I don't mean to imply that there is a spiritual meaning to all this ... but its ironic all the same.
Indian Airlines Flight 814 - Christmas Eve 1999
Somewhere between 5:00 to 5:30 pm an Indian Airlines flight on its way to Delhi from Kathmandu was hijacked by four masked men threatening to blow up the plane in mid-air. The hijackers asked the captain to divert the plane to Lahore, Pakistan but after being reminded that they had no fuel to make the trip the hijackers agreed to refuel at Amritsar airport in Punjab.
As the plane waited for refuelling and Indian National Security guards drew out plans for a commando operation on the plane the 189 frightened passengers and crew members pondered on their fate. One passenger who was travelling with her brother would later recall that from the dialect the hijackers used she suspected them to be Kashmiris. What she would not know was that she and the rest of the passengers were going to be bargaining chips in what turned out to be the longest hijack ordeal in aviation history.
And all of it in the name of the Kashmir valley. A valley affectionately called Paradise On Earth.
Paradise
Jammu and Kashmir is the northern tip of India and shares borders with Pakistan, China and Tibet. It is a land filled with snow-tipped mountains, breathtaking scenery and countless valleys; the most famous of them being the Kashmir Valley. It is also the only Indian state with two capitals - Jammu for winter and Srinagar for summer. As you can guess it is one of the most desirable tourist spots in the world - for the tranquility and peace when you pass through some of the beautiful lakes in Kashmir is an out of the world experience. Sadly after 1989 Kashmir is now touted as one of the most dangerous places in India.
There are many tales that tell us how Kashmir came to be called paradise; the most commonly accepted being that the Mughals gave it the name. The more romantic version is that of a Persian King while on a visit to the famed Shalimar gardens was astounded at Kashmir's beauty that he proclaimed: "If there is Paradise on Earth, it is here, it is here, it is here!"
Indian Airlines Flight 814 - Christmas Eve 1999
While waiting on the Amritsar runway the captain contacted the ATC requesting them to use snipers to shoot at the tyres. Apparently that was protocol. Surprisingly the ATC did not comply as they had been instructed to wait for the National Security Guards. The hijackers grew impatient at the delay and in a fit of fury stabbed 25 year old Rupin Katyal and German citizen Satnam Singh. Fearing a storming by Indian troops the hijackers ordered the captain the fly the plane to Lahore immediately threatening to kill the passengers if he did not. With almost no fuel the plane took off from Amritsar and reached Lahore airspace where it was informed that it had no permission to land. The runway lights and airport beacons were switched off.
After much persuasion and a near crash landing on a nearby road Lahore ATC finally gave permission to the ill-fated flight to land. Almost immediately after landing the right engine of the plane flamed out due to lack of fuel. The plane was hastily refuelled and the hijackers demanded that they be taken to Dubai, UAE. Somewhere along the way, Rupin Katyal succumbed to his wounds. His newly wed wife of three weeks sat in the same plane unknowing that she had become a widow.
A little known fact of the UAE is that it has had previous experiences with hijackings. In 1984 an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked by Sikh extremists and brought to the UAE where the Defence Minister of the UAE negotiated the release of the hostages. There was no time for such negotiations here though. As soon as the plane landed in Dubai, 27 passengers were released and the body of Rupin Katyal dumped on the runway. The hijackers who I can only presume were confused with the denial from Pakistan kicked themselves when they realized that they had another place they could go to; a place that would guarentee them protection and sympathy.
On Christmas morning 1999 Indian Airlines flight 814 found itself on a runway in Kandahar Airport at the mercy of the Taliban.
The debacle at Amritsar airport would later become the biggest embarresment to the Indian government in recent times. Apparently there was a plan to storm the plane ... but the commandoes who were enroute to the airport were stuck in traffic.
Thats right ... traffic.
The Paradise Conflict
In 1947 as the British prepared to leave India the remaining princely states were asked to acede to either one of the newly formed countries: India and Pakistan. While most of the states aceded peacefully four states did not. They were Hyderabad, Junagadh, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir. Hyderabad and Junagadh were annexed by India while Tripura was allowed to remain an independent state for two years until an armed rebellion led to its joining India.
