Conclusion

Abstract

February 1964 was very like February 1950. Both Kashmir and the refugee problem in Bengal were backin the news. Worse, the two issues were now linked. In the second week of December 1963, a holy relic—believed to be the hair of the Prophet—went missing from Hazratbal, the most important of mosques in the Kashmir valley. The sacrilege unloosed an avalanche of anger in the valley that quickly acquired political overtones. “The huge anti-government demonstrations which were held all over the valley paralysed the administration. For days, members of the state cabinet had to remain confined within the four walls of their homes.”¹