Chrar:
Operation Devastation-II
Was
there any agreement between Mast Gul and
BSF ?
From B L
Kak
The
India-Russia technical collaboration is
also borne out by the existence of a
telecommunication centre at a place, 24
km from Srinagar, not far from the
Chrar-e-Sharief township. The sprawling
premises of the centre on the
Srinagar-Chrar road has been, since 1990,
occupied by paramilitary forces.
These and
other details are contained in the book,
co-authored by GN Gauhar and Shahwar
Gowhar. The India-Russia
telecommunication centre, though not
used, is locally called the ‘Radar
Station’. It is, to quote Gauhar and
Gowhar, "packed with BSF
personnel".
And a
serious allegation against the BSF
personnel: They get vicarious pleasure in
getting the local travellers,
agriculturists and pilgrims to the Chrar
shrine teased. The ‘Radar
Station’, the book says, is one of
the hundreds of checking security points,
and men posted there have been repeatedly
asked by the civil authorities to be
cordial and polite to pilgrims as they
often include saintly figures.
Gauhar and
Gowhar have regretted: "But all are
treated indiscriminately as criminals and
we can just imagine what must be the
behaviour of the members of the security
forces stationed at similar checkposts in
the State". Indeed, the book
contains the warning: "With this
wholesale continued humiliation of the
general masses, the political
participation of the people of Kashmir
with India is widely considered mere
self-deception".
Indian
Army personnel did not behave
differently. According to the book, the
quarter of a lakh of the Army deployed in
the areas demonstrated its entry in the
manner in which a victorious Army enters
the defeated enemy territory. Yet another
allegation in the book: "With the
loud claim to flush out a few dozens of
militants, they (Army) behaved as if they
had to flush out the dead bodies of the
populace in this area".
The
book has also regretted: "It is
unfortunate that when a Kashmiri girl
accuses a soldier or an officer of rape,
the great democrat of India justifies the
crime, equating their soldier with an
ex-soldier of Pakistan who, to their
view, had committed atrocities with the
Bangladeshis in Dacca or with the
Muhajirs in Karachi. This is how a
justification is made for the
perpetuation of crimes against humanity.
The people of Kashmir felt disgraced when
a son of the soil and heir of the
harbinger of revolution in Kashmir, Dr
Farooq Abdullah, argued in Geneva on
similar lines".
Chrar is
neither contiguous to the Line of Control
(LoC), and nor is there any important
defence installation located within the
easy approach of the militants from the
town. Gauhar and Gowhar have admitted: It
was not only Chrar where 50 militants had
collected together, but even in smaller
villages throughout Kashmir, dozens of
militants used to roam freely.
The
concentration of militants in Chrar had
sufficient control on an area of two to
three kilometers on the Chrar-Yusmarg
road. And the militants could easily
disturb the supplies for one or two
pickets at Pakharpora, Kanidajan and
Yusmarg. "But a gentleman’s
agreement", the book has divulged,
"had taken place between the forces
(BSF) situated at ‘Radar
Station’ and Mast Gul, under which
the latter was informed of the dispatch
of supplies and reinforcement
contingents. Mast Gul would allow the
safe departure of that caravan of
supplies and reinforcement".
This
arrangement, the book says, worked nicely
in January and February 1995. And it was
on March 6, 1995, the book adds, that a
convoy of the BSF, travelling from
Yusmarg to Srinagar, was attacked, in
which one BSF head constable was killed.
According to Gauhar and Gowhar, there may
be explanations with Mast Gul for the
violation of the truce, "but to us
none is tenable". The Army, on the
other hand, made a deployment on March 8,
1995, and brought the town within three
rings, cordoning not only Chrar town, but
the whole belt of pargana Nagam.
On the
same evening (March 8), the inhabitants
were, through the public address system
installed at the hilltop, directed to
‘vacate’ as the security forces
could not take the responsibility of
their personal safety. Gauhar and Gowhar
have recalled that all supplies to the
town were, on March 9, halted. The water
reservoir that supplies drinking water to
the Chrar town is situated at Manu, 3 km
towards the west.
