Resurrecting Paradise

(this article originally appeared on the blog 'Lord of the Flies')

"Gar firdaus ae baruhe zamin ast, hamin astu hamin astu hamin ast... "

These famous Urdu words uttered by a Mughal Emperor (most probably Jehangir) aptly captured the beauty of Kashmir once upon a time. The translation would be: If there is paradise on Earth it is here, it is here, it is here. 

 

In this beautiful valley, amidst the splendor of snow-capped mountains, somewhere among the lush green fields the breezes still blow. The peaceful waters of the Jhelum river still scintillate rapturously under the benevolent sun, seeming to have lost all bloody memories of the past, ignorant of the sound of gunshots in the distance. The smiles of its people having faded away, the grandeurs of nature bestowed upon this war-torn land and the many beautiful gardens constructed here by mankind seem like a mockery of its fate- the fate of this ‘paradise’. 

Kashmir has recently been in the news once again for the wrong reasons: ceasefire violations by Pakistan. 

Sixty-six years have passed since the first conflict began, and Time has twisted together the myths and the facts so capriciously that it seems almost impossible to disentangle them today. 

Sixty-six years ago, the Indian subcontinent became independent from the British rule, and two nations were formed: India and Pakistan (later on, former East Pakistan separated from Pakistan as Bangladesh). And ever since then, India and Pakistan have been fighting over Kashmir. 

I am from India and, until now, I used to hate Pakistan for this. 

What I knew was that when the British were leaving India, some Muslims started demanding for a separate nation exclusively for Muslims, perhaps insecure of being dominated by an overwhelming Hindu majority, probably also fearing vengeance given that most Mughal rulers, with the exception of Akbar and a few others, were not particularly kind to the Hindus. What they could not see is that the two-hundred-year-old past was long forgotten ever since the Hindus and Muslims came together and embraced each other, united to fight against the oppressive British rule. Another reason was perhaps that India aspired to be a secular democratic, and ‘secularism’ was not something the orthodox Muslims were very fond of. Also, it would have been highly unlikely that the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, would let go such a great shot at power. 

It was a deadlock that was difficult to resolve, since all Hindus and some Muslims did not want this separation. But the British couldn’t leave India till a consensus was reached on this matter. They alternatively proposed that all the states having a Muslim majority be allowed to constitute Pakistan, and this became the demand of Jinnah and the Muslim League, as opposed to the Indian National Congress. When there arose talks about an interim government constituting both the parties, the Muslim League felt threatened and launched the 'Direct Action Day' in Calcutta, which turned into a campaign of violent aggression and worst kind of Massacre, killing around 5000 people. Muhammad Ali Jinnah said: 

Why do you expect me alone to sit with folded hands? I also am going to make trouble. 

The Indian leaders were desperate for Independence (probably also for power?), and everyone was tired of the 200-year long fighting. It was also heartbreaking in general to see the people who once fought together on the battlefield now kill each other. The only solution was: Pakistan. 

And so Pakistan was formed. East Pakistan and West Pakistan, on the two sides of India. Few years hence, East Pakistan would separate from Pakistan to form an Independent nation called Bangladesh, owing to differences arising from language, culture, ethnicity and many other factors. (India had helped Bangladesh in this war, which is infamous for the Pakistani war crimes that are often compared to those that happened during World War II, giving Pakistan another reason to hate India.) 

 

Even after the partition was given a thumbs-up, terrible violence followed, leading to the worst kind of riots India has ever seen. Nobody seems to know the real reasons. It could have been the result of a cycle of rebuttals. Also, when it was agreed that states with a Muslim majority would go to Pakistan, some people in these Muslim-majority states took it upon them to ‘create’ this majority by destroying the minority as far as they could, because the majority-minority ratios were usually like 60-40. Since in those days there were no proper information channels, and radio was a luxury of the rich, there could be many rumors being propagated and people reacting to them with blind emotions. Amidst the confusion and lawlessness no one really knew for sure where Pakistan ended and India began. It took months to contain this violence, which killed millions of people. The horrors echo to this day. 

