The 3 Idiots of Kashmir

It has been long since this blog saw a new post and this sudden want to write, even though there have been unpardonable crimes against the people of Kashmir in the last few months, comes from one single desire: to speak when sense seems to simply slip away, and no one appears to be obvious to it.

It was on twitter that news of a brawl between the ruling NC and PDP came to light, that of a poster of the popular Indian film, the 3 Idiots, being spoofed to represent the three generations of Abdullah clan. One can not be joyous for seeing the traitors of Kashmir being made fun of in this way, for the singular reason that it included one person, one leader, who had fought many a battles for Kashmir. That one person is seen as evil by many, for the singular reason of not knowing that person. For being oblivious to his struggles for Kashmir. He is painted a traitor by every tom, dick and harry of Kashmir, just because they know nothing about him. No one will point a finger towards Omar Farooq, the self imposed Mirwaiz , even though his father fought elections for the Janta Dal – an Indian party, for the simple reason that we do not dare question and our perceptions are what we live by every day. Perceptions, not realities.

That one person, who should not have been made fun of, in this manner, is none other than the person, who brought education to the state of Kashmir, who did away with the Zamindari system (it was an effect of Moulana Abdul Kalam’s vision but that vision needed an executor and unlike Punjab, no man in Kashmir owns land enough to house three railway stations) and who spent 22 long years behind the bars of that very state, put there by one of his friends and then his daughter. That man is Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah – a lion or not for Kashmir that one can not comment upon, but a leader in the true sense of the word, without doubt.

It needs more than a blog post to write about this man and I need to refer to my notes, which I do not have access to right now, but the wikipedia article on this man is not a flawed read.

There are a few questions, that one might ask:

Are the Mufti’s of PDP (Plain Dirty Politics) involved in this?

Without an ounce of doubt, they needed to divert the attention of us, the fickle minded Kashmiris, and they have. And they needed to divert attention from something very terrible, they would not want anyone to think about:

These are the official oppression figures. Instead of defending their Healing Touch or speaking against these figures, they chose to fall very low and worked the 3 Idiots poster.

And this does not mean, in any manner, that the Abdullahs are not guilty of crimes. Farooq and Omar are without a doubt, but Sheikh Abdullah, a lot less than all the politicians combined who have willfully destroyed Kashmir. Be it the separatists or the mainstream politicians.

Sheikh Abdullah spent 22 years behind Indian bars, a lot more than the combined jail time of many of our present day ‘famous’ leaders perhaps.

We need to see events in the light of past and present, by being joyous over stupidities of another devil, will only push us further towards misery.

The Writing On The Wall

“We do not recognise UJC. They are carrying swords. We do not accept diktats,”

Ansari said that his organisation was not in favour of enforcing orders on others and will leave it to the people of Kashmir to decide about the elections as per their “conscience”.

“Why are we people targeting Lone for contesting elections? Have you forgotten the late Sheikh Abdullah also contested elections after heading the Plebiscite Front,” Ansari said. The Hurriayt yesterday said it would not boycott the elections. ( business standard)

Hurriyat’s imminent failure.

Update:

Malik Sajad’s cartoon on Greater Kashmir depicts the situation more precisely than the writing on the wall.

And don’t miss the color at Malik Sajad’s site: of nostalgia and the shattered truth of Kashmir.

 

Bells And Bullets

Bells

Bullets

They said the “leaders are human beings with personal problems.” (greater kashmir)

I was always made to believe that leaders are not ordinary human beings. I was told wrong.

But there is something that resonates true every time:

“…remember that as resistance decreases, suppression increases and the peace offered by suppressive regimes is often no more than the peace of prison or of the grave…” (niccolo machiavelli)

 

Hurriyat’s Lies

The Hurriyat Conference has claimed that it is closing district offices, slashing the pay of its employees and laying off employees as a restructuring measure in wake of the recent assembly elections. Mirwaiz has also claimed the global recession to be a cause of its financial cutbacks and layoffs.

The Hurriyat, whose death is inevitable, believes, as do the mainstream politicians, that Kashmiris suffer from short term memory loss. It was in October 2007 that Hurriyat had shut down its district offices because of the financial crunch it had been facing for some time and had planned then to lay off its employees. Recent elections, restructuring and introspection are mere deceptive words being used by an organization which is failing within and outside Kashmir.

Obama: India ‘Messing’ With Kashmir

Obama seems determined to solve the Kashmir issue, his remark on India’s behavior with Kashmir was:

he also wondered why India wants to ‘keep on messing’ with the Kashmir issue which is a ‘potential tar pit diplomatically.’ Free Republic

He also considers solving the Kashmir issue ‘critical task’ for his administration.

Working with Pakistan and India to try to resolve the Kashmir “crisis in a serious way are critical tasks” for the next administration, he said.

And plans to devote serious diplomatic resources for Kashmir

Saying that Kashmir is now in an “interesting situation”, Obama is ready to explore the option for the U.S. “to devote serious diplomatic resources to get a special envoy in there, to figure out a plausible approach”. Yahoo

His plans on appointing Bill Clinton (who as the President of United States called Kashmir, the most beautiful prison in the world) as an envoy to Kashmir has made India all jittery, it will be seen how India responds to America’s renewed interest in Kashmir. It is pertinent to mention here that it was the Democrat Presidential Candidate Adlai Stevenson, who was supposed to have been talking with Sheikh Abdullah for a possible independent Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah’s meeting with Adlai Stevenson was one of the reasons why Abdullah was arrested.

What is most interesting about his remarks is that he has not called the movement in Kashmir Islamic Terrorism, all efforts by India to portray Kashmir as an Islamic Jihad have failed to impress the most powerful man on earth; the presence of American-Indians in his team, which the Indian Media is celebrating as an achievement, has made no effect on his thoughts and planned efforts on Kashmir either.

It will be interesting to see how Pakistan will re-jump the Kashmir wagon now, having almost gotten rid of it!

Zardari’s Good News Was No Good News At All, As Predicted

Zardari has termed the Kashmiri Freedom Fighters (including the Hurriyat Conference) as Terrorists.

President Zardari termed the Hurriat leaders in occupied Kashmir as “terrorists”, adding that he had no objection to the India-US nuclear cooperation pact so long as Islamabad was treated “at par” with New Delhi. The News

In his first press conference after taking oath as the President of Pakistan, Zardari had said that the world would soon hear good newon Kashmir. Having called Kashmiris terrorists he has doled out tons of good news for India, not for Kashmir! For me this is no surprise as I blogged earlier about Zardari’s claims:

….one should really not expect anything huge (at most the good news may be opening of trade route)…

And trade routes are already in the process of being opened

…And about Zardari, one should not expect much from Zardari, who is disliked in Pakistan apparently more than Musharraf was…

Read the entire post Zardari’s Good News May Be No News At All here.

Much before he was elected a President, in March, he suggested that Pakistan would put the Kashmir issue on the back burner, for the future generations to solve. It was obvious since then, Zardari wanted to concentrate on trade ties with India! A single person though can not change what an entire nation thinks, therefore he had to back-track on his first comment on Kashmir. The vibes of how he felt about Kashmir were sent across nevertheless. He may draw some flak in Pakistan for his latest quip, however the effect it will have (and is supposed to cause) will not reverse. I just blogged about The End Of Hurriyat, and it appears to be a lot more truer and closer than I imagined; Pakistan is finally pulling the plug on Hurriyat and that would be Hurriyat’s last nail in the coffin.

I sincerely hope that a new, free from bias, young leadership emerges in Kashmir. In October of 1947 Kashmir was occupied by India, and it appears in the October of 2008, the equations in Kashmir will change drastically.

UPDATE: Statement Retracted

As expected, the Government of Pakistan has retracted the statement:

She [Pakistan’s Information Minister] said that President Asif Zardari had never linked Kashmir liberation struggle to terrorism. In a statement, the federal minister reiterated government’s resolve to hold talks with India on the dispute. The News

All the pro-Independence leaders have flayed Zardari’s remarks; though the remarks are not even half as critical of Zardari as a simple out-of-the-box suggestion from Musharraf usually led to.

Greater Kashmir’s anger is obvious, being the most widely read newspaper, it is a pleasure to see that it did not mute down the expression of anger against Pakistan. With Begging Bowl In Hand , Zardari calls Kashmiri Militants ‘Terrorists’ is how Greater Kashmir reacted. JKLF’s response makes it clear that they have been shocked beyond comprehension; JKLF wants Zardari to take a History course. DeM (Duktaran – e – Millat), who are still living in the delusion that Musharraf’s fall was a consequence of his Kashmir policies, now await Zardari’s fall. In Baramullah, a town where sentiments for Pakistan are the strongest and which has produced the largest number of Pro-Pakistani leaders, people burnt an effigy of Zardari, a first since 1979 when effigies of Zia-ul-Haq were burnt against his decision to hang Zardari’s father-in-law Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

To read Zardari’s interview on Wall Street Journal, click here, Also read the orders Zardari has given to track and arrest those who write jokes on him; you may also be interested in Zardaris’ T.G.I.F. in Manhattan.

 

The Killings Continue

Kashmir -Friday, the 12th of September, 2008

The emotions, the rage, the strength and the helplessness of Kashmir.

Stats:

2 Killed.

25 Hit By Bullets.

150 Injured.

2 Million Protesting.

Perpetrator:

India.

Zardari’s Good News May Be No News At All

Zardari, in his first press conference after being sworn in as President of Pakistan said:

“Insha Allah, we will have some good news” on Kashmir

and

he said [that] the PPP government will consult all political forces in Pakistan, both inside and outside Parliament, to forge some kind of a strategy to resolve the Kashmir issue.

This will be taken to the Kashmir Committee in Parliament, Zardari said, adding the work done through back-channel diplomacy will also be part of this. Indian Express

Definitely nothing is in the pipeline right now, one should really not expect anything huge (at most the good news may be opening of trade route) before (or even after) the Indian elections (and not certainly from this man, read later on why). His second statement makes it obvious that work (of whatever sort) has to be started and is not yet done on the Kashmir issue. As he says, PPP will consult parties, forge a strategy which will be taken to the Kashmir Committee. And one should also not forget that as fate has it for Kashmir, no news which has been delivered by external forces has been good for Kashmir since the last 61 years. The only good news Kashmiris should expect and look forward to is the news we, the Kashmiris create and deliver. As the present non-violent movement evolves, Kashmir may see a bright new day, not so soon maybe, but not too far either.

