Jammu and Kashmir’s Monthly Magazine RNI : JKENG/2007/26070 ISSN 0974-5653

Now
Epilogue
because there is more to know
Telling
The J&K Stories
Jammu, July 1, 2009 / Vol 3 / Issue 7 || Price Rs. 30 || Postal Registration No. JK-350/2009-11 || www.epilogue.in

The future of
Jammu & Kashmir
Jammu & Kashmir :
India’s Objectives and Strategies
by D Suba Chandran

-----
The Kashmir Conflict :
A Kashmiri Perspective
by Mehraj Hajni

-----
The International Community and Kashmir
by Howard B. Schatter

-----
Policy making in a Terrorist Economy
by Dipanker Sengupta

SHOPIAN FIASCO PEACE MODELS

Ground Assessments How India and Pakistan can
and Opinion Resolve Kashmir Now
 J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency under “Multisector Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project
(MIRP) by Asian Development bank has launched various drainage schemes to augment drainage
system in Srinagar city. The J&K ERA committed to provide people of Srinagar city with improved
urban services have earmarked Rs. 100.02 crores for drainage sub-component. The drainage system
on completion will benefit large population who face cute water logging during rainy seasons.

Scope of work Allotted cost Population to be benefitted (souls)

Rawalpora to Tengpora bridge 32.94 crores Year 2009- 22000
Year 2039 -50100
Areas to be benefited:
Lalded, Goripora, Bagh-i-hyder, Qazi Bagh, Usmania, Ibrahim, Shahanwar, Shiekh-ul-aalum, Syedhyder and Ibrahim
colonies. Part of Rehmatabad, Hyderpora, Gulburg, Khaliqabad, Alnoor Gulbahar, Greenpark colonies.

Pohru chowk to chanapora bridge 41.70 crores Year 2009-20500

Year2039-46408
Areas to be benefitted:
Govt. Housing Colony, Baghimehtab, Alama Iqbal Colony Partly, Alamdar Colony, Chaki-Methan, Gousia Colony,
Gulshan Nagar A-B-C, Usmania Colony(Bagh-i-mehtab), Shankarpora Partly, Iqbal colony(Wanabal) Wanabal
Nowgam, Shiekh-ul-Alam colony, S.K Bagh, Pohru partly, Railway Colony, Housing colony Nowgam, Basharat colony
partly, Palmuhalla Methan partly, TawheedAbad, Gousia colony Lalnagar, Shiekh-ul Nooruddin colony & Umer colony.

Bemina to Fruit Mandi 25.38 crores Year 2009-17800

Year 2039-40448
Areas to be benefitted:
Parimpora (A&B), Gousia colony (A&B), Sirsyedabad, Police colony, SDA colony, Shamsha Abad, Tawheed Abad,
Owaisa Abad, Usmania colony, Ibrahim Colony, Boatman colony, Nundresh Colony, Mansoor Colony, Al-Farooq Colony,
Mohammadia Colony, Hamza colony and part of Bemina.

Hotel Tramboo continental, Boulevard Srinagar 13 C/c Gandhi Nagar Jammu

Tele: 0194-2450762,Fax: 0194-2450067 Tele:0191-24588832,Fax:01912451553
Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University
Rajouri (J&K) - 185131
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University announces admission 2009 to following Engineering
streams :
a. B.Tech Computer Sciences & Engineering
b. B.Tech. Information Technology
c. B.Tech. Electronics & Communication
d. B.Tech. Civil Engineering
e. B.Tech. Electrical & Renewable Energy Engineering

Eligibility :
10+2 from a recognized Board with atleast 50% marks (45% incase of Sc/St. categories) with
Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects.

Combined Entrance Test (CET) shall be conducted on 02 August, 2009 at following venues :
1. Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri
2. K.B. Public School, Bye Pass Road, Opposite Channi Himmat, Jammu.
3. Regional Office, Parry Pora, Baghat Barzulla, Near S.S.R.B. Srinagar.

Last date for sale and submission of B.Tech. Application form in July 10, 2009; late fee of
Rs. 100.

Application Forms along with Information Bulletin are available on payment of Rs. 800/-
from the office of Assistant Registrar (Academic Affairs), 01962-262616

CAMP OFFICES : Jammu : 0191- 2466892, 2464402

Srinagar : 09419011449.
They can also be downloaded from University website : www.bgsbuniversity.org

For details contact : Dean Academic Affairs, 09419103563 and

Assistant Registrar (Academic Affairs), 09419171665

No. BGSBU/Acad/09/28551 Sd/-

Date : May 29, 2009 Assistant Registrar (Academic Affairs)
B R I D G I N G T H E I N F O R M A T I O N D I V I D E

Taking J&K Closer to World

Bringing World Closer to J&K

Epilogue
because there is more to know

31
F O R T H E
Volume : 3, Number : 7
ISSN : 0974-5653
RNI : JKENG/2007/26070
www.epilogue.in

M O N T H O F J U L Y 2 0 0 9

The problem in Jammu and Kashmir can’t be seen

through one lens as it involves more complexities
than anyone imagined. An ACDIS, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign sponsored study,
which is the cover feature of this issue, examines
Kashmir issue from different perspectives. Also, a
new section on recent engagements offers an
interesting reading on political life in J&K

Epilogue Ø
1×
July 2009
 MANDATE :

A collectors issue, the special number on our second anniversary came as fastest
possible, yet professionally correct work, on J&K elections. Result were declare
on December 28 and our issue carrying complete elections analysis and elections
trends at constituency level was out before the government was sworn I.

Jan. 2009
AGENDA FOR OMAR GOVERNMENT :

T he coalition government of National Conference and the Congress headed by

Omar Abdullah Omar Abdullah took over on January 5 but it did not declare a
shared agenda. Epilogue's February issue put together opinions of well meaning
people from across the country setting out an agenda for Omar Abdullah government

Feb. 2009
CONNECTING J&K

C onnectivity is a major issue in J&K and people in many areas taunt the
government saying that roads were laid in remote areas only because
they close to borders. Our March issue looked at the connectivity via roads,

A limited number of unbound back volumes is available in our stocks.

rail and air to bring to the fore the missing links.

Mar. 2009
A R E Y O U M I S S I N G O U R PA S T S T O R I E S

TREADING FAILURE

A s world watches keenly the new unfolding developments in Pakistan, our

Consulting Editor D Suba Chandran travelled to the troubled country to
bring fresh perspectives for our readers in April Issue.

Apr. 2009

For booking your copies call us at 9797599365

J&K MOVING FORWARD

M ay issue was one of the rare collections of ideas where 12 natives from
both sides of Jammu and Kashmir poured their ideas out of the heart on
how boundaries can be blurred and relations can be strengthened.

May 2009

LOK SABHA POLLS 2009

W ith Prof Rekha Chowdhary looking into various aspects, the May issue
offered a complete view of the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and
Kashmir. An interview with Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather explained
most critical questions on the state's economy

June 2009
 Epilogue
because there is more to know

www.epilogue.in CONTENTS

Editor
tuu rree In Verbatim 4

FFuu t Prologue 5
iirr
Zafar Iqbal Choudhary
hhe
e f hmm
Letters 6
Consulting Editor TT oof Kaassh Note Book
D. Suba Chandran
nn dd K 13 Essential Entries 8

Associate Editors
m uu aa
mm
Shopian Fiasco

JJaam
Irm Amin Baig Rate and Murder in Shopian : 14
Tsewang Rigzin The Missing Links and
Inert Government
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
Art Editor
Kunan-Poshpara to Shopian : 16
Keshav Sharma The Journey of Women in Kashmir
Vibhuti Ubbott
Research Officer
Raman Sharma Peace Models
IN FOCUS How India and Pakistan 41
Mailing Address The Future of Jammu and can Resolve Kashmir Now
Kashmir Mansoor Ijaz
PO Box 50, HO Gandhi Nagar,
Jammu Column
“We believe in doing ‘service’ 43
Phones & email 19 The Future of Jammu and Kashmir
from the heart...”
Office : +91 191 2493136 Present Tense, Future Uncertain Manisha Sobhrajani
Zafar Choudhary
Editorial: +91 94191 80762 Mughal Emperor Jahangir on 45
Administration: +91 94190 00123 20 Jammu & Kashmir : the Fauna and Floriculture of
editor@epilogue.in India’s Objectives and Strategies Kashmir (Part - I)
Prof. Jigar Mohammad
editor.epilogue@gmail.com D Suba Chandran
subscription@epilogue.in 25 The Kashmir Conflict : Reviews
A Kashmiri Perspective Golden Protection 48
Edited, Printed, Published and Mehraj Hajni Revisiting Borders
Owned by Zafar Iqbal Choudhary. Srikanth Kondapalli
Published from : Ibadat House, 29 The International Community
Madrasa Lane, Near Graveyard, and Kashmir Impact Feature
Bathindi Top, Jammu, J&K - Howard B. Schaffer Golden Protection 50
180012 and Printed at : DEE Special Package to be all out
DEE Reprographix, 3 Aikta 35 Policy Making in
Handicrafts Sector
Ashram, New Rehari Jammu a Terrorist Economy Sajad Bazaz
Dipankar Sengupta
(J&K)
Political After Line
Disputes, if any, subject to Recent Engagements 53
jurisdiction of courts and
competitive tribunals in Jammu
only.

RNI : JKENJ/2007/26070
ISN : 00974-5653
Price : Rs 30
Epilogue Ø
3×
July 2009
 H E A R & H E A R
Who Said What

He (Dr Syama Prosad Mookerjee, founder of Bhartiya Jana

Sangh) laid down his life to oppose the discriminatory
tendencies and theory of two constitutions, two flags and two
heads of the state within one nation…we have to carry forward
his mission
RSS Chief MOHAN BHAGWAT, delivering a lecture on death
anniversary of Mookerjree in Jammu on June 23

The Prime Minister has expressed complete agreement with the

view that implementation of the Working Group
recommendations was key to retaining of confidence of people
(in Jammu & Kashmir)
Vice President of India, Dr MOHAMMAD HAMEED ANSARI,
delivering 17th convocation address at the University of Kashmir
in Srinagar on June 21

The Ministers shall visit remote areas of state along with

Administrative Secretaries and Heads of Departments using
state helicopter
An order of J&K's General Administration Department quoting
Chief Minister OMAR ABDULLAH

We will be happy to engage in a dialogue with any group

which engages with us, even those who are no in critical
mainstream
Prime Minister Dr MANMOHAN SINGH addressing journalists
on board special place on way home from Russia on June 17

No progress can be made in the dialogue process between

India, Pakistan and leadership of Kashmir unless confidence
building measures with far reaching consequences are taken to
practically change the ground situation which at present is
violent and bloody
Kashmir's head priest and separatist leader MIRWAIZ UMAR
FAROOQ at a press conference at his residence in Srinagar on
June 11

Epilogue Ø
4×
July 2009

Six Months and Still Nowhere
Zafar Choudhary
I
tried my best to write a
different 'prologue' than the one
I wrote last month or the one
three months ago but I failed.
This column of the magazine is a
reflection upon the current state of
affairs in Jammu and Kashmir. Past six
months in the state have gone in first
raising hopes and then calculating the
false estimates. The coalition
government of the National
Conference and Congress, headed by
young Chief Minister Omar Abdullah
was expected to bring changes at least
on three fronts –minimising violations
of human rights, improving the
institutions of governance and bridging
gaps between regions. As it has already
taken the Chief Minister full six months
in putting a government in place, it
was wrong to hope high. Our
'prologues' since the beginning of this
year mirror the journey from hopes to
disappointments. The February issue
was fully devoted to the young Chief
Minister. It carried ideas from top
thinkers in the state and the country
on what should be the agenda for
Omar. The prologue in that issue
caption, 'Realise the Challenges',
however, put a word of caution. The
April issue, which coincided with
completion of three months of Omar
government had the prologue
P R O L O G U E
From the Editor
captioned, 'Leadership Vacuum'. Last
month we realized that the Chief
Minister and his government had very
little at their dispense as for two
months the state was engaged in Lok
Sabha elections. The Prologue's
caption, therefore, was 'Time for
Omar to Deliver'. Now when the
government completes its six months,
the caption could have been only the
worst. After the Lok Sabha elections
one had expected Omar to galvanise
all the resources for giving new
dimensions to the development
activities. Since the budget proposals Epilogue : February 2009 Issue
had not been adopted by the state
of inner conflict between the Congress
legislature the district development
and the National Conference. The
board meetings were not held. It
bureaucracy is faced with a dilemma.
delayed formulation of the district
It feels sandwiched between Omar
plans. Proper allocation of funds in
Abdullah, Union Health Minister
other sectors was delayed and hence
Ghulam Nabi Azad and the Union
nothing tangible could be achieved.
Renewable Energy Minister Dr Farooq
The Government's commitment on
Abdullah. It is high time when Omar
reducing the level of regional
asserted his authority so that no other
discrimination, resolving the problem
political leader is able to build a
of unemployment and finalising
parallel Government. The Chief
schemes for improving power
Minister is young and he has a long way
generation and drinking water supply
to go. It is time that he restructured his
remained unfulfilled. One would have
political and administrative strategies
not expected all the promises to be
to earn confidence of the people of
fulfilled within a span of six months
Jammu and Kashmir.
but at least a beginning could have
been made. There is a sort of confusion Feedback :
in the ruling alliance which is the result zafarchoudhary@epilogue.in
Epilogue Ø
5×
July 2009
 L E T T E R S
Readers Write

contributed to its revival. But the fatal error some

Why Muslim Share in Lok Sabha leaders of them committed and which was responsible for
Declined? decline in their representation in the Lok Sabha, was to
form a Muslim party under the name of Ulema Council in
protest against what they called being treated Muslims as

T he outcome of recently concluded election to the Lok

Sabha has been hailed as triumph of secular forces.
Significantly it also marked the decline of Muslims
vote bank by secular parties. The Council put up
candidates in many places in the UP and some States out
of it.
representation from 34 in the previous Lok Sabha to 28
Ulema Council along with some non-descript parties
this time, including four from Jammu and Kashmir State.
and independents, in all estimated to have put up 780
It is true that a secular Hindu can serve the cause of
candidates in the election. But except those who
Muslims much better than a member of the community
contested as candidates of secular parties or in alliance
can do. But it gets a better psychological satisfaction if
with them, lost and merely succeeded in dividing secular
its representative also belongs to it.
votes and victory of the BJP. Thus not a single Muslim
Muslims like any other community nursed many
candidate won in States like Maharashtra, Gujarat,
grievances. Some of them were highlighted by the Sachar
Madhya Pardesh, Rajasthan and Orissa. But they added to
committee. Many Muslims were detained in recent times
the tally of the BJP. In Gujarat, for instance, a veteran
for their suspected hand in series of blasts in various
Congress leader, Shankar Singh Waghela lost to its BJP
parts of India, which all their co-religionists did not
rival by around 2000 votes and Muslim candidate, who too
believe to be true. Two trains carrying Muslims from
lost, got more than this deficit.
Azamgarh area, called Ulema express, came to Delhi to
Ulema Council did not win a single seat in the UP, in
protest against what they felt were unfair actions of the
its headquarter. Not that it was wholly unaware of the
government. The protest coincided with a terrorist attack
consequences of its desperate game. But as its
in Batla House area near Jamia University after which
candidates from Azamgarh, Dr. Javed Akhtara Muslim
local Muslims complained of harassment.
majority constituency said, it is not our job to defeat BJP
Muslims of the UP, has the largest Muslim population
or play the sole protector of secularism. Not only he was
in the country. Their leader often act as spokespersons of
defeated but the community did not gain in terms of
the grievances of all Muslims elsewhere. They are
seats or political power by this strategy.
particularly unhappy over the neglect of Urdu language in
The lesson of this experience is clear. No party of a
the State which is its real home. They were disillusioned
religious community has a chance of success unless it
with the main secular parties of the State. The BSP put
aligns with a secular party. If a party of the Hindus, the
up largest number of candidatesover 500within and
majority community had to change from Hindu Maha
outside the State. It had become too unwieldy and
Sabha, to Bhartiya (Indian) Jana Sangh and Bhartiya
ambitions thus did not inspite many of its former
Janata Party, open to non-Hindus, succeeded in coming to
supporters. By equating the Congress and the BJP, like
power after aligning with Muslim leaders from Kashmir,
other members of the third front, it lost the confidence
Christians leaders from North East, a Sikh party in Punjab
of Muslims.
and Tamils under the name of NDA with a socialist,
Samajwadi Party, the leader of which was at one time
George Fernades, as its convenor, how can a party of
called Maulana Mulayam Singh lost the goodwill of the
much smaller community ever succeed in an election.
Muslims by enlisting the support Kalyan Singh. For he was
Even Akali Dal, a party of the Sikhs, learnt this reality
held responsible for the demolition of the Babri Masjid as
of Indian politics when before the assembly election of
it happened when he was the Chief Minister of the UP.
2007, it opened its doors to non Sikhs and gave party
Thus by a process of elimination many Muslims
ticket in some constituencies to Hindus. It got a majority
switched over their support to the Congress and thus
in the assembly after it formed an alliance with the BJP.

Epilogue Ø
6×
July 2009

Muslims have shown their about in States like
West Bengal where they were a major factor in
demolishing the leftist citadel but only after they
aligned with CongressTrimamool Congress front and
won seven seatsas many as UP Muslims, where
number of the community is far larger got. It also
scored victories under the banner of Indian Union
Muslim League as an ally of the Congress in Kerala
and won three seats.
Indian Muslims are the second largest Muslim
community in the worldafter Indonesia. Their
contribution in field like theology, music, art,
literature, sports and films is universally
acknowledged. Not because they are Muslims but
because they excelled in the respective fields. In
politics, they must learn the tricks of party system
and understand and represent the aspirations of
different classes, castes, regions and other
diversities also apart from their own
communitywhich itself is far from being
homogeneous.
In frustration after their recent experience, some
Muslim parties are demanding proportional
representation based on reservation for their
community. As Salman Khurshid, the minister for
Minority Affairs, has pointed out, this may provoke
jealousy and hostility of the majority community and
thus be self-defeating. Sachar Committee dealt with
this problem in a very rational way. It recommended
inclusion of Muslims in the category of OBC and
Scheduled castes. Nothing would serve the interest
of the community better.
BALRAJ PURI
Director, Institute of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs,
Jammu
Letter to Obama
Jenab Barak Husain Obama Saheb
Assalam-o-Alaikum
Y ou had the privilege to address the global
intelligentsia in Cairo University (Egypt) on June
Epilogue Ø
L E T T E R S
Readers Write
4,2009 to create an atmosphere of optimism and
thaw in the Muslim world in particular and global
civil society in general. In fact the pacifists of the
world felt thunderstruck, enthralled , captivated
and fascinated by your thought –provoking and
scintillating speech which evaded affectation and
hackneyed verbiage which was once characteristic of
the ego-centric demagogues of America . You ,
through your objectivity and pragmatism of
concepts , have certainly kindled hope and
euphoria in the hearts of those who crave for
global peace and tranquillity .You were , we
concede, candid and sagacious when you declared
in unambiguous words that—
“America is not and never will be at war with Islam.”
“More recently ,tension has been fed by
colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to
many Muslims and Cold War in which Muslim-
majority countries were too often treated as
proxies without regard to their own aspirations .”
“Whatever we think of the past we must not be
prisoners of it” and “this cycle of suspicion and
discord must end.”
We, the pragmatists of the world, genuinely feel
that brother Obama's philosophical eirenicon to
stem the rot and ensure global peace will soon get
materialized to eventually salve the wounds of the
oppressed and dispossessed people in various
regions of the world . And this is how
insurrectionists of the world can be brought round
and co-opted for constructive activity especially
state-dispensation . This is time to empower the
enslaved and humiliated people of Kashmir,
Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. It is time to shun the
desultory and myopic approach to global issues .
Let Obama's Messianism lead him to the cherished
goal of amicable, honourable and peaceful
settlement of the outstanding global political
problems .
M. AZAM INQILABI
Patron Jammu Kashmir Mahaz-e-Azadi
Srinagar
7×
July 2009
 NO T E BOOK
13 Essential Stories

INDO-PAK RELATIONS
Obama rules out US mediation
U S President Barack Obama has ruled out any American mediation on Kashmir
issue, by saying that bilateral dialogue is the best way to reduce tension
between India and Pakistan. "We want to be helpful in that process, but I don't think
it's appropriate for us to be the mediators in that process. I think that this is
something that the Pakistanis and Indians can take leadership on," Pakistan based
Dawn TV quoted him, as saying on June 20.
"I believe that there are opportunities, maybe not starting with Kashmir but starting
with other issues, that Pakistan and India can be in a dialogue together and over time
to try to reduce tensions and find areas of common interest," he said.
Responding to a query about why his administration has been silent on Kashmir issue,
he said India and Pakistan both were great friends of the Unites States, and his
administration didn't want to dictate terms with both the nations.
"Well, I don't think that we have been silent on the fact that India is a great friend of
the United States and Pakistan is a great friend of the United States, and it always
grieves us to see friends fighting. And we can't dictate to Pakistan or India how they
should resolve their differences, but we know that both countries would prosper if
those differences are resolved," Obama said. E

