From tasveerghar at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 00:04:06 2010 From: tasveerghar at gmail.com (Tasveer Ghar) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 00:04:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Selection of the fellows for "Cluster of Excellence" Message-ID: Dear friends It is with great pleasure that we would like to announce the selection of the awardees of the short-term fellowships of the Cluster of Excellence – Asia and Europe in a Global Context: Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows (at Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany), on the theme "Circulation of Popular Images and Media in Muslim Religious Spheres". Out of the several excellent proposals that we received, the following six candidates have been selected for their respective themes. 1. Shirley Abraham/Amit Madheshiya (Mumbai) – “Devotional Visual Culture at the Shrine of Sailani Baba” 2. Arshad Amanullah (Delhi) – “Maslak, Tabligh and the Technology” 3. Yogesh Snehi (Amritsar) – “Replicating Memory, Creating Images: Pirs and Dargahs in Popular Art and Media of Contemporary East Punjab” 4. Abeer Gupta (Pune/Ladakh) – “The culture of Islam in the Western Himalayas” 5. Fiza Ishaq/Annapurna G. (Bangalore) – “Shia devotional art and material culture: Visual narratives of transculturation, social memory and community identity” 6. Noman Baig (Karachi) – “Mediating Belief and Senses: Dawat-e-Islami's Emerging Madina of Visuality” The fellows would be working on their respective themes for the next six months and their research results would be published in the form of an edited volume. More details about the fellows and their respective subjects would soon be available on our website. Thanks The Tasveer Ghar team -- http://www.tasveerghar.net From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 01:05:55 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 01:05:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire In-Reply-To: <002401cb30d0$d2e8e400$78baac00$@in> References: <307074.83109.qm@web112102.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <001001cb2f02$6be87e70$43b97b50$@in> <002201cb3001$f8266f00$e8734d00$@in> <002401cb30d0$d2e8e400$78baac00$@in> Message-ID: Nothing wrong supposedly in army (or CRPF or police) raping women or murdering innocents also I hope. After all, we take our lessons from the Americans, who keep doing it all the time. And soon we will have strategic military exercises on a more regular basis to learn better tactics from them in this. Or probably they can learn it from us, as we have done in Kashmir and the North-East. Rakesh From yasir.media at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 01:53:47 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 01:23:47 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire In-Reply-To: <002401cb30d0$d2e8e400$78baac00$@in> References: <307074.83109.qm@web112102.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <001001cb2f02$6be87e70$43b97b50$@in> <002201cb3001$f8266f00$e8734d00$@in> <002401cb30d0$d2e8e400$78baac00$@in> Message-ID: Since you are so sure, then you should feel strong enough to bomb us at least. its been a while. But seriously my suggestion would be to do covert actions against LeT, and the Taliban, and let us know when you are done. best yasir On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 9:52 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > Dear Yasir, > > Now you come to the point. You have been taught in school and this is the > way Pakistan spreading poison between the people of two countries. There is > historical evidence that J&K allotted to India. It is our great leaders > blunders to take the issue in UN. In India, we have no Kashmir topic to > taught in school and no need since we don't have to prove anything! > > J&K is border state and army bound to be there as usual all the country > keep normally in the border. Kashmir is special case infiltration and > terrorists threat forced to keep army and nothing wrong in it. There is no > question of screwing the people. People are willing to live in India and > recent election 60% voting proved it. Those 40% not voted, I am sure half of > them are of the opinion to remain with India only. So, total 80% are happy > and willing to remain with India. Only few separatists influenced and > supported by Pak want be independent or remain with Pak. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 10:54 PM > To: Sarai Reader-list > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > Dear Bipin > > No, correction, all pakistanis think Kashmir should either be either in > pakistan (that is the part still occupied by india), or independent. In > fact > ask the kashmiris, thats what pakistan had been saying, we were taught in > school. Far from good governance, the indian army is desperately hanging > on, > not knowing where this is going, while people are getting screwed. so thats > just to correct what you thought pakistanis think. i am no kashmir expert. > > of course, i think the regional dynamics need to change with the US > fuelling > militarism in the region. they need to leave afghanistan. may be then, and > only then, could militancy and covert insurgencies ease (in pakistan, india > and afghanistan hopefully with a regional development plan) This would i > think allow popular reasoning to let go of the kashmir fixation and > militarization on the part of the the indian and pakistani states. before > that forget it. its like watching a dynamic stalemate in a nuclear chess > game. there is no shah-mord or checkmate, and border continues like some of > the other walls, berlin, korean, israeli-palestinian, keeping the people in > pain upset and in a frenzy. > > Best. > > > > On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:12 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > > Dear Yasir, > > > > Thanks for your view that Kashmir belongs to whom make no sense to you. > > It's not question of tera ya mera but it's question of Pakistan blunder > and > > keep this issue in priority want to grab J&K by hook or crook which is > not > > belong to them. For this only they terrorize the region. Any answer? > > > > By telling Kashmir belong to whom makes no sense to you itself gives the > > answer. Since technically all the pak people knows that J&K belong to > India > > but still keep mum silently agreeing with such agenda. > > > > Thanks > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: > reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > > Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 3:49 PM > > To: Sarai Reader-list > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > > > Dear Bipin, > > > > Thanks for writing. i dont think i can answer everything. and definitely > I > > cannot answer for what my government does. I am sure you feel as > powerless > > when i comes to telling your government what to do, as I do. May be you > do > > really have a weak government which cannot stand on its own and learn > from > > you. > > > > As far as people are concerned here. there is no problem. I have a number > > of > > indian friends who live and work in pakistan. I think it is a compliment > > that to indian industry that we watch more indian tv programmes (whether > > sateliite or not, reality tv also comes via satellite) than indians > > watching > > pakistani tv. not only that we also have to watch the advertisements :) > > > > as for permissions, it is very difficult to get indian visa for > > pakistani, > > even when there are divided families. the same is true on the other side. > > In > > fact visa policy is usually matched tit-for-tat on either side. > > > > in any case india is named after the indus which is in pakistan and my > > family and relatives live everywhere from UP to bengal and bombay, and > the > > history is very long. so all this talk of kashmir mera ya tera, mine or > > yours, makes absolutely no sense to me. > > > > best > > yasir > > > > > > 2010/7/29 Bipin Trivedi > > > > > Dear Yasir, > > > > > > Release of bollywood film or TV channel program telecast in Pak is > > > altogether different things. TV channel are satellite transmission and > > > everyone free to see it. > > > > > > Here live or reality show program topic is there. How much of Indian > > > artists allowed there for live show in this decade? In India Pak > artists > > can > > > come and participate in TV reality shows like singing, comedy, dance > > while > > > what is the revert position? Can Indian artists can participate there? > > No. > > > if they want to go then lots of hindrance they have to suffer to get > > > permission while here they can come easily. > > > > > > Pak has to retrospect themselves that why some section of Indian people > > > oppose? taxi driver not charged a peny or they welcome Indians without > > > hindrance because they have confident in Indian people that by no way > > they > > > will harm us. But, what is the reverse position? Today it is proved > > > universally that Pak is epicenter of terrorism, so naturally people > here > > > will somewhat hesitate to welcome. > > > > > > What Pak foreign minister Qureshi did recently? He has insulted India > by > > > insulting our foreign minister and responsible to break away the talks. > > > Those who visit here or allowed to visit here from Pak, India must seek > > > clarification about Kashmir stand and I am sure even most of the people > > of > > > Pak will be exposed. Since Kashmir is belong to India and even POK is > > also > > > belong to India. Soft/weak stand by the Indian government encourages > Pak > > > authority/army and leads to more awkward position. If India adopts > tough > > > stand with Pak in all front and we can see the result in short time. > > > > > > Thanks > > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: > > reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > > > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > > > Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 1:58 PM > > > To: Sarai Reader-list > > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > > > > > i think people are forgetting that bollywood is everywhere, that indian > > > movies are running 24hrs on 5 channels on my cable, indian movies are > now > > > playing in cinemas in pakistan, add to that Star plus starsports, > > tensports > > > and the like. its actually part of life here. something you cant say at > > the > > > same scale for India regarding Pk artists. so please open your eyes. > > > > > > best > > > > > > y, karachi. > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 09:12:18 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 09:12:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: inception In-Reply-To: <4C543980.00000B.02488@K7E4V0> References: <4C543980.00000B.02488@K7E4V0> Message-ID: ---------- Published on Friday, July 30, 2010 by TruthDig.com The Deception of Real-Life 'Inception' By David Sirota For all of its "Matrix"-like convolutions and "Alice in Wonderland" allusions, the new film "Inception" adds something significant to the ancient ruminations about reality's authenticity-something profoundly relevant to this epoch of confusion. In the movie's tale of corporate espionage, we are asked to ponder this moment's most disturbing epistemological questions: Namely, how are ideas deposited in people's minds  and how incurable are those ideas when they are wrong? Many old sci-if stories, like politics and advertising of the past, subscribed to the "Clockwork Orange" theory that says blatantly propagandistic repetition is the best way to pound concepts into the human brain. But as "Inception's" main character, Cobb, posits, the "most resilient parasite" of all is an idea that individuals are subtly led to think they discovered on their own. This argument's real-world application was previously outlined by Cal State Fullerton's Nancy Snow, who wrote in 2004 that today's most pervasive and effective propaganda is the kind that is "least noticeable" and consequently "convinces people they are not being manipulated." The flip side is also true: When an idea is obviously propaganda, it loses credibility. Indeed, in the same way the subconscious of "Inception's" characters eviscerate known invaders, we are reflexively hostile to ideas when we know they come from agenda-wielding intruders. These laws of cognition, of course, are brilliantly exploited by a 24/7 information culture that has succeeded in making "your mind the scene of the crime," as "Inception's" trailer warns. Because we are now so completely immersed in various multimedia dreamscapes, many of the prefabricated-and often inaccurate-ideas in those phantasmagorias can seem wholly self-realized and, hence, totally logical. The conservative media dreamland, for instance, ensconces its audience in an impregnable bubble-you eat breakfast with the Wall Street Journal's editorial page, you drive to the office with right-wing radio, you flit between Breitbart and Drudge at work, you come home to Fox News. The ideas bouncing around in this world-say, ideas about the Obama administration allegedly favoring blacks-don't seem like propaganda to those inside the bubble. With heavily edited videos of screaming pastors and prejudice-sounding Department of Agriculture officials, these ideas are cloaked in the veneer of unchallenged fact, leaving the audience to assume its bigoted conclusions are completely self-directed and incontrovertible. Same thing for those living in the closed-loop of the "traditional" media. Replace conservative news outlets with The New York Times, National Public Radio, WashingtonPost.com and network newscasts, and it's just another dreamscape promulgating certain synthetic ideas (for instance, militarism and market fundamentalism), excluding other ideas (say, antiwar opinions and critiques of the free market) and bringing audiences to seemingly self-conceived and rational judgments-judgments that are tragically misguided. Taken together, our society has achieved the goal of "Inception's" idea-implanting protagonists-only without all the technological subterfuge. And just as they arose with Cobb's wife, problems are emerging in our democracy as the dreams sow demonstrable fallacies. As writer Joe Keohane noted in a recent Boston Globe report about new scientific findings, contravening facts no longer "have the power to change our minds" when we are wrong. "When misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds," he wrote. "In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs." What is the circuit breaker in this delusive cycle? It's hard to know if one exists, just as it is difficult to know whether Cobb's totem ever stops spinning. For so many, meticulously constructed fantasies seem like indisputable reality. And because those fantasies' artificial inception is now so deftly obscured, we can no longer wake up, even if facts tell us we re in a dream-and even when the dream becomes a nightmare. © 2010 Creators.com David Sirota is a bestselling author whose newest book is "The Uprising." He is a fellow at the Campaign for America's Future and a board member of the Progressive States Network-both nonpartisan organizations. Sirota was once US Senator Bernie Sanders' spokesperson. His blog is at www.credoaction com/sirota.    * E-mail    * Print    * Share      Close          o Twitter Twitter          o StumbleUpon StumbleUpon          o Facebook Facebook          o Delicious Delicious          o Digg Digg          o Newsvine Newsvine          o Google Google          o Yahoo Yahoo          o Technorati Technorati    * Discuss -- From subhachops at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 09:47:03 2010 From: subhachops at gmail.com (Subhash) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 09:47:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire In-Reply-To: <002401cb30d0$d2e8e400$78baac00$@in> References: <307074.83109.qm@web112102.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <001001cb2f02$6be87e70$43b97b50$@in> <002201cb3001$f8266f00$e8734d00$@in> <002401cb30d0$d2e8e400$78baac00$@in> Message-ID: Dear Bipin You have found one poor Pakistani on this list and you are blasting Yasir with all your life-long prejudices against Pakistan. Come on. You have mentioned "we have no Kashmir topic taught in school to prove anything" - how wrong can that statement be. Are you sure all our textbooks and media right from 1947 are not full of nationalist rhetoric. We have been fed lies about all kinds of things (just as Pakistanis have been fed) and we have assumed everything to be the truth. All our problems could be solved if we stopped being too nationalistic and greedy. Subhash On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 10:22 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > Dear Yasir, > > Now you come to the point. You have been taught in school and this is the way Pakistan spreading poison between the people of two countries. There is historical evidence that J&K allotted to India. It is our great leaders blunders to take the issue in UN. In India, we have no Kashmir topic to taught in school and no need since we don't have to prove anything! > > J&K is border state and army bound to be there as usual all the country keep normally in the border. Kashmir is special case infiltration and terrorists threat forced to keep army and nothing wrong in it. There is no question of screwing the people. People are willing to live in India and recent election 60% voting proved it. Those 40% not voted, I am sure half of them are of the opinion to remain with India only. So, total 80% are happy and willing to remain with India. Only few separatists influenced and supported by Pak want be independent or remain with Pak. