Tsewang Rigzin Column : RAKESH ANKIT

Ladakh’s onw textbooks : Historiography in Kashmir The problem

A step towards autonomy Prof. Jigar Mohammad of poonch
P42 P54 P8

J & K ’ S M O N T H LY M A G A Z I N E ISSN : 0974-5653

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Notes o
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SEMINAR
KASHMIR UNREST : THE CIVIL SOCIETY RESPONSE

L O G UE B G Verghese ? Inder Malhotra ?

Gautam Navlakha
EP I IVE
?Naeem Akhter ? Radha Kumar ?Rekha Choudhary
L U S ?Arjimand Hussain Talib ?Daya Sagar
EXC nsible jo ? Ershad Mehmud ? M M Khajoria ?Ramesh Mehta
se
?Nyla Ali Khan ?
ur

Gul Mohammad Wani

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 ANNOUNCES

Ladakh Women Writers Award

2010-11
2010-11
Open to women writers from Ladakh above the age of 18 years

LANGUAGE : English, Hindi, Urdu and Ladakhi

TOPIC : Reflecting community perspectives on Education,

Environment and Disability for positive change from the ground .

AWARD DETAILS : Ladakh Women Writers Award : 3 Awards of Rs.5,000/- each

EXPECTED OUTCOME : 6 articles by each awardee of word length 800-1000 with

photographs on the chosen theme

TIME PERIOD FOR AWARD WRITINGS : Dec-June 2011

APPLICATION FORM : available on www.charkha.org from 15 Aug 2010 onwards.

LAST DATE FOR RECEIVING APPLICATIONS : 5 OCT 2010

Charkha, an NGO established in1994 works in several states across India to connect issues of the rural
marginalised communities to the policy makers through the media. In areas like Ladakh, geographically
distant from the rest of the county, its effort is to highlight voices and integrate them with the mainstream.

Applications may be sent by email to: charkha@bol.net.in or sujvan@gmail.com

For further detail, contact : Sujata Raghavan : 09811217054, 0124-4079082

The Awards will be announced on 7 Dec 2010 in New Delhi

at a function to mark Charkha Founders' Day.
DRUG ABUSE AND ADDICTION
COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DRUG ABUSE :
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Neglecting responsibilities at work or home.
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It is causing measure problems in your like Blackouts, infections mood swings, depression and
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HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM DRUGS

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Get educated yourself and know the facts.
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Support from family members close friends relatives, councillors. Healthcare providers and
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Sd/-
Sr. Suptd. of Police
Crime Branch, Jammu
DIP/JK-4207/2010
Dated : 24-6-2010

CRIME BRANCH, JAMMU

3

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Editor Prologue 5
Zafar Iqbal Choudhary Letters 6

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The Problem of Poonch 8
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Volume 4, Issue 8, August 2010 Inder Malhotra
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I N FOCUS Column
Art Editor Historiography in Kashmir 54
Ladakh Prof. Jigar Mohammad
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 TOWARDS FREEDOM FROM TUBERCULOSIS (TB)
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DIP/JK-3940/2010

sure cure for TB

STATE TB CONTROL SOCIETY
DIRECTORATE OF HEALTH SERVICES, JAMMU

TOWARDS FREEDOM FROM TB

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DIRECTORATE OF HEALTH
DIP/J-4783 SERVICES, JAMMU
5 PROLOGUE
Time for Introspection
ZAFAR CHOUDHARY
T
his month in 2008 we had
written that Kashmir Valley
is back to square one. In
summer of that year five-
year long peace was
breached, people were on the streets,
government was clueless, separatism
was at zenith, mainstream political
leaders were pushed to the wall, anger
and discontent was writ large on the
faces of youths, divides in the regions
were deepening and no one was able
offer a clue to what might happen next.
That was the situation triggered by
Amarnath land row which dispelled
many myths about peace in Kashmir. In
2002 Jammu and Kashmir went through
most credible elections of the history.
Credit goes to the then Prime Minister
Atal Behari Vajpayee who promised and
delivered whatever little he could do. A
popular government of Peoples
Democratic Party-Congress combine
came into being. Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed's statesmanship and brought a
visible turnaround in situation. Every
subsequent year 2002 onwards,
incidents of militant violence declined
by 25 to 35%. Mufti's successor Ghulam
Nabi Azad inherited a relatively far
stable political environment. Shortly
before that there was change of guard
in New Delhi. Manmohan Singh had
taken place of Vajpayee. There
followed a string of errors from Srinagar
to New Delhi. The decline in militant
www.epilogue.in
From the Editor
violence was apparently misconstrued
as proportional restoration of peace
and stability. Authorities believed that
now the only task before them was to
finish 500 to 800 odd militants
operating in the state and stop entry of
around 1500 who may be waiting to
cross over from other side of the
divide. The Government in
Srinagar/Jammu felt that issue was all
about governance and the leaders in
Delhi thought it was more about
economic disadvantages. Chief
Minister went on cleanse his
administration and Prime Minister
pumped in wads of money. These
initiatives were very useful in
improving the quality of life but there
AUGUST 2008
was no organized attempt to
consolidate the gains of a positive was repeated. Massive participation in
atmosphere that sprung the landscape elections was apparently misconstrued
of Jammu and Kashmir after 2002 as victory and the warning signals of the
elections. Therefore, a very minor and previous months were hardly taken
immediately correctible issue (transfer seriously. Rather those who revolted on
of land to temple) trust spoilt the the streets were ridiculed by showing
Kashmir story written over the years them the statistics of voter
jointly by people like Atal Behari participation in elections. Experience
Vajpayee, Pervez Musharraf, and Mufti of summers of 2009 and now what is
Mohammad Sayeed. There were, of going on in Kashmir needs and
course, many others who also played introspection at levels. Now is the time
their roles in making Kashmir a to clearly understand what do people
negotiable issue. Shortly after 2008 and what the maximum that can be
crisis people again offered an given is. We can't be at war with
opportunity of negotiating peace after ourselves all the times.
they overwhelmingly participated in Feedback :
elections but then again same old folly zafarchoudhary@epilogue.in
Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010
Letters 6
Readers Write

Manmohan put people first

T here is no denying the fact that Atal Bihari Vajpayee did a lot in
Kashmir but contribution of Manmohan Singh Government cannot be
overlooked. Let me say that you have been bit obsessive with Vajpayee
(Vajpayee's politics and Manmohan's economics, Epilogue, July 2010) in
your analysis. The major difference in their policies was actually not
touched upon in your essay. Vajpayee accorded top priority to Kashmir
issue while Manmohan Singh put people first. Vajpayee's stand and
initiatives revolved around the conflict, its resolution, keeping Pakistan
and separatists in loop and springing surprises between hot pursuits and
ceasefires. Manmohan's policy has remained steady. By launching a
massive reconstruction project worth Rs 30,000 Crore he tried to help
people who were denied of equal opportunities by Center's and State's
huge focus on the security and peace projects. At roundtable conferences
Manmohan Singh invited people from all regions and all walks of life; he
heard them and took note of their ideas. Through these roundtable
conferences he sent across a loud and clear message that people of
Jammu and Kashmir are the stakeholders in all the issues and not the
handful of separatists. Launch of Cross-LoC bus service and then Cross-
LoC trade was also a people centric initiative where people are the
beneficiaries and not the separatists. If this (putting people first) was JULY 2010
done 20 years back situation would have been entirely different.
Unfortunately only those leaders are hailed who appeased the separatists
and did nothing for people.
SANTOSH NEGI
New Delhi, Via Email

Indian army is no villain

A nmol Sharma's argument that only Army is responsible for the trouble in Kashmir is perhaps flawed. There have often
been deliberate attempts to dent the image of Indian Army though this article was not one like that. It is, however,
quite unfortunate that in his article (Repeal AFSPA – Epilogue July 2010) the writer is blaming the army for every mess in
the valley. Kashmir ever remained an epicenter of controversies and clashes because of many other attributed reasons.
Though, agreed that there are also black sheep in the force but it would be unjustifiable to tag the whole institution of
Army as villain.
No one can deny the role of Indian Army,when it comes to the question of service to the civilians, be it Kargil war,
the snow Tsunami, 8th Oct/ 2005 earthquake or any other Natural Calamity Indian Army rendered every possible help to
the state administration.
The advocates orchestrating the withdrawal of Army and repeal of AFSPA are knowingly or unknowingly supporting
the propaganda of Pakistan. Earlier these were only the separatists raising such pro-pak demands but unfortunately
obviously because of the failure of the government of India to noose such unjustified slogans now even such demands are
coming from many corners. To please Pakistan or on beheast of so called international rights groups we must not try to
criminalize the whole army.
JATINDER SINGH
Jammu

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

7 Letters
Kashmir is not for deal
P eople sitting in South Block of New Delhi must not forget
that by giving perks and incentives they cannot built trust
in the heart of Kashmiris, in all these 60 years you people tried
your best to buy a deal in Kashmir but let us be straight
forward that 'Kashmir is not for sale' Economics packages
cannot solve the basic problem and it demands a political
solution. Instead of doing Hit and trial methods to solve
Kashmir imbroglio the core issue be discussed with open mind
and all those who matters must be heard. Dialogue for the
sake of dialogue cannot yield any result. We want to live in
peace but with dignity and autonomy. Let us decide what we
want, economic packages and so called free and fair elections
may help for a moment but for long lasting stability you need
to be honest and allow Kashmiris to decide what they want.
MALIK ISRAR HUSSAIN
Badgam, Kashmir
Voices must be heard
J ammu and Kashmir is often seen as war zone between the
two nuclear armed neighbours and many a times has been
described as the most dangerous zone on earth. The land of
conflicts can of course be a platform of friendship between
Indian and Pakistan. As suggested by Mr. Nazir A Dar, President
Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. YV. Sharma,
President Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and by
Mr. Anil Suri Eminent Entrepreneur of the state (Perspectives
on Cross-LoC Trade, Epilogue July 2010) Cross-LoC Trade has a
lot to offer. Trade links between two regions of the state
–Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan administered Kashmir –can
help in reducing the political tension. Nazir Ahmed Dar, the
President of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries has
rightly pointed out that even after 26/11 Mumbai attacks the
LoC trade was not stopped this is a positive signal indeed,
despite the heat.
People and business communities of both the sides are
demanding a full-fledged trade system instead of the present
barter system. The onus to carry forward this trust of cross LoC
trade is on both the governments. In this era of globalization
none of us can afford to remain in isolation. Demands and
ideas suggested by the concerned people must be given
patience and actionable hearing.
There can be nothing more
soothing for people of the two
divided parts of the state that
they can do trade and bring peace
in the sub continent.
RAJAN GUPTA
Jammu
www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8
Readers Write
V I A F A C E B O O K
Very unfortunate that they (leaders) are not
understanding the problem. Perhaps it’s
because we want to resolve a political issue
with economic solutions....which never worked
and nor it will
PERVAIZ NAIK
I believe creating a conducive environment for
talks is must and economic aid is a very positive
step in that direction, as underdevelopment is
itself a major issue...economic development can
play a significant role in Kashmir politics as we
can’t devoid politics of economics
POONAM SINGH
Vajpayee is statesman of world class order but
Manmohan Singh is a pure economist who leaves
politics and administration for Sonia Gandhi to
handle. At present India lacks a leader whose
charisma works with the people.
ANMOL SHARMA
Pragmatism is the cost/benefit analysis done by
groups who continue to maintained their
hegenomy over ignorant opium eaters...
unfortunately the game gets rougher and truth
more opaque....so much for pragmatism
SANJAY PURI
How can Indo-Pak relations be improved? Will
Mushraff's back channel policy be ever applied
again as it was halt in Agra summit in 2001?
Siachen and Kashmir like issues will ever be
resolved? Why people at the helm of affairs
don’t understand the pathetic conditions of
general public?
SYED HAMID BUKHARI
See more comments, participate in discussions
Join us at facebook
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Epilogue, August 2010
Exclusive Series
New Research on Kashmir
The Problem
of Poonch
RAKESH ANKIT
B
efore Maharaja Hari Singh's
accession to the throne of
Srinagar in 1925, the Rajas of
Poonch – while maintaining a shadowy
allegiance to Srinagar – were recognised
by the Government of British India and
were in a direct relationship with the
Viceroy – the Crown Representative.
Hari Singh's elder half-brother suc-
ceeded to the throne in Poonch and this
was a considerable source of friction
within the family. By 1937, Hari Singh
had got the British Government to
reduce the status of Poonch to that of an
autonomous jagir subordinate to
Srinagar even thought the title of 'Raja of
Poonch' was retained. The Raja of Poonch
employed intrigue, propaganda, provo-
cation and civil agitation to change his
subordinate status vis-à-vis Hari Singh.
Administratively, Poonch had a
civil official and a resident appointed
from Srinagar but otherwise its adminis-
trative structure was autonomous with
the tehsildar as the highest rank. It was
a poorly-paid and slow-promotion ser-
vice and hence was corrupt, inefficient,
discontented and disloyal to the Raja.
The Muslim members wanted the
absorption of Poonch in British India
while the Hindus desired total incorpo-
ration into the J & K State. 90% of
Poonchis were Muslim but the Raja, his
court, most of the judicial and adminis-
trative services, police and palace
guards were Hindus. This was a source
of discontent but so was the poor eco-
nomic life in which agriculture was not
www.epilogue.in
profitable due to heavy taxation.
Timber trade was the other main eco-
nomic activity. Consequently, the
Poonchis had sought employment in the
British Indian Army.
Undoubtedly there was a strong
separatist movement among the Muslim
Poonchis but for absorption into British
India and ironically, given what tran-
spired later, both the Indian National
Congress and the National Conference
aided their movement against the Raja
of Poonch as well as Hari Singh in the
decade 37-47.
There was a notable disturbance in
1938 led by the Suden tribe (the inhabit-
ants of the area between the Poonch
and the Jhelum rivers) on the alleged
abuse of the Holy Koran by a Hindu
police officer. This movement was led
by the pensioned Subedar Major Khan
Mohammad Khan, ex-British Indian
Army. He commanded lashkars and
ordered them to march on to the Poonch
town; enroute they were stopped by
two battalions of the J & K State troops.
For months the forces faced each other
but while tensions kept simmering, a
conflict was avoided through a settle-
ment. But from this time onwards,
Poonch remained garrisoned by a bat-
talion of J & K State troops.
Gopalaswami Ayengar was then the
Prime Minister in Srinagar and in the
deal that he brokered with Khan
Mohammad Khan, the latter was made
an Honorary Lieutenant, awarded the
Order of British India and appointed the
Vol. 4, Issue 8
8
President of the Indian Soldiers, Sailors
and Airmen Boards in both Srinagar and
Poonch. Throughout 1938-39, minor skir-
mishes continued between the National
Conference/Congress and Muslim
Conference on one side and the lashkars
of Khan Mohammad Khan but nothing
serious happened.
With the outbreak of the Second
World War in September 1939 and Lord
Linlithgow's announcement making
India a party to the British war effort,
Poonchis were heavily recruited into
the British Indian Army. Consequently,
they remained largely absent from
domestic politics in this period.
However, by 1945 it had become obvious
that in Poonch the Muslim Conference
had emerged as the pre-dominant polit-
ical party with its principal objective –
union with Punjab and Pakistan (that
they were expecting to be established).
Therefore, the rising of 1945-46 in
Srinagar led by Sheikh Abdullah and his
National Conference had only mild
repercussions in Poonch. With the end
of the war, as the demobbed Muslim
Poonchis returned to Poonch, they fell
under the heavy influence of the Muslim
Conference and the Muslim League. The
leaders of the Muslim Conference in
Poonch – Maulavi Ghulam Haider,
Maulavi Nazir Hussain Shah, Fateh
Mohammad Khan, Syaid Hussain Shah,
Yar Mohammad Khan and others were
joined by the barrister Mohammad
Ibrahim Khan who was to make a name
for himself as an eloquent fanatic.
Epilogue, August 2010
9 Exclusive Series
The issue of the day – gifted to
these men, it must be said – was the deci-
sion of New Delhi to pay money to sol-
diers who had served in the Second
World War. When months passed and
Poonchis did not get anything, anger
spread against the integrity of adminis-
trative apparatus in Srinagar which was
accused of embezzling the funds
received from New Delhi. The first
clashes occurred in the Naoshera-
Islamabad area as lashkars gathered.
The J & K State troops and their supply
trucks were attacked in Islamabad-
Planderi and Naoshera. The State troops
were thinly spread engaged as they
were in escorting refuges moving
between India and Pakistan in August-
September 1947. Finally, the 9th
Infantry Reserve Battalion was dis-
patched to Poonch which cleared the
road to Naoshera, dispersed lashkars
and cut off Poonch from direct commu-
nication with Pakistan over the Jhelum
River for fear that Sialkot and
Rawalpindi authorities might intervene
on behalf of the lashkars. Small mobile
columns remained dispersing lashkars and
September 1947 saw the re-establishment
of the authority of Srinagar.
This then is the celebrated revolt
of Poonch of August-September 1947
which occupies a prominent place in the
historiography of the first Kashmir con-
flict. While the proponents of the Indian
case seek to either deny or downplay
the incidents, those propping up
Pakistan's arguments interpret the
affair in terms of Muslim rebellion and
liberation from the yoke of Hindu
Srinagar. More than religion, it was rec-
ompense which provoked the Poonchis.
H. S. Stephenson who was the
Assistant High-Commissioner for UK in
Pakistan in an interesting telegram to T.
Shone (High-Commissioner for UK in
India) tried prediction and wrote thus
on 13 September 1947:
'The Poonch affair, as I have
www.epilogue.in
already said, was greatly exaggerated
and the state is in an uneasy quiet. The
Maharaja and the Hindu ruling class
would join India if they dared but in the
present circumstances that will mean
revolution. The state army can not pos-
sibly hold the whole border and could
not meet the Muslim infiltration which
would be inevitable if revolution
occurred. In the meanwhile, every
effort is being made to push on the new
road into India which might be ready for
military traffic in three months time.
The alternatives are for Kashmir to join
India, which the rulers want but which
The Muslim members wanted the
absorption of Poonch in British India
while the Hindus desired total incorpo-
ration into the J&K State. 90% of
Poonchis were Muslim but the Raja, his
court, most of the judicial and adminis-
trative services, police and palace
guards were Hindus. This was a source
of discontent but so was the poor eco-
nomic life in which agriculture was not
profitable due to heavy taxation. Timber
trade was the other main economic
activity. Consequently, the Poonchis had
sought employment in the British Indian
Army.
they can only accomplish by a coup
d'tat, Indian troops being rushed to
Kashmir and trusting to disorganization
in Pakistan. Or, if that does not happen,
Kashmir will eventually fall like a ripe
plum to Pakistan'.
T. Shone dutifully relayed this mes-
sage as well as his own reading to
London on 6 October. He understood the
release of Sheikh Abdullah and his travel
to Delhi and the removal of Banbury and
Powell from Kashmir armed forces and
their substitution by Hindus as 'a clear-
ing of the decks for action as soon as the
Maharaja feels that he can rely on new
road from Pathankot for supplies and
Vol. 4, Issue 8
New Research on Kashmir
possibly military assistance from India'.
He, like Stephenson and just about
everyone, too was worried about 'the
gravest disorders' which would be pro-
voked by Kashmir's accession to India
and, among other reasons, axiomati-
cally raised 'the Russian bogey'. He had
heard, as was by now becoming appar-
ent, that 'no petrol has gone from
Pakistan into Kashmir since September
9th' and sought to enquire about it. He
feared that this breach of the standstill
agreement would be 'natural for
Pakistan to turn the heat in this way'.
Despite being assured that Karachi had
not taken any decision in this regard and
that the real cause was the reluctance
of Muslim drivers 'to go because of the
presence of Sikhs from Gurdaspur and
absence of military escorts'; Shone had
'little doubt however that local authori-
ties in Rawalpindi are holding telescope
to their blind eye and are indefinitely
preventing supplies of petrol and other
commodities from entering Kashmir'.
Norman Cliff – the News Chronicle spe-
cial correspondent – was among the first
to report on 13 October that Pakistan
cut off Kashmir's supplies of petrol-
sugar-salt and kerosene in contraven-
tion of the signed standstill agreement.
It was clear to the High-
Commissioner that insofar as the valley
and areas surrounding Srinagar were
concerned the Muslim population there
were not 'enthusiastically ardent sup-
porters of accession to Pakistan', led as
they were by the National Conference
which was 'sympathetic to Indian
Congress ideas'. Shone, nevertheless,
flagged two concerns and rightly so:
first, the impact of communal killings
elsewhere on Kashmir, specifically the
massacre of Muslims by Hindus and Sikhs
in the neighbouring Indian Punjab and
second, the affiliations of the Muslim
population in Gilgit and Muzaffarabad
areas.
At this stage, there was even a feel-
Epilogue, August 2010
Exclusive Series 10
New Research on Kashmir

ing among in some officials at the
Commonwealth Relations Office,
London that maybe the Maharaja was
'bargaining for better terms (eg. an alli-
ance) with Pakistan by making it appear
that he was contemplating joining
India'.
The trouble with, what I have
called, the Poonch problem is that once
Henry Scott left Srinagar on 29
September 1947 there is a difficulty in
finding reliable and sober official
assessment of the ground situation.
Scott's last reports did not 'encourage
confidence in stories of Muslim ill-
treatment there at the hands of the
Hindus but the balance may well have
swung the other way, with the arrival of
Kashmir state troops reinforcements',
since he left. Atleast one very influen-
tial person felt thus and he was Sir
Lawrence Graffety-Smith (Stephenson's
superior and UK High-Commissioner to
Pakistan from 1947 to 1951). He con-
fided in Philip Noel-Baker (Minister for
Commonwealth Affairs – thus the man in
the Attlee cabinet looking after Kashmir
and later leader or UK delegation to UN
on Kashmir into confidence:
'There are large pockets of Dogras
in Poonch as in Jammu; and a major anxi-
ety of the Pakistan government derives
from reports of recent heavy infiltration
of Hindu officials, Sikhs and former
members of the “Indian National Army”
into Srinagar. They fear that the stage is
being set for Kashmir's accession to the
Indian Union. This would inevitably be
followed by disturbances within the
state to which neither India nor Pakistan
could remain indifferent, and civil war
in Kashmir might involve both
Dominions of hostilities of incalculable
extension'.
What then can be said about the sit-
uation in Kashmir in the week before
the invasion began? The lull before the
storm, apart from Poonch where if not
the storm then certainly a strong wind
was blowing? Two imminent possibili-
ties, distinct but linked, namely: acces-
sion to India and tribal invasion in either
order? And, a flurry of official exchanges
between Delhi, Karachi, London and
Srinagar. Hari Singh's Prime Minister –
third in three months – Mehr Chand
Mahajan was at the centre of this traf-
fic. He wrote to Liaquat and Attlee on
the 15th, to Jinnah on the 18th / 19th
and to Mountbatten on the 26th. He
read from Liaquat on the 19th, from
Jinnah on the 20th and from
Mountbatten on the 27th. Meanwhile,
two brothers courted some infamy –
Abdul Haq, the DC of Rawalpindi and
Syed Ikramul Haq, ICS in MOD – and 'ap-
peared to be conducting a private war
against Kashmir' by preventing the pas-
sage of petrol and other essential sup-
plies for the last.
The correspondence between
Srinagar and Karachi ceased on 20
October. Liaquat had the last word. He
warned the Maharaja to not accede to
India as “gravest consequences” would
occur then. The stage was set. Kashmir's
history pressed the fast-forward button
48 hours later.