In such a way, British India was divided. However, there were some parts of India which were not exactly under the British: these were known as the ‘Princely States’, and they stayed mostly independent of the British rule in return for huge sums of money. These states were granted the freedom to choose whether to join India, or Pakistan, or stay independent. These Princely States included some Muslim-dominated states with a Hindu ruler, and some Hindu-dominated states with a Muslim ruler. Although they had been given a ‘choice’, it was not exactly their choice because there was a lot of pressure from the local people. In all cases, except Kashmir, the religious dominance, and sometimes even the location, determined the fate of the state. 

Kashmir, however, was different. Located on the India-Pakistan border, it was a Muslim-dominated state with a Hindu King, who chose to remain with India. This was not acceptable to Pakistan, and they have always wanted Kashmir ever since. They have also attacked and occupied a part of Kashmir. 

Pakistan looks at India as a Hindu country, while the truth is that India has more Muslims than the entire population of Pakistan! 

Today, the people of Kashmir, as citizens of India, participate in the general elections and state elections in considerable numbers. I take that as an expression of solidarity with India. The Ministry of Kashmir majorly comprises of Muslims, accurately representing their population, and they all see themselves as Indians. Lot of people from Kashmir are going to different parts of the country for higher education, or for jobs, or settling down in inter-religious/inter-caste marriages, it does not matter: the views of the educated generation resonates with the ideas of a ‘secular democracy’. That includes a lot of people I personally know. 

I have always condemned Pakistan for wanting something that does not belong to them, wanting to force themselves on people who do not want them. And it is not just Kashmir. India has suffered many 9/11’s in the hands of Pakistani terrorists, many bomb-blasts. I can understand if some people in a country turn out to be bad, what I cannot understand is how all the people in a country can harbor so much hatred for their neighbor. No, Pakistan does not feel sorry for the people they have killed in India. In fact, if they do, they get killed. Pakistani attacks are also threatening the Indian democracy in a way that ‘Islamophobia’ is increasing in the country, and our own Muslims are being segregated against, looked upon with suspicion. 

I have always hoped that one day I wake up to see that there is no Pakistan in the world map. 

Meeting Pakistani delegates in a school-fest did not help. Becoming a fan of Pakistani musicians who made it big in Bollywood did not help. Reading Khushwant Singh’s accounts of a high society, where the ultra-rich Indians and Pakistanis apparently had no differences, did not help. The marriage of the Indian tennis star Sania Mirza to the Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik did not help. 

It is like, "fine, they are also normal people, like us". But how can we proceed from here unless the major issue is resolved? A part of Kashmir still remains with Pakistan, and the people of Pakistan still believe that Kashmir is theirs. In fact, Kashmir used to be one of their election issues before they stopped having elections and sank into this cycle of alternating democracy and dictatorship. Kashmir, of course, remains their foremost issue. And in spite of what the whole world can see, how can they still believe that they have got a better economy than ours? Why do they mistake the soft corner Indian Muslims might understandably have for them as some sort of support? The strong Muslim cast of a recent Bollywood movie, D-Day, which deals with a wishful Indian operation in Pakistan in search of a most-wanted terrorist, sends out a message. And I guess Pakistan got it when they banned the movie in their country. 

Today, India and Pakistan are trying to be friends, without referring to the Kashmir issue. Now, how does one put all this unsettled business behind and set about to make friends? One of my friends has a Pakistani pen friend but I cannot understand that. If I did that, I would be faking, as I am sure many people are. 

Yet something unexpected made me look in the other direction. 

The Indian Media is on a high note these days, and recently NDTV succeeded in inviting Pakistani professors to a Panel debating the Kashmir issue. And the professors were quite cool, I really liked them! In the course of the discussions I came to know the root of the conflict, which was much more subtle than I used to think. During the partition, the ruler of Kashmir actually wanted independence, probably due to greed for power. This was not acceptable to anyone and it was decided that a poll would be conducted in order to decide whether Kashmir goes to India or Pakistan. But that poll never happened. Pakistan attacked Kashmir before that, in an attempt to overthrow the King, and this propelled the King to react by pledging allegiance to India. Immediately, Indian troops were sent to defend Kashmir. The Indian troops had managed to secure about two-thirds of Kashmir when the United Nations ordered a cease-fire. Since then, one-third of Kashmir remains with Pakistan, and the dispute continues. (China has also got a chunk of Kashmir, but that is another story.) 

