DEALING WITH KAYANI's PAKISTAN--HOW?

------Briefing foreign newsmen on February 3, 2010, in Rawalpindi, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Chief of Staff of Pakistan Army, stated that in the "Strategic Paradigm" of Pakistan, India remained a natural long term threat (read enemy). There you are, then! What military in Pakistan thinks of India, Pakistan thinks. There should be no doubts that Pakistan military was the real bulwark of power and authority in Pakistan. Those who think otherwise live in a fool’s paradise. Politicians in Pakistan dance to military's tunes. And if a chief of Pakistan army says that India was an ‘all time’ enemy of Pakistan, so be it. Dismiss all notions of normalization of relations, harmony and ‘Aman ki Asha’ (Hope for Peace). What purpose would talks serve if such are the perceptions of people who rule Pakistan?
------Ashley J. Tellis, senior associate with Carnegie Endowment for international peace, in his testimony to United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, had expressed similar sentiments when he told the committee on March 11, 2010, that impediments to a lasting peace in South Asia had not emanated from New Delhi but they were incubated in Islamabad or precisely in Rawalpindi (General HQ of Pakistan Army). He had clearly concluded that as long as the Pakistani Army and her security establishment had held a view, where-in their private interests, which had been contrived upon and conceived as national interests, were undermined by a permanent reconciliation between India and Pakistan, they would not rid themselves of the terrorist groups they had begotten and which served their purposes—irrespective of what New Delhi or Kabul or Washington might have desired.
---------It is in this context one ought to see the press briefings of February 2010 of General Kayani. In fact, a US based, South Asian security expert, Mr. Arif Rafiq, has named it as ‘Kayani Doctrine’. He has highlighted that in addition to dubbing India as enemy for all seasons, Kayani had advocated Afghanistan as Pakistan’s unquestioned area of influence, where it sought 'strategic depth'. Arif makes a very interesting point on India's isolation on Afghanistan issue in the international forums. He goes on to observe that the Pakistan Army’s behavior since 9/11 and India’s isolation from the two conferences on Afghanistan in Istanbul and London, had demonstrated that Rawalpindi, at the very least, had a veto power on the key decisions regarding Afghanistan’s future. According to him, Pakistan was not simply a nuisance or basket case, but a regional power that has the capability to leverage a superpower’s dependency on it and check the regional growth of India, a rival, neighbor, and potential superpower.
---------Right from the days of Pakistan’s inception, its military has not been comfortable with gigantic India as her eastern neighbor. In order to match this giant, Pakistan military has been pushing Pakistan into the ‘laps and traps’ of countries who use her for own selfish motives. In her overdrive for anti-India agenda, Pakistan loses sight of her genuine interests. Animosity against India is so much that it always blames India for all her tragedies, from creation of Bangla Desh in 1971 to the monstrous rise of TTP (Tehrik-E- Taliban of Pakistan) in 2009-10. Given to the military establishment of Pakistan, India must cease to exist for Pakistan to survive. This is what General Kayani, the present Chief of Pak army, is contemplating about.
--------He has set up a team of retired and serving army officers, under the banner of ‘Karachi Project’ to bleed India through his ‘strategic asset’ of ‘irregular soldiers’ called ‘Good Taliban’. And should India dare to overwhelm Pakistan with her conventional superiority, blackmail her with threats of ‘first nuclear strike’ by seeking shelter in her so called ‘strategic depth’.
--------Fears are also being expressed in strategic think tank circles in USA that Pakistan army might provide, clandestinely some low yield nuclear devices to terrorist organizations to bleed India profusely. It is immaterial whether India would be cowed down or not. May be India might react strongly because it possesses ‘second strike capability’. It has been disclosed by former President of USA, Mr. Bill Clinton, in his autobiography that in the 2001 military face -off with Pakistan, India had, at one stage, taken the decision to face ‘first nuclear strike’ by Pakistan and respond with her ‘second strike’ to engulf South Asia into a ‘nuclear mayhem’. Indian calculation was that the ‘first nuclear strike’ by Pakistan might destroy 50% India but ‘second strike’ of India would virtually wipe out Pakistan from the world’s map, with attendant consequences for other nations of the region.
----------Pakistan’s military knows this and that’s why it is looking for some semblance of survivability to protect its military and other assets from Indian countervailing nuclear attack. The nuclear blackmail of India is part of Pakistan’s military strategy to stop India from launching a sudden and a full-fledged war on Pakistan, with the explicit aim of destroying the training camps of so- called ‘strategic assets’ of Pakistan in POK. These ‘assets’ were not only bleeding India profusely but also they were undermining India’s unity and integrity. How long India can ignore this is subject to India’s ‘limit of tolerance’. Pakistan military knows that one day India might cross the threshold of ‘tolerance’ and be prepared to accept nuclear damage. Indian geography gives her this advantage to adequately survive Pakistan’s nuclear strike and then launch her own counter strike.


