Udhampur, October 29
Every year, the Infantry Day is celebrated by the Indian Army to commemorate the landing of its first contingent of Infantry Soldiers in Srinagar on October 27, 1947. This bold action and subsequent operations of the Army thwarted attempts of Pakistani invaders to capture Srinagar and taking over the Valley.

As part of Pakistan's invasion plan, tribal raiders, called Lashkars, sponsored by it had run over Domel, Muzaffarabad, Uri and Baramula between October 22 and 26. Yet in their success lay the seeds of their doom. For, on their way, they took to looting and raping. Each man tried to grab as much wealth and as many girls as he could, and capturing the Maharaja or Kashmir was last on his mind.

Jammu & Kashmir had till then not acceded to either Pakistan or India. Taking the plea that it was an internal matter, India refused to send its troops to the Valley. However, when Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession with the Indian Government on October 26, 1947, India could react.

The troops were flown to Srinagar with hardly any time for planning and preparation. The first battalion to move in was 1 Sikh Regiment from Gurgaon, commanded by Lt Col DR Rai, in four Dakota planes that took off from Delhi on October 27. The first engagement with the enemy started on October 28. Lt Col Rai was the first Indian officer to fall in the battle of liberation.

Baramula was to be recaptured from Pakistani invaders by November 17. The original plan was to launch a decisive battle on November 10, but an unexpected attack on Indian positions at Shalateng on November 7 led to the postponement of the initiative.

In a masterly battle strategy, the Indian troops attacked the invaders from three sides. The Battle of Shalateng was over in 20 minutes. It put Srinagar and the Kashmir Valley beyond the grasp of the invaders forever. By the evening of November 13, Uri was captured. With that, the liberation of the Valley was complete.

On November 20, a column for relief of Poonch set out from Uri, but was halted 13 km short of Poonch. The Poonch garrison held out for one full year before it was finally relieved. Operation Easy was aimed at establishing the final link-up with Poonch. Lt Gen Cariappa (later Field Marshal and Army Chief) gave the go-ahead for the link-up.

Meanwhile, intelligence reports revealed that a strong enemy build-up was taking place at Kot, 9 km northeast of Naushahera on the highest point. Kot allowed observation over the Rajouri road. Brigadier Usman launched Operation Kipper, and dislodged the enemy from Kot.

Stung by the loss of Kot, the enemy launched the expected all-out attack on Naushahera on February 6, 1948. The invaders, around 5,000 in number, attacked other pickets from west and southwest. To meet this serious threat to the Naushahera valley, Brigadier Usman decided to take the offensive and send his small reserve to attack the enemy concentration southwest of Naushahera. The valley was cleared by 1500 hours. In the annals of military warfare, the battle was par excellence a gunners’ battle.

Jammu, October 29
With a small contingent of soldiers, Brig Rajinder Singh headed towards Baramulla to hold back the enemy as ordered by Maharaja Hari Singh. Knowing full well that he won’t come back alive, Brig Rajinder Singh had ordered his soldiers well in advance to kill him tp prevent invaders from capturing him alive.

On October 23, 1947, he was commanded by Maharaja Hari Singh to hold back the enemy at Uri “at all costs and to the last man.”

The conversation between the Brigadier and his soldiers is still fresh in the memory of 96- year-old RL Sharma who lives in Karan Nagar. He was then executive engineer at the Mahura Hydroelectric Power Station.

Sharma was directed by the Chief Secretary to immediately restore power supply and he accompanied the army convoy from Badami Baag to power station.

“He never wanted to let down the entire state forces or the state. So he preferred death to disgrace of the state and the nation,” he said.

“The fall of Muffrabad and adjoining areas was art of a conspiracy. The chief of the state forces, Maj-Gen. HL Scot, a British, sent all Hindu and Sikh soldiers in Gilgit, Skardu and other remote and inaccessible areas a few days before the attack,” he said, and added that “ many Muslim soldiers committed treachery and joined hands with the Pakistani forces.”

“On hearing about the raiders’ attack, the entire staff abandoned the station, the first power station of Jammu and Kashmir commissioned in 1905. After having shut the station, I reported the matter to the Chief secretary,” Sharma said and added “I was ordered to resume duty. Brig Rajinder Singh along with a small contingent of soldiers accompanied us to the station.”

