C President Bush, British PM Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac, have all demanded that Musharraf act on his promises to root out Pak terrorism against India.
C The Daily Telegraph (London) said in its lead story on 2-23-02 that British and American special forces have joined Indian troops to hunt down Osama bin Laden in one of Kashmir=s remote areas Athat are nearly impossible for the Indian Army to police@. Bin Laden is believed to be hiding there with the help of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, one of Pak terrorist organizations.
C An editor of the Karachi Herald wrote that Sheikh Ahmed Omar Saeed, the alleged mastermind behind the abduction of Mr. Daniel Pearl, indicted in US in 1994, operated in Pakistan freely since his release from an Indian prison in exchange for hostages aboard a hijacked Indian airliner.
C One week after Omar Sheikh turned himself in to ISI for protection, the Pak military intelligence, Pak lied that the police had arrested him on the eve of Musharraf=s visit to the US, and ABC publicized Pak lies that India was behind the kidnapping of Mr. Pearl.
C NY Times reported on 2-26-02 that a Pak Army/ISI Brigadier had a role in nurturing Jaish‑e‑ Mohammed, the terrorist organization behind the kidnapping and murder of Mr. Pearl, and suggested that investigations in killing of Pearl would reveal a great deal about ties between terrorists and ISI.
C Newsweek reported on 3-5-02 that Pearl=s killers might have been agents of Pak government=s ISI.
C NY Times and the Boston Globe have reported that 4,000 Pak army officers were involved in Pak ISI conducting terrorism against India.
The Ram Temple and Communal Riots in India
C Hindus believe that God himself takes birth on earth in times of dire need, and that Ram and Krishna were such human incarnations of God. Places of these births of God are especially holy for Hindus.
C Muslim conquerors destroyed over 5,000 temples in North India, including those at the sites holiest for Hindus. They built mosques there instead, which have no particular significance to Islam. In order to reconstruct their holiest temple, Hindu organizations have offered compromises to Muslims.
Bangladesh
is also a State-Sponsor of Terrorism
C The world is also silent about harrowing abuse and ethnic cleansing of Hindus from Bangladesh. Amnesty International has publicized horrible atrocities against Hindu women in Bangladesh, such as gang-rapes in front of their fathers and husbands, resulting in floods of Hindu refugees from that country. Bangladeshi government does nothing beyond denying facts.
Friends
of India Society International, Inc.
Chandrakant
Panse, M.Sc., M.A., Ph.D., New
England Chapter
617-527-9283,
617-414-4626 (BUSM)
DrCP@rcn.com,
PanseDr@bu.edu, DrUCP@yahoo.com
India's War Against Terrorism
l
The central issue in the world today is
terrorism
l
The reason India is threatening military action
against Pakistan is terrorism.
l
Pakistan has been a state sponsor of terrorism!
Therefore, it is terrorism we want to talk about.
Demographics
Kashmir
Fact Sheet
Developed
by US India Relations
Group
180
million Moslems live in India and 140 million live in Pakistan.
1947:
40% of Pakistan was Non-Moslem. Today ONLY 3 % are left while the world has
looked the other way.
1947:
25% of India was Moslem (60 million). 1991: 95.2 million. Despite migration of
millions of Moslems to Pakistan, TODAY 18% (150 million ) of Indians are
Moslems. This shows that the Moslem population is reaching pre-partition
demographics in India.
Pakistan's Role in Terrorism
l
December 1999: George Tenet, Director of CIA
and Michael Sheen, State Department Coordinator for Counter Terrorism, Michael
Sheen testified before a Senate Sub-Committee that :
l
US intelligence has sufficient evidence that
Pakistan is a state-sponsor of terrorism against India
Pakistan & Terrorism
l
In 2000, the State Dept's report on terrorism
described Pak's official involvement in terrorism against India.
l
- But fell short of adding Pak to list of
countries sponsoring terrorism to avoid triggering severe sanctions against an
old cold-war ally.
Pakistan & Terrorism
l
Year 2000: a bipartisan congressional
commission on terrorism recommended to the State Dept that sanctions be
imposed on Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism.
l
Spring 2001: The British put Pakistani
organizations openly engaged in terrorism
on their official list of terrorist organizations.
