WE THREE ARE SAME SAME.?

1. 1
India Pakistan and Kashmir
It was written in 1665, that “In truth, the kingdom surpasses in
beauty all that a warmest imagination can anticipate.” From reliable
historic records, we know that Asoka’s empire extended to Kashmir
as is evident from the remains of Buddhist temples, stupas and
statues, and in the ruins of cities founded by him about 250 years
before Christ and 200 years before the Romans landed in Britain. In
Kashmir Asoka founded the original city of Srinagar, then situated on
the site of the present village of Pandrathan, 3 miles above the
existing capital.
Kanishka the Indo- Scythian ruler of upper India reigned Kashmir
around 40 AD when the Romans were conquering Britain and
Buddhism was beginning to spread to China. Kanishka was of
Turkish descent and was renowned as a pious Buddhist king who
held in Kashmir the famous Third Great Council of the Buddhist Order
which drew up the Northern Canon or “Greater Vehicle of the Law.”
Nagarjuna, a famous Bodhisattva who exercised a spiritual lordship
over the land was a contemporary of Kanishka. Buddhism was in its
peak during the time of Kanishka.
However, soon Brahministic Hinduism started reasserting itself.
Coming in conflict with Hinduism, Buddhism waned. When Hiuen
Tsiang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, visited Kashmir in 631 AD,
he observed: “This kingdom is not much given to the faith, and
the temples of the heretics are their sole thought.”
After Kanishka, the next notable but exceedingly cruel ruler of
Kashmir was Mihirkula (6th Century AD), known as the ‘White Hun’

2. 2
and a persecutor of the Buddhist faith, whose kingdom extended to
Kabul and central India. People would know his movement by
noticing the vultures, crows and other birds flying ahead of him to feed
on his victims.
The most famous indigenous king of Kashmir was Lalitaditya
(699-736AD), a contemporary of Charlemagne, who preceded
king Alfred by over a century. The Kashmiri historians speak of
Lalitaditya as conquering the world. However, the fact is that he
asserted his authority over the hilly tract of Northern Punjab, reduced
the king of Kanauj to submission, conquered the Tibetans and
Badakhshan in central Asia and sent embassies to Peking. He erected
the gorgeous temple at Martand and founded the city of
Parihasapura (now in ruins), near the present Shadipur.
Lalitaditya’s rule was succeeded by weak kings barring his
grandson who was as illustrious as the grandfather. Kashmir found a
talented ruler in Avantivarman (855-883) who was more known for
his consolidation efforts rather than his conquest. The town of
Avantipura, named after the king, has survived to the present day.
His reign was remarkable for the execution of an engineering scheme
to prevent floods and drain the valley. The Kasmiri engineer Suyya
diagnosed correctly more than thousand years ago that floods in the
valley were due to the water of the Jhelum River not being able to get
through the gorge 3 miles below Baramula with sufficient rapidity.

3. 3
The constricted passage got blocked with boulders and Suyya
adopted a novel method to have the boulders removed. He threw
money into the river where the obstruction lay. Soon it spread that
there was money at the bottom of the river and men dashed in to
retrieve it and rooted up all the obstructing boulders in their search.
So says the legend. As a result of removal of the obstruction, a large
land was available for cultivation with protection against floods.
The rule of Harsa (1089-1101), is said to be good, he being the
most striking figure among the later Hindu rulers of Kashmir. He
was courageous and well versed in various sciences as also a lover
of music and arts. For two centuries more the Hindu rule in Kashmir
continued. In 13thCentury, Kalhan the most reliable historian of
Kashmir was living and from his annals we get most authentic account
of Kashmir’s history.
In 1339, Shah Mir, a Mohammedan ruler, deposed the widow of the
last Hindu ruler and founded a Mohammedan dynasty. The most
illustrious Muslim ruler of Kashmir before it came under Mughal rule in
1586, was Zain-ul-ab-ul-din (1420-70). He was virtuous, liberal, a
friend of cultivators, built many bridges and constructed many canals.
He repaired some Hindu temples and revived Hindu learning In 1532
Kashmir passed under Turkish rule when Mirza Haider occupied it for
a brief period. In 1586 Kashmir was incorporated in the dominions of
Akbar, the contemporary of queen Elizabeth of Great Britain. Akbar
visited Kashmir three times, made a land revenue settlement and built
the fort of Hari Parbat. Jehangir, Akbar’s son, built the stately pleasure
gardens, the Shalimar and Nishat Baghs. During the reign of

