Francois Bernier (1620-88), a French physician attached to the Turco-Moghul court (1528-1858) at Delhi in the 17th century, was one of the first Europeans to travel to Kashmir, on which he conferred the title “Paradise of the Indies”[2] The whole ground enameled with flowers wore the appearance of a fertile garden filled with water, canals, lakes and rivulets. That description is still valid today. Ringed by the snows of the Himalayan range, that jewel on the northern rim of India, has attracted the pens of many travelers since then. As recorded by another European traveler, Ippolito Desideri (1684-1733), a Jesuit priest who hailed from the environs of Florence,[3] the Kashmiris called their land “Bahisht” meaning terrestrial paradise. Some have claimed that Kashmir excels even the much-adored Switzerland.[4] The land itself is still a “paradise” to the eye. But the Kashmir issue, which has become a highly emotive subject interwoven with terrorism, foreign interference and mercenaries, continues to arouse, even after more than half a century following Britain’s exit, considerable anxiety, particularly as the immense military potential of India and Pakistan may tempt some quarters to resort to another war. The Prussian Clausewitz has constructed it to mean an extension of “politics by other means”. Kashmir is part of India, but the two neighbors, India and Pakistan, have continued their contest over it in the diplomatic arena, and also on the battlefield in the years 1947-48, 1965, 1971, and most recently in 1999. A succession of India’s leaders perpetuated the belief that the Kashmiris ought to be accorded a “special status”, and Kashmir remains a valuable asset for Pakistani politicians for domestic competition. Kashmiri involvement for Pakistan, which also inherited the “burden” of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), causes a dangerous drain of manpower and financial means much beyond the dictates of security, and for India it means the deployment of military strength on a tenuous front line where superiority of numbers and armour can hardly be capitalized. The insurgency in Kashmir and partial foreign involvement behind it constitute a classic low-intensity conflict. The threat of the next armed clash escalating into a major war, even an unforeseen nuclear one, is now a matter of international concern. South Asia stands today at a crossroads. One is the promise of peace, and the other is the threat of another major conflict. The among others, holds the key to both of these alternatives.

I had published my first article on Kashmir in the year 1953. “The Kashmir issue” was the topic of my first academic research when I became, a couple of years later, a student of international relations at the Maxwell Graduates School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University in the State of New York. Four decades passed before I had the good fortune to visit the Valley of Kashmir[5] which has inspired countless people by its beauty. I reached Srinagar, the summer capital of the State of Jammu and Kashmir,[6] from New Delhi in little over two hours by air and looked down on the tortuous country through which Bernier had exasperatingly traveled with the army of the Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb(1618-1707). Jammu and Kashmir, called by the shorter term “Kashmir”, which also comprises Baltistan, Gilgit, Hunza, Ladakh, and Nagar[7] is one of the largest states in the Indian Union.[8] It is also one of the highest habitations in the world. Srinagar is said to be one of the oldest cities of India, presumably founded by Emperor Asoka (Ashoka, c.269-232 B.C). Kashmir possesses an uninterrupted series of written records of its history since ancient times, Anchored on the extreme north of India, Kashmir experiences, in unlucky times as well as in happier circumstances, a variable climate, including the temperate cool of the Valley, the tropical heat of the winter capital Jammu, and the arctic cold of Ladakh. Not only the nomadic Gujarat, but also the government today moves from the warm regions of Jammu to the cool of Srinagar in summer time. Almost all the wonderful phenomena of nature may be found in the State of J&K from mountain peaks like the K2[9] or Mt. Goodwin Austin on the Karakoram range, the second highest in the world, to glaciers of great size such as Baltoro. A number of gigantic glaciers are only exceeded in size by the great Humboldt of Greenland.[10] Every morning in Srinagar, sunlight touches the grey waters of the lakes and turns them into a shimmering gold. Its meadows carpeted with wild graceful flowers of rainbow colours, the Valle, thousands of feet above sea-level, is surrounded, even during seedtime and midsummer, by snow-capped mountains and watered by the Jhelum and its tributaries. The Valley is, indeed, “an emerald set with pearls”.