Department of Horticulture (J&K Govt)

Office of the Chief Canning & Processing Instructor
Fruit and Vegetable Graft Centre, Chand Nagar, Jammu
Applications on plain paper are invited for undergoing months training course in Fruit and Vegetable Processing
from interested persons who intend to establish their own units in the field. The desirous candidate should be Matriculate
with, science subjects. The candidates having additional qualification shall be preferred. The applications must reach this
office, by or before 16th August 2010 and should be accompanied with the following documents (attested copies):
1. Date of birth Certificate
2. Qualification certificate alongwith marks sheet
3. Permanent Residential Certificate of J&K State
4 Two Passport size photographs
5. Character Certificate from any Gazetted officer or from the Head of the Institution last attended.
No tuition fee shall be charged from the candidate for the said course. The interview shall be conducted on 25th
and 26th of August 2010 and the list of selected candidates shall be displayed on the notice board on 28th of August 2010.
No separate communication shall be given in this regard. The classes shall commence from Ist of Sep. 2010. The
candidates are advised for their own convenience to mention their contact number in application forms. For further details
candidates may contact at phone No.01912579072
during working hours on any working day.
Sd/
(P K Sharma)
Chief
Canning & Processing Instructor
DIP/J-4946 Fruit Vegetable Craft Centre; Chand Nagar, Jammu
CRAFTING PEACE IN KASHMIR

B G VERGHESE GAUTAM NAVLAKHA NAEEM AKHTAR

has been Editor of three top Indian newspapers –Times is a leading human rights activist and Consulting one of the seasoned civil servants J&K produced, he
of India, Hindustan Times and Indian Express. He
served as Information Advisor to Prime Minister Indira Editor of Mumbai based quit services in Jan 2009 to support
Gandhi, is with Center for Policy Research since 1986 Economic and Political Weekly Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s political initiatives

13 VIEWS
RADHA KUMAR
is Director of Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace
and Conflict Resolution at
Jamia Millia University, New Delhi 1AGENDA INDER MALHOTRA
former Editor of the Times of India,
his syndicated columns appear
in 30 newspapers

PEACE
M M KAJOORIA
IN REKHA CHOUDHARY
a social activist and columnist,
he retired as
Director General of J&K Police KASHMIR Professor of Political Science at
University of Jammu

RAMESH MEHTA DAYA SAGAR GUL MOHAMMAD WANI

is an artist and former Secretary JKAACL, is a social activist and leading columnist Professor of Political Science at the
top art and culture body in J&K based in Jammu University of Kashmir

ARJIMAND HUSSAIN TALIB ERSHAD MEHMUD NYLA ALI KHAN

leading columnist based in Srinagar, a native of Pakistan administered Kashmir, a Professor of English at a US University, she is author
he is author of he is a leading policy analyst of Islam, Women and Violence in Kashmir. She happens
Omar Abdullah –the burden of inheritance based in Islamabad to be grand daughter of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah

EPILOGUE SEMINAR
 There is a protest in Kashmir over in issue that is hardly new. Soon
it assumes alarming proportions. Situation goes out of control.

SEMINAR Security forces fire a couple of teargas shells and a young boy is
killed. This triggers another round of protests. The confrontation
between protesters and state's forces is terribly shriller than the
previous one. As they take each other heads-on, two more are
killed. There is another round of protests spreading far and wide.
This cycle goes on and on. We saw this in 2008, in 2009 and there
is no visible end to the present season of unrest in the Valley.
Tourists are gone, tourism now seems a thing of past. Students have
not been to schools for almost two months now. Businesses are
shut. A government paralysed by stone pelters makes its occasional
presence through some press statements or television interviews.
It is not likely to go on life this for long. Situation is expected to be
better in coming few days. But return of the turmoil after a brief
interval is also equally certain. After all what is happening in the
Valley? Why this cycle of unrest? What needs to be done at this
stage? With these and more questions, Epilogue reached out to the
people this state and the country looks upon with hope. As we go
through their views, each one of them nearly disagrees with the
other in perspectives but the bottomline is common –there is a
problem which needs immediate measures for redress. There is a
near unanimity in understanding that peace is too essential a
commodity to be left alone to the youths who want to achieve this
by pelting stones or to those who sit in cozy rooms of north block
with their windows shut to the ground or even those who play the
dirty palace games from pristine bungalows of Srinagar's Gupkar
Road. At Epilogue we may agree or disagree with some of the views
but we respect each opinion for clarity of the head and mind of the
person. They have said, with abundant conviction, what they
mean. Since there can't be a consensus in a single go, therefore
this seminar offers a divergence of ideas on the problems and, may
be, some solutions.
13 SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

Q This is third year in row that Kashmir is

erupting every summer. How do you look at
this cycle of unrest.

GAUTAM NAVLAKHA
Underneath these catalytic
triggers lies deep rage
A history of unfulfilled pledges,

Y
our question frames the question
wrongly. In an area where
protests are considered
“agitational terrorism” by the army ,
“gunless terrorism” by the central para
military forces, where the Prime
Minister of India wants authorities to
curb, contain and check protests, and
every protest is held out as inspired,
financed from across the border it
follows that targeting youth would be
its operational fallout. Also it
downplays the fact that denial of
justice to victims of state terrorism, let
alone resolution of the 63 year old
unresolved problem, leaves them with
no choice other than to register their
protests. It is when space for exercising
civil liberties are thwarted that they
take recourse to venting anger by
pelting stones. Not unlike what the
Palestinians do. To speak then of “cyclic
eruption” is not only to de-politicise the
problem but to be innocent of the
context.
The protests manifests the truth
that military suppression may break the
back of armed resistance but it cannot
win over people to reconcile to a forced
union with India. It is, therefore, while
according to the officialdom, every
indice of militant activities, presence,
infiltration etc has reached “sub-
critical level” the presence of forces
monitoring the public and private lives
of people remains by and large intact. If
2008 protests was triggered by land
issue, 2009 by Shopian twin rape and
murder, this year the Machil fake
encounter of three youths and use of
brute force against stone pelters
resulting in deaths of youth caused
broken promises, political
deception, military oppression,
illegal political detentions, a
scathing human rights record,
sterile political alliances, mass
exodus, and New Delhi's malignant
interference have created a
gangrenous body politic that hasn't
even started to heal.
NYLA ALI KHAN
anger. But underneath these catalytic
trigger lies rage at the violence inflicted
by the Indian State on a people, whose
demand was for a democratic resolution
of the problem.

BG VERGHESE
Some protests are partly engineered

T
his is most unfortunate. There may be reasons for dissatisfaction with the prevailing situation –
conflict-related distress, unemployment, lack of progress towards a political settlement, HR
violations, etc. But there are ways of discussing and mediating such issues without taking to the
streets in provocative (mostly Friday) protests that are being partly engineered by interested parties to
stir the pot and further their narrow agendas. The last Amarnath Yatra Shrine Board and Shopian
agitations are illustrative of issues or non-issues being blown out of all proportion and distorted to serve
nefarious ends. Never forget that Jammu and Kashmir (with Ladakh) is more than Kashmir or just those
parts of the Valley that are disturbed.

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response
REKHA CHOWDHARY
Frequent eruptions in
Kashmir clearly reflect a
deep-rooted anger
O
bviously there is something
seriously wrong in Kashmir. The
frequent eruptions in Kashmir
clearly reflect a deep-rooted anger not
only among the youth who are seen to
be pelting stones on the streets but in
the society as a whole. There is a feeling
It is not just a coincidence that that even after two decades of conflict
these three summers have been and loss of thousands of lives, Kashmir
particularly hot in continuity. The has not reached anywhere near the reso-
lution of conflict. The pressure built by
problem goes back to 60 years
militancy has been exhausted and there
is no compulsion for India, internally or
NAEEM AKHTAR externally, to move forward. Hence, for
long time now, nothing is happening in
the name of peace process – no efforts
are being made to engage Kashmiris in
dialogue, no CBMs are being offered –
not even the ones approved by Working
Committees constituted by the Prime
Minister, and on the contrary, the par-
ticipation of people in the processes of
governance is mistaken as the 'nor-
malcy'. Worse, the commitment of the
Prime Minister that there be zero toler-
NAEEM AKHTAR
Don't look at three years,
it is about six decades
I
f you just expend the time frame it will become easier to
understand the malaise. It is not just three years, not even two
decades but all the sixty three years of the independence that
the cycle of turmoil is haunting Kashmir. It is just a coincidence that
these three summers have been particularly hot in continuity. And
administrative reasons have worked as a trigger on all three
occasions.
www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8
14
ance to the Human Rights violation is
being disregarded to the extent that
every now and then there is one or the
other case of loss of lives of the inno-
cent citizens either in cases of fake
encounters or in the cases of mishan-
dling of protests. It is accumulated
anger which also reflects a sense of
betrayal, disillusionment and hopeless-
ness. Apart from the anger against the
state, there is also anger within – in
respect to the separatist politics and
movement. With the divided leader-
ship, there is a sense of loss of direction.
The middle ground of separatist politics
has since long been lost as the moderate
have been discredited in the process of
their engagement with New Delhi. The
separatist politics is therefore danger-
ously tilted towards the hardcore ele-
ments who despite the 'consistency' are
cocooned in their non-negotiable posi-
tions and hardened stances. On the
whole, there is lot of confusion which
gets reflected in the spontaneous politi-
cal responses of the people. The latest
phenomenon of stone pelting youth is
further reflecting this confusion. With
no other expression for channeling the
anger of people, and no other political
avenues being available – it is the street
politics which has acquired importance.
The street politics however is not to be
seen only in relation to the teenagers
pelting stones– but in relationship to the
society as a whole. With the separatist
organizations and leaders failing to
offer any alternative politics of resis-
tance, the stone pelting is the only poli-
tics of resistance at the moment with
which people can identify.
Epilogue, August 2010
15
NYLA ALI KHAN
Politicians have failed the nation
T
he process of nationalist self-
imagining is likely to remain in a
nebulous state so long as the
destiny of mainstream Kashmiri
politicians is etched by the pen of the
calligrapher in New Delhi and
determined by maneuvers in the murky
den of subcontinental politics. Can J & K
politicians rise above their myopic
aspiration to willy-nilly grab the throne
and scepter? The obvious lack of self-
reflexivity in regional parties shows a
glaring inability to carefully consider
the stakes. I wanted to end my book on a
hopeful note but, sadly, the reins of J &
K are yet again in the hands of New
Delhi. The powers that be can pull those
reins in any direction they deem fit. The
two mainstream regional parties--the
NC and the PDP--are pawns in a game of
chess in which the odds are in favor of
the Congress.
J & K in the current political
context is a house divided. It is
paradoxical to watch political bigwigs,
bureaucrats, and civilian and
paramilitary officers preening and
gearing up to celebrate India's
Independence Day, 15 August, while
many Kashmiris continue to remain in
the abyss of socioeconomic deprivation
and political marginalization. J & K is a
palimpsest that has been inscribed upon
two or three times, yet the previous
texts have been imperfectly erased
and, therefore, remain partially visible.
A history of unfulfilled pledges, broken
promises, political deception, military
oppression, illegal political detentions,
a scathing human rights record, sterile
political alliances, mass exodus, and
New Delhi's malignant interference
have created a gangrenous body politic
that hasn't even started to heal.
After the first edition of Islam,
Women, and Violence in Kashmir:
Between India and Pakistan, published
in June 2009, was reviewed by several
www.epilogue.in
SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response
Kashmiri academics, it was pointed out
to me that autonomy was an inadequate
solution. The intractability of the
Kashmir conflict has made advocates of
conflict resolution rather wary of
applying a seemingly workable but
facile solution to the complex political
conflict. Mainstream media,
intellectuals housed in academic
institutions, formulators of public
policy, and members of think tanks are
quick to point out that regardless of the Sheikh Abdullah had launched
bloody and seemingly infinite nature of
a political, ethnic, or racial conflict, a
movement against Maharaja
viable solution can always be found to because he foresaw a better place
dilute the fierceness of a conflictual in secular India. Today, there are
situation. But one is cautioned against
glibly advocating a kitsch solution to the
people holding torch against India
Kashmir conundrum by the complexity because they search for a future
of the Kashmir conflict, which embodies somewhere else
the brutalities of nation building devoid
of myth or self-infatuation. The
unruliness of the Kashmir conflict has DAYA SAGAR
led many to confuse the idea of nation
with the power and brute force of the
nation-states of India and Pakistan.
Although the idea of self-determination
collides with military oppression on the
likelihood of its being adopted in an
contentious site of nationalism,
undiluted form to metamorphose
political accommodation can lead a
Kashmir's political, cultural, or
war-weary people out of the colonnade
territorial circumstances?
of duplicitous rhetoric, political
Both India and Pakistan have a long
domination, and forceful imposition.
The debate among political thinkers, history of deploying rhetorical
scholars, and policy makers about strategies to skirt the issue of
finding viable ways to placate plebiscite or complete secession of the
marginalized ethnic minorities in J & K former princely state of J & K. When
has been infinite. Since the advent of feeling particularly belligerent,
independence, New Delhi's self-deluding Pakistan cries itself hoarse declaring
and self-serving “democratic” approach the legitimacy of plebiscite held under
has been to allow the disaffected people UN auspices in J & K; India responds
of J & K to voice their “seditious” just as aggressively by demanding the
opinions within the existing political complete withdrawal of Pakistani
framework legitimized by governmental troops from the territory of pre-partition
rhetoric. The reasonableness of the J & K; or, in a moment of neighborly
autonomy solution advocated by solicitude, for conversion of the LOC to a
mainstream political parties in J & K may permanent international border. Which
seem axiomatic, but what is the of these solutions is the most viable?
Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010
SEMINAR 16
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

RAMESH MEHTA
There is obvious disconnect
between leaders and peoples

People in Jammu and Kashmir are
fed up with present state of affairs.
A recent survey by Chatham House
has just proved that. A vast majority
wants substantive change in
present status
ERSHAD MEHMUD
F
irst of all we must understand that Kashmiris are basically extremely
sentimental. It appears that the popular Governments between 2008 and
2010 have failed to gauge the mood and read the mind of the people of
Kashmir leave alone relating to them. There had been a disconnect between the
leaders of the ruling coalition and the public.
Well, it is very likely to be the outcome of a design but who allowed the
design to succeed? People's whole hearted participation in elections was construed
as a license to ignore the aspirations of the people of Kashmir. Omar's inaccessibility
to even his cabinet colleagues speaks volumes in this behalf. Even Dr. Farooq
Abdullah is on record to have said only recently about Omar that, “ He must come to
grips with the administration and show the door to officials who don't perform.”
This statement is self explanatory and endorses the views held by the common man
in the streets.
I would like to recall the SASB agitation in Jammu. It was the manner in which
the body of Kuldip Verma was disposed off that fuelled the anger far and wide and
helped the agitation enormously otherwise till that day it was just another
agitation. Perhaps the same history is being repeated in Kashmir over the last few
years.
There has also been a clash of perceptions between the people and the Govt.
and Govt. had failed to clear the mist encircling its credentials. Failure of
intelligence gathering mechanism as well as lack of responsive administration has
been adding fuel to fire.

M M KHAJOORIA
This is a grand coupe

T
o keep Kashmir restless and simmering to be brought to boil at the time of their choosing was the tactical response of
Pakistan establishment to the changed politico-strategic ground realities as assessed probably in 2007. The people
were fed up with senseless killing .Terrorism had begun to yield diminishing returns provoking public apathy and defiance
This was evidenced by the level of participation in the elections. There were no takers in the world community for “ the
struggle for freedom “ cover for ongoing terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir. And terrorism had become a dirty word
The strategic shift involved combination of over ground violent mass street action and spaced terrorist strikes on specific
targets. In the latest bout yet-to-mature , gullible and excitable teenagers were placed in the vanguard .The violent street
action with stones as the weapon of offence invited the use of force by the security forces ( the justification whereof was
subject to formal scrutiny) resulting in civilian causalities exposing the Indian state to Human rights violation et all . The
accompanying man oeuvres in successful management of Public Perception during the last phase of violence succeeded in
confounding the civil society, confusing the political class , put Indian security forces and J&K Police in the dock and gained
immense public sympathy for the “movement .This was sort of a grand coupe which could encourage similar adventurism in
future.