The separatists in Kashmir have welcomed the dialogue process cautiously and they should not pin too many hopes on it either, Kashmiris have been time and again packed under words and abbreviations, be it the CBMs, the Healing Touch, the Formulas and now Good News!

Geelani:

“We won’t accept any decision which is thrust on Kashmiris. Solution has to come according to the aspirations of the people of J&K
Greater Kashmir

Yasin Malik:

“In the eyes of people of Kashmir, dialogue institution has lost its sanctity, because for the last 62 years dialogue process couldn’t yield any results. To restore the sanctity, this dialogue process must be time bound and transparent,” Greater Kashmir

Mirwaiz:

“As Kashmiris we have always welcomed Indo-Pak dialogue, but unfortunately Kashmiris were never allowed to be part of it. We welcome Zardari Sahib’s statement, but till Kashmiris aren’t part of it, it won’t deliver.” Greater Kashmir

Hafiz Saeed of Jamaat ud Dawa (formerly LeT) has claimed that Zardari’s policy will be no different than Musharraf and warned Zardari of trouble if the policies are not changed.

…warned that if the president-elect Asif Ali Zardari and his government did not change the policies of the former president, Pervez Musharraf, then Pakistan would be in great trouble.

Hafiz Saeed claimed that Zardari’s policy would only strengthen Musharraf’s policies. Greater Kashmir

Musharraf actually had no policy on Kashmir, he just put a gag on the Jihadi organisations operating from Pakistan and that worried the top-bosses of these organisations, since liberation of Kashmir from India and merger with Pakistan appears to be their only goal. A goal a majority of Kashmiris are not comfortable with. Over 75% of Kashmiris want complete independence from India and Pakistan. Changing One master for Another is not really what the Kashmiris are demanding. The viability of independence as an option has been discussed elsewhere by Kashmir Bloggers and is not the topic of discussion in this post. Still, those who talk about Kashmir being a land-locked country, we do all know that no country in the world exists in isolation and Kashmir had survived fine without India till 1947, so no worries on that front. It should also be noted that the UN Resolution of Self Determination did include the option of Complete Independence but it was dropped after extensive lobbying by the then Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Sir Zafarullah Khan

The indulgence of the Jihadi organisations in any form at this point of time will be counter-productive for Kashmir. Kashmir has risen without any leader(s) asking them to and the protests will continue to evolve in a non-violent manner. Any act by the Jihadi organisations to lead or include guns will cause irrecoverable harm to Kashmir. Even Indian politicians are unable to peg this uprising on Pakistan, ISI or the Jihadi Organizations and they are looking for a chance to do so and Hafiz Saeed might give them just that.

And about Zardari, one should not expect much from Zardari, who is disliked in Pakistan apparently more than Musharraf was, here is a review of what Pakistani Bloggers think about this man:

General Zardari As President

We are so lucky that we are ruled by drunk bearucrats, corrupt army generals and offcial dacoits!

Pakistan Zindabad!!

Adnan’s Crazy Blogging World

So We Get A New President

Allah save t[h]e country now … I wonder how many months it’ll take to have the whole country sold .. you think it can be done in Days?

Islamabad Metblog

Welcome To Mr. Zardari’s Pakistan

Benazir actually gave Pakistan as her last dowry gift to her widower. But I don’t think even she would have ever thought that Mr. Zardari would one day become “President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan”. In fact when I voted for PPP in last election, I never thought that PPP will make such a mockery of the mandate given by people of Pakistan.

Lahore Metblog

SAFMA Is Silent Because…

…all it believed in all the time was P0r n0graphy of Peace…

…and as Kashmir burned on the 14th and 15th of August, SAFMA was busy in a ‘Cultural Peace Mela,’ – a midnight party…

… it is strange that Kashmiri Journalists are still asking questions from organisations that never had any respect for or a desire to see peace in Kashmir!

Media fraternity in Kashmir has taken a strong exception about South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) remaining silent over curbs on media in the Valley .

Yes, I Am A Daemon, But Kashmir Scares Me

India, the largest Daemon-cracy of the world, continues it repressive, suppressive and oppressive policies in Kashmir, not realising you can’t kill a Kashmiri – he will live and continue demanding his right – that of freedom!

Here is a Round up of latest news reports from Kashmir, or rather of news that can be reported since there is an embargo on news in Kashmir, Ambulances are being targeted by the Army, Little Kids beaten to death and Water is a scarce commodity!

Yes, We Want People To Die Of Starvation

They said the team wanted to distribute about 5000 litres of apple juice to people at Dalgate this afternoon, but the troopers stopped them from doing so saying that distribution of any eatable or beverage amounts to violation of curfew.

Addressing the troopers, the group of journalists shouted, “Do you want people to die of starvation?”

And pat came the reply: “Yes”

The Peace Of Graveyard

Any conceivable object that came the way of the troopers formed the road blockade. From logs of timber on Jammu-Srinagar highway at Khanabal, Botingoo, Bijbehara to CI pipes at different places along the road at crossings, to Concertina wire and CGI sheet fencing on different openings to Lal Chowk in Srinagar and between Khwaja Bagh and Khanapora in Varmul town, has been used to prevent the milling crowds, or call it swarms of people, from reaching the historic Lal Chowk, the venue of the sit-in called by pro- freedom parties last Monday.

Ban On Ambulance Movement

A woman from Bapora in south Kashmir’s Shopian district died last evening after the police and paramilitary CRPF troopers didn’t permit her to proceed toward a hospital.

Indefinite Curfew Continues

With the death of one more person in the hospital Tuesday morning, the toll in Monday’s firing by Police and CRPF troopers on processionists in the valley mounted to eight. Authorities didn’t give any relaxation in curfew on third consecutive day,today,leading to massive shortage of essential commodities in the Valley. Uneasy calm prevailed in Kashmir as there were reports of people trying to defy curfew in some parts of south Kashmir.

Trust No Kashmiri

Sleuths of Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) Tuesday raided posh areas of Hyderpora, Peerbagh, Rawalpora and Airport Colony to get a clue about the absconding leaders including Shabir Ahmed Shah and Nayeem Ahmed Khan.

The Murder of A six Month Old

“CRPF troopers barged into our home yesterday night. After breaking all the windowpanes and abusing the inmates they beat us with bamboos. My wife was trying hard to save Muskan in her lap. She took several hits on her shoulder to avert any assault on the child but somehow Muskan received a powerful bamboo smash. She cried fiercely and then fell unconscious,” Tariq Ahmad of Pandach, a suburb in Ganderbal district, told the doctors attending the tender Muskan on Tuesday.

Die, O Ye Kashmiri!

A senior consultant in SKIMS said an ambulance that actually belonged to Wakaf Board, a government body to look after Muslim religious estates, which was ferrying the injured persons from Pulwama to SKMS, was damaged on way by the “unruly” CRPF personnel. Since Sunday morning, when the curfew was clamped across Kashmir, nearly a dozen ambulances have been damaged by CRPF.

Dr Mir wondered why the troopers manhandled doctors, beat up attendants of the injured and damaged the vehicles. “The authorities had already made it public through official TV and Radio that the ID Card of doctors or paramedics would be considered as curfew pass. But the way our people have been treated is shocking.”  He expressed concern over the ban on ambulance movement and said the persons injured in far off areas are treated locally and not being shifted to Srinagar for fear of CRPF. “It’s dangerous because we don’t have such an advanced surgical facility in peripheries.”

Begging For Water

Most worrying part of this tragedy is that dozens of orphanages across Srinagar and in parts of Islamabad, Baramullah and Kupwara are in a pitiable condition. The girls-only orphanage at Gopalpora used to get daily dose of water supply through a water tanker of state’s Public Health Department. “We are begging for drinking water. The area is already facing shortage of drinking water. Some neighbours are helping right now but the problem is grave,” said a warden at the orphanage, which is managed by the famed Yateem Trust.

Hear! Ye India, You Can’t Cow Us Down!

Jammu Kashmir Coordination Committee (JKCC) on Wednesday said the arrest of pro-resistance leaders will not cow them down. Condemning the arrest of pro- resistance leaders Muhammad Ashraf Sehari of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and Duktaran-e-Millat (Daughters of Faith) Chairperson Asiya Andrabi, JKCC spokesperson Masrat Alam said: “The arrest of our leaders will not break us. Our resistance will continue. Freedom movement is not dependent on individuals.”

And Scared Ye Are!

Sakooter, A Kashmiri Blogger Writes:

The world’s largest democracy is scared. The irony of it, it isnt scared of armed gunmen, but of unarmed peacefull protestors who would just want to go out in the streets and tell the world that they want “Azadi” or freedom from India.

Kashmiris want their right to freedom. That is what they wanted to tell the world and that is what the curfew imposed stopped them from doing — partially, for there have been men who dared the gun and got gunned.

Maybe the world is scared. But what makes me glad for once is the fact that India is scared. Scared that the truth will come out…

Source: Sakooter Speaks

[News Sources: Greater Kashmir, Kashmir Observer, Rising Kashmir]

Nor Blocked Nor Hacked However The Embargo Continues

Continuing with its embargo on outflow of news from Kashmir, Greater Kashmir, Kashmir’s most read and popular newspaper’s web-site had been previously blocked by the government and was not accessible. However, as of now Greater Kashmir has not been blocked but is rather undergoing maintenance and can be accessed through the URL www.GreaterKashmir.net.  It is pertinent to mention that Greater Kashmir is reporting extensively on the current scenario and is the only newspaper from Kashmir giving real time updates. Kashmir Observer, another local newspaper, had been hacked sometime back, but is now accessible. Etalaat.net, owned by mainstream politician Iftikhar Ansari, is accessible as is Rising Kashmir.

However embargo on reporting of news continues as journalists are being beaten up by the Indian Armed Forces, for they fear truth will be reported!

On Sunday, several journalists were beaten up by police and three were hospitalised, an association of Kashmiri journalists said.

Reuters

Local media say 15 journalists were among those beaten by Indian police as they tried to cover the protest, despite having curfew passes.

