They want Kashmir to become another Syria

BY: RANBIR MANHAS PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 16, 2018

For past several decades people of Kashmir are fighting a ‘freedom’ war. Over these years they have lost thousands of valuable lives, but without any success. The question arises: Why these sacrifices didn’t bear fruit? To find a plausible answer, I want to take the new generation back in to the realms of history of Kashmir.

The first reason behind failure of Kashmir’s “Freedom Struggle” is ignoring the true history of modern Kashmir and role of Kashmiri leaders of that time.

The new gen Kashmiri population, as I believe has been deliberately kept ignorant about an important historical fact that the Indian Army could have gone up to Rawalpindi while pushing the barbaric ‘qabilies’ who had raided Kashmir on October 2,1947. But, instead of doing so, the advancing Indian forces were asked not to go beyond Uri. Pakistan and its supporters in Kashmir may have their own explanation about this historical fact, but the fact is that the decision of restricting the forward march of Indian Amy up to Uri only was a well thought step taken by Indian Prime Minister Pt. Nehru and Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah. And this was done in the broader interest of Kashmir and people of Kashmir.

Both these leaders knew that the population beyond Uri mostly belonged to Pathans and tribesmen. They also knew that if today’s POK was brought back, its ruthless and barbaric population would inflict all types of brutalities on the peace loving but timid people compelling them to leave the Valley once and for all.

Another fact which youth of Kashmir are not aware about is like this: My elder brother Ghanshyam Singh Manhas being an active member of Democratic National Conference was quite close to then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq. While describing Sadiq Sahib as a visionary politician he recalls the below account:

“In1966, whole of Kashmir valley was boiling in unrest and people there were on roads with self determination as their demand. That day, I was called by the party high command to attend a party meeting to be held at Srinagar. When I landed in the summer capital, I found every wall painted with slogans like ‘Ham Kya Chahitey, Raishumari. (We want self determination). Next day, after attending the meeting when I called upon Sadiq Sahib at his Tulsi Bagh official residence, I asked him, ‘Sir, I have seen slogans of Raishumari written all over. If people want self determination, why don’t you concede to their demand’?

“No, because the demand is wrong ”, said Sadiq Sahib. “People here are doing so at the instigation of Pakistan which after failing to capture Kashmir militarily wants to grab it by using the emotional and innocent Kashmiri population as a tool now. They are shown green pastures, but these ignorant agitators do not know what Punjabis and Pathans will do to them once Kashmir becomes part of Pakistan”, said Sadiq Sahib. “By demanding plebiscite they want to commit suicide and I cannot allow them to do so”, he added. Tells my elder brother.

If Sheikh Abdullah and Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq wanted to save Kashmir and Kashmiris from the barbarism of qabailies, separatists are hell bent to push Kashmir in to Syria like situation.

The latest statement of PDP leader and incumbent Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba issued on the floor of State Assembly is also an eye opener wherein she declared that none else than India could do anything for people of Kashmir. Though Mehbooba Mufti is a new gen leader, her thinking about the welfare of her people is identical to the thinking of the grand old Kashmiri leaders like Sheikh and Sadiq which sufficiently proves that the new gen leadership has also begun understanding Kashmir in its right perspective.

If any struggle has to succeed, its leaders must keep their followers fully aware about their historical background. In case of Kashmir this fact has been fully ignored. The history they have known about is one taught by self seeking leaders like Sayed Ali Shah Geelani, Sayed Slahudin, Shabir Shah and Yasin Malik which is far away from truth. Separatists indeed do not want the welfare of people of Kashmir as Sheikh and Sadiq wanted. Separatists on the contrary have plunged the heaven on earth in to a burning hell by getting huge amounts of money from Pakistan in the name of Azadi.

People of Kashmir therefore need to decide which path they want to tread; one shown by leaders like Sheikh and Sadiq who wanted to save the ‘heaven’ from death and destruction or the one being pursued by the self seeking separatists who are pushing Kashmir in to Syria and Iraq which due to continuous violence existing there are gasping for their survival.?