglobalised world order.

Panun Kashmir leader ShailendraAima recalled the happenings beforeand on the day of passing the"Margdarshan Resolution1991". Without naming anyone, hesaid that the demand was opposedby many and now those very peopleare seeing Homeland demand as asolution to the knotted problem. Heasked the community brethren tostrengthen the organisation.

Prof. Hari Om, SpokespersonBJP, underscored the need for in-volving all the sections of the soci-ety in talks initiated in the name ofpeace-process. He said that givingprominence to any section, particu-larly the section responsible for thepresent crisis, and undermining otherethnic and minority groups of thesociety will only boomerang.

Recalling his association withPanun Kashmir, he said that his as-sociation with Panun Kashmir is asold as Panun Kashmir itself. Sup-porting the demand of Homeland andre-organisation of the state, Profes-sor Hari Om said that by convic-tion he is with the demand of PanunKashmir and re-organisation of thestate.

He implored upon the Panditsthat they should fight unitedly withJammuites and others to achievetheir goal. Lambasting the state andthe Central governments for theirwrong policies in tackling the Kash-mir problem, the BJP leader saidthat we must remain vigilant againstthe enemy within. Referring to J&KChief Minister's comments on theoccasion of birth-anniversary ofLate Sheikh Mohd. Abdullah thatwe should strive to fulfill the cher-ished dream of Late SheikhAbdullah, Prof. Hari Om chided Mr.Azad. He said that the long cher-ished dream of Mr. Abdullah wasthe creation of "Greater MuslimKashmir" and questioned Mr Azadif he supported the demand.

KPs reject self rule in J&KKS Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Dec 27:Kashmiri Pandits rejected anyproposal for 'self rule' and 'de-militarisation' of Jammu andKashmir and instead, suggestedinternal re-organisation of thestate into four parts including,'Union Territory of Panun Kash-mir' on the North and East ofRiver Jhelum in Kashmir.

They also suggested constitu-tion of a State Re-organisationCommission to give political,economic and social dispensa-tion to the people of Jammu andLadakh and the Pandits of Kash-mir Valley.

Addressing a press confer-ence on the eve of HomelandDay, Dr. Ajay Chrangoo, Chair-man Panun Kashmir, an apexbody of 700,000 KashmiriPandit migrants, while advocat-ing re-organisation of the stateinto four parts, said this areawould be the zone of peace ascentrally-administered UnionTerritory governed by the IndianConstitution where the entire dis-

placed community of seven lakhKashmiri Pandits is rehabili-tated. The area of 'Panun Kash-mir', 8,600 sq km in size, com-prises about 3.87 percent of thetotal area of the state.

Dr. Chrangoo, however, op-posed the proposals for 'self rule'and de-militarisation of the statesaying such attempts would has-ten the integration of theKashmiri separatist movementswith the international resurgenceof radical Islam.

"The proposal of self rule isbasically a variant of the DixonFormula and seeks gradual with-drawal of Indian sovereigntyover Jammu and Kashmir. Theproposal is being flaunted in away as if Jammu and Kashmir isunder colonial rule". NationalSecurity Advisor MKNarayanan had told a televisionchannel in an interview on De-cember 24 that specifics were yetto be worked out on Pakistan'ssuggestion for self-governancein Jammu and Kashmir.

In reply to a question, Mr

Narayanan had ruled out de-militarisation along the Line ofControl (LoC), saying this couldbe considered only when the ar-

eas along the LoC were com-pletely free of violence.

Ajay Chrungoo said that theefforts of state Chief MinisterGhulam Nabi Azad in trying torestore normalcy in the statewere "realistic with a nationalperspective". He said KashmiriPandits had high hopes from theChief Minister in view of his re-cent statements about "zero tol-erance" against terrorism. "The

statements are quite encouragingand broadly, the Chief Minister'sinternal policy pronouncementsare realistic. We hope he sustainsand implements the policies," DrChrungoo said.

Expressing serious apprehen-sions about the entire peace pro-cess with Pakistan, the 'PanunKashmir' leader said various ex-periments to solve the Kashmirproblem underlined a compro-mise with Muslim communal-ism. He added that KashmiriPandits would not accept anysettlement with Muslim separat-ists represented by jehadi

groups, Hurriyat Conference orother terrorist regimes.

Dr. Shakti Bhan, Chairpersondaughter of Vitasta said thatseparatism in Jammu and Kash-mir underlines a separate dispo-sition, outside the constitutionalorganisation of the Indian Stateand its conversion into a Mus-lim State. Rejecting any dispen-sation of the Kashmir problemwhich does not ensure protectionof the life and property ofKashmiri Pandits, she said thatthey were determined to upholdtheir claim on Kashmir as thefirst and natural party.

