Indian Defence Review

What Mr. Jinnah had dreamt about what Pakistan would prove after its formation had started proving contrary to his wishes even during his life time but after his demise, his dream has proved to be nothing less than a nightmare or any more than a ruse. Though the formation was the basis of the factor of exclusiveness or the absolute Religion but it was not that, what and how Pakistani rulers, after his demise reduced Pakistan to, starting with maltreatment of non Muslim minorities, in particular Hindus who formed, as on 1947-48, 22%of the population which has been reduced to less than 2.3% as on date. More or less, the same treatment was meted out to other minorities but the most startling picture emerged out of the policies of the Pakistani establishments were treating certain Muslim sects as non – Muslims so as to put them on the same hate pedestal as that of the Hindus and other minorities.

In a country where its architect Mr. Jinnah wanted all non Muslims to profess their faith as they liked it, wanted the scar of the rigidity of the ‘Two Nation Theory ‘not be perceived by the world in its absolute form but the concept and creation of Pakistan as an utopian state within Islamic framework, encompassing the views and sensibilities of other faiths. That speaks, perhaps, his first attempt to get its national anthem penned by a Hindu poet, well known in the contemporary literary circles as Prof. Jagan Nath Azad who wrote “Tarana-e- Pakistan” and wrote it in the very office of Mr. Jinnah in Pakistan, shortly after its birth and the same was broadcast on Radio Lahore, Pakistan. The reason behind it being that Mr. Jinnah wanted the anthem to be written by a “well Urdu knowing Hindu”. What happened to that anthem later is in itself a story and needs hardly any comment. Incidentally, this writer has been most fortunate to have received the legendry poet gracefully visiting my place of working in Gandhi Nagar Jammu on August 16, 2000 and luckier to have cheeks to know from him about something that he had been living up to, as an institution in itself.

Azad Sahib, for nearly 30 minutes shared his valuable views with me and was pleased to be kind enough so as to present me a book the next day as promised by him. He dropped in my office as promised by him the next day, with a book writing in Urdu “presented to (my name)” with his autograph and date (August 17, 2000). The book is my most precious collection reminding me about the greatness of Azad Sahib to have presented it to me himself in my office. More about that in these columns, some other time, as an exclusive write-up.

After making miserable, the fate of non Muslims in Pakistan, it was never expected, at least, that Shias too would be discriminated against and subjected to acts of violence and made to live in perpetual fear. At least, never a brazen discrimination with its own Baluchi population, torturing their groups, not sparing even women and children. Numerous incidents of the police and army brutality and repression as seen on TV Channels have exposed Pakistan in quelling voices of even elementary protests by its citizenry. The tales of woes and untold brutalities narrated by the victims and the next of their kin are spine chilling and hair rising.

Of late, we have witnessed and so has the world too, as to how Pakistani occupied parts of Kashmir have been simmering with unrest and people coming on roads, in most of the cases the women leading the protests, demanding vacating the illegal occupation by Pakistan which it grabbed by force in 1947-48 from India. The world saw and is seeing not only the extent and the magnitude of the protests but the spontaneity of these demonstrations, Hartals and protests from almost all parts of so called “Aazad Kashmir”. It was seen how protestors were showering Pakistan the choicest invectives and demanding “We want India”. Slogans in favour of India reverberated the air which must have given sleepless nights to the Pakistani establishment, especially at a time, when Nawaz Sharif was in New York to attend the UN General Assembly session and under tremendous pressure from different elements from home, to rake up Kashmir issue there. He took up the parroted issue but none from the world body seemed any longer interested in it. No country seemed any buyer of Pakistani stand on Kashmir. He stressed among other things on “De- militarizing Kashmir” which was suitably replied by India that the need of the hour was to “De- terrorizing Pakistan”. It was in the fitness of things to give a rebuttal to Pakistan as this country has been the worst victim of Pakistani terrorism for the last three decades.

It is in this context that Prime Minister Modi has severely criticized the UN that it has not so far defined terrorism and perhaps not taken cognizance till recently in some form about how India has been reeling under the terror proxy war from Pakistan.

That Pakistan was “itself a victim of terrorism” is a hollow argument as it is paying the price for sponsoring and promoting terror and succumbing to terror groups and Nawaz Sharif is a classical example of it. At a time, when the whole world was watching the charismatic ways of the Prime Minister Modi in the USA , Pakistan could offer nothing to the West , nothing to the World body, nothing to the world leaders assembled there , no personality, no charisma, no rhetoric and in the back drop of it , the Kashmir tape has backfired in the UNGA.

Nawaz Sharif vain-fully argued to include “Kashmiris on the negotiating table to talk on Kashmir” is vague unless people from PoK are brought on table after Pakistan having retrieved all those areas “gifted” to China which belonged to India. Pakistan, it may be recalled “gifted” 5180 sq.kms of occupied Kashmir in 1963 to China. Pakistan has illegally occupied 91448 sq. kms of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It must vacate these but in the mean time, must allow International Human Rights Agencies to visit areas of PoK to assess for themselves, the extent of brutality and oppression let loose on the hapless people of PoK so that exposed fully, it stops on moral grounds criticizing Indian government for its imaginary suppression of Human Rights in Kashmir. The recent visuals of brutality on the PoK protesters are disturbing as the Pakistani forces resort to dragging protesters on roads, canning, kicking and wounding them but not wounding their resolve of “Kasmir ko khali karoo”. As compared to this part of the state, the difference in the levels of development are as wide , deep and substantial that it could take decades together to get that part of the state on some meaningful track of economic development.

Lack of developmental opportunities, massive unemployment, denial of any freedom excepting the encouragement to the youth joining jihadi forces, gagging of press, denial of speech and expression have made the lives of the people there miserable. The people there want their occupied areas merged with India as they term PoK as a “living hell”. It may be a surprise to many that any bookseller in “Aazad Kashmir” showcasing any book in Kashmiri language is seen with suspicion and arrested. The local language Kashmiri is a taboo in the Pakistani view point and only Urdu is allowed whether in schools or in offices. It is in the process of “De-Kashmirizing” the areas of PoK as it is settling and has settled larger groups of Punjabis and Pushtuns there so that original population there is reduced to a minority. The space limitations restrict here but only to conclude that Pakistan is oppressing and troubling even those very people in the name of whom the country took its birth, the Religion. More uprisings and protests and demands for liberty and freedom met with force brutality cannot be ruled out. Mr. Jinnah’s dream seems getting nightmarish convulsions.