Their
allegation: The supply from the reservoir
was first disturbed and then completely
closed. The employees of the Public
Health Engineering wing managing the
water supply were beaten and harassed and
so they left. The electricity maintenance
employees, too, were threatened, and even
beaten, and so the town was thrown in the
cover of complete darkness.
That was
the time when yet another dreaded
terrorist, Abu Jindal, had also
infiltrated into Chrar. The people of the
town tried to persuade both Mast Gul and
Abu Jindal to vacate the territory. But
they did not oblige them. As the
situation deteriorated, the people of the
town came under pressure to flee their
homes. But Mast Gul, according to the
book, took the exodus otherwise. He
dubbed the locals interested in migration
as ‘agents of the military’.
In Mast
Gul’s assessment, in case the people
of the Chrar town stayed in their houses,
the Indian forces would not burn the town
and the shrine, the book says and adds:
"Therefore, Mast Gul did not allow
the people to carry with them moveable
items, and the Army, too, prevented the
local from carrying with them their
assets, probably in the interest to make
it their booty".
(To be continued)
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Upliftment
of Rural Sports
By
Narinder Singh
Since
independence of the country, many sports
policies were formulated by the
successive Govts for uplifting the rural
sports standard of the J&K State. But
there were no visible signs of the
improvement in terms of ground realities.
The bureaucratic policies vis-a-vis
sports encouragement remained confined to
file works only. Many sports
associations/organisations, departments
and authorities were created for
promotion of the games at grassroot level
without impressive results on the ground.
As a matter of fact, sports standard went
from bad to worst.
However,
due to lack of timely need based
policies, the seeds of sports
deterioration were sown whatever,
symbolic presence J&K State is
enjoying, is the result of individual
efforts of the people. Since the
induction of S Harbans Singh into Council
of Ministers as Sports and Youth
Services, people have started looking
upon him with high expectations to revamp
the sports superstructure of the State as
he is said to have much interest in
sports activities.
Sports
infrastructure
In order
to improve the deteriorating sports
standard, it is imperative that basic
infrastructure facilities like
grounds/fields, stadia, coaches, experts,
equipments etc be provided tothe rural
youth at grassroot level, with a view to
explore their talents honestly which is
in abundance so far as games and extra
co-curricular activities are concerned in
Rural society. This process is to be
decentralised at grassroot level by means
of organising training camps, workshops,
competitions, regularly and periodically
for creating sports awareness culture in
their day to day lives for result
oriented atmosphere.
Filling
up post of PETs
Since
there was Govt policy that each and every
border middle school shall be given a
Physical Education Teacher, but most of
the border areas Middle Schools are
without PETs, with the result that there
is no sports enthusiasm. However, it will
be in the best interest of the Govt that
these posts should be immediately filled
up and preference be given to the local
PETs whose services can help in imbibing
sports spirit amongst the masses.
Sports
as compulsory subject
Like other
academic subjects, sports should be
introduced as compulsory subject upto
Matric standard in schools for Physical
fitness and personality development of
the children.
It will
also help in tapping of the sports
talents amongst the children and their
energies and talents can be accordingly
exploited for producing better
sportsmen/sportswomen. Therefore, our
sports policy should be on the analogy of
Maharashtra and Punjab in regard of this
point.
Scholarship
facilities
As we are
well aware of this fact that majority of
the State population is living in rural
areas and below poverty line with the
result that rural youth hailing from this
category never concentrate on sports and
extra co-curricular activities during
their school periods. On the contrary,
they keep themselves confined to their
earnings for livelihood. In this regard,
it is suggested that rural youth who are
talented in sports at school level should
be given incentives to continue their
studies and games in the shape of
scholarship to the tune of Rs 500 per
month for encouragement and upliftment of
sports standard.
Representation
to
Rural
organisations
There is
resentment among the rural sportsmen
women regarding their non-representation
in sports related associations
organisations. In most of the case, it
has been seen that these associations are
being controlled by influential persons,
who don't have even knowledge of the game
to which they have been affiliated. As a
matter of fact, these personalities don't
have any interest in the promotion of the
games, since their interests are confined
to only business penetration in
administration. In this regard, it is
suggested that adequate representation
should be given to rural sportsmen women
and organizers.
