An Individual
It somehow occurred to mind of an individual that freedom of his nation can only be achieved through an armed struggle. He conveyed the idea to his community, the community however remained indifferent. The man did not lose heart but initiated the struggle on his own. In the course of operations, he was arrested. He managed to sneak out of Srinagar Jail. He started to reorganise the insurgency but was again arrested. Second arrest was facilitated by the members of his own community. This time he could not escape from the jail. He was tried in a court of law and convicted to death. For years the sentence was not enforced. The authorities anticipated change of his mind but all their expectations proved to be futile. Finally they hanged him in Tihar Jail of New Delhi on 11 Feb. 1984. Even on his death, Kashmiris remained unconcerned. Few young men, who tried to stage a demonstration were dispersed by alien administrators through use of brute force. This way, life of Maqbool Bhat came to an end.
An Initiative
With the passage of time, Maqbool became a beacon light for the new generation of Kashmir. They imbibed his ideals and within few years started to follow his footsteps. Society en-masse started to perceive armed struggle as the only means of emancipation. Their conviction was further enhanced by the happenings in their vicinity in Afghanistan and Punjab. Different groups of youth started to cross the line of control in search of arms. One of the groups came into contact with some Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front activists in Pak administered Kashmir who facilitated arms for them. They decided to join JKLF, simply because it was an organisation founded by Maqbool Bhat. While other groups were still in process of planning and recruiting cadres, JKLF took the initiative of starting hostilities. Whether this step was a grand initiative or a premature abortion of Kashmir insurgency will be decided by the history in due course of time. The initiative however, was well received by the people. JKLF overnight became popular. Its calls for strikes, men and material received an unprecedented response. The societal response was not on account of JKLF ideology but people’s perception of it being the most potent group of resistance against alien rule. This was proved subsequently by the fact that people kept on rallying behind every group that was perceived potent at a particular point of time. Had any other group taken the initiative people would have responded to it with same enthusiasm. Once JKLF lost its potency in the estimation of people it was overtaken by recession of cadres. Now most of the time it is seen organising anniversaries of martyrs rather than their ‘rasme-qul’. It no more contributes cadres to the armed resistance.
An argument
If it was not obligatory for Muslim dominated areas of the Indo-Pak subcontinent to join Iran or Afghanistan at the time of partition, why it should be Islamically obligatory for the people of Kashmir to join Pakistan ? This is the most important argument in support of Independent Kashmir. The simple logic behind creation of Pakistan as Muslim homeland was the fact that although religion-wise same as Afghans and Iranians, Muslims of the subcontinent were different from them culturally and linguistically. The Front argues for an independent Kashmir on the same logic. The logic however is not sustainable beyond the peripheries of Kashmir valley which constitutes one tenth of the area of the state and less than one third of its population. As rightly pointed out by Mr. Dixon, Jammu and Azad Kashmir is nothing but a cultural and linguistic extension of Punjab plains and Ladakh-an annexy of Tibet. Kashmir valley is the only place within state with a distinct culture and language of its own.
Impediments
Those who oppose JKLF plead that Kashmir problem is nothing but an unfinished agenda of the partition of the subcontinent. Muslims, irrespective of their linguistic and cultural heterogeneity, were regarded as one nation under the partition plan. Muslim majority regions became a separate country and Hindu majority areas remained with India. Kashmir should have become part of Pakistan but was not allowed to join it. This is the root of the Kashmir problem. Had there been no partition there would have been no Kashmir problem. Had Kashmir been a Hindu majority area like other princely states e.g., Hyderabad, it would have completely assimilated within India. Religion thus according to them is root cause of the problem and this factor should be taken care of while resolving the issue. It is further argued that an independent Kashmir will remain sandwiched between different nuclear powers and will most of the time be struggling for a breathing space. On the other hand, it can play an important role along with 4.5 million ethnic Kashmiris of the West Punjab if it joins them. Pakistan is nothing but an extended Kashmir, the Kashmir which proceeded beyond Multan in the west and whose borders were fixed at Sirhind by Amire Kabir (RA). The argumentation however seems to have been deferred to post-secession period.
