Kashmiri people

Um, z- z- this is a classic example of where two things can be true, where you can hold the belief that Jewish people should have their homeland, which I would have no issue with.

If I believe in a homeland for Muslim people or for Scots or for Kashmiris or whoever, then why would I have a problem with Jewish people saying we want to self-determine our future in a, in a Jewish homeland? But secondly, what can also be true is that there is no doubt at all in my mind that the realization of Zionism over the last 100 years plus has absolutely been full of racist policies.

Not my opinion, by the way.

The ICG opinion from 2024, which says that Israel is in breach of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

But fortunately, there were other pilots also on board on that airplane, which took over and, uh, you know, brought the aircraft down.

General Dylan, you've seen, uh, unusual acts of bravery by civilians, um, where, you know, in 15 Corps when you were interacting with Kashmiris.

We have spoken about this-

Yes

And then there was a great influx of blue-collar immigrants coming And they came in and worked in shops and factories and they were mostly from the Kashmir region.

They came from Kashmir and obviously because of the building of the Mangla Dam that displaced a huge number of Kashmiris, about 150,000 who were then granted visas by the British government as part of a development scheme to come here.

And many of our early sort of immigrants.

There were these young people and they came and settled and worked in factories.

That special article was revoked in 2019.

And that article used to mean, you know, only Kashmiris could buy land in Kashmir.

It was very much meant to keep Kashmir's history and tradition alive because it's the only Muslim-majority region in India.

Wow.

Feasts were given in our honor, every gonpo was open to us, monkish blasts on colossal horns brayed out welcomes, and while nothing could exceed the helpfulness and alacrity of kindness shown by all, there was not a thought or suggestion of Bakshish.

the men of the villages always set by our campfires at night, friendly and jolly, but never obtrusive, telling stories, discussing local news and the oppressions exercised by the Kashmiri officials, the designs of Russia, the advance of the Central Asian Railway, and what they consider as the weakness of the Indian government in not annexing the provinces on the northern frontier.

Many of their ideas and feelings are akin to ours, and a mutual understanding is not only possible, but inevitable.

Footnote Mr. Redslob said that when on different occasions he was smitten by heavy sorrows, he felt no difference between the Tibetan feeling and expression of sympathy and that of Europeans.

Provisions for the whole party for the same time had to be carried, for the route is over an uninhabited and arid desert.

Not the least important part of my outfit was a letter from Mr. Redslob to the headman or chief of the Changpas, or Champas, the nomadic tribes of Rupchu, to whose encampment I purposed to make a detour.

These nomads had on two occasions borrowed money from the Moravian missionaries for the payment of the Kashmiri tribute and had repaid it before it was due, showing much gratitude for the loans.

dr marks accompanied me for the three first days the few native christians in leh assembled in the gay garden plot of the lovely mission house to shake hands and wish me a good journey and not a few who were not christians some of them walking for the first hour besides our horses The road from Leh descends to a rude wooden bridge over the Indus, a mighty stream even there, over blazing slopes of gravel dignified by colossal manis and chod tents in long lines built by the former kings of Ladakh.

Now, on the Indian side, you know, the question of Kashmir is such a lightning rod.

Like, it's very clear Kashmiris want freedom.

They want their own independence.

But you have a similar or maybe different dynamic on the Pakistani side.

So what's happening in Kashmir? It's a very similar situation again.

They started off saying that, give us the basic rights.

There's a huge population of Kashmiris in the UK.

And when they travel to Pakistan, they have to land in Islamabad.

So let's just start off with some of the basics, really, because here's an interesting thing, right? Not many people actually know really what the identity of Gersher is.

Kashmiri, Kashir, even Kashmir itself, Kashir, not many people really know this.

They get it mixed up with other things.

So if we start with the identity, and you know, before we even start talking about borders and geopolitics, what does it actually mean to be Kashir today?

See, that's an interesting distinction when you say Kashmiri and Kershaw.

And I'm glad that you made that distinction because Kashmir comprises of many different dialects, many different languages, cultures, ethnicities, and so on.

And when you say the word Kershaw, it specifically refers to people of the valley and maybe a little bit beyond that.

People in Kishtawar, on the other side, closer to the Jammu side, speak the same thing.

So instead I went to Kashmir, which is, like, no less safe, but not in an active war.

And so I completely, like, changed my proposal and I went to Kashmir and I reported about, like, the minority of Hindu Kashmiris living in Kashmir.

It's, like, really complicated.

I probably don't need to get into it.