Jammu and Kashmir however was a different matter. It was a Muslim majority ruled over by a Hindu king: Maharaja Hari Singh. Hari Singh was determined to make his state an Independent one but the people thought otherwise. For them, Pakistan - the Islamic republic suited them best and as a result communal tensions flared in the valley. What happened next is disputed.
According to the Indian version Hari Singh did want independence but when tensions flared and a Pakistan led invasion by Pashtu soldiers in the north threatened his throne he signed an Instrument of Ascension with the Indian republic. This led to the first Indo - Pakistan war in 1947-48. The two countries would fight three other wars over the disputed territory.
The Pakistan version however states that the Indian Army was already stationed in Kashmir before the ascension took place. They also deny an invasion but rather claim that the mobilization of its armed forces were to protect the Muslims of Kashmir when it was certain that India wanted the Kashmir valley for itself.
At the end of the 1947 war the Indian Army had driven out the Pashtu army from the valley and Jawarhalal Nehru (the first Prime Minister of India) took the case to the UN asking for a resolution deeming Kashmir an Indian state. The UN refused calling the conflict an international dispute and passed resolution 47 that called for Pakistan to withdraw completely from the region and hand over control to India and for India to hold a referendum among the people of Kashmir over the choice of India or Pakistan.
Till this date neither country has abided with the resolution.
As a result of the war and a later war in 1971 a "Line of Control" or LOC is drawn across Kashmir. Although not an international border it is generally accepted as such by both countries and the agreement is that none of them will cross the LOC. The parts of Kashmir occupied by Pakistan is called Azad Kashmir and the Indian occupied region constitute the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Another part of Kashmir is administered by China but claimed by India and this region is called Aksai Chin - a topic that does not figure in this essay.
See Kashmir well. This is how it is in 1971. Divided and ruled by two enemies. And in the middle a race of people with no say over their future.
Indian Airlines Flight 814 - Christmas Day 1999
Demands were finally sent out. The hijackers wanted three terrorists in Indian jails released. The Taliban regime sympathized with them as expected and denied any Indian attempt to storm the plane. Food and drinks were supplied to the passengers who had no inclination of where they were. The Indian media was outraged at the act and the apparent failure of the Indian government. As the Indian government frantically put together a negotiating team to send to Kandahar, time ticked away for not only the passengers but also for 5000+ people who would meet an untimely end on September 11, 2001 and a reporter named Daniel Pearl.
Paradise Burns
In 1989 the Soviet Afghan war was drawing to a close and the guerilla tactics of the US and Pakistan backed mujahideen soldiers was a starling success. But by the end of the war there was nothing much for these young soldiers to do. They lacked formal education and hence knew nothing of making a living for themselves. The question arose: what to do with them ?
The Soviet Afghan war was always a war between ideaology. The faithful versus the atheists. Atleast thats what the Mujahideen leaders attempted to portray while whipping up sentiments in support of the war. And it was effective, very effective. So at the end of the war as the US slowly withdrew from the region Pakistan emerged as the dominant force in Afghanistan. And at their mercy they had hundreds of young soldiers blinded with their love for Islam. The Pakistan intelligence mulled and discussed and finally decided that the best place to put them would be in Kashmir.
Now the opinion I have stated above is vehemently denied in Pakistan but the truth of the matter is that the insurgency in Indian occupied Kashmir started in 1989 and not before. If the militants were, as Pakistan claims, the inbred civillians of Kashmir wouldnt you think that they would have risen up in rebellion a couple of decades earlier ?
No, I'm sorry but I cant buy the Pakistan claim on this matter. I firmly believe that the 1989 insurgency was caused by returning Pakistan elements of the Soviet Afghan war. After having brought down a behemoth like the USSR they probably had no qualms of bringing down India with the same guerilla tactics. Hundreds of terrorist groups were formed, notably the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed both renowned for their ties with Al Qaeda.