Whatever be the arguments in support of JKLF or against it, the crucial factors of its rise and fall were its initiation of the militancy and its declaration of cease fire. Youth perceived declaration of cease fire as a betrayal of the ideals of Maqbool Bhat who in spite of being alone never entered into a cease fire agreement throughout his life. JKLF presently neither remains a potent political force nor a militant outfit. Another devastating factor was Front’s overemphasis on secularism. Through this the front expected to enlist the support of Non-Muslims. Non-Muslims did not respond to this posture and secularism didn’t find any attraction with new generations of Muslim youth.
Na Khuda Hi Mela Na Wasaley Sannam
Na Udhar Ke Rahey Na Idhar Ke Rahey
Secularism, in fact, has remained a myth in the politics of the subcontinent. Gandhi, the greatest secularist used Khilafat movement and the slogans of Ram Raj whenever they suited him.
In Kashmir, people are quite unfamiliar with separation of politics and religion. The co-relation between religion and politics was established by Syed Ali Hamadani (AR) who on one side gifted Kashmiris with a Sufistic ritual of recitation of ‘Awradi-Fathiay’ and on the other hand provided their rulers a guide of Islamic laws of ruling in the form of Zakhirat-ul-Muluk. Even secular politics in Kashmir had to be pursued by Sheikh Abdullah from pulpits of Hazratbal. To make people receptive he added an aroma of recitation of Quranic verses to it.
Global trends have also contributed to moulding of societal attitudes in Kashmir valley. Irrespective of claims to the contrary, world is very much within the conflict of civilizations. US created it to demonize Muslims, thus facilitating its own projection as defender of the world against aggressive Islam. Geographical and national boundaries have been overshadowed by religious identity. Whatever be their location or degree of attachment to religion, Muslim freedom movements are perceived to be manifestation of Islamic resurgence and are receiving a negative global response. This global trend has influenced new generations of Muslims as well. They also look towards issues in context of their religion. Kashmir, Chechnya, Kosovo and Eastern Timor reflect nothing but a conflict between Islam and non-Islam for them. Muslim response to these conflicts is global. Kashmiris are sacrificing their lives in Chechnya and boys from over twenty countries joined the ranks of militants in Kashmir. This phenomenon leaves a little room for parochial approach based on narrow nationalistic considerations.
It somehow occurred to mind of an individual that freedom of his nation can only be achieved through an armed struggle. He conveyed the idea to his community, the community however remained indifferent. The man did not lose heart but initiated the struggle on his own. In the course of operations, he was arrested. He managed to sneak out of Srinagar Jail. He started to reorganise the insurgency but was again arrested. Second arrest was facilitated by the members of his own community. This time he could not escape from the jail. He was tried in a court of law and convicted to death. For years the sentence was not enforced. The authorities anticipated change of his mind but all their expectations proved to be futile. Finally they hanged him in Tihar Jail of New Delhi on 11 Feb. 1984. Even on his death, Kashmiris remained unconcerned. Few young men, who tried to stage a demonstration were dispersed by alien administrators through use of brute force. This way, life of Maqbool Bhat came to an end.
An Initiative
With the passage of time, Maqbool became a beacon light for the new generation of Kashmir. They imbibed his ideals and within few years started to follow his footsteps. Society en-masse started to perceive armed struggle as the only means of emancipation. Their conviction was further enhanced by the happenings in their vicinity in Afghanistan and Punjab. Different groups of youth started to cross the line of control in search of arms. One of the groups came into contact with some Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front activists in Pak administered Kashmir who facilitated arms for them. They decided to join JKLF, simply because it was an organisation founded by Maqbool Bhat. While other groups were still in process of planning and recruiting cadres, JKLF took the initiative of starting hostilities. Whether this step was a grand initiative or a premature abortion of Kashmir insurgency will be decided by the history in due course of time. The initiative however, was well received by the people. JKLF overnight became popular. Its calls for strikes, men and material received an unprecedented response. The societal response was not on account of JKLF ideology but people’s perception of it being the most potent group of resistance against alien rule. This was proved subsequently by the fact that people kept on rallying behind every group that was perceived potent at a particular point of time. Had any other group taken the initiative people would have responded to it with same enthusiasm. Once JKLF lost its potency in the estimation of people it was overtaken by recession of cadres. Now most of the time it is seen organising anniversaries of martyrs rather than their ‘rasme-qul’. It no more contributes cadres to the armed resistance.
