Mumbai rains have been news of the nation in last 24 hours. I switched on news channel to see the mumbai updates. Switched it off in 2 minutes. I opened my whatsapp and am flooded with more messages on dangers and alerts of mumbai rains than the flood in mumbai itself. I myself was out whole and had reached home at about 5pm. On my way I would stop by to click some beautiful pics of Mumbai. At some of the places my car tyres are drowned to almost 75%, driving slowly, trying to figure the potholes and its size by the movement of the vehicles ahead of me. Looking around at bikers and seeing them wearing windcheaters and raincoats that are totally of no use. On a bridge, my vision is totally blurred coz of heavy rains. All I could see is whiteness and rainshowers. After 4 hours of drive I reached home. Enjoying the view from my window, allowing rains to pour in my house and playing with raindrops. I was very hungry after a long drive. Maggie came to be a savior. After some time, I saw people are all set to go for 5 days Ganpati Visarjan. I was like wow! That’s what so special about this city of dreams. Mumbaikars have a different spirit altogether. And I saw that everyone is so capable to help themselves as well as others. But the news channels and whatsapp and facebook adds so much of drama around it. Drama not in the sense that people are having troubles. But they are sometimes hyped, they create panic, they spread rumors and so on. This kind of a situation in Mumbai has its own beautiful flip side too if we just don’t look at the struggles that we face for 1 day. I would like to share some of the good things I came across during this crisis.
Alerts and dangers are issued in public interest. Roads are flooded. But visarjan is full on. That’s the spirit of Mumbai. That’s why people say Mumbai never sleeps.
Beauty of rains!
Food Distribution at rustomjee dahisar west to needy person who loss house in yesterday rain
MUMBAI POLICE: They are always there the unsung heroes.
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KEM HOSPITAL
National park highway bridge. Posted by Rajesh jain with message:
Next time you put concrete in River…. remember…
next time you cut trees … remember…
next time you cut mangroves remember….
next time you throw plastic on the road and rivers remember….
This is how nature will give you back all of these things.
Tweet by Anand Mahindra:
Mumbai local train—or Hovercraft?
And here in Mumbai,a friend stuck in a car to the airport for 5 hrs told me that slumdwellers came out to serve stranded people tea&biscuits https://t.co/tzhGobH28Q
Marine Drive after heavy spell of rains. ❤❤ (Picture courtesy: Shreyansh Sheth)
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Another beautiful aspect of these floods:
All over internet relief center details were being circulated. During such crisis, everyone unites and help each other. You see only one religion and one class in these crisis and that’s HUMANITY. Mandir, Masjid, Church, Dargah, people living in slums, people living in small and large apartments, restaurants and hotels, all were just there to help everyone.
And there were rumors too 🙂 Like fall of chakala bridge. This rumor was being circulated on whatsapp along with some old pictures.
Another one was Crocodiles are in waters near powai. Please be careful. This too was being circulated along with pictures.
Cyclone alerts and so on. I remember the day when I was stuck in Train in about 2007. I went to office at Opera House in heavy rains just to know that I can go back. Of course I used to travel by train – from Charni road to Malad. Looking at the conditions, I knew I might get stuck. I called home to update my parents on the situation and asked them not to panic if I late or I reach late evening or tomorrow morning. Consider I am stuck coz of heavy rains but also know that I am going to be safe. Well in 2007, there was no whatsapp and facebook too was new. Not many people used it. Especially not on a mobile. There were no rumors or panicky messages to share with people. I got in train from Charni road and it was stuck between lower parel and dadar for 5 hours. I boarded the train at about 11am from Charni Road station. Train started moving slowly after 5 hours. I reached malad station just to walk on roads with waters upto and above my knees. I remember that I reached home at about 8 or 9pm. Yes, it was inconvenient, struggle but also adventurous. I didn’t have control over rains or floods but I had control over what I do. First thing was to tell my family that I am safe and on my way. I even told them, don’t worry if my mobile is not reachable (battery may go down, or network issues or anything is possible in such rains). Second, I knew I may get stuck before boarding the train. Luckily I found a street food vendor, selling vada-pavs. I bought 2 vada pavs, chips and bisleri. I knew I would get a chance to picnic in the train. I chose to enjoy in that moment in whatever was available. More importantly I didn’t have whatsapp or BBM or FB app on mobile to create panic in me or others. But I had an mp3 player to enjoy music. And I also had my Nokia Nseries – N72 to click pictures. Nseries was one of the first mobiles with better cameras than others available at that time 😛 . That moment was just too perfect with all its imperfections – heavy rains, stuck in train, almost empty trains, sitting near the door, eating chips and vadapav and music. What a feeling yaar? Before such messaging apps too Mumbai have been flooded, in much more worst ways. Everyone helped back then too. Everyone had to go thru their own journey back to home and each one of them can be a wonderful story. Let’s enjoy these stories instead of being so dramatic about it. 🙂 And just look at Mumbai. It has already restored its pace. Do you ever wonder all weather alerts we get are so incorrect. If its raining heavily today, immediately we get messages with the forecast that next 48 hours there’s going to heavy rainfall, cyclone, floods, etc. etc. Next day, sun says, ok challenge accepted and there are no rains at all. :P. Why didn’t they gave us the forecast a day before the heavy rains? Lol. This is so funny. Anyways, I hope all enjoyed their heavy rainfall and floodwala journey. Am sure you have your own story to tell. Let life give you some more situations to tell the story! Have fun!
