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EDITORIAL Army Chief General Padmanabhan has done some plain speaking on the prevailing hostile environs in the troubled State of Jammu & Kashmir. Soonafter assuming command of the Army as Chief of Staff, he makes it amply clear that no more mistakes will be allowed on the military front and that everything possible will be done to safeguard sanctity of the borders. For that all loopholes and deficiencies based on the past experience will be plugged. This includes minimising infiltrations, equipping army with the latest equipment and gadgets and making everyone in the hierarchy fully accountable. No lapse or complacency in terms of appropriate response....more Perhaps Prime Minister A B Vajpayee is the only one who stands tormented most by the buoyant ladies one after another. One cannot say that he would have been spared had he been a family man. But the facts do speak for themselves. First, it was Maya Devi who as Chief Minister of UP threw one challenge after another on BJP's ..more |
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MEN AND MATTERS From B L Kak Musharraf is not half Maharaja Gulab Singh and Kashmir --A candid review By : Professor Somnath Wakhlu A year, inspite of bad
knees!… Dr. R. L. Bhat |
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EDITORIAL Army Chief General Padmanabhan has done some plain speaking on the prevailing hostile environs in the troubled State of Jammu & Kashmir. Soonafter assuming command of the Army as Chief of Staff, he makes it amply clear that no more mistakes will be allowed on the military front and that everything possible will be done to safeguard sanctity of the borders. For that all loopholes and deficiencies based on the past experience will be plugged. This includes minimising infiltrations, equipping army with the latest equipment and gadgets and making everyone in the hierarchy fully accountable. No lapse or complacency in terms of appropriate response will be condoned anymore at any level. In fact such aspects are very much part and parcel of any army. Yet mistakes are done and lapses do occur. None is immune. But if one is ready to realise the mistake and make suitable amends it makes the armed forces come out stronger after each ordeal or crisis situation. For instance if Indian Army had not suffered massive debacle at the hands of Chinese aggressor in 1962, it would have been defeated by Pakistan in 1965 war. After each debacle, army in any country comes out better equipped and prepared. In the same vein, after the Kargil war many things have happened in rapid succession in this sensitive zone. a special Corp namely 14th Corp is created exclusively for Ladakh region. A lot of sophisticated equipment has been provided. Ladakh scouts have been upgraded to be at par with any army regiment. Surveillance has been increased manifold. Our soldiers have become more war ruggadised. In fact all deficiencies are either removed or in the process of being removed. Army Chief who has vast experience in the J&K scenario and is regarded to be 'soldier's soldier' knows so well all about the enemy and his own men. Nothing could be more beneficial. Second, he does not agree with viewpoint of some of his senior Generals that fighting insurgency is not the job of the army. It becomes indeed Army's job if such insurgency is sustained with foreign mercenaries supplied with sophisticated weapons. Only Army can outmatch their fighting skills in terms of ruggadised and sophistication level of the weapons possessed by them. In fact, his viewpoint is very close to what General Roy Chowdhary (former Army Chief) had stated in as much as fighting insurgency in J&K is concerned. He had said that Indian army is fighting a unique war quite exclusive to it which needs all the qualities of head and heart besides very special dispensation to segregate the hapless civilians from the militants for any counter action. Third, Army Chief General Padmanabhan is not prepared to give any time calender to end proxy war in the State. It is already in 12th year. It could be another 10 or 20 or even 100. In the given circumstances job of the army is very clear: ''Bring down the level of violence to such a level that the Government can continue to function and take decisions''. This essentially implies containment of insurgency rather than its total elimination. This is in typical contrast to what political bosses and some Commanders had stated when they gave time-calenders by stating,'' This winter is the last one. Insha-allah with ensuing summer total peace would dawn in the State''. Army Chief gives no such assurance other than that the people in the State are yearning for peace and that does give hope for the future. It is so because insurgency essentially flourishes when people are alienated and insurgents have their full backing