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 10:54 PM > To: Sarai Reader-list > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > Dear Bipin > > No, correction, all pakistanis think Kashmir should either be either in > pakistan (that is the part still occupied by india), or independent. In fact > ask the kashmiris, thats what pakistan had been saying, we were taught in > school. Far from good governance, the indian army is desperately hanging on, > not knowing where this is going, while people are getting screwed. so thats > just to correct what you thought pakistanis think. i am no kashmir expert. > > of course, i think the regional dynamics need to change with the US fuelling > militarism in the region. they need to leave afghanistan. may be then, and > only then, could militancy and covert insurgencies ease (in pakistan, india > and afghanistan hopefully with a regional development plan) This would i > think allow popular reasoning to let go of the kashmir fixation and > militarization on the part of the the indian and pakistani states. before > that forget it. its like watching a dynamic stalemate in a nuclear chess > game. there is no shah-mord or checkmate, and border continues like some of > the other walls, berlin, korean, israeli-palestinian, keeping the people in > pain upset and in a frenzy. > > Best. > > > > On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:12 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > >> Dear Yasir, >> >> Thanks for your view that Kashmir belongs to whom make no sense to you. >> It's not question of tera ya mera but it's question of Pakistan blunder and >> keep this issue in priority want to grab J&K by hook or crook which is not >> belong to them. For this only they terrorize the region. Any answer? >> >> By telling Kashmir belong to whom makes no sense to you itself gives the >> answer. Since technically all the pak people knows that J&K belong to India >> but still keep mum silently agreeing with such agenda. >> >> Thanks >> Bipin Trivedi >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] >> On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? >> Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 3:49 PM >> To: Sarai Reader-list >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire >> >> Dear Bipin, >> >> Thanks for writing. i dont think i can answer everything. and definitely I >> cannot answer for what my government does. I am sure you feel as powerless >> when i comes to telling your government what to do, as I do. May be you do >> really have a weak government which cannot stand on its own and learn from >> you. >> >> As far as people are concerned here. there is no problem. I have a number >> of >> indian friends who live and work in pakistan. I think it is a compliment >> that to indian industry that we watch more indian tv programmes (whether >> sateliite or not, reality tv also comes via satellite) than indians >> watching >> pakistani tv. not only that we also have to watch the advertisements :) >> >>  as for permissions, it  is very difficult to get indian visa for >> pakistani, >> even when there are divided families. the same is true on the other side. >> In >> fact visa policy is usually matched tit-for-tat on either side. >> >> in any case india is named after the indus which is in pakistan and my >> family and relatives live everywhere from UP to bengal and bombay, and the >> history is very long. so all this talk of kashmir mera ya tera, mine or >> yours, makes absolutely no sense to me. >> >> best >> yasir >> >> >> 2010/7/29 Bipin Trivedi >> >> > Dear Yasir, >> > >> > Release of bollywood film or TV channel program telecast in Pak is >> > altogether different things. TV channel are satellite transmission and >> > everyone free to see it. >> > >> > Here live or reality show program topic is there. How much of Indian >> > artists allowed there for live show in this decade? In India Pak artists >> can >> > come and participate in TV reality shows like singing, comedy, dance >> while >> > what is the revert position? Can Indian artists can participate there? >> No. >> > if they want to go then lots of hindrance they have to suffer to get >> > permission while here they can come easily. >> > >> > Pak has to retrospect themselves that why some section of Indian people >> > oppose? taxi driver not charged a peny or they welcome Indians without >> > hindrance because they have confident in Indian people that by no way >> they >> > will harm us. But, what is the reverse position? Today it is proved >> > universally that Pak is epicenter of terrorism, so naturally people here >> > will somewhat hesitate to welcome. >> > >> > What Pak foreign minister Qureshi did recently? He has insulted India by >> > insulting our foreign minister and responsible to break away the talks. >> > Those who visit here or allowed to visit here from Pak, India must seek >> > clarification about Kashmir stand and I am sure even most of the people >> of >> > Pak will be exposed. Since Kashmir is belong to India and even POK is >> also >> > belong to India. Soft/weak stand by the Indian government encourages Pak >> > authority/army and leads to more awkward position. If India adopts tough >> > stand with Pak in all front and we can see the result in short time. >> > >> > Thanks >> > Bipin Trivedi >> > >> > >> > >> > -----Original Message----- >> > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: >> reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] >> > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? >> > Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 1:58 PM >> > To: Sarai Reader-list >> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire >> > >> > i think people are forgetting that bollywood is everywhere, that indian >> > movies are running 24hrs on 5 channels on my cable, indian movies are now >> > playing in cinemas in pakistan, add to that Star plus starsports, >> tensports >> > and the like. its actually part of life here. something you cant say at >> the >> > same scale for India regarding Pk artists. so please open your eyes. >> > >> > best >> > >> > y, karachi. >> > _________________________________________ >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > Critiques & Collaborations >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > subscribe in the subject header. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > >> > >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 09:48:04 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 09:48:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Kashmir: cri de coeur' by Seema Kazi In-Reply-To: <344031.38329.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <344031.38329.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: True, comparisons are slippery indeed, but often they come to mind when we happen to fall in a desperate situation, Never mind if they are biased. The dying man is free to use anything. If kashmir is suffering, it is because of logjam political/historical situation. Something should be done to address it. Of course bad players like Pakistan and Anglo-American will play spoil sport, but India should make an effort and let them be how they want to be. For the last 20 years India has played the Kashmir game as badly as America has played Iraq or Afganistan etc. again the comparisons are slippery, but... Quite difficult to suggest the nature of WHAT in Kashmir ... There are many places in the world where minorities ( both ethnic or otherwise ) feel trapped and sometimes the demand to carve a new territory becomes violent. Who will legislate about the nature of violence if there is chain reaction of events. Well we condemn violence anyway, and so should any saner voice. Stone-pelting is new phenomenon in kashmir and may be large number of security foreces in kashmir should bend their back to remove all the stones from roads and lanes and fields. It will be a good exercise to know the texture of earth on ground. The question is about the territory. I remember, not big name, an artist who made a dog in fiber glass with his one leg up, gesturing his desire to urinate. It was titled TERRITORY. Only animals mark territory we know, but we human beings should be free from that burden, unless we stoop as low as dog habits to fight for a dry bone even. Here the level of violence in animals is logical but with us it is simply horrid. So, unless we give a fresh understanding to the definition of ' territory' we will kepp on taking sides and i believe, we will often fail to know the final beneficiary. with love is On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 3:11 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Patrice > > Only dimwits with little or little or no understanding of Kashmir will draw a parallel between it and Palestine. > > Kshmendra > > --- On Sat, 7/31/10, Patrice Riemens wrote: > > > From: Patrice Riemens > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] 'Kashmir: cri de coeur' by Seema Kazi > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Date: Saturday, July 31, 2010, 12:56 PM > > >> Just to share a thoughtfulâand informedâcomment on the ongoing crisis >> in Kashmir >> Best >> Sanjay Kak >> >> > > One cannot avoid to draw a parallel between Kashmir and Palestine, viz > Indian held Kashmir and the Occupied Territories. And that parallel is not > very flattering for India. > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 1 11:36:49 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:36:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire In-Reply-To: References: <307074.83109.qm@web112102.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <001001cb2f02$6be87e70$43b97b50$@in> <002201cb3001$f8266f00$e8734d00$@in> <002401cb30d0$d2e8e400$78baac00$@in> Message-ID: <001301cb313f$bcd22360$36766a20$@in> Dear Yasir, Subhash But, Let, Taliban are working in Pak soil and supported fully by Pak army/ISI, Any answer? So, if Pak honest enough to curb terrorism which she creates show to do than they have to attack LeT/Taliban to prove them sincere what they speak. Subhash, as you believe there is no question of prejudice with anyone but they (Pak) creates the situation themselves with their acts for so many years and people start prejudicing thereafter. There is nothing wrong to teach nationalism, patriotism in the school and with such teaching where the hatred with anyone comes in the picture. Since while teaching it, no country name is mentioned. In my school teaching I have not find any lesson of Kashmir issue and no mention that territory of Kashmir is illegally occupied by Pak. Actually it’s time now for some tough stand without bowing down from international pressure. May be not this time, but in near future it is going to happen. Since pak never behaves like a gentle country. However, pak is also suffering now with partial terrorism. (Meri billi muzko maun). If pak stop sponsoring terror/infiltration in India then she will get love of whole Indian people and continent. In that case though both of them remain separate country, but will become super power even beating US/China. In that case Pak will become self sufficient without US aid. Let us pray to fulfill this dream. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 1:54 AM To: Sarai Reader-list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire Since you are so sure, then you should feel strong enough to bomb us at least. its been a while. But seriously my suggestion would be to do covert actions against LeT, and the Taliban, and let us know when you are done. best yasir On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 9:52 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > Dear Yasir, > > Now you come to the point. You have been taught in school and this is the > way Pakistan spreading poison between the people of two countries. There is > historical evidence that J&K allotted to India. It is our great leaders > blunders to take the issue in UN. In India, we have no Kashmir topic to > taught in school and no need since we don't have to prove anything! > > J&K is border state and army bound to be there as usual all the country > keep normally in the border. Kashmir is special case infiltration and > terrorists threat forced to keep army and nothing wrong in it. There is no > question of screwing the people. People are willing to live in India and > recent election 60% voting proved it. Those 40% not voted, I am sure half of > them are of the opinion to remain with India only. So, total 80% are happy > and willing to remain with India. Only few separatists influenced and > supported by Pak want be independent or remain with Pak. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 10:54 PM > To: Sarai Reader-list > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > Dear Bipin > > No, correction, all pakistanis think Kashmir should either be either in > pakistan (that is the part still occupied by india), or independent. In > fact > ask the kashmiris, thats what pakistan had been saying, we were taught in > school. Far from good governance, the indian army is desperately hanging > on, > not knowing where this is going, while people are getting screwed. so thats > just to correct what you thought pakistanis think. i am no kashmir expert. > > of course, i think the regional dynamics need to change with the US > fuelling > militarism in the region. they need to leave afghanistan. may be then, and > only then, could militancy and covert insurgencies ease (in pakistan, india > and afghanistan hopefully with a regional development plan) This would i > think allow popular reasoning to let go of the kashmir fixation and > militarization on the part of the the indian and pakistani states. before > that forget it. its like watching a dynamic stalemate in a nuclear chess > game. there is no shah-mord or checkmate, and border continues like some of > the other walls, berlin, korean, israeli-palestinian, keeping the people in > pain upset and in a frenzy. > > Best. > > > > On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:12 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > > Dear Yasir, > > > > Thanks for your view that Kashmir belongs to whom make no sense to you. > > It's not question of tera ya mera but it's question of Pakistan blunder > and > > keep this issue in priority want to grab J&K by hook or crook which is > not > > belong to them. For this only they terrorize the region. Any answer? > > > > By telling Kashmir belong to whom makes no sense to you itself gives the > > answer. Since technically all the pak people knows that J&K belong to > India > > but still keep mum silently agreeing with such agenda. > > > > Thanks > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: > reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > > Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 3:49 PM > > To: Sarai Reader-list > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > > > Dear Bipin, > > > > Thanks for writing. i dont think i can answer everything. and definitely > I > > cannot answer for what my government does. I am sure you feel as > powerless > > when i comes to telling your government what to do, as I do. May be you > do > > really have a weak government which cannot stand on its own and learn > from > > you. > > > > As far as people are concerned here. there is no problem. I have a number > > of > > indian friends who live and work in pakistan. I think it is a compliment > > that to indian industry that we watch more indian tv programmes (whether > > sateliite or not, reality tv also comes via satellite) than indians > > watching > > pakistani tv. not only that we also have to watch the advertisements :) > > > > as for permissions, it is very difficult to get indian visa for > > pakistani, > > even when there are divided families. the same is true on the other side. > > In > > fact visa policy is usually matched tit-for-tat on either side. > > > > in any case india is named after the indus which is in pakistan and my > > family and relatives live everywhere from UP to bengal and bombay, and > the > > history is very long. so all this talk of kashmir mera ya tera, mine or > > yours, makes absolutely no sense to me. > > > > best > > yasir > > > > > > 2010/7/29 Bipin Trivedi > > > > > Dear Yasir, > > > > > > Release of bollywood film or TV channel program telecast in Pak is > > > altogether different things. TV channel are satellite transmission and > > > everyone free to see it. > > > > > > Here live or reality show program topic is there. How much of Indian > > > artists allowed there for live show in this decade? In India Pak > artists > > can > > > come and participate in TV reality shows like singing, comedy, dance > > while > > > what is the revert position? Can Indian artists can participate there? > > No. > > > if they want to go then lots of hindrance they have to suffer to get > > > permission while here they can come easily. > > > > > > Pak has to retrospect themselves that why some section of Indian people > > > oppose? taxi driver not charged a peny or they welcome Indians without > > > hindrance because they have confident in Indian people that by no way > > they > > > will harm us. But, what is the reverse position? Today it is proved > > > universally that Pak is epicenter of terrorism, so naturally people > here > > > will somewhat hesitate to welcome. > > > > > > What Pak foreign minister Qureshi did recently? He has insulted India > by > > > insulting our foreign minister and responsible to break away the talks. > > > Those who visit here or allowed to visit here from Pak, India must seek > > > clarification about Kashmir stand and I am sure even most of the people > > of > > > Pak will be exposed. Since Kashmir is belong to India and even POK is > > also > > > belong to India. Soft/weak stand by the Indian government encourages > Pak > > > authority/army and leads to more awkward position. If India adopts > tough > > > stand with Pak in all front and we can see the result in short time. > > > > > > Thanks > > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: > > reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > > > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > > > Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 1:58 PM > > > To: Sarai Reader-list > > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > > > > > i think people are forgetting that bollywood is everywhere, that indian > > > movies are running 24hrs on 5 channels on my cable, indian movies are > now > > > playing in cinemas in pakistan, add to that Star plus starsports, > > tensports > > > and the like. its actually part of life here. something you cant say at > > the > > > same scale for India regarding Pk artists. so please open your eyes. > > > > > > best > > > > > > y, karachi. > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Sun Aug 1 12:14:47 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:44:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <684776.53294.