Kashmir and Sheikh Abdullah in Australian Press (1947-53)

Following are some newspaper clippings related to Kashmir and Sheikh Abdullah from 1947-53.

Click on the Pictures to enlarge and for your convenience please open the pictures divided into parts as a,b,c… in different windows so that there is less difficulty in reading & understanding.

The Mail (Adelaide, SA ) Saturday 17 June 1950

Kashmir Is A Sportsman's Mecca (By Harold K. Milks) SRINAGAR (Associated Press). — Kashmir may be one big headache lo the United Nations. But it is paradise to the sportsman, especially if — like the writer — he prefers his hunting and fishing served up on a platter. Mention the word trout within hearing of a Kashmiri and there arc dozens of fishermen clamour ing to lake you to their favourite streams. Mention black or brown bear. Inquire about any or a half a dozen species of mountain goat from the seldom-shot markhor downward. Whisper a desire to shoot scrre deer, a giant panther, a snow leopard, some wild sheep. Suggest that your favourite sport is downing giant geese or ducks from a blind. The answer is all the same from personable Colonel Ghulam Qadir (Director General of Kashmir Tour ism), who has hunted in both North and South America. Africa and Europe — who still - says there is no sporting place like Kashmir. 'Wo have them all, just wait ing to be hunted,' he said. 'In most cases the hunting is not too difficult. This correspondent mentioned in an off moment that he had never shot a bear. 'Well fix that,' said Colonel Qadir. Forty-five minutes after leaving Nedous Hotel, the famous Kash mir resort founded in Srinagar by Qadir's grandfather, we were in bear country. Twenty onnutes later, after a walk of only 10 minutes from our jeep trail, 1 had the sights of a heavy double rifle on a husky voun'g bear, and within seconds the 3001b. animal was on his way to being a fur rug in this cor respondent's home. The personable colonel pro posed a return hunt and promised that it would include a good stag, plenty of geese and ducks, and — if the snow was not too heavy on the Himalayan Ranges — a monster brown bear as big and as dangerous as the North American grizzlies. 'This is the poor man's para dise,' insisted the colonel. 'Once you have a licence (and it is 130 rupees for the whole season) there are few other costs. Bring your own guns and ammunition, spend a few rupees for a shikarie (hunting guide) and shoot until the cows come home.' Black and brown bear are plentiful within 15 miles of Erinagar, Kashmir's capital, the black bear ranging upward to 5001b., the brownies weighing in at a top mark of around 8001b. Giant red stags are found in the highlands, especially during the autumn and winter. Higher up on the slopes of the Himalayan Ranges are no less than half a dozen varieties of wild goats, including the mark hors, which Colonel Qadir said is the world record markhor. Besides markhors, there are plenty of ibex, thar, gorel and serow, all types of mountain goats, plus Tibetan gazelles (goa) and Tibetan antelope (chiru). Wild sheep, cousins to the high-climbing goats, include ovis ammon (Hodgson), Sharpu (ovis vignei), and gharal or blue sheep (preseudois nayaur). HUGE ANTLERS Deer family members in the Kashmir shooting grounds are the hangul or Barasungha (Kashmir stag), whose antlers range up to a record mark of 51$ inches, and musk deer with four-inch tusks. Autumn brings some of the finest small game shooting in the world, and Colonel Qadir's guest book lists the names of some of the world's best known sports men who have shot from his blinds. Geese, duck, snipe, pheasants, and other game birds are found in plenty. Geese and ducks swarm into Keshmir in October, stay on until March, feeding over the lakes, rivers, and canals of the Kashmir Valley. Game and game birds are so plentiful— and hunters so few— that except for stag the Kashmir State Government has not found it necessary to fix bag limits. Even market hunters— boatmen who have mounted punt guns, muzzle-loading weapons with nails of old scrap iron on their boats— make no visible impres sion in the number of geese or ducks available in Kashmir. Pishing is much the same story. Several decades ago British sportsmen— with a financial boost from the then Maharaja of Kash muv-decided to stock some glacier-fed mountains with trout. To-day brown and rainbow trout are so plentiful that a season angler is guaranteed for his annual permit costing 400 rupees the right to fish in a dif ferent stream by himself every day between April 1 and Septem ber 30. Completely acclimatised, the trout reproduce on such a scale that fish and game wardens have found it un necessary to restock the streams from either of Kash mir's large trout hatcheries. For the man who wants a few days' fishing, Kashmir offers a choice of trout streams for a daily fee of only seven rupees. Top catch in the 1951 season was a trout of HZ-lb., taken oh a flv. The disturbed political situation between India and Pakistan over Kashmir is in part responsible for the glut of fish and game in this Himalayan State. Colonel Qadir said the situation had kept away many sportsmen who feared hunting and fishing areas would be closed, or pro hibitions imposed on bringing firearms and ammunition into a 'disturbed area.' Actually, Colonel Qadir said, there are no restrictions on any of the hunting and fishing re gions in Kashmir.

