Book Review [133] :An Incredible War - IAF in Kashmir War 1947-48

An Incredible War - IAF in Kashmir War 1947-1948 by Air Marshal (retd) Bharat Kumar is a brilliantly researched book on the role of Indian Air Force in Kashmir war.

Jammu and Kashmir in October 1947 

Maharaja of Kashmir signed standstill agreement with Pakistan on 12^th August 1947 but no such agreement with India. Pakistan started pressurizing Kashmir by withholding supplies of Kerosene, gasoline, food, edible oils, salt etc.

Colonel Akbar Khan (later Major General) was put in charge of the operation of the invasion of Kashmir by tribesmen. The full scale invasion was launched along the Domel road. The Domel road links to Baramula and then to Srinagar.

On 24^th October, Radio Pakistan announced the formation of the provisional government of Kashmir with Sardar Mohammed Ibrahim as its head. The government was recognized by Pakistan. The broadcast also alleged that Maharaja had fled from Kashmir. Operation Gulmarg was the name given to the main invasion that was launched on 22^nd Oct 1947. The invading raiders consisted of tribesmen, members of Muslim League, ex-Indian National Army personnel, ex-Servicemen led by Pakistani Army personnel.

The main column of raiders drove down the Domel road and headed for Srinagar. These columns were held up at Uri by the brave action of the state forces under the command of Brigadier Rajinder Singh who died defending his state but the progress of raiders were slowed down. Rajinder Singh left with about 100 men and reached Uri on 22^nd Oct. First engagement took place on 23^rd Oct, enemy suffered heavy casualties but Rajinder Singh lost one of his platoons. He got the Uri Bridge blown up, this slowed the raiders down. He delayed the enemy at Mahura on Oct 25^th and gave a determined fight at Rampur Buniyar till 0100 hrs on 27^th Oct. He was hit in arm and leg but he continued to rally his men, unfortunately he was captured by raiders never to be seen again. He was the first Indian to be awarded MVC. By Oct 24 the raiders had over run Uri and reached Baramula. Baramula was pillaged, raped etc on 26^th Oct but this gave crucial time to Maharaja and Indian forces.

The information of the launch of the Raider's offensive was conveyed by the C-in-C of Pakistan Army Major General Douglas Gracey to General Sir Rob Lockhart the C-in-C of Indian Army on 24^th Oct evening.  General Lockhart did not give this update to Nehru but to Mountbatten. Nehru came to know about this after 6 crucial hours from Mountbatten. Maharaja appealed for Indian assistance on 24^th Oct 11 PM. Defence Cabinet Committee (DCC)  met on 25^th Oct at 10 AM, Mountbatten view that since Maharaja had not acceded so it won’t be justified to send Indian forces to Kashmir prevailed. Though Indian Army was asked to prepare for the assistance/operation on an urgent basis and Shri V P Menon was sent to Kashmir to assess the situation and discuss the question of accession with Maharaja.  Menon was accompanied by Colonel Sam Manekshaw (later Field Marshal) and Wing Commander H C Dewan to Kashmir. Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 26^th Oct. There were only two all weather air strips – Jammu and Srinagar but both were for Maharaja’s private light aircraft, not fit for heavy aircraft.  Srinagar airfield was like Jammu and kutcha grass strip and was usable only in summers and definitely not after Nov. Gilgit also had a short airstrip.

Role of British Officers

Junagadh Nawab announced on 15^th August 1947 the accession of his state to Pakistan. The accession was accepted after almost a month by Pakistan on 13^th Sept 1947. When the need of invasion of Junagadh arrived the three Service chiefs of Indian Army wrote a joint letter to the cabinet that Indian Armed Forces are not in a position to undertake a serious campaign (the same armed forces had come out with flying colors during WW II) and that British soldiers would not take part in any operation which would involve a clash with another Dominion. This was nothing sort of a mutiny and these officers should have been sacked. The three chiefs got a tongue lashing from the Governor General. Mountbatten managed to obtain the chairman ship of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) normally PM should the chairman. By virtue of this office Mountbatten was almost always able to influence the decision of this committee.