------There-in lies the logic of ‘strategic depth’ for Pakistan’s military in
Afghanistan.In other words, Pakistan’s military is prepared to not only make first use
of nuclear weapons but also use the leverage of ‘strategic depth’ to counter India’s
second strike-capability by acquiring a theoretical capability to launch a ‘third strike’.
The Kayani Doctrine flirts with such dangerous notions. And people talk of ‘Aman Ki
Asha’(Hope for peace)!

-------As long as Pakistan army and her Generals dominate Pakistan, there can be
no use of any talks, agreements, pacts and treaties with Pakistan. They have no
sanctity in Pakistan whether it was UN Resolution of 13 August 1948; Delhi Pact of
1950; Tashkent Declaration of January 1966; Shimla Agreement of July 1972 or

even Lahore Declaration of February 1999. If these pacts and agreements had been

implemented in full earnest, the history of South Asia would have been different.

What the sincerity of ‘talks’ desire, it might not be the ultimate product of laborious

efforts. Pakistan has always been an untrustworthy neighbor because of her army.

And Pak-army’s interests make Pakistan’s national interests. The condition is not

likely to change in the perceivable future, too.

-------------Let us see some key points of Kayani Doctrine:-

Central Theme.--In the perceptions of Pakistan military, India remains a greatest threat to the idea of Pakistan. It is a perceived conclusion of Pakistan military that it was mutually exclusive for the two nations to exist together. India must become a lost civilization of history for Pakistan to survive as a nation.
WOM (War by Other Means)-Alternative to Conventional Conflict at low Cost. Militarily Pakistan is no match to India in a conventional conflict. This had been realized by Pakistan army after having had fought three wars with India without any visible dividends. In fact, direct wars have only heaved insults and humiliation upon Pakistan army . Bangla Desh war in 1971 brought this lesson home. In order to offset this advantage, it was contrived upon that India must be engaged in an ‘unconventional military conflict’ to make her attrite and bleed internally. ‘Zarb-E-Momin’(Strike of the Pure), a biggest military exercise to date conducted by Pakistan Army in 1988 had concluded that Pakistan must adopt an aggressive posture and take the war into “enemy” territory. Conventional military strength disallows Pakistan to do so. But there are other means available to put into practice this theory. Herein lies the significance of conducting ‘War by Other Means’ (WOM). This implies:-
Fighting a low cost war on ‘enemy’ territory by using militants/ terrorists or the ‘irregular soldiers’, also called ‘strategic asset’ in the shape of ‘good Taliban’.
Exploiting internal vulnerabilities of India by supporting and fueling internal insurgencies, such as Maoists/Naxalite movement in Central, Eastern and Southern India, ULFA militancy in Assam, Nagaland separatist movement, backing Kashmir militants, so on and so forth.
Ally with China as a counterweight for India’s threatening postures as a response to militant activities.
Use of Nuclear Threat-To checkmate the Indian conventional military juggernaut, the use or the threat of use of nuclear weapons is the only answer. It has been proved effective during the Kargil-99 confrontation and also during military face-off during 2001-02. It therefore has no inhibitions to afflict intolerable damage to ‘Hindu India’ by using WMD. Use of nuclear weapons by Pakistan is not only a threat but a key feature of its defence against conventional superiority of India. The bottom line for the use of nuclear weapons could be, probably the loss of key cities along the line extending from ‘Lahore’ in the North to ‘Karachi’ in the South in a conventional conflict.
Chinks in the Nuclear ‘First Use Theory’.-There are fundamental problem areas:-
What should be the objective of ‘first use’? Can India be crippled enough to disallow her the second strike capability?
What, if India launches her countervail strike? Will Pakistan survive Indian counter strike?
What must Pakistan do to counter balance India’s second strike capability?
Creation of ‘Strategic Depth’-The answers to the questions asked above lie in the creation of ‘geographical depth’ in Afghanistan so as to not only protect the core leadership and nuclear weapons but to create a capability to launch a ‘third strike’ against India. This is why Kayani has been desperate to seek control of Afghanistan through a pliable regime. The ouster of India from Afghanistan gives her the main advantage of protecting the core of politico-military leadership in a nuclear exchange, whether it was initiated accidentally or as part of a deliberate escalation.
