Cultural Diversity of Kashmir -Conflicting views:-Kashmiri,Indian & Pakistani.
Cultural Diversity of Kashmir
(Courtesy:The Telegraphs,London)
THE Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir consists of three regions with
marked ethnic and religious differences - Ladakh, Jammu, and the Kashmir
valley. Ladakh, across the Himalayan divide, is often referred to as "Little
Tibet." A bare, inhospitable region it is sparsely populated and 70 pc of its
200,000 residents are Buddhists.
In Jammu, which lies in the southeast, the majority of the 3.5 million residents
are Hindu, and most of the region is peaceful. However, in Jammu's
mountainous Doda district, there are as many Muslims as Hindus.
The 4.5 million strong population in the Kashmir valley is predominantly
Muslim. It is here, as well as in Doda, where violence is part of everyday life.
The mountainous terrain is ideal for guerrilla warfare; army patrols literally
face an uphill task in locating these hideouts. The population of Kashmir was
once overwhelmingly Hindu. But in the fourteenth century, Kashmiris
converted to Islam under the influence of King Ranchan Shah. Hindu
influences are still found among the Muslims of Kashmir. Kashmiris sing and
chant Koranic verses in a manner similar to Hindu practices. The influence of
Sufism is also strong.
The fair-skinned and light-eyed Kashmiris look more European than Indian.
Unlike the other languages of India, Kashmiri belongs to the Dardic group of
central Asian languages. The Pakistani "Azad Kashmir" includes the regions of
Gilgit and Baltistan (it is thought that the popular balti cuisine originated here).
From Kashmir flow the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum rivers, the lifeblood of the
Punjab (meaning Land of the Five Rivers). For both India and Pakistan,
control of Kashmir provides a valuable window to China, Afghanistan, and
the states of the former Soviet Union. As the gateway to the Indian
sub-continent, Kashmir fell under the rule of a number of dynasties - Hindu,
Buddhist, Mughal, Afghan and even Sikh. The cultural and ethnic diversity of
Kashmir lies in this constant state of flux. Tradition has it that Kashmir was
originally a lake that was drained by the sage Kashyap and then inhabited by
the upper caste Hindu Brahmins. The first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal
Nehru was also a Kashmiri Brahmin although his family had migrated to the
plains in an earlier generation.
Buddhism was introduced by Emperor Ashoka (274 -237 BC) and flourished
under the rule of Kushan. However, Hinduism continued to be the dominant
religion. In 1346 AD the last Hindu king, Udiana Deva, was replaced by
Shams-ud-Din. His family ruled until 1586 when the Mughal emperor Akbar
annexed Kashmir to his vast empire.
The son of Akbar, and the successor of the Moghal empire, Jehangir fell in
love with the land and constructed the magnificent Mughal gardens of
Shalimar Bagh, Nishat Bagh and Chashm Shahi on the banks of the Dal lake
for his wife Noor Jahan. (Jehangir's son Shah Jahan would later construct the
world famous Taj Mahal in memory of his dead wife).
In 1752, Kashmir was conquered by Ahmed Shah Durrani and became part
of Afghanistan. In 1819 Ranjit Singh conquered Kashmir and made it part of
his Sikh empire. In 1846, when the British defeated the Sikhs and conquered
Punjab they also acquired Kashmir. The British sold the province to Ghulab
Singh of Jammu for 7.5 million rupees (or approximately US$166,666) under
the Treaty of Amritsar in 1846. This gave him the status of an independent
princely ruler of Kashmir. He added to his dominion by conquering Ladakh in
1850. Hari Singh (1925-1949) was a descendant of Ghulab Singh. In 1932
Sheikh Abdullah formed Kashmir's first political party - All Jammu &
Kashmir Muslim Conference (renamed the National Conference in 1939). In
1934 the Maharajah allowed limited democracy in the form of a Legislative
Assembly.
Conflicting Points of View: Kashmiri, Indian, Pakistani
WHERE does the solution lie? Each side has its own fiercely held view on the
subject.
Pakistan seeks the implementation of a 1948 UN resolution which called for
an independent plebiscite. Pakistan believes that Kashmiri Muslims were
"wronged" by the state's accession to India and that given a choice, they will
vote to join Pakistan. It has also sought to raise the Kashmir issue at various
international forums, actively seeking third party intervention.
India asserts the accession of Kashmir to India was legal, and that the state is
inseparable from the country. It maintains that the issue can be solved only by
bilateral discussions under the terms of the "Simla agreement," signed in 1972
by Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
India believes that Pakistan's concern for the "wronged Kashmiri Muslim" is
only a convenient excuse to annex the state. They point out that while
Pakistan supports Kashmiri separatists in the name of Islamic unity, violent
clashes between different Muslim groups such as the Sindhis, Punjabis and
Mohajirs (those who came as refugees from India) rage within Pakistan.
Given a choice, Kashmir may well opt for independence from both India and
Pakistan. However, this is an unlikely possibility because both countries have
too much at stake.
The name Pakistan, which means land of the pure, was coined by its founding
father Mohammed Ali Jinnah. It is also said to symbolise the four provinces of
the country Punjab, Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan.
Pakistan is convinced that Kashmir's accession to India is an historical wrong
which must be rectified. It is alleged by some historians that Lord
Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of the Dominion, was biased in favour of India
because of his friendship with Jawaharlal Nehru. They claim that
Mountabatten interfered with the award of the Radcliffe Commission which
drew the boundary between India and Pakistan. This ensured that Muslim
majority Gurdaspur district which contained the only direct road link to
Kashmir, the land of Nehru's birth, came to India.
For India, Kashmir symbolises the "unity in diversity" principle on which the
nation is based. Despite 85pc of the population being Hindu, the Indian
constitution grants equal rights to its ethnic and religious minorities, including a
100 million strong Muslim population.
The loss of Kashmir could lead to disintegration of the country as a whole.
There are militant separatist movements raging in the NorthEast and the state
of Assam. The Khalistan movement for an independent Sikh state which
raged in the '80s has only recently been brought under control.
The Indian government alleges that Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism in the
Valley and the world is turning a blind eye to this fact. Pakistan denies this,
but the presence of foreign mercenaries and numerous training camps in
Pakistani held Kashmir cannot be disputed.
Most Indians believe that although there may be some local discontent the real
mischief-maker is the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan). If Pakistan
would stop the flow of arms and money the separatist movement would
quickly die out.
It is now feared that Islamic fundamentalists have hijacked the movement from
the Kashmiris themselves. Newly arrived groups such as Taliban -e Kashmir
have decreed that women should wear head-to-toe veils which the locals are
unhappy about. The number of "mujahideen", mostly from Afghanistan but
also from Yemen and Chechnya, is said to outnumber Kashmiri guerillas.
For both India and Pakistan, Kashmir is an emotional and patriotic issue. It is
an expensive and bloody conflict which neither side can really afford. Fifty
years on, there is no permanent solution or compromise in sight. The suffering
of the Kashmiri people continues, the battle rages on. |