HomageHomageHomageHomageHomageKashmir Sentinel pays homage to Smt.Shanti Devi Gandhi W/o Sh. N.R. Gandhiand Mother of Sh. Surinder Gandhi, whoattained Nirvana recently at Delhi. MayGod bestow peace to the departed soul

Sh. Shailendra Aima Vice Chairman Panun Kashmir and editor Kashmir Sentinel addressing theSeminar at Jammu.

KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2006 6

EDITORIALEDITORIALEDITORIALEDITORIALEDITORIALMusharraf is the ProblemMusharraf is the ProblemMusharraf is the ProblemMusharraf is the ProblemMusharraf is the Problem

The greatest irony of our times is that the world’s largestbeneficiary of the global terror, whose survival is linked toits prolongation, has been projected by the dishonest Westas the ‘frontline soldier’ in their War against Terrorism. Ameri-cans, known for misjudging the history, have been going around,parading Musharraf as the ‘last saviour’ of the western world .Asthe spoilt child of Americans, he has been showered encomiumsfor pursuing ‘enlightened moderation’. To appease the militarydictator further, an unjust Peace process, that actually works againstpeace, has been imposed on India.Musharraf has not delivered onany of the promises to help fight the war against Terror. The westremains as vulnerable to the jihadist threat as before.

The US State Department continues to pursue an opportunisticpolicy in fighting jihadist terror and in choosing allies to counterit.Musharraf has cashed on this selectivity to pursue personal ag-grandizement and legitimize his illegal occupation of Presidency.He also wrested concessions to pursue jihadist terror as a foreignpolicy tool, particularly against India. For continued acts of ter-rorism he puts the blame on the extremist fringe in his army. Attimes he trots out the excuse that jihadi groups were outside hiscontrol.

Wajid Shamsul Hasan ,a former Pakistani Diplomatcautions,”Musharraf continues to run with the democratic west-ern hare while hunting with the extreme religious hounds withinPakistan. And it is an irony that the Americans ,the British andothers in theWest see in him a solution to the global terrorismwhen he, the military establishment and their mullah allies areactually inherent part of the lethal problem.”

In an interview with the Washington Post in 2002,Musharrafhimself revealed that he had not abandoned the option of usingjihadist terror as a foreign policy tool. He made a distinction be-tween various elements of Pakistan’s militant problem and ha-rangued that the jihadis fighting in Kashmir were ‘freedom fight-ers’. He listed three elements of terrorism-----1.Al Qaeda factor.2. Cross Border Terrorism, what he calls the ‘freedom struggle’ inKashmir.3.Sectarian extremism and Sectarian terrorism. He wenton to describe sectarian terrorism as his only concern because itwas” destabilizing us ( Pakistan )internally”.

One could ask the military dictator how could he be America’spartner in fighting terrorism if he did not agree with the US defini-tion of terrorism. As per Musharraf’s world-view only sectarianterrorists were the real source of trouble, while Al Qaeda’s Arabmembers had to be apprehended to ensure the flow of USsupport.Homegrown jihadis trained for operating in the region werethe least of Musharraf’s concern. How can Pakistani authoritieseliminate the international terrorist network or the sectarian mili-tias without decapitating the domestic jihadi networks? All Islam-ist terror groups sympathize with one another and in some cases,such as Kashmir jihadi groups and sectarian militias, have over-lapping memberships.

Even on the question of Al Qaeda ,Musharraf seeks to justifyAl Qaeda’s political objectives. He recently said that the Al Qaedahas become an “international phenomenon” and harangued thatthe world should “join hands in addressing the state of mind calledAl Qaeda phenomenon through just resolution of the underlyingcauses of terror and political disputes.”

Can a State which remains in alliance with jihadis be an ally inthe war against Terror? Sick minds in the West have been slow incomprehending the Islamist threat. London Economist ,a presti-gious journal in an editorial commented,”Musharraf is our son ofa bitch .We want to fight terror with the help of those who are itsbreeders.” If dictators could terminate terror ,the Middle.east couldhave been a heaven on the earth.