and sympathy. Fourth, General Padmanabhan is frank enough to stress the point that insurgency is basically a political problem and Army alone cannot solve it. It thus transpires that vital political initiatives have to be taken by the Government even as Army continues to do their part of the job. Needless to mention that Army has launched many goodwill schemes for the people and won their hearts. They definitely feel more secure wherever army cover is available. While Army continues to make all out efforts both on the military and civil front, the Government's action and policies do not move in tandem. In fact, no-policy status persists with reckless abandon which naturally creates ambiguities and even anger amongst the people. Although no Army Chief or Commander will say it openly but it is there for everyone to see and draw one's own conclusions. What this policy should be and how it is to be implemented falls within the domain of political hierarchy. Lastly, there is the reassurance from the Army Chief that through technological and operational techniques insurgency could be controlled in a better way and that he has discussed these aspects with the local Commanders. Even though Army has logged good success rate during the last couple of months gaining upper hand on the adversary, it is hoped that improved operational techniques would yield still better dividends in the coming days. Perhaps Prime Minister A B Vajpayee is the only one who stands tormented most by the buoyant ladies one after another. One cannot say that he would have been spared had he been a family man. But the facts do speak for themselves. First, it was Maya Devi who as Chief Minister of UP threw one challenge after another on BJP's leadership. Who used whom is for the people to decide. Vajpayee in his anxiety to get rid Mulayam's rule in UP, threw his lot behind Mayadevi soon to realise that it was much worse. He had then stated. ''To remove a dirty thorn sometime another thorn has to be used''. And that is that. Political upmanship. He used this thorn-removal technique twice. First on Mulayam by using Mayadevi and then on Mayadevi herself by using BSP dissidents. It is for everyone to conclude who gained in the process. The fact is BJP fortunes continue to sink in the largest State. The second lady that caused maximum sleepness nights to Vajpayee is the strong lady from South Ms Jayalalitha. She got away with almost all the demands barring dismissal of DMK Government in Tamil Nadu. Each time a demand was conceded, another cropped in more menacing form. In fact, she held the Damocle's sword on Vajpayee's head until she finally caused downfall of NDA Government by withdrawing AIADMK support. It is indeed an experience that should stand anyone in good stead. As if all that happened is not enough, yet another lady Mamata Banerjee continues to indulge in blackmail tactics. Vajpayee had almost conceded her demands of petroleum price roll back or dilution of its impact and the same was to be announced on Oct 6 meeting. It was there that other NDA partners made Vajpayee change his stand. They stressed the point that succumbing to whims and fancies for subserving petty political expediency is bad governance which reduces them all in size. If today Mamata gets away with her demands it erodes credibility of not only Vajpayee but all the coalition partners. It would be watched what happens in the days to come. Will Mamata roll out or prices roll back. There also have been two ladies within who have frequently troubled Vajpayee. Uma Bharati has her own style of quitting cabinet and taking 'sanyas'. Sushma Swaraj criticised BJP' policies. The party could ill-afford her vehemence. So she stands rehabilitated in her old slot of I&B ministry. This may not be the end of Vajpayee's headaches even after replacement of painful knee since tie-up with BSP and Mayawati reincarnation as UP's CM again appears to be on the evil. It is yet uncertain which thorn is sought to be removed this time. |
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MEN AND
MATTERS From B L Kak Come 2002, Pakistan’s military ruler, Gen. Parvez Musharraf, will, if he does not change his mind, allow his country to go to the polls. Between now and 2002 he will have a lot of time to accomplish his unpublished target-that is, to get himself deeply entrenched as Pakistan’s esprit de corps. How he will achieve his goal will, naturally, be watched with keen interest not only in Pakistan but elsewhere in the world as well. Whatever his ultimate plan, there is no doubt that if Pakistan’s history makes anything clear it is that although politicians can ignore the Army’s point of view only at their peril, the Army cannot lead politics from the front. Influencing events from the sidelines is a different thing altogether. And according to Pakistan’s well-known commentator, Ayaz Mir, the