The Wailing Vale by Aziz

AZIZ BEG Reproduced by Sani H. Panhwar THE WAILING VALE AZIZ BEG Reproduced by Sani H. Panhwar CONTENTS PREFACE .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 Prologue .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 Dogra Despotism .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11 Partition Drama .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 28 Arena Without Action .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 52 New Stratagems .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 71 Time Bomb Explodes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 85 Return From Tashkent .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 98 Three Faces of Kashmir .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 112 Epilogue .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 124 PREFACE In one of his lyrical outbursts, the late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru described Srinagar, the capital city of Kashmir, as " a fairy city of dreamlike beauty". He added, in the same imaginative vein, that "it is no fancy picture for fairyland lies all around it; the magic is there already...Kashmir calls back, its pull is stronger than ever; it whispers its magic to the ears and its memory disturbs the mind. How can they who have fallen under its spell release themselves from this enchantment". Nehru was inspired to write this piece when he revisited Kashmir after twenty-three years and a few months after the historic Lahore Resolution was passed and representatives of Muslim India demanded the partition of the subcontinent. The people of Kashmir had to pay a frightful price for the magical charm the valley exercised on Nehru's mind. Its enchantment for Nehru led to the enslavement of four million Kashmiris; was he so fascinated by the land that its people had to put on fetters? In 1947, Nehru's Government forced Kashmir's accession to India. The people revolted and freed part of the state over which the Dogras had tightly held their sway for a century. But the end of Dogra absolutism was the beginning of a new lease of penal servitude under Hindu hegemony. During these twenty trying years, lakhs of them have been maimed or massacred; half a million were driven out and sought shelter in Pakistan; many are still languishing in medieval prison houses; the entire valley is groaning under an injustice and iniquity the like of which has not been seen in our life time. Thus, Nehru was not able to release himself from the romantic bond of Kashmir and the people, to this day, have not been able to release themselves from the bondage. Was the sentiment so abiding that all considerations of equity and morality, truth and' justice, peace and freedom, honor and humanity had to be consigned to the dustpan? And, above all, what about India's verbal promises and written assurances to the people of Kashmir, to Pakistan, to the United Nations and to the world that she was solemnly committed as a party to the dispute to hold a plebiscite under the aegis of an impartial international agency? But, alas, after her clear and categorical pledges to let the people decide and determine their political future, her official spokesmen have defiantly adopted a new stance which leaves no room for negotiation, mediation, arbitration or any kind of compliance with the U. N. resolutions. It has become nostalgic war of words; they have vainly labored to explain that plebiscite was a proposal and not a commitment; since India subscribed to this proposal, they had to find a new synonym and say that it was in the nature of a recommendation and the The Wailing Vale; Copyright © www. sanipanhwar.com 1 offer could be withdrawn at any time. At one of the interstate conferences, Indian representatives insisted on treating Kashmir as a 'problem' and not a 'dispute'. Later, Nehru told a Pakistani editor that it had become a 'petrified problem'; and, now, all of them say that it is a dead issue. The finale to this terminological tamasha was provided by Mrs. Indira Gandhi when she bellowed out that the Tashkent Declaration does not warrant even a discussion on Kashmir as it had inalienably become a part of India. Not one among the many newspaper correspondents who covered the Tashkent parleys reported that President Ayub and Prime Minister Shastri had discussed the genesis of Islamic metaphysics or transmigration of soul or prospects of landing on the moon or commercial aspect of growing soyabeans. The deliberations were largely centred on Kashmir because all the participants had to concede that it was a major canker in India-Pakistan relations. But, is it profitable to argue when the patient refuses to think or listen or talk and can only see his image reflected on the walls of an improvised glass house? The glass is broken, the walls have crumbled, but the occupant still believes he is master of the house he does not own. The winds of time cannot erode a cause or kill a movement; in fact, India's two-decade occupancy has served to stoke the fires of freedom. Kashmir is aflame. The people