BBC

Inflammatory, What?

The local news channels in the meantime have been told to immediately stop telecast of their news and current affairs programmes.

This follows a directive by the district magistrate of Srinagar. “The DM has issued orders to stop with immediate effect, the telecasting of all news and other items, which are inflammatory in nature and thereby disturbing the peace and tranquillity of general public.”

Rediff

Chameleons

The mainstream politicians, scared of being the target of public ire, are talking the good talk these days. Be it Abdullah or Mufti, both of them have supported the Hurriyat demand of opening of trade routes between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, revocation of special powers to the forces in Kashmir, release of prisoners languishing in Jails and even of Azadi. What one remains amazed at is that were they blind till now to the true desire of every Kashmiri? Why did they, as the rest of the India, need to see hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris on roads to know what the heart desires? Abdullah has dared to speak about Azadi, only after some prominent Indians have done so. Are they so naïve to think that a Free Kashmir will put the reigns of power in their hands?! That will never happen! Ms. Mufti & Mr. Abdullah should better keep quite and not indulge in chameleon talk, for they have damaged the cause of Kashmir like no other.

Kashmir Strikes Back

Truth has always been relative to a people’s a belief. Truth for one nation is sacrilege for another. This has been true for Kashmir since forever. The Truth about Kashmir has taken such contours and colours for the people of India – that it is nothing less than blasphemy for the People of Kashmir. The Indian people have always wanted to see the Truth about Kashmir by eyes that have been blinded by a pride in their country, a pride that is build on rhetoric rather than reality – perhaps doing that does not weight down too heavily on their consciousness.

Kashmir = Terrorism / Kashmiri = Terrorist

Two words from a dictionary, Terrorism and Terrorists is the metamorphosis of a Nation – Kashmir and a living and bleeding people – the Kashmiris, for the Government, the People and the Media of India. The blood of Kashmiri people keeps safe the so-called integrity of the India, the largest Daemon-cracy of the World. The BLind INdian meDIA (Blindia) has always seen, heard and reported the plight of Kashmir with its blind eyes, deaf ears and biased radio waves. This all, coupled with the image of a vibrant and thriving Tourism (which has never been the largest bread-and-butter earner for a Kashmiri as has always been purported) and a (defunct) Peace Process in Place has helped the Indian Government unleash a reign of terror unseen elsewhere. Oppression, torture, disappearances, maiming, raping and genocide (Yes, Genocide) has continued abated for two decades.

Indira, The Slave of Delhi, The Peace Process And A Spark

The blame of the Kashmir problem is shared by many shoulders: the British, the Governments of the Dominions of India and Pakistan, the Right Wing Hindu Groups (ever since JanSangh), the Muslim Conference (later National Conference), Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi, Nehru, Jinnah, Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah. One of these names stands the tallest. It was none other than Indira Gandhi whose earnest desire to control the State Of Jammu and Kashmir, in a similar manner as the provinces of India, that destroyed the straw-strong relationship of India and Kashmir. Her reign saw bullying and imprisonment (following the foot steps of  her father Nehru) of one of the strongest ever democratically elected Kashmiri Leaders – Sheikh Abdullah and thereafter leading an appointed and dictated to democracy in Kashmir after throwing the Kashmir State Flag to tatters (revocation of Autonomy).

Even the creation of Bangladesh, an extension of Kashmir politics, did not satiate her. Was it the fear of losing Kashmir to Pakistan that made her act this way? We will never know but indeed it was one of her progenies during the emergency who attempted to do what she did and he failed as miserably as she had (Kashmir never saw peace even after the revocation of Autonomy). Two decades behind bars may have broken the will of Sheikh Abdullah and he may have joined hands with her (Sheikh Abdullah would later consider his ‘coalition’ with Indira as the greatest mistakes of his life) but force and the nozzles of Kalashnikovs can never suppress the desire of a Nation to be free!

Oppression in different forms is the tool Congress has been using to suppress Kashmiris. When Congress dispatched its loyal than the King slave (Mufti Sayeed of PDP had laid the carpet), Ghulam – e –Dilli (Slave of Delhi, Ghulam nabi Azad), to Kashmir, its policy was in act once again and it was hopeful of reigning in Kashmir for good. The mistrust of the Kashmiri people, whose seeds were sown by Indira Gandhi, had grown into a full fledged plant and Congress, wrongly thought, that use of force and non-force in subtle and not so subtle manners was the best way to quell the rising.

The Peace Process, initiated by the BJP, acted as a decent cover for the Congress. The Peace Process was a celebration,  it was a time to rejoice and bask in the glory of the good relations India and Pakistan were developing. People were flying in and out of Kashmir. A lot was going down in the name of Kashmir: Indian and Pakistani actors kissing on screen were claiming to be doing so for Peace; Sufi Singers flew in, sang a song or two and talked about the essence of peace and how music helps further peace; Journalists from Pakistan flew in, talked to and listened to Kashmir University students and never wrote back what they heard; Ambassadors of exotic countries teed off at the Royal Spring Golf Course, shared a joke or two and talked about the beauty of Kashmir; Junoon’s concert in Srinagar was supposedly aimed at Peace in the South Asian sub-continent.

The blood of a hundred thousand Kashmiris had been treaded on for long by politicians; the Peace Process gave a lot more people a chance to do the same, for personal glory and fame. The Peace Process was never meant for the Kashmiri people in the first place.  The Peace Process, the Healing Touch and the Confidence Building Measures never made an iota of difference to the lives of Kashmiri people.

While all these abbreviations (CBM etc. etc.) were being thrown around the hapless people of Kashmir were seeing no real progress and no hope. The atrocities within the cities had reduced visibly but not in reality. Villages saw no respite at all, mortars turned more homes into rubble than ever, people kept disappearing and custodial death was still not news for Kashmir. As the International Media got stuck with covering Sufi Concerts, killings of an unprecedented nature took place in Kashmir:  young boys aged 8 thru 14 were shot dead; a 19 year old tortured with hot iron rods and killed; a young man was frisked and immediately shot (the personnel were later rewarded 100,000); a 75 year old man was brutally attacked by an ambush party; a handicapped person, limping his way home, was murdered. All these were dubbed Mistaken Identity Killing, but how does one mistake an 8 or 75 year old to a militant or for that matter a person limping home! While Kashmiris were killed, the CRPF and the Army was being praised, rewarded and supported by the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister  once claimed that less people died in Kashmir by bullets compared to the road accidents elsewhere! He even had the audacity to compare the number of women raped in Kashmir and elsewhere. Oppression grew in a well planned manner: the killings were solitary, targeted and always of innocent people. Protests would roar and then ebb out as they were dealt with strongly. Sadly each incident was forgotten by the people. To keep the people distracted, development of no real importance was undertaken at amazing speed and the people, for some time, fell to it: an Amusement park was constructed; gardens to which entry was restricted earlier were opened up; forts were lighted up and a large (allegedly one of the largest in the world) tulip garden was laid! At the same time changes in the administration were being effected: Non- Kashmiris now held all the top executive decision making posts in Kashmir, this was akin to the pre-90’s Kashmir, when Kashmiri Pandits were appointed to all executive decision making posts. Fear was being instilled into the people’s minds and by appointing Non-Kashmiris the government was firming its grip on Kashmir. The obvious resistance indeed decreased in Kashmir.

One is reminded of Niccolo Machiavelli’s words:

“…remember that as resistance decreases, suppression increases and the peace offered by suppressive regimes is often no more than the peace of prison or of the grave…”

However a people, any people, can only be lured by fake promises of peace, of progress and of development for so long. The desperation was growing, a burst out had to happen, the people did realise that the peace offered by suppressive regimes is no more than the peace of grave, all that was needed was a spark and the Land Transfer and the Economic Blockade provided just that.

A Few Hectares Of Land

The transfer of a few hectares of land being transferred was not the issue (there were some issues associated with the land transfer which I will talk about in a later post), as I pointed out the desperation had grown to such a peak that it just needed a spark and the land transfer provided just that akin to the rigged elections of 1987. As much as the BJP, the VHP and the people of Jammu tried, they failed in giving the protests a communal colour as not a single Yatri was harmed inKashmir, unlike the burning of Kashmiris elsewhere; which in itself is a testimony to the character of Kashmiris and their real demand. The protests were so spontaneous and evolved in such a massive and disciplined manner that even the Hurriyat was taken aback and they definitely had no plan to direct the protests in the beginning. The APHC might have thought, and in some ways rightly so, that the protests would die out like all the others in the past, but that did not happen this time. Even though no strike call was given by APHC, the people spontaneously came out on streets demanding the revocation of the order. The order was revoked and the government of the day had to resign. There was jubilation in the air for some time. Since the Land Transfer was never the issue, Kashmir was back on the streets, this time arguably against the economic blockade but as the protests grew the people forgot and ignored the land transfer, the economic blockade and demanded no roads and no electricity.

The people demanded just one thing: Freedom. And its hundreds of thousands of people out on streets day and night.

A group of people, holding a big banner inside the TRC ground, had a clear message that was making rounds inside the ground: “No jobs. No roads. No gardens. No financial packages—we want freedom.”

Perhaps the most telling placard carried by a quiet youngster, sitting in one corner of the ground, had a message of revolution in Kashmir. “You can kill a revolutionary but you cannot kill a revolution”.

Greater Kashmir

1521 For 1

The figures are out; it is a startling and disturbing revelation of figures by the Central Reserve Police (with Kashmir being the barrack for the reserve!). According to Sify News there are just around 200-250 militants active in Kashmir.

According to the official, only 225 to 250 trained militants of various outfits are currently active in the Kashmir Valley.

Sify News

1521 Well Trained Forces For 1 Militant

0.7 millions troops for 460 militants (other news sources put the number at 400, 450 and >1000; the average is 460) i.e., 1521 well trained, fully armed, professionally backed, free to move and immune from the laws of the land men for every single badly trained and bearded militant with restricted movement and immune from nothing but his fear.

What do these numbers tell us? These numbers do not merit keeping gun-pointing and ready to kill 0.7 million troops in Kashmir or do they?

India Wins…

For those who claim that India is just rooting out terrorism from Kashmir, then India has definitely won. Hasn’t it? 460 militants should not too tough to deal with.

