Col Ajay K Raina
True history!
Is there anything even close to the twosome that comes across as more like an oxymoron than anything else? Can history ever be true? Historical events, in isolation, will always be simple facts but then comes the power of the pen (and now, the keyboards). Recorders of such events have been influencing the chronicling of such events since time immemorial. Logging of historical events, therefore, has always been prone to manipulations and manoeuvrings. Reasons, varying from the sheer loyalty to the benefactors to the fear of falling in favour to apprehensions of losing a reward and biases of various kinds, have ensured that the writers and recorders of history are seldom free of influences.
While the human limitations are well-understood what upsets many is another category of influencers who subvert particular historical events in such a way that the truth becomes the first casualty. Such intellectuals, as they like to refer to themselves, are nowhere associated with the original history or its events in terms of time and space. They, however, excel in twisting the facts as per their agenda and ideology. Over time, repeated rubbing in leads to the formation of a belief among the common masses. History gets polluted and stands subverted in the process.
The fourth week of October holds a special significance for us, the natives of J&K. Way back in 1947, it was during that week-on 22 October 1947, to be specific-that Jinnah’s army under the guidance of the British schemers, shamelessly violated the well-established international protocols of respecting the sovereignty of an independent nation. Detailed scrutiny of the events that happened thereafter, leaves no doubts about the sequence of events that had followed between the invasion of the Valley (the State, per se, had been invaded on the night of 08/09 October 1947 in the area of Owen Pattan in Poonch) and landing of first troops of the Indian Army on 27 October 1947 as also subsequent actions leading to the eviction of invaders from the Valley on 13 November 1947. The bravery of State forces despite treachery amidst its ranks and files as also the courageous attempts by the civilians hailing from the border belt then scripted a history that, unfortunately, stands ignored if not forgotten by many.
Instead, some loaded accounts are now being pushed by many so-called intellectuals to throw up a new and absolutely untrue version of the history of those days. Clever as ever, instead of countering the facts, such influencers are now intentionally mixing up the timelines to prove a point. To cite an example, instead of countering the well-recorded heroism of the State forces (now JAK Rifles regiment of the Indian Army), such quarters are throwing up stories of valour of militia bodies (now JAK Light Infantry regiment of the Indian Army) but again without falsifying the acts per se. Where they are playing the game is by switching the timelines. Erstwhile militia units (now JAK LI) did play a major role during the conflict, but that had happened at a later stage. Constituted by local commanders at various places across the State starting a few months after the invasion, such bodies of volunteers were later converted into militia units and then absorbed into the Indian Army in the 1970s. While their nerve and intrepidness remain beyond doubt, they didn’t exist when the invaders came in, threatening the very existence of the State itself in October 1947.
Similarly, the name of a National Conference worker, Maqbool Sherwani, has suddenly started doing rounds both in the media as well as official circles. Claimed to be all of 19 (he was actually 40 plus, as per many observers), the man had allegedly done his bit by misleading the invaders in Baramulla. However, the fact is that before he could do that, Baramulla had already fallen to the invaders. He was mercilessly crucified by the invaders who had been looking for him for his act of garlanding Jinnah with shoes at Baramulla a few years earlier. Interestingly, the enemy columns being guided by the deserters of State Forces’ 4 JAK Infantry and numerous Muslim Conference Cadres between Muzaffarabad and Baramulla, didn’t need anyone else’s guidance to reach Srinagar. Let’s, for a moment, grant Maqbool Sherwani the unjust credit for misguiding the invaders. His act, though not too consequential in the overall scheme of things, was still acknowledged by the Indian Army and a hall was erected in his memory at Baramulla. However, as per the latest attempts being made by the ‘intellectuals’ of various hues, Maqbool Sherwani is being made out to be the sole saviour of Kashmir! The gallantry of Brigadier Rajendra Singh and his band of selfless men who had kept the enemy at bay for four days between Garhi (to the West of Uri) and Diwan Mandir (at the outskirts of Baramulla), however, has simply been shelved. Claiming that one single person saved Kashmir from 6,000 invaders even though he was not present in Baramulla on the fateful day when the last of resistance by the Dogra Army melted finally, is ridiculous, to say the least.
As narrated by many first-hand witnesses, the chaos and confusion were so high during the initial days that no one knew what had been happening. Even when the first army unit landed at Srinagar airfield on 27 October, the Commanding Officer had no exact idea about the numbers and disposition of the enemy. The first aircraft had to make a circle over the airfield just to ensure its safety before landing. Such a state of fog continued for many days as the Indian Army fought its way through the territory to the West of Srinagar during the days to follow. It is, however, also a fact that once the news and rumours about invaders’ atrocities in Muzaffarabad, Uri and Baramulla had reached Srinagar, many civilian volunteers had come forward to create a civil defence force. Most of them had only sticks and clubs to fight the invaders. Slowly, many ladies, too, came out and trained themselves in one way or the other. While Women Defence Corps became a great subject of photography during the months that followed, the group’s contribution remained confined to looking after refugees and related activities and rightfully so. While their guts, determination and service to the destitute cannot be wished away, the fact remains that no opportunity was ever afforded to them to showcase their battlefield prowess.
National Conference, with its roots in highly communalised Muslim Conference, had its volunteers spread across the Valley during those days. While they acted as eyes and ears of Indian troops, they also played a big role in ensuring amity amongst the masses. Many of them, however, were Kashmiri Pandits. While NC’s secular credentials during the conflict remained overboard, Sheikh carried on with his separatist agenda even during those crucial days. In the first week of November 1947, while the enemy was converging on the city and as one single brigade of the Indian Army was consolidating positions around the city and the airfield for close protection, an NC member was shot dead by an Indian soldier on duty when the former had tried to run away after being challenged by the sentry in the middle of the night. The enemy had attempted to storm the airfield only a few hours back, and Major Somnath and his men from 4 KUMAON had made the supreme sacrifice while defending the lifeline of the city. The enemy was now within less than ten km of the city at that time. And amidst such a crucial situation, Sheikh had the gumption to organise the demonstration against the Army!
There were numerous unsung heroes who did their bit when it mattered the most. No epitaphs were ever written in their honour, nor anyone ever bothered to speak about them. Many gurudwaras, for example, saw heroic fights and honourable deaths. There were others like Porter Ismail (awarded Maha Vir Chakra) and Porter Zuma Mohd (awarded Vir Chakra) who were given due recognition but later forgotten. The list of other braves simply doesn’t exist.
And then, seven and half decades later, when the name of one single person is propped up as the sole saviour of Kashmir or when a particular group (non-existent at that time) is given the credit of stopping invaders in their track, the bells begin to ring. Politics has always played its part in the recording and reproduction of history. Such narratives invariably see unfair rewards being conferred on the undeserving. Such narratives have also resulted in the complete neglect and omission of 1900+ braves of the State Forces who laid down their lives fighting the odds to save the State. Isn’t it surprising that only one Mahavir Chakra was awarded to the State Forces? How many natives know the names of Lt Col NS Samyal, OBE, Capt Prithi Singh, Capt Khazan Singh, Subedar Duni Ram Sharma, and so many others who never came back?
Being a student of history, I only wish and pray that some good sense prevails and that such politicisation of history is checked sternly. Regardless of the status and level at which such distortion happens, it is history that suffers in the end.
(The author is a military historian and is the Founder Trustee of the Military History Research Foundation, India.)
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