DCC consisted of Governor General, PM, Deputy PM, Defence Minister and any other Minister the PM desired. This was different in Pakistan, there Political leadership enjoyed strict control over armed forces.

The DCC met on 26^th Oct. Mountbatten and three service chiefs opposed dispatch of troops to Kashmir as in their opinion the airlift involved great risks and danger. These were countered by Indians and it was decided that the risks were worth taking.  It was agreed to airlift troops to Srinagar the next day i.e. on 27^th Oct.

Sardar Patel at once requisitioned all available civil aircraft by means of a radio broadcast. 1 Sikh Battalion commanded by Lt Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai was the first battalion to fly to Kashmir on 27^th Oct morning. RIAF aircraft Dakota played a crucial role. 1 Sikh was to land only if the Srinagar airport was not occupied by the raiders. The first plane landed at Srinagar airport by 1000 hrs on 27^th Oct. 27^th Oct was Eid. PM Nehru instructed Brigadier Hiralal Atal to send code word from Kashmir after reaching there. The ‘Lion’ code meant situation under control and more troops needed while ‘Jackal’ means it would be futile to send more troops. Brigadier sent the code word ‘Lion’ at 1000 hrs on 27^th Oct. The airfield was still not captured by the raiders though the aircraft who took wider circle got hit by the bullets though nothing serious happened.

Only 300 men were sent on 27^th Oct while raiders were more than 5000. During the first three days about 900 men with arms and ammunition were lifted to Srinagar and by 5^th day the entire 161 Brigade was airlifted.

Leaving one company for airfield protection, Ranjit Rai went forward to Baramula with two companies. He was engaged by the raiders on the outskirts of Baramula. He engaged the raiders for better part of 28^th Oct, in face of overwhelming numbers of raiders he withdrew from Baramula to Pattan, half-way between Baramula and Srinagar. During this withdrawal Rai achieved martyrdom. The remaining 1 Sikh were able to hold the raiders.

Battle of Badgam

This battle was caused by withdrawal of Indian forces from Baramula to Pattan on 28/29^th Oct, the enemy thought India was retreating so they advanced. On 3^rd Nov 1947 Major Somnath Sharma of 4 Kumaon held the invaders till his ammunition allowed him and sacrificed his life defending the Srinagar Airfield. His right arm was heavily plastered and yet he fought. He had one company (less than 150 men) and he was attacked by about 700 men. His company was surrounded by 1435 Hrs on 3^rd Nov. His men fought to the last round. He was posthumously awarded PVC. The RIAF machine-gunned the raiders and caused heavy causalities few hours later. About 200 raiders died in RIAF action. The raiders withdrew. By 3^rd Nov the immediate threat to Srinagar airfield had been averted.

Battle of Shalateng

The raiders were on Baramula – Pattan road. The offensive on raider’s position was launched on 7^th Nov. It was a combined attack of RIAF and Army. About 300 raiders were killed in this battle. Baramula was liberated on 8^th Nov. The remaining residents of Baramula welcomed Indian troops.

PM Nehru flew to Srinagar on 9^th Nov. Brigadier L P Sen played a commendable role in Kashmir operations. Uri was liberated on 12^th Nov. He wanted to pursue the raiders to Domel but higher authorities asked him to relieve besieged Poonch instead. With the capture of Uri, the liberation of the valley was complete. The raiders would never threaten the valley again. But we lost the opportunity to capture Muzaffarabad and this is costing us dearly.The raiders before joining the battle used to pray “Kali pagri ke kafiron aur khuda ka bachchon se bachao”. Kali pagri means black turbaned Sikh regiment troops while Khuda ka bachcha means RIAF.

Fall of Gilgit and siege of Skardu

Gilgit province was about 38,000 sq km large and is highly mountainous. The main towns are Gilgit, Skardu and Bunj.  These towns along with Dras and Kargil in Baltistan are important points of communication systems in the area. Kargil was connected to Srinagar via Dras and Zoji La. Gilgit also commanded one of the two main caravan routes from Srinagar via Burzil Pass and Minkata Pass to Kashgar.  An equally important route led eastwards along the Indus to Skardu and Kargil and onwards to Leh. Gilgit had that time a makeshift airstrip. There were no roads leading to Gilgit only tracks and passes.