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Subhash   Now you are talking the same kind of ill-informed crap that Bipin has been. I think. I hope I am myself not ill-informed to make that statement.   Could you give examples of the 'Kashmir Topic' being taught in schools in India that attempt ideological indoctrination on the 'Kashmir Topic' in a manner similar to the situation in Pakistan given by Yasir? The reach and spread of such textbooks (if there are any)?   Could you also give examples of Indian Textbooks indulging in hate mongering against Pakistan and Muslims that could be compared with the hate-mongering against India and Hindus taught in Pakistani Textbooks? You say  'We have been fed lies about all kinds of things'. What lies have you been fed that you have foolishly assumed to be the truth?   Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/1/10, Subhash wrote: From: Subhash Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire To: "Bipin Trivedi" Cc: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 1, 2010, 9:47 AM Dear Bipin You have found one poor Pakistani on this list and you are blasting Yasir with all your life-long prejudices against Pakistan. Come on. You have mentioned "we have no Kashmir topic taught in school to prove anything" - how wrong can that statement be. Are you sure all our textbooks and media right from 1947 are not full of nationalist rhetoric. We have been fed lies about all kinds of things (just as Pakistanis have been fed) and we have assumed everything to be the truth. All our problems could be solved if we stopped being too nationalistic and greedy. Subhash On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 10:22 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > Dear Yasir, > > Now you come to the point. You have been taught in school and this is the way Pakistan spreading poison between the people of two countries. There is historical evidence that J&K allotted to India. It is our great leaders blunders to take the issue in UN. In India, we have no Kashmir topic to taught in school and no need since we don't have to prove anything! > > J&K is border state and army bound to be there as usual all the country keep normally in the border. Kashmir is special case infiltration and terrorists threat forced to keep army and nothing wrong in it. There is no question of screwing the people. People are willing to live in India and recent election 60% voting proved it. Those 40% not voted, I am sure half of them are of the opinion to remain with India only. So, total 80% are happy and willing to remain with India. Only few separatists influenced and supported by Pak want be independent or remain with Pak. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 10:54 PM > To: Sarai Reader-list > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > Dear Bipin > > No, correction, all pakistanis think Kashmir should either be either in > pakistan (that is the part still occupied by india), or independent. In fact > ask the kashmiris, thats what pakistan had been saying, we were taught in > school. Far from good governance, the indian army is desperately hanging on, > not knowing where this is going, while people are getting screwed. so thats > just to correct what you thought pakistanis think. i am no kashmir expert. > > of course, i think the regional dynamics need to change with the US fuelling > militarism in the region. they need to leave afghanistan. may be then, and > only then, could militancy and covert insurgencies ease (in pakistan, india > and afghanistan hopefully with a regional development plan) This would i > think allow popular reasoning to let go of the kashmir fixation and > militarization on the part of the the indian and pakistani states. before > that forget it. its like watching a dynamic stalemate in a nuclear chess > game. there is no shah-mord or checkmate, and border continues like some of > the other walls, berlin, korean, israeli-palestinian, keeping the people in > pain upset and in a frenzy. > > Best. > > > > On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:12 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > >> Dear Yasir, >> >> Thanks for your view that Kashmir belongs to whom make no sense to you. >> It's not question of tera ya mera but it's question of Pakistan blunder and >> keep this issue in priority want to grab J&K by hook or crook which is not >> belong to them. For this only they terrorize the region. Any answer? >> >> By telling Kashmir belong to whom makes no sense to you itself gives the >> answer. Since technically all the pak people knows that J&K belong to India >> but still keep mum silently agreeing with such agenda. >> >> Thanks >> Bipin Trivedi >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] >> On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? >> Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 3:49 PM >> To: Sarai Reader-list >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire >> >> Dear Bipin, >> >> Thanks for writing. i dont think i can answer everything. and definitely I >> cannot answer for what my government does. I am sure you feel as powerless >> when i comes to telling your government what to do, as I do. May be you do >> really have a weak government which cannot stand on its own and learn from >> you. >> >> As far as people are concerned here. there is no problem. I have a number >> of >> indian friends who live and work in pakistan. I think it is a compliment >> that to indian industry that we watch more indian tv programmes (whether >> sateliite or not, reality tv also comes via satellite) than indians >> watching >> pakistani tv. not only that we also have to watch the advertisements :) >> >>  as for permissions, it  is very difficult to get indian visa for >> pakistani, >> even when there are divided families. the same is true on the other side. >> In >> fact visa policy is usually matched tit-for-tat on either side. >> >> in any case india is named after the indus which is in pakistan and my >> family and relatives live everywhere from UP to bengal and bombay, and the >> history is very long. so all this talk of kashmir mera ya tera, mine or >> yours, makes absolutely no sense to me. >> >> best >> yasir >> >> >> 2010/7/29 Bipin Trivedi >> >> > Dear Yasir, >> > >> > Release of bollywood film or TV channel program telecast in Pak is >> > altogether different things. TV channel are satellite transmission and >> > everyone free to see it. >> > >> > Here live or reality show program topic is there. How much of Indian >> > artists allowed there for live show in this decade? In India Pak artists >> can >> > come and participate in TV reality shows like singing, comedy, dance >> while >> > what is the revert position? Can Indian artists can participate there? >> No. >> > if they want to go then lots of hindrance they have to suffer to get >> > permission while here they can come easily. >> > >> > Pak has to retrospect themselves that why some section of Indian people >> > oppose? taxi driver not charged a peny or they welcome Indians without >> > hindrance because they have confident in Indian people that by no way >> they >> > will harm us. But, what is the reverse position? Today it is proved >> > universally that Pak is epicenter of terrorism, so naturally people here >> > will somewhat hesitate to welcome. >> > >> > What Pak foreign minister Qureshi did recently? He has insulted India by >> > insulting our foreign minister and responsible to break away the talks. >> > Those who visit here or allowed to visit here from Pak, India must seek >> > clarification about Kashmir stand and I am sure even most of the people >> of >> > Pak will be exposed. Since Kashmir is belong to India and even POK is >> also >> > belong to India. Soft/weak stand by the Indian government encourages Pak >> > authority/army and leads to more awkward position. If India adopts tough >> > stand with Pak in all front and we can see the result in short time. >> > >> > Thanks >> > Bipin Trivedi >> > >> > >> > >> > -----Original Message----- >> > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: >> reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] >> > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? >> > Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 1:58 PM >> > To: Sarai Reader-list >> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire >> > >> > i think people are forgetting that bollywood is everywhere, that indian >> > movies are running 24hrs on 5 channels on my cable, indian movies are now >> > playing in cinemas in pakistan, add to that Star plus starsports, >> tensports >> > and the like. its actually part of life here. something you cant say at >> the >> > same scale for India regarding Pk artists. so please open your eyes. >> > >> > best >> > >> > y, karachi. >> > _________________________________________ >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > Critiques & Collaborations >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > subscribe in the subject header. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > >> > >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 13:29:01 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 13:29:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire In-Reply-To: <684776.53294.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <684776.53294.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshamendra I don't know about Indian textbooks, but I do know about Doordarshan, which is used by the Indian govt. covertly as its own propaganda channel, irrespective of the govt. in power. Under the Congress rule during 1991-1995, I myself remember my father and other family members talking about and also seeing the show 'Pakistan diary', which was nothing short of a propaganda on Pakistan. Infact, as I later read, I later found that it was supposedly a counter to a similar show in Pakistan. The DD also ran something called 'PTV ka Jhooth (Lies of PTV)' which was a kind of advertisement running off and on on DD, particularly after both 9/11 and the Parliament attack. Ideological indoctrination need not require textbooks. The US is a classic example of this. Media and even newspapers can be used to bring about indoctrination of people to make them pro-Israel and also pro-capitalist. Communism has been totally abhorred in US to the point where anybody can't be a communist because a Communist is also an anti-national as far as US is concerned. The indoctrination continues in India where the media(the dominant discourse) brings about trivializing of issues in the name of solving them. The few examples are lack of focus on farmer's suicides, focus on IPL and spending of wealth rather than other plaguing issues, focus on terrorism of the upper castes in villages amidst other things. What about this ideological indoctrination, forget that of India and Pakistan on Kashmir? Rakesh From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Sun Aug 1 14:55:21 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 02:25:21 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <563355.67703.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Rakesh   Please dont mix up issues. That brings neither understanding nor clarity.   What was being spoken about is 'school instruction' (Textbooks) and not the propaganda indulged in over Media (State controlled or Non-State) of which there is no doubt that both sides dole out.   For a DD on one side there is a PTV on the other and one should see 'Kashmir File' on PTV to compare.   Media does not indoctrinate unless all of it is under a single control and all of it puts out identical analyses and opinions. Media on both sides of the border is now quite free and you get a variety of perspectives ranging from the jingoistic to verging on what some see as anti-national (on both sides). Viewers/Readers (mostly adult for such fare) can in turn make their own judgements.   Textbooks are an entirely different matter. The propaganda or intention of (hate) indoctrination contained  in textbooks is addressing impressionable minds.   I hope you can appreciate the difference between the impact of Textbooks and Media.   There is a serious problem of hate-indoctrination in Pakistani Textbooks which (whatever I as an Indian might say) is worrying many Pakistanis themselves. Textbooks have been revised but they are finding it difficult to introduce them.   As long as such hate-indoctrination of the children in Pakistan continues, it is the very foolish who will expect there can be durable peace between the two countries and a mutuality in being acceptive of each other.   And understand this, if the hate-indoctrination through textbooks stops today it will be another 50 years or so before there will be a 'calling the shots' generation that will be free of such hate-indoctrination through textbooks.     Kshmendra  --- On Sun, 8/1/10, Rakesh Iyer wrote: From: Rakesh Iyer Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire To: "Kshmendra Kaul" Cc: "Subhash" , "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 1, 2010, 1:29 PM Dear Kshamendra I don't know about Indian textbooks, but I do know about Doordarshan, which is used by the Indian govt. covertly as its own propaganda channel, irrespective of the govt. in power.  Under the Congress rule during 1991-1995, I myself remember my father and other family members talking about and also seeing the show 'Pakistan diary', which was nothing short of a propaganda on Pakistan. Infact, as I later read, I later found that it was supposedly a counter to a similar show in Pakistan. The DD also ran something called 'PTV ka Jhooth (Lies of PTV)' which was a kind of advertisement running off and on on DD, particularly after both 9/11 and the Parliament attack.  Ideological indoctrination need not require textbooks. The US is a classic example of this. Media and even newspapers can be used to bring about indoctrination of people to make them pro-Israel and also pro-capitalist. Communism has been totally abhorred in US to the point where anybody can't be a communist because a Communist is also an anti-national as far as US is concerned. The indoctrination continues in India where the media(the dominant discourse) brings about trivializing of issues in the name of solving them.  The few examples are lack of focus on farmer's suicides, focus on IPL and spending of wealth rather than other plaguing issues, focus on terrorism of the upper castes in villages amidst other things. What about this ideological indoctrination, forget that of India and Pakistan on Kashmir? Rakesh From javedmasoo at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 19:17:07 2010 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (Javed) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 19:17:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] RSS worried over use of term 'Hindu terror' Message-ID: Now that they are so worried, why don't they stop using the word "Islamic terror". ----------- RSS worried over use of term 'Hindu terror' PTI, Aug 1, 2010, 06.12pm IST NAGPUR: A rattled RSS has voiced worries over the usage of the term "Hindu terror" and appealed to all Hindu social and religious leaders to work to remove the blot of a terror tag given by some to the religion. RSS ideologue M G alias Baburao Vaidya alleged that the term of Hindu terror was being used to woo Muslim votes in the country in an attempt to defame Hindus. "The word Hindu terror has earned its place in the media and no one knows who invented it. Though somebody gives credit to NCP president Sharad Pawar, others say it was Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh who has coined the concept," Vaidya wrote in his weekly column in a local Marathi daily. Vaidya admitted that Abhinav Bharat and Sanatan Sanstha, a Goa based right wing Hindu organisation, have been accused by the government of involvement in violence and some arrests made. But, he noted that none of the accused have been convicted by the courts till date. Those who had earlier claimed that terrorism has nothing to do with religion were now giving "Hindu terror" tag to the Hindu community to justify that terrorism was not just restricted to Islam but also to other religion (Hinduism), he said. Vaidya called upon all religious and social leaders to take initiative to remove the terror blot on Hindus. "Swami Vishweshatitha of Uddipi, Dr Pandya of Gayatri Parivar, noted Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and Dayanand Saraswati of Coimbatore should tell the government to take steps to ensure that Hindus are not defamed," he said. "Should we call it Congress terror when 3000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi during 1984 when riots broke out after the assassination of Indira Gandhi," Vaidya asked. Vaidya's comments came agaisnt the backdrop of a leading RSS functionary Ram Madhav's reported remarks that the RSS's image could be "sullied" by the propaganda on Hindu terror. The spotlight has turned to Hindu terror in the months since the 2008 Malegaon blasts. Madhav has said that discussions are underway within the top brass of RSS on how to come up with a "coherent response" to the charges against Hindu groups. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/RSS-worried-over-use-of-term-Hindu-terror/articleshow/6244471.cms From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Sun Aug 1 19:31:19 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 07:01:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] On Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein & Arundhati Roy Message-ID: <90443.39886.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Nadeem Paracha writes:   "Writer-activists such as Roy and Naomi Klein and even Chomsky have allowed themselves to be bitten by the post-modern media-celebrity bug that usually feeds on their right-wing counterparts. Have they become too self-conscious of their ‘intellectual importance’, with their overall make-up now bordering on plain vanity? This is something their bygone contemporaries like Edward Said and Eqbal Ahmed would have balked at. While the latter two actually helped improve the world’s understanding of the plight of the Palestinians and the Third World in general, Roy and Chomsky’s writings in the last five years have contributed more to fatten reactionary arguments."   