CEASEFIRE DIVIDENDS CROSS-LoC RELATIONS

First trekking along LoC
in 20 years
A s a clear sign of the dividends of border ceasefire, in operation
since 2003, the state Tourism Department organised a two-day
25km-long trekking expedition from Gulmarg to Boniyar in north
Kashmir on June 18. This was the first such expedition after early
1990s. The expedition was organised in order to set the trend for
promotion of adventure sports in the State, Director Tourism Farooq
Ahmad Shah said here today. He said the expedition, in which a group
of 21 trekkers participated, was undertaken to revive trekking events
and other adventure sports as the same has tremendous potential in
the State.
The trekking expedition, started from Buta Pathri which is 8 km ahead
of Gulmarg, passed through Nigli nallah, meadows, valleys, streams
and many other places of breathtaking beauty to culminate at Balani,
Bonyiar. The Army authorities were also involved in facilitation of the
expedition as some of the areas have proximity with LoC. The group,
led by Joint Director and Deputy Director, Tourism, comprised
members of the ski patrol team, adventure tour operators,
representatives from banking fraternity, University of Kashmir and
Wildlife Trust of India. He said the trek proved beneficial from
adventure and research point of view as the trekkers were able to
see distinctive flora and fauna and explore the adventure niche of
the Valley. E
PaK hands over
drowned boy's
body via LoC
I n a gesture of goodwill, the authorities of
Pakistan administered Kashmir handed over the
body of a drowned youth in a river when he along
with his friend was taking a bath in a river in Poonch
district of Jammu and Kashmir. Two youths,
including a medical employee had drowned on June
18 and one of the bodies was recovered by the PaK
authorities. ''The body of Neeraj Sharma, medical
assistant of village Draba in Surankot was recovered
from across the border, while his friend Ashish Vaid's
body was recovered on June 19 morning down
stream in Poonch,'' sources said.
The PaK authorities, on receiving information
about the drowned youth from this side, were
engaged in tracing the body. Neeraj's body that had
flown down at least 4 km across LoC was recovered
yesterday afternoon,'' the sources said. The
Pakistani authorities handed over the body of the
youth to this side through Chakkan-Da-Bagh on
evening of June 19. E

Epilogue Ø
8×
July 2009
 NO T E BOOK
13 Essential Stories

SECURITY REVIEW DEVELOPMENT

Army Chief visits Kashmir Rs 1 billion
T he Indian Army Chief
General Deepak Kapoor
plan for
reviewed the over all
security situation in Jammu border areas
and Kashmir for smooth
conduct of the Amarnath
Yatra on June 16. Lieutenant
A Jammu and Kashmir state Level
Screening Committee had
approved Rupees 100-crore Action
General Bikram Singh, Plan for the state for the year 2009-
General Officer 10 under the Border Area
Commanding15 Corps, Development Programme (BADP).
briefed the Army Chief on The plan was approved in a meeting
the security scenario in the of the committee, chaired by Chief
state. Secretary, S S Kapoor, in Srinagar on
During his two-day visit (June June 20.
15-16), General Kapoor Kapoor, asking the executing
interacted with officers and agencies of flagship programmes in
troops engaged in counter border areas of the state, said
infiltration and counter completion of projects on time will
terrorism operations at go a long way in realising
various locations. government's resolve of equitable
The Army Chief appreciated and balanced development of the
efforts of the troops in state. He said schemes launched
maintaining strict vigil to prevent infiltration from across the Line of Control. under BADP could supplement
General Kapoor was also briefed on the anti infiltration obstacle system and he was ongoing development projects in
fully satisfied with the efficacy of the system and measures being taken by the these areas and stressed that
Army in Kashmir, during his visit to various formations. Lieutenant General PC spillover works should be completed
Bhardwaj, General Officer Commanding in Chief Northern Command and Lieutenant on priority before taking up new
General Singh accompanied the Army Chief. E projects.
While reviewing the progress made
under BADP during the last financial
STATISTICS year, it was given out that out of Rs

6th round of National Sample 147 crore outlay, including Rs 42

crore spillover of the year 2007-08,
an amount of Rs 116 crore were spent
Survey from July 1 under various welfare and
development schemes in 40 border
T he field work on 66th round National Sample Survey (NSS) will commence in Jammu
and Kashmir from July 1. Officials said this decision was taken at a three-day
Regional Training Camp, organised jointly by National Sample Survey Organisation,
blocks of the state for augmenting
road connectivity, health and
education, besides other facilities.
(NSSO) of Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Directorate It was also stated that under Model
of Economics and Statistics (DES). The objectives of the camp, which ended yesterday, Village Scheme, Rs 5.25 crore were
were to conduct a survey on employment, unemployment and household consumer spent on development of model
expenditure in the State. Field functionaries of DSE of Kashmir Division, including Leh villages in various border blocks.
and Kargil, participated in the camp and were given on spot training and guidance from Similarly, Rs 1.72 crore were
the supervisors of NSSO. The Director of Statistics and Economics in J&K, Mr Qureshi said expended on construction of Land
66th round of this programme was organised to prepare an accurate and reliable base of Custom Stations at Chakan-da-bagh,
data and information for use in formulation of the 12th five-year plan for the state. E Poonch and Salamabad, Uri. E

Epilogue Ø
9×
July 2009

CONSERVATION
Rs 11 billion plan for
shrinking Dal, Wular
and other water bodies
T he India Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh said in
Srinagar on June 22 that Central Government will spend more
than Rs 11 billion cleaning up two iconic lakes in Kashmir, which
have been polluted during decades of neglect and a separatist
revolt. Dal Lake, the Valley's main tourist attraction which has
drawn visitors from Mughal emperors to the Beatles star George
Harrison, has shrunk from 25 sq km to 13 sq km since the 1980s,
environmental campaigners say. Raw sewage, rubbish and land
encroachment threaten the survival of the lake which dominates
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir state.
The idyllic Himalayan region's other prominent lake, Wular, which
authorities say was once Asia's largest freshwater lake, has reduced to
half its original size. "This conservation effort is the first serious fully
funded effort," Jairam said at a news conference in Srinagar.
Thousands of tonnes of sewage spew into Dal Lake, feeding weeds and
choking the lake and its aquatic life of oxygen.
The government plans to clean and remove the weeds, build new
sewage treatment plants, and pay at least 10,000 families living on the
waterfront to relocate. Authorities and many environmentalists blame
these families, some of whom have lived there for generations, for
dumping rubbish, sewage and waste into the lake whose trademark
wooden houseboats have been a tourist magnet for decades.
Some residents have in the past been slow to accept cash to relocate,
saying the move would rob them of their livelihoods. The state
government has neglected the region's environment while battling the
separatist revolt. The government has made previous pledges to clean
up Kashmir's waters, saying cleanup operations have only been made
possible because the insurgency is at its lowest level in years. E
Epilogue Ø
10 ×
July 2009
NO T E BOOK
13 Essential Stories
OFFICIAL MEDIA
Center mulls
Rs 3.89 million
plan for J&K
T o counter the alleged Pakistani propaganda
along the border, the Indian government has
mooted a Rs 389 crore proposal to increase its
television and radio coverage in the higher reaches
of Jammu and Kashmir state and near security
establishments. The strategically important
proposal is reportedly in final stages of approval
and is coming into being when India-Pakistan
relations are at their low.
The Centre had in 1999 pumped in Rs 430 crore
under a special package for J&K to strengthen the
Doordarshan and AIR network. The new proposal is
expected to bolster the existing infrastructure
even as instability continues to mark Indo-Pak
relationship. There has been growing concern over
propaganda from, what policy desks in Delhi call,
hostile neighbours and a need has been felt that
border coverage by the strong signals of radio and
TV was important for providing information to
people in sensitive J&K areas. Keeping in view
rough terrain and climatic conditions, Prasar
Bharati has proposed setting up of mobile
transmitters at heights of 13,000-14,000 feet.
These transmitters costing upwards of Rs 4 crore
each will do away with the necessity of
constructing towers saving on manpower, resources
and time.
The proposal is though not part of the 11th plan but
it has reportedly been discussed at a high level
meeting with home minister P Chidambaram and
senior officials in the home ministry. The main
objective is to counter the anti-Indian propaganda
across the border. "Not only will these transmitters
provide Prasar Bharati's broadcast with a strong
signal but also give coverage of up to 150 km in
Pakistani territory," a senior official said. The
proposal is two-pronged that includes setting up of
high power TV and FM transmitters in the border
areas of J&K and low power FM transmitters in
uncovered areas of J&K. This is likely to cost up to
Rs 307 crore while strengthening of existing AIR/TV
network in border areas of J&K and installation of
mobile TV/FM transmitters for moderation of
Pakistan radio and TV signals will cost Rs 82 crore. E
 NO T E BOOK
13 Essential Stories

RAIL TO KASHMIR
After ten-month confusion, existing
alignment Okayed
H opes have once again brightened up for Kashmir Valley's
railway link with rest of the country. Over ten months
after the construction work on the Katra-Qazigund section
of the ambitious Kashmir rail link project was suspended, an
expert committee has given its green signal to restart the
work.
The committee, in its recent report submitted to the ministry,
also gave a favourable opinion for the resumption of the work
on the world's highest bridge on the Chenab river, linking the
Kashmir Valley with rest of the country. However, a senior
railway board official said the ministry "is yet to take a
decision on the report". Work was suspended on the 70 km
stretch in Katra-Qazigund section as the proposed alignment
was found to be too problematic. The seven-member expert
committee headed by former railway board chairman M
Ravindra was constituted last December to suggest possible
new alignment in the section after the suspension of the work.
"We have taken a pause to reappraise the alignment including
the proposed Chenab bridge. This has been done to avoid
wastage of money and resources on the project," then railway
board member (engineering) S K Vij was reported by the Times
of India as saying.
"In any case very little progress has been done since the
commencement of the work in the last four and half years," Vij
had maintained. The committee submitted its report after Read Epilogue’s March 2009 issue to find out what scrapping
examining the problems in the area. of this project would have cost the exchequer.
"The committee has suggested not to abandon the work 11,000-crore project, comprising steep slopes intersected by a
carried out in the existing alignment. It has also suggested number of rivers. Besides geological challenges, climatic
certain modifications in the alignment to continue the work conditions are also harsh in the area. Currently train services
further," said the official. As far as the mega arch Chenab are operational between the 101-km-long Baramulla and
bridge is concerned, the official said, "the report is in favour of Anantnag section in the valley. "The Anantnag-Qazigund
resuming the work at some locations". section is expected to be operational by July end and with this
The 70 km stretch between Katra and Dharam in the Katra- the 119-km-long Baramulla-Qazigund section will be
Qazigund segment is the most difficult terrain of the Rs operational," said the official. E

OTHER KASHMIR
PaK presents Rs 35.40 budget for 2009-10
P akistan administered Kashmir budget for the financial year 2009-2010 was presented in legislative assembly on June 20. PaK
Minister of Finance Chaudhry Latif Akbar presented the budget in the assembly chaired by Speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir. The
volume of the tax free budget is around Rs 35.40 billion. The allocations for the development budget are around Rs 10.75 billion,
which is 13 percent more than the last year development budget for the region. E

Epilogue Ø
11 ×
July 2009
 NO T E BOOK
13 Essential Stories

INDO-PAK RELATIONS
Pakistan media
feels country lost
plank on Kashmir
P akistan has lost its Kashmir plank with India
bringing on centre stage the need to counter
terrorism, an editorial in a leading English daily
said Thursday while welcoming the apparent
subcontinental thaw after the meeting in Russia
between President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh.
"There was a time when Pakistan wanted
'movement' on Kashmir from India. Now India
wants 'movement' first, on terrorism," Daily Times
said in an editorial headlined 'The message from
Yekaterinburg'.
"One phase is over whether Pakistan likes it or not.
The next phase is upon us and that is Pakistan's
war against Baitullah Mehsud's Tehreek-e Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) and Al Qaeda.
"One reason phase one is over is that even for
Pakistan, the priority now is getting rid of the
terrorists. Beyond that is a new model of
relationship in South Asia between its two big
nuclear-armed states and with the threatened
countries that lie on the edge of the region," the
editorial contended.
Manmohan Singh had delivered a blunt message to
Zardari at their meeting in Yekaterinburg Tuesday,
their first after the Mumbai terror attacks that
India has blamed on elements operating from
Pakistan.
"I must tell you quite frankly that I have come with
the limited mandate of discussing how Pakistan conference in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt'," the editorial said.
can deliver on its assurances that its territory would not be Holding that the war against terrorism "should not be an
used for terrorists attacks on India," Manmohan Singh had India-Pakistan war", the editorial said: "A new kind of
said. dialogue between the two countries is essential. And it can't
Delhi Times also noted that New Delhi's official line on be a rehash of what happened in the past, in which some
Pakistan before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation optimists saw 'great progress' but which yielded no results."
(SCO) summit at Yekaterinburg that India and Pakistan had According to The News: "The resumption of greater
attended as observers was -- do something about terrorism normalcy between Islamabad and New Delhi is welcome."
first and then expect the resumption of dialogue with India. "But while dialogue and negotiations between the two
"The message from Yekaterinburg was that the 'primary issue nations are to be encouraged, and have in the past led to
of terrorism will be discussed by the foreign secretaries of steps - such as the cross-border bus services - that help
the two countries before the leaders of the two countries people meet and encourage contact between them, it is
meet again in mid-July on the sidelines of an international time now to fix a firmer goal," said the editorial, headlined

Epilogue Ø
12 ×
July 2009
 NO T E BOOK
13 Essential Stories

ROAD MISHAPS
"Time to talk".
Holding that both Pakistan
Nearly 70 killed in June
and India "have suffered
immense losses due to
terrorism", the editorial said:
"They then stand to gain from
coming together."
"But if this is to happen, India
must accept it too has made
many errors and committed
many wrongs that need to be
righted. Simply making
demands on others while
failing to correct one's own
mistakes serves very little
useful purpose.
"India needs to demonstrate it
deserves a status as 'big Hundreds of people watch rescue
brother' in the region by operation of a bus that rolled
down the Chenab River on
setting the right example June 7. Over 20 bodies
and, by doing so, winning the are still missing.
respect of its smaller
neighbours," the editorial
maintained.
Dawn, too, focused on the
theme of terrorism, saying
A t least 70 persons were killed in two major and several minor accidents across
Jammu and Kashmir in the month of June. 25 passengers were killed and 47 injured
June 25 when a private transport bus skidded off the road at Panthal, about 50 kms
the two countries should
from Jammu. The overcrowded bus, with some passengers also sitting on its roof and
focus on the scourge that
hanging with its ladder, was on its way from Shri Mata Vaishnodevi base town of Katra
"threatens the peace and
to Udhampur when it rolled down into a deep gorge.
stability of South Asia". “It is
Earlier on June 7, 20 persons were feared drowned and five sustained injuries after a mini-
important that neither
bus plunged into mighty Chenab river in Doda district. The tragic accident, third major one
government provide any kind
in the Chenab Valley region within a period of three months, has exposed that
of sanctuary to terrorists
announcements with regard to improvement of road condition and other ancilliary works
operating against the other in
on the National Highway 1B repeatedly made by the Government were only eye-wash with
the misplaced belief that this
no seriousness in translating them into reality. E
strategy promotes its political
interest.
"It is time both realised that FORESTS & ENVIRONMENT
terrorism is a double-edged
sword that also destroys its
protector and patron. Hence
J&K seeks central assistance
the SAARC mechanism that
has already been set up to
of Rs 5 billion
investigate and fight
terrorism must be activated
and used effectively to the
T he Jammu and Kashmir government has submitted a proposal of Rs 500 crore to the
Central government for the development of degraded forests in the state. At a
meeting of officers convened to review the progress of ongoing developmental schemes
advantage of both," said the in the Forest Department at Srinagar, State Minister Mian Altaf Ahmad said under
editorial, headlined Integrated Forest Management Project (IFMP), the government has submitted a
"Handshake in Russia". IANS proposal to the Centre for the development of degraded forests in the state. E

Epilogue Ø
13 ×
July 2009
 S HOP I AN F I ASCO
Ground Assessment

Rape and Murder in Shopian

The Missing Links and
Inert Government
AHMED ALI FAYYAZ
Author is a senior journalist based at Srinagar

W
ith no signs of protests and
demonstrations abating in
Kashmir Valley, over rape and
murder of two women, the state
government accepted interim
recommendations of Justice (Muzaffar)
Jan Commission of Inquiry and
suspended for Police officials for their
laxity in handling the situation. The
culprits, who raped and murdered the
village women in Shopian, are,
however, yet to be identified by the
Commission.
The suspension of Javed Iqbal
Mattoo, the then district police chief
Shopian, deputy superint-endent of
police, Rohit Baskotra, Station House
Officer (SHO) Shafeeq Ahmad, sub-
inspector Qazi Abdul Karim and Javed
Iqbal Hafiz, scientific officer FSL comes
in the wake of the interim report
submitted by the one-man commission
of inquiry.
The 300-page interim report
submitted by Justice (Retd) Muzaffar
Jan to the state government on June 22
indicted the officers with 'dereliction of
duty' and 'destruction of evidence' in the
rape and murder of 17-year old Asiya
Jan and her 22-year old pregnant sister-
in-law Neelofar Jan on May 30.
In his interim report, Justice
Muzaffar Jan has found the south
Kashmir Shopian district administration
guilty of 'destroying vital evidence, not
preserving the scene of crime,
interfering with post-mortem report
and dereliction of duty'. "Because of the
negligence of the authorities, civil
administration, including doctors and
police involved in the handling of the
incident, vital evidence which could
have easily helped in nabbing the
culprits were destroyed and lost," the
report which has devoted 70 pages on
the lapses on the part of the local
administration said. The report said the
police and civil administration had
'failed to secure the spot and
surrounding the areas where the bodies
of the two women were found.' In his
report the judge has confirmed that 17-
year old Asiya Jan and her pregnant 22-
year old sister-in-law Neelofar Jan were
raped and then murdered.
The incident triggered an
unprecedented public outcry across the
valley forcing the state administration
to lodge an FIR (First Information
Report) for rape and murder in the
Shopian police station.
The failed government
When entire state was on fire these
months last year on Amarnath land
fiasco, many Kashmir watchers
suggested an early return of an elected
government as they said that situation
was beyond Governor's control. Upon
fall of PDP-Congress coalition
government, the Governor NN Vohra
was then incharge of affairs. A year later
one can conclude how well the
Governor handled a situation far more
volatile than the present one. The
elected government of the National
Conference and the Congress headed by
Omar Abdullah has completely failed to
instill confidence among the peoples. It
is an irony that a Governor with no local
support had succeeded in dousing the
flaming of a regional and communal
inferno but a representative
government, comprising two largest
mainstream political parties, has failed
to consolidate the gains it had inherited
from a career bureaucrat!
Even after three weeks of the burial,
nobody has an answer as to why vital
circumstantial and biological evidences
are being allowed to lose in
decomposition of the two dead bodies.
Forensic science experts, including
those who have studied so-called post
mortem reports prepared by an
extremely incompetent lot of doctors,
are unanimous over the necessity of
DNA testing. Government will definitely
realize the hazard of sleeping over
time-bound decisions, should the
investigators fail in identifying and
arresting the culprits.
N o r m a l l y, i n a l l c r i m i n a l
investigations there are two options: A
many cases are solved and pushed to
trial but, in many matters, investigators
fail to reach the culprits and close the
file as 'not admitted'. Thanks to chaos