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

17
DAYA SAGAR
For separatists, summer is best
time to communicate
T
here is a role reversal in Kashmir.
After 1990 Kashmir Valley has
remained exposed to only a par-
ticular class of views. With this the dia-
logues and opinions that question the
intentions of New Delhi are more often
expressed. This way the separatist have
been getting easy space. The separat-
ists too have found it easy to carry their
campaigns and propaganda. Rather the
separatists too see come competition
from parties like PDP. New Delhi has
been playing very soft on separatists as
well as those who advocate separatist
like preferences for Kashmir valley.
National Conference that had in earlier
days simply preached special treat-
ments for Kashmiris, has now started
feeling suffocated in the separatist envi-
ronment and for its survival is not able
to play harsh on the separatist ele-
ments. The quit Kashmir torch that was
held by Sheikh Abdullah, against
Maharaja Hari Singh in 1946 to ensure
that in independent India the demo-
cratic power in State of J&K comes in
the hands of NC like it would be for
Congress in India, has now been very
cleverly held by Sayeed Ali Shah
Geelani. But now it is against India.
Moreover except central grants no any
other tool has been used by the
Government all these years in Kashmir
valley to remedy the misconceptions,
separatist propaganda, anti India cam-
paigns, doubts on the genuineness of
1947 Accession, the two nation theory
and the status of princely states . Before
1996 almost all political cadres had
moved out of the valley. And when they
returned in 1996 they moved amongst
the people under tight securities. This
way they could not win the confidence
of the people in an environment where
anti India ideologies have been only
inputs that the common Kashmiri par-
www.epilogue.in
SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response
ticularly the youth and new generation
was exposed to. The social matrix of
Kashmir valley was damaged, the
Kashmiri Hindu left the valley and their
return was not given the first priority
over other material projects.
Unfortunately this further helped the
anti India elements. The efforts of the
official machinery have not been
enough for confidence building since It is accumulated anger which also
the propaganda by the separatists was reflects a sense of betrayal,
not against the local civil government
but it was and has been against the
disillusionment and hopelessness.
nationality. Even Indian National Apart from the anger against the
Congress has worked as local party , it state, there is also anger within – in
cannot compete with National
Conference politically and so the best respect to the separatist politics
thought way to keep NC uneasy by and movement. With the divided
allowing the anti NC elements alive in leadership, there is a sense of loss
valley. Under these circumstances sum-
mer is the best time for the separatists of direction
to reach out to the outer world since the
borders are also live, the tourist season REKHA CHOWDHARY
is on, the State government heads are in
valley . So we have been seeing the val-
ley more disturbed in summers in
recent times.
ARJIMAND HUSSAIN TALIB
I
t would be foolhardy to see a conspiracy angle or a planned
pattern to this phenomenon. This eruption is simply a
spontaneous public reaction to political and economic
suffocation, coupled by excesses by and impunity to armed forces
in the state. The problem is that there is a big disconnect between
the rulers and the common people, especially the youth, and the
former are not fully able to understand the nature of the latent
aggression and discontent among the people. And the root cause is
New Delhi's aversion to address the core issue – Srinagar's
completely eroded political and economic rights. And an onslaught
on its larger identity.
Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010
SEMINAR 18
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

ERSHAD MEHMUD
Dividends of 2008 elections
were not consolidated

There is a strategic shift in
Pakistani establishment's approach
to Kashmir. Keeping Kashmir
simmering at the time of their
choosing is their tactical response
to the waning scheme of terrorism.
In the latest bout gullible and
excitable teenagers were kept in
the vanguard. This is a sort of grand
coupe
MM KHAJOORIA
T
he massive destruction and human losses in the wake of militant struggle in
the Valley in 1990s had forced many Kashmiris to shun their armed struggle
and revert to a non-violent movement. The peace process initiated between
India and Pakistan imbibed a new hope in this segment of the society which fully sup-
ported it. However, things stand totally changed today as the process has failed to
yield significant results; mainly because of lukewarm Indian response coupled with
the political turmoil in Pakistan.
The people of Valley once again preferred ballot over bullet in 2008 when state
assembly elections were held in Kashmir. Pakistan too tacitly supported this exer-
cise and things went smoothly. In fact, Islamabad put its weight behind Omar
Abdullah who promised to promote broader reconciliation between Delhi and
Islamabad and also within Jammu and Kashmir to create local consensus. However,
he failed to create a space for the separatists in the local politics due to Delhi's ter-
rorism centric approach towards Pakistan in the wake of Mumbai attacks.
People of Kashmir are fedup with the current state of affairs. Recently,
Colonel Qadhafi's son Saif-Al-Islam commissioned the first opinion poll on both sides
of LoC on the future of Kashmir. The poll was conducted by a well reputed organiza-
tion IpsosMORI in October - November 2009 and published by the Chatham House
London. The survey suggests that the protracted conflict made huge negative
impact on the people?s lives. The poll maintains that an overwhelming 80% of
Kashmiris ? 75% in AJK and 82% in J&K. felt that the dispute was very important for
them personally. It shows that a vast majority of the people wants substantive
change in the present status. It also shows the people's frustration with the current
state of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir. In my view, as long as Delhi and Islamabad do
not jointly take tangible steps to stabilize Kashmir Valley lasting peace cannot
return to Kashmir. In this regard, they have to pick up the threads where they were
left before Mumbai attacks.

GUL MOHAMMAD WANI

There is hardly anything surprising
about protests; anger is deep

T
he upsurge and uprising of youth power need not surprise us. The youth were always at the forefront of rights- based
movements in Kashmir .After all gun too was taken by the youth against the State. In recent times stone pelting youth
and the consequent disruption of civic, economic and political life has made many Kashmir watchers to offer their own
explanations as to what has happened and how to retrieve the further collapse. There is no doubt that the peace process
both in its internal and external domain had brought a sense of confidence and optimism in the life of an average Kashmiri
youth.The youth were feeling that the world has starting opening to them. The disruption in that process did make a dent in
the psychology of Kashmiri youth. Despite the fact that many organizations in Kashmir either in unionist or separatist's camp
are headed by young men and women but that has not translated into either their fascination or empowerment of youth. The
youth have a feeling that their leaders have lost their autonomy to confront the might of the Indian State. Some critical
issues dominant in Kashmir discourse like Land, demography, drug abuse, violations of human rights have their own impact on
youth psyche. Further rising economic and globalizing India does not mean much to an educated youth who remain under
scanner of security agencies once he moves out side the state for education or jobs.

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

19 SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

Q What should State and Center

do at this stage.

REKHA CHOUDHARY
The should come up with
political response

F
or achieving the minimum peace in the Valley, first thing that is required is the An internal political dialogue must
improvement of record of Human Rights violations and both the Central and
State government should see to it that the innocent civilians are not harmed commence on all issues – the task
in any way. The present cycle of violence needs to be broken and a message needs to force reports (centre-state relations
be given to those responsible for maintaining law and order that every life is and regional autonomy), governance,
valuable and order cannot be restored at the cost of human lives. However, there is
no possibility of peace without the political initiatives. The political response has to meaningful decentralization through
go beyond the knee jerk and adhoc response to crisis situations. Not doing anything empowered panchayati raj
will not lead us anywhere. There is a need of political vision and political will to structures, the future of the Pandits,
resolve conflict situation. Given the emotive response to Kashmir at the national
level, it may not be possible to immediately provide a model of conflict resolution, development and employment,
but at least some beginning needs to be made. New Delhi needs to address the trust disappearances, HR violations, etc.
deficit that it has in Kashmir. To remove this trust deficit, the Government of India Nothing and nobody need be excluded
will have take step, which might be very small, but which should reflect the
genuineness and sincerity of the Government of India. It is important the people
should get a feeling that a peace deal with Pakistan would not be brokered without BG VERGHESE
the participation of Kashmiris and whatever happens people would be given a
chance to deliberate upon issues.

RAMESH MEHTA
Make only those promises which can be fulfilled

B
oth governments should make only those promises which they are capable of fulfilling. Saying
that sky is the limit and not allowing even the rooftop is not going to work. Forming the Working
Groups and consigning their recommendations to records sends wrong signals. It is foolhardy to
believe that unemployment is driving the youth to stone pelting. It is a recognized fact that Kashmir is
not included in the list of 8 most poor States of India. Unemployment today is a worldwide
phenomenon. Hence, there is much more to it than meets the eye. Why is it that whenever there is a
crisis of this sorts the politicians belonging to the ruling coalition goes into hibernation instead of
going to and facing the people? Yes, by facing the people they are destined to face their wrath but that
is the price they should be prepared to pay for earning the title of being genuine representatives of
the people. Other wise the vacuum created by them in troubled times is bound to be, and is being,
filled by the separatist elements.

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SEMINAR 20
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

NAEEM AKHTAR
First, acknowledge the basic problem

The rouge element in the counter-
insurgency grid of the State needs
to be eliminated. All corrupt
elements in government and
administration need to be weeded
out.Saint Augustine [Christian
philosopher] used to say that all
unjust rulers need to be
killed}.That is one way to stop the
revolutions.
GUL MOHAMMAD WANI
L
ook at the realities and acknowledge them. Unfortunately everybody has been
in a denial mode on Kashmir. The problem exists at more than one level. And
unfortunately the current turmoil has introduced yet another level to it. The
youth who are spearheading it sense an existential threat to them as a result of the
killing of scores of them. This has happened in the backdrop of comparable
situations receiving completely different treatment. Media has made instant
comparison possible. And the youth or the general public in Kashmir does not view it
as difference of approach but discrimination as in the case of dealing with Naxal
violence. While Naxals armed with guns and literally butchering security forces are
called and treated as “our own men” who can't be fought with weapons, bullet is
prescribed as the only solution to Kashmir's angry protestors. And to legitimize this
approach conspiracy theories are cooked up with the help of a media that in case of
Kashmir has always sided with the establishment and worked as part of security
apparatus. Unfortunately the establishment in Delhi has never treated Kashmir as a
part of the country or its exciting democratic enterprise while accusing everybody
else of trying to snatch it away. As part of that mindset which sees Kashmir as a held
territory rather than part of a nation full of different strains even a genuine
democratic opposition is treated with suspicion and dubbed antinational if the ruler
is a darling of Delhi. Could it happen that Mamta Banerji is called upon to help
communists in diffusing Nandigram and if she didn't attend a meeting with the chief
minister be called antinational? While the political problem of Kashmir will remain
as long as it is not actually solved without waiting for it to disappear, governance has
also been an important factor. It is the administrative quality that has always
determined the dormant or active nature of people's anger. History is a witness to it.
Quoting the more recent chapter of it may be relevant but not necessary. Compare
2002-2005 to the years that followed it or preceded it. Same human beings could
produce different results. Same people of Kashmir were inspired to write a new
agenda of peace for South Asia that are now being maligned as stone pelters risking
lives for 100 bucks (foreign funds) a day. Same people crowded the polling stations
to create new records for the country who are now being defamed as Let terrorists.
That is enough to indicate what needed to be done. But it may already be too late
for Omar Abdullah to begin afresh. For credibility once lost is impossible to recover.

GAUTAM NAVLAKHA
Repeal black laws, stop brute force

R
ollback the regime of repression which is in place since 1989, indeed many of the extraordinary laws need to be repealed or
revoked which have been there since 1947, release political prisoners, and stop use of brute force to suppress people who
protest. These are what I consider as basic minimum required to ensure that a political process can be initiated for reaching
a democratic and peaceful solution. It is outrageous that people writing on Facebook or activists organizing protests should be
charged for inciting violence when it is the Indian and state police forces which are responsible for causing the unrest in the first
place by their commission of atrocities and then by cracking down on the media to ensure that people do not get to know the
truth. Take the most recent instance. Machill killing highlighted the fact that there is a co-relation between the disappeared and
the unidentified graves. Kalaroos graveyard, where the three youths were killed and buried was one of the many graveyards
investigated by the International Peoples Tribunal on Kashmir and the findings show that there were 2373 unidentified graves
containing unnamed 2943 bodies in 55 villages of just three districts! How can it inspire confidence when no steps are taken to
investigate this to reveal the truth lying buried in the mass graves in J&K? Why should this be considered something not doable. If
this is not doable why expect people to remain placid when faced with these harsh realities that punctuate their live

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21 SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

MM KHAJOORIAl
Center and State have a lot to introspect

T
he central government should terminate the policy of pampering and
“pleasing” the political elite and focus on the aspiration of the common
man instead. It must ensure that the benefit of the huge financial inputs to
the state reaches the common man in full . More importantly speedy and effec-
tive steps be taken to convince the people that the financial support was neither
meant to be “Khairat” nor bribe money.
I am convinced that the most potent source of alienation in Kashmir is the
strong feeling that the government in Delhi as well as other states equate the
entire community with the militant anti-national fringe. Every Kashmiri Muslim
was suspect. The strong , transparent and painful emotions generated by this
humiliating treatment should be effectively addressed on topmost priority to
the satisfaction of the Kashmiri civil society. Political leaders of the state ought
, The state government had lot to introspect about. The foremost question
to be addressed was what made the Kashmiri Muslim youth so vulnerable to and
to be in constant touch with the
such easy prey for manipulation by subversive elements despite unprecedented people. But none is doing that. The
financial allocations by the centre, special economic packages, huge inputs in Centre is surprisingly even more
infrastructural development ,sanction of central universities and other institutions
inactive
of higher education and government claims of massive employment generation. ?
The Tourism was booming and Pilgrim tourism never had it so good. Was it frustra-
tion , desperation ,hopelessness or total loss of faith in the system and conduct of INDER MALHOTRA
governance? Chief Minister Umar Abdullah must initiate immediate steps to ascer-
tain what precisely went wrong with the system and take urgent corrective mea-
sures..On the law and order front. the state apparatus needed to be reoriented and
geared to face the challenges of normalcy . I wish someone had taken seriously and
acted on suggestions contained in my article titled “The challenges of Normalcy”
published in November, 2009.. It was still very much relevant.

GUL MOHAMMAD WANI

ARJIMAND HUSSAIN TALIB
Keep the core political Remove gaps
question in mind between promise
and performance
F
irst acknowledge that 60 years of carrot and stick

quick fixes have not worked to quell popular discon-
tent in Kashmir. Anything skirting the core political
question is unlikely to help in achieving durable peace. The
state government must act as a facilitator between New
Delhi and those who see the solution to the Kashmir issue
beyond the political status quo. It must also try to explore a
common ground with all political stakeholders in the state
to set a political agenda for New Delhi-Srinagar talks which
addresses people's political aspirations, and at the same
time takes into account the economic and political realities
of our region and the world at large.
O
n all issues like zero tolerance for human
rights violations, dialogue, reconciliation the
gap between promise and performance
needs to be removed. The independent enquiry
recommended by all party committee to probe
recent killings of youth needs to be speeded up and
findings made public. The rouge element in the
counter-insurgency grid of the State needs to be
eliminated.All corrupt elements in government and
administration need to be weeded out.Saint
Augustine [Christian philosopher] used to say that
all unjust rulers need to be killed}.That is one way
to stop the revolutions.

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SEMINAR 22
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

NYLA ALI KHAN

Adopt an inclusive approach

Launch new initiatives - pursue
Omar's attempts to get punishments
for HR violations and crimes, bridge
polarization between Jammu and
valley; CRPF to act only as backup to
JK police
RADHA KUMAR
C
urrently, mainstream political parties in Indian-administered J & K have
jumped on the autonomy bandwagon. Although these terms are often used
interchangeably, the differences between them are not insignificant. New
Delhi asserts, time and again, that a revitalized Indian federalism will
accommodate Kashmiri demands for an autonomous existence. But, historically,
federalism hasn't always adequately redressed the grievances of disaffected ethnic
minorities. Here, I concur with Robert G. Wirsing's observation that, “while
autonomy seems to imply less self-rule than does the term confederalism, for
instance, it is generally understood to imply greater self-rule than federalism,
which as in the American case, need not cater to ethnic group minorities at all”
(2003: 199).
Given Kashmir's treacherous political climate and the rampant political
factionalism in that region, the appeal of an ambiguous “autonomy” remains intact
for some groups but for others, as has been forcefully pointed out to me by a couple
of political scientists, it is a wrong narrative to establish in the case of Kashmir.
Sadly, the Kashmir conflict is no longer just about establishing the pristine
legitimacy of the right of self-determination of the people of J & K, the former
princely state. Rather, prolonging the conflictual situation works in the interests of
some of the actors, state as well as nonstate, on both sides of the LOC. Some civil
and military officials--Indian, Pakistani, and Kashmiri--have been beneficiaries of
the militarization of Kashmir and the business of the “war on terror.” Also, some
militants, armed and unarmed, have cashed in on the political instability in the
state to establish lucrative careers. For such individuals and groups self-
determination and autonomy work well as hollow slogans stripped of any
substantive content. The dismal truth is that the wish to establish the legitimacy of
self-determination or autonomy vis-à-vis J & K is not universal. The current political
discourse in the state has strayed far from home.

ERSHAD MEHMUD
Demonstrate political maturity

I
t should be acknowledged at the level of policy-makers and political elite that Kashmir issue has internal
as well as external dimensions to deal with. There is no denying the fact that during the last two decades
Islamabad's influence in the Kashmir Valley has increased tremendously.
As long as Islamabad and New Delhi continue to follow hostile approaches towards each other and do not
stop the zero sum game, peace in Kashmir will remain a pipedream.
However, Jammu and Kashmir government led by Omar Abdullah can also play a vital role if it
demonstrates political maturity. No matter what political cost it has to pay, the state government should not
allow the security forces to use high handed policies to curb protests. If Mufti Saeed can take risk to initiate a
war of ideas and politics with separatists, why Omer Abdullah is shy of engaging them at this point of time.
Imposition of PSA and NSA is no solution to the current upsurge. It, in fact, has aggravated the situation
further. Releasing of all political opponents can also help to improve the law and order situation.

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23
Q Everyone is talking about dialogue. Your
thoughts about it.
BG VERGHESE
Lot needs to be done, one
can begin by probing wrongs
and empowering peoples
T
he all-Party talks on July 11
suggested an independent
inquiry into the entire gamut of
recent incidents including deaths, fir-
ing, curfews, stone pelting, intercepts,
etc, and appealed to the Prime Minister
to initiate a sustained political process.
This offers a good starting point.
The inquiry must go to its logical
conclusion and not be allowed to be
derailed as in the past because the truth
is uncomfortable to some.
An internal political dialogue must
commence on all issues – the task force
reports (centre-state relations and
regional autonomy), governance, mean-
ingful decentralization through empow-
ered panchayati raj structures, the
future of the Pandits, development and
employment, disappearances, HR viola-
tions, etc. Nothing and nobody need be
excluded. The agenda can be framed in the
first round. The door should be kept open
for all to participate but those who boycott
cannot be given any right of veto. If they
are left out of the process it will be for
them to explain why. The Hurriyat has
sat on the fence for far too long. The
internal dialogue must be sustained and
unbroken with a trusted and credible
Central interlocutor (and a state level
counterpart if necessary) being
inducted at the next stage to carry for-
ward discussions on the nitty-gritty.
www.epilogue.in
SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response
Too much time has been wasted in
Mindless “protests” that sterile talks between the Centre and
Kashmir leaders because no Kashmiri
degenerate into hooliganism
must be dealt with firmly party or group is prepared to offer any
suggestion on what should be the
and political leaders must
content of greater autonomy for J&K
participate in providing
“leadership for peace and
INDER MALHOTRA
reconciliation”.
The present protests are
by a third post-1947 gener-
ation of youth that is con-
cerned more with the
future than the past. Can
we structure a volunteer
“Peace Corps for
Reconciliation, Harmony and
Reconstruction” comprising
J&K and other Indian youth to
The Indo-Pakistan dialogue is on a
work together on agreed and
different track and will proceed inde-
doable projects and pendently. Efforts to confuse the two
programmes of education, should be resisted. Pakistan cannot be
part of an internal settlement within
health delivery, rural recon-
India. The internal and international dia-
struction, sport, culture, skill logues are independent though interde-
formation and capacity build- pendent. The internal dialogue is by far
the more important and there will be
ing in different parts of the efforts to sabotage it by separatist ele-
state ? ments precisely for that reason.
Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010
SEMINAR 24
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

NYLA ALI KHAN

Restoration of trust is pre-requisite

Within Jammu & Kashmir state, it is
time for some hard decisions. A majority
of people in Leh district and Udhampur-
Jammu-Kathua districts are not inclined
to be part of any process where New
Delhi's political authority in the state is
put for negotiations. I personally believe
Srinagar needs to respect their
aspirations and let them chart their own
political destiny. It is better to say good-
bye to each other as good friends than be
at loggerheads perpetually
ARJIMAND HUSSAIN TALIB
T
he armed conflict has changed
political combinations and per-
mutations without either disrupt-
ing political, social, and gender hierar-
chies or benefiting marginalized
groups. The social, economic, political,
and psychological brunt of the armed
conflict has been borne by the populace
of Kashmir. The uncertainty created by
twenty years of armed insurgency and
counterinsurgency has pervaded the
social fabric in insidious ways, creating
a whole generation of disaffected and dis-
illusioned youth. Lack of faith in the
Indian polity has caused Kashmiris to cul-
tivate an apathy to the electoral process
because it is a given that persons best
suited to carry out New Delhi's agenda
will be installed in positions of political
import, regardless of public opinion. The
earlier enthusiasm that accompanied
democratization seems totally futile in
the current leadership vacuum in the
state. Lack of accountability among the J
& K polity and bureaucracy has caused a
large number of people to toe the line by
living with the fundamental structural
inequities and violence, instead of risk-
ing the ire of groups and individuals in
positions of authority.
Political organizations in the Valley
have eroded mass bases and are in a mor-
ibund state. There seems to be an
unbridgeable gulf between figures of
authority and the electorate, who have
been deployed as pawns in the devious
political game being played by Indian
and Pakistani state-sponsored agen-
cies. The glaring lack of a well-
equipped infrastructure in the Valley
makes unemployment rife and under-
scores the redundancy of the educated
segment of the population. The coun-
terinsurgency operations undertaken
in J & K by the Indian military and para-
military forces were ferocious and
cruel, and have alienated the disillu-
sioned populace.
Restoration of trust is a prerequi-
site to any kind of dialogue; attempts to
reduce troop deployment in Jammu and
Kashmir; reining in paramilitary troops
and holding them accountable for their
actions; restoration of institutions of
civil society; bringing the intelligentsia
of J & K into the fold and giving cre-
dence to their opinions; restoration of
grassroots level institutions without
which any kind of internal dialogue
would be futile.

REKHA CHOUDHARY
Initiate inclusive talks, don't make
them hostage to external dialogue

I
t is important to engage the Kashmiris and for that a dialogue process needs to be started. Even when
it is true that there can be no lasting peace till Pakistan is involved in it, it may not be fair to make the
internal dialogue hostage to the improvement of India-Pak relations and resumption of composite
dialogue. While dialogue channel with the separatists, who are ready to be engaged, needs to be opened
by the Government of India, there should be multiple dialogues. Dialogues which should continue in one
form or the other – dialogue with the separatists, with the civil society, with the intellectuals, with the
political class across the ideological lives, However, dialogue should not take place for the sake of
dialogues, but also for the sake of building consensus and moving forward towards peace.