“At Mahura Rajinder Singh along with a convoy stayed for a day. Kabailis had taken up positions, six soldiers were ambushed right there in front of my eyes. There were no arrangements for food. We survived on apples only,” Sharma said.

“As Brig Rajinder Singh started proceeding onwards, he told me that he was sure he will not return alive,” Sharma recalled but added “there was no fear on the brave soldier’s face. Speaking in a determined voice, Brig Rajinder Singh commanded his orderly to kill him rather than giving a chance to the enemy to capture him.” 

Jammu, October 29
Six decades, although is a long time, is little for the PoK refugees. Whatever they left behind hasn’t been forgotten it. Memories are still cherished in daily discussions and everything is vividly recalled.

Though many of them have progressed well in their life away from their native places yet they harp back on those days. There are others who are still living in camps in miserable conditions.

“If they allow us to settle in PoK, I will be the first one to settle there. We were not allowed to settle in Kashmir where we reached there. We came to Jammu in 1953 and got every thing,” said JS Mangal, a resident of Trikuta Nagar.

Recalling those horrendous days, Mangal said, “When we left our homes, slogans by Kabailies like-Sikh Ka Sar, Hindu Ka Zarr aur Muslim Ka Ghar had rented the air.”

“My late mother-in law-who was rescued from tribal raiders by the International Red Cross Society and deported to India told me how our movement was obstructed for 12 hours with the basic ammunition at Garhi in Muzaffrabad," he added.

“Shekh Mohd Abdullah had great influence on people did everything possible to maintain communal harmony. Kashmir’s would chant slogans of Sher-e-Kashmir Ka Kya Irshad, Hindu Muslim Sikh Ithad and Hamlaawar Khabardar, Hum Kashmiri Hein Tayaar.”

“The general belief that Prime Minister, Nehru in consultation with Sheikh Abduallah halted the advance of Indian army at that time has been dispelled by Maj Gen Hira Lal Atal in his book “Nehru's Emission to Kashmir”.

Maj Gen Atal was operational commander in the field at that time,” Mangal added and quoting the book said on hearing about the ceasefire on December 1947, Sheikh had gone to Maj Gen Atal fuming with anger and complained of a ceasefire. The Operation Commander was not consulted on the matter.

“Ceasefire was a huge blunder and we are facing its ramifications till date,” he added. 

Jammu, October 29
They were the first victims when the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir started on October 22 in 1947 when kabailis backed by Pakistani forces attacked on the state. Thousands of people were killed in Muzaffrabad, Mirpur and a part of Poonch, now called PoK.

For PoK refugees, the issue has been hanging fire for 63 years now. Rajiv Chuni, president of SOS International, an organisation fighting for the rights of refugees, in an interview with The Tribune spoke on some fundamental issues, besides castigating the government for treating PoK refugees as step-children in comparison with Kashmiri Pandit migrants.

“What we have got in 63 years? Where lies our future? Refugee leader lashed out at the government and expresses concern, “10 years ago, a resolution was passed that PoK is a part of India and it would be retrieved. Can our parliamentarians tell us through which means the objective would be achieved and what the time frame is? Our patriotism is no lesser than any other section of Indian society. But for how long the government will deny us our due”.

“Whenever efforts are made to solve the J&K dispute, only Kashmir is taken into consideration. If we look at the problem through historical perspective, we are the first victims of the conflict,” Chuni said.

“Sixty three years on, we remain refugee in our own state. All we have got is a continuous betrayal”. “If PoK is a part of India, why did not the Indian government oppose the construction of Mangla Dam in Mirpur. The government did not even bother to take up the issue of compensation that is supposed to be given to the refugees from Mirpur, whose properties got submerged in the dam,” he said and added that, “When the Poonch-Rawalakor bus service and cross-border trade between the two parts of the divided state started, the Indian government sought consent from the Pakistani government thereby giving legal sanction to the occupation of Pakistan over the area. At the same time, we are being kept in the dark”.

“Thousands of PoK refugees are still languishing in camps at Bhor, Chatha, Simbal, Gadigarh, Badyal Brahmana, Keerian Gandyal and Raj Bagh. They do not have any civic amenities,” he said, and asked, “Why there are not equal parameters for all displaced people of the state?

He believes that as part of a bigger conspiracy, refugees who had come from PoK were not allowed to settle in Kashmir.

