PEACEIN

KASHMIR

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Goodword Books

Translated byFarida Khanam

Urdu version: Kashmir mein Amn

First published 2011This book is copyright free

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Printed in India

Contents

Introduction 4

Kashmiri Leadership 7

Lessons from Nature 10

Unwise Method 12

Be Realistic 17

Avoid Political Confrontation 20

The Demand of Wisdom 22

Peace and Justice 24

This is not an Islamic Movement 26

Realistic Politics 29

Global Opportunities 31

Victory for Both 32

Moving Towards a Solution 34

They Sat Together, They Talked andthen They Departed 40

The Task Ahead 42

Kashmir : Heaven on Earth 46

Introduction

I HAVE BEEN writing about Kashmir since 1968. From thevery outset I have been of the firm view that unrealisticpolitics has played havoc with Kashmir, but that nowthrough realistic politics we can once again lead Kashmirto progress and development. Kashmiri Muslims havetoday become disillusioned. They are living in anatmosphere of mistrust. The aim of this book is to assistthem to emerge from the disillusionment, and to startafresh with new-found courage and confidence.

It is indeed possible for the Kashmiris to start a newlife at any given time, but for this, two conditions mustbe met. First, they must hold themselves responsible forthe unpleasant situation they are faced with today. Aslong as they continue to hold others responsible for it, itwill be almost impossible for them to make a new start.Second, more importantly, they must come out of theirdream world and learn to live in the world of practicalrealities. They must abandon the wishful thinking theirincompetent leaders have fed them on. For their growthand advancement to take place, they must carve out anew plan of adjustment with the present situation.Admitting the existing realities, the Kashmiri Muslimsmust arrive at the brave decision—willingly and not outof compulsion—that destiny has decreed that theyshould be a part of India. They have no option but towillingly accept this verdict of destiny.

Furthermore, this is not an evil. It is certainly, in everyrespect, good for them. India is a big country. It hasfreedom and democracy. Here reside more than twohundred million people of their faith. Almost all the big

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Islamic institutions of the sub-continent are located inIndia. All across India, is imprinted a thousand year-history of the Muslims, which should give them courageand inspiration.

Moreover, India provides great opportunities toMuslims in the footsteps of the Sufis to follow and spreadthe peaceful message of Islam—a task which, accordingto a hadith, can earn them salvation in the hereafter.

Once, on a short visit to Karachi, I met a Muslimindustrialist who told me that the Indian Muslims werein a far better position than they were. When I asked himwhy, he answered, “Pakistan is a small country. So wehave a limited market for the products we manufacture.In contrast, India is a vast country. If you produce aproduct in India; you have a huge market to sell it in.”

What this Pakistani industrialist told me has nowbecome a fact of life. In the twenty-first century, theMuslims of India have emerged as the most developedMuslim community in the whole of the subcontinent.This is in no way an exaggeration. And a comparativesurvey of any city can establish the validity of thisstatement. For example, today the richest Muslim, of notonly the subcontinent but of the whole Muslim world, isan Indian: Azim Hashim Premji of Bangalore.

If the Muslims of Kashmir whole-heartedly were tobecome a part of India, then great opportunities for allkinds of development would open up to them. Theprospects of progress here in the fields of education,economics and other fields are not in evidence anywhereelse.

Furthermore, in the sphere of politics, there exist great

Introduction

5

opportunities for them. Sometime ago I published anarticle in Hindi, Urdu and English newspapers, in whichI urged the Kashmiri Muslims to abandon the policy ofconfrontation and whole-heartedly become a part ofIndia. Then the first Muslim Prime Minister ofdemocratic India could very well be a Kashmiri Muslim.I have no doubts about this.

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Peace in Kashmir

Kashmiri Leadership

I HAVE BEEN thinking of the issue of Kashmir since itsbeginning. By the grace of God, the view I initiallyformed on this issue appears correct to me even today. Ihave never felt the need to change it.

I have been writing about Kashmir since 1968. Myfirst article was published in the Urdu Weekly, Al-Jamiat,the official organ of the Jamiat ul Ulema-i-Hind. I quotehere from Al-Jamiat.

“The time for receiving one’s rights is when thedecision is in one’s own hands. But our leaders haverealized this fact only when their case has become a moralone. I have read the speeches of the Kashmiri leader,Shaikh Abdullah, who is very bold and has madesacrifices which have earned him the title Sher-e-Kashmir. But his present Kashmiri campaign has nothingto do with reality.

“In 1947 he was in a position—had he opted for arealistic policy—to make a decision on the issue ofKashmir according to his own will. But, owing to hisunrealistic dreams, he let the moment of decision passhim by. Now, when the time for decision making hasslipped from his hands, he is making a hue and cry. Butnow his clamour, a crying out for justice, on moralgrounds, has no value in the world of today.”

“Once a young man opened a shop. He had set footin life’s struggle for the first time. He had no idea of thesafeguards needed in life when you initiate such a task.So he used an ordinary lock for his shop. One day hereturned from the shop looking very downcast. An

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elderly acquaintance asked him what the matter was andwhy he was looking so sad. He replied, ‘Thieves brokein my shop. The lock I used was an ordinary one andsomeone broke open the lock at night and stole all thegoods.’ The old man pointed out that this had been hisown fault. The young man said, ‘Yes. Now with thisexperience, I have learnt that I must use an extra stronglock on my shop door.’ Then the old man asked, ‘Is thissomething to be learnt after having such an experience?When you started out as a shopkeeper you should haveknown from day one that a strong lock needed to beused.’

“As far as a shop break-in or other similar personalmatter is concerned, there is the possibility that one maymake amends after such an experience. But, in the caseof a national decision, the issue is totally different. Inpersonal matters, even after incurring a loss, there is thepossibility of being successful once again with furthereffort. But in national matters when the time for decisionhas slipped from one’s hands the problem becomes muchmore complicated and difficult to resolve.

“National leadership is only for those who canenvision the future in the present. Those who can seeonly the present and the past cannot lead the nation.However, by their unwise steps they can surelycomplicate matters.” (Al-Jamiat Weekly, New Delhi, June14, 1968, p. 4).

Since then I have been writing on the Kashmir issueover the years. If my writings for the last 35 years wereto be collected, they would form a voluminous book. ByGod’s grace my writings have benefited a great numberof Kashmiris, who, in consequence, have abandoned the

Peace in Kashmir

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path of militancy in favour of education and progress. Iconstantly receive letters and phone calls from Kashmiristelling me of the change in their thinking.

A ‘movement’ implies a movement of the masses but,in fact, it is instigated by leaders who mobilize the massesthrough their fiery speeches and writings.