Pakistan is a State Sponsor of Terrorism
November 2001: According to Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of
Pakistan:
l
Non-Kashmiris engaged in killings in
India are terrorists. “If I had been Prime Minister of Pakistan,
(the events of) Sep. 11 would not have happened” – Benazir Bhutto,
November 2001.
Pakistan and Terrorism
l
Our own American Taliban, John Walker, has
admitted to fighting in Kashmir. This could not have happened without the help
of ISI, which created and nurtured the Taliban.
Robert Blackwill: US Ambassador to India,
Nov. 21, 2001 New Delhi, stated in a press conference for foreign media
that “all persons involved in killings in Kashmir were terrorists and that
they were no freedom fighters.”
Ethnic Cleansing of Hindus in Kashmir
l
Pakistani government’s direct aiding and
abetting of terrorism in Kashmir has resulted in:
l
20,000 Hindus killed and 500,000 Hindus have
fled Kashmir in terror. The world has been mostly silent about this ethnic
cleansing of Hindus from Kashmir.
Musharraf as Army Officer
Musharraf as Dictator
l
Dec 2001: The “Kunduz Airlift” sent
airplanes and helicopters to rescue Pakistanis fighting with the Taliban/El
Quaeda against the US coalition.
(Seymour Hirsch New Yorker Feb 2002)
Musharraf as Chief of Army Staff
Recent Documents have Revealed
l
1948: US Secretary of State Gen. George C.
Marshall told the British that Kashmir's accession with India was legal and
final as far as US was concerned.
l
Therefore the lie of “Kashmir being a
disputed territory” is very disturbing while it has further emboldened the
position of Islamic militants.
THE
ROOT CAUSE OF THE CRISIS IN KASHMIR
Struggle between two conflicting value systems.
1)
To India just like the US, secularism with a peaceful co-existence with
cultural, ethnic and religious diversity is the most important issue.
2)
Pakistan calls itself an “Islamic Republic”, and its stated
raison d’etre is
the “two nation theory” that Moslems cannot and must not be
allowed to co-exist with other religions.
1947: Result of this Dichotomy
l
One section of Muslims led by Jinnah and
his Muslim League Party demanded and agitated for a separate country.
l
Nearly as many Muslims rejected this, and
firmly believed in India’s secular policy. They opposed partitioning India
on the basis of religion. They chose to remain in India after India
achieved its independence
from the British.
Today they are full citizens of India.
Important to clarify
l
There were two categories of pre-partitioned
India
l
1) British India that was partitioned based on
religion
l
2) Princely States where the ruler had full
autonomy to join India OR Pakistan by signing the Instrument of
Accession, in which Kashmir joined with India.
1947: India
l
When the British left, the 584 princely states,
constituting 45% of undivided India became sovereign entities with 2 options:
l
1)
Join Secular India
l
2) Join Moslem Pakistan
National Conference Party
l
Was the largest political
party of Kashmir with a preponderance of Moslems with Hindus and Buddhists as
members under the leadership of a Moslem - Sheikh Abdullah.
l
This party had consistently
since the 1930s expressed opposition to the two nation theory and in 1947
urged that Kashmir join secular India.
Sheikh Abdullah: 1947
l
Leader of the opposition to Maharaja Hari
Singh.
l
Jailed by Hari Singh.
l
BUT:
Insisted on joining a secular India so that Kashmir would remain secular and
multi-ethnic.
l
Rejected
Pakistan and its Islamic bigotry.
Further more
The
religious composition of the Princely States was not relevant at the time per
British policy.
Pakistan
did not ascertain the will of the people of the princely states that
acceded to it in 1947.
PAKISTAN
Invaded Kashmir
October 22, 1947
l
Commanded by General Akbar Khan,
later promoted to Chief of Pakistan's army.
l
“Tribesmen”
included many Pakistan Army officers and men, in and out of uniform. C3I and
artillery provided by regular Pakistan Army
- Just like the Taliban Army, 2001.
l
Entire villages e.g. Baramula, Rajouri and
Poonch were destroyed by the Pakistani army while committing murder, rape and
plunder.
l
Rather than any negotiated settlement,
Pakistan chose the route of brute force in 1947.
l
Is this out of concern for Kashmiris?