Pakistan realizes that it was a great strategic mistake to attack Kashmir. Some Pakistanis even deny that the invasion happened with the knowledge and support of the State. Some Pakistanis also argues that the King of Kashmir had sought India’s help during the attack but that did not mean he wanted to join India. 

Along with this, Pakistan highlights the atrocities committed by Hindus on Muslims in Kashmir during the riots while India highlights the reverse. The scenes of trains full of slaughtered people arriving at the stations, in both the countries, have not been forgotten. Under such circumstances, it is natural for people on both sides to hate each other, especially so when they are introduced to the partial knowledge at a young age. 

Could a reality check at a younger age help? Two years ago, three young Pakistanis set out on a mission to create a History textbook that presented the History taught in Indian schools and those taught in Pakistani schools side-by-side. The two Histories are apparently quite different. I am quite jealous that this awesome idea should come from Pakistan. Although still waiting for widespread acceptance, and probably some more painstaking research, with this venture they not only created history but also won my heart. 

And so did this photograph: 

 

 A Kashmiri farmer crosses a barbed wire fence to check his crop on a foggy 

morning on the outskirts of Srinagar, India (AP Photo/Dar Yasin) 

Here is a common farmer from Kashmir, who is living his routine life, earning his daily bread, oblivious and indifferent to the big deal people are making about his land. In the fight between two nations we have perhaps forgotten the people of Kashmir. What do they want? Will it be fair to conduct a poll now given that a lot of Kashmiris are still in refugee camps in the adjacent states, too afraid to return? Or should we just forget the past and accept the Line-of-Control as the National Border? Does Pakistan want to keep the dispute alive as an election issue? There is no consensus. It could be an issue that is being strategically kept alive so that it could be used to advantage at an opportune time, by China or the United States. 

Many people think that the first step towards resolving the Kashmir issue is friendship. Friendship on a personal level could produce something fruitful after a few generations, but at the moment that kind of thing is more tangential to the current problem. As education in Pakistan is improving, a lot of people are coming out of the cocoon, becoming more aware and doing good work, and also extending a friendly hand towards India, so there is some hope. Friendship on a National level though is very tricky, given that Pakistan has breached treaties it signed with India in the past. The political climate in Pakistan remains unstable, cross-border terrorism continues, and until this stops I don’t think we can proceed towards peaceful negotiations. 

Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Kashmir recently said: 

"Thinking that the relations will get normalized in such a situation, that is impossible. We will surely talk, but the results that we want out of that dialogue, we cannot achieve those till such things (infiltration and ceasefire violations) are not stopped. "

And I agree with him. 

 

Singularities

 (this article originally appeared on the blog 'Lord of the Flies')

Black holes are not known for equilibrium. Or white holes. But the universe loves equilibrium and will not quit till it is achieved. The entropy will keep increasing till it cannot any longer. No matter how much we would love to disagree, we humans, with our various Gods, are not above this. Yes, we can keep ice frozen in a refrigerator when the sun is burning outside, but for how long? We will soon run out of fuel. We don’t have the power to defy the universe. 

It is true that living beings appear to go against the laws of the universe through the very act of propagation but it is more than made up for by the fact that they use up a huge amount of fuel during their lifetime and render it useless for any other utilisation.  Hence, the net entropy or disorder in the universe continues to increase. But this is a purely scientific concept and on its own, a very difficult topic to consider while worrying about humanities. At best, it only encourages us to use less petrol and try switching on to alternative forms of energy. Is that all there is to it? 

Ironically, we haven’t been able to see through a pattern so well repeated in History. Empires rose. And then fell. Why didn’t they keep growing forever? How long can greatness last? And why is the fall inevitable? 

