Pakistan has excelled in “keeping the pot boiling” so far as perpetration of terror, dissension and disruption in Kashmir is concerned. No amount of pressure, domestic or international, has lowered the determination of those in the country who are vested with this responsibility. They are unmindful of the socio-economic setbacks that their actions cause to the nation and its people. Their only aim is to ensure that Kashmir remains on tenterhooks all the time.
Pakistan has suffered many setbacks in Kashmir over the last few years. “Operation All Out” launched by the Indian Army to clean out terrorists from the valley met with astounding success. Relentless operations carried out with total support from the central government resulted in a complete decimation of the terrorist leadership operating in Kashmir and a big fall in the headcount of active terrorists. Presently, there is negligible presence of foreign terrorists and no experienced leadership to speak of. This was followed by the courageous political decision to change the status of the region in consonance with the wishes of the people. Accordingly, the state was divided into two Union Territories and the draconian Article 370 and Article 35A were abrogated.
Thus, the terrorist activity and political control that had anchored Pakistan’s nefarious Kashmir policy for decades started floundering. On top of it Pakistan is under tremendous international pressure to mend its ways or accept sanctions. In consideration of its beleaguered financial status, Pakistan is desperate to stay out of the black list of the international money laundering and terrorist activity watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) knowing full well that getting there would mean total financial disaster. Accordingly, the country has taken many steps such as proscribing a few terrorist support organisations and arresting low level workers of terrorist organisations, while the cream remains untouched. This action too has caused a setback (though not too big) to maintaining momentum of terrorist operations in Kashmir.
However, there is no challenge too big and no pressure too strong to dissuade the terror masters of Pakistan from pursuing their evil designs. With things not working within Pakistan they have doubled efforts towards recruitment of local Kashmiris’ into the terrorist cadre.
The latest terror organisation on the block is the Lashkar-e-Mustafa (LeM). It has its base in South Kashmir that was earlier the stronghold of the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). This could also be an attempt by the terror masters to clip the wings of the HM and particularly its chief, Syed Sallahuddin, who has not been able to give any credible results of late that could justify his existence to the Pakistani terrorist hierarchy headed by the ISI.
A young Kashmiri named Hidayatullah Malik has been designated “chief” of the LeM. Malik has created fancy facebook and other social media profiles complete with an AK-47 rifle wielding photo of himself. He has taken on a codename — Hasnain that is, by now, known to all. He further calls his outfit the “Hasnain Army.” With the standard marketing tools in place he is now busy bolstering the recruitment process for his “Army.” As per reports, he already has a dozen odd followers all from South Kashmir. The LeM “Hasnain Army” has chosen to initiate its activity with the relatively less dangerous and more paying operation of divesting a Bank cash van of Rs 60 Lakhs in Shopian sometime in November last year. Obviously the organisation has been told by its masters that apart from training and equipment it also has to organise its own finances and hence, it has adopted this strategy.
Two other terrorist organisations, The Resistance Front (TRF) and People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) surfaced in quick succession before the LeM. The idea of creating TRF was conceived and immediately implemented after the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir and Abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. The organisation attempted to gain political legitimacy by issuing statements on matters like the Domicile Law which it denounced as a BJP ploy to change the demography of Kashmir. “We openly declare that any Indian who comes with an intention to settle in Kashmir will be treated as an agent of RSS and not a civilian and will be dealt with appropriately,” said a TRF statement. J&K police officials have so far termed their influence as “limited within the cyber space” though the organisation does have the murder of a few BJP workers on its hands.
The PAFF too has threatened to ‘execute’ those RSS agents who are planning to settle down in Jammu and Kashmir in the ‘guise of civilians.’ This apart it has attempted to gain legitimacy by claiming to be an off-shoot of the dreaded Jasih-e-Mohammad (JeM). It has taken responsibility for the killing of two policemen at a check post in Srinagar in August 2020. Not much has been heard from the organisation ever since.
Click on the YouTube link to watch our video report
The fact that recruitment from within the locals is taking place has been accepted by none other than Indian Army Chief, General MM Naravane, in his traditional Army Day Conference on January 15. He said that while a large number of terrorists have been neutralised in the year gone by, recruitment in the terrorist Tanzeems is still going on. Alongside that Chief also said that the initiative of the Indian Army to win hearts and minds through Operation Sadbhavna is resulting in the recruitment levels going down gradually.
The Pakistani terror masters may have achieved some success in recruiting locals, but they do not have any capability of imparting even basic training to the new “kids on the block” or equipping them with adequate weapons, ammunition and other war like stores. Under such circumstances, these poor misled boys are becoming easy targets for the security forces and have a shelf life of not more than a few months. It is necessary to isolate them from the self destructive path. While the Army does what it can, better results can be attained with a whole of government approach. As development goes on and employment increases, the recruitment will go down and the security situation will improve.
Christian is a Philosopher that comes from Belgium. What identifies him the most and above all is simplicity, for everything is better with “vanilla ice cream.” Perhaps, for this reason, his intellectual passion is criticism and irony, in the sense of trying to reveal what “hides behind the mask,” and give birth to the true. For him, ignorance and knowledge never “cross paths.” What he likes the most in his leisure time, is to go for a walk with his wife.
Dr. Christian Sorensen, Independent Metaphysician and Philosopher
Scott
Douglas Jacobsen: Freethinkers, as a general term, continue to endure explicit
discrimination in law and in fact, in cases, to the present day. Some of the
prominent cases include the prominent Pakistani Gulalai Ismail and the Nigerian
Mubarak Bala.
