Kashmir Blood on British Hands

The Scotsman, Tuesday, May 2, 2006--Islamic militants blamed as 35 Hindus are killed

SUSPECTED Islamic militants have killed at least 35 Hindus in separate incidents in Indian Kashmir.

Twenty-two people were gunned down when a village was raided, and the bodies of 13 shepherds abducted over the weekend have been found.

BY PRAKRIITI GUPTA

For centuries, Kashmir's Hindus - known as Pandits - lived peacefully alongside the area's Muslim majority.

But the Pandits have been targeted relentlessly by Islamic insurgents who have been fighting since 1989 to wrest Kashmir from largely Hindu India. An estimated 2,000 have been killed.

The latest killings come days before Kashmir's political separatists are due to meet Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, who suggested the murders would not hamper efforts to find peace in the region, divided between India and Pakistan.

Prabhupada: When the Britishers saw, "Now the soldiers are coming in national movement. There is no hope. Better break this and go peacefully so that our business may not be disturbed, our relation may not be disturbed. Make a Commonwealth and so on, so on, hodgepodge. And do as much harm as possible dividing Pakistan and Hindustan, all the food in Pakistan, East Bengal and West Pakistan, grain and rice." And this Hindustan in starvation, because they were getting grain from Punjab and rice from East Bengal, and that is stopped. They very clever. Greatest harm they did. And in politics made in such a way that these two people, Hindustan and Pakistan, always fight. So they have gained. You have not gained. Gandhi wanted Hindu-Muslim unity. They made so bitter relationship that they will perpetually fight. That is Gandhi's qualification. They are so great diplomats that "This man wants Hindu-Muslim unity, so make such arrangement that this... Their fight will continuous. And give all the food to the Pakistani, so they [India] will starve. Let them eat coal." The Hindustan has got coal mine. "So they [East and West Pakistan] will suffer for industrial supply, and they [India] will suffer for food. And they will fight. " British diplomats are very clever. Gandhi even offered that "Don't divide India. You better give it to Jhinna." But this commission, this Patita Lalan[?]. "No, no," said, "It is... Otherwise, there will be conflagration of always fight. Let it be settled." Gandhi went to this point, that "If you think that without division India will be chaos, so you better give it to Jhinna in the hand. Don't give it to me." But they wanted division.

Guest (1): That is a British policy.

Prabhupada: They wanted this division.

Pradyumna: Gandhi was very much against division.

Prabhupada: Yes. Division means that what remains India? Formerly India was India, Burma, Ceylon. They never divided, divided. They wanted that "Divide, divide, divide, and let this rascal have a small plot of land."

Guest (1): No, even they made it, all the states, independent.

Prabhupada: Yes, to make their choice: "You can join either Pakistan or India."

Guest (1): Or remain independent also.

Prabhupada: They wanted to make nil India. The Hyderabad state was given choice. Kashmir was given choice, whichever, Hindustan or Pakistan. That is still going on, the Kashmir.

Guest (1): Even in Orissa, small states just like Mariwan[?] and Venkana[?], they were independent before that time, till Sardar Patel[?] came in and asked them to...

Prabhupada: Simply divide, divide, divide. Divide and rule, and divide and break. They have done always like that.

Guest (1): That proviso was the written rule. They made completely... Without that they cannot do it actually. They made such a big empire, they cannot do actually without divide-and-rule policy.

Prabhupada: Bheda, bheda, bheda policy. This is called sandhyam bheda. There are four policies.