The state of Jammu and Kashmir is supposed to be an integral part of the country. Despite this, the state has its own constitution and flag. It is also governed by a special article of Indian constitution namely article 370, which confers a special status on the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The fact for reasons unknown Kashmir has been treated with kid gloves by the union government and no effort has been made to integrate Kashmir with the Indian Union. Failure to integrate Kashmir has resulted in sectarian policies and chauvinistic ideas floating around in the valley. The people there over a period of time began to think of themselves as distinct from India. They were also able to cultivate a religious divide.

Beginning of crisis

No action was taken by the central government to defuse the crisis. The results were disasters as over 2 lakh Hindu Kashmir Pandits were forced to leave the valley. This was nothing short of ethnic cleansing. The Government of India made no attempt to stop that ethnic cleansing of  Hindu pandits and I think as things stand now the Kashmir Valley is hundred percent Muslim. With migration from other parts, the countries to Kashmir banned this group of Muslims was easily exploited by Pakistan and extremist Muslims. The result was that the valley became the breeding ground of terrorism.

The rise of terrorism was not overnight but progressed forward over a period of almost three decades. During this period the Government of India with leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi Narasimha Rao, and Manmohan Singh sat like Nero who fiddled when Rome burned.. The result was that an average Kashmiri began to think himself more a Pakistani then an Indian. This has now resulted in a full-grown insurrection. Not a day passes when the insurgents do not attack the army or the police.  this There is no doubt that Pakistani terrorists are coming into the country, but what is significant is that a  number of local Kashmiri youth have taken to the gun and are ready to die for their cause. These are the suicide bomber and daredevil Mujahidin who fight in the name of Islam. They are firm in their belief that after death they will go to paradise and be rewarded with 72 virgin wives.

Fedeyan attack

With this background, we can analyze the Fedeyan attack on the army camp in the heart oF Jammu. The Attack should not be a surprise as it has all the makings of a classical operation. Probably it was conceived in Pakistan at the headquarters of the Inter Sevices military intelligence of the Pakistan army. The attackers were highly motivated and they chose the army camp which incidentally has been attacked earlier also.

The camp housed the J&K light infantry. This is a unit created after independence and is an outlet for Kashmiri Muslims  Most of the members of this unit belong to Kashmir. Nehru and Cariappa had accepted the principle of the Martial race, but the British never recruited any Kashmiri, as they did not consider them martial. this point need not be sneered at, as the Kashmiri is known as a docile person and for that reason, Kashmir has always been ruled and the local population which at one time was 100% Hindu converted overwhelmingly to Islam.

The enemy within

The result was that the camp was inadequately defended. it is inconceivable that 3or 4 heavily armed terrorists could enter the camp, which as I have said is in a crowded area of Jammu. In all probability, the watch and search procedures were not followed. There also was no patrolling inside the camp and the terrorists could reach the family quarters area. It is sad that 6 soldiers were martyred. Needless to add that all were Muslims from J&K. The army moved in later and special forces rushed in as the J&K light infantry did not have trained soldiers to take on the terrorists. This is a serious lacuna that a quick reaction team to fight terrorists was not on hand in a large camp.

These are mistakes that are avoidable. The J& K sentries at the gate and those responsible for perimeter patroling were perhaps not alert, otherwise, teh infiltration bid should have been neutralized in the bud. Sadly it did not happen and the Indian state has to pay the penalty.Another thing that must be investigated as some co religionist soldier could have turned black sheep.  There is no proof, but must be investigated.

Imperialism is derived from the Latin word 'imperium' which means 'right to rule'.The definition of imperialism is the domination of undeveloped nation by a developed nation by virtue of establishing a colony.Africa - the second largest continent was imperialised by the European nations and was exploited economically.

Discovery of Africa:

Bartholomew Diaz, a Portuguese sailor undertook an ambitious mission to discover sea route to Asia.As slowly and gradually he began his mission, he could only reach till the cape of good hope which is located towards the southern most tip of Africa.He could not complete his mission because at this point his ship was hit by storms so he actually named this place as cape of storms.Although he could not complete his mission but this mission was extremely beneficial as the resourceful African continent came to the notice of Europeans.

Slave of Trade:

After the discovery of the coastal regions, Europeans started the most inhuman trade in Africa called as the Slave Trade.It is the trade of buying and selling of human beings.Europeans used to take the African people as slaves to work in industries as workers and as laborers in agricultural farms.The condition of slaves was too miserable, they were exploited economically and physically.They were compelled to work for longer hours with extremely poor living conditions.

The Unknown Continent: 

Till the 18th century,the European trade was restricted to the coastal regions of Africa.The specific geographic composition of interiors of Africa was not known.Africa is a large continent with diverse geographical features such as dense forests, big lakes, perennial rivers and vast tracts of deserts.As Europeans did not know much about the interiors of Africa till the 18th century, it was termed as the ' Unknown or Dark ' continent.

Discovery of interiors of Africa:

 In the middle of the 19th century, five ambitious Europeans travelers discovered the important  regions of Africa. The five ambitious travelers and their discoveries are as follows:

Mungopark: He discovered the course of river Niger which is situated to the south of Sahara desert.He is also the first European to visit famous African city named Timbuktu.

Captain Spake and Sir Samuel Baker: They went into the dense forests of Africa and discovered the big lakes of central Africa.They named the lakes with the names of their Kings and Queens e.g. Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Edward.

David Livingstone: He was a Scottish preacher who discovered the stream of river Zambezi.He also found the regions around Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa.

Stanley: He was a British-American journalist and he wrote two important books on Africa namely- Through the dark continent and Darkest Africa.

The travelogue written by Stanley created curiosity among the Europeans about Africa.The travelogue created among the Europeans, a kind of attraction towards Africa and there arose a public opinion favoring colonization of regions in the African continent.A sense of competition grew among the European nations to capture the best and strategic regions of Africa.Thus, scramble for Africa began.

First colony in Africa:

Belgium is the first nation to erect its colony in Africa.Belgium King Leopold II established the first colony in Congo river basin.He accumulated crores of wealth by means of exploitation and oppression.

Berlin Conference:

The European nations held a conference at Berlin in 1884-1885.It was based on the principle of ' Effective Possession '.It gave consent to King Leopold's possession of the Congo region and passed a set of directives for the division of African continent.It was collectively agreed that the new possession of a region would be interactively decided.Later by 1914, European nations colonized the entire African continent.

Colonization of Africa: 

• Portuguese colonized the eastern regions of Africa namely Angola and Mozambique.
• Italy captured the African regions of Eritrea, Somaliland, Tripoli and Sirenica.
• France colonized the regions of Sahara desert, Algeria, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, French Congo, Madagascar Islands and Morocco.
• Spain colonized Rio de Oro, North of Morocco and some areas in Guinea coast.
• England colonized the maximum number of colonies in Africa.They colonized the region of Cape colony, Sudan province, Uganda, Rhodesia, Zambia, Egypt etc.

Hence most of the African continent was colonized by the imperial European nations and exploited economically. 

A revolution that took place in Russia during an international war i.e. World War I is called as Russian Revolution. World War I started in 1914 and ended by 1917 and during this period, in the year 1917 a revolution took place in Russia.

What is revolution?

Revolution is a fundamental change brought about intentionally.Basically, we are replacing or altering an existing system with a new system based on new values and new principles.There are three main causes: political, economic and social.

Russian revolution was an outcome of all the three causes i.e. economic, social and political.Hence it was the most intense revolution where all the three causes were playing a dominant role.It is also important for another reason, as it is the world's first communist revolution.Communism is a theory propagated by great philosopher Karl Marx. Communism is a theory and Russian Revolution is a practical example of this theory.

Karl Marx and Communism:

Karl Marx was a German communist thinker.'Das Kapital' and 'Communist Manifesto' are the two world famous books written by him.Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels collectively published  'Manifesto of Communism' in the year 1848.He did scientific analysis of human social development.He found that any society comprises of two types of people - Haves and Haves not.Haves are those who own the means of production e.g. landlords and capitalists whereas haves not are the poor people like framers and workers.He firmly said that haves exploits haves not and this leads to class struggle.With time as the struggle intensifies it leads to an intense conflict between haves and haves not.Karl Marx made an appeal " Workers and laborers unite, you have nothing to loose but your chains." He made a rallying call and urged them to unite for bringing social change.He firmly believed that, no power beyond Human power can bring about this change.He said that roots of change lie in the economic system of a society. Once the economy is changed ,the social customs and values are bound to change with it.He gave Communist Manifesto to establish a society which is free from all exploitation and inequalities.Communism is a theory in which all the means of production are publicly owned and managed by government.There is no such concept of private property.The role of state is to see that resources are distributed equally so that there is classless and divisionless society.

Causes of Russian Revolution:

1. Social: In the beginning of the 20th century, Russian society was extremely unequal.The two systems- feudalism and bonded labor ruined the life of poor peasants and farmers.Life of common people was extremely miserable and hence the prevailing inequality in the Russian society was one of the causes of discontent among people.

2. Political: The political condition prevailing in Russia sow the seeds for revolution.

  a. Despotic rule of Tsar: In Russia king was called as tsar and for 3 centuries this position was held by Romanov dynasty.In 1894, Nicholas II became the tsar. He was extremely despotic and cruel ruler. He opposed liberalism and progressive ideology.He banned the formation of trade unions and freedom of press was restricted.Due to his imperial strategy, Russian was growing as a huge empire but the internal development was negligible.He neglected the welfare of his citizens.

  b. Rasputin Factor: He was a Serbian monk.He was actually a farmer who pretended to be a priest and claimed to possess miraculous healing powers. Tsarina Alexandra had 4 daughters and only one son named Alexei who was the future tsar of Russia. Prince Alexei suffered from hemophilia which is a genetic disorder that impairs body's blood clotting ability and Rasputin cured him several times on the basis of his healing powers. So Tsarina started blindly following him and Rasputin became her close advisor. During World War I when Tsar was busy in the war all the important decisions were taken on the approval of Rasputin.He replaced the ministers with his family members and friends. Russia's pitiable condition  in war was attributed to Rasputin and Tsarina. He made Russians very angry.

3. Economic: Agriculture was the backbone of Russian economy. But the technology used was outdated which hampered the food production and hence there was scarcity of foodgrains. Even the condition of industries was not good, there was no modernization.The defeat of Russia in war further worsened the Russian economy.The capitalists and landlords exploited workers and peasants by compelling them to work for longer hours and paid them low wages.

Formation of RSDLP: As tsar opposed trade unions, they used to operate secretly. Various trade unions came together and formed Russian Socialist Democratic Labor Party in the year 1898.It comprised of two groups- Mensheviks led by Kerensky and Bolsheviks led by Lenin.As Lenin opposed tsar and his policies, he was exiled from Russia.

Blood Sunday: 2 lac workers and peasants led by priest Father Gapon organised a peaceful demonstration at St. Petersburg and marched towards Winter palace.But the tsar's soldiers open fired on the unarmed people and there was a huge loss of human life.As this incidence took place on 22nd January 1905 which was a Sunday, it is called as Bloody Sunday.

Workers's revolt at St. Petersburg: In the middle of October an event took place in Russia which gave new direction to Russian history.Entire Russia witnessed worker's strike.Worker's leaders assembled at St. Petersburg and formed the St. Petersburg Soviet.To pacify the situation Tsar Nicholas II assured people of granting fundamental rights and setting up Russian Parliament called as Duma. But all the democratic experiments failed in Russia and people's wishes were not fulfilled.

 Russia on the eve of revolution: There was a political unrest in Russia.The World War I began in Europe by 1914.The attack of Germany on Russia dragged Russia in the war.Russia had to retreat from the war due to lack of arms and ammunition.There was a stream of thinking that the pitiable situation of Russia during the war period was an outcome of the deeds of Tsarina Alexandra and  Rasputin.Finally in January- February 1917 workers and soldiers came together and revolted against the government. It was an anti-tsar agitation as his soldiers too joined the revolt.He was pressurized to vacate the throne and ultimately on 15th March 1917 he abdicated the throne.Provisional government was formed by Mensheviks with Kerensky as the Prime Minister as Lenin was exiled.The provisional government continued the war against Germany.As Russia lacked modern weapons, the common man lost the faith in provisional government, they wanted peace and no more war.

Entry of Lenin: Vladimir Ilyich Ilyanov rightly called as 'Lenin' who was exiled in Switzerland returned to Russia in April 1917.His entry was facilitated by Germany, as they knew that once Lenin enters Russia, he would surely capture power and withdraw Russia from war. So Germany could easily win the war.As Lenin returned to Russia, there was a huge conflict between Lenin and Kerensky.Finally Kerensky had to step down and people's leader Lenin assumed power in Russia and Russian revolution came to an end. Lenin is regarded as the father of Bolshevik Revolution.

After coming to power, Lenin killed the entire Romanov family.Hence Russia saw a transformation from monarchy to communist state.So, Russian Revolution is also called as Communist Revolution.

The 18th century is known as the 'Age of Revolutions', as the three important revolutions took place in this century.

1. American War of Independence. 2. French Revolution 3. Industrial Revolution.

The first two revolutions were the political ones whereas the industrial revolution was based on scientific inventions and discoveries.These three events significantly changed the history of the modern world and out of these three revolutions,the most important one is the industrial revolution as it led to further important events in the world history.

Industrial Revolution and its implications: Industrial Revolution took place in England in 18th century and then gradually spread to other European nations..It revolutionized the means of transportation and communication and production increased many fold times. As the production increased, the European nations felt the need for new markets to sell their finished products.The markets were in the undeveloped nations of Asia and Africa.So Europeans started colonizing the nations of Asia and Africa and started exploiting them economically.Gradually they set their imperial rule over the colonies and this process is termed as Imperialism.

Imperialism: It means territorial expansion.

" The domination of an undeveloped nation by a developed nation by virtue of establishing a colony is known as Imperialism."

Imperialism can be divided into 2 types.

1.Traditional Imperialism: The imperialism practiced before the advent of of industrial revolution is called as traditional imperialism.In the beginning Kings and Emperors had the ambition of expanding their territories.But they gave less importance to acquisition of wealth and financial profits while expanding their territories. The source of inspiration was regional pride and display of army.This royal ambitions gave rise to mighty Greek, Roman and Turkish Empires.

2. Modern Imperialism: The imperialism practiced in the post industrial revolution period  is called as modern imperialism.In modern times, the concept of imperialism changed completely.Now the ambition was trade and financial profits.This led to the establishment of mighty British , French and Portuguese Empires.

Need for Geographical discoveries: Till the 15th century, Europeans used to import valuable goods like sugar,silk,spices from the Asian countries.However in 1453 AD, Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople which is located in Turkey and they blocked all the trade routes passing through their empire.Constantinople served as the shortest terrestrial route to Asia from Europe as it was blocked ,European trade came to halt. So, Europeans felt the urgent need of discovering alternate sea route to Asia.

Important Geographical Discoveries: Portuguese King Leopold motivated the navigators to undertake missions to discover new routes.So courageous and ambitious sailors undertook this task.Instruments such as mariner compass,astrolabe,newly designed maps and directive books proved helpful during their voyage.Earlier,it was assumed that earth was flat and if you start sailing and reach the edges you would get lost in space.But then Copernicus propounded that earth is not flat but round and if you begin from one point and circumnavigate the earth then you would reach the same point again.Based on this assumption sailors started their mission.

1.Christopher Columbus: He was an Italian sailor who set in search of India.But he landed on Bahamas Island in Caribbean which he wrongly believed to be an Indian territory.

2. Amerigo Vespucci: He is regarded as the true discoverer of America.He was an Italian sailor and he followed the same route as taken by Columbus.Because of him,it became clear that it was not the coast of India.This new, previously unknown territory came to be called as 'America' after Amerigo.

3. Vasco da Gama : In 1498 AD, he reached the western coast of India sailing through South African Peninsula.

4.Ferdinand Magellan: He was the most ambitious Portuguese sailor.He set out on a voyage in 1513 AD with the ambition of circumnavigating the earth. Although he was killed at Philippines Island in skirmish before he completed the voyage, his co-sailors completed the circumnavigation.This was the first sea voyage around the globe in the history of the world.

Imperial European nations started setting up their colonies in these newly discovered regions.There began a cut throat competition among them for dominating the newly discovered regions and England was the leading nation in the process of colonization.