An argument
If it was not obligatory for Muslim dominated areas of the Indo-Pak subcontinent to join Iran or Afghanistan at the time of partition, why it should be Islamically obligatory for the people of Kashmir to join Pakistan ? This is the most important argument in support of Independent Kashmir. The simple logic behind creation of Pakistan as Muslim homeland was the fact that although religion-wise same as Afghans and Iranians, Muslims of the subcontinent were different from them culturally and linguistically. The Front argues for an independent Kashmir on the same logic. The logic however is not sustainable beyond the peripheries of Kashmir valley which constitutes one tenth of the area of the state and less than one third of its population. As rightly pointed out by Mr. Dixon, Jammu and Azad Kashmir is nothing but a cultural and linguistic extension of Punjab plains and Ladakh-an annexy of Tibet. Kashmir valley is the only place within state with a distinct culture and language of its own.
Impediments
Those who oppose JKLF plead that Kashmir problem is nothing but an unfinished agenda of the partition of the subcontinent. Muslims, irrespective of their linguistic and cultural heterogeneity, were regarded as one nation under the partition plan. Muslim majority regions became a separate country and Hindu majority areas remained with India. Kashmir should have become part of Pakistan but was not allowed to join it. This is the root of the Kashmir problem. Had there been no partition there would have been no Kashmir problem. Had Kashmir been a Hindu majority area like other princely states e.g., Hyderabad, it would have completely assimilated within India. Religion thus according to them is root cause of the problem and this factor should be taken care of while resolving the issue. It is further argued that an independent Kashmir will remain sandwiched between different nuclear powers and will most of the time be struggling for a breathing space. On the other hand, it can play an important role along with 4.5 million ethnic Kashmiris of the West Punjab if it joins them. Pakistan is nothing but an extended Kashmir, the Kashmir which proceeded beyond Multan in the west and whose borders were fixed at Sirhind by Amire Kabir (RA). The argumentation however seems to have been deferred to post-secession period.
Whatever be the arguments in support of JKLF or against it, the crucial factors of its rise and fall were its initiation of the militancy and its declaration of cease fire. Youth perceived declaration of cease fire as a betrayal of the ideals of Maqbool Bhat who in spite of being alone never entered into a cease fire agreement throughout his life. JKLF presently neither remains a potent political force nor a militant outfit. Another devastating factor was Front’s overemphasis on secularism. Through this the front expected to enlist the support of Non-Muslims. Non-Muslims did not respond to this posture and secularism didn’t find any attraction with new generations of Muslim youth.
Na Khuda Hi Mela Na Wasaley Sannam
Na Udhar Ke Rahey Na Idhar Ke Rahey
Secularism, in fact, has remained a myth in the politics of the subcontinent. Gandhi, the greatest secularist used Khilafat movement and the slogans of Ram Raj whenever they suited him.
In Kashmir, people are quite unfamiliar with separation of politics and religion. The co-relation between religion and politics was established by Syed Ali Hamadani (AR) who on one side gifted Kashmiris with a Sufistic ritual of recitation of ‘Awradi-Fathiay’ and on the other hand provided their rulers a guide of Islamic laws of ruling in the form of Zakhirat-ul-Muluk. Even secular politics in Kashmir had to be pursued by Sheikh Abdullah from pulpits of Hazratbal. To make people receptive he added an aroma of recitation of Quranic verses to it.
Global trends have also contributed to moulding of societal attitudes in Kashmir valley. Irrespective of claims to the contrary, world is very much within the conflict of civilizations. US created it to demonize Muslims, thus facilitating its own projection as defender of the world against aggressive Islam. Geographical and national boundaries have been overshadowed by religious identity. Whatever be their location or degree of attachment to religion, Muslim freedom movements are perceived to be manifestation of Islamic resurgence and are receiving a negative global response. This global trend has influenced new generations of Muslims as well. They also look towards issues in context of their religion. Kashmir, Chechnya, Kosovo and Eastern Timor reflect nothing but a conflict between Islam and non-Islam for them. Muslim response to these conflicts is global. Kashmiris are sacrificing their lives in Chechnya and boys from over twenty countries joined the ranks of militants in Kashmir. This phenomenon leaves a little room for parochial approach based on narrow nationalistic considerations.
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