Completion
of Bana Singh Stadium
During the
Governor's rule, Govt had sanctioned Bana
Singh Stadium in rural area of Teh R S in
recognition of Bana Singh's heronic
services rendered for the country at
Siachen Glacier and was awarded Paramvir
Chakra for his gallantry. The stadium is
still incomplete due to lack of funds.
Special grants for completion of the
stadium be sanctioned alongwith full
equipment.
Fixation
of Job quota
Since
there are very meagre other resources of
livelihood for these people apart from
agriculture, the people of this area
cannot avail all the facilities which
their city counterparts are enjoying,
with the result that they cannot compete
with their urban counterparts, who are
very resourceful, influential. Moreover,
also having other means for livelihood so
far as matters of recruitment are
concerned.
In this
regard, it is also suggested that J&K
Govt may come out with a policy for
reservation of job quota for border/rural
and refugees of 1947 in sports
recruitments policy for balance
development of the society.
Organising
sports events at Block Level:
There is a
heart felt desire of the masses that
sports events must be organised at block
level in order to create congenial,
goodwill and cooperative atmosphere
through sports medium and social
interactions. In this connection, it is
suggested that sports council be directed
to organise sports competitions at Block
level for exposure to the rural
sportsmen/women or sports related NGOs
may be encouraged for the same by way of
granting funds. Besides, it will also
help in strengthening our national
integration, communal harmony which is
the need of the hour.
Participation
in Rural games
It has
been reported by rural youth that during
the time of rural national level games,
they are neither intimated timely nor
provided opportunities to participate in
the said games. They are intentionally
kept out and in their places youth from
Urban areas are given chance to
participate in the national level rural
games in connivance with the concerned
officers.
There is a
strong resentment among the rural youth
against this practice and hope henceforth
their grievances may be redressed in the
near future.
(The
author is president J&K Rural Sports
club)
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Taliban's
Lengthening shadow across Pakistan
By M R Rao
Just a week before
Eid-ul-Zuha, Pakistan was witness to the gruesome
killing of at least nine Shias. Six gunmen in two
groups opened fire at a Shiite shop and a
gathering at a Shiite graveyard, about 40 km east
of Lahore in Sheikhopura district. Police were
quick to hold Sunni extremist group
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi responsible for the carnage. It
was their way of revenue killing for the
execution a week earlier of Haq Nawaz, a
Sipah-e-Sahaba activist, for the murder of an
Iranian diplomat a decade ago.
Sectarian violence
is not new to Pakistan. Shia-Sunni clashes have
been taking place for years in Karachi, Jhang and
Faisalabad. Hundreds of innocent lives have been
lost in sectarian carnage. The most violent year
was 1997, with the toll put at 2000 Sunni
extremist leader, Maulana Haq Nawaz Jangvi, fell
a victim to the gun culture. The assassination of
Maulana Yusuf Ludhianvi, leader of the
Khatm-e-Nabuwat in Karachi, still rankles his
followers. The riots that followed the Maulana's
killing exposed the fragility of the law and
order situation and displayed the madrasas'
power.
The sectarian
terrorism has introduced into Pakistan vocabulary
a new expression-reprisal killings. In a sense
such killings are not new to several pockets of
Pakistan, particularly the tirbal areas adjoining
the Taliban - ruled Afghanistan. The fallout of
death and agony left by Shia-Sunni clashes is
that the reprisal killings have become a gory
drama played out in full public view all over the
nation.
The Tehrik-Jafriya
Pakistan (TJP) supreme, Allama Sajid Naqvi, holds
the Musharraf regime responsible for the
Sheikhopura killings. The barbaric killing was
proved that the military Government is under
severe pressure of a particular group. Therefore,
it is compelled to bow its head terrorists,
instead of bringing the perpetrators of violence
to book," he said in his usual acerbic
manner. A large majority of Pakistan is appear to
share Naqvi's view, going by the letter to the
editor column in newspapers, both friendly not so
friendly, hostile and not so hostile, to the
establishment.