Ismail
is the Co-Founder of Aware Girls (w/ Saba Ismail) and on the Board of Humanists
International. She was known for outstanding human rights work, receiving
awards and recognition, and then, shortly thereafter, charged on various
‘counts’ and having to flee Pakistan as one of the most wanted people in the
country.
It
came to the point of The New York Times reporting on the issues facing
her, her story, in two articles entitled “Gulalai Ismail, Feminist Hunted by Pakistan’s
Authorities, Escapes to U.S.” and “In Pakistan, a Feminist Hero Is Under Fire
and on the Run.”
Bala
is the President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria. In April of 2020, he
was arrested in Kaduna for ‘blasphemy’ on social media, i.e., a single Facebook
post. He was taken from Kaduna to Kano. The Penal Code of Kano is Sharia-based
law.
Indeed,
this becomes a means by which to persecute him, an atheist and ex-Muslim, under
Islamic law, which should not apply to someone who does not believe in the
theology or the theocratic law anymore.
Zara
Kay, the Founder of Faithless Hijabi, is another case as of recent. This time,
with Tanzanian background, taken by police under apparent illegitimate
circumstances too. Similarly, on a less reported case, ‘Ayaz Nizami,’ the Vice
President of Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan, was taken and charged
with blasphemy.
‘Nizami’
was arrested on March 24, 2017, based on purported blasphemy. He has been facing death
penalty charges. With the arrest, illegitimate in personal opinion, because
blasphemy is a religious law and not a secular law for all (so something the
religious may charge against the non-religious unequally to the extent of death
penalty application following from it, possibly); it repeats the situation.
In
each case, a co-founder of a women’s and girls’ rights organization (Ismail),
the president of a national humanist association (Bala), the founder of an
ex-Muslim organization (Kay), and the vice president of an atheist and agnostic
national organization (‘Nizami’). Each seems to be illegitimate, in personal
opinion, and based on targeted attacks on prominent secular individuals in each
nation.
There
are a lot of other cases. Likewise, there are a lot of other cases with nearly
zero coverage or simply null coverage – the non-consenting Houdini acts or
forced disappearances. No joke about the trauma and mental health effects on
those individuals disappeared – let alone reputational damage.
According
to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, 71 of the
195 countries in the world have blasphemy laws of some form or another. There
are around 13 countries with the death penalty for open atheists, as least as
of 2013. What do you make of the consistent trends in these cases?
Dr.
Christian Sorensen: I think that just as
there are countries, that have blasphemy laws, because in practice generally
follow what for me, is a kind of pantheism without explicitly recognizing it, since everything that’s touched, they believe that it has a divine breath,
although actually, it may be something of
secular matter, and therefore, absolutely devoid of any religious nature, they’re
others as counterpart, who tend to recognize themselves, as liberal and
democratic, since explicitly, this countries do not have blasphemy laws,
although in general, they act like
religious pantheists, and consequently in
practice, they implicitly live, according to blasphemy laws. Therefore it could
be said, that in their own way, they make
freethinkers suffer, social death sentences, without giving them any chance to
escape, and consequently by exerting progressive stress, through emotional saturation, they end up transforming them into living dead.
Jacobsen:
What would equalize the landscape in a positive way?
Sorensen:
I think that one way to achieve a positive balance,
would be to create facilitating conditions, that could allow an openness to change, by basing their search towards common denominators, that
are able to position the foundations, of
what for me, would be the feeling of a sufficient basic confidence, in order to
carry out from early education, and regarding the value system, the recurring of
critical reviews, as an aim resource, for introducing in a non-threatening context, the input of necessary
adjustments, as temporarily relative outcomes.
Jacobsen:
What might bring about some justice for these aforementioned individuals?
Sorensen:
I think that the international community of human
rights, should intervene officially,
which means, that their pertinent
organizations, must imperatively demand,
by applying sanctions, that these theocratic countries, fulfill the commitments
acquired, in front of human rights treaties, to which they have become in some
way parties, and in its defect, because without exception, this nations integrate said
international organizations, which means, that they have to respect their involved
principles and missions. Certainly what I suggest above, is just a theoretical
duty, since the notes of its score, is usually
subjected, to over-justified political and economic explanations, that
obviously as it’s logical to suppose, they’re firstly interfered and afterwards
distorted, for becoming utopian ideals, which
poorly serve, for nominalistically safeguard their motivations for existing,
and for preserving, what in my opinion, is the mere homeostasis of mediocrity, to the extent that these
organizations, use to maintain a sort of absurd and romantic duality, between what
represents their declaration of
principles, as promotional discourse of
human rights, and their praxis, as nirvanal world of good intentions, which in itself regarding the last, almost
never forges in a concrete good will, since are incapable of reaching not even
with the first aid, the desperate cry for help, due to the fact, that deep down
what prevails, is the irreflexive and spontaneous attitude, typical of acquiescence, that would invalidate any outcome, because in
my opinion hides the being, with what I will denominate as the image of being with.
Jacobsen:
What countries seem the most egregious in this form of theocratic encroachment
into political life and law, or the State?
Sorensen:
I think that basically, all the countries that are
linked to the ideals of pan-Arabism.
Jacobsen:
Why should there be more forceful pushback against these legal and political
encroachments?