…Not

For those who want to know, this is a clear indication that the fight in Kashmir is not just with the 460 odd always on run militants but something greater. What is that greater? That greater is the burning desire in every Kashmiri for Freedom. The never dying desire to breath the crisp fresh air of Freedom; Freedom from slavery, subjugation, torture and oppression or perhaps just the freedom from having to carry an Identity Card for moving outside our homes in our land or still just perhaps the freedom to know that every morning won’t bring the news of deaths by bombs and bullets. Increasing number of tourists visiting Kashmir or decreasing number of militants is not an indicator of peace, as the Government is trying to potray. Kashmir is a volcano about to burst, like it did in 1989.

The Stress Of 460 Militants

Is it really the 460 odd militants keeping the armed forces on toes in Kashmir? Why aren’t the troops being reduced in Kashmir? Why seek further therapeutic help (earlier measures have failed) for its men.

It is pertinent to mention here that earlier measures taken by Indian army and paramilitary forces to de-stress their jawans working in Kashmir had failed as there was no decline in the number of suicide and fratricide incidents.

Sources said the army has decided to take the help of music therapy to de-stress soldiers working in hazardous conditions in Kashmir. “the army has in fact organized a meditation music therapy concert in one of its commands in Kashmir,” they said.

NewsBlaze

Two Failures Together

India has been seeking help from Israel , but to no avail. Israel has equally failed to curb the resistance movement in Palestine. Two failures together won’t make a success story.

Why all these claims without even a proposal to reduce troops though allegedly back of Hizbul Mujahideen has been broken!

We have broken the back of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen: CRPF

Hindu

Propaganda For What Or Whom?

One can not ignore the claim of Hizbul Mujahideen

“Revealing the minimal figures of active militants by IG CRPF is actually propaganda to boast morale of its men who are committing suicides, as they have become tired.” Islam said.

KashmirWatch

Not just that, even if we agree that the numbers are wrong, it is not just the militants that India fears, it is the people. With elections not too far away, a sense of normalcy has to be instilled in the world much before the elections (or their absence) takes place.

Hizbul Dares India!

“If the strength of militants has declined then why India has positioned lakhs of troops in valley. Why don’t they dare to decrease their strength,” he said.

KashmirWatch

India Dares Not!

“It would release the pressure from the militants who are on the run at the moment. It is not the right time to talk about reducing the strength of security forces at the moment.

We should focus on eliminating the militancy from the valley,” the IG said while replying to a question.

News Today

Who Rescued Whom?

One has to marvel at this man. It is no wonder that he remains as indispensable for the Gandhi family (aka Congress) as he did during Indira Gandhi’s infamous emergency. It is people like him and Makhdoom Amin Faheem of Pakistan who define (honest) slavery of the modern era.

It was all over the blind Indian media (blindia) and they gave it the space and the effect it was meant for. It hasn’t been since Sheikh Abdullah’s times that a Kashmiri politician has been able to create a fake truth, spread it like wildfire and then bask in its glory! Even Farooq-I-Like-To-Discoe -Abdullah failed to create such a massive sensation -using the media effectively- over what shall never go down in history – an issue that won’t stay more than a few days in people’s memory – but has created its desired effects and proved, in not so many words, the inefficiency of Mufti Sayed’s administration.

It was not a path breaking roadmap for the resolution of Kashmir. It was a simple rescue mission. The army (and the police) had rescued about 30 people who had been trapped in an avalanche. The army (and the police) had done it again; they had helped the sad people of Kashmir. It wasn’t a rescue mission that would blow the brains of rescuers around the world but the media coverage was aimed at putting to shame National Geographic!

So far, so good!

You may argue, what’s wrong in it? With elections (or the absence of them) near, a little self-glorifying by the Chief Minister should not be shouted at, or should it be?

The Actual Footage

The little actual footage showed the people and not the army (and the police) rescuing. It was the rescued people who were carrying the old and elderly and it was the rescued people who were clearing the path as they moved on (makes one to think which path did the army (and the police) take? And no it was not snowing). The army (and the police) were more than willing to pose for the cameras! The army (there was no police visible) did not look exhausted even though they had supposedly walked miles in snow for the rescue.

The rescue was over and the people of Kashmir were all happy!

However, the government pulled one more trick out of their sleeves and this time the blindia looked side-a-ways:

The Act

Even as the chief minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, was reviewing the post-snowfall situation in various valley districts, his administration pushed thousands of Srinagar-bound passengers into a virtual hell on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

No less than 3,000 people, including a large number of women and children, have been caught in one of the worst traffic jams on either side of Patnitop.

The Army

“It is only militarily convoys which have free run on this road,” said another stranded passenger, Rafiq Ahmad Bhat.

The Aim

A woman passenger Mehmooda who was crying on phone said that children in the bus were demanding food. “But I have nothing to offer them. This Government is lying. They allowed the traffic from Jammu to kill our children of hunger and cold,” she said. The passenger said that it was a deliberate attempt by the Government to subject hundreds of people to hardship.

The Admittance

Admitting that the highway was not totally fit for vehicular traffic, the senior superintendent of police, Traffic (Highway), Dinesh Rana, told Greater Kashmir that movement of vehicles in slippery stretches on either side of Patni Top, the movement of vehicles was hazardous. “The highway is not fit for traffic between Patni Top and Jawahar tunnel and it would require another two days to make it traffic worthy,” he said.

Interestingly, it was the same Rana who had, on Saturday evening, told Greater Kashmir that the traffic had been restored fully on the highway.

[Quotes source: Greater Kashmir]

The Administration of Mufti Sayed

In 2005, Waltang, a village in Kashmir was destroyed by avalanches. People were dead and so was the government. The government, dead in its own slumber, was unaware of the destruction. It was the local newspaper Greater Kashmir that received information about the entrapment of people and published the same. The government instead of accepting its mistake went ahead and issued arrest warrants against the Editor of the newspaper for spreading rumours and creating panic among the people. Azad, through his fantastic understanding of the media, tried to prove his superiority but failed miserably for the people of Kashmir.

The Army (and the police)

From a prevous post I Can Kill Everybody:

Killing in Kashmir is not uncommon but gradually it appears that the police and the army see themselves as reincarnations of God on earth. Be it the illiterate gun totting policeman or his superior office, they both think that they are the Greater Beings, created to maim and kill the children, the young, the old and the women of Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir Police has turned over the past decade and a half from an organisation supporting the freedom struggle to a people more than happy to kill innocents and it will continue to grow evil. It has already graduated from beatings innocents to killing them, now they just need to expand their reach and increase the innocent death toll. Once India is confident that the police have been trained well to behave as colonial masters, as is the attitude of the army at present; it can reduce the presence of the army, flash a happy face to the world, confident and satisfied at the thought that the same role is being played by someone else. Lessons from the colonial masters, the British, has always inspired India: import officers who can act and behave as colonial masters, obtain the major chunk of the force from the local population and impose evil through them.

60 Years!

As India celebrated its 60 years of Independence, Kashmir shall have, in October, survived 60th years of  forced occupation, state oppression, humiliation, torture, arrests, rapes and killings.

I salute Kashmir for surviving and for still believing in a free  Kashmir, a Kashmir free from the clutches of state terror whether in form or in policy.

An Indian Who Lived In Illusion

To,

The people of Kashmir,

All these years I have lived in illusion. An illusion that Kashmir, the Valley of my dreams, is very much a part of my country. I took great pride in it, and I believed you did too. But, a few days ago, I had raw exposure to your lives, much troubled lives.

I might never be able to think by, what they say, stepping into your shoes. I might never be able to empathise entirely with your tears. I will never be able to comprehend the torture you face, the wars you wage every day and night – to rise and to sleep, to step out of your homes into your own “motherland”, and then to step back in.

I will never understand the terror that grips you, even in the shelter of your humble abodes. I shall never possess such lack of faith in my protectors, lawmakers and administrators. I will never realise how it feels to be questioned at every breath taken, dictated at every step taken. I cannot fathom the countless defeats that greet you, everyday, at the hands of “authority”. And then, rise up boisterously again at the taste of dispiritedness. I shall never discover what your hearts are made of.

I will never feel the depth of angst in your voices which cry for freedom or “Azadi”. But, I only wish to lend my feeble yet determined voice to join yours. I only wish to make the people of my country feel the way I do.

Yours truly,

An Indian

A letter addressed to the people of Kashmir by Gyatri – a member of a group of ‘adventure junkies,’ who traveled across Kashmir and interacted with students and people.

 Its heartening to see that some Indians are not blinding themselves either to the bitter truth about Kashmir or the lies that blindia is feeding them.

Riya, a student from Mumbai, while writing about The Many Faces Of Kashmir has this to say about the Indian Media:

We believe the lies that the media feeds us.

Do not miss to read Riya’s poem Another World.

Read the reflections on Kashmir of WCNCinc, a group of enthusiastic and adventure junkies and nature freaks here.

Peace Of Grave

“…remember that as resistance decreases, suppression increases and the peace offered by suppressive regimes is often no more than the peace of prison or of  the grave…”

“…who has the public as a whole his enemy can never make himself
secure and the greater his cruelty the weaker his regime becomes.”

Niccolo Machiavelli 

Countless Kashmiris are being offered the peace of the grave by India as the fake encounter killing  epidemic continues in Kashmir. Ever since the Congress took over power from the Peoples Democratic Party in Kashmir, the number of Fake encounters has drastically increased, also on the rise is the number of innocents killed point blank by the Indian Army. The probes and inquiries promised and sometimes ordered are a mere eyewash.

 Maybe the Indian Prime Minister’s daughter should visit Kashmir and take on the Indian Army and question the government about the thousands of missing Kashmiris and the unlawful, custodial and fake encounter killings that are a norm rather than the exception in Kashmir, but maybe Kashmir is too far!

Apples, Apricots And Almonds

The economic system of Kashmir was totally shattered by the militancy claim many a learned people since it destroyed the back bone of Kashmir’s economy- the tourism industry, employing not more than 20,000 families. Yes, not ever Kashmiri is a Shikarawala or a Shawl-seller, there are others as well. Those learned people also praise the Indian government for doling out billions to the people of Kashmir in subsidies and aid. Those learned people though forget to mention that those billions for meant for the upkeep of the 0.7 million Indian security forces, busy fighting the 1,500 deadly militants.