Curbing sectarian
violence calls for deweaponizing, that is, a
drive to recover illicit arms. Neither the
present regime nor the deposed Government
displayed any vigour to carry out any such
programme. Undoubtedly, police cannot be blind to
the cancer of sectarianism in their areas. If
they are not acting on the information available,
it means that either they are looking the other
way or aiding and abetting the spread of
terrorism in the country by taking a cue from the
powers that be. As Ghazi Salahuddin observed in
his recent article "in the name of
religion" (The News), Pakistan is paying the
price for continuing with the Zia line with the
ruling establishment involving the sacred name of
religion and breeding intolerance and extremism
in the process.
There is another
aspect to the Pakistan trauma. The home policy is
a victim of the dilemma facing the Foreign
Office, not just today but for as long as one can
remember; How to strike a balance in the
relations with two brother Islamic countries,
Saudi Arabia and Iran? This external orientation
to a purely domestic problem has no parallel
anywhere. It is no secret that Iran and Saudi
Arabia fund, influence, and use sectarian
organisations of their liking of Shias (in the
case of Teheran) and of Sunnis (in the case of
Riyadh).
Nevertheless, it
is patently unfair to accuse Riyadh and Teheran,
as some Pakistan commentators tend to do, of
fighting a proxy war on the Pakistan soil fanning
sectarianism.
Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto, to begin with, and Gen Zia-ul-Haq later
on laid the foundations of religious intolerance.
The geopolitical-strategic situation in
Afghanistan made Pakistan to work for the
"glory' of Islam. The rest, as the saying
goes, is history. Pervez Musharraf projected
himself as a follower of Kamal Ataturk when he
seized power. Like his predecessors, he did not
live upto the promise he had held out and his
regime caved in repeatedly to pressures from the
fundamentalists. Now it is no secret that regime
is trying to placate the zealots to gain
political mileage against the major political
parties.
His Interior
Minister, a retired armyman, has acquired the
reputation of being a tough talker with feet of
clay. Off and on he keeps returning to the same
subject - illegal weapons, smuggling of arms,
sectarian violence. If declaration of intent
alone could have produced the desired result, the
Dawn remarked way back in February 1998, Pakistan
today would not be awash with all types of deadly
weapons and there would be far fewer incidents of
senseless killings, murders and mayhem on the
streets and in public places than have been
happening these days. Returning to the same theme
last May, the daily ruefully commented,
"Like all previous Governments this one (of
Musharraf) too has repeatedly pledged to
eradicate the menace of serctarian violence but
like its predecessors has so far miserably failed
to do so."
Over the past
several months a perception has gained ground in
Pakistan that the State apparatus, instead of
going after the criminals and sectariam
terrorists in right earnest, has been devoting
more time and attention to keeping close tabs on
politicians. This has created a perilous gap in
the law enforcement process. Indecision and a
policy of backtracking have begun to be the
hallmarks of Musharrafism each time the military
junta faced a challenge.
Not surprisingly,
therefore, gangs of robbers on the rampage, hired
assassins, frenzied factional groups, sectarian
militants and anyone in need of arms has free
access to weapons of all kinds from Kalashnikovs
to shoulder - carried missiles. Rockets fly in
Quetta almost on a weekly basis with sectarian
violence a normal occurrence. More than 3000
religious militants are to be found in the
prosperous and politically advanced Punjab
province alone, according to one report. About
their number in the rest of Pakistan is anybody's
guess. What is not a matter of conjecture any
longer is the nexus between the socalled Jehad
culture, sectarian wars and those in real
authority.
In a recent
interview, Pervez Musharraf contended that hardly
10 per cent of his countrymen are religious
extremists, the remaining 90 per cent are
moderates. It is not the percentage. What
matters, like elsewhere, in Pakistan too is
outlook, more so, when they have neither faith
nor interest in the ballot- box achieve their
goals.