Sorensen:
Because these usurpations, are contrary to reason, and
therefore to commonwealth. In consequence, it is a driving force, that corrupts cultures
and ends up destroying civilizations. This allows to deduce, in concrete terms, that from a
legal and political point of view, this pattern of behaviors, are morally unacceptable,
according to what the universal declaration of human rights, have expressed. The
aforementioned means, that nobody
without exception, can respectively be charged,
regarding professed ideas, with
condemnatory sanctions of any nature, since
the simple act of thinking, is an inalienable right, and as long
as does not promotes hatred or violence,
and therefore constitutes a danger to
society, never should be constricted. In consequence, it is a political and legal
duty, the fact of creating sufficient conditions, in relation to respect and tolerance,
in order that ideas can be freely manifest,
regardless of the valence that the
content of these may have.
Jacobsen:
How do ordinary believers stand to benefit in more equal stature in law and in
politics, and in rights, between non-believers and themselves?
Sorensen: I think that this is possible, to the extent, that
tolerance prevails, as the guiding principle for coexistence in society, and in
turn, that the aforementioned, is
understood simultaneously and in accordance, with the fact regarding which, the
dignity of individuals transcends that of ideas, due to the matter of aseity,
since the last, not only cannot exist by
themselves, but also to be able to do so,
they absolutely need of the existence of the first ones.
Jacobsen:
Why are attempts at equality, often, seen as a loss of rights for they who
already have the rights, or as an attack on their religious status?
Some
make religious or theological arguments about some cosmic or even metaphysical
war waged since the start of time between the forces of Good and the forces of
Evil, which is perceived or asserted by not-insignificant numbers of the global
population.
So,
it seems an important consideration in this regard because the social media
postings and commentary, and written works make this point of view reasonably
clear as sincerely held by many.
Sorensen: Actually, the resistance to accepting equality in front of rights, which means that those who hold a greater number of rights, for some reason, use diverse oppositionist and defensive mechanisms, in order to justify their inequity, and consequently, for not being disposed to yield some of them, in favor of a greater comonwealth, is not a particular phenomenon of theocratic countries and cultures, but rather it is a verifiable fact, that has always accompanied humanity. The aforementioned, indeed, does not necessarily implies, that this causal relationship between selfishness and human inequity, can be established with certainty, as something due, either to innate tendencies, or learned through socio-cultural patterns of conditioning. However, what can be affirmed necessarily, is that this causality, by going hand in hand with abuse, leads inevitably to injustice, and if vital experience of individuals, is crossed instead, more through educational bases on positive reinforcements, and on constructivists social values, than by punitive consequences invested with suffering, then intrinsic human egoism, logically, can be transformed into egalitarian altruism. I think, that if human beings, have constantly created dichotomous theologies, based on good and evil, what in essence they have been done, is nothing else than projecting the internal dualism, that regards the good self and bad self, felt within themselves, without fully understanding, despite of what have represented the repeated failures of history, that duality as such, does not exist in any order of things, since rather what exists, and is able to be verified, through the evidence of simple experience, is the presence of polarities, which in their dynamis, they unfold continuously and not discreetly, by offering a nuanced universe, with an infinity of predestined points, therefore not appearing by chance in space, and with the possibility of forming mathematical integrals, which consequently may open, evolutionary channels of limitless realities.
Jacobsen:
What countries seem to be doing the best in bringing forward equality for the
non-religious and the religious in law, in politics, and in rights?
Sorensen: According to a positive antithesis, of what the theocratic states of the Muslim countries, and the theocratic Catholic state of the Vatican could represent, which regarding the last, includes all those countries, that professing Catholicism as an official religion, and although they do not declare themselves, theocratic countries, they actually behave as such, since ultimately, they end up violating secular rights, with the same impunity, but perhaps not with the same cynicism, as Muslim countries do. I think, that the only religious country, that has managed to maintain, a democratically balance equality, between the rights of the secular and religious world, is the Jewish state of Israel, *because culturally speaking, in my opinion, conceives by two the discussion around ideas, but counts them, as if they were three.
Jacobsen:
Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Dr. Sorensen.
Sorensen: You’re welcome, and I hope that this interview, contributes at least as a grain of sand, to stirring up the indolent and lethargic consciences of human rights organizations, for the promptly liberation alive of Ayaz Nizami.
Hemu Kalani (Rahi Heman) was erased from the history of Pakistan because he was a Sindhi Hindu freedom fighter from Sukkur Sindh. He was one of the youngest revolutionaries to be martyred for the nation’s freedom struggle. He was also the first Sindhi revolutionary and freedom fighter during the Indian Independence Movement. At the young age of only 19 he was executed by the British.
Swaraj Sena, a student organisation which was affiliated with the All India Students Federation (AISF) was headed by him. Hemu Kalani joined Mahatma Gandhi’s Quit India movement when it was started in 1942. In those days support for the movement in Sindh was such that the British rulers had to send special troops consisting of European battalions. Hemu Kalani, Parcho Widhyarthi and friends found out that a railway train of these troops and their supplies would be passing through their local town and decided to derail it by removing the fishplates from the railway track. This despite the fact that neither Hemu nor his friends had the necessary tools and so had to use a rope as a means to loosen the fixings.
They were seen by the British troops before being able to complete the sabotage. Hemu was caught, imprisoned, and tortured in an attempt to get him to reveal the names of his co-conspirators He refused to divulge any information, following which he was put on trial and sentenced to death. The people of Sindh petitioned the Viceroy for mercy but the condition of granting mercy was that the authorities must be told about the identity of Hemu’s co-conspirators. He however refused to do so.
