03051958 Dispatch in the Daily Telegraph on 3 May 1958Sabbath show of Force in Kashmir Valley no Demonstration by Sheikh Abdullah s Followers From Gordon Shepherd Daily Telegraph Special Correspondent

03051958 Dispatch in the Daily Telegraph on 3 May 1958Sabbath show of Force in Kashmir Valley no Demonstration by Sheikh Abdullah s Followers From Gordon Shepherd Daily Telegraph Special Correspondent

Srinagar, Friday

The mosques of the lovely valley of Kashmir looked like military objectives today. It was the first Moslem sabbath after the re-arrest here of Sheikh Abdullah, the State's self determination spokesman and religious extremist leader.

It is an open question whether Sheikh Abdullah's followers had intended to organize mass disturbances among the tens of thousands of Kashmiri Moslems who flocked to today's open-air ceremonies. But any plans that may have existed were abandoned before the parade of police and militia strength staged at every major centre of worship.

The day passed calmly and by nightfall the local security authorities were confident that the war of nerves had been won, at least for the time being. After visiting one or two shrines in Srinagar itself I drove out to the great Hazratbal Mosque, six miles north-east of the capital on the shores of the famous Dal Lake.

Critical point-Scene of recent clash

This was where Sheikh Abdullah had delivered most of his "inflammatory" sermons during his three and a half month of short-lived freedom. It was the scene of a serious clash last March when one person was killed and several wounded.

If his adherents were going to show their hand anywhere this was the time and place. The Government's security precautions reflected this view.

I arrived with the first worshippers soon after midday and found three platoons of police lined up opposite the entrance. A few hundred yards away squads of militia men armed with rifles squatted on the grass, trying to look like part of the scenery.

This arrangement was repeated on the lakeside front of the mosque, where a narrow quay separates it from the water. An assortment of magistrates and uniformed officials had set up a sort of "operational headquarters" in a first-floor courtyard room from where they could watch developments.

"Pickpockets"-hopeful explanation

They made rather pathetic attempts to pretend that their presence meant nothing. I asked one of them what the miniature army below was for. "Pickpockets'', he replied, looking at me hopefully.

By 1 p.m. over five thousand worshippers had assembled, the women squatting separately from the men for communal prayer. Police officials patrolled the fringes of the congregation.

Their shoulder titles disposed of any suggestion that this was a purely Kashmiri operation. Several were from the Central Indian Police Reserve.

I spoke to one Sikh captain from the Punjab Force. With his low-slung revolver and bullet belt he looked like a turbaned cowboy.

"I am sent wherever there is likely to be trouble", he said to me, "But I don't think we will see any today."

The only cries-lepers and vendors

He was right. At 4 p.m, the bulk of the crowd had dispersed quietly and the police and militia cordons followed them. During the three hours the only shouts I had heard above the murmur of prayer were the cries of the lepers begging for aims and of the street vendors hawking everything from watermelons to coat-hangers.

There are divided views as to why this critical Friday passed off so peacefully. The authorities claim that it proves Sheikh Abdullah had no genuine supporters.

"Even his "private army", they say, was a purely mercenary force, paid £3 a month with Pakistan money. One Kashmiri, an evident sympathizer, told me on the other hand that Sheikh Abdullah had left strict instructions that no blood should be spilt if he were re-arrested.

This version sounds rather out of character. The simple truth seems to be that for his followers in Kashmir today there is little point in rising against hopeless odds, unless outside encouragement is forthcoming.