Gilgit area was occupied by Sikhs in 1842 and Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1846. In 1852 there was a revolt and Dogra rule was thrown out. In 1860 Maharaja regained possession but the area never remained under effective rule of Srinagar. Gilgit came under British rule in 1889 and it took over the military and political administration of the tribal region.   
 In 1935 the entire Gilgit region was leased to British for 60 years. The lease lapsed in June 1947 because of British plan for departure. Maharajah appointed Brigadier Ghansara Singh as Governor of Gilgit on 30^th June 1947. He flew to Gilgit on 30^th June along with Major General H L Scott, Chief of J & K state forces. The local population welcomed the return of Maharaja Administration. Major William Brown was one senior British officer in Gilgit. The subordinate chiefs were Mir of Hunza, Mir of Nagar, Raja of Punial and chiefs of Kosh Ghizar. The Mirs of Hunza and Nagar were hostile. The Gilgit scouts mainly came from Hunza and Nagar regions and their commander was relative of both the Mirs. Maharaja failed to act against the hostile elements and Major Brown staged a coup with the aid of Agency staff and Gilgit scouts and imprisoned Brigadier Ghansara Singh on 31^st Oct 1947. At the time of this treachery, Gilgit was garrisoned by 6 J & K Infantry, less about 2 companies with headquarters at Bunji, about 54 km from Gilgit. The battalion comprised of Sikhs and Muslims in equal proportion. Captain Matheson, on instructions from Major Brown stormed and captured Bunji, massacred the Sikh troops. Major Brown hoisted the Pakistani flag on 3^rd Nov 1947. The region was taken over by Sardar Mohammed Khan. Major Brown returned to England in 1948 and he was awarded MBE by British government.

The news of the treachery at Gilgit reached Srinagar almost a week later. There were not enough forces to take any action against the treachery. On 21^st November 1947, Lt Colonel Sher Jung Thapa was asked to move to Skardu from Leh and defend Skardu with the remaining elements of 6 J&K Infantry. He reached Skardu on 3^rd Dec. He had just 40 Sikhs and 31 Muslim troops to defend Skardu against more than 600 hostiles. He fortified his defenses on Skardu fort. The strength of Thapa troops increased to 285 men by 15^th Feb because of reinforcements. The situation of Thapa was desperate by April 9, 1948 and he requested Srinagar for an immediate help. General Thimayya ordered Thapa to withdraw from Skardu and join another column near Marol on 16^th May. India had already lost Kargil and Dras by then so any help to Skardu was almost impossible.  Thapa said its impossible to withdraw as he had women and children along with combatants.  Lt General Thimayya asked RIAF to strike the invaders at Skardu but it was rejected. He raised the matter with Defense Minister. Defence Minister said it was not practical.

The RIAF went into action starting on 19^th June 1948, the raiders suffered heavy causalities. The RIAF dropped supplies but about 50% fell into enemy hands.

Under desperate situation and as ordered by General Thimayya, Thapa surrendered the fort on 15 August 1948 what followed was a massacre. All the Sikhs were shot dead. Thapa became a PoW and survived because he knew C-in-C Gracey of Pakistan Amry. The siege lasted more than 6 months. Thapa was awarded MVC. The Pakistani commanders reported back to HQ that “All Sikhs shot, all women raped”. The entire Hindu population of Skardu was reduced to ashes by Pakistani forces. We lost Skardu because Indian Army and RIAF did not fully appreciate its importance and failed to allocate adequate resources.

RIAF continued bombing Skardu and Gilgit. In Oct 1948 Skardu was heavily bombed by RIAF. RIAF also flew offensive operations in Chilas.

Ladakh

There are three important valleys in this region - Indus, Zanskar and Nubra. Zanskar is more remote and its in south while Nubra is in north.  Akshai Chin (now in Chinese hands), Baltistan, Skardu, Kargil are also parts of Ladakh plateau. Zoji La pass connects Ladakh plateau to the Kashmir valley. Srinagar can be reached from Leh through Dras via Zoji La. Leh was summer capital while Skardu was the winter capital of Ladakh.

