China owns & runs Pakistan today-Would China declare War on India if India ever attacked Pakistan first?

While we sit and do politics over irrelevant issues and regional state governments function like family fiefdoms and pander to the interests of every so called minority and our very cultural fabric is being torn apart slowly but surely by all these vested interests, China has established its complete hold over Pakistan and most of Africa. Here is an article giving some valuable information on the reality that confronts India. Of course, most political parties dont care cos they are busy looking for the next loot. I wish most state governments in India can be dismissed and India can be ruled by one central elected government.

Would China declare War on India if India ever attacked Pakistan first?
https://www.quora.com/Would-China-declare-War-on-India-if-India-ever-attacked-Pakistan-first/answer/Santhosh-Kumar-337?share=b8568036
http://kiranasis.blogspot.in/




Would China come forward to help Pakistan or would it stay away from a conflict with India?

Why is Pakistan obsessed with Kashmir?

Well everyone have always wondered what makes Kashmir so attractive to Pakistan, that they are willing to keep the issue burning forever. What is there?
{Prem Shekhar, a well known Kannada columnist informed a few weeks that Pakistan had even offered to give up East Pakistan in 1950s, in return for Jammu and Kashmir on the sidelines of official discussions with India! So definitely it is not religion or Kashmiris.. it is much deeper than that. It was water sources then, but now much more deeper...}

Why is India so reluctant to hit back at Pakistan? Also why does India always seem to be unable to retaliate to Pakistan in kind (it should, totally) and pussyfoots around Pakistan, despite all the atrocities it commits in India from daily incursions in Kashmir to the Mumbai attacks. They spend too much money on all this and the country, despite no visible revenue-generating industry (terrorism no revenue) has managed to survive until today, develop nukes and has so much international clout? Where does it get its money from? Why?? Why is India reluctant to strike? There must be reasons.

Yes, water is an issue. The Indus and its tributaries. But where do they get money to keep the issue alive? There is more to this than water. Today, someone told me about this thing and I was stumped about how bloody obvious this is, and even then, NOBODY in India talks about this!

It is China... It is China and CPEC: The "thing" is the CPEC: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. If you look at it closely suddenly everything falls into place. Kashmir, Balochistan, India's unwillingness to strike, silence of international community, everything else. Pakistan is just a front.

The real sponsor is hiding behind.

Maybe it is because Indian method of viewing everything in black & white. Pakistan sponsors terrorism to get Kashmir. It is not that simple. Pakistan kept the Kashmir flame burning until the 1990s to meet their ends, when China conceived the CPEC and decided to take over. A bit on the CPEC as no one seems to have heard about it. China has a huge geographic handicap: no access to southern world oceans.

So Chinese shipments from Europe, Middle East, Africa have to travel all the way around India, Malacca and ASEAN. China has serious problems with most countries in that region due to its aggressive military posture.

Source - Twitter. Please excuse since J&K map is not accurate.

Why Pakistan is so important for Chinese economy?
What if China could get a route through Pakistan to access the Arabian Sea? That line in blue. Look at it, so much distance, money saved! That, is the CPEC. A corridor of highways and railways will run from Kashgar in China to Gwadar in Pakistan (Baluchistan) on the Arabian sea near Iran border. And ALL the infrastructure and associated stuff for CPEC will be constructed for Pakistan by China, free or cost or for negligible loans.

What is CPEC?Four Six-lane Expressways from north to south Pakistan, four different routes. All main railway lines being upgraded to 160 kph double. A six to eight lane super expressway Karachi to Gwadar and Hyderabad Innumerable coal, thermal, solar and hydro power plants all across Pakistan. All of Gwadar, including a mega international airport! Then Hospitals, schools, colleges, tech institutes, even a Metro line in Lahore!

And of course, the capstone: reconstruction of the Karakoram highway to six to four lanes. All projects listed here. Click, zoom and read.


But why is Jammu and Kashmir involved here? Now, on the Karakoram highway, this is where it matters most for India. It connects China and Pakistan, though India! Through Jammu and Kashmir, which legally acceded to India in 1947 October. This is a route map of the Karakoram highway (grey). Look at the top,inside the red circle. It is Gilgit Baltistan area of Jammu and Kashmir state, which legally belongs to India, but illegally occupied by Pakistan. Keep in mind, China also occupies illegally the eastern and northern part of Jammu and Kashmir - Shaksgam valley (gifted by Pakistan in 1960s) and Aksai Chin (occupied by China in 1950s when it annexed Tibet).


The highway passes through Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. The red line is the LOC. Pakistan and China are connected through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK for short). Pakistan calls this Gilgit-Baltistan area of Jammu and Kashmir, as Northern Territories sometimes.

More on Karakoram highway: Soon to be a 4/6 lane highway through some of the world's toughest terrain. A high-capacity highway across the Himalayas!

Now, though the CPEC is a recent thing, the idea had taken birth long back. The Karakoram highway started building in 1959, opened in 1979! Possibly Pakistan had refused China access to Gwadar then as they could. But now they have no other choice but hand over to China.

Why CPEC? OIL: Gwadar is just 400 km away from Muscat and 500 from the Strait of Hormuz through which all Gulf oil passes. 12 hours at sea! Proximity to Africa: China virtually owns much of Africa today. Billions in investment, buys natural resources. Nothing better than this. Pakistan as a market: China will flood Pakistan and Gulf with its cheap products and make a windfall there too. Proximity to new friend Sri Lanka.If USA/UK (control Malacca strait - Singapore) or India in Indian ocean decide to choke it, China will have no problem as it has CPEC.

But, all of CPEC and China's ambitions bearing fruit depends on the Karakoram highway. That depends on PoK continued to be occupied by Pakistan.

Money Involved: With the CPEC, China has sunk close to 50 BILLION Dollars in Pakistan. Of course, China gets free access to all this infrastructure in Pakistan. With this, 20% of Pakistan's GDP is now Chinese. China has Pakistan now firmly by the b***s, so much so that Pakistan can now be China's 24th province. With so much invested and at stake, China wouldn't even think twice about ruthlessly suppressing any attack on Pakistan, because they own it now.

Doesn't India know all this? Of course India knows all this. If we were to attack Pakistan, we would have to deal with China. Pakistan is small fry. China is not.

Who would side with India? Mostly nobody. Why? Because China is involved. How international geopolitics work, most don't get that either. USA wants to support us because China makes it nervous. But US corporations are over invested in China, so Uncle Sam will look the other way. Russia - Don't even think about it. Putin has enough troubles at home, and India's pandering to Obama hasn't got him amused. Europe will sit just and watch (because China), and all of the Middle East will (clandestinely) support Pakistan for obvious reasons (Islam).

People think alliances between countries are forget like high school friendships - on emotional grounds of some sort - No. Not at all. International friendships are always based on "how can I benefit by allying", "what terrible things can this guy do to me if I don't ally".

So, India will be left out cold if it were to as much as touch Pakistan. We will mostly have to take on BOTH Pakistan and China. Mostly. Can India take on both Pakistan and China alone? From two (or three) flanks? We are surrounded by China's friends. What do we do? Dunno.

A bit more on the Karakoram highway: 1962, remember? What if the Chinese were testing the Indian waters before building the highway? China could've walked through India. Still, they withdrew. They were only testing India's resolve to defend PoK if it came to that. We have all but written off PoK. All Wikipedia articles tell all of PoK as "Pakistan". Not Pakistan administered", but Pakistan. Hurts :(

Here is the Khunjerab Pass (PoK): the "top" of India, the border between India and China, but now Pakistan


Here is the Karakoram highway near Gilgit in India (PoK) and under construction somewhere in the mountains. It should be obvious by now that China does NOT want India to reclaim its land lost to Pakistan in 1947 and 1948 - the strategic Karakoram ranges in Gilgit-Baltistan area of Jammu and Kashmir. It is as simply as that!


Here is the entire map of the Karakoram Highway from Kashgar to Rawalpindi. Look where all it passes through


China owns Pakistan for most part today: CPEC and all associated stuff are called "China-Pakistan Friendship" something or the other. No friendship there. Just Chinese business. China is not doing business with Pakistan. It is running its business in Pakistan. It is running Pakistan. China pays for protection. If things get push to shove, China can tell US: "We will nationalize your businesses if you don't tell India to withdraw". What will we do?

