FROM TO

Why Independence? Why Self determination? Why

Freedom?
 For Self Sufficiency! For Self Reliance! For Self Pride!
For Self Sustainability!

Farooq Siddiqi

We all are well aware of the political status of Jammu & Kashmir; the people understand it more clearly than the
politicians, who often mould and interpret the political status of Kashmir that suits in their own political agenda and
perspective. The agenda is always a driving force that focuses on an objective that a political party has to realize.

In Kashmir, unfortunately the political agenda of parties invariably in most cases gets reduced to personal agenda’s of
political leaders that head the parties, understandably in a society that struggles to live in fear psychosis.

If a political agenda is based on acquiring a seat of power to relish the benefits of authority for personal well being or the
well being of few in the society then such political agenda becomes malicious in its core.

If a political agenda keeps changing from time to time based on the ambience of political trend, it leads to a weakness of
the agenda itself.

If a political agenda is to enforce the will of an outside force then such agenda is treacherous in its fundamental nature

Today when the sacrifices and dedication of people of Kashmir have forced the might of India and Pakistan to seriously
consider the resolution of Kashmir, we see some opportunists without remorse are trying to sneak on the recompense that
may be accessible.

It is thus imperative for me to make awareness about the reason of my political agenda which is sovereignty of Kashmir.

Demand of sovereign Kashmir is based on the political, social, cultural and economical reasons for the betterment of
citizenry of Kashmir .It is also based on the preserving the religious ethos that Kashmir has inherited since the advent of
Islam in the Valley of Kashmir and the Muslim belt.

Human being of present time has ushered in an era of progress in its political, economical, social fields. But this progress
has impinged his social and cultural behavior as we have seen in the west. If the ethos of a culture is not preserved side
by side while progressing; the benefit of progress is reckless.

We must learn from the mistakes of west while adapting to their technological advances. The social fragmentation in the
west has started showing its signs of frustration which they are realizing now and vehemently trying to save what is left
of their social fabric.

In order to preserve the ethos of Kashmir, its culture, its religious identity and its instinctive love for its land, that has
inspired its inhabitants to live in harmony for centuries, need to be safe guarded against the hegemony, coercive alien
culture and social behavior.
Enough has been written and said about the political aspect but little has been thought and understood about the
economic and social aspect.

Economic
Economy can not be separated from evolution of technology, a society`s history and its social network. It can not be
separated from the geo physical location of a region and hence bears direct effect to the extraction opportunities of its
resources.

Economy refers also to the measure of how a country or region is progressing in terms of its product. The product of a
state is what it can produce within what is beneath its ground or above its land.

In order to evolve technology, safegaurd social network, raise capital to invest, an authority is required that will drive the
engine towards progress for the benefit of the people and ecology of life.

If this authority lies with outsiders who have no social network or social contract within that society, who do not share a
common history and who`s physical location is out side the boundaries, then colonisation is in effect.

Neo Colonization in effect In Kashmir

“When a country's government is overthrown by larger country and replaced by a government that coincides with the
larger country's interests. In effect, this makes the country a colony, dealing with the problem of a revolutionary uprising
by delivering the impression that the colony is still self-governed”.

Neo Clonisation is what India has been persuing in Kashmir and the interests of India are or were.
1 The Green Gold of Kashmir (Forest)

It is not the Kashmir forest lessee who plundered the green gold (Forests) but the Northern Railways of India who
robed it through State Forest Corporation.

A Corporation is supposed to be “for profit institution” unfortunately this institution should have provided a major profit
for the citizenry of Kashmir but a common Kashmiri has failed to understand what this corporation stood for.

The cost of this lumber was sold at 5% of the market rates by virtue of agreements that lasted 25 years at a stretch by
various stooge governments that were intermittently installed by the Indians in Kashmir.

In the first 40 years of India’s occupation, forests that cost hundreds of millions of dollars were felled, transported by
floating in the river Chenab and transported covertly in covered grey color BSF (Border Security Force) and Beacon
(Military Roads Division) trucks. The process of felling and looting the forest from highlands of Kashmir is part of
military occupations economic interest.