4. 4
Aurangzeb, Bernier, the French traveler visited Kashmir. He described
it as “the terrestrial paradise of the Indies.” Though during the
Mughal rule Kashmir was prosperous, with the decaying of the Mughal
Empire, Kashmir fell once more into wild disorder.
It eventually came under the oppressive rule of the Afghans in
1750, marked as a time of “brutal tyranny”. When the oppression
became unendurable, the Kashmiris turned to Ranjit Singh, the
powerful Sikh ruler of the Punjab who after an unsuccessful attempt
finally defeated the Afghan governor in 1819 and annexed Kashmir.
However, by that time nine-tenths of the population had been forcibly
converted to Islam. After the death of Ranjit Singh, Gulab Singh, the
king of Jammu and a friend of Ranjit Singh, became the virtual master
of the valley.
On March 16, 1846, the British signed a separate treaty with
Gulab Singh by which the British Government “transferred and
made over, forever, in independent possession, to Maharaja
Gulab Singh and the heirs male of his body, all the hilly and
mountainous country, with its dependencies, situated to the
eastward of the river Indus and westward of the river Ravi,
including Chamba and excluding Lahoul, being part of the territories
ceded to the British Government by the Lahore State.” Gulab Singh
in turn was to pay the British Government 75 lakhs of rupees. Gulab
Singh was succeeded by his son Ranbir Singh in 1857 who rendered
valuable services to the British Government during the Sepoy
Mutiny. Ranbir Singh died in 1885. Under his rule there was steady
improvement. The dynasty ruled Kashmir till king Hari Singh
transferred power to independent India in 1947 by a deed.

5. 5
Jammu and Kashmir, situated between 320 172 N and 360 582 N
latitude, and 730 262 E and 800 302 E longitude, constitutes the
northernmost state of India. The altitude varies from 1000 to 28250 feet
above the sea level. It shares borders with Pakistan in the west, China
in the north and east, and the Indian states of Punjab and Himachal
Pradesh in the south. It has a total area of 222,236 sq. km (78,114 sq.
km under the occupation of Pakistan, 37,555 sq. km under China, and
another 5,180 sq. km handed over to China by Pakistan). The
erstwhile princely state was administratively divided into Jammu,
Kashmir, Ladakh and Gilgit. In 1949 it was bifurcated. The Indian part
consists of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The Muzaffarabad area and
Northern Areas are under de facto Pakistan administration. In addition,
China controls the trans-Karakoram Shaksgam valley and the adjacent
region, which Pakistan unilaterally ceded to it in 1963 as part of a
boundary settlement, and also Aksaichin and a strip of Western
Ladakh, into which it intruded and then militarily occupied in 1962.
The state consisted of seven broad physiographic zones: plains,
foothills, lesser Himalayas, greater Himalayas, Kashmir valley, upper
Indus valley, and Karakoram. The Jammu region comprises the
plains, hills and mountains south and west of the Pir Panjal range.
The Kashmir valley is situated at an average elevation of about 5,300
feet above sea level. Ladakh constitutes the easternmost part. The
Jammu-Srinagar national highway is the only road link between
Kashmir valley and rest of the country. The railway network has
started making its presence felt in the State.

6. 6
The state of Jammu and Kashmir is a heterogeneous state, with a
number of geographical regions and sub regions, representing different
climates, flora and fauna.
People possessing different ethnic backgrounds, professing diverse
religion, language and culture reside in the state making it a vibrant
specimen of unity amidst diversity.
The official language of the state is Urdu. Jammu and Kashmir is the
only state that changes its capital during the year. In winter Jammu
becomes the capital whereas in summer Srinagar.
The valley of Kashmir lies towards the western side of the state.
Overwhelming majority of people in Kashmir Province are Muslims with
their own distinct culture, including the Kashmiri language. The people
there are descended from several Asian groups, and the major
languages are Urdu and Kashmiri.
Approximately 95 per cent of the total population of Kashmiri Pandits
left the Kashmir valley in 1990 as the militant violence engulfed the
state.
The principal religion in the valley of Kashmir is Islam. The valley has
been the centre for advent of Islam bringing large number of people in
its fold and inculcating traditions of Persian civilization, values of
tolerance, brotherhood and sacrifice. The majority of Muslims in the
valley are Sunnis, with a small Shia minority. Throughout history, the
Kashmir valley has been the most important of the territories.

