Almost all the politicians of various hues and shades as well as the members of civil society in Jammu & Kashmir always lay stress on maintaining the integrity and the unity of the state. A composite state representing a unity in diversity is essential for the integrity of India as well as Pakistan. This may be debatable as no geographical entity can be taken to be totally sacrosanct. Both India and Pakistan were created by dividing a country in two parts which have now been further divided into three! Europe consists of a number of countries which have seen two of the greatest wars in the history. These wars apart from taking a very high toll in human lives also completely shattered these countries. Finally, after getting tired of the senseless violence these have now become a single country for all practical purposes. Breaking up and coming together of geographical regions has been part of an evolutionary process of history for centuries. The concept of a united J & K State which is the erstwhile princely state is not more than 150 years old. The princely state was clobbered together by the Dogra Maharajas after the British sold them the valley of Kashmir under the Treaty of Amritsar in 1946. They had also annexed Ladakh to their Kingdom through the adventurous expeditions and forays of General Zorawar Singh.

Thus the state has not come into being by a natural evolutionary process of the voluntary coming together of the peoples of different ethnic and geographical regions. They have been brought together by an outside force. Any combination or merger brought under force sustains only as long as the force is there. Once the force dilutes or goes away, these units will have an automatic tendency to drift apart. This has been the case of the erstwhile Soviet Union whose break up no one could even imagine. It was supposed to be the most impregnable solid block. It completely shattered in less than 24 hours! The valley of Kashmir had most of the time been an independent Kingdom with some smaller peripheral mountain Kingdoms like “Kashtavatta”, and “Parontsa” etc. owing allegiance to it. There were some other principalities between Chamba and Badarwah. However, throughout history even under foreign rulers the main seat of power was in Srinagar, in Kashmir valley. It was only under the autocratic Dogra rulers that the state got twin capitals. Summer one in Srinagar and the winter one in Jammu.

These were for the convenience of the rulers who wanted to enjoy the salubrious weather of both the regions. Mughals had also been in earlier times visiting Kashmir for a summer holiday. The luxury of the kings did not touch the common masses as the movement of the people from one region to another was of a very limited scale. However, after the end of the autocratic rule the best thing the peoples’ representatives did was to continue the “Durbar Move” and expand it to cover the entire paraphernalia of the government. The numbers of people moving increased substantially and over a period of time not only people connected with the government but others too started moving to Jammu in winter. The people of two provinces developed trade relations and economic interdependence started slowly taking shape. During last two decades not only traders and government official came close to each other but even people from some of the rural areas in Kashmir constructed houses in different areas of Jammu city especially in newer colonies.

In fact, in some colonies the majority of houses are owned by Kashmiris. The movement of the people from the valley in winter both because of climatic and political conditions to Jammu increased substantially in last decade or so. People preferred going to Jammu rather than to the areas beyond because the stay here seemed like being in a second home. The last 60 years and especially the last 19 had brought the people of the two regions quite close. However, this bonhomie was shattered by the events of last summer and it may take some time for total reconciliation. There is a dichotomy between the main region and its sub-regions. The Hindu majority areas in Jammu feel closer to Indian mainland while as the Muslim majority sub-regions want to be closer to the valley. A similar situation exists in Ladakh also. The Buddhist dominated Leh wants to be closer to Delhi while as Muslim majority Kargil prefers the valley. In fact, if possible they would prefer to be closer to the erstwhile Baltistan now a part of the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Had Chinese not taken over Tibet, the Ladakhi Buddhists would prefer Tibet where their spiritual head used to reside!

Ladakhis were reported to hate Kashmiris. Yes, it was true earlier but there has been a change now. Till 1974, the entire area of Ladakh was a restricted zone. No one could cross Sonamarg Bridge which was the last point of the valley on the road to Kargil, without a permit! This restriction applied even to the residents of J & K. The remote area which remains cut off by road for more than six months in winter was truly a forbidden land. Any officer or official posted there would consider himself to have been exiled or sent to Siberia of the erstwhile Soviet Union. Most of the people posted there had been sent on some sort of punishment. There were many perks like double salary, tax exemption and so on but still people were scared of Ladakh. The punishment posting made them irritable and vindictive and they took out their anger on the local people. The quality of work in the area was exceptionally of a low standard. The valley people did not have their heart in any of the works which they executed there.