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25 SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

MM KHAJOORIA
We are a plural state,
initial a plural dialogue

T
he current internal dialog is
totally ill conceived. They are
barking the wrong tree
.Competing and conflicting political
and developmental aspirations of
segments of people destined to live
together cannot be resolved by retired
or serving Judges saddled with
committees comprising of political
party reps bound to the party agenda . It
is not a question of right or wrong. Even
a majority view point cannot be
imposed on unwilling or defiant Ladakh
and Jammu. The requirement is to
evolve a consensus.
The central government should
therefore act as the facilitator ,bring
together the elected representatives,
leaders of different sections of society
like commerce, legal fraternity,
academics and most importantly civil
society. Such combination can be
expected to inject the required
balance and pave the way for
consensus. . The exercise must be
informed by some basic premises like,
preservation of the integrity of our
composite state and the three regions
as well a commitment to secularism and
plural ethos .Promotion of communal Either you give alternative to people or
interests under any garb should be accept that people have no one to look
barred. Once a consensus is arrived at ,
the expert committees and
up to except the separatists. It may be
constitutional experts can be involved. a different thing that instead of
Essentially, the search is for a providing leadership separatists have
constitutional re-arrangement, been riding on the popular anger
democratic in essence and
decentralized in form which broadly
satisfied urges and aspirations of RAMESH MEHTA
people in al the three regions of J&K.

GUL MOHAMMAD WANI

Make quiet dialogue
ERSHAD MAHMUD
visible, credible
Go for tripartite
T
he internal political dialogue needs to be
initiated as quickly as possible. The dialogue
process needs to be properly instituted and
dialogue but don't
structured. There is no doubt that quiet dialogue ignore locals groups
process had certain advantages but it needs to be made

visible and credible. Though the need is for an inclusive
dialogue we can consider having a separate round table
for groups outside the mainstream arena. All this is
recommended so that we learn to walk before running.
It is better that we get away from employing retired
bureaucrats as interlocutors. Jammu and Kashmir needs
to be taken away from Home ministry and placed directly
under the Prime Ministers charge. The Ministry of Kashmir
affairs needs to be revived so that there is focused
attention on issues related to Jammu and Kashmir.
I
t can be helpful if New Delhi makes it a tri-
partite -Srinagar-Delhi, Srinagar-Islamabad and
finally Delhi and Islamabad based exercise.
However, dialogue between various regions and
intra-Kashmir dialogue can always be helpful to
narrow down the extreme positions and to create a
broader understanding of each other's point of
view. In this connection, I would always suggest dia-
logue should be backed by the practical steps to
improve the ground realities such as demilitariza-
tion form the urban centers, etc.

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SEMINAR 26
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

GAUTAM NAVLAKHA
Dialogue is useless if trust
deficit is not addressed

Revive the inclusive peace
initiatives: ie:
●Multitrack dialogue for a
resolution of political issues: a. with
Pakistan, b. with azaadi groups, c.
with JK civil society on both sides of
LOC
●CM-public dialogue on peace and
I
nternal dialogue enjoys no premium.
Government of India has dangled it
so often and gone back so many
times I do not know what proponents of
internal dialogue mean by it anymore. Is
the dialogue meant to make life of
authorities easy? To defer addressing
the fundamental issue that has beguiled
J&K for 63 years? To pretend that this
unrest is merely a sign of bad
governance rather than oppression? Are
there conditions attached to this
dialogue? If these conditions dismiss
demand for respecting right of self-
determination which party will join this
dialogue? Will such outfits be able to
carry the public with them? If large
section of people of J&K, as well as
Pakistan, is not a party to the dialogue
what purpose does it serve? And whose
purpose/ Is it not the people's morale
which needs boosting? Besides, what is
the internal dialogue supposed to
achieve when J&K is completely
beholden to centre for meeting its
salary and wage bill to taking their
approval before releasing political
prisoners! Parenthetically, why did the
union home secretary announce
relaxation of curfew the other day when
even during the governorship of rabid
unionist such as Jagmohan it was the
divisional commissioner who use to
make the announcement! Point is until
the issue of trust deficit is addressed
dialogue serves little purpose.

governance
●Better control over/banning
groups like SOG
DAYA SAGAR
RADHA KUMAR
Identify the problem first

R
ecently Omar Abdullah too has talked that Kashmir valley needs a political solution. But for that the
first need is to clarify in very simple words what actually is the problem and what do parties like NC
mean by a political solution. In case NC sees political solution in Greater Autonomy and PDP sees
political solution in Self Rule then both these parties must first start a dialogue between them for
common agenda that could be discussed with the Government of India. But ,I would suggest that some
people within in or outside Hurriyat Conference who too have become stake holders should also be then,
if possible, brought in the fold by NC-PDP combine within the proviso of Indian constitution. It is only after
that a minimum workable dialogue process could be Started by New Delhi on the agenda from Kashmir
Valley and of course involving opinion makers from Jammu and Ladakh regions as well. This is the only
practical way for a dialogue within the Indian Constitution without negating the 1947 accession of JK with
India. Thereafter the separatists and Pakistan could be handled as per the constitutional provisions and
international law considering their activities of sedition and attack on the integrity of India. Such action
coupled with the debriefing programme launched at social level would set in motion the process of
removing confusions and doubts in the common Kashmir mind about the truthfulness of India and 1947
accession.

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27 SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

ARJIMAND HUSSAIN TALIB

Initiate a rectangular dialogue

I
nternal dialogue alone would not do.
A result-oriented dialogue has to be
rectangular. New Delhi-Srinagar dia-
logue at one level and New Delhi-
Islamabad at another level. For the sake
of sustainable peace, Srinagar-
Islamabad and Srinagar-Muzaffarabad
dialogues are also important to create
meaningful consensus on political and
water issues. As far as Srinagar-New
Delhi dialogue is concerned, it would
require some confidence building mea-
sures: setting of a deadline for simulta-
neous withdrawal of troops to pre-1989
positions and strength, release of all
political prisoners, freedom of speech
and assembly, freedom of peaceful
political mobilization and renunciation
of arms by all militant groups. Both the
Hurriyats and the United Jihad Council
RAMESH MEHTA
Engage the leaders
of dissent through
(UJC), on their part, need to set a date
for the welcome of Kashmiri Pandit
migrants back to Kashmir with all due
dignity and safety.
Within Jammu & Kashmir state, it
is time for some hard decisions. A
majority of people in Leh district and
Udhampur-Jammu-Kathua districts are
not inclined to be part of any process
where New Delhi's political authority in
the state is put for negotiations. I per-
sonally believe Srinagar needs to
respect their aspirations and let them Reining in paramilitary troops and
chart their own political destiny. It is holding them accountable for their
better to say good-bye to each other as actions; restoration of institutions
good friends than be at loggerheads per- of civil society; bringing the
petually. That way, people will continue
intelligentsia of J & K into the fold
to maintain good personal relations and
trade with each other in a cordial and
and giving credence to their
mutually beneficial manner. opinions; restoration of grassroots
level institutions without which any
kind of internal dialogue would be
futile.
NYLA ALI KHAN

back channels
NAEEM AKHTAR
S
ee, you have no other way to move forward except
through dialogue. On the very signs of semblance
of normalcy you start saying that Hurriyat has Sorry to say, there
become irrelevant and when you are faced with the
trouble on the streets you start harping for dialogue is no hope
with them. How could it be? Back channel initiatives are

most suited for finding a way out of this impasse. But
here again fear of attacks like the one on Fazalul Haq
Qureshi will not let Hurriyat move forward. I believe
that there is no need to go public on any kind of parleys
before arriving at some workable resolution. Undue
publicity robs backchannel initiatives of its working
environment.
In the alternative, either you give alternative to
people or accept that people have no one to look up to
except to separatists. It may be a different thing that
instead of providing leadership separatists have been
riding on the popular anger.
R
esuming dialogue with whom? The leaders
are in Jail who now have teenagers from the
street for company. Teenagers who were pro-
testing the killing of their classmates, friends and
acquaintances are filling up jails and lock ups.
Someone in the system need to have the credibility
to be listened to and I honestly believe there is no
one on the horizon right now. The Prime Minister
even though he did not respond to the killings in
Kashmir could still make the difference. But it has
to be at his level.

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SEMINAR 28
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

Q Your message to restless valley youths.

GUL MOHAMMAD WANI

Counseling Kashmiri youth is
most difficult at the moment

Youths should not fall prey to
jihadist and others who want to
sever J&K from its rich, secular
Kashmiriyat, and sufi-rishi heritage
BG VERGHESE
I
t is really difficult to say anything to
youth at this time what we can only
promise but cannot perform. We
need to ensure that honor and dignity of
the people is respected. The youth must
have a feeling that opportunities are
open to them in the entire world.
Kashmiri youth must have a sense of
security in and outside the Kashmir.
We need to create social and
democratic spaces where our youth
can express themselves. The youth
need to be patient and also understand
how youth in other conflict situations
cope up with their day to day
problems. If the state has six lakh
unemployed youth then we ought to
have a coherent youth policy drawn in
consultation with those experts who
have sufficient knowledge about
Kashmir.It is high time that State
knowledge commission is established
so that we are able to understand as to
how to reorient the system of college
and university education in the state
as a long term measure.

REKHA CHOUDHARY
Youth needs to be engaged
NAEEM AKHTAR
Dekho Mujhe Jo in more productive activities

Y
outh at this time is in a very difficult situation for the
Deeda E Ibrat burden of separatist politics has been placed on their
shoulders. This is certainly not fair, since the youth
Nigaah Ho cannot lead the movement because it itself needs to be led.
The vacuum that exists in the resistance politics of Kashmir,

I
am left with no moral power to
render an advice to Kashmiri
youths because I feel I belong to a
failed generation that leaves behind
a messier place than the one we
inherited. The boys are trying to find
their own path and I would only tell
them “dekho mujhe jo deeda e ibrat
nigaah ho”.
cannot be filled in by the stone pelting youth. The reason that
they are getting killed is not only the agents of the state are
responding ruthlessly to their protest activities, but also
because they are not being restrained by the members of the
civil and political society. Youth needs to be engaged in more
productive activities and they need to be told that the future
of the state as well as the movement demands their role hence
they need to be saved for that role. What is more important for
them at the present time is their education so that they can
take their own responsibility as well as that of the society.

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29 SEMINAR
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

GAUTAM NAVLAKHA
They have to consider using
means other than stones

T
he movement is alive and kicking
with the third generation now
taking over the baton. The
protests have not been futile going by
the fact that the intelligentsia and
authorities have again woken up to
speak of doing something to defuse the
situation. It is also a reminder, to use
the words of a stone-pelter that “we
want to tell the world that there is no
normalcy here. We live in a disturbed
area”. Equally, it is a reminder to all
that only protests compel authorities,
and an insensitive Indian intelligentsia,
to become aware of people's mood. It
may well be that the efforts of the youth
will be squandered through cunning and
stealth of the authorities as Shopian
incident so well illustrates. Therefore,
sustainability of protests is what the
youth should keep in mind. Especially,
while their courage at being able to face
death or fatal injury at the hands of a
heavily armed security force cannot be
minimized, they have to consider using
means other than stones to remind the As an Indian citizen I owe them
world about what injustices have been (Kashmiri youths) an apology, that
dealt them and what they want. In the
long run truth is the strongest weapon
all my attempts to end their
against oppressors and articulating isolation and mistreatment have
demands during protests/agitations will failed
lend their protests credibility.
RADHA KUMAR

RAMESH MEHTA
Youth of Kashmir may
do better in nation building

T
o me it appears that there is a deep rooted feeling among
the Kashmiri youth that they have been let down by one and
all. Youth of the valley, howsoever disenchanted they may ARJIMAND HUSSAIN TALIB
be with the system, need to understand that violence will brood no
solution. They must observe and take lessons from Pakistan as to Youth must not
how Talibanisation is wrecking Pakistan's economy and the civil
society. They have to realize that they are being used as a pawn in allow their political
the international game. There is no single recognized party, from
among mainstream parties or otherwise, to whom disenchanted struggle be
youth of Kashmir can look to. There may be unity of purpose
among the separatists but there is no unity of minds. communalized
Further, had the issue been limited to India and the Kashmiris

T
alone, then there could have been some hope for finding an o counsel anything to them looks
amicable as well as workable solution but here the element of fruitless at a time when they are going
Pakistan besides, may be, international agencies is also involved. by their political and basic human
Given the fragile nature of Pakistan government/s no concrete
instincts, and not even listening to political
outcome for peace in Kashmir is expected at the moment. Hence
instead of going astray the youth of Kashmir may do better to join
leaders who champion their cause. But, yes,
nation building, even if their notion of nation may be limited to the youth must not allow their political
Kashmir only. struggle be communalized.

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

SEMINAR 30
Kashmir Unrest :The Civil Society Response

MM KHAJOORIA
Just pause and think

The restless youth of Kashmir -
some of whom have turned into
stone-pelters, paid and unpaid - do
need to be assuaged. The best way
would be to ensure them jobs within
Kashmir or in rest of India
INDER MALHOTRA
M
y sincere advice to the
valley youth will be to
pause and think. Then
some realities will dawn upon
them which need not necessarily
look pleasant on the first sight.
One: The “Kashmir Issue” is not
going to be resolved in a hurry or
in isolation from Indo-Pak recon-
ciliation. Two: Disturbances in
Kashmir can only contribute to
the deepening of the conflict
and subversion of the peace
process there by further
delaying the resolution Three.
In the final analysis , only that
decision which suits , I repeat
suits India and Pakistan and was
acceptable to all the three
regions of J&K will have a chance
. So use the time to convince
others of your point of view
through logic and rationale .
Four. In the meanwhile life has
to go on. So concentrate on
your studies . / professional
duties so that you are equipped
to improve your quality of life
and that of your family.
Participate in the great Indian
march towards the goal of an
economic super power . The God
almighty has in His beneficence
endowed you with higher IQ
and intuitive capability . Prove
worthy of it.

GRAPHIX

BG VERGHESE
Don't become prisoners of the past YOU'RE IN GOOD HANDS

B
uild the future. Do not become prisoners of the past, of old
hatreds, of mistrust and ideological propaganda. Do not fall a prey DESIGN :
to the jihadists and others who want to sever J&K from its rich, Newspaper,
Magazine,
secular Kashmiriyat andsufi-rishi heritage. That is the path of self- Hologram,
destruction. Make a careful study of the constitutions of Pakistan Job Work,
Administered Kashmir and the Gilgit-Baltistan region and their operation Wedding Card,
Multi-Colour Card,
on the ground and ask yourself if that is the model of “self- Greeting Card
determination” you wish to adopt.
J&K's problems are by no means unique. They are variously shared 160, Near Anand Satsang Bhawan,
by people in other parts of India. If we join hands, then together we can Indira Chowk, Shalamar Road, Jammu
Mobile : 94198 91777,
and shall overcome. email : ksharma91777@gmail.com,
graphixk7@gmail.com

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

31 PROLOGUE
From the Editor

Return to Ladakh!

A
year after we brought out a special issue on Ladakh,
here is the second one dedicated to the land of moon,
as this Himalayan enclave is often referred to. Between
these two special issues and earlier one in November
2007, each issue has carried a dedicated section on
Ladakh with focus on stories of change. Hearing stories from
Ladakh and telling to the rest is a priority for us at Epilogue. Our
effort is to reach out to those places and people where mainstream
media finds hardly any business. That is where we mean business
–giving voice to the voiceless. In last 44 months we have realized
that there can't be any end to reportage on Ladakh. There is a story
after story. Having discussed politics and relations between
communities in earlier issues, our reportage of the region revolves
around the ordinary peoples and their extraordinary issues. Politics
is important too but we are not obsesses with writings on Leh deals
with Kargil or how Kargil deals with Zanskar. We have focus on every
on every Ladakhi.
While presenting this third exclusive issue on Ladakh, we have
an immense sense of pleasure to share with our readers. Since NOVEMBER 2007
physical presence holds a symbolic importance, we have tried to
put ourselves among the people. Epilogue has set up an editorial
and management sub office in Leh. We have arrived in Leh after
having done nearly 250 stories on Ladakh in three and half years.
That reflects the strength of our commitment with Ladakh and this
strength comes from trust Ladakhis have reposed in us. Our office
in Leh is to further strengthen this relationship. We have tried to
offer people a place where they can walk in with ideas and issues,
initiate debates and get themselves heard and reported. For
Ladakhi peoples, we believe, none can be a better storyteller than
Tsewang Rigzin, Epilogue's Associate Editor in Leh. He is the man
who has played as a link between Ladakhis and rest of the world
through his writings always revolving around the life of the
ordinary.
I wish this relation grows stronger!