Army is not the natural party of Government in Pakistan. He has raised pertinent questions: What are the priorities of the people of Pakistan? Setting their house in order to emulating the feats of Genghis Khan? Ayaz Mir’s warning: "We have to make up our minds because we cannot have it both ways". His article recently carried by Dawn has lamented that courting regional isolation because of Pakistan’s identification with the Taliban and encouraging a strange mix of extremist factions to keep alive the fires of insurrection in Indian Kashmir "are aims at odds with the task of national reconstruction". At the same time, Ayaz Amir has explained: "This scarcely means Kashmir be abandoned. Only this that the Kashmiris themselves should lead their fight for independence". In other words, the ruling establishment in Islamabad has been advised not to push into the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir additional men and material. At a time when the average Pakistani continues to praise the country’s successful nuclear tests, Ayaz Amir has argued that Pakistan’s nuclear capability fits in with nothing. And his standpoint on the issue: "It does not enhance our security and only gives us a false sense of self-importance. All the same, if the Army was the natural party of Government our quest for political stability would come to an end". But what is to be done when politicians left to their own devices also turn out to be unqualified disasters? It is not only Mr Nawaz Sharief and Ms Benazir Bhutto who are to blame. Without delving too much into the past, suffice it to say that anyone in a position of power in the last two decades has contributed to the mess in Pakistan. Power, it can be said without any fear of contradiction, went to the heads of Mr Ishaq Khan, Gen. Aslam Beg, the late General Asif Nawaz, Mr Farooq Leghari, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah. No wonder, Ayaz Amir’s finding: It is thus not the failure of individuals which is the issue but the bankruptcy, intellectual and moral, of an entire class. Finding number two: Nothing more radical has happened since the military takeover in October last year than a quick round of house-cleaning. The real need is a restoration of a hopefully chastened democracy. The completion of this agenda would have required, for a brief period, a military-political partnership in order to taken Pakistan out of the woods. There is no shortage of democratic purists who will scoff at the notion of any such partnership. How can a military-political partnership come about? Its first condition is a sense of urgency that Pakistan is at a cross-roads and cannot afford a wrong turning. Its second condition is a measure of wisdom and understanding. These conditions have to be met before the average Pakistani can think of scaling the mountains. But where is the sense of urgency? Gen. Parvez Musharraf should be at his desk trying to work out the causes of things. Instead, like all Pakistani saviours, he is acquiring a taste for foreign travel. And where is the sense of any wisdom? Where the Pak Army should be concentrating on a few select problems, it is spreading itself thin. Where it should be working on a restricted schedule it has set out on a road with no clear end in sight. The Pakistani publication (Dawn) has stated that forgetting past experience and putting their badly-bruised faith in the vows of their latest saviours, the people of Pakistan expected a dramatic form of house-cleaning that would make the future safe for effective and sustainable democracy. "They have been rewarded with the legal nightmare of General Amjad’s attritional accountability", the paper said and added: "Imagine their sense of dismay as they watch the Chief Executive and his colleagues dissipate their energies on inconsequential things while leaving larger issues untouched". It is an open secret now that there is no longer any fervid popular interest in Pakistan in the fate of Mr Nawaz Sharief and Ms Benazir Bhutto or the future prospects of Begum Kulsum Nawaz or Punjab’s ‘little Hitler’, Mian Shahbaz Sharief. But there is also no great appetite for seeing the Army make, for the fourth time in historical succession, a hash of things. And the specific allegation against Gen. Mushraff’s reforming Government: Instead of concentrating on strategy it has been chasing every rabbit that runs across its path. For every problem from canal-cleaning to economy documentation, the Generalissimo’s answer is simple: send in the troops! |