Fortunately ,some of the saner voices in the West and in Paki-stan have become vocal in articulating the threats posed by theMullah-Military alliance led by Musharraf to the democratic worldorder. .In its latest report (April 2005), The International CrisisGroup noted that as Musharraf was praised by the internationalcommunity for his role in war against terrorism ,the frequencyand viciousness of sectarian terrorism continued to increase in hiscountry. It cautioned ,” The choice Pakistan faces is not betweenthe military and the mullahs ,as is generally believed in the West,it is between democracy and a mullah –military alliance that isresponsible for producing and sustaining religious extremism ofvarious hues. “

The same views are echoed by Wajid Shamsul Hasan also. Hewarns,” Washington and London must realize that by continuingto support mullah-military alliance in Pakistan and not supportingreturn of democracy ,they are actually becoming a party to feed-ing epicenters of terrorism to grow from strength to strength.” It istime that New Delhi also realized that the much-hyped peace pro-cess is doomed to failure because Musharraf is the problem .Plainspeaking done by J&K Chief Minister,Mr. Gh.Nabi Azad ,in whichhe strongly emphasized the need for de-militarization of Pakistanhas warmed many hearts. This is the message we need to put acrossto Americans for Musharraf ,the military dictator is the main im-pediment in winning the War against Terrorism and for usheringpeace in the region.

By V.K. Krishna MenonM U C H

has been saidand writtenabout Kashmirduring the lasts e v e n t e e nyears. Termssuch as the‘ K a s h m i rproblem’, the

‘Kashmir dispute’, the ‘Kashmirquestion’ and the ‘Kashmir issue’are often used both in ignorance anddisregard of realities. To this isadded the recent novelty, ‘TheKashmir irritant’!

The reality, however, is that theState of Jammu and Kashmir, theentire territory over which theformer Maharaja ruled, is a Con-stituent State of the Union of Indiaand has been such since October 26,1947. It will continue to so remaindespite invaders, subversionists,saboteurs, do-gooders, honest bro-kers,. interventionists, imperialistsand others, knaves or fools. The rea-son is that the people of India areawake and alert.

When Britain was about to with-draw from India, she decided to re-lease herself and the Princes’ Statesfrom existing relationships. TheBritish Government, then the para-mount power, set out the positionas follows:

‘Political arrangements betweenthe States on the one side and theBritish Crown and British India onthe other, will thus be brought to anend. The void will have to be filledeither by the States entering into afederal relationship with the succes-sor or governments in British India,or failing this entering into particu-lar political arrangements with it orthem.’ (Memorandum of the Cabi-net Mission, May 12, 1946.)

The former Indian States were toaccede to one or other Dominiononly—India or Pakistan— accord-ing to their decision expressedthrough laid down procedures andprocesses.

Jammu and Kashmir did not ac-cede to either Dominion, as early asthe rest of the States. On August 12,1947, the State, however, sought toenter into ‘standstill arrangements’with the two Dominions as was con-templated by the Cabinet Missionitself in regard to the princely Statesin the transitional period. Pakistan(M. A. Jinnah) concluded such anagreement with the Maharaja ofJammu and Kashmir. India was ap-proached for a similar, though dif-ferent, agreement.

The agreement with India cov-ered a great many more topics anddetails which required discussion.The Government of India, therefore,asked the then Prime Minister ofKashmir (the Maharaja’s PrimeMinister) to come to Delhi to settlematters. This invitation was ac-cepted, but the visit did notmaterialise as the invasion of theState by Pakistanis prevented itsPrime Minister from leaving.

The proposed standstill agree-ment with Pakistan was a simplermatter. It covered few subjects andthe transitional arrangements con-templated covered only a few items.On August 16, 1947, Pakistanagreed to the standstill agreementoffered by the State. A few dayslater, on August 31, (this is not tosay that Pakistan’s aggression com-menced only on that date: it wascertainly prepared for from as early

What is at stake?-IWhat is at stake?-IWhat is at stake?-IWhat is at stake?-IWhat is at stake?-Ias the preceding May), Major Gen-eral Scott. a British officer whocommanded the Maharaja’s army atthat time, reported to his Govern-ment about border raids from Paki-stan.

The InvasionThese raids increased in inten-

sity and dimension. The Maharaja’sGovernment protested to Pakistanon September 4. Meanwhile, Paki-stan imposed an economic boycott,cutting off essential supplies to theState. On September 18, Pakistansevered the rail link between Jammuand Sialkot.

Scott’s diary gives dates, factsand figures about the mountingraids which soon assumed thecharacter and size of an invasion.Villages were plundered, men andwomen molested and killed andplaces sacked and burnt. Thediary, under the date October 10,1947, refers to the activities of somesections of the Pakistan army. Theinvasion was now under way. TheNorth-West Frontier ProvincePremier (of Pakistan) announcedthat firearms would be distributedliberally to all ‘except the enemiesof Pakistan’.

Norman Cliff of the LondonNews Chronicle, .reported to hispaper on October 13.

‘Pakistan has cut off from Kash-mir supplies of petrol, sugar, salt andkerosene oil, although a standstillagreement between them has beensigned.

