Hamid Abdullah

From the end of seventeenth Century up to 1837 A.D. Poonch was ruled by the Muslim Rajas of Loran. It then fell in to the hands of Raja Fiaz Talab Khan of Rahuri. In 1846, this area was handed over to Maharaja Gulab Singh under the treaty of Amritsar. Before this transfer, Poonch was considered a district of Lahore. Maharaja Gulab Singh handed over Poonch and some other areas to his nephews, Jawahar singh and Moti Singh, with the condition that they would not make any administrative changes without the consent of Maharaja of Kashmir. Poonch was annexed and converted in to a Jagir by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1935-36 by the deposing Raja establish their rule in Poonch. In 1947 when Pakistan came in to being, the people of Poonch started on armed struggle afainst the Dogra and Indian Forces.

The movie, Fanaa, starts with Kajol saluting the Indian flag and this act sets the tone for the entire movie: of Kashmiris being patriotic Indians, of an Islamic movement being thrust upon them. If all Kashmiris were patriotic Indians, there wouldn’t be the need of 0.7 million troops to ‘control them’ and a movement can not be thrust upon a people until and unless they are ‘fed up’ of the present regime. Kajol is a part of Independence day celebrations choir representing Kashmir. Her parents see her off in Udhampur. So desperate to get some Kashmir in the movie, the movie makers made another mistake: Kashmiris never (almost) travel from Udhampur to Delhi on a train. The most convenient route is by bus to Jammu and onwards to Delhi. For a non Kashmiri, it does not seem to be a significant mistake. But, a Kashmiri will look at this scene and wonder how long it will take for India and Indians to understand him.