Pakistan attacked Baramula
Kashmir: October 1947
l
Killing 7,000 in a town of 10,000 people
l
Especially brutal to Sikhs,
whom the Pakistani army labeled as "Ball Walle Kafir", the
non-believer with hair.
l
Destroyed the hospitals,
Hindu and Sikh temples and the church of Baramula.
l
Skardu (POK): Radio message
from Pak Commander to Pak HQ: “Skardu liberated. All Sikhs killed. All women
raped”.
Ruler of Kashmir appealed to India for
help
l
Why? Because Kashmir's
small state army was no match for the Pakistani army.
Instrument of Accession to India was
signed
l
October 1947: Lord
Mountbatten, the Governor General of India accepted the Kashmiri ruler's
request to join the Indian Union
l
A legal document called the
Instrument of Accession was signed between India and the Kashmiri ruler.
l
This same document was also
signed by the other 584 princely states.
Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir - updated reprint 1995
l
“Sounder
than Texas's accession to the USA, Kashmir's accession to India is legal,
final, binding and irrevocable”.
Source: A S Anand Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India -
p. 96
Kashmir is saved from Pakistani invasion
l
October 1947: Lord
Mountbatten asked India to send its troops to save Kashmir from Pakistani
aggression.
l
Indian Premier Nehru
insisted on Sheikh Abdullah being freed from prison as condition for Indian
intervention.
l
Indian troops were sent with the enthusiastic
consent of Sheikh Abdullah
Source:
Lord Mountbatten's diaries
Sheikh Abdullah
l
October 1947: Kashmir's
popular Moslem leader Sheikh Abdullah supported Kashmir's accession to India
l
Of interest: Earlier Sheikh
Abdullah had demonstrated against the Kashmiri ruler for greater democracy
& civil rights.
l
Now: Sheikh Abdullah expressed the sentiments
of the majority of Kashmiri people in a famous speech.
A key point of Sheikh Abdullah's
speech
l
"We the people of Jammu and Kashmir, have thrown our lot with the
Indian people, not in a heat of passion or a moment of despair, but by a
deliberate choice.” Sheikh Abdullah: October 1947
First Muslim leader of Kashmir was
appointed by India
l
October 31, 1947: Sheikh
Abdullah a Moslem was appointed Head of the
Kashmir Emergency Administration
l
Then was made the first
Prime Minister of Kashmir. His was the first
people's popular
government in Kashmir.
l
For most of the time since 1947, AND TODAY,
“Indian-Kashmir” has been ruled by the National Conference Party of Sheikh
Abdullah and always headed by a Moslem.
Pakistan’s pattern of aggression
l
Initially Pakistan denied having sent troops
into Kashmir in October 1947
l
Subsequently admitted by Pakistani leaders and
army officers.
l
This is a consistent
Pakistani pattern in 1947, 1948, 1965, 1971 and recently in 1999 in Kargil.
l
Same tactic used in
Afghanistan, where 40% of the Taliban's Officer corps and 30% of its troops
were Pakistani, until Operation Enduring Freedom began.
United Nations: Jan 1, 1948
l
India complained to the UN so as to get
Pakistan to end Pakistani aggression against India in Jammu and Kashmir.
Noteworthy
l
Despite military
superiority even in 1947 India did not want to use force to vacate the
Indian territory in Kashmir occupied by Pakistan.
l
Instead, India turned to the UN.
If India had believed in a military solution on Kashmir, it could have
done so in 1965, 1971 and 1999. And today.
The United Nations Security Council
l
UN avoided taking sides between India and
Pakistan.
l
UN did not even question the legality of
Kashmir's accession to India.
l
Doing such would be like questioning the
legality of the very partition of British India into India and Pakistan.