Facts and figures tell us that the economy of Kashmir is not totally dependent on tourism and that the traditional industries in Kashmir have done very well during the last seventeen years, helping Kashmir survive and once again it is not the billions doled out to Kashmir by India or just blood money that’s circulating in Kashmir.

Exports

Exports in 1989-90	Exports in 2005-06	Expected in 2006-07
Rs. 1.5 Billion (150 Crores)	Rs. 11.50 Billion (Rs 1,150 Crores)	Rs. 15 Billion (Rs. 1,200 Crores)

 

Handicrafts

Turnover in 2005	Turnover in 2006	Expected in 2007
Rs. 9 Billion (Rs. 900 Crores)	Rs. 11.5 Billion (Rs. 1,150 Crores)	Rs. 15 Billion Rs. 1,500 Crores

 

Fresh and dry fruit

Revenue in 2006	Revenue in 2007
Rs. 19 Billion (Rs. 1,900 Crores)	Rs. 21 Billion (Rs. 2,100 Crores)

And the Kashmir government’s much promoted Wazwaan is not bringing in any money. 

Technorati Tags: Kashmir, Srinagar, Development, Indian Army, India, Handicrafts, Jammu and Kashmir, Economy, Conflict

Subjugation And Torture That Thrills And Excites

Suffering humiliation at the hands occupying forces is a part and parcel of the Kashmiri life be it in Kashmir or a railway compartment somewhere in the plains of India. Kashmiris have realized and understood well that all Indians (with rare exceptions) are oblivious to the sufferings of Kashmiris even though the same Indians share the pain and are even over sympathetic to the issue of Kashmiri Pandits, who when they migrated from the Valley in 1989 formed not more than 3% of the total Kashmiri population.

The Indians cry hoarse about the Kashmiri Pandit issue but they are quite, as if someone pressed the mute button, when it is proved beyond doubt that the Indian forces do kill innocents in Kashmir.

The reasons have baffled many a Kashmiris for long, one reason could be that the Indians feel ‘thrilled’ and ‘excited’ about the presence of guns-and-goons in the form of Indian security forces in Kashmir.

An Indian woman who had recently traveled to Kashmir had this to say about the presence of security forces in Kashmir:

the security presense (sic) is there everywhere it is thrilling and mostly exciting.

This is what The Toronto Star wrote on 25th January, 1991, about the Indian armed forces.

“Subjugated, humiliated, tortured and killed by the 650,000-strong Indian army, the people of Kashmir have been living through sheer hell for more than a year, the result of an increasingly brutal campaign of state repression. India hides behind its carefully-crafted image of “non-violence” and presents itself in international forums as a model of democracy and Pluralism.”

The role, behavior and actions of the security forces has not changed much since 1991, it’s just that today their presence is ‘thrilling’ and ‘exciting’ to the Indians.

A further look at what the Indian security forces who thrill and excite Indians do to the Kashmiris, as documented by the Human Rights Watch.

I was only a boy at that time. They would strip me, make my lie naked on the floor, kick and beat me, split my legs wide apart and leave me tied up like that for hours. When I thought I could not bear any more pain, they would give me electric shocks. Then they would let me go and a few weeks later, again. The same thing.

The men were from the army but they were in plainclothes. I was taken to a Rashtriya Rifles camp near my house… My hands were always tied behind my back. I was beaten and kicked. Twice, I was made to lie down on the floor with my hands and legs stretched out and tied up. I was badly beaten.

The soldiers were brutal. I was kept blindfolded most of the time, unless I had to go to the toilet. My hands were tied with rope at night. I was tied to a chair and questioned. They asked if I knew this militant or that. I kept saying I was innocent…I wish I could tell you how much I suffered. They cut my thighs open with a knife and then they would keep poking at the wound to try and make me talk.

The thrills and the excitement!

Technorati Tags: Kashmir, Indian Army, India, Srinagar, Army, Torture, People, Politics, Conflict, Jammu and Kashmir, Human-Rights, Torture in Custody, Terrorism, State-Terrorism

The Terrorists Of Al-Qaeshmir

The Indian state and blindia (the blind Indian media) have been working tirelessly to brand Kashmiris as Terrorists and Fundamentalists and the Kashmiri Freedom Struggle as Terrorism. These endless campaigns have been successful within India, where people at large see the Kashmiris as terrorists and the human rights abuses the Kashmiris have to suffer at the hands of the Indian Army as the outcome of supporting the terrorists being pushed from across the border, conveniently coined as the Cross Border Terrorism (CBT).

Bollywood has lent a further helping hand by portraying Kashmiris as terrorists whenever and wherever they can. The most recent attempt was seen in Sarhad, starring Sanjay Dutt, in which the terrorist drives a vehicle with a Kashmir number plate. Both the Indian and the Pakistani armies are trying to neutralize the terrorist, the reference possibly being that Kashmiris are a bother for both nations.

Even though the smear-campaigns have worked in India, they have no takers in the west. The western media still sees Kashmir as a disputed territory. BBC, Encarta, CNN, Encyclopedia Britannica, National Geographic et al still refer to Kashmir as Indian or Pakistani controlled Kashmir as the case maybe. The issues of National Geographic on sale in India usually have an ugly rubber stamped on the maps of this region:the boundaries shown are not correct. Stamp or no stamp, it is not going to change how west sees Kashmir. Sending back or destroying copies of encyclopedia Britannica will effect no change in the policy of the west, that of Kashmir being a disputed territory pending final settlement.

 The people in the west  are still struggling to understand the difference between Kashmir and Cashmere Shawls. The following conversation from Orange County (Season2, Episode 53) pretty much sums up the confusions still surrounding the word Kashmir.

Abigail Stevens: I was saying that what’s happening in Kashmir just shows us–

Summer: I know! Pashminas this season were so cute. I don’t go anywhere without my Cashmere purse!

The conversation continues with Abigail telling Summer that they were discussing the conflict in Kashmir and whether Kashmir should be independent or remain with India and then ask Summer her opinion!

Western Experts On Kashmir

 

 Kashmiris are not seen as terrorists by the west, not even extremists. These are the thoughts of an expert, Professor William Baker, on Kashmiris and their struggle:

On Kashmiris not being radicals:

Professor William Baker, who heads the California-based organization, Christians and Muslims for Peace, and is the author of Kashmir: Happy Valley, Valley of Death, says that people who live in the valley of Kashmir are not Islamic radicals out to establish a separate Islamic state.

“The people of Kashmir – those in the valley of Kashmir – are not radical Islamists wanting an Islamic state; they do not.”

On what the Kashmiris want:

“These people are extremely educated and open and free-minded and I’ve never met any Kashmiris in the valley who did not say that they don’t want to be owned by either country (India or Pakistan).”

 On the Indian/Pakistani occupation:

 “If one is an enemy if you oppose injustice, if one is an enemy is you oppose occupation, then okay, I am an enemy of anybody who occupies another country illegally or tortures or anything else, including my own country.”

The real threat, as the world perceives it, is from the Hindu extremists in India and not the Kashmiris Muslims.

  Noam Chomsky

On the dangers of Hindu extremism

There are real dangers. The Hindu nationalist danger is certainly serious.

On the Indian Diaspora’s being more extreme 

…what I’ve seen of the Indian Diaspora … is that it tends to be more extreme, more pro-BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] than the native population would. At least that’s what I’ve seen.

The threat does come from Hindu extremist elements,the recent ban on Orkut is an example of the low level of tolerance for free speech. This news though has not been as widely covered by the blindia as was the ban by some militant groups in Kashmir last year on Music channels during the holy month of Ramadhan, yet another example of the working of blindia.

The Indian Army who are mostly seen as saviors by the Indian population are not perceived as such by the western experts.

 K Alan feels:

There was something oppressive about the security presence in Srinagar and even out in the countryside. You really couldn’t get away from it. It’s like you were reminded, everywhere you looked, that there was a security problem. I could see how the people there might even feel like there was an occupying army because I do know some people feel that way.

History is witness to how India and its slaves in Kashmir ridicule Kashmir and Kashmiris- when innocent Kashmiris are killed in fake encounters, the government promises enquiries or rewards the killers; when innocent girls are exploited by the highest seats of government, the government shifts the case to a court outside Kashmir and reinstates the officers involved in the scandal; when people ask for roads they are shown the palaces the rulers will occupy and when people protest against the army – the Chief Minister promises the army utmost support. Despite all this, the international media and experts still do not buy India’s argument of Kashmiris being Terrorists and Kashmir a hot-bed of Islamic Terrorism. Frustrated, the Government has recently tried something more unique, more digital but even that will fall flat on their faces. The government of India is attempting to establish Al-Qaeda presence in Kashmir, which in their opinion should help them garner the much required American support. In the coming months we might see reports of Osama Bin Laden hiding in Kashmir and then we will see American Apache helicopters burning down the forests of Kashmir. The Chief Minister of Kashmir as well as the United Jihad Council has ruled out the presence of Al-Qaeda in Kashmir. UJC spokesman has said that Kashmiris know how to fight the war of freedom and there was no place for Al Qaeda whatsoever on Kashmiris’ soil.  However one needs to remain cautious as the government of India will go as far as it has to to cry out loud to the world that Kashmiris are terrorists and Kashmir a terrorism hot spot, but none of that will succeed, not today, not tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: Kashmr, India, Al-Qaeda, Jehad, Terrorism, Srinagar, Indian Army, Politics, Noam, William Baker, Alan Kronstadt, Congress, Cross-Border-Terrorism, Human-Rights, State-Terrorism

The Slave Who Wants A Palace

Kashmir is a unique place, unique in all manners. For an Indian it is a hotbed of Terrorism – worth destroying every inch of; for a Pakistani it is the centre of Jihad or freedom struggle -which they believe they are dying for; for an outsider it is the centre of nuclear focus and to some a beautiful valley which merits a visit and for a Kashmiri it remains what it has been for centuries- a home.