Epilogue Ø
14 ×
July 2009
 S HOP I AN F I ASCO
Ground Assessment

and confusion at all ranks of

establishment, both, the judicial
inquiry as well as the SIT investigation
are now left with one-odd option---“to
produce and punish the rapists and
killers”.
A sequence of events from the day
one denotes political and
administrative bankruptcy. Why did a
government, that had trumpeted
“change” in its first 100 days, commit
the mistake of retaining a retiring
official as Deputy Commissioner of
Shopian in its first administrative
reshuffle? Did it need a beep to remind
itself that Mohammad Ramzan Thakur's
appointment was the result of a
sustained campaign publicly launched Villagers Carrying body of Asiya who was allegedly raped and murdered.
by then PDP's MLA Ghulam Hassan Khan?
something” after 20 days, Omar has not- last few days, residents, politicians and
Was nobody in the government aware of
--intelligently---insisted on checking mediapersons have demonstrated the
the fact that then Assistant
out the recorded version of his tendency of shifting the focus from the
Commissioner (Revenue) Anantnag, Mr
observation made at his press Army and CRPF to “J&K Police” and
Thakur had several years back directed
conference. He appears to have learned “SOG”. And the accusation is not of
his PSOs and Police escort to hand over
that he can still argue and win in a court “inefficiency” but committing “rape and
their arms to militants when they had
of professionals but none of his logic or murder” of the two ill-fated women. While
appeared to question his tour in
reason would work in a wider court of DC is now retiring with the immaterial
Kokernag area? Leaders of the ruling
the people that is guided more by tag of complacency, SP is almost in the
party now insist that the Cabinet had, in
perceptions than facts, realities and dock with the allegation of complicity.
fact, obliged Chief Secretary S S Kapur
possibilities. Thanks to politics (read Nobody in the Government has
who wished Mr Thakur “to retire as DC”.
politicking) and media, the Shopian responded to the PDP President and
Immediately after state Congress tragedy has stirred so wildly that the clarified whether Matoo had been
President Prof Saifuddin Soz issued a possibility of a dead end in the removed for being a “suspect” or simply
statement and announced that he investigation would be essentially to cool down tempers of the agitating
would take up the Shopian incident with interpreted as “Government's cover up” crowds in South Kashmir.
the Union Defence and Home Ministers, not only by the common people but also Running the risk of the mob
people at large in the Valley began to by Chief Minister's and Justice Muzaffar attack, Mehbooba Mufti has
smell that there was something fishy in Jan's own family members. audaciously visited the bereaved
the whole episode. This, in fact, served
SP Javed Matoo was removed from family in a town that had
as an FIR against Army and CRPF. Why
Shopian apparently under public uncharitably sent her back just a few
should the Leader of the Opposition,
pressure. While the order of DC's years ago. Wife of a civilian, killed in
Mehbooba Mufti, remain a mute
attachment made a specific mention of crossfiring, had pushed then ruling
spectator on watching her role being
the “inefficiency” practiced by the PDP leader back with the slur that she
played by a leader of the ruling party?
district administration in dealing with had been shedding tears after
ailing to understand the Opposition's the post mortem process and its applying chilly powder to her eyes. In
capability of stretching interpretations, aftermath, it remained silent in SP's the same township, Mehbooba was
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah landed in case. It has led many in the town to yet again heckled and attacked by
the trouble of his own creation. In his believe that unlike DC, SP has not been irate mobs with their sandals and
admission of “having learned removed for mere “inefficiency”. In the invectives but she returned only after

Epilogue Ø
15 ×
July 2009

winning the distinction
of being the one-odd
mainstream politician to
jump into the fire. On
the other hand, NC's
D i s t r i c t Pr e s i d e n t ,
Shabir Kullai, who lives
in the ill-fated Ahangars'
neighbourhood has
never turned up even
with a word of sympathy.
With the sheer
absence of a political
response from the two
ruling parties---who
appear to be in a
competition in shutting
their eyes towards
Shopian---lawyers,
human rights activists
and mediapersons have
conducted the trial ex
parte and almost
pronounced their
conviction. Official
agencies have shown
no hesitation in
making it public that
Divisional Commissioner
Masood Samoon could
not enter the troubled
town due to “tension”
in Shopian. People,
including media, are
not aware of any
single meeting having
happened between
Ministers, legislators,
officials and security
agencies to discuss
what exactly was
going wrong with
Shopian and how best
the situation could be
t a c k l e d u n t i l
completion of the
judicial inquiry and SIT
investigation. E
S HOP I AN
Kunan-Poshpara to Shopian:
The Journey of Women
in Kashmir
VIBHUTI UBBOTT
Author is Research Officer, Centre for Women's
Studies University of Jammu, Jammu
Y
et another round of protests is moving
into oblivion with the passage of
time. The protests began with the
discovery of dead bodies of twenty two
years old pregnant woman-Nilofer and her
Seventeen years old, sister-in-law Asiya Jan
near a stream in the Shopian town of South
Kashmir. The incident received varied
treatments at the hands of numerous
people. Beginning with the young Chief-
Minister of the state- Omar Abdullah who
out rightly rejected anything wrong done to
the women in his initial reaction, it took a
week to establish the rape and murder of
the two women. Moreover, the incident
evoked a series of reactions among different
sections. Now, when the Judicial
Commission of Inquiry set up to probe into
the Shopian double murder has submitted
its interim report and has recommended
suspension of four top police officers and
held a number of others for not acting
according to the rule book, it's time to raise
some issues which concern women in the
Valley.
The Valley saw massive protests
demanding justice to the victims by
prosecution of all those who are
responsible. The Chief Minister, impelled by
the Government at the Centre, appointed a
Judicial Commission. The one member
commission, headed by a Retired Judge,
was not taken favorably by many. Syed Ali
Shah Geelani found it an eye wash while
Kashmir Bar Association demanded a sitting
Judge to head it. Kuldeep Khoda, DGP,
Jammu and Kashmir constituted a Special
Investigation Team to investigate into the
happening. The political leaders got
Epilogue Ø
16 ×
July 2009
F I ASCO
Opinion
engaged into responses that suited them.
Opposition leader- Mahbooba Mufti started
raising questions about the ability of the
state government to handle its
administrative and security forces. At the
same time, the separatist leaders began
asking for resumption of dialogue to the
centre.
The Shopian incident also instigated the
think tank of the country to propose the
diverse analyses of the situation in the
state. There's a consensus among the
intelligentia within the state as well as in
the country that the people of Kashmir have
totally lost faith in both government and
political system as displayed by them by
their unwelcoming behavior towards
Mahbooba Mufti during her visit to Shopian.
Secondly, the demand for the withdrawal of
Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the
state is gaining ground as it provides
immunity from the civil investigations to the
forces. Many scholars saw all the
happenings in the state as a mark of failure
of the new and inexperienced Chief Minister
of J&K, which is too early a comment to
make. The militarization of Kashmir came
under a strong criticism as the preliminary
investigations had pointed towards the
possible involvement of armed forces. The
Hurriyat wanted itself to be engaged into
the talks by the Central Government via this
incident while people in the Valley, at large,
sought the Kashmir Solution itself, during
the period.
The overall reactions evoked by the
Shopian Killings are appreciable. Voices are
being raised demanding punishment for the
guilty and there's an overwhelming

sympathy for the victims, which is
something really fine and worthy. But,
there are some deeper concerns that
need to be addressed. Every time the
rape or murder of a woman takes place,
the Valley witness strong reactions but,
this time the reaction was more intense
and prolonged. It's a matter of delight
that during the Shopian protests, the
focus remained more on the dignity of
women rather than the community
itself. In all the past instances, the
assault on women has been visualized as
an attack on community and hence the
necessary backlash is resulted. Actually,
the pride of community is considered
written on the bodies of the women.
An illustration of how the pride of
the society gets hurt with the violation
of women's bodies was provided best by
the 'sex scandal' that emerged few years
back in the Valley. The scandal that
shook the Valley involved the sexual
exploitation of the young women of
Kashmir. The incident also brought into
light the prostitution networks in the
Valley in which the minor girls were
associated. The sex scandal unleashed
massive agitations and protests in
Kashmir as the Kashmiri society found it
as a major offensive on its dignity. But,
another important observation to be
made into the incident was regarding
the unforgiving behavior of the society
towards the women. There were a
number of questions that needed to be
answered regarding the vulnerabilities
of the Kashmiri women, especially in
the face of consistent presence of
conflict in the region but, such
questions didn't appear. Instead the
women were held responsible for
bringing ignominy to the community and
never got acceptance into it.
Similarly, since 1991, when another
incidence of the mass rape of women in
one of the villages of Kupwara District,
namely, Kunan-Poshpara took place, the
episode featured into a number of
speeches and a lot of articles. A lot has
been said and written about the
S HOP I AN
instrumental value, the women of
Kashmir hold, for the separatists as well
as the state for blaming each other. But
in any case, all the sympathy for
victimized women does not get
replaced by compassion for them. They
continue to be stigmatized in the
society. A report, much later the
incident, suggested that no marriage
proposal was received for any women in
the village of Kunan-Poshpara , even
three years after the happening.
Hence, the dignity of the women ranks
higher than the women themselves in
our society.
Violation of a woman's body is the
gravest of the offences that happens
more often in the Valley. Social
ostracism that follows the incident is
worst, that could happen to a woman.
Many women commit suicide due to the
shame and disgrace they are subject to,
after the rape. Many a times, the
instances of rapes and molestations are
not reported because of the social
stigmas attached to them. Therefore, a
fresh approach to deal with the genuine
needs and grievances is imperative in
the valley.
There's a range of gender issues in
the state that need to be highlighted.
The violence against women in the
conflict situation of Kashmir is itself a
big issue.In such a scenario, where
Shopian incident provided an
opportunity to put forward all sorts of
demands in Kashmir, a campaign could
also have been carried out to adopt a
new discourse towards the women of
the Valley. The incident which evoked
sympathies of the region could have
been used to raise its gender
sensitivities. But unfortunately, the
gender perspective is missing in the
whole episode. The victimhood
discourse, wherein women are
imparted the sympathies by having the
virtue of being victims, is not getting
translated into the gender discourse,
wherein the gender specific
disadvantages suffered by women are
Epilogue Ø
17 ×
July 2009
F I ASCO
Opinion
highlighted and addressed to.
The safety and security needs of the
women of Kashmir, the right to have
means of livelihood, their mental and
overall health, the freedom of
movement and the right to have a
dignified life are some of the immediate
concerns in the state. It's high time that
the importance of gender issues be
established in the state and the Shopian
incident could have been that point of
time to begin the project. Not only the
state but it's the responsibility of whole
country, especially of the scholars and
intelligentsia that a proper discourse
towards the gender issues be in place.
But, it's a huge disappointment that
nothing of that sort happened. One
keeps wondering that while the
modesty attack in Mangalore invited
nationwide criticism, why the Shopian
killings went without stirring national
consciousness. A wave should have
moved in the whole country, which
would also have sent a very positive
signal to the Valley. For that matter, the
Jammu region of the state didn't
observe any reaction to the incident
which is very unfortunate.
The gender concerns, as always,
became a casualty in Shopian incident
too. Though the demand of a sitting
Judge, instead of a retired one, for
heading the inquiry commission, was
not something of strategic importance
but, succumbing to that demand would
have resulted into establishing a
women's issue as something of primary
importance. Moreover, inclusion of a
woman into the commission could have
changed the entire story. The State
Women Commission didn't intervene for
the want of resources and officials. It has
turned into a toothless creature, but that
too could have been brought into light in
the aftermath of the Shopian incident.
Hence, there's a strong need to seek
answers to the questions that concern
the women of Kashmir for which massive
sensitization and genuine intentions are
urgently needed. E
Epilogue Classified Mart
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 IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir

The Future of
Jammu and Kashmir
Present Tense, Future Uncertain

Editor's Note
“Kashmir is again at the brink”, the press writes this statement over a dozen times
every year when the Valley breaks out in protests and demonstrations. In fact,
Kashmir is always on the brink and this fact should not be forgotten till a lasting
stability is achieved. It needs just a trigger and the Valley erupts sending the
government in tizzy. The state Chief Minister finds himself in the middle of nowhere
and the Union Government is seen at loss of strategy. It is the angry mob(s) that rules
the streets. This is exactly what is happening in Kashmir since beginning of June;
same was the condition earlier this year during Parliament elections, before that
following cases of human rights violations in north Kashmir, then late last year during
Assembly elections and earlier during entire summer of 2008 when the fire had
engulfed state across its length and breadth. When tempers cool down, the problem
is often referred to as a law and order issue that was resolved by application of
administrative and security means. This preciswely is an ad hoc approach keeping
the present tense and future uncertain. Over past six to eight years the problem in
Kashmir has assumed an entirely different manifestation. From battling against
militants trained, armed, promoted and supported by Pakistan, the State is now
found battling against anger of its own people. Militant violence and infiltration
through International Border and Line of Control is on constant decline since 2002
and there is a significant peace on the borders since November 2003 ceasefire. Take
the recent example. There was not even single case of infiltration since first week of
June. But the visible signs of peace and stability are yet to be seen. Gulf between
three regions of the state and different aspirations of people is also widening. After
all what is the future of Jammu and Kashmir? On the following pages a study
commissioned by Programme in Arms Control, Disarmament and International
Security (ACDIS) of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign examines this
critical question with different perspectives. In the first article OF the series, Suba
Chandran rightly defines the 'Conflict in Kashmir' and 'Conflict of Kashmir' to bring
home two dimensions of the issue. Subsequent articles track the perspectives from
Kashmir to international community. No words are too high to express our gratitude
to Matt Rosenstein, Associate Director, ACDIS and Editor, Swords and Ploughshares for
allowing us share this exclusive study with our readers. In subsequent issues we will
try to bring in perspectives from different regions of Jammu and Kashmir on both
sides of the Line of Control. E
ZAFAR CHOUDHARY

Epilogue Ø
19 ×
July 2009

Jammu & Kashmir:
India's Objectives and Strategies
D. SUBA CHANDRAN
Suba Chandran is Assistant Director of
the Institute of Peace and Conflict
Studies in New Delhi and consulting
Editor of Epilogue magazine
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
T
here are two sets of conflicts
relating to Jammu and
Kashmir—the conflict in Kashmir
and the conflict of Kashmir. The conflict
of Kashmir is primarily linked to the
larger Indo-Pak conflict and its actors
include India, Pakistan, and Kashmiris.
In the initial decades following the 1947
partition, India's primary objective in
the conflict of Kashmir was to
internationalize the issue to its
advantage, based on its legal claim over
the entire Jammu & Kashmir (J&K)
r e g i o n i n c l u d i n g t h e M i r p u r,
Muzaffarabad, Gilgit, and Baltistan
regions. These four regions, under
direct and indirect control of Pakistan,
are administered through two different
political entities. The regions of Mirpur
and Muzaffarabad—called “Azad
Kashmir”—have limited autonomy,
while the Gilgit and Baltistan regions
are referred as the Northern Areas and
fall under the total control of
Islamabad.
Withdrawal of Pakistani troops from
“Azad Kashmir” and the Northern
Areas—collectively referred to by India
a s Pa k i s t a n o c c u p i e d K a s h m i r
(PoK)—and its reintegration with the
rest of J&K had been the primary
objective of India during the initial
phase of the conflict. However, this
objective slowly changed in a shift that
became visible during and after the
1971 War with Pakistan. A Line of
Control (LoC) was established after this
Epilogue Ø
20 ×
July 2009
IN FOCUS
war, and it is widely believed that
during negotiations leading to the Simla
agreement that followed the war, India
and Pakistan agreed to convert this line
into a permanent border between the
two countries. Ever since, India's
primary objective in the conflict of
Kashmir has been to maintain the status
quo and convert the LoC into an
international border.
The conflict in Kashmir refers to the
relations between New Delhi and
various communities and their
aspirations in Jammu, Kashmir, and
Ladakh regions. Though the high level of
violence since the 1990s has hijacked
the issues in J&K, there are other
serious issues from these three regions.
For example, people of Ladakh have
been demanding a Union Territory (UT)
status within India, while the people of
Jammu region have been demanding a
separate state, again within India. A
major section within Kashmir Valley
demands complete independence from
India, while another section demands
more autonomy in terms of federal-
p r o v i n c i a l r e l a t i o n s . Po l i t i c a l
manipulation, bad governance and
corruption have been major issues for
all three regions.
India's policy towards the conflict in
Kashmir has been narrowly focused in
terms of addressing the political issues
of Kashmir Valley, winning the Kashmiris
politically and psychologically, and
integrating them emotionally into the

Indian mainstream. Until recently, the
other two regions—Jammu and
Ladakh—have been totally neglected by
New Delhi.
India's Kashmir Policies and
Strategies
That are the major issues in India's
policies and strategies vis-à-vis the
conflict in Kashmir and the conflict of
Kashmir? Though India's policies
towards both these conflicts have been
criticized as ad hoc and reactive, in
retrospect it appears New Delhi has
been clear on what it wants regarding
both conflicts. Externally with Pakistan,
New Delhi wants to convert the LoC into
an international border and make the
status quo permanent. Internally, it
wants to keep the demands for
independence under control, aiming to
win the Kashmiris psychologically and
emotionally by integrating the political
elite into the mainstream. The
strategies that New Delhi has adopted
to secure these policies may have
different guises, but the policies on
these two broader issues have remained
constant. These policies and the
strategies adopted to secure them
require a critique before commenting
on the contemporary situation and
making conclusions about the road
ahead.
The Prism of Terrorism
Until recently, India perceived both
the conflict in and conflict of J&K
mainly through the prism of terrorism.
Internally, the absence of militant
attacks is seen as the presence of peace
and political stability in Kashmir.
Problems of governance are seen as an
offshoot of militancy; hence, the
government has believed that once the
latter is brought under control, there
would be better governance. Issues
IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
such as corruption and bad governance
are carpeted under militancy. Ä
The conflict of Kashmir is
Counterinsurgency operations have primarily linked to the
assumed more significance, without
larger Indo-Pak conflict.
understanding that militancy has been
the product of certain political
questions and that once these political
questions are addressed, the militancy
Its actors include India,
Ä
Pakistan, and Kashmiris.
would automatically die down. These
political questions raised by the
Kashmiris may be real or imaginary or
both; but it is the duty of the Ä
The conflict in Kashmir
government to address them politically. refers to the relations
Externally, cross-border terrorism between New Delhi and
was perceived as the main bilateral
issue vis-à-vis Pakistan. India has long various communities and
avoided discussing J&K with Pakistan their aspirations in
and repeatedly emphasized that until Jammu, Kashmir, and
the latter stops cross-border terrorism,
there could not be any meaningful
Ladakh regions.
negotiation. Internationally, while
Pakistan attempted to highlight the
issue of “human rights” and “political
Ä
Since the 1971 war, India's
primary objective in the
oppression” in Kashmir by New Delhi,
India attempted to flag cross-border conflict of Kashmir has
terrorism as the main issue and hurdle in
been to maintain the
taking any further measures.
status quo and convert the
As cross-border terrorism became
the highlight of India's approach Line of Control into an
towards the conflict of Kashmir, two international border.
issues became prominent in the 1990s
and in the early years of this decade.
Any dialogue on demilitarization or Ä
India has aimed to win the
troop relocation in J&K became a
nonnegotiable issue for New Delhi, as it
Kashmiris psychologically
was linked to cross-border terrorism. and emotionally by
New Delhi repeatedly emphasized that integrating the political
unless cross-border terrorism is
elite into the mainstream.
stopped, there cannot be discussion on
troop withdrawal, as the latter is a
response to the former.
Ä
As part of a unilateral
As part of a unilateral measure to
address cross border terrorism, New measure to address cross
Delhi decided to fence the Line of border terrorism, New
Control. The international border
Delhi decided to fence the
between the two countries has already
been fenced and regularly patrolled by
Line of Control.
the paramilitary forces on both sides. Only recently did the Indian
Ä
Epilogue Ø
21 ×
July 2009

