Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart IV

Continued from Jammu & Kashmir : a part or apart III

After narrating the story till the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley and pondering over the question of our return, today in the 4th section I present to you the inside story of PoK and why India or Pakistan / why not!

PoK- The Inside story

I would now like to share one reality that majority of people are not aware of.

In its early stages of terrorism (1980's), PoK was made the base for training for arms & ammunitions. Muslim youths, with the help of local govt and some corrupted officials of Indian army, were sent to PoK. Today it is the centre of terrorism. Why?

I found the answer to this question in 'Pakistan Reporter' - a weekly program on Doordarshan. The main aim of this program was to show the inside realities of regions under Pakistan Govt (especially in Balochistan & PoK). A large number of people there were interviewed and questioned. All saying just one thing- "We are being ruled by people who are not concerned about the welfare of its citizens. What it cares of is : If its neighbour is in peace, how to break it?". The same holds true for people living in Pakistan as well.

In PoK, the people are not provided with facilities of food, electicity & shelter. Except raising cattle and shepharding there are no means of making money; besides this, the region being ruled by Pakistanis, there never is and there would never be a sense of development. As a result, the local public is forced to join militant organisations to support their family needs. Many Kasabs have came into existence because of this policy and there are many more to come. I don't have any sympathy for people like Kasab; be it any reason, terrorism can never be an option to survive.

In Pakistan, since the media has no right of freedom, whatever is being broadcast there is all what Govt forces them to. How do I know? Well, being brought up in J & K, apart from local and national (INDIAN ) media coverage, being near to Pakistan we receive signals of Pakistani channels like PTV, GEO etc. I get a lot of enertainment when I turn on these channels. Let me share their news when Indian parliament was attacked,

"Martyrs of Kashmir attacked Indian Parliament & sacrificed their lives for their cause of Freedom. They fought hard and died like heroes. We salute them."

while the news in India was,

"Indian Parliament attacked by LeT. Their attempts to do the damages were nullified by Indian defence. The Nation is proud of its soldiers who put their lives on the line while fighting them."

This is how truth is hidden from Pakistanis and this tradition is being continued whether it is internal or external issue. This is how Pakistani govt manages to keep their citizens under control with their minds moulded against India. Believe it or not, Pakistan doesn't wants to make peace with India at all. So we should not hope that a day will come when they will realize their mistakes and there wouldn't be a need of a border between the two nations. They are like bloody mosquitoes; you let your window open, they come inside to bite you. I would like to ask people (especially Muslims of Kashmir) who are in support of merging with Pakistan, how is that ??  Do you still want to be a part of Pakistan, inspite of all this? How easy it is for you to turn against a country whose countrymen have done so much in the past and will continue to do the same? Whose men are there for your safety, day and night (even in chilling winters when you opt to stay inside your houses)?? Which country comes to help whenever you are in trouble? Do you still see your future with a country having no future of its own? That country whose existence is questionable in the coming years. What is basis of your choice??

Just the religion? And what is that ???  

And those who claim Kashmir to be a part of Pakistan. Take a look at this picture : Kashmir and Hinduism

KPs - The Present

As is said, 'A coin has two sides'. The migration of KPs from Kashmir though brought miseries in their life but it had some positive consequences too. The support provided by the different state govts for education of KPs gave us opportunities to prove ourselves and a hope to exist. KPs now are not confned to their state. With our ability, we have achieved success in different fields across the globe. Though distributed, we are united for the cause of the existence of our community, our homeland and our culture. We are aware of the fact that J & K's state govt., though they pretend to, are not in favour of KPs returning back to the valley. The reason being that the govt. as well as the terrorist organisations have the motto of complete ISLAMIZATION of the state. All their efforts starting from expelling the KPs from Kashmir to spreading their so called 'JEHAD' all over the country, the hope of complete ISLAMIZATION will be dashed by our presence. 

Our fight is not over and will continue until we achieve what we want but not by wrong means. We have done the same during Mughal Empire; present is not so much different except that the fact is that the whole world is keeping an eye on this issue. Our generation is being rallied to continue the fight that was started in 1990s by our community and it is the time we accept responsibility on our shoulders for the same cause. We still have a lot to do and we have to.

Prime Question: Who to be with, India or Pakistan?

We have seen people in Kashmir raising slogans of 'PAKISTAN ZINDABAD' Well, the state govt cannot afford to move themselves away from India. The reason being that the major economy of state is dependent on tourism (Hindu shrines like : Shrii Mata Vaishno Devi, Baba Amarnath & Mughal Gardens: Nishat, Shalimar) and the export of dry fruits; of which Indians form a major part.   

The Kashmiri(Muslims) believe that their rights will be preserved in Pakistan only. Terrorist organisations as well as the politicians receive a large amount of money from Pakistan as well as Arabian regions for keeping the situation in Kashmir favourable for Pakistan. No doubt why our state is at second place in terms of corruption! Unfortunately, some corrupted Indian soldiers (at higher posts) allow infiltration of terrorists over the LoC.