More than seven thousand years ago, from blood, sweat and dust rose the magnificent pyramids of Egypt, boldly proclaiming to the world the possession of enormous power. But they treated their slaves badly and what befell them? Wouldn’t the story have been different had the development in technology gone hand in hand with some development in humanism? 

To the east beyond Mesopotamia was the Indus Valley Civilisation. Amazing urban planning complete with water supply and drainage system that parallel those of today. Also, one shouldn’t forget the auditoriums and the grain storage system. Sadly, all’s left in ruins and we haven’t even deciphered the script yet. They were amazing artists, craftsmen, traders and farmers. Guess what they forgot? The army! Too bad the rest of the world didn’t share their philosophy. 

The ruthless Indian Emperor Ashoka who after building his huge empire was all of a sudden struck with the realisation of the amount of cruelty he must have unleashed, gave up arms and meat and turned to Buddhism. He made his people Buddhist and also took efforts to spread Buddhism far and wide. His religious message remains but not in his own kingdom. Did he ACTUALLY think that such a huge Buddhist empire, with its goal being only peace, would just sustain itself when kings of other lands were looking to expand their territories and the barbaric tribes were having the time of their lives? 

Fast forward. The capitalists actually thought they would grow forever. People actually thought slaves would be forever. 

Hitler believed that he could conquer the whole world and persecute all Jews. Israelis might believe Palestinians don’t need to exist but they do and the conflict continues. America used to believe that it can continue growing with its capitalistic policies and continue to fight wars away from home, while still remaining invincible; but 9/11 shattered that image. Today America doesn’t even want to participate in cutting down greenhouse gas emissions but guess who is closer to the North Pole? 

Far away in a remote African village they don’t have the concept of money (from hearsay). They have developed their trust, honesty and understanding skills to such advanced levels that they don’t really need money. What a wonderful system! What’s your best guess till they die out? 

I am not trying to be pessimistic here; I’m just trying to look practically at the fact that most ‘victories’ have been failures in the long run. All these stories may seem very different from one another but there is a single vein that runs through all of them, they all have certainly made the same common mistake: they were not inclusive. The Egyptians were not inclusive of the happiness of their slaves. The Indus Valley people just shut themselves inside closed doors and tried to create luxury for themselves forgetting about practical necessity. While Ashoka basked in the glory of a great philosophy that was nevertheless quite useless during his times, not inclusive of the conditions elsewhere in the world. Obviously terrorists will have an eye on America if they perceive its growth unfair. No power can grow infinitely at the cost of others; the Universe has time and again taught us this. Developed countries should sincerely help the developing and the underdeveloped countries, and the developing countries should give their hand of support to the underdeveloped ones. As about the African village, if something no matter how good it is stands out as an oddity, it most definitely is an oddity or singularity, and being so renders it very unstable. That’s the reason growth and development must be inclusive, we must always try to take everybody along with us as we march forward (not that everyone should become the exact same but no one should have more advantages or disadvantages). If we leave anybody out they are always going to harm us, even if unintentionally. And no, you can’t make them extinct- it never happens. 

We live in this world with millions of other people and share the resources of our planet. We should think how we can mutually benefit each other instead of thinking how much profit we can make from the other person, or thinking about improving our own selves all the time without bothering about the people around. The Indus Valley people can make the excuse that they did not ‘know’ that the world around them was way behind, but we can’t. We most certainly know that not everybody in the world is in a position to appreciate our kind-hearted philosophy and we must not pretend so until we have brought everyone up to the same level. If we repeat the same mistakes it will only be our foolishness. 

Of course we don’t know about aliens that might be lurking elsewhere in the Universe and we most definitely can’t include them in our "growth". But we need to group together to create a benevolent planet for ourselves that is so much united (probably plants and animals too, along with humans) that we are prepared to face any kind of situation that may arise. What dangers the aliens might possess for us we are yet to see. And we probably will, unless we stupidly commit suicide before that. 

Strangers on a Train

(this article originally appeared on the blog 'Lord of the Flies')

My parents have always advised me not to talk to strangers. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I feel so encouraged. I have nothing particularly ‘for’ or ‘against’ it, but sometimes, especially when my self-confidence is soaring or when I am bored, I do love to initiate a conversation with a stranger. 

