UNHOLY JIHAD: A True Story from Kashmir

The use of religion to achieve political ambitions is nothing new; religion, as a tool, has been used for centuries and all across the globe. We may call them extremists or fringe elements or crusaders, and the fact remains that religion-based motivation to wage war has been part of the modern history of humankind. Jihad, as per Islamic belief, is supposed to be a struggle towards self-betterment by each individual as also a holy war when the faith is in jeopardy and needs to be safeguarded. It is, by no stretch of the imagination, an act of aggression, though vested quarters have been preaching skewed interpretations of the same with underlying hidden motives of all kinds.

While it is now well-established that the highly publicised word, Kashmiriyat, is nothing but a political invention of the mid-1970s, life in Kashmir Valley has always been dictated by its majority since the 14th Century. There has, however, always existed a fine ‘quantity-quality’ balance between the two communities, with a small community of Kashmiri Pandits invariably holding high offices and the brute majority of Muslims dictating the social life. At a practical level, it boiled down to the interdependence between the two. That delicate balance, too, was tampered with when Pakistan-sponsored terrorism arrived in the Valley. Killings and rapes of minority community then saw the sixth mass exodus from the Valley over as many centuries. The fire, so cleverly ignited by the Pakistani agencies who left no stone unturned in selling the idea of Islam being in danger and Jihad as an obligation to the Kashmiri Muslims, however, soon started scorching Kashmir itself. 

This story is an effort to showcase what happened and how did it happen. Based on the life story of a terrorist, this book can be considered as one of the few books that give a peep into various layers of the trouble in Kashmir.

About the Author

Colonel Ajay K Raina, SM, is an Indian Army veteran and a military historian. He has authored 25 books, including a five-book series on the 1947-48 Conflict in Jammu & Kashmir. He is the founding Trustee of the Military History Research Foundation ®, which aims to enable military historians and authors to take their well-researched works to the public. The author can be contacted at ajaykrraina@gmail.com