|
Holy Sinners Search of Kashmir Author: Major Saras Tripathi |
Prologue |
|
Conflicts all over the world have taught us a very important lesson: women and children are the worst sufferers in any conflict. It is between two governments, between governments and civil societies or between any two warring entities. This is equally true about ethnic or sectarian conflicts or even sponsored/spontaneous insurgencies like one in Kashmir. The sufferings are both sides: the front side which basically comprises people living in and belonging to the conflict zone, and the hind side which comprises the people living but not necessarily belonging to the conflict zone. The former comprises the civilian population in the conflict zone and is visible. Whereas the latter comprises the soldiers and their families: an entity not so visible. Unfortunately, one side, most of the time, fails to see the sufferings of the other side. When wars or conflicts erupt, mostly men fight, get maimed and killed. Mothers, wives, daughters, children and even elderly and sick are left behind: helpless, shattered, devastated, and most of the time left without financial and emotional support. But there is a striking similarity between the two. Most (certainly not all) of those killed and maimed are from the lower strata of the society: average civilians and average foot soldiers. Such conflicts are rarely caused by those who bear the brunt: average civilians and low ranking members of the armed forces. Mostly it is caused by political, sectarian and ethnic leaders who are well secured from all angles. On the other hand, decision of deployment of the armed forces comes from the elite, powerful and well secured groups: the political leadership, bureaucracy and top ranking officers of the defence forces. The armed forces become the face of the government by virtue of implementing the orders, and are looked upon as villain or perpetrators. The civilian population becomes the target of the forces since insurgents originate from amongst them and reside/hide there. Consequently majority of the population, the innocent citizenry; which may have no role to play either side, becomes helpless victim between the two entities and suffers collateral damage. On the other hand insurgent groups overlook the government and the bureaucracy, who have created the mess by omission or commission, and start targeting the ‘face’: the low ranking members of the armed forces. The conflict in Kashmir has similar characteristic where innocent citizens and soldiers are paying the price for a mess which neither of them have created. The pain, paradox and dilemma of local Kashmiri masses were articulated very aptly by a vibrant and cheerful young man with whom I had a long conversation during one of the operations at village New (Nau) Theed: a suburb of Srinagar city. While sitting in an assembly of ‘cordon and search’ in April/May 1992, he described the state of Kashmiri people thus: We are like ‘football’ being played between two teams of military and militants: neither of them having any ‘goal post’ anywhere; near or far. The referees, siding with the military, are sitting in Delhi whereas coaches tutoring the militants are in Muzaffarabad and Islamabad. Its state of complete disconnect in a never ending game.” The book is written in the above said back ground by a soldier, who has been there, seen it all and done it himself. He has gone through the conflicts of emotions, where his empathies are with average Kashmiris’ sufferings but his duties are with the army. He has gone through the conflict of morality and propriety, humanity and duty. Such conflicts are not limited to fights and emotions but stretch beyond: the dilemma and paradox of broader spectrum of human relations. The book is written from a humanitarian perspective to highlight the suffering and loss of both sides; the group in front side or the civilian population in the conflict zone, and the hind side or the soldiers and their families. The focus of the book is general populace or common people (Aam Aadmi or Awaam) and the soldiers who have no personal substantial stake in the ‘win or lose’ of the conflict. Kashmir; the land, I fell in love at first sight. Kashmiris; the people, I fell in love at first interaction. Most of them, I found, extremely beautiful, and more beautiful from within; from their heart and emotion. Kashmir shows more shades of emotions than the rainbow. It has broader shade of grey than black and white have together. I was intrigued at the simplicity and complexity of the people, some of whom proved to be unbelievably simple and some immeasurably clever. That is what I have revealed through 14 stories based on real time military operations. No such book seems to have ever been written, at least on Kashmir, by anyone, certainly not by an army officer. Different stories bring out different spectrum of emotions and very naturally reveal the players behind the conflict: Pakistan, ISI, fundamentalists, religious leaders and the politicians. The devastation and the death of the hapless are result of a game played by well secured men having no sympathy either for sufferings of average Kashmiri or any value for the supreme sacrifice of the soldiers. I found people of Kashmir most interesting of all I came across. In due course a few proved to be immeasurably sly, shrewd, slippery and deceitful, but many were unbelievably simple. However majority have been as good or as bad as a society in turmoil can be. Many old and motherly women, youth and average Kashmiri have touched my heart by displaying great