[11] It is also “unique as an excursion ground”[12] for students of geology. The forests, the green gold of Kashmir, are still preserved. They were a regular haunt of lovers of sports and adventure who could find ibex or wild goats with very long horns, musk deer with slender legs and beautiful meadows, frequented for centuries, by shepherds and their flocks, amid forests of silver fir, majestic oak, blue pine, and graceful birch trees.[13] Irrigation canals having previously turned barren tracts into rich fields or rice and wheat, most of the Kashmiris are still dependent on the land for their livelihood. Meadows, alive with crocuses, daffodils and irises, soon give way to juicy peaches, pears and plums. It is the flora of Kashmir that make it the “Happy Valley”.[14] Gulmarg, at an altitude of 2,650 metres above sea level, is a “meadow of flowers” with groves of pines and mountains in the background.[15] Kashmir is the only area where saffron (or Kesar) grows. This is a land of countless springs often with medicinal effects and waterfalls pouring down. The country boasts many lakes the one called the Dal Lake being spanned by wooden bridges that connect the two sides of the capital city. Picturesque and self-contained houseboats, some of which have their own floating gardens, are the homes of many Kashmiris. Shikaras, or small flat-bottomed boats that glide between the houseboats, provide other provisions. The Moghul gardens,[16]some commanding a superb view of lakes, were built long before those in Versailles were patronaged by Louis XIV. The rulers of India are believed to have laid “777 gardens” (perhaps to mean “many”) only in the neighborhood of the Dal Lake. It was they who introduced the chenar (plane) trees which now symbolize the whole Valley. The name of the small island in the centre of the Dal Lake, or :Char Chenar”, is derived from the four symmetrical trees on it. All gardens were arranged in a number of terraces, one above the other. Spread with flower beds and with rows of fountains in between. The Moghuls watched the fountains and multicoloured flowers from the exquisitely decorated pavilions.
The monuments, temples and mosques reflect the various long epochs of Kashmir’s history and illustrate its diversity. Often a Hindu temple lies next to a tomb of Muslim saint. Some localities are therefore sacred to the followers of both religions. The Shankarachaya temple (which I visited) was built on the crest of high hill overlooking Srinagar, and is considered sacred by Muslims and Buddhists alike. The Hazratbal Mosque (that I have seen) is believed to house the hair of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Scattered around are also prayer-walls inscribed with “Om mani padme hum”.[17] Sir Walter Lawrence, an early traveller, states that crime was almost unknown, the sight of blood was abhorrent, and property was absolutely safe. Joshua Duke,[18] a surgeon resident, wrote in 1904 that one felt in the presence of the “Maker of the Universe”. All travelers sought to describe the beauties of the scenery. No one left Kashmir unaffected by its peaceful atmosphere. All Kashmiris, whether Muhammadan, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Christian, wanted to return to this tranquil region. Some of the descriptions above that fit most of Kashmir’s long history are, at best, partially true now. To be exact, India, frequently described as “the world’s largest democracy”, has been battling terrorism for decades, and efforts to move along the path of sustained development are held hostage to violence. Still evolving democratic institutions, elaborated by the founding fathers of developing countries like India, are under threat from militant groups which reject democratic norms. Such networks, whose origins lie in the creation of an environment in the pursuit of objectives defined in religious terms, are leaving their imprint on a number of other countries as well. The Afghan war against Soviet military intervention had attracted volunteers to camps in received weapons training as well. After the Soviet withdrawal, these volunteers, who constituted a formidable force with expertise in arms and belief in the legitimacy of their cause, sought new battlefields. The same “holy warriors”, whose prowess the West once hailed, are in the forefront of today’s terrorists, in common cause with the small group of indigenous militants of Kashmir. India, which has suffered from terrorism in various parts of the land, is now their victim. Hinduism predominated in the very early ages of Kashmir. Buddhism began to prevail at the time of Asoka. A thousand years later, Shaivism became an important cult. The Valley came under the influence of Islam only in the 13th century. The Muslim ruler Zain-ul Abidin (1420-70) should be praised for his