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(The present article is the transliteration of Pabitra Kumar Ghosh's write up appearing in Calcutta's BARTAMAN PATRIKA, a widely read Daily published in Bengali. This article appeared in the BARTAMAN PATRIKA of January 20, 2000. The article, in simple terms, lays out the way things are looked at by Hindus in Hindusthan, which in more ways than one, are often quite different from what we derive from foreign journals here. There are always more ways to look at a problem from different anglesand thus the current happenings in Kashmir deserve examination and evaluation from different points of view. -A. Ghosh)
India's glory earned at the victory at Kargil is already on the wane. The unrelenting attacks from Pakistan's militants have succeeded in taming down the Government of India, which appears to be clueless. The terrain for conflict has now extended from the LoC to Srinagar. The dexterity of Pakistan has outwitted India.
Those who are bloodying the nose of India in Kashmir are being called 'militants' by the GoI. The idea is to cover their shame, the shame of those who are conducting the fights from the Indian side. The so called 'militants' are now openly attacking the Head Quarters of the Indian military forces. In broad daylight, they are openly contesting the Indian forces on high roads. In fact, the 'militants' have overpowered the Indian jawans by sheer persistence. Even for the military officers, it is becoming harder by the day to sustain the unrelenting pressure on their nerves and wits.
The militants that are conducting this war (if we can call it that) are not just hired killers. These men have dedicated theirlives to the cause of Islam. Let us not be misguided; Kashmir alone is not their goal. Their real goal is to bring the whole of India under Islamic rule. Like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, they want to turn India too into an Islamic country.
The youngmen called'Mujahideen', who are fighting in Kashmir today are being dubbed as 'militants' and 'terrorists' by our government; the idea is of course to minimize their importance. But let us not forget that they are in any case fighters, skilled fighters. The kind of war they are pursuing is the kind in which they had spent a long time in practice and resultant perfection. They use far more effective and modern weapons than our own jawans are premitted to use.
The Indian army is conducting the conflict in Kashmir.Their opponents are also soldiers, Islamic soldiers.India's jawans are fighting for the cause of their motherland. Their opponents are fighting for Islam, their religion. The objective of the Indian jawans is the security of India and preservation of India's one-ness. The ideal of our opponents is to conquer India in the name of Islam.
The enemy fighers are inspired with Islamic fervor. As a result, no defeat can subdue them. A defeat, any defeat, for them istemporary. Oftentimes, they manage to turn a defeat into an opportunity. They had lost at Kargil. Even the Pakistani army lost there. But then, exactly when the Indian forces were pressing down the Pak forces to face defeat, these so called defeated 'militants' succeeded in extending the battle ground right up to Srinagar. They had succeeded in drawing out the Indian army personnel right up to Kargil and keeping them totally engaged there from May to July. During that opportune moment thousands of 'Mujahideen' were pushed into the Vale of Kashmir.These 'Mujahideen' are Islamic warriors. The usual Pakistani military personnel live side by side amicably with them.
These 'Mujahideen' and the usual Pakistani soldiers have been conducting this war in Kashmir for the last ten years. All these years their fight against the Indian army has been portrayedas acts of terrorism. The idea has been to minimise their fighting capabilities. No one was allowed to see through the true nature of this confrontation. The truth is that for the last ten years a regular all out war has been going on in Kashmir which the Indian authorities have been foolishly trying to paint as a simple terroristic activity. It is only now that the full import of the presence of the ISI behind this Islamic army is being comprehended by the people of India.
ISI is NOT only a terrorist outfit as such. ISI is the most powerful constituent of the Pakistani military organization. ISI is a sovereign state within a state. ISI can even order the Pakistan government around. It is the ISI that determines who is going to rule Pakistan and who not.
Quite clearly, the ISI is primarily a terrorist outfit. In March 1993, it is they who had conducted the exemplary bombings and explosions in Mumbai. The hijacking in Kathmandu too was perpetrated by the ISI. It is the ISI that has spread across India, from Mumbai to Manipur; they have a sophisticated network of spies and undergound killers; all this is just an outline of the new war waged by Pakistan against India. Their main objective is to carry the war into enemy (in this case, Indian) territory. This is the essential aspect of their way to fight the war against India. Undoubtedly, they have largely succeeded in extending their espionage network over the entire Indian territory. It was for this simple reason that the hijacked Indian plane could not be detained when it landed in Amritsar. No attempt had been made from the Indian side to face the hijackers in Amritsar.