What we should first realize is that there is no Pakistan. There is only China. Pakistan is just a front.We should deal accordingly. It is in China's interest to keep Kashmir burning. If there is peace in the valley, India MIGHT set its eyes on PoK. Chinese know that India has a strong Prime Minister today who can think of that. China does not want India to even think of getting PoK back. Of course, China did not light the Kashmir fire, but it certainly looks like it is them who keeps it burning that no consensus is reached. So, in addition to water, religion, ego, demographics and so on there is one more reason behind the Kashmir unrest: China and CPEC.

Is dialogue with Pakistan sensible? It is utter foolishness to think that in such a case we can resolve this through dialogue! We talk one thing while issue is another! Issue is NOT what we think is the issue! We and our govt should first understand this. I am sure they have. Hopefully they aren't helpless. China is waging a proxy-proxy-deceptive war which we cannot understand or prove or blame. We need to mobilize some other way.

War with Pakistan? Vadakkus said at the end - I am not generally a warmonger, but this has gone too far. We should strike. Do something. I only wish something be done about those 17 Indian soldiers who were killed without any provocation. They didn't have to die. Take on both China and Pakistan. Maybe. Can we? I don't know what we should do. Hopefully our hands aren't tied and someone is coming up with a plan to hit them. Hopefully.

Baluchistan's role: Why Pakistan got all worked up when India raised Balochistan? Gwadar is in Balochistan. Much of CPEC infra passes through Balochistan. The CPEC is China's hope at lifting its sagging economy and securing its strategic position in the region. Its future maybe depends on it. Karakoram- Hindukush- Pamir region since ancient times been strategically sensitive. The Silk Road. China wants control of the new Silk Road. If India were to take PoK we would squeeze the Karakoram Highway shut. No more CPEC, Silk Road. China done for. That is the whole game. Highways are primary military conduits rather than civilian. Whoever controls the highway controls the region.

Ultimately.. Pakistan's ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic caliphate. Apart from this China helps them through CPEC. You might disagree with Modi et al but please support the govt right now in whatever action it takes. Politicking can wait. Wait two more months before taking any harsh decisions. Things might change post November.

Rajendra Chola’s Portrait For Mazgon Docks: A Tribute To The Naval Might Of Cholas

Rajendra Chola’s Portrait For Mazgon Docks: A Tribute To The Naval Might Of Cholas 
Swarajya Staff - September 30, 2016, 8:30 am  http://swarajyamag.com/books/rajendra-cholas-painting-for-mazgon-docks-a-tribute-to-the-naval-might-of-cholas
 


This occasion gives Indians an opportunity to reflect on how they approach their own history.


According to this report in The Times of India, the governor and chief minister of Maharashtra will dedicate a portrait of the Chola king Rajendra Chola I to Mazgon docks. This is fitting as the Cholas had arguably the best organised navy in all of Indian history.

This occasion though, also gives Indians an opportunity to reflect on how they approach their own history. For, in India, except for a handful of icons, all other history makers are remembered regionally and not nationally. So, Krishnadeva Raya remains an icon only in south India; a leader like Lachit Borphukan of only the Assamese; Marthanda Varma, who defeated the Dutch at sea, remembered in Kerala alone, and so on.

Southern India, per se, seems to suffer disproportionately from this approach to history. While the Rajputs, the Marathas, and the rulers of the Gangetic delta still find mention in history books, leaders and change-makers, who belonged to the south don’t in the same proportion.

There are more chances of a student in south India reading about the imperial dynasties of the north than a student in north India reading about a ruler like Rajendra Chola I.

It is in this context that the Maharashtra administration’s decision to dedicate Rajendra Chola’s portrait to Mazgon docks should be welcomed. Especially because, the Cholas were a great naval power themselves.

This aspect of their reign can hardly be described better than has been done by author Sanjeev Sanyal in his new book, The Ocean of Churn.

Given below is an excerpt:

“The Cholas were one of the three clans, who dominated the southern tip of India in ancient times. During the period of Pallava rule, they had accepted the overlordship of Kanchi but still retained significant political clout. At the end of the ninth century, a Chola general called Aditya helped the Pallavas crush a revolt by the Pandyas, the other ancient Tamil clan. As a reward, he seems to have been given sizeable new territories. Aditya used the new resources to build up his military capability and in AD 873 he marched against his Pallava overlords. The Cholas defeated and killed the last Pallava king Aparajita (whose name ironically means ‘he who cannot be defeated’). Aditya took care, however, to marry a Pallava princess and thereby absorb their lineage into his own.

Over the next several decades, the Cholas steadily expanded their kingdom. They repeatedly defeated the combined armies of the Pandyas and their Sri Lankan allies. However, not all their military campaigns went well. When the Cholas attempted to expand northwards, they were beaten back by the Rashtrakutas who had replaced the Chalukyas in the Deccan plateau. In fact, the Rashtrakutas pushed back and occupied the old Pallava capital of Kanchi. It took several years for the Cholas to recover from the defeat but they seemed to have clawed back the lost territory by the time Rajaraja Chola came to the throne in AD 985.

Rajaraja is widely regarded by Tamils as their greatest king. He defeated the combined armies of the Pandyas, the Sinhalese and the ruler of Kerala. This gave him control over ports on both the eastern and western coasts. Next he decided to teach the Sri Lankans a lesson. A naval raid occupied the north of the island and sacked the Sinhalese capital of Anuradhapura. The Maldives was also added to the empire. As thanksgiving for his victories, Rajaraja then built the enormous Brihadeswara temple dedicated to Shiva. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The next Chola ruler was Rajaraja’s son Rajendra, who assumed the throne in 1014. He initially had to put down revolts by the old rival clans and consolidate his control over Sri Lanka. He then led an extraordinary military expedition that made its way north to the banks of the Ganga. Although the Cholas did not attempt to maintain control over these northern lands, Rajendra was clearly very proud of having made his way to the holy river. Water from the Ganga was carried back in golden vessels and a new capital was built—‘Gangaikonda Cholapuram’ meaning, ‘The City of the Chola who brought the Ganga’.

From the perspective of Indian Ocean history, however, the most significant event of Rajendra’s rule was a major naval raid on the Sri Vijaya kingdom of Sumatra and Malaya. In order to appreciate the historical context of this event, one needs to step back and understand the geo-political dynamics of the times. The maritime trade route between India and China had become very lucrative and there were two main routes. The first passed through the Straits of Malacca, between the Malay peninsula and Sumatra. The Sri Vijaya kingdom controlled this route. The second, more southerly route, passed through the Sunda straits between Sumatra and Java. Although it was a bit of a detour for those going to China or Champa, it had better access to the spice growing Maluku and Banda islands. This route was usually controlled by the Javans. Not surprisingly, there was constant rivalry between the Sri Vijaya and the Javanese kingdoms.

The late tenth century was a period of prosperity in the Indian Ocean rim as trade boomed between the Song empire in China, the Cholas in southern India and the Shiite Fatimid caliphate that controlled Egypt and the Red Sea. The rivalries of South East Asia were proving to be a major threat to this economic pipeline. In AD 987, a Sri Vijaya diplomatic mission made its way to China. During its stay in China, the diplomats were informed that their country was under attack from the Javan kingdom of Mataram.

They decided to head home but the war escalated and the mission found itself stranded in Champa for a year. It is likely that they received new instructions from the capital for they headed back to China and pleaded with the Song emperor to place Sri Vijaya under its protection. Thus, China came to have influence in the region.

The Sri Vijaya would have been aware that the entry of the Chinese into the Indian Ocean could elicit a response from the Cholas. Thus, they simultaneously sent missions to the Chola kings as well as made generous grants to Hindu and Buddhist temples in Chola ports. Amusingly, Chinese records show that the Sri Vijaya were playing a double game because their diplomats were deliberately misrepresenting the situation by claiming that the Cholas paid tribute to them!

The Sri Vijaya seem to have used Chinese protection to build up their own strength. Not surprisingly, this caused their neighbours to become concerned. Around 1012, Suryavarman I, the king of Angkor, chose to send an unusual gift to Rajendra Chola — his personal warchariot with which he had defeated his enemies. In the Indic cultural context, such a gift has great symbolic importance and it is likely that Angkor was trying to woo the Cholas as a way to counter-balance the Sino-Sri Vijaya alliance. It is also possible, that Angkor was trying to reopen the old trade route through the Isthamus of Kra as a way to bypass the contested straits. Amidst all this hectic diplomacy, the Cholas sent a direct diplomatic mission to China in 1015.