In 1947, J & K State forces had only 8 Infantry battalions i.e. about 4000 men. One Battalion less two companies was deployed at Bunji, two platoons at Kargil, One company less a platoon was at Skardu and Leh had just one company less a platoon. After the departure of Thapa to Skardu only 33 men remained at Leh.

Operation Sledge was the code name for the capture of Leh, was planned by Pakistan Army and launched from Gilgit in mid Feb 1948. On 16 Feb, 1948 Brigadier L P Sen sent 1 platoon of 2 Dogras under Major Prithi Chand followed by two platoons so the State forces for the defence of Leh and to train the locals for the defence of Leh. Major Chand and his platoon reached Leh on 8 March 1948. He was accompanied by an energetic Ladakhi engineer Sonam Narboo. Narboo was assigned the task of making a makeshift airstrip at Leh. He made it ready by 6 April 1948.

Pakistani raiders made a 4 pronged attack simultaneously at Gund, Pindras, Dras and Kargil on 10^th May 1948. Only Kargil attack was successful. With the fall of Kargil, situation in Leh became desperate. The raiders were at the gates of Leh on 23^rd May 1948. The airfield was located at a height of 3256 m and RIAF had no experience of flying at that height, it was then the highest airfield in the world.

Air Commodore Mehar Singh created history on 24^th May 1948 when he landed his ancient Dakota at Leh negotiating the mountains towering more than 5000 m. His passenger was Major General Thimayya. It was an unprecedented feat. Dakota and other RIAF aircrafts had no Oxygen support. On 1^st June Mehar Singh led the RIAF 6 aircrafts to fly an entire company of one Gurkha Battalion to Leh. The local people were thrilled and they welcomed Indian forces with all the hospitality as their disposal. RIAF saved Leh at the most critical time of its history. More reinforcement s came through Manali route.

Dras fell to raiders in early June 1948. There was just one company of 1 Patiala between Dras and Srinagar to ensure Zoji La remains open. Leh was getting isolated. The raiders came close to Nimu only about 30 km from Leh on 12^th July, the situation of Leh again became desperate by 13^th July. But the defenders continued their valiant effort. Reinforcements arrived to Leh on 15^th August 1948.

Zoji La Operations

The raiders controlled all approaches to Zoji La from the Kargil side by 7 July. Indian Army made many attacks on the raider positions in Sept but all attempts failed to dislodge the raiders. RIAF also attacked bunkers with bombs. Kargil and Zoji La were in the hands of the raiders at the end of Sept 1948. These two locations are keys to the defence of Ladakh. It was necessary to clear them before the onset of winter.

Indian Army planned an all out offensive to capture Zoji La. Major General Thimayya personally flew an air reconnaissance mission over Zoji La on 15^th Oct 1948 piloted by Mehar Singh. There was a complete secrecy in bringing up the tanks. The tanks were brought from Jammu in complete secrecy. The attack finally went through on 1 Nov 1948. The attack was total and enemy was shocked. Zoji La pass was cleared within 12 hours. Indian offensive continued and RIAF bombed the enemy positions. Dras was captured on 13^th Nov. Kargil was captured on 23^rd Nov 1948. The onset of winter made any other operation impossible. Mehar Singh aka Mehar Baba was awarded MVC. He died in an air crash in 1952. For raiders he was either a magician or a prophet.

Western Operations

By 15^th Oct, the raiders had penetrated into Poonch and Mirpur. The focus of India was on saving valley so initially this sector did not receive much attention. The state forces had been surrounded by enemies at Mirpur, Kotli, Poonch, Jhangar, Naushara, Rajouri etc. These forces were sheltering thousands of lives almost exclusively all of them were non-Muslims. J & K PM M C Mahajan pleaded with Nehru on 3^rd Nov to save the besieged forces. RIAF carried out the recon of Kotli, Bagh, Muzaffarabad and Sangram areas on 3^rd Nov. RIAF attacked enemy positions in Kotli areas. Rajouri fell in Nov and about 30,000 persons were massacred and abducted and 1500 refugees at Chingas were killed.

Rawalkot was evacuated by state forces and joined Poonch garrison along with 600 refugees. Naushara and Jhangar were relieved by Nov 19. Kotli garrison was relieved on 27^th Nov and 9000 refugees were saved. Unfortunately the garrison at Mirpur could not be relieved due to paucity of troops but it managed to fight out its way to Jhangar bringing about 10,000 refugees.