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Maharaja Gulab Singh and Kashmir --A candid review By : Professor Somnath Wakhlu The soldier of fortune from the Jammu hills was resplendent in the glittering crown of a Maharaja. He was Gulab Singh, who ruled over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Baltistan etc. He was the founder of the united and compact State of Jammu & Kashmir. His dynasty continued to rule over it for more than a century (1846-1952 A.D.) Maharaja Gulab Singh's genius winged in two distinct realms of achievement; he was as great a statesman as a soldier. To these he owed his meteriotic rise. Before Kashmir passed on to him he had already, as a Raja of Jammu, established his rule over Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Chilas, Poinal, Yasin, Dard, Hunza, Ladakh and at the end of 1870 Gilgit was finally reduced. Kashmir before the advent of Dogra rule The first direct conquest of Kashmir from outside came in 1532 A.D when Mirza Haidar descended upon her from Ladakh and linked her fate with Moghal Empire. After the death of Aurangzeb, who reversed the policy of his ancestors and shattered the edifice of the Moghal Empire, the phantom Emperors of Delhi could not save Kashmir from falling into the clutches of Ahmed Shah Abdali, the Afghan successor of Nadir Shah. From 1750 A.D. to 1810 A.D. Kashmir was ruled by the Afghans and passed through the darkest period of history. Afghan rule was one of brutal tyranny, in so much so that when a crying baby in Kashmir was made to keep silent when he was told that a Kher Pathan was coming. Barbarity reached its climax. The cup of misery over brimmed. At last the oppressed people turned with hope and longing to Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu for deliverance from Afghan rule. One nobleman Birbal Dhar, who escaped to Jammu and sought shelter with Raja Gulab Singh, who gave him an introduction to his brother Dhyan Singh, a trusted member of Ranjit Singh's court. Ranjit Singh was persuaded in 1819 by Birbal Dhar to send an army to invade and take Kashmir. The Maharaja ordered an expedition for expulsion of Afghan pestilence. This was done successfully and Gulab Singh played a great role in it and thus Kashmir was transferred to the lion of the Punjab. Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The Sikh rule in Kashmir, though not tyrannical, did not redress the grievances of the people and the situation continued to be bad. Kashmir passes to Raja Gulab Singh Much hullabaloo has been raised about the Treaty of Amritsar made on 16 March, 1846 by which the State of Jammu & Kashmir and other areas were given to Gulab Singh. This Treaty called ''Sale Deed'' became a convenient banner and battle cry for the National Conference, particularly during the ''Quiet Kashmir'' movement. Maharaja Hari Singh, the great grandson of Maharaja Gulab Singh loomed large before their eyes and he was forced to abdicate and leave his home and hearth in a humilating manner. Now what we witness in the State today is the nemesis for this wrong-doing. The actual fact about the transfer of the State is that the Sikhs were defeated in Har-ka-Patta on 13th December, 1845 and in the next war at Subraon (10 Feb, 1846) the British crushed them. By the Treaty of Lahore (9 March, 1846) the Sikhs were required to relinquish the Jallandhar Doab and both the banks of Sutluj river and to pay an indeminity of Rs 1.5 crores. The Lahore Durbar expressed its inability to pay the full amount of indeminity. Maharaja Gulab Singh wielding stark reason to settle problems saw the stupidity of not making peace with the British and could observe the coming events through the shadow. By not acting unwisely, a bridge was built when he came forward to pay Rs 75 lakhs on behalf of the Sikhs. The Punjab was saved for the time being. Treaty of Amritsar (16 March, 1846) Then the Treaty of Amritsar was made on 16th March, 1846 by which the State of Jammu & Kashmir and other areas were given to Gulab Singh, who already had conquered much of the areas of Jammu and frontier regions. To say that the Treaty was a 'Sale Deed'' by which the Kashmiris were sold like sheeps and goats on payment of Rs 75 lakhs is to put the cart before the horse. The British had already decided to hand over the hilly areas to Gulab Singh as with their base at Ferozpur, a menacing people on the line of communication ready to rise, it would have been impossible for the British in 1845 to conquer and retain it. Another main object was the British had in view was to dismember the Sikh Empire. Treaty of Amritsar not a Sale Deed It was by political wisdom as well as by conquest that Maharaja Singh acquired Jammu & Kashmir. Not much blood was shed and not wholesale massacre was committed by him in this respect. If by diplomacy the area is acquired rather than by a bloody war is to be appreciated. There was nothing wrong with the Treaty of Amritsar. It was a smooth affair without the ravages of war in which the country would have been devasted. ''The view that Kashmir was sold for a paltry sum by a government whose main interest was to fill its coffers is a travesty of facts and misreading of history'', says K M Pannikar. Kashmir