Kashmir: Any Lessons from Shin Bet?

An article by Virendra Kapoor in the Sunday Guardian presents a contrarian view to the prevelant doom-and-gloom scenario painted by the usual op-ed writers in the English press. He essentially points out that the "Kashmir Problem" is centered on just five of the 22 districts in the state, covering 15% of J&K's land area and less than half of the state's population of 12.5 million.

One of the tweets that came in response, suggested a documentary for essential viewing: "The Gatekeepers", based on an interview of all the surviving chiefs of Israel's secret service, Shin Bet.

Directed by Dror Moreh, this ~90-minute video contains many elements you would expect -- grainy clips from drones following vehicles used by Hamas operatives, dramatic recreations of some famous "targeted assasinations", especially that of Yahya Ayyash, and of interrogation techniques used by Shin Bet.



What is, however, completely unexpected is that clarity of understanding amongst all the spook-chiefs' that a solution to the Palestenian Problem cannot emerge out the ongoing cycle of violence and revenge. They are all for talks with anybody who is willing to negotiate a settlement. As one of the them puts it memorably. "We need to talk to each other...it leads us to understand each other better...he may realise that I do not eat glass, I may find that he does not drink petrol."

It may not be entirely fair to equate Palestine with the Kashmir valley, but some elements are indeed common: The sense of being dis-empowered and alienated; of being under an army occupation; of midnight raids and the disappearance of young men, and stonepelters .  However, unlike Palestine, separatists in the valley are driven by an ideology inspired by radical Islam. This has resulted in an ethnic cleansing of Hindu Kashmiri's who continue to live in refugee camps elsewhere, and now the perpetrators of violence claim to be victims themselves who say, "Victory is to see you suffer!"

According to Clautzwitz, "Victory is simply the creation of a better political reality". While the Modi government finds news ways of overcoming the cycle of violence, it may be worthwhile to keep in mind Prof. Y. Leibowitz's prediction for Israel, one year after the Six Day War, in 1968:

 "A state ruling over a hostile population of one million foreigners, will necessarily become a Shin Bet state with all that this implies for education, freedom of speech, thought and democracy. The corruption found in every colonial regime, will affix itself to the State of Israel. The administration will have to suppress an Arab uprising on one hand, and acquire Quislings, or Arab traitors on the other.."

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LINKS & REFERENCES

* Kapoor, Virendra (2017) - Rest Assured, Kashmir is not lost for India - http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/9258-rest-assured-kashmir-not-lost-india
* Documentary - "The Gatekeepers" on Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gatekeepers_(film)

Kalavati and Kankali

If there was a book that brings ancient India back to life, this must be it.

Kshemendra's Sanskrit classic, "Samaya Matrika" (The Courtesan's Keeper), presents the life and times of a Kashmiri hooker, more than a thousand years ago. For anybody who looks at the mess in Kashmir today this book is revelation of alternative realities that existed long before Islamic invaders, their pillaging and forced conversions transformed the valley into a completely different animal.

Written sometime between 990 - 1070 AD, the book begins - "In Kashmir, there was a famous town called Pravarapura (today's Srinagar). Its name is a byword for worldly pleasures."

The protagonist, Kalavati, is no ordinary hooker. She is a courtesan, a professional well versed in the arts, one who clearly understands the limitations set by an ageing body. When business takes a downturn she decides to seeks help from a friend who introduces her to an old, experienced lady who becomes her adviser, consultant and mentor.

The book brings to life a time when religion was a garment that was worn lightly. You could joke about Gods and their fallibility. It weaves humor and irreverence with homilies that would do AIB proud. Here are a few samples -

"One's youth must be devoted to a special, artful trade -- that of relieving the unintelligent of their money in various ways..."

 "One who has money is honored by everyone...And  the unlucky one who does not earn money, is always a malefic planet: the heartless Rahu, the slow-moving Shani and the crooked Mangala."

"Do not forget that youth, the friend of lovers, is ever passing. It disappears like the pretty spring creepers and the sun's warmth on the lotus pond; like the autumn moonlight...like a simpleton's money"

Along with tricks of the trade, the narrative carries you through cities and towns that existed long ago, and gives you a glimpse into the lives of traders who crisscrossed various kingdoms with ease. A saffron trader brings his son along and the youngster cannot resist the temptation of making a show of his father's wealth. Scenes that have not doubt, been repeating every year for the past 1000 years!

Many of the places mentioned in the book still exist but with truncated names. Pratapapura is now Tapar, Vijayeshvara is now Vijabror and Parihasapura is the Paraspor of today.





The book also opens up a world of possibilities in Sanskrit literature which, for some odd reason, is now co-branded and fettered with religious texts.