Generally, festivals are celebrations characterized by excitement, enthusiasm, and enjoyment; Jain festivals are characterized by renunciation, austerities, study of the scriptures, and repetition of holy hymns by reciting Sutras and Stavans, meditation, and expressing devotion for the Tirthankars.
Paryushan is the most important festival in Jainism. It is observed during the month of August and/or September. The Shvetambar sect observes it for 8 days while the Digambar sect observes it for 10 days where it is known as Das Lakshana Parva. During these eight or ten days, the entire Jain community becomes engrossed in spiritual and religious activities.
Shvetambaras are also called Deravasi’s i.e. those who go to Derasar. Derasar is a jain temple. So basically Deravasi’s believe in idol worship.
Digambars or sthanakvasi’s do not believe in idol worship. They worship in sthanak or a large prayer hall. It’s an empty prayer hall, without any idol of god. In both the sects, monks are the gurus.
Literally, Paryushan means”coming together from all directions”. This symbolizes growth and transformation.
The word “Paryushan” has several meanings:
Pari + Ushan = all kinds + to burn = to burn (shed) all types of karmas. Our scriptures have prescribed twelve different types of austerities (tap) such as fasting, to reduce our Kashäyas and thereby eliminate our karmas.
Another meaning of “Ushan” is to stay closer. We stay closer to our own soul (remember the qualities of our true soul) by doing Swädhyäy (self-study), meditation, and austerities during Paryushana.
Pari + Upashamanä = Upashamanä means to suppress, mainly our passions (Kashäyas – anger, ego, deceit and greed) from all sources.
The purpose of life according to Jain teachings is to realize oneself, as well as to experience wholeness, peace, compassion, and reverence for all life. Therefore, the real purpose of Paryushan is to purify our soul by observing and correcting one’s faults, asking for forgiveness for the mistakes they have committed, and taking vows to minimize their faults. During Paryushan they should strive to minimize our worldly affairs so that they can concentrate on the qualities of their true self.
Paryushan is a period of repentance and confession for the undesirable acts of the previous year, and to practice austerities that help minimize our passions and vices, which shed accumulated karma. Austerity, the control of one’s desire for material pleasures, is a part of spiritual training. During this period, some people fast for the entire period of eight or ten days, while others fast for shorter periods, although the Jain scriptures recommend a minimum three day fast. However, it is considered obligatory to fast on the last day of Paryushan. Fasting usually involves complete abstinence from food or drink, but during the daytime, drinking of water that has been boiled and cooled in the morning is is permissible. If one cannot fast for the whole day, eating only one meal also counts as limited fasting.
There are regular ceremonies in the temple and meditation halls during this time. During the first three days of Paryushan the Sädhus and Sädhvis deliver sermons related to the five activities that lay people (Shravaks and Shravikas) are required to do during Paryushan.
Five Essential Activities of Paryushan:
Amari Pravartan
Leading a non-violent life, working towards a non-violent world, and supporting animal welfare activities
Sadharmik Vatsalya
Respecting fellow human beings and supporting humanitarian activities
Attham Tapa
Observing fasts for the last three days of Paryushan. Some people fast for all 8 days of Paryushan and it is called Atthai. After 8 days, they celebrate the success of the person doing the Atthai, they call their friends and family to be a part of this celebration.
Chaitya Paripati
Visiting different Jain temples, Jain libraries, Upäshrays, and supporting other charitable and religious organizations
Kshamapana
Repenting our sins, forgiving others and requesting forgiveness from others
In the Shvetambar tradition, the Kalpa Sutra, a Jain scripture that includes a detailed account of the life of Bhagawan Mahavir and other Tirthankars’ is read to the congregation from the fourth through the last day of Paryushan.