Inflicting a ‘la-Soviet’ on India. There is no doubt that Pakistan provides moral and material support to militants of J&K and Punjab. ISI has not only set up training camps for them and provided sanctuaries to their leaders but also extended financial aid to them. Pakistan military has also created a ‘strategic asset’ in the form of ‘good Taliban’, so as to widen the scope and capacity of WOM on India. All this is aimed at pinning down India militarily and curtail its conventional military- strength- advantage in a conventional conflict, should India desire to venture into it. Further, in order to expand the scope of a low cost war against India, ISI of Pakistan has established links with Maoists, ULFA, Naga and Manipur insurgents, besides having links with Indian underworld to create communal and religious riots. The whole purpose is to set India on fire and tire out the Indian Army to make it totally stretched and ineffective. Once Indian army is weakened and tired out, it would be easy to deliver a death- blow to the Indian polity and dissolve it into 20-30 teeny- weeny blobs on the world map. Pakistan military, in collaboration with China, hopes to do a ‘la-Soviet Union’ on India.
Manipulate USA. This is the key point in this doctrine. To placate USA, the doctrine seeks to provide USA lollipops of ‘visible co-operation’ on her war on terror in Afghanistan by arresting and handing over some low level Al-Qaeda and Afghan Taliban functionaries. Along with it, the stories of death and existence of Osama Bin Laden are also fed to US intelligence to keep her interest alive in Pakistan and ignore Pakistan’s other acts of sponsoring terrorism in Kashmir and India. Pak military has successfully done this over the last few years. Her leverage with USA provides sanctity to her nefarious designs on India.
The recent upsurge in Maoists/ Naxalite activities in India are part of the unfolding Kayani doctrine. Pak military has realized that supporting militant activities in Kashmir could prove counter productive because Kashmir was now on the international radar screen. And any such act here magnifies Pakistan’s evil intentions against India. Therefore, slow-down of terrorist activities in Kashmir might be part of a bigger design of Kayani doctrine. It is no certificate for Pakistan’s good intentions of friendly relations with India. The leadership of India ought to understand this.
To counter such evil intended designs, India must first realize that any pact/agreement with Pakistan has no surety of implementation as long as Pakistan army holds the central position. Therefore, talks for the purpose of talks were all right but to bridge the ‘trust-deficit’ was a far fetched argument. It would never be allowed by the spin doctors of Kayani’s doctrine. India would never be trusted, come what may. To Pak military, to trust India is to write the obituary for Pakistan’s existence. It is a known irony of Pakistan’s history that personal interests of Pak Military’s Generals were the national interests of Pakistan. Where is there a scope for peace with India by confidence building measures? If at all it serves any purpose it is to surprise and shock India as it happened in the aftermath of Lahore Resolution in February 1999. While India was busy dreaming peace, Pak military was planning a coup-d-grace in Kargil. So, would it do now, if India is not guarded about the evil motives of Kayani Doctrine?
It is time India pay attention to its internal security more vigorously. It is no more to be treated as law and order problem. Time has come when whole country ought to have a counter insurgency grid. The grid then be divided into sectors, sub-sectors and sub-sub sectors. A dedicated force be earmarked for each sub-sub sector. The activities of the grid be coordinated at national level through sectors and sub sectors. This is the only way to beef up our homeland security. Therefore we could coordinate all acts of counter Maoism/terrorism/ insurgency anywhere in India. The flow of intelligence would be unhindered. Depending upon situation, counter militancy forces could be switched from one sector to another with ease.
It is undoubtedly clear that to tackle such evil designs of the enemy, besides having a refurbished intelligence apparatus; we also need to have a specialized force to deal with well-trained militants/terrorists. Some of the infantry units of Indian army could make the nucleus of this force. With the nuclearised battlefield, the role of normal Infantry is drastically reduced. In order to fight ‘cross border wars’, as opposite of WOM, we need to have more of mechanized forces. Also, RMA (Revolutions in Military Affairs) has introduced the weapon systems in the combat zones with profound lethality, perfect accuracy and guidance, along with enhanced ranges. This demands all forces to possess an ability to rapidly concentrate and quickly disperse to avoid presenting a bigger target. In such a scenario, normal Infantry would be sitting duck. It is from this point of view, I assert that some percentage of normal Infantry could be diverted permanently for internal security.
In conclusion, I would only say that our leadership must not treat internal security lightly. A great Indian philosopher, Chanakya, had said that the maximum danger to a nation’s security stemmed from a threat, which emanated from inside but was aided and abetted from outside. We have such sure recipes in Maoists movement in over 240 districts of India, inflaming North East, troubled J&K and Punjab, along with rising influence of communal-bigots from Maharashtra, Gujarat to Karnatka. They are all under the evil influence of Kayani Doctrine. It is time for India and her leadership to get serious.
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NAGMA's BANGLES PART-TWO