The LoC until the mid-1990s was never
fenced. Pakistan has always been
opposed to the idea of India fencing the
LoC, as it felt fencing would give an
element of permanency to the LoC. As a
part of not allowing the fencing,
Pakistan resorted to continuous shelling
whenever India undertook any efforts
on the same. With a ceasefire in place
since the end of 2003, India went ahead
and completed fencing the LoC. Efforts
are in progress to install advanced
sensors and related equipments to
electronically monitor this fencing.
India's Narrow Focus
The “political” approach vis-à-vis
the conflicts in and of Kashmir that New
Delhi has pursued has, until recently,
always been narrowly focused. Within
India, successive governments in New
Delhi have carried out a strategy based
on organizing periodic elections for the
state legislative assembly of Jammu and
Kashmir and sustaining an elected
government at the state level.
Elections, whether rigged or free, are
seen as an “end” in J&K; the party or
coalition that forms the government
subsequently in Srinagar is expected to
adhere to the existing provisions and
maintain the status quo, without any
demands on changing the nature of
union-state relations. In the late 1990s,
the Union government relied
completely on the National Conference
(NC) government led by Farooq
Abdullah, and now seems to be
continuing the same with the Congress-
Peoples Democratic Party coalition
government and then NC-Congress
coalition government
Once the state government is in
p l a c e i n S r i n a g a r, t h e U n i o n
government's approach towards
Kashmir is limited only to the former,
irrespective of its popularity. Until
recently, any further political
IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
engagements outside this sphere have
been ad hoc and were without any government initiate
focus; the Union government failed to
initiate any substantial dialogue with substantial dialogue with
those sections that fall outside the political parties that fall
mainstream political parties, especially
the separatists led by two factions of outside the mainstream in
the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Jammu and Kashmir.
(APHC) and other independent leaders.
Only recently did the Union
government initiate efforts to address Ä
Two slogans have become the
all of the groups concerned. Two Round
Table Conferences (RTCs) have been catchwords of India's
organized since 2006, and five working approach towards
groups have been formed on different
issues, which include the following:
Pakistan on
New Delhi's relations with the State, Kashmir—“soft borders”
increasing relations across the Line of
and “making borders
Control (LoC), boosting the State's
economic development, rehabilitating irrelevant.”
the victims of violence, and ensuring
good governance. These Working
Groups have submitted their reports Ä
What if a compromise
and New Delhi is yet to initiate follow up
acceptable to India,
actions on these recommendations.
Vis-à-vis Pakistan, India has long Pakistan, and a section of
refused to initiate a meaningful Kashmiris is not
dialogue on Kashmir. As mentioned
above, cross-border terrorism became a acceptable to jihadi forces?
major issue in the conflict of Kashmir
with Pakistan. However, since the end
of the 1990s, for the first time India had Ä
So far economic and cultural
agreed to include J&K as a part of interactions across the
various other bilateral negotiations
including those over Siachen, Tulbul Line of Control have
Navigation/Wullar Barrage, Sir Creek, narrowly addressed the
elimination of terrorism and illicit
narcotics, economic and commercial
interests of only one
cooperation, and exchange of friendly region—the Kashmir
visits.
Valley. But such
Since 2004, two slogans have
become the catchwords of India's interactions should address
approach towards Pakistan on all regions of Jammu and
Kashmir—“soft borders” and “making
borders irrelevant.” Atal Behari Kashmir.
Vajpayee, the previous Prime Minister,
took bold measures in addressing the
conflict of Kashmir. Efforts were made
Epilogue Ø
22 ×
July 2009

to make borders “soft” in terms of
breaching it legally through more
crossing points and a liberalized visa
regime. These efforts witnessed the
introduction of the first bus service
between the two countries from New
Delhi to Lahore, and talks being
initiated on opening the international
border in other areas. As a result, today
there is a new rail link between Sindh in
Pakistan and Rajasthan in India and
another bus service between Amritsar
and Nankana Sahib across the
international border. Although both
these connections became functional
under the Congress government, efforts
w e r e t a k e n u n d e r Va j p a y e e ' s
administration to make borders soft.
Manmohan Singh, the current Prime
Minister, came out with a new
slogan—making borders irrelevant. This
caught people's imagination especially
after the devastating earthquake in
October 2005. A few months before the
earthquake, a bus service was
introduced between the two
Kashmirs—between Muzaffarabad and
Srinagar—marking the first time such
travel was possible in six decades. The
opening of the LoC in the Jammu region
followed this step; today there is
another bus service between Poonch
and Rawlakot.
Resolving the Conflicts
Challenges Ahead
Undoubtedly, in recent years India
has taken significant measures to
address both the conflicts in and of
Kashmir. Further progress would
depend on the following. First, in the
past and even today, there has been no
consensus at the national level on what
could be India's game plan in Jammu and
Kashmir and how far it could go in terms
of a final resolution. The existing
Parliamentary Resolution signifies
India's maximalist position and not
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
what is feasible and practical. The
Union government has been reluctant to
create such a consensus both inside and
outside the Parliament. There is a clear
difference between the secular
moderates and the extremist Hindu
Right in India. For a final resolution, a
national consensus is essential inside
India.
The same is also true inside
Pakistan. There is no consensus inside
Pakistan on what could be the final
settlement of Kashmir. Though Pakistan
has been insisting on the rhetoric of
“what is acceptable to the people of
Kashmir,” in reality, both the State and
its people will be unwilling to let go of
territory under its control. While it
would be agreeable to Pakistan to
continue with the present set up in
Muzaffarabad, it would be
unacceptable to change the status quo,
especially of the Northern Areas. The
package announced by General
Musharraf in October 2007 on the
Northern Areas is cosmetic and a part of
Islamabad's larger plan to keep this
region under its perpetual control. The
Northern Areas are strategically
important to Pakistan today for various
reasons. Among them, the Karakoram
Highway (KKH) and the water resources
of the region are significant. With
Pakistan having plans to expand the KKH
and construct a road-rail-gas pipeline
link from Gwadar port in Balochistan to
Kashgar in China, this region is of
enormous importance.
Second, clearly whether it is making
borders soft or irrelevant, India's
strategies are aimed at not redrawing
the existing boundaries, whereas
Pakistan's efforts for six decades have
been aimed at altering the status quo.
Much would depend on how successfully
India can be in convincing Pakistan on
this issue.
Third, relating to the conflict in
Epilogue Ø
23 ×
July 2009
IN FOCUS
Kashmir, as mentioned above, New
Delhi has taken significant measures.
However, two important steps are not
being addressed convincingly so far.
One, the dialogue inside India, between
New Delhi and various groups of
K a s h m i r, e v e n t o d a y r e m a i n s
unconvincing. The separatist groups,
led by the two factions of the Hurriyat
Conference, are yet to be taken into
confidence. For various political
reasons, both factions of the Hurriyat
Conference have so far refused to enter
into any meaningful dialogue with New
Delhi. True, the Hurriyat certainly
cannot be considered as the sole voice
of the Kashmiris, for its support base is
narrowly based inside Kashmir Valley
and has no representation in the Jammu
a n d L a d a k h re gi on s. H ow e ve r,
undoubtedly, it does represent a segment
of opinion inside Kashmir Valley.
Besides the separatists, the Union
government has also not been able to
initiate any dialogue with the militant
groups. Today, the non-State armed
groups fighting in Kashmir can be clearly
divided into two groups. The first one,
led by the Hizbul Mujahideen, has
ambitions that are more political and
limited to Kashmir. Cadres of Hizbul are
primarily Kashmiris and have been
fighting for a political cause. The
second group is led by the Lashkar-e-
Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, with
both political and religious ambitions
aimed at a larger cause—beyond
Kashmir—of destroying India. Cadres of
Jaish and Lashkar are primarily drawn
from Pakistan. The Indian security and
intelligence forces have been successful
in forcing the cadres of Hizbul to
surrender or eliminating them
considerably, thus weakening their
base. However, Lashkar and Jaish have
been fighting a bloody battle against
the Indian security forces. Besides, the
control of Pakistan's security forces over
 IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir

Jaish and Lashkar in recent years has
been questioned seriously. The
important question that needs to be
addressed here is: what if a compromise
acceptable to India, Pakistan, and a
section of Kashmiris is not acceptable to
these jihadi forces?
Finally, India has to take proactive
and if needed even unilateral measures
in increasing the cross- LoC
interactions. In September 2007, both
India and Pakistan agreed in principle to
trade across the Line of Control. Ever
since the LoC opened for the bus service
between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar in
2005, people living in all five parts of
J&K—Jammu, Muzaffarabad, Northern
Areas, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh—have
been demanding the opening of the LoC
for economic and cultural interactions.
While the Chambers of Commerce and
Industries, both in Jammu and Srinagar,
have pressured New Delhi to open the
LoC for trade, people in the these five
regions have been putting pressure on
both governments to open more routes
and allow more people to cross the LoC.
The apple and carpet industries in
Kashmir Valley in particular have been
demanding the opening of the LoC for
trade. Today, Kashmiri apples go from
the valley by truck via Jammu to Delhi
and then beyond. If the LoC is opened
for goods, the apples from Anantnag and
Sopore could reach Rawalpindi via
Muzaffarabad faster than they could
reach New Delhi.
So far the cross-LoC interactions
have been narrowly based in addressing
the interests of only one region—the
Kashmir Valley. The regions of Jammu
and Ladakh have been largely ignored.
There are numerous divided families in
the Kargil region, who have relatives
across the LoC in Skardu and Gilgit and
also in the Jammu region. India should
take active measures to open Kargil-
Skardu and Jammu- Sialkot roads for the
movement of divided families. There is
a need to expand the interactions along
the LoC and this enlargement should
address all five regions—Jammu,
Muzaffarabad, Kashmir Valley, Northern
Areas and Ladakh. ACDIS

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Epilogue Ø
24 ×
July 2009

The Kashmir Conflict :
A Kashmiri Perspective
MEHRAJ HAJNI
Dr. Mehraj Hajni is a Lecturer at
Government Degree College in
Kargil.
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
K
ashmir is the most thorny and
intractable issue between India
and Pakistan. After the eruption
of violence in the early 1990s, the
conflict assumed alarming proportions.
It worsened Indo-Pak relations and
brought the two countries to the brink
of a nuclear catastrophe. Precisely for
th i s re a son , th e i n te rn a ti on a l
community included Kashmir among the
major trouble spots of the world and
advised both India and Pakistan to
exercise utmost restraint and start
negotiations towards its resolution. A
short historical analysis is essential,
from a Kashmiri perspective, to
understand the emergence of the
Kashmir problem in its various
dimensions.
Origins of the Kashmir Conflict
In 1947, before British India was
partitioned, there were around 600
princely states. Lord Mountbatten, the
last Viceroy, advised the rulers of these
states to accede to either India or
Pakistan. Regarding the criteria for
deciding which of the two dominions a
state should join, Lord Mountbatten
said, “Normally geographical situation
and communal interests and so forth
will be factors to be considered.” These
princely states acceded to either of the
two dominions on these principles.
Although the rulers of Junagarh,
Hyderabad, and Jodhpur wished to
accede to Pakistan, they were rejected
by India on the grounds that they were
Epilogue Ø
25 ×
July 2009
IN FOCUS
contravening the partition plan because
the majority of the populations in these
princely states were Hindus. The
problem over Kashmir arose as “India
laid claim to every Hindu majority area,
on similar grounds Pakistan laid claim
over the Muslim majority state of
Kashmir, but such claim was always
rejected by India.” Thus a dispute over
the state of Jammu and Kashmir
occurred and both the parties resorted
to different methods and even fought
wars to acquire this disputed state.
The tribal invasion in 1947, the
“accession of Kashmir” to India, and the
Indo-Pak war in the same year changed
the entire map of Jammu and Kashmir
and divided it into two parts—Indian
administered Kashmir and Pakistan
administered Kashmir. The “accession”
of the state to the Union of India signed
by the then ruler Maharaja Hari Singh
did not mark the end of dispute over
Kashmir for two reasons. First, the
accession was made subject to the
condition of the will of people to be
ascertained after the restoration of
normalcy in the state. Second, the issue
became internationalized, as it was
referred to the United Nations by the
government of India. Besides, in both
the Tashkent and Simla agreements
following the wars of 1965 and 1971
respectively, it was agreed that the
Kashmir issue constitutes a dispute that
needs to be resolved through bilateral
negotiations.
Since then, developments within

and outside the state of Jammu and
Kashmir had tremendous impacts on the
psyche of the Kashmiri Muslims and
resulted in their complete alienation
from the rest of India. The installation
of repressive regimes by the Union
Government in New Delhi through
unpopular and undemocratic methods,
erosion of autonomy granted under
article 370 of the Indian constitution,
the systematic encouragement of
corruption and nepotism, non-
development of the state, problems of
poverty and unemployment, impact of
communal violence both within and
outside the state, opportunistic
alliances and accords between the
National Conference (NC) and Congress
Party, and electoral malpractices
greatly influenced the young Kashmiri
Muslims. Outside India, developments
in Afghanistan, the Iranian revolution,
the situation in Eastern Europe, and the
break up of the Soviet Union also
contributed in influencing Kashmiri
youths towards looking for an
alternative road.
The Roots and Growth of
Militancy
Many youths in the late 1980s
concluded that salvation lay in
secession from India, which could be
achieved only through an armed
struggle. Meanwhile, Pakistan had been
eagerly looking for an opportunity to
exercise its influence over Kashmir and
was also keenly waiting to avenge the
humiliation inflicted upon it by India
during the 1971 war. The growing
situation in Kashmir Valley suited
Pakistan, which started providing arms
and ammunition to the angry young
Kashmiri Muslims. As a result, an armed
movement was established which
received massive support in Muslim
dominated areas of Jammu and
Kashmir. Apart from common Kashmiris,
“government employees, the police
IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
forces, the academic intelligentsia and
even some top bureaucrats supported Ä
The Kashmir conflict
the separatist slogans raised by the brought India and
militants.” The situation worsened to
the extent that it became a question of Pakistan to the brink of a
re-establishing the Indian state's writ nuclear catastrophe.
over Kashmir.
In order to eradicate this armed
militancy in the state, the Indian
Ä
In the 1947 partition, India
security forces resorted to force. The laid claim to every Hindu
security forces used draconian majority area, on similar
measures, including identification
parades, house-to-house searches, grounds Pakistan laid
custodial killings, illegal detention, claim over the Muslim
rape and molestation of Kashmiri
majority state of Kashmir,
women, and related coercive methods.
The counter attacks by the militants but such claim was always
were equally vicious, and as a result rejected by India.
thousands of people were killed and
numerous others physically and
mentally disabled. Property worth Ä
Developments within and
billions of rupees was destroyed, as a outside Jammu and
large number of houses and even total
Kashmir resulted in
localities were ravaged during
encounters or exchange of fire between complete alienation of
the Indian security forces and the Kashmiri Muslims from
armed militants.
the rest of India.
As a result, for the first time since
1947, the Kashmiri separatist
movement took recourse to a violent Ä
Pakistan started providing
upsurge with significant mass support.
arms and ammunition to
Kashmir had witnessed the politics of
protest and separatism earlier, and at the angry young Kashmiri
times even militant organizations were Muslims.
formed, but they failed to mobilize
mass support. In the 1990s, the
situation was different; there was a Ä
To eradicate armed
complete disruption of the militancy in Kashmir,
administrative machinery and the state
was brought under Presidential rule for Indian security forces
six years from 1990-1996. During this resorted to identification
period there was a complete political
parades, house-to-house
vacuum as almost all the pro-Indian
searches, custodial killings,
political parties became dormant or
irrelevant. The separatists floated their illegal detention, and rape
own organizations. Elections were held
in 1996 for the state legislative
and molestation of
assembly, resulting in the National Kashmiri women.
Conference (NC) led by Farooq Abdullah Ä
The 1990s marked the first
Epilogue Ø
26 ×
July 2009

forming the government. But the low
voter turnout and the unending violence
in the state rendered the government
completely impotent. Besides, the
failure of the government to fulfill its
election promises—including the
restoration of autonomy to the state,
ending human rights violations, relief to
the victims of violence, safe return of
Kashmiri Hindus to their homes, and an
end to the unemployment
problems—made it unpopular. Thus in
the 1990s, the armed movement gained
momentum, while good governance
remained a far cry, with human rights
issues assuming significance.
The Challenges of Governance
in Contemporary Kashmir
Elections were again held in 2002 for
the J&K state legislative assembly.
These elections are considered to be
important for the following reasons:
first, despite a boycott call by the
separatists, more then 34 percent of
eligible voters participated in the
elections; second, the strongest
regional party of J&K—the National
Conference—was voted out of power
and a new coalition government led by
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and
the Congress came to power under the
leadership of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
During the election campaign Mufti's
PDP assured the people that if voted to
power, it would work for good
governance and release of prisoners,
provide relief to the victims of violence,
create conditions for the return of
Kashmiri migrants to their native homes
and rehabilitation of surrendered
militants, repeal those laws which give
unlimited powers to the Indian security
forces, create employment
opportunities for the unemployed, work
for demilitarization, and finally strive
to achieve an honorable solution to the
Kashmir problem according to the
aspirations of the people of Jammu and
IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir. After taking the reigns of
government, Mufti described all such
time that a Kashmiri
ideas as elements of his “healing touch
philosophy.” Since the unending separatist movement
violence of the past several years had mobilized significant mass
brought large-scale trouble and trauma
to the people of the state, “healing
support.
touch” has been described as a
systematic process to heal up their Ä
Significant voter turnout in
wounds. The significant voter turnout in
the 2002 elections was an indication of
the 2002 elections
the fact that the people were expecting indicated that the people
that the formation of a new government expected a new
in J&K would usher in a new era of peace
and prosperity. government in Jammu and
Unfortunately, an assessment of the Kashmir to usher in a new
performance of the Mufti-led coalition era of peace and
government would reveal that it failed
to fulfill the people's expectations. prosperity.
Mufti's promises also proved to be
Machiavellian in nature. The corruption
Ä
Today, the indigenous
and misuse of official positions by the
bureaucrats and politicians continued character of the Kashmiri
unabatedly. The demolition drive militant movement is
launched against illegal construction on
state land ultimately turned into a
weakening.
campaign against poor people and not
against the illegal construction of rich Ä
Kashmir is not simply a
drones. The number of unemployed
persons in the state crossed over the
territorial dispute between
two hundred thousand mark. The record India and Pakistan, and
of human rights violations reached an
cannot be resolved without
all time high. Custodial killings
increased by three times as compared
the involvement of those
to the era of Farooq's government. The who are the main party in
plight of Kashmiri migrants did not
this dispute.
change and they could not return to their
respective homes despite the tall claims
of the government that normalcy had Ä
India, Pakistan, and the
been restored. The council of ministers
Kashmiris will find
was expanded up to 45 percent of the
total strength of the state assembly. themselves in a win-win
However, Mufti's government cannot be situation only after the re-
ignored in terms of its positive role in
supporting the ongoing peace process
unification of the divided
between India and Pakistan. During Mufti's state of Jammu and
tenure in office, the peace process gained Kashmir and then giving
momentum and the Srinagar-
Muzaffarabad bus service was opened for it a subsovereign status.
the passengers of Jammu and Kashmir.
Epilogue Ø
27 ×
July 2009

After completion of its three years,
the PDP handed over the chief minister
post to its coalition partner, the
Congress Party, in 2005. The immediate
challenges of the Congress-led coalition
government were to work for the
rehabilitation of victims affected by the
October 2005 earthquake, and carry
forward the common minimum program
agreed between the coalition parties.
New Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad
assured a clean administration to the
state, and announced the launching of a
crusade against corruption and
nepotism, which would thus work
towards a Khushal (developed) state of
Jammu and Kashmir.
Unfortunately, Azad's campaign
against corruption also proved to be
merely a hoax, as not only the top
bureaucrats and police officers but also
some ministers of his government have
been described as involved in
corruption and exploitation of Kashmiri
women in a sex scandal. Although during
his tenure two Round Table Conferences
h a v e b e e n h e l d o n K a s h m i r,
nevertheless the peace process
between India, Pakistan, and some
Kashmiri separatists lost its pace, with
Azad apparently pursuing the policy of
the Congress Party and thus viewing the
Kashmir crisis merely as a law and order
problem. This is possibly the reason why
most of the Kashmiris have lost their
interest in the ongoing peace process
within the Indian state. Moreover, the
worsening of the relations between the
two coalition partners has also affected
the administrative performance of the
Azad government, resulting in its
diminishing popularity among
Kashmiris.
Meanwhile the violence in Kashmir is
continuing unabatedly, causing
significant damage to the lives and
property of innocent people. This
continuous destruction of lives and
property is not helping the changed
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
psychological situation in the Valley,
where there is a sincere desire amongst
the Kashmiri people to end the
violence, and an earnest belief that the
conflict in Kashmir could be resolved
only through a meaningful process of
political negotiations. This trend could
be seen in terms of the decline in
Kashmiri Muslims joining the militant
groups. Today, the indigenous character
of the militant movement is weakening
day by day.
Conclusion: A Vision for
Kashmir's Future
Kashmir has always remained a bone
of contention between India and
Pakistan. In fact, there are three
legitimate parties involved in this
conflict—India, Pakistan, and the
people of Kashmir. Each party has taken
its own position on the question of
Kashmir. For India, Kashmir is one of its
integral parts, and hence this aspect is
not open for dispute. For Pakistan,
Kashmir represents a problem of
partition, which is yet to be resolved.
But for the people of J&K, Kashmir is not
simply a territorial dispute between
India and Pakistan, and cannot be
resolved without the involvement of
those who are the main party in this
dispute. None of the parties involved in
the dispute has shown any flexibility at
any time in their stated positions on
Kashmir, and as a result the dispute
continued until it assumed the greatest
degree of ferocity and finally became,
in recent years, a nuclear flash point. All
of the bilateral agreements signed over
the years between different parties
have proven to be exercises in futility.
The fresh negotiations launched
between India and Pakistan and also
between India and some Kashmiri
separatists have generated positive
hope in the region. It is largely believed
that if the concerned parties will
continue the process of negotiations by
Epilogue Ø
28 ×
July 2009
IN FOCUS
talking to one another—with more
flexibility and exploring options beyond
their stated positions—they will
succeed in finding an acceptable
solution to the vexed Kashmir problem.
The new initiative has also generated a
heated debate among many circles
about the final solution of Kashmir. In
this regard, numerous potential
solutions are being proposed and
discussed. However, in the given
circumstances, the only possible
solution is one in which every party will
find itself in a win-win position. This
objective can be achieved only after the
re-unification of the divided state of
Jammu and Kashmir and then giving it a
subsovereign status.
The areas that are under Pakistan's
control, including Gilgit and Baltistan,
should be brought together with the
areas under India's control (leaving
Aksai Chin, which China will never
return). Both Indian and Pakistani
forces could jointly man the
international border of the re-united
Jammu and Kashmir. The currency of
both countries could be acceptable in
the state. Both would also speak in all
international and regional fora on
behalf of Jammu and Kashmir and thus
manage its foreign affairs together. In
view of its heterogeneous character,
the state of Jammu and Kashmir would
adopt a democratic polity based on the
federal structure. In this way, the new
sub-sovereign or semi-sovereign state of
Jammu and Kashmir could act as a virtual
bridge between India and Pakistan and
would pave the way for peace, progress,
and prosperity in the entire region of
South Asia, which otherwise seems to be
a distant dream. Thus, by working in close
collaboration with one another, the three
parties can become close friends and
after a gap of few years can also think on
the lines of granting the semi-sovereign
state of Jammu and Kashmir complete
sovereign status. ACDIS

