Iqbal Chand Malhotra - Kashmirs untold story : declassified

Kashmirs Untold Story

Kashmirs Untold Story

Declassified

Iqbal Chand Malhotra
Maroof Raza

BLOOMSBURY INDIA

Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt. Ltd

Second Floor, LSC Building No. 4, DDA Complex, Pocket C 6 & 7,

Vasant Kunj New Delhi 110070

BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC INDIA and the Diana logo are trademarks of

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published in India 2019

This edition published 2019

Copyright Iqbal Chand Malhotra and Maroof Raza 2019

Illustrations Iqbal Chand Malhotra and Maroof Raza 2019

Iqbal Chand Malhotra and Maroof Raza have asserted their right under the Indian Copyright Act to be identified as Authors of this work

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes

ISBN: HB: 978-9-3889-1283-9; eBook: 978-9-3889-1285-3

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

Created by Manipal Digital Systems

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc makes every effort to ensure that the papers used in the manufacture of our books are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in well-managed forests. Our manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.]

To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com
and sign up for our newsletters

Contents

K ashmir has been in the news, for various reasons, for the past three decades or more. Much has been written about its various dimensions, and how it was the cause of wars between India and Pakistan since 1947. However, there are fewer studies on the events that led to Kashmir becoming such a contentious issue between India and Pakistan, especially over the century preceding the Partition (from 1846 to 1947). There is, thus, the need for a much deeper understanding of the subject. It was with this intent in mind that I suggested to my co-author Iqbal Malhotra and our publishers, especially Nitin Valecha of Bloomsbury, that a book like this one needs to be published. And this led us to this book that you now hold in your hands.

My own understanding of Kashmir began during my postgraduate studies in the UK, when I chose to write my MPhil dissertation at Cambridge University on low-intensity conflicts in India. On leaving the army prematurely, I was awarded a fellowship from The Times of India and wrote my earlier work titled Wars and No Peace Over Kashmir. For both these projects, I did a fair amount of research and travelled to Jammu and the Kashmir Valley, in the mid-1990s, and met people from all sections of the society. The current insurgency was in its nascent stages and there were many seminars debating the Kashmir issue. But, there was no single narrative that would be acceptable across India. Unlike Indians, who are at the helm of these debates, the Pakistanis always asserted that Kashmir should be theirs and that India had outmanoeuvred them at the Partition.

Obviously, it wasnt that simple as my research and reading over the past 25 years have led me to believe. Besides, I have participated in hundreds of prime-time television debates where I have been pitted against Pakistanis, who have a selective understanding of the post-independence history of the region. Many of their perspectives are coloured by their loyalty to their deep state and they are often unaware of actual facts. Among the Kashmiris I have engaged with, there is now an obsession for independence, although neither India nor Pakistan is willing to accept the states autonomy. For Indians whove had enough of the bad news that continues to come from Kashmir, the big question is, Why dont we settle the issue once and for all, through a war if necessary? But as Ive always emphasised, it is not that simple. The subject has multiple dimensions with a long history of intrigues, and unless leaders from India, Pakistan and Kashmir are all able to make serious compromises and prepare for the resulting political fallout, this matter will continue to fester.

It is thus important for us to understand the story of Kashmir, and how the problem has come to take its current shape. This book has been put together with considerable research, citing sources from the public domain as much as possible to keep things transparent. Whatever the optimists might say, I do not think that the Kashmir issue will be resolved in my lifetime. Though I hope, I am proved wrong!

Maroof Raza

the Maharajas death in April 1961. He had passed away in Bombay while in exile.

My grandfather was born in Muzaffarabad, which was then a part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. afternoon at Bombays Royal Western India Turf Club; they had the two best adjoining boxes at the Turf Club and shared a common passion for fillies.

Two summers later, in May 1963, my grandparents drove up our Cadillac Eldorado from Delhi to Gulmarg, with our whole tribesmen raided, burnt and looted Gulmarg and other parts of the Kashmir Valley.

During the summer of 1966, I met Dr Karan Singh and his now-deceased wife Yasho Rajya Lakshmi for the first time when they attended a dinner at our house in Delhis Aurangzeb Road. Dr Singh is Maharaja Hari Singhs son and the former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. They are, of course, Uncle Tiger and Aunty Asha for me. They were an elegant and sophisticated couple and I vividly remember being moved on hearing Dr Singh sing some Punjabi and Dogri songs, while the dinner guests sipped coffee from the familys Rosenthal china.