Zafar Choudhary
Editor
zafarchoudhary@epilogue.in AUGUST 2009

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 2 Epilogue, February 2010

ladakh in focus
Notes on life
SOCIETY
Donning New Roles
YANGCHAN DOLMA
Straddling the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges, lies Ladakh, a cold icy desert in
uppermost reaches in the northern part of Jammu & Kashmir state Comprising a medley of different
races, Tibetans, Mons, Dards descendents of the earlier Indian settler and having a sizable presence of
Muslim and Tibetan Buddhism religions, Ladakh has evolved a unique tapestry of social, cultural and
political life.
A
tribal society and a culture
Ladakh accords a position of
respect and strength to women.
Even the most ordinary chores like car-
ing for children, rearing livestock, farm-
ing, fetching water and spinning, weav-
ing wool call for strenuous activity in
Ladakh's mountainous terrain and harsh
winters. Women have traditionally
played a prominent role in socially rele-
vant events or cultural extravaganzas.
There are no community dances, songs,
social felicitations to political leaders
or spiritual teachers which take place
without their active participation.
Donning their finest jewellery and
carrying the customary Chamskan' or a
pot of wine, women are part of such spe-
cial occasions. Today however, Ladakhi
society is in transition and women in
Ladakh are donning new roles which go
beyond the traditional into significant
areas of socio-political life. Men in
throngs are migrating out of their vil-
lages in search of employment which
has been generated by a strong Army
presence as well as a vibrant Tourism
industry. Villages are left bereft of male
presence and women have gradually
moved into this space. There is a surge
www.epilogue.in
of women-headed households in rural
areas, where areas of decision-making
which rested solely with men are now
becoming the domain of women.
The composition of the 'Goba' or
Governing Body in a typical Ladakhi vil-
lage which executes all the customary
activities is indicative of this transfor-
mation. Women are increasingly
becoming members of “Goba' which reg-
ulates and runs all activities like village
festivals, prayers, reception to guests,
to religious or political leaders. Kunzes
Dolma in Skurbuchan village in Khalsi
block in Shyam region was the first
woman to have worked as village Goba
in 2003. Tsering Yangskit of Leh
Nutrition Project, NGO based in Ladakh
working on women development says
that a fundamental change in attitudes
towards women is imperative for them
to play a much more significant role in
public life.
Churpon and Nyerpa are tradi-
tional customs and practices where the
role of women is gaining prominence.
Here the role is not merely decorative
but signifies a subtle but fundamental
shift in acknowledgment of women in
the economic and religious spheres.
Vol. 4, Issue 8
32
Churpon is the traditional system of
cooperative farming where a family is
nominated on rotational basis to distrib-
ute water impartially to every villager
for cultivation. Nyerpa is the person
who organizes the annual prayer held
in their monastery or temple for timely
snow and rain for agriculture. Both
these are roles were previously the
domain of men exclusively. There has
been a move to explore new economic
arenas resulting in formation of Self-
Help Groups (SHG's). Women weave
shawls from Pashmina and Numbu both
fine, local yarn and make 'Goncha' the
traditional Ladakhi dress. Groups like
these have mushroomed and are now
developing innovative ways to market
their wares. One of the members in
Basgo Village of Leh Block offered space
in her house which is on the national
highway for a showroom. According to
Tsering Dolker president of the group “
To sell the products , we participated in
various exhibition at events like Ladakh
Festival and Sindhu Darshan. We also
participated in Saras Mela held in
Srinager in 2007 to showcase and sell
our handicraft.”
Women are also cultivating vegeta-
Epilogue, August 2010
33
bles beyond domestic use and contributing to the family
income. Ladakh has a scarcity of fresh vegetables in winter
and spring but has a surplus in summer when it is warmer.
Summer in the plains all over India is scorching and many
parts of the country are reeling under shortage of vegetables.
Ladakhi women entrepreneurs have recognized this economic
activity and are proposing ways to supply vegetables to the
other regions of the country during this time. Tsering Nurbo,
Executive Councilor for Agriculture of Ladakh Hill
Development Council (LAHDC) says, “5 ton of potatoes and 4
ton of peas cultivated by different Women SHGs in Dhomkhar
village of Khalsi block was sent to sell in Kashmir region in
Srinager, the capital of J&K for the first time.”
Ladakhi society today is poised between two worlds.
One is based on their age-old way of life, its unique culture,
customs and social order. The other world promises the open-
ing up of traditional Ladakhi society with new employment
avenues, ideas of women's empowerment, opportunities for
educational and social advancement. The woman in Ladakh
represents the face of this change, a shedding of past pat-
terns and a reaching out to a brave new world.
It is but natural that such a transition implies flux and
invites a range of opinions. Some women leaders are still skep-
tical of this new-found energy and confidence in the new
roles for women. Thinless Tharchin of Ladakh Development
Organization working on women's issues, says that influence
of women is negligible even within village Governing Body.
Within these dynamics, however, it is an undisputable fact
that women in Ladakh find themselves pitch forked into
new arenas in social, cultural and political spheres. There
could be a long way to go before women actually work in
partnership with men at every level of decision making but
the direction of the winds of change are unmistakable.
(Articles in this section from page 32 to 42 are
supported by the Charkha Development and
Communication Network, New Delhi, under its Sanjoy
Ghose Media Fellowship Programme and Ladakh
Women Writers' Award Programme. Epilogue is
thankful to Mr Shanker Ghose for his guidance and also
deeply appreciative of Sujata Raghavan and Anshu
Meshak for their work and coordination –Editor)
www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8
ladakh in focus
Notes on life
WOMEN IN GOVERNANCE
A Search for
an Identity
YANGCHAN DOLMA
Being a woman in Ladakh has traditionally
meant having a position of respect in a
society seen to be liberal in its gender atti-
tudes and patterns. But this stops at women
in the roles designated for them within
the cultural and social patterns and roles
that have emerged during its chequered
and fascinating history. In the modern
era, to be a woman in Ladakh and in poli-
tics or in governance at any level is still a
hat which society has not been able to
wear comfortably.
The J and K Panchayat Raj institution came into
existence three years before the 73rd Amendment Act
of the Central Government. This has a provision for
reservation for women on Panch seats but not for the
Sarpanch of the Halqa Panchayat a significant level of
the tier system of panchayati raj. Panchayat institu-
tion in effect began in Ladakh 2001. In the first ever
Panchayat election, 37 women became Panches
through consensus nomination of their respective vil-
lages. Five them were contested the election. The
Government, in an obvious attempt to meet the man-
datory 33% reservation directed the opening up of the
seats in the Halqua Panchayat
A key factor in the governance and politics has
been the establishment of Ladakh Autonomous Hill
Development Council (LAHDC) in 1995 to address the
unique issues of governance in the context of Ladakhi
society and polity. The step implied the growth in
political opportunities for the Ladakhi, a say in mat-
ters of governance and a mechanism to fashion devel-
opment and growth according to the unique and par-
ticular needs of the region. However this has not
reflected in any tangible thrust of the Council to
women's development or empowerment in Leh dis-
trict. Amongst the 26 members of General Council of
Epilogue, August 2010
ladakh in focus
Notes on life
LAHDC, there are two nominated
women councilors. Both of them are on
the reserved seats, Spalzes Angmo nomi-
nated for all the three terms on the prin-
ciple of minority and Tashi Angmo on the
reservation of weaker section. Inspite of
the opportunity for some women to make
a difference being part of the Hill
Council, their performance and track-
record is lack-lustre. Their contribution
to the processes of planning and setting
agendas is negligible. For women in the
Halqua Panchayat it is the same story. At
both these levels it is an opportunity lost.
. Within the Executive Council which is
the think-tank and the body which
defines policy and sets development
agenda has Women's Development or
Empowerment conspicuously missing
from this.
G M Sheikh, who works on women's
leadership points out, "Women in Councilor's
post unfortunately lack understanding
of women issues and needs in the soci-
ety.” Former MLA and presently mem-
ber of SC/ST Commission Tsering
Samphel opines, "Lack of competition
among the Women councilors is responsi-
ble for their being inactive. Women coun-
cilors need to groomed in politics."
However this speaks of a deeper
malaise, a root cause for which is in
probably unfair to nail the individual
women in power and governance sys-
tems. Shiekh opines , “Ladakhi society
is patriarchal and is the main barrier to
the participation of women in gover-
nance and decision making in the society.
The general perception still persists that
these jobs are the responsibility of men”.
Tsering Dolker, General Secretary
of Women's Alliance of Ladakh says this
mind-set itself discourages women's par-
ticipation in governance. The myth of
the Ladakhi women being at par with
the males in society stops short of their
participation in governance and the
political process which is some ways is
the yardstick or the acid test of women's
empowerment in any region. Unless
women participate fully and are part of
www.epilogue.in
not only public discourse on any issue but
of the process of governance, they will
remain in the shadows, more as decora-
tive value, as emblems of a rich and fasci-
nating culture no doubt but without a
role in development.
Development itself suffers from
this lack of women's participation, their
perspectives and their contribution to
actual work on the ground which women
in panchayati raj institutions across the
country are bringing in. The steps taken
by the J&K Government have been short-
sighted in this matter and rather than a
demonstrated commitment to Panchayati
Raj have been vacillating possibly
because of the regime changes and politi-
cal compulsions of the day. Yet
panchayati raj, its vision and its potential
cannot be and should not be the preroga-
tive of any one political regime, it
belongs to the people of India, to their
aspirations for a more accountable and
sensitive governance.
Panchayati Raj was introduced for
the first time in January 2001 during
National Conference Government. In
2002 the Congress –PDP alliance came
to power and during their tenure the
existing term of panchayat expired in
May 2006 which was neither extended nor
panchayat elections was held in entire
state. The promise and potential of
Panchayati Raj to make governance a
democratic process based on the involve-
ment of local communities is at the
moment on a weak wicket in J&K.
Ladakh as a region suffers from
being disconnected and in some sense
sidelined even within the state and this
finds reflection in the political repre-
sentation from the region at the
national level. There are two Lok Sabha
seats, each for Leh and Kargil till 1995
and four seats after delimitation. Leh
has a largely Buddhist population and
Kargil is dominated by Muslims, a demo-
graphic fact which has in a sense polar-
ized Ladakh on the lines of religion and
region, leaving very little space for the
development agenda and to a much
Vol. 4, Issue 8
34
extent, less women-centric development
agenda. Seen from the point of view of
women, their enhanced role in gover-
nance and political processes , it seems
a Herculean task to cut through the lines
of region, religion, gender for women to
aspire to and sustain a significant if not
forceful presence in governance.
Everything seems heavily weighed
against this.
Today educated women in Ladakh
still avoid the public domain of gover-
nance and prefer regular jobs. Many
Ladakhis still feel that those willing to
come in politics are uneducated, inca-
pable and lack understanding of issues.
But the winds of change are blowing
albeit gently and will in time give way to a
more progressive era. Advocate Thinley
Angmo notes, "The level of education in
women is increasing and will soon start a
new era in women society. The govern-
ment job opportunities which are most
preferred by women are decreasing and
they are exploring other opportunities.
The dynamics of women in gover-
nance in Ladakh has many facets which
are reflective of a region which is
churning and seeking change from its
traditional mould. Yet it finds itself
caught and trapped in old mores.
Nothing captures this more than the doc-
ument brought out for the first time by
LAHDC on the comprehensive strategies
and action for the next twenty five
years. The process did not include one
woman nor does it have a substantive
s e c t i o n d e v o t e d t o Wo m e n ' s
Development. Later this document, fun-
damentally flawed because of the
absence inputs from women was
released by the Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh and Leh became per-
haps the first district to own a Vision
Document sans women's perspectives.
Perhaps those who are leading lights in
the Panchayti Raj movement and those
who are involved in creating a respon-
sive, locally tuned governance need to
put their heads together and address
the issues of Ladakhi women.
Epilogue, August 2010
35
AGRICULTURE
No winter chill for farmers
ZAINAB AKHTER
W ith the onset of winter, icy
winds and temperatures
plummeting way below
sub-zero, farmers in Ladakh are a worried
lot. Over 90 per cent of Ladakh's popula-
tion is engaged in farming, their liveli-
hoods directly dependent on agriculture.
It is not easy to get a good yield though.
The extremely short summers and long
harsh winters make it difficult for farm-
ers to grow vegetables even to sustain
themselves. For months on end, heavy
snow fall covers the fields, leaving little
scope for anything to grow, leaving farm-
ers waiting in despair.
Things are changing however.
Farmers in Leh district of Ladakh have
adopted a method of greenhouse farm-
ing, which enables them to grow vegeta-
bles in the middle of harsh winters. It has
led to the availability of vegetables
throughout the year, which even a few
winters ago was unheard of.
The concept of greenhouses was
developed by Defence Research and
Development Organization (DRDO), from
its unit located in Leh. The moving spirit
behind this innovation was to help the
farmers overcome the hazards of harsh
winters and protect their farming prac-
tices so that they could get a good yield.
Interestingly it was adopted by the Indian
Army, for the first time in Kargil after the
1999 border warfare and introduced
amongst the local populace.
The farming community cannot
believe the wonder of growing green
leafy vegetables throughout the winter
www.epilogue.in
season. "We get fresh green leafy vegeta-
bles even during the months of January,
February and March. We want more
greenhouses to be promoted so that
more people get benefit from this novel
method," said Tsering Dolker, a farmer.
It is a far cry from the past when the
supply of green vegetables in Ladakh dur-
ing the long winter months was restricted
to cargo that arrived by air from Delhi,
Jammu or Chandigarh. Now as the
Ladakh gets snowed in, the supply of vege-
tables like cucumber, eggfruit and capsi-
cum emerge from the hothouses. For the
locals, to be relishing these when it is nail
biting cold outside, is a delightful experi-
ence. It has demonstrated how technol-
ogy can be applied to natural processes to
boost the yield and make the region self-
reliant. It has also demonstrated that
with applied research, the farming com-
munity in Ladakh need not be at the
mercy of climatic cycles but offset its dis-
advantage by adopting
new methodologies. The
viability of agricultural
processes and yields have
grown tremendously with
this one intervention.
This has signified a turn-
ing point for the farmers .
Seeing the remarkable way
in which the yields have
increased , the
Horticulture Department
was quick to respond with
its own initiatives . It was
the quantum jump in the
Vol. 4, Issue 8
ladakh in focus
Notes on life
yield that moved the authorities to fur-
ther this novel concept and take its bene-
fit to a wider population. They helped
establish similar greenhouses across the
region.
Leh has another natural advantage.
Because of its unique geography, it
receives good sunlight for an average of
325 days in a year . This has been a boon
for the greenhouse project. "We have
seen that solar energy has a lot of poten-
tial in Leh town. We have tried to develop
farming and we are encouraging farmers
to grow vegetables. This concept was
developed in 1998 to make greenhouses
using local material," said Tashi Thokmat,
Deputy Director, Ladakh Environment
and Health Organization (LEHO).
The momentum has caught on. Biju
Shitall, a Pune based private company
offered to organize an exposure tour for
farmers of Ladakh to travel to Pune and
learn about technical innovations in vege-
Epilogue, August 2010
ladakh in focus 36
Notes on life

table seed production. It was ENVIRONMENT

a tremendous learning expe-
rience which the Ladakhi
farmers will retain and apply
Glacial Melting
to conditions in their own
region.
District Agriculture
causing havoc
Officer, Leh Thinless Dawa, TASHI MORUP
said during the tour, “these
farmers were provided exten-
sive training followed by field
visit to farms of the state.”
Mr. Dawa added that
there is an understanding
between Ladakh Autonomous
Hill Development Council,
Biju Shitall company and the
Farmers Cooperative Society
to market vegetable seeds to
other states. Also in pipeline
is a move to adopt a model vil-
lage for seed production in
Leh district.
The farming community
and the consumers in Leh are
enjoying the benefits of sum-
mer during the winter season
when normally they would be
deprived of fresh vegetables

This turn-around is clearly
based on scientific methods
buoyed by the enthusiastic
response by the community
and the authorities. It has all
but solved the scarcity of veg-
etables in the harsh and long
winters in this Himalayan pla-
teau. The day does not seem
far when apart from demands
within the region, they will be
exporting vegetables to the
other parts of the state during
the winters. For a commu-
nity used to scrounging
around amidst diminishing
winter stock of fresh food,
this has come like manna
from heaven.
T
rudging down the street of Leh
bazaar, a pall of gloom on his face,
Ishay Tundup, an elderly farmer
holds up a bag full of green vegetables .
An ordinary sight surely but it was far from
that. This 70-year-old man had grown veg-
etables all his life. He had never needed
to buy them from a bazaar. Tundup is one
amongst the many farmers who have suf-
fered the effects of drought in Ladakh last
summer, a phenomenon unheard of.
Sonam Zangpo, another farmer who is also
the Leh Phoomdo Goba or the Headman of
Leh district said, “It was (the water scar-
city) extreme last season, our fields
received just four waters (four times) in
the whole season.” Normally barley fields
receive water through the irrigation chan-
nels 12 to 14 during the period of cultiva-
tion. Streams ran dry and the staple crop
barley, which was water-starved, grew
stunted.
This pattern of nature going awry has
become apparent over the last decade
this high altitude trans-Himalayan region.
A drastic reduction in the Indus River
waters and in smaller streams, disappear-
ing glaciers, flash floods, lake overflows.
Many natural springs, which for centuries
have been a source of drinking water and
irrigation, have gone dry.
Ladakh, likened to an oasis in the icy
desert attracts thousands of tourists with
its rugged terrain, its immense potential
for trekking in the semi-arid highland.
But now crossing fast-flowing and intri-
cately linked rivulets does not hold that
thrill anymore. “You can now cross these

