THE OTHER KASHMIR Society, Culture and Politics in the Karakoram Himalayas THE OTHER KASHMIR Society, Culture and Politics in the Karakoram Himalayas Editor K. Warikoo INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE STUDIES & ANALYSES NEW DELHI Pentagon Press The Other Kashmir: Society, Culture and Politics in the Karakoram Himalayas K. Warikoo (Ed) First Published in 2014 Copyright © Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi ISBN 978-81-8274-797-5 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without first obtaining written permission of the copyright owner. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, or the Government of India. Published by PENTAGON PRESS 206, Peacock Lane, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi-110049 Phones: 011-64706243, 26491568 Telefax: 011-26490600 email: [email protected] website: www.pentagonpress.in Branch: Prime Arcade Office #11 1154 Saifee Street Opp. M.G. Road, Camp Pune-411001 Email: [email protected] In association with Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses No. 1, Development Enclave, New Delhi-110010 Phone: +91-11-26717983 Website: www.idsa.in Printed at Avantika Printers Private Limited. Contents Preface vii Contributors xi List of Maps and Photographs xiii 1. Rock Art of Gilgit-Baltistan 1 Muhammad Arif 2. Karakoram Himalayas and Central Asia: The Buddhist Connection 13 K. Warikoo 3. Sharda: History and Importance 35 Ayaz Rasool Nazki 4. Language, Culture and Heritage of Mirpur 49 Muhammad Rafiq Bhatti 5. Political Dynamics of Culture and Identity in Baltistan 60 Senge H. Sering 6. The Making of a Frontier: The Relationship between Kashmir and its Frontier Territories 98 K. Warikoo 7. Geo-Strategic Importance of Gilgit-Baltistan 125 K. Warikoo 8. The Karakoram-Himalayan Region: Geopolitical Perspective 146 Afsir Karim vi The Other Kashmir: Society, Culture and Politics in the Karakoram Himalayas 9. Political and Democratic Process in Gilgit-Baltistan 159 Paul Beersmans 10. Gilgit-Baltistan of Jammu and Kashmir in Constitutional Limbo 172 Senge H. Sering 11. Role of Political Parties in Pakistan Administered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan 191 Shaukat Kashmiri 12. Demography and Discontent: Crisis of Modernity and Displacement in Undivided Jammu and Kashmir 201 Praveen Swami 13. Hydropower Exploitation in Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistani Administered Kashmir 222 Shabir Choudhry 14. Bhasha Dam Project: Geographical, Historical and Political Perspectives 250 Safdar Ali 15. Political Unrest in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK): A View from the Pak Press 254 Priyanka Singh 16. Religious Extremism in NWFP, Swat and Chitral: Impact on Gilgit-Baltistan 274 Manzoor Hussain Parwana 17. Human Rights Situation in Pakistan Administered Kashmir 282 Nasir Aziz Khan 18. Sectarian Conflict in Gilgit-Baltistan 291 Alok Bansal 19. Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: An Emerging Epicentre of Global Jihad 307 Wilson John Bibliography 324 Index 330 Preface The Himalayas are an embodiment of divinity, of nature in its splendour, and of culture in the deepest sense of the word. The Himalayas are the highest and the most spectacular mountains in the world, separating the Indian sub-continent from the Tibetan plateau. The Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Pamir ranges are continuous, and are interlocked with the Himalayan mountain system, the region being most heavily glaciated, wild and rugged. By the Karakoram-Himalayan region geographers mean the whole complex mass of main and subsidiary ranges, outliers, spurs and foothills. When the lofty peak of K2 was discovered in Baltistan in early nineteenth century, it was locally known as Karakoram. William Moorcroft had heard this name in 1828, Cunningham in 1854, Hayward in 1870 and, finally, Montgomery applied the name K2 to the highest peak in the world. Major Montgomerie (of the Trignometrical Survey of India), General Walker (Superintendent of the Great Trignometrical Survey of India) and Clements Markham (then a geographer at India Office, London), adopted the name Karakoram 2 for the peak. Karakoram is home to more than 60 peaks (above 7,000 metres in height), including the K2, the second highest peak in the world (8,611 metres) after the Mount Everest (8,848 metres). After much debate on the nomenclature of the mountain ranges, Major Kenneth Mason found it best to call the whole region bounded by the Hunza river, the Indus, the Shyok, and the Raskam-Yarkand river, the ‘Karakoram Himalayas’. The boundaries of South and Central Asian countries converge along the Karakoram Himalayas, which lends unique geo-political and geo-strategic importance to the region. Abutting the borders of Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and