The ground situation, however, suddenly changed in 1016 when the Sri Vijaya and their allies defeated the Javanese and sacked the Mataram capital. This left the Sri Vijaya in control of both sea routes. We have evidence to suggest that it soon exploited this situation by exacting exorbitant tolls on merchant ships. Rajendra Chola probably sent a small naval expedition to Sumatra in 1017 as a warning but it was not taken seriously. Thus, the Chola returned in 1025 with a much larger fleet.

We do not know the exact sequence of events, but a study of the available information suggests the following: The fleet probably assembled near the main Chola port of Nagapattinam. Appropriately for a port that traded with South East Asia, the name means ‘Port of the Nagas’. There is still a major port there but the medieval port was probably several kilometres to the south. The Chola fleet would have first sailed south towards Sri Lanka before swinging east using ocean currents that would have taken them across to Sumatra. They probably then sailed down the west coast of the island towards the Strait of Sunda where they may have been resupplied by Javanese allies and picked up local guides.

The fleet now made its way north into the Straits of Malacca and systematically sacked Sri Vijaya ports along the way. Finally, we are told that the Cholas decisively defeated the main Sri Vijaya army in Kadaram (now Kedah province in Malaysia). The invading force then withdrew, stopping by at the Nicobar Islands on their way home.

The Chola raid significantly diminished Sri Vijaya power but it is remarkable that the Chinese did not do anything to support their supposed vassals. It is possible that the Chinese were just as annoyed at Sri Vijaya’s rent extraction and had entered into an understanding with the Indians. The Sumatrans too seem to have accepted their reduced status as they continued to send ambassadors to the Chola court and even participated in a joint diplomatic mission to China. When a Chola naval fleet returned to Kadaram in 1068, it was in support of a Sri Vijaya king against his local rivals. Meanwhile, with external threats diminished, Java began to rebuild itself under a Balinese price, Airlangga. The process of revival would culminate in the great Majapahit empire in the fourteenth century.”

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Maharashtra to dedicate Tamil emperor Rajendra Chola's portrait to Mazgon DocksTNN | Sep 29, 2016, 06.31 AM IST http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maharashtra-to-dedicate-Tamil-emperor-Rajendra-Cholas-portrait-to-Mazgon-Docks/articleshow/54574985.cms

 
NEW DELHI: Governor of Maharashtra Dr Vidya Sagar Rao and chief minister Devendra Phadnavis will dedicate the portrait of the great naval emperor from Tamil Nadu Rajendra Chola I to Mazgon Docks. Chairman of celebration committee Tarun Vijay and MD of the Mazgon Docks Ship Builder Rear Admiral (retd) Rahul Kumar Shrawat will receive the portrait in a solemn function on Thursday at 3.30pm. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar has sent a special congratulatory message for the occasion.

Ravi Bhusari, org secretary BJP, Maharashtra, Prof Sanjay Deshmukh, VC of the Mumbai University and Capt. Selvan, BJP MLA, (the lone Tamil MLA in Maharashtra) shall also join as special guest.


"Rajendra Chola was the greatest naval emperor of the world, India produced a millennium ago (1014 CE — year of coronation) and his memory is essential not only for national unity but also to get inspiration to keep Indian Ocean as a zone of peace," Tarun Vijay said. "Exactly 35 years before UN had passed a resolution declaring Indian Ocean a peace-zone but today India needs to increase its presence and activities in the region to have that come true," he added.

Eyewitnesses give graphic details Indian Surgical strikes

Surgical strikes: Bodies taken away on trucks, loud explosions, eyewitnesses give graphic details
From classified intelligence documents accessed by The Indian Express, it appears the assault caught the Lashkar and other jihadist groups by surprise.
Written by Praveen Swami | New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2016 1:57pm http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/pakistan-border-terror-camps-surgical-strikes-kashmir-loc-indian-army-jihadist-3065975/
Surgical strikes: The eyewitnesses described brief but intense fire engagements that destroyed makeshift buildings that housed jihadists before they left for the last stage of their journeys across the LoC. (Source: PTI)

Eyewitnesses living across the Line of Control (LoC) have provided The Indian Express with graphic accounts of last week’s Indian Army special forces strikes on jihadists’ staging posts, describing how bodies of those killed in clashes before dawn on September 29 were loaded onto trucks for secret burials. The eyewitnesses also described brief but intense fire engagements that destroyed makeshift buildings that housed jihadists before they left for the last stage of their journeys across the LoC.

WATCH VIDEO: Surgical Strikes: Eyewitnesses’ Accounts Validate India’s Claim Of A Lethal Strike
Their accounts corroborate India’s claims that it carried out strikes against terror launch pads — a claim Pakistan has denied, saying, instead, that its military’s forward positions were targeted with small-arms and mortar fire.

Their accounts corroborate India’s claims that it carried out strikes against terror launch pads — a claim Pakistan has denied, saying, instead, that its military’s forward positions were targeted with small-arms and mortar fire.

They also provide, for the first time, details on some of the locations targeted in the operation, information which the governments of India and Pakistan have not made public.

However, eyewitness accounts, as well as intelligence records obtained by The Indian Express, suggest that fatalities in the raids may have been lower than the 38-50 killed attributed to Indian officials in reports, including in this newspaper, and have caused little damage to jihadist logistics and infrastructure.



Lethal strike

Five eyewitnesses were contacted by The Indian Express through their kin living on the Indian side of the LoC and questions were sent to them using a commercially available encrypted chat system. The eyewitnesses’ identities are being withheld for their safety at the request of their families.

Indian journalists have no access to the Pakistani side of the LoC and the only Pakistan media reporting from these regions has been after a team of journalists were taken to some areas by the military there.

The most detailed account of the fighting came from two eyewitnesses who visited Dudhnial, a small hamlet some 4 km across the LoC from India’s nearest forward post, Gulab, ahead of the town of Kupwara. The eyewitness reported seeing a gutted building across the Al-Haawi bridge from the hamlet’s main bazaar, where a military outpost and a compound used by the Lashkar are both sited.

Al-Haawi bridge is the last point where infiltrating groups are loaded with supplies before beginning their climb up to the LoC towards Kupwara, both eyewitnesses said.

Local residents told one of the eyewitnesses that loud explosions — possibly rounds fired from 84-mm Carl Gustav rifles — were heard from across the Al-Haawi bridge late in the night, along with intense small-arms fire. “People did not come out to see what was going on,” the eyewitness reported, “so did not see Indian soldiers but they gathered from the Lashkar people the next day that they had been attacked.”

Five, perhaps six, bodies were loaded on to a truck early next morning, and possibly transported to the nearest major Lashkar camp at Chalhana, across the Neelum river from Teetwal, on the Indian side of the LoC, the eyewitness said he was told by local residents.

The Indian Army has made no official claim on casualties, but Director General of Military Operations Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh said the strikes caused “significant casualties” to “terrorists and those providing support to them.”

Friday prayers at a Lashkar-affiliated mosque in Chalhana, another eyewitness said, ended with a cleric vowing to avenge the deaths of the men killed the previous day. “The Lashkar men gathered there were blaming the Pak Army for failing to defend the border”, he said in one message, “and saying they would soon give India an answer it would never forget”.

From classified intelligence documents accessed by The Indian Express, it appears the assault caught the Lashkar and other jihadist groups by surprise. Intelligence Bureau records, one released on September 30 for a scheduled inter-agency meeting in New Delhi, spoke only of one major build-up, saying up to 40 jihadists had massed in Kél, facing India’s Machil sector. This unusual number was interpreted to be a preparation for a last-ditch infiltration push before the passes closed in early winter.

Terrorists unprepared

Elsewhere, though, nine intelligence alerts seen by The Indian Express, and issued in the week prior to the strike, flagged only small groups of five to 10 infiltrators biding their time at so-called “launch-pads”, essentially rural homes located close to military facilities, from where jihadists are guided towards India’s LoC defences.