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

37
tributaries without wetting your shoes
with the help of stones that have
emerged on the water surface,” says
Tsering, a veteran tour operator The
famous 22-day trek from Lamayuru to
Darcha cutting across the Himalayan
range had a memorable stretch at the
Shinkun La pass, which meant crossing
the glacier. Now deep moraines have
developed caused by the melting gla-
cier and this route is now omitted from
the trekking itinerary.
The Khardong La pass, also a must
for the trekking enthusiasts is called the
'Highest Motorable Pass in the World” , a
lifeline for locals between Leh town and
Nubra valley. Here too the rising tem-
peratures have led to a complete
disappearance of the glacier,
which used to straddle the
road.People in Leh have been wit-
nessing glaciers shrinking literally
before their eyes. They have seen
flash floods in 1999 and in 2006
caused by recessional glacial lake
outbursts at Nang-tse and Phu-tse
glacier. According to Joseph T
Gergan, Glacial Scientist at Wadia
Institute of Himalayan Geology,
Dehradun, these are the sources of
water supply to Leh town The fast
melting glaciers' in Changthang area are
pouring into the famous Pangong lake
which lies partly in India and the rest in
Tibet. The overflowing waters recently
submerged the roads adjacent to the
long shore of the lake, which then
needed to be rebuilt.
Communities settled along the Indus
belt areas have their own woes to tell.
Water canals in Chushot, Choglamsar,
Spituk and Phey villages are stretching
further upstream to access the rapidly
receding waters of the Indus River. “We
had to build fresh canals to draw water
further up from the Indus as one of the
three courses of the river along our vil-
lage has completely gone dry,” said
Mohd. Sadiq, Goba of Chushot village.
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“There was not a single drop in our
stream last summer,” said Tsering
Angdus, an elderly villager in Phey . He
remembered those days when snow was
knee-high everywhere, which lasted the
whole winter. “Today you don't get to
see any snow”, Angdus lamented.
The dwindling water has forced com-
munities in Shun village, Lungnag valley
in the remote Zanskar region decide to
shift base from their traditional land.
They now inhabit Darcha on Leh-Manali
road, a difficult trek of several days
from their ancestral village. At Phu-tse
glacier the breaching point where the
lake was formed due to melting is
apparent. So is the larger lake at the
snout of Khardong la glacier. Disturbing
signs which point to the fact that the
seemingly solid glaciers are in the pro-
cess of melting.
The burgeoning water problem
meanwhile has been taking up the
attention of the Ladakh Autonomous
Hill Development Council (LAHDC), the
principal body of policy and implemen-
tation in the region. In a letter to
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Tsewang Rigzin Councillor of Diskit con-
stituency of Nubra Valley has suggested
a tunnel be built across Khardong la
pass. This would divert the flow of the
north-facing glaciers towards Leh town.
It would prevent water going down its
natural incline towards from Shayok
Vol. 4, Issue 8
ladakh in focus
Notes on life
River of Nubra valley.
Chering Dorjey, Chief Executive
Commissioner , LAHDC,Leh is con-
cerned about the depleting under-
ground water sources and has mooted a
Water Supply Scheme to lift water from
the Indus River. More and more villages
like Taru, Phey, Nang, Stagmo and Sakti
in Ladakh, facing water scarcity are now
building reservoirs under Watershed
and Haryali schemes.
Mr. Gergan who has studied the
issue, believes that the numerous
moraines created by the glacial melt
could work as small, manageable check
dams to preserve water as well as reju-
venate the springs. In several countries
facing glacier recession, like
Switzerland, artificial covers from
sun are provided. Artificial glaciers
along side hills protect the original
glacier and preserve the vast
stretch of permafrost. In Ladakh,
such steps would be a boon, a
much-required action to protect its
precious natural water reserves, the
life-giving resource for its people.
The administration both at the
level of the Ladakh Hill Council and
the J&K state government needs to
address the issue much more seri-
ously. Meeting the immediate chal-
lenge of water shortage should receive
top priority but it needs to go much
beyond that. The larger issue of global
warming and its effects in the region
needs urgent attention to be taken up at
relevant policy forums in the country.
For the locals, the issue glacial melt-
ing is not an academic one. It not only
affects water supply, agriculture but
and their very survival in high terrain
region which for centuries has been fed
by the natural springs and streams.
Unless the authorities wake up and take
action that is so required, the people in
Ladakh will continue to suffer and this
pristine, sensitive eco-system will con-
tinue to be ravaged.
Epilogue, August 2010
ladakh in focus
Notes on life
ABLE TO CHALLENGE DISABILITY:
The unfolding of two lives
DOLMA NAMGYAL
W
hat constitutes disability, that
too physical disability? Is it
merely about a limb not func-
tioning, a body part, which is atrophied,
or a set of motor responses not being
adequate or is it the mental attitude
towards any form of physical disability
that lies at the root of the problem?
Mental attitude of not only those dis-
abled but those who are not, who infact
constitute the environment in which the
disabled live out their lives.
Walking down a busy market place
in Leh, Ladakh, I came across a friend of
mine who was with a group of people.
Amongst them was a young man, around
27 years old, whose legs were wasted
away. But what was his striking feature
was not the physical disability but the
forlorn look he seemed to perpetually
have, an air of diffidence, of being
defeated.
It bothered me, so much so that
asked him directly what matter was.
He hesitated before replying, a
response that was unexpected and
struck me like a bolt of lightening. I had
expected to hear a crib about his
wasted limbs. Instead he said, “You guys
are educated and I am not. Looking at
all your faces, I feel like a fool.”
Karma Sherup blew my pre-
conceived notions to smithereens. It
was not the disability that was bother-
ing him but the lack of education, the
means to access knowledge, to enhance
one's capacities. I could not let go now
spurred on not just by curiosity but a
www.epilogue.in
way to challenge my own mind-set. I
asked him why he did not go to school.
To that he said hesitatingly “Everyone
used to stare at me. Even the teacher
used to stare me. So I felt so bad and left
the school.” Again I had that uncanny
feeling that the problem was not Karma
Sherup or any other disabled boy or girl
in Ladakh or outside. The problem was
the rest of us, who had a problem with
disability, with seeing it, dealing with it
and overcoming it.
For Sherup and probably others
like him, things were much more simple
and clear cut. All they wanted was a
fighting chance, a level playing field.
The choice then was before me.
Either I could retreat into my previous
mind-set and shut out this new and star-
tling insight. Or I could take it on, take
action. It did not take me more than a
couple of seconds to decide. I asked
him “ Do you want to do self- study? He
hesitated slightly, possibly conditioned
by his bitter experience. I pushed it and
said, “I will help you “ to which he, said
“ OK” before breaking into a broad
smile.
There was no looking back. We
first made a timetable for our study
schedule. I had to first gauge his level
of learning was took the first two ses-
sions or so. Based on that, I created my
own syllabus from my level of knowl-
edge about subjects, general knowl-
edge and small life-skills and experi-
ences we all acquire along the way.
Come to think of it, this is the one thing
Vol. 4, Issue 8
38
we don't do enough of; to share our
knowledge and skills with those who
need it and can benefit from it. Sherup
was a quick learner, with an aptitude for
the English language. I enjoyed the
sessions as much, perhaps more which
led to a warm, interactive exchange
between us.
I remember it was just over two
months of this joyful learning that we
happened to be once again at the same
place in the market, with a similar gath-
ering of friends. I must admit I was a bit
anxious about my ward. Would he min-
gle or again retreat back into his shell?
What followed was such a study in
contrasts that it left me wonder-struck.
Sherup was easily conversing with this
entire bunch of people who were the
'other' and whom he had shunned a few
short weeks ago. I knew he had been
visiting cyber café's off and on and per-
haps had read up on a variety of sub-
jects that interested him. He was also
accessing many people through social
networking sites like Face book and
Orkut which had connected him with
the outside world.
Disability in andenabling' environ-
ment does not remain disability any-
more. In the case of Karma Sherup, it
happened through a chance meeting of
someone who could give that input
which not only restored his confidence,
but also opened up the way to his fur-
ther 'self-study'. With this, he could eas-
ily fit into a working environment like a
shop or any agency. He could teach nurs-
Epilogue, August 2010
 39
ery children. He could stand on his own
feet, basically. Perhaps that was the
real source of his joy.
For Tsewang Namgyal, struck by
Cerebral Palsy from birth, things were
different. He was fortunate to have a
family, which was supportive, caring.
Brought up along with two sisters, one
elder brother by his widowed mother in
Shynem village just outside Leh, he was
never made to feel he was different.
He went to school, cleared Higher
Secondary in Skara, nearby and today
has a Government job in Leh
Municipality and is fully capable of lead-
ing his own life.
BOLLYWOOD EFFECT :
One in a Series of Onslaughts
on Ladakh?
REKHA SHENOY
T
he final scene of the Bollywood
blockbuster '3 Idiots' showing a
breathtakingly beautiful
'Pangong Lake', glassy blue amidst the
stark rugged mountainscape has
triggered off a chain reaction. Situated
at 14000 feet it is entirely fed by glacial
waters, this 134 km wide water body
lies partly in India and mostly in China.
Today people from across the
country are thronging Ladakh get a
glimpse of this spectacular lake seen in
their favorite movie. On a recent visit
there, returning to the Kharu Check
Post, the guard remarks, “Today, we
recorded 150 vehicles to Pangong and it
www.epilogue.in
Both Sherup Karma and Tsewang
Namgyal are in a pro-active role, partic-
ipating in all aspects of society. What is
striking in both these lives is the crucial
role of Education. In Sherup, it opened
the door to a newfound confidence, to
friendship and new capabilities sure to
stand him in good stead. In Tsewang, it
has led to a quality education, securing
a means of livelihood, a life of dignity.
Tsewang has found some like-
minded people in Ladakh and is a mem-
ber of People's Action Group for Rights
and Inclusion (PAGIR), a network of dis-
abled persons in Leh district. He pas-
sionately advocates for the accessibility
is the highest number of vehicles in the
history”. He also made another
statement, perhaps a more telling one
“The interesting point is only one
vehicle had foreign tourists and the rest
149 carried domestic tourists.”
Tashi, our taxi driver's glee is
palpable “Thanks to '3 Idiots', madam,
our tourist season now extends to seven
months instead of the conventional
four. My income has been doubled as I
take domestic tourists to Pangong
everyday,” he grins. That is true for
many taxi drivers who are suddenly in
high demand for day trips to Pangong!
Yes Ladakh has witnessed a record
Vol. 4, Issue 8
ladakh in focus
Notes on life
of school buildings for disabled children
and the sensitivity of the teacher
towards their education.
The transformation of two young
lives and motivation and work of civil
society groups like PAGIR is truly laud-
able. It proves that given a supportive
environment, the disabled can very well
make that journey from the margins of
society to a fully participative and
responsible role. It is really upto the
rest of us to enable the disabled, not
just in Ladakh but across the country, to
make this journey and in the process
create a more inclusive, a more com-
passionate society.
number of domestic tourists. Tour
operators are laughing all the way to the
bank. But is everyone happy about this
transformation of India's only cold
desert into the hottest tourist
destination in the sub continent today?
Ladakh has always been a
strategically important region sharing a
border with China and has one of the
most militarized zones, Siachen. It is
one of the most starkly beautiful
landscapes in the subcontinent, a land,
glaciers, lakes, mountains, seat of a
thriving culture based on the Tibetan
form of Buddhism. Yet all this remained
locked in, restricted to only the local
Epilogue, August 2010
ladakh in focus
Notes on life
populace. The policy shift in the 70's
opened up the region to tourists, largely
foreigners, Westerners drawn to the
exotic land of moon-passes.
This no doubt began turning the
wheels of its economy but it went
beyond that. It brought in a sense of
'integration' with the 'larger world', a
vehicle for new ideas, knowledge,
technologies and practices for the local
communities. From a subsistence
economy dependent mainly on
agriculture and animal husbandry it
became a tourism-driven economy.
There was a proliferation of travel
agencies, opportunities for local youth
as guides, shop-keepers and taxi
drivers. Villagers opened up their
homes for 'home-stays', a big draw for
foreigners who cherished the
experience of traditional life. Much
later, when domestic tourists started
showing an interest in the region, the
'integration' of the local Ladakhis
started with their compatriots too, as a
second phase.
The question still remains,
whether this domestic surge, this
integration within the country bodes
well for this region, ecologically fragile,
strategically sensitive and culturally
distinct as it is? On the face of it, the
Indian tourists signify a 'steadfastness'
that perhaps the Western tourist will
not be able to match. Any small
tension on the border, and you hardly
see any Western tourists in Ladakh.
Tsewang Rigzin, a councilor in Ladakh
Hill Autonomous Hill Development
Council, says that domestic tourism is
more sustainable.
But sustainability is not only about
economics. What about the effect on
the environment, the sensibilities of the
people? Here the picture turns ugly.
Used to the Westerners, who have
shown genuine respect for the culture,
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way of life and care for the fragile
ecosystem of Ladakh, the locals have
gained a new-found confidence and
even pride in their culture and society,
reflecting the attitude of the foreign
tourists.
The attitude of the domestic
tourist sadly is in sharp contrast. P.T
Kunjang, Secretary, Ladakh Buddhist
Association and the President, All
Ladakh Tour Operators Association
(ALTOA), says that a majority of
domestic tourists show no interest in
the history and culture of Ladakh. They
do not hire local guides to learn about
this. The distinctiveness of Ladakhi
monasteries, which reflect aspects of
Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, seems to
be lost on the Indian tourist. Their
manner reflects a lack of interest and
scant respect for the local heritage,
which the local population takes
umbrage to.
Hurting local sensibilities apart,
the sudden rise in domestic tourism is
putting enormous pressure on the
already scarce resources. Water for
instance which all comes from the
melted snow and ice of the surrounding
mountains. Tourists demand a change in
bed sheets and towels in their hotels
every day. Hoteliers have dug borewells
to meet this demand. The traditional
Ladakhi 'dry compost toilets' evolved to
beat the water scarcity is anathema to
the domestic tourists who insist on flush
toilets, which consumes huge quantities
of water.
Domestic tourists are known to
take their vehicles right up to the shore
of Pangong Lake and Tsomirii Lake, the
two, major wetlands. “Even though
there are clear instructions not to feed
birds and throw waste, I see many
Indian tourists indulging in exactly that.
I am extremely saddened by this sight” ,
says Thinlas Chorol, who runs a Ladakh
Vol. 4, Issue 8
40
Women Travel Agency operated entirely
by local women.
The surge in tourism and here one
can in all fairness club both the
domestic and international, has led to
another mammoth problem, that of
waste. There is an enormous amount of
packaged food and water in circulation
in the region which earlier depended
solely on naturally available food and
water. Everything could be recycled
back to the land. Today it has to deal
with growing quantities of non-
biodegradable wastes such as cans,
bottles and plastics not only in the
towns but also on mountains, where
trekking routes lie. In the absence of
proper solid waste management
system, this is posing a huge challenge
for the administration and gradually
choking the eco system.
The picture in Ladakh is both
redeeming and disturbing. Tourism
has surged ahead providing life-blood
for its economy, a fountain-head of
income- generating activities for the
locals. It has equally soaked up
natural resources, gradually
destroying what has been a life-line of
a different, perhaps more enduring
kind, its fragile ecology, and its
sensitive environment.
Ladakh simply does not have the
c a p a c i t y, e i t h e r n a t u r a l o r
infrastructural to handle the huge
number of tourists bringing in practices
and attitudes, which run contrary to the
natural laws of the region. This needs
to be regulated. P.T Kunjan worries and
many would echo, “Otherwise ten years
from now, tourists could stop visiting
Ladakh”. That is not the kind of drastic
solution that anyone would want, so it is
imperative that an equally powerful
answer be found, one, which would lead
to harmony and restoration along with
economic gain.
Epilogue, August 2010
41
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
A Trek Through Life
THINLAS CHOROL
I
was born in a small village with
around 60 houses called Takmachik
about 120 km from Leh, Ladakh. In
my village, all the 60 families are
divided into groups to take turns at graz-
ing the goats and sheep on the moun-
tains.. We also would make trips to col-
lect grass and store it so that during the
long harsh winters, the animals have
adequate fodder. Sometimes my father
used to go up everyday for 3 or 4 weeks
to collect grass in the quantities
required.
As a child during my holidays , I
used to go up on the mountain with my
father and our herds. I was afraid that
something may happen to him if he was
alone. My mother had died when I was a
baby and I had only my father, whom I
cared about deeply. I did not really cut
any grass, I just went because of my
father and because I loved the peaceful
mountains.
This was the bliss of my childhood
which I still miss in the village which I
still love. But then life changed and I
went out into the world to get myself an
education and explore possibilities for
my life ahead. After Class 10th , I had to
leave my village to further my studies. I
was selected for the SECMOL (Student
Educational Cultural Movement of
Ladakh) hostel in Phey, around 25 km
from the Leh Town.
In SECMOL I met many volunteers
and I went trekking with some of them.
One of the women asked me to come
with her as a guide. Previously, she had a
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bad experience with a male guide, who
had tried to coerce her into having sex
with him. Distraught, she had aban-
doned the trek and fled. And now was
understandably weary of taking a male
guide along. She knew that I have
trekked before and though I said I did
not the route, remained keen to hire me
as a guide and offered to pay me my
charges. I had been born in the moun-
tains and spent my childhood amidst
them. It was natural for me to slip into
that mode and become for the first
time, a trekking guide!
It was an altogether different expe-
rience from my childhood wanderings.
I found I was attracting a lot of attention
with local people coming up to me and
speaking to me in English saying they
had never seen a Ladakhi female guide
ever before. In fact so remote was the
possibility of encountering one, many of
them thought that I was Japanese!
The trek turned out to be wonder-
ful and the woman enjoyed it
immensely. She suggested that I think
about becoming a guide as a profession.
It was the first time, I had got advice of
this kind and suddenly the world opened
up before me. What was a part of my
growing up experience could become a
way of life, a career option, She pur-
sued this and together we went to meet
with the organization “Snow Leopard
Conservancy” which runs such pro-
grams in the region. Although it did not
quite work out with this particular orga-
nization, the experience of this foreign
Vol. 4, Issue 8
ladakh in focus
Notes on life
women believing in me, left a huge
impact on my life.
I decided to pursue it on my own
steam and approached two travel com-
panies. At one of them, the person in
charge asked me if I did monastery
tours. He was taken aback on hearing
me say categorically, that I wanted to
work as a trekking guide. I was rejected.
At the second company, it was worse. I
was clearly told that local society would
not accept a woman going up on the
mountains with a group of tourists.
These were bitter experiences, leaving
me dejected, my dreams seemed on
the verge of being shattered.
But help was near. I shared my
angst with my English teacher, Becky
who was from America and found a
much needed supporter in her. She
encouraged me to pursue my dreams
and paid my fees for mountaineering
courses. Later, Becky introduced me to
a travel agency, she knew well and they
said they would hire me! It was I knew a
turning point for me and I had to prove
myself to all those who believed in me.
I did a few courses to upgrade my
knowledge and skills and also to show
the agency that I was really serious
about my work. I first did mountaineer-
ing course at the Nehru Institution Of
Mountaineering and National Outdoor
Leadership School (NOLS India) . It was
here that I really learnt how to live in
the wilderness.
Generally in Ladakh, students
work as a guide without any formal
Epilogue, August 2010
ladakh in focus 42
Education

training. Men are hired by company LADAKH'S OWN TEXTBOOKS:

even if they do not have this train-
ing, any familiarity with trekking
routes or work experience. In spite
A Step Towards Autonomy
of my training though, in the begin-
ning it was very difficult for me to
get hired by the travel companies. I TSEWANG RIGZIN
faced a similar situation every-
where.
But I persisted in my efforts.
And my lucky break came in 2004
again through SECMOL. They opened
a travel company called “Around
Ladakh with Students”. Most of the
guides were women, all of them
were doing cultural guide and mon-
astery tours, except me. I was for
the first time a full-fledged trekking
guide! It was a dream come true and
my joy knew no bounds. This was
the beginning of a journey for me. I
observed that generally it was very
expensive for individual tourists to
travel to different regions in Ladakh
and get a sense of the local life
there. In my present capacity, we
use homestays for taking up groups
where tourists can stay in homely
comfort and at the same time expe-
rience the real Ladakhi way of life.
Over the time, a few travel
companies came to know about our
work and approached me to be a
trekking guide and I began to get
hired for their treks. This is what I
loved doing the most and such
F rom 'known to unknown' is what the education system supposed to be based on,
especially at the primary level. However, for Ladakhi students, it had been the
reverse prior to the launch of the Operation New Hope (ONH) – a movement by
the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh in collaboration with
opportunities encouraged me and Students' Educational & Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) aimed at overhauling
gave me a confidence, a renewed the education system to make it more close and relevant to Ladakh's life and culture.
faith in myself. As a part of the Operation New Hope government schools in Leh today have pri-
I have learnt a lot on my jour- mary textbooks published in the context of Ladakh's distinct cultural and geographical
ney and enjoyed it immensely. conditions. According to the introduction in these textbooks, “ONH books are based on
Women who are interested in the Ladakhi environment and culture which Ladakhi children will find easier to relate to
outdoor field or any field dominated and hence learn with joy”.
by men should be patient and keep Until mid 1990s textbooks in Ladakhi government schools, even at the primary
the competitive edge sharp. I have level, were completely irrelevant to the students of this mountainous region because
learnt that if a woman has the cour- these books talked nothing about Ladakh, its environment and its culture. It was more
age to do something in male world, like 'from unknown to known' thereby making hundreds of Ladakhi children to feel
it will be a lot of hard work, but the themselves and their culture as inferior to others since they wouldn't find a single word
sweet rewards of success will surely
about Ladakh in their textbooks. Under ONH, new textbooks were specifically
be hers in time.
designed for Ladakh because the founders' of the movement believed that the previous

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

43
textbooks, which came from outside
Ladakh, were meant for children living in
tropical India but not for children living high
up in Ladakh.
Under the ONH, a team of local govern-
ment school teachers, SECMOL staff and
experts from other parts of India, developed
teaching materials including eleven text-
books and four supplementary bilingual
Ladakhi/English storybooks along with a set
of pre-primary material and many posters.
The textbooks are now the standard syllabus
in government schools across Leh District.
Architects of the ONH believed that “all
these books depict Ladakhi children, culture
and environment that students can identify
with, and retain their confidence and inter-
est”. In the introduction of these books a
special mention is found about some of the
textbook making team members who had
been deputed by Eklavya: “These books
have been made possible with the help of
resource persons from across the country
and collaboration provided by Eklavya,
Madhya Pradesh – an organization with 20
years of experience in elementary educa-
tion”. During the year 2001- 2002, Safe the
Children in collaboration of the Ladakh
Autonomous Hill Development Hill
Development Council Leh and the local
NGOs conducted a study to document the
impact of ONH with an aim to derive lessons
from the experience with the movement.
The study report observes that “there is posi-
tive response to the textbooks prepared
under ONH. Participatory exercised found
that children are able to relate with and
learn from the textbooks and most teachers
are comfortable with them”. It is pertinent
to mention here that all the textbooks under
ONH have been published by the Jammu &
Kashmir State Board of School Education in
collaboration with the Ladakh Autonomous
Hill Development Council Leh and SECMOL.
This article is generated with sup-
port of National Foundation of India
Fellowship Programme
www.epilogue.in
ladakh in focus
METAMORPHOSIS
PASTURE DISPUTE
Trespassing
cause unrest
in Rangdum
TSEWANG RIGZIN
U
nrest is prevailing in Rangum area of Zanskar, a
place of huge historical and religious importance,
after Bakerwal tribesmen from different parts of
Kashmir Valley have thronged the pastures with their sheep
and goats. Since the place of religious importance, the
locals have written to the Ladakh Budhist Association for
their intervention in preventing the tribal herds from visit-
ing Rangdum.
Rangdum residents have warned of leaving the area in
protest as they said that local authorities have been help-
less in resolving the issue with Bakerwals. Informing about
the issue, people of Rangdum, through Khenpo Stanzin
Dorjay of the monastery, have asked the LBA to take care of
the management of Rangdum Monastery as there would be
simply no one left to take care of the monastery if the vil-
lagers had to leave the place.
In a letter addressed to the President LBA, Khenpo
Stanzin Dorjay referred to some Court orders restraining
the Bakarwals from entering into the area. “The orders
issued by the Honorable Courts are not being implemented
due to the interference of vested politicians which is a clear
indication of the insecurity of the lives and properties of
the natives living in the area. Therefore the entire inhabit-
ants of the area have decided to leave the place and seek an
alternative place for resettlements,” the letter warns.
Executive Councilor LAHDC Kargil, Mr Punchok Tashi
expressing grave concern over the situation told Epilogue
that he would approach the General Officer Commanding of
the 14 corps for deployment of the army as the last resort
for the protection of the area and its people from intrusion
of Gujjar and Bakarwals. Tashi suspects the involvement of
some politicians with vested interests.
A historical document says that the entire area of
Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010
ladakh in focus 44
METAMORPHOSIS

Rangdum from Osgom (Do-Khom) to Pentsela pass and ment debtor and also to ensure that the judgment debtors
Kanjila including all the big and small valleys and gorges be not permitted to violate the decree in future.
from the glacier to either side of the river, the entire unin- President LBA, Mr Lobzang Rinchen, has formally taken
hibited area with its pasture, water and herb, wood, its up the issue with the Chief Minister Mr. Omar Abdullah ask-
possession and ownership, all had been offered to His ing him to intervene and resolve the issue peacefully before
Holiness Ngari Rinpochey, the supreme incarnate as a the situation got worsened. It is pertinent to mention here
pure religious donation by King Tsewang Namgail of that being the coldest place of the area, the Gonpa and the
Ladakh vide his government order in the month of tiger- people of the area depend upon the cattle breeding as the
year in 18thcentury. “The successive kings of Ladakh con- only source of income. The entire area of Rangdum is
firmed the donation orders. Similarly, the Maharajas of pastureland for both summer and winter seasons for the cat-
J& K and the successive state governments have also con- tle of the inhabitants.
firmed this donation by not altering the orders of the
king. His Holiness Ngari Rinpochey has constructed a mon-
astery over the hillock which at present is known as
Rangdum Gonpa,” said the letter referring to this docu-
ment.
“Since the year 1979, Bakarwals from some parts of
the Kashmir valley tried to intrude in the pasture areas as
trespassers and created many law and order problems. In
the year 2001, three lamas of Rangdum Gonpa were shot

PUBLIC ALERT
dead by a terrorist group under the guise of Bakarwals,”
recalled the letter hinting that another such dreadful inci-
dent cannot be ruled out. When asked the Deputy
Commissioner Kargil, M Raju admitted that there has PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF MALARIA
been some dispute between the locals and the Bakarwals DENGUE AND CHIKUNGUNYA
over some areas in Rangdum area. He said that there is Don't Let Water Accumulate In And Around
Ä
police post at Shafat to prevent the entry of Bakarwals your House To Prevent Mosquito Breeding.
into the area. “I will make sure that Court orders are
Keep All Water Containing Vessels, Overhead
Ä
implemented in letter and spirit,” he assured.
The Rangdum Gonpa filed suit for permanent injunc-
Tanks Tightly, Covered With Lids.
tion against some Bakarwals from interfering into the Dewater Desert Coolers, Drums, Flower, Pots,
Ä
“peaceful possession of the Rangdum area”. The suit was Bird Bath Etc. Every Week
decreed by the District Judge Leh/Kargil on November 29, Wear Full Body Clothes To Prevent Bite Of
Ä
1985 restraining the defendants and other Bakarwals Mosquito
from interfering in the suit property. The appeal filed by
the Bakarwals before the Honorable High Court against
Get Your Blood Tested For Malaria, Parasite, In
Ä
the decree and judgment of the District Judge was dis- Case Of Fever With Rigors
missed confirming the decree of the district judge.
Referring to court proceedings and judgments pro- KEEP MALARIA, DENGUE AND CHIKUNGUNYA AWAY
nounced, the letter recalls that even after the decree con- &
DIP/J-4954

firmed by the Honorable High Court, the judgment debtor STAY HEALTHY
tried to trespass over the area, so on the application for
execution of the decree, the learned District Judge has
issued a permanent direction to the Superintendent of KINDLY CO-OPERATE
Police Kargil with the direction to ensure that the decree Issued by :
of the court is complied in letter and spirit by the judg- State Malariologist, Directorate Of Health Services Jammu.