It also makes you look at today's Kashmiri's in a completely new light, for it is difficult to imagine that the ancestors of burkha-clad women, the stone-pelting students and gun-totting jihadi's of Kashmir once lived in an altogether different world!

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LINKS

Amazon - http://www.amazon.in/Courtesans-Keeper-Samaya-Matrika/dp/0143421476

Search Kashmir in Bits and Pieces - http://www.searchkashmir.org/2012/09/ruins-of-parihaspura-i-govardanadhara.html

A Butterfly in Srinagar

This beauty was spotted atop Hari Parbat Fort in Srinagar, last month (June 2015).

What is it called?

My search led me to this US website called Discover Life. Despite its user-friendly search options, the focus here seems to be on the Americas, and the number of possible options stands at 120!

Then there is Butterflies of India. It seems like a great initiative by subject-specialists but most of its relevant pages are under construction now.

Even a scientific paper from Sher-e-Kashmir University did not seem to have this on their list...

Update - 27 July 2015

The answer is in - Indian Tortoiseshell Butterfly (Aglais kaschmirensis)

(Many thanks to Dr. Z.H. Khan, Associate Professor at SKUAST-K!)


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REFERENCES & LINKS

* Khan (2011) - Diversity and Distribution of Butterflies in Kashmir Himalayas -- http://connectjournals.com/file_full_text/1192501H_45-55.pdf

Kashmiri Summer

One of the most enduring pictures in my mind is that of children splashing about gleefully under the fountains of the Mughal gardens of Srinagar.

How many generations have grown up like this, soaked in memories of sparkling waters and clear blue skies?

Emerald green paddies, towering poplars and chinars lining the banks of Jhelum. Women busy in the fields and orchards. Nearly a thousand years ago when Kalhana sat down to chronicle the "Rajatarangni" (The River of Kings) stretching back another thousand years, he would have seen the same mountains and valleys, the same motely mix of good leaders and pathetic ones.

In Kalhana's time the Vaishnavite-Shaivite conflict or the Buddhist-Hindu friction may have been no different from the Pandit-Sunni faultlines we see today. The aspirations of the Tibetan Shaivite warriors riding down from the Zoji-la pass, via Kargil, into the valley would have been no different from those of the Pakistani soldiers cowering on Tiger Hill, waiting for the next 155mm shell to crash in.

Surprisingly, I saw a lots less of the army than I expected. Apart from isolated pickets overlooking the road to Gulmarg it is the long convoys of troop-trucks returning from northern Kashmir that told you about trouble brewing in other places. Bullet-proof APCs, canvas covers pock-marked with bullet-holes, soldiers perched atop truck with their fingers on LMG triggers and heads covered in motorbike helmets.

The little girls splashing about in Shalimar Bagh may not have heard of a disabled queen named Didda who once ruled Kashmir with an iron hand. Perhaps a few summers down the line they will look at the world through the peepholes of a hijab, or may be they will toss it aside and seek a world without diktats.

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REFERENCES & LINKS

* Sen, Shailendra (): Ancient history and civilization -- GoogleBooks -- https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA341&lpg=PA341&dq=sankaravarman+kashmir+utpala&source=bl&ots=4-u56FxP8m&sig=-IqZAbWLViyf-U45YCcXu2AZKIo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBmoVChMIl4j0kfnQxgIVAlqOCh1AiQ-W#v=onepage&q=sankaravarman%20kashmir%20utpala&f=false


* Kalhana's Rajatarangini (MA Stein's translation) -- https://books.google.co.in/books?id=KzxTkI9iAxkC&pg=PA416&lpg=PA416&dq=rajatarangini+place+names+now&source=bl&ots=u3erUgOvlA&sig=4soymOEK7y2Tj9WY-faH1PMqXNQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAWoVChMIn4zKj_rQxgIVBtSOCh2LdALf#v=onepage&q=rajatarangini%20place%20names%20now&f=false

* Wiki - Rajatarangini - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajatarangini

Kashmir before Haider

Yesterday, I saw the movie "Haider". I liked it.

For the first time Bollywood seems to have made an attempt to present a balanced picture of the endless cycle of violence in Kashmir. It is the story of a doctor who cares more about saving lives than about political affiliations; an army officer who reckons its better to blow up a home to kill a militant than to lose his men to sniper fire; an aspiring politician who snitches on his own brother so that he can marry his sister-in-law, and a son who goes through all this in a daze...

Yet, the image that is etched in my mind is that of a temple in ruins. It lends a dramatic backdrop to a mediocre song-and-dance sequence but as the cameras pan in and out of the broken stonework, questions come pouring out: Who built this massive shrine? When? Who brought it down? Why? What did the original structure look like?...



