Pakistan Occupied Kashmir : The Untold Story
“Pakistan Occupied Kashmir : The Untold Story”, Edited by Virendra Gupta & Alok Bansal (Published in 2007) by Manas Publications 4858 Prahlad Street 24 Ansari Road Daryaganj New Delhi 110 002 . Pp 250 Price Rs 495 ISBN 81 7049 315 3
This is a very well documented book that forcefully brings out the fraudulence and the deceit of the Government of Pakistan in taking advantage of the locals, as well as confusing the international community on a host of issues. Pakistani rulers have brutally suppressed the tribal locals all over this region as evinced by the fact that in March 1963, it unperturbedly handed over more than 5180 square kilometers of this territory in the Shaksgam region to China ignoring protests from the Mir of Hunza!
The muddle in J&K, could have been precluded, had Jinnah & Co not been in the unholy haste they were in, to grab it by force in 1947. They made a serious miscalculation in invading it on 22 October 1947. According some, the winter season was only a fortnight away and with its onset, communications to the rest of India would have got cut off, with the closing off of the Banihal Pass, and there was no Banihal Tunnel in those times. Srinagar airfield was a grass fair weather airstrip, which became unusable owing to the heavy snowfalls. India would not have been able to intervene militarily in the Valley. Pakistan could have easily annexed Kashmir and present a fait accompli to the world! Possession is nine-tenths of the law, hence the bailiffs writ would have run in J&K for all times to come. There would not have been a Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)! This could also have come to pass had Pandit Nehru not succumbed to Mountbatten’s molly-cuddling and gone to the UN on the issue of the accession of this predominantly Muslim Princely State, that was ruled by a Hindu Maharja.
PoK comprises of Mirpur, and portions of Poonch district, and a part of the North Western province; termed as Azad Kashmir (“AJK” to us) by Pakistan, along with the so called Northern Areas i.e. Gilgit wazarat, Astor wazarat, Skardu tehsil of Ladakh wazarat and Baltistan. It is governed by KANA. Being rich in minerals like gold (1480 gold mines), Uranium, and precious stones, it is of great strategic significance, and Pakistan rules it directly from Islamabad. This region has remained uncovered by the media; particularly the Indian one; though rest of J&K are constantly under its harsh glare of the shrill and screaming headlines, with distorted and trampled versions coming to the fore. As a result of this lacunae, information on the Northern Areas and the so called ‘AJK’ is generally hazy, and veritably neighbouring on the apathetic. Therefore, with the publication of this book, a void has been filled. Virendra Gupta, a career diplomat, and a former Deputy Director of the IDSA, and Commander Alok Bansal, have done a commendable job in putting together bits and pieces on the region to bring it in the public domain. The book, as result, is a collection of eleven essays by some very credible analysts and very lucid scribes like the veterans B G Vergehese and Samuel Baid, IDSA’s Kalyanaraman, Smruti Patnaik and P Stopdan; Shafqat Inqlabi of the Balwaristan National Front; and Parvez Dewan , an IAS officer of the J&K cadre. These luminaries hold forth on various areas of public interest; for example : tracing the circumstances leading to Pakistan’s occupation of this territory; the type of evolving administration, its contemporary status; and the seething popular under-currents. The rise of ethnicity and fundamentalism in Pakistan has impacted PoK as well. It has lead to the growing Talibisation of society and deepened the sectarian rift. This book high lights all this.
Thoroughly researched, and well laid out, all papers are very readable; and in summation surmise, that, Pakistan has ensured an enduring total control over PoK by maintaining a super-centralised power-equation between Muzzafarbad and Islamabad. The resultant interim constitution of 1974 has reduced PoK to the status of an insignificant non-entity of the Pakistani state. It has used this area effectively against Indian interests. The building of an extensive communication net-work prior to the 1999 Kargil War is a manifestation of this. The 1947 tribal raids under Pak army leadership is also an example of this, as a total reversal of roles, India on its part, insisted on the Maharaja that he introduce a representative responsible government in J&K. The book makes for a case for the Indus –II agreement, which along with the soft borders, bilateral trade and cultural exchanges between the two as basis for peace-making. This will soothe the tension, iron out differences and remove kinks by people to people contacts, promote harmony and sponsor trade. A South Asian Economics Union like the EU is very much on the cards. The ongoing Confidence Building Measures and Composite Dialogue with Pakistan, as well as talks within the state with peoples of all tints of standpoints, hold out a assurance for the future.
The Northern Areas are ethnically distinct from the rest of PoK, in as much as that the population is essentially Shia predominant. The only thing that they have in common with the ‘AJK’ is that they were both under the Dogras at one time. In his essay Stopdan brings it out amply. He also examines the political legacies, and the status of the region at the time of the Pakistani invasion and afterwards. The current state of affairs, in the backdrop of Pakistan’s dilemma, as well as the internal dynamics, is discussed in detail. These areas are directly administered federally, and there is talk of its being made into the fifth province. The status of Shaksgam-Muztagh valley that was ceded to China in 1963 is discussed separately.
All essays, with the exception of the lone one by Maloy Krishna Dhar , are supported by copious end notes; speaking of which it is rather surprising that no one has found the need to refer to M J Akbar’s writings, as he writes very well, especially on the historical perspective. He says many sensible things about the J&K dispute. The chapters written by Alok Bansal also have ‘conclusion’ paras, which adds to the readability content of this book. It could do with more maps, as the one on the cover is purely ornamental, and does not serve the purpose when reading through text such as this, which is laced with reference to unfamiliar place names and military manoeuvres. Nevertheless, it was, indeed, eye-opening and a great revelation to see the one showing gold anomalies in Gilgit and Baltistan!
The book can be purchased here.
(The Writer Lt. Col A.K. ‘Sam’ Sharma is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla. Col Sharma was commissioned into the 3rd Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in Februray 1964, He retired in 1997 after serving for 33 years. A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, he holds a MSc Degree in Defence Studies from the Madras University. This officer has been on the instructional staff of two of Indian Army’s premiere training institutes: the College of Combat; now known as the War College; (Directing Staff Junior Command Wing-1972-1975) and the Infantry School ( Senior Instructor, Platoon Commander’s Wing—1984-87) both located in Mhow (MP); where he taught tactics at the unit and sub-unit levels to students, some of who were from friendly foreign armies. He has also served at the world- renowned Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Col Sharma can be contacted at aksh9@airtelbroadband.in)
You must be logged in to post a comment.