Memories of 1947 tragedy in Jammu & Kashmir and its present-day echoes
One tense afternoon 77 years ago, 64-year-old Jagan Nath ordered his 18-year-old son Krishan Lal to take his pistol and kill him immediately. It was November 1947. War had broken out – the first round of what would become chronic conflict between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir.Father and son were struggling to escape from Mirpur, a hilly region presently in Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir. They had just been spotted by Pashtun fighters infiltrated from Pakistan’s North West Frontier province. The Pashtuns, fierce tribal fighters, were pressing the assault. Too weak to continue, Jagan Nath, the father, urged his son to escape. Knowing that upon capture, as a non-Muslim, he would be tortured by the Pashtuns following close behind, Jagan Nath gave his son the unnatural ord...