United Nations Appointed a Commission:
1948
l
Under Charter 6: to mediate between India and
Pakistan
l
UN stated the issue is for India and Pakistan
to resolve & these resolutions are NOT a directive, only recommendations.
l
Four
UN resolutions were issued on April 21, 1948,
August 13, 1948, Jan. 5, 1949 and March 14, 1950.
UN
Resolution: Jan 5, 1949
Called
for three actions in this sequential order
l
(1) First, Pakistan must withdraw all its
troops and all non-Kashmiris from Kashmir.
l
(2) Next India should
withdraw bulk of its troops RETAINING those required for law and order;
all those who had left Kashmir (on both sides) as refugees should be allowed
to return.
l
AND ONLY THEREAFTER
ascertain the wishes of the Kashmiri people in both portions of Kashmir under
UN supervision.
Pakistan violated the UN Resolution
l
Pakistan is non-compliant: has not withdrawn
its occupied forces thereby violated the first of the 3 actions outlined by
the UN resolution.
l
ON the contrary India has only permitted
Kashmiris to own land in India's Kashmir per Article 170 of the Indian
Constitution and per UN resolution.
2 Questions
1)
Is Pakistan willing to implement step one even now by withdrawing its military
from the portion of Kashmir it has occupied by aggression in 1947?
2)
If refugees are allowed to return and claim their lands, would that include
the non-Moslem citizens?
These
are Kashmiri Pandits - 400,000 to 600,000 are still living as Displaced
Persons today.
Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK)
l
Lacks all democratic institutions. Administered
by a Pakistani “minister for
Azad Kashmir" or Military Governor appointed by Islamabad.
l
Pakistan officially
disallows the option of an independent Kashmir. If anyone in POK raises that demand, it is an act of
treachery and punishable by death. POK residents must sign Oath of Loyalty to
Pakistan to get ration cards.
l
Residents of the “Northern
Areas” of Gilgit/Baltistan are afforded no citizenship rights
Pakistan Refused to Withdraw
l
Pakistan has consistently refused to withdraw
its forces from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir portion.
l
Instead, Pakistan joined big power blocks and
received massive military and economic aid from the West.
Pakistan Attacked India in 1965
l
Dictator Ayub Khan sent
34,000 Pakistani soldiers into Kashmir and Gujarat in massive land and air
attacks against India.
l
Targets: (1)
Jammu-Kashmir, (2) New Delhi
l
Of 3 Indian soldiers awarded the “Param Vir
Chakra” (all posthumous) for heroism, one was Moslem – Havildar Abdul
Hamid.
l
Pakistan was defeated by
India and signed the Tashkent agreement with India.
Pakistan Attacked India in 1971
l
Pak Dictator General Yahya Khan killed 3
million Pakistani citizens in East Bengal after rejecting election results,
and launched air-land attacks on India - which led to the birth of Bangladesh.
l
In all three wars, Kashmiris rose to the
defence of India. They joined the Indian army to defeat the Pakistanis.
Birth of Bangla Desh
l
Buried the two nation theory of dividing
nations on the basis of religion.
l
July 1972: Pakistan signed the “Simla
Agreement” with India.
l
Simla Agreement: Pakistani PM Z.A. Bhutto, who
replaced Yahya Khan, agreed to resolve all issues peacefully through bilateral
negotiations.
Furthermore
l
1971: India had captured
vast areas of Pakistani territory and 93,000 POWs.
l
India agreed not to let
Bangla Desh try the Pakistani POWs on War Crimes charges.
l
India returned captured territory in both '65
and ‘71, even in Jammu-Kashmir - proof that India is: (a) not
interested in acquiring foreign territory; (b) willing to settle all disputes
through negotiations.
The Simla Agreement
l
Supported by the UN and the US the “Simla
Agreement” required all disputes between Pakistan and India to be resolved
bilaterally and not to resort to aggression to solve problems.
l
A Line of Control was established in 1972 as a
result of the Simla agreement between Indira Gandhi and ZA Bhutto.
Simla Agreement
l
The 1972 Simla agreement was later endorsed in
the 1999 Lahore Declaration between Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif stating that all
differences will be resolved by bilateral negotiations.
l
Musharraf then army chief and his ISI did not
like this action by Nawaz Sharif and continued the terrorist acts against
India.
UN and Kashmir
l
"Unless the two sides approach us, we
cannot get involved. If India and Pakistan approach the U.N. on this (Kashmir)
issue, it will be ready to help. The
best solution lies in direct contact between the two countries.” Boutros B.
Ghali, the U.N. Secretary General, March 1992
FOURTH Invasion by Pakistan
1999 Kargil War
l
When Prime Minister Vajpayee went to Lahore,
Pakistan for signing a peace agreement in a BUS-Diplomacy tour, the Pakistani
army secretly invaded India and even occupied a portion of Indian territory in
Kashmir.
Pakistan Violated Simla Agreement
l
The 1999 Kargil War was a
violation of the “Simla Agreement”by illegally taking control of part of
Indian portion of Kashmir territory.
l
Subsequently Clinton &
Nawaz Sharif met at Camp David & Clinton asked Nawaz Sharif to withdraw
Pakistani army from Kargil, India.
l
With support of the world
community India went to a limited war and had it vacated.
Lahore Declaration
l
Musharraf refused to be present when Vajpayee
and Nawaz Sharif signed the “Lahore Declaration”.
l
He was the Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces
at the time; said he would not want to salute Vajpayee.
Current UN Secretary General
December,
2000
l
UN Secretary General Kofi Anan has said: “I
call upon both India and Pakistan to retain the spirit of the Lahore
Declaration.”
Pakistan's obsession with Kashmir
l
Madrassas of Pakistan: In last 12 years,
unemployed youth educated in the religious madrassas of Pakistan are trained
by Pakistan’s spy agency ISI to infiltrate into Indian Kashmir and
ethnically cleanse the Hindus, Sikhs and secular Moslems, destroy schools,
hospitals, and basic infrastructures.
September 11, 2001 & Pakistan's Madrassas
l
These same “madrassas” are also the
breeding ground of terrorists who supported Al Queda and the talibans and were
responsible for the 9/11 attacks on US.
Loss of Lives in Kashmir
l
Today, of the 2,400 militants active in the
Kashmir valley alone, 1,400 are foreigners. In last 12 years 20,000 lives have
been lost and the world has remained silent.
Informal Observation
Pakistan & US anti-terror coalition
l
Was not a change of heart by
Pakistan
l
It was due to the ultimatum given by US after
the September 11 attacks.
l
The recent promise by Musharraf of cracking
down on Kashmiri terrorists operating from Pakistan needs to be matched with
REAL actions.
LA Times Editorial: January 15, 2002 “Pakistan's
Moderation”
The Times Editorial rightly states
“India welcomed the address (by Musharraf) but rightly demanded
action as well. The key will be Pakistan's dealings with the border
guerrillas that it considers fighters for freedom of the disputed territory.
India considers them terrorists.”
Core of Indian Nationhood
l
President Bush has said the
September 11 attacks were an attack on the US spirit of freedom and democracy;
l
Likewise the terrorists
activity going on in Kashmir is an attack on the principles of multi-cultural
pluralism. This is the core of the Indian nationhood.
l
The world community must
insist Pakistan stop attacking India's principles of multi-cultural
pluralism.
Conclusions
India and the US are the twin tower's of the world's democracies.
Therefore it behooves the US to insist that:
l
Pakistan dismantle ALL its terrorist training
complexes and not just move them.
l
Pakistan bring about a change of attitude in
its army to honor the present line of control with India.
Summary
l
Kashmir must remain an integral part of India.
US must support India's secular position on Kashmir.
l
Loss of Kashmir could result in the slow
disintegration & talibanization of India.
l India must remain a proud secular democratic republic like the US.
Acknowledgement
l
The author profusely thanks
the following persons for contributing information & for carefully
critiquing this presentation:
l
Damodar Sardesai, PhD
Professor Emeritus of History UCLA
l
Dr Kalpesh Desai
l
Chandrakant Panse
l
Narayanan Komerath
[This article and more information at www.stephen-knapp.com]