INFIDEL

A TREE UNDER ARREST SINCE 1898........... Even 67 years after British colonial rule came to an end, the tree’s punishment continues. Its chains are as unrelenting as its punishment. Lining the panelled corridor of the cool, spotless officers' mess are photographs of moustachioed, turbaned warriors who were clearly not from the local Shinwari tribe. Young men called Warburton, Bradstock or Dumbarton, wearing turbans, sporting clipped moustaches and looking as if they are on a fancy dress safari. Lounging in wicker chairs and attended stiffly by servants in starched white livery. Capt Lockhart, Major Barton and Lt Bickford stared down from the wall, alongside portraits of more recent officers of the Khyber Rifles. In the heart of the Khyber Pass at Landi Kotal, the officers' mess of this venerable regiment is a remarkable time capsule, where the voices of those who once guarded the most dangerous frontier of Pax Britannica still seem to echo from the walls. ...

KASHMIR STORY............ CHINESE OCCUPIED KASHMIR - AKSAI CHIN. Since the hot topic on and off is Chinese Incursion into Indian territory in Laddhakh sector. Here I try to put things in perspective, since I get the feeling that nearly all of us are oblivious of the historical and military background to the Indo-Tibet or Indo-China border issue...........! Actually there are four lines of INDO-TIBET boundary demarcation in Ladakh sector. 1. The Johnson Line (1885)- Aksai Chin shown as part of Sikh territory of J&K and subsequently under the British mandate of Ladakh. This demarcation was never presented to the Chinese and neither accepted or ratified by them. 2. The Macartney-Macdonald Line (1899)- British fearful of Tzarist Russia's advance along the Karakoram accepted the Chinese interest on Aksai Chin, To keep the Chinese happy and on their side in opposition to Tzarist Russia this line was ratified by both parties. Aksai Chin was "gifted" to ...

INTERESTING............. YOU THINK "PRIVATE AIRLINES ARE A MODERN PHENOMENON?? 1. Air Services of India........ was a private airline based at Juhu Aerodrome in BOMBAY. The airline was formed in 1936 and initially served routes on the Kathiawar Peninsula and to Poona. The airline was merged into the Indian Airlines Corporation in 1953. 2. Ambica Airlines......... was based at Bombay. It began local services on 10 March 1947. It was started by businessman Seth Haridas Madhavdas, Rai Bahadur Jagmal Raja Chauhan and Seth Vijaysinh Govindji. Closed in the year 1949 due to insufficient traffic and other litigations. 3. Darbhanga Aviations........... was a private Indian airline started by Maharaja Kameshwar Singh of Darbhanga. Darbhanga Aviations was started in 1950 and became defunct by 1962. 4. Deccan Airways Limited.......... was a commercial airline based in Hyderabad. Founded in 1945, it was one of the nine airlines existing in India during independence. The ai...

SIACHEN.............. the name Siachen refers to a land with an abundance of roses. IN MY OWN WORDS ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.......... The 1949 Karachi accord and 1972 Shimla accord proclaim that human habitation is not possible beyond point NJ 9842. Technically it is true, since in 1983 onwards Pakistan was already sending military and civilian including foreign mountaineering expeditions north of NJ9842. Apparently exercising sovereignty over the area where India was least bothered. When suddenly some shenanigans on the Indian side woke up and decided on a military occupation instead of similar mountaineering expeditions conducted by Indian authorities. GodDamn........... no human can definitely live north of NJ 9842. Faujis are not human you see. We veterans of the "Siachen" ironically translates to "valley of Roses" know it better than anybody else. when we fly into Siachen, not only we helicopter pilots are struggling to breath Oxygen a...

MUHARRAM SPECIAL............... DOES THE NEWS HEADLINES "HINDUS TO LEAD MUHARRAM PROCESSION IN TRILOKPURI" SURPRISE YOU? Actually Muharram is not a festival, it is the first month of the lunar Al Hijri calendar. On Ashura or the "tenth day" of the month of Muharram, Hussien, son of Ali, Grandson of Muhammad was killed in the battle of Karbala by Yazid,('Yazīd ibn Mu‘āwiya ibn Abī Sufyān) the second Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. The Shia muslims mark the Ashura day as the day of mourning because they consider Ali as their Imam. The majority Sunni Muslims do not commemorate Ashura per se. It is ironical that Muhammad's descendents were tortured/murdered by Sunni Muslims in the power struggle after Muhammad died. Strangely Muharram originates from the Arabic word "Haraam" meaning "sinful" and Ashura is 10 in Arabic. Well........... another interesting part of the Muharram story....... THE HUSSEINI BRAHMINS........ ...

JAMMU AND KASHMIR..... A PERSPECTIVE If we go purely into techniclities........... Pakistan did not attack Independent Indian territory in 1947. They attacked the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir of Maharaja Hari singh. Maharaja Hari Singh lost major part of his territories which his state forces were incapable of defending. Major William Alexander Brown the British Commandant of Gilgit Scouts declared Gilgit as part of Pakistan and hoisted the Pakistan flag, arrested the J&K Maharajah appointed Governor Brig Ghansar Singh (1895-1991) and appointed himself as resident Rajah and seceded from J&K. Major William Alexander Brown,MBE, British Scot Leader of Gilgit Rebellion was later awarded Sitara e Pakistan. It was not until the Pakis were literally shoving their bayonets up the ass of Maharajah, he did not accede to India. Recorded history says clearly that his PM, a Kashmiri Pandit one Mr Tikoo had already signed a status Quo treaty with Jinnah. Infac...

KASHMIR STORY......... A PERSPECTIVE GILGIT, HUNZA, BALTISTAN............. There existed independent states of Brooshaal, Dardistan, Bloristan, Hunza-Nagar, Yasen, Chilas, and Chitral. Among many other things what was common in all these states was that these territories were never permanent part of the Jammu & Kashmir Riyasat. Before about 1842, local chieftains were the rulers of these small but independent states who most of the time remained at loggerheads over petty issues and sometimes many of them also sought help from neighborly states. During one such skirmishes, the rulers of the Gilgit state sought help from the Dogra rulers of Kashmir who came to their help. At around early 1890s with the plan of curtailing the spread of Russia the British decided to strengthen its presence in the areas from Gilgit to Chitral. Hunza-Nagar in 1991-92, Chilas in 1892 and Chitral came under its occupation in 1895. To further its footholds in the area, the British a...

PERSPECTIVE................. MY CONCEPT OF THE IDEA OF 21ST CENTURY NATION STATE CALLED INDIA AND THE J&K ISSUE............ We keep mixing up two issues here. ONE is the historical perspective of a geographical entity called Bharat or Hindustan and TWO a modern 21st century concept of a geopolitical nation state called INDIA. It is a different matter to be sentimentally attached to a historical perspective of for example Mauryan imperial boundaries or post 1857 British Imperial India etc.............! It is completely another matter when it comes to modern 21st century nation state defined geopolitical India. My perspective does not militate against the very idea of India. The idea of India is what we inherited from the British, and what we militarily salvaged in J&K in 1947-48. What we have inherited on 15 Aug 1947 from the British was a fractured geopolitical landmass which was variously administered by the British, French, Portuguese and 300 odd large and ...