Like the Taliban
across the Durand Line, these bigots are
staunchly religious and believe they are divinely
inspired to carry out a mission too. Hence the
lengthening Taliban like shadows across Pakistan
do not come as a shock, nor the talk for waging a
jehad to the vast silent majority. In fact, there
is very little that separates Taliban and
Pakistan today. Doubting Thomases should better
read "Danger from the North", an
article that appeared in the Dawn some time ago.
Taliban are near
dead without Pakistan standing by them with food,
arms, logistic support and petroleum products.
With gratitude they offer sanctuary and training
for Pakistan terrorists of all hues, with the
full knowledge, concurrence and the timetable of
Islamabad. Obviously, none in authority in
Pakistan dared to address the question: What
price the Jehadi culture. With Pervez Musharraf
all set to follow the Zia footsteps and move into
the President's House. It is clear Pakistan has a
long way to learn from history and to appreciate
voices of moderation and reason. CNF.
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Swami
Ram Tirath, the symbol of India's culture
By K K Khullar
Swami Ram Tirath
who symbolised the whole of India through his
body, mind and soul was a flash-back of India's
ancient culture. He urged his countrymen to work
for a new social order where there was no fear, a
new society where there was neither caste nor
class and a society that was devoid of orthodoxy
or superstition.
"A
community", he said, "is adorned not by
greatmen with small views but with small men with
great views. It is steering, not drifting, which
saves society."
Born 127 years ago
on October 22, 1873 in a small village called
Muraliwala, near Gujranwala town now in Pakistan,
his real name was Tirath Ram. How he became Swami
Ram Tirath is an unusually inspiring story of 33
years of self-study, meditation, asceticism and
renunciation. His father Hira Nand Gonsai was a
learned man and a priest in the village temple.
His mother died when he was barely one year old
and therefore was brought up by his aunt, a
deeply religious and a pious lady who took him to
the temple every day. The temple bells and the
sound of Conchshells always fascinated Tirath
Ram. So did the Katha and the Kirtan, the
wandering minstrel and the travelling tellers of
tales.
His childhood was
spent in abject poverty which he always
considered as a blessing since "it
constructs a ladder of tears to the throne of
God. In luxury are found the conditions of
degradation. He asked the younger generation to
rise above the material desires.
Ram Tirath's
education from the primary stage to post-graduate
level was maked with distinction. In fact his
whole educational career was financed by
scholarships which he won on merit. He graduated
from the Forman Christian College, Lahore and
passed his MA in Mathematics from Government
College Lahore, which was the premier educational
institution in North India in those days. A
favourite student of Professor Gilberton he
taught Mathematics at Forman Christian College.
In November 1897
Tirath Ram met Swami Vivekananda and attended his
lectures. He was so moved that he aspired to be
monk like Vivekanand.
In him he found an
example and interpreter of Advaita Vedanta which
he was already evolving within himself. During
summer vacations he used to go to Rishikesh where
bathing in the Ganga gave him supreme bliss.
He would remain
immersed in the deep waters of the holy river for
hours. He wandered among the mountains and the
hills with childlike simplicity and Bhakti and
his perennial smile which sat so divinely on his
sublime face. In July 1900 he decided to renounce
the world. The scene at Lahore Railway Station
where thousands of people had gone to see him off
was moving. Dr Mohammad Iqbal, the famous Urdu
poet, was one among them.
Once in the
Himalayas Prof. Tirath Ram became different
person altogether. He found a new joy in the
midst of nature. Here he played among the
mountains and the rivers and found bliss. It is
here he refined his knowledge of the Vedanta.
"If Vedanta is not practised in everyday
life, what is the use of if. Vedanta printed in
books and placed in shelves, to be eaten up by
worms will not do. You must live it.
"Vedanta is
the whole truth, it kills if the whole of it is
not lived," he observed.
It is in the
Himalayan hills that the people started
addressing him as Swami Ram Tirath. It is here
that he changed the yellow robes of Sanyasi to
the red robes symbolising the fire of a
Vedantist. "Vedanta", he said,
"teaches baptism in fire. Vedanta enables a
person to get rid of his ignorance and leads him
to knowledge."