“They were basically sitting around thinking it was business as usual”, an official familiar with the intelligence said. “Many of them would have died crossing the LoC anyway, when they hit our defences but this (the strikes) has made them feel unsafe one step back in their journeys”.

Leepa, a complex of some 25 hamlets located at the bottom of the Qazi Nag stream flowing down from the mountains above Naugam, on the Indian side of the LoC, was among the “launch-pads” targeted in the cross-LoC raids, one eyewitness said. Though the eyewitness was unable to visit the area, he said he spoken to villagers who had seen a Lashkar-occupied three-storied wooden building destroyed by Indian troops near the hamlet of Khairati Bagh.

Khairati Bagh was, until 2003, a major Lashkar base, which was slowly scaled down once the LoC ceasefire went into place and the terrorist group’s cross-LoC operations slowly declined. It remains, though, of key importance to the group, offering multiple lines of access into northern Kashmir through Chowkibal and the Bangas bowl.

The eyewitness said local residents said “three or four” Lashkar personnel were thought to have been killed in the raid, while others fled into the adjoining forests after the firing began.

Interestingly, the eyewitness said the Jamaat-ud-Dawa’s charitable wing, the Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation, had held a major eye-surgery camp in Khairati Bagh in August, using the opportunity to deliver speeches on alleged atrocities by Indian soldiers in Kashmir. Fire and explosions were also heard, an eyewitness said, from the east bank of the Neelum river in Athmuqam, the district headquarters of the region.

Next to Pak Army

The fighting, the eyewitness said, appeared to have taken place near military camps along the Katha Nar stream that empties into the Neelum river just north of the town. A bustling town that serves as a hub for tourism and commerce, Athmuqam is also a major military hub, with several army facilities on the ridges the east bank of the river, sheltered from artillery bombardment.

The ghost villages of Bicchwal and Bugna, almost entirely abandoned by their residents who fled when the long jihad in Kashmir began in 1990, are barely 2 km from Salkhanna, the first village on the Pakistani side of the LoC, and the last loading point for jihadist infiltrators.

An eyewitness who visited the Neelum District Hospital in Athmuqam said he heard several Lashkar personnel had been killed and injured in the clash last Thursday but said no bodies had been buried locally.

Neelum valley residents, tied by kinship to mountain peoples on the other side of the LoC, have had a fraught relationship with jihadists operating in the area, fearing the collapse of the India-Pakistan ceasefire could lead to the return of the artillery exchanges which claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians before 2003.

In 2011, India-Pakistan military clashes led scores of Athmuqam women and children to march to the local army unit, demanding that it stop cross-border movement by jihadists.

The Pakistan Army responded by locating jihadist launch-pads alongside its camps, thus minimising contact between local residents and groups like the Lashkar. However, the massive street violence in Kashmir has led to a surge in the visibility of jihadists across the Neelum valley.


'Surgical strikes' should become the norm against an errant Pakistan
http://southasiamonitor.org/news/-surgical-strikes-should-become-the-norm-against-an-errant-pakistan/sl/19637

By Cecil Victor

 
"Surgical strikes" by the Indian military visited upon Pakistani terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the dark hours of Thursday should become standard operating procedures rather than the exception.

The mathematics of counter-insurgency demands it.

Such a doctrine carries a promise of multiple cascading advantages. The Indian Army knows that the archpriests of guerrilla warfare, China’s first Chairman Mao Tse-tung and the charismatic Latin American Ernesto Che Guevara (even T.E. Lawrence -- Lawrence of Arabia fame), in their independent and largely separated in time and location empirical studies on their type of warfare had pointed to the disproportionately high number of security forces required to neutralise one guerrilla fighter.

The ratio ranged from 50:1 in difficult terrain like dense forests or even 20:1 that the British used to curb the Malayan emergency. This means that if one infiltrator manages to cross the Line of Control, India would need up to 50 troops to find and neutralize him. If they are in groups of four to six as happened in Pathankot and Uri, the immediate requirement for quick neutralization would be between 200 to 300 security personnel. The prolonged exchanges of fire in nearly every instance points to both a paucity of manpower as well as abundant caution in the cleaning-up phase because of unpleasant experience of booby-trapped bodies.

In short, in a manpower-intensive kind of warfare that counter-insurgency is, we are unable to shape the battleground according to our wishes and requirement as per our current counter-infiltration strategy.

Conversely, in a surgical strike of the kind executed by the Indian Army on the night of September 29 India was in total control from which launchpads to hit, how to get in and how to get out without suffering casualties. All this was accomplished by Special Forces who went in without helicopters that are vulnerable to rifle fire from the ground.

Five widely dispersed specially camouflaged launchpads were destroyed. Thirty-five Pakistani dead bodies were counted and it is estimated that an equal number were pulverized by the flamethrowers and rocket propelled grenades.

Among the dead were nearly a dozen Pakistan Army personnel whose close proximity (cheek-by-jowl) to the terrorists and presence in the launchpads indicates their role as masterminds and facilitators.

The fact that the attack was executed by about 200 Indian soldiers and everything was over within four hours brings to the fore the cost-benefit of such an operation.

---Among the multiple cascading advantages that have emerged from this surgical strike (no harm irritating the Pakistanis by using this formulation) is that Pakistan has swiftly wrapped up more than a dozen training camps/launch pads from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and shifted them closer to the Pakistani Punjab border. This shows that they were Pakistani nationals because if they were so-called “Kashmiri freedom fighters” they would have been left to die in much the same manner in which the Pakistan Army Inter-Services Intelligence abandoned the Shia fighters of the Northern Light Infantry (drawn from PoK) that were used to infiltrate into the Kargil salient in 1999 dressed in civilian kurta/pyjama.

---India has found the panacea to counter the Chinese stratagem of using nuclear weapons to deter a conventional response to attacks by highly trained Pakistanis posing as jihadi fighters.

---Pakistan cannot sustain its gambit of deniability in the face of the evidence that will very likely be unveiled before diplomats posted in New Delhi.

---Pakistan’s promise at the UN General Assembly that it would provide every means to help “Kashmiris” secure their desire for “freedom” lies dented and discredited.

---Several psychological issues have emerged that can be pursued with profit. Enumerating them here would render them inert.

Finally, it has taught Indian military commanders that overdependence on static defences leads to complacency and a syndrome of casualness and carelessness that has allowed Pakistan to successfully breach our defences time and again.

For many years Pakistan has been trying to create conditions to convert Kashmiri unrest into a liberation scenario through the infiltration of sleeper cells and pre-positioning of warlike stores, weapons and ammunition. From Hillkaka several years ago and many other places later Indian security forces have discovered caches and underground accommodation for as many as 40 personnel.

It is not an accident that there is an element of multiples of ten involved. Both Pakistan and India use this format to structure their conventional land forces. Forty is the number that comprises a platoon strength.

Returning to the empirical studies of Chinese chairman Mao, of Ernesto Che Guevara and of Lawrence of Arabia it is stated that “ratio of space to forces” plays a crucial role in guerrilla warfare. Hence the 50:1 calculus. If Pakistan is able to mobilize 40 persons who could use these dumps to hide and arm themselves the “enemy behind the lines effect” would be catastrophic.

The manner in which the strike force collected local intelligence can and must be applied to supplement the static defences. Using dogs as terrestrial eyes and ears should be coalesced into a more effective defence of which sanitizing the hinterland on the other side of the fence/reconnaissance/surveillance gadgetry is an integral part.

Hence surgical military operations (not all the time but at a time and place of our choosing) must be made the norm.

 

(Cecil Victor is an Indian military analyst. Comments and suggestions on this article can be sent on: editor@spsindia.in)

India Deploys T-72 Tanks in Ladakh to Counter China’s Military Build-up

India Deploys T-72 Tanks in Ladakh to Counter China’s Military Build-up



The Indian Army appears to have moved over 100 tanks to its disputed border with China.By Prakhar Gupta
July 20, 2016

For the second time in its entire history, the Indian Army has moved over 100 tanks to the frontline in Ladakh, a geostrategically important region located along the so-called Line of Actual Control (LOC) in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Almost five decades ago, in a desperate attempt to use tanks against the invading Chinese army, the Indian Mechanized Division had airdropped five tanks in Ladhak, which has witnessed frequent incursion attempts by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in recent years.