Story So far:-

----You have read that ASGARI---had come to Balachaur(Indian Punjab--Hoshiarpur district) in June 1961---she had brought with her a gift for Rai Singh---'Bhagtani's'son.
----Ashgari had narrated the story of what happened in those gory months of Partition of Indian sub-continent----How human beings had become worse than animals.
----Now read what had happened to Nagma and her family. It is parlyt true and partly fiction---but mostly based on real facts. Names and characters are fictitious other than some historical names.
-----It is essential to give out a background information to the readers before continuing with Nagma's story. It would be interesting to note that the strange links would only emerge in Part Three.
----Part Three--Of the story would link you with the present times.

Backdrop of 1947




In the months of July-October 1947, administration everywhere in Punjab and Bengal had collapsed.Administrators and law enforcers were disappearing into thin air. Balachaur police station was abandoned,too, because all the policemen i.e. constables and others,being mostly Muslims, had deserted. Their places were not filled up. Surprisingly, no thought was given to such administrative needs by the British Government. No arrangements were made to prevent the lawlessness and violence which would follow such a hasty partition. Was it a deliberate act by the colonialists? The story was same everywhere. Chaos and disorder marked the British India of 1947. It seems Britain wanted lawlessness and Chaos---there is no other explanation.
Charge of the police station was taken over by some volunteer ex-servicemen of army. It was their own initiative to bring some orderliness in the area. But they had no authority to check the marauding mischief makers and violent gangs belonging to Hindu and Sikh Communities. All the same,they ensured that no riots took place in Balachaur and all the Muslim families were safe. The worst thing was that the villages around Balachaur were being filled with refugees from West Pakistan. They were seething with anger and sought revenge. It was the 'hold' of 'Ghodewaha Rajputs' in the region that there was no major cases of violence till August-September 1947. However, onrush of refugees had begun to change the equation. Sentiments began to rise high against Muslim community.
Partition of Indian subcontinent had taken place on August 15 , 1947. Punjab and Bengal were the two major provinces which bore the brunt. Lakhs of people were moving across the man-made boundaries. There was total chaos everywhere. For the common man,there was no administration worth its name, which was coordinating the transmigration of refugees across the RADCLIFFE line. It passed through houses and villages like a butcher's knife slaughters a goat. Men and women of Punjab across Radcliffe line, no matter of what religion, had become 'goats of sacrifice'. Britain had hurriedly drawn this line on the ground based on a proposal made by Field Marsha,l A P WAVEL on February 18, 1946.
The proposal was implemented by Lord Mountbatten, who joined as the last viceroy of India in March 1947. He was sent with a mission to create a future role in 'Jewel of the Crown' for the dying British Empire by way of some kind of British presence in the subcontinent. He was told that it could only be achieved if Hindu-Muslim divide is enhanced and partition of the subcontinent was immediately affected. This he did with magnificent finesse over the dead bodies of lakhs of innocent people. Ironically, Government of Punjab led by KHIZR HAYAT KHAN, the Chief Minister of Punjab, from the Unionist Party of Farmers and Landlords, was against this partition. But despite his good intentions, it could neither avert partition not it could avoid communal violence, which had acquired a monstrous proportions by July -August 1947.