It is this Vedanta
which took him to Japan and the United States of
America. In Japan he met Puran Singh who later
wrote an excellent biography of the Swami. Puran
Singh found in the radiant face of Swami the
innocence of the angels, the madness of Spinoza,
and the scholarship of those who had written the
original Vedas. Singh arranged his lectures and
addresses in various universities in Japan. These
lectures created a tremendous impact on the
hard-working Japanese. "All that we have to
arouse among people", he said, "is the
spirit of appreciation, not critiism, the
sentiment of fraternity, the instinct of
synthesis, the co-ordination of functions and the
aristocracy of labour," Ram Tirath said.
In United States,
the reception to him was overwhelming. He swayed
the American audiences as Swami Vivekananda had
done before. The Americans were attracted to the
Vedanta, impressed with his knowledge. "I
attune my soul to the harmony of love for all
men," he said.
A San Francisco
newspaper stated: "Out of the jungles of
Upper India has come a man of astonishing wisdom,
a prophet, a philosopher, scientist and priest
who proposes to preach a new doctrine of
unselfishness and spiritual power to the
idolatrous worshippers of the mighty dollar. This
remarkable sage of the Himalayas is a slender
intellectual youngman, with ascetic mould of a
priest and a light complexion of a high caste
Brahmin. His forehead is broad and high, his head
splendidly developed, his nose thin and delicate
as a woman's white perfect teeth in a smile that
seems to light up all surrounding space and wins
the instantaneous confidence and goodwill of all
who come within the circle of his radiance."
Swami Ram Tirath returned to India via Cairo
where people called him 'Badshah' (King). He
returned to Rishikesh in December 1904.
In November 1905
he set up Vyas Ashram and in February 1906 he
established the Vashist Ashram from where he
could see all the holy hills and the temples
right upto Kailash. On October 17, 1906 he went
for a bath in the Ganga and never returned. His
material body emerged in the posture of the
Samadhi, his hands and legs crossed.
Patriot to the
core he had said: "The land of India is my
body. Comorin is my feet, the Himalayas my head.
From my hair flows the Ganga. From my head comes
the Brahamputra and the Indus. The Vindhiyas are
grit around my lions. The Coromondol is my right
and Malabar my left leg. I am the whole of India
and its East and West are my arms. And I spread
them in a straight line to embrace humanity. When
I walk I feel India is walking. When I breath I
feel India is breathing. I am Shankara. I am
Shiva." This is the highest realisation of
patriotism and this is practial Vedanta.
Swami Ram Tirath
stood for knowledge and the total eradications of
ignorance and superstitions. His Vedanta is not
confined to the man of the mountains, it also
embraces the man of the world. He stood for the
fredom of thought and Independence in thinking.
"Independent thinking", he said,
"is lookd upon in India as a heresay, nay,
as the worst among crimes. Whatever comes from a
dead language is sacred."
Giving a clarion
call to his countrymen he said: "Beloved
orthodox people of Inida, put into force the
Shastras aright. The Dharma of the country
demands that you relax the stringent caste rules
and subordinate sharp class distinctions to
national fellow-feeling."
According to Lala
Hardyal, Swami Ram Tirath was the greatest Hindu
who ever came to America. Writing from United
States in 1911 he said: "In this part of the
country there are many persons who lovingly
cherish the memory of Swami Ram Tirath and how he
lived like a true ascetic and won the hearts of
villagers in the valleys of California. He was a
real saint and a sage whole life mirrored the
highest principles of Hindu spirituality as his
soul respected the love of the Universal spirit
which he tried to realise."
And yet Ram Tirath
he said,: "My religion is not Hinduism,
Islam, Christianity, Catholicism or
Protestantism. But it is hostile to none, the
overlapping area covered by the sun, the stars,
the rivers, gravity, mind and body, this is the
field of my religion. Are there any Presbytarian
lilies? Are there any Methodist landscapes?.....
My religion is a religion without a name. It is
the religion of nature. I call it the Common
Path."
When Mohammad
Iqbal learnt about the end of his friend's
earthly journey he wept. In his immortal poem of
Swami Ram Tirath he compared him with a pearl
among the shells on the seashore of knowledge, a
sun among the stars.
PTI Feature
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