“Those refugees from Muzaffarabad desiring to settle in Kashmir were not allowed to settle there. Hundreds of such families who had settled in Kupwara district of the Kashmir Valley and elsewhere were again uprooted and pushed out of the Valley”.

“If only Kashmir is the apple of discord between India and Pakistan, why the refugees from PoK are not being compensated or allowed to go back,” he said.

Claiming refugees to be the first stakeholders of the Kashmir issue, he sought for de-freezing of at least eight Assembly seats in PoK, payment of comprehensive final claim of Rs 50 lakh to each refugee family, reservations in professional colleges and government jobs for their wards.

“Not only we lost our people and property, but also cultural identity in that turmoil. Our three generations have died nurturing the dream of going back,” he said. Only selective people are allowed to go to PoK. Our emotional bonds with the native place have never been recognised”. “No compensation is worth our loss,” he concludes.

Over the past four weeks, Darbar move offices, mainly the Civil Secretariat, the seat of the government, housing the offices of the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues, have been getting ready for the move to the winter capital of Jammu. The weeks are important beginning with Mondays in the functioning of the Civil Secretariat.

Jammu, October 29
Even though the Indian Army has devised strategies to foil Pakistani misadventures, the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector in Mendhar tehsil of the border district of Poonch still remains a vulnerable area.

Pakistani troops, which frequently resort to ceasefire violations in the KG sector, try to push their armed ultras into the Jammu region from this sector.

“Since the KG sector is a difficult terrain and is aligned with the LoC, the Pakistani troops try to take advantage of it. Factors like dense jungles and the presence of guides and militants on this side of LoC, prompts the Pakistani troops to resort to ceasefire violations. The ceasefire violations are done with dual purposes, one to engage the Indian troops in exchange of fire and provide cover fire to the militants, pushing them inside the Indian Territory and second to engage us in exchange of fire so as to divert our attention and at the same time try to push ultras from a nearby area,” A senior Army officer said.

“At times it has been observed that the Pakistani troops open fire in the KG sector in Mendhar in a bid to encourage the militants active on this side of the LoC trying to express solidarity with them”, said the officer.

However, the Indian Army has a strategy in place.

“We have already identified the vulnerable areas in the KG sector and accordingly have ourselves positioned there,” he said, adding that the Indian troops were aware to the nefarious designs of the Pakistani troops.

An official source said that the proximity of Mendhar town close to the LoC made it a convenient crossing route for the ultras.

“If there is a scope of an easy intrusion it lies in the KG sector and due to which, Pakistan resorts to frequent ceasefire violations in the same sector,” added the source.

Source also observed that despite the barbed fences on the LoC and an increased vigil in the form of foot patrol and ambushes by the Indian troops, the area being guarded by the 17 Mahar Regiment in the KG sector attracted more ceasefire violations than other areas along the LoC in Poonch district.

Further, compared to Pakistan most of our forward posts were located in low-lying areas, which gave an advantage to the Pakistani troops, said the source.

According to inputs of the intelligence agencies there were around 700 ultras in various launch pads on other side of the LoC in Poonch, who were waiting for an opportune time to sneak into the Indian Territory.

“During inclement weather conditions such misadventures on the part of the Pakistan witness a sudden spurt due to chances of successful intrusion increase during bad weather conditions,” said another Army officer on the condition of anonymity.

Ceasefire violations were simply a diversionary tactic of the enemy to aid infiltration, he added.

It may be stated here that KG sector had witnessed eight ceasefire violations so far in which three Indian soldiers lost their lives while five others were injured.

The officer also said that to lodge a protest on the latest misadventure on October 27 the Indian Army officers tried to contact their counterparts on the hotline but the latter didn’t even pick up the line.

It may be stated that every year before winter sets in, Pakistan in a desperate measure tries to push optimum number of militants to flare up violence in the restive state.

Snowfall in the mountain passes of the Himalayas during winters makes it impossible for the militants to trek the ridges and passes to enter the state and hence Pakistan tries to push them before the onset of winters.

Srinagar, October 29
An environment exhibition and new Makai point was inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand at the Boulevard road on the banks of the Dal Lake here on Wednesday. The exhibition was jointly organised by the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), Local Bodies and the Department of Information, while Makai point (Maize point) has been developed by the LAWDA to facilitate the people for having a rest and enjoy panoramic view of the lake.