Then there is yet another breed of people who belong to no land and to no people. They only belong to their masters and it matters not who their masters are because as long as the master throws a bone their way they are more than glad to wage their tails, even when kicked. And, unfortunately such breeds of slaves rule the roost in Kashmir. The latest addition to this group of  opportunists and sycophant is the present Chief Minister of Kashmir and the pet-slave of Delhi- Ghulam-e-Dilli (Salve of Delhi) aka Ghulam Nabi Azad. In all the years that Kashmir has been ruled by a slave, this slave beats them all hands down. Maybe it is the good fate of Kashmiris (if they have any at all)  that his tenure is of three years for if he had six years the number of innocent Kashmiris arrested, tortured, maimed, raped and killed in custody or fake encounters would have been far greater than a human mind could fathom. His Mr. Clean image gets buried under the debris of pain that he has inflicted on the hapless Kashmiris and one just needs to take a broad view of the events to understand the devil that delves beneath the Karakuli cap.

This fool of a person in an attempt to justify the innocent deaths in Kashmir compares Kashmir to Bihar and has the guts to claim that the number of people killed in Bihar is far higher than in Kashmir. Only an idiot would compare deaths by state sponsored terrorism to deaths due to road accidents. Perhaps he wants to send a direct message to Kashmiris that they should embrace deaths at the hands of the military as a part and parcel of their lives  that will continue as long as Delhi survives in Kashmir, courtesy of slaves like him.

Azad does not stop at that, in his attempts to feel the powers bestowed to him by his masters he wants a palace for himself. Better infrastructure and roads are not needed in Kashmir, the requirement of the moment is a 60 room palace that shall cost the state 11 crore rupees, the palace shall be complete with 15 presidential suites overlooking the Dying Dal Lake. The suits are yet another attempt to blind the visiting dignitaries, by soaking them in the ambience, calm and quite that would surround them- deodar wood panelled walls, Khatamband ceilings, snow capped mountains overlooking a vast lake, to the truth about Kashmir- that its inhabitants continue to die because they dare to call it their home, their paradise.

Technorati Tags: Kashmir, Development, Terrorism, Palace, Dal-Lake, Azad, Kashmiris, Srinagar, Government, News

Fake ‘Encounter Killings’ Epidemic

Fake killings an ‘epidemic’ and ‘standard procedure of the police’

“This epidemic of fake ‘encounter killings’ by the security forces has plagued Kashmir for too long,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The police must stop their standard operating procedure of killing people in custody.”

“Too often we find that India’s security forces are deemed ‘above the law’ and are spared criminal prosecution despite committing grave human rights abuses.”

Extrajudicial executions by Indian security forces are common.

courtesy of Human Rights Watch

Revelations confirm what Kashmiris have been alleging all along

“Recent revelations have confirmed what families in Kashmir have been alleging all along,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Indian security forces have ‘disappeared’ countless people in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989 and staged fake encounter killings while fabricating claims that those killed were militants.”

When there are public demonstrations protesting a fake encounter killing, the official response usually is to offer an oral assurance of an inquiry, though these rarely happen. If such inquiries do take place, the findings are seldom made public. If any action is taken against those found responsible, that too is rarely made public.

courtesy of Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch September 2006 report

Previous related posts

The Largest Daemon-cracy

I Can Kill Everybody

And A Family Cries

Kill A Kashmiri, Win 100,000 Rupees

Act Two: The Slave Of Delhi Unleashes Terror

Tags: Freedom Struggle, Human Rights, Indian Army, Innocent Killings, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Kashmir, Kilings, News, Police, Terrorism, Terrorism in Kashmir

New Strategy: The Solution Of Kashmir!

The end of armed struggle

As a good will gesture for the increased army deployment, continuing human-rights violations, custodial and enforced disappearances, massacres , rapes, daily humiliation and increased frisking of the Kashmiris (even women) by the Indian forces in Kashmir, the Mirwaiz has offered ‘to end the armed struggle.’

“We have already seen the results of our fight on the political, diplomatic and military fronts which have not achieved anything other than creating more graveyards.”

courtesy of greater kashmir

A bold and unpopular decision

Earlier, in a meeting breakfast with the APHC leaders, PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said: “Time has come for a bold decision, even if it is an unpopular one.”

courtesy of greater kashmir

An unpopular decision for whom? An unpopular decision for the people of Pakistan and India will be acceptable but an unpopular decision for the people of Kashmir is not a bold decision but a sell out. A sell out which will have far reaching consequences.

The new strategy

The Mirwaiz has claimed that political, diplomatic and military fronts have yield nothing. True. By saying so, the Chairman has accepted the failure of Hurriyat as it is Hurriyat which has always been claiming to be the political and diplomatic front of the Kashmiri struggle. A graceful solution for their failure would be to step down but since their personal interests reign supreme they won’t do that, instead they have offered a new solution. The solution is packed in a box called ‘new strategy,’ earlier it was packed in a box called United States of Kashmir.

He said with their new strategy they would convince India to arrive at a more agreeable settlement.

courtesy of greater kashmir

The new strategy involves forming of two working groups on both sides of the loc to facilitate the peace process.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and the government of Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) on Saturday decided to set up two working groups, one each on both sides of the Line of Control (loc), to facilitate the peace process.

courtesy of greater kashmir

Forming of working groups does not sound like a military solution but it sure does sound like a political and diplomatic method. So, what’s different in it? Confidence Building Measures are already in place between India and Pakistan and those have brought no respite to the common Kashmiri. Even a cursory look at the events will show that life for a Kashmiri has become tougher ever since India and Pakistan have shook hands. Not only is life tougher for a Kashmiri in Kashmir but it has also become difficult elsewhere in India with a Kashmiri being arrested for every possible ‘terrorist’ crime and that goes well with the Indian media and the people of India, who have chosen to blind their eyes to the truth about Kashmir. The only truth about Kashmir they are ready to listen to is the Indian Army’s version of the truth in Kashmir.

The Mirwaiz has already declared the failure of these methods in the past and the same should be expected of the latest strategy, as it is just another road map for the solution of Kashmir. India can never be convinced without massive opposition from the people of Kashmir. Kashmir needs a powerful mass uprising from the people to end this debacle.

The opposition

The UJC has voiced some sensible opposition. What is surprising about the UJC is that they have chosen to rope in Sheikh Abdullah and have even called him the most popular and towering personality of Kashmir. Forever he has been called a traitor by these people, why a change of heart? Maybe they now realise that Kashmir has never and probably will never see a leader like Sheikh. Maybe now they understand that Sheikh was not the traitor they have always painted him as.

When GoI could push the most popular and towering Kashmiri politician like Sheikh Abdullah to the wall, then what is the worth of Hurriyat (M)

courtesy of greater kashmir

Shabir Ahmad Shah, Chairman of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP): “I don’t agree with Mirwaiz Sahib saying that gun has not given anything to us. It is due to the sacrifices of Mujahideen that Kashmir issue has been highlighted.”

The kudos

Chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Sunday congratulated Mirwaiz Moulana Umar Farooq and his colleagues for ‘their bold statement against violence and in favour of peace and dialogue’

Ali Muhammad Sagar, former minister and senior National Conference leader: “ It seems they have realized that nothing will come out from the game of death and destruction, and Kashmir issue can only be resolved through a dialogue.

Ghulam Hassan Mir, former minister and senior leader of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP): “We welcome Mirwaiz’s statement. It is definitely a positive change and it will prove fruitful for the people of Kashmir. We have always maintained that gun won’t solve the Kashmir issue and it seems separatists too have realized it.

India’s continued hypocrisy

Pointing towards the Sunday’s statement of the chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad wherein he had hailed Mirwaiz’s statement asking militants to give up arms, Sagar said, “If some one is showing sincerity and honesty, he should be responded with honesty and sincerity. He has given number of statements which are correlated and you should not pick and choose the statements in accordance with your own interests.”

courtesy of greater kashmir

The euphoria

In his euphoria, the Mirwaiz has forgotten the Gaw Kadal Massacre in which fifty-two unarmed civilians were shot dead by the Indian forces and nearly 250 were wounded. One young man, Abdul Rauf Wani, took the bullets of an entire magazine from a soldier in a heroic attempt to save a few lives.

Elsewhere, the state BJP chief has asked that the flag of Kashmir be brought down . The flag of Kashmir is the last symbolic proof of Kashmir’s special status.

Kashmir needs a Shiekh Abdullah!

Gulmarg Gondola Shutdown [Now, Fixed!]

Not satisfied with their failures so far, the Gulmarg Destruction Agency (wrongly called as Gulmarg Development Agency) and the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department have proved beyond doubt their total uselessness. Not only are these departments speeding up the ecological destruction of Gulmarg but are also destroying the present infrastructure.

Gondola ‘freezes’ due to cold attitude of authorities

Greater Kashmir reports on the shut down of the Gulmarg Gondola Cable Car, the highest cable car of the world in the worst hands. The shutting down of the cable car has forced a large number of foreigners to pack their bags and will lead to huge financial loss for the local businessmen. Knowing the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department’s eternal slumber, it is highly unlikely that the snag will be fixed soon.

Since launch of the Gondola, the JKCCC has been claiming that it maintains the cable car under international standards keeping in view the local climatic conditions.

But, sources said due to lack of maintenance and ferrying of raw material for constructions, the second phase of the cable car has been damaged and closed for repairs.

“I had surely not come from Australia by spending my hard earned money to see the Gondola closed. It is sad and disappointing,” Charles Bonita, a skier told Greater Kashmir.

Yet another Australian, Peter Robin son, who runs an internationally reputed ski-tour company ‘Ski-Himalayas’ and facilitates visit of the largest number of skiers to Gulmarg, is all fire against the authorities.

“There is definitely lack of coordination between the different authorities as a result there is confusion in managing the state of affairs of Gulmarg. Proper delivery of services to tourists is a matter of human element,” said Robin son, who has employed many local youth for assisting the skiers.

The hoteliers too are concerned about the condition Gondola as a large number of skiers have made advance bookings. “Many skiers have already left after the closure of 2nd phase of Gondola. If the problem is not rectified immediately, we might face huge financial losses due to cancellations of bookings,” a group of aggrieved hoteliers said.

Fixing the cable car through email!

The department has also come up with a novel method of fixing the cable car: it has emailed (or snail mailed) photographs of the snag to foreign engineers for consult!