On October 15, the Maharaja,perhaps more from habit than on thebasis of legal rights or politicalclaims as existed at the time, ap-pealed to the British Prime Minis-ter about the economic blockade andthe invasion of his State in Poonch! The Maharaja said :

‘People all along the border havebeen licensed and armed with mod-ern weapons under the pretext ofgeneral policy which does not ap-pear to have been followed in thecase of internal districts of WestPunjab. Whereas military escorts aremade available for several other pur-poses, none is provided for the safetransit of petrol and other essentialsof life. Protests merely elicit prom-ises which are never implemented.As a result of obvious connivanceof the Pakistan Government, thewhole of the border from Gurdaspurside up to Gilgit is threatened withinvasion which has actually begunin Poonch.’

This meant that the Pakistan in-cursion was no longer a ‘raid’ oreven a series of raids! It extendedfrom the western border, over thewestern districts of the State, to-wards the south of the State, rightup into the mountain area and to theSinkiang border. In all these areas,the invaders were liberally supplied,with Pakistan arms and equipment.The protests of the Maharaja’s gov-ernment to Pakistan’s provincial andcentral authorities were of no avail.The invaders continued along theJhelum Valley to Srinagar.

Nothing impeded their, formi-dable onslaught, except a temporaryslowing down at Uri, fifty milesfrom Srinagar, where one hundredand fifty men under a State ForcesBrigadier fought a last ditch battleand destroyed a vital bridge whichdenied ingress to the invaders. Pa-kistan Sappers, however, built anew-bridge in forty-eight hours! Theinvaders were also resisted by thelocal population. The latter, toofought last ditch battles with what-

ever weapons, including this, whichthey could muster. This was on Oc-tober 22, 1947.

The AccessionThe British Commander-in-

Chief of the Indian Army, informedthe Defence Committee in NewDelhi on October 25 that a force, of5,000 or over (nearly two Brigades)had attacked and capturedMuzaffarabad and Domel, and thatthe invaders ‘expected considerablereinforcements.’ The invaders werebut 35 miles from Srinagar.

On October 24, the Maharajaappealed to India for protection. Heapplied to accede to India in accor-dance with laid down procedures.

Enough evidence has come tohand that the Pakistan invasion hadbeen prepared for from as early asJune 1947 and that British officersof the Pakistan army knew about it.Jinnah had given orders to the Pa-kistan army on October 27 to moveinto Kashmir. Field MarshalAuchinleck claims to have obtainedcancellation of these orders underthe threat that all British officerswould be withdrawn from the Paki-stan army.

India accepted the Maharaja’sapplication for accession in due ac-cord with procedures and also senttroops to protect Kashmir. Indiaconsulted the president of the Na-tional Conference, SheikhMohammed Abdullah, who urgedacceptance. It has also been revealedthat Prime Minister Nehru consultedGandhiji before sending troops andobtained his assent. The Govern-ment of India followed up the pro-tests to Pakistan made by the Ma-haraja.

Pakistan’s ResponsibilityThe Governor General (Lord

Mountbatten) went to Lahore. ThenJinnah made what may appear a fauxpas, but it is revealing. He proposedto Mountbatten that both sidesshould call of their forces. Jinnahhad all along been asserting thatPakistan had nothing to do with the‘raids’ and that he had no controlover the ‘tribesmen’. Mountbattenasked him how he could in such cir-cumstances obtain withdrawal of theinvading side. Jinnah blurted out: ‘Ifyou do this. I will call the wholething off.

The invasion is where the present‘Kashmir Story' begins, where it hasits base and being. The reality ofKashmir becomes the ‘problem’,‘dispute’, ‘question’ by this fact ofPakistan’s invasion.

We have insisted and must con-tinue to insist that we have not re-ferred to the Security Council a ‘dis-pute’ or are dealing with one. It isin truth, in law, in politics and interms of the approach to it, a situa-tion created by Pakistan’s aggres-sion and invasion. There would beno Kashmir ‘problem’ at present butfor the aggression by Pakistan.There would be no continuance ofit but for the connivance, condona-tion and support of this aggressionby the western powers. It may notbe a presentation agreeable to all,but it is necessary. It is the stub-born fact.

On December 22, our PrimeMinister wrote to the Prime Minis-ter of Pakistan requesting hisgovernment to deny to the raiders(i) access and use of Pakistanterritory for operation againstKashmir, (ii) military and othersupplies, and (iii) other aid thatmight tend to prolong the struggle.

PERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVE

(Contd. on Page 7)

KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2006 ANALYSISANALYSISANALYSISANALYSISANALYSIS 7

(From Pagte 6)We waited for a week. No re-

ply came. Having failed in ourpourparlers with Pakistan, ourPrime Minister informed LiaquatAli Khan, the then Prime Ministerof Pakistan, that everything hehad tentatively proposed and dis-cussed with him was at an endsince Pakistan would do nothingto end her aggression, pretendingthat no such thing had taken place.

Our MotivesWe then decided to take the mat-

ter to the Security Council. It is amistake to think that it was our ref-erence of this matter to the UnitedNations which is the cause of thecontinuance of the situation. Whatdid we tell the Security Council, andwhat remedy did it invoke ? Thesefacts are important. To dismiss themas ‘legalisms’ is escapist or perverse.

On January 1, 1948, the Govern-ment of India made a complaint tothe United Nations under Article 35(Chapter VI) of the Charter. Weasked that:

‘The Government of Pakistan beasked to prevent tribals in the Stateof Jammu and Kashmir and to denyto the raiders access to and the useof territory in operations againstKashmir, military and other suppliesand all other kinds of aid that mighttend to prolong the fighting in Kash-mir.’

We did not use strong language,or ask for United Nations’ inter-vention by force, as in the Congo in1960. Article 35 says that: ‘Anymember may bring any situation,whose continuance is likely to en-danger the maintenance of interna-tional peace and security, to the at-tention of the Security Council.’

We said that such a situation nowexists between India and Pakistan.The word ‘situation’ is not our coin-age. The Charter makes a distinc-tion, and a firm one, between a dis-pute and a situation. There was notand is not a territorial dispute or ajudicial question of sovereignty ortitle to be adjudicated between theparties. Pakistan and India are par-ties in the sense that one is the ag-gressor and victim, the other the

complainant and the accused. Ourswas a reference to the SecurityCouncil under provisions whichdeal with ‘questions of internationalpeace and security’. What was ourprayer? It was that:

‘The Government of India re-quest the Security Council to callupon Pakistan to put an end imme-diately to the giving of such assis-tance which is an act of aggressionagainst India.’ (all italics mine.)

I have set out this part of thestory at some length, though yet verybriefly, as it is essential to an ad-equate understanding and apprecia-tion of the issues involved and pro-jected and to assert the true fact thatPakistan’s invasion is the origin andthe continuing cause of this ‘prob-lem.’

Vacation of AggressionWhat follows? The answer is

obvious. It sticks out a mile. Henceall the devices to go round it! Thisanswer is: aggression must be va-cated if there is to be a ‘solution’.

In the face of India’s complaintbefore the Security Council, the an-swer of Pakistan was filed on Janu-ary 15, 1948. In a letter, Pakistan’sMinister of Foreign Affairs said:‘The Pakistan Government emphati-cally deny that they are giving aidand assistance to the so-called in-vaders or have committed any actof aggression against India.’ Thelatter went on to say: ‘On the con-trary, and solely with the object ofmaintaining friendly relations be-tween the two Dominions, the Pa-kistan Government have continuedto do all in their power to discour-age the tribal movement by allmeans short of war.’ It was from SirZafarullah Khan, whose countrywas at that time waging war againstus, that the fact was afterwards con-firmed.

The Anglo-American AnswerThe evidence of foreign corre-

spondents and Pakistani utterancesat the time about Pakistan’s inva-sion are overwhelming. Yet, thewestern countries did not and havenot till today spoken against this ag-gression, much less condemned it.They have also failed to take note

(to put it mildly) that Pakistan haddeceived the Security Council. TheAnglo-American answer has been tomake Pakistan a military ally andalso to support her case diplomati-cally.

The United Nations appointed acommission—the United NationsCommission for India and Pakistan

(UNCIP). We did not vote for itsappointment, as under British ini-tiative the resolution appointing theCommission was in such languageas challenged our position. We,however, received the Commissionand gave it all cooperation. The sev-eral interim reports of the Commis-sion alone are a mine of materialproving Pakistan’s aggression, thevalidity of our case and, further-more, Pakistan’s failure to honourobligations.

The item before the United Na-tions is called the ‘Indo-PakistanQuestion’. We did not so name itnor did we agree with the title of theitem. To us, it was and is our com-plaint against aggression, but wetook the view that the Council cancall it what it likes.

Our Prime Minister’s main con-cern at that time was to stop thefighting. The Indian Army hadmoved in, at a day’s notice, savedSrinagar, driven the invaders out ofBaramulla, which they had sackedand burned, killing thousands ofpeople. The Indian army routed theinvaders from Baramulla. In a fewmonths, India’s armed strength be-gan to beat back the aggressors. Ourheavy armour went up the heightsof the Zojilla Pass, a feat never ac-complished before. It struck terrorinto the invaders.