C-in-C of Indian Army tried to persuade Indian PM Nehru to evacuate Poonch but Nehru declined.  It was an herculean task to maintain the besieged garrison at Poonch. There were about 40,000 refugees in the town. On 29^th March 1948, Poonch was completely surrounded.

The raiders were actively engaged in clearing out all Hindus from the areas between Akhnur and Bhimbar. Hindus were massacred in large numbers and villages were burnt. On 2^nd Dec, about 45,000 refugees crossed the Chenab river bridge and crossed to Jammu from Akhnur. Indian army captured Chhamb on 10^th Dec 1947 but RIAF lost two aircrafts in this effort. Jhangar was lost to raiders on 24^th Dec. It was a vital link between Mirpur and Kotli and not too far from Naushara. About 6000 raiders captured it. The 2500 strong raiders attacked Naushara on 24^th Dec night. The attack was successfully repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides.

Battle of Naushara

The enemy gathered in large numbers about 15000 strong and stormed Naushara on 6^th Feb 1948. Brigadier Usman was Indian commander in this sector. India achieved a decisive victory here and more than 2000 enemy troops were killed in the battle. Naushara was saved.

Capture of Rajouri

There were wide scale reports of barbaric actions taken on non-Muslims by the raiders in Rajouri town. The advance to Rajouri commenced on 8^th April 1948. Indians captured the town on 12^th April just in time to save the lives of 1500 refugees, mostly women. Of these, 300 to 500 had been lined up to be shot. The non-Muslims were massacred in large numbers and their decaying bodies were left in open pits. RIAF played a key role.

Advance to Tithwal

Tithwal lies to the north of Muzaffarabad. 1 Sikh captured Kupwara on 12^th Feb. The operation to capture Tithwal was launched on 18^th May and it was captured on 23^rd May with enemy withdrawing across the river Kishanganga. The Kishanganga bridge was attacked on 24^th April with the help of RIAF. It was a daring attack. Indians did not press the advantage here otherwise we could have threatened Muzaffarabad itself. Pakistan counterattacked and recaptured some vital ground. UNCIP visited India in July and on its appeal Indian Spring Offensive was halted. Pakistan exploited this situation and captured some grounds along Kishanganga river. In August India tried to damage Kishanganga bridge but failed.

Defence committee of the Cabinet in its meeting of 30^th Sept ordered for an appreciation to be prepared for the capture of Muzaffarabad and an attack on Mirpur. The appreciation was prepared by General Cariappa. The plan for invasion of Muzaffarabad and Mirpur did not come as ceasefire came into effect on  Jan 1949.

Relief of Poonch (Operation Punching)

Poonch had about 40,000 Hindu and Sikh refugees. It was attacked by raiders since Oct 1947. RIAF attacked the positions of raiders from 3^rd Nov 1947 onwards and blunted their attacks. There were about 3000 troops at Poonch - 2000 from J &K State forces and 1000 of Indian Army. The raiders encircled Poonch with the obvious aim of reducing the garrison by starving them and by their firepower.

Lt. Colonel Pritam Singh built a 600 yards long airstrip close to the town in late Nov 1947. The RIAF managed the garrison going through regular sorties. Mehar Singh landed Harvard on this ultra small strip. RIAF continued the supply of provisions and the garrison continued going against all odds. About 35,000 refugees were evacuated by the Dakotas. 9^th Gurkha Battalion was flown in from Jammu to Poonch to reinforce the garrison in Feb 1948.

To reduce the pressure on the air supply of food and to augment stocks, harvesting operations in the fields in the neighboring enemy-held areas were carried out by the refugees at Poonch. The refugees were escorted by the Indian troops.

The sorties of RIAF to Poonch were halted after March 1948 in face of accurate firings by Pakistani Army. The enemy noose tightened by Sept 1948 and they brought up 25 pounder guns. In the three phase operation Poonch was captured on 20^th Nov 1948 after almost one year siege.