look upon Indian rule as a usurper's regime and the occupation forces as an army of assassins. As resistance against tyranny grows, there is more and still more repression. From Banihal to Baramula, the blood of innocent Kashmiris is spilt every day; the 'Happy Valley' has become a predator's abode. The fragrant fairyland of Nehru's dreams is, today, being described in terms which suggest the stench of a malignant tumor or an infectious disease. It has been called a festering sore, a powder keg, a growing cancer. Whatever Indian leaders may say or do, the melancholy fact is that Kashmir continues to cast its ominous shadow over the subcontinent. Years ago, Admiral Nimitz, who was designated Plebiscite Administrator, warned: "certainly a dispute that involves one-fifth of the world's population and that can erupt into a world war bears careful watching". But India has spurned every offer to settle the dispute. True, Kashmir has become a triangular duel but, basically, it is the people of Kashmir who deserve to be detached from the Indian yoke as they have all become targets of tyranny that is grimly reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps. Thanks to India's totalitarian and terror tactics, Kashmir's struggle for liberation has assumed a new density and dimension. They are battling against a formidable foe, but "a people once aroused can be deceived no longer", assured Abraham Lincoln. "Give me liberty or give me death" is not a mere slogan but a sentiment that animates Kashmir's crusade against alien domination. The Wailing Vale; Copyright © www. sanipanhwar.com 2 Thus, other forbidding factors apart, Kashmir has acquired the sanctity of a human problem. Deportation of Kashmiri Muslims and systematic extermination of the majority people are crimes which can be termed juridically as positive acts of genocide. It is a common political phenomena that minorities suffer and struggle to reassert and regain their constitutional rights but the situation in Kashmir is uniquely tragic inasmuch as the majority in this state is at mercy of a small community which has not only the backing of the army and police but controls the civil service and ruling party. The position may appear analogous to the prevailing power pattern in Rhodesia and the Union of South Africa but even in these notorious racial states the white minority has not resorted to any large-scale genocidal acts against the local population. This book may not be an adequate portrayal of the changing face of Kashmir but I have tried to recount the story of this beleaguered valley in the light of authentic source material accessible to me. As the original sine was the sale deed of 1846, a preliminary probe into the excesses of Dogra rule would lend proper perspective to subsequent developments. Is Kashmir an unfortunate legacy of British rule? How did Kashmir come to India as a windfall? In chapter II, I have briefly dealt with an ugly act of partition play, which has been often bared but seldom invoked as a record of clandestine moves to deprive Pakistan of its legal and legitimate territorial rights. The next two chapters examine India's straddling strategy and United Nations' pathetic powerlessness to enforce its decisions. What an ironic coincidence that the anniversary of the United Nations and birthday of Azad Kashmir Government are celebrated on the same day (October 24), year after year. The circumstances that led to subcontinental war, the death of Tashkent Declaration and inhuman conditions in occupied Kashmir form the subject of last three chapters. Weighing India's newest objections against any shift in the status quo, the Epilogue may be called an exercise to understand the Indian stand and psychology. All the facts have/been carefully marshalled to serve as supplementary and documentary literature on a dispute which not only involves two Asian giants but continues to be a part of the resurgent cold war. LAHORE AZIZ BEG 1 January, 1969. The Wailing Vale; Copyright © www. sanipanhwar.com 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a book is an individual feat though the performance not only requires spectators but friends who can inspire and assist from the time of conception to the rigors of labor room and delivery. For their encouragement and cordial cooperation, I am profoundly grateful to Mr. Abdul Hamid Khan, President, and Mr. Maqbool Ahmed Sheikh, Senior Secretary, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Government. For the help they have so graciously given, I am indebted to Mr. S. M. Yusuf, Secretary and Mr. Aftab Ahmed Khan, Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan. I am sincerely thankful to Mr. Salim-ur-Rehman for saving my working. I must express my deep gratitude to Mr. Tauqir Hasan, former Section Officer in the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Mr. Asghar Ali Mir, editor of "Kashmir" weekly. They placed at my disposal valuable source material and never hesitated for a moment in answering my numerous queries and questions.

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