An employee of the JKCCC said the corporation does not have the expertise to rectify the error. “We have mailed the photographs of the damaged machine to the foreign engineers and are waiting for their suggestions” he said.

quotes courtesy of greater kashmir

You may also want to read Kashmir Tourism Department’s Eternal Slumber on this blog.

Update:

It’s working!

To confirm the present status of the cable car in Gulmarg, an email was sent to Peter Robinson of Ski Himalaya, a ski tour company, and the following response was received:

“The gondola is fully operational with excellent skiing off the top.”

Ski Himalayas is the only regularly updated website about the skiing scene in Gulmarg. It also has the facility of booking ski-tours online, which is one of it’s kind for Kashmir.

Myths And Cry Babies

Jammu has long been crying hoarse that its development is being neglected at the cost of Kashmir. The post Cry Baby on this blog was an attempt to portray the real picture of Jammu’s development.

The recent press statement of the former finance minister gives further proof of Jammu being a pampered cry baby.

Former finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig said the State Finance Commission bill was introduced to expose many myths. “One of the biggest myth is that Jammu region is neglected in development,” he said, adding that he had no knowledge whether government has done anything in this regard.

Courtesy of greater kashmir

While in Jammu the Vaishno Devi board is able to fund a Rs. 2.5 billion cancer hospital, the Amarnath board in Kashmir can not even take care of the environmental problems which are a direct outcome of the annual Amarnath yatra in Pahalgam. The governor of Kashmir heads the Vaishno Devi as well as the Amarnath board.

An official report has indicted the Shri Amaranthji Shrine Board (SASB), the body headed by state governor Let Gen (retd) S K Sinha that controls the pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath, of failing to protect the fragile mountain eco-system of Pahalgam.

The report prepared by the J&K state pollution control board says 55,000 kgs of garbage, including polythene and plastics, is dumped in the virgin forests of Baisaran and Sarbal every day during the pilgrimage.

courtesy of greater kashmir

Department of Science and technology through its principal investigator on glaciology has argued that “the ecology, the environment and health of the glacier can be under severe threat in case the Baltal route to the Holy Cave was frequented by thousands of pilgrims”. And pointed out that “depletion and degradation (of glaciers) are the result of human breath, refuse and land erosion”.

Gautam Navlakha, greater kashmir

Interestingly the press release reads ‘Kashmir’ to get cancer hospital , and not ‘Jammu’ or ‘Jammu and Kashmir.’ It is intriguing as to why the Vaishno Devi board decided to use the word ‘Kashmir’ instead of ‘Jammu’ or ‘Jammu and Kashmir’ in the press release even though the hospital is being constructed in Katra, Jammu and not the valley.

Cry Baby

There’s a cry baby everywhere. Cry babies are a hassle, no amount of cajoling makes them happy and that’s what has happened to Kashmir’s cry baby, which is none other than its winter capital Jammu.

Jammu claims that it has been neglected by the Kashmiri centric governments. A decade and a half ago it would sounded a bit true largely because at that time Jammu was just a transit point for Kashmir bound tourists. However, even back then Jammu’s industrial development was far better than Kashmir’s, since it was connected by a railway link. Even in the 42 years till 1989, India had not thought about connecting Kashmir by a railway line. It was probably for strategic reasons that India approved a railway line to Kashmir in 1995.

China took five years and one day to complete the work on the 1,142 kilometers of railway track between Golmund and Lhasa before flagging off the Qinghai-Tibet railway in July this year. India, on the other hand, is struggling to complete the 292 kilometer Udhampur – Srinagar- Baramulla rail link more than 11 years after the first approval came through. (courtesy of world tibet)

The work on the railway line is proceeding at a snails pace and there is no fear of questioning from anyone as the excuses of kidnapping of engineers, terrorist threats, attacks, sabotage and as a whole the possibility of Al-Qaeda blowing up the tracks since Osama Bin laden could be hiding somewhere near those tracks always come handy.

The Railway Ministry recently informed the Parliament that the crucial 148-kilometer stretch between Katra and Qazigund would only be complete by 2008-9 and that only 12 per cent work had been completed on this section so far. (courtesy of world tibet)

Back to Jammu. The allegations of discrimination by Jammu are a big fat lie today. Even though Jammu is on it’s way to attain the status of a metro in the next couple of years, the people of Jammu continue crying hoarse. Helped further and incited by BJP and the Shiv Sena, Jammu has lately been demanding the status of a state. However, even though they make a lot of noise about discrimination and separate state hood, they and their leaders know well that they are getting the best bet as long as they continue being part of the conflict ridden Kashmir. It furthers their interests. It helps them get a huge chunk of the money allotted to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In Jammu the money takes the form of development while as in Kashmir it takes the form of more troops.

Even before the conflict Kashmir had no industrial development. Kashmir has always held an attraction and tourism, apples and handicrafts have always been the mainstay of its economy, but much of the infrastructure was developed and managed by the local businessmen. The best hotels, houseboats, apple orchards, handicraft industries and transport services in Kashmir have always been managed by local businessmen. The government has never seriously endured to develop Kashmir. No wonder that even though almost 90% of the total apple production of India comes from Kashmir, it still lacks a cold chain and storage system.

A conflict always gives rise to a different economic system and in the economic system that emerged in Kashmir, Jammu gained. While as Jammu had a flyover years back, even though it did not need one, Kashmir got a flyover a year back. The flyover became the center of media attraction with the Chief Minister of Kashmir gifting it to the people of Kashmir on Martyr’s day. A flyover is nothing out of the ordinary but in Kashmir it is, that’s because the government doesn’t have anything else to showcase its progress. A flyover became the symbol of the best the government in Kashmir could do. In Jammu, the politicians would have had to taste eggs had they tried gifting a flyover.

Jammu over the past few years has gained immensely. Figures show the stark contrast of the amounts being spent in Kashmir and in Jammu. As long as the state of Jammu and Kashmir was under Presidential rule, one really did not expect development, but what happened when the popular governments took over? What about the so called peace that’s in Kashmir? Why do Kashmiri people still have to move out for jobs when, according to a lot of people, Kashmir is the most pampered state in India. If one considers the amount of money spent on the army in Kashmir as the money spent on a state, Kashmir is indeed the most pampered state. It takes a lot of money to maintain 700,000 soldiers in a single state.

According to a report, private companies invested Rs 2,628 crore in the Jammu division, Rs 541 crore in the Kashmir division and Rs 5 crore in Leh region. That’s 82% of the total investments in Jammu and Kashmir was in Jammu.

Even the government is going all the way to pamper and cajole the cry baby. The government of Jammu and Kashmir is acquiring 375 hectares in Jammu for industrial development compared to just 82 hectares in Kashmir. That’s again 82% of the total for Jammu.

And Jammu still won’t stop crying; maybe they should relax and get a haircut!

A Kashmiri Videoblogger

TearingBytes is a Kashmiri videoblogger, capturing the reality of Kashmir on video. His videoblog on Cruxy can be found here.

The description on his home page is an excerpt from Arundhati Roy’s article, which poses a very important question: how can we talk of solutions when we deny the reality?

The reality of India, however, to every ordinary Kashmiri, is an ugly, vicious reality they encounter every day, every ten steps at every check post, during every humiliating search. According to the Indian army, there are never at any time more than 3,000-4,000 militants operating in the Valley. But there are between 5,00,000 – 8,00,000 Indian soldiers there. An armed soldier for every 10-15 people. By way of comparison, there are 1,60,000 US soldiers in Iraq. Clearly, the Indian army is not in Kashmir to control militants, it is there only to control the Kashmiri people.In totally misrepresenting the truth of what’s really going on. How can we even talk of ‘solutions’ when we simply deny the reality?

TearingBytes has also been featured in the official blog of the creators of Cruxy, who write:

The works of TearingBytes are sad, touching, and often disturbing. They are as powerful as any hollywood feature film, but offer no fiction. The most prevalent topic is that of “half-widows”, women whose husbands have been disappeared, and cannot remarry since their spouses aren’t officially deceased.

Having this type of content available on Cruxy is a real breakthrough. While we love indie music and comedic short films, we also built Cruxy to give a venue for those without a traditional means of commercialization. The work of TearingBytes is a perfect case.

It is heart warming to see that Kashmiris are waking up and talking about Kashmir – their homeland. It’s the Kashmiris who matter, the people, those who have to live everyday in Kashmir, far away from those who sit in Casablanca and talk about the solution of Kashmir. Kashmiris have had enough of Indians and Pakistanis talking about them. Thanks to the power of blogging, we can finally talk about the facts, as they are.

There Was Something Oppressive About The Security Presence

K Alan Kronstadt’s interview with Rediff .

K Alan Kronstadt is a point man for South Asia in the Congressional Research Service, the United States Congress’ research arm which is often called the legislative branch’s own think tank.

On Kashmiris and Pakistan

Q. Was there anything else that really surprised you, helped calm your fears?

K Alan:

Another thing that surprised me on the ground there was how positive a view many people had of Pakistan’s role, and how President Musharraf’s role was not viewed with the negativity I had expected.

Many, many people in Kashmir were actually very positive about the role that Pakistan is playing and used the word flexibility in talking about Musharraf’s role. The word came up again and again that he, more than any other Pakistani leader, had (exhibited flexibility).

Q. Why did you go in with a perception that Musharraf’s role would not be viewed favourably? After all, the Indians have always accused Pakistan of supporting and arming militants in Kashmir. Musharraf has always tried to give the Kashmir people the assurance that Pakistan would always be there for them and that Kashmir and the aspirations of its people is an issue always close to Pakistan’s heart.

K Alan:

I think it was because of the so-called cross-border terrorism — the message that comes from Delhi. Of course, we did talk to security people in Kashmir, and they were very clear that terrorists came across with the assistance of some elements in Pakistan. So they weren’t optimistic or positive about Pakistan’s role. But many of the people on the ground — who I didn’t get a chance to talk to when I was in Washington but only when they visit — had a very different perspective about Pakistan’s role.

On the large security presence in Kashmir

Q. And, what about the Indian government’s role? Did you feel that when you spoke to the people on the ground, there were positive vibes — anything on par of what they felt for Musharraf and the government of Pakistan?