It was this particular overnight train journey from Bangalore to Hyderabad on the Rajdhani Express, when I just couldn’t stop shivering, lying on my berth, which was the uppermost and closest to the air conditioning. I had journeyed to Bangalore in the same train the night before, to attend a seminar, and now I was travelling back. In retrospect, now I know why I was shivering- from repeated observation, my body temperature drops down pretty low when I don’t sleep for more than 36 hours. That, coupled with watching a pathetic movie in the cinema hall *alone*, and then wandering around under an overhead sun trying to get the location right, was sure to take a toll on my brain and body. 

I tried hard. To forget the cold and just sleep. I covered myself completely under the blanket. Didn’t work. I started getting frustrated, and then I started crying. It was now almost 48 sleepless hours and I was still unable to sleep. And then I got angry. I got down my berth and went outside the compartment to the lobby between two compartments. This was where two of the service guys were. I was telling one of them that it was extremely cold and asking them if they could increase the temperature. This guy looked at the other guy, who in turn checked the temperature and then told me it was the highest possible. This guy wasn’t even talking directly to me. I asked the other guy if he could provide more blankets. Once again he looked at the other guy, who asked if I haven’t already got blankets. At this point I lost all patience and broke out crying. I was angry, I was shivering, and I was shouting at them that I was feeling terribly cold! The other guy, who wasn’t even talking directly to me, now seemed to feel extremely guilty and gave me an extra thick blanket and made some space for me to sit on a berth in the lobby, gave me a magazine to read, and told me to sit in the lobby, which was warmer, till I felt good enough to go back and sleep. 

The guy, to whom I was talking, left the lobby since there was no space for three there. The other guy, who had given me the blanket, stood in one corner. I told him he could sit down on the berth, that I didn’t mind. After some insisting, he did. 

The magazine he had given to me was in Hindi. I had studied Hindi in school, but that was 6 years back. I was not in touch with the language, so I found it kind of painstaking to go on reading. I was flipping through the pages and looking at the pictures. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that guy reading a Hindi newspaper, and reading it so fast that it made me jealous. 

“Is this your copy of the magazine?” I asked, “Or do they provide you in the train?” 

“No, it’s mine. But you can keep it, I’ve already read it,” was his reply. 

Impressive, I thought. I was curious. I know that these service guys in the train are paid quite low. It is unlikely that they even completed school. This academic inclination was unexpected. He was about my age. And he had invested in a magazine, a not-so-pocket-friendly political magazine ‘India Today’, and he FINISHED reading it! 

And then I gave up on the magazine. 

“I am sorry, I am unable to read this, I have lost the habit of reading Hindi text. My bad.” 

“Oh, I see. I can translate to you, if you find any particular piece interesting.” 

“Haha, no that’s okay. You seem to be a very keen follower of politics?” 

“Well, I am. I love reading about it. There is so much to learn. And it’s very important too. It’s about the future of our country. We should care about it.” 

And then we started talking politics. I wanted to know what someone like him thought about the existing scenario, for a change, not my peers or someone in the media. Sadly, though, I found him pretty biased. I knew that the mood in the north at that time was biased and he seemed to be from the north- although he was dark his features betrayed him. It’s sad that intelligent people like him should fall prey to propaganda... people are generally good, I thought, sometimes they just fall on the wrong side and that is a sad thing to contemplate. Anyway, at that time I was more interested in listening to him than trying to influence him. I did debate but not so strongly, I wanted to know his reasoning. As an afterthought, I think I should have debated. 

The other service guy passed by us en route another compartment, throwing weird glances. 

“I think you should go to sleep now,” he said, “People around aren’t really good.” 

My eyebrows involuntarily went into a questioning stitch, although I knew what he meant. 

“They don’t consider it good, you know, a girl talking to a guy, that too so late into the night,” he elaborated. 

“It’s not like that at my place,” I retorted. 

“Well, in my village, no guy talks to a girl, definitely not in public. In fact, this is the first time in my life that I am talking to a girl outside of my family.” 