In fact, Hemu was ready to sacrifice his own life for the freedom struggle. On the day of his execution, he appeared extremely overjoyed, and walked to the gallows with a copy of the Bhagavad Gita in his hands, smiling and humming the whole way. Sindh will never forget him. There was only one park in Sukkur Sindh named after him “Hemu Kalani Park”. But this was later renamed to “Qasim Park” which clearly shows the enmity of Pakistan with historical Sindhi nation, that our heroes are also persecuted. Thanks to India for remembering the Sindhi heroes!
India has a postage stamp in the honour of Sindhi freedom fighter Hemu Kalani.
Discontent in Sindhudesh has reached a tipping point and now they are openly protesting against the occupying forces of Pakistan. 17th January is the birth anniversary of Sindh’s tallest leader Sain GM Syed. This year on January 17, Sindhis came together to celebrate GM Syed’s 117th birth anniversary and raised slogans against the atrocities of Pakistani regime. Watch our news video report to understand the inside story.
Click on the YouTube link to watch the video report by News Intervention.
“Pakistan continues to embrace terror and terrorism as an instrument of state policy, however, we are clear that we have zero tolerance for terror and we have reserved our right to respond at a time and place of our choosing. This is a clear message that we have sent across that we will not tolerate such activity.”
“Pakistan and China form a very potent threat, there is an aspect of collusion that cannot be wished away and it is very much a part of our assessment. We have to be prepared to deal with it.”
The above two significant statements were a part of a plain speak press conference addressed by Indian Army chief, General Manoj Mukund Naravane on the occasion of Army Day, 2021.
India celebrates Army Day on January 15 every year with great fervour. It was on this day, in 1949, that the Indian Army divested itself from British control with General (later Field Marshal) K. M. Cariappa taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from Sir Francis Butcher. A number of parades, memorial lectures, equipment displays, investiture ceremonies are organised by the Indian Army on this day. An integral part of the itinerary is a press conference addressed by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army.
जान को जो देश पर कुर्बान किए जाते हैं मिट्टी पे अपनी जो अभिमान किए जाते हैं माँ है ये मेरी इसे छूने ना पाए कोई भी माँ को दे कर खून माँ का मान किए जाते हैं#प्रबलवसक्षमpic.twitter.com/A3Aq7cMbb5
Click on the link to watch video released by Indian Army
This year the press conference was addressed by General Manoj Mukund Naravane. It was the second time in his tenure that he was addressing the same. In his opening remarks he lauded the “supreme sacrifice” of the brave hearts in the line of duty. He went on to convey to all ranks of the army, defence civilians, families, veer naris and veterans a very happy new year and best wishes on the occasion of the Army Day. He also conveyed best wishes to all citizens of the country on behalf of the army.
The Chief spoke extensively on issues of strategic importance concerning the immediate neighbourhood and the global environment. He also spoke of the vision to steer the army towards modernisation through “capability development and restructuring.”
The Indo-China face-off dominated the conference. The Chief mentioned the same in his opening remarks and then took on many questions on the subject. He said that on the northern front, the army is maintaining a high state of alertness in accordance with the threat perception and is presently in the winter posture, ready to meet any challenge.
While explaining the tactical aspects of the situation as it evolved along the Line of actual Control (LAC) in 2020, the Chief said that mobilisation by China was not anything new. They come for training every year and the Indian Army has all information of their movement. In the initial face off they had “first mover advantage” which Indian Army also had in August when it moved into strategically important heights despite being “eye ball to eye ball” with China. With regard to the present situation, he said that the bulk of Chinese troops who had come in for training have moved back to their permanent location in the Tibetan Plateau, but no movement has taken on either side at the “friction points.”
The directive of the government is to stay steadfast in our positions while talks carry on at all levels. Eight round of talks of the corps commanders have taken place and the date for the ninth is awaited. The Chief expressed a hope that with dialogue and discussion the two sides will be able to reach to an amicable solution based on the principle of, “equal and mutual security in consonance with talks and understanding which resulted as an outcome of meetings by defence minister and foreign minister with their counterparts.” Having said so, the General affirmed that the army is ready for a long haul with “logistics in place, preparedness of a high order and high morale of troops.”
So far as the internal security situation in Kashmir is concerned the Chief said that while a large number of terrorists have been neutralised in the year gone by, recruitment in the terrorist Tanzeems is still going on. The initiative of the Indian Army to win hearts and minds through Operation Sadbhavna has resulted in the recruitment levels going down gradually. More traction will be attained with a whole of government approach. As development goes on and employment increases, the recruitment will go down and the security situation will improve.
The Chief expressed satisfaction at the manner in which the army met the COVID challenge by the launch of “Operation Namaste.” With pragmatic assessment, institution of required medical norms and free hand to commanders on ground the force was able to contain the situation and maintain operational preparedness to required levels to the extent of going in for rapid deployment when required. The Army also reached out to the state governments with assistance in quarantine and other aspects as required. The Chief was very appreciative of the efforts put by the medical fraternity of the army.