exceptional tolerance towards other religions. This early Islamic rule was followed by a rather long Moghul administration with short reigns of Afghanis and Sikhs. Raja Gulab Singh (1792-1857) purchased (1846) all the lands between the Indus and the Ravi from the East India Company. All of this territory remained under his successors until 1947 when Kashmir acceded to India. The unexpected attack on Kashmir from the Pakistan side in late 1947 raised the vital issue of the defence of the state. It left the formerly hesitant Maharaja Hari Singh(1895-1961) of Kashmir with no choice but that of accession to India and to seek military assistance do defend the country. The Instrument of Accession, put forward by the Maharaja and accepted by Lord Mountbatten, the first Governor-General of an independent India, is a unique document in many respects. On the other hand, the invasion had territorial, constitutional and human consequences. Although Pakistan occupied a part of Kashmir, variously called “Pak-Occupied Kashmir (POK)”, or “Azad(Free) Kashmir”, and part of it ceded to the People’s Republic of China (Aksai Chin), there is clearly the much larger original territory of the erstwhile Dogra Kingdom. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah (1905-1982), the renowned to end the autocratic rule of the Maharaja since the early 1930s, had raised the pitch of the Kashmiri ethnic identity, or Kashmiriyat, to such heights that its religious facet had been undermined. Nevertheless, his secular approach in a country where the majority of the inhabitants happened to be Muslims was a cardinal point. Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah(1876-1948), who lived only about a year as the new Governor-General, also had a secular vision for the future after 1947, but the pursuits of his successors virtually destroyed his dreams. The tribal attack from Pakistan created yet another human problem. Many Kashmiri families, who worked and lived in the cities that fell within Pakistan, could not return to Kashmir, and the ceasefire (1949) cut them off from their original land. This book aspires to review terrorist activity carried out ceaselessly and systematically in one of the most otherwise alluring spots on our planet. The rise of militancy, not only in Kashmir, but also in Punjab and in India’s North-East, is related also to analogous belligerency in and around the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Following preliminary information on the land, people, the past and the constitutional history of Kashmir, this book will focus on the rise of political violence and its consequences, following the evolution of democracy from the period of the provisional government. There might have been a degree of mishandling of the Centre-State relations vis-à-vis J&K and the Government of India, but the Congress Party treatment of the former was not much different from what was meted out to other non-Congress State administrations. The rule of law and democracy in the Indian part of J&K is more than in Pak-controlled Kashmir and the area ceded to China. Evidence also suggests that foreign hands seemed alert and available to capitalize. The internal dynamics and external linkages of terrorism have made it a formidable challenge to world peace as well as national security. While dwelling mostly on the example of J&K, this book endeavors to underline once more the need for an anti-terrorist international regime. While the precedent of the Simla (now, Shimla) Agreement (1972) between India and Pakistan proved the utility of bilateral talks in terms of the Kashmir issue, the drive for anti-terrorism calls instead for international efforts including agreements to standardize legislation, extradition, penalties and cooperation among law enforcement organizations. [1] Thomas Moore(1779-1852) is an Irish poet, and not Sir Thomas More who wrote Utopia (1516). “Lalla Rookh” (1817), a narrative poem set (on Lord Byron’s advice) in an atmosphere of Oriental splendor, gave Moore a reputation rivaling that of Byron and Sir Walter Scott. The poem earned what was then the highest paid price(pounds 3,000). [2] François Bernier, Voyages; cotenant la description des Etats du Grand Mogol, del’ Hindoustan, du royaume de Kachemire, etc.. (originally published as: Histoire de la derniere revolution des Etats du Grand Mogol, etc.), 2 vols., Amsterdam, P. Marret, 1709-10;______, The History of the Late Revolution of the Great Mogul, etc., London, M. Pitt, 1676;______, Travels in the Mughul Empire, London, Oxford University Press, 1914;______, Reise des Hern Bernierin das Konigreich Kachemir in Allgemeine Historie der Reisen zu Wasser und Lande, vol.2 (1753), pp.99-128. Also see: The American Library Association, The National Union Catalogue: Pre-1956 Imprints, Vol.698, Supplement, Mansell,1980,p.48.