human values even while interacting and treating a ‘perceived enemy’: a military man. Their humane side was not always result of ‘reciprocation’ but many times spontaneous; without want of any favour. Encounter with Hardened Terrorists’ is a chilling account of an encounter with a group of five hard core terrorists. It also reveals the mind-set of a religious-fanatic-terrorist completely blinded by Islamic fundamentalism and is submerged in deadly cocktail of politics and religion. On the other side it uncovers the bravery and dare devilry of the soldiers. It shows what havoc Pakistan and its ISI have brought to the people of Kashmir. ‘Love, Loss and Illusion’ is a revelation of truths, during interrogation, by a Pak trained terrorist that very few have inkling about. It reveals designs of religious bigots to convert the whole of India in to Jehad battle-field to spread ‘Rule of Allah’ and probably in the entire world by persecuting ‘non-believers.’ It is also a ‘tell-tale’ of devastation of youth of Kashmir and their suffering, their irreparable losses through; missed opportunities of education, growth, achievements and all youthful endeavours including life of love and romance. Similarly, ‘Salafi Baba’ is story of an immeasurably sly, shrewd, slippery and deceitful ‘Maulvi’ in the village of New Theed near Srinagar, who lives double life of two characters standing on opposite poles. Another story ‘Death in a Cordon’ is a classic example of deceit, chicanery and use of women and children as shield to achieve their goal. It reveals the brilliant plan of deception of Syed Salahuddin; the HM chief to get out of the cordon of the army by exploiting the humane side and secular credentials of the Indian Army. Mozi’ is a saga of heart touching human side of a pious hearted illiterate village woman, a mother beyond boundaries, who despite losing her son, presumably in the hands of armed forces, does not abandon humanity and bestows her affection on soldiers when she feels they are in need. ‘The Prized Possession’ is a story of old and educated urban woman who bestows the officer best and most prestigious ‘award’ of entire Kashmir tenure, not in material form but only in words; a few words of appreciation. She dismantles the stereo type portrayal of a soldier as a perpetrator. ‘Grand Mother’s Questions’ touches the very nerve of sufferings of women and children which no outsider other than Kashmiris or soldiers can feel and tell since no one else has seen it and done it. It is a story of devastation, sufferings and misery of a grandmother who unknowingly poses several difficult questions when her terrorist son has been arrested by the army. Her plight throws several questions to the world including one as to who is responsible for her ruin. Balaa’ is an account of irreparable and immeasurable psychological damage done to the psych of people of Kashmir, particularly to the women and children. It also reveals the innovative propaganda ISI has been devising to drive all kind of wedge between the army and the local people. On the lighter side it also shows locals’ believe in supernatural, ghosts, spirits, etc and consequent exploitation. ‘The Protesting Women’ is an account of effective use of women as a shield by the terrorists and as a tool to discredit army in the eyes of the world by creating environment that leaves the forces nowhere but to use force and get damned and defamed. On the hind side it also highlights the impact of media on the decision making of the armed forces which severely affects the quality of military operation. Sep Bajirao Roundal, Shourya Chakra’ is a saga of bravery, courage and going beyond call of duty by a soldier who sacrifices his life for his motherland, leaving a childless widow and sonless parents. His young wife becomes a widow within a year of marriage. Similarly ‘CHM Shivaji Jagtap, Kirti Chakra’ is a story of a martyr’s highest moral values displayed in face of imminent death. The story dispels the misconception that the military men are indifferent to the safety of the civilian population while carrying out military operations. The story also touches the sufferings of the family of a soldier who takes barrage of terrorist’s bullet on his chest so that rest of his colleagues are not harmed and the countrymen can breathe easy in their lungs. ‘When Silence Cried’ is story of a Pundit who poses tremendous faith in his neighbours and is determined not to leave place of his birth; Kashmir, where his forefathers had planted the seedlings of human civilization several thousand years back. It brings out the dilemma average Kashmiri Pundits have gone through before their mass exodus to become refugee in their own country. It brings out the peculiar love-hate relationship they have with their Muslim brethren; almost all of whom once were Pundits or Hindus. Toys on LOC’ is a chilling revelation of games played by ISI and Pakistanis to use the locals as tools to achieve their goals. It portrays the life of a spy and its logical conclusion; mysterious death or disappearance. It also reveals the obsessive side of Pak army which is so fanaticised that it does not believe a Muslim officer can serve with complete loyalty in Indian army. Story ‘The Gift of Shroud’ reveals the great qualities, traditionally, people of Kashmir possess; conventional wisdom, intelligence, respect, craving for knowledge, good education, hospitality, family values etc. And most importantly ‘Kashmiriyat’: which include all said and much more un-said. The story also brings out the hidden true fears an average Kashmiri lives