India, and being situated in close proximity to Central Asia, the Karakoram-Himalayan region has been an important constituent of India’s trans-Himalayan communication network in the continent and beyond. viii The Other Kashmir: Society, Culture and Politics in the Karakoram Himalayas The imposing geographical features and high daunting peaks did not prevent the region from being a complex of cultural interaction, overland trade and communication. This region is the cradle of ancient Indian culture, including Budhhism which spread in different directions in Central Asia, East Asia and South East Asia. Gilgit, Hunza, Chitral, Skardu, Leh- Zanskar and other frontier areas have been important mileposts on the famous Silk Route. It needs to be emphasized that the Karakoram- Himalayan region, or the ‘Northern Areas’ of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, comprises Hunza, Nagar, Gilgit, Baltistan, Yasin, Astore, Chilas, Koh-Ghizar , Gupis , Punial and Ishkoman, and is the single largest territorial unit of the State. This area constitutes about two-thirds of the total area of 84,471 sq. miles of the entire Jammu and Kashmir State. The region displays a wide diversity of cultural patterns, languages, ethnic identities, and religious practices. The entire region has been a melting pot of different cultures and faiths: Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. Moreover, a variety of languages such as Ladakhi, Balti, Shina, Burushaski, Gojali, Khowar, etc. exist in the region, and cross- border linkages between various ethnic-religious groups turn this frontier into a complex vortex of geopolitics. The induction and settlement of Punjabis, Pakhtoons, and the Taliban cadres by Pakistan as its calculated policy to colonise the Shia/Ismaili dominated region has not only changed its demographic balance but also led to the rise of sectarianism and religious extremism, often leading to violence and conflict. At the same time, the region has been witnessing a new surge in the revival of its indigenous languages, cultural heritage, and social practices. Due to its high and difficult mountainous terrain, isolated and remote location, and its distinct ethno-cultural characteristics, the region has specific requirements for its sustainable development. Similarly, the social and political aspirations of different indigenous ethnic-religious groups in Karakoram- Himalayas have remained suppressed due to geopolitical and religious factors. The Karakoram-Himalayan region has been the subject of study by geologists, glaciologists, earth scientists, geographers, environmentalists, and anthropologists. Since 1985, a series of international annual meetings on the geology of the Himalaya-Karakoram-Tibet region have been organized periodically by various scientific bodies in Europe, USA, Japan, etc. by several scientific bodies. Professor I. Stellrecht and her colleagues have been conducting the Karakoram Culture Area Project at Teubingen University, Germany for the past 25 years. The late Professor Karl Jettmar of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences, and the late Professor A.H. Dani of Pakistan launched a joint German-Pakistan project in the 1980s aimed Preface ix at documenting and publishing the rock carvings and inscriptions found in the Karakoram-Himalayan region. This project is being continued under the leadership of Professor Jettmar’s successor, Professor Harald Hauptmann of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Germany. Nepal has been carrying out the Hindu Kush-Karakoram Himalaya Mountain Partnership Project for some years. Academica Sinica, Beijing and Pakistan’s Ministry of Science and Technology started the International Karakoram Project in 1980. Most of these works/projects have mainly dealt with the geosciences, glaciology, atmosphere, ecology, anthropology, etc. of this mountain region. While the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir has been the focus of national and international attention during the past six decades, the Gilgit- Baltistan region has eluded attention. This is mainly because this frontier area has been put under the iron curtain by successive Pakistani governments. Pakistan took over the administration of this area in 1948, enforcing Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR). Pakistan’s policy has been to segregate this strategic area from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) both in name and governance, and Pakistan’s Federal Ministry of Kashmir Affairs has been directly administering this region. In early 1982, the late General Zia-ul-Haq, the then President of Pakistan, publicly announced that this area was never a part of the Jammu and Kashmir State before 1947, which evoked strong protests in Kashmir