In short, right at this moment, India is slowly but surely, being defeated by Pakistanis. Our security bosses are now saying that up till now, in winter, it was the Indian authorities that controlled the territory. Why? Because the ice of the winter season prevented the militants'travel across the terrain. This year was the first year when for the first time the militants have taken over the initiative from the Indian jawans. It was, for the first time, that the Indian jawans were fighting a losing battle in our own territory. But the attackers do not seem to have any constraints at all!
In Pakistan occupied territory, the Pakistanis have set up posts right up to Naushera. Each such post has fifteen to twenty, well-trained fighters for observation and infiltration. It is these fighters that enter India territory to attack unprotected Indian villages, surreptitiously and then escape before any action could be taken against them. To make such activities possible and less dangerous for them, the Pakistani armyhas set itself in strategic positions with long range guns; these guns provide a cover of protection to the militants fleeing from Indian territory AFTER having done the damage.
The Pakistani ploy is clearly to keep the Indian army tied to the LoC area exactly like they had done during the Kargil operation. During that opportunity these so called militants, in other words, competent fighters with an extreme dedication came down to Srinagar to spread havoc behind the lines.
The responsibility for the security of the entire Kashmir valley is on the corps number 15 of the Indian army. Their Head Office is located at Badami Bagh ofSrinagar. This Badami Bagh cantonment is surrounded by the Special Operations Group of the Kashmir State Police. Only three militants entered into this well-protected area, spreading death and fury and continued to do so for hours together. Two other militants entered the offices and destroyed and damaged the office building and stationery. This single attack killed nineteen of our security men at Badami Bagh.
The Vajpayee government, in the mean time, claimed full credit for the Kargil 'victory'.But then the daily defeats that are taking place in the Kashmir Valley proper remain unmentioned. One would even go as far as to say that the Vajpayee government appears to have given up its will to overcome the situation. The present Indian government appears to imply that the hiring of soldiers and security men in itself will rectify the situation. As if they (the government) has nothing else to do. Such an attitude of avoiding direct responsibility by the Vajpayee government has clearly offended the Indian army personnel. Even the army officers are irritated.
There isno cooperation among the chief minister's office, the Central Home Ministry, the two intelligence branches (Intelligence Bureau or the IB and the Research and Analysis Wing or RAW). In fact they are mostly not even on speaking terms. In the matter of Kashmir, the GoI has NOT been capable of providing the right kind of leadership. The political big honchos remain satisfied with issuinglong statements in far off Delhi. One would say that they consider themselvs as simple witnesses of the murderous goings on in Kashmir. The chief minister, Farouk Abdullah spends most of his time in London in company of his British Bibi. The short time Farouk spends in his home state,goes aftergolf; the state exchequer spends on the upkeep of the golf-courses. No one has time to worry about the common Kashmiris.
Here are some examples of how the GoI is facingthe challenge of the militants. Although the Air India plane had been hijacked for quite some time, the GoI was totally unaware of the fact. The first news of the hijacking ofthe Indian plane came all the way from the Chinese government to our embassy in Beijing. It is from there that New Delhi first learnt of the hijacking episode.
It took some forty minutes after that for Vajpayee to learn of the hijacking. It had taken two more hours to call the Crisis Management Group.
The hijacking crisis lasted eight days. During those eight days the entire country passed through intenseanxiety. The friends and relatives of the hijacked passenegers passed those days in agony. And what did the members of the Crisis Management Committee do during this period? Well, let me tell you! They held meetings after meetings; the government provided their lunches and dinners. The outward show was in fullforce but they could not come to a single decision for action.
The heads and tails of the different factions of the Crisis Management Group numbered some 50 officers. They needed to be fed three times a day. The morning and evening refreshments (cutlets and sandwiches) plus the unending supply of tea, coffee and cigarets were on top of that. The supplies came from the Ashoka Hotel. The 'worried' tops of the Group relieved their worry in games of chess and cards. But at the same time, during those fateful eight days, the hijacked passengers of the Indian plane were suffering from hunger, thirst and the cold weather of Kandahar. Their days were bleak and punishing!
Naturally, the Indian security people too suffered from a sense of helplessness when they perceived the top leaders of the Vajpayee government betrayed signs of carelessness and'happy go lucky' attitude. It must be remembered that before Vajpayee came on the scene in Kashmir, the death of a single jawan in a confrontation with the militantscould never take place before at least six militants had been slaughtered. Now the ratio of the dead has changed radically. To day, on an average one militant dies only after seven of our security men have already been slaughtered by the Muslim militants.