Royal Indian Air Force played a stellar role in the defence of Jammu and Kashmir. Wing Commodore Mehar Singh achieved feats that only giants can achieve. It was the first war India fought and Indian Air Force did not let our country down.

Highly Recommended (9/10)

Book Review [130] : Kishtwar Cauldron - The Struggle Against ISI's Ethnic Cleansing

When Pakistan sponsored terrorists planned to ethnically cleanse Doda-Kishtwar region by massacring minority community (mainly Dogras) in large numbers in late 90s and early 2000s, basically It was a plan to replicate the-successful-ethnic-cleansing-of-Kashmiri-Pundits from valley model of 1990-91 in Doda-Kisthwar region, the Indian Army and the people gave Pakistan a fitting reply by exterminating the terrorists.

'Kishtwar Cauldron' by Major General (retd) G D Baskshi is very fine record of his tenure in Doda-Kishtwar region and it helps in great details to understand the designs of Paksitan.

The story that the electoral malpractices of the 1988 elections in J&K were the root cause of the insurgency is a kind of a cruel joke. Pakistan cleverly planned its master plan of Kashmir much earlier. It was the plan of President Zia ul Haq to use Afghanistan Mujahideen kind of extremists in Kashmir. As Pakistan was helping/assisting US so it thought US would not opposed it.

ISI sent few thousands agents/trained people to provide an extreme interpretation of Islam and to twist it for Pakistan’s political advantage. The JKLF started as Pakistan sponsored organization but ISI did not like its pro-Independence stance and ISI helped Hizbul Mujahideen to wipe out JKLF by 1995. Indian forces made full use of this fratricidal struggle.  Indian Army checked the rise of terrorism and infiltration and elections were conducted in 1996 (both Assembly and Parliamentary). The fencing on LOC started in 2003 and completed by 2005. This drastically reduced the infiltration. 

The story of Doda-Kishtwar region is bit different. Doda before its division used to be a huge district with more than 11,000 sq kms. Now it has an area of 2300 sq km and Kishtwar district has about 7800 sq km. It has rugged and snow peaked mountains. In south it touches HP, in east it touches Kargil district and in west it is bounded by Pir Panjal range. Kashmiri terrorists first came to Doda in 1991 to escape the pressure of Indian Army. Doda region did not have any army presence that time. Soon ISI realized the importance of this region. Terrorists started using its high pastures as safe haven and often found shelters with Gujjar and Bakarwal communities.  In 1993 the terrorists carried out the massacre of 14 Hindus in a bus near Hasti near Kishtwar. By 1994 the civilian administration was fully paralyzed and terrorism reached its peak in Doda. 800 Dogra families migrated to HP. Rashtriya Rifles and CRPF were allocated to his region. To prevent mass migration of the Dogra minority, the Village Defence Committee (VDC) was revived and some 330 villages were brought under the protection of VDCs by issuing weapons (mainly archaic but sturdy 303 rifle) to local Hindu youths and the ex servicemen of these villages. The massacres of Dogras resumed after some lull in 1995 and 1996. In July 1998 about 64 Dogras were massacred at three places. There was a kind of cat and mouse game between government and terrorists and Dogras were caught in between. The massacres continued unabated and about 50 Dogras were killed in 2000. From 1993-2001 a total of 229 Dogras were systematically massacred in this region in order to cause ethnic cleansing of this region. The Human Rights body did not utter a single word on this brutal attempt of ethnic cleansing.

Major General (retd) G D Bakshi was appointed sector commander of this region in Oct 2000. He immediately brought situation under control. The tide turned in 2001. 13 Hindus (Dogras) including women and children were mercilessly killed by the terrorists in August 2001 in Kishtwar. General Bakshi took it very seriously and used all the forces under his disposal to track down the terrorists and by September 2001 all the terrorists involved in this massacre were extirpated. There was no massacre of minorities after Sept 2001 in this region.

Its a very good book to understand the brutal designs of Pakistan and home grown terrorists and their sympathizers from this state. Its a common saying that if you can see your enemy you can kill it but if you cant understand your enemy then you cant defeat it.

