Separatist Kashmir Snubs India's National Holiday

By DEXTER FILKINS

Aug. 16, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SRINAGAR, India — The volatile region of Kashmir greeted this country’s independence holiday Tuesday with empty streets and vacant bleachers, underscoring anew that 53 years of living in India have failed to make Kashmiris feel a part of the nation.

As politicians in New Delhi made speeches and watched parades, thousands of soldiers and paramilitary troops lined the streets in Srinagar to ensure that the violence of the past three weeks didn’t return. Troops searched pedestrians, stood guard on rooftops and used the intimidating presence of armored cars to keep the locals in check.

The show of force worked, as it often does here, at the price of any semblance of normalcy. Kashmiri politicians called on citizens to close their shops and stay indoors, and most people did. When the sun went down, many residents dimmed the lights in their homes to make the city go dark. As other Indians celebrated the anniversary of independence from Britain, the Kashmiris did their best to mark what they deem the “Black Day.”

“This is their independence day, not ours,” said Ali Mohammed Shah, a 28-year-old Kashmiri businessman here. “We want our own independence.”

The most surreal moment of the day came in the morning, when Farooq Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state, rose to speak before a bulletproof shield at the municipal stadium here. Abdullah, widely viewed by Kashmiris as a puppet of the nation’s leaders, denounced India’s archrival Pakistan for supporting separatist guerrillas in Kashmir. He thundered and gestured, but before a stadium that was nearly empty save for the soldiers protecting him and his staff.

“The enemy is wicked!” Abdullah said with force. “Kashmir will never leave us!”

The calm in Srinagar and the celebration in New Delhi came after three weeks of intense diplomatic and military activity. The U.S. and other Western countries are concerned that tensions over this postcard-pretty Himalayan land could spark a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.

Violence between the two countries usually picks up in the days leading up to Independence Day. This year, recent bombings and killings have given rise to fears of even greater violence. The bloodshed, which has left more than 125 people dead in the past three weeks, came after the declaration--and then cancellation--of a cease-fire by a pro-Kashmiri militant group.

The violence prompted the Indian government to add thousands of troops to the already sizable deployment here, giving Srinagar, the state’s summer capital, the appearance of a city under occupation.

Authorities averted a big outbreak of fighting Tuesday, but scattered violence erupted throughout Kashmir and northern India. Pakistani and Indian troops exchanged artillery fire along the Line of Control, the 450-mile border that splits the disputed region between the two countries. In Rauzagaon, 300 miles southeast of New Delhi, a bomb blast aboard a train killed 11 people and wounded 21. No one claimed responsibility.

Kashmir has been a point of conflict between India and Pakistan for 53 years, ever since the two countries broke apart as they gained independence from the British Empire. India is predominantly Hindu, and Pakistan is mostly Muslim. The two countries each took a chunk of Kashmir, which has a majority Muslim population, and twice they have gone to war over the region.

Since 1990, Pakistan has backed a guerrilla war to expel the Indians. More than 30,000 people have died, and thousands of others have been driven from their homes.

Even with the violence of the preceding days, many Kashmiris on Tuesday spoke with optimism about the possibility of ending the latest war. Many said they were buoyed by the recent cease-fire, called by Hizbul Moujahedeen, the largest of the pro-Kashmiri groups. Many said they thought the truce declaration--and the group’s unprecedented talks with Indian leaders--broke an important psychological barrier.

“I was so happy when the cease-fire was announced,” said Farooq Ahmed, a 34-year-old Kashmiri who said his family is involved in the armed struggle. “When I heard that it was over, my heart was broken.”

Hizbul Moujahedeen, one of about a dozen rebels groups fighting to expel the Indians from Kashmir, declared a unilateral cease-fire July 24. Other guerrilla groups reacted negatively to the proposal, and Hizbul Moujahedeen canceled the truce 15 days later.

The immediate cause for the collapse of the cease-fire was Hizbul Moujahedeen’s demand that Pakistan be included in the negotiations with India. Many observers believe that the call was prompted by pressure from Pakistan, the militants’ patron.

In a way, the collapse of the truce has brought the search for a settlement in Kashmir back to square one, with India refusing to negotiate with Pakistan unless it stops supporting the guerrillas and Pakistan refusing to cease such backing until New Delhi comes to the table.

Yet some people, buoyed by the outpouring of support among ordinary Kashmiris, have begun preparing for a resumption of talks. U.S. diplomats also are pushing for renewed dialogue--by urging India to engage Pakistan, and by pushing Pakistan to restrain the militants.

Fazal Haq Qureshi, who negotiated with the Indians on behalf of the Hizbul Moujahedeen, said the two communities are so exhausted that the chances are good that someone will step forward again. He said he’s ready.

“The door is open,” Qureshi said. “All that is necessary is the political will.”

Nearly everyone in Kashmir, Hindu and Muslim, has suffered from the war--or knows someone who has. Qureshi, a Kashmiri activist, said he has been jailed six times by the Indians and severely beaten as well. The test for Kashmiris, Qureshi said, will be whether they can set aside their bitterness.

On a street near Srinagar’s grandiose Jamia Mosque, young men stood around and talked about their own experiences. Ashaq Hussain, 22, described in detail how Indian soldiers connected an electric current to his genitals during an interrogation.

“Everyone wants peace now,” Hussain said.

At that moment, a jeep filled with Indian police rounded the corner, and all the young men ran away.