K Alan:

Not necessarily on par. That was, I think, a little more mixed. Some people felt that Delhi was taking the complaints of the Kashmiri people more seriously. (But) it was very jarring to see the large security presence in Srinagar. This is something I hadn’t expected.

I knew about it intellectually, but when I got on the ground, there were soldiers and police everywhere — the police , of course, were like paramilitary troops, so they looked like soldiers.

There was something oppressive about the security presence in Srinagar and even out in the countryside. You really couldn’t get away from it. It’s like you were reminded, everywhere you looked, that there was a security problem. I could see how the people there might even feel like there was an occupying army because I do know some people feel that way.

A significant reduction of this overwhelming security presence is what the Kashmiri leadership and international human rights groups have always been calling for as an important good-faith, confidence-building measure to get the peace process going. But Delhi argues it has to put down the militancy and counter cross-border terrorism which it says continues unabated and for which it blames Pakistan.

I heard a lot of stories about the impunity with which some of the security forces can act. (I heard) anecdotal cases of extortions on the street. I also happened to run into Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch while I was there. And so some of these stories really did come out.

On the role of United States in Kashmir

K Alan:

The United States playing a mediating role is out of the question. It’s a non-starter, and I don’t think it’s necessary. In general, the approach needs to be between India and Pakistan and in some manner incorporating the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

It’s important to not view this as a strictly bilateral issue. The United States in whatever way it acts, it needs to do so quietly. So it has to be mostly behind closed doors. I think good offices, some encouragement, diplomatic patting on the back, to bring this to a resolution, because everyone understands that a resolution of this is good for everyone. So if we can find a resolution that everyone can live with, it would do wonderful things for the subcontinent.

Q. When you say diplomatic patting on the back, does this also mean simultaneous nudging?

K Alan:

Sure. I mean there can be a carrot and stick. But it needs to be very subtle and very understanding of and sensitive to the problems on the ground, which, to some extent, I have encouraged. And the administration understands this. Again, I just hope that we don’t see the Kashmiri people feel left out of whatever comes out (with regard to the peace process). It can’t be settled as government-to-government alone.

This interview gains significance in the light of the recent claims by Mirwaiz Omer that America is mediating in the Kashmir issue and that the next two years would be very crucial for Kashmir. It is interesting to see that Alan refers to the Indian claims of cross-border terrorism as ‘so-called cross-border terrorism,’ and subtly calls it the Indian propaganda (‘the message that comes from Delhi’). He has, to a large extent, gauged well the feelings of the Kashmiri people and has indeed felt the oppressive nature of the massive security presence in Kashmir. A solution, if one is near, should never be government to government alone, as that would be no solution at all.

I Can Kill Everybody

A father and a son were killed by a speeding police vehicle, which was driving on the wrong side, a day before Eid.

I can kill everybody

“I am from SOG, not an ordinary cop, I can kill everybody, I will teach you a lesson,” a visibly frustrated cop shouted at women, firing tear smoke canisters towards them. (greater kashmir)

I’ll not spare them

Superintendent of Police (South) Uttam Chand rushed to the spot with a large contingent of police and caught hold of youth from the group, saying, “Why did you burnt our vehicle. Those who have burnt it, I have seen them, I’ll not spare them,” the SP shouted.(greater kashmir)

Killing in Kashmir is not uncommon but gradually it appears that the police and the army see themselves as reincarnations of God on earth. Be it the illiterate gun totting policeman or his superior office, they both think that they are the Greater Beings, created to maim and kill the children, the young, the old and the women of Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir Police has turned over the past decade and a half from an organisation supporting the freedom struggle to a people more than happy to kill innocents and it will continue to grow evil. It has already graduated from beatings innocents to killing them, now they just need to expand their reach and increase the innocent death toll. Once India is confident that the police have been trained well to behave as colonial masters, as is the attitude of the army at present; it can reduce the presence of the army, flash a happy face to the world, confident and satisfied at the thought that the same role is being played by someone else. Lessons from the colonial masters, the British, has always inspired India: import officers who can act and behave as colonial masters, obtain the major chunk of the force from the local population and impose evil through them.

It is not just in Kashmir that the armed forces see themselves as reincarnations of God, as far away as Christiana, the army is playing as murky a role as it can, but shouldn’t. Pakistan even though with a long history of military dictatorships is not as cruel and inhumane to the innocents as is the Indian army. With the kind of role that the army is playing in Kashmir and in places like North East and even in Christiana, one can not imagine what would happen to India if a military dictatorship was imposed. India would probably turn into the world’s largest killing field, where every innocent would get killed for 20 rupees.

Somewhere in Kashmir, a mother cries

“Why did you leave me alone?” Imtiaz’s mother Jana yelled on seeing blood and pieces of human flesh on the mangled motorcycle. She tore her clothes and tried to bang her head on the bike, but fainted after seeing the shoes of her husband and son near the bike.(greater kashmir)

And Kashmir keeps on bleeding.

And A Family Cries

Does a 19 year old boy deserve to be tortured with hot iron rods? Does
the brother of a 10 year sister old deserve to be burned? Does the only
bread winner of a family deserve death at the hands of an occupational
army for the sole crime of being a Kashmiri?

Not he doesn’t, no one does.

However, the Indian army stationed in Kashmir, as occupiers, go all the
way to satisfy their cannibal and sadist tendencies.

People do what they can, they protest

Thousands of people staged massive demonstrations for second day Sunday against the custodial killing of a 19-year-old labourer Muhammad Maqbool Dar on the Shab-e-Qadr on Friday night by the soldiers of 53 Rashtriya Rifles of Army at Pakharpora. (courtesy of greater kashmir)

Doctors do what they need not to, confirm the death by torture

A team of doctors who performed autopsy of Maqbool at Charari Sharif Hospital on Saturday told Greater Kashmir that “he died due to cardiac arrest caused by extensive torture and multiple burns. His private parts had been damaged.”

This graffiti says the truth about Kashmir: “You murder us without explanations because we are aware of Dignity and Justice!”

Opposition does, what it has to, it speaks strongly against

Abdur Rahim Rather, the former Finance Minister and leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly, addressed the protesters, and condemned what he termed the brutal killing of Maqbool.

Police does, what will never yield a result, files a report

However, the SSP Budgam Ashiq Hussain Bukhari said the accused have not yet been named in the case though a case of abduction and murder has been filed against the troops.

Government does, what it always has, expresses deep concern

State government on Sunday expressed “deep concern” on the killing of Muhammad Maqbool of Pakharpora.

The Army never does what it should: Quit Kashmir!

Somewhere in Kashmir, a family cries

“We had just broken our fast on Friday and were preparing for the Shab-e-Qadr (the holiest night of the Holy month of Ramazan) when a group of soldiers (from Kanidajan RR camp) dashed into the room and took him along. Today they returned his body.” (courtesy of greater kashmir)

And Kashmir keeps on bleeding.

Afzal Guru Can Never Be Hanged

Afzal Guru shall embrace death, as a Kashmiri, on the 20th of October if not granted a Presidential Pardon. Reports indicate that he is not seeking a Presidential Pardon, however his wife does want to seek pardon – for the sake of her son. Political parties irrespective of their political stand are all demanding a rollback of the death verdict.

Whether Afzal Guru embraces death on the 20th of October or is granted a Presidential Pardon, he can never be hanged.

Afzal Guru is a Kashmiri.

Afzal Guru is an ideology.

Afzal Guru is the truth that is Kashmir.

A Kashmiri, an ideology and the truth can never be hanged.

The Afzal Guru case has revealed the almost impossible to fill differences that exists between the thoughts, feelings, hopes and aspirations of Kashmiris and Indians. Almost 90% of Indians demand that Afzal should be hanged, some even want that his supporters (Kashmiris) to be hanged as well, publicly. While as all Kashmiris see in Afzal a man who has been falsely implicated, a majority of Indian people see him as the face of terror, which he is not. Afzal did not have a chance to defend himself. The Supreme Court of India had upheld that:

“The incident, which resulted in heavy casualties, had shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender.”

Is Afzal being made a scape goat for the ‘collective conscience of the society?’ Nandita Haksar asks:

Can the collective conscience of our people be satisfied if a fellow citizen is hanged without having a chance to defend himself? (courtesy of counter currents)

National Democratic Alliance released a bunch of ‘terrorists’ when an Indian aircraft was hijacked in 1998. An Indian Union Minister, Jaswant Singh, escorted them to Afghanistan and bade them goodbye. The lapses of the Indian Government in controlling the situation in Amritsar should have called for scrutiny and the then government could have been declared as a ‘conspirator’ as well. But, nothing of this sort happened. Why do the people of India forget or ignore lapses of their own government? Why don’t they ask questions? Is it because it is easy to imagine Kashmiri as a terrorist? Is it because a Kashmiri is a terrorist till and until proved otherwise?

Delhi Police is (in)famous for its investigations, cases like the Priyadarshini Mattoo and the Jessica Lal murders have revealed the truth about the Delhi Police, but as far as Afzal’s case is concerned, Delhi Police, from the blue, emerges as a credible organisation! It is amazing that the Judge who presided over the case is known as the ‘Hanging Judge.’ Arundhati Roy, one of the few Indians who understands Kashmir slightly better, supports Afzal and claims, rightly, that the evidence is faulty:

“The whole case is full of faulty evidence and fabricated stories and to hang someone for something he may not have done is not fair.” (courtesy of rediff)

Elsewhere in Kashmir, two innocents were shot dead by the army in yet another mistaken case identity but not a single Indian has spoken against it. Not a single Indian rises against the human rights violations in Kashmir with the same conviction with which they are demanding death to a Kashmiri.

Nirmalangshu Mukherji’s and Inam ul Rehman’s article provide food for the thought, for those who have a desire to know the truth.

Update:

Brown may intervene to save Afzal Guru

The new UK Prime Minsiter may intervene to save Afzal Guru, if efforts of Save Afzal Guru Campaign are sucessful.

A Suspect’s Life

One Kashmiri, three armed troops: one frisks, another aims the gun at, the third one stays on alert.

This is how Kashmiris, the people supposed to be protected, are treated by the 0.7 Million troops stationed in Kashmir: as suspects.

Picture copyright and courtesy of Greater Kashmir/Mubashir Khan.