It is in this context that one ought to appreciate the work of these retired ex-servicemen of Balachaur who voluntarily had manned police station and brought peace to make sure that no untoward incident had taken place in and around Balachaur. Unfortunately,the area around Balachaur had, however, become unsafe and villages of Muslims were attacked by Sikh and Hindu radicals who were baying for revenge for atrocities on their communities in West Punjab. Refugees from West Punjab were coming with gory tales and some of them had joined these killer gangs to seek revenge. Most of the Muslim families from neighboring areas, thus, moved to Balachaur, to be in the protection of voluntary force of 'self-styled policemen', of Balachaur.
These ex-servicemen, mostly retired 'Hindu Ghodewaha Rajputs', who had assumed command of police station, organized a transit camp in a military style, for these Muslim families in a mango orchard, near Baba Balraj's tomb. ( Area is now a complex mess of residential colonies). With continuous flow of affected families every day, the strength of the camp was steadily increasing. If fifty persons left the camp for their onward journey to Pakistan, then one hundred new persons came in. All the same, it was organized in an orderly manner and some sanity was restored by these volunteer ex-servicemen. Baba Balraj Temple Committee organized a free kitchen for these refugees.
Balachaur, then, was a small village of merely 3-400 families, mostly Rajputs but Jats, Sainis, Brahmins, Jains and some low caste Hindu families also existed along with low caste Muslims with their family vocations. It lay around 125 kms North West of Ambala.(Chandigarh had no existence, then). The village had no metalled road connecting it to district headquarters at Hoshiarpur. It was connected by two unmetalled roads to Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahar,some 20 Kms West of Balachaur. People mostly traveled on foot or bullock carts or the landlords had their own horses. To catch a train to go to distant places, people used to go to Rahon , some 20 Kms South West of Balachaur, or Nawanshahar.
The unique thing about Balachaur, then, was that along with villages-of Jadla-&-Samundra, it was the only other HINDU village of 'GHODE WAHA- KACHHWAHA RAJPUTS' North of River Satluj. This clan had some 720 villages, North and South of River Satluj, then. Over a period of time, all other RAJPUT villages around Balachaur, North of Satluj River, had converted to Islam, voluntarily or through coercion. The Rajputs of Balachaur did not convert due to 'BABA RAJ DEV', father of 'BABA BALRAJ'. Raj Dev had himself converted to Islam but got his sons exempted from the SUBEDAR of SIRHIND. Due to this, his youngest son, BALRAJ used to organise a CHHINJ (WRESTLING COMPETITION) in the village on the following day of DIWALI to commemorate the memory of his father. (The tomb of BABA RAJDEV--though it is called BALRAJ MANDIR----- in the village on the main Chandigarh-Hoshiarpur/Nawanshahar Road today, is a big temple and it is managed by Rajputs--its income is in lakhs on the CHHINJ DAY-----it is gets a lot of devotees on every Thursday, too)
Muslim GHODEWAHA Rajputs of villages around Balachaur were very big landlords, as were the Rajputs of Balachaur. They had good social relations. DIWALI
and ID used to be celebrated with equal enthusiasm. There were two bodies with one mind. Therefore, a conference was organized at Village Asron to discuss the fate of Ghodewaha Rajputs, belonging to Muslim community in June 1947. Hindu Rajput elders and leaders requested their Muslim brethren to stay on In India. The offer was also made to accept them back into their fold. But Rao Sahib, Major General Farman Ali's (Pakistan army)father declined the offer politely. He pointed out toward the religious-divide which had broken the centuries -old trust and confidence. He was very categorical to state that it would be unsafe to live in a country ruled by untrustworthy congressmen. However a resolution was passed to ensure that the Muslim Rajputs of the area would be protected by Hindu Rajputs volunteer force, led by ex-servicemen.
Therefore, though the minds had been divided yet the Muslim camp at Balachaur was well protected by the volunteer force of ex-servicemen Rajputs. They also used to daily escort columns of Muslim families to Nawanshahar for their onward journey to their PROMISED HOME LAND. The news of murder and mayhem all around used to be very very disturbing. The volunteer force was constrained for manpower and weapons.