On the fifth day the auspicious dreams of Bhagawan Mahavir’s mother Trishala are celebrated at a special ceremony. (Click here to read an article on 14 Auspicious dreams of Trishala mata) The final day of Paryushan, known as Samvatsari, the day of repentance of our past sins and forgiveness to others, is the most important day of Paryushan.
The Digambar tradition calls this festival Das Lakshana Parva and observes it for 10 days. Each day is dedicated to one virtue.
10 virtues are:
1. Kshama – Forgiveness
2. Mardava – Humility
3. Arjava – Straightforwardness
4. Shaucha – Contentment – absence of greed
5. Satya – Truth
6. Samyam – Restraint of all senses
7. Tapa – Austerities
8. Tyag – Charity
9. Akinchan – Non-possessiveness
10. Brahmacharya – Chastity or Celibacy
Some traditions read the Tattvartha Sutra, an ancient Jain scripture that covers the entire Jain philosophy, is read to the congregation. The scripture has 10 chapters and one chapter is read every day.
The last day of Paryushan (Samvatsari) and the first day of the Das Lakshana Parva (Kshama) is the day of forgiveness, and the most important day for all Jains.
This is the day when all Jains repent for their past sins, ask for forgiveness from family, friends, enemies, and especially from those with whom they have struggled, for hurting them in any way either knowingly or unknowingly during the past year. It is essential to their spiritual advancement that they do not harbor ill will or hold grudges beyond a year. Hence, the annual occasion for repentance and forgiveness is the most important day in Jain tradition.
By meditating and purifying during these eight days of Paryushan or ten days of Das Lakshana, they come to realize themselves. They call the Festival of Paryushan, the Festival of the Soul – “when we forgive, we become one with the light of our soul”.
On the last day those who have observed rigorous fasting are honored, especially to encourage others to follow their example.
Listening to the Kalpa Sutra, Tattvartha Sutra, or some other scripture, taking positive steps to ensure the welfare of all living beings, developing the feeling of brotherhood towards fellow human beings and forgiveness for all living beings, doing penance, visiting neighboring temples, libraries, and Upäshrays are all important activities during this time.
After performing Samvatsari Pratikraman (pratikraman means introspection) or Das lakshana celebration, Jains request forgiveness from all living beings in person, via telephone, or via mail. You all must have read or heard this many times – MICHHAMI DUKADDAM (asking for forgiveness).
Mahavira was the last Jainist Tirthankara. People call Lord Mahavira by different names such as Vira or Viraprabhu, Sanmati, Vardhamana, Ativira and Gnatputra. When it comes to the values of Jainism, Lord Mahavira deserves a special mention, as he was the one to establish the ethics that are ruling the whole Jain community today. Mahavira (599-527 BC) was the last Jainist Tirthankara. People call Lord Mahavira by different names such as Vira or Viraprabhu, Sanmati, Vardhamana, Ativira and Gnatputra. When it comes to the values of Jainism, Lord Mahavira deserves a special mention, as he was the one to establish the ethics that are ruling the whole Jain community today.
His teachings and philosophies continue to inspire numerous people even today. He was born in a royal family and denounced his royal family life to attain spiritual knowledge like the Buddha. He was named Vardhamana Mahavira because when he was born his father, king Siddhartha prospered like anything. Vardhamana means increasing and the king credited his growing success and prosperity to the birth of his son.
Lord Mahavira was born roughly around 599 B.C. He was born in the royal family of Kshatriyakund, a part of the republic of Vaishali (present day Bihar). His father was King Siddhartha and his mother was Queen Trishala. It is said that when the queen conceived Lord Mahavira, she had fourteen auspicious dreams that were a premonition of the greatness of the child that was to be born. The prosperity of the King grew day by day. The king attributed his success to his new born child and named him Vardhamana, which means “ever increasing”.
Bhagwan Mahavir’s Birth
It is a well-established convention that the Tirtharnkaras, being supermen, are born only in the noble warrior (Ksatriya) caste. Bhagavan Mahavira was,however, conceived in the womb of a Brahmin lady at midnight on the sixth day of the bright half of Asadha, as a result of his pride for superior caste in one of his previous births. Shakendra Maharaj from his divine drishti saw the underdeveloped body of the Bhagwan in the womb of Devananda a Brahmin. Shakendra maharaj thought that, a Tirthankar was always from a royal family & not from a middle family, so he thought of a plan.
