REKHA CHOWDHARY KASHMIR ISSUE RAKESH ANKIT Gender and Conflict Whose was Look Back, Look Farward Situation in Kashmir Kashmir to be ? By Talib Malik EpilogueJ & K ’ S M O N T H LY M A G A Z I N E ISSN : 0974-5653 N E W S , C U R R E N T A F F A I R S , S O C I A L S C I E N C E S SILVER LINING IN DARK CLOUDS T W O Y E A R S O F CROSS LoC TRADE REFLECTIONS ON KASHMIR SITUATION N N Vohra, Prof Saifuddin Soz Governor, J&K President Congress Party J&k Unit Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Muzaffar Baig, Chairman APHC-M Senior PDP Leader M Y Tarigami, Bilal Lone, MLA, Secretary J&k State Committee, CPI-M Chairman J&K People's Conference Taj Mohi-ud-din Bashir Manzar Minister Public Health Engg., Irri. & Flood Control, Editor Kashmir Images, Srinagar Rigzin Jora, Hashim Qureshi Minister of Tourism & Culture Chairman J&K Democratic Liberation Party Nasir Hussain Munshi, Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhatt, Councillor LAHDC-K Chairman Muslim Conference Tsewang Rigzin, Aak Kacho, Associate Editor Epilogue Chief Executive Councillor LAHDC-Kargil Lobzang Rinchen, Thupstan Chhewang, 2010 / Vol 4 Issue 10 || Price Rs. 30 Postal Regd. No. JK-350/2009-11 www.epilogue.in , President Ladakh Buddhist Association Senior Leader LUTF, Former MP Phunstog Namgyal, Rigzin Spalbar, Congress Leader, Former Union Minister Former Chairman & CEO LAHDC Tsering Dorje, Mohammad Shafi Lassu, October 1 LUTF Chairman & CEO LAHDC Anjumian Moin-ul-Islam, Leh , Contributed by Belgian Association for Solidarity with J&K Jammu 1 Epilogue because there is more to know www.epilogue.in C O N T E N T Editor Prologue 2 Zafar Iqbal Choudhary Contributors to this Issue 3 Publisher SILVER LINING Kashmir Look Back, Look Ahead 5 Yogesh Pandoh Talib Malik I N D A R K C L O U D S Another questions to ponder over 7 Consulting Editor in Kashmir D. Suba Chandran Basheer Ahmad Peer Manu Srivastsa T W O Y E A R S O F Column Associate Editors History of Ladakh in the Mughal 43 Historical Sources Irm Amin Baig Prof. Jigar Mohammad Tsewang Rigzin CROSS LoC TRADE Zorawar Singh Jamwal Exclusive Series Whose was Kashmir to be ? 45 Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2010 Rakesh Ankit General Manager Kartavya Pandoh Book I N FOCUS Gender and Conflict 48 Situation in Kashmir Art Editor Cross LoC Trade Keshav Sharma Rekha Chowdhary 27 Darks Clouds and a Silver Lining Research Officer Zafar Choudhary & Suba Chandran Raman Sharma 28 The story so far 28 Trade “to” Other Kashmir or Trade Phones & email “Through” Other Kashmir? : The Office : +91 191 2493136 Problem of Perceptions 28 South Indian Coconuts and Chinese Editorial: +91 94191 80762 Garlic in Cross-LoC Trade : The Administration: +91 94191 82518 Problem of Proxies subscriptions : +91 90188 87136 29 Interview : YV Sharma [email protected] 30 I send Apples, You may like to send [email protected] Onions, or Ajwain : The problem of a Barter Trader Printed and Published by 31 Interview : Nazir A Dar Yogesh Pandoh for Epilogue 32 I don’t know whom I’m trading with : NewsCraft from Ibadat House, The problem of connectivity Madrasa Lane, Near Graveyard, 34 More New Routes or Strengthen the Bathindi Top, Jammu, J&K - 180012 Existing ones ? : The Problem of Expectations and Printed at : DEE DEE 35 Problems Galore, but there is a Silver Reprographix, 3 Aikta Ashram, New Lining Rehari Jammu (J&K) 35 Interview : Rakesh Gupta 36 Interview : Mubeen Shah Disputes, if any, subject to jurisdiction 36 Interview : Shabaz Khan of courts and competitive tribunals in 38 Srinagar - Muzaffarabad Jammu only. Trade in Times of Unrest 40 Poonch - Rawalakote RNI : JKENG/2007/26070 A Report from Trade Center ISN : 00974-5653 Price : Rs 30 www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 2 Epilogue, February 2010 PROLOGUE 2 From the Editor Time To Go Beyond Limited Travel, Symbolic Trade ZAFAR CHOUDHARY f you leave Kashmir issue to the people, there is no issue at all. This may be an over simplification of the problem that has been plaguing India-Pakistan relations and challenging the tranquility within Jammu and Kashmir for decades but there is one process which is pointer to the growing public sentiment for normalizing relations and enhancing Icontacts across the divides. Politics plays at different levels. In Kashmir, anything which ignores the proverbial core issue is opposed strongly. Contacts across LoC offer healing touch to hundreds and thousands of those suffering the wounds of separation from the dear ones for decades but the process does not address the core issue. So what should be done? Do what is doable in these circumstances or keep the reunion hostage to politics? The former is more plausible. As a result of sustained dialogue and as compliment to the public mood, India and Pakistan launched cross LoC bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in April 2005 and later extended the service between Poonch and Rawalakote in 2006. In 2008 JUNE 2008 Cross-LoC trade was launched simultaneously on both