-- With this back grounder,now further read the story of Nagma.

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One day in September 1947, Muslims of Balachaur also moved to the camp. This included Nooro and Sarbrati Bharai, too, who were the domestic servants of 'Bhagtani, mother of Rai singh. There, they found Rai Singh and Nagma. It is to be noted that Rai Singh had been missing from the home for almost 15-20 days prior to this. 'Bhagtan'i was very worried about him thinking that he might become a victim of ongoing riots. Sarbrati,then also learnt there that Rai Singh had converted to Islam and he was going to Pakistan along with Nagma's family.
Out of sheer loyalty to 'Bhagtani', the brother-sister duo, came out of the camp to inform Mrs Hakam Badan Singh, Rai Singh's mother, about the whereabouts of her son and his future plans. Their arrival was seen by one Rulia Ram, a distant brother-in-law of Bhagtani. He was a very tough young man. But he had suddenly developed hatred for Muslims because he had got the news of the killing of his wife and her family at Lahore. His wife had had gone to Lahore,to her parental place to bring out her parents from there. But she fell victim to partition riots in Lahore.
Rulia Ram, then, sought revenge by killing Muslims. He had joined joined a gang of . When he saw the two servants, he was not in control of himself and he came to kill them. 'Bhagtani' warned him not to do so. When he did not listen and insisted, 'Bhagtani' picked up her husband's sword and struck Rulia Ram's sword carrying arm, thereby badly wounding him. wounded and injured , he withdrew. 'Bhagtani' then escorted Sarbati Bharai and Nooro back to the transit camp, hoping to meet her son Rai Singh. But he did not come out of the camp.
Bhagtani came back and told Vijay Singh Sodhi,(Satpal Chhatankoo's father---master mind of MOHINI MANTRA) another respected man of the village and their neighbor. He went to the camp to convince Rai Singh to return to his mother. There, Rai Singh put forward the condition that he would come back if Noorudin's family was also allowed to come. But Vijay Singh Sodhi told him that such an assurance could not be given and it was silly of him to leave his mother like this. But it did not affect him. Next day, Noorudin and his family moved out in a column to Nawanshahar, for their further move to Pakistan via Jalandhar. Rai Singh was also in the party.
On September 24, 1947, Sardar Bakhtawar Singh, a Sikh priest and a gang leader of anti-Muslim organization came to Vijay Singh Sodhi. After the initial formalities, he asked if there was some grand son of Thakur Lehna Singh by the name of Rai Singh . Vijay Singh gave the affirmative reply and also abused Rai Singh for having deserted his widowed mother for a Muslim girl. Bakhtawar Singh, then said, " Thank God, good senses prevailed upon me and I did not kill the boy when he cried that he was a Hindu boy and a grand son of Thakur Lehna Singh. First, I did not believe him but on his repeated pleas,I have come to cross-check with you. He is wounded but safe".
Thus, Rai Singh came back home on September 25, 1947. He had a broken leg and a stab wound. It took three months to recover. He left singing and the music group, headed by him, was disbanded. In 1950, he married his immediate elder brother's Sister-in-law. He forgot about Nagma and her family. Only he had known as to what had happened to Nagma and her family. He never told anyone about this. In fact he refused to talk about his past.
Villagers came to know the real facts, when Ashgari came to the village in June1961 and she gave away the gift sent by Nagma. What was the mystery of bangles?