He called Harin Gameyshee Dev & said that the last Tirthankar, yet to be born in the womb of Devananda Queen Trishla Mata of king Siddartha too is pregnant, so he recommanded god Harin gameyahee dev to transplant the foetus from the womb of Devananda to that of womb of Trisala.That night, change of pregnancy took place.
Fourteen Auspicious Dreams of Mother Trishala
Its said that the mothers of would-be Tirtharnkaras witness fourteen auspicious objects in their dreams. Queen Trishala, mother at midnight also saw fourteen beautiful and auspicious dreams after conception while Devananda dreamt the vanishing of dreams. Ever since Trishla Mata’s womb was blessed with the birth of a Tirthankar. The treasury overflowed. There was prosperity every where in the city of Vaishati.
Elephant
Bull
Lion
Goddess Laxmi
Garland of Flowers
Full Moon
Sun
Large Flag
Silver Urn
Lotus-Lake
Milky-Sea
Celestial Air-plane
Heap of Gems
Smokeless Fire
1. Elephant
The first dream Queen Trishala saw was of an elephant. She saw a big, tall, and impetuous elephant. It had two pairs of tusks. The color of the elephant was white and its whiteness was superior to the color of marble. It was an auspicious elephant, and was endowed with all the desirable marks of excellence. This dream indicates that her son will guide the spiritual chariot, and save human beings from misery, greed, and attraction of life.
2. Bull
The second dream Queen Trishala saw was of a bull. The color of the bull was also white, but it was brighter than white lotuses. It glowed with beauty and radiated a light all around. It was noble, grand, and had a majestic hump. It had fine, bright, and soft hair on his body. Its horns were superb and sharply-pointed.
This dream indicates that her son will be a spiritual teacher of great ascetics, kings, and other great personalities.
3. Lion
The third dream Queen Trishala saw was of a magnificent lion. Its claws were beautiful and well-poised. The lion had a large well-rounded head and extremely sharp teeth. Its lips were perfect, its color was red, and its eyes were sharp and glowing. Its tail was impressively long and well-shaped. Queen Trishala saw this lion descending towards her and entering her mouth.
This dream indicates that her son will be as powerful and strong as a lion. He will be fearless, almighty, and capable of ruling over the world.
4. Goddess Laxmi
The fourth dream Queen Trishala saw was of the Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth, prosperity and power. She was seated at the top of mountain Himalaya. Her feet had a sheen of golden turtle. She had a delicate and soft fingers. Her black hair was tiny, soft, and delicate. She wore rows of pearls interlaced with emeralds and a garland of gold. A pair of earring hung over her shoulders with dazzling beauty. She held a pair of bright lotuses.
This dream indicates that her son will attain great wealth, power, prosperity.
5. Garland of Flowers
The fifth dream Queen Trishala saw was of a celestial garland of flowers descending from the sky. It smelled of mixed fragrances of different flowers. The whole universe was filled with fragrance. The flowers were white and woven into the garland. They bloomed during all different seasons. A swarm of bees flocked to it and they made a humming sound around the region.
This dream indicates that the fragrance of her son’s preaching will spread over the entire universe.
6. Full Moon
The sixth dream queen Trishala saw was of a full moon. It presented an auspicious sight. The moon was at its full glory. It awoke the lilies to bloom fully. It was bright like a well polished mirror. The moon radiated whiteness like a swan. It inspired the oceans to surge skyward. The beautiful moon looked like a radiant beauty-mark in the sky.
This dream indicates that her son will have a great physical structure, and be pleasing to all living beings of the universe.
7. Sun
The seventh dream Queen Trishala saw was of a huge disc of sun. The sun was shining, and destroying darkness. It was red like the flame of the forest. Lotuses bloomed at its touch. The sun is the lamp of the sky and the lord of planets. The sun rose and an put to end the evil activities of the creatures who thrive at night.
This dream indicates that the teaching of her son will destroy anger, greed, ego, lust, pride, etc. from the life of the people.
8. Large Flag
The eighth dream Queen Trishala saw was of a very large flag flying on a golden stick. The flag fluttered softly and auspiciously in the gentle breeze. It attracted the eyes of all. Peacock feathers decorated its crown. A radiant white lion was on it.
This dream indicates that her son will be great, noble, and a well respected leader of the family.
9. Silver Urn
The ninth dream Queen Trishala saw was of a silver urn (kalash) full of crystal-clear water. It was a magnificent, beautiful, and bright pot. It shone like gold and was a joy to behold. It was garlanded with strings of lotuses and other flowers. The pot was holy and untouched by anything sinful.