Then in the name of the masses they earn all thedistinction that goes with leadership. This state of affairsincreases the responsibility of the leader to a very greatdegree. That being so, only that person should enter thefield who has made the preparations necessary for theperformance of the task.

Those who enter this field without the necessarypreparations are grave wrongdoers in the eyes of God,irrespective of how popular they are among the ignorantmasses. The final hour has now come for the Kashmiristo rise above their leaders and to view the whole matterafresh – not in the light of the pronouncements of theirleaders but in the light of practical realities. In doing so,they must chart the course of their lives anew. There issimply no other way for them to succeed.

Kashmiri Leadership

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Lessons from Nature

THE ARMED UPRISING in Kashmir against India began inOctober 1989. Just a month before this, I visited Kashmir,where I had to address a large gathering at the TagoreHall in Srinagar. On the same trip I met with numerousKashmiris. One day, I went with a group of KashmiriMuslims to an open valley just outside Srinagar.

All around were beautiful scenes of nature. From thetowering peaks rivulets were cascading down the valley.As I sat on the banks of a stream alongwith my Kashmiriacquaintances, I noticed the way the stream flowed till itarrived at a boulder. It did not try to break the rock to beable to move ahead. Rather, when it met the rock, itsimply swerved to the left or to the right, around thesides of the rock, and kept on with its journeyuninterrupted. This is an inevitable happening with allstreams and rivers, but when a foolhardy man finds a‘boulder’ blocking his path, he wants to smash it so thathe can forge ahead, even if that results in his journeycoming to an abrupt end once and for all. This is preciselywhat has happened in Kashmir.

I turned to my companions and said, ‘This is amessage from Nature to you. This fact of Nature tellsyou that if in the journey of life you face a hurdle, youshould not seek to hurl yourself against it to carry onahead. Rather, what you must do is carefully avoid thehurdle and continue with your journey. This is the secretof success in life. This applies equally to communitiesand individuals.

The only way to progress is to avoid the hurdles andavail of the opportunities to build one’s life.

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Personally, I do not regard the military or politicalpresence of India in Kashmir as a hurdle for theKashmiris. The Indian army initially entered Kashmirfor the sole purpose of protecting its borders, along whichit was stationed till 1989. Indian soldiers did not at thattime enter Kashmiri villages or other localities. But whenin October 1989 Kashmiri activists took up weaponsagainst India and launched a militant movement, theIndian Army in order to combat the uprising enteredthose Kashmiri settlements where the militants werepresent. Even if the Kashmiri Muslims had consideredthe presence of Indian soldiers in Kashmir to be a hurdleor a challenge, the only sensible way out for them wasprecisely what Nature itself has taught us—that is to say,to ignore the problems and avail of the existingopportunities.

This is not a principle that one should adopt simplyout of compulsion. This principle is a universal one. Itapplies to all individuals and groups. It applies just asmuch to Muslim-majority countries as it does to countrieswhere Muslims are a minority.

Lessons from Nature

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Unwise Method

A BASIC PRINCIPLE of success in life is that, in controversialmatters, one should willingly accept whatever isavailable to one at the very outset. If we fail to do so inthe initial stage in a bid to get more than what we arebeing offered, we only prolong the conflict. Then theconflict is bound to become more complicated.Consequently, we will lose even whatever was availableto us in the first instance.

Let me cite an example to clarify this point. In 1917,the British drew up a plan, known as the BalfourDeclaration, to partition Palestine. This division wasclearly in favour of the Arabs. By the terms of this scheme,less than half of the land was to be given to the Jews andmore than half to the Arabs, inclusive of the entire cityof Jerusalem. However, the Muslim leaders of that timerefused to accept this plan. If they had adopted apragmatic and realistic approach and accepted whateverwas being offered to them at the time, they could havethen devoted all their energies and resources toconstructive purposes. The condition of the Palestinianscould, in consequence, have been much better than thatof the Jews. However, owing to the unrealistic approachof the Muslim leaders, the Palestinians lost their all andhad to face death and destruction.

Exactly the same has happened in the case of Jammuand Kashmir because of the utter ineptitude of the leadersof Kashmir and Pakistan.

On this score, the record of the injudiciousness ofMuslim leaders is a very long one. I will allude to justone aspect of this here. In 1947, when India was

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partitioned, Pakistani leaders adopted a completelyunrealistic stance and staked their claim to two Hindu-majority Indian princely states: Junagadh andHyderabad. Had the Pakistani leaders adopted a sensibleand pragmatic approach and not demanded thatJunagadh and Hyderabad—which were far from thePakistani borders and deep inside Indian territory—should accede to Pakistan, the issue of Kashmir wouldnever have become so serious as it did. The issue ofKashmir could then have very easily been solved infavour of Pakistan. But the two-pronged thrust of thePakistani leaders resulted in Pakistan getting neitherJunagadh nor Hyderabad, and, at the same time, theyalso failed to acquire Kashmir.

Let me cite some facts to reinforce my point.Chaudhry Muhammad Ali was the Prime Minister ofPakistan in the period 1955-1957. Prior to this, he hadbeen a senior minister in the cabinet of Prime MinisterLiaqat Ali Khan. In his voluminous book, Emergence ofPakistan, he relates that shortly after the Partition, theMuslim ruler of the Hindu-majority princely state ofJunagadh declared that his state would accede toPakistan. India refused to accept this decision and sentin its armed forces to take over the state and it was thenincorporated into India. After this, a meeting was heldin Delhi, attended by Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel,from the Indian side, and Liaqat Ali Khan and ChaudhryMuhammad Ali, from the Pakistani side. ChaudhryMuhammad Ali writes:

‘Sardar Patel, although a bitter enemy of Pakistan,was a greater realist than Nehru. In one of the discussionsbetween the two Prime Ministers, at which Patel and Iwere also present, Liaqat Ali Khan dwelt at length on

Unwise Method

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the inconsistency of the Indian stand with regard toJunagadh and Kashmir. If Junagadh, despite its Muslimruler’s accession to Pakistan, belonged to India becauseof its Hindu majority, how could Kashmir, with itsMuslim majority, be a part of India simply by virtue ofits Hindu ruler having signed a conditional instrumentof accession to India? If the instrument of accessionsigned by the Muslim ruler of Junagadh was of novalidity, the instrument of accession signed by the Hinduruler of Kashmir was also invalid. If the will of the peoplewas to prevail in Junagadh, it must prevail in Kashmiras well. India could not claim both Junagadh andKashmir.