Kshmendra     "Smokers’ Corner: Radical sheep"    By Nadeem F. Paracha  Sunday, 01 Aug, 2010   Quite like Dr Noam Chomsky, award-wining writer, Arundhati Roy, can be one of the most predictable intellectuals this side of the post-Cold-War left. And also like Chomsky (and Naomi Klein), Roy too is fast becoming the provider of the intellectual fodder that loud, post-9/11 advocates of right-wing claptrap sumptuously feed upon.   It is due to this feeding frenzy by the so-called anti-West activists who cleverly use leftist critiques of the West to give ‘intellectual weight’ to their otherwise contemptuous spiels of religious and political hatred. This is gradually rendering people like Chomsky, Kalian and Roy somewhat ineffectual in fully elaborating their otherwise progressive intent. Hijacked by the noises emitting from right-wing playmakers within the contemporary anti-US populism, Roy, Kalian and Chomsky have tended to sound equally hyperbolic to keep the dwindling left in a race featuring the kind of intellectual pomposity and demagoguism that these days is so spectacularly unveiling itself on TV screens and in seminars. It is interesting to note how leftist intellectuals whose critiques of capitalism and ‘American imperialism’ came attached with well thought-out rationales, have reduced themselves to dishing out irresponsible sloganeering revolving around narratives that smack of cynical vanity one usually expects from right-wing media reactionaries. If such reactionaries can rightly be accused of exhibiting intellectual dishonesty by unabashedly plagiarising leftist critiques of the West, then their leftist counterparts like Roy, Klein and Chomsky can be equally blamed for failing to openly condemn those who are using their work to forward a clearly intransigent agenda. These are tricky times we live in; a time when the media can neither be called liberal nor entirely conservative. Take the case of the Pakistani electronic media’s darling, Imran Khan. Within a few sentences he manages to sound like a dedicated socialist, a Taliban sympathiser and a conscientious democrat without even batting an eyelid. In other words, just like the media today, the great Khan is merely playing to a gallery of jumbled up ideas that have been constructed by the media itself. No matter how passionate the animation behind such left-meets-right mumbo-jumbo, its bottom line remains reactionary in essence. Coming back to Roy, it wasn’t her terrific novel, 'The god of small things', that turned her into a celebrity in Pakistan; rather, it is her stand on matters such as Kashmir and (albeit hackneyed) understanding of ‘American colonial designs’. Conscious of the ideological dichotomy generated by the acceptance that she receives from Pakistani right-wing circles, Roy soon started to add an anti-Taliban angle to her on-going narrative. But this angle, in fact, negates itself in the wake of her verbose ramblings about ‘American imperialism’, ‘globalisation’, et al. To those who are more concerned about the impact religious extremism and anti-democratic moves are having in Pakistan, Roy and Chomsky’s ramblings become an irritant when they are liberally quoted by their rightist counterparts. If during the Cold War there were leftists who got stuck in the hey day of the New Left in the 1960s, Roy increasingly belongs to a generation of leftists who got embroiled in the anti-globalisation movements of the late 1990s. Her politics are still being informed by the sentiments of these movements that culminated with the anti-globalisation riots in Seattle in 1999 and then by the publishing of Naomi Klein’s classic book of the era, ‘No Logo’. What Roy seems not to realise is the fact that the New Right (‘neo-cons’) and, for instance, its reaction, Islamist extremism, were actually two sides of the same coin. Though to a certain extent the justification behind the ‘war on terror’ was a bogey called Islamic terrorism, ironically this war was also aided by nihilistic Islamists like Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. These are basically groups of failed Islamic revolutionaries; a bunch of frustrated Islamists who were deluded into believing that it was they who defeated the Soviets and could now impose Islamic regimes wherever. The truth is it was the Soviet Union’s weak economy and worn-out political structure and the billions of dollars worth of arms that the Mujahideen received from the US that did the trick. During Bush’s presidency Western media continued to portray skewed perceptions of ‘Islamism’ fed to it by the neo-cons; while in the Islamic world, the media is playing out to the other side of the coin by indulging in crass speculative gossip, conspiracy theories and images of the West sketched by frustrated Islamist apologists dreaming of a global Islamic revolution. What really keeps the neo-con and Islamist mindset afloat is the social fall-out of this conflict. The conflict then becomes a battle of reactive images in which a westerner influenced by neo-con rhetoric in the media becomes ‘Islamophobic,’ and a Muslim driven by his country’s conspiratorial media suddenly becomes a hard-sounding literalist. Paradoxically, he or she then becomes more receptive to what leftists like Chomsky and Roy have to say about the West. Writer-activists such as Roy and Naomi Klein and even Chomsky have allowed themselves to be bitten by the post-modern media-celebrity bug that usually feeds on their right-wing counterparts. Have they become too self-conscious of their ‘intellectual importance’, with their overall make-up now bordering on plain vanity? This is something their bygone contemporaries like Edward Said and Eqbal Ahmed would have balked at. While the latter two actually helped improve the world’s understanding of the plight of the Palestinians and the Third World in general, Roy and Chomsky’s writings in the last five years have contributed more to fatten reactionary arguments.   http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/19-nadeem-f-paracha-radical-sheep-180-hh-04   From subhachops at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 19:57:53 2010 From: subhachops at gmail.com (Subhash) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 19:57:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire In-Reply-To: <684776.53294.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <684776.53294.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshmendra You only have to look around to see how much nationalistic rhetoric revolves around us and our children. I have heard from several of my Muslim friends that their kids in school get taunted (by their non-Muslim classmates) as being Pakistanis and terrorists. I know this is not taught in a textbook, but where else is it coming from? Its not just a matter of textbooks - look at all other media and entertainment industry. Do I have to provide a list of the Bollywood movies and TV serials where the hate rhetoric about Pakistani terrorism and Kashmir and Muslim stereotypes is being fed to us every day. I am giving below some slogans and songs as a sample for Kashmir - I am sure you can find many more such examples. And by the way, one untruth that our school books tell us any way is the official map of Kashmir. While the entire world (and UN) shows the two top portions of Kashmir as part of Pakistan and China, we believe these are ours. I am not saying that we should not be concerned and protective about a piece of our land. After all our security is important. But if its a problem area, we should be honest about it, and say that those portions of Kashmir are disputed. The very image of a complete map of Kashmir that is fed to a child's mind in school feeds a sense of pride - most Indians don't even know that the actual map of Indian Kashmir is a bit different. Any way, this is too minor an issue compared to the other burning issues. And I am denying the hate propaganda in Pakistani textbooks - it certainly is terrible. But we are no less. Any way, enjoy some of these slogans: Doodh maango-ge to kheer denge Kashmir maango-ge to cheer denge (If you ask for milk, we'll give you pudding But if you ask for Kashmir, we'll rip you apart). Another song from a movie (sorry, no translation): jannat ki tasvir na denge haathon mein kisi gair ke taqadir na denge kashmir hai bhaarat ka kashmir na denge dhamaki se kisi zulm ki ham dar nahin sakate samajhauta kisi desh se ham kar nahin sakate kya chhalega tu phuut yah ghar hai kabir ka jhagada nahin ho sakata hai tulasi se mir ka jo phuul chaman ka hai chaman mein hi khilega abdul hi apane desh par mar mitega lutane kabhi aazaadi ki jaagir na denge kashmir hai bhaarat ka parades se tuune hathiyaar mangavaaye kalaur se net sebarajet giraaye hathiyaaron se kar sakata nahin dil pe tu qabza taaqat se bada desh ki kidamat ka hai jazba gaddaar hai vah hind ka jo pyaar tujhe de vah aman ka dushman hai jo hathiyaar tujhe de divaane ke ham haath mein kashmir na denge kashmir hai bhaarat ka Movie/Album Name: JOHAR IN KASHMIR Singer Name: MOHAMMAD RAFI And another one in Hindi (which is not so bad): ये कश्मीर हमारा है गूंज रहा है सारे देश में केवल आज ये नारा है तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है, बहुत दिनों तक ये कश्मीर खून के आंसू रोया है, आतंकवाद के कारण अब तक एक रात ना सोया है, मां बहनों की लूटी इज्जत बिधवा उन्हे बनाया है, जाने कितने अत्याचार करके उन्हे सताया है, दूर करेंगे सारे मिलकर छाया जो अंधियारा है, तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है, क्यो छिपते फिरते घाटी में बदल बदल कर वेशों में, अगर ना प्यारी भारत माँ तु जाओ अरब के देशों में, अब जो अगर एक भारतीय मारा लहू तेरा पी जाएंगे, एक जान के बदले सौ सौ लेकर हम दिखलाएंगें, खत्म करा दो 370 लगी जो अब तक धारा है, तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है, देश के ऐसे दुश्मन से तो अब ना हमें डरना होगा, 47 में हुए जो टुकड़े, उन्हे एक करना होगा, इतिहासों में एक कहानी और जोड़ दी जाएगी, कश्मीर की तरफ जो देखा आंख फोड़ दी जाएगी, स्वर्ग बनाकर सब देवों से मिलकर इसे उतारा है, तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है, नही मिलेगा पानी तुमको, तड़प तड़प मर जाओगे, अपनी काली करतूतों से, बाज नही जो आओगे, रामचन्द्र कह गए सिया से ऐसा कलयूग आएगा, तू क्या जीतेगा भारत को, खुद मिटटी में मिल जाएगा, सिर्फ धरती का स्वर्ग ना समझों निज आंखों का तारा है, तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है ॥ On Sun, Aug 1, 2010 at 12:14 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > Subhash > > Now you are talking the same kind of ill-informed crap that Bipin has been. I think. I hope I am myself not ill-informed to make that statement. > > Could you give examples of the 'Kashmir Topic' being taught in schools in India that attempt ideological indoctrination on the 'Kashmir Topic' in a manner similar to the situation in Pakistan given by Yasir? The reach and spread of such textbooks (if there are any)? > > Could you also give examples of Indian Textbooks indulging in hate mongering against Pakistan and Muslims that could be compared with the hate-mongering against India and Hindus taught in Pakistani Textbooks? > You say  'We have been fed lies about all kinds of things'. What lies have you been fed that you have foolishly assumed to be the truth? > > Kshmendra > --- On Sun, 8/1/10, Subhash wrote: > > From: Subhash > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > To: "Bipin Trivedi" > Cc: "sarai-list" > Date: Sunday, August 1, 2010, 9:47 AM > > Dear Bipin > You have found one poor Pakistani on this list and you are blasting > Yasir with all your life-long prejudices against Pakistan. Come on. > You have mentioned "we have no Kashmir topic taught in school to prove > anything" - how wrong can that statement be. Are you sure all our > textbooks and media right from 1947 are not full of nationalist > rhetoric. We have been fed lies about all kinds of things (just as > Pakistanis have been fed) and we have assumed everything to be the > truth. All our problems could be solved if we stopped being too > nationalistic and greedy. > > Subhash > > On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 10:22 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > Dear Yasir, > > > > Now you come to the point. You have been taught in school and this is the way Pakistan spreading poison between the people of two countries. There is historical evidence that J&K allotted to India. It is our great leaders blunders to take the issue in UN. In India, we have no Kashmir topic to taught in school and no need since we don't have to prove anything! > > > > J&K is border state and army bound to be there as usual all the country keep normally in the border. Kashmir is special case infiltration and terrorists threat forced to keep army and nothing wrong in it. There is no question of screwing the people. People are willing to live in India and recent election 60% voting proved it. Those 40% not voted, I am sure half of them are of the opinion to remain with India only. So, total 80% are happy and willing to remain with India. Only few separatists influenced and supported by Pak want be independent or remain with Pak. > > > > Thanks > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > > Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 10:54 PM > > To: Sarai Reader-list > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > > > Dear Bipin > > > > No, correction, all pakistanis think Kashmir should either be either in > > pakistan (that is the part still occupied by india), or independent. In fact > > ask the kashmiris, thats what pakistan had been saying, we were taught in > > school. Far from good governance, the indian army is desperately hanging on, > > not knowing where this is going, while people are getting screwed. so thats > > just to correct what you thought pakistanis think. i am no kashmir expert. > > > > of course, i think the regional dynamics need to change with the US fuelling > > militarism in the region. they need to leave afghanistan. may be then, and > > only then, could militancy and covert insurgencies ease (in pakistan, india > > and afghanistan hopefully with a regional development plan) This would i > > think allow popular reasoning to let go of the kashmir fixation and > > militarization on the part of the the indian and pakistani states. before > > that forget it. its like watching a dynamic stalemate in a nuclear chess > > game. there is no shah-mord or checkmate, and border continues like some of > > the other walls, berlin, korean, israeli-palestinian, keeping the people in > > pain upset and in a frenzy. > > > > Best. > > > > > > > > On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:12 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > > >> Dear Yasir, > >> > >> Thanks for your view that Kashmir belongs to whom make no sense to you. > >> It's not question of tera ya mera but it's question of Pakistan blunder and > >> keep this issue in priority want to grab J&K by hook or crook which is not > >> belong to them. For this only they terrorize the region. Any answer? > >> > >> By telling Kashmir belong to whom makes no sense to you itself gives the > >> answer. Since technically all the pak people knows that J&K belong to India > >> but still keep mum silently agreeing with such agenda. > >> > >> Thanks > >> Bipin Trivedi > >> > >> > >> > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > >> On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > >> Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 3:49 PM > >> To: Sarai Reader-list > >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > >> > >> Dear Bipin, > >> > >> Thanks for writing. i dont think i can answer everything. and definitely I > >> cannot answer for what my government does. I am sure you feel as powerless > >> when i comes to telling your government what to do, as I do. May be you do > >> really have a weak government which cannot stand on its own and learn from > >> you. > >> > >> As far as people are concerned here. there is no problem. I have a number > >> of > >> indian friends who live and work in pakistan. I think it is a compliment > >> that to indian industry that we watch more indian tv programmes (whether > >> sateliite or not, reality tv also comes via satellite) than indians > >> watching > >> pakistani tv. not only that we also have to watch the advertisements :) > >> > >>  as for permissions, it  is very difficult to get indian visa for > >> pakistani, > >> even when there are divided families. the same is true on the other side. > >> In > >> fact visa policy is usually matched tit-for-tat on either side. > >> > >> in any case india is named after the indus which is in pakistan and my > >> family and relatives live everywhere from UP to bengal and bombay, and the > >> history is very long. so all this talk of kashmir mera ya tera, mine or > >> yours, makes absolutely no sense to me. > >> > >> best > >> yasir > >> > >> > >> 2010/7/29 Bipin Trivedi > >> > >> > Dear Yasir, > >> > > >> > Release of bollywood film or TV channel program telecast in Pak is > >> > altogether different things. TV channel are satellite transmission and > >> > everyone free to see it. > >> > > >> > Here live or reality show program topic is there. How much of Indian > >> > artists allowed there for live show in this decade? In India Pak artists > >> can > >> > come and participate in TV reality shows like singing, comedy, dance > >> while > >> > what is the revert position? Can Indian artists can participate there? > >> No. > >> > if they want to go then lots of hindrance they have to suffer to get > >> > permission while here they can come easily. > >> > > >> > Pak has to retrospect themselves that why some section of Indian people > >> > oppose? taxi driver not charged a peny or they welcome Indians without > >> > hindrance because they have confident in Indian people that by no way > >> they > >> > will harm us. But, what is the reverse position? Today it is proved > >> > universally that Pak is epicenter of terrorism, so naturally people here > >> > will somewhat hesitate to welcome. > >> > > >> > What Pak foreign minister Qureshi did recently? He has insulted India by > >> > insulting our foreign minister and responsible to break away the talks. > >> > Those who visit here or allowed to visit here from Pak, India must seek > >> > clarification about Kashmir stand and I am sure even most of the people > >> of > >> > Pak will be exposed. Since Kashmir is belong to India and even POK is > >> also > >> > belong to India. Soft/weak stand by