Kashmir’s Forest lessees could never grow into a corporate that could generate the economy locally as there was no
investment from any of the financial institution or banks, a very well orchestrated plan of depriving extraction
opportunities and depriving a free market across the board for local Kashmiries.

Kashmiries were made to believe that forest lessees were responsible for the deforestation of Kashmir forests. JKLF
refutes this because almost all forest lessees ran in loss and abandoned this business, the examples of them are Burza`s,
Shahdad`s, Samad Pandits, Chaia`s, Basu`s and many more who eventually went into different businesses, mostly in
Hoteliering.
Financial Institution drain Kashmiri money for Indian Investment
In the beginning of 1990 JKLF appealed to the people of Kashmir to transfer all their money that was in Indian banks to
Jammu & Kashmir Bank. Jammu and Kashmir Bank at that time was in such precarious position that even the salaries
for the government employees could not be disbursed as the state government maintains majority of shares in the bank.

The call to transfer funds to State Bank was made with this assumption that the Bank would invest in the growth of local
Industries so that a self sustained economy could be generated which was essential in continuing the struggle of freedom.

But what this institution has done in the last 20 years is that it invested more than 90 percent of its assets in the Indian
economy.

The 53 percent owned by the so called government of Jammu & Kashmir state, has about 35 percent of its total advances
to State government which is being used to pay the machinery that occupies us at the discretion of New Delhi. Our
money is being used to pay the bills of CRPF, BSF and Huge Police force who are being deployed in the pretext of
maintaining Law and Order.

The bank, o occupied state government who use this money for their own existence and the balance is spread across the
India, Its total deposit today is 265.27 billion rupees which equals to 6.7 billion dollars, enough for us to be credible in
the international level as country with credible rating.

This money has been generated only by the investment of Kashmiri people through their deposits in 1990 onwards. The
irony is that erstwhile supremo is absconding today from Kashmir and the present intellectually bankrupt may abscond
when his tenure of treachery is over.
1 SILK (Sericulture Industry)
Thomas Wardle a progressive businessman with expertise in production of Silk in the nineteenth century (1889 to be
precise) came to Kashmir to establish the Silk industry because of potential silk production that Kashmir offered. Wardle
raised the subject of establishing the silk industry with the Maharaja and wanted to invest in the sericulture Industry on a
private sector basis, which would have given Kashmiries a head start in developing an industry, but Maharaja denying
his offer of private enterprise agreed to start a silk Industry as a state industry. Thomas Wardle knew that the summer
climate of Kashmir was similar to that of France and Italy therefore suitable for Mulberry and univolatine silk worm of
commerce Bombyx mori. In the Book of Silk and Empire quotes he that Kashmir is the only country that has Bombyx
mori in the wild and in sufficient numbers to be harvested. The silk production fetched 4000 pounds in year 1900-1901
and more than 25000 people were employed in the Silk Industry in valley alone (Ref Silk and Empire by Brenda M King
p75). When Wardle visited Kashmir in 1903, by then 44,245 Kashmiries were associated with Silk production (Ref Silk
and Empire by Brenda M King p 76)
The Silk from Kashmir was of such a quality that Warner & Sons made a brocade to be presented to the Queen of
England.

But 100 years after this pure native, indigenous and successful Industry that employed 45,000 people in 1903 has almost
vanished. The competing countries in 1900 were China and Japan against Kashmir silk, but today this industry is in
oblivion.

No Kashmiri spilled any drop of tear because they did not know. Had we nurtured this industry we would have been one
of the leading silk exporting country at present. Chopra`s and Khatri`s exported our raw silk to Amritsar and Punjab to
nurture the industry of Silken Sari’s while our own silk industry gave ground. What is our sericulture department worth
in commercial value?

Who is responsible for disaster of one of main industry, India? , Its stooge governments of state? or is it a well
orchestrated plan of keeping Kashmiries dependent economically?.