This dream indicates that her son will be perfect in all virtues.
10. Lotus-Lake
The tenth dream Queen Trishala saw was of a lotus lake (padma-sagar). Thousands of lotuses were floating on the lake which opened at the touch of the sun’s rays. The lotuses imparted a sweet fragrance. There were swarms of fish in the lake. Its water glowed like flames of fire. The lily-leaves were floating on the water.
This dream indicates that her son will help to liberate the human beings who are tangled in the cycle of birth, death, and misery.
11. Milky-sea
The eleventh dream Queen Trishala saw was of a milky sea. Its water swelled out in all directions, rising to great heights with turbulent motions. Winds blew and created waves. A great commotion was created in the sea by huge sea animals. Great rivers fell into the sea, producing huge whirlpools.
This dream indicates that her son will navigate through life on an ocean of birth, death, and misery leading to Moksha or liberation.
12. Celestial air-plane
The twelfth dream Queen Trishala saw was of a celestial airplane. The airplane had eight thousands magnificent gold pillars studded with gems. The plane was framed with sheets of gold and garlands of pearls. It was decorated with rows of murals depicting bulls, horses, men, crocodiles, birds, children, deers, elephants, wild animals, and lotus flowers. The plane resounded with celestial music. It was saturated with an intoxicating aroma of incense fumes. It was illuminated with a bright silvery light.
This dream indicates that all Gods and Goddesses in heaven will respect and salute to his spiritual teaching and will obey him.
13. Heap of Gems
The thirteenth dream Queen Trishala saw was of a great heap of gems, as high as Mount Meru. There were gems and precious stones of all types and kinds. These gems were heaped over the earth and they illuminated the entire sky.
This dream indicates that her son will have infinite virtues and wisdom.
14. Smokeless Fire
The fourteenth dream queen Trishala saw was of a smokeless fire. The fire burned with great intensity and emitted a radiant glow. Great quantities of pure ghee and honey were being poured on the fire. It burned with numerous flames. This dream indicates that the wisdom of her son will excel the wisdom of all other great people.
After having such fourteen wonderful dreams, Queen Trishala woke up. Her dreams filled her with wonder. She never had such dreams before. She narrated her dreams to King Siddharth.
The king called the soothsayers for the interpretation of dreams and they unanimously said, “Sir, her Highness will be blessed with a noble son. The dream augur the vast spiritual realm, the child shall command. Her Highness will become the Universal Mother.”
After nine months and fourteen days, Queen Trishala delivered a baby boy. The boy was named Vardhaman meaning ever increasing.
Breaking news! It’s absolutely normal to do so. Sounds like a big relief, right? Like you, there are many more people who find Joker more interesting than Batman, Lord Voldemort more fascinating than Harry Potter and so on…. One of the major reason for this is; Villians are flawed like we all are.
There is no such thing as perfect and as ideal as any movie, comics, books or series hero. Empathy is the strong emotion that we have and helps us understand a character. Psychiatrist Carl Jung once said, the real reason we find interest in evil characters is because these villians force us to ‘confront and understand our own hidden nature to grow as human beings’.
Nothing in the world is black and white or as simple as good and bad. Even good guys are susceptible to wrong doings or making a wrong decision. We, as human beings are all Heroes in some areas and Villians in other areas of our life. And it’s completely normal. No one is born evil and no one is destined to be good. We are full of emotions – love, hate, anger, fear, anxiety, guilt, resentment, jealousy. Whatever you feel, all are valid. That’s also another reason why we all like villians. They feel all the emotions that come natural to we humans.
Know that, just because you like villians, it doesn’t mean you believe in ripping people off or believe in carnage or crimes they do. It simply means you believe in all these emotions. Let me put it in another way, would you ever approve of terrorists killing the innocents? No, never. See point proved.
When it comes to movies, books, comics and series, its reverse. Not because villians are bad and heroes are good. But, because heroes just don’t sound realistic. Besides on a lighter side, villians have better clothes, they are cool, have better dialogues – especially the monologues at the climax, they have a background to be evil where you empathize, they are more creative than hero, they get to be cruel when they want to be, they have freedom of speech and the list is long.