the Indian government encourages Pak > >> > authority/army and leads to more awkward position. If India adopts tough > >> > stand with Pak in all front and we can see the result in short time. > >> > > >> > Thanks > >> > Bipin Trivedi > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > -----Original Message----- > >> > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: > >> reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > >> > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > >> > Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 1:58 PM > >> > To: Sarai Reader-list > >> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > >> > > >> > i think people are forgetting that bollywood is everywhere, that indian > >> > movies are running 24hrs on 5 channels on my cable, indian movies are now > >> > playing in cinemas in pakistan, add to that Star plus starsports, > >> tensports > >> > and the like. its actually part of life here. something you cant say at > >> the > >> > same scale for India regarding Pk artists. so please open your eyes. > >> > > >> > best > >> > > >> > y, karachi. > >> > _________________________________________ > >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >> > Critiques & Collaborations > >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >> > subscribe in the subject header. > >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > >> > > >> > > >> _________________________________________ > >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > >> Critiques & Collaborations > >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > >> subscribe in the subject header. > >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > >> > >> > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 20:33:50 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 20:33:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] RSS worried over use of term 'Hindu terror' In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I don't think it would be inappropriate to call 1984 as Congress Terror or 2002 as Sangh Parivar terror. They can't be just put to one religion actually. Rakesh From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 1 23:24:08 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2010 23:24:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] RSS worried over use of term 'Hindu terror' In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <000f01cb31a2$8abdab20$a0390160$@in> Oh Rakesh, nice to hear from you such a sentences. -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Rakesh Iyer Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 8:34 PM To: Javed Cc: sarai list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] RSS worried over use of term 'Hindu terror' I don't think it would be inappropriate to call 1984 as Congress Terror or 2002 as Sangh Parivar terror. They can't be just put to one religion actually. Rakesh _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 1 23:36:58 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 23:36:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fairness Cream and 10000 US$ Message-ID: Fairness Cream and hidden 10000 billion US dollors. Yesterday, there was some conundrum at the Jhil Mil Metro station. The Rickshwalla told me about how a policewalla hit a rickshawalla with a danda (rod ) on his shoulder. He was bleeding profusely and was taken to hospital after some spontaneous protest by other rickshawallas. He was happy that the policewalla was suspended. I am not sure if he will action against him will be taken. May be I am too pessimistic. He told me on my way towards home that how the Policewallas abuse us all the time, and don’t dare to ask anything to Carwallas who occupy most of roads all the time. He was wondering why they do it to us, since they are more similar to us than Carwallas. He kept on turning his bony sanwalla (dark chocklate complexioned) face while narrating other details of the day. I was listening to him like Arjuna of Mahabharata. In the great Myth it is the Lord himself as charioteer who answered the questions of fighter Arjuna sitting behind him on the seat with a teerkaman ( bow and arrow ) unlike me with mobile in hand and jholla ( bag ) on the shoulder ), listening the simple questions without any answers in sight. There was some white mucous in the corner of his eyes, which was too visible because of his sanwala complexion. Later, the mind as usual, after taking strange routes, I thought of recent Ram JethMalani ( the noted Criminal Lawyer in the country ) who said that there are at least 10000 Billion US dolloars in Swiss and other Western Banks which politicians and Babus (Bureaucrats ) have siphoned out of the country over the years. He was thinking that with some other saner people ( I hope not lawyers ) to find ways to bring some fraction of money back. He sounded too optimistic, as lawyers are when they take up cases which often they clandestinely keep dragging for decades, adding vows to the petitioners. There must be some seduction in the West which attracts our sanwalla ‘politicians’ and ‘babus’ to the clean West, I was wondering about the real reasons behind. Then I thought of the fairness cream which is promoted vigorously by numerous advertisements all over the country , and I thought some vague connection between the fairness cream and the chemicals which are used to make vegetables look more greener than they otherwise are. We want lush green ‘parmal’ and more green Peas, and more golden Papayas and more red Capsicum. These days the size also matters. We desire a big kheera on the dinner table each evening ,and the farmers are expected to meet our demands. Lo and behold, they inject some cheap chemicals to increase the size of each kheera ( cucumber ). Lot of hard work, but they need some quick money to buy mobiles and other things. No solid reasons to blame the farmers. Here I thought about the theatre, and how actors use masks to play the character. Then I thought about the quantum of masked realities we are surrounded with. Here I had a quick nap and saw a dream about a bomb blast which was about to blow lot of people to bits. I was inside the building but there was a screen which flashed the possibility of blast in advance, and we all had to rush out quickly but somehow we were too lazy. I woke up to go out to buy some medicine for my son’s acidic stomach. Gosh, I remember, how a friend retailer told me about the quantity of fake medicines sold in our country. It is much less than the money stashed abroad, but too large by Indian standards. What a shitty country I am in, I thought. I too must go to Europe and live there happily. But first I must send my son to study there and ensure that he is settled. I wish I was a rich Babu to buy a small two room set for my son in London or Paris for couple of few Million Euros. India somehow promotes such a trend and certainly I will be supported to raise large loans from the bank and never pay them back. Aren’t most of the Indian Billionaires, whose children are settled abroad, who are in deep nexus with Govt and are biggest defaulters in our country thinking of fair skin all the time. There must be something about the West, and no wonder that most of the Indians keep on looking at meems ( white women ) all the time on the streets. I think of fairness cream and 10000 US billion dollors. Oh, I forgot to tell you when I went out to buy medicine, I saw the Monsoon party going on in the corridor of my DDA flat. Thousands of butterflies and small insects around a hanging six inch electric rod and few chipkaleez (lizards ) devouring them very peacefully. I stay still let see swollen bellies of chiplakaleez. And on the roads, I saw how a dog, perhaps suffering from Rabies disease was driven out of the colony by other local dogs. He will be driven from each colony and finally would be alone, perhaps near a huge city garbage heap to die listlessly. I am too far from his pain, watching some Hollywood stuff: some actor is lost in a vast sea in a small boat. Who cares to know about the beginning and end of the story. With love is -- From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Mon Aug 2 00:10:46 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:10:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] RSS worried over use of term 'Hindu terror' In-Reply-To: <000f01cb31a2$8abdab20$a0390160$@in> References: <000f01cb31a2$8abdab20$a0390160$@in> Message-ID: Oh Bipin, nice to hear from you such rare praises. Thank you. From rashneek at gmail.com Mon Aug 2 08:20:58 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 08:20:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] What a sincere Kashmiri feels - without any artifice In-Reply-To: <395866.20962.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <395866.20962.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: And sadly no discussion on this...that says it all On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 3:56 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > The article being shared is not excellently well written. Perhaps because > the writer was not trying to come across as a "thoughtful–and informed" > commentator. No artifice in it. No design. No propaganda. No pandering to > politics. > > It is a sincere Kashmiri voice, appealing for sanity, appealing for > deliverance. > > Kshmendra > > > "Shutdowns - To what end?" > > (WE PROTESTED WHENEVER IT DEMANDED, BUT WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW? WRITES DR. > RUMANA MAKHDOOMI) > > A teenager lost his life, we felt sad, another succumbed to his wounds, we > lost our sleep – three more were mercilessly murdered, our hearts bled. One > death may be a mistake, two a blunder and three at a time including that of > a nine year old is a massacre. We reacted. We took to streets, > demonstrated our anger, displayed our disgust and protested everywhere – on > the streets, on the social networking sites, in schools and colleges – in > Delhi and Pune. > > Our protests went loud, but our masters in Delhi and Srinagar were unmoved, > the killings continued, the sufferings persisted and sermons to discipline > us were issued from Centre and State – nothing great happened, the spiral > became a circle and continued to gulp us viciously. > > We are told we live in a democratic set up – so, protest should come > naturally to us. No reminders are needed for us to protest, we protest as > and when the situation demands. They come about spontaneously, the > methodology may be crude, but the anger is genuine. We settle after an > outburst or a series of outbursts and try living a life – though miserably! > Life we have to live, the uncertainty makes it more challenging, the threat > makes it more practical. But our lives are not our own, we are gagged by > curfews and chained by “Hartals”. Though curfew is the official torture and > is a tool to break our spirits, render us helpless, disable our potential > and kill our intellect, hunger and poverty being the add on burdens that > fall on us as a consequence. If curfew is doing all this to us, do we need > another demon to swallow us? > > We protested and we were punished. But why are we interested to punish > ourselves more? Why do we add the mite of “HARTAL” to our already flea > bitten bodies? No shops, no offices, no vehicles on the roads, no schools > and no colleges. If hospitals limp through this turmoil – shut them too. A > roadside vendor – should sleep at home, a hawker should take some rest – > little do we realize that hunger causes insomnia – sleep is for those whose > earnings are fat, anxious minds with large families and meager earnings > hardly sleep! Our children do not go to schools – most of them have fun > with TV and computer. How long do we deprive them of their education? As > Muslims should we have any confusion about the importance of education? Do > we need to remind ourselves that Prophet’s journey into Prophethood started > with ‘Iqra’. Young college going minds too are gathering dust – why do we > stun their intellectual development? And > about the poor miserable people who earn during the day for a two square > meal – I did not see any help from any corner reaching them. What have we > thought about them? > > Makers of our time tables – have not discussed their short term and long > term plans with the people. Have they put any demands before the people in > power? How long will the shutdown remain? Will it continue till the > killers of teenagers are brought to book, will it continue till human rights > violations are stopped, will it continue till AFSPA is revoked or will it > continue till ‘Kashmir issue’ is resolved? It is the time to ask, will a > shutdown alter things for us? We would go ahead with it if it were to solve > a sixty year complex issue like Kashmir, practically speaking that hardly > seems to be on the cards. So, why a shutdown? > > If we endorse or enforce ‘‘Hartal’’ to impress the governments in J&K and > Delhi – then we are foolishly mistaken. As a national newspaper columnist > puts it, our masters ‘live in Delhi and reside in Kashmir’. People at the > helm are comfortable in Pahalgam and Gulmarg, some are busy buying villas in > Dubai. For whom are we shutting down? For whom are we making our people > starve and suffer? We shutdown and paralyze ourselves in homes. Does > anybody take a notice, is anybody moved? > > When “Hartals” become a norm and “Curfews” a routine – what sets in is > stagnation, leading to putrification ultimately breeding worms of poverty > and misery which engulf us all over. When a small child, slightly bigger > than my own stops me, argues with me and asks me why I should go to a > hospital – I am rendered speechless. What do I tell him, how do I explain > my work to him – what do I do? Does this child know why he wants a > “Hartal”? > > It is true, when a young life is lost every day and authorities are > unapologetic – darkness overshadows us, anger conquers the senses, routine > seems a burden and shutdown a solace. Our tales of misery will make rocks > weep! Protest in such a situation is the only tool in our hands. But can’t > we alter our strategy? If shutdown is the remedy, can’t a day’s shut down > every week do? If we need to protest every day can’t one hour a day > suffice? Why do we actually need a continuous shutdown to display our > anger? > > I have affection for that “angry young man” displaying his anger on the > streets of Downtown. He is the one who will go an extra mile to help you, > he is the one who will leave his seat for you in the bus. Smart looks, > anger in eyes and compassion in heart – let us respect his blood. If our > own children are glued to our own chests, why is his blood cheap? If a > protest is needed, let a leader lead it! That will at least ensure > discipline and prevent loss of life! What about the poets and intellectuals, > where are they? > > Today, I gather courage to protest – against the continuous imprisonment I > am in – the curfew shuts me on one day and “Hartal” imprisons me the other > day. I may not be able to stop authorities from imposing the curfew, it is > beyond me…But, I need freedom – freedom to move about, freedom to work, > freedom to earn and my children need freedom to learn. We are not animals > but quality human beings, educated and intelligent and our only fault is > that we live in a disputed territory. Set us free – O you at the helm! > > (Feedback at rumanahamid at rediffmail.com) > > > http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Jul/29/shutdowns-to-what-end--16.asp > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Mon Aug 2 08:38:28 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 08:38:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] What a sincere Kashmiri feels - without any artifice In-Reply-To: References: <395866.20962.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: @ Kshamendra ji: An excellent article indeed! @ Rashneek ji: Sir, I liked the article and very much understand that freedom is required. Except for some empathy with the person concerned, I don't understand what else can I do? Besides, who can debate the importance of freedom or say that we don't require freedom? It's indeed a shame that the entire set of people right from the Indian state (and its various constituents from the Home to the Defense and other ministries related in this area to even say the Army, not to forget the Kashmiri politicians) as also the Hurriyat and the Pakistani state just treats Kashmir as a company, nothing else nothing more. Rakesh From chandni_parekh at yahoo.com Mon Aug 2 11:33:35 2010 From: chandni_parekh at yahoo.com (Chandni Parekh) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 23:03:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Film Screenings in August Message-ID: <667340.1477.qm@web54408.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Chandni Parekh sent a message to the members of Vikalp at Prithvi group on Facebook. Subject: Film Screenings in August Hi all, To those who attended the screening of 'Children of the Pyre' - thank you! It was nice to know that the film moved so many of you. If you'd like to help the director rehabilitate the children working at the crematorium in Varanasi, please visit http://bit.ly/daZmuK The link above includes Nitesh's and Priyanka's experiences of watching the important film. And now for information on screenings in August... 'The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers' by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, July 31, Aug 1, 7, 8 on NDTV 24x7 'Luna Papa' by Bakhtiar Khudojnazarov (Russian), Aug 3, Bombay International Film Festival - Ahmedabad, Aug 4-8 'Platform' by Jia Zhang-Ke (Chinese), Aug 10, Bombay Short Films presented by Shamiana, Aug 12, Bombay Vikalp at Alliance presents 'Cowboys in India' by Simon Chambers, Aug 13, Bombay One Billion Eyes - Documentary Film Festival, Aug 16-19, Chennai Imaging Asia Film Festival, Aug 18-22, Delhi Vikalp at Prithvi presents 'Flames of the Snow' by Ashish Srivastava, Monday, Aug 30, 7 PM, Juhu, Bombay For details, check the Discussion Board on http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46819848804 - Chandni From yasir.media at gmail.com Mon Aug 2 12:14:49 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 11:44:49 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire In-Reply-To: References: <684776.53294.