had already been conquered by Gulab Singh for Sikhs and he was the de facto ''Master of the Valley''. Let Francis Younghusband speak in this connection :- ''Raja Gulab Singh is already mentioned as accompanying Ranjit Singh's troops on their victorious march to Kashmir in 1819. On the death of Ranjit Singh there was much violence among the Sikh soldiers and the Governor of Kashmir was surrounded by them. Therefore, about 5000 men nominally under the command of Sher Singh, Ranjit Singh's successor, was sent to Kashmir to restore authority. This was the year 1941 when the British were still behind the Sutluj, but were engaged in the fruitless and disastrous expedition to Kabul, which resulted in the murder of the envoy. Gulab Singh quelled the mutiny in Kashmir, placed there a Governor of his own and from this time he became a virtual master of the Valley, though till the year 1846 it nominally belonged to the Sikh rulers at Lahore''. Again, British handed over Kashmir to Maharaja Gulab Singh on paper. Sheikh Imam-ud-Din, the Sikh Governor of Kashmir, under instructions from Lal Singh of Lahore Durbar, refused to hand over the possession of Kashmir to the Maharaja. It was only when the Dogra force under the command of Yuvraj Ranbir Singh along with some British soldiers came sweeping with relentless fury that the Governor surrendered Kashmir to Maharaja Gulab Singh; hence in a way his conquest of Kashmir. Maharaja Gulab Singh's Administration : It was an age when the frenzy of human suffering evoked no tears. Hearts had become stony but Gulab Singh even though an orthodox Hindu, was secular in outlok and equalitarian in spirit. There was freedom of conscience and worship in the reign of Maharaja Gulab Singh. ''It is not difficult to imagine that he had a Herculean task to clean the Aegean stables of administrative and economic life from which the country was suffering'', says Bamzai, the historian. Law and order restored Gulab Singh launched a compaign against the ruthless people like Galwans, captured their leaders and hanged them publicly. He drove the Khakas and Bombas, the marauders and installed strong garrisons in the passes guarding them. With an iron hand he put down the wanton and unruly people and restored order and thereby rendered trade and commerce safe for all. Jagirs confiscated No less than 3,115 jagirdars had obtained grants of lands from the previous governments and the peasantry was suffering. He shocked most of the jagirdars by snatching away their jagirs which mitigated the suffering of the peasants. Reform in Begar System The begar or forced labour caused the inhabitants a great deal of suffering. He brought reform to this too. He determined a certain number of men in each village who would be considered liable to do labour when called upon by the government. For this they were given one kharwar of rice per month and food etc when employed. An officer was appointed to look after their welfare. Relief to shawl weavers The shawl weavers in the reign of previous governments were in great distress due to the tyrannies of the karkhandars. On 6th June 1847 the Maharaja called the leaders of the shawl weavers and after inquering their grievances issued orders for their redress. Now the shawl weaver had to pay only according to the actual work done by him on the loom and could change the employer at will. He was no longer a serf. This revived the industry and during Gulab Singh's time there were 27,000 weavers working at 11,000 looms. They were given every encouragement as also to the workers of other cottage industry who could now export freely their merchandise without the fear of plunder on the way. Rationing of Food-grains Kashmir lay cut off from the rest of India by the high mountains as well as the cruel treatment of the Government it experienced now and then shortage of food grains. The situation got worse when the dealers hoarded the grains. Maharaja Gulab Singh to meet this situation established a rigid monopoly of rice and had it sold at a fixed price to the people. On the whole, Maharaja Gulab Singh led a pure life even though the court of Ranjit Singh was dissolute in the extreme. His subjects also followed his example so that even a bride laden with jewellery could walk in the dead of night in a street of Srinagar without any fear. |
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A year, inspite of bad