“The lake, which is the epitome of the paradise of Kashmir, shall be protected and saved with full determination by utilising all available resources with the support of efficient officers, people at large and pro-environment missionaries in particular,” said Tara Chand while inaugurating the exhibition.

Minister of State for Housing and Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani was accompanying the Deputy Chief Minister to inaugurate the two important events. On the occasion, MLA Zadibal Peer Afaaq, MLA Sonawar Mohammad Yaseen Shah and other senior officers of the concerned departments were present.

Several others, including senior officers of LAWDA, Local Bodies, Information, citizens of the area, pro-environment volunteers and various environmentalists, who have adopted the protection of the lake as their ideal mission, were also present in large numbers.

Tara Chand called upon the officers to work in double shifts for achieving targets and utilising earmarked amount in full. He said all encroachments would be removed and landmasses be cleared to regain the original glory and expanse of the lake.

He asked the LAWDA authorities to continue the work in winter also so that the implementation of the project moves on. He said the pace of rehabilitation project for the Dal dwellers would also be speeded up to facilitate the execution of comprehensive Dal conservation project.

The Deputy Chief Minister termed the Dal as identity of the state and heritage of the country. He said the government would not tolerate any slackness or shortcoming in the conservation of this vital project. He impressed upon the officers to involve the local people in the conservation plan, who, he said, have also stake in the conservation of this water body.

He directed the authorities to deposit required funds with the deputy commissioner, Srinagar, so that the land adjacent to the Makai point is acquired timely for the development and expansion of Makai park.

Speaking on the occasion, Nasir said the lake would be developed to regain its original glory. He said the ambience around the lake would be improved through systematic development of its environs in a natural way. He appreciated the Department of Information for putting an environment exhibition, which portrayed the environment preservation and beautification projects of the Dal aptly.

Irfan Shah, vice-chairman, LAWDA, appreciated the officers for developing the Makai point, which, he said, was a piece of wasteland earlier. He said the remaining land on the foreshore needed to be developed to enhance the beauty of the lake.

Srinagar, October 29
Every morning Haj pilgrims attired in white dresses make it to the spacious Haj House at Bemina on the outskirts of Srinagar to embark on the annual pilgrimage.

A total of 6,850 pilgrims drawn from different parts of the state, including all three regions of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh, are performing the Haj pilgrimage this year. They are flying in groups of 253 each everyday from the Srinagar International Airport to Delhi in 26 flights and thereon to Jeddah up to November 8, with five days break from October 25 to 29.

There would be two additional flights to carry the leftover pilgrims later, officials here said. The first batch of 253 pilgrims on October 9 was flagged off at the airport by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, some of his ministerial colleagues and senior officers. The return of Haj pilgrims would begin on November 21 after performing the Haj pilgrimage on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

This is for the first time during the recent years that direct Haj flights from Srinagar to Jeddah could not be operated, therefore the pilgrims have to formally start their pilgrimage from New Delhi, where they have to wait for a few hours before boarding Haj flight.

The State Haj Committee has already chalked out its plan of the daily schedule of the number of pilgrims from different areas on the district-wise basis. Those coming from distant areas of the state, particularly from Jammu and Ladakh regions, are lodged in various hotels in Srinagar before they report at the Haj House in the morning.

The pilgrims as per the schedule are advised to reach the Haj House before 9:30 am and it takes a couple of hours to complete the formalities. Security, customs and ticket-checking process is being completed at the Haj House, said Abdul Salam, executive officer of the Committee.

“It takes about two hours to complete the formalities with the involvement of officials of various departments,” he commented. Thereafter, the pilgrims are boarded in buses of the State Road Transport Corporation to ferry them in groups to the airport. The pilgrims coming from Jammu and Ladakh regions or other distant districts of the Kashmir Valley are lodged in hotels a day before their scheduled departure and report at the Haj House in the morning. Those belonging to the nearby areas of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Budgam, Baramulla or districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam reach the Haj House in the morning.

The Haj House also has 16 rooms at its disposal, which are also provided to pilgrims on the need basis before their departure for the pilgrimage, the officials said.

Various departments of the state government, including the Health, PHE and the Power, and the police are engaged in providing various facilities to pilgrims. The Haj House was inaugurated in 2008, which provides all facilities to pilgrims, though the residential complex is nearing completion. Once completed by the next year, it would provide all facilities to pilgrims before they embark on the annual pilgrimage.