7. 7
Samjauta Express and the two sides of the Train:
Both are same.
How fair is it to ask a woman to choose between her ‘mayka’ and
‘sasural’? Or a teenager to pick between MS Dhoni and Shahid Afridi?
Under a light drizzle on Old Delhi Railway Station’s platform 1, a
mother and son grappled with these dilemmas, amplified after the
attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama that killed 40.
Residents of Karachi, Salma Munavvar (48) and Shayan (16) were
among the 86 passengers, including 14 Pakistani nationals, on the
Samjhauta Link Express, which reached Delhi from Lahore, via Attari
border, around 4.05 am Tuesday.
As the train arrived 45 minutes behind schedule, the platform stood
witness to a gamut of emotions: Two sisters reuniting after three
decades; a grandmother embracing her grandson for the first time; a
new mother returning home with her infant; a large family returning
from a wedding in Multan.
“Ye do mamooli mulk hain, mamooli logon ke. Humein ek doosre se
kya taklif? Kabhi Pakistan jaake toh dekhiye (These are two ordinary
nations, with ordinary people. What issues can we have? Try visiting
Pakistan once, you will understand),” said Abdul Hasan from
Faridabad, back from a month-long Lahore trip with his wife.
“Wo (Pakistan) sasural hai, ye (India) mayka hai. Who doesn’t like

8. 8
coming back home?” asked Salma, who last visited India in 1991. On
Tuesday, she returned with her son Shayan, who is on his first visit to
the country.
Embracing Salma after ages, tears streamed down the wrinkled cheeks
of her elder sister Saulak Jahan (75). “Our mother had one last wish —
to see Salma. But it was not to be,” Saulak said. Their mother, Asmat
Jahan, died 10 days ago at the age of 95.
Shayan, meanwhile, was surrounded by several cousins who had
come to greet him. “Back home, among friends, the buzz word is
brotherhood. There’s no animosity whatsoever against India. We have
shared heroes in cricket — I like Shahid Afridi as much as I like MS
Dhoni,” he said.
His cousin Uzair Khan (28) rued how the “entire kaum (community) is
tarred for acts committed by delinquent individuals”. “Aap ye batao,
India mein Pakistan se zyada Musalman hain ya nahi? We love our
country. Toh ye sab sawaal baar baar kyun uthta hai?” Uzair said.
Mohammed Zaki, who had gone to visit his wife in Pakistan, said he
has gathered from visits that “unlike what is shown to us on channels”,
Pakistani people want to explore India, but are “suspicious of
government agencies in both countries”.
“It is not as if India is all they talk about. People are busy leading their
lives, just as we are in India. I can vouch for that after having spent two
months in Multan,” Rabiya, a housewife from Meerut, said. She was
travelling with her husband, Mohammed Chaman.

9. 9
The Samjhauta Express, a bi-weekly special train operational since
1976, has made two trips to Delhi since the Pulwama attack. The
service was suspended for two years, between 2002 and 2004, after
the Parliament attack. On February 18, 2007, at least 68 people were
killed after a blast, near Panipat, ripped through the train, which was on
its way to Lahore.
On Tuesday, neither the twelfth anniversary of the blast nor the
Pulwama attack were talking points on platform 1, which had no
security presence. However, there were hushed apprehensions and
grievances.
Pakistani nationals said they are unsure of exploring India in light of the
prevailing tension, and are planning to spend their time with their
families, indoors.
Karachi resident Masuda Bano (48) pointed out the “unnecessarily
harsh baggage checking” at the Attari checkpost. At Attari, one leg of
the journey ends as passengers deboard the Pakistan Railways train
and board the one run by the Indian Railways till Delhi.
“Our suitcases and bags were opened and everything was brought out.
They are quite harsh. On the Pakistani side, at the Wagah checkpoint,
things were smoother,” Bano, whose husband owns a construction
business, said.
Travelling with Bano is her younger sister Mobina, who got married in
2001, also in Karachi. The sisters originally hail from Kalyan in
Maharashtra’s Thane district and will spend the night at a hotel before
taking the train to Mumbai.

10. 10
“We are travelling alone, mostly because our husbands have
repeatedly faced visa rejection. It is very difficult for Pakistani men to
get visas to India. This is one thing which should be simplified,” Mobina
said.
On where she prefers living —Karachi or Mumbai — Masuda echoes
Salma: “Ye mayka, wo sasural, bura koi sa bhi nahi hai.” Around 4.30
am, as the train leaves, Bano quips: “Whatever the differences, there’s
one similarity between the two nations. Toilets dono hi train ke bohot
gande the (the toilets were equally bad in both trains).”