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: deliberate omission of kashmir and its realities from indian textbooks implies everyrthing is fine, and you dont need to know more.... until you grow up and are shocked whether you lived there or not. its classic censorship of information, glaringly present in its absence ^.^ why continue to deny a problem the partition generation left for us? On Sun, Aug 1, 2010 at 7:27 PM, Subhash wrote: > Dear Kshmendra > You only have to look around to see how much nationalistic rhetoric > revolves around us and our children. I have heard from several of my > Muslim friends that their kids in school get taunted (by their > non-Muslim classmates) as being Pakistanis and terrorists. I know this > is not taught in a textbook, but where else is it coming from? Its not > just a matter of textbooks - look at all other media and entertainment > industry. Do I have to provide a list of the Bollywood movies and TV > serials where the hate rhetoric about Pakistani terrorism and Kashmir > and Muslim stereotypes is being fed to us every day. I am giving below > some slogans and songs as a sample for Kashmir - I am sure you can > find many more such examples. And by the way, one untruth that our > school books tell us any way is the official map of Kashmir. While the > entire world (and UN) shows the two top portions of Kashmir as part of > Pakistan and China, we believe these are ours. I am not saying that we > should not be concerned and protective about a piece of our land. > After all our security is important. But if its a problem area, we > should be honest about it, and say that those portions of Kashmir are > disputed. The very image of a complete map of Kashmir that is fed to a > child's mind in school feeds a sense of pride - most Indians don't > even know that the actual map of Indian Kashmir is a bit different. > Any way, this is too minor an issue compared to the other burning > issues. And I am denying the hate propaganda in Pakistani textbooks - > it certainly is terrible. But we are no less. > > Any way, enjoy some of these slogans: > > Doodh maango-ge to kheer denge > Kashmir maango-ge to cheer denge > > (If you ask for milk, we'll give you pudding > But if you ask for Kashmir, we'll rip you apart). > > Another song from a movie (sorry, no translation): > > jannat ki tasvir na denge > haathon mein kisi gair ke taqadir na denge > kashmir hai bhaarat ka kashmir na denge > > dhamaki se kisi zulm ki ham dar nahin sakate > samajhauta kisi desh se ham kar nahin sakate > kya chhalega tu phuut yah ghar hai kabir ka > jhagada nahin ho sakata hai tulasi se mir ka > jo phuul chaman ka hai chaman mein hi khilega > abdul hi apane desh par mar mitega > lutane kabhi aazaadi ki jaagir na denge > kashmir hai bhaarat ka > > parades se tuune hathiyaar mangavaaye > kalaur se net sebarajet giraaye > hathiyaaron se kar sakata nahin dil pe tu qabza > taaqat se bada desh ki kidamat ka hai jazba > gaddaar hai vah hind ka jo pyaar tujhe de > vah aman ka dushman hai jo hathiyaar tujhe de > divaane ke ham haath mein kashmir na denge > kashmir hai bhaarat ka > > Movie/Album Name: JOHAR IN KASHMIR > Singer Name: MOHAMMAD RAFI > > And another one in Hindi (which is not so bad): > > ये कश्मीर हमारा है > > गूंज रहा है सारे देश में केवल आज ये नारा है > > तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है, > > बहुत दिनों तक ये कश्मीर खून के आंसू रोया है, > > आतंकवाद के कारण अब तक एक रात ना सोया है, > > मां बहनों की लूटी इज्जत बिधवा उन्हे बनाया है, > > जाने कितने अत्याचार करके उन्हे सताया है, > > दूर करेंगे सारे मिलकर छाया जो अंधियारा है, > > तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है, > > > > क्यो छिपते फिरते घाटी में बदल बदल कर वेशों में, > > अगर ना प्यारी भारत माँ तु जाओ अरब के देशों में, > > अब जो अगर एक भारतीय मारा लहू तेरा पी जाएंगे, > > एक जान के बदले सौ सौ लेकर हम दिखलाएंगें, > > खत्म करा दो 370 लगी जो अब तक धारा है, > > तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है, > > > > देश के ऐसे दुश्मन से तो अब ना हमें डरना होगा, > > 47 में हुए जो टुकड़े, उन्हे एक करना होगा, > > इतिहासों में एक कहानी और जोड़ दी जाएगी, > > कश्मीर की तरफ जो देखा आंख फोड़ दी जाएगी, > > स्वर्ग बनाकर सब देवों से मिलकर इसे उतारा है, > > तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है, > > > > नही मिलेगा पानी तुमको, तड़प तड़प मर जाओगे, > > अपनी काली करतूतों से, बाज नही जो आओगे, > > रामचन्द्र कह गए सिया से ऐसा कलयूग आएगा, > > तू क्या जीतेगा भारत को, खुद मिटटी में मिल जाएगा, > > सिर्फ धरती का स्वर्ग ना समझों निज आंखों का तारा है, > > तुम्हें ना देंगे वो गददारों ये कश्मीर हमारा है ॥ > > > > > On Sun, Aug 1, 2010 at 12:14 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: > > > > Subhash > > > > Now you are talking the same kind of ill-informed crap that Bipin has > been. I think. I hope I am myself not ill-informed to make that statement. > > > > Could you give examples of the 'Kashmir Topic' being taught in schools in > India that attempt ideological indoctrination on the 'Kashmir Topic' in a > manner similar to the situation in Pakistan given by Yasir? The reach and > spread of such textbooks (if there are any)? > > > > Could you also give examples of Indian Textbooks indulging in hate > mongering against Pakistan and Muslims that could be compared with the > hate-mongering against India and Hindus taught in Pakistani Textbooks? > > You say 'We have been fed lies about all kinds of things'. What lies > have you been fed that you have foolishly assumed to be the truth? > > > > Kshmendra > > --- On Sun, 8/1/10, Subhash wrote: > > > > From: Subhash > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > To: "Bipin Trivedi" > > Cc: "sarai-list" > > Date: Sunday, August 1, 2010, 9:47 AM > > > > Dear Bipin > > You have found one poor Pakistani on this list and you are blasting > > Yasir with all your life-long prejudices against Pakistan. Come on. > > You have mentioned "we have no Kashmir topic taught in school to prove > > anything" - how wrong can that statement be. Are you sure all our > > textbooks and media right from 1947 are not full of nationalist > > rhetoric. We have been fed lies about all kinds of things (just as > > Pakistanis have been fed) and we have assumed everything to be the > > truth. All our problems could be solved if we stopped being too > > nationalistic and greedy. > > > > Subhash > > > > On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 10:22 PM, Bipin Trivedi > wrote: > > > Dear Yasir, > > > > > > Now you come to the point. You have been taught in school and this is > the way Pakistan spreading poison between the people of two countries. There > is historical evidence that J&K allotted to India. It is our great leaders > blunders to take the issue in UN. In India, we have no Kashmir topic to > taught in school and no need since we don't have to prove anything! > > > > > > J&K is border state and army bound to be there as usual all the country > keep normally in the border. Kashmir is special case infiltration and > terrorists threat forced to keep army and nothing wrong in it. There is no > question of screwing the people. People are willing to live in India and > recent election 60% voting proved it. Those 40% not voted, I am sure half of > them are of the opinion to remain with India only. So, total 80% are happy > and willing to remain with India. Only few separatists influenced and > supported by Pak want be independent or remain with Pak. > > > > > > Thanks > > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: > reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > > > Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 10:54 PM > > > To: Sarai Reader-list > > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > > > > > Dear Bipin > > > > > > No, correction, all pakistanis think Kashmir should either be either in > > > pakistan (that is the part still occupied by india), or independent. In > fact > > > ask the kashmiris, thats what pakistan had been saying, we were taught > in > > > school. Far from good governance, the indian army is desperately > hanging on, > > > not knowing where this is going, while people are getting screwed. so > thats > > > just to correct what you thought pakistanis think. i am no kashmir > expert. > > > > > > of course, i think the regional dynamics need to change with the US > fuelling > > > militarism in the region. they need to leave afghanistan. may be then, > and > > > only then, could militancy and covert insurgencies ease (in pakistan, > india > > > and afghanistan hopefully with a regional development plan) This would > i > > > think allow popular reasoning to let go of the kashmir fixation and > > > militarization on the part of the the indian and pakistani states. > before > > > that forget it. its like watching a dynamic stalemate in a nuclear > chess > > > game. there is no shah-mord or checkmate, and border continues like > some of > > > the other walls, berlin, korean, israeli-palestinian, keeping the > people in > > > pain upset and in a frenzy. > > > > > > Best. > > > > > > > > > > > > On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:12 PM, Bipin Trivedi > wrote: > > > > > >> Dear Yasir, > > >> > > >> Thanks for your view that Kashmir belongs to whom make no sense to > you. > > >> It's not question of tera ya mera but it's question of Pakistan > blunder and > > >> keep this issue in priority want to grab J&K by hook or crook which is > not > > >> belong to them. For this only they terrorize the region. Any answer? > > >> > > >> By telling Kashmir belong to whom makes no sense to you itself gives > the > > >> answer. Since technically all the pak people knows that J&K belong to > India > > >> but still keep mum silently agreeing with such agenda. > > >> > > >> Thanks > > >> Bipin Trivedi > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> -----Original Message----- > > >> From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: > reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > > >> On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > > >> Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 3:49 PM > > >> To: Sarai Reader-list > > >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS ire > > >> > > >> Dear Bipin, > > >> > > >> Thanks for writing. i dont think i can answer everything. and > definitely I > > >> cannot answer for what my government does. I am sure you feel as > powerless > > >> when i comes to telling your government what to do, as I do. May be > you do > > >> really have a weak government which cannot stand on its own and learn > from > > >> you. > > >> > > >> As far as people are concerned here. there is no problem. I have a > number > > >> of > > >> indian friends who live and work in pakistan. I think it is a > compliment > > >> that to indian industry that we watch more indian tv programmes > (whether > > >> sateliite or not, reality tv also comes via satellite) than indians > > >> watching > > >> pakistani tv. not only that we also have to watch the advertisements > :) > > >> > > >> as for permissions, it is very difficult to get indian visa for > > >> pakistani, > > >> even when there are divided families. the same is true on the other > side. > > >> In > > >> fact visa policy is usually matched tit-for-tat on either side. > > >> > > >> in any case india is named after the indus which is in pakistan and my > > >> family and relatives live everywhere from UP to bengal and bombay, and > the > > >> history is very long. so all this talk of kashmir mera ya tera, mine > or > > >> yours, makes absolutely no sense to me. > > >> > > >> best > > >> yasir > > >> > > >> > > >> 2010/7/29 Bipin Trivedi > > >> > > >> > Dear Yasir, > > >> > > > >> > Release of bollywood film or TV channel program telecast in Pak is > > >> > altogether different things. TV channel are satellite transmission > and > > >> > everyone free to see it. > > >> > > > >> > Here live or reality show program topic is there. How much of Indian > > >> > artists allowed there for live show in this decade? In India Pak > artists > > >> can > > >> > come and participate in TV reality shows like singing, comedy, dance > > >> while > > >> > what is the revert position? Can Indian artists can participate > there? > > >> No. > > >> > if they want to go then lots of hindrance they have to suffer to get > > >> > permission while here they can come easily. > > >> > > > >> > Pak has to retrospect themselves that why some section of Indian > people > > >> > oppose? taxi driver not charged a peny or they welcome Indians > without > > >> > hindrance because they have confident in Indian people that by no > way > > >> they > > >> > will harm us. But, what is the reverse position? Today it is proved > > >> > universally that Pak is epicenter of terrorism, so naturally people > here > > >> > will somewhat hesitate to welcome. > > >> > > > >> > What Pak foreign minister Qureshi did recently? He has insulted > India by > > >> > insulting our foreign minister and responsible to break away the > talks. > > >> > Those who visit here or allowed to visit here from Pak, India must > seek > > >> > clarification about Kashmir stand and I am sure even most of the > people > > >> of > > >> > Pak will be exposed. Since Kashmir is belong to India and even POK > is > > >> also > > >> > belong to India. Soft/weak stand by the Indian government encourages > Pak > > >> > authority/army and leads to more awkward position. If India adopts > tough > > >> > stand with Pak in all front and we can see the result in short time. > > >> > > > >> > Thanks > > >> > Bipin Trivedi > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > -----Original Message----- > > >> > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: > > >> reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > > >> > On Behalf Of yasir ~?? ?? > > >> > Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 1:58 PM > > >> > To: Sarai Reader-list > > >> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Pakistan kids on reality show face MNS > ire > > >> > > > >> > i think people are forgetting that bollywood is everywhere, that > indian > > >> > movies are running 24hrs on 5 channels on my cable, indian movies > are now > > >> > playing in cinemas in pakistan, add to that Star plus starsports, > > >> tensports > > >> > and the like. its actually part of life here. something you cant say > at > > >> the > > >> > same scale for India regarding Pk artists. so please open your eyes. > > >> > > > >> > best > > >> > > > >> > y, karachi. > > >> > _________________________________________ > > >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > >> > Critiques & Collaborations > > >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > >> > subscribe in the subject header. > > >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > >> > > > >> > > > >> _________________________________________ > > >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > >> Critiques & Collaborations > > >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > >> subscribe in the subject header. > > >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > >> > > >> > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From chandni_parekh at yahoo.com Mon Aug 2 12:38:26 2010 From: chandni_parekh at yahoo.com (Chandni Parekh) Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:08:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Help Screen Short Docus on Environment in Bombay Message-ID: <823249.57100.qm@web54402.mail.re2.yahoo.com> This looks good! Share it with others if you think they might find it useful. Hari is available on weekends to show and facilitate discussions on short documentaries on wildlife and environment to students in Bombay (in schools and colleges, and with NGOs). Details are on http://bit.ly/ao3ulb ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Hari Chakyar Date: 2 August 2010 Subject: Documentary Screening Project Proposal Hi Chandni, Have finally made the proposal, see if it sounds okay to forward to your contacts. Cheers, Hari Chakyar Tring: 9323388803 Blog: http://emotionalballies.blogspot.com Mail: duke.ambarnath at gmail.com From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Mon Aug 2 18:09:59 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 18:09:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A hot 2010 Message-ID: Global warming pushes 2010 temperatures to record highs Scientists from two leading climate research centres publish 'best evidence yet' of rising long-term global temperatures * Juliette Jowit * guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 28 July 2010 18.02 BST Global temperatures in the first half of the year were the hottest since records began more than a century ago, according to two of the world's leading climate research centres. Scientists have also released what they described as the "best evidence yet" of rising long-term temperatures. The report is the first to collate 11 different indicators – from air and sea temperatures to melting ice – each one based on between three and seven data sets, dating back to between 1850 and the 1970s. The newly released data follows months of scrutiny of climate science after sceptics claimed leaked emails from the University of East Anglia (UEA) suggested temperature records had been manipulated - a charge rejected by three inquiries. Publishing the newly collated data in London, Peter Stott, the head of climate modelling at the UK Met Office, said despite variations between individual years, the evidence was unequivocal: "When you follow those decade-to-decade trends then you see clearly and unmistakably signs of a warming world". "That's a very remarkable result, that all those data sets agree," he added. "It's the clearest evidence in one place from a range of different indices." Currently 1998 is the hottest year on record. Two combined land and sea surface temperature records from Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and the US National Climatic Data Centre (NCDC) both calculate that the first six months of 2010 were the hottest on record. According to GISS, four of the six months also individually showed record highs. A third leading monitoring programme, by the Met Office, shows this period was the second hottest on record, after 1998, with two months this year – January and March – being hotter than their equivalents 12 years ago. The Met Office said the variations