‘Atuet Angh’

Until 1947, we in Kashmir at School mass parade used to raise the slogan ‘Mahraja Bahadur ki jai’. There was no slogan like Bharat Mata ki jai or Hindustan zindabad. In our history books, nothing was mentioned about India. It was confined to Mahraja Hari Singh Bahadur. It read Mahraja Hari Singh Bahadur, maharaja Jammu ve Kashmir ve Ladakh ve Tibet ve Gilgat ha as his domain.

1947 and 1947 onward till date all the Prime Ministers and the Chief Ministers of J&K State from Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah to Omer Abdullah invariably have been parroting: “Jammu-Kashmir ‘Bharat ka atuet angh hai’. Sheikh Abdullah in his vibrating pitch used to end his speech with the slogan: “Azad Hindustan –zindabad”. One doubts and gets confused with the repetition of the phrase ‘Kashmir Bharat ka atuet angh hai’ ‘. Bihar Chief Minister never says Bihar is an integral part of India, then why the rulers of J&K State or the Central leaders? No legitimate son will parrot the phrase that he is the legitimate son of his legitimate father. It is only the one who doubts his legitimacy. Even a bastard does not parrot his parentage repeatedly lest people become conscious of his illegitimacy. Middle and Primary class Geography school books until early seventies read “Kashmir is connected to India by a road named Banihal Cart Road and to Pakistan by the road named the Jehlum Valley Road. This lesson gave clear cut impression in an impressionable age that India, Pakistan and Kashmir are three different entities and Kashmir is equidistant to both India and Pakistan with equal status. Atuet Angh and connectivity to both India and Pakistan on equal footing confused the young school going students and the masses. We irrespective of our religion, education and political affiliation used to call all across the Banihal Tunnel as Punjabis and any foreigner with white skin as ‘angrez’, no matter whether he was a German, a British, or an American. Even rice imported from the united States of America under PL 480 agreement was called ‘Punjubie tomuel’ (rice) or Punjabie butea; different breed of the fish bred in the Dal Lake or in other water bodies of Kashmir are still called ‘Punjabie gard’. For we people in Kashmir the whole universe is confined to Punjab and England. Surprisingly, when a Bihari goes to Bihar, his other people say that he went to his ‘Muluk’ or Gavun. They don’t know that India is their country and Bihar is their State.

1970, my friend Bansi Lal Kaw, a traffic officer used to take me to different distant picnic spots. The officer in uniform and so hitchhiking was faster and pleasant. One day we set off for Verinagh. Hitchhiking and we reached Achabal-Verinagh Crossing and looked for the fastest transport for onward journey to Verinagh. We sought and got lift from an army Officer on wheel. The officer introduced himself as Colonel Srivastva. To break silence, Kaw sahib said to the officer: “Sir, have you come from India?” The officer was quick in his answer and asked: “Are you from Pakistan”. None of our leaders has been sincere to his followers, to his commitment, to his conscience and to his country. 1947, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah chased raiders across the borders and raised the slogan ‘hamla aver khuberdar hum kashmiri hain teyar’ and while canvassing for the election, he exploited sentiments of the electorate by exhibiting rock-salt of Pakistan and green handkerchief. Clandestinely he was telling them that he was with them. The double standard confused the masses. He raised the slogan ‘Hindu Muslim Sikh Ithad’. His slogan and actions were quite contradictory. He used to say that a Kashmiri Pundit has access up to Raskumari while a Kashmiri Muslim is confined to Banihal only. His short sightedness proved him wrong. Today Kashmiris irrespective of their religion are global assets. He pleaded to Nehru that KPs are migrating to other states for jobs and Kashmir would lose the secular character in absence of Kashmiri Pundits. It made mandatory for a KP to get NOC from the State Government for job in other states. For KP due to Raskumari-Banihal, there was neither job for him in the State nor NOC to seek job elsewhere. This communal condition was waived by Sardar Patel on the intervention of Pundit Shiv Narayan Fotedar. This shows how farce was the slogan.

Shamus-ul-Din, the Ex. Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Piaray Lal Handoo contested election against each other from one of the constituencies of Anantnagh in the year 1971. P L Handoo was a popular leader among Muslims. He had more Muslim followers than KPs. He was sure of his success. He refused to accept fake ballot boxes filled with fake ballots in his favour transported in my Taxi 5030 JKT on election duty. On the eve of voting Shamus-ul-Din made a marathon canvassing: “Forgive me for my wrongs. This contest is between ‘Koran’ and a ‘kafir’ (an infidel)”. Communal card gave him success in ‘secular’ State. Nothing is fair in my State. ‘Khuda Vendha tairay sadha lo bundhay kehan jaian Yehan dervaishee be ayaree hai Ki Sultanee be ayaree’