CHAPTER 1: PREFACE
Many books have been written on Kashmir, about its people, the so-called
rights and wrongs. Lately Pakistan has mounted a vigorous propaganda
campaign, more virulent than its past efforts, to win support for its
nefarious designs on the State. It is trying to achieve through a
malicious propaganda campaign in various international fora, what it
could not secure on the battlefield through three successive wars. Now it
talks of UN resolutions on Kashmir. It conveniently wants to hide from the
world that it was the one which ignored that part of the UN resolution
which wanted Pakistani troops to withdraw from the territory of Jammu and
Kashmir it has illegally and by force occupied. It describes Jammu and
Kashmir as Indian-occupied territory, trying to equate the aggressor and
the aggrieved. India's presence in Jammu and Kashmir was under legitimate
auspices because the then ruler of Kashmir decided to accede to India.
Pakistan says that the ruler merged the State with India against the
wishes of the people. Here again history tells us that Pakistan tried to
force the Maharaja's hand by first sending tribals and later its own
troops into Kashmir. Both let loose terror in the occupied areas, which
united the people of the State against Pakistan and in favor of India.
Pakistan would like to draw a curtain on this and other parts of history.
The truth is that the secular- minded people of Kashmir of their own free
will shared the same faith in the principles of secularism and democracy
that India had to offer as against the fundamentalist two-nation (Hindu
and Muslim) principle on which Pakistan was founded. Pakistan talks of
self-determination in the State ... in that part of the State that has
been with India for more than 46 years legitimately, unlike the
illegitimate occupation of so-called Azad Kashmir by Pakistan. Pakistan
is shedding crocodile tears a bout the absence of human rights in Kashmir
whereas the truth is it has denied human rights all these years to the
people of Pak-occupied Kashmir. The truth must be told, the facts must be
brought to light, relevant history must be recalled and Pak perfidy
exposed. This is not a whitewash job. The book will attempt to project
facts and facts alone and also underline the grievances of the Kashmiri
people. Yes, they do have grievances and it is the business of the
Government of India to redress them. So one believes, it is not the
business of Pakistan or any other country to say do it or else?. India
can look after its territory and its people. Otherwise democracy here
could not have survived all these years unlike in Pakistan.
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