I am writing my life’s first newsletter from beautiful Leh valley, the center of India’s Union Territory of Ladakh. I am sitting on the balcony of a homestay, looking at the blue water of the famous Indus River, which comes from Tibet and flows to Pakistan. The Pakistan border from here is almost 200 kilometers. The last Indian village, Thang (near Turtuk), is 2015 kilometers by road, which follows the Shyok River.
Yesterday, I went to the main market of Leh, when I was having an americano at Leh Café, all of a sudden, everyone started to close the shutters of their shop. Customers were asked to leave all the cafes, restaurants, shops, etc. When the waiter asked me to leave the café (I was the only customer there), I started to walk towards the bus stop to go to my residence.
I was totally unaware of what was happening there. On the way to the bus stop, I saw local Poles forcing people to close the shops. Armies were on the road with their guns. Military vehicles started their movement.
Indeed, it was a terrifying movement.
I asked a local policeman why they were closing the market.
He replied that Pakistan had bombarded near the Kargil border, and we have been ordered to close the market for people’s safety. Kargil is just above 200 km from Leh, and the Indo-Pak border should be more than that across the difficult terrain of the Nanga Parbat range and Deosai National Park.
I had just posted a photo on Facebook from the café and captioned it, ‘Here is peace in Leh because here people do not watch Hindi TV and YouTube channels much.’ Everything changed within a few moments.
People have been forced to gather at the bus stand. They were terrified and trying to get on the first bus, but the crowd was bigger. I kept standing on the side, trying to find out more information. A military vehicle came towards us. A military woman was requesting people to stay calm in the queue to ride the bus, and nothing had happened. She was saying everything is safe here.
I did not understand why the state created such terror there.
After I came back to my homestay, I saw the news that a senior army officer, Raj Kumar Thapa, had died in a Pakistani shelling in Rajouri, a bordering district in the Jammu and Kashmir province, which is almost 600 kilometers from Leh.
Except for it, Leh is peaceful. People are not terrified like in Delhi or other towns, where they keep following TV channels and YouTube videos, which were using PUBG (a video game) videos, to create sensational news. One of my friends from Delhi was saying that television shows look like covering World War III. Many discussions were about the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons, since both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons. It reminded me of Arundhati Roy’s famous essay ‘End of the Imagination’. If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend it. It is a powerful essay that criticizes both India’s and Pakistan’s decision to equip themselves with nuclear weapons.
When the news was filled with the news of war, I was in Vipassana Meditation in Ladakh and was not aware of the developments. I was at peace, exploring my inner self in that beautiful meditation center. Once I came out of the center, Metta, who was driving me to the homestay, informed me about the developments. His briefing was like India and Pakistan were in a full-fledged war. One after another, retaliation attacks from both sides. More than 60 people died on both sides after the tension rose after the Pahalgam attack, where terrorists killed 26 Hindu tourists.
In the evening, I was drinking black tea with my host Daya; I saw the news of the ceasefire. Many Indian netizens, including television channels, were so disappointed that the government agreed to a ceasefire. They are dreaming of the fantasy of war, taking control of POK, and destroying Pakistan. But people who love peace are happy. Thanks to Mr. Trump for the mediation between these classical rivals.
People in Leh are also happy. They hope the airport will resume soon, which is scheduled to reopen by May 15, along with 31 other airports near the Pakistan border. The Leh-Manali road is not open yet, which was closed in winter due to heavy snow, and people are also waiting for this road to open. Leh is expecting tourists as in the past years.
The season for tourists has just started. This small Union Territory welcomes five to six lakhs of tourists every year.
I could see that many liberals and left intellectuals are criticizing the Indian state for escalating the tension after the Pahalgam terrorist attack. And, also for revoking the Indus Water Treaty. I agree, the Modi government deserves criticism for the security flaw in Pahalgam at the time of the attack, intensifying the situation, and initiating conflict with Pakistan. But they surprise me by remaining silent about Pakistan.
Pakistan has a long history of sponsoring terrorist organizations and leaders, and protecting them. They were the channel to fund the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet rule in Afghanistan. There is prudent information regarding how the US provided money, arms, and training to Afghan terrorist groups organized under the umbrella of Muzahiddin through the Government of Pakistan. Al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden was among those people who facilitated this support.
Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif rightly admitted that it supported terrorists for three decades on behalf of the West, which was the “mistake”. In my opinion, it is the second biggest mistake after the idea of the foundation of a theological country. No, the theologically conservative country can be a democratic country, and Pakistan never became one.
For a long time, Pakistan has gotten support from the West (especially the US) to destroy itself, which is obviously a great threat to the region of South Asia, especially India. In the last couple of years, we have witnessed geopolitical shifts in the region. India is inclining towards the West, and Pakistan is divorcing from the West and engaging with China. But it will not help to find a solution for this long-term rivalry; rather, it exacerbates it.
The only solution is to make Pakistan responsible for controlling all kinds of armed activities inside its territory, cut off all links with the armed groups, including those who are active in India-administered Kashmir. Also, the international community should investigate all the human rights violations against minority groups, including Hindus and Buddhists in the country.
To achieve this goal, Pakistan must be a democratic country, not a theocratic and military-controlled one. Pakistan should correct its course from its traditional way of being controlled by three A- America, Allah, and Army. This voice should be raised at the regional level also, to restore the SAARC.
The surprising news for me was that IFM decided to provide huge money to Pakistan as soon as the conflict started. What do they want? A war between two nuclear powers and a good arms deal? Be aware of the Western warmongers!!
While I was writing this newsletter, the blame game between the two governments continues for breaching the ceasefire deal. I hope the ceasefire will endure and they will sit down to dialogue tomorrow.
Even if the current conflict is resolved, the rivalry will remain. And, the Kashmir issue will be in Limbo.
Thanks for reading. I haven’t monetised my Substack account, so it’s free yet. If you liked the write-up, please do share it with others who might be interested.
Have a good time.
Here are some photos of picturesque Leh and the Indus River.
[Rohej Khatiwada, an amateur traveler and travel blogger, frequently contributes for newspolar.com]