2a Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser Friday 18 January 1952

2b Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser Friday 18 January 1952

2c Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser Friday 18 January 1952

2d Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser Friday 18 January 1952

3a The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld) Friday 31 October 1947

3b The Courier-Mail (Brisbane) Friday 31 October 1947

3c The Courier-Mail (Brisbane) Friday 31 October 1947

4 The Daily News (Perth, WA) Tuesday 4 November 1947

5a The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) Tuesday 24 May 1949

5b The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) Tuesday 24 May 1949

6 The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA) Thursday 22 May 1952

7b The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) Monday 23 March 1953

7a The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) Monday 23 March 1953

8a The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA ) Wednesday 8 April 1953

8b The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA ) Wednesday 8 April 1953

9 The Mercury (Hobart, Tas) Thursday 30 July 1953

8c The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA ) Wednesday 8 April 1953

10a The Sunday Herald (Sydney, NSW )Sunday 16 August 1953

10b The Sunday Herald (Sydney, NSW ) Sunday 16 August 1953

11a The Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW) Sunday 29 November 1953

11b The Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW) Sunday 29 November 1953

$Communist Bid For Kashmir By the FOREIGN EDITOR Despite recent Pakistani denials about leasing bases to the US, India remains apprehensive over the foreign policy of her Moslem neighbor. She neither wants Pakistan underwriting any Middle East de fence scheme nor facilitating an American foothold on the Indian sub-continent, but rather to fit into the Indian pattern of neutralism. This denial of indepen dence, however, seems almost too much to ask after partition, especially while Kashmir remains such a bone of contention between the two Dominions. In fact, ndian reaction over the -ases and the possible price is believed to have been partly conditioned by the fear that it would strengthen Pakistan in her stand over Kashmir. One of the main obstacles to a plebiscite agreement was the ratio of troops in the dis puted area. India insisted that before the plebiscite could be held Pakistan should limit her troops on the cease fire line, established by the ON in 1949, to 6.000, com pared with 21,000 Indian troops, which was roughly the proportion of their re spective areas. American aid to Pakistan. it- was feared, might upset this ratio, and also affect the question of a plebiscite administrator. In their last meeting, the Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers agreed that a neutral admin istrator for the plebiscite should be appointed not later than April 30, 1954. while a joint committee representing both sides would iron out pre liminary issues that have baulked the UN Security Council since the dispute was referred to that body nearly six years ago. India maintains that the plebiscite administrator should not be an American or come from any of the great Powers, as this would tend to cast over Kashmir the shadow of the current world struggle between the demo cracies and the Communist states, from which India' has always tried to keep herself dissociated. And so the Kashmir dispute ' drags on into. its seventh year. .;' But while the two great Asian states pursue '? their, quarrel there is a ? growing' danger of a Pyrrhic victory for- either party. . There is increasing evidence' that the Communists are out' to steal the spoils. . .