Regarding aspects of capacity building and restructuring, the Chief reiterated the Tri-service commitment to move determinedly in this direction since what has transpired recently has clearly established the need for the same. The transformation will be from manpower intensive to technology intensive structures with full commitment Tri service jointness. He added that all round development would be ensured with each arm getting what it needs. The Army has signed a number of contracts in the preceding year of which 80-85 percent are with Indian companies, in an effort to indigenize on principles of “Atmannirbhar Bharat” spelled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
When the Indian Army Chief speaks the entire nation and the international community listens. The General has assured the country that it is in safe hands of its Army that will ensure her sovereignty and territorial integrity. The writing on the wall is very clear. India is not ready to succumb to any pressure, be it from China, Pakistan, collusive or of any other nature. She is ready to carry on the diplomatic forays for a long period of time if need be. all military preparations for all eventualities are in place and more will be done as required.
Dead body of a Baloch person killed and buried secretly by the Pakistani security forces was recovered Tuesday from Dalbandin in Pakistan-occupied Balochistan (POB). Locals in occupied Balochistan have identified the deceased as Allah Dad, son of Abdul Rehman, who was abducted by Pakistani forces four months ago.
Soon after receiving reports about the unidentified grave and the dead body the personnel of QRF (Quick Reaction Force) force rushed on the spot and took the body into custody. The body has completely decomposed, officials said.
The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) that has been protesting and demanding for the release of missing Baloch people said that thousands of Baloch people have been forcibly disappeared from Balochistan, and thousands of these missing persons are tortured to death under the custody of Pakistan Army and later their bodies are thrown away in remote areas.
“Chapter I of this book (My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir) deals with ten most critical days from January 19 to 28, 1990. It recalls the background of events and also describes the first of a series of stabs in my back,” writes Jagmohan, the then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in the Preface to his above-named book. To the hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) 19 January, 1990 remains the day of their holocaust.
Why and in what sense were the ten days critical? What were the circumstances preceding and following the 19th of January and its unfolding aftermath? What and why were the series of stabs inflicted in the back of Governor Jagmohan and who played the et to Brutus part?
Much is written on the rise and quick spread of Islamic fundamentalism as also on the externally sponsored and abetted armed insurgency in Kashmir beginning 1989-90, which rages with unabated intensity even after a lapse of thirty-one years. This notwithstanding, what Governor Jagmohan saw, felt and understood about a situation of grave criticality which he was called upon to handle on January the 8, 1990, has been scantily focused. A sedition-like situation that had shaped in Kashmir on the eve of his second stint demands dispassionate and strictly objective analysis. Apart from exposing inexcusable flaws in the then government of India’s Kashmir policy, such a study will also lay bare the vested interests playing a dangerous role in the troubled situation.
Today, the 19 January 2021, the Hindus (Pandits) of Kashmir enter the thirty-second year of their holocaust. This day brings to their memory the horrible saga of their genocide, ethnic cleansing and finally their extirpation from their ten thousand year – old homeland of Kashmir by the Theo-fascists of the sub-continent.
What is more, no Union or State Government agency, no national or international human rights forum cared to raise the issue of the decimation and forced expulsion of a direly threatened people. Not even an inquiry has been ordered into the killing of nearly two thousand innocent members, men, women and children of the Pandit community and then the ethnic cleansing of their homeland. Contrarily, there has been no dearth of sadists rubbing salt onto the wounds of the oppressed community because it serves their interests.
Eschewing the
saga of their travail, here we would like to briefly unfold how the Kashmirian
polity, contrary to propagated stance, was bracing itself for the impending armed
sedition and ethnic cleansing of Kashmir through meticulous planning by
external conspirators in collaboration with local subversives.
In the light of some questions raised in the opening paragraph of this expose, we focus on some relevant excerpts from the authentic and valuable volume My Frozen Turbulence inKashmir authored by the then Governor, Jagmohan. We have chosen this particular work because an important adjunct of anti-Pandit and anti-India disinformation campaign vigorously carried forward by Kashmir separatists and valley leadership of all hues during the heyday of insurgency was that the Pandits had departed on the prompting of Governor Jagmohan. Such was the virulence of this canard that even the top Muslim leaders who once adorned the Sultanate of Kashmir, too, joined the vicious chorus of this allegation. Therefore it becomes very relevant to examine how the sedition was developing steadily months before 19 January and what was the actual plan for that day and thereafter.
Finding the situation extremely critical in Kashmir, Inder Kumar Gujral, the then foreign minister rang up Jagmohan in Delhi around the midnight of 17-18 January 1990 to immediately proceed to the residence of the then Home Minister Mufti Saeed for an emergency meeting. He was told to take over as Governor of J&K and handle the explosive situation. Jagmohan took the oath of office on Jan 18 at Jammu. NC and Congress both declined to attend the oath-taking function. Farooq, heading the Cong-NC coalition government, resigned on 18 January alleging that he had not been consulted about the selection of new Governor for J&K, reported the New York Times of 19 Jan. On 19th January Jagmohan boarded a BSF helicopter to arrive in Srinagar but owing to highly inclement weather the copter could not cross Banihal and had to return to Jammu.
In retrospect,
the morale of Kashmir insurrectionists was boosted by the kidnapping and then
murder of Ravindra Mhatre, the Indian diplomat in Birmingham on 3 March 1984 by
the activists of Kashmir Liberation Army, an adjunct of JKLF controlled by ISI
via Amanullah Khan. Six days later Maqbool Bhat, the founder of JKLF, convicted
in a murder case was executed in Tihar jail. A few days later three Central
ministers visited the President and complained that militants were dominating
the valley. Farooq Abdullah threatened that if Congress did not behave there
would be a blood bath.