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JUNE 1961

Ashgari had heard Nagma's story direct from her . She had met her at her brother's shop when she came to know about her. Initially, when she learnt about Nagma from her brother, Rehmat ali, Ashgari wanted to meet her due to curiosity but after her first meeting, she again met her three /four times because of sympathy.
In order not to annoy the Rajput sensitivities of her women audience, she had said right at the outset, " Mainu nahi pata eh kahaani vich kinna jhooth te kinna sachch hai---main te oh hi dus rahi hai jo mainu Nagma ne dasya---baaki 'Rai singh' jaane" ( I don't know what are the proportions of truth and lies in this story-----I am narrating what has been fed to me by Nagma----rest Rai Singh would know it better.) She began Nagma-story.

September 1947

It was the last week of September 1947 ---date was not remembered by Nagma--may be 22 or 23 September 1947------ when Nagma's family moved out from the refugee camp at Balachaur. They were escorted by four retired army men---two had guns and two were with swords. The convoy had moved out on foot in the early hours of the morning. It was still dark, when they left. It was said that they would get army protection at Jalandhar cantonment. There were some 50-60 persons in the convoy--mostly women and children. There were some 20 male members who carried spears and swords for self -defense. Rai Singh was also part of this group. The convoy had left early morning.
As soon as the convoy reached the 'Khudd' (a dry stream) short of village GarhiKanugo, they were attacked by a mob of rioters carrying swords and rifles. It was not even 6 AM in the morning and they had barely covered some two kilometers from the camp. There was no trace of escort persons. They had just disappeared in the thin air. Male members of the column did try to fight but they were out- numbered.
Nagma asked Rai Singh to help her father who had over powered a Sikh but Rai Singh just ran away from there and Nagma followed him. At this precise moment, she saw two Sikhs slicing her father's neck with their sword. She had earlier seen her brothers being killed in cold blood while they begged for mercy. All male members were, thus, butchered. Women ran helter-skelter. Nagma's sisters were caught by the raiders. But she ran behind Rai Singh---who entered a sugarcane field. She followed him but did not find him.
After some time, Nagma saw Rai Singh talking to a hefty Sikh. She thought being a known landlord's son, probably, he had established his identity. She too came out to join them, thinking their life could be saved.The moment she came out of the field, she shouted for Rai singh. He looked back and pointed a finger towards her. The tall and hefty Sikh sent his men and brought her. She said to Rai Singh, " Tell them I am your wife" . But Rai Singh kept quiet. And hefty Sikh told his men, " Oye, Mundiyo, eh kehndi hai ki eh da viah hoya hai,------ Chalo , fir manao eh di bhi Suhaag Raat" (Hey boys, this woman says that she was married-------OK, then , let us make her enjoy her wedding night).
She kept crying but no mercy was shown nor Rai Singh intervened on her behalf. She begged and begged. But Rai Singh stood motionless. The hefty Sikh abused her, " Saali, Chudail, Eh Ghodewahayan de munde nuN fasa ke tu bach jawangi----Eh Nu Pakistan lajaaongi---chal tera Pakistan ta---ajj asin itthe hi banande haN (You bloody witch---you think you can escape our wrath by hooking a Gohdewaha rajput Boy. you want to take him to Pakistan. Right, we would make Pakistan out of you here, today).