Villians have free-will – not constrained by rules and regulations or morality. We are tied up with time-tables, hectic daily routines, exams, jobs, sleep on time, wake up early, we have scheduled time to play and do home-work, go to coaching classes, arts classes, sports classes, projects, and so on. Hardly any time left in a day to do what you love. At the end of the day, we are all exhausted. We feel villians are liberated soul. Villians get to go wild as a character, you and me have to be descent, smiling and good to everyone all the time. Villians can blow up in anger anytime they want, they can insult anyone they want. But as a hero, you are too good to do that or suppress those emotions to look good.
Psychologically, in some or the other areas of our life we find ourselves as victims. So better villain than a victim. Emotion of anger feels better to us than the emotion of anxiety or fear. A victimized person who cannot figure out ways to take responsibility, will become destructive for the need of self-assertion. A person with healthy mind would rather take accountability and deal with the consequences.
You like villians not because you like villians. You like villians because you don’t like those all perfect heroes or you just cannot like them – because they personify perfection and idealism, which is not realistic. We have to choose either this or that. We are trained to first figure out things we don’t like instead of what we really like. For example, from a buffet of ice-creams, you are asked which one you want, you would first check all the ice-creams laid in the buffet, make a mental note that there’s Sitafal ice-cream, Strawberry ice-cream and chocolate ice-cream and say ‘I want chocolate’ ice-cream. Majority of the people choose something because they don’t like the other in the given choices. You choose chocolate flavor because you don’t like Sitafal or strawberry flavor. If there’s another flavor that you like, say, butter-scotch, you would be confused which one to have because you like both. Complex emotions. You will choose what your senses relate most to or to put it in another way, you chose the one you like the most.
Now consider you are a hero and your problems and struggles as villain. What would you say about this? So now you like your problems? Will you feel heroic when you overcome them, just like a hero defeats villains in the end? A hero only appears as heroic as the challenge he or she has to overcome. Villians move in and out of a story to reveal how heroic a hero can be. Great heroes require great villians.
You are the hero and villian of your life. The problems and struggles you face today will help you grow and move on to another level of your life. On a new level, there will be new challenges and so on. You are a hero in whose life villians will keep moving in and out at different stages. Each one of us is a hero with villians in our life who he is there to help us grow. Villians are not bad and heroes are not good. Both are equally needed, both are good at something, both are bad at something and both are average in something too.
Keep affirming to yourself and believe that:
You are perfect the way you are and the way you are not. You are unique and special. You are loving, loved and lovable.
This year we witness the 70th Independence day of India and 70 years of Kashmir Issue. We all know about Kashmir issue in bits and parts. If not in detail then at least one thing that two countries (actually 3) are fighting for a piece of land. In this article, I shall write about Kashmir issue in a bit detail. I have tried my best to take bits and parts from about 8 to 10 books in one article. I will first begin with the brief history of Kashmir.
Brief History of Kashmir
About 2300 years ago, Kashmir was a part of Mauryan Empire. Later on it was under Kushans Dynasty. They made Kashmir into a big learning center for Buddhism. King Kanishka of Kushans held 4th Buddhist council in Kashmir. After the demise of Kushans, Kashmir was ruled by various Hindu dynasties betwen 5th and 14th century. During 13th century, Kashmir came under Islamic influence and many people were being converted to Islam. Gradually, even the King of Kashmir converted himself to Islam and thus “Sultanate of Kashmir” was founded in 14th century. It continued upto 16th century. In 1586, it was conquered by Mughals under the reign of Akbar. By 1751, Mughals became weak and Afghans invaded and captured Kashmir under Durrani Emperor – Ahmad Shah Abdali. Later, Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh defeated Afghans and took the hold of Kashmir. So it came under Sikh rule in about 1891. After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, British defeated Sikh Empire with the help of Dogra Dynasty founder – Maharaja Gulab Singh. Dogra Dynasty is thereby also the founder of Royal house of Jammu and Kashmir. Gulab Singh was appointed as ruler of Jammu by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. But he supported Britishers in Anglo Sikh War. After winning the war, Britishers transferred the entire Kashmir area (Jammu, Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan) to Gulab Singh in return for an indemnity payment of 7,500,000 Nanakshahee Rupees. This was in the year 1846 (approx). So from 1846 to 1947, Dogra Dynasty ruled Kashmir. Rulers were Hindu and majority of the population were Muslims.
When India-Pakistan partition happened, ruler of Kashmir was Maharaja Hari Singh, a descendant of Dogras. He neither wanted to be in India nor Pakistan. He wanted Kashmir to be Switzerland of Asia, An independent and neutral country.