The International Community
and Kashmir
HOWARD B. SCHAFFER
Howard Schaffer is a retired American
Foreign Service officer who spent much
of his 36-year career dealing with U.S.
relations with South Asia.
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
T
he international community's
efforts to help resolve the
Kashmir issue began only weeks
after the dispute erupted in October
1947. The controversy remained on the
world's radar scope for a quarter of a
century, then faded away when India
and Pakistan agreed at Simla in 1972 to
resolve it peacefully by bilateral
negotiations. The outbreak of an
insurrection against Indian rule in the
Kashmir Valley at the end of 1989
returned the problem to world
attention. The United States and other
major powers soon recognized that the
nuclear capabilities of the rival
claimants made the issue more
dangerous and its resolution more
urgent. But Washington's main
initiatives in recent years have focused
on managing the India-Pakistan crises
Kashmir has sparked, not on the elusive
search for resolution of the Kashmir
dispute itself. It has urged both
countries to reach a mutually
acceptable settlement that takes into
account the wishes of the Kashmiri
people, and has declared its willingness
to play a facilitating role in helping the
parties resolve the issue if both the
Indians and Pakistanis wish it to. Other
interested powers have been even less
involved. All have recognized that the
continuing refusal of the Indian
government to countenance an
international role in Kashmir makes it
likely that any outside efforts will be as
Epilogue Ø
29 ×
July 2009
IN FOCUS
unsuccessful as others were in the past.
This conventional—and till now
sensible—approach may not necessarily
remain valid. In this article, I will argue
that recent important developments
may—just may—offer opportunities for
the world community led by the United
States to play a useful part in resolving
this seemingly intractable problem.
Failure at the United Nations
The international community's
involvement in the Kashmir dispute is a
history of repeated frustration and
failure. Ironically, in light of India's later
negative attitude toward
“internationalizing” the issue, it was
New Delhi that first brought Kashmir
before the United Nations in January
1948, a few weeks after a series of
events in the state that the claimants
interpret in wildly different ways
triggered a dispute still with us sixty
years later.
The United States and Britain
quickly took the lead in the Security
Council's efforts to resolve the issue. In
the Truman administration's view, the
dispute seemed tailor-made for the
fledgling organization's role as a crisis-
manager and problem-solver. Initially,
Washington tended to defer to London
as the leader of the Commonwealth and
the subcontinent's recent imperial
master. Other nations played lesser,
supporting roles, generally backing
 IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir

U.S.-British initiatives and providing believed that any progress could be

experienced diplomats for a succession
of special missions. In the earliest
stages the Soviet Union generally stood
aloof, though it increasingly came to
favor the Indian position.
Much of the early action focused on
the activities of the five-member
United Nations Commission for India
and Pakistan (UNCIP). The commission
eventually adopted resolutions calling
for a ceasefire, withdrawal of forces,
and an internationally-supervised
plebiscite in which the Kashmiri people
would decide whether to join India or
Pakistan. A third option, independence,
was excluded. Aside from the ceasefire,
the UNCIP resolutions were never
implemented. Indian stonewalling was
principally to blame: despite its official
position, New Delhi did not want a
plebiscite and was satisfied with the
status quo, which gave it the key
Kashmir Valley. A series of high-level
missions under UN auspices were
similarly unproductive in bringing about
a settlement. The UN was able to set up
a military observers' group stationed
along the ceasefire line. The contingent
played a helpful role in calming the
situation along the line, at least until
the second India-Pakistan War in 1965.
The Eisenhower administration's
1954 decision to enlist Pakistan in the
Western security alliance system
effectively ended any lingering hope
that U.S.-led efforts at the UN could
produce a Kashmir settlement. In Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's view, the
Cold War had come to the subcontinent.
The Soviet decision to fully endorse
India's position on Kashmir made it
certain that Moscow would veto any
proposed UN Kashmir resolution not
acceptable to New Delhi. If Washington
kept on promoting a role for the UN, it
was only to keep its new ally Pakistan
reasonably happy, not because it
made. Other countries recognized the
impossibility of resolving the dispute
and stayed aloof.
Efforts by Major Powers
America, Britain, and the Soviet
Union also made efforts outside the
United Nations to resolve or contain the
dispute. Two U.S. presidents became
personally engaged. In the late 1950s,
Dwight D. Eisenhower weighed in to
promote U.S. supervised India-Pakistan
negotiations on a basket of crucial
issues including Kashmir. The Indians
rejected this intervention. Eisenhower's
successor, John F. Kennedy, concluded
that India's defeat by the Chinese in the
1962 border war put a settlement within
reach. The failure of Indian and
Pakistani negotiators to make any
progress in six rounds of discussion in
which the United States and Britain
became increasingly involved proved
him wrong
Moscow's turn came in 1966, when
Alexei Kosygin, the Soviet premier,
engineered an agreement at Tashkent
that ended the second India-Pakistan
War. But that pact merely restored the
status quo ante bellum. It did not come
to grips with the underlying issue of
Kashmir's political future that had
triggered the war.
Later International Efforts
The Tashkent conference was the
last serious involvement by outside
powers in the Kashmir issue until it
exploded again onto the world stage at
the end of 1989. In the following
eighteen years, the United States again
took the lead in international efforts to
deal with the dispute and, more
specifically, with a series of India-
Pakistan crises the issue generated.
President Bill Clinton's personal role in
Ä
Washington's main
initiatives in recent years
have focused on managing
the India-Pakistan crises
Kashmir has sparked, not
on the elusive search for
resolution of the Kashmir
dispute itself.
Ä
The United Nations
Commission for India and
Pakistan (UNCIP) called
for an internationally-
supervised plebiscite in
which the Kashmiri
people would decide
whether to join India or
Pakistan.
Ä
The Eisenhower
administration's 1954
decision to enlist Pakistan
in the Western security
alliance system effectively
ended any lingering hope
that U.S.-led efforts at the
UN could produce a
Kashmir settlement.
Ä
The Soviet decision to fully
endorse India's position on
Kashmir made it certain
that Moscow would veto
any proposed UN
Kashmir resolution not
acceptable to New Delhi.
Ä
The Tashkent conference in

Epilogue Ø
30 ×
July 2009

1999 in persuading Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif to withdraw Pakistani
forces from the Kargil area of Indian
administered Kashmir was only the most
dramatic of several high-level U.S.
interventions. But neither America nor
any other country did much more than
urge the two claimants to reach a
settlement bilaterally. The most
significant international call,
orchestrated by Washington, came
following the 1998 Indian and Pakistani
nuclear weapons tests, when the
Security Council and the Group of Eight
urged New Delhi and Islamabad to
return to the negotiating table. But as
noted, the Clinton and George W. Bush
administrations maintained that they
were prepared to play a more active
“facilitating” role only if India and
Pakistan wanted them to. No other
countries went even that far.
New Delhi continued to resist
internationalizing the issue and
rejected Washington's offers. India had
long since recognized that its bringing
Kashmir before the United Nations in
1948 was a blunder and concluded that
as the militarily stronger status quo
power it was in its interest to deal with
the dispute bilaterally if at all. By the
same token, Pakistan has believed at
least since 1965 that only international
intervention could change the political
geography of the state—though it has at
times stirred up trouble in Kashmir in
the hope that this would lead the world
to take the action it desired. But neither
government has yet taken into full
account the impact the nuclear tests
have had on international consideration
of the dispute. These explosions led the
world community to focus on
maintaining the stability of the
subcontinent and lessened the
importance it attached to the equities
of the Kashmir issue. For the United
States and other countries, the use of
IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
violence to change the status quo had
become an unacceptable option in 1966 was the last serious
nuclear-armed South Asia. This attitude
gave the Line of Control a “sanctity” it involvement by outside
had not enjoyed before, to India's powers in the Kashmir
advantage.
issue until it exploded
Fresh Possibilities for an again onto the world stage
International Role at the end of 1989.
Against this discouraging six-decade
background, what role can the United
Ä
Neither India nor Pakistan
States and other countries play beyond
cheering the two sides on from the has yet taken into full
sidelines and helping defuse crises?
account the impact the
Several developments have occurred in
recent years that seem to argue for a nuclear tests have had on
more active international approach.
Washington would need to take the lead
international
in any such initiative. Other countries consideration of the
could help. Moscow could use its
Kashmir dispute.
influence in New Delhi to persuade the
Indians to be more forthcoming. Beijing
could be helpful in Islamabad. Pakistan Ä
Only the United States has
still views China as its most reliable
friend among the major powers even the combination of
though the Chinese no longer endorse political clout and
the Pakistani position on Kashmir and
urge, as the United States does, that
diplomatic and economic
India and Pakistan settle the dispute resources needed to
bilaterally. The European Union led by
Britain should also be enlisted, and
persuade India and
some Muslim countries might have some Pakistan to agree to a
weight with the Pakistanis. The smaller
settlement.
South Asian nations should not be
counted on. Anxious not to offend either
India or Pakistan, they have taken Ä
The unresolved Kashmir
advantage of the “no-bilateral dispute”
provision of the rules of the South Asian issue has detracted from
Association for Regional Cooperation India's image and lessened
(SAARC) and have consistently kept
their heads down on Kashmir. They will
its prospects for major
continue to do so. In short, it is only the power status and the
United States that has the combination
permanent seat on an
of political clout and diplomatic and
economic resources to undertake the expanded UN Security
heavy lifting needed to persuade India
Council.
and Pakistan to cross the elusive finish
line and agree to a settlement. Continued Pakistan
Ä
Epilogue Ø
31 ×
July 2009

Why should Washington undertake
such a thankless task? I would cite four
considerations:
The United States and India have
dramatically strengthened their
relations and developed a serious
strategic partnership. This may lessen
India's long-standing, knee-jerk
opposition to any role for Washington in
the Kashmir issue. It may also help New
Delhi to recognize, as it should have
since the Kargil crisis in 1999, that
greater U.S. involvement could actually
be beneficial from its viewpoint. The
improvement in U.S.-India relations has
not come at the expense of American
ties with Pakistan, which remain strong.
India's ambition to play a major role
on the international stage has
heightened. In the past, the unresolved
Kashmir issue has detracted from India's
image and lessened its prospects for
major power status and the permanent
seat on an expanded UN Security
Council that Indians believe should go
with it. Now that India's breakneck
economic growth has made its gaining a
place at the international high table a
more achievable goal, it may see
Kashmir as an obstacle to the
recognition it seeks and be more
prepared to rid itself of this
“albatross.”
India's ambition to play a major role
on the international stage has
heightened. In the past, the unresolved
Kashmir issue has detracted from India's
image and lessened its prospects for
major power status and the permanent
seat on an expanded UN Security
Council that Indians believe should go
with it. Now that India's breakneck
economic growth has made its gaining a
place at the international high table a
more achievable goal, it may see
Kashmir as an obstacle to the recognition
it seeks and be more prepared to rid itself
of this “albatross.”
IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
A Kashmir settlement has become
even more important to American
supported armed Islamic
interests in South Asia and beyond. As
noted, Washington has feared that extremism in Kashmir
another conflict between the two over
Kashmir could escalate into a nuclear
has an adverse impact on
war ever since India and Pakistan Pakistani political
acquired the capacity to develop
nuclear weapons in the 1990s. Following stability.
9/11, the critical role of Pakistan in
shaping the future of Afghanistan and
otherwise contributing to the global Musharraf's publicly stated
Ä
war against terrorism has given the
willingness to give up
dispute even more dangerous
dimensions in the U.S. view. The Pakistan's demand for a
continuing patronage Pakistani
intelligence agencies provide Islamic
plebiscite and his
extremists in Kashmir makes it more conditional acceptance of
difficult both politically and militarily
for Islamabad to help the United States the Line of Control as the
and its coalition partners combat these permanent India-
forces on the Afghan frontier and
elsewhere in Pakistan. Continued Pakistan border in
Pakistan-supported armed Islamic
Kashmir are historic
extremism in Kashmir also has an
adverse impact on Pakistani political events.
stability, another major U.S. interest.
India's and Pakistan's positions on
the terms of a settlement have grown India is not likely to view a
Ä
closer. The two sides have been
discussing Kashmir in formal dialogue weakened Musharraf or a
and through a regular back-channel for fledgling insecure civilian
more than three years. Though the
exchanges have resulted in only limited or military successor as
progress, both governments have been
reliable negotiating
willing to continue them. They have
also adopted useful confidence-building partners.
measures such as the opening of the
Line of Control to the movement of
people and goods. Their present Washington might consider
Ä
determination to carry on despite
disappointments, particularly for the establishing with the
Pakistanis, sharply contrasts to the long World Bank and other
spells when New Delhi and Islamabad
could find no basis for discussing potential donors a special
Kashmir and other India-Pakistan
fund for Kashmir
problems.
In the process, both countries, but
Epilogue Ø
32 ×
July 2009
 IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir

especially Pakistan, have floated ideas
that bring their positions closer
together on several key issues.
President Pervez Musharraf 's publicly
stated willingness to give up Pakistan's
demand for a plebiscite and his
conditional acceptance of the Line of
Control as the permanent India-
Pakistan border in Kashmir are historic
events. The government of Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, for its part,
has gone farther than its predecessors in
welcoming and initiating confidence
building measures concerning Kashmir
as well as other aspects of India-
Pakistan relations. Like Musharraf,
Singh says he wants to make the Line of
Control “irrelevant.” There has been
useful but inconclusive discussion on
both sides about establishing joint
institutions or mechanisms that would
operate throughout the state and deal
with a range of non-controversial
matters in which Kashmiris on both
sides of the line share an interest.
Tourism, forestry, and hydrology are
some possible subjects. There has also
been some talk of setting up a joint
legislative consultative body. So far
those who favor such cooperative
arrangements have not defined the
powers and responsibilities of the
proposed bodies.
Caveats
Despite this progress, important
gaps remain. India's informal response
to Musharraf 's call for greater self-
governance for Kashmiris has been to
equate it with the powers all Indian
states enjoy. In addition, any serious
discussion on this issue between New
Delhi and “its” Kashmiris will be
complicated by the unwillingness of the
Hindu majority in Jammu and the
Buddhist majority in Ladakh to accept
political arrangements they fear would
subjugate them to the Muslims of the
Kashmir Valley.
The two sides remain at an impasse
on disarmament. The Indians insist that
they can only reduce or redeploy their
armed forces in the state if Pakistans
sponsored insurgent activities cease or
are sharply rolled back. Both tend to
speak of disarmament as if it were a
self-defining term, whereas in fact in
would have to be defined in
negotiations.
Moreover, the degree to which other
Pakistanis accept Musharraf 's proposals
or can be persuaded to do so is unclear.
The president's “out-of-the-box” ideas
drew significant opposition when he
first raised them, though it soon died
down. The ideas seem likely to arouse
even stronger protest should they
become Pakistan's formal position. Nor
is it certain that a successor civilian or
military regime would accept them.
But although the prospects of a
Kashmir settlement have risen and the
importance of such a resolution is now
greater for American interests than
before, political pressures in
Washington and Islamabad make such a
role inadvisable at this point. For the
United States to play a more active part
will require both policy space and time.
The lame-duck Bush administration,
overstretched by Iraq and other foreign
policy problems more immediately
pressing than Kashmir, has neither. The
Pakistani and Indian governments also
need to feel secure enough to take the
political risks inevitable in a
settlement. Fighting for his political
life, Musharraf cannot take on this
added challenge. And India, which as
the status quo power has never been in a
hurry to resolve the dispute, is not likely
to view a weakened Musharraf or a
fledgling insecure civilian or military
successor as reliable negotiating
partners.
So until more propitious
circumstances arise in Washington,
Islamabad, and New Delhi, the United
States should maintain its present
policy of watchful waiting.
Bases for a Settlement
The new U.S. administration that
takes office in 2009, however, should
look for opportunities to play a more
active part. Should it undertake such an
intervention, its efforts should be
designed to help the parties reach a
settlement that will include several key
elements:
The Line of Control, or something
geographically close to it, will become
the permanent border between Indian
and Pakistani Kashmir.
The border will be sufficiently
porous to allow for the easy movement
of people and goods across it.
Kashmiris on both sides of the line
will be granted a greater degree of self-
government.
Joint institutions will be established
on an all-Kashmir basis to play a role in
managing non-controversial matters
affecting Kashmiris on both sides.
American officials should work
quietly, suggesting useful building
blocks to the parties to help them
achieve a settlement along these lines.
They can act as a sounding board,
advising each side of the likely
acceptability to the other of proposals
it is considering putting on the
negotiating table. But Americans should
not sit at the negotiating table—a bad
idea and one the Indians will not accept.
Keeping to an informal, unobtrusive
role they will want to discourage any
public discussion of their activities. As
the negotiations are likely to be
protracted, Washington and its
diplomats in the field should accept
that they are in it for the long haul, keep
patient, and repress the natural
American preference for swift results.

Epilogue Ø
33 ×
July 2009

Despite its improved relations with
the United States, India will be more
wary of an outsider's role than Pakistan.
Washington needs to look for ways to
persuade New Delhi to accept an
agreement that does not meet all of
India's demands. An offer of strong and
active U.S. backing for a permanent
Indian UN Security Council seat could be
one approach worth weighing.
Washington might also usefully consider
providing support to some of the
proposed joint mechanisms in Kashmir
by establishing with the World Bank and
other potential donors a special fund for
Kashmir reconstruction. It should also
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The future of Jammu and Kashmir
enlist other countries to brace its
efforts while recognizing that it will
have to bear the major international
burden. Similarly, it will need to find
creative ways to persuade the Pakistanis
that a settlement that offers little or no
change in the geographic status quo in
Kashmir is worth their while.
Even under improved political
circumstances a diplomatic initiative to
resolve Kashmir is far from a sure bet, so
Washington should keep it expectations
appropriately modest. If there is any
lesson to be drawn from the events of
the past six decades it is that the
Kashmir issue is complex and difficult
JAMMU & KASHMIR
POLITICS
BUSINESS
VIEWS & NEWS
CULTURE
STRATEGIC AFFAIRS
Epilogue Ø
34 ×
July 2009
IN FOCUS
and needs to be addressed with due
respect for its tortured history. By giving
India, Pakistan, and the Kashmiri people
the added push they need to get them
across the elusive finish line,
Washington supported by others may be
able to provide major help to bring to an
acceptable conclusion a dangerous,
seemingly intractable problem that has
undermined Indian and Pakistani
interests, played havoc with the lives of
the Kashmiri people, caused serious
political problems for the United States
and the international community, and
made the state a potential tinder-box
for nuclear war. ACDIS
 IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir

Policy Making in
a Terrorist Economy

Primer: The Economy of Jammu and Kashmir's economy was

DIPANKAR SENGUPTA
Dipankar Sengupta is a Reader in the
Department of Economics, University of
Jammu in Jammu.
Jammu and Kashmir
The economy of Jammu and Kashmir
before the beginning of the insurgency
that beset it in 1990 had been primarily
an agricultural economy. There was
very little industry (although Kashmiri
handicrafts created a niche for
themselves) and the service sector was
dominated primarily by tourism. These
sectors of the economy, which brought
in cash to the state, depended heavily
on customs from the rest of India.
Apples from the valley of Kashmir found
their markets elsewhere in India, while
tourists from different parts of India
buoyed local tourism and handicrafts.
Indeed, given its low population the
narrowness of Jammu and Kashmir's
domestic market could not be expected
to support rapid growth of the state's
economy. Thus integration with the
wider national market was of vital
importance to the state's economy.
The manner of this integration was
not merely a unification of markets but
also free transit for the citizens from
the rest of India. This, it may be noted,
had been achieved only in 1953—five
years after the state's
accession—following an agitation led by
Shyama Prosad Mookherjee, founder of
the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (Indian
Pe o p l e ' s U n i o n ) , a g a i n s t t h e
identification card rule that was seen to
be a hindrance to the free entry and exit
of people from other parts of India.
therefore tied to the national economy
of the country. Given the fact that the
Indian economy did not quite take off in
the first three decades after
independence, neither did that of the
state. It may be noted that the
strengths and weaknesses of the state's
economy reflected its terrain. Except
for some areas in Jammu and the valley,
the state is mountainous, ensuring that
transport costs would be high.
Consequently, the state could have a
cost advantage only with those products
where it had a monopoly or high value-
low volume items where high transport
costs could be neutralized. The state
was and remains the highest producer of
apples in India, as well as a host of dry
fruits and traditional handicrafts that
fitted this criterion. But the state then
and even now added very little value to
raw fruit that it produced, thus missing
an opportunity to supplement its poor
creation of gainful employment. Such a
step required an economic regime that
would allow entrepreneurs to take
advantage of opportunities and set up
plants and factories as freely as
possible. However, India's economic
regime prior to 1991 was governed by a
system of permits and licenses and did
not allow for such autonomous efforts
on the part of independent private
agents. Therefore, in spite of
tremendous potential in terms of raw
material available, agro industries

