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| Balraj Madhok was for trifurcation of J&K | | Advocates dividing JK into three | |
Early Times Report
jammu, May 6: Balraj Madhok was one of the founding members of Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the ideological precursor to India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. He passed away in Delhi early this week (2, May). He was 96.
Kashmir Issue
As an activist, Balraj Madhok gathered intelligence regarding the Pakistani military's movements and passed it on to the Indian army during the notorious 'tribal raiders' carnage on Kashmir. He pleaded with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to help the Hindus and Sikhs who were stranded in what would soon become Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Here is an account by one of the witnesses and a Hindu survivor of that tragedy:
On November 23, Prem Nath Dogra and Professor Balraj Madhok met Brigadier Paranjape, the Brigade Commander of the Indian Army in Jammu, and requested him to send reinforcements to Mirpur (a strategic place where more than one hundred thousand Hindus and Sikhs were held up during first Pakistani aggression over Kashmir). Paranjape shared their agony but expressed his helplessness because - as per instructions from the army generals - consultation with Sheikh Abdullah was mandatory in order to deploy Indian troops anywhere in Jammu and Kashmir. Paranjape also informed the delegation that Pandit Nehru would come to Srinagar on November 24 and they should meet him. On November 24, Pandit Dogra and Professor Madhok met Nehru and once again told him about the critical situation in Mirpur. They requested him to order immediate Indian troops reinforcement to the beleaguered Mirpur City. Professor Madhok was amazed at Pandit Nehru's response - Pandit Nehru flew into a rage and yelled that they should talk to Sheikh Abdullah. Prof Madhok again told Pandit Nehru that Sheikh Abdullah was indifferent to the plight of the Jammu province and only Pandit Nehru could save the people of Mirpur. However, Pandit Nehru ignored all their entreaties and did not send any reinforcements to Mirpur.
On 24 November, Mirpur fell to Pakistani artillery. The Hindus and Sikhs encountered a genocide that would "put to shame worst orgies of rape and violence committed by the hordes of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane," according to a survivor, Bal Ks Gupta.
Balraj Madhok was also a leader who prophetically supported Dr Ambedkar's idea of trifurcating Jammu and Kashmir. He supported the Ladakh Buddhist Association's demand for Union Territory status for the region. In his statement to the press on 20 July 1973, he stated that Ladakh should be made a Union Territory "in the interest of national security and wider interests of the nation".
It was also Madhok who brought to light Dr Ambedkar's opposition to special privileges for Kashmir. When Jan Sangh, Swatantra Party and Congress (O) formed an alliance, they created a shadow cabinet in which Prof Madhok was the defense minister. During the Emergency, he was jailed under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) for 18 months. His political career then came to an abrupt end. |
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