‘When Liaqat Ali made these incontrovertible points,Patel could not contain himself and burst out: “Why doyou compare Junagadh with Kashmir? Talk ofHyderabad and Kashmir, and we could reach anagreement.” Patel’s view at this time, and even later, wasthat India’s efforts to retain Muslim-majority areasagainst the will of the people was a source not of strengthbut of weakness to India. He felt that if India and Pakistanagreed to let Kashmir go to Pakistan and Hyderabad toIndia, the problems of Kashmir and of Hyderabad couldbe solved peacefully and to the mutual advantage ofIndia and Pakistan.’ (Emergence of Pakistan, pp. 299-300)

Another relevant example appears in another booktitled, The Nation That Lost its Soul, written by a well-known Pakistani leader, Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan.This book, consisting of 460 pages, was originally writtenin English, its Urdu edition, titled Gum-gashta-e-Qaumwas published from Lahore. We give below a quotationfrom this book.

“Later, during the attack on Kashmir, Mountbatten

Peace in Kashmir

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came to Lahore. At a dinner attended by Liaquat,Governor Mudie and the four Ministers of West Punjab,Lord Mountbatten conveyed the message from Patel, thestrongman of India, asking Liaquat to abide by the rulesover the future of Indian States previously agreed uponbetween the Congress and the Muslim League: that thoseStates whose subjects made up of a majority of acommunity and the State was contiguous and adjoininga Dominion, would accede to the adjoining country. Patelhad said that Pakistan could take Kashmir and let goHyderabad Deccan which had a majority Hindupopulation and was nowhere near Pakistan by sea orland. After delivering this message, Lord Mountbattenwent to sleep in the Lahore Government House. I, beingoverall in charge of the Kashmir operations, went toLiaquat Ali Khan. I suggested to him that, as the IndianArmy had entered Kashmir in force and we would beunable to annex Kashmir with tribal mujahids, or evenwith our inadequate armed forces, we should make hasteto accept Patel’s proposal.

“Nawabzada turned round to me and said, ‘SardarSahib, have I gone mad to give up Hyderabad State,which is much larger than the Punjab, for the sake of therocks of Kashmir?’

“I was stunned by the Prime Minister’s reaction andignorance of our geography and his lack of wisdom. Ithought he was living in a fool’s paradise and did notunderstand the importance of Kashmir to Pakistan whilehoping to get Hyderabad, which at best was only quixoticwishful thinking. It was not connected with Pakistananywhere. As a protest, I resigned from the position Iwas holding in Kashmir operations.”

If one accepts the statements of Pakistani leaders, it

Unwise Method

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is clear evidence that the conflict over Kashmir wascreated entirely by Muslim leaders and no one else. HereI will add that, according to the law of nature, it is notpossible for an individual or a community to exact theprice of its own mistakes from others. A person hashimself to pay the price for his own folly, and this ruleapplies equally to communities. Pakistan is no exceptionto this rule.

Peace in Kashmir

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Be Realistic

IN APRIL 1986, a group of Sikhs got together in Amritsarand declared what they called the independent state ofKhalistan. At this time I wrote an article in the HindustanTimes, captioned ‘Acceptance of Reality’. This article wasabout the situation in Punjab and Kashmir. Addressingthe people of Punjab and Kashmir, I warned them thatthe movements for an independent Punjab and anindependent Kashmir would never succeed. I said thatsuch movements were tantamount to breaking one’s headagainst the boulder of reality. Nothing could be gainedfrom such movements, except, of course, some brokenheads and worse. I advised the people of both states tobe realistic, to accept the status quo and build their livesalong positive lines.

The Sikhs realized this shortly thereafter and themilitant movement for Khalistan soon came to an end. Iam sure that, finally, the Kashmiris, too, will adopt thisstance, but this might happen only after much sufferingand destruction, indeed communal suicide.

The reason perhaps for this difference is that the Sikhshad no beautiful ideology to justify their death anddestruction, whereas the Muslims can offer a beautifuljustification even for such heinous acts as suicidebombing.

Here I would like to cite an experience worthmentioning. It was on January 27, 1992, that two educatedKashmiri Muslims came to meet me in Delhi. They werenot members of any militant group. But they fullysupported the Kashmiri militant movement. They were

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not active militants in the practical sense of the term butthey certainly were so at the intellectual level.

In the course of our conversation, I told these menthat their self-styled ‘Kashmir movement’ was not in anyrespect proper or acceptable. I said it was certainly notan Islamic jihad and it was obviously not going toestablish an Islamic system. Nor, I added, did separationfrom India make any sense. The ‘movement’ could onlyspell more destruction for the Kashmirs. The menpassionately defended the ‘movement’ and even claimedthat the Kashmiris would shortly score a ‘glorioussuccess’. Then, at my request, they penned a few wordsin my diary to which they appended their signatures.‘Once we separate from India’, they wrote, ‘our land willbecome an Islamic Kashmir.’

I told the men that what they had written was nothingbut baseless, wishful thinking. They would soon realize,I said, how mistaken and unrealistic they were. Then, Ipenned the following words in my diary in theirpresence.

‘If Kashmir separates from India, the independentstate of Kashmir that would come into being or, ifKashmir joins Pakistan, the Pakistani province ofKashmir that would be formed, would be a ruinedKashmir. The choice before Kashmiris is not betweenIndian Kashmir and Pakistani Kashmir, but, rather,between Indian Kashmir and a destroyed Kashmir.’

18 years have now passed since this meeting. Thedevelopments that have taken place in these years clearlyprove that the words of the Kashmiri mujahids werebased on nothing but wishful thinking. On the otherhand, whatever I had, with the grace of God, written in

Peace in Kashmir

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my dairy on that day and had told those men has becomean undeniable truth. The developments over the last twodecade have clearly indicated that what will truly benefitKashmir is not independence or joining Pakistan, butrather being part of India and abandoning the path ofviolence in exchange for peaceful reconstruction andprogress.

Be Realistic

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Avoid Political Confrontation

‘A WISE MAN is one who knows the relative value ofthings.’

Judging by this saying, it appears that the Kashmirisdo not even have a single wise leader who is aware ofthe dire consequences of taking to the path of militancyfor the people of Kashmir themselves. This issue can beunderstood in the light of a verse in the Quran thatexplains that when the Prophet Solomon sent a letter tothe Queen of Sheba, demanding that she submit, shesought the advice of her courtiers, who told her thatbecause they had considerable military strength, therewas no need for them to submit to anyone. The Queenreplied thus: “Surely, when mighty kings invade acountry, they despoil it and humiliate its noblestinhabitants – these men will do the same.”