Epilogue Ø
35 ×
July 2009

never took off. Thus, three decades
after accession, the sectoral
composition of the economy of Jammu
and Kashmir was as described in Figure
1, below.
There was marginal change in the
decade that followed and the overall
composition of the Jammu and Kashmir
economy remained the same.
The onset of insurgency was a major
blow to those sectors of the economy
that were linked to the money economy.
However, different sectors of the
economy coped in different ways with
the result that the trajectory of
evolution of each sector differed
dramatically. Some sectors were
obviously very badly affected. Others
were forced by circumstances to take
steps, as a result of which they did
amazingly well without any government
effort. A study of these various sectors
in a milieu of economic uncertainty and
government policies in those settings is
extremely important for a better
comprehension of how agents react
under these circumstances. The
lessons learnt from such a study have
policy implications and are directly
linked to the possibilities of a peace
dividend.
Sectors Badly Affected:
Tourism
The insurgency completely
crippled the tourism industry in
the Kashmir valley. Tourist
arrivals that had numbered over
700,000 in 1988 and over a half-
million in 1989 fell to little over ten
thousand in 1990. Kashmir valley
tourism was not to witness a return to
six figures until 1998, when it barely
crossed a hundred thousand. It
doubled the following year but fell off
after the Kargil conflict with Pakistan
that year. The valley remains attractive
IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
to tourists even with the threat of
terror. Indeed, tourists have to be Ä
Integration with the wider
specially targeted by terrorists to national market was of
dissuade them from visiting the valley.
vital importance to
The possibility that this dissuasion is
planned is heightened given that the Jammu and Kashmir's
tourist groups chosen for attack (usually economy.
grenade attacks) have been from West
Bengal and Gujarat where Kashmir has Ä
Given its low population,
been a favorite destination. This is not the narrowness of Jammu
to say that the entire state witnessed a
decline in tourist arrivals. The other
and Kashmir's domestic
regions of the state, Jammu and market could not be
Ladakh, were less affected. In fact, expected to support rapid
outstation tourist arrivals in Jammu
growth of the state's
rose from two million to over four
million in the 1990s. Ladakh was of economy.
course more affected, but numbers
never fell precipitously as in Kashmir. Ä
The strengths and
Jammu's tourism was pilgrimage weaknesses of the state's
tourism mainly centered on the Shri economy reflected its
Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine. But in
contrast to Kashmir, the bulk of arrivals
mountainous terrain in
in Jammu came from a lower economic most areas, which ensured
stratum and the amounts that they that transport costs would
spent reflected this characteristic.
be high.
Thus, even as the number of pilgrims to
Ä
India's economic regime
prior to 1991 was
Agriculture
governed by a system of
16% permits and licenses that
Roads & did not allow for
Bridges entrepreneurship.
Transport
36%
13%
Ä
The insurgency completely
crippled the tourism
industry in the Kashmir
Education
Power 21% valley.
5% Health
9% Ä
The 1990s witnessed a
sharp decline in
Figure 1 : 1980 - 1981
infrastructure in the state,
the shrine crossed six million in 2006, due to sabotage by
tourism generated only Rs 450 crores
(approximately $110 million) for the militants and neglect.
Epilogue Ø
36 ×
July 2009

region, a modest sum given the absolute
numbers involved.
The Potential Peace Dividend
Tourism as an industry naturally
relies on peace and stability for
sustenance. Tourist arrivals in the
various regions of the state reflect this,
in the sense that numbers in each
Secondar
y those who merely want to “get away.”
16%
Tertiary
Primary 52%
32%
Figure 2 :
Destroy Infrastructure : Sectoral Impact
division depend on local law and order
conditions as well as proximity to
conflict zones. This is why Ladakh
suffers. The peace dividend for this
sector therefore could be enormous.
For one the synergies that
complementarities between Jammu
and Kashmir provide could lead to a
massive boost in tourism in both places
but more significantly to the valley.
Religious pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno
Devi Shrine or the Shrine of Baba
Ghulam Shah Badshah at Rajouri (also in
Jammu Division) could easily travel a bit
further—via a new rail link that now will
connect the Valley to the rest of the
country for the Vaishno Devi pilgrims,
and via the Mughal Road for the
pilgrimage tourists in Rajouri. Thus the
Valley would gain by mere proximity to
Jammu. But more importantly, India's
IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
burgeoning middle class—a product of
India's economic liberalization policies Ä
The central government
and a class that is no longer afraid to
spend, and which seeks to travel to
came in with packages to
neighboring Himachal Pradesh to cool revive the economy through
off during summer, swelling tourist grants intended to restore
arrivals there to over 5 million—would
also look to the Valley to cool off. It is infrastructure and other
well known that Jammu and Kashmir parts of the economy,
has all the geographical features of
Himachal and more to attract tourists
resulting in a sectoral
of all hues, from adventure tourists, to break-down that defied
eco-tourists, to religious tourists, to common economic logic.
What it does not have is safety and
security. This is partially true also of
Ä
The state “development”
those areas of Jammu that would practices ended up making
compete with the Valley for the
militants richer while
same kind of tourists. Secondly,
these parts of Jammu that border entrenching the institution
Himachal Pradesh also lack the of corruption deeper and
necessary infrastructure, with
existing infrastructure having been
deeper.
severely degraded in the 1990s due to
neglect forced by the insurgency. Ä
Jammu and Kashmir
represents a paradox
Infrastructure where sectors that are
The 1990s witnessed a sharp
decline in infrastructure availability in relatively unaided have
the state. Some of this was due to managed to carve a niche
sabotage by militants targeting social
for themselves in the global
and physical infrastructure. Neglect
played its part also, especially when it economy, while sectors
came to assets like roads in hilly terrain that are the recipient of
with considerable precipitation.
Figure 2 above reflects the impacts
state largesse have not
of the infrastructural damage. While been able to do so.
transport infrastructure damage—that
is, vehicles damaged—could be very Ä
A participatory approach to
easily replaced, this is not true for roads
and bridges. Given the fact that the economic policy and
money economy of the state is development in Jammu
particularly dependent on connectivity
and Kashmir is needed,
with the rest of India for its survival, the
damage to sectors like horticulture was including the involvement
immense. Before the targeting of of local popular bodies like
infrastructure, horticulture exports to
other states had not been affected by
village councils.
Epilogue Ø
37 ×
July 2009
 IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir

militancy. But the years following1993- Government Policy and the

94 witnessed a precipitous trend, from Creation of a Terrorist
which this sector would recover only in
2000.
Economy Secondar
y
This again is not unusual. The state's response to an 16%
Horticulture is a local activity economy damaged by militancy
carried out largely with the help of developed along predicted
local people. Horticultural lines. As in North East India,
production per se does not depend the central government came Tertiary
on law and order in the sense that in with packages aimed at Primary 52%
tourism does, as local people are not reviving the economy through 32%
targets of attack by militants. But grants intended to restore
when infrastructure is targeted (as infrastructure as well as other
shown in the figure), the outcome parts of the economy. The effect
cannot be in doubt. of all this was to create an economy
whose State Domestic Product (SDP)
However, with the security forces
sectoral break-down, as given by
gaining ascendancy over the militants in Figure 3 • 2001–2002
Table 1 and Figure 3, defied common
the valley, widespread targeting of
economic logic. The ultimate twist to forces sent to this troubled state and
infrastructure is no longer that easy.
this bizarre economic history was the the expenditures made locally to
More importantly, it draws local ire,
revelation by the National Sample maintain this force would have an
alienating the very people whose
Survey Organisation that Jammu and expansionary effect on the local
support militants must have to operate
Kashmir ranked highest of all the states economy.
successfully.
when it came to per household asset But it also now increasingly clear
ownership in the that as in the North East, the economic
COMPOSITION OF J&K SDP: 2001–2002 country, with Rs 10.87 packages announced by the central
Sector Magnitude (Rs crore) (% share) lakhs (approximately government would follow a particular
Agriculture 3902.75 27.64 $27,650) per trajectory that would deliver similar
Forestry and logging 493.84 3.50 household. results. As “packages” and “projects”
Fishing 102.52 0.72 The profile of were announced, the preferred vehicles
Mining & Quarrying 14.67 0.10 economic activities, of delivery were contractors who or at
Subtotal: Primary 4513.79 31.96 with its accent on least whose political patrons reposed
Manufacturing (reg.) 175.82 1.25 c onstruction and their faith in the Indian Constitution.
Manufacturing (Unreg.) 550.35 3.90 public administration The mode of awarding contracts
and substantial remained opaque. Such businessmen
Construction 2087.66 14.72
contributions from soon attracted the attention of the
Electricity, Gas & Water –478.66 –3.39
banking and real militants and became easy targets for
Subtotal: Secondary 2326.48 16.47
estate, would be extortion. It may be argued that there
Transport, Comm. and Trade 720.04 5.10 puzzling to most was social sanction for this treatment
Trade, Hotel and Rest. 1424.53 10.09 economies. The not the least because the manner in
Banking and Insurance 627.42 4.44 revelation about asset which these contracts were secured
Real Estate 773.09 5.47 ownership only were not seen to be above board. The
Public Administration 2184.30 15.47 compounded the relations built up by the businessmen
Other Services 1551.94 10.99 puzzle. There is of and the extorting militants had some
Subtotal: Tertiary 7281.32 51.56 course little doubt serious consequences. As long as the
NSDP 14121.59 100 that the massive money was paid, the business
Population 102.83 i ncrease in the operations of the businessmen would
Per Capita 13733 number of security not be targeted. This of course assumed

Epilogue Ø
38 ×
July 2009

that the militant who received these
sums was capable of maintaining
sufficient discipline in his cadre to
prevent others from targeting
businessmen who paid up. However,
should such a person be killed by the
security forces, it meant that fresh
arrangements would have to be made
between the businessmen and the
militants who succeeded their slain
comrades. Indeed, the killings of
migrant laborers in June 2006 happened
just after the security forces killed a top
militant. The killing of the laborers was
not an act of retribution but a signal
that a new set of militants had arrived
and new “arrangements” would have to
be made. In short, while the state had in
place a system of “development”
practices aimed at buying the “hearts
and minds” of the people, what it ended
up doing was to make militants richer
while at the same time entrenching the
institution of corruption deeper and
deeper into the culture of the state. It is
no wonder then that Transparency
International India finally ranked the
state as “most corrupt,” relieving Bihar
of this dubious honor.
It is this system of transfers that led
to the state being a massive consumer
of white goods, automobiles as well as a
source of financial investment, a totally
unexpected state of affairs for a region
bogged down in a quagmire of violence
for over a decade. The poverty ratio for
the state had plunged to a very low and
enviable 3.5%, compared to the
national average of 26.1%. Of course,
military expenditures in the state
cannot entirely account for this
dramatic fall in poverty. It must be
remembered that unlike most parts of
India, land holdings were fairly
equitable as a result of successful land
reforms carried out by Sheikh
Mohammad Abdullah's government
during his first stint as Prime Minister of
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir. Thus, asset
inequality in terms of land holdings had
long been addressed with its obvious
impact on poverty. But the fall in
poverty rates especially at a time of
sustained militancy only pointed to
open and surreptitious transfers, which
while mitigating poverty entrenched
the already existing system of
corruption even deeper.
The killing of the laborers was
not an act of retribution but a
signal that a new set of
militants had arrived and new
“arrangements” would have to
be made. In short, while the
state had in place a system of
“development” practices aimed
at buying the “hearts and
minds” of the people, what it
ended up doing was to make
militants richer while at the
same time entrenching the
institution of corruption deeper
and deeper into the culture of
the state.
Handicrafts
The sector that did remarkably well
during this period was the handicrafts
sector. Employment in this industry
increased throughout the 1990s from
225,000 workers directly employed to
320,000 in 2001. Since this industry is in
private hands, it may be assumed that
this represented gainful employment.
The growth occurred at the same time
when the total number of training
centers declined from 635 (1994) to 535
(2000). While the total number of
cooperatives set up to help artisans
market their wares almost doubled in
Epilogue Ø
39 ×
July 2009
IN FOCUS
the 1990s, their combined sales almost
halved. On the other hand, the state-
owned Jammu and Kashmir Handicrafts
Corporation did a far more impressive
job by upgrading its Management
Information Systems and ensuring that
its total turnover increased from Rs
5600 million ($142 million) in 1994-5 to
Rs 8690 million ($220 million) in 2000-1.
The total expected turnover (domestic
sales plus exports) in 2007 is in the
range of Rs 15,000 million ($381
million), but there are observers who
claim that this is a conservative
estimate and that the actual figure is at
least twice this number.
What is noteworthy is that the bulk
of this trade takes place beyond the
aegis of the state and through private
hands un-aided by the state. This again
is ironically due to the militancy that
swayed the state in the 1990s. Itinerant
Kashmiri handicraft merchants forced
into hawking their wares house-to house
in many Indian cities became a common
sight. This strategy was necessitated by
the fact that a major source of
demand—tourists—had stopped visiting
the valley. Soon Kashmiri handicraft
dealers had hit upon the novel idea of
setting up shop in those parts of India
where visitors thronged, such as Goa,
Delhi, and Kerala. Thus, Kashmiri
handicrafts facing the vicissitudes of
militancy adopted such measures and
tactics whereby they were able to
overcome the limitations of the market
defined by tourist arrivals in the Valley
and integrate themselves with the
national and global economy. This
sector did so without much help from
the state and in extremely difficult
conditions. They were able to do so
because handicrafts remain a business
where much of the production takes
place indoors. Curfews do not affect
production and demands on
infrastructure are few. Thus production

is not affected by militancy. The nature
of its markets does not call for a “just-
in-time” system, and as such small
disruptions in supply are easily
absorbed.
This is in marked contrast to sectors
such as small and medium scale
enterprises, which have not been able
to wean themselves from generous
subsidies to compete and integrate with
the national market. Thus, the state of
Jammu and Kashmir represents a
paradox where sectors that are
relatively unaided have managed to
carve a niche for themselves in the
global economy, while sectors that are
the recipient of state largesse have not
been able to do so.
Policy Implications
What policy implications may one
derive from India's Kashmir experience
viewed through the prism of economics?
It is clear that the central government's
effort to bribe the state into submission
has not worked. It is also clear from the
success stories in the handicraft sector
that such an approach is not warranted.
What is needed is a participatory
approach to economic policy and
development.
The destruction in rural
infrastructure, which needs to be
repaired, should see the involvement of
village councils (called Halqa Panchayat
in the state). The centralized manner in
which these tasks are planned in the
state currently involve the District
Collector, the Members of Legislative
Assembly who belong to that district,
and the Member of Parliament under
whose constituency that district falls.
Popular involvement in planning and
execution is totally absent. While the
73rd and 74th Amendments to the
Indian Constitution have given
constitutional status and some financial
teeth to the local bodies in the rest of
IN FOCUS
The future of Jammu and Kashmir
India, this is not true in Jammu and accompanied by surprisingly steady
Kashmir which vide Article 370 has its numbers of militants waiting to
own constitution. The state's local level infiltrate into India, resources keep on
bodies are disempowered and elections flowing in the same manner and volume
are irregular. Thus an important as previously. In such circumstances,
instrument of local empowerment, policy shifts—especially radical
policy planning, and implementation is ones—are the first casualties. ACDIS
absent. It is doubtful that these bodies
will be targeted by militants for
extortion, as that would alienate the
very people whose support or at least
silence is necessary for militancy to
Epilogue
thrive. The lack of use of local popular because there is more to know
bodies to create rural infrastructure
instead of private contractors chosen in
a centralized manner through dubious Monthly Magazine
means does little to reduce popular
alienation or re-create infrastructure. Extensively Researched
What it leads to is a skewed income and
asset distribution apart from enriching Written with Clarity
the militants. Similarly, steps taken in
the direction of entrepreneurship
and Insight
training among local residents so as to
enable them to set up enterprises on
Covers Four Key Issues
their own is a more sustainable model Politics
than setting up state-owned
enterprises. These activities, especially Economy
in the areas of adding value to
horticultural produce, can do much to Culture
generate incomes and employment.
Making them targets of extortion by Strategic Affairs
militants may not be accompanied by
the same social sanction as in the case
of extortion of government contractors.
So far, neither the state government Unlike the General
nor the central government has moved
in this direction, although most recently
run of the
the central government has prodded Mill News Magazine
the state government in the direction of
democratic decentralization. This
clearly is an opportunity lost, as the
goal of economic development need not
be given up even when an insurgency is
on. But in a milieu where years of “easy
Epilogue
money” accentuated by “security Has a shelf life That Extends
concerns” create an impressive array of Far Beyond the
vested interests bolstered by casualty
graphs that point downwards News Period Covered
Epilogue Ø
40 ×
July 2009
 PEACE MO D E L S
Christian Science Monitor

How India and Pakistan

can Resolve Kashmir Now

MANSOOR IJAZ
Author jointly authored the blueprint for a cease-fire between Indian
security forces and Muslim militants in Kashmir in July and August 2000)

T
he leaders of India and Pakistan
met on the sidelines of a regional
summit in Russia. It was their
first face-to-face meeting since the
terrorist attacks in Mumbai (Bombay)
last November, when Pakistani-based
militants murdered nearly 160 civilians.
India's recently re-elected Manmohan
Singh, arrived at the summit buoyed by
his Congress Party's sweeping victory in
India's May elections. Pakistan's Asif Ali
Zardari arrived at the meeting
tempered by the rapid Talibanization of
his country – a civilian leader in control
of less and less in a country traditionally
managed by its armed forces. The
meeting, even after Pakistan's
government once again feebly looked
the other way this month and released
the head of the militant organization
that claimed responsibility for the
Mumbai attacks, underscored the fact
that the Taliban are now everyone's
problem.
What happened in Mumbai in
November is the most recent reminder
of the dangers that emanate from
Pakistan's raging Islamic militancy
problem. That is why India must seize
this moment with its politically united
electorate to take away the jihadists'
raison d'être for destabilizing India –
Kashmir.
Riddled with insurgent violence,
corruption, and official intimidation,
the region has long been disputed by the
two countries, including two wars over
its status.
Historically, the moments at which
peace was most possible between the
nuclear-armed neighbors were when
hawkish leaders were pragmatic enough
to see the mutual benefit in making
peace without compromising security.
Atal Behari Vajpayee, India's prime
minister in 2000, and Pakistan's military
strongman, Gen. Pervez Musharraf,
nearly reached a framework for ending
the Kashmir dispute. Mr. Singh and
General Musharraf almost did so again in
the back-channel diplomacy that took
place between 2004 and 2007 before
the general embroiled himself in
domestic controversy.
The conditions for making peace
could not be better
Mr. Zardari does not see India as an
existential threat. Singh has a political
mandate strong enough to overcome
Pakistan's repeated failures to control
its home-grown extremists. Zardari sees
an advantage in commercial ties that
rise far above the importance his Army
places on using jihadists as a foreign-
policy tool to maintain a grip on
Afghanistan or to intimidate India.
Singh and Zardari need to strike a bold
compact to solve their problems – now.
Tuesday's meeting in the Urals, which will
be followed up by a meeting between the
foreign secretaries of the two nations,
should lead to a peace summit that
demands both sides prepare major
positions as opposed to taking incremental
steps to solve their myriad problems.
Incrementalism will not work in South
Asia's political atmosphere anymore.
The terrorists are too well armed, too
well paid, and too many to leave well
enough alone.
If this moment to make peace is not
seized with the same gusto with which
the terrorists take innocent life, they
will strike yet again in a way that
ensures peace is not allowed to mature.
Singh and Zardari need to understand
that their worst enemy in making peace
is not the terrorist – it is time itself.
The Indo-Pakistani summit should
have a three-point agenda.
Security & counterterrorism
cooperation
India and Pakistan should resume the
high-level intelligence cooperation that
existed in 2004 when unprecedented
personal trust between the intelligence
chiefs of both countries allowed critical
data feeds to counter planned terrorist
attacks. Today, an institutional approach
that builds confidence at all levels of the
military and intelligence bureaucracy is
needed – sort of an equivalent of
America's IMET military education
program, which trained Pakistan's Army
officers in the United States and
created sustainable relations between
the two countries. This though, would
involve the intelligence agencies.