Highly Recommended (8/10)

Book Review [129] : Kashmir - The unwritten history

Every civilization has a love that warms its heart, for India it is Kashmir. There are large number of books available on Kashmir crisis and i have had read many - The Meadow, War and Diplomacy in Kashmir (1947-48) etc. 'Kashmir : The unwritten history' by Christopher Snedden claims that his history of Kashmir is the unwritten history. This book implicates India and erstwhile Maharaja of Kashmir Hari Singh for falsely accusing the Pakhtuns for invading Kashmir and ignoring the uprising of Poonchi Muslims against the 'repressive' regime of Maharaja. 

This book blames highly polarized communal environment in Jammu province, in the midst of bloody partition of India, for the Kashmir crisis. The author accuses Maharaja of Kashmir for carrying out or passively supporting the massacre of Muslims in eastern part of Jammu province but he does not give any evidence for this alleged massacre. According to him and his political sources more than 200,000 Muslims were killed in eastern part of Jammu. He also accepts that non-Muslims were also killed in western part of Jammu in equal numbers - in region around Poonch, Mirpur etc, and there are more than solid proofs about this massacre. Hindu and Sikh Men were killed and their women were taken as booties and sold in the market for few hundred rupees. The best proof lies in the current demographic profile of these regions. Eastern Jammu and the PoK have absolutely negligible non-Muslims while western Jammu (or the Jammu Province) of India has more than 25% Muslims.
The author gives in details the demographic profile of Jammu province as per the 1941 census. Muslims in Jammu (that included Poonch, Mirpur etc) were about 61% and were about 77% of the total population of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu was the largest province in terms of population in 1941. The alleged 'repressive' regime of Maharaja as well as the pro Pakistan sentiments were the main reasons behind the uprising of Poonchi Muslims against the Maharaja regime. This uprising began in Sept 1947 and it declared the formation of Azad Kashmir government on 24th Oct 1947. The Pakhtun raiders started their invasion of Kashmir on 22nd Oct and by 26th Oct Kashmir was in precarious situation. The state forces were poorly equipped and thinly stretched to defend Kashmir and were fighting a losing battle. In the end Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 26th October and Indian forces started their movement on 27th Oct and this checked the progress of the raiders. Had India not gone to United Nations our forces would have certainly liberated the entire PoK. The author accuses India for unfairly accusing the raiders and ignoring totally the uprising led by the natives of Kashmir.
After this the book talks in detail about the politics of Azad Kashmir and its government. Till 1970 it did not have even proto autonomy, the 1970 Act gave this region a kind of legislative assembly and a President. Despite of all the political experiments this region never experienced the kind of democracy its Indian counter part experiences.
This book is full of repetitions and redundancies and Author has failed to do justice with the topic. Its a good read only for Pakistani propagandists and their supporters in India. For an Indian this book should be used as an important tool in the arsenal to counter any Pakistan propaganda.
Recommended (6/10)

Book Review [106] : War and Diplomacy in Kashmir (1947-48)

C. Dasgupta is a highly reputed former Indian Foreign Service Officer. He has had a highly distinguished career including two very important assignments - Ambassador to China (1993-93) and EU (1996-2000). 'War and Diplomacy in Kashmir (1947-48)' is a work of meticulous research and understanding of the Geo-politics of the 1947-48. We often blame Pundit Nehru for the Kashmir mess without understanding the intricacies and complexities of the Kashmir problem. This book provides indepth details about the military leadership of the subcontinent and the role played by the British High Commissioners based in India and Pakistan and the British Ministers based in Britain and UN. 

The first Chief of Indian Army (after Independence), General Rob Lockhart,  was not serious about his responsibilites towards India, he was loyal only to the British interests. He betrayed the cause of India and that cost India some vital advantage in Kashmir. This quisling had the prior information about the tribal invasion of Kashmir but he remained silent. He was sacked by Pundit Nehru when he became aware of his betrayal. Lord Mountbatten also played his part in defending British interests in the subcontinent instead of defending Indian interests. It was so sad to learn that the very important Defence Committee of the Indian cabinet was headed by Lord Mountbatten instead of Indian PM. Lord Mountbatten effectively used this position to slow and check Indian advances in Jammu and Kashmir. This effectively gave serious edge to Pakistan. Indian leadership tried hard to expel invaders from Jammu and Kahsmir but was betrayed at every occasion by the British officials of Independent India. 

