As I grew up I began to understand the heavenly place where I am staying has been a bone of contention for such a long time without any reason. Pakistan claims are so hopeless that I do not understand why learned people of Kashmir are not able to understand the vicious game play Pakistan has been playing. I was shifted from a madrasa to Army Goodwill School when I was just eight years old. I thank my stars that my father shifted me early to a school which I now realize is one of the finest schools in North Kashmir. I slowly began to understand geography and its implications. A good smart officer came one day to our school to give a talk on history of Kashmir. I wondered since then that why are we not aware of such a rich history and not proud of it.
I began to read more about it and as I went through several books, I realized that Kashmir is really the crown of my country and we all should be proud of it. It was only when I read that how Pakistan has taken away such big portion of my land without any historical claim, I talked about it openly to my friends. I still remember that the officer who had come to the school spoke about Gilgit-Baltistan, Aksai Chin and PoK etc. I wondered why I am not being taught about this in geography lessons.
It is a fact that the total area of Jammu and Kashmir is 222236 sq km. This includes 72935 sq km under illegal occupation of Pakistan, 37555 Sq km under China and 5180 sq km illegally ceded by Pakistan to China. In reality my Jammu and Kashmir including Ladakh is the fifth largest in terms of area out of all States in India and a place which is number one in many ways.
Gilgit and Baltistan is a beautiful area which forms a major portion of the illegally occupied Kashmir. The region is surrounded by the Karakoram range, the Pamir mountains and the Hindukush mountains. The Nanga Parbat and K2 peaks are two known names amongst many others. The region has mesmerizing beauty and is abode to many historical places and world heritage sites. This area can be broadly divided into three regions of Gilgit, Baltistan and Diamer. Presently the area has been divided into ten districts. This entire region has been integral part of Jammu and Kashmir and is evident from the Mahabharata tales and present day Shankaracharya and Kheer Bhawani temples. Infact recent history also shows the cultural, societal and religious linkages during times of Ashoka, Lalitaditya and Muslim dynasty.
The Chaks were also from Gilgit region. There are multi ethnic and linguistic groups which live there like the Shias, Baltis, Yashkuns, Moghul, Kashmiris, Pathan and people from Ladakh region. The recent ones are the footprints of Sikh and Dogra rulers spanning the entire region and is well recorded which no historian can deny. With the arrival of British, the region became more important considering the interest shown by Russia in Central Asian Republic (CAR) countries and Afghanistan interest in Chitral region. The region was under the full control of Raja Gulab Singh till 1947. It was only after independence that Maj Brown, the British Officer in charge played dirty and staged a coup and organised the accession of the region with Pakistan without the knowledge the local population.
The people from this place still suffer and realize the wrong which was done to them and how one decision changed their destiny and future aspirations. To make matters worse, Pakistan ceded the trans Karakoram tract to China in 1963.
The region shares boundary with Pakistan, Afghanistan and China and is a gateway to the CAR countries and West Asia. Countries like Kazakastan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have huge untapped mineral deposits and each country has almost four percent of global oil and gas reserves. Our land connectivity to this power house will boost our economy multifold. This region is full of natural resources especially mineral deposits. The southern part has Nickel, Lead, Copper and Zircon and Northern region has abundance of Gold, Silver, Garnet and Topaz. All of this remains untapped.
The region has vast hydroelectric potential because of the presence of six major tributaries and many glaciers and lakes. Three longest glaciers outside polar region are located in this region. As per a study, it can generate 40000 MW of hydroelectric energy if the potential is tapped. It has huge tourism potential because of the lofty Himalayas and majestic rivers. The rich Indian history in this area from times immemorial makes it a perfect UNESCO heritage site like the Baltitt fort. Hunza
valley is said to be one of the most beautiful areas in the region. It has huge wildlife sanctuaries and national parks which are home to diverse flora and fauna.
I realized that if this would have continued to be part of India, then our destiny would have been different. There would have been no connection of China with Pakistan through land and the relations with them would have been different. The CPEC would not be there.
Can you imagine that we would have a road going to CAR countries and visa system could have been like the Schengen visa system. We would be directly looking into Baluchistan. This place would have become the world number one tourist destination and places like Sharda Peeth would become a pilgrimage destination for many. Economically, we would have been able to meet our energy supplies from oil and gas rich areas in CAR. Also we would have been major producers of rare earth metals and other minerals. We could tap the enormous hydroelectric potential as major rivers would be under our control and would have been able to supply surplus electricity to other states and countries including Pakistan. The TAPI pipeline would become a reality and would bring jobs and prosperity. All terrorist camps in POK would then be redundant and terrorism in the valley would have been removed from its roots. Definitely our economic condition would have been much better than what it is today. Our relations with China would have been different and for the military, the dilemma of two and a half front war would be over.
It will lead to huge military savings as there would be no Army deployment on the Siachen Glacier. In fact it would be a tourist destination. Our focus on Pakistan would have reduced and more military resources would have effectively been employed along Chinese borders. Above all, control of Aksai Chin and land ceded to China by Pakistan would become a near reality.
There are many things which can be done to showcase the importance of this Indian territory. We should boast about this area on Indian websites and especially J&K Government should host different web pages of this region on their official website. Government schemes should be applicable across the POK and participation in political process should be permitted as seats are already reserved for these regions. Subsidized seats and scholarships to bright students of this region should be given in Universities in rest of India. All this I can imagine only after hearing the Army officer who had come for a talk to the school.
Most of us do not know anything about it. However as I move forward in life I have decided that I am going to make every Kashmiri and Ladakhi to know about this truth and carve a new destiny for ourselves. The Crown needs its rightful place on the world map.