[3] Ippolito Desideri, Reisen nach Tibet, im Jahre 1714,… aus dem Franzosischen uberzetzt in Allgemeine Historie der Reisen zu Waser und Lande, Vol. 7 (1950), pp.562-567. [4] Keys to Kashmir, Srinagar, Lalla Rookh publications, 1953, p.100. [5] A 478-pp. book with map and illustrations on the Valley: Walter Roper Lawrence, The Valley of Kashmir, London, Henry Frowde, 1895. [6] An early account: aFrederic Drew, The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories: A Geographical Account, London, E. Stanford, 1875,xiii+568 pp. “Jammu” was, then, spelled as such. [7] An early work on the last two regions: Gottlieb William Leitner, The HunzaNagar Handbook, London, 1889. [8] According to the Constitution, adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and which came into force on 26 January 1950, India, a “Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic”, is described as Union of States. Federal in structure with unitary features, India comprises 25 states, including Jammu and Kashmir, and seven union territories. Government of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India 1999, a Reference Annual, New Delhi, Research, Reference and Training Division, 1999. [9] The peaks on the Karakoram range were designated by the capital letter “K”, after Karakoram, and by a number such as K1, K2 or K3. Thus, what proved to be the second highest mountain in the world became known, not by a name, but by merely a letter and a number. In 1867, however, the name of Goodwin Austin, after the British officer who made the topographical survey of the southern portion of the Karakoram range, was proposed and adopted by the Geographical Society in London. Shafi Shauq, Qazi Zahoor and Shoukat Farooqi, Europeans on Kashmir, Srinagar, Summit, 1997, pp.59-60. An early work on the Karakorams: Oscar Eckenstein, The Karakorans and Kashmir, London, published probably by the author, 1896. [10] D.N. Wdia, Geology of India, London, Macmillan, 1949, p.389. [11] Florence Parbury, The Emerald Set with Pearls and Thomas Moore’s Lalla Rookh, London, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co., 1902. [12] Wadia, op, cit., p. 382. [13] S. Early-Wilmot, Notes on a Tour in the Forests of Jammu and Kashmir, Calcutta, 1906. [14] Ethelbert Blatter, Beautiful Flowers of Kashmir, Vol. I, London, Staples and Staples Limited, n. d., p.v. [15] Prabha Chopra, A Panorama of Indian Culture, New Delhi, Government of India Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 1983, p.113. [16] Charmed by the ambience of Kashmir, Emperor Jahangir (1605-27) initially planned four magnificent outdoor gardens (Achabel, Nishat Bagh, Vernag). Sylvia Crave et al., The Gardens of Moghul India, New Delhi, Vikas Publishing House, 1972, pp. 90-120. An older source: C.M. Villiers-Stuart, The Gardens of the Great Mughals, London, A. and C. Black, 1913; Allahabad, India, R. S. Publishing House, 1979. Other new sources: Elizabeth B. Moynihan, Paradise as a Garden: in Persia and In Mughal India, New York, G. Braziller, 1979; James L. Westcoat, Jr. and Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn, eds., Moghal Gardens: Sources, Places Representations, and Prospects, Washington, D.C., Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1996. [17] These six syllables mean that through an invisible method and wisdom, one can transform one’s impure body, speech and mind into the pure exalted body, speech and mind of Buddha. [18] Joshua Duke, Kashmir Handbook, London, 1904 Home Page