Forgotten Victims of Partition- POJK and Gilgit Baltistan refugees -Unearthing them from National Archives

 15 August is approaching . In the run up to the Independence Day we remember our freedom fighters , our leaders and evaluate our progress as a young nation with an ancient civilisation . Often forgotten is the fact that it was British India that was partitioned and declared ‘Independent’ while for the 562 plus princely states , the Paramountcy of British power ended and existing treaties ,leases etc were dissolved . The princely states could accede to either Dominion of India or or Pakistan- there was no provision for a third Dominion. The time preceding and post Partition was violent and turbulent -a fact often forgotten in the euphoria of celebrations.

Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India on 26 October 1947. On the night of 21-22 October 1947 , Jammu and Kashmir was invaded by Pakistani raiders from Pashtun areas, supported by Pakistani Army. The events in the Kashmiri valley are well known, and the looting and violence that was unleashed is well documented, the Indian Army soon forced the raiders to retreat .

The story of Non Muslims of Mirpur -Muzzafarabad districts and Gilgit Baltistan province is however forgotten. The Hindu and Sikh victims of the events of 1947 are but an erased footnote in the post 1947 history of  India .

The National Archives has documents relating to the hapless victims of partition , both in Mirpur Muzzafarabad and Gilgit Baltistan area , both under Pakistani occupation since UN mandated Ceasefire of 1 January 1949. Till 1950, the issue of evacuation and release of Hindu and Sikh girls, women and children was in national headlines, but soon was relegated to the dusty files of National archives.

Here, an effort will be made to bring out the story of the forgotten victims. Where are these girls,women and children now? Their present generation ,both in india and Pakistan ,may not even know they existed once as Hindus and Sikhs 

Refugees and Abducted victims of Mirpur Muzzafarabad now termed POJK 

From the night of 22 October , violence and terror was unleashed on Hindus and Sikhs of Mirpur, Muzaffarabad , Bhimber, Kotli ,Poonch and surrounding areas. Thousands of Hindus and Sikhs perished and thousands of young women,Girls and children were kidnapped and taken captive by Raiders. The lucky Hindus and Sikhs who managed to flee reached Jammu and later lived on as POJK refugees. The violence did not stop even after Indian Army was deployed. For two years, until ceasefire was announced, the indian army protected the refugees ,often under siege, surrounded by Muslim areas and Pakistani Army. The woes of non Muslims worsened after cease fire was announced and the areas came under Pakistani occupation. 

Recovery commissions were set up to locate and free kidnapped non Muslims from Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Applications abound in the archives for securing release of young girls held captive in villages by refugees from POJK. One such application from a refugee camp in UP ( refugees from POJK were not settled in Kashmir valley, this story will be explained another time) states that young girls as young as 12 years were abducted, converted and married off to old men . 

Mridula Sarabai made efforts to locate, secure release and evacuate the unfortunate Hindu and Sikh girls. Her report in national archives, even though in official language ,cannot hide the terrible human tragedy that was being witnessed in the open, in front of everyone’s eyes. The report speaks of 3 abducted girls , in Mirpur ,who were recovered . But public pressure was so intense that a person of the Rank of a Deputy Commissioner returned the three girls back to the abductors. 

There were confirmed reports of the kidnapped girls being taken to ‘closed’ villages in the interiors and by the raiders back to their villages. Any efforts to return the abducted girls and even children was resisted by the whole village. Before ceasefire, it was still possible to recover girls via Indian armed forces, but after ceasefire , the Pakistan recovery office and police did not make any credible efforts to secure release of the girls. 

About 200 young girls were reported to be kept in an non official camp, in Mirpur head water works, for ‘use’ of Millitary .

In refugee camps in Pakistan occupied territory of J&K , these women,girls and children were kept as bargaining tools and not returned to their families even when located.  A Muslim conference meeting held in Lahore upheld the view that the kidnapped persons and those in refugee camps should not be returned until accession of Kashmir to Pakistan, these views were also supported by the officers of the recovery police. 

Two refugees who had returned from POJK made this disclosure to Mr Rishi, head of congress committee in Delhi. The ministry of states has reported The meeting with the Refugees and Mr Rishi, where the refugees informed that camp commandants were refusing to release women and children unless a corresponding number of Muslim women and children were given in exchange . A camp in Datya, was reported to have 79 women and 38 children, who were not being released .

Areas of Mirpur Muzzaffarabad were under the recovery office and there were reports, recoveries and evacuations , though reduced to a trickle . The case of Gilgit Baltistan was even more pathetic as that came under ministry of state. After the mutiny and accession of Gilgit to Pakistan, there was no way to contact non Muslims in Gilgit Baltistan. The Hindu traders of Kashgar were the first to inform the British consulate there to the plight of Hindus and Sikhs .

The government of India initially put up its hands ,but the pressure of the Hindu traders in Kashgar made it act.

The Sikh and Hindu employees of the Kashmir government were the first victims. They were kidnapped and taken to frontier areas and made to work for Pakistan. Many were killed . A tragic application stating that Daughters and even wives of J&K government employees were converted and forcibily married to army officers of Pakistan army . Elder daughter of a postal clerk Shankar Lal Dhar was converted and forcibily married to a Pakistani army officer.

The traders who managed to escape Gilgit informed that 150 Hindu and Sikh traders in Gilgit ,along with their women and children had converted to Islam.

Further application from a Sikh trader in Dehradoon requesting evacuation of his family members from Gilgit  Informed that the family ,along with the women, had converted to Islam. 

Hindu and Sikhs of Gilgit were confined to the Gilgit fort and converted , fate of their womenfolk were unknown, but were supposed to have been converted and forcibly married off.

Applications requesting evacuation of Hindu and Sikhs in Skardu, Astore, Chilas also abound in national archives . Tragic stories of Husband not being allowed to leave while the wife was lucky to have been released abound.

These stories ,written in cold official language, nevertheless , speak of a great human tragedy. These are victims of our political freedom which we got on 15 August 1947.

Mridula Sarabai gave a list of about 2317 abducted persons ,which she stressed was neither final, nor the least, as every released person gave details about further persons.

The kidnapped women,girls and children were leading secure ,happy lives, having dreams and their Little joys - when events not in their control turned their lives upside down. What terrible experiences must have befallen these hapless girls ,women, children, to be snatched away from their known lives and becoming slaves and living in hostile villages. Did their children even know the past of their mother? How did the families of these abducted girls carry on with their lives . Did they pass on their tragic stories to the next generation? 

The employees of the Kashmir government were thrown into these events by virtue of being posted to these areas. Many were kidnapped, their daughters forcibily married off! What happened to them and to the traders and others who were converted ? Did their second generation know the history? 

These answers were never sought ! A few survivors did write about their experiences but somehow, these stories never made way into the Kashmir Narrative. The wife of the Wazir -e-Wazarat of Muzzafarabad , Smt Krishna Mehta has written about these terrible times . Her husband was pushed to his knees and killed by raiders for being a kaffir . A person so powerful could be killed like this. She recounts girls defacing themselves in refugee camps to save their honour and women killing themselves to escape rape and kidnapping.

These are gross human right violations , which happened under eyes of UN commissioners ,Red Cross , British Authorities- all these profess to be beckons of human right protection. The nation of India  watched Helplessly while its women, girls ,young men and children were enslaved and converted or who killed themselves or were killed . 

Let us not forget them, for they payed a great price for our political freedom .

Brazen lies of Rahul Gandhi

Brazen Lies of Rahul Gandhi -Fact based Rebuttal

 

Rahul Gandhi of late has been blabbering a lot of nonsense-and spouting white lies.He does that with a sneering sense of entitlement ,secure in the knowledge that Pidi Media will not counter his lies and some people may believe him.

 

Today I intend to counter 2 of his glaring lies 

Lie No 1 -Freedom of Expression is a fundamental democratic right and BJP/RSS are policing and controlling it 

The Shamelessness of this Brazen lie astounded me and I resolved to counter this lie by a few examples of the great congress and its Dynasty in suppressing the same freedom of Expression .

 

Year was 1950

Cross Roads was a weekly journal published by Romesh Thapar was Banned by Madras state for Criticising Nehruvian policies.

Romesh Approached Supreme Court which upheld his freedom of expression guaranteed under art 19(1)(a) of Constitution on 26 May 1950 .

The Case was Thapar vs State of Madras .

 

On 10 May 1951 Nehru moved 1 amendment -known as Constitution (first amendment)Act 1951 .

On 18 June 1951 it was passed by parliament-amending 19(1)a -which guaranteed freedom of expression -to curtailing that freedom, thus effectively overturning the judgement of SC in Thapar vs Madras state upholding freedom of expression 

Today Rahul Gandhi brazenly claims that he stands for freedom of Expression .

I would like to remind him of the following Milestones 

 

During Emergency Indira Gandhi Suspended Freedom of Speech totally .

In UPA time ,ruled remotely by Sonia-Rahul-Art 66A was implemented curtailing Freedom of expression on social media-arresting scores under the draconian provision.

And today Rahul Gandhi sneeringly tweets about upholding freedom of speech !!!

 

Since Rahul Gandhi is waxing eloquent about his Father Rajiv Gandhi :

A brief Synopsis :

 

Image cultivated of a reluctant politician-immediately agreed to become prime minister after Indira Gandhi’s Assassination!

His stint started with the infamous ‘when a large tree falls,earth shakes’ and genocide of thousands of innocent sikhs . 

His brief spell as PM involved Bofors kick back scam.

Bhopal Gas tragedy and shameful escorting of Anderson out of India. 

Overturning of SC judgement on Shah Bano .

Terrible Communal riots in Meerut in 1987 where police force was withdrawn and Hindu colonies left unprotected while Muslim mobs attacked them.

The IPKF misadventure leading to unfortunate death of over 2000 indian armed forces persons .

Emptying coffers of Nation so that Gold had to be mortgaged after his stint. 

Creating a mess in Punjab.

 Created an Environment for resurgence of Pakistan sponsored separatism and terrorism by rigging 1987 elections 

Stayed mute and inactive when Kashmiri Pandits were being targeted ,killed and finally forced into exile from 1989, then the black night of 19 January 1990- by ignoring all reports. 

Finally -Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE-where does serving India come in !!

 

Lie no 2 

Rahul Gandhi claims that Modi is the first PM to bend before China

 

Another shameless brazen lie that needs to be called out .

The 1962 Indo China war which India lost due to weak leadership of Nehru is a throbbing wound on the psyche of India

Other instances of bending of Nehru in front of China are 

1. Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai .
2. Letting China annex Tibet .
3. Letting China occupy Aksai chin.
4. Gifting away Minsar in Tibet,which was a part of JK,and whose revenues were used to maintain Kailash mansarovar to China in 1954 .
5. Feeble protest when Pakistan Gifted away Shaksgam Valley in POJK to China in 1963 .

 

These are but a few instances in Nehru’s rule 

In 1962 Pakistan and China began getting closer,creating a Sino Pak nexus .  Nehru,Indira ,Rajiv,Sonia ,Rahul did nothing to counter it through decades when they were in power 

In UPA Rule CPEC project was begun-what did Sonia Rahul controlled Government do to counter it?

Modi led Government is taking a strong stance against CPEC,BRI etc by neighbourhood first policy.

It is tackling the Maritime silk route by Sagarmala,reaching out to Indian Ocean Rim nations,QUAD,RIMPAC etc

It must be noted that Dokolam was the first instance of India sticking to its Guns in face of China after the Nathu la battle in sixties. 

 

Rahul Gandhi indulges in white brazen lies-time to call out his pathetic lies by putting out fact based rebuttals . 

Mishtar Jinnah says Hindus will be safe in Pakistan..Untold story of broken faith

She wore only black and never tied her hair till her death..after being forced to abandon her home in Sialkot and migrate to India post partition...
The wounds of Partition are generational. The pain of the unhealed wounds is so deep that partition and pre partition life was never discussed in my family while I was growing up in Meerut ,which was my Grandmother’s ( Dadi) hometown . Any questions about my Father’s paternal family would be answered with a bland “ they belonged to Sialkot and came to Meerut/ Delhi post partition” . My grandmother’s eyes would moisten . She would sometimes speak of my grandfather ,who was subedar major in British Army, being posted to Chaman and they wanting to settle there ...but then partition happened!
We grew up with knowing a lot about Meerut and my Dadi’s family roots in Meerut, but strangely nothing about my Father’s ‘Sialkot’ Dada-Dadi. We grew up with a nostalgia about Chaman where my grandmother was Happy and dreamt of settling till partition happened.
Recently Kartarpur corridor was opened and  my Aunts( my late father’s sisters), in their late seventies and eighties suddenly opened up about the Sialkot past. This blog is a very very belated attempt to bring out my great grandmother’s  voice through silence of Generations and bring forth the great human tragedy of partition..a tragedy which has been normalised and foot noted for my generation and coming ones .
My Father’s Grandfather was Sri Govind Ram Sharma,an army contractor with the British settled in Sialkot . He was an Arya Samaji. My aunt claims a Gate of Aryasamaj in Sialkot had his name inscribed . My Grandfather’s name was Munshi Lal Sharma and my Great Grandmother’s name was Shiv Devi.

By all accounts ,my Great Grandmother Shiv Devi was a very strong woman and committed aryasamaji. She built a large home in Sialkot and several other commercial properties. A property under the name of her Son ,munshi Lal Sharma ,housed a post office. She donated to an aryasamaj school which had my grandfather’s name ,Munshi Lal inscribed in The wall . My aunt recalls seeing the gate and the post office as a child during visits to Sialkot. 

Shiv Devi Ji was a beautiful woman, and was widowed early. However she managed her properties etc and was deeply respected in her neighbourhood. There was one room with a kaccha floor where the family gold was buried and boxes full of clothes were placed in the room. Once a year ,Shiv Devi, along with a group of women ,would go to Kashmir and bring back an year’s supply of dry fruits and warm clothes. It seems that it was a common practise in areas of Punjab to go to Kashmir and bring dry fruits and warm clothes.
Shiv Devi helped her neighbours and was deeply respected as she was always there for them . She also had a fiery temper which was often unleashed on unsuspecting strangers. One anecdote my aunt narrates is of her asking a Baraat to take another route as there was another baraat awaited in her neighbourhood, and the baraat complying with her ..and changing the route!
Partition was imminent and my grandfather, who had left the British army and shifted to meerut in a rented house , advised her to sell her house and come to Meerut too. But Shiv Devi had just repaired her home and was well established. She told everyone..Mishtar Jinnah has promised Hindus will be safe in Pakistan ..why should I leave my home and life I know.
Partition happened and bloodshed followed. There was no population migration planned but Hindus were under attack. My Great grandmom would still claim..Mishtar Jinnah has assured..but she sent her unmarried daughter, who was a beauty to Her Relatives in Dehradun. Then her Muslim neighbours would advise her to cross the border and go to safety, but she resisted , staying all alone in her house,guarding her family gold buried under the mud floor.
One night, mobs went on a rampage in her neighbourhood , killing, raping and looting Hindus. Her Muslim neighbours came into her home via a ladder and told her to come with them . They told her they could not bear to see her being dishonoured and they would take her across the border. My grandmother had no time to take out her buried gold, except one gold bangle, weighing 8 tolas, before she was hustled across the ladder into her Muslim neighbour home and escorted to the border where she crossed over and reached Delhi.
My aunt recollects that Shiv Devi started wearing black to convey her protest and stopped tying her hair. She vowed that she would tie up her hair only after returning to her home. But that was never to be!
One day, when she was living with her daughter in Delhi, she met a neighbour from Sialkot . He was a Muslim and was visiting his relatives. She saw him and bought him home. She wanted to know about her home and properties. The man told her her house had been occupied by several Muslim families and her mud floor had been dug up and her gold looted. The post office was still functioning in in the Property named after Munshi Lal Sharma, her beloved son. After this meeting my Great Grandmother had changed a lot, and stopped discussing Sialkot. Our family had left everything behind in Sialkot , all family savings, land, buildings to start life afresh in a rented house. We had very financially weak childhoods..my grandmother through her tireless housekeeping fed us,clothed us and sent us to the best schools. Yet, the image management of Nehru was so great that my grandmother remained a committed congressi till her last breath We too, though partition was an inevitable price to pay for freedom from British! But now I think, had partition not happened, the family wealth would have been built upon,the family home built with love,tears and sweat would have been there,we may have been born in the family home of Sialkot,and my grandmother would have lived comfortably instead of struggling in near poverty to bring up her children and grandchildren! It is us second generation that is now comfortably settled,but two generations before us suffered and struggled! Time we discuss the horrors of partition and stop normalising it and letting it become a footnote in history!

Kashmiriat – kashmir belongs to Bharat

Kashmiriat – kashmir belongs to Bharat

 The meeting of Indian politicians like Sita Ram Yechury, Manishankar Aiyer, Track 2 type like Vinod Sharma,AVM kak(rtd) with Geelani prompted me to write this Article. For the last few decades,Kashmiri Politicians like the Abdullahs, Muftis and Kashmiri origin Congress leaders have been spouting the term Kashmiriat along with Jamooriyat( democracy) as paradigms of the solution.
Like secularism,Kashmiriat too has been distorted to represent a certain section of Kashmiris-Kashmiri pandits who converted to Islam. Kashmiriat reduces the Kashmir issue to the valley area in Kashmir,along with the pak occupied area of the valley,and creates an artificial construct of Kashmiris being ethnically,culturally different from India,denies any historical connect,reduces the time frame to the era after Sikandar Butshikan--and legitimises the false idea of an autonomous Kashmiri state.
In my article I argue -if Kashmiriat has to be implemented, let Kashmiriat be a pan indian idea, every Indian has a cultural,religious,historical connection to Kashmir
 Kashmir is a Sanskrit word for saffron or kesar--for at least 5000 years the name of the area is Kashmir. Mythologically It is the abode of Saraswati -goddess of learning--when Hindus chant the saraswati shloka --Namastey Sharada Devi Kashmir Pur Vasini Tvam Ham Prartheye Nityam Vidya Danam Che De hi mey" (Salutations to you, O Sharada, O Goddess, O one who resides in Kashmir. I pray to you daily, please give me the charity of knowledge).---this is the Kashmiriat that resides in every Indian !
Amaranth Yatra to Kashmir has been an Ancient Unbroken Ritual undertaken by Hindus throughout centuries--Amarnath Cave situated in Anantnag is a part of Kashmiriat in every Hindu
and Indian
For centuries Kashmir was ruled by Indian Hindu kings whose kingdoms stretched throughout Bharat, not restricted to only the Kashmir valley-historically Kashmir consisted of Jammu,Kandahar ( gandhar) ,Dardar (Gilgit) Baltistan --and not only the valley
Kashmir is the fountainhead that nurtured shaivism, vaishnaivism and Buddhism .In 2nd Century BC Ashoka ,Maurayan Emperor, constructed a Buddha Vihar now known as Srinagar-so Kashmir was a part of the Mauraya Empire whose capital was Patliputra. Kanishka held the fourth Mahayana Buddhist Conference in Srinagar  where the great Scholar-King  Nagarjuna from Andhra attended and stayed for 6 months
In 740 AD Lalitaditya, a Kashmiri king with Capital in Srinagar conquered Kannauj in UP. His Kingdom extended to Kaveri basin in south, Kabul in West, Brahmaputra basin in the east with Ujjain in centre paying it tribute--Lalitaditya was a Vaishnavite-But he requested the Great Saivite scholar Atrigupta to shift to Srinagar .Atrigupta's descendent was Abhinavgupta, one of the greatest scholars Kashmir has produced. He had 9 gurus, one of them lived in Jalandhar in present day Punjab . In his reign Lalitaditya sent 64 Dwarapalas to Kerela and Konkani coast .The manuscripts of Abhinavgupta's work are found in Kerala -signifying there was movement between Kashmir and kerela for centuries
In 8 century, Adi Shankarachaya left Kerala on foot  and Reached Sharada Peeth in present day  Muzzafarabad in Pak occupied Jammu Kashmir. He entered through the South Gate and studied there and Entered into Great Sastrartha( religious/philosophical debates) and was annointed Shankarachaya there and established on the Peeth. The four Shankarachaya mutts in four corners are a living testimony to the Kashmiriat alive through out India .
Guru Nanak stayed in Kashmir during his travels and spread Sikhism in Kashmir,establishing gurudwaras.Guru Tegh Bahadur vowed to protect Kashmiri Hindus and Pandits and sacrificed his life when he was Beheaded by Aurangzeb on November 24,1675.Sheeshganj in Delhi is an Example of Kashmiriat that is was behind Guru Tegh Bahadur's Ultimate sacrifice.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh attacked the Afghan rulers who had captured Kashmir on appeal of Kashmiri Pandits and won Kashmir on 15 July 1819 -So Kashmir was even a part of the Sikh Kingdom.

Without Kashmir, Bharat cannot exist. 

Meerut Memories of terror and Riots

                                                 Memories of Riots and terror in Meerut
Hauz Quasi in the heart of Delhi suffered Riots and temple desecration . Media except for opindia,Swarajya,organiser and Sudarshan TV ,blacked it out till SM pressure forced it to report,albeit in a spun and whitewashed manner.News of rioting mobs in Meerut,news of families migrating from Prahlad nagar revived memories of riots in Meerut. Reupping an old article of mine which I wrote post Malda Riots .
I grew up in Meerut, a small town in UP,80 km away from Delhi-in the 70's-80's life in a small west UP town was predictable, with annual Hindu muslim riots being something one grew up with. The riots always happened in another strata,away from the placid existence of middle class ,in the narrow winding alleys of the old town.We always knew riots were sponsored and the horrors bypassed us.Hindus and Muslims existed in many layers in Meerut-the middle class,upper middle class hindus and muslims had deep friendships, fostered over generations.The unspoken code was if a hindu got caught in a riot in a muslim friend's home in a muslim majority locality,the hindu would remain safe, to be bought out after situation calmed down and vice versa. My grandmother subscribed to a urdu newspaper,it was a sign of social sophistication to know sher-o-shyri. Tailors of Hindu households were Muslims whose expertise at making churidaars and Shararas was unsurpassed.The winding alleys in the Muslim Dominated areas were an alien universe to us--the female residents disgorging themselves out on the weekly Monday on the weekly Monday Pent( street market) wearing Burkhas,which were not a common sight in Meerut middle class/upper middle class muslims.The other occasion when the residents of the mysterious other world came out was during Muharram processions-otherwise life went on in parallel streams.
In 86-87 all this suddenly took a different turn.Riots became violent,more intense and spread into middle class neighbourhoods.
It was early morning in Shastri nagar,a hindu majority middle class colony,in early summer of 1987, far away slogans of Allah o Akbar suddenly rent the air and dark black smoke appeared on the horizon. Before we could know what  the matter was, suddenly lots of neighbours living on the outskirts of Shastri nagar( a hindu majority colony) next to Hapur Road ( Muslim majority area) began running in on foot ,on scooters, on cycles- saying a muslim mob had attacked them and was throwing burning tyres into their homes. Also,A petrol pump had been burnt on Hapur road .
We climbed up on the roof and could see a mob approaching the main road ,throwing burning tyres and chanting Allah-o-Akbar.I remember my Father,a frail committed communist, picking up hockeysticks and waking my pre teen brother to get ready to protect the colony. Early morning milkmen were coming in cycles from nearby villages.When they saw the Mob they rushed back and returned with Desi katta( guns) and started confronting the mob with slogans of  -Har Har Mahadev.
The MP of Meerut was Mohisina Kidwai. My grandmother was a congress worker. We rang her residence from the lone phone in our neighbourhood, but she was in Delhi and no one was there to help us. One uncle rushed to the police chowki in the much treasured Bajaj ,but was informed there was No police Force Available-all had been sent to Delhi to deal with a Farmers' Rally, only a few policemen were there-with lathis.
Suddenly we realised we were helpless, unprotected and had only ourselves . We had no weapons except Hockey Sticks, lathis,kitchen knives. The villagers meanwhile had routed the Mob .The colony was new, with open fields all around and the mobs would attack from different fronts,from an area called Zaidi farms,but were mercifully kept at bay by the katta wielding villagers .
I can never forget the feeling of terror and utter helplessness and the feeling of betrayal. Rajiv Gandhi was the PM-he was a youth icon-how was this happening? Where was the police? Where was the MP? Why were we left undefended
For weeks this continued. Curfew was imposed. It was the month of Ramzan. Whole night the males would take turns at keeping watch. The residents of the outlying areas came to live with us .Till late night we women would huddle up in the park and then all would be sleeping in a few designated safe houses -on the roof. We had planned to drink Rat poison if our colony got overrun. We collected bricks and kept them on the roof to throw in case we were attacked. The nights were scary with ears straining to hear any sounds of Mobs attacking. A few attempts were foiled by the police and our own watch parties .
Pre dawn, drums would beat at a nearby Mosque. Then slogans would be broadcast on the loudspeaker. Pakistan zindabad would be followed by threats of violence. We would be told that instead of Bakras Hindus will be given in Qurbani. Then news that the muslims had destroyed the Chandi temple ( false) would be announced. Then they would also announce the Hindu areas they had attacked and how many they had killed etc . The broadcasts would fill us with dread ( though later police would debunk these rumors)
A couple of Muslim families in our area were safe. We knew they were not a part of this mindset. But then another troubling event occurred. Absolute strangers came to our colonies and asked about muslim households and warned us against protecting them. The police escorted the Muslim families in the dark of the night outside Meerut to their relatives, while we all distributed their furniture in out homes for safe keeping . The strangers came the next day but police told them the muslim families had left before the riots and showed them empty homes.
Finally the PAC was deployed in Meerut. They were heroes for us-after they were deployed the Mosque fell silent.The neighbourhood watches ceased. And we all began sleeping in our own homes.
The strangers disappeared and the muslim families came back.
With our old friends there was no bitterness-we knew we did not subscribe to this madness .And they knew they were safe in our colony.
India today magazine came after Riots.I expected that our Riots would be covered .
My first betrayal with Media began then-there was no coverage of Hindu areas-only Maliyana and PAC excesses. For us PAC was god send -But for media something else.
Normalcy returned.Our Muslim dhobi and ironing guy who lived in area from where the Mob came told us strangers had formed the Mob .
This was the last Big Riot Meerut saw. But troubling questions remain.
Who were the mobs? How were pakistan zindabad slogans aired from mosques? Why was there no police force? Why was it sent to Delhi? Who were the strangers who came hunting for muslim families in hindu colonies?
When i see Daily temple vandalisation and Muslim mobs on streets, my memories come back-80 km from Delhi and we suffered nights of terror in 1987. Come 2019, heart of Delhi suffers this.
Who is to be blamed?  vote bank politics?
The sense of Betrayal remains,So must be with the Hindu families in in Hauz Quasi,Meerut,Agra,muzzafarnagar,Haryana,Surat,West Bengal and other such places where there is sizeable Muslim population and where mobs are coming out on streets now.  why these attacking Mobs? Helpless police? What is the story behind these suddenly daily incidents?
Narendra Modi is in power now . I invest my hope in him to rid India from such days and nights of terror.

Rahul Gandhi and his crass offer to pilots to die in crashes

Rahul Gandhi -do you realise what loss is it when a pilot dies in an air crash?

Unbelievingly I heard Rahul Gandhi,the scion of the dynasty and projected PM,tell pilots that if Rafale deal is cancelled the 30,000 crores saved would be given to pilots when they die in an air crash.
I am the wife of a naval aviator,who retired safely -and I am grateful to God that he is alive. Having lived the greater part of my married life in an airbase,I have seen first hand the devastation a crash causes to the family and friends,leave alone the service.
Airplane and helicopter crashes were nearly annual events in our airbase-no surprises since all the aircrafts and helicopters were way past their sanctioned life. The aircrafts should have been phased out decades ago,but due to great policies of Rahul Gandhi’s dynasty,were given extensions over and over again,budgets were sparse,maintainace delayed,spare parts scarce-and when the much delayed refit to the country of origin ( mainly Russia) was sanctioned,aircrafts were stripped to the barest essentials. Hats off to the aviators who still completed all the tasks and remained battle ready with such constraints.
But the way-past-their-prime aircrafts took a toll – someday we would see a pall of dense smoke on the runway,suddenly hear a crash,the wail of a siren- and hearts would sink,as these signs were of a aircraft/helicopter crash. Someday,suddenly Husband would rush off at night for a search and rescue of an aircraft which had not returned.
Does Rahul Gandhi even realise what happens when aviators die in a crash?
All aviators are young,in their 20’s or thirties. They have young wives and very young children. Some leave behind pregnant wives.
Most of the time,the day starts as routine,quick byes are said early morning,plans made for evening and the aviator goes off for a routine sortie-some engine part malfunctions,rotor blades may stop,aircrafts May collide- and worlds comes crashing down !
Scared children are picked up from school,the commanding officer with his spouse breaks the shattering news to the wife,and suddenly life changes for ever. Terrified children hold on to the shattered mother’s hands,the pregnant wife is suddenly left adrift, shocked parents of bachelors are informed on phone— the whole base is plunged into deep sorrow.
The young wife,mostly in twenties or thirties,is suddenly faced with difficult choices,the children,who till few hours back were carefree and playful suddenly become serious. Does Rahul Gandhi even realise for the widows / parents of the dead aviator,most difficult moment is signing on insurance and other benefits papers- they break down,cry,feel that it is blood money. Many refuse to sign and have to be counselled- and here Rahul Gandhi is offering them blood money as an incentive to cancel Rafale deal?
 Does Rahul Gandhi even realise the painful choices the wife has to make? In case she decides to opt for service in armed forces- where does she leave her children while training? The children who were the center of parents pampering,suddenly become issues which have to be managed. Young children,toddlers,infants are left with grandparents with a heavy heart,while the wife embarks upon a life she had never even thought of .
Does Rahul Gandhi even understand the deep loss that the family is left with? Every Milestone in the child’s life sharpens the loss of the father,no amount of money can ever fill this loss.
Rahul Gandhi,have you even thought about the pregnant wife left behind,the unborn child who will never know the father,the emptiness the wife faces with no one to share her motherhood?
The most intriguing part is Rahul Gandhi has himself lost a father-he often speaks about his sense of loss
And then he makes this crass statement of offering pilots money from cancelled Rafale deal to die in airplane crashes!
This is the true face of a heartless self centred Dynast .

Kashmir esp POJK Is the blind spot of our National Discourse when it should be the prime Focus

POJK  and POTL (pak occupied territory of Ladakh) Are the blind spots of our National Discourse when they should be the prime Focus 

In this Piece I will Argue how Kashmir,esp POJK ,POTL,has been shaping and influencing India’s Foreign Policy to a large extent,but sadly has been missing from the public discourse.

Not a day passes when Kashmir is not in news, the Kashmir that is mostly in news is the Part of Kashmir under India’s control. Large Tracts of Kashmir occupied by Pakistan and some by China had been effectively blocked out by the Media and political classes for nearly 70 years,it took PM Modi mention of POK,Gilgit Baltistan and Balochistan to bring this area into national discourse .Recently PM Modi again highlighted the importance of POJK ,blaming the faulty policies of Nehru in depriving India of its strategic territory .

Kashmir was always a very strategic area since ancient times,the most important part being the area of Gilgit ,now occupied by Pakistan. Every Emperor secured this area to secure his Empire starting with the great Kashmiri King Lalitaditya .In Modern times Maharaja Ranjit Singh and then The Dogra Kings had this very strategic area in their Kingdoms. 

The importance of Gilgit is that it touches six Nations -India,Afghanistan,Tazakistan ,China and Tibet 

It was in the centre of the ancient trade route and facilitated India becoming a ‘sone ki chidhiya’( golden bird) .

In the past,as recently pre Independence,Kayastha traders from Multan had offices in St Petersburg and many Soviet ports .

British games in Kashmir

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British understood the Importance of Gilgit . Jammu and Kashmir was the largest princely state ruled by the Dogra King Maharaja Hari Singh . In the round table conference in London ,much to the dismay of British,Maharaja Hari Singh supported Independence of India. Kashmir was very important for the British for access to Afghanistan,Central Asia and as a counter to Soviet Union .

From 1931 onwards protests and stone pelting started in Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah gave inciting speeches in mosques and emerged as a counter leader to Maharaja Hari Singh. Protestors came in from British ruled areas of Punjab. In 1935 ,Soviet forces occupied Tazakistan. The area of Gilgit became very important for British and the Maharaja was forced to sign an agreement with the British to lease the area of Gilgit to the British for 60 years .The British named this area Agency of Gilgit and a force called the Gilgit Scouts was raised to Administer it. Pre Independence,In 1947 ,Gilgit was returned to Maharaja Hari Singh .Maharaja Hari Singh signed an agreement with Major W.A. Brown of Gilgit Scouts to work under Maharaja Hari Singh’s Government . Documents attest to the fact that three months prior to Independence ,ration supplies to Gilgit Scouts were not made inspite of repeated requests by Major Brown by the Resident of Jammu and Kashmir .

Pre Partition ,Lord Mountbatten kept on advising Maharaja Hari Singh to remain independent or join Pakistan . Maharaja Hari Singh signed a standstill agreement with Pakistan pending his decision ,but post independence ,On 21 October ,1947 Kashmir was attacked by Pakistani Army in the disguise of Kabilas or tribals. Maharaja Hari Singh acceded to India on 26 Oct 1947 and Indian Army began fighting with Pakistani Invaders.

On 1 Nov, the Gilgit Scouts Mutinied and on 2 Nov Pakistani Flag was hoisted in Gilgit and Gilgit was occupied by Pakistan . 

The Indian Army ,about to reach Gilgit ,was stopped as Nehru had approached UN against the aggression of Pakistan into its territory and a Cease fire was announced on midnight 31 Dec 1948. 

 Kashmir as a very important factor in India’s foreign policy——————————————————————————-

The first Foreign policy decision taken by Nehru was to approach the UN against Aggression by Pakistan . This had a very long term effect on India. A ceasefire was announced,Both Pakistani Army and Indian Army were asked to retreat to pre 1 August 1947 positions in JK . The political compulsions and IOC block ensured that a resolution was passed in UN advising India to have a plebiscite in Kashmir once the conditions of ceasefire and return to pre 1 Aug 1947 positions were fulfilled.The plebiscite advise  was pushed through based on an letter written by Lord Mountbatten to Maharaja Hari Singh to take the wishes of his citizens in mind post accession to India. This letter had no legal sanctity .

Pakistan has since then used the third recommendation as a ploy to push India into a defensive position on Kashmir and provided a speaking point to its separatists in India held Kashmir ,while blocking out POJK entirely on International forums. 

Post 1962 Pakistan moved closer to China.In 1963 Pakistan signed away Shaksgam Valley In Baltistan to China via a treaty. This area was a part of India occupied by Pakistan. India Protested Feebly and failed to make it either a domestic or International issue . 

Domestic vote bank considerations and coalition politics ensured that POJK remained a blind spot in Foreign policy discussions and remained a forgotten issue in Domestic politics .

On 22 February ,1994,the parliament of India passed a resolution Stating  that POJK was a part of India,but after that resolution ,POJK went back to its blind spot.

Strategic Importance of Gilgit and POJK to India

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POJK was the access to Afghanistan for India. India has been forced to use a sea route via Chabahar in Iran and road route via Iran to reach Afghanistan to send it food supplies.

Access to vitally important Central Asia is Via POJK 

At the present the only connection to Central Asia is via Air which is very poor with no direct flights from India to any Central Asian nations 

Gilgit is the region which opens up Road access to Central Asia,Russia, Middle East and Europe 

The Northern Light Infantary brigade of Pakistan occupied the heights of Kargil in 1999 through LOC via POJK 

China Footprint in POJK and POTL 

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CPEC runs through Indian areas occupied by Pakistan in Gilgit and Baltistan .

China has invested about 65000 crore in POJK 

China has deployed about 11000 troops in POJK 

China has signed mining and projects of two large dams in POJK 

Conclusion 

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POJK is a very Important territory of India occupied by Pakistan and strategically occupied by China too. For decades POJK has been a blind spot in India. Need is to bring it into National focus. School books should carry chapters on POJK. At every international forum India must bring up illegal occupation of its territory by Pakistan and China .

A strong Domestic Voice has to be built up within India and POJK issues have to become the prime focus in national debates.

Foreign policy is often shaped by Domestic concerns,let us all lend our voice to make POJK a burning issue and bring it centerstage.

‘Azaad Kashmir’  is area occupied by Pakistan in the first Kashmir war in sept-oct 1947 pre ceasefire , Consisting of districts of Mirpur Muzaffarabad ,pat of UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Gilgit Baltistan was under Gilgit Scouts,handed over to Pakistan on 2 Nov 1947. It is part of Leh district, union territory of Ladakh 

Shaksgam Valley was gifted to China by Pakistan in 1963 ,also a part of Pak occupied Ladakh .

Sources - JKSC publications , Jammukashmirnow.org ,news reports