During the
elections, if 1983, naked men, presumably from NC, were seen among the crowds
at Iqbal Park where Indira Gandhi addressed a public meeting. On January 15,
1984, four Congress party supporters were killed in police firing in Anantnag.
Bomb blasts with alarming frequency were reported from different parts of the
valley. Blasts occurred on Independence Day parade, in India Coffee House
Srinagar, in the house of Justice Dr Anand, Palladium Cinema, Kashmir
University Library and in the house of Sessions Judge Nilakanth Ganjoo. Earlier
in an international cricket match anti-India and Pro-Pak slogans were raised.
The national flag was disrespected. Strange slogans were raised in public
processions like Pakistan zindabad,
Khalistan zindabad, Noor-i-Chashm nor-i-Huq Zia ul Haq Zia ul Huq and Muslim
Sikh Bhai Bhai/ Hindu qaum Kahan se ai.
As Governor
Jagmohan moved to board a Srinagar bound BSF plane on January 20, a functionary
of the Information Ministry handed him a file to have a look at as it contained
important clippings from July 12, 1989, to date. During the flight, he looked
at the banner lines of some of the clippings reading: “Kashmir nearly lost
to the nation” (The Statesman Nov
6), “There seems to be a strange conspiracy of silence about the reign of
terror in the hapless valley of Kashmir” (The
Times of India (Nov 23). Other horrible events preceding 19 January were
the gunning down of Tikalal Taploo, BJP Vice President in Habba Kadal, Justice
Ganjoo the Sessions judge in Maharaj Bazar, P.N. Bhat, Advocate, poet and
historian in Anantnag, SHO Maisuma, and kidnapping of Rubiya Saeed, daughter of
Home Minister Mufti Saeed. This indicated the total collapse of administration.
(Some analysts raised doubts on the episode of Rubiya’s kidnapping and return
saying it was a stage managed show to seek release of several hardcore
militants from the prison through a deal)
Jagmohan writes:
“We inwardly recognized the infirmities of an immature democracy. We feared
that in a plebiscite, ignorance, parochialism, and communal prejudice would be
exploited. Yet we did nothing to eliminate these forces which fed this
ignorance, this parochialism and communal prejudice. On the other hand, the politics
of Kashmir was run in such a manner that these infirmities were multiplied. At
the oath-taking ceremony in Jammu the previous day, Lt. Gen. Gobinder Singh,
Northern Command chief had talked to Jagmohan in an aside saying the situation
in the valley was extremely serious. “Every time I spoke to the previous
authority (Farooq) I was assured things would be taken care of. Nothing
happened.”
Jagmohan
wondered why Farooq resigned at a crucial time. Unmistakably, Farooq knew that
under Jagmohan’s administration the insurrectionists and separatists would not
be able to get a quarter and his misdoings would be exposed.
The night of 19th January 1990
Let us see what the man at the helm of affairs has recorded about the most critical night viz. 19-20th January 1990, the holocaust night for the Kashmiri Pandits.
“In the day (19 Jan at Raj Bhavan, Jammu) I received frantic calls from Srinagar that large scale searches were made in Chota Bazar and Guru Bazar areas of Srinagar and 250 youth had been picked up. On contacting DGP Saxena, I was told me that three days earlier on 16 January, three CRP personnel were shot dead in Guru Bazar and the searches were ordered on the behest of Farooq Abdullah who had told the CRP to do whatever they liked but had privately instigated the people in those localities. On 19 Jan, Jagmohan contacted Peer Ghulam Hasan Shah DGP and offered him to be the Adviser which he accepted. But before morning he changed his mind and excused him telling Jagmohan that he feared a threat to his family members. This was the level of threat and insecurity created days ahead of Pandit exodus.
“The 19-20
January night was the strangest night I ever had. I had just been to bed when
two telephones rang simultaneously. Voices of alarm could be heard bewailing “Tonight
is our last night. By morning we all Kashmiri Pandits would be butchered. Our
womenfolk, our sisters, our mothers would be abducted and we men folk
slaughtered.” Some requested that I should hold on to the telephone to hear the
slogans and exhortations of Islamists emanating from loudspeakers fitted to
mosques.
How come a large
number of loudspeakers had been installed and the same calls made from them?
How was the technique of arousing mass frenzy acquired? Who had masterminded these
well-knit organizations? These questions haunted me. I contacted Srinagar
Divisional Commissioner Jalil Khan and DIG SS Ali advising them to take prompt
action and depute officers to trouble spots. I spoke to Allah Bux for I knew he
was the key man. I also got into touch with the army officers. In between,
calls from MHA Additional Secretary said, “Sir, we are getting frantic
calls from Hindus in Srinagar. Hell
seems to have broken loose. The Pandits are in utter pain. We cannot get any
officer on phone in Srinagar.”
This was the
depressing state of security particularly about a small defenceless religious
minority. The insensitivity of the Home Ministry — deliberate or inadvertent
—- was so deplorable that the ethnic revolt in Azerbaijan and Rumanian
Liberation struggle were being telecast as special programmes and huge crowds
of Srinagar youth were watching these in the cinema halls of the city. The
State administration at that time was not different from what it was on January
13, 1989, when on the occasion of Guru Gobind Singh’s birthday, 15 persons were
killed in a riot in Jammu within an hour at a short distance from the office of
Farooq Abdullah.