The ResolutionsIn spite of our military advan-

tage, we accepted the Commission’sproposal for a cease-fire and did ev-erything to assist it. We accepted theUNCIP’s proposed resolutionswhich Pakistan rejected at first andonly accepted after several months.

Thus the resolution of August13, 1948, and a subsequent one of

January 5, 1949, are the two resolu-tions by which we are engaged. Wethereby accepted the cease-fire, andwithdrew our victorious and ad-vancing forces at certain points toestablish a cease-fire line. The tworesolutions hang together.

Of the two, the first resolutionhas been called a ‘concertina’ reso-lution. Briefly, it consists of threeparts, and Part II contains two sub-parts. It is of the essence of the reso-lution, very obviously and expresslystated, that the implementation ofeach succeeding part follows on theimplementation of the previous one.

The resolution of January 5,1949, has at least two features whichare part of its essentiality. It followsfrom the full implementation of PartIII of the resolution of August 13.Furthermore, it was not by way of acommitment but was a plan for theimplementation of Part III of theresolution of August 13.

By Part I (A) of the resolutionof August 13, the cease-fire line wasestablished. The remaining part ofthe resolution is still un-imple-mented. It will take more space thanthe editor can give me to set out theresolutions or their vicissitudes infull. It is sufficient for the presentto point to the import and implica-tions of the remaining clauses ofPart I, whereby:

(a) both parties agreed to desistfrom any measures to augment themilitary forces under their controlin Jammu and Kashmir;

(b) both governments agree toappeal to their respective sides toassist in creating an atmospherefavourable to negotiations.

Note: It had been expresslystated that ‘for the purpose of theResolution “military forces” includeall forces, organised andunorganised. . .’

According to the UNCIP reportsthemselves, Pakistan had aug-mented her forces without referenceto the United Nations. Pakistan hasalso persisted in and accentuated hercampaigns of hatred, threats of holywar (jehad) and resorted to subver-sion and sabotage on the Indian sideof the ceasefire line.

Thus, Part I, except for thecease-fire, is still-born. We maynow look at Part (A), which maybe set out in full:

1. As the presence of troops of

Pakistan in the territory of the Stateof Jammu and Kashmir consti-tutes a material change in the situa-tion, since it was represented by theGovernment of Pakistan before theSecurity Council, the Governmentof Pakistan agrees to withdraw itstroops from that State.

2. The Government of Paki-stan will use its best endeavour, tosecure the withdrawal from theState of Jammu and Kashmir oftribesmen and Pakistani nationalsnot normally resident therein whohave entered the State for the pur-pose of fighting.

3. Pending a final solution, theterritory evacuated by the Paki-stani troops will be administeredby the local authorities underthe surveillance of the Commission.

Neither Pakistan troops, nor ir-regulars, have been withdrawn as setout in (1) and (2) above.

In regard to (3), Pakistan evacu-ated no territory, but on the contraryand according to UNCIP reportsestablished administration in thenorthern areas where she had thenno effective control. She has sinceannexed and also changed the sta-tus of these areas including the‘settlement’ and cession of territoryto China!

Part I and Part II (A) have noteven now been implemented in re-gard to both of the above, the onusof performance and the responsibil-ity of default is solely and exclu-sively with Pakistan. The rest of theresolution is also stillborn owing toPakistan’s default.

No question of India implement-ing any part of the resolution arises.Sixteen years have passed, condi-tions have changed and what is con-tained in the rest of the resolutionhas become unperformable.‘Changed conditions’, the well-known doctrine of InternationalLaw of Rebus sic Stantibus wascited by India in 1957 before theSecurity Council.

It is an error for us to argue thatthese resolutions are obsolete andinvite odium. We are ‘engaged’ bythese resolutions. But we have nounfulfilled commitments or defaultsto account for. If the resolution isargued as obsolete, we will becharged with the onus of wantingto terminate the cease-fire and pre-cipitating a military conflict. Wehave stated publicly that we will nottake the initiative in, or invite, war-like action.

(To be continued)

By Kanchan Lakshman

During the India-Pakistan dialogue in New York, on thesidelines of the United Na-tions General Assemly session inSeptember. Pakistan identified thedistricts of Baramulla and Kupwarain Jammu and Kashmir *J&K) forimmediate troop withdrawal by In-dia as a gesture that, it claimedwould help build the 'impetus forpeace'. Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh,who saidprogress on the peace process couldonly take place if there was a com-plete cessation of cross-border in-filtration and violence, rightly dis-missed the Pakistan demand.