Britain was more interested in securing the good will of Muslim world which she thought was getting hostile to her in the wake of Palestine crisis. The second important aspect of Britain tilt towards Pakistan was the location of Pakistan with respect to USSR and oil deposits of middle east. Britain and her allies effectively negated India's position in the UN Security Council though USA to a certain extent remained neutral and China bit pro India. This book is a must read book.

In the last i would like to pay my respects to our great soldiers and people of Kashmir who fought the invaders and sacrificed their everything. We shall never forget their sacrifices and the sacrifice of Brigadier Rajinder Singh (the savior of Kashmir), Lt. Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai (who secured the valley), General Cariappa and General Thimayya who led the Indian counter attack, Major Somnath Sharma who sacrificed his life defending Kashmir and numerous others. 

Highly Recommended (8/10)

Book Review [59] : The Meadow

'The Meadow' by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott is a great work of investigative journalism, but i am not sure whether everything written or found by these guys is factually correct or its a part of some sinister propaganda. I read this book (more than 480 pages) during my pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Trimbakeshwar and in the end i lost almost complete interest in the book but i managed to finish the book somehow.

The central theme of this book revolves around the kidnapping of 6 foreign tourists (2 Americans, 1 Germans, 2 British, 1 Norwegian) from the Pahalgam region on 4th July 1995, few days later one hostage escaped, later one hostage was beheaded (perhaps one of the earliest incidents of subheading in Kashmir) while the remaining 4 hostages have been lost in the valleys/streams/glaciers of Kashmir, perhaps forever. Adrian and Cathy constructs the lives of the hostages in great detail but these guys conspicuously ignore the plight of Kashmiri Pandits and the ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the separatists and terrorists. This book gives a very detailed description of various geographic features of Kashmir valley and in the end it is able to paint the entire Indian Army, political establishment and senior bureaucrats in black, making them more than partly responsible for the mess of Kashmir. It also exposes the brutal truth that there is absolutely no coordination among local police, military and spy agencies of India. The current controversy over the arrest of a terrorist by Delhi Police (in late March 2013) only proves this.  May be these journalists want to lighten the burden of Pakistan bashing (in Deception) by making India look bad in this book. It claims that India pays/bribes terrorists to fight against other terrorists and uses the tactic of Divide and Conquer masterfully and it belittles the role played by Pakistani establishment in this dirty game. Overall a good read but beware it has too much of India bashing in it.  
Recommended (7/10).

Book Review [58] : Our Moon Has Blood Clots

'Our Moon Has Blood Clots' is a great work of History on the subject of exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the Pakistani supported Islamic radicals and betrayal by the government of India and Kashmir. These days it has become a fashion to simply discard the tragedies of Kashmiri Pandits as myths, some do it for the sake of their own notion of "Secularism" and some do it to remain viable in the current "extreme liberal" media polity of India. History is truth, it is polity and religion invariant although the future generations need to have an open mind to objectively take the words written in history books and the prevalent historiography. Rahul Pandita has done a great favour to Kashmiri Pandits in particular and Indians in general by documenting the exodus and ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir Valley in 1989-1991. The people who now cry about the alleged human rights violations perpetrated by the security personnel in the valley conspicuolsy ignore the plight of Kashmiri Pandits and try to wipe the slate clean. The Hindu Right on other hand has exploited the Hindu sentiments on Kashmir without doing anything for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits while the left and centre parties have ignored them because they are not "significant" in numbers. 

Its an old maxim that refugees have no homes and even the world becomes small for people who flee from their houses without giving a fight to the intruders, unfortunately this is true even in this case. True Secularism is devoid of any religious bias and its definition should not vary from time to time and from people to people. 'Our Moon Has Blood Clots' is a very personal story of Rahul Pandita and he has covered the two exoduses of Kashmiri Pandits really well, first one in 1947 when Pakistani tribals pillaged Kashmir and second when Kashmiri themselves pillaged its minority community. I would also like to this post by the same lines from V. S. Naipaul:
"The world is what it is,  men who are nothing, who do nothing to give them a chance to move from nothing to above, have no place in it".
Highly recommended book 10/10.