- -I:'' ? Some time ago, the In dian Communist ' . Party, which is by no means a negligible . quantity: viand causes : New. Delhi some anxiety, decided to- -switch ts chief interest from south to north India. It was- in fluenced by the fact- that communal feeling in the north is strong and offers scope 'for- manoeuvre; also the belief that it could-' not hope to gain control of the central government unless it irst won power, like the Chinese Communists, in some part of the country which has a land link with Russia. Hence the attrac tion of Kashmir. Even before the overthrow of Sheikh Abdullah a few months ago, the Commu nists were active in Kash mir, and although they ori ginally supported Abdullah they are believed to have . played a part in his down fall. The pro-Indians feared - that Abdullah was veering towards Pakistan, while the Communists particularly dis- '? liked the suggestion that he was planning to make Kashmir autonomous with a ? UN guarantee. The Com munists wanted to avoid this ' at all costs so as not to prejudice their own possible chances of seizing power in Kashmir at some future date. Consequently, al though India claimed that she was neither consulted nor gave advice leading' to the overthrow of Sheikh Abdullah, there seems little doubt that the Communists conspired with his pro Indian adversaries in Kash mir and Delhi and so hastened the coup. Some indication of the Communist price can be , seen in the fact that the new Deputy Premier and a leading power in the country is Ghulam Mahomed Sadik, who has made no secret of his Communism, while there are also several fellow tra vellers in Premier Bakshi's Cabinet. As for policy, Deputy Premier Sadik has already declared publicly that no 'imperialist, capi talist. UNO-USA sponsored plebiscite administrator' would ever be acceptable to ' , Kashmir, and there is a familiar Communist ring in the talk of opposing 'foreign capitalist interven- J tion.' /'??? \A * * -.£ ;. In. fact, despite' the agree- ''?-% ment between the Indian ; '.',? and Pakistani Premiers , the- . prospect of a free plebiscite/ -: to : settle the Kashmir dis- '?'; pute is thought to be get- -; ing steadily .more remote under Communist pressure, and public opinion is being worked up by tjhe compul- . . sory education .of ' party ? members. At the moment, ??*%' this may suit some of the' v-i officials in Delhi; if not Mr.' '?:?? Nehru.but Indian natibna-:'. lists may yet discover the;V ' truth of the- saying about i-.\ the need of a. long. spoon trffj'i sup with the devil. . -,\' ?: ? 3 Delhi is only .250 mlles?;'1 from the Kashmir border, v 5 and the Communists are; ,f; spending a lot of money in, 4? the Punjab which lies be-, :f, tween. ' The whole of nor- : ,'» them India, indeed, is highly/:* inflammable and a fruitful, Hs field for Communism., Many .'s of the Sikhs, who are dis-' i contented, with the present'' & Government, are tradition- -'-?? ally 'left' and the refugees ^ from Pakistan also have K their grievances. ? . .? . '^ But Mr. Nehru, who is well aware of how Mao Tse-tung rose to power in China, must also realise the danger of \ ; this new concentration of - Communist activity. ' The question is whether he can ' convey this danger to his . immediate lieutenants and ', make them appreciate the high price they are being asked to pay for their in- ' transigence over Kashmir.$

12a The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA) Saturday 5 December 1953

12b The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA) Saturday 5 December 1953

One thought on “Kashmir and Sheikh Abdullah in Australian Press (1947-53)”

So close yet so far away.

Mark Schmitz , February 18, 2013 at 11:11 AM

A123LAD

A123LAD

A Newsholics Journey, Follow me on twitter @A123LAD

Kashmir and Sheikh Abdullah in Australian Press (1947-53)

One thought on “Kashmir and Sheikh Abdullah in Australian Press (1947-53)”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

A123LAD

Rate this:

Share this:

Like this:

Related

One thought on “Kashmir and Sheikh Abdullah in Australian Press (1947-53)”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply