Kashmir... India.. not India...India.. not India..

Last week, I finished reading "Kashmir" by M.J.Akbar. It was a fact filled book with lot of data thrown at the readers. (Though I did not like the presentation, I liked the idea of getting a lot of info). After reading the book my admiration for Nehru has increased by leaps and bounds. I am astonished the way he single handedly integrated Kashmir into India.

Kashmir is strategically located bordering Russia, Afghanistan, China. It is also guarded by the Himalayas from all the sides, giving limited access to its mainland, the gold mine. The beautiful habitat and fertile ground (Jammu) make it a treasure trove which for centuries many foreigners (everyone outside Kashmir) wanted to annexe. This list included the Huns, the Mongols, Afghans and Persians. But because of the extreme weather conditions none of the rulers could keep the captured kingdom. The first foreigner ruler who controlled the kingdom is Akbar. He has controlled the kingdom with his representatives in the Dongra rulers. After the Mughal empire has seen the sun set, Kashmir was taken by independent and fragile rulers, who never had the integrity nor the gut to keep the state in order.

In 1940s when Jinnah was demanding for a separate state, independent states started to align with the two sides of the fence. The thumb rule for alignment was simple in some regions. Regions like east bengal where the majority population was Muslim was bound to go to Pakistan. But some states like Deccan, Kashmir and Jodhpur had a difficulty in making a decision. Kashmir had a majority Muslim population (70% at that time) but was ruled by a Hindu ruler. This caused the oscillation. One major force which biased the swing in terms of Kashmir deciding to join India was the friendship between Sheikh Abdullah and Nehru.

Nehru's ancestors belonged to Kashmir. His forefathers were Kashmiri Pandits who migrated to Allahabad. So his association and empathy with Kashmir is natural. But this was not the case with Mahtma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Lord Mountbatten. Mahtma Gandhi had never in his lifetime commented on which side Kashmir should be associated with. In fact he never did with any of the independent kingdoms post independence. His argument was that, his duty was to get India rid of a foreign rule. But after removing the British crown from helm he never fore saw the anarchy. He thought once the Britishers left, India could as well be governed by small kingdoms as was done 400 years before. Nehru is true statesman in this regard, he not only saw what problems India would face long before Britshers left India but also knew how to solve them. In fact Lord Mountbatten once commented that India could not be integrated without Nehru and Patel. However Patel was never in favor of integrating Kashmir in India because of the majority Muslim population. He has forced the state of Hyderabad and Jodhpur to join India by a military coup. He could have done that even on Kashmir, but his blind eye towards Kashmir was the route cause of all evil. (even after repeated requests from Nehru). For Pakistan immediately saw an opportunity and with the trend set by Patel in annexing Hyderabad and other states, Pakistan wanted to annexe Kashmir.

But there was one major hurdle: Lord Mountbatten. As a Governor General and head of states of India and Pakistan, his permission is needed for any military action. And the newly formed Pakistan was aware he would not give permission for any such action on Kashmir. So they have formed a dummy army, with the army officials and the local tribesmen (as in current day Afghanistan). This did not need any official approval. This ad-hoc army was mobilized to annexe Kashmir. The then King saw the dangerous implications of the state and quickly agreed for integrating with India. (on advise from Sheikh and Nehru). Now as an integral part of India, Kashmir borders has to be protected. In this effort, (on Nehru's advise), Lord Mountbatten has ordered the army to preserve the sanctity of the borders. The Army could successfully thwart the movements of the militia and succeeded in not only driving them away from Srinagar but also push them towards Pakistan. But here the weather paid an antagonist role. The winter of 1948 was cruel and the both sides of the army froze at the battle positions abruptly. This posts which they held jointly is now called the LoC. Sixty years passed since this war and there is still no clarity on what happens to LoC.

It would have been solved by now had it not for the machinations of the political parties both at Srinagar and Delhi. Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah fell apart immediately after the integration of Kashmir to India. There 20 years of friendship was made sour by the political ambitions. Nehru wanted referendum in Kashmir to decide. While Sheikh Abdullah wanted to be in India with a lot of autonomy. The machinations were so cruel that the second mistake an India politician did was to blow up the issue of Kashmir and this time by Nehru himself. Pandit Nehru decided to take the issue to United Nations. He thought Russia would support him at UN, as India would be able to share its border with Russia furthering trade. Russia did, but not the extent US supported Pakistan. This made the balance of power equal.

Sheikh Abdullah was imprisoned for next eight years starting from 1951. This is the third mistake. He was one politician who was eager to integrate Kashmir into India hook or crook, if the conditions of autonomy were accepted. Nehru not only denied accepting the conditions but also suppressed him by moving him to a jail in Delhi. This has lead for some anti-India forces to raise in Kashmir. Though Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi tried correcting the mistake, the damage was already done and it has caused a lot of bleeding.

Indira Gandhi as her father, is stalwart. She was not only a stateswomen but also a daring decision maker. Her decision to encourage rift between East and West Pakistan, her decision to declare war on Pakistan, her decision for Nuclear tests, have made Pakistan weak at their knees. Had she lived for a couple of more years she would have solved the problem. But fate is not an easy task master. It not only killed Indira Gandhi but also Sheikh Abdullah immediately after. Farooq Abdullah, though was anointed by Sheikh Abdullah, was naive and new to power machinations. He along with Rajiv Gandhi tried patching up the work but both of them were not as experienced or visionaries as their prior generations were.

The final and the most expensive mistake was done during the V.P.Singh government. If Indian political history is scanned and if the worst phase of India politics is to be picked, , personally I believe, it would be V.P.Singh's two years. The damage created in those two years is higher than what was done during emergency. He opened a Pandora's box including reservations, financial crisis, Kashmir, Hindutva et al. When Dr.Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was kidnapped he showed his cowardliness. He has agreed to sacrifice India's pride, courage and bargaining power in exchange for life of a minister's daughter. He did not wait for Kashmir's then CM, Farooq Abdullah, to come and take part in the decision making process. (At that time the CM was in London on a vacation). Nor did he pay heed to his suggestions of not trading India for a women's life. This not only showed India's weakness but also encouraged terrorism in Valley.