Here the Quran stresses to a very important fact, andthat is that when one confronts a powerful ruler, one mustthink carefully of the consequences of doing so. If theconsequences would prove counter-productive, thenconfrontation must be avoided. Experience proves thatconfronting a very powerful ruler is almost alwayscounter-productive. It causes death and destruction ona massive scale, and the honourable are humiliated. Thatis why confronting a powerful ruler must be avoided asfar as possible, even if the ruler is just and virtuous. Butif certain people choose to ignore this advice or principle,and seek to directly confront a powerful ruler, it ispointless for them to complain later on about the loss oflife and property. They ought to know that thedestruction that they suffer is the price they have to pay

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for their confrontation with an established ruler. Thosewho adopt the path of militancy in order to fight existinggovernments have necessarily to pay such a price. It issimply impossible for a certain group to make a mistakeand then expect another group to pay the price.

I have come across numerous articles and books byKashmiris and Pakistanis with such titles as The WoundedKashmir or The Wounded Valley and so on. These writingstalk about the oppression being heaped on the Kashmirisby the Indian army. Such writings are quicklydisseminated across the world. Yet, in practical terms,they have had no positive result at all. All they representis screaming and berating, and have no positive impact.I am of the view that the blame for the fact that all thiscomplaining and protesting has had no positive resultmust be placed on the shoulders of the Kashmiristhemselves. The Kashmiris can learn a valuable lessonfrom the words of the Queen of Sheba as recorded in theQuran, to which I referred above. The Queen adopted awise policy that avoided the possibility of destructionand oppression by the army. On the contrary, due to theirfoolishness, the Kashmiris have actually invited theIndian army to trample on them and to make them thetarget of their oppression.

The beginnings of a solution to the vexed conflict overKashmir is for the Kashmiris themselves to recognizetheir mistakes and learn a lesson from the example ofthe Queen of Sheba as described in the Quran. This willgreatly assist them in planning afresh the course of theirlife as a people. There is simply no other possiblesolution.

Avoid Political Confrontation

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The Demand of Wisdom

The Quran states: “People of the Book! Do not go toextremes in your religion.” (4:171)

ACCORDING TO A tradition the Prophet of Islam observed:“Avoid the path of extremism: this will lead to moresevere conditions.” (Abu Daud, Sunan Abu Daud, Vol.1, page 197) In present times, this has been the case in allthose Muslim countries where groups have taken to thepath of militancy to attain their objectives. And it hasturned out in Kashmir that the culture of violence overthe last two decades has had no positive result. On thecontrary, it has caused so much destruction that it issimply indescribable. The ongoing conflict in Kashmirhas played havoc with its economy and educationalsystem. It has led to the deaths of over a hundredthousand people, with many more being injured andcrippled for life. It has taken a terrible toll of the moralfabric of Kashmiri society. Another big loss is that it hasforced a huge number of well-qualified and highlyeducated Kashmiris to migrate to other parts of Indiaand other countries. The culture of the Kashmiris(Kashmiriat) to preserve which the movement waslaunched, has been totally ruined.

Kashmir once had a flourishing tourism industry, asa result of which commercial activities continued thewhole year round. But this militancy has dealt a deathblow to the tourist industry. Once a Kashmiri remarkedthat formerly they could even sell pebbles, but todayeven their apples have no buyers. Thus the movementwhich was launched in the name of the Kashmiri peoplehas not benefited the common man in any way, but it

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has certainly bolstered the fortunes of their self-styledleaders.

The Quran enjoins its followers: “Do not grieve forwhat has escaped you.” (57:23) This verse of the Qurantells us of the law that God has established in this world.According to this law, every person and every group hasto experience some form of loss at some time or the other.No person or community is exempt from this rule, forthis is a part of the divine creation plan. No one has thepower to change it.

But along with this there is another law of Naturethat in this world opportunities shall never cease to exist.Whenever one opportunity is lost, another one isavailable instantly alongside it. Hence, wisdom demandsthat we should forget our lost opportunities and, instead,make use of the new ones that are available to us. This isprecisely what the Kashmiris should do.

Exploitative leaders thrive on fanning people’sdiscontent and their sense of being deprived. On theother hand, the true leader is one who launches hismovement by using existing opportunities; and, bypointing them out, instead of pointing out obstacles,shows his people the path to a new future.

The Demand of Wisdom

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Peace and Justice

YOU CAN LIVE in an eternal state of peace but you cannotlive in an eternal state of war. But perhaps Kashmirileaders are simply unaware of this historical reality. Theywant to endlessly prolong their senseless war.

Little do they know that, in the course of the SecondWorld War, Japanese soldiers resorted to suicide bombingon a massive scale but that this tactic completely failed.No single ruler in history, no matter how powerful, hasbeen able to maintain a state of continual war over anextended period. How then, one must ask, do the weakpeople of Kashmir hope to keep up their futile struggleforever? What is bound to happen, sooner or later, is thatthe Kashmiri militants will one day tire of fighting andwill find themselves compelled to give up arms. The rightway for the fighting to stop, however, would be for theKashmiris on their own to decide, willingly and guidedby wisdom—rather than out of fatigue or sheercompulsion—to end this destructive war at once.

Once, in conversation with a highly-educatedKashmiri Muslim. I observed that what Kashmir needsmost desperately today is peace. He replied that theycertainly did want peace, but, he asked, what sort ofpeace? True peace, he said, was inseparable from justice.Peace without justice, he argued, suits the oppressors butnot the oppressed.

My reply was that this was a gravemisunderstanding—one that was shared by all theMuslim ‘leaders’ throughout the world. Peace, I said, isdefined as the absence of war. This is a correct definition.Peace is not aimed at establishing justice. Rather, peace

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is aimed at creating the necessary conditions for workingtowards securing justice. And this, I said, was inaccordance both with reason and with Islamic teachings.

When the Prophet Muhammad entered into a peacetreaty with the pagan Quraysh of Makkah at Hudaibiyah,he secured only peace, not justice. However, this peacethen created a normal, peaceful environment that enabledthe Prophet to work and secure justice as well. Thisclearly shows that justice is not an integral componentof peace. Rather, justice can be secured only after peaceis established, by using the opportunities that peaceprovides. It is not a direct and immediate product ofpeace.

The leaders of the Kashmiri militant movementconstantly argue that they want the Kashmir issue to beresolved in accordance with the resolutions of the UnitedNation’s Security Council. In other words, they insist thata referendum be held in Kashmir to decide its politicalfuture.

This stand proved to be invalid both legally andlogically when Kofi Annan, the Secretary General ofUnited Nations, declared during his visit to Islamabadthat this resolution of the United Nations had nowbecome irrelevant.

However, apart from that I will say something inprinciple: that one can secure one’s rights only on thebasis of one’s own strength and not on the basis ofanother ’s power. It is simply unrealistic and wishfulthinking to expect that the United Nation’s resolutionswill be acted upon in one’s own favour.