Jagmohan in Srinagar
On January 16,
Farooq arrived in Srinagar. In a meeting at the Police Headquarter, he said that
the National Front Government was taking serious note of non-action, and he was
under pressure to show positive results. Some officers said they were not
allowed to do certain things. Losing his temper, Farooq called local police as
thoroughly corrupt. “Do what you want to do?” he told them in an
angry mood. The police deployed CRP in
Chota Bazaar and Guru Bazaar area to conduct searches. I was not briefed on
searches. Dr Farooq had “instructed his secret men to incite reaction when
searches were made only to create hindrances in my way.”
On the night of
20-21 January” , records Jagmohan
“outside, the events moved with same feverish speed. The voices of horror,
fearful harangue and exhortations soaked in Islamic fundamentalist terminology
filled the air. Crowds were goaded to gather in mosques and people were
mobilized from rural areas to the city. No civil authority existed anywhere.
The passivity was unbelievable. The DG, later on, told me it took him more than
six hours to get the DIG out from his house for duty.”
The situation
was grim. Jagmohan summoned Adviser Ved Marwah and the Corps Commander of
Northern Command. The crucial meeting decided to act in minutes not hours.
Curfew hitherto existing nominally was firmly imposed in the city. Crowds had
gone berserk burning public property like SIDC office Narpora, Women’s Polytechnic
Saida Kadal, Mahjoor Bridge etc. The frenzied crowds had to be dispersed. The
firing took place at Hawal, Tulsi Bagh, and Gav Kadal. Lal Bazar, Safa Kadal
etc. all in the city of Srinagar. The story of the miraculous escape of one Ramesh
Marhatta — a hair-raising saga of the lone Pandit survivor from the captivity
of the terrorist— was published by the
Daily Excelsior of 8 December 2019. Militants and their supporters churned
stories of excesses by the forces. In public life, you have to choose the
lesser evil. The city was quiet by evening and arson stopped. The plan for 26th
was thwarted. Twelve lives were lost in the action.”
The plan for 26th January
A diabolic plan
of subversion had been worked out by the terrorist for 26th January
the Republic Day which fell on Friday. A million people would come together and
exhort through harangues delivered from loudspeakers fitted on mosques to
proceed to Idgah in small groups. Hordes of people would move from outlying
areas, villages and small towns by buses and private vehicles. Friday prayer (namaz) would be performed with all the
religious fervour. Slogans of independence would be raised; the terrorists
would shot fires in the air as a mark of celebrating the “dawn of independence.”
The national flag would be symbolically burnt and the flag of Islamic Republic
hoisted. Foreign correspondents and photographers would be there in any number to
report the event and do photographic coverage. The planners had calculated that
the government would allow free movement it is the Republic Day. They thought
that leaders and civil servants would be in Jammu taking salute of Republic
Day.
This was a
closely guarded secret. The only calculation not made was that Farooq
government was not there. It will be reminded that on August 14 in the previous
year viz. 1989, the then government had virtually permitted the terrorists to
take the salute in a parade at the Islamia College.
Jagmohan writes
that he was informed that Simranjeet Singh Mann, the Sikh leader, had arrived
in Srinagar and desired to meet with me. He met with me and talked in a rambling
manner. But he went on telling me that nothing should be done that would endanger
the lives of the masses. He kept his purpose of visiting Srinagar a closely
guarded secret.
The events that unfolded with time are bizarre but for want of space, we need these to be recounted at some other occasion.
Ahead of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting in February, the United States has re-designated Pakistani terrorist groups as Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as foreign terrorist organisations.
The designation of the Pakistani terror groups as foreign terrorist organisations by Washington comes just weeks before the Financial Action Task Force’s meeting in February wherein the status of Islamabad in the grey list would be discussed.
“The Department of State has amended the terrorist designations of Lashkar- i- Jhangvi (LJ) and ISIL Sinai Peninsula (ISIL-SP) to include additional aliases. These aliases have been added to LJ and ISIL-SP’s designations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT),” the department of State said in a release.
“The State Department “has reviewed and maintained the FTO designations of LJ, ISIL-SP, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al Naqshabandi, Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis-Sudan (Ansaru), al-Nusrah Front, Continuity Irish Republican Army and the National Liberation Army, pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),” it added.
FTO and SDGT designations seek to deny these terrorist organizations the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks. “Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate them and deny them access to the US financial system. Designations can assist the law enforcement actions of other US agencies and governments,” the statement said further.
The re-designation is believed to be one of the final acts by outgoing US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo.
As things stand, Pakistan is on the FATF’s grey list since June 2018.
The country is facing the difficult task of clearing its name from the FATF grey list. Islamabad is finding it difficult to shield terror perpetrators and implement the FATF action plan at the same time.
In a major setback, FATF’s Asia Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering kept the country on “Enhanced Follow-up List” for its slow progress on the technical recommendations of the FATF to fight terror financing, in October
Kashmiri youth are puzzled to know that in his interview to Karan Thapar, Omar Abdullah has sounded pessimistic about his interest in politics. He has not given any cogent reason for the change of heart. Such depressing moods are the result of a combination of various factors, personal, circumstantial or professional. His abstention from politics will be a loss to the Kashmiri youth in the long run.
We should keep away from discussing Omar’s personal life. It is the circumstantial and political environment that seems to have triggered his despondency. Omar is young; he comes from a distinguished family entrenched in politics that forms an important chapter of the modern history of Kashmir. He has been groomed in local politics from his childhood under the supervision of his father and grandfather. The entire atmosphere in which he opened his eyes and grew to reach the adolescence was steeped in politics.