John Lockwood Kipling (Director of Art School Lahore in late nineteenth century) had described in his report the
potential of silk Industry as a main Industry sustainable in Kashmir

Had we or our financial institutions helped this Industry, we would have been one of the leading silk producing countries
next to china.

As the research output of Kashmir University of Agriculture Science and Technology (SKUAST) is not very
encouraging, because there is no private sector to fund such researches the domination of bureaucracy has stalled the
infrastructure to the private investor.

As multi-crop cultivation of mulberry is not possible, encouragement to agricultural farmers to plant mulberry trees on
the edges of their rice fields and orchards on a large scale could have been popularized which itself could have been a
self sustained economic base.

Integrating mulberry cultivation with farm and horticulture could provide more income and employment to the rural
agricultural labor force.
Energy

Kashmiries need to know that 20,000 MW established and so far surveyed capacity within IHK(Indian Held Kashmir)
equal to 282,372 Barrels/ Day of crude oil which is more than quarter of million barrels a day pollution free energy at a
cost of $100 a barrel at present .A continuous income of $28.23 million per day that would increase a common
Kashmiries income, who is in streets by $1,700 an year As GDP of a country is defined as the market value of all final
goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time.

No one has shown them the the following map-1 that gives the information of one way exit that is anolgous to colonial
ways India is emptying our resources for its economic growth in Northern India by stealing the power through 750 KW
double line produced by the state from Dulhasti, Salal, and now Baghliar. The courtesy to US State department of
Energy.

The Uri hydroelectric 480MW

Dul Hasti Hydroelectric Project, 390 MW
Salal Hydro Electric Project 690 MW
Upper Sindh 127 MW
Lower Jhelum 105 MW
Chennai Hydro 1 23MW
Chennai Hydro 11 2MW
Dibber Power Project 0.6MW

Total Generating Capacity at present 1,817 MW*

Equivalent to Crude oil 25,655Barrels/day
*Out of 1,817MW, the state owns only 623 MW

Bhagliar 900MW
Equivalent to 38,362 Barrels/day

Total Surveyed Capacity 20, 000 MW

Equivalent to 282,372 Barrels/day

Kashmiries need to know that The World Bank assisted IWDP (Integrated Watershed Development Project) Hills-II
was launched in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Uttaranchal, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,on 15 September 1999 for
a period of five years at a cost of 9.5 billion rupees, covering an area of 0.5 million ha (hectare) (72 watersheds). Most
of the water sheds fall within Jammu and Kashmir. Instead of developing the watersheds Indian army in Kashmir has
destroyed the watersheds. The illegally felled timber finds its way in army trucks through a well network of smugglers
into Northern India.
MAP-1
COAL RESERVES
The coal reserves that are present in the south western parts of Kashmir, these coal fields are the only coal fields of
Northwest Indian subcontinent..
The Much talked Railway line from Jammu Udhampore and Barumullah to Qazi Gund may seem to be some thing of an
investment in Infra structure to Kashmir economy and people but in fact these railway lines is long term planning of
India to drain the mineral reserves especially the coal.

MAP-2
Kashmiries are paying the debt while Indian Industrialist flourish
An Example of how India is conducting its Investment and burdning the Kashmiri with debt in the name of
development , be it a Power Station, a High way Bridge, a Railway Line
Railway Line from Jammu to Udhampore or Qazi Gund to Uri
Main Items % Cost Investment/Benefit Benefit Cost to Out
Cost to Kashmiries siders in India
Cost of Boghey`s 20% 0% 20%*
Cost of Railway 30% 0% 30%**
Tracks
Cost of Steel Sleepers 20% 0% 20%***
Cost of Gravel 5% 5% 0%
Cost of Earth Work 5% 0% 5%****
Machinary
Labour Cost 20% 5% 15%*****
Total Cost of Project 100% 10% 90%

*Manufacturer of Bogeys and railway Engine are Indian Steel Industries

** Manufacturer of Railway Tracks are Indian Steel Industries
*** Manufacturer of Steel Sleepers are Indian Steel Industries
**** Manufacturer of Eartwork Machinary and Trucks are Indian tata`s and Birla`s and other Steel Industries
***** 75 % Labourers employed are from Bihar , Orissa and Madhya pradesh.