She was taken to the fields, nearby. She saw some more women in that field and men mounted on them like hungry dogs. Her two elder sisters were also there. The scene was awful. Some women had been murdered while resisting. Their bodies lay there as one finds the cut-vegetables in a plate. There was some sort of a mass rape of captured women underway in that fields.
Some of the rapists spoke in a very funny dialect. Nagma noticed that it was not of local people. Ashgari told the her women audience that it was much later Nagma came to know that they could be from Multan--Jhang area of Pakistan---they were refugees who had come in the months of June-July 1947. They were now seeking revenge on Muslims for, what they had undergone while migrating. Human madness had reached its pinnacle.
As Ashgari was narrating this story, the gathering became emotional. Women were sobbing and crying. Even three young friends, Rajinder, Partap and Dilawar had tears in their eyes. Some one asked her about her own experience. She said that her family had faced similar situations at Jandiala Guru and Wagha border. Her family had migrated in early August 1947. Those were horrific experiences, she did not want to narrate. All the same, she did bring out the fact that she had not married till date.
When asked as to what had happened to Nagma thereafter. It was revealed by Ashgari that Nagma was taken as a 'keep' by one Surjan Singh (not the real name) of village Langroya, some five Kilometers East of Nawanshahar. In 1948, she gave birth to a daughter, Jaswant Kaur (not real name). In May 1950, she got an opportunity and ran away from the clutches of Surjan Singh. She came to Balachaur but was not accepted by Rai Singh and his mother. Rai Singh was already married. In fact,he informed the police and she was taken away.
She did not tell the police about her stay with Surjan Singh at Langroya. She was sent to a "Missing Women's Home" at Amritasar. In 195,1 she was repatriated to Pakistan, through the efforts of her cousin sister Mehraj, who was the surviving daughter of her 'khala' (maternal aunt or Massi). Mehraj had been trying to find news about her parents and sisters, who were lost in the partition. One day, in 1950, she found Nagma's name and particulars in the missing woman's list and Nagma was contacted.
Nagma stayed with her for some days in Hira Mandi of Lahore. Mehraj had worked at Shamima's Kotha as a Nautch girl. Nagma had also joined her. But soon Mehraj was arrested for murdering a client when he tried to act funny. She died in the prison in 1959.
What was the mystery of the bangles? According to Ashgari, they were of gold, some 4-5 seven to eight tolas (70-80 grams). Rai Singh had stolen them from his mother and had given it to Nagma as a 'present' in 1946. The blame for the theft was passed on to eldest daughter-in-law of 'Bhagtani'---who had just moved to Jabalpur along with her husband in October 1946. It is because of this her eldest daughter -in-law and Bhagtani did not like each other. The mystery could be solved in 1961. It was because of this Bhagtani was furious when she saw her own bangles.
Ashgari also informed the collected people that Nagma had married her brother Rehmat Ali in 1960. They have a son named Inayat Ali.
"What about Jaswant kaur?" some one asked. "Oh, Nagma had written letters to her, but there was no response." Asghari had informed them.
There after Asghari got up and walked away. She did not want to answer more questions. She left for Pakistan, the next day. She never came back after this. No one knows what happened to Nagma, till----------something happened in USA in 2009.

-----------To Be Continued in Part Three
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SAKIRA---WAKA--WAKA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzsuE5ugxf4&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCQpNVVnSt8&feature=player_embedded
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