There was a political party in Kashmir called “National Conference Party” (earlier known as Muslim Conference Party). They wanted democracy or self-rule in Kashmir and not the rule of a King. They wanted the King just to be the constitutional head but has no power and only parliament has all the powers. And so Sheikh Abdullah, along with other few people, founded this party in 1931. By 1947 this was the largest political party in JK and was also supported by Indian National Congress.
1947
In 1947, Jinnah argued that according to two nation theory (the basis of partition), the state of Kashmir with 77% Muslim majority should join Pakistan. And Maharaja Hari Singh, as mentioned earlier, wanted to stay neutral. But he signed a standstill agreement with Pakistan. It means “we will will continue to trade, travel, communicate, etc as it is but we will not join you. Things will remain as it is.” And he was also in talks with the Indian government to standstill agreement.
While these talks were going on, there was a rebel in Poonch (or Punch) area against state police and army. There was also communal violence in Jammu against Muslims. As you all know there were riots going on during Partition. During this period Pakistan supported tribal Pastun fighters from Northwest Frontier Province, NWFP (now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (If you happen to see Mahabharata map, you will find Gandhara there, yes, Gandhara is also happen to be the old name for NWFP). NWFP is the Pashtun dominated area of Pakistan. With the help of these Pashtun fighters Pakistan invaded Kashmir on 22nd October 1947. The reason they gave is they are here to help for rebel in Poonch and also the atrocities against Muslims. This was the official reason given by the Pakistan fighters.
As soon as these attacks happened, Maharaja Hari Singh’s army couldn’t stop it. He asked for military help from Indian Government. Indian government said, if you want military help, you need to join India. Thus, “INSTRUMENT OF ACCESSION” was signed on 26th October 1947. This means Kashmir joined India officially. As soon as this instrument was signed, Pakistan rejected it saying it was signed under pressure, by an unpopular ruler and it does not represent the will of the public. Even Sheikh Abdullah had agreed for Instrument of Accession.
1947 newspaper pic, Maharaja Hari Singh (left), Sheikh Abdullah (center) and Jawaharlal Nehru (right)
The accession was regarded as provisional until the time comes when the the will of the people can be ascertained once things are stable. It can be ascertained thru elections and constitution may be formed. Sheikh Abdullah endorsed the accession. He was a good friend of Nehru and Nehru also promised him that the will of people will be ascertained once the situation is stable. Sheikh Abdullah was appointed as the head of emergency administration by Maharaja.
Thus, the war of 1947-1948 begins. It is also called as First Indo-Pak war or First Kashmir war.
In this war Indian army airlifted its troops as there was no road connectivity to SriNagar. Heavy fighting happened at high altitudes, especially in the areas near Drass and Kargil. Army managed to push back the attackers to northern areas. Then there was winter. No fight can happen in winter coz of snow and all roads are blocked. Hence there was a stalemate in war. (stalemate is no one wins or loses).
While this war was going on, a provisional government was formed in western area of Kashmir by Pakistan and it was called as Azad Kashmir with Muzaferabad as its capital. Attacks were happening from Azad Kashmir to areas of Poonch, Uri and Baramulla.
Area circled in red is Azad Kashmir with Muzaferabad as its capital
LoC is highlighted in red line
Now India went to United Nations in January 1948 to resolve the Kashmir conflict. UN constituted a commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) and a security council resolution was also adopted. Resolution 47 of UNSC (UN security council).
UNSC gave 3 consequential non-binding steps. consequetial meaning 2nd step is to be taken only if 1st step is complied with and so on. Non-binding means it is not mandatory for India and Pakistan to follow this.
The 3 consequential non-binding steps were:
Pakistan should withdraw all nationals and irregulars from Kashmir.
India should withdraw its army and keep only a minimal force in the region required to maintain law and order.
A plebiscite (vote of people) will take place to determine the will of the people directly.
Pakistan did not withdraw its forces and hence even India did not withdrew its forces. Stalemate continues. A ceasefire line was drawn and that became the de facto border of India and Pakistan in Kashmir region. Ceasefire line of 1948 was officially termed as Line of Control (LoC) in 1972 Shimla Agreement. In Shimla agreement both countries agreed to solve the Kashmir issue bilaterally. No third party will come in between. Earlier it was under UN.
CHINA
Now there is a new aspect to the problem. China occupied the area of Aksai Chin after the Indo-Sino war of 1962. After this war Pakistan wanted to solidify friendship with China and to do so it simply gave away a large piece of land as gift to China – The Trans-Karakoram Tract (Shaksgam Valley). Earlier there were only 2 countries involved in Kashmir issue and now there are 3, further complicating the problem.
