Militancy
in Kashmir was not started to liberate Kashmir
Dr Shabir Choudhry 21 December 2012
For
many years we have been criticising militancy in Kashmir that was started by
the Pakistani establishment with help of some Kashmiri people. The purpose of
this militancy was not to liberate Kashmir but to keep ‘India engaged’ and keep
‘India bleeding’. India and the world community termed this militancy as
terrorism and a ‘proxy war’, although there were many who called it a ‘jihad’
and freedom struggle. Uncontrolled militancy very seriously hurt innocent
people of Jammu and Kashmir; and despite enormous suffering and sacrifices the
militancy failed to achieve the goal of independence as it was controlled and
managed by non Kashmiris.
It
is possible that those who started this militancy were sincere, and believed
that they were fighting to liberate Kashmir. However, fact remains that people
of Jammu and Kashmir have lost a generation, thousands are still languishing in
prisons and many are still unaccounted for. Sad thing is that despite death of
tens of thousands of people and suffering, we have not made any progress
towards independence, if anything; we have inadvertently damaged the principle
of right of self determination and divided people of Jammu and Kashmir on
communal, regional and tribal lines.
When we exposed the
Pakistani agenda on Kashmir and said that the Pakistani establishment used
people of Jammu and Kashmir to promote their agenda, and that it was not a war
of liberation, a massive campaign started against us and unfounded and
illogical allegations were labelled against us. A few days ago a star of
Pakistani journalism, Hamid Mir wrote an article in most popular Urdu Daily
Jang and confirmed what we have been saying for many years. Hamid Mir wrote:
‘It
is a painful fact for a large section of loyal Pakistanis that in the last ten
years Pakistan’s political and military leadership tried to resolve the Kashmir
dispute according to desire of the foreign powers instead of the wishes of the
people of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2002, General Musharaf was bent upon to impose
a formula on Kashmir which was tantamount to treachery to the Kashmiri struggle
that started in 1931; and for this purpose he divided the Hurriyat Conference.
He invited pro India leaders like Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti to Islamabad
and made them sit at par with the Hurriyat Conference leadership; and tried to eradicate
LOC and resolve the Kashmir dispute.......Pervaiz Musharaf did not succeed in
his plan. It is regrettable that some senior officials of the present
government are trying to fool people of Pakistan and Kashmir by giving a new
name to that old plan....’
‘Ruling
elite of Pakistan must remember that there is a long list of deceptions and
betrayals to the Kashmir people since 1947. In October 1947, without informing
Qaaide Azam a Tribal force was sent in to Kashmir that provided an opportunity
to India to send troops in Kashmir. The weapons provided to the tribesmen by
the GHQ were taken by police and the tribesmen had to fight with much inferior
guns. This was the time when India offered Pakistan to abandon its claim over
Hyderabad and India would leave Kashmir; but Liaquat Ali (Prime Minister of
Pakistan) discourteously rejected that offer...... After the
rigged elections of 1987 in the occupied Kashmir, people started a movement.
Pakistan introduced militancy in this movement; but contained the militancy to
certain areas. When militants protested against this, they were bluntly told
by ISI senior officer, Major General Iftikhar Hussain Shah that we don’t want
freedom of Kashmir, we only wanted to wound India....From Kargil adventure
of 1999 to division of Hurriyat Conference in 2002, there is a long list of
betrayal of Pakistan’s political and military leadership to the people of
Kashmir. A request to this leadership is, please stop now, if you cannot do
anything good for the people of Kashmir then, at least stop dividing them and
making them fight each other.’ 1
I have narrated similar stories
in my various articles written over the past decade. Here I am producing a
quote from an interview I had with a Kashmir journalist who belongs to Srinagar
and was doing a course in journalism in London. This interview was widely
published with the following title: Interview
with a Kashmiri journalist July
2008
H.
‘Those who sponsored this campaign of terror and gun culture in
Kashmir brought in Jihadi warriors from other countries which changed the
fundamental character of the struggle. It was no longer a Kashmiri struggle- it
became part of the Islamic fundamentalism which provided a big propaganda stick
in hands of India and Europe.
I. It is interesting to
note that those who sponsored this campaign of terror or religious fanaticism had cinemas, beauty
parlours, tourists etc in their own country but encouraged these extremists to
target people who were using these services in Jammu and Kashmir. Aim was to
promote religious hatred, intolerance, regionalism and communalism, and widen
divisions among Kashmiris. They were successful in this. Freedom or
independence of Jammu and Kashmir was never their aim, their hidden agenda was
to ‘keep India engaged’ and ‘keep India bleeding’, and they were successful in
that.
J.
A senior
government official who I know very well advised me in 1992 that I should do
something else and make a career as there was nothing in this struggle of
Kashmir. He said that I was talented and educated person and should not
squander my time in this, as Kashmir will not get independence because those
who planned this struggle never envisaged that. They only wanted to engage
India. He said, he told them not to start it in Kashmir as Muslims will become
target of Indian wrath, and that it was ok to do it in Punjab, Asam, Nagaland
etc, but he was vetoed out.
K.
I did not
believe him as I thought he was just trying to discourage me; after all he was
ISI man, and wanted to deprive the movement of my skills and talent. But by
1995/6, I was convinced that he was correct, and that we Kashmiris were taken
for a ride by Pakistani agencies - they used us Kashmiris to keep the wolf away
from their door. But it was too late.
In a reply to
another question I said: ‘It is unfortunate that world at large don’t see the Kashmir
separate from India and Pakistan problem. Despite all the sacrifices the people
of Jammu and Kashmir have given, it is still perceived as a bilateral dispute
which has to be resolved by the two countries. We are in this fix because:
Pakistan made it a territorial dispute, it also suited India, and we Kashmiris
failed to promote a Kashmiri cause and appeared to be only proxies of India or
Pakistan’.
What Hamid Mir
and some other Pakistani writers with clear conscience have narrated about
Pakistan’s Kashmir policy is a bitter fact. However, some Pakistanis and
Kashmiris still want to close their eyes to this ugly fact and are still in a
state of denial. These people live in the past or in a fantasy world and cannot
be helped, but caring and thinking people need to evaluate this in light of
history of India – Pakistan relations and their somewhat agreement on the
issues of Kashmir.
I agree with
those who say that peace and friendly relations between India and Pakistan should
not be kept hostage to the Kashmir dispute; but at the same time people of
Jammu and Kashmir should not be denied their inherent right of self
determination and kept divided and oppressed. Like other people in the world we
also have right to life, peace, liberty and enjoy other fundamental rights
enshrined in the UN Charter.
We people of
Jammu and Kashmir need to evaluate Kashmir policy in light of the hard facts
and determine our role by keeping interest of all citizens of Jammu and Kashmir
State in mind; rather than protecting and promoting interests of those who
occupy us. If Kashmiri leaders continue to pursue policies of the past then no
matter how many people they get killed and how many people are imprisoned they
will never achieve goal of independence.
References:
Writer is a political analyst and author
of many books and booklets. Also he is Director Institute of Kashmir Affairs.Email:drshabirchoudhry@gmail.com
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