A calculated strategic maneuver by the Indian Armed Forces, the deployment of tanks in the disputed region is aimed at reinforcing the Indian position in the valley overlooking China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

Much to New Delhi’s displeasure, China has undertaken massive reconstruction and development projects on its western border with India in the recent years. Also reported by Pentagon, China’s aggressive militarization campaign in the region has been a cause of concern for India. “We have noticed an increase in capability and force posture by the Chinese military in areas close to the border with India,” U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Abraham M. Denmark, told reporters during a press briefing after the Pentagon submitted its annual report on “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.”

In a report published by The Hindu, Lt. Gen. SK Patyal, the general officer commanding the Leh-based 14 Corps, which is in charge of the eastern sector with China and parts of the Line of Control (LOC) with Pakistan, was quoted as saying: “We have to defend our borders. So whatever it takes us in terms of infrastructure development, in terms of force accretion, we have to do in the best manner.”

If reports in the Indian media are to be believed, T-72 battle tanks of Russian origin were moved to eastern Ladakh, located at 14,000 feet above sea level, six to eight months ago. Starting in 2014, two regiments of T-72 tanks have been moved to the valley. The third regiment is scheduled to arrive soon, forming a complete brigade. As more tanks are expected to arrive, the feasibility of maintaining the combat readiness of mechanized equipment in an area where the temperature drops down to -45 degrees Celsius has been called into question.

While the flat terrain of the valley provides for the movement of heavy mechanized equipment such as India’s formidable T-72 tanks, the Indian army takes special precautions to maintain these sophisticated machines. 

Colonel Vijay Dalal, who commands the tanks, noted that the “air is in the region is rarified and temperatures go down to -45 degrees Celsius.” The low temperature in the region affects the performance of the tanks. The Indian military, the commander said, uses special lubricants and fuel to keep the tanks running, and added that at least twice every night, the engines are revved up to keep the systems in order.

After a humiliating defeat in territorial scuffles in 1962, and with China’s subsequent rise to power in Asia, the Indian government neglected development in the border region in an attempt to promote peace and stability. In view of China’s rapid development drive in the disputed region around Ladakh, the outlook in New Delhi has changed considerably.

An officer posted in the region, as quoted by The Hindu, said, “There is not much accretion by China, but their logistical capability has gone up.”

In a bid to match with China’s military and infrastructure build-up across the border, India has undertaken the construction of roads to facilitate movement of armored vehicles and heavy equipment as well as the development of existing airstrips and advanced landing grounds to expedite the flow of troops and supplies to the area — unreachable by land for most of the winter.

Prakhar Gupta is a foreign affairs analyst and an independent journalist. His work has appeared in the Indian Defence Review, South Asian Voices, Eurasia Review, and Youth Ki Awaz, among others. http://thediplomat.com/2016/07/india-deploys-t-72-tanks-in-ladakh-to-counter-chinas-military-build-up/

Indian Army's 'Future Soldier Program' will make our soldiers the most feared on the planet

Indian Army's 'Future Soldier Program' will make our soldiers the most feared on the planet
Thursday, December 24, 2015
By: MensXP







Hate it or love it, wars are a reality and the army with the best soldiers prevails. While the American, Russian and Israeli soldier battle-gears are known around the world as the most advanced, the Indian Army’s two-phase ‘Future Soldier’ program, earlier known as F-INSAS (Future Infantry Soldier As A System), will make our soldiers the most fiercely equipped soldiers on the planet.

The ‘Future Soldier’ program is divided into two components – the first one being ‘Arming the modern infantry soldier’. Under this, our ‘special forces’ commandos will be loaded with the world’s best under-barrel grenade launcher assault rifles, carbines and hand grenades. They will be protected with equipment such as non-flammable, waterproofed, hard ballistic protected and bulletproof helmets, visors and vests. The new attire will enable commandos to carry extra loads and resist the impact of nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological warfare. The uniforms will also be fitted with external and internal oxygen supply, fire-proof knee and elbow pads and hand gloves and laser eye protection goggles.

The second component is something straight out of a Hollywood movie. Our commandos will be equipped with Palmtop GPS navigation devices, world’s most advanced satellite phones, Integrated Multifunction Sight Device Night Vision Equipment, Thermal Imager, Laser Range-Finder, Colour Charge-Coupled-Device (CCD) Camera, Digital Magnetic Compass, Integrated Electro-Optical Surveillance and Fire Control Systems and advanced GPS receivers. The list of sensors our boys will be carrying is just mind blowing – infrared sensors, thermal sensors, electro optical sensors, spectroscopic sensors, electromagnetic and radio frequency sensors. What’s even better is that this entire kickass technology is weatherproof and all-terrain tested.

The program strongly relies on indigenous DRDO-led development of this technology with massive support from Israel.

Once equipped with tech and advanced weaponry, Indian special forces will be able to operate in virtually any and every sort of battle scenario.

Article 370: The untold story

Article 370: The untold storyBy Maj Gen Sheru Thapliyal
Issue: Vol 26.1 Jan-Mar 2011 | Date : 03 Mar , 2015


It is often not realized that among the causes of Kashmir problem – inclusion of plebiscite in the Instrument of Accession, reference of Kashmir to UN, halting Indian offensive when it was poised to drive out the invaders from Kashmir, Article 370 has played no less a part in preventing J&K from becoming an integral part of the Indian Union. 

Not many people are aware as how and why this Article was formulated and included in the Indian Constitution despite grave misgivings of Sardar Patel and indeed a large number of the members of Congress Working Committee and Constituent Assembly.

Article 370 was worked out in late 1947 between Sheikh Abdullah, who had by then been appointed Prime Minister of J&K by the Maharaja and Nehru, who kept the Kashmir portfolio with himself and kept Sardar Patel, the home minister, away from his legitimate function. Hence Nehru is answerable to all acts of commission and omission, consequences of which we are suffering till date as far as J&K is concerned.


“Why should a state of the Indian Union have a special status? It conveys a wrong signal not only to Kashmiris but also to the separatists, Pakistan and indeed the international community that J&K is still to become integral part of India, the sooner Article 370 is done away is better.”

While it was Mountbatten who persuaded Nehru to take the J&K issue to the UN, it was Sheikh Abdullah, who, driven by his ambition to be ruler of an independent Kashmir and his hatred for the Maharaja, persuaded Nehru to give special status to J&K. 

Among his reasons were – occupation of one third of J&K by Pakistan, reference to the UN and plebiscite.

The most sinister aspect of proposed Article 370 was the provision that any changes could be brought about in it only by the concurrence of J&K assembly. 

Nehru’s promise that Article 370 was a temporary provision and will get eroded over a period of time has turned out to be a chimera. 

The first thing that Sheikh Abdullah got done was to abolish hereditary monarchy and redesignate him as Sadar-e-Riyasat who was to be elected by the Assembly. The accession of J&K State into Indian Union was approved by J&K Assembly only in 1956.

Dramatis Personal

Jawahar Lal Nehru The handsome Harrow educated aristocrat who gave up a life of luxury to join the freedom movement. 

Babu’s choose heir and darling of the masses, he had a fatal flaw. He cared for personalities rather than issues and institutions, be it selection of Lord Mountbatten as the first Governor General of free India, retaining a senior British officer as the Commander-in-Chief of India Army or backing Sheikh Abdullah to the hilt – his choices were unfortunate. Finally the Chinese aggression of 1962 shattered his image of a world statesman.

Sardar Patel The Iron Man of India — silent, strong and pragmatic with a complete hold on congress party organization — rightly credited with creating a unified India by integrating 565 princely states in it — he would have included Kashmir also in it if allowed to do so by Nehru. 

The only blot on him was the insinuation that he failed to protect his beloved Bapu. The slur only hastened his end in Dec 1950.


Nehru’s promise that Article 370 was a temporary provision and will get eroded over a period of time has turned out to be a chimera.

Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Charismatic Kashmiri leader who never let go of his dream of ruling an independent Kashmir even while masquerading as a secularist — architect of Article 370 along with Nehru. 

He must share with Nehru the grave consequences. Lion of Kashmir brought Nehru under his spell from 1938 onwards to the extent that in May 1947 when he was arrested by the Maharaja for sedition, Nehru represented Sheikh as his lawyer and was even arrested in Jun 1947 by the Maharaja while trying to enter J&K. 