Peace and Justice

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This is not an Islamic Movement

KASHMIRI MILITANTS CLAIM that their present war is anIslamic jihad. This is based on a total fallacy. The silenceof the Ulama in this matter has further added to theirconviction. The present war in Kashmir is certainly nota jihad. Those who are engaged in this can never berewarded with jihad.

Just as there are certain rules to be abided by inoffering ritual prayer, so, too, must jihad in the path ofGod (jihad fi sabil Allah) follow certain rules that Islamhas laid down. It is obvious that the self-styled mujahidinin Kashmir do not abide by these rules. For instance, ajihad needs to have a single amir or leader. It also requiresa Muslim territory that can serve as its headquarters. Ajihad cannot be fought for land, power, or wealth, butsimply to establish God’s word. One of the fiqh principlesays, “To declare war is the prerogative of an establishedstate (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitabul fitan, Hadith No. 2957).Another condition for Jihad is that it has to be purely fordefensive purpose, as given in the following verse of theQuran, “But you are free to do battle with these who arefighting against you.” (60:8-9). The ongoing movementin Kashmir meets none of these necessary conditions toqualify as a jihad. It can be called a guerilla war or aproxy war, but certainly not an Islamic jihad. And bothguerilla war and proxy war have no legitimacy in Islam.A guerilla war is un-Islamic because, in Islam,announcing and leading a jihad is the task of anestablished ruler, not of the common man. Proxy war isprohibited in Islam because the government that engagesin such a war does not openly declare its intentions, whilean open declaration of war is a necessary condition foran Islamic war.

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All these facts, as well as the completely useless warthat continues to be waged in Kashmir, cry out to theKashmiri Muslims to put an end to fighting without amoment’s delay. This fighting will not benefit them onebit, either in this world or in the hereafter, in the life afterdeath. Rather, it will be a cause for their destruction inboth worlds. It will lead to their destruction in thehereafter because they are engaged in a war that theywrongly claim to be an Islamic jihad but which, accordingto the Islamic rules, is not a jihad at all.

A struggle for political independence is not an Islamicmovement, contrary to what its proponents might insist.Rather, it is wholly a communitarian or nationalistmovement. There is no harm if such a movement islaunched in the name of a nationality, but to claim it tobe an ‘Islamic movement’ or an ‘Islamic jihad’ is certainlywrong.

In this regard, it is instructive to note that no prophetsof God launched any movement for the political freedomof their country or people, although most of the prophetslived in similar situations in which political leaderslaunch movements for national liberation. For instance,at the time of the Prophet Joseph, a pagan foreign familyruled over Egypt. Yet, the Prophet Joseph did not launcha political movement or struggle against them. After theProphet Joseph, certain political leaders, who were notamong his companions, did launch such a movement.

If the Kashmiri Muslims want to make theirmovement an Islamic one, the first thing they must do iscompletely renounce violence. They must also admit thatthe movement that they have launched had actually beena communitarian or nationalist one, on which they

This is not an Islamic Movement

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wrongly stuck an ‘Islamic’ label. Naturally, such amovement cannot win divine succour.

One often hears Kashmiris lament that they are beingcrushed on two sides—by the Indian Army, on the onehand, and by militants, on the other. They also claim thatwhen their jihad was launched, a good number of piousand well-meaning people were involved in it but thatnow all sorts of criminals and other bad elements havejoined it, thereby giving it a bad name. This, I believe, iswholly incorrect. Sooner or later, guerilla war inevitablyculminates in this sort of situation. At first, guerilla warmight be led by people who appear good and sincere,but later, inevitably, all sorts of bad elements join it. Thisis what has happened in the case of Kashmir, too, wherebad elements wrongly seek to give religious legitimacyto killing and looting by calling their actions an Islamicjihad.

This is why I believe that this excuse has absolutelyno positive purpose at all for the Kashmiri Muslimsthemselves. They must admit that the launching of theirguerilla war was wrong from the very first day itself. Toadmit their mistake is the first step that they must take,and they must desist from heaping the blame on othersfor whatever has happened in Kashmir.

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Realistic Politics

SUCCESS IN LIFE can be achieved by availing of a secondchance which is always there to be tapped. This fact is astrue for Kashmir as it is for other countries. For instance,the first chance of success for India was to rise as anundivided India, but that could not be realized. Then ourleaders availed of the second chance and now India isfast emerging as a powerful, developed country. This hashappened in one form or another with other countries.Every country has in one way or the other lost the firstchance, but have gained new life by availing the secondchance. The same can be the case with Kashmir.

The leaders of Kashmir had a political dream for theirland prior to the Partition—that was, in a sense, theirfirst chance to fulfil this dream. But they lost this chancewith the Partition in 1947. The Kashmiris now have asecond chance, which they must fully avail of so that theycan build a new Kashmir based on realities. The leadersof Kashmir dreamt of an independent country for theirpeople. But this proved to be impossible because ofpolitical and geographical realities. Today, the onlyrealistic possibility for Kashmir is to remain a part ofIndia, with the special status as granted to it by Article370 of the Indian Constitution. Till now, the Kashmirileaders have been engaged in what I call ‘the politics ofthe impossible’. Now, it behoves them to recognizepractical realities and engage in ‘the politics of thepossible’. The Kashmiris must forget the past and learnto live in the present. They must seek to chart the courseof their lives while recognizing the practical realities ofthe present, rather than living in the past and dreamingof impossible solutions and chimerical schemes.

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If Pakistan followed the policy of the acceptance ofreality with regard to Kashmir, it would not be somethingnovel for it. In the case of Bangladesh (East Pakistan) ithas already agreed to this policy of the acceptance ofreality. This being so, Pakistan has no excuse to justifyits stand.

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Global Opportunities

THE KASHMIRI MUSLIMS have certain advantages or pluspoints which perhaps they have not discovered so far.For instance, if they choose willingly to be part of India,they can enjoy the status of being a part of a country thathas the distinction of having the world’s largest Muslimpopulation, more than Pakistan and Bangladesh, afterIndonesia. If the Kashmiri Muslims were conscious ofthis fact they would regard it as one of life’s greatimmense blessings. Such positive thinking would makethem confident, courageous and totally free from anyinferiority complex. The Kashmiri Muslims, due to theirincompetent leaders, have lost their first chance. But thesecond chance still exists for them. They can still findeverything they want by availing of that second chance.

Today, the whole world has become a global village.Now the change in the political system has becomerelative. Our new global conditions have made it possiblefor anyone living anywhere on the face of the earth tocommunicate with people across the world without anyrestrictions. In such a situation, even if people and groupsdo not form part of the political class or do not have astate of their own, they can still have all the benefitswhich in earlier times they could have had only if theywere part of the ruling class or had their ownindependent state. Singapore and Japan provide suchexamples in modern times. These global opportunitiescan be made available to the Kashmiris, too, but only ifthey act wisely and learn how to use them.