knees!……………………… Dr. R. L. Bhat Bad knees are a metaphor for the NDA government in senses more than one. Bad knees have been hampering the activities of the star-light of the NDA, and the prime minister of the country, for quite some time. Bad-knees are what have been hampering the government from going full throng at tackling the nations troubles. Bad knees would also symbolize a basic conceptual shortcoming in BJP, NDA … the whole political spectrum of the country. Thus you have the spectacle of Mamta taking upon the Left-front government in West Bengal for having made a mess of a first rate state with its confounded philosophy and, at the same time, threatening dire action at the first instance of her Alliance taking a decisive step towards clearing the messed policies. This month marks the completion of National Democratic Alliance’s one year in office. Not a big deal, you may say as the pompous complacence of the celebrations of the same occasions last time ended in the fall of the government within the succeeding month. That may be one reason why Vajpayee has chosen to get hospitalized around this time. There shall be no star to toast to and the focus shall be more on the Atal-knee than on the completed year. And thus, the jinx may pass! Shrewd reckoning that, nay? Why, the outspoken orator has been showing more (growing, if one may say so) shrewdness all along the year. Now politics being the art of rascality, every ounce of clever manipulation is hugely helpful. Probably, none knows that better than Vajpayee who has been tackling disgruntled men and women all around the year. His term began with the bowling out of a bemused Hegde, saw the RSS and Swedeshi stilts swinging uncomfortably, had Balasaheb getting angry more than once, suffered the ouster of a trusted minister and has Mamta blowing as hot as she can get. It certainly took much maneuvering to keep the boat from rocking. That boat is as steady, or as vulnerable, as it ever was. It is leaky and rapturous too, if the recent division in the partner JD is any indication. Six months ago, the rupture between JD and Samta cost the Alliance power in Bihar. None may underestimate the threats lurking in NDA waters. Indeed it is these apprehensions that have forced the government to postpone plans to put in some needed reform in the governing machinery. Far from getting pruned, the ministry has gotten bigger and bigger. Far from seconding the bold actions, it is standing in the way of every bold measure; Jag Mohan’s actions and their aftermath, being just a case in point. Of course, administrative reforms can hardly be expected to be a priority concern amid this state of affairs. Today, more than at any other time during this past half a century, it has become clear that India must get out of the mess it has steeped itself in. This mess is of economics, of administration, of political ideology as well as direction. There is the imperative of transparency shrouded in the medieval mind-set of ‘state secrets’, accountability confounded in the ‘policy priority’, development shackled by the wastefulness of populism. That’ll need a political will and acumen, but more a conceptual clarity. The socialist module that has failed everywhere still rules the political polemics here. Worse, it feeds the self-serving instincts of politicians of diverse hues. India’s hope lies in getting out of these boggle-some mires. The past year saw that hope lived only by half. That the government managed to take the economic reforms further, eased the import restrictions and made the climate more favourable for investment shows that it works, albeit haltingly. There is a commendable resolve there, how so hindered at the knees. That resolve saw Vajpayee traversing the American landscape, trouncing the opposition to a nuclear India and trading the Indian perspective on terrorism to a wide world. In the process it also put the egg squarely on Pakistan’s face. Not a mean achievement that, considering that for fifty years it was the Pak prevarication that always succeeded against the Indian position. Of course foreign policy is the outcome of a host of factors from national, regional to global ones and, achievements there can’t be credited to one account. But this government acted when the opportunity came. That is undeniably its credit. Of course, the inapt handling of the Kandhar hijack rankles. So does the persistent inability to deal with Kashmir. The incursions of ISI are spreading not ceasing, and the law and order situation is not getting any better. Nothing exemplifies that better than a brigand holding not one but two full-scale states in psychological siege. Corruption is rising with even the ‘gherva vastras’ becoming soiled. Prices are rising and the rupee keeps slipping; wasteful expenditure is rising and seeing no remedying action. For the first time even as innocuous an operation as the national census is getting embroiled in politics. Yes, things are bad. And, the knees are wobbling dangerously. Not a good prospect that, for a country that stands in need of a major overhaul. The past year may present a modicum of hope, though. And reinforced knees may stand in a good stead. Provided there is reinforcement of other knees as well. For the nation needs lots of straight walking. |
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