between the figures published by the different organisations are because the Met Office uses only temperature observations, Nasa makes estimates for gaps in recorded data such as the polar regions, and the NCDC uses a mixture of the two approaches. The latest figures will give weight to predictions that this year could become the hottest on record. Despite annual fluctuations, the figures also highlight the clear trend for the 2000s to be hotter than the 1990s, which in turn were clearly warmer than the previous decade, said Stott. "These numbers are not theory, but fact, indicating that the Earth's climate is moving into uncharted territory," said Rafe Pomerance, a senior fellow at Clean Air Cool Planet, a US group dedicated to helping find solutions to global warming. The Met Office published its full list of global warming indicators, compiled by Hadley Centre researcher John Kennedy. It formed part of the State of the Climate 2009 report published as a special bulletin of the American Meteorological Society by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which runs the NCDC temperature series. Seven of the indicators rose over the last few decades, indicating "clear warming trends", although these all included annual fluctuations up and down. One of these was air temperature over land – including data from the Climatic Research Unit at the UEA, whose figures were under scrutiny after hacked emails were posted online in November 2009, but the graphic also included figures from six other research groups all showing the same overall trends despite annual differences. The other six rising indicators were sea surface temperatures, collected by six groups; ocean heat to 700m depth from seven groups; air temperatures over oceans (five data sets); the tropospheric temperature in the atmosphere up to 1km up (seven); humidity caused by warmer air absorbing more moisture (three); and sea level rise as hotter oceans expand and ice melts (six). Another four indicators showed declining figures over time, again consistent with global warming: northern hemisphere snow cover (two data sets), Arctic sea ice extent (three); glacier mass loss (four); and the temperature of the stratosphere. This last cooling effect is caused by a decline in ozone in the stratosphere which prevents it absorbing as much ultraviolet radiation from the sun above. One key data set omitted was sea ice in the Antarctic, because it was increasing in some areas and decreasing in others, due to reduced ozone causing changes in wind patterns and sea-surface circulation. This data set showed no clear trend, said Stott. These figures were also in the last report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007. "It's not that the IPCC didn't look at this data, of course they did, but they didn't put it all together in one place," he added. The cause of the warming was "dominated" by greenhouse gases emitted by human activity, said Stott. "It's possible there's some [other] process which can amplify other effects, such as radiation from the sun, [but] the evidence is so clear the chance there's something we haven't thought of seems to be getting smaller and smaller," he said. From rohitrellan at aol.in Mon Aug 2 22:46:31 2010 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:16:31 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Job opportunities for Project Associates at CCMG, Jamia Milia Islamia In-Reply-To: <20100802100851.AD78E12E4207@mdmst1.qlc.co.in> References: <20100802100851.AD78E12E4207@mdmst1.qlc.co.in> Message-ID: <8CD007D958965A9-1FC4-1F80@webmail-d072.sysops.aol.com>  The Centre for Culture, Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi is looking for three Project Associates for the project on Exhibition Policy Research.  The Centre for Culture, Media and Governance (CCMG) was established in 2006, as part of Jamia Millia Islamia’s endeavour to foster interdisciplinary orientations and nurture emergent fields of study. CCMG is configured as a focal point of research, teaching, training and policy advocacy in the domain of communication in South Asia.  CCMG has been identified as the Nodal Centre for Curatorial Research of the Curatorship Programme initiated and supported by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA). This project will engage with the contiguous domains of policy and practice of curating in 20th century India. For more information on IFA’s Curatorship Programme please visit http://www.indiaifa.org/article.asp?id=645&viewType=online ;     Remuneration: The compensation package will be between Rs 18,000 - Rs 24, 000 pm. No TA/DA will be paid to the Associates.   The successful candidates will be appointed for two years.  The positions will be based in New Delhi.     Eligibility: Project Associate- 1      1.         MPhil in Curatorship/Media Art/Design, with MA & BA in Fine/Visual/Commercial Arts, from a National/International University   2.         At least 3 years work experience as an arts practitioner (including residencies, fellowships, grants, commissioned & independent work)   3.         Experience in Arts Education/Pedagogy in formal &/or non-formal setting, with a mix of field-based and classroom-based portfolio of activities   4.         Detailed knowledge of Word processing, Graphics/Visual Design and Web design software       Project Associate – 2     1.         MA in Art History/Aesthetics/Design, with BA in Fine/Visual/Commercial Arts OR BA Sociology/Anthropology/History, from a National/International University   2.         At least 3 years work experience as an arts researcher/manager/documentations with Art Gallery or Auction House or specialised Arts Journal   3.         Experience of gathering primary data & document analysis, together with strong organisational skills in managing workshops/seminars   4.         Detailed knowledge of Word processing, Graphics/Visual Design and Web design software       Project Associate -3      1.         MA in Art History/Aesthetics or MA in Sociology/Anthropology/Cultural Studies/History, with similar/related subjects at BA level, from a National/International University   2.         Proven ability in gathering primary data, interviewing/oral documentation and specialised arts writing   3.         Detailed knowledge of Word processing and Graphics/Visual Design     Deadline:     Applications (both hard and soft copies) should include your CV, contact number and email address.  The deadline for receipt of applications is August 6, 2010.    Applications should be sent to:  Prof. Biswajit Das Centre for Culture, Media and Governance Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi 110025   Email: ccmgjmi at gmail.com, biswas.das at gmail.com http://www.jmi.ac.in/jobs/jobs2010/jobs.ccmg.2010july26.pdf ;     From aliens at dataone.in Mon Aug 2 23:13:42 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:13:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] What a sincere Kashmiri feels - without any artifice In-Reply-To: References: <395866.20962.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <000601cb326a$4009d720$c01d8560$@in> (WE PROTESTED WHENEVER IT DEMANDED, BUT WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW? WRITES DR. RUMANA MAKHDOOMI) No Government like to impose curfew willingly. People of Kashmir should understand the root of problem that who is behind the disturbance? It's clear conspiracy of separatists with across the border support to destabilize the popular elected government. This government with the help of Indian army succeeded to curtail infiltration from border which frustrated pak army/ISI planned the disturbance by instigating Kashmir separatists. In this protest Mehbooba Mufti is leading face and once again proved that she is head of the separatists. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From vivek at sarai.net Tue Aug 3 09:49:08 2010 From: vivek at sarai.net (Vivek Narayanan) Date: Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:49:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] SURFACES / 6 Younger Poets & Chapbook Launch, at Sarai Cafe Message-ID: <4C5798BC.5060607@sarai.net> Sarai-CSDS City As Studio & Sarai Media Lab Presents: SURFACES / 6 Younger Poets & Chapbook Launch Monday August 9 - Sarai Cafe - 6 PM Featuring readings in Hindi and English by: Geet Chaturvedi Giriraj Kiradoo Monica Mody Nabina Das Nitoo Das Rahul Soni Vyomesh Shukla (Event arranged in collaboration with Pratilipi, a bilingual online literary magazine.) The evening will also include a short discussion around innovation in poetry editing and publishing and launch of a special limited edition chapbook, made together with the visual artists of Sarai's City As Studio fellowship, featuring some of the poems that will be read. *About the readers:* Poet and fiction writer Geet Chaturvedi has published five books including two translations. He is Editor (Magazines), Dainik Bhaskar. Poet and translator Giriraj Kiradoo co-edits the bilingual journal Pratilipi: http://pratilipi.in/ Born in Ranchi, Monica Mody just received her M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Notre Dame where she won the 2010 Nicholas Sparks Prize. Her poetry has appeared in Wasafiri, Pratilipi, nthposition and elsewhere. Nabina Das's first novel, Footprints in the Bajra, was published this year by Cedar Books. She is a poet, fiction writer and India editor for the literary journal Danse Macabre. Nitoo Das teaches English at Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. Her first collection, Boki, was published by Virtual Artists Collective, Chicago, in September 2008. Rahul Soni is a writer, editor and translator "of no fixed address". He co-edits the bilingual journal Pratilipi and works with Writer's Side ( www.writersside.com ) among other things. Vyomesh Shukla has published a poetry collection and is editor of a magazine, Samas. From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Tue Aug 3 15:47:43 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 15:47:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The huge scale of Pakistan's complicity Message-ID: The huge scale of Pakistan's complicity *Thanks to WikiLeaks, the involvement of Inter-Services Intelligence in the Afghan conflict is now obvious, argues Chris Alexander, Canada's former ambassador to Afghanistan* Link - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-huge-scale-of-pakistans-complicity/article1657931/ When 91,000 classified military documents are leaked about a continuing war, there is bound to be controversy. But as one who spent six years in Afghanistan – first as Canada's ambassador, then as deputy head of the United Nations mission there – my first reaction was how true to life it all was. Here is the hall-of-mirrors, see-saw world of counterinsurgency – in all its complexity. But alarm bells soon started ringing for me. Intelligence sources have been named – a windfall for the Taliban that they are likely toasting. The cost of this betrayal will be measured in lives, undercutting efforts to build trust village-by-village in Kandahar, Helmand and elsewhere. Look at the sheer scale of the WikiLeaks' material – and its lack of context. In the Afghanistan I knew, civilians were struggling to rebuild an economy and institutions. In the documents, the country is depicted as a howling, naked battlefield. It is a caricature, which will feed prevailing prejudices. There is, however, at least one genuine insight: dozens of reports tagging the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) – the branch of Pakistan's military charged with most aspects of its Afghan policy – as the main driver of the conflict. So long as cross-border interference goes unchecked, prospects for peace remain dim. By any measure, the conflict is escalating. According to the UN, the number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from January to April was twice the 2009 figure. In June alone, 104 foreign soldiers were killed, including four Canadians – the highest monthly toll to date. In Pakistan, Taliban-led suicide attacks since 2007 have killed an estimated 3,400 – mostly civilians. Thousands more have been killed in operations to root militants out of Swat, Bajaur, Kurram, South Waziristan and elsewhere. Both Afghanistan and Pakistan are now in the grip of a single escalating conflict, punching eastward from Khyber Pakhtunwa (the former Northwest Frontier Province) into Punjab's heartland, as well as westward toward Kabul, Kandahar and Kunduz. As a direct consequence, reconciliation has failed to get off the ground: the Pakistan-based Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – the official name for the Taliban and its allies – clearly prefer to fight. *GENERAL ASHFAQ KAYANI V. THE REST OF THE WORLD * As the War Logs make clear, the principal drivers of violence are no longer, if they ever were, inside Afghanistan. Consider the following: First, in February, Pakistan's security forces began arresting a dozen or so Taliban leaders – whose presence on their soil they had always noisily denied – presumably because these insurgent commanders had shown genuine, independent interest in reconciliation. Second, the chief of Pakistan's army staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, this year once again successfully resisted U.S. pressure to launch military operations in Baluchistan and North Waziristan, where the Islamic Emirate is based. Third, Gen. Kayani told Mr. Karzai this spring that the condition for peace in Afghanistan would be the closing of several Indian consulates, while offering to broker deals with Islamic Emirate leaders, whom he considers a “strategic asset.” Fourth, Gen. Kayani blithely told a Washington audience that he remained wedded to “strategic depth” – that is, to making Afghanistan the kind of proprietary hinterland for Pakistan, free of Indian or other outside influence, which it was from 1992 to 2001. This is not empty rhetoric. Gen. Kayani is saying he wants to call the shots in Kabul. To do so, he is prepared to support the principal outfit launching suicide attacks in Afghanistan's cities. He is backing the Islamic Emirate's effort to wreck an Afghan-led nation-building process. The Pakistan army under Gen. Kayani is sponsoring a large-scale, covert guerrilla war through Afghan proxies – whose strongholds in Baluchistan and Waziristan are flourishing. Their mission in Afghanistan is to keep Pashtun nationalism down, India out and Mr. Karzai weak. It has nothing to do with Islam, whose principles they trample; indeed, the flower of Afghanistan's *ulema* (religious leaders) have been among their victims. Gen. Kayani and others will deny complicity. But as the WikiLeaks material demonstrates, their heavy-handed involvement is now obvious at all levels. To understand the context of this fraught relationship, read a report called The Sun and the Sky: The Relationship of Pakistan's ISI to Afghan Insurgents, by Matt Waldman, a former Oxfam policy adviser now at Harvard. It is a chilling tale. When the scale of this complicity is fully exposed, it will rank high on the list of modern scandals. *FULL CIRCLE * By any measure, Afghan society has recovered smartly since 2001. The latest annual growth in gross domestic product was 22 per cent – despite the global crisis. Government revenue increased by 60 per cent in 18 months. Annual inflation has been minus 12 per cent, as domestic agriculture substituted for pricey imports. A renaissance has continued in media and culture. Schools, clinics and new rural infrastructure have opened the door to better lives. Despite thickets of corruption, several Afghan ministries have combined integrity with delivery. On July 20, 60 donor nations and 12 international organizations met at Kabul to assess progress. The highlight was Hamid Karzai's speech – his best as Afghan President to date. Leaving aside last year's controversies, he articulated priorities rooted in national consensus. He returned to the theme of his country as a crossroads and roundabout for Asia, arguing that trade, mineral wealth and sound public finances, wisely pursued, can make Afghanistan's new institutions affordable. The country has now come full circle – reclaiming the sense of purpose it embraced in 2002-04. The symbol of this restored strategic impulse is Mr. Karzai's revived collaboration with his outstanding former finance minister (and 2009 presidential rival), Ashraf Ghani. Such political vision has the potential to deliver results. But larger-scale institution-building will take years. Afghanistan's army and police were effectively dissolved in 1992; serious efforts to restore them were launched only in 2003 and 2005 respectively. *BOTH COUNTRIES’ CITIZENS CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE * Few Pakistanis rejoice in the ISI's duplicity. Most see the ISI's strategy for the outrage it is. It has brought their military into disrepute, sullied Pakistan's good name and unleashed unprecedented strife in its streets. Pakistani influence at Kabul is at its lowest ebb since 1947. The vast majority of Pakistanis do not equate their national interest with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Indeed, The Dawn, Pakistan's largest daily, warned in an editorial after the Kabul conference against any precipitate U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pakistan's army's interference in Afghanistan's recovery violates a key provision of the UN Charter, on non-interference – and at its new scale, it represents a threat to international peace and security. It deserves serious discussion in multilateral forums, including the UN. Most citizens of both countries want to see the Taliban defeated, and legitimate governments strengthened. The trade deal signed by Afghanistan and Pakistan on July 20 – the first since partition – is a good start. A similar deal on the border would be historic. Without Pakistani military support, all signs are the Islamic Emirate's combat units would collapse like a house of cards. Peace and reconciliation would prosper. So long as this unholy alliance continues, Afghans will continue to succumb to the mistaken view that the U.S. and its allies are deliberately turning a blind eye to Taliban resurgence, despite our sacrifices to date. Turning the corner on this issue will require a concerted show of will – and much tougher action in the eyes of the new storm of violence in North Waziristan and Baluchistan. The shrine bombed in Lahore on July 1 holds Ali Bin Usman Hujwiri Ghaznavi, a saint who travelled to the Indus basin from what is now Afghanistan in the 11th century, becoming one of the anchors of Islam in South Asia. As we begin a second decade of the second millennium, his legacy – one rooted in a rich, tolerant concept of religion; as well as strong relations then between Lahore and Ghazni (Islamabad and Kabul today) – remains worth defending. For all the damage the WikiLeaks data dump could cause, at least they have brought our attention back to where it should be – to the real obstacles to peace. *Chris Alexander was ambassador of Canada to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005 and Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan from 2005 until 2009. The views expressed in this article are entirely his own. The Long Way Back – his book on Afghanistan's story since 2001 – will be published by HarperCollins in 2011.