Distortion of South Asian History
Dr. Subodh Atal, Ph. D.

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Dr. Fai's latest article (Glimmer of Hope Seen For Kashmir, Jan. 7, 2001, Commentary section) is characterized by two primary themes - distortion of South Asian history, and a strong espousal of the agenda of the Pakistani jehad industry. Dr. Fai ignores and bends well-known and well-documented history. Maybe he has little personal knowledge of the facts as they existed in 1947-1948 Jammu and Kashmir. Those of us who lived there in that era or have close family members who have recounted innumerable times the traumatic events, know that there was no uprising in the state in 1948.

When Pakistan found out the Maharajah had signed the accession to India, it sent Muslim tribals backed by its own army to capture the state. The tribals are well remembered for rape, murder and brutality against the non-Muslims of the state. Dr. Fai's distortions continue into the events of the last few decades right up to the present.

The Muslims of Kashmir have been anything but "ink-blots" to India. Of all Indian states, Jammu and Kashmir has enjoyed the largest degree of autonomy throughout the last half-century. The residents of the state have enjoyed the largesse of India through specially subsidized commodity prices. The Muslim majority in the state spent the last half century establishing a highly disproportionate hegemony in political power, key bureaucratic positions, education, business and just about every facet of life over Hindus, Dogras, Sikhs and Buddhists of Kashmir.

Article 370 of the Indian constitution prevents migration of Indian citizens to the state, thus ensuring that its ethnic composition can not be altered by the rest of India. Contrast this to the near extinction of the Kashmiri-speaking population of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir since 1947, a fact that speaks volumes about phony Pakistani concerns about Kashmiris. Dr. Fai also needs to be reminded that Indian troop deployments in the state defend against the daily violence perpetrated by terrorists trained in the Pakistan-Afghanistan factories for Bin Laden-inspired jehad.

Dr. Fai's espousal of "independence" of Kashmir fits well with the plans of the Pakistani jehad industry, which has already succeeded in Talibanizing Kashmir valley, blocked the election process, and converted the few minorities that remain into virtual hostages. Such a reward to the jehadis will simply whet their appetite and hand them a secure base for attacks into the rest of India. These jehadis have declared the entire world as their target, and the United States has seen but a few brief glimpses in the form of the World Trade Center, embassy and USS Cole bombings, all of which lead back to the Pakistan-Afghanistan jehad industry.

Dr. Fai's mention of providing "relocation assistance" to Kashmiri Hindus is an example of macabre humor at best. Over 350,000 of them remain ethnically cleansed by the marauding Pakistani jehadis. They are not looking for relocation assistance as if they had just landed jobs out of state. No, Kashmiri Hindus want their ancestral homes and properties back, they want their right to democracy, free speech and religion back, and most of all they want back their right to live inside their own Kashmiri homes without fear of Islamic terror.

An "independent" Kashmir will effectively become an Islamic protectorate of Pakistan and rapidly experience the same economic catastrophe that Pakistan and Afghanistan have witnessed with their single-minded focus on Islamic jehad. A true solution for Jammu and Kashmir is best based on a roll back of the jehadi fervor aimed at it by Pakistan and true integration of the state with India. This will allow the economic boom as well as religious freedoms and democratic values enjoyed by the rest of Indians to pervade the state, bringing it back from the fundamentalist morass it has sunk into.

Furthermore, there is a pressing need to reorganize the state to ensure that minority voices are not silenced.

Dr. Subodh Atal, Ph.D.
Director, Indo-American Kashmir Forum.