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

45
A TRAVELER'S PERSPECTIVE
Leh changed,
and et it didn't
ELINE GORDTS
I
arrived in Delhi on a warm July eve-
ning, on one of those hot summer nights
right before the start of the monsoon. It
would be my second time in India, and I
thought I knew what I was up for. The par-
ticular smell of Indian nights, the deafen-
ing sounds of cars and rikcshaws, and the
endless masses of people sleeping in New
Delhi railway station: I thought I had seen it
all before. Yet as the taxi from the airport
drove deeper and deeper into the city, and
the noise, the smell and the bustle became
overwhelming, I desperately wished we
had already reached the main destination
of our trip: Ladakh.
Two years ago I and a friend travelled
from Benares to Rajasthan, spending five
weeks in India's bustling fairytale province.
Friends convinced us to end our trip in Leh.
They promised a little island of rest and
peace, beading in sun, surrounded by
mountains, on the roof of the world. They
were right. Leh stole our hearts.
While sitting in that taxi on New Delhi
highway, fearing for my life as we danger-
ously passed a truck while taking a curb, I
remembered the snow-covered mountains
I was about to see again, Shanti Stupa and
Leh Palace , prayer flags and momo's,
women selling vegetables in the main
bazaar.
One week later, after a 20-hour drive
from Manali to Ladakh, we were finally
there: Leh. The Golden Gate doomed up
in the darkness like a big welcoming sign
and instantly reduced the motion sickness
that had tortured me the hours before. I
went to bed, and immediately fell asleep. I
was home. Yet the next morning, heading
out for breakfast, I instantly realized what
www.epilogue.in
a great deal Leh had changed over those
two years. I had expected to find the city
exactly the way I had left it last time,
immune for change, immune for time.
Although my own life changed radically
since I left Ladakh in September 2008, I
was sure that no such thing would have hap-
pened in Leh.
I was wrong. Leh town is busier, nois-
ier. Cars and motorcycles make their way
through scares of tourists, unable to
resist touching the honk. Every time they
pass, want to pass, or refuse to pass,
there's that penetrating sound. I once
joked that if the government of India
would introduce a fine for honking, like
the police do in New York, she would
instantly be rich. Maybe the LAHDC
should consider a similar move.
The number of tourists seems to
have exploded. The number of shoe shin-
ers seems to have doubled. The number
of shopkeepers seems to have grown.
Travel agencies seem to have mush-
roomed. Every corner seems to have its
internet café. Walking through the main
bazaar, I can't help but wonder: Is my mind
playing tricks on me? Did Leh seem so quiet
after those five weeks in Rajasthan, that I
minimaize its traffic, its bustle?
Yet some interviews with Ladakhi's
learned that my memory is working fine.
The number of tourists has exploded. The
number of shoe shiners has doubled. The
number of shopkeepers has grown. Travel
agencies have mushroomed. Every cor-
ner has its internet café.
Today Leh is full of tourists, and the
whole town seems to be in for it.
And it needs to be said, Leh's growth
Vol. 4, Issue 8
ladakh in focus
METAMORPHOSIS
brought some serious benefits too. The
German bakeries, which you can find all
over town, sell the most incredible col-
lection of sweets. I've tried delicious
plum pies, mouth-watering chocolate
cookies and tasty apple crumbles. Many
cafés make espresso now, a real delight
for a coffee addict like myself. And done
with the cold showers I remembered
from two years ago. My guesthouse has
warm water, night and day.
Yet whatever the luxurious benefits
that even a low-budget traveler can
afford in Leh, I'm a bit nostalgic to the
town I remembered from last time.
Maybe it's the heath, maybe it's because
I'm more critical on this second visit or
maybe it's because I'm here for work, but I
can't seem to find the tranquility and rest
the I encountered here before.
Yet right when I was ready to give
up, running from one appointment to
another, clear my way through groups of
tourists and noisy taxi's, it struck me: it
was still there, that Leh of mine. I real-
ized how nice and warm everybody in this
town still is, offering cookies and cups of
tea, inviting me to discuss politics, take
me along on trips. I noticed how every-
body greets each other with a warm, hon-
est smile. “Yullaj!”
I decided to go for a walk. From the
Shanti Stupa I followed the canals back to
Leh town. And there it was, Leh as I had
imagined it: the cobbling rivers and the
green fields, the spring water, the fresh
vegetables, the beauty of the Sankar
Stupa, the colors of the praying wheels.
Children were playing between the trees,
laughing. “Yullaj,” they yelled, barely
looking up from their game.
Back in the hotel, the owner
greeted me with a welcoming smile.
“How are you? Are you good?” The sun set
behind the mountains, and a cool breeze
lightened up the air. Shop owners laughed
light-heartedly “How are you doing
Miss?” The smell of masala and sizzlers,
tea and soup zwierf through the air. A boy
was scrubbing a last pair of sheets on the
small river bank.
Leh changed, and yet it didn't.
Epilogue, August 2010
ladakh in focus
Current Affairs
CONTINUOUS DISCONNECT
Ladakh in stone age, literally!
L adakh is increasingly becoming a preferred summer
destination for thousands of tourists from India and
abroad. Leh town and some other important places in
region become a hub of cultural exchanges for brief while
every year. Destination is though charming but the
facilities are not at near a bare minimum to offer comfort
to even the local inhabitants, leave aside the tourists. In
recent months, thousands of people visiting the place have
gone through disappointed by the poor and inefficient
services of the electricity and the telecommunications in
Leh. This is indeed an embarrassment for the State
Government and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development
Council before all the guests coming from every nook and
corner of the glob and the country.
The services provided by the BSNL and the power
development department in Leh in about two months have
been frustrating, embarrassing and annoying. Every other
day the internet and telephone services, particularly those
of BSNL, are out of order on one account or other. Most
often cited reason is breakage of Optical Fiber Cable (OFC)
line due to the execution of widening of Leh-Srinagar
highway. Availability of internet services is a lifeline for all
tourism related business and also for thousands of domestic
as well as foreign tourists, but even after days of internet
disconnection and network problem with mobile phones,
concerned authorities seem unconcerned.
However, when it comes to the billing part of the
BSNL, it doesn't spare anyone. There is literally no
compensation for the loss that consumers suffer on account
of an unreliable system. According to the Telecom District
Manager, BSNL Leh the frequent disturbances with the
internet and the mobile network are being caused partly
by road widening works and partly because of floods at
Ladakhi girl represents India in Finland Ice Hockey Camp
A woman Ice-Hockey player named Padma Chorol of
Spituk village, who is a student of the Moravian Mission
School Leh in class 9, represented India in the international
Women Ice-Hockey Development camp held in Finland in
July. Based on the previous performances, The Winter
Sports Club Leh and the Ice-Hockey association of India had
selected her to represent Indian in the camp. On her
return to India, Union Sports Minister MS Gill hailed her
www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8
46
some place on the Leh Srinagar road. Regretting the poor
services of the BSNL, the Deputy Commissioner Leh Tsering
Angchuk Leh told Epilogue that he was aware of this
situation which has been causing immense inconveniences
to all. “I have taken the issue with all concerned
authorities at all levels for immediate redress”.
The next important thing without which life in today
in a city comes to a standstill is the electricity. Very
disappointingly and annoyingly the power scenario in Leh in
the last two months has been too depressing because
people, especially in the tourism industry, had to
experience frequent power cuts. Justifying the frequent
power cut, the executive engineer, PDD Leh says, “A part
of the machine was broken with the Martselang Hydel
project. The part has to be brought from Delhi,” adding
that efforts are being made to restore the machine to
ensure a smooth power supply.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the month of
July alone Leh had many dignitaries including the Vice
President of India, some Union Ministers, the Chief Minister
of the State and many others coming to host national and
international conferences on some important topics. They
must have been aware of the difficulties being faced all
people living in and around Leh. Had they been told of
these problems, they would have preferred to address
them first before lecturing of visions and policies for
future. Henceforth, apart from their visits to the famous
tourist destinations including the Pangong lake and the
monasteries in Ladakh, mitigating of inconvenience being
faced by the public should also be included in the agenda
of all the VIPS visiting Ladakh – which seems to be missing
agendas of the VIPS otherwise.
-TSEWANG RIGZIN
performance and announced an amount of rupees 75,000
for her to successfully represent the country in an
international camp. On her return to Leh on July 15,
members of the Winter Sports Club, students and staff
members of the Moravian Mission School, villagers of Spitik
and Padma Chorol's relatives along with her parents
accorded a warm reception in her honour at the Bakula
Rinpochey Airport Leh.
Epilogue, August 2010
47
Dalai Lama spends nine days in Nubra
H
is Holiness the Dalai Lama after delivering sermons to
the devotees at different places of Nubra during his
nine-day tour flew back to Dharamsala on July 28.
Earlier on his arrival in Leh on June 21 he was according a
rousing reception Thoise Airport at Nobra in this district.
According to the reports received from Nubra, a large number
of people were seen queued up along the road side in all the
villages from Thoise Airport to Samstan-ling Gonpa to pay
respects to Dalai Lama. Clad in colourful traditional dresses
the people showered petals to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in
a very devotional and cheerful ambience.
From Thoise Airport, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was
brought to Samtanling Gonpa in a big motorcade.
While arriving at Sanstan-ling Gonpa, His Holiness the
Dalai Lama was given rousing reception by His Holiness
Galdan Thi Rinpochey, Norboo Gyalson, Executive Councillor,
Art and Culture Tsering Angchok, Executive Councillor
Minority Affairs Mohammad Khan, Councillor Stanzin Delex
and Councillor Deskit Tsewang Rigzin, Monks, Nuns and a
large number of men and women of the nearby villages
www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8
ladakh in focus
Current Affairs
poured in to have darshan of His Holiness and listen to His
sermons.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama was also given ceremonial
reception by the Lamas of Samstan-ling Gonpa, playing
religious symphony and also by the local musicians in a
traditional way.
After his nine-day tour, His Holiness was seen off at the
Thoise Airport by the Executive Councilor Art and Culture,
Tsering Wangchuk, Deputy Commissioner, Leh Tsering
Angchok, MLA Nubra Tsetan Namgial, Thiksay Rinpochey,
President LBA, Lobzang Rinchen, President LGA Rev. Tokdan
Rinpochey, SDM Nubra, Pankaj Sharma and the prominent
people of Ladakh.
The Deputy Commissioner Leh, Mr. Tsering Angchuk said
that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was quite pleased and
satisfied on his 9-day successful tour in Nubra valley. The
Dalai Lama has committed to visit Leh and Lalok-Durbuk next
year, he added. The State Government had provided the
State Aircraft to airlift the Dalai Lama from Nubra to
Dharamsala.
Epilogue, August 2010
ladakh in focus
Current Affairs
PEACE WORKS
International conference facilitates
dialogue between Muslims, Buddhists
T rue to the basic character of Ladakh as a tolerant and
peaceful society, two organizations recently took a
major initiative of building greater understanding and
peaceful relations between Muslims and Budhists. An
international conference on Buddhist-Muslim Dialogue,
held at the Mahabodhi Campus at Choglamsar, was
organized by the Mahabodhi International Meditation
Centre (MIMC), Leh in collaboration with Global Family for
Love & Peace and Museum of World Religions, Taiwan.
The Minister for Tourism, Nawing Rigzin Jora who
inaugurated the conference said that “religion is a code of
conduct for the human beings to lead a peaceful life and
therefore, every individual should know the fundamental
principles of religion to live and let live others in peace
and harmony”. Terming the conference a great initiative to
ensure peace among co-exiting religions, the minister of
State for Tourism, Nasir Aslam Wani expressed that need of
such dialogues as harmony is disturbed in many parts of the
world. Recalling the history of congenial relationship
between the Buddhists and the Mulims of Ladakh,
JEWELS OF THE MOUNTAINS
Biodiversity resource kit for educators in Ladakh
R i Gyancha - a biodiversity resource kit for educators in
Ladakh was released by Union Minister of State for
Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh in Leh on July 10,
2010. The release took place at a national conference
organised by Defence Institute of High Altitude Research
(DIHAR) on seabuckthorn. The Minister commended the
efforts of the Snow Leopard Conservancy-India Trust (SLC-
IT) based in Leh and Kalpavriksh (KV), a Pune based
organisation, which has produced the resource kit.
Ri Gyancha (Ri Gyancha translates as “jewels of the
mountain”) is an outcome of a collaboration between SLC-
IT and KV to develop and implement a conservation
education programme in Ladakh, focused on the
conservation of wild biodiversity of the local trans-
Himalayan region. The resource kit has been produced
after four years of field-testing the education programme
in schools in Leh and Kargil districts.
www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8
48
Gyalwang Drukchen Rinpoche emphasized the need to
maintain this tradition further by respecting each other's
faith. The Dharma Master, Hsin Tao, founder, Museum of
World Religion and President, Global Family for Love &
Peace, Taiwan, the Member Parliament Ladakh, Mr. Hassan
Khan, Prof. Ruben Habito from USA, Prof. Michael von
Brueck from Germany, Moalana Umair Ahmed Ilyasi,
president All India Organization of Immams of Mosques,
New Delhi, Ven. Tokdan Rinpochey, President Ladakh
Gonpa Association, President, LBA Mr. Lobzang Rinchen,
President Moin ul Islam Leh Mr. Nazir Khan, Dr. Siddiq
Wahid, Vice Chancellor, Muslim University J&K and
representative from Immamia, Leh Mr. Syed Naqisha also
spoke on the inaugural function.
The President Mahabodhi International Meditation
Centre, Leh Ven. Sanghasena highlighted the main
objectives of this conference and said that is Dialogue was
a part of an on-going series of worldwide discussions and
joint meetings aimed at bringing together influential
representatives of these two great religious traditions.
Ri Gyancha provides useful resource material for
educators who wish to implement a localised environment
education programme. The kit contains a handbook with
information on Ladakh's wild flora and fauna, threats that
Ladakh's wildlife faces as well as conservation actions
that are being undertaken by communities,
government departments, NGOs, associations and
individuals. The kit also contains detailed descriptions
of 80 activities which can be conducted as part of the
programme. The kit is illustrated with a large number
of photographs and drawings and is in full colour to
make it appealing to teachers and children. The kit
includes ready-to-use educational material like
posters, a board game, worksheets, puzzles and game
cards. The Chief Minister of the State Mr Omar Abdullah
and the His Holiness the Dalai Lama have both written
forewords for Ri Gyancha.
Epilogue, August 2010
49 ladakh in focus
Current Affairs

RS 7138.81 LAKHS OUTLAY FOR KARGIL INTERVIEW WITH NEW DC

Akhoon, Kachoo ask officers to Electricity to
pace up development every house is my
R s 7138.81 lacs plan outlay was
Ladakh Autonomous Hill
Development Council (LAHDC),
priority: Angchuk
Kargil for the current fiscal in a
General Council meeting held on
July 21 under the chairmanship of
Chief Executive Councilor, Kachoo
Ahmad Ali Khan. Out of the total
allocation, Rs. 5938.81 lacs have
been earmarked as state share
and Rs. 1200.00 lacs as loan
component. Minister for Transport
and CA&PD, Qamar Ali Akhon, MLA
Zanskar Feroz Ahmad khan, MLC
Kargil Syed Ahmad Rizvi, Executive
Councilors Haji Ghulam Amir,
Ghulam Rasool Nagvi, Syed Kazim
Sabere, Punchok Tashi, Deputy commissioner and CEO LAHDC Kargil M Raju
were present in the meeting.
On last year's achievements, Deputy Commissioner M. Raju said that
an amount of Rs.8111.52 lacs were allotted under the District plan,, of
which an amount of Rs. 5561.06 lacs were spent on implementation of
various developmental schemes and welfare programmes in the district. He After a gap of many years, a
said the main reason for low expenditure was due to early snow fall that
local officer has returned as
cut short the working season.
Highlighting the achievements registered during last year, Raju said District Development
28.90 KMs road length were black topped, 88.64 KM length Commissioner cum Chief
Mettled/Shingled and 112.36 KM made fair weather. He further said that Executive Officer of Ladakh
Rs. 289.88 lacs were utilized on completion of Phosathang Canal besides
boys hostel at Bemina Srinagar was also completed. He informed that 26 Autonomous Hill Development
new irrigation schemes were taken in hand under district plan. He Council in Leh. Tsering
disclosed that under PHE sector 35 hand pumps were installed. He also Angchuk recently replaced
highlighted the targets achieved under Health, Education, Power, Social
welfare, Agriculture, and other allied sectors. Ajit Sahu as DC Leh. In an
Addressing the meeting Chief Executive Councilor Kacho Ahmad Ali interview to Epilogue,
Khan asked the executing agencies to strive for completion of target both Angchuk says being a local he
on physical and financial with a fixed time frame without compromising
with quality. He impressed upon the officers to personally monitor the
sensitive to issues and is
development works and implement the programmes and policies of the fixing up priorities
Government as per set guidelines. accordingly.
In his address Transport and CA&PD Minister, Qamar Ali Akhoon asked
the HODs to work with dedication and endeavour to come upto the A Ladakhi officer taking over as the
expectations of people. He also complimented LAHDC, Kargil and district
Deputy Commissioner cum the Chief
administration for their sincere efforts towards boosting development of
Executive Officer Ladakh
the district and assured full support of the Government.

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

ladakh in focus
Current Affairs
Autonomous Hill Development
Council Leh raises the expectations
of everyone in Leh. What are your
priorities and what do you want to
achieve for the people of this
unique region during your tenure as
DC Leh?
My first priority is to get the
electricity situation improved all
through the district in the coming
few years because in today's time it
is the electricity which enables us to
compete with the rest of the world. I
want to see all unelectrified villages
electrified. The Nimo-Basgo Hydel
project is going to be commissioned
in the year 2011-2012 but this
project alone will not meet the
requirement of the electricity to
many remote areas. One of the
turbines of the Alchi project is going
to be commissioned by the December
this year. But this will be subject to
whether BHEL will be able to design
the turbine by then. One turbine
alone is estimated to produce 10
megawatts of electricity.
Recently the Government of
India has sanctioned an amount of
rupees 473 crore under Ladakh
Renewable Energy Initiative for
Ladakh region. Under this project in
Nubra and Nyuma Sub Divisions, many
Mini Hydel Projects will be installed
which will produce enough electricity
to those villages which will be not be
covered by the Nimo-Basgo Hydel
project. The project Ladakh
Renewable Energy Initiative will be
executed through the Ladakh
Renewable Energy Development
Agency (LREDA). LREDA is empowered
to execute projects up to two
megawatts. Besides the installation
of MHPs, the project Ladakh Renewal
www.epilogue.in
Energy Initiative also has the
provision of Solar Photo-Voltaic (SPV)
power plants, solar water heating
system, solar cooking system and
green house facilities. We are going
to install SPVs in Primary Health
Centers, religious institutions, higher
secondary schools and residential,
hostels.
Another priority sector for me
would be to connect all the villages
with road connectivity which have
been left out. Villages like Lingshed-
Dipling, Largyap and Hunder are still
not having road connectivity.
There are hundreds of educated
unemployed youth in Leh. What will
be strategies to tackle the growing
unemployment problem of Leh?
Employing the unemployed is
something that needs to be tackled
seriously before it is too late. In a
recent interview for fours posts in
the medical department, there were
110 candidates. This is alarming.
There is very good potential and
scope going for industrialization but
it depends upon surplus of power. As
the power scenario in the district
improves, we need to encourage
youth to become entrepreneurs by
setting up industries of different
kinds. Ladakh has a high potential of
sea buckthorn produces. Experts say
that Seabuckthorn can have over 200
products. This is a goldmine and such
a avenue can drastically reduce the
growing unemployment as youth,
especially women, can be engaged.
We have seen that Ladakh is
becoming a famous destination for
tourism. However, Leh city doesn't
seem to be having the carrying
capacity to meet this growing
Vol. 4, Issue 8
50
industry. There are acute shortage of
parking space and public
conveniences.
We need to develop
infrastructure in the areas which
have been opened for tourism very
recently. I am aware of the problems
we have in Leh city. For the time
being we have planned to develop
old SSP residence area into a parking
to minimize the load in the market.
Traffic management is something we
need to focus on because a
systematic traffic management will
considerably lessen this problem.
Leh district has formulated a vision
document called “Ladakh Vision
2025”. This ambitious document
was launched by the Prime Minister
in the year 2005. What your view
on this?
Leh is perhaps the first district
in the State to come up with a
prestigious and innovative document.
Keeping in view Ladakh's limited
resources, fragile ecosystem, and
unique cultural and historical
backgrounds, a vision, a roadmap was
the need of the hour. Now we need
to move ahead as per the concept,
on what parameters we have to go.
Any measures to check corruption if
there is any?
Anybody, having a complaint
against any official, can simply file
an application under Right to
Information (RTI). In Leh where
there is a Hill Council, every
councilor is equally responsible to
keep a vigil on the system and
therefore they should act as
watchdogs.
- TSEWANG RIGZIN
Epilogue, August 2010
51
Angmo reviews
MSDP activities
U nder Rural Development
Department, 40 nos of Model
Anganwadi building at a cost of Rs.86
lacs was constructed during last
financial year and 15 model
Anganwandi Centre are under
constructions during the current
financial year. This was revealed in a
meeting chaired by Spalzes Angmo,
member National Commission for
Minorities, to review the multi
sectoral development programme.
It was informed in the meeting
that works on 32 hand pumps are in
progress and eight numbers of hand
pumps have been completed during
the current year under MSDP, a
centrally sponsored scheme.
Spalzes Angmo assured that she
would take up the matter regarding
release of funds under MSDP with the
Union Government and also
recommend the State and Centre
Government to redress the problems
face by the executing agency and the
administration.
The Deputy Commissioner, Leh
Tsering Angchok while giving the
overall activities and expenditure
under MSDP in the district directed the
Executive Engineer, PHE to complete
the design of Solar water pump for the
residential schools of the district.
www.epilogue.in
ladakh in focus
Current Affairs
Lord Budha's rare statue
discovered in Kargil village
T o the excitement of all followers, a rare stone statue of Lord Budha
has been discovered in a village in Kargil. Incidentally, the beautifully
carved statue based on Montek Padma (lotus flower) with the dimension of
3'-5” in Height 1'-7” in width and 7” in thickness, was discovered from the
entrance gate portion of the house of Muslim resident in Tsangra-Gongma
village of Kargil district.
The house owner Mohammad Issaq son of Haji Mohammad Hussain
Barcha-pa, was undertaking renovation of his house when he came across
thus statue. As the news of this rare discovery spread, hundreds of people
from neighboring areas started thronging Tsangra village to have glimpse of
the statue. Mohammad Issaq meanwhile reported the matter to local
authorities and the statue was handed over to safe custody of Police. A Sub
Inspector of Police Chowki Sangkoo, Mohammad Nissar and head constable
Ali Hussain have contributed in a big way for its proper preservation under
Police protection. Their action has been widely appreciated by the locals.
The matter was meanwhile brought to the notice of Archives and
Archeology department in Srinagar and on instruction of Director Archives,
the local Registering Officer in Leh visited Tsangra village for inspection of
statue. He held a discussion with the house owner and now it is being
worked out whether the statue is to be preserved in Kargil or shifted to
Leh.
The house owner, his relatives and other people in locality have
suggested that the statue be taken to Leh as its preservation in Tsangra
village may invite some mischief in future. As such, it shall be in the
fitness of things to take the charge of the same in the Archives,
Archaeological Department, Leh under the relevant Act and thereafter to
transport it with due decorum to the Leh museum for fool proof and
complete protection and also for public blessings and also they are
demanding some compensation are financial assistant to the owner.
NOTICE
The Registration Certificate of Ladakh Amchi Sabha,
Leh has been lost/misplaced at Leh and is not traceable. The
Society is applying for a duplicate copy of the Registration
Certificate. Objections, if any, from any quarter may be
brought into the notice of the Registrar of Societies,
Department of Industries & Commerce, Srinagar or Ladakh
Amchi Sabha, Leh within a week’s time from the date of this
publication. Phone: 01982-250827
Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010
ladakh in focus 52
Statistical Profile

Literacy Fishing
ª
Leh district accounts for an immpressive literacy rate at There were 232 and 123
75.42% - 69.97% for males and 72.77% for females. These fishing licence holders,
figures are as per estimated literary rate by districts for year respectively in Leh and Kargil
2009. Estimated literacy rate in Kargil is 61.82% - 68.07% for in 2006-07. This number
males and 56.58% for females. Overall literacy rate in J&K is declined to 20 and 50 in 2009.
estimated at 67.89% - 74.96% for males and 59.71% for At present there are 13026
females. fishery licence holders in J&K.