* -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Cell - +91-9873297834 Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ From aliens at dataone.in Tue Aug 3 21:09:57 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:09:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?=28no_subject=29?= In-Reply-To: <1280771799.S.10257.17759.F.H.TkJpcGluIFRyaXZlZGkATm8gU3ViamVjdA__.f4-235-213.1280803898.52947@webmail.rediffmail.com> References: <000701cb326c$211f5770$635e0650$@in> <1280771799.S.10257.17759.F.H.TkJpcGluIFRyaXZlZGkATm8gU3ViamVjdA__.f4-235-213.1280803898.52947@webmail.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <000b01cb3322$20e64e60$62b2eb20$@in> Dr. Rumana, I have full sympathy with those who died in this violence/riots. But, when disturbance took place and situation arises to impose curfew you can understand how things gone out of control and to curtail this, some innocent might have hurt/died. But, for this death also indirectly those are responsible who is behind this conspiracy. Whenever violence taking place anywhere, unfortunately victims are innocent also to some extent. God/Allah bless them. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From: rumana hamid [mailto:rumanahamid at rediffmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 8:22 AM To: aliens at dataone.in Subject: Re: Dear Sir, I wish I ciuld show you the videos where innocents have been murdered in their homes for no fault of theirs -they where not stone pelters ,they were not militants.If you are a person with consciennce you too will protest.Dont blame everything on ISI-be practical On Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:26:39 +0530 wrote > (WE PROTESTED WHENEVER IT DEMANDED, BUT WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW? WRITES DR. RUMANA MAKHDOOMI) No Government like to impose curfew willingly. People of Kashmir should understand the root of problem that who is behind the disturbance? It's clear conspiracy of separatists with across the border support to destabilize the popular elected government. This government with the help of Indian army succeeded to curtail infiltration from border which frustrated pak army/ISI planned the disturbance by instigating Kashmir separatists. In this protest Mehbooba Mufti is leading face and once again proved that she is head of the separatists. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From yasir.media at gmail.com Tue Aug 3 22:18:02 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 21:48:02 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] The huge scale of Pakistan's complicity In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Most, not just majority of, Pakistanis and Afghanistanis want the US to leave their soil. anyone mention that ? what are they doing there anyway? wmd? obl? bad intelligence? where does that put wikileaks data? The US has already been defeated by the Taliban. So what should Pakistan be doing, supporting the US? or should it actually claim victory for defeating the US? the strategic depth logic goes pretty deep, and swings back like a slingshot either way. India should beware. Pakistan is the buffer between Taliban and India. and ISI is moulded to be a flexible partner. we are caught in this trap. best On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 3:17 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > The huge scale of Pakistan's complicity *Thanks to WikiLeaks, the > involvement of Inter-Services Intelligence in the Afghan conflict is now > obvious, argues Chris Alexander, Canada's former ambassador to Afghanistan* > > Link - > > http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-huge-scale-of-pakistans-complicity/article1657931/ > > When 91,000 classified military documents are leaked about a continuing > war, > there is bound to be controversy. But as one who spent six years in > Afghanistan – first as Canada's ambassador, then as deputy head of the > United Nations mission there – my first reaction was how true to life it > all > was. Here is the hall-of-mirrors, see-saw world of counterinsurgency – in > all its complexity. > > But alarm bells soon started ringing for me. Intelligence sources have been > named – a windfall for the Taliban that they are likely toasting. The cost > of this betrayal will be measured in lives, undercutting efforts to build > trust village-by-village in Kandahar, Helmand and elsewhere. > > Look at the sheer scale of the WikiLeaks' material – and its lack of > context. In the Afghanistan I knew, civilians were struggling to rebuild an > economy and institutions. In the documents, the country is depicted as a > howling, naked battlefield. It is a caricature, which will feed prevailing > prejudices. > > There is, however, at least one genuine insight: dozens of reports tagging > the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) – the branch of Pakistan's military > charged with most aspects of its Afghan policy – as the main driver of the > conflict. So long as cross-border interference goes unchecked, prospects > for > peace remain dim. > > By any measure, the conflict is escalating. According to the UN, the number > of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from January to April was twice the > 2009 figure. In June alone, 104 foreign soldiers were killed, including > four > Canadians – the highest monthly toll to date. > > In Pakistan, Taliban-led suicide attacks since 2007 have killed an > estimated > 3,400 – mostly civilians. Thousands more have been killed in operations to > root militants out of Swat, Bajaur, Kurram, South Waziristan and elsewhere. > > Both Afghanistan and Pakistan are now in the grip of a single escalating > conflict, punching eastward from Khyber Pakhtunwa (the former Northwest > Frontier Province) into Punjab's heartland, as well as westward toward > Kabul, Kandahar and Kunduz. > > As a direct consequence, reconciliation has failed to get off the ground: > the Pakistan-based Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – the official name for > the Taliban and its allies – clearly prefer to fight. > > *GENERAL ASHFAQ KAYANI V. THE REST OF THE WORLD * > > As the War Logs make clear, the principal drivers of violence are no > longer, > if they ever were, inside Afghanistan. > > Consider the following: > > First, in February, Pakistan's security forces began arresting a dozen or > so > Taliban leaders – whose presence on their soil they had always noisily > denied – presumably because these insurgent commanders had shown genuine, > independent interest in reconciliation. > > Second, the chief of Pakistan's army staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, this > year > once again successfully resisted U.S. pressure to launch military > operations > in Baluchistan and North Waziristan, where the Islamic Emirate is based. > > Third, Gen. Kayani told Mr. Karzai this spring that the condition for peace > in Afghanistan would be the closing of several Indian consulates, while > offering to broker deals with Islamic Emirate leaders, whom he considers a > “strategic asset.” > > Fourth, Gen. Kayani blithely told a Washington audience that he remained > wedded to “strategic depth” – that is, to making Afghanistan the kind of > proprietary hinterland for Pakistan, free of Indian or other outside > influence, which it was from 1992 to 2001. > > This is not empty rhetoric. Gen. Kayani is saying he wants to call the > shots > in Kabul. To do so, he is prepared to support the principal outfit > launching > suicide attacks in Afghanistan's cities. He is backing the Islamic > Emirate's > effort to wreck an Afghan-led nation-building process. > > The Pakistan army under Gen. Kayani is sponsoring a large-scale, covert > guerrilla war through Afghan proxies – whose strongholds in Baluchistan and > Waziristan are flourishing. Their mission in Afghanistan is to keep Pashtun > nationalism down, India out and Mr. Karzai weak. > > It has nothing to do with Islam, whose principles they trample; indeed, the > flower of Afghanistan's *ulema* (religious leaders) have been among their > victims. > > Gen. Kayani and others will deny complicity. But as the WikiLeaks material > demonstrates, their heavy-handed involvement is now obvious at all levels. > > To understand the context of this fraught relationship, read a report > called > The Sun and the Sky: The Relationship of Pakistan's ISI to Afghan > Insurgents, by Matt Waldman, a former Oxfam policy adviser now at Harvard. > It is a chilling tale. When the scale of this complicity is fully exposed, > it will rank high on the list of modern scandals. > > *FULL CIRCLE * > > By any measure, Afghan society has recovered smartly since 2001. The latest > annual growth in gross domestic product was 22 per cent – despite the > global > crisis. Government revenue increased by 60 per cent in 18 months. Annual > inflation has been minus 12 per cent, as domestic agriculture substituted > for pricey imports. > > A renaissance has continued in media and culture. Schools, clinics and new > rural infrastructure have opened the door to better lives. > > Despite thickets of corruption, several Afghan ministries have combined > integrity with delivery. > > On July 20, 60 donor nations and 12 international organizations met at > Kabul > to assess progress. The highlight was Hamid Karzai's speech – his best as > Afghan President to date. > > Leaving aside last year's controversies, he articulated priorities rooted > in > national consensus. > > He returned to the theme of his country as a crossroads and roundabout for > Asia, arguing that trade, mineral wealth and sound public finances, wisely > pursued, can make Afghanistan's new institutions affordable. > > The country has now come full circle – reclaiming the sense of purpose it > embraced in 2002-04. > > The symbol of this restored strategic impulse is Mr. Karzai's revived > collaboration with his outstanding former finance minister (and 2009 > presidential rival), Ashraf Ghani. Such political vision has the potential > to deliver results. > > But larger-scale institution-building will take years. > > Afghanistan's army and police were effectively dissolved in 1992; serious > efforts to restore them were launched only in 2003 and 2005 respectively. > > *BOTH COUNTRIES’ CITIZENS CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE * > > Few Pakistanis rejoice in the ISI's duplicity. > > Most see the ISI's strategy for the outrage it is. It has brought their > military into disrepute, sullied Pakistan's good name and unleashed > unprecedented strife in its streets. Pakistani influence at Kabul is at its > lowest ebb since 1947. > > The vast majority of Pakistanis do not equate their national interest with > the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Indeed, The Dawn, Pakistan's largest > daily, warned in an editorial after the Kabul conference against any > precipitate U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. > > Pakistan's army's interference in Afghanistan's recovery violates a key > provision of the UN Charter, on non-interference – and at its new scale, it > represents a threat to international peace and security. It deserves > serious > discussion in multilateral forums, including the UN. > > Most citizens of both countries want to see the Taliban defeated, and > legitimate governments strengthened. The trade deal signed by Afghanistan > and Pakistan on July 20 – the first since partition – is a good start. > > A similar deal on the border would be historic. > > Without Pakistani military support, all signs are the Islamic Emirate's > combat units would collapse like a house of cards. Peace and reconciliation > would prosper. > > So long as this unholy alliance continues, Afghans will continue to succumb > to the mistaken view that the U.S. and its allies are deliberately turning > a > blind eye to Taliban resurgence, despite our sacrifices to date. > > Turning the corner on this issue will require a concerted show of will – > and > much tougher action in the eyes of the new storm of violence in North > Waziristan and Baluchistan. > > The shrine bombed in Lahore on July 1 holds Ali Bin Usman Hujwiri Ghaznavi, > a saint who travelled to the Indus basin from what is now Afghanistan in > the > 11th century, becoming one of the anchors of Islam in South Asia. > > As we begin a second decade of the second millennium, his legacy – one > rooted in a rich, tolerant concept of religion; as well as strong relations > then between Lahore and Ghazni (Islamabad and Kabul today) – remains worth > defending. > > For all the damage the WikiLeaks data dump could cause, at least they have > brought our attention back to where it should be – to the real obstacles to > peace. > > *Chris Alexander was ambassador of Canada to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005 > and Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for > Afghanistan from 2005 until 2009. The views expressed in this article are > entirely his own. The Long Way Back – his book on Afghanistan's story since > 2001 – will be published by HarperCollins in 2011.* > > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > Cell - +91-9873297834 > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed Aug 4 03:42:38 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 03:12:38 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] RSS worried over use of term 'Hindu terror' In-Reply-To: References: <000f01cb31a2$8abdab20$a0390160$@in> Message-ID: just call it what it is - extreme intolerance, right-wing fascist worldview, persecution complex based on fantasy-history, giving legitimacy to their past and future violence, murders and intimidation of others - sounds very familiar from rss to 'islamists' to likud... just the general state of the world at the moment with a heightened sense of this otherwise you would be weak, as Bipin has been explaining. best On Sun, Aug 1, 2010 at 11:40 PM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > Oh Bipin, nice to hear from you such rare praises. Thank you. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From javedmasoo at gmail.com Wed Aug 4 11:32:10 2010 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (Javed) Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 11:32:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Ramji Kalsangra, key saffron-bomb maker held Message-ID: Key Ajmer dargah blast accused held? TNN, Aug 4, 2010, 03.38am IST JAIPUR: The Rajasthan anti-terrorist squad (ATS) on Tuesday is said to have nabbed a key accused of Ajmer dargah blast Ramji Kalsangra from Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Ramji, who is wanted in other blast cases, including those at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad and Malegaon, was on the run since his name came up during interrogation of other accused – Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma and Chandrashekhar Barod – arrested earlier by Rajasthan ATS. No ATS officer from Rajasthan confirmed the reports of Ramji’s arrest, claiming them to be “just rumors”. Ramji who is said to be a former RSS pracharak, is believed to have played a vital role in the three blasts as he is accused of preparing the bombs which were planted at the blast sites in Ajmer, Hyderabad and Malegaon. He had allegedly prepared the bombs while Sushil Joshi, who was shot dead in MP two months after the Ajmer Dargah blast, was a middleman between the people who planted the bombs and those who prepared them and planned the attack. Rajasthan home minister Shanti Dhariwal claims that Sushil was murdered by RSS people in order to shield the names of the top leaders of RSS who were involved in the blast. The Rajasthan anti-terrorist squad teams had been searching for Ramji in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh since May. DIG (ATS) Anand Srivastava told TOI that the reports of Ramji’s arrest are just rumours and the agency has not arrested anyone. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Key-Ajmer-dargah-blast-accused-held/articleshow/6254422.cms From mitoo at sarai.net Wed Aug 4 12:50:40 2010 From: mitoo at sarai.net (Mitoo Das) Date: Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:50:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] SURFACE/6 Younger Poets & Chapbook Launch Message-ID: <4C5914C8.9040208@sarai.net> Sarai-CSDS City As Studio & Sarai Media Lab Presents: SURFACES / 6 Younger Poets & Chapbook Launch Monday August 9 - Sarai Cafe - 6 PM Featuring readings in Hindi and English by: Geet Chaturvedi Giriraj Kiradoo Monica Mody Nabina Das Nitoo Das Rahul Soni Vyomesh Shukla (Event arranged in collaboration with Pratilipi, a bilingual online literary magazine.) The evening will also include a short discussion around innovation in poetry editing and publishing and launch of a special limited edition chapbook, made together with the visual artists of Sarai's City As Studio fellowship, featuring some of the poems that will be read. About the readers: Poet and fiction writer Geet Chaturvedi has published five books including two translations. He is Editor (Magazines), Dainik Bhaskar. Poet and translator Giriraj Kiradoo co-edits the bilingual journal Pratilipi: http://pratilipi.in/ Born in Ranchi, Monica Mody just received her M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Notre Dame where she won the 2010 Nicholas Sparks Prize. Her poetry has appeared in Wasafiