Wide Spectrum on Tibetology


lently encouraged Sheikh Abdullah to maintain pressure for the curtailment of the Maharaja's powers, Nor can the genesis of the rivalry between sections of the Kashmir and Jammu Muslims in the pre-independence phase and even later he explained without reference to differing conceptions regarding the maintenance of a composite culture in the state. Puri's reminder that there has been a repeated reluctance on the part of the people of Kashmir to translate any anti-Indian sentiments into pro-Pakistan feelings, as evidenced by the popular attitude towards infiltrators in the 1965 war; fits in with the prevalence of a Kashmir-centric outlook. So also does his recognition that prospects for Islamic fundamentalism conveyed by winds from across the border fend elsewhere are limited by regional considerations that simply cannot be ignored. This is revealed for example, by the manner in which Sheikh Abdullah often aroused the Kashmiri people against, say, the Jamaat-e-Islamic on local issues, such as the lack of sufficient respect on the part of the Jamaat towards certain Kashmiri mystics and shrines. While the author concedes that there is no way of completely immunising the state from events across the border, he pertinently stresses that this need not he a one-way traffic.