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Victory for Both

IT OFTEN HAPPENS that two groups quarrel over a piece ofland. A part of the land is grabbed by one group and therest by the other. One way to end the quarrel is for bothgroups to fight each other till, at last, both of them aredestroyed in the process. The other, and obviously moresensible, way is for both parties to agree that each willkeep that part of the land that is currently in itspossession, that they will cease fighting, and that theywill concentrate, instead, on developing the land thatthey control. This is called a ‘win-win solution’.

This, to my mind, is the best and most practicableformula to solve the conflict between India and Pakistanover the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Both India andPakistan presently control parts of the state. If the twoagree to remain in possession of whatever part of thestate they presently control and cease fighting, thatwould be a ‘win-win solution’. They could then turn theirattention to, and focus their resources on developing theirown countries.

It is true that the portion of Kashmir under Pakistanicontrol is considerably smaller in size than that which isunder Indian rule. But the size of a territory is only ofrelative importance. What is most important is to useone’s available resources in a wise manner, even if thearea under one’s control is small. Numerous smallcountries or territories have flourished and emerged asprosperous commercial and financial hubs across theworld—Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taiwan, forinstance.

Man is a psychologically complex creature. If one is

32

driven by negative and destructive emotions andimpulses, one’s whole personality turns negative.Conversely, if one is driven by positive thinking, one willhave a positive personality. This rule applies as much toindividuals as it does to groups, communities andcountries. The vexed issue of the political status ofJammu and Kashmir has been a continuing source ofconflict and bitterness between India and Pakistan from1947 onwards. Both countries feel that the other hassnatched-off its rights. Consequently, both countries seeone another as rivals. The accompanying emotions haveproven to be a major hurdle in the progress andprosperity of both countries. It is now time for both Indiaand Pakistan to rid themselves of negative feelings, anddevelop a new mind-set that is based on the principle of‘I win, and so do you’. If this happens, new doors toprogress will open for the peoples of both countries and,of course, for the Kashmiris as well.

From 1947 till the present day, both India and Pakistanhave seen each other as enemies. But if the change inpsyche that I call for occurs, both will begin to see eachother as friends. This will prove to be a major boost inenabling both of them to work for the welfare of theirown people, while also paving the way for joint actionin developing the region as a whole. This is the ‘win-win solution’ that we must work towards.

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Victory for Both

Moving Towards a Solution

IN REALITY, THE choice for Pakistan today is not betweendemocratic and military rule, but, between one of twostates: to remain in the impasse that it finds itself in,thereby wiping itself off the roadmap of the globalcommunity, or to extricate itself from this impasse andmove ahead.

In the history of a country it sometimes happens thatits course of progress comes to a standstill. At such times,it becomes imperative for it to take bold steps if it wantsto move ahead. Naturally, this is a sensitive matter andsuch steps might go wholly against popular sentiment.This is why such courageous decisions are often takenby strong military rulers rather than democratically-elected politicians who, being chosen by their people,have to pander to their emotions and prejudices and soare generally unable to take such steps as might hurt theirsentiments.

Let me cite one instance to make this point. TheFrench President Charles de Gaulle (d. 1970) was a topgeneral in the French Army, but later manipulated hisway to the post of President. On the face of it, this wasan anti-democratic move, but by doing so, de Gaulle wasable to save France in a manner that a democratically-elected government could not possibly have adopted. Heunilaterally announced the end of French rule in anumber of French colonies in Africa and elsewhere,because this was proving to be a burden for France,rendering France as the ‘sick man’ of Europe in the wakeof the Second World War, when all European countriesexcept for France were making great strides towardsprogress and development. It was this decision, against

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the wishes of the people, which made France one of thedeveloped nations of the world. Obviously, this move,which was widely unpopular in France, was a necessaryone for the greater good of the country, but only a boldand strong ruler could do this, unmindful of popularsentiment and opposition.

The current situation in Pakistan is somewhat similar.Pakistan’s undeclared war against India over Kashmirhas brought immense loss and destruction to Pakistanitself. Consequently, the entire world views Pakistan asa country with no stability. Foreign investors are nowextremely reluctant to invest in Pakistan. The proxy warin Kashmir has led to rapidly escalating instability andviolence within Pakistan itself, causing grave problemsfor its own people. Scores of Pakistan’s religious andeducational institutions have turned into centres ofviolence and destruction. Because of all this, Pakistan iswitnessing an alarming brain-drain, with most of itshighly-qualified and capable people fleeing the countrybecause of the ongoing violence, the lack ofdevelopmental opportunities, and the poor state ofinfrastructure in the country.

The completely unrealistic policies of Pakistan withregard to Kashmir have proven to be a stumbling blockthat is blocking the path to Pakistan’s furtherdevelopment. The only way out for Pakistan is to changeits policy as regards Kashmir, that is, it should ratherfocus on the opportunities for positive development andprogress that are available to it. Pakistan must nowrecognize the status quo in Kashmir, and accept the Lineof Control in Kashmir as the international borderbetween India and Pakistan, albeit perhaps with somenecessary adjustments. This can be a permanent solution

Moving Towards a Solution

35

to the Kashmir conflict. For this, Pakistan must cease itsemotion-driven policies and politics with regard toKashmir and, instead, adopt a sensible, realistic andpragmatic approach. Once it is able to establish peacewith India by settling the Kashmir dispute, it will be ableto work towards establishing peace within its ownborders and work for the progress and development ofthe country.

For the last sixty years Pakistan’s politics haverevolved round the Kashmir issue. However, Pakistan’sefforts to annex Kashmir, that is, to change the status quoin Kashmir, have only resulted in massive destruction—in Kashmir and within Pakistan itself. Nothing positivehas ever come out of these efforts in the past, nor willthey bear fruit in the future.

For Pakistan to accept the status quo in Kashmir andthe Line of Control as a permanent and accepted borderbetween India and Pakistan is, admittedly, difficult. Butif Pakistani leaders gather the courage to take this boldstep, it is bound to lead to miraculous consequences. Itwill break down the barriers between India and Pakistanand build a relationship of close friendship between thetwo countries. The negative mentality of the Pakistanipeople, built on hatred for India, will give way to apositive approach. Trade links between the two countrieswill flourish, to the benefit of both. In spite of being oneas regards language and culture, both countries, havebecome ‘distant neighbours’. Subsequently, with therestoration of all the links, they will be able to benefitfrom each other in the fields of education and culture.By ending its enmity with India, Pakistan will be able toprogress in the same manner as Japan was able to after itceased its enmity with the United States in the aftermathof the Second World War.