Epilogue Ø
41 ×
July 2009

India needs to clarify its objectives in
Afghanistan, which it says are aimed at
stabilizing a country beset by
extremism and which Pakistan says is a
strategy aimed at encircling it on its
eastern and western borders. If India's
motives are pure, it should invite
Pakistan to monitor such efforts
transparently. Pakistan needs to muster
some courage and send the perpetrators
of the Mumbai attacks to India to stand
trial – no ifs, ands, or buts.
Economic cooperation
Singh is an advocate of creating
economic empowerment zones. He and
Zardari should cross-pollinate their
border with mini free-trade zones
designed to trade those goods and
services that each country produces for
valuable trade in the other. The list of
goods is long, and the amount of trade
could be large enough to stabilize
Pakistan and give India another
important market for its goods.
Afghanistan would also eventually
benefit from such trade flows, and if
American diplomacy succeeded in Iran,
that large marketplace could also be
brought into the network.
Singh is an expert in microfinance. He
should therefore expand microfinance's
role in the entire region by creating an
India-Afghanistan-Pakistan joint
venture with the World Bank that
provides microfinance at a slightly
larger scale ($1,000 per loan as opposed
to less than $100) to improve
employment ratios. Creating jobs is the
key harbinger of success in combating
extremism throughout South Asia.
If India wants to play in Afghanistan,
this is what it should be doing. Pakistan
should use its US government aid to
mirror Indian efforts aimed at creating
jobs that enable increased trade
activities with India.
Kashmir
Resolution of this seemingly
intractable problem lies in
PEACE MO D E L S
Christian Science Monitor
economically empowering the Kashmiri framework for the reduction of tensions
people enough to determine their own along their eastern border – from the
political fate. This process will take Indian Ocean to the Siachen Glacier.
time but could result in a smoother Troop reductions will encourage trade
transition to permanent peace than the flows and enable Pakistan to divert the
perpetual standoff between Indian much-needed resources of its
security forces and Kashmiri militants embattled Army to fighting the Taliban
imposes on daily life in the Kashmir and other domestic terror groups on its
valley. own soil.
Self-determination was the historic Rarely does history offer second and
p l a t f o r m o n w h i c h Pa k i s t a n third chances to men of goodwill to
diplomatically supported, and militarily resolve intractable problems. Such an
manipulated, the Kashmir impasse until opportunity has been afforded to Singh
now. It could become the skirt behind and Zardari. A durable framework from
which Pakistan withdraws in dignity. previous negotiations exists, the
Two things need to happen: India needs atmosphere between India and Pakistan
to be prepared to systematically reduce is improving, and the timing could not
its troops' presence, replacing military be more opportune.
might and intimidation with economic They must rise to the occasion, for
growth and opportunity. And Pakistan the sake of their peoples' dignity and
must be prepared to end support for the prosperity, and for the sake of durable
jihadists. and lasting peace in a region that is
In any discussion on Kashmir, India home to nearly a quarter of humanity.
and Pakistan need to agree on a larger © Christian Science Monitor
Government of India
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
Central Statistical Organisation
Invitation for Research Proposals on Official Statistics
The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) provides financial assistance for
undertaking research studies/projects which aim at strengthening and
developing official statistics, particularly in the field of Social Sector. Detailed
information regarding survey/study subjects, eligibility for availing of
financial assistance, quantum of financial assistance, procedure for making
application etc is available in the Ministry’s web site www.mospi.gov.in
" Central Statistical Organisation " Social Statistics Division " Guidelines
for Research Projects.
Proposals can be submitted at any time during the year to Additional Director
General, Social Statistics Division, Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry
of Statistics and Programme implementation, West Block-8, Wing No. 6
R.K. Puram, New Delhi
Director General
Central Statistical Organisation
Epilogue Ø
42 ×
July 2009

“We believe in doing 'service'
from the heart…”
Durgavahini, the women's wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), means serious business. From learning
self-defense techniques to condemning 'love marriage', from staging dharnas and protests to bringing
down the Babri Masjid, its members do it all. This author recently met a Durgavahini activist in a middle-
class colony in Ahmedabad to realize that the mantra, very clearly, is: “Colour me Saffron”.
MANISHA SOBHRAJANI
Author is a Delhi-based independent
researcher working on the various
aspects of the Kashmir conflict. She
can be reached at
manishasobhrajani@hotmail.com
T wo of us wait in the car as
another colleague goes to bring
S h a r a d a b e n * . We a r e a l l
supposed to go to another colony,
another house and talk to Sharadaben
about how we can become
'Durgavahinis'. This was the best way to
get Sharaben talking and get a detailed
insight into the world of Durgavahinis.
The atmosphere is all charged with
suspense, thrill, and of course, drama.
Earlier in the day, we had met some
male members of the VHP/ RSS who
very clearly conveyed the message:
“Don't mess with us!” While waiting for
Sharadaben, I am constantly comparing
my image of her with those who we met
in the morning.
After about five minutes, I see her
coming: dressed in a lehenga-choli and
dupatta, with a huge bindi on her
forehead, she appears a complete anti-
thesis of what an 'activist' should look
like.
She asks for the car to stop on the
main road and takes us through a maize
of lanes and by-lanes before finally
announcing, “This is my house.” We
climb three floors and settle down in
the sparingly furnished drawing room
when a young woman comes out with a
Epilogue Ø
43 ×
July 2009
C O L UMN
Ears to Ground
baby in her arms to greet us. Shardaben
explains: “This is where my son lives
with his wife and 2-month-old
daughter.”
We are served Coke and ladoos,
and Shardaben regrets we didn't give
her enough advance notice of our visit
or else she would have cooked us a
meal. The pleasantries done, we
express our eagerness to talk to her
about the real issue: Durgavahinis.
“I've been with the VHP for 35
years now,” says Sharadaben. “We don't
get any money from the VHP for doing
kar-seva. We simply do it because of our
love for our Hindu brothers and sisters.
We believe in doing service from the
heart.”
We ask her what kind of work she
does. She says she is a mid-wife by
profession, but as part of the VHP,
wherever there are 'camps', all
Durgavahini members take charge of
running the camp, provide food, and
ensure that all members who are part of
the camp live comfortably. “We do
everything from cooking to cleaning,”
she says.
We prod her a little, and she
replies: “We can enforce peace, and we
can also create violence. We are not
 C O L UMN
Ears to Ground

scared of going to riot areas and taking

charge.” We ask her to explain and she
says, “The head office gives us orders,
and we follow. Whether they ask us to go
for a protest march or to participate in
violence against Muslims, we don't
question the head office. We simply
follow orders. We were there when the
demonstrations were going on during
the Ram Setu (Sethusamudram)
controversy; we were there when the
Babri Masjid was being demolished.”
The pride in her voice is unmistakable.
“I am not afraid of dying. You only live
once and die once. So either die or kill.
When I'm doing kar-seva, I don't care
even if my saree comes undone.” the next time we visit her, and in return, show it to everyone,” she says.
nlike the men, VHP women are not she makes us promise we will dress up in And yes, the impending visit to the
trained in the use of rifles or other the Rajasthani attire that she kept Durgavahini training camp “whenever it
weapons. Instead, they are taught how displaying through our conversation. “I takes place next” is something we have
to use the trishul. “Our office gives us will click your pictures, and you can all agreed to, silently. E
trishuls when we go out for work. When
the work is over, we have to return them
Now
to the office. While the men get to keep
theirs, we have to return ours,” she
says, adding: “I have my own personal
Epilogue Telling
trishul. I keep it for my safety.” because there is more to know The J&K Stories
On being asked what motivates
her to carry on with her 'work',
Sharadaben says, “I do it for Hindus. All
we get in return for our work is a
Contact
monthly RSS magazine.”
Voluntarily, she informs us, “There ABDULLAH NEWS AGENCY, Lal Chowk, Srinagar
is no entry for Muslims in our group.
***
Some Muslims approach us all the time
RAINA NEWS AGENCY, Residency Road, Jammu
to join the Congress. I tell them you go
to your office and I'll meet you there.
***
They leave, and that is the end of the ABC STATIONERS AND DISTRIBUTORS, Leh
matter.” ***
“Why should we be scared of those SHAHEEN NEWS AGENCY, Kargil
Muslims? They have come from ***
Pakistan, and they keep weapons in CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY, New Delhi
their houses. We only have knives in our ***
kitchen,” she says. “I will do seva till my OXFORD BOOK STORE
last breath.” As we get up to leave, New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Chennai & Goa
Sharadaben promises to cook us a
proper and elaborate Rajasthani meal

Epilogue Ø
44 ×
July 2009

Jahangir on the Fauna and
Floriculture of Kashmir - I
PROF JIGAR MOHAMMED
T
he natural heritage of Kashmir
attracted the attention of the
Mughal emperor Nuruddin
Muhammad Jahangir(1605-27) very
much.Though Jahangir worked very
sincerely to utilise the natural resources
of Kashmir for its cultural development,
he made an everlasting contribution to
the presevation and propagation of the
natural heritage of Kashmir through
their incorporation in his Memoirs. It is
well established fact that Jahangir
advocated the preservation, protection
and expansion of flora and fauna in the
Mughal empire very effectively. Since
Kashmir's climate and topography were
suitable for the survival of the various
types of animals, birds and fishes etc.,
when Jahangir visited Kashmir he
penned down the major aspects of the
wild life. More importantly, Kashmir
possessed huge potentialities of the
development of horticulture and garden
culture. His Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri serves as
an authentic source of the history of the
fauna and flora of Kashmir of the 17th
century.
Jahangir has given a brief account of
the cattle, birds and fishes of Kashmir.
For him, the cattle of Kashmir were
small and their quality was inferior. He
found the tailess sheep, called handu.
He found that in in Kashmir ponies were
available in Kashmir in abundance and
the Kashmiris used this variety of horse
for riding purpose. Ponies were called
gunts in Kashmir. Jahangir observed the
quality of the horses of Kashmir very
minutely. For him, the introduction of
the Mughal rule in Kashmir contributed
to the availability of the high quality of
horses in the region. Mentioning the
difference between pre-Mughal
Kashmir and Mughal Kashmir in terms of
the horse availability, Jahangir writes;
“Before the reign of my father (Akbar)
the chief method by which the people of
these parts (of Kashmir) rode was on
gunts (ponies). They (Kashmiris) had no
large horses, but used to bring Iraqi and
Turki horses by the way of rare gifts for
their rulers. Gunt means Yabu (pony).
They have thick shoulders, and are low
in the body. They are common in othera
of the hill countries of India. For the
most part they are vicious and hard
mouthed. When this God-created
flower garden acquired eternal beauty
under the auspicies of the State (Mughal
Empire), and by the blessing of the
teaching of the Alexander-minded
Khaqan, many of the Aimaqs (cavalry)
were presented with jagirs in this
Subah, and herd of Iraqi and Turki horses
were given them to breed from (kih
kurra bagirand). The soldiers also
brought horses on their own account,
and in a short time horses were
obtainable, so that many Kashmiri
horses were bought and sold for 200and
Epilogue Ø
45 ×
July 2009
C O L UMN
History
Rs. 300, and even for Rs. 1000.”
Jahangir description of the horses shows
that local horses of Kashmir were not as
good as the Iraqi and Turki horses for
cavalry purpose. Since Mughals had a
very powerful and effective cavalry,
with the establishment of the Mughal
rule in Kashmir they started the
breeding of high quality horses in
Kashmir and horse trade became an
important source of the income of the
people of the region.
Some of the birds of Kashmir drew
the attention of Jahangir to memorise
them in his Memoirs. One of them was a
water bird called Saj. Jahangir found
this bird in Sukh Nag stream. Giving the
description of this bird Jahangir writes:
“In this stream (Sikh Nag) I saw a bird
like Saj. A Saj is of a black colour and has
white spots, and it dives and remains for
a long time underneath, and then comes
up from a different place. I ordered
them to catch and bring two or three of
these birds, that I might ascertain
whether they were waterfowl and were
web-footed, or had open feet like land
birds. They caught two or brought them.
One died immediately, and the other
lived for a day. Its feet were not webbed
like a duck's. I ordered Nadiru-l-'asr
Ustad Mansur ( One of the most famour
court painter of Jahangir) to draw its
likeness. The Kashmiris call it galkar-
that is “water saj.”Jahangir also

noticed the arrival and appearance of
ducks (Murghabi) in both the Wular and
Dal lakes. Jahangir noticed some
differences between the bird Papiha of
Kashmir and other parts of India in
terms of the laying of its egg. According
to him, “In Hindustan (i.e. Upper India)
there is a bird called Papiha of a sweet
voice, which in the rainy season utters
soul piercing (Jaz-suz) laments. As the
koyal lays its egg in the nest of the crow,
and the latter brings up its young, so I
have seen in Kashmir that the Papiha
lays its egg in the nest of the ghaughi
(ring-dove) and the ghaughai brings up
its young.” Similarly, Jahangir was very
much impressed with haws and falcons
of Kashmir and bird feathers. He writes,
“…among the excellencies of Kashmir
are the plumes of feathers (kalgi) and
the hawks (janwar-i-shikari). As much
as 10700 feathers are yearly obtained .
Hawks and falcons are taken in nets to
the number of 260. It has also nest
sparrow-hawks (basha) and nest
sparrow-hawk is not bad.”
Jahangir found the springs, streams
and lakes of Kashmir consisting of
various types of fishes. For him, Vir-nag
spring was the source of the many types
of the fishes. He found two types of
fishes in Andha Nag spring, first types
were blind and second types were eyed.
The blindness in some of the fishes were
caused by the bad quality of the water.
Moreover, Jahangir also reports fishing
as an important occupation of Kashmir
and fishermen as one of the social
groups of Kashmir. The emperor used to
see the fishes and fishing of Kashmir. He
narrates one of the fishing event in a
very interesting manner. He memorises
it in these words: “… I (Jahangir) saw an
unusual kind of fishing on the part of the
fishermen of Kashmir. In a place where
the water was up to a man,s chest, they
(fishermen) propelled two boats that
were side by side, and so that at one and
they were in contact , and at the other
end they were 14 or 15 yards apart. Two
boatmen held long poles in their hands,
and sate on the outside edge of each
boat so as to regulate the space
between ten or twelve boatmen got
down into the water, and laying hold of
the end of the two boats that were
joined altogether with their hands,
trampled the bottom with their feet,
and moved on. The fish which were
between boats wanted to get out of the
narrow space, and came against the
feet of the boatmen. Immediately one
of the boatmen dived and another one
pressed upon his back, and with his two
hands kept him from coming to the
surface. The latter caught a fish and
produced it. Some who are skilful in the
art catch two fish in their hands, and
bring them to the surface. Among them
was an old boatman, who generally at
each dive brought up two fish. This kind
of fishing occurs at Panj Basra and is
peculiar to the Jhelam (river). It is not
used in ponds or in other streams. It also
only takes place in the spring when the
water is not cold or impetuous
(gazanda).”
Jahangir highlights the floriculture
of Kashmir as a dominant aspects of the
cultural life of the region. He treats
floriculture as a unique heritage of
Kashmir. For him, floriculture made
Kashmir distinct from other parts of the
world in terms of regional identity.
According to him, “The red rose, violet,
and the narcissus grow of themelves; in
the fields, there are all kinds of flowers
and all sorts of sweet-scented herbs
more than can be calculated. In the soul
enchanting spring the hills and plains
are filled with the blossoms; the gates,
the walls, the courts, the roofs, are
lighted up by the torches of banquet-
adorning tulips.” The attraction of the
flowers of Kashmir instilled creative
ideas in his mind and made him a poet.
Epilogue Ø
46 ×
July 2009
C O L UMN
History
They inspired him to write some verses
in their praise to keep their memory
alive everlasting. He adorns their
attraction in the following verses:
“The garden symphs were brilliant.
Their cheeks shone like lamps;
There were fragrant buds on their
stems (or 'under their rind'),
Like dark amulets on the arms of the
beloved.
The wakeful, ode-rehearing nightingle
Whetted the desires of vine-drinkers;
At each fountain the duck depped his
beek
Like golden scissors cutting silk;
There were flower-carpets and fresh
rosebuds
The wind fanned the lamps of the
roses
The violet braided her locks,
The buds tied a knot in the heart.”
Jahangir's account depicts the role
of the floriculture in making different
seasons of Kashmir enjoyable. First he
mentions how spring season was made
enjoyable and attractive by the
different flowers of the region. He rated
tulip the most effective in terms of the
beautification of the various places of
Kashmir during spring season. Tulip
plantation was most effective source of
the beautification of the buildings.
Describing the tradition of the
beautification of the roofs of the
buildings in Kashmir Jahangir states,
“The buildings of Kashmir are all of
wood; they make them two, three and
four storied, and covering the roofs with
earth, they plant bulbs of the
Chaughasi, tulip, which blooms year
after year in the spring season and is
exceedingly beautiful. This custom is
peculiar to the people of Kashmir. … in
the little garden (Nurafza) of the palace
and on the roof of the chief mosque, the
tulips blosined luxuriantly.”
For Jahangir, jessmines, red rose,

lilies and Jafari flowers were the
specialities of Kashmir in terms of
colour and fragrence. Identifying them
different from rest part of the world
Jahangir states: “There are many blue
jessamine in the gardens, and the
white jessamines that the people of
India call chambeli are serrt scented.
Another kind is of the colour of sandal-
wood, and this also very sweet
scented. This special to Kashmir. I
(Jahangir) saw several sorts of new red
roses; one is specially sweet-scented,
and another is a flower of the colour of
sandal (light yellow), with an
exceedingly delicate scent. It (the
scent) is of the nature of (that of) the
red rose, and its stem is like that of the
red rose. There are two kinds of lilies.
That which grown in the garden is
vigorous (balida) and fresh (lit. green)
coloured, the other is a wild kind.
Although the latter is very sweet
scented. The flower of Ja'fari (a
yellow flower) is large and sweet
scented; its stem is above a man's
height, but in some years, when it has
grown very large and has flowered, a
worm is produced, and spread over the
flower a kind of spider's web, and
destroys it and dries up its stem. …The
flowers that are seen in the territories
of Kashmir are beyond calculation
Those that Nadirul-'asri Ustad Mansur
(Court painter of Jahangir) are painted
are more than 100.” Moreover,
Jahangir also mentions some flowers
such as bulanik, puy and ladar-push,
which were peculiar to Kashmir.
Describing the uniqueness of the
flowers Jahangir writes, “Sweet
smelling plant of narcissus, violet and
strange flowers that grow in this
country (Kashmir), came to view.
Among these flowers I saw (noticed
especially) one extraordinary one. It
had five or six orange flowers blooming
with their heads downwards. From the
C O L UMN
History
middle of the flowers there came out
some green leaves, as in case of the
pineapple. This is bulanik flower.
There is an other flower like puym
round which are small flowersof the
shape. And colour of the jessamine,
some blue in colour and some red, with
yellow points in the middle, exceedingly
pretty in appearance; its name is “ladar
push.” They call it push-i-aliyyu-l-umum
(the common push). There are many
yellow arghawan (Judas trees) on the
road as well. The flowers of Kashmir are
beyond counting calculation.”
Jahangir description of the fauna
and floriculture shows that during the
17th century people of Kashmir were
very much socio-economically
associated with them. Both the fauna
and floriculture of Kashmir played an
important role in making of the history
of Kashmir and establishing its regional
identity. More importantly, when
Mughal established their rule in Kashmir
they treated them as the integral part
of the Kashmiri regional identity and
participated in the process of their
preservation and propagation.
Historically, it is found that a ruling
class undermines the popular culture
and regional identities. But Jahangir's
account shows that the Mughals as a
ruling class respected the local KNOWLEDGE
sentiments of Kashmir and worked for
ØThe State is connected to the rest of
the spread of social conscousness to its
the country through just one highway
specialities in terms of fauna and
(NH 1A), 400 Kms stretch (approx)
flowers. Jahangir's account is very
maintained by Border Roads
valuable for the construction of the
Organization (BRO) of India.
natural history of Kashmir. Jahangir
treated these fauna and flowers of ØDal Lake is the world famous water
Kashmir in an inclusive terms. He has body and has been described as Lake
tried to establish that the fauna and Par-Excellence by Sir Wailter
floriculture of Kashmir brought people Lawrence. The Dal Lake is host to
together in terms maintaining their world famous S h i k a ra s and
natural heritage. For Jahangir, they Houseboats lying against each other
attracted the attention of visitors and with eye catching names surrounded
became a source of the beautification by Mughal Gardens.
of an area. E
Epilogue Ø
47 ×
July 2009