As a result of the insurgency the Kashmir Pundits an ethnically Hindu tribe in Kashmir are forced out of their homes. The numbers are not exact but somewhere between 1200 to 2000 were killed by 1990 and around 500,000 were forced out of the Kashmir Valley. The Pundits (of which Jawarhalal Nehru was born into) were to become refugees within their own country.
Kidnappings and executions went on a rampage in the Valley. What was once a desired tourist location was now burning with anger and hatred. To fuel the fire, the Indian Army stepped up on its anti-insurgent operations. This led to wide-spread human right violations: the arrests of innocents later to disappear, torture while questioning and gunning down of people by nervous soldiers and of course : rape. While the insurgency may have drawn the wrath of the Indian republic, a more restrained response might have garnered support for it. Sadly the response would only lead to the alienation of the Kashmiri people and its hostility towards India.
The insurgency would peak in 1997-98 and finally dwindle down in 2004. While peace talks between India and Pakistan grew more successful in the early 2000's the sentiments of the Kashmiri's would not change. Hounded by a country that was supposed to be theirs the Kashmiri Muslims felt betrayed and alienated. Pakistan would withdraw its support for the militants - an act that would lead to terrorist acts in Pakistan itself - but Kashmir no longer needed the militants.
And then 2008 dawned.
Indian Airlines Flight 814 - Two days before the millenium.
Negotiations were not going well. The Indian government were not willing to release the terrorists and the hijackers were threatening to kill the passengers. On December 30th, in preperation to slaughter the passengers the hijackers opened the doors to the airplane so the executions may be seen and filmed in plain sight. On the request of the Taliban regime the hostages were spared for the time being. The Indian government shocked by how close they were to having innocent civillian blood on their hands began to re-think their strategy.
The hijackers meanwhile began to brainwash their hostages. They talked about Indian violations in Kashmir. They talked about the sufferings of the Kashmiri people. They praised the Taliban. They talked about the greatness of Islam. And as the days went by the hostages grew frustrated over the apparent failure of their government. The Stockholm syndrome gradually grew into some of them.
The Taliban regime got wind of an imminent Indian commando operation. Determined to thwart an Operation Entebbe style attack the Taliban surround the plane with heavily armed soldiers and vehicles. It would be later revealed that there were Indian commandoes along with the Indian negotiator's team.
As the world awaited the millenium three terrorists in Indian jails awaited their release.
The Amarnath dispute
The Amarnath caves are a sacred shrine in Hinduism located in Jammu and Kashmir discovered by a Muslim shepherd some 150 years ago. There are various legends ascribed to the cave where a shiv lingam (the reproductive organ of the Hindu God Shiva) made of ice is routinely worshipped by thousands of pilgrims every year. The pilgrims have been the subject of various terrorist attacks notably in 2000 where 30 pilgrims were killed.
In 2008 the J&K government decided to transfer 100 acres of land to the Amarnath Board. The move angered the Kashmiri Muslims who as I have mentioned before were already feeling alienated and now they were led to believe by seperatist leaders that India was infringing on their culture and heritage by encouraging an alien culture. As a result of the protests the government decided to revoke the land transfer.
Big mistake.
The Hindu's in Jammu were outraged. Bandh's were called upon and the violence grew. Jammu and Kashmir as a result was literally divided yet again. The Hindu dominated Jammu versus the Muslim dominated Kashmir. As the Charles Dickens novel states it truly began to be the turbulent tale of two cities: The winter capital Jammu and the summer capital Srinagar.
The dispute continues till today. Nearly 100 people have died (most of them by police firing on protesters) and most of them on the Kashmir side of the dispute. The general strike called by the various leaders is now into its third week and as a result supplies are short in the Valley. Communal tensions have flared once again and what should have been a legal political dispute has now turned extremely ugly.
The beauty of it all : All of this without militants.
Indian Airlines Flight 814 - Millenium Eve
Demands are met. After the near close call the day before the passengers are told they are allowed to leave. As the passengers leave the plane the hijackers make tearful apologies and ask them to thank the Taliban regime. By the end of the day the hostages are taken aboard a special plane and flown back to India along with the negotiation team. It had been eight days since the hijack began and almost everyone had survived the ordeal except for Rupin Katyal. His wife would know of his fate only on reaching India.