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The truth is that when any individual or group triesto achieve any goal, he finds himself in a set of situationswhich may be called the status quo.

Now there are two starting points for him. One is toseek to change the status quo by removing the roadblockfor further action. The other is to accept the status quoas it is and to make concerted efforts to avail of theopportunities which are already available in the givenstatus quo. This second approach is what I call ‘positivestatus quoism’. This is in accordance both with reasonand with the teachings of Islam. The Quran enjoins:“Reconciliation is the best. (4:128) That is, the best wayto settle a conflict is to follow the policy of reconciliation.In other words, conflicts are best resolved by thecontending parties avoiding confrontation and bycoming to a mutual understanding.

This suggestion to build better relations betweenIndia and Pakistan through acceptance of the status quois not a new one. As long ago as the early 1960s, duringthe rule of Jawaharlal Nehru, the governments of boththe countries had evidently agreed on this principle. TheKashmiri leader, Shaykh Mohd Abdullah, had even leftfor Pakistan as a mediator. However, because of Nehru’ssudden demise, this historic agreement could not bearrived at.

“By 1956, Nehru had publicly offered a settlement ofKashmir with Pakistan over the Ceasefire line (nowconverted into LOC). On May 23, 1964, Nehru askedShaykh Abdullah to meet Ayub Khan in Rawalpindi inan effort to resolve the Kashmir imbroglio. The Pakistanileader agreed to a summit with Nehru, to be held in June1964. This message was urgently telegraphed to Nehruon May 26. But Just as Nehru’s consent reached Karachi,

Moving Towards a Solution

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the world also learnt that Nehru had died in his sleep.And with that a major opportunity for peaceful solutionover Kashmir was lost. (The Hindustan Times, June 18,2001)

If Pakistan were to accept the status quo in Kashmiras a permanent settlement and the Line of Control as theinternational border it would entail no harm at all forPakistan and indeed for the Muslims as a whole. In spiteof remaining separate from Pakistan, Kashmir would stillremain a Muslim majority area. Furthermore, it is anuncontestable fact that the Muslims who stayed on inIndia are in a much better position than those who optedfor Pakistan and Bangladesh. Thus joining India will onlyhelp the Kashmiris in many ways. Just take one exampleto illustrate this point. Hakim Abdul Hamid of India andHakim Mohd. Sayeed of Pakistan, both being realbrothers contributed greatly to the field of medicine inparticular. But Hakim Mohd. Sayeed was shot dead inKarachi, while Hakim Abdul Hamid continued to workin peace until he died a natural death in Delhi.

Another point is that adopting a policy of conciliationwith India would amount to putting an end toconfrontation with its powerful neighbour. Such a stepcould throw open the doors to all kinds of progress. Anexample of this is provided by the present Japan. Beforethe Second World War Japan and America were eachother ’s enemies. But after the war Japan opted for apolicy of total reconciliation. Consequently, Japanemerged on the world map as an economic superpower.

It must also be recognized that the policies thatPakistan has been pursuing have proven to be a majorreason for Islam getting a bad name. In line with its

38 Peace in Kashmir

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present policy, Pakistan has used hatred against India asa means to create an artificial sense of Pakistani unity.The result of this wrong policy has been that Pakistan(including erstwhile East Pakistan) has failed to unite inthe name of Islam but appears to be totally united on thebasis of hatred for India. This has given critics an excuseto argue that Islam lacks the capacity to unite theMuslims. The Hindustan Times of June 18, 2001, wrote that“Islam does not hold Pakistan together any more, butanti-Indianism does.”

If Pakistan adopted a conciliatory approach, its peoplewould develop a positive approach and attitude to life,which would facilitate the emergence of a new era,wherein Islam, not anti-Indianism, could become thebasis for Pakistani unity. It might open all doors to God’sblessings upon Pakistan.

Moving Towards a Solution

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They Sat Together, They Talked andthen They Departed

ON JULY 14, 2001, the then Pakistan President GeneralParvez Musharraf came to New Delhi from Islamabad.He had five long sessions with the then Prime Ministerof India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The main objective of thesemeetings was to explore the possibilities of a resolutionto the Kashmir issue. However, the talks failed, and twodays later, on the night of July 16, 2001, Musharrafreturned to Islamabad.

What was the reason for the failure of these high leveltalks? The basic reason according to the information wehave was that the Indian Prime Minister wanted tomaintain the political and geographical status quo thatexisted at that time in Jammu and Kashmir, and to havenormal relations restored in all other matters betweenthe two countries, in order that the journey towardsprogress, having halted for so long, might be set inmotion once again. But probably President PervezMusharraf insisted that Kashmir issue be addressed infavour of Pakistan, —to the effect that the whole ofKashmir belonged to Pakistan—and only then would hebe willing to establish normal relations with India. TheIndian Prime Minister did not accept this suggestion andthen, naturally, the talks broke down. When ParvezMusharraf arrived in India he made such statements assuggested that he was willing to enter into an agreementthrough negotiation with India on Kashmir. For instance,in his speech at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhihe said that a military solution to the Kashmir problemwas not possible. Similarly, at the Agra press conference,he spoke about the acceptance of reality. He also said

40

that he had come to India with an open mind. But laterhe left for Paksitan without any agreement.

My assessment is that he perhaps feared strongopposition on his return from the Pakistani people, whofor decades had been fed on a steady diet of anti-Indiahatred. In the words of a commentator, General ParvezMusharraf knew that the emotional people of Pakistan,who were unable to tolerate defeat at the hands of Indiaeven in the field of cricket, would not be able tocountenance political defeat in the matter of Kashmir.But he should also have known that as long as Pakistanfailed to enter into an agreement with India, Pakistan’sdownward economic trend would be inevitable.

In my opinion, if Musharraf had agreed to accept theIndian stand on Kashmir, it would have meant choosinga lesser evil. It would simply have meant accepting theloss of something that Pakistan had already lost. The cashbenefit for Pakistan of this acceptance would amount toopening all the locked doors of progress anddevelopment. If the Pakistani government continues torefuse to accept the Indian position on Kashmir andcarries on with its undeclared war against India, it willcontinue to be deprived of Kashmir, and will drasticallyadd to its own economic ruin, which is alreadyapproaching a point of no return.

They Sat Together, They Talked...

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The Task Ahead

IF WE LOOK at the history of Kashmir over the last 200years, we can divide it into three main periods. The firstperiod was marked by the arrival of a group of Sufis inKashmir. They played an instrumental role in the spreadof Islam in the region. A vast majority of the Kashmirisconverted to Islam.