CoK 1 is the area given as gift to China by Pakistan and CoK2 is the Aksai Chin Area
Article 370
Sheikh Abdullah was made PM of Kashmir (not India) in 1948 and he headed the government till 1953.
Article 370 of Indian Constitution was framed to “temporarily” give few allowances to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It gave the state some special powers like:
All the rules of Indian constitution are not applicable to JK state.
State assembly will have most of the powers
State head will be called PM instead of CM. Although later on it was changed.
Also, state of JK fly its own flag along with national flag. Yes, Jammu and Kashmir has its own flag. And there are many more special allowance in Article 370.
Jammu and Kashmir Flag
1953
In 1953, Sheikh Abdullah was removed from his post of PM by Central govt (led by Nehru) and was jailed for 11 years.
1964
In 1964, Sheikh was released and talks with Nehru began again. Nehru sent him to Pakistan to discuss the Kashmir issue. But while he was in Pakistan Nehru had died and again the talks were disrupted. Sheikh Abdullah was again sent to prison for few years by Indira Gandhi.
1974
In 1974, Sheikh Abdullah signed an agreement with Indira Gandhi and this was called as “Indira-Sheikh Accord”. According to this accord Sheikh dropped his demand of plebiscite (which he had demanded in 1948) and he became the CM of JK. He remained CM until his death in 1982. After is death his son Farooq Abdullah became CM.
1984
Indian army takes controld of Siachen Glacier under operation Meghdoot.
Insurgencies in 1990s
In 1987, assembly elections were held but were allegedly rigged to bring NC and INC to combine their powers. As soon as the results were out there was protest against this rigged elections. There were strikes, violence and protests that were out of control. Pakistan government and ISI took advantage of this situation. They promoted Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and Hizb-ul-Mujaheedin – 2 terrorists organizations to start a separatist insurgency (an armed rebellion against army / govt.). They also led the protests and also linked all their terrorists activities to the cause of independence of Kashmir. Initially, the protest started against elections but with terrorists groups they continue even today – against army and Indian government.
Many young Kashmiris were trained by militias and terrorist camps in PoK.
January 1990 – Genocide and Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits
In valley of Kashmir (entire Kashmir, only the valley of kashmir), Kashmiri andits were in minority. This ethnic community had been living in Kashmir valley since 100s and 1000s of years peacefullly. They were an affluent class of people even though theyw ere minority. They had goo positions in goverment, many were teachers in school, etc, basically they were well paid and lived. They were not poor. But in 1989, there was violence against these Kashmiri Pandits by the separatists. Many leaders of this community were killed publicly – high court judge, senior BJP politician, etc Around 300 were killed in few months.
By the time January 1990 came, insurgents were putting up public posts in newspapers and warning Kashmiri Pandits that they should leave Kashmir as soon as possible. Even loud speaker announcements were going on in day time to warn them to leave. On 10th r 20th January 1990, around 2.5 to 3 lakhs Kahsmiri Pandits fled overnight. They left their properties, houses, businesses, jobs and everything and fled to Jammu. Even tday, after 25+ years, many of them are living in camps and tents in Jammu and Delhi areas and still in deplorable condition. This entire episode is also known as ethnic cleansing of India. It means removal of entire ethnic of people from certain area.
The militany and violence that started in 80s led to the government of India to apply Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in JK in 1990. AFSPA gives special powers to the police and army.
Few of many special powers are:
They can arrest any one without warrant.
They can arrest any one found doing any suspicious activity.
They can shot people after giving a warning, no need to arrest or carry out any investigation.
and many more.
AFSPA was necessary coz of large scale violence that was going on.
The government had already resigned by 1990 – govt of Farooq Abdullah which had come to power in 1987. There was complete Lawlessness in the state of JK and that is why Kashmiri Pandits could not be saved. There was no got to protect them.
Due to absence of govt, there was now Presidents rule and thus AFSPA was introduced.
Throughout 1990s and early 2000s, there was heavy infiltration of terrorists and attacks. Indian army carried out counter insurgency operations against this infiltration of terrorists and attacks. Uptil 2004 violence was there in large scale. After 2003-2004, militancy has subsided to a good extent but it is still present. Even today we see ews atleast once a week on Kashmir violence or attacks but it is nothing compared to 1990s.
Infact, in 2014, 65% people in Kashmir came out to vote, which is a very good percentage.
In 2016, due to demonetization, Kashmir saw dip in terrorism. No stone pelting on forces in Kashmir after demonetization move. Even as on date I cannot comment if the violence in Kashmir is paid or not.
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