The hostages and the freed terrorists dissapear into Afghanistan.
As the millenium dawns on the world India hangs its head in shame. It has lost. And the implications were only about to be known.
Paradise Lost
On August 15th 2008 amid a curfew the CRPF (the paramilitary wing of the Indian Army) in Srinagar stage a flag march that serves two purposes : a show of force and a commemaration of the Indian Independence Day. At 8.15 in the morning the Indian flag is raised in the Srinagar town center. By 6 in the evening thousands ignore the curfew and close in on the town center. In a show of force of their own kind they bring down the Indian flag and raise the seperatist flag. The flag that is supposedly to be used for a free Kashmir.
On that day India lost Kashmir. We still have it by law and name but we dont have it by spirit. The protesters chanted anti-Indian slogans and denounced the Indian Independence. To them India is a Hindu state and not the secular state that we truly are. To them India is the enemy and not the mother-land.
Nearly a decade after 1999 we are about to lose again. India will dare not hold a referendum now. But with the violence that is imminent it may have no choice.
The question is: can the world afford India to lose ?
Indian Airlines Flight 814 - The aftermath.
The hijackers were never apprehended. It is suggested that they are free in Pakistan. A likely scenario but with the sort of mentatlity they had I'm sure they fought the US in 2001. They might have either been killed or they may be somewhere in Guantanamo Bay.
Among the terrorists released was Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh. Saeed Sheikh was apprehended in Pakistan for his role in the Daniel Pearl murder. It was later revealed that he personally killed Daniel Pearl. Saeed Sheikh is now awaiting death.
Saeed Sheikh also had a major role to play in the September 11 attacks. According to reports Sheikh was the middle man with the financial transfers between Al Qaeda and Mohammed Atta. While the Pakistan Government denies this accusation it is widely regarded as truth in the US Intelligence circles.
The other two were future headaches for the Indian government. Recent terrorist activities including the Mumbai train bombs of 2006 resulting in the deaths of 200 people have been traced back to them. As of today they still remain at large.
Resolution
While the Kashmiris have always wanted freedom the Indian government could have made things better for them. When dealing with people who are suspicious of our intentions you have to be patient, compassionate and generous. Three things the Indian government failed to provide. Wide-spread allegations of an extremely corrupt government and violent crackdowns by the Indian Army led to the rise of seperatist leaders. Today with the crackdown on the protesters the turnover is complete. The Kashmiri Muslims have thrown in their decision: NO to India.
But can we risk a free Kashmir. The answer is no. Setting Kashmir free is inviting another Talibanised regime in the South Asian subcontinent. Make no mistake about it, while the seperatists hold their power now they are nothing compared to the radicals who will come from across the border. And they will come. The terrorist groups in Pakistan angered over the Musharraf regime and the present Pakistan government. The defeated Taliban desperate to find territory that will be sympathetic to them and where they can rest without being hounded. This is what a free Kashmir will be populated by and in five to ten years we will have another medieval Taliban regime. This time right at our doorsteps. Let me be clear about this: people like Saeed Sheikh have no intention in a free Kashmir. Their plans are far more international and they will use Kashmir like they used Afghanistan.
Paradise will truly be lost then, not just to India but to the whole world.
Conclusion
In the Khanyar district of Srinagar stands a shrine that goes by the name of Roza Bal. According to legend a saint by the name of Yuz Asaf is buried there and according the same legend Yuz Asaf was brought to Kashmir after being gruesomely tortured in his home land. Asaf then lived to the "ripe age" of 120 years before he died and was buried in this historical shrine.
The home land was Jerusalem and Yuz Asaf is believed by the locals and the Ahmaddiya sect to be Jesus Christ.
Ironic ... isnt it ?
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References:
Wikipedia
An eight day ordeal
NDTV
Kashmir Conflict
Flashpoint Kashmir
IC 814
A hostage account
And of course - my memories and experience.