* Labour Employed are from Bihar and other states of India who come to work in Kashmir
Nuclear Power Uranium

Mr. Rajeev Upadhyay, a geologist at Kumaon University in Nainital For his study, reported in the journal Current
Science, Upadhyay took samples from thick exposed granite from a place north of Udmaru village in Leh district. The
village in the Nubra-Shyok River Valley is situated on a volcanic rock formation known as the Shyok Volcanics.
The samples of rock mineral (zircon) were analyzed at the isotope laboratory of the University of Tuebingen in Germany
where he had gone under the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship.
Analysis of the separated zircon grains showed exceptionally high concentration of both uranium (0.31-5.36 percent) and
thorium (0.76-1.43 percent),' Upadhyay said. He added that the study is preliminary and 'detailed work is in progress'.
According to Upadhyay, uranium-bearing magma tic rocks are located all along Kohistan, Ladakh and southern Tibet
(from east to west).This exceptionally high concentration' in Ladakh, the icy Himalayan region in Jammu and Kashmir
that has strategic significance for India. Samples of rocks analyzed in a German laboratory have revealed uranium
content to be as high as 5.36 percent compared to around 0.1 percent or less in ores present elsewhere in the India
India wants to capitalize on this futuristic energy ingredient.
Horticulture
The horticulture sector occupies an important position in the agriculture system of Jammu and Kashmir. We have three
agro-climatic conditions: sub-tropical, temperate and cold arid. Each agro-climatic region has its own potential to grow
specific fruits. Temperate fruits like apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, cheery, walnut, etc. grown at elevation of 1000 to
3000 meters above sea level are important economy base.

Post-harvest handling of fruits

It is ironic that having such a base for production of fruits parallel only by California which is the 4th largest economy of
the world and which has the agriculture the primary base of its economy, we have not been able to develop the market
for want of having cold storage facilities in Kashmir. The fruits that we transport to the markets of Delhi must be sold
within twenty four hours of reaching Delhi, where all of our traders are subject to blackmail and hostage situation. If they
do not accept the offer his fruits will get rotten in the heat of Delhi.
It is worth while noting here that the land and even the foundation lay out of Lal Ded hospital was acquired and
constructed for construction of cold storage for apple growers as they could have been in a position to negotiate the price
prior to shipment which is the basic norm of any trade, but Indian government deliberately stopped the funds for the
construction of cold storage as Manali fruit that is of lower grade than Kashmir fruit was getting effected.
Shiekh Mohammad Abdullah was enticed to change the site for a hospital thereby axing the fruit industry of Kashmir.
There is no initiative in private sector as the JK Bank has invested in out side Kashmir.
There is no Export Promotion Zone to promote the export of selected fruits and vegetables including strawberry,
mushroom and cumin seed.
There is no technology and awareness for optimum use of land by using high-density crops like apples. The tissue
Culture technology has not been implemented
The climate of the Kashmir is ideally suited for production of exotic, high-value vegetable crops like asparagus and
mushrooms. Asparagus, mushrooms and broccoli that can grow the economy of Kashmir to its heights as the coming
trends in the world is that shortage of food to cater the needs of projected 12 billion people by the end of the Century is
inevitable.
Geo Thermal Region The Geo thermal energy of of Jammu and Kashmir is estimated to be more than 4000
MW that India is contemplating to steal from Puga Valley for its energy needs in future. The work on
preliminary investigation has started.

http://thinkgeoenergy.com/archives/1340
By Region,Asia, By Region, Projects - April 09, 2009
Geothermal projects in Puga Valley, India disputed

There seem to be some players in the region that see any activities in the region as the “plundering of national
resources” by India.
Reported locally, there seem to be some players in the region that see any activities in the region as the
“plundering of national resources” by India. Sources close to players either working on or interested in
development at Puga, say that there is no such conflict as the land “clearly belongs to India” and is not in
“disputed territory”. So this seems to be an interpretation issue.
Precious Stone and Sapphires.
sapphire and heavy metal fields

More than a century of continuous looting of Kashmir Saphire

Richard Hughes in his book, Ruby & Sapphire writes

While India's use of impure corundum as an abrasive appears to stretch back at least a millennia or more the country's
history of gem corundum production is relatively brief. Low-grade ruby has been mined for an indefinite period, but
India did not enter the major leagues of gem corundum production until the 1880s, with the discovery of sapphire
in Kashmir. It is to these mines that we now turn.