Finally Nehru had to eat the humble pie by arresting Sheikh Abdullah for sedition on 9 Aug 1953.

Maharaja Hari Singh The Maharaja saw an opportunity at the end of British Raj to keep Kashmir as the Switzerland of the East. 

Trying to repeat history when his ancestors – Maharaja Gulab Singh and Ranbir Singh gained handsome dividends by keeping aloof during the Sikh War and Great Mutiny, Hari Singh tried to sign a standstill Agreement with India and Pak at the time of independence, Pakistan signed, India declined. Maharaja died a lonely man, forced to abdicate and exiled from his beloved land.

The Drama Unfolds

Having finalized the text of Article 370 with Sheikh Abdullah, Nehru brought in Gopalaswamy Ayyangar, IAS, as a minister without portfolio to help him deal with Kashmir portfolio and plead the case of Article 370 in the Constituent Assembly. 

Gopalaswamy Ayyangar had been prime minister of Kashmir for six years with Maharaja Hari Singh. When Sardar Patel expressed his misgivings, this is what Nehru had to say on Dec 27, 1947.

“Gopalaswamy Ayyangar has been especially asked to help in Kashmir matters. Both for this reason and because of his intimate knowledge and experience of Kashmir, he had to be given full latitude. 

I really do not know where the States Ministry (Sardar Patel’s ministry) comes into the picture except that it should be kept informed for the steps taken. All this was done at my instance and I do not propose to abdicate my functions in regard to matters for which I consider myself responsible. May I say that the manner of approach to Gopalaswamy was hardly in keeping with the courtesy due to a colleague.”

It speaks volumes of Patel’s loyalty to a colleague that despite his own and others misgivings, he managed to convince the members of Constituent Assembly and Congress Party Executive. But to V Shankar he said “Jawaharlal Royega”.

The Sardar thereupon resigned and the matter fell in Gandhiji’s lap to bring the two colleagues together. During this period, V Shankar, IAS was the personal secretary to Patel and had maintained a record of all events. 

It is clear from these records that Nehru finalized the draft of Article 370 along with Sheikh Abdullah without even informing Patel. Thereafter it fell to Gopalaswamy Ayyangar to get the draft passed in the Constituent Assembly discussions. The proposal was torn to pieces by the Constituent Assembly and also Congress Party Executive.

Nehru, who was abroad at the time, swallowed his pride and rang up Patel and requested him to get the Article 370 approved. It speaks volumes of Patel’s loyalty to a colleague that despite his own and others misgivings, he managed to convince the members of Constituent Assembly and Congress Party Executive. 

But to V Shankar he said “Jawaharlal Royega”. V Shankar, in his record has described the meeting of the Congress Executive Committee “The meeting was one of the stormiest I have ever witnessed barring the party meeting which discussed the proposition relating to Rajaji becoming the first President of Indian Republic. 

The opinion in opposition to Gopalaswamy’s formula was forcefully and even militantly expressed and the issue even brought in the sovereignty of the Constituent Assembly to draw up the Constitution without being tied down to the apron-strings of the Kashmir State Constituent Assembly. In such a situation even Maulana Azad was shouted down.

The Party was in uproar. The Sardar had to plead that because of the international complications, a provisional approach alone could be made leaving the question of final relationship to be worked out according to the exigencies of the situation and mutual feelings and confidence that would have been by then created. 

Once the Sardar had taken charge, all opposition to the draft was silenced” And how Nehru responded to this great act of loyalty on part of Sardar? On 24 July 1952, after Sardar was no more, Nehru made a detailed statement on Kashmir in the Parliament on slow integration of Kashmir into India Union and mentioned that “Sardar Patel was all the time dealing with these matters.” 

Even Gopalaswami Ayyangar was dismayed at this blatant lie and mentioned to V Shankar “It is an ill return to the Sardar for the magnanimity he had shown in accepting Panditji’s point of view against his better judgment.”

Consequences of Article 370

Article 370 has been the biggest impediment to integration of J&K State into Indian Union. That it was incorporated in the Indian Constitution by the machination of two individuals – Shiekh Abdullah and Nehru is all the more regrettable. 

Nehru had to eat the humble pie when he had to arrest the Sheikh for his divisive and anti national stance on 8 Aug 1953 but he did not let go of his concept of keeping J&K a separate entity. In 1957, some top leaders of National Conference led by Mr Qasim split the party and formed a group called Democratic National Conference (DNC).


Article 370, included in the Constitution on a temporary provision should have been gradually abrogated. This has not happened in sixty years.

It had abrogation of Article 370 on its agenda. Nehru would not brook any opposition to his policy of keeping J&K a separate entity. He told the leaders that a new threat (China) is emerging and it is an inopportune time to raise this issue and forced them to drop their demand. Nehru thereafter decided to withdraw the Kashmir conspiracy case against Sheikh Abdullah. This case had been going on since May 21, 1958. The formal orders however were issued by Govt of India on 8 April 1964.

It is often forgotten that J&K state is not a homogeneous entity. Apart from Valley Muslims, Jammu has a predominantly Hindu population while Ladakh has a mix of Buddhist and Muslims. Then you have the Gujjars & Bakarwals. 

Why is Article 370 detrimental to the full integration of J&K state into Indian Union. Firstly the Central Govt can make laws only with concurrence of the State govt, practically giving it the Veto power. Article 352 and 360 for declaration of national and financial emergency respectively cannot be applied in Kashmir. While a citizen of India has only Indian citizenship, J&K citizens have two citizenships. Anti Defection Law is not applicable to J&K. No outsider can buy property in J&K state.

The beneficial laws such as Wealth Tax, Gift Tax & Urban Land Ceiling Act and intermarriage with other Indian nationals do not operate in J&K State. 

Even Article 356 under which President of India can impose his rule in any state cannot be enforced in J&K without consent of the Governor who himself is an appointee of the President. State of J&K can refuse building of any cantonment on any site or refuse to allot land for defence purposes.

Article 370, included in the Constitution on a temporary provision should have been gradually abrogated. This has not happened in sixty years. 

In fact whenever someone mentions this, vested interests raise an outcry that legitimate rights of Kashmiris are being trampled upon. Stated agenda of National Conference is return to pre 1953 status. 

Why should a state of Indian Union have a special status? It conveys a wrong signal not only to Kashmiris but also to the separatists, Pakistan and indeed the international community that J&K is still to become integral part of India, the sooner Article 370 is done away is better.

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Article 370 of the Constitution of India

Temporary Provisions with respect to the State of Jammu & Kashmir

1. Notwithstanding anything in this constitution:

(a) The provisions of Article 238 shall not apply in relation to the State of Jammu & Kashmir.

(b) The power of Parliament to make laws for the said state shall be limited to

(i) those matters in the Union List and the Concurrent List which in consultation with the Government of the State, are declared by the President to correspond to matters specified in the Instrument of Accession governing the accession of State to the Dominion of India as the matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for that State and

(ii) Such other matters in the Said Lists as, with the concurrence of the Govt of the State, the President may, by order specify.

1. Explanation. For the purposes of this Article, the Govt of the State means the person for the time being recognized by the President as Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir acting on the advice of the council of Ministers for the time being in office under the Maharaja’s Proclamation dated the fifty day of March 1948.

(c) The provisions of Article (1) and of this Article shall apply in relation to this State;

(d) Such of the other provisions of this Constitution shall apply in relation to that State Subject to such exceptions and modifications as the President may by order specify;

Provided that no such order which related to the matters specified in the Instrument of Accession of the State referred to in paragraph (i) of sub clause (1) shall be issued except in consultation with the govt of the State.

Provided further that no such order which relates to matters other than those referred to in the last proceeding proviso shall be issued except with the concurrence of the Govt of the State.

(2) If the concurrence of the Govt of the State referred to in para (ii) of Sub Clause (b) of Clause (1) be given before the Constituent Assembly for the purpose of framing the Constitution of the State is concerned. It shall be placed before such Assembly for such decision as it may take thereon.

(3) Notwithstanding the anything in the foregoing provisions of the article, the President may, by public notification, declare that this Article shall cease to be operative or shall be operative only with such exceptions and modifications and from such date as he may notify.