The Sufis gave the gift of Islam in terms of religion,but they failed to give them wisdom in the broader senseso that they might lead their lives successfully in theirsociety. As a result, Islam was reduced to a culture forthe Kashmiris. They did not become imbued withawareness, nor did they receive any guidance whichmight have outlined the proper goal for their lives. Thatis why we see that the lives of most of the Kashmirisrevolve around the graves of ‘saints’ or dargahs. Aritualistic form of religion evolved, which I call ‘dargahiIslam’ or cultural Islam. The harm it did was that no true,deeper understanding of Islam could be developed whichwould have enabled people to see things in a correct andfar-sighted manner, and distinguish broadly betweenright and wrong. This unawareness made the Kashmirisvulnerable to negative politics which had no relationwith real Islam. Neither was such politics going to benefitthe Kashmiris from the worldly point of view.

One benefit of Islam is that it gives man a spiritualcentre to focus on; it tells man how to worship God.Kashmiris did benefit from Islam in this respect, but inanother respect they remained largely deprived of thebenefits of Islam.

This second respect may be termed the training of

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minds. The Kashmiris were not trained along the linesof proper Islamic wisdom which might have enabledthem to think and in the light of which they might havetaken right decisions in different fields, in the spirit ofIslam. It would perhaps be right to say that Kashmirisimbibed the religious aspect of Islam only in a verylimited sense, but it never became a part of their rationalprocess of thinking.

The first instance in this regard is when the Kashmiris,incited by certain leaders, rose against the Dogra rule.From the Islamic view point, it was nothing but anemotional outburst. That is why we find that, in spite ofachieving success, this movement made no contributionin the building of the future of Kashmiris. This movementagainst the Dogra rule was launched by leaders withpolitical interests; it did not result from Islamicconsciousness in the real sense of the word.

After 1947, a new period of movements commencedin Kashmir. In this phase the Kashmiri people came underthe influence of two big movements. One was launchedin the name of secularism and another in the name ofIslam. But both these movements were the products ofthe political ambitions of certain leaders. Neither wasborn as a result of Islamic consciousness, in the real sense.

The secular leaders launched their movements after1947 in the name of Azad Kashmir or Pakistani Kashmir.These leaders did gain materially and in terms of famebut, for the people of Kashmir, it amounted to runningtowards a target without a destination. These weremovements which had a beginning but no end.

Another class of leaders consisted of those wholaunched their movements in the name of Islamic

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Kashmir and Nizam-e-Mustafa. These leaders used thename of Islam but they had nothing to offer butemotionalism and wishful thinking. They were runningafter romantic goals, followed by adherents who thoughtthat they were going towards the destination of Islam.But the truth was that, let alone Islam, their movementswere not going to benefit the Kashmiris even in theworldly sense. This is the world of realities: nothingpositive can come here from emotional politics.

It is because of the futility of these movements thatthe Kashmiris have taken to the course of violence since1989. Violent, destructive movements among theKashmirs were in fact the result of their state ofdepression. Earlier they had run after their unwiseleaders, but when their movements yielded no result, outof depression and frustration they started an armedstruggle.

The right way for the Kashmiris would be to make areassessment of their past and, admitting their pastmistakes, chart a new course for themselves in order tobuild their future. It is a fact that they have lost the firstchance. Now the only possible way for them is toconsciously grasp the second chance and wholeheartedlymake use of it to their own advantage. This programmefor their future should be based on three points:education, economic development, and spreading themessage of peace, harmony and spirituality to the people.They must completely abandon politics and the path ofarmed struggle. They must set the feet of this wholegeneration on the path of education. To the end, theyshould focus their attention on building high-classeducational institutions. For at least 25 years they shouldspend all their energies on the field of education.

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So far as the economic field is concerned, there areextraordinary opportunities for business and industryin the state. Kashmiris must productively use the vasteconomic and other resources which are still to a largeextent lying untapped.

The third field is that of the communication of themessage of peace and spirituality among the people. Ifpeace prevails in Kashmir, the tourism industry willflourish. This will be a great opportunity for theKashmiris to spread the message of peace and spiritualityto the world, and this will contribute to success in boththis world and the next.

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Kashmir : Heaven on Earth

FOR CENTURIES KASHMIR has been known as ‘heaven onearth’. In the past, Kashmir was ruled by a series of rulerswho were not indigenous inhabitants of the land –Pathans, Mughals, Sikhs and Dogras. But throughout thisperiod Kashmir still remained ‘heaven on earth’. Peoplefrom all over the world visited Kashmir. If the Taj Mahalsymbolized architectural beauty on the subcontinent,Kashmir was the symbol of the beauty of nature.

This history shows that for Kashmir to make progress,it is not necessary that it should be ruled by Kashmiris.Political power is a kind of political headache. Kashmirneeds constructive activities to be revived for itsprogress, and development, and nothing else.

The Quran mentions everything that is good for man.But it does not mention freedom or liberty. This showsthat the word freedom is very deceptive. It has no realmeaningfulness. A clear practical example of this it canbe seen in 60 Muslim countries, most of which won theirpolitical independence after a long and bloody struggle,in the course of which their people made immensesacrifices. However, in actual fact, these countries are notreally independent in the true sense of the term. Manyof them, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, are now inthe throes of civil war, where rival groups are fightingeach other for power. If the Kashmiris do not realize thisand stop insisting on independence, they are likely tomeet the same unenviable fate. That is why they shouldabandon their present political struggle and, instead,concentrate on the work of positive and constructivedevelopment.

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In July 2001, I was invited to an internationalconference that was held in Switzerland. After theconference we were taken sightseeing to different places.One of the participants was an 80-year old Kashmiri lady.When she saw the beauty of Switzerland, tears came toher eyes and she exclaimed, ‘Our Kashmir was asbeautiful as Switzerland, but today it stands destroyed’.

Who destroyed Kashmir? It was certainly nogovernment that did so. Rather, the entire blame for itmust be placed on the shoulders of those inept Kashmirileaders who, with their emotionally-driven rhetoric,completely misled their people and pushed them on tothe destructive path of militancy. Had they led theminstead along the path of educational and economicadvancement, Kashmir might today have been a modelof progress and prosperity. But these incompetentleaders, with their completely unrealistic dreams andempty slogans, have caused such terrible damage to theKashmiris that it cannot possibly be undone, not even ina hundred years.

To conclude and to reiterate what I have beenrepeatedly stressing throughout this booklet, the timehas now come for the Kashmiris to completely andpermanently abandon the path of militancy, and, instead,to adopt the path of peace and progress. Only then canthe dream of Kashmir as ‘heaven on earth’ come true.

Kashmir : Heaven on Earth

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