The previous chief of the ISI, Javed Nasir had once said:"Our militants can attack at any time and any place. This creates a sense of futility in the minds of our opponents. They become unable to keep cool . The situation calls for continuous caution in Indian jawans. Such pressure is not possible to withstand by anyone."
In order to increase this pressure on the minds of our security men and jawans, Pakistan has adopted a well thought-out plan. This plan is in operation since the total defeat of Pakistan at Kargil. Such a plan of operation is termed'hit and run' policy. You first hit and then flee.
In Chechniya, the Muslim chechens have successfully used this policy of 'hit and run' against the Russian army. It is the same Islamic fundamentalism that is working in both places, in Kashmir and in Chechniya. The militants of both places had their training in Afghanistan, in the many camps set up there since the fight had started against Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Behind these fighters is the unflinching support of the world-wide fundamentalist forces and Jehadic organizations.
It is this tactical move that has overwhelmed the mighty Russian army in Chechniya. The Chechniyan leader has already publicly announced that they would teach a good lesson to the Russians by this 'hit and run' method.
Russia has already announced that the forces operating in Chechniya and in Kashmir are of the same fundamentalist nature; they both learnt fighting in the camps in Afghanistan. They both have the full support of the world-wide fundamentalist and Jehadic organizations.
After the Kargil defeat, the Kashmiri militants had achieved some success by following this 'hit and run' policy. Along the entire LoC area, the small militant bases, hiding behind Pakistani army's well-entrenched cannon fire, take part in such 'hit and run' operation. The militants' onslaughts have sharply increased in number and gravity only after the release ofthe militants in the wake of the hijacking of the Air India plane by the Vajpayee government. The release of the militants by the Indian government has dramatically increased the fighting spirit of the Muslim militants while at the same time reducing the will and enthusiasmof the Indian jawans.
But what Chehniya lacks is provided for in Kashmir.There is no fundamentalist country adjacent to Chechniya but on the other hand Kashmir has Islamic Pakistan next door. Even if Russia grounds down Grozny to dust, there is no way for Chechniya to receive aid and succour from anyone in the neighborhood. But such is NOT the case in Kashmir. Pakistan is ever ready to enter into a nuclear war with India for the sake of Kashmir!
When Parvez Musharraf left for China, he had already completed all his preparations for a full scale war with India. He arrived in Beijing on a Monday and immediately after that he met with China's prime minister Zhu Rongji. At the time, Rongji had announced that Musharraf was China's first guest of the millennium. He also reminded the worldthat Pakistan and China had the understanding of a 'comprehensive partnership'. In other words, these two countries, Pakistan and China, are equal partners in all matters. The nuclear armament is one such matter. Missile technolgy is another.So is the matter of Kashmir. Hasn't Pakistan offered a part of Kashmir to China in the past? This gift has sealed their partnership.
As soon as he set foot on Chinese soil,Musharraf had announced that China was the most dependable friendly country for Pakistan. 'China is the greatest friend of Pakistan', he had announced.
Musharraf had taken with him a team of selected military officers. The implication is quite clear. The Pakistani finance minister, Sawkat Aziz and the minister of commerce, Abdul Rezzaq Daud had also accompanied Musharraf in his trip to China. Unless it had been decided and agreed beforehand that China would help Pakistan in its days of financial crisis, there was no poInt in taking these two ministers with Musharraf.
Even before leaving for China, Musharraf had the opportunity to have conversations with representatives of the UK and the US. The top of the British military,Sir Charles Guthrie stopped at Islamabad to tell Pakistan that they were on the side of democracy but nevertheless they were by the side of Pakistan too. While Guthrie was still in Pakistan, four US Senators visited Islamabad. They too exchanged views with Musharraf. Pakistan had been boycotted internationally in the wake of the coup d'etat in Islamabad but the weakness that the Vajpayee government displayed in the wake of the hijacking incident, rendered Islamabad worthy of the acclaim of the powerful.
All this and the changed situation
world-wide seem to have forced the Vajpayee government some soul-searching.
On a Monday,Vajpayee called a meeting of the right-wing leaders in his
own home.The top of the Indian military, Ved Prakash Malik was present
there in full force. Advani and Fernandez appeared the most active.
The twoconspicuous absentees from that meeting were Brajesh Mishra and
Yashvant Singh. These two advisors of the prime minister are now
well-known in the BJP circle as Bungle-Masters. And so new medicine
is being searched for the Kashmir problem sans these two men. But
it is too difficult to predict even now how far Vajpayee would be prepared
to advance and in which direction. After all, Vajpayee's competence
lies in the constitutionl field and NOT in the art of warfare.
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