Revisiting Borders
INDIA CHINA RELATIONS :
THE BORDER ISSUE AND BEYOND
By Mohan Guruswamy
and Zorawar Daulet Singh
Viva Books, New Delhi, 2009,
pp. viii + 217, Rs. 795.00
SRIKANTH KONDAPALLI
Author is Professor in Chinese Studies at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
E
ver since the Treaty of
Westphalia ended the thirty
years was in Europe in 1648,
modern nation-state boundaries and
jurisdiction have been a major area of
contention across the globe. A number
of issues are also then entangled in
this milieu including historical claims,
administrative and legal matters,
customary and traditional practices or
even emotional attachments to the
territories. Several principles were
suggested and proposals made to
resolve the boundary disputes and, as
in some cases, these disputes were
resolved amicably through the services
of the International Court of Justice or
by talks among concerned parties.
Some dragged on for several years and
even for decades. Other boundary
disputes were resolved through the
instrument of military force. Yet
others, such as those in Europe, went
beyond Westphalia divisions and are
now subject to integration processes
across the board.
As the largest modern nation-
states in Asia, India and China are also
seized with this issue of fixing borders
for several decades now and have
experimented with or have been in
the process of implementing several
measures outlines above. Yet, the
border dispute remains unresolved
between the two countries. While a
large body of literature emerged in
Epilogue Ø
48 ×
July 2009
R E V I EW
Book
the last few decades on this issue, a
major portion of the oeuvre remains
partial to one or the other party to the
dispute. Part of the difficulty in this
process is that both India and China
have hardly released 'primary' archival
sources of any significance, despite
claims to the contrary. For instance,
despite a few memoirs by participants
on the decision-making processes,
Indian archival materials on the border
dispute from the 1914 Simla
Conference period onwards
unfortunately are inaccessible to a
researcher. In the case of China, while
it stated that it opened its archives
recently, no meaningful analysis could
Chinese debates on the border dispute
with India. In addition, most of the
archival materials in Tibet-even those
on Buddhist philosophy-are simply out
of bounds for a researcher.
Compounding our difficulties further is
the 'extended claims' of either party to
the dispute in the recent period.
The latest to join this fray is the
brief work of Mohan Guruswamy and
Zorawar Daulet Singh, relatively new
entrants to this field of enquiry. The
authors, however, as explained in the
introduction, have no intention to 'add
anything new by way of a thesis'.
Divided into mainly six chapters the
narrative of bilateral relations has
been woven into the main theme of
border dispute and the ways and

means for resolving this dispute. It is
historical in the sense of highlighting
some of the main issues traced to 19th
century British Indian, Qing China and
Tsarist Russian positions. It is
contemporary in the sense of
enlisting, in a 'coherent and
chronological narrative', of
independent Indian and socialist
China's prevarications about the
border dispute. The book is also
futuristic in the sense of attempting to
provide 'a view towards a mutually
satisfactory solution' to this dispute.
The authors have attempted to do this
in about 140 pages by highlighting the
main debates in these countries. To an
extent the authors have been
successful in this mission.
The centrality of the border issue
in the book under review is well
articulated, although one could have
expected a more intensive analysis of
the subject. That is, although both
India and China opened up to mutual
contacts from the late 1970s, after the
chill in relations due to the war of
1962, the authors rightly contend that
full normalization of relations
between the two countries is still a
distant dream as the border dispute is
yet to be resolved. Indeed, the
unresolved nature of the dispute,
according to the authors, 'remains an
obstacle to complete normalisation'
(p. vii)of relations between India and
China. Despite nearly three decades of
discussions between the two – once in
the three rounds of discussions in 1960
(which the authors miss out in the
analysis, while rightly reminding
readers of the British Indian efforts in
this regard in the 19th Century) and
later from 1981 till now – the border
dispute is yet to be resolved. This
uncertainty – despite the prevailing
'peace and tranquility' in the bordering
regions poses concerns. With
nationalist rhetoric increasing in both
countries, in addition to rising
transgressions, the situation on the
ground could alter. A related issue is
the revisions in the claims over
territories – the 'extended claim' – as
the authors rightly contend on the
Arunachal Pradesh issue. The
'activation of a non-existent dispute in
the eastern sector' (p-3) by some
Chinese, thus further complicates this
border dispute between India and
China. To recall, the Chinese attention
before was on Aksai Chin and hardly
any mention of Arunachal Pradesh (or
its predecessor the North East Frontier
Agency) was ever made.
This intransigence in resolving
the border dispute is intriguing. The
book under review approaches the
subject in a clear-headed and forceful
manner by suggesting that both
countries should legitimize the
existing ground realities. That is,
implementing a process 'de jure
settlement, around a de facto position'
(p. 135). However, to recall, Chinese
premier Zhou Enlai's swapping of
territories statement in 1957 and Deng
Xiaoping's offer of 1980 were similar.
While the Indian side rejected the
political offer then, it is compelled to
legitimize that position now. The
argument, then, of the authors
reflects the existing ground realities
rather than based on a judicious
evaluation of the claims of the two
parties. To be fair though the authors in
the earlier chapters do consider the
respective claims and counter-claims to
the dispute and intricacies therein,
although no fresh evidence is
forthcoming in this regard. The authors
reiterate, 'For the twenty-first century
Epilogue Ø
49 ×
July 2009
R E V I EW
Book
to be stable, twentieth century borders
must be stable' (pp. 40-41).
One of the key issues missed out
in most of the Indian or Chinese
accounts on the border dispute – like
in most Westphalian traditions of
scholarship – is the role and views of
the locals communities whose destines
are intertwined with the habitats in
question. For instance most of the
scholarship on either side of the
fence is silent on what the Tibetans
or Mompas or Ladakhis desire while
New Delhi and Beijing's positions are
over-emphasized-even sanctified. In
this context, the author's arguments
on legal claims by either India or
China on territories are either
simplistic or even misleading. The
following statement is instructive in
this context : '…India's claim over
Arunachal Pradesh does not rest on
any great historical tradition. We
(Indians) are there because the
British went there. But then the
Chinese too have no basis whatsoever
to stake a claim, besides a few
dreamy cartographic enlargements of
the notion of China among some of the
hangers-on in the Qing Emperor's
Court' (p. 43). Again, the following
statement of the authors is equally
contentious and perhaps one-sided:
'India's unwillingness to come to the
negotiating table, without
preconditions, contributed to raising
Chinese threat perceptions…' (p. 72).
Overall, the book is written well.
With the exception of repetitions in
the first two chapters on issues
related to British Indian objectives.
Tibetan and Chinese roles, the book is
a tour de force on India-China
relations with the border issue as a
lingering subject.
By arrangement : The Book Review

Golden Protection :
Special Package to be bail
out Handicrafts Sector
Sajjad Bazaz
S
ubstantial number of skilled
craftsmen and artisans has shifted
to other jobs and remaining are
ready to follow their path! 500 papier-
mâché artisans go jobless! No export
order since 2008! These were some of
the disturbing headlines, which shocked
everybody. Amid these conditions, even
as the impact of global meltdown has
trickled down and hit cultural industry –
handicrafts industry – of the J&K state,
various categories of people associated
with it, have a reason to smile now.
J&K Bank has tailored one-time
special schemes to lend a financial
support to these affected persons - be it
exporters, manufacturers, traders or
craftsmen. J&K Bank Handicrafts
Sustenance Finance has been designed
with two options. There is an option
where a tripartite agreement between
the bank, the borrower and the basic
craftsmen is executed. Exporters,
traders/ retailers (domestic) and
manufacturers enter into an agreement
with the bank and by virtue of this
agreement the craftsmen is also
included who can avail a cash credit
facility under a newly tailored financial
scheme – J&K Bank Craftsmen
Livelihood Finance.
However, those not interested to
enter into a trilateral agreement with
the bank, can also get finance under the
scheme, but the craftsmen in this
category cannot get cash credit facility
I MP A C T
under J&K Bank Craftsmen Livelihood
scheme. But such craftsmen can take
course of J&K Bank's Dastkaar Finance
Scheme, which has been modified to
accommodate more categories of
craftsmen. To avail finance under these
products, a person is required to apply
before September 2009. However,
finance under Dastkaar scheme shall be
available even after this period.
Precisely, J&K Bank Handicrafts
Sustenance Finance (Under Tripartite
Agreement) is targeted at Exporters
/Traders/Retailers (Domestic) &
Manufacturers who shall be part of the
Trilateral Arrangement between the
Bank, the Borrower & the basic
Craftsmen. While as J&K Bank
Craftsmen Livelihood Finance is
targeted at craftsmen who form part of
the trilateral agreement. Similarly, J&K
Bank Handicrafts Sustenance Finance
(Outside Tripartite Agreement) is
targeted at Exporters /Traders/
Retailers (Domestic) & Manufacturers
who don't want to be part of the
trilateral agreement. However, J&K
Bank Revised Dastkaar Finance is
targeted at craftsmen who don't want to
be part of the trilateral agreement.
Who are eligible? Only those
exporters, traders, retailers and
manufacturers availing Cash Credit
facility from J&K Bank are eligible to
avail the facility. Their accounts must
be running satisfactorily. However,
Epilogue Ø
50 ×
July 2009
F EATURE
Banking in J&K
those manufacturers not having any
past business relationship with the
bank, but stand registered with
Department of Handicrafts are eligible
to get finance facility under these
schemes. Those who are not involved in
manufacturing handicraft items but
trade across state or restrict their
activities within J&K state have been
brought under the ambit of the
schemes. Even those having own retail
shops/ showrooms within India,
whether they are traders or
manufacturers can also take benefit of
these schemes. The facility shall be
over and above the existing limits, if
any, being availed by the borrowers.
The quantum of finance has been
calculated as per the activity and the
type of borrower. A manufacturer can
get loan facility as per the amount
required to purchase finished goods
from craftsmen associated with him
under trilateral agreement. For
carpets, he can get maximum loan
amount of Rs.10 lacs and for Kani shawl,
Paper Machie and wood carving, a
manufacturer can get Rs.2.10 lacs, Rs.
3.50 lacs and Rs.3.50 lacs respectively.
For exporters the loan limit has been
linked to their existing loan limit or the
amount required to purchase finished
goods from craftsmen associated with
him under trilateral agreement. They
can get a maximum loan of Rs.50 lacs
under these schemes.
 I MP A C T F EATURE
Banking in J&K

The traders have been categorized
on the basis of their area of operations.
A trader operating at national level can
get Rs.30 lacs, while his counterpart
operating within J&K state can avail a
maximum loan facility of Rs.20 lacs
under these schemes. Similarly, a
Retailer/ showroom or shop owner can
get loan facility to the tune of Rs.30
lacs. However, in all these cases, the
loan is linked to the amount required to
purchase finished goods from craftsmen
associated with them under trilateral
agreement and the existing loan limits.
Since the schemes have been
tailored to provide financial support to
the people associated with handicrafts
during the period of recession, the
repayment schedule has been carved
out with a moratorium period of 18
months from the date of initial
disbursement. Only interest portion is
to be paid during the moratorium
period. After the expiry of 18 months,
the loan amount is to be repaid in 8
equal quarterly installments. Notably,
those exporters and traders operating
at national level preferring to remain
outside trilateral agreement will enjoy
a moratorium period of 12 Months from
the date of initial disbursement.
Loans up to Rs 5 lacs, borrowers
have to provide collateral security in
the form of third party guarantee of two
persons only. Mortgage is applicable for
loans above Rs 5 lacs. For borrowers
governed by tripartite arrangement,
the interest on loans up to Rs 2 lacs shall
be just 10 per cent and beyond this
amount the rate is 10.50 per cent. The
rate of interest is fixed. Those outside
trilateral agreement the fixed interest
rate up to Rs.2 lacs shall be 10.50 per
cent and 11 per cent for loans above Rs.
2 lacs.
In order to provide adequate and
timely credit for comprehensive
requirements of artisans and
craftsmen, etc, the bank has designed
J&K Bank Craftsmen Livelihood
Finance. The facility, however, is for
those craftsmen only who are part of
the trilateral agreement between the
Bank,Exporters/Traders/Manufacturers
and the Craftsmen.
Only those exporters, traders,
retailers and manufacturers
availing Cash Credit facility
from J&K Bank are eligible to
avail the facility. Their
accounts must be running
satisfactorily. However, those
manufacturers not having any
past business relationship with
the bank, but stand registered
with Department of
Handicrafts are eligible to get
finance facility under these
schemes
All Artisans, Craftsmen and other
people aged 18 to 60 years, associated
with Carpet Weaving, Shawl
Embroidery, Kani Shawl Weaving, Chain
Stitch, Crewel Embroidery, Wood
Carving and Paper Machie are covered
under the scheme. The amount of loan
is linked to the activity of the craftsmen
and ranges from Rs.0.60 lacs to Rs.3.00
lacs.
The artisans are not required to
provide any collaterals, as their loans
shall be covered under Credit
Guarantee Fund Scheme. The upfront
and service fee shall be borne by
Ministry of Textiles, Government of
India in case of craftsmen having Artisan
Card of Dir. Handicrafts, J&K State.
However, craftsmen who don't possess
Artisan Card shall have to bear both the
fee themselves. All loans under the
scheme shall be charged fixed 10 per
cent interest.
The craftsmen who fall outside the
ambit of trilateral agreement can take
benefit of the revised Dastkaar scheme
of the bank. Artisans skillful in Carpet
weaving, Shawl Embroidery, Kani Shawl
Weaving, Chain Stitch, Crewel, Wood
Carving and Paper Machie are covered
under the scheme. J&K Bank
Epilogue
Available at
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Jawahar Lal Nehru University
NEW DELHI
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India Book Center
THIRUVANTHAPURAM
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University Center,
ALLAHABAD

Epilogue Ø
51 ×
July 2009
 POL I T I CA L AF TER L I F E
A Reporter’s Diary

RECENT
ENGAGEMENTS
SAJJAD GHANI LONE

MUFTI MOHAMMAD SAYEED

T he Peoples
Democratic Party
Mehbooba Mufti is
constantly on the
streets since June 1
mobilising crowds
against Omar
Abdullah
government's
inability to curb
human rights
violations. But father
and patron Mufi
Mohammad Sayeed is
A lways in command of his words and
gestures, one of the most famous
separatists faces on the Indian news
missing from the television, Sajjad Ghani Lone has not been
scene. There is, seen anywhere since his last ink-stained-
however, nothing finger picture appeared in newspapers in the
new in Mufti's middle of May last. The last story one read
disappearance when about Sajjad was a beautiful piece Muzammil
Valley burns. During Jaleel wrote in the Indian Express on how this
Amarnath land gentlemen trekked a small distance to the
agitation of summer poling station to bridge a two-decade long
2008 when Kashmir separatist divide. Chairman of his own
Valley appeared, for faction of the Peoples Conference, there is no
a while, slipping out of hands of India, Mehbooba was on the streets news about Sajjad since he contested the
and Mufti off to America. In fact, when Valley burns and the April-May Lok Sabha elections in North
situation demands PDP hitting streets to outwit the separatists and Kashmir's Baramulla-Kupwara constituency.
corner the ruling regime, Mufti always takes a back seat and Separatists have disowned him and the
Mehbooba takes control of things. Observers believe, Mufti is mainstream camp is yet to own him. There
pursuing a statesman like approach to Kashmir politics and does not has been his one post on the facebook which
want to be seen as a fomenter of unrest. On June 8 he wrote a tells his latest story. In a post addressed to his
detailed letter of protest to the Prime Minister titled “are we loosing wife, Sajjad says: I think it is the end of the
way in Kashmir”. PDP insiders say, “the Prime Minister has responded road for me…I don't think I can espouse any
to the letter very warmly”. In later half of the month, the former cause any more. I wish everybody else
Chief Minister flew out to Delhi and met his old friends drawn from understood the complexities of my situation
different political affiliations and put the Kashmir case before them.E as you do…” An emotional post, indeed. E

Epilogue Ø
52 ×
July 2009
 POL I T I CA L AF TER L I F E
A Reporter’s Diary

MOHAMMAD YUSUF TARIGAMI

N either the government nor the lone Comrade has clarified

as which side of fence he stands. Since 1996, when he won
first assembly election, the J&K State Secretary of Communist
Party of India (Marxist) Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami has been
dubbed in the political and media circles as a super legislator.
No major party puts a candidate against him. When he wins, he
enjoys status, protocol and facilities at the state expense
which envy even the Ministers. The pampered legislator has a
front row seat in the legislative assembly and his voice is most
vocal on a select range of issues. Farooq Abdullah was keep to
make him Minister in 1996 and so was Mufti in 2002 but the
politburo did not agree. In 2008 elections the Congress and NC
did not put a candidate against him. But why is Tarigami taken
care of so well by all? After all, until recently the Left was a
power to reckon with in New Delhi. The ruling dispensations in
J&K always look towards keeping all powers in 'New Delhi' in
good humour. Things, however, are not all the same for
Comrade since the coming in to power of NC-Congress
coalition. When Omar Abdullah's coalition started taking
shape, Tarigami, along with Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen of PDF
and Ghulam Hassan Mir JKDP also dashed off letters of support
to the Raj Bhawan. But in return there was no invitation to join
Ministry. When Kashmir broke out in major protests twice this
year on issue of violation of human rights, Tarigami was
conspicuous with his silence. After no desired signals from the
government, Tarigami reluctantly issued a statement of
condemnation on Shopian rape and murder incident after 15
days of protests in the Valley. Recently he met the Prime
Minister and sought initiation of dialogue with Pakistan and repeal of draconian military laws in Jammu and Kashmir. E

THUPSTAN CHHEWANG

H e is a Ladakhi Buddhist leader and descent of a royal dynasty. Thupstan had a hands-
down walkover to the Lok Sabha in 2004 elections from Ladakh constituency when most
of the Leh district was near unanimous in its political approach. He and the present Tourism
Minister in J&K Nawang Rigzin Jora were the champions of the cause of Union Territory for
Ladakh. Thus Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) assumed a powerful position in Leh politics
with Thupstan and Rigzin as force drivers. However, soon they started pulling in opposite
directions with Rigzin gaining control and Thupstan loosing direction. The most bizarre
aspect of Thupstan's political life is that he can be on both sides of extremes. Not only in J&K
but anywhere in the country, National Conference and the Rashtriya Sweyamsewak Sangh
(RSS) are seen as two opposite extremes. In October-November 2008, Thupstan was an ally of
the NC to secure assembly seat for him in Leh. Assembly election he lost and the Lok Sabha
election in early 2009 he could not contest. After six politically tumultuous months, Thupstan is
now often seen baking in the RSS camp. On June 23, he was with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
and BJP chief Rajnath Singh at a lecture on “J&K and National Integration in Jammu”. E

Epilogue Ø
53 ×
July 2009
 POL I T I CA L AF TER L I F E
A Reporter’s Diary

DR FAROOQ ABDULLAH

A politician of over three decades standing and recognition

in many parts of world, Dr Abdullah is indeed very happy
with the charge of a Ministry in New Delhi's Central
Government which until recently used to be a part of Science
and Technology Ministry. The Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy has an annual budget of little over Rs 100 million but
Dr Abdullah, who once ran for the post of Vice President of
India, is very happy. Abdullah's was NC's Chief Ministerial
candidate in last assembly elections as son Omar could not
secure a mandate for him when was projected such in 2002
elections. However, in an overnight development on
December 28, 2008 –hours after election results were
declared –the scene in NC camp reversed and Omar was
declared as CM candidate. There are two theories explaining
this –one: Omar insisted on becoming Chief Minister and
family stood by him, second: the Congress party agreed to
support NC only if Omar was to become the CM. So it was the
son who emerged shining next morning. Next month Farooq
was rehabilitated by his re-crowning as NC president, a post
held by Omar since 2002. But things were never seen quite at
ease at the Abdullah mansion. He contested assembly
elections from two places in Srinagar district in 2008 but
resigned both to go to Rajya Sabha in February-March. Then in April-May he contested third election in six months to go the Lok
Sabha. Between all these elections, one element was seen very strong –the importance of Abdullah senior's rehabilitation in New
Delhi. The Congress leadership indicated twice that they are in no mood to take Abdullah in cabinet but they reluctantly took him
in. soon after the portfolios were allotted, there was a shock –Farooq got New and Renewable Energy, a Ministry far smaller than
his stature and experience. Since then Farooq is on an extended PR spree explaining people importance of his Ministry. E

LEELA KARAN SHARMA

T he man who took Jammu by storm exactly a year back is practically in no business these days. The Amarnath pilgrimage that
began on June 15 is running nearly smoothly despite hostile weather. Minor irritants are pouring in this year also –like PDP's
demand of reducing its durations etc –and the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti –which spearheaded two-month long agitation in
2008 –is again active its erratic and intermittent responses. However,
missing in the action is Leela Karan Sharma, the man who led the
agitation last year. Leela, an advocate by profession, had resigned as
convener of Sangharsh Samiti earlier this year to contest Lok Sabha
election on BJP ticket. He suffered a defeat with a margin which no
one had imagined -121,000 votes. There were many in the Sangharsh
Samiti eyeing political benefits of the agitation but BJP placed its
eggs under Leela only. Therefore, the men calling shots in Samiti are
offering no space to him. When Leela Karan got BJP ticket to contest
Lok Sabha elections there was a storm in the party –decision upset
prospects of many old-timers. There the local unit of BJP has very
little to offer to Leela Karan. The 'hero' 2008 Amarnath land row
agitation is back to his lawyer chamber sifting through the pending
files. E

Epilogue Ø
54 ×
July 2009
 Epilogue
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Carbon Cell bring established at
ö
Janipur campus in Jammu.

Two brainstorming sessions held on

ö
CDM, carbon mapping.

Two state level workshops held under

ö
National Bamboo Mission.

MOU with SMVD University and BGSB

ö
University for Joint Collaboration in
Research