Opinion

Open letter: Issue executive order to rename PoK as PoJL

Renaming PoK as PoJL would help clear many cobwebs of confusion both in Bharat and outside Bharat

September 28, 2023

Dear HM Amit Shah Ji,

Sir, it has become customary for all to term as “Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK)” the territories of Jammu and Ladakh, which Pakistan occupied illegally in 1947-1948 with the full backing of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Nehru had announced a unilateral ceasefire on December 31, 1948, to help his friend, fundamentally pro-semi-independence Sheikh Abdullah of the Kashmir-based National Conference, rule Kashmir with utmost ease as its undisputed Sultan. Nehru announced a ceasefire at a time when the Indian forces had the Pakistani invaders, regular and irregular, on their run. The whole objective of Nehru and Sheikh was to help Pakistan annex non-Kashmiri speaking areas as there was no love lost between Sheikh Abdullah and his Kashmiri-speaking coterie and the non-ethnic Kashmiris and non-Kashmiri-speaking people, including Muslims of Jammu province and Muslims of the trans-Himalayan Ladakh.

Sir, to term as PoK the areas under the illegal occupation of Pakistan is a misnomer. It causes an affront to the self-respect of the people of Jammu and Ladakh when these areas are termed as PoK. These areas should be and must be termed as Pakistan-occupied-Jammu and Ladakh (PoJL).

Why because not one inch area of Kashmir is under Pakistan. And not one person in these areas is an ethnic Kashmiri. Not just this, not one person in these areas speaks Kashmiri.

The areas, which are termed in Pakistan “Azad Kashmir”, were part of Jammu province. These include the present Mirpur, Kotli, Bhimber, Poonch, Haveli, Bagh, Sudhanoti, Muzaffarabad, Hattian, and Neelam Valley districts.

Once 100 percent Hindu-Sikh, the areas turned 100 percent non-Hindu and non-Sikh by 31 December 1948, or after India attained the so-called political emancipation. Leave aside the exodus of thousands and thousands of Hindus and Sikhs from these areas to Jammu and other parts of the country during the period when Islamist barbarism gripped these unfortunate areas. That these areas didn’t become 100 percent Muslim in the medieval era, and that these areas became 100 percent Hindu and Sikh-free in a short span of just 14 months, and that, too, under the Nehru/ Congress regime speaks for itself.

The land area of these ten districts is 13,297 sq km. The people there speak the Pathowari language. Some also speak Punjabi and Urdu.

As far as the non-Kashmiri Muzaffarabad area was concerned, it was part of Kashmir only for administrative purposes.

The Gilgit-Baltistan region, which includes highly strategic Skardu, Chitral, Hunza, Nagar, Gupis-Yasin, Ishkoman, Bunji, Astore, Darel, Ghanche, Shigar, Kharmang, Ghizer, etc., were all parts of Ladakh, which had become part of the Dogra Kingdom as early as in 1841. The land area of Gilgit-Baltistan is 72,971 sq km. The people of this region speak Shina, Balti, Burushaski, Khowar, Wakhi and Pasto. Not one person in the now restive Gilgit-Baltistan region is an ethnic Kashmir, and not one person speaks Kashmiri there.

Nehru had not only enabled the newly created Pakistan to annex parts of Jammu province and Ladakh in 1947-1948, he had also helped China in 1962 grab Ladakh’s approximately 38,000 sq km area. And Nehru had defended the Chinese annexation in the Parliament, saying “Not a blade of grass grows there”. Not only this, Pakistan also illegally ceded 5,180 sq kms of the Indian territory in Shaksgam Valley from the illegally occupied areas to China in 1963 under the illegal China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement.

As for the tiny Kashmir, its land area is just 15,948 sq km. It also houses a diverse population. Not all people in Kashmir speak Kashmir. For example, in Kashmir’s Kupwara, Handwara, Baramulla, etc. the bulk of people speak Pathowari. They, and the people of Rajouri and Poonch districts, wrongly call it “Pahari”. Similarly, in Kashmir’s areas like Gurez, people speak Shina.

It is also important to note that the capital of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh State was Jammu. Srinagar was granted capital city status only in 1948 to taunt and humiliate Jammu.

Sir, the Ministry of Home Affairs would do well to look all these facts in the face. It would be only appropriate and desirable if an executive order is issued renaming PoK as PoJL. Renaming PoK as PoJL would also help clear many cobwebs of confusion both in Bharat and outside Bharat.

With respectful regards,

Sincerely yours,

Hari Om

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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