The Martanda Sun Temple stands on the Anantnag plateau, overlooking the Kashmir valley. The original temple is said to have come up around 370AD. A few centuries later, it was expanded by a king named Lalitaditya Muktapida (725-756AD). It stood for a thousand years before it was destroyed by Sikander But-shikan (idol-breaker).

During his reign (1389-1413AD)  -

"Hindu temples were felled to the ground and for one year a large establishment was maintained for the demolition of the grand Martand temple. But when the massive masonry resisted all efforts, fire was applied and the noble buildings cruelly defaced." 

Who would have thought that the same site would be used to portray yet another round of vicious violence...

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REFERENCES / LINKS

* Review - First Post - http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/no-haider-isnt-fair-but-that-is-no-reason-to-boycott-it-1743811.html

* Review - Mint - http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/L25cl1PxL2DGCxZdZ2xwWK/The-thing-thats-wrong-with-Haider.html

* Lalitaditya on Surekha.com -- http://creative.sulekha.com/lalitaditya-muktapida-an-omnipotent-indian_101799_blog

* The Connecting Link: Hamlet, Aligarh Muslim University and Wittenberg Univrsity -- http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/the-connecting-link/article6485003.ece

Along the Mughal Road

11 March, 2014

"Head-Lights Off; Body Lights On" 

We are in the domain of the Ace of Spades, the 25th Infantry Division of the Indian Army.  It is a three hour drive from Jammu to Rajouri, and this perhaps in the most prominent roadside sign you will see along the highway. Words painted in terse block letters mark the iron gates guarding military camps, all along a route that has long been known as the Mughal Road.

A drive like this would have been a breeze in any other Himalayan river valley, but this is J&K, a magnet to assorted, armed fanatics from across the border. If you happen to arrive at one of these gates at night with the wrong lights on, chances are that you will be shot first and asked questions later.

Having been warned not to travel after sunset,  we had  out in pre-dawn darkness, driving through un-seasonal rains, along the Akhnoor plains and the Chenab river-valley, and over hills overlooking an endless chain of sodium vapor lamps that mark the Indo-Pak border.

As the rains eased and darkness gives way to dawn, army trucks lumbered along the highway, dropping ROPs - Road Opening Parties - soldiers in parkas and assault rifles trudge up and down the roads. Places with evocative names keep coming up -- Sundarbani, Kalighan, Naushera and  Bafliaz.

The Ace of Spades is only the most recent in the long list of army divisions that had passed through these mountains and valleys.  In 1587 Jalaluddin Akbar went down this road to conquer Kashmir. He left behind large gardens and new townships. The Mughal army that accompanied his son, Jehangir, made its mark in a different way – it built a fortified Serai, and named it after the emperor’s royal intestines!

The story goes that that in the early 1600's, Jehangir, was on his way back from the Kashmir valley to Delhi when he suddenly passed away. Years of being an opium addict and an alcoholic had finally caught up with him. In any case the power behind the throne was his 13^th wife, Empress Noor Jehan. Given the precarious state of Mughal succession planning, this lady decided that the only way to survive the inevitable power struggle was to act as though her husband were still alive until they reached safer areas. So on the banks of the Rajauri Nullah, she had the body eviscerated, buried the emperor's decaying innards at Chingus Fort, propped his body on a caparisoned elephant, and carried on in royal splendor, until they reached Lahore. 

Today, big changes are afoot in a region that has been racked by an insurgency spread across two decades. Despite the heavy army presence, or perhaps because of it, new institutions are slowly coming up to match the rising expectations of a new generation. Prominent among them is the Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University.

The university is eight kilometers off the Mughal road, and a leap of faith in more ways than one. Named after a local Sufi saint, this seat of learning seems to rise from the middle of nowhere, at the foothills of the snowcapped Pir Panjal mountain range. It was started a decade ago by a retired Kashmiri police officer with a Rs.20 crore donation from local shrines. With additional public donations and government grants that followed, the university has been able to set up labs, hostels, classrooms and libraries.

The infrastructure and facilities does bring in local students in large numbers. Hostel food is not bad and cheering at cricket matches here does not attract sedition charges. However, in a state where parents are wary of sending their children to universities in distant parts of India, the biggest challenge is to attract – and retain – good professors. Local employment prospects continue to be grim.

On our way back to Jammu, a pink mini-bus zips past a hairpin bend. In hills and valley that have seen more guns and bullets than books or pencils, Simran Coach has a big banner quite different from those outside the army camps. It simply says, "O God Help Me".

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LINKS:

Mughal Road -- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ancient-Mughal-road-is-a-new-big-tourist-site-in-JK/articleshow/22188250.cms?referral=PM

Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Road

Chingus Fort -- http://explorejk.com/heritage/chingus-fort/