I gasped. “Where are you from?” 

“I am from a small village near Gorakhpur.” That’s pretty much north. 

“What about school? You didn’t talk to girls at school?” 

“Well, no. And anyway, girls hardly go to school. Plus they don’t want to talk to guys either. It’s considered bad.” 

“You completed your schooling?” 

“Nope. I studied only till eighth grade. It’s complicated.” 

“C’mon, you can tell me!” I beseeched. 

“Well, actually we were two brothers and one sister. My mom died of some disease. My dad went into a depression and took to drinking. My sister died pretty soon after that. My brother left home, although he visits some times. But he never sends money. I am the only one who can earn and take care of dad. This was almost eight years back.” 

I didn’t know what to say. But he seemed pretty detached, so I didn’t feel embarrassed for asking him. In fact, I ventured further, trying to inquire about the disease. I had to know if it was something curable but they couldn’t pay for it. However, he seemed to not know much about it. My guess is that it was something genetic. 

“Don’t feel sad about me yet,” he continued, “I could have continued my schooling and earned in my village at the same time. It wouldn’t have been difficult. However, all of my friends were dropping out of school. That was the trend, you know, THE thing to do. Rebellious adolescent blood, wanting to go out there and do something. No one liked studying. There was this greed of starting to earn money too. I became one of them. Today, I regret that the most. I could have studied and made my life and ACTUALLY earned money, but no one was there to explain to me how important studying was. Along with my friends, I became a service guy in a train and have remained that ever since.” 

“You have been on this train for eight years?” 

“No, I was on another train before. The Howrah Rajdhani. I like this train better, though. The people in the south are good, not as violent as the north. Suits me. There’s this small stall near the Secunderabad Railway Station, they serve awesome breakfast. I look forward to it every three days!” 

Of course, I thought. This train shuttles back and forth between Bangalore and Delhi, via Secunderabad, which is the part of Hyderabad closest to my home. The one-directional journey takes almost 36 hours. How weird must it feel living on a train! 

“Alright, I guess I must go now, I’m not cold anymore,” I said. 

“Are you sleepy yet?” 

“Well, not actually. I might go later as well.” 

And so we talked about the government policies for another hour. 

And then I got to hear all sorts of stories about the different kinds of people he met on the train. 

“So what do you plan to do, do you want to continue working in the train like this?” I asked. 

“Hmm... not really. I’ll look for something. But I don’t want to settle in my village. It’s pretty depressing. Plus, I have absolutely no interest in farming. Let’s see, wherever life takes me! What about you, what are your plans?” 

“Oh, I need to complete my graduation now and then go abroad for a PhD.” 

I had tough time trying to explain to him the significance of research but he gave me the benefit of doubt! 

“But people like you should come back to the country. Or else, it is not going to develop,” he remarked. 

“Well, yeah... I think I should go to sleep now...it’s late.” 

“Do you really have to? I’m talking to someone after ages. People around are not very interested in the kind of conversations I look for. No one reads anyway. I'm also not a big fan of the kind of movies they watch. I don’t have any friends.” 

But his eyes betrayed more. This is not good, I thought. 

“I really have to go, I am very sleepy. Goodnight!” 

And so I went back to my berth, feeling a slight tinge of guilt. I wasn’t sleepy but two sleepless nights, a day of wandering and the warmth of two thick blankets soon cast their spells and the next thing I remember was being tugged at my feet. 

“We’re in Secunderabad!” said the service guy. I quickly jumped down my berth, hurriedly gathered my luggage, said a quick ‘bye’ and started moving out of the train. I didn’t like the sad expression on his face. 

Once on the platform, he tried to help me with my luggage but I declined. One last time, he mustered all his courage, and asked me for my phone number. I must admit that I freaked out a little. I said a polite but curt ‘No’. The good part is he didn’t insist. I could see his friends in the distance, including the other service guy, watching. He must have told them in the night, I thought, and those guys must have encouraged him. I kept walking, rolled my suitcase along and didn’t look back until I reached the exit.