A STORM CENTRE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26608, 3 November 1947, Page 6

A STORM CENTRE

UNFORTUNATE KASHMIR TRADITIONAL SCENE OE STRIFE ONCE AGAIN INVADED Written for the Daily Times By H. D. Ramsay Anyone knowing Kashmir will be sad at the news that this beautiful north-west corner of India is again the centre of strife. Known so well to many English residents of India, this land of snowy mountains, deep rivers, placid lakes, and thick pine forests, lying in the foothills of the Himalayas between India and Asia, has, throughout its long history, witnessed many scenes of cruelty and oppression, due to the fact that this rich pocket of land is surrounded by poorer but more warlike neighbours Peace Brought by Britain

Over its passes to the north have come the Moguls and the Afghans, and up from the south came Sikhs and Hindus, each invader in turn bringing his own religion and forcing it- on the people. Peace was not restored until the arrival of the British and the making of Kashmir a feudal State under a Hindu Maharajah, and owing allegiance to the British Crown. This was originally brought about in 1846 through the British Government making Gulab Singh, a warlike Jammu chief, ruler of this State, and so securing his friendship while the British administered the Punjab. Thus Kashmir, a Moslem State, came to have a Hindu ruler. The State covers an area of 80,000 square miles, and has a population of approximately 4,000,000 people. Srinagar, the capital, lies on the Jhelum River, and, like Venice, its main street is a waterway with shikaris (boatmen) plying up and down, while the houses built along the river banks are quaint, chalet-like dwellings that remind one of Switzerland. A few miles from the capital are two lakes, Nagin Bagh and the Dhal Lake. Nagin Bagh, the smaller, is surrounded by • houseboats in the summer months which are hired out to British officers and their wives and families, who come up to Kashmir to escape the heat of the plains. In the shallows at the edges of the lakes grow the water lilies and the lotus flower, for which Kashmir is famed, while along the banks are poplars and giant chenar trees covered with an abundance of soft green foliage. Bordering the Dhal Lake is the Maharajah’s palace, and a mile or two further on is the Shalimar Gardens, built over 400 years ago under the direction of the Mogul Emperor, Shah Jahan, who was also responsible for the building of the famous Taj Mahal. Victims of Repression What of the people of Kashmir? They are dirty, and live amongst filth, squalor and stench. Their features are Aaran, and although of good physique, the Kashmiri is fundamentally a coward. It is not an uncommon sight to see a full-grown man burst into tears, and their cringing, whining nature makes them appear contemptible in the eyes of the average Englishman. Constant oppression and tyranny down the ages have made them natural liars, and physical disasters have imbued within them a selfish, pessimistic outlook. Beneath all this they are deeply steeped in ancient superstitions, which is largely the reason for their cowardliness.

In spite of all this the Kashmiri is a lover of Nature and a clever and ingenious craftsman. Kashmiri arts and crafts are world-famous, and take the form of wood carvings, papier mache, Kashmiri shawls and silk embroideries. Modern cigarette boxes made from walnut, and delicately carved, are always popular. They are sold each year in thousands, while house coats, bed covers, table mats, etc., embroidered in silk are the most delicate and expert needlework it is possible to imagine.

To add to their charm, the designs are taken from nature, and such patterns as the lotus flower, the water lily and the blue mountain poppy, embroidered in silk and representing their natural colours, are amongst the loveliest things of this nature to be found anywhere. The present unrest that has come to Kashmir is both religious and political, and these two factors always go hand in hand in India. India to-day is divided into dominions known as Pakistan and Hindustan. Pakistan comprises the States in which there is a Moslem majority, and Hindustan that portion of India with a Hindu majority. There still remain the native States governed by the Princes of India, uporf whom pressure is being brought to bear to declare themselves as members of one or other of the two dominions. .

Moslem Feelings Outraged

Kashmir, a State with the majority of its people Moslems, has, under the direction of its Hindu Maharajah, joined itself to Hindustan, an official act which the Pakistan Government refuses to recognise, maintaining that a plebiscite of the people must decide this important issue. Negotiations began between the Governments as to how this plebiscite must be conducted, but in the meantime the Moslems of the neighbouring States have taken the law into their own hands, and under this guise Kashmir is being invaded—and doubtless pillaged at the same time.

The memory of Kashmir, in spite of the deceit and flaunted dishonesty of the Kashmiri, plus his other shortcomings, in spite also of the filth and squalor of its bazaars, will always bring to the minds of those who know it memories of its charm and beauty. Added to this is a sense of horror that this beautiful land should be marred again by the ravages of war.