A scrutiny of the trajectory ofviolence in J&K helps understandwhy General Parvez Musharraf isinsisting on troop withdrawal spe-cifically from these two districts,and indicates that the rationale goesbeyond concern for the 'impetus forpeace' or for the welfare of thepeople of Kashmir. Further, it goeswell beyond the fact that these dis-tricts are close to the Line of Con-trol (LoC). Baramulla and Kupwara

J&K troop withdrawal-Musharrarf's bid to re-open terror routesJ&K troop withdrawal-Musharrarf's bid to re-open terror routesJ&K troop withdrawal-Musharrarf's bid to re-open terror routesJ&K troop withdrawal-Musharrarf's bid to re-open terror routesJ&K troop withdrawal-Musharrarf's bid to re-open terror routeshave traditionally served as a gate-way to terrorism in the Kashmir Val-ley and have, for long, been crucialto the Jihad in Kashmir.

The issue of troop reduction hasbeen a central part of Pakistan'slong-standing demands on Kashmirand had, in the past, been projectedas a pre-condition for talks with In-dia. It is also an indication of theend-game Musharraf proposes topursue on the Kashmir issue, com-prehending a partiion of the Valleyunder which these two districts,bothwith a Muslim majority of over 90per cent. would be ceded to Paki-stan.

During his recent sojourn in NewYork, Musharraf is also reported tohave impressed upon the USAdministratiion the need to influ-ence India into agreeing to a troopreduction. Pakistan's efforts to en-gage US 'good-offices' are at leastpartially influenced by the fact that,in 1963, the then US administrationdid bring some amount of pressureon India to consider ceding the"north-west" part of the Valley toPakistan India cast off the idea then

and has since been steadfast in re-jecting any such thoughts of a fur-ther Partition, a point that the gov-ernment of India has often reiteratedin the current context, with thePrime Minister himself insisting thatthere can be no redrawing of bound-aries along religious and ethniclines.

Baramulla and Kupwara, withborders that are mountainous andheavily forested, are twoneighbouring districts in the northand northwest of the Valley, withtheir topography clearly demonstrat-ing their strategic importance.Baramulla, spread over 4,588 squarekilometers, is bordered by Kupwrain the north, Budgam and Poonchdistricts in the south, parts of thesummer capital, Srinagar andLadakh in the east andMuzaffarabad, capital of Pakistanoccupied Kashmir (PoK) in thewest. Kupwara with a geographicalarea of 2,379 square kilometers, wascarved out of Baramulla district inthe year 1979. Tothe east and southof Kupwara is Baramulla, while inthe west and north is the LoC, which

separattes in from Muzaffarabad.According to those who oversee

security in the State, the prevailingsituation in the two Districts, doesnot warrant any re-adjustment of thecounter-insurgency grid, and anydilution of Forces is bound to affectthe counter insurgency grid and thesecurity base. Pakistan-backed ter-rorist groups active in the Districtincude the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen(HuM), which has a northern divi-sion for Kupwara-Bandipora-Baramulla: Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT),Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Al UmarMujahideen, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideenand Al Badr, Kupwara andBaramulla witness high levels ofinfiltration and terrorist activity andany lowering of guard there wouldallow the terrorists, who have beenunder extraordinary pressure lately,to regroup and recover lost ground.It would also mean grantingunhindred access to the Valley, es-pecially in Srinagar, which is to thesouth-east of Baramulla. Being bor-der districts adjacent to the LoC, anywithdrawal of troops fromBaramulla and Kupwara would un-

dermine the internal security gridand would facilitate infiltration intothe Valley. The operational advan-tage in these districts, vis-a-vs theexecution of operation, accruing pri-marily due to terrain and location,lies with the terrorist. Troop with-drawal would simply cede the en-tire territory to the terrorists. Fur-thermore, the flow of actionable in-telligence of terrorist movement intoother districts in J&K would also beadversely affected.