with; Custodial deaths and disappearances. The Travelogue’ is to quench the thirst of the reader to understand who the story teller is and how he reached Kashmir from campuses of University of Allahabad. It reveals the journey of a post graduate youth with a burning desire to become an army officer and serve his mother land, abandoning his plan of pursuing Ph.D. or joining the mad rush of a career in the civil services. ‘The Travelogue’ ushers the reader to walk through the process of Services Selection Board, life in a military academy and the ordeals; a youth has to go through to put on the Olive Green uniform with brass on the shoulders. I am convinced that most of the people; the elderly, the women, the children, the youth of Kashmir are wonderful people. I found most of them, to be among the best in all aspects; intelligent, beautiful, civilised, extremely hospitable very loving and most sensible and sensitive. The youth of Kashmir have all the potential to be the best in any field. The book is result of a strange mix of all; the unforgettable love bestowed on me and the unbearable and undeserved hate thrown on me. It is revelation of the pain I saw of Kashmiris (mostly Muslims) living in the valley, the silent symbols of devastation of Kashmiri Pundits left by them in the shape of their houses, books on the shelves, plates on dining tables, their untended orchards, their disrespected temples etc. It is a memoir of the shrieks of mothers, the cries of children, the fear floating in the air, the gun powder smelling in the surrounding. Many scenes, many incidents remained embedded in my heart and mind due to extreme good or extreme bad reasons, extremely galling or sweet experiences. The insurgency in Kashmir conceived in eighties and bursting and hurting the entire nation in 1989-90 was mostly (but not exclusively) sponsored from the across; to inflict ‘thousand cuts on the Indian State to bleed it to death.’ To achieve this nefarious goal, Pakistan recruited, imported, trained and pushed Kashmiri youth in to armed struggle to carry out selective killings of Hindus (Kashmiri Pundits) by portraying them as Indian agents but not limiting it to Pundits. They killed everyone, including Muslims, perceived to be pro India or anti-secessionist. Murder of both types was devoid of any apparent reason or provocation. Beginning from H. L. Khera, to P.N. Bhatt, Lassa Kaul, Tikka Lal Taploo, Neel Kanth Ganjoo, among Hindus and Dr Mushirul Haq, the then vice chancellor of Kashmir University, are a few to mention from among the victims of sponsored terrorism. All were murdered sans mercy and reasoning. Practically there was no government in late 1989 and early 1990 as elaborated by Mr Jamil Qureshi adviser to the then Governor; The people, almost the whole lot of them, believed that Kashmir was going to be either independent or become part of Pakistan in January 1990 itself. In fact Jan 26 was promised by the militants to be a day of supposed deliverance, when new Peoples’ Republic of Independent Kashmir was going to be declared and foreign correspondents invited to be witnesses the birth of new independent state.”- (From “My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir”- written by Mr Jagmohan, the then Governor of J & K State) There are historical, political and geographical reasons for Pakistani involvement but more galling for Pakistan is omnidirectional growth of Indian Muslims supported by overwhelming population of Hindus in all spheres of life, in secular India. There is no field where Indian Muslims have not excelled: education, science, technology, business, art, literature, music, cinema, politics, bureaucracy, policing and even armed forces. Air Chief Marshal I H Latif had been one of them. It’s so hurting to Pakistan that Dr Kalam was elevated to the Presidency by a ‘Hindu Party’. What can be more ‘hurting’ to Pakistan than seeing that top intelligence agency of India ‘Intelligence Bureau’ is headed by a Muslim, Mr Syed Asif Ibrahim? Except the post of Prime Minister, Muslims have served in almost all positions including the (three) Presidents of the republic. The entire idea and bases of ‘two nation theory’ has been defeated. Indian Muslims proving to be among the most Intelligent Muslims in the world, living among ‘over whelming Hindus’ in a ‘secular India’, creates severe ‘acidity’ and ‘indigestion’ in the stomach of Pakistani rulers. Hence they do what they know the best to do: destruction. On the other hand the alleged rigging of assembly elections of 1987 led the fundamentalist, and to some extent the vulnerable and gullible populace of the state, in to unprecedented frustration, anger and helplessness. This ‘pretention’ resulted in to uprising and looking for help even from the enemy: to connive, corroborate, cooperate, conspire and confederate to congeal the joint agenda of ‘thousand cuts.’ All this was in the name of Islamic confraternity, to conflagrate Kashmir; the crown of Indian secularism. The role of the two dynasties, both originating from Kashmiri roots and dominating Delhi and Srinagar political spectrum, in scuttling free democratic process in the state is also alleged to be one of the reasons for the disquiet. All above and many unmentioned factors created so much of unrest in Kashmir that it became among most disturbed places in the world. Even a weak central government of 1990, possessed by imbecility of political will and manned by permanently laid back indifferent bureaucracy had to wake up to the anarchy which had engulfed the valley. The lawlessness and armed uprising crossed all limits, unprecedented in the history of independent India, forcing the government to impose Armed Forces Special Power Act; the AFSPA on 05 July 1990.The Act enables and empowers the armed forces with extra-ordinary powers of arrest, search, seizure and detention. My Experience in the valley; The Seedling of the Book I served in the Kashmir valley in 6 Maratha LI as a newly commissioned army officer from 1992 to 1995 under Armed Forces Special Power Act and from 1997 to 1999 on the Line of Control. Based on my operational experience, interaction and observation, I have scripted this book consisting of fourteen stories, which portray different emotions, directions and aspects of Kashmir conflict. These are the incidents which touched my heart and remained entrenched deep within. These storied are based on true incidents, which reveal more than any analytical/academic book. Writing a book which involves army actions is extremely difficult proposition, particularly when the writer himself had been under oath to maintain secrecy under Official Secret Act. I cannot place several facts and photographs in public domain despite the temptation and apparent need. Another difficulty I faced is about use of terminology. Many words are peculiar to the army parlance and a civilian may face difficulty in correctly comprehending the meaning. I have tried to overcome this handicap by creating a ‘Glossary’ and placing it at the end of the book so that any one facing difficulty may refer to them. Third but most intricate difficulty I faced was about mentioning the names of my colleagues who were part of all the actions mentioned in the book. Since many of them are still serving in various positions (most of them at very senior positions), it was imperative to take their consent about mentioning their names. It was an ordeal of wait and persuasion that never came through. If one agreed, some other disagreed. I did not want to make it look like a ‘cock and bull story’ by mentioning half the characters by their real names and half by assumed names or by the designation. I overcame that problem by giving all of them assumed names in all the stories. Now real names are mentioned only in two stories written about the Martyrs: ‘Sepoy Bajirao Raundal, SC’ and ‘CHM Shivaji Jagtap, KC’ that also only of the martyrs’ since rest of the real characters did not consent about mention of their names in the two stories too. I deem it my earnest responsibility to inform the reader that liberties have been taken to elaborate and attribute statements/dialogues to various characters to reveal and explain the meaning of what they originally said. At places, literary freedoms have also been exercised to moderate, contract or expand the impacts of an action or statement. Today, when Kashmir is under unprecedented deluge, the citizenry is fighting for their life and for the life of their near-dears; it’s the Indian Defence Forces, which have come to their rescue in most visible and most effective way. These saviours: the men of the Army/Air force/Navy have put their hunger, thirst, pain and fatigue behind. They have even put their own life at risk, their own family at the back burner; just to save the life of their ‘fellow citizens’ from the peril. It only proves that they love Kashmiris to the core, minus the traitors; who have since gone in ‘comatose’. Hiding in their secured burrows, they are even now instigating the ‘stray youth’ to throw stone on the ‘saviours’. The book is an account of a bitter truth that makes me feel more sad than nostalgic. It is a memoir of the senseless devastations: deaths, encounters, killings, firing, cries, shrieks and detention of youth, many found to be innocent later. It is remembrance of the interrogations, the chest beating mothers, hair plucking fathers and missed opportunities of education and growth. It is a mirror of devastation of Kashmiri Hindus; their empty, and at places, burnt houses, their mass exodus, their pitiable conditions in the refugee camps. It is reminder of dead bodies of soldiers’ being ‘embalmed’ and airlifted in the aircrafts to their home towns or just cremated nearby. It is an account of my wonder as to what we have gained from these losses. This book is a wish that all above ends soon so that none of eyes are wet, while remembering Kashmir, including mine. |
|
About the Author |
|
Saras Tripathi was born on 05 May 1966 at Allahabad to Sri Raj Nath Tripathi and Smt Manraji Tripathi. He graduated from University of Allahabad in English Literature and Philosophy, followed by MA (Philosophy) in the year 1989. He has been a vivid reader from his childhood. He was commissioned into 6 Maratha Light Infantry regiment of Indian Army on 07 Mar 1992. After completion of training at Officers’ Training Academy Madras (now Chennai), he was posted in Kashmir valley where his Unit was already operating under the Armed Forces Special Power Act to crush Pak sponsored armed uprising. The author served for five years in the valley in two different stints; from 1992-1995 and from 1997-1999. After serving almost eight years he voluntarily resigned from the Army in 1999; post Kargil war. A trained bilingual broadcaster at AIR, the author has to his credit MBA (HR) from Pondicherry University and Master’s in Journalism from Sagar University. The author can be reached via Facebook and Twitter respectively at https://www.facebook.com/saras.tripathi and https://twitter.com/SarasTripathi or through his website www.sarastripathi.in. The author resides in the National Capital Region with his parents, wife and two children. |
|