Kashmiris believe that the Indian Army has made wrong use of its power in Kashmir. They say that army personnel come to their homes, forcefully take their daughters with them and rape them. They also say that Indian Army kills innocent people in the valley in order to get gallantry medals. This seems to be injustice to you; don't you remember the massacare of KPs back in 1990's?? Now your family members die in the fire set by your own hands and you still dont realize what you did ? That seems to be a holy work for you as you did for the sake of Islam. Coming back to the point, regarding this matter, the army says it is the millitants who come in the uniform of Indian Army and do such things in order to make people against them. Whether the Indian Army's explanation is true (I believe so) or not , I hope it be revealed in time. 

   

The contribution of Indian Army cannot be ignored because of this assumed reason. I am aware of the situation that arised after millitancy in Kashmir. The killing of people continued  even after the migration of KPs. The entire valley was in a state of chaos. As a result, Indian army was summoned to control the situation. The days in summer went with 'Curfew', 'Red Alerts', 'Shoot at Sight' orders while most people stayed inside during winters. Army operations have killed many terrorists during past years and that has normalized the situation to some extent. People currently are heaving a sigh of relief because of the Army. Militant attacks have been reduced. It is for this reason that people who don't want peace in Kashmir, as well as India (Pakistanis - without any doubt) are making attempts to remove the army control and regain their power by means of terrorism.

Not only Pakistanis, politicians like that of PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) in Kashmir leaded by Mufti Mohammad (former CM of J&K) and his daughter Mehbooba Mufti(who during a year has many trips to Pakistan & wears Pakistans Flag in her hand or covers her head with it) are among those who started the concept of "Dual Currency" (Indian & Pakistani Rupees) in Jammu & Kashmir; they are popularly known for their affection towards Pakistan and are trying every possible way to eject the Indian Army from the state. Apart from this, the organisations like Hurriyat Conference led by Abdul Gani Lone (separatists) are of the same opinion. They are mainly responsible for corrupting the Indian Army to infiltrate millitants inside the valley and keep hopes of Pakistan alive in Kashmir.

This was about Kashmir. In Jammu, with dominant Hindu population, the condition is exactly the opposite. The people are in complete favour of India; but since the entire power is with Kashmir they are never going to have a chance to do anything except protesting against the govt. The Hindu population is being suppressed there. To explain this I would like you to know about Amarnath issue, two years ago:

An objection was raised by Kashmiri muslims that the land near Amarnath temple was being sold to Indians(as against Article 370) although it was just a grant of stay for few months to be provided during 'Amarnath Yatra' for the Yatris. Why muslims went against it (they have a well furnished place in Jammu to stay for their visit to ' Haj ' ; why can't Hindus have their own? ) Protests arised in the valley and as a consequently it started in Jammu as well. But there was a difference between the two: In Kashmir, slogans were ," 'Hum kya chahte - Azadi ', 'Hindustan Murdabad', 'Pakistan Zindabad','' with stones being hurled upon policemen; while in Jammu, peaceful demonstrations alongwith slogans "Bum Bum Bole ! Hindustan Zindabad! Pakistan Murdabad". The condition became worse in both regions and the govt had to act. The state police came into action and were given directions how to handle it. Curfew was imposed (shoot at sight at some regions). In Kashmir, police were restricted to the use of teargas & lathicharge while in Jammu, police started firing on the protestors. This is the fruit of what we get if we choose to be with India and not Pakistan. I myself once asked a muslim in my state 'You people know how worse is the situation of Muslims in Pakistan; India has always come to help you whenever there was a need. Still you praise Pakistan? ' His answer was : 'Look, when we praise Pakistan we get money from their side as also when we raise slogans against the Indian Govt., GoI announces packages to keep us happy. Who cares for Pakistan or India? We are just making best of the situation.'

Such events are not few; it is infact the reality of J & K.

In the last winter, I went home for vacations. During the stay, one day I looked out of my window - some (both hindu and muslim) children (age 7-8 yrs) were playing cricket. A Muslim boy (of same age) came there and said 'Mujhe bhi khelna hai'. One of them replied 'Tu nayi ball leke aa.' The boy called his dad, who was standing nearby and said  'Abbu mujhe ball lakey do. Mujhe khelna hai.' His dad went to buy it from a nearby shop but wasn't able to get one. So he said to other chldren. 'Abhi ise (his son) khelne do shaam ko main bahut si ballein launga sabkey liye'. Hearing this, they all agreed to play with him. A new match was started; I was happy to see that atleast these children are not a part of the mess between India and Pakistan. It appeared to me that there is still a hope of unity among the people of the state until this happened:

M (muslim boy): Tu kaun si team?

H (hindu boy): Main India, Sachin Tendulkar.

M : Tu India to fir main Pakistan ; Dekh kaise harata hun.

Hearing this, I slammed my windows in anger & went inside my room. I switched on the TV to shift my focus but it kept coming back to me. Such animosity, even in the minds of children? What about them in the future? How can we hope for peace if the children have such a state of mind?

In J & K, you will find suppoters of both India and Pakistan; and when it comes to cricket , pride of both comes into play. Moreover, when Pakistan loses (as happened in 2003 worldcup), the face of Pakistani supporters is not different than after a defeat in a war. I missed their look in this year's world cup semifinal (INDIA v/s PAKISTAN) but I heard supporters of losing team didn't have dinner that day. How delightful it would have been to see that!

Well, that is the story, my story of Jammu & Kashmir; the next section, section V would be the last installment of my blog series regarding Jammu & Kashmir - it carries my appeal to the nation.

(TO BE CONTINUED....)

Nikhil Bhan