Agriculture
Net Area Net Area %age of Gross Area Gross Area %age of
Irrigated Sown NAI/NAS irrigated Sown GAI/GAS

Leh 10212 10212 100 10619 10619 100

Kargil 9751 9751 100 10614 10614 100
J&K 308044 734003 41.94 463179 1133935 40.85

Forests Holdings
O nly 36 sq km of
total 59146 sq
km area of Ladakh
ª
Leh accounts for 16909 (area 12791 ha and size 0.75) and Kargil 19470 (area 13392
ha, size 0.69) operational holdings. There are 1442894 operational holdings in J&K
over an area of 962412 hectares and average holding size of 0.67 ha.
region in under ª
There is no rice production at all reported from anywhere in Ladazkh region. No
forest cover 29 sq maize in produced in Leh 2634 ha in Leh and 1764 ha in Kargil is under what
km in Leh and 7 sq production during Rabi season producing 23300 and 15200 qtls, respectively of what.
km in Kargil. This is No wheat, however, produced during Kharief.
only 0.6% of the
ª
A total of 5018 ha in Leh (301 Rabi, 4717 kharif and 4495 in Kargil (571 Rabi and 3924
total geographical
Kharif) under cereals production producing 1793 and 3169 qtls, respectively of
area of the region
cereals during Kharief and 27104 qtls and 31434 qtls, respectively, during Rabi.
and only 0.18% of
the total forest ª
There is 306 ha in Leh in 547 in Kargil under pulses cultivation during Rabi season
area in J&K. J&K accounting for production of 1392 and 4183 qtls, respectively.
has 20230 sq km
area under forest
cover which is 19%
of total Fruit Production
geographical area 6650 hectare area in Leh and 5550 in Kargil is under fresh fruit production. In J&K
of 101387 sq km 1474850 hect6are area is under fruit production. 110 hectare area in Leh and only 12
(Data excludes area hectare area in Kargil is under dry fruit production. In J&K 158283 hectare area is under
under illegal dry fruit production. There are no fruit grower cooperative societies in Leh while Kargil
control of Pak, has 4 with total membership 59. In whatever little quantity, Ladakh mostly prodcues
China) Apple ( ) pear (-) and appricot ( - )

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

53 ladakh in focus
Statistical Profile

Scheduled Tribe Scheduled Castes

ª
82.09% population of Leh and 88.32% of Kargil in listed an
Scheduled Tribes. 10.90% of total population in J&K is ST. T here are 188 persons in Leh and 89 persons
in Kargil listed as Scheduled Castes which is
0.5% and 0.12% respectively, of total population
Deecadal Population of individual districts 7.59% of total population in
J&K is listed in SC.
Year Leh Kargil J&K
1951 40484 41856 3253852
1961 43587 45064 3560976
1971
1981
51819
68380
53472
65992
4616632
5987389
Livestock
1991
2001
90076
117232
89334
119307
7837051
10143700 L eh accounts for 4.03% and Kargil 2.55% of
total livestock in Jammu and Kashmir. There
was total of 3.991 lakh in Leh and 2.520 lakh
ª
There are 113 villages in Leh and 129 in Kargil district. livestock population in Kargil in 2003 which is
J&K has 6652 villages. 12 villages in Leh and 4 in Kargil 57.93% up and -30.58% down, respectively, over
are with population of less than 200 persons while 41 and the livestock population counted in 1997.
48 respectively have population between 200 to 500 Interestingly, overage household livestock
each. 681 villages in J&K are with less than 200 population in per Ladakh 17 in Leh and 15 in
population. Kargil is much higher than any other district. For
ª
Leh is reputed to have 38776 main workers and Kargil overall J&K this is 6. Jammu and Kashmir had
38330. Thee are an estimated 19349 marginal workers in 98.993 lakh population in 2003 which was 7.89%
Leh and 17315 in Kargil. up 1997 count.

Population by Sex
Population Rural Population Urban
Area Total Male Female Total Male Female
Leh 45110 88593 46534 42059 28639 17772 10867
Kargil 14036 108650 58120 50530 10657 6835 3822
J&K Total 101387 7627062 3977652 3649410 2516638 1383274 113364

Connectivity
ª Leh has a total of 54 small and big
post offices while there are 52 in
Kargil. Average area per post office in
Leh is 835.37 sq kms and in Kargil it is
269.92 sq km. Average population
catered by each postal office in Leh is
2541 persons which is 2685 in Kargil.
There are a total of 1691 post offices in
Jammu and Kashmir 227 in urban areas
and 1464 in rural areas. At an average,
each post office in state covers 60 sq
kms of area and 7021 persons.
Cooperative
There are 107 registered cooperative societies in Leh and
106 in Kargil. This number is impressive of seen in context
of overall cooperative scenario in Jammu and Kashmir Leh
accounts for 6.22% and Kargil 6.16% of all cooperative
societies in state. Average membership of each coop
society in Leh is 93 persona and in Kargil it is 670 which at
state level it is 343. Functioning patterns are however,
strange. While owned funds of all coop societies in Leh are
Rs. 471.13 lakh in Kargil it is only Rs. 3.06 lakhs and their
working capital is Rs. 621.30 lakh and Rs. 18.46 lakh
respectively. Owned funds of all coop societies in J&K are
2909.74 lakhs and working capital Rs. 28515.70 lakhs.

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 8 Epilogue, August 2010

Column
History
Historiography in Kashmir
PROF JIGAR MOHAMMED
H
istoriography was one of the
most effective and popular
medium of intellectual
exercises of the world during medieval
period. The Arabs. Persians and Central
Asians made the historiography a source
of discovering themselves and others in
terms of their achievements and
failures from the 7th century onwards.
But the science of historiography was
absent in the Indian sub-continent
before the 12th century. It was Kashmir
which invented the science of
historiography during the 12th century
A.D. Kalhan was the first historian of
Kashmir who produced first historical
work entitled the Rajatarangini. It is
important to mention that the
historiography's first and foremost
component is the source of information
from which a historian derives
information pertaining to the theme of
his or her work. A writing which does not
mention the source of its information is
not a history writing. Kalhan was the
first writer who established the method
of using the sources of information
pertaining to various historical event
concerning with the past and present.
Kalhan wrote his Rajatarangini in
A.D.1148-49 in the Sanskrit. It is edited
and translated by Sir M.A. Stein. It is
known that Kalhan was the son Lord
Campaka, a very capable minister of
King Harsha (1089-1101) of Kashmir.
Kalhan presents his work in form of the
narrative poem. He covers the historical
events of Kashmir from earliest times to
www.epilogue.in
the 12th century A.D. Kalhan collected
information from the popular
traditions, Nilmatapurana,
Kshemendra's Nrpavali, Helaraja's
Parthivavali, the Chavillakara, the
Mahatmyas and inscriptions etc. He has
used these sources very meticulously.
According to Romila Thapar, one of the
most expert modern historians,
“Kalhan's use of inscriptions as source
material is a strikingly original element
in his historical writing. He refers to
inscriptions found in temples, the
prashastis (eulogies) on past kings, the
inscriptions referring to grants, mainly
of land of revenue, made by earlier
rulers. The reference to inscriptions in
itself is not what is so important as the
fact that he uses the information they
contain as a legitimate source of
history.” (Romila Thapar, 'Historical
Ideas of Kalhan as Expressed in the
Rajatarangini' in Mohibul Hasan (ed.),
Historians of Medieval India, Delhi,
1968, pp.1-2).
The introduction of the
historiography by Kalhan gave a concept
of regional identity to the Kashmiris.
The latter started dialogue between
their past and present and assessed
themselves in the light of the historical
events in the past. Kalhan's
historiography created the time
consciousness in Kashmir. It provided
information about the stages of social
changes in Kashmir period-wise. It is
important to mention that Kalhan
mentions both the mythological and
Vol. 4, Issue 8
54
historical versions of the origin and
growth of Kashmir in terms of historical
geography, political developments and
socio-economic life. For Kalhan, before
human settlement in Kashmir it was a
lake. It was drained by Kashyap Rishi
and became fit for habitation. Similarly,
Kalhan traces the emergence of
kingship in Kashmir from the
Mahabharat period. He mentions
Gonada I as the first king of Kashmir, a
contemporary of the Mahabharat
period.
Kalhan's historiography
established a tradition of preservation
and propagation of the people making
the history of Kashmir in multi-
dimensional forms. Kalhan records both
the indigenous and outsiders who
participated in the history of Kashmir in
a given period. Kalhan makes Kashmir as
part of the Mauryan empire under it
emperor Ashoka (B.C. 273-232). Ashoka
is credited with the foundation of the
city of Srinagar and the founder of the
Buddhism in Kashmir. Kalhan presents
Ashoka as the promoter of the Buddhism
in terms of the building Stupas. Kalhan,s
depiction of the rule of Ashoka and his
son Jaluka also made Kashmiris aware of
the rule of others in Kashmir. Moreover,
he presents Kashmir to be known to the
world, since outsiders worked
politically as well as socially.
Kalhan also apprises the
Kashmiris of the religious changes in
Kashmir during the ancient and early
medieval period which created multi-
Epilogue, August 2010
55
colours society in terms of the followers
of the diverse religious trends. The
Nagas, a popular cult of Kashmir, the
Brahmanism and the Buddhism are
presented in forms of religious changes
in accordance with the people's
inclinations. Similarly, he also shows the
existence of the fatalism in Kashmir
society. He ascribes the occurrence of
famine to the will of the gods and prayer
of the queen as the source of the
removal of the miseries of people. His
mention of the witch-craft in Kashmir
shows people's superstitious believe.
Through putting these beliefs in
historical manner Kalhan contributes to
spread a message of social changes as a
continuous process of the history of
Kashmir. He also establishes that
Kashmir incorporated new religious
trends either emerged at local level or
came from outsides. His historiography
conveys people that religious changes
were inevitable in a given society from
the ancient period onwards. More
importantly, it speaks of Kashmir's
tradition of accepting changes as the
historical developments and welcoming
the new trends.
The introduction of historiography
by Kalhan made it possible for the
Kashmiris to estimate their political
capacity and strength of their region in
a given period. They also found the
prime movers of the history of their own
state. Kalhan ascribes the stability and
strength of the state to those rulers who
believed in huge territorial
aggrandizement. He highlights the
significance of the huge conquests of
King Lalitaditya –Muktapida (A.D. 725-
53), belonging to the Karkota dynasty.
He is not only described as a conqueror
of many states of the north, south and
east India, but also as a conqueror of
Tibet and some parts of the Central
Asia. Kalhan gives huge credit to
Lalitaditya for appointing some
www.epilogue.in
intelligent persons in his court.
Lalitaditya is shown to be provider of
opportunity to the persons of multiple
background, virtually making Kashmir
as a region of multi-culturism. Kalhan
mentions that one of the most
intelligent courtiers of Lalitaditya
belonged to the Central Asia (Tukhara),
known as Cankuna. The description of
the conquests of Lalitaditya shows the
assertion of the armed power of
Kashmir and its participation in the
world trend of the warfare. More
importantly, it also presents the
Kashmiris' vision of world, according to
which, though whole world was
inhabited by the persons of different
He raised the stone-house of
Jeshtarudra and bestowed many vil-
lages and lands to it. He also planted
a series of machines at Chakradhara
to draw water from the Vitsta. Also
he raised a strong wall of stone
round the temple of the sun.
ethnic backgrounds, all could be
brought together by a statesman and
strategist like Lalitaditya. Thus the
historiography introduced a concept of
the empire building with the inclusion
of multi-identities.
Kalhan's historiography associated
a warrior with construction and justice.
According to Kalhan, “There was not a
town or village, or island, or river, or
seas, where he (Lalitaditya) did not
raise triumphal monuments. These
monuments he named according to the
event or the time. When he set out on
his expedition, he felt certain of
conquest and built a town named
Sunishchitpur, or the “City of
Certainty”. When in his pride of
conquest, he built another named
Vol. 4, Issue 8
Column
History
Darpitipura, or the “City of Pride,” in
which he set up an image of Keshva. And
when his conquest were over, and he
was enjoying the fruits of his victories,
he raised another city which he named
Phalapura (Phala signifies fruit or
effect). He completed Parnotsa and
built a house for amusement named
Krirarama, the name indicating the
purpose of the building. In the kingdom
of the females he set up an image of
Nrisingha-unsupported by any thing but
placed in the air between two
loadstones, one above and one below.
When he was out in conquest, is viceroy
built a town after the king's name, but
he incurred the king's anger. In the town
of Lalitpura, there was an image of the
sun, to which he bestowed the city of
Kanyakubja with the adjoining lands
and villages. At Hushkapura he built an
image of the god Muktasvami and built a
large monastery with a stupa for the
Buddhists. He set out on his conquest
with one koti (ten millions) of cirremt
cois. On his return he bestowed eleven
kotis to Bhutesha for his purification.
He raised the stone-house of
Jeshtarudra and bestowed many
villages and lands to it. He also planted
a series of machines at Chakradhara to
draw water from the Vitsta. Also he
raised a strong wall of stone round the
temple of the sun. He erected a town
adorned with vines, and for the spiritual
benefit of the people, and bestowed it
with many villages to god Vishnu.”
(Kalhan, Rajatarangini,I Eng. Tr. by
Jogesh Chunder Dutt in Kings of
Kashmira, pp. 70-71).
Kalhana conceives a ruler to be
visionary. His historiography establishes
that though both the liberal and bigot
rulers were the parts of history, it was
the liberal and visionary ruler who made
not only the history of his own, but also
made parts of the history of his own
kingdom. For him, Lalitaditya was very
Epilogue, August 2010
Column
History
much respectful to both the
Brahmanism and Buddhism. Kalhan
narrates the contributions of
Lalitaditya to the building of both the
Hindu temples and Buddhist
monasteries in a very lucid manner.
According to Kalhan, “He built a
beautiful town named Parihaspura.
Here he set up a silver image of Vishnu,
named Shiparihasakeshva, and another
gold named, Shrimuktakeshva, also an
image of Mahavarsha, the mail of this
last image being made of gold. He also
set up a silver image of
Govardhanadhara. He planted a single
piece of stone fifty-four cubits high, on
which was planted a banner, on the top
which he set up an image of Garura. He
likewise built a temple of Buddha,
which had a square court-yard, also a
chaitya, and a monastery. The image of
Muktakeshva was built of eighty-four
thousand tolas of gold, that
Shriparihasakeshava was built of eighty
four thousand palas of silver. The image
of Buddha which he set up was built of
eighty four thousand prasthas of brass.
The monastery which had a squire
court-yard and the chaitya, were built
for eighty-four thousand pieces of the
current coin. The rich king built gods of
gold and silver by the side of the great
gods of the country.” Kalhana's
historiography set a trend of publicizing
the constructive activities of the rulers
so that society was to be mobilized in
the same direction. Along with the
ruler's constructive activities Kalhan
also highlighted the constructive
activities of other persons hold some
political power. Kamlawati , the queen
of Lalitaditya , is also shown as a rich
person and the builder of a silver of
image of Lord Vishnu. Chakramardika,
another queen of Lalitaditya has been
shown as a founder of a town named
Chakrapura with seven thousand
houses. Thus through historiography
www.epilogue.in
Kalhan presents women of Kashmir as
the participants in socio-economic
developments of the region. The
political powers of the queens of
Kashmir such as Sugandha and Didda are
narrated by Kalhan in such a way as
they made history for themselves.
The Sanskrit historiography of
Kashmir not only produced a biography
of the region of Kashmir, but also the
adjoining states and other
contemporary regions of India and
foreign countries find some space.
Some of the important areas of Jammu
hills such as Rajouri, Punch and
Kishtwar etc. are presented by Kalhan
with their historical events. Kalhan
mentions Rajouri as Rajapuri and
Kishtwar as Kashtwata. Through his
history writing Kalhan established that a
region was not surviving in exclusive
term. But it was very much associated
with the others. He established that the
history moved around the multi-
identities of a region. His narratives show
that the political, religious changes in
Kashmir were usual phenomena. He has
shown that the historical changes took
place in Kashmir in a very usual manner.
The Nagas, Shaivites, Vaishnavites,
Buddhist and some others emerged and
grew in different phases. All these cults
found their own followers in the region.
Similarly, Kalhan shows that dynastic
changes in terms of political power
were also took place in continuous
processes. No dynasty was everlasting
in terms of retention of its rule in
Kashmir. The Karkota, Utpala, Gupta
and Lohara dynasties of Kashmir
contributed to the political, social and
economic developments in Kashmir. But
common people of Kashmir did not
identify themselves to any particular
ruling dynasty. The dynastic changes did
not influence the work culture in
Kashmir. For the common people,
dynastic changes were just transfer of
Vol. 4, Issue 8
56
power from one dynasty to another.
They identified themselves more with
their socio-economic problems than the
ruling dynasties.
However, Kalhan established that
historiography created a mingling of
diverse thoughts, religious and lingual
identities. He has shown that both the
centripetal and centrifugal tendencies
were parts of history of a region.
Similarly, both the constructive and
destructive elements were parts of the
history of a region. But a region flourished
in a popular manner when the constructive
elements outnumbered the destructive
elements. And these constructive
elements belonged to multiple
backgrounds. Uniformity was not the
popular and dominant historical trends of
Kashmir. Kalhan shows that both the king
Lalitaditya and Awantivarman (855-83)
belonged to two different dynasties of
Kashmir, former from the Karkota dynasty
and later from the Utpala; but both of
them brought huge dividends for Kashmir
in terms of economic developments,
promotion of the art and architectures
and social justice.
The emergence of historiography
in Kashmir made people conscious of
their regional identities. They not only
realized the significance of historical
sources in knowing the phases of the
social changes at regional level, more
importantly, they made history writing
one of the most effective means of
preservation and promotion of the
heritage of the region. It is important to
mention that Kashmir is one of the few
hill states of India which historical
heritage are well documented in
historical terms. The local crafts and
craftsmen represent their regional
identity in various parts of world with a
sense of historical pride. Thus the
historiography has been instrumental in
making dialogue between past and
present in a continuous process.
Epilogue, August 2010
Ladakh Festival
SEPTEMBER 1 - 15, 2010

EVENTS:

Polo matches
------
Thanka Exhibition
------
Archery festivals
------
Chams (mask dance)
------
Music Concerts
------
Road Show
------
River Rafting

BY AIR: Major Airlines offer daily flights from Delhi. BY ROAD: 473 kms from
Manali via Rohtang Pass and 434 kms from Srinagar via Zojila Pass.
INTERNAL TRAVEL: Variety of comfortable vehicles available on fixed hire
charges apart from public transport by bus/minibuses.
Department of Tourism Leh 01982-252297. website: www.jktourism.orgf