routes. Though both The process of Cross-LoC interactions initiatives were described as major confidence building measures but should be taken beyond limited travel actually these were thrown as challenges on the people of Jammu and and symbolic trade. Cooperation in Kashmir on both sides of divide. Crossing the divide has never been as easy tourism, education and healthcare are as said. One has to put in an application, wait for three to 18 months and go the other possibilities which should be through a range of hurdles before being able to board the Cross-LoC bus explored service. Over 20,000 applications are still pending. In case of trade, scenario is even worst. No infrastructure, no banking, no courier, no telephone, no currency exchange and still there is trade which is going up by every passing week. By every passing week people are trying to send a loud and clear message to the government on both sides that they are against the divides and they want the lines blurred. Is there anyone taking this message? As far as the public involvement and eagerness to transcend the barriers is concerned, the process of Cross-LoC interactions should be taken beyond limited travel and symbolic trade. Cooperation in tourism, education and healthcare are the other possibilities which should be explored. Reflecting upon the popular sentiment, the civil society groups and conflict transformation organizations are already pushing for cooperation in these areas. Governments in New Delhi and Islamabad must take this message seriously. Feedback : [email protected] NOVEMBER 2009 www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 10 Epilogue, October 2010 3 CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Ankit, Rakesh; (Forgotten History Maini, Varun (In Focus, P40); is p45) is a young historian from Bihar. based in Poonch As a Rhodes Scholar recently he studied various missing links in the Malik, Talib (Perspectives, P5); is a making of Kashmir conflict. Based social activist based at Rajouri. He on his first hand study, he is retired from an administrative contributing exclusive series to position in J&K Government Epilogue Mohammed, Prof Jigar; (History, Chandran, D Suba; (In Focus, p27) p43) is professor of History at the is Deputy Director at Institute of University of Jammu. He is Peace and Conflict Studies. Author associated with Epilogue since of many books and an acclaimed inception as Editorial Advisor on expert on Kashmir and Indo-Pak History of Jammu and Kashmir relations, he is Consulting Editor of Epilogue Magazine Peer, Basheer Ahmed (Perspectives, P7); is based in Chowdhary, Rekha (Books & Kupwara, north Kashmir and Reviews, P48), is Professor of working as a researcher with New Political Science at the University of Delhi based Charkha Development Jammu and Communication Network Hussain, Bilal (In Focus, P38); is a Sandy, Sandeep Singh (In Focus, financial Journalist and writer. In P36); is a scholar of Political Science 2009 he attended the McGraw-Hill and currently engaged with a New Personal Finance Reporting Program Delhi based peace NGO Courses, supported by The International Center for Journalists. Currently he is associated with premier daily, Kashmir Times Readers' requests for getting in touch with the authors, for feedback, comments and further discussions on their subjects of interest, are welcome. Since all authors/contributors are not interested in taking mails directly, the readers are requested to send us interview requests at [email protected] for passing on to the authors www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 10 Epilogue, October 2010 VOLUNTARY BLOOD DONATION DAY, IST OCTOBER 201 BLOOD DONATION CAN SAVE LIFE Who can donate Blood ? Where don donate blood ? qHealthy Person between 18-60 years of age qIn Blood Bank qPerson having weight not less than 45 kgs qIn a Blood Donation Camp How often one can donate blood ? qMen can donate blood after every 3 months while women after every 4 months qA person can donate blood about 168 times in his life time. After donation one can attend his Remember : routine work within half an hour Blood Donation is Social & Moral Responsibility No. : DIP/J-6493/2010 HEALTH EDUCATION BUREAU DIRECTORATE OF HEALTH SERVICES, JAMMU 5 kashmir Opinion KASHMIR ISSUE Look Back, Look Ahead TALIB MALIK It becomes a moral duty to reorganize the state on taking into consideration its multi-dimensional dissimilarities in culture, language, ethnicity, geography, history and political perceptions of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Rajouri-Poonch and Udhampur-Doda and work out a political mechanism which could make each region the master of its own destiny and grow freely under an umbrella of a larger autonomy with well-know economic dimensions he state of Jammu and Kashmir signed the instrument of Taccession on October 26, 1947, in an extra ordinary situation, subject to the condition that a plebiscite would be held in the state when Law and order situation allowed it.