Omar may not have seen the tumultuous days of his grandfather’s struggle for replacing the autocratic dispensation in Kashmir by a popular government. But he has been a witness to the great turmoil in Kashmir caused by the externally sponsored and abetted armed insurgency in 1989-90 preceded by recurring incidents of planned or unplanned bombing or firing at odd places in Srinagar city or the towns. He was inducted into active politics of the state at a very young age and was catapulted into the seat of power without much experience for the crucial post of the chief minister. Observers think that his father was keen for the perpetuation of the dynastic rule. Farooq Abdullah neither observed the norms of a fresher going through the mill of party discipline and training, nor did he remember that his father’s long struggle was against the dynastic rule.
But why
single out Omar for the hateful dynastic rule. We have several states in which
progeny of erstwhile rulers still rule the roost and wield influence. Being the
scion of an outstanding dynasty is not as disgusting as being cast in an inward
looking and fixated mindset.
As party chief or as the chief minister, Omar had to be docile and submissive to his over-imposing and flamboyant father. The qualities of assertiveness, initiative and creativity, known as the hallmark of a successful leader, remained elusive for him. Farooq toed the line of the old guard in National Conference with which Omar was not compatible owing to the proverbial generation gap.
In the Gupkar
meet, one could find that Omar was more a sidelined odd man than a pro-active
member. His inner light is dimmer than what it was in the past. The explanation
is that when a youth leader who has all the pre-requisites at his bidding but
is unable to find space and freedom to translate his ideas, vision and
initiative into practice, his determination and urge slow down and pale into
insignificance.
The developments of August 5, 2019 has left its impact on him. Omar grew in an atmosphere of enormous public support to his grandfather’s house. The public support was misconstrued as the perennial source of power. The house began to believe in the permanence of power and influence forgetting that in democratic dispensation public opinion is not to be taken for granted.
His father had vowed that streams of blood would flow if Article 370 was removed. The NC in general and the Sheikh House in particular, believed that Article 370 was the eternal gift they had won for the Kashmiris. Contrary to all this tall talk he found that when Article 370 was torn to shreds not a dog barked in the valley. Farooq’s threats had vanished in thin air. Omar fathomed the shallowness of his party leader’s claptrap. He is justified in saying he is shocked by the aftermath of August 5 episode. It has come like a shock to many more especially those who used Article 370 as an instrument of blackmailing.
Omar has, perhaps for the first time, realized that power rests with the people. He had often argued that J&K had only “acceded” and not “integrated” into the Indian Union. Norms of democracy are not applied selectively. A federating unit economically and financially fully dependent on the federation has to understand that the line dividing accession from integration is no more existent as the unit moves ahead along the path to economic and social development. That is precisely what Nehru had meant by his famous comment on Article 370, viz., “ghiste ghiste ghis jaega”.
In hindsight, Omar must be ruminating over how National Conference failed to rise to the occasion in the face of externally sponsored armed insurgency. Perhaps he had no say in warning the NC cadres of the serious repercussions it’s hobnobbing with the jihadist-terrorists groups would bring in the trail. Not only that, Omar must be wondering how come his father wants to carry Kashmir into the lap of China as did the leaders of Pakistan did with Pakistan. The consequence is that thousands of Pakistani girls “married” to Chinese men have been taken to China where they finally landed in the brothels. Farooq is not to be blamed for the China daydream; his illustrious father, too, had fallen into the trance as on 31 March 1965, he had a long-secret meeting with the then Chinese premier Chow en Lai in Algiers.
Omar’s disillusionment is also caused by the incredible corruption that had seeped deep into the administrative cadres of the state and the collapse of moral force of the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy never obliged him, rather he obliged the bureaucracy by succumbing to the pressures they brought via his father and other bigwigs in the party.
Modi’s ascendency is a worry not only to Omar but to the entire Muslim leadership of the valley as well. It is because of the way the Islamic fundamentalists have projected him. The reasons are very simple. Modi understood the tricks of blackmail in which NC leaders are adept and he countered them. The earlier regime, viz., Congress gave the NC the requisite leeway to profile itself as the secularist symbol of Kashmir yet perpetrate rank communalism in practice. Manipulating elections, bureaucracy, administration, relations with the centre, insurgency, and ethnic cleansing of Kashmir, and above all, pursuing avenues of self-aggrandizement were the gifts to the people during latest phase of the NC regime. Omar could not move a single blade of grass without the permission of the High Command, viz., his father, uncle and close family elders reducing him to the status of a pawn on the NC’s chessboard of politics.
Omar has to reconcile with some fundamentals of statecraft if he intends to return to politics and do some lasting service to the people of Jammu & Kashmir. The foremost is that J&K is an integral part of the Union of India and it can survive only in that capacity and in no other form call it autonomy, greater autonomy, self rule etc. Kashmir is crucial not only to India’s foreign policy but more to her security parameters. As such Kashmir leadership has to reshape its relations and approach in a manner that it remains in the national mainstream. Secondly, the power rests in the hands of the people and democracy is the other name of the majoritarianism however obnoxious it may be. Lastly, Kashmir leadership has to realize that the days of blackmail are gone for all times as are the days of the dynastic rule. No people in this country deserve any special treatment because our economic development has to be universal and all-pervasive. All steps that lead to the integration of the State (at present UT) with the Indian Union have to be hailed and given due recognition.
If these realities are understood and recognized by Omar Abdullah, we can assure him that he will wriggle out of the dilemma and despondency. He will find new horizons of progress and happiness opening on him and his people in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
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