Provided that the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State referred to in Clause (2) shall be necessary before the President issues such a notification.

=======================================================================
References
India Betrayed – The Role of Nehru -Brigadier BN Sharma
Lost Decades -Nani Palkhiwala
Atish-E-Chinar -Sheikh Abdullah
Partition Plan -Alan Campbell Johnson
Correspondence of Sardar Patel -Durga Das
Kashmir 1947 - Rival Versions of History -Prem Shankar Jha
My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir -Jagmohan
My Reminiscences of Sardar Patel -V Shankar
Appendix A – Article 370© Copyright 2015 Indian Defence Review
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/article-370-the-untold-story/

J&K is much more than the Valley

J&K is much more than the Valley
By RSN Singh
Issue: Net Edition | Date : 09 Nov , 2015

The deceit of Kashmiri leaders and separatists in the Kashmir Valley, rooting for Pakistan, has acquired outrageous proportions. These elements largely belong to five districts in Kashmir Valley and constitute not more than 15 percent of the Sunni population. These include pro-Pak manipulators like Yasin Malik, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, Shabir Shah, Gilani, Asiya Andrabi, and some politicians from the Valley centric political parties.

…within the overall territory of J&K, Valley constitutes less than 10 percent of area…

The pro-Pak machinations of these politicians, circumvents public scrutiny, because of their art of duplicity, mastered over the years. Beguiling both Delhi and Islamabad, their forked tongue articulations has kept the Kashmir pot boiling. It is not uncommon for the father to speak in favour of Pakistan and separatists, even as the political heirs, son or daughter, adopt the contrary stance and vice-versa. For some 60 families in the Valley, the industry of ‘Kashmir Problem’ is a huge financial windfall.

The map above exposes the geographical and sociological fallacy of the anti-India and pro-Pak industry in the Kashmir Valley.

Hijacking of J&K

The map above reflects the reality of Jammu and Kashmir, Indian and Pakistan Occupied territories combined. This reality has all along been ignored or misinterpreted by vested interests. Out of the total area of 2,22,236 Sq.Km, the area presently held with India is approximately one lac Sq Km. The various regions within the Indian territory, as part of the total, measure as follows:-

The various regions within the Indian territory, as part of the total, measure as follows:-

Map Reference	Region	Area (Sq.Km)	Percentage
(1)	Ladakh	45,110	20.3
(2)	Kargil	14,036	6.3
(6)	Kashmir Valley	15,948	7.2
(4)	Jammu	26,293	11.8

Note: The regions have been divided and numbered for ease of understanding of geographical and demographic character. They do not strictly follow geographical and political demarcations. In the Kashmir Valley, Badgam has been shown as separate entity because of its Shia majority. The upper reaches of Kupwara district are inhabited by Gujjars / Bakkarwals / Pahari Muslims (3). The areas of Poonch, Rajouri have also been indicated under Reference (3), as they too have majority comprising Gujjars / Bakkarwals / Pahari Muslims / Hindu / Sikhs and others. Parts of Doda have been included in Reference (4), as more than 40 percent population is of Hindus and majority of rest being again Gujjars / Bakkarwals / Pahari Muslims. The percentages of various regions as indicated are approximate guidelines purely for purposes of analysis.

Geographically almost 90 percent of Jammu and Kashmir weighs on the Kashmir Valley. Yet, it is the Sunni Kashmiris, who have been dominating the J&K discourse.

From the Map it is evident that within the overall territory of J&K, the Kashmir Valley constitutes less than 10 percent of area, overwhelmingly inhabited by Sunni Muslims. 

In the East, it is impacted by Gujjars / Bakkarwals / Pahari Muslims of Doda region and further East by a huge mass of Shia majority Kargil. Beyond Kargil in the East, isBuddhist Ladakh, which when combined with Aksai Chin is the largest geographical entity of J&K. 

In the South it is impacted by Hindu majority Jammu and Doda region. In the Southwest of Kashmir Valley are the regions of Poonch and Rajouri, where Gujjars / Bakkarwals / Pahari Muslims / Hindus / Sikhs are in majority. In Kupwara, Baramulla and the higher reaches in the North, are areas dominated by Gujjars / Bakkarwals / Pahari Muslims.Further North is the Shia majority area of Gilgit-Baltistan, gobbled by Pakistan.

From the map therefore, it can be averred that the Kashmir Valley 135 km long and 32 km wide constituting less than 10 percent of the area is circumscribed demographically by Gujjars / Bakkarwals / Pahari Muslims, Shias, Hindus, Sikhs and further beyond, Buddhists. 

These religious and ethnic communities are devout Indians and are repelled by the idea of Pakistan. Geographically almost 90 percent of Jammu and Kashmir weighs on the Kashmir Valley. Yet, it is the Sunni Kashmiris, who have been dominating the J&K discourse. In debates on all television channels there is no or little representation from the other four larger entities.

It is a geographical truism, that larger and elevated landmass determine the ecological wealth of valleys and the plains, and sustain much large and dense populations. Compared to the Kashmiris, the inhabitants of the elevated regions of Ladakh and Kargil, and Pir Panjal range have as much, if not higher stakes in the J&K discourse, as in the Kashmir Valley.

Unencumbered by hostile borders and tough livelihood, the 60 odd families of the Valley enjoy the bounties of India in terms of indulgence and development.

Even in financial terms the mountains and hills are a bonanza for the state apparatus dominated by Kashmiris. About two million people visit Amarnath every year. On the other hand, every year, Vaishno Devi attracts 10 million pilgrims. The past religious umbilical with the Indian mainland serves the Kashmiri Muslims in many ways.

Border Sensitivities

The map also depicts the manner in which the Kashmir Valley is circumscribed by the people of Gujjars / Bakkarwals / Pahari extraction on higher reaches, and non – Sunni Kashmiri majority regions of Jammu, Poonch, Rajouri,Kargil and Ladakh regions. They are defenders of their motherland. 

In all wars with Pakistan the Gujjars and Paharis have served as eyes and ears of India. Jihadism emanating from Pakistan has been spurned by them, but embraced by the Sunnis of Kashmir. It is these people, who face the depredations and difficulties of living on the border. 

People living in the Valley are immune to these difficulties. Unencumbered by hostile borders and tough livelihood, the 60 odd families of the Valley enjoy the bounties of India in terms of indulgence and development.

The Christian missionary schools and other educational institutions have ensured that most people with articulation skills in English to be concentrated in the Valley. Probably apart from India, the bounties of nature, and India and Pakistan ISI have made some of them self-serving indolent anti-nationals. In the Valley these are essentially centered around the districts of Srinagar, Pulwama, Anantnag, and lower reaches of Kupwara and Baramula.

Every major terrorist attack in India, including 26/11 had Kashmiri footprints.

These are the people who scream about their border sensitivity even as people of other extractions suffer on the border areas, both on the Line-of-Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB), i.e. 1,216 Km of which 790 Km run along the LoC. 

Once the militants sneak through the higher reaches and descend into the Valley, they enjoy the hospitality industry created for promotion of jihadi terror not only in J&K but whole of India. Every major terrorist attack in India, including 26/11 had Kashmiri footprints. 

The separatists of the Kashmir Valley are oblivious about the people of Ladakh and the 1750Km border with China they have to contend with, in terms of threat and harsh environment. When most Kashmiris talk about their being border sensitive state, their horizon is limited to only a small part of PoK which very naturally discounts Gilgit-Baltistan.

Gilgit-Baltistan – a forgotten territory

The area of Gilgit-Baltistan has never figured in the J&K discourse in India by the self-appropriated Kashmiri spokesmen. It did not matter to the Kashmiri leaders when in 1949 the region was incorporated into Pakistan by way of Karachi Accord. 

No tears were shed when 80 percent of the PoK was hived off. No Kashmiri politician even moaned when in 1963 Pakistan ceded 5180 sq km of this territory to China. Even now there is no concern about the heavy presence of Chinese in the region, and the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor that has the potential to permanently alter the discourse of geography and sociology. 

As per reports China is investing $100 bn in Gilgit-Baltistan, $18 bn on tunnels alone. The announcement by Chinese President about Silk Route connecting Pakistan with Central Asia has disconcerted them, rather than enthused. People in the region continue to clamour for constitutional rights. 