Ladakhis felt being in a colony. It was strange that the valley people were resenting the outside officers and were facing their colonial mentality. In turn they themselves were exhibiting same type of attitude towards the Ladakhis! The conditions changed dramatically after 1974 when travel restrictions to Ladakh were lifted and the area was thrown open to tourists including foreigners. This ended centuries old isolation of the “Land of Passes”, the local name by which this land is known. The subsequent air connection made the land easily accessible to every one. With this quick transportation facility, people started volunteering for posting in this area. Some very efficient, honest, and dedicated Kashmiri officers were posted there who undertook some important development projects. Even I too had an interesting experience with the tourism development of the area. On my taking over as the Director Tourism, J & K, to my utter surprise I discovered that the total plan outlay for tourism development of area was only rupees one lakh per year in a state budget of eight crores. I raised it straightaway to rupees one crore and subsequently we spent more than 12 crores on tourism development of the area. In later years, the Ladakhis got their Hill Council which was further empowered and raised in status by subsequent governments in Srinagar. During last two decades, a large number of Ladakhis have been coming to Jammu as well as Srinagar for education and employment.

There is much more interaction than used to be in the earlier years. Tourism has been the instrument of this positive development. Thus the three regions of Jammu & Kashmir State on the Indian side have come to be interdependent economically. By and large, the majority of the population in the three regions would like to maintain the integrity of the state. The fissiparous tendencies of a separate state of Jammu and Union Territory for Leh, though continuing to simmer do not command majority support. Then we have another important ethnic minority which is out of Kashmir. These are the Kashmiri Pandits. They are scattered all over the world. They have to be brought back to the valley with dignity and honour to complete its historical existence. Valley without Kashmiri Pandits is incomplete. We need a Budshah in Kashmir to ensure the honourable return of the Pandits to their ancestral homes!

The situation is not so rosy on the other side of the divide. The Northern Areas continue to be like a colony of Islamabad. There is lot of resentment among the local people against the rulers from Pakistan. Local people are not still fully empowered even about their day to day administrative matters. The Chief Secretary, a Civil Service of Pakistan officer continues to be Chief Executive of the local Council and the locally elected person is only the Deputy Chief Executive! In fact, there is lot of sectarian violence between the Sunni Pathans who were settled in the area by the federal government and the local Shias. In the final analysis, the people of Northern Areas may not like to go out of Pakistan as they had joined it in 1947 of their own volition but they would definitely fight for a full fledged provincial status. In contrast to this, the people living in the Pakistan Administered Kashmir also called “Azad” Kashmir may prefer to join the United J & K if it gets total independence. The bulk of the population in that area is not valley centric but more akin to Jammu area. They would be more comfortable with Jammu areas of Poonch and Rajouri than with the Kashmiri speaking valley dwellers. The Kashmiri speaking population in Pakistan Administered Kashmir is a miniscule minority.

Keeping in view the divergent aspirations as well as apprehensions of the people against each other it is difficult to imagine a solution of the vexed problem of Kashmir which can carry along every one. The only scenario which may be able to keep unity in diversity is an independent state of Jammu & Kashmir with a guarantee to all ethnic minorities for self-rule. The dispensation would have to be acceptable to not only India and Pakistan but to China also. The state will have to be completely secular and democratic. All the ethnic groups and regions will have to adjust to each other with some give and take. The state would have free access to both the countries like Nepal has with India and could also be designated as an “Economic Free Zone”. Kashmir could be in the sub-continent what Dubai is in the Persian Gulf! It could be the real start for the realisation of the full potential of the countries of the SAARC. These ideas may seem far fetched, utopian, and a sort of day dream but it is the loud thinking of this type which can possibly show a way towards the final solution of the problem. However, to concretise these ideas it is essential to allow people of different regions regardless of their ethnic background to travel and meet freely within the borders of the erstwhile princely state.

It is only after people separated for over 60 years meet each other freely and exchange notes about their experiences that a consensus can develop. Confidence can build up after the trust is restored. This cannot be done by symbolic measures of a supposedly cross LOC bus taking a group of 30 odd “Prisoners” on parole after every fortnight or a week. The bus does not even cross the LOC in Kashmir! They have to cross the bridge on foot. Similarly, the “Blind Barter Trade” without even knowing or speaking to the actual sellers and buyers cannot replace the real trade which had been going on for centuries across the present artificial divide. One has to go beyond the diplomatic gestures for international consumption. If the Jammu & Kashmir State has to remain united and maintain its integrity the people have to develop a stake in that unity. This stake has to develop among the common people who have been facing the brunt of upheavals during last 60 years or so. Conferences, seminars, and interactions at five star levels cannot develop the consensus and the consequent stake in the unity of the state among the common masses. It has to come up from the grass roots. The elite civil society can pave the way on both the sides for this common man’s interaction. The barriers have to be lifted like the demolition of the Berlin Wall. In the given circumstances of mistrust and suspicion, it may seem a tall order. However, given the political will on all sides it is not difficult to take such a historic step. Such momentous decisions change the history of nations and nature has its own ways of creating conducive circumstances for these revolutionary events! The rapidly developing situation in the region gives hope that God willing, such an event may happen sooner than later!