It is useful to note that approxi-mately 34 terrorist 'commanders'have been killed in the two districtsbetween January 2003 and Septem-ber 2005 (10 in Baramulla and 24in Kupwara). While the number ofcivilian and SF fatalities in not ashigh as in some other districts ofJ&K (Baramulla witnessed 55 civil-ians and 19 SF deaths, andKupwara. 13 civilians and 16 SFdeaths this year, till September-end),the two districts serve as a gatewayto the Valley. As many as 159 ter-rorists have been killed in Kupwaraand 122 in Baramulla in the current

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What is at stake?-IWhat is at stake?-IWhat is at stake?-IWhat is at stake?-IWhat is at stake?-I

CONTINUATIONCONTINUATIONCONTINUATIONCONTINUATIONCONTINUATION

KASHMIR SENTINELJanuary 2006 RITUALSRITUALSRITUALSRITUALSRITUALS 8

By Dr. S.S. Toshkhani“Mekhal" is what the Kashmiri

Pandits call upanayana oryajnopavit (sacred thread in-vestiture) and the whole range ofceremonies connected with it,though wearing the mekhala or thegirdle of Munja grass is only one ofthem. How they came to use theword for the whole samskara is notclear. But it seems that at some pointin time it must have been for themthe most important part of the sa-cred thread investiture ceremony asit stressed the vows of celibacy andpurity of conduct as an essential pre-requisite for the initiate to go to theAcharya to learn. Actually,upanayana, with which it has be-come synonymous, was in the be-ginning an educational samskarawhich was performed when theteacher accepted to take charge ofthe student and impart necessaryeducation to him. According to Dr.Rajbali Pandey, it was made com-pulsory to make education univer-sal. Slowly it began to loose its pureeducational sense and assumed aceremonious character with the in-vestiture of the sacred thread, whichtook place at the end of the yajnaperformed to mark the initiation andbecame the main ritual. In course oftime the boy initiated with theGayatri mantra to enable him to readthe Vedas, was regarded as havingacquired the status of a dvija or‘twice-born’.

Whatever the case may be, inKashmir the samskara, whethercalled “mekhal” or yajnopavit, be-came a package of about twenty-four samskaras from vidyarambhaor learning of alphabets tosamavartana or the end ofstudentship. Interestingly, these in-clude elements from even the pre-natal samskaras like garbh-adanaand siman-tonnayana. Evenkahanethur (namakarana) andzarakasay (chudakarana or the firsttonsure) if not performed at the pre-scribed time can be combined withit. This has made mekhal oryajnopavit a prolonged affair last-ing for hours together. However, itis the wearing of the sacred threadto which the greater significance orsanctity is attached. That may be sobecause it has come to be regardedby the Kashmiri Brah-mans, as byBrahmans elsewhere in the country,an essential symbol of their Hinduidentity.

Let us have a look at some of thepeculiarities of the samskara as per-formed by the Hindus of Kashmir.According to Laugakshi, theupanayana ceremony of a Brahmanboy should be performed in the sev-enth year from birth or in the eighthyear from conception, that ofKshatriya in the ninth year and thatof a Vaishya in the eleventh year:“saptame varshebrahmanasyopanayanam navamerajanasya ekadashe vaishasya”.This differentiation between theages of the initiates, however, hasno relevance for the Kashmiri Hin-dus today as there was hardly anyKshatriya or Vaishya left amongthem after the advent of Islam inKashmir. Optional ages have alsobeen prescribed in theGrihyasutras in case of exigencies,the time limit for a Brahman boybeing sixteen years. As thesamskara has become purely cer-emonial today, even this extendedtime limit is hardly adhered to andit is performed at a convenient time,generally a few days before mar-riage.

A uniquely Kashmiri and an es-sential preliminary ceremony per-formed a day or two prior to

Mekhal Ritual of Kashmiri PanditsMekhal Ritual of Kashmiri PanditsMekhal Ritual of Kashmiri PanditsMekhal Ritual of Kashmiri PanditsMekhal Ritual of Kashmiri Pandits

Mekhal Maharaza in a Mekhal ceremony.

upanayana (and also marriage) isDivagon. The etymology of theword ‘divagon’ is not clear but it isprobably derived from the Sanskrit‘devagamanai, meaning ‘arrival ofthe gods’. The ceremony is per-formed for invoking the presence ofgods, especially Ganesha and theSapta Matrikas or seven mothergoddesses, to bless the initiate or theboy or girl to be married. It beginswith a ritual bath, called kani-shran,which is given to the initiate by fiveunmarried girls, pancha kanya, fourholding a thin muslin cloth over hishead at its four ends and the fifthpouring consecrated water with apitcher. These days usually the of-ficiating priest himself pours thewater.

A havan is performed on theoccasion amidst chanting of man-tras by the presiding priest with theinitiate offering oblations while fac-ing the east. On the eastern wall, themotif of the kalpavriksha, supposedto be the abode of the goddesses inNandanavana or the Garden of Para-dise is painted with lime and ver-milion. The kalpavriksha or the‘wish fulfilling tree’ has ashatchakra (hexagon) made at itsbase symbolizing Shakti, and thedrawing is called divta moon or the‘column of the gods’. At about thesame time khir is prepared andpoured into seven earthen platescalled divta tabuchi or