Albert Ramsay Says (1934):

In India my eyes have been dazzled by such jewels as never have been seen in the Western world. When I was last in the
Srinagar palace of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir thirty trays were brought before me, and if I were to say that any
one tray, sent to market, would fetch a million dollars, I would be giving only a faint impression of the astonishing
wealth and beauty of those treasures of an Indian gentleman.

A handsome man is Colonel His Highness Maharaja Sir Hari Singh. In the afternoon he had shown me his sapphires and
told me the story of how they were found.

For one of the smaller fragments I offered His Highness $25,000. He just laughed at me; he does not want to part with
any object in his beloved collection, but, oh, how I should like to buy some of those treasures!(Albert Ramsay (with
Boyden Sparkes), 1934
History of Sapphire in Kashmir is evident that Kashmiries did not benefit out of the deposits of Saphire,

1879–82 Blue sapphires are first discovered in the Padar region of Kashmir, allegedly where a landslip had uncovered
their occurrence (Mallet, 1882; Shepard, 1883; Ball, 1885b; La Touche, 1890).

1882 Sapphires begin to appear in Simla. The Maharajah of Kashmir intervenes by sending a regiment of sepoys to take
control of the mines (Ball, 1885b). Delhi jewelers buy up more than two lakhs (#20,000) worth of stones (Mallet, 1882).
1882–87

The glory days of the Kashmir sapphire mine. During this period, crystals as large as 5" (12.7 cm) long by 3" (7.62 cm)
wide are found (La Touche, 1890).

One stone reportedly sells for 2000 Pounds (Heron, 1930).

\1911 Lala Joti Parshad visits the mines as Mining and Prospecting Officer. He mines the southwest opening of the New
Mines.

1920 Sohnu Shah of Jammu leases the mines,

1924 Pandit Labhu Ram, Junior Assistant Superintendent Mineral Survey, maps the area of the Old and New Mines.

1926 Lala Jagan Nath of Jammu is given a prospecting license and obtains 5,500 tolas (~64 kgs) of sapphire.

His license is revoked due to certain irregularities (Middlemiss, 1931).

1927 Lala Joti Parshad and Pandit Labhu Ram of the Kashmir government extract 39,029 tolas (~454 kgs) of material
from Lala Jagan Nath's trench at the New Mines in 15 days.

1933–38 Systematic mining again commences. Average annual production is 641,656 ct (128 kgs)

1944 Geologist R.V. Gaines and R.C. Rice, on leave from the US Army in Calcutta, visit the mines.

Theirs is the first trip by Western geologists in many years. They find the mine guarded by a team of police (Gaines,
1946). 1945–51 mining by private lessees, from India.

1960 The mine is taken over by Jammu & Kashmir Minerals Ltd., a state government concern. 1961 Kashmir
government geologist, B.K. Raina, makes a detailed, but confidential, survey of the mines 1966–67 Raina and M.L.
Parimoo undertake a detailed, but confidential, mapping of the mines 1977–79, based on the reports The Indian
government decides to lease the mines to non state subjects till date
 View of the Kashmir sapphire mines. Taken in 1887–88, this is among the earliest photos of the fabled deposit. (From La Touche,
1890)

The sapphire washing apparatus constructed by LaTouche at the Kashmir mine.Taken

in 1887–88, this is the earliest photo known of mining at this storied location. (From La Touche, 1890)
There are 150,000 educated youth without any jobs in the state, With 18,000 youngsters joining the queue every year, the
problem can only get worse.
To be continued
Farooq Siddiqi