The elections held under the GIilgit –Baltistan Empowerment and Self Government Order of 2009 in June this year have not assuaged their political aspirations. Politicians and Hurriyat leaders in Kashmir could hardly be bothered!

J&K politics dominated by Sunnis of Kashmir have been completely insensitive to the pains and aspirations of Shias of the state. It is ironic that whenever there is talk of people to people contact, there is not even a faint mention about the desirability of connect between people of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kargil region. 

It appears that there is tacit gifting of Gilgit-Baltistan to Pakistan, the same Pakistan which till 2005 designated the region as ‘Northern Areas’ and directly ruled it from Islamabad till 2009, as if it was an area without soul ‘for the military and by the military.’

J&K politics dominated by Sunnis of Kashmir have been completely insensitive to the pains and aspirations of Shias of the state.

This lack of sensibility to Gilgit-Baltistan seems to extend to the Indian establishment as well. Kargil conflict was perhaps the result of acceptance that nothing could be done to salvage the region from Pakistan. They thought it was fait accompli. This attitude or approach impaired our defence preparedness and Musharraf took advantage of it.

There are several reports to suggest that there is a concerted attempt by the Pakistani establishment to reduce the Shias to minority in Gilgit-Baltistan. Sunnis, as incentives have been given lucrative jobs to settle in the region. The Northern Light Infantry is being increasingly being manned by non-locals. The International Crisis Group report says: “Since 2001, Shia resentment over inclusion of Sunni religious rituals and perceived anti-Shia basis in text books in public school has resulted in school boycotts and occasional clashes and curfews”.

Pakistan’s treachery in not claiming the bodies of the soldiers of Northern Light Infantry, just because they were Shias belonging to the Gilgit-Baltistan region, did not stir the conscience of pro-Pak elements in the Kashmir Valley.

…there is absolutely no affinity, linguistic or cultural, between the people of Kashmir Valley and the PoK.

Kashmiris have no linkages with PoK(less Gilgit-Baltistan)

The map indicates the area of what remains part of the PoK in Pakistan which it refers to as Azad or Independent. When RazaMumtaz Hussain Rathore dared to take up issues concerning Gilgit-Baltistan, his PPP government was ousted by Nawaz Sharif in 1991. 

Then Islamabad blatantly rigged the elections later that year. Sacking of governments in PoK is notoriously usual feature. 

Between 1953 and 1962, three governments were sacked. In 1964, the first President of Azad Kashmir was sacked because he wanted a separate Indus Water deal with mainland Pakistan. In 1974, ZA Bhutto sacked the Qyaoom government and in 1977, Zia dissolved legislative assembly and established military rule. Even now the main center of power is not the Azad Kashmir government, but the Kashmir Council in Islamabad. Where is the ‘Azadi’ then, in PoK or the Kashmir Valley? The pro-Pak Kashmiris need to answer.

This tail to Gilgit-Baltistan is 400 km long and 16-32 km in width. The ten districts of PoK i.e.Bhimber, Mirpur, Kotli, Sudhonti, Poonch, Bagh, Muzzafarabad, and Neelam have negligible Kashmiri population. While the South PoK has distinct Punjab influence North PoK has half-a-dozen different languages, i.e. Pahari, Mirpuri, Gojri, Hindko, Punjabi andPashto.

The biggest lie that has been peddled by the pro-Pak Kashmiris in India is about their affinity with the people in the PoK. 

It is reiterated that there is absolutely no affinity, linguistic or cultural, between the people of Kashmir Valley and the PoK. 

The affinity is actually shared by the Gujjar and Pahari Muslims, who reside in the upper reaches of J&K along the border and the LoC. It is these people, who have been most affected by the Indo-Pak hostilities and division of J&K. 

While the Kashmiris of the Valley have been most vocal about cross-border linkages, they have minimally used the bus service between Srinagar – Muzaffarabad and Poonch (India) – Rawalkote. It is the Gujjars and the Paharis, who have been enthusiastically availing the facilities. 

Therefore, there is a formidable physical, social, cultural and linguistic wall between the Kashmiris and the PoK. It may also be mentioned that as per the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, Gujjars constitute 20 percent population of J&K. Since 2002, Gujjars and Bakarwals have been demanding a separate state, Gujristan. As per one estimate, the Gujjars influence 20 of 87 assembly constituencies.

Hafiz Saeed has played havoc by introducing jihadism in the region. The PoK is a major training ground for LeT cadres, who also use it as a base for terrorist operations against India.

A large number of people of PoK extraction have been forced to migrate to Britain because of poor economic prospects. This includes a large number of Mirpuris, who had displaced after the construction of the Mangla dam in the 60s. Over 280 villages and the towns of Mirpur and Dadyal were submerged and over 110,000 people were displaced. As per an estimate, nearly 8,00,000 Mirpuris, constitute 70 percent of British-Pakistani community. There is no such parallel in the J&K.

Islamabad has sought to change the demography of PoK by settling nearly 30,000 Afghan families. This is a clear pattern obtaining in Pakistan to settle Pashtuns to dilute ethnicity of Karachi, Quetta and now the PoK as a neutralizing feature against insurgency and separatist movements by the majority community. The presence of the Afghans poses the danger of inroads by Taliban. Compare this with the stance of pro-Pak Kashmiris in India, who consider few acres land allotted to Amarnath Shrine Board as colonization by their mother country.

Hafiz Saeed has played havoc by introducing jihadism in the region. The PoK is a major training ground for LeT cadres, who also use it as a base for terrorist operations against India. When the Pakistan military was found wanting in the relief operations in wake of massive earthquake in 2005 in which nearly 1,00,000 people lost their lives and three million people were rendered homeless, Hafiz Saeed and his organization JuD came to the fore and is considered to have made substantial difference. Later, however he extracted the price by turning the area into a jihadi laboratory.

The J&K problem between India and Pakistan is basically a Kashmiri Sunni narrative, which is scripted by a small segment of pro-Pak elements inhabiting a portion of less than 10 percent of the entire region.

The Islamic militancy agenda has weighed heavily on Islamabad while deciding on the type of dispensation in Azad Kashmir. 

Benazir Bhutto assumed power after demise of Zia in 1988. SardarQyaoom who ruled PoK for decades as President and PM warned about her ascension: ‘’to undo Islamic ideology and weaken Pak Army’’. 

Speculation was rife that she would sack the Qyaoom government in PoK. Curiously it was the pro-Pak leaders in Kashmir who prevented it. They met President Leghari during his visit to India and pleaded with him to ensure that Qyaoom continued in office as he critical to the survivability of the militant-network assiduously created over the years. The Qyaoom government completed its tenure till 1990. 

This explains the compulsions behind Pak dignitaries from foreign and security apparatus insisting on meeting the Hurriyat leaders visiting India. A lot of issues regarding militancy in are coordinated during these meetings.

Just as the Muftis and Abdullahas in the Kashmir Valley, the political landscape of PoK has been dominated by political empires setup by Sardar Mohammad Ibrahim Khan and Mohammad Abdul Qyaoom Khan. But these PoK political families have assured that the interests of Pakistan reign supreme. They are not hostile to their own military. 

But the pro-Pak elements in Valley treat the Indian military as enemy even as it protects them from Pakistan and China in most trying conditions.

Conclusion

1. The J&K problem between India and Pakistan is basically a Kashmiri Sunni narrative, which is scripted by a small segment of pro-Pak elements inhabiting a portion of less than 10 percent of the entire region. 
2. It is a narrative that finds affinity with Pakistan just on the basis of Kashmiri variety of Sunni Islam. 
3. These Kashmiris have ensured that all other competing narratives and dissonant voices are crushed. 
4. It is for this reason that half a million Kashmiri Hindus were hounded out of the Valley in 1991. 
5. It is for this reason that till today more than 54,000 families, victims of partition and the wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971 have not been compensated, neither rehabilitated nor given the rights as in other parts of the country. 
6. These one and half million people are perceived as a threat by the Kashmiri leaders and the separatists.
7. The solution to the problem does not lie with Musharraf’s plan or Ambassador Lamba’s plan.

The solution lies in calling the ‘bluff’ of handful pro-Pak Sunni Kashmiris in the Valley. The rest can be sorted out with Pakistan easily.© Copyright 2015 Indian Defence Review
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