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November
2008
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Dal Lake, Srinagar
©Katleen Maes
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Since partition in 1947,
Kashmir has experienced a spectacular fall
from grace. Once upon a time, its warm and soft name conjured up images of a
Himalayan paradise suspended between the heavens and earth.
Today,
the mountainous state, caught between the territorial greed of India and Pakistan, evokes associations
with conflict, strife, and, above all, a tense standoff along a precipitous
line of control between two nuclear-armed foes. Despite its troubled present,
we found that Kashmir still has the ability
to charm – and it felt safe.
Although
the state is predominantly Muslim, its winter capital on the Indian side, Jammu, has a large and vibrant Hindu population and has
provided shelter for Hindus fleeing the insurgency in the Kashmir
valley. It is fondly known as the ‘City of Temples’, which includes one
inside Bahu fort where worshippers yearn to be splashed by the milk poured on
holy goats.
The fort
and all the tourist sights in the region are complete security fortresses,
reflecting an underlying official nervousness and fear of terrorist attacks.
Although visitors are padded down and searched everywhere in India, in Jammu and Kashmir, you must pass several
checks and surrender your camera and bag, too. The never-ending army barracks
not only blight the landscape but are also a nuisance to locals.
Despite
the inter-communal tensions that flare up in the city occasionally, we sensed
little obvious hostility between Hindus and Muslims. Interestingly, Jammu is dotted with
Sufi shrines, known as Durghahs, where people of all faiths flock to revere
the Muslim mystics buried there. In our time in Jammu, we did not come across any other
foreigners which made us something of a local novelty.
For sheer
beauty and majesty, Srinagar,
the state’s summer capital, is the place to be. Its cool mountain atmosphere
is welcome after the waterlogged air and soggy stickiness of the lower
altitudes.
The
city’s centrepiece is the magnificent and tranquil Dal Lake.
My wife was intrigued to see whether the lake was really as icy blue as
Kashmiri skies, as Salman Rushdie describes it. But it turned out that the
weed and algae which are slowly choking the lake have turned it more emerald
green than icy blue. Similarly, few Kashmiris actually possess eyes which are
“the astonishing blue of mountain sky”, as Rushdie puts it.
Since the
British docked the first houseboats on Dal in Victorian times, the lake has evolved
into a veritable floating community. Roving tailors, grocers, photo shops,
and discreet offies also float by the houseboats on the backs of small boats
called shikaras.
Srinagar is famous for its stunning Mughal
gardens which, with their symmetry and flowing water, are reminiscent of
gardens across the Islamic world. Young couples, many of whom arrived there
on the backs of motorbikes, wander together, not touching, through the parks,
the girls in colourful salawar kameezes and the boys in jeans and shirts.
This phenomenon is deceptively liberal, one local explained, because most of
the couples are courting within the confines of an arranged relationship.
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©Khaled Diab
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Although
most people are friendly and welcomed us constantly to Kashmir,
three religious-looking young men we passed several times caught our eyes.
Their flashing white teeth and smiling beards were very different to the
menacing media image of conservative Muslims. Amusingly, like other Indians
we met, they struck a serious pose when we came to photograph them which,
coupled with the fading sunlight, gave them a wholly undeserved sinister
edge.
Unlike
the hustle and bustle of the ancient quarters of other Indian cities, Srinagar’s old town is
relatively peaceful. Its Sufi shrines and Sikh temples aside, the city’s most
intriguing architectural feature is its unique central mosque. Lacking
minarets and featuring by ornate wooden ceilings, roofs and columns, the Jama
Masjid conjured up images of China
in my head and of the Vikings in my wife’s.
Despite
the tranquillity of our surroundings, tension was never far below the
surface. The Indian army and police were everywhere and the city lived by an
unofficial curfew. At around 8.30 pm, all the shops would close and eateries
would suddenly empty as people rushed for the shelter of their homes. Several
locals told us that, although the official curfew was abolished, they do not
stay out because they are still regularly hassled by the security services
after dark.
In fact,
it seems the Indian army presence, which to the innocent outsider resembles a
full-scale occupation force, is the subject of much resentment. We heard
numerous complaints from locals about feeling constantly watched and the
economic price of the conflict. One told us that even many of the Kashmiris
who were once happy to be a part of India have gone off the idea due
to Indian heavy-handedness.
As a
reminder of the underlying volatility of the area, the army shut down Srinagar and the entire Kashmir Valley
to thwart a planned pro-independence rally. This left us wondering how it was
that a country which prides itself on being the world’s largest democracy
could stifle free expression in such a massive way, especially as the wave
of protests which have swept the area since the summer have been peaceful
ones, with the violence coming mainly from the army, causing the death of 45
protesters in the past few months.
We
suffered the minor inconvenience of not being able to enjoy a relaxing last
morning on the houseboat we had rented, the rudeness of swaggering officers
and the Catch-22 challenge of getting to the airport when we were allowed to
move but nobody else was.
The
locals, however, were left to endure effective house arrest and a
shoot-on-sight curfew. The Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh unwisely
chose this time to go and open Kashmir’s first train line,
triggering angry demonstrations.
For the
rest of our trip in India,
we monitored the country’s English-language media to try to learn the latest
about the situation in Kashmir. With the
exception of one small paper called The Asian Age, we found no mention of the
crackdown beyond a couple of news-in-brief items. With that kind of media
blackout, it’s little wonder than so many Indians believe the mess in Kashmir
is solely Pakistan’s
fault.
This
column appeared in The Guardian Unlimited’s Comment is Free section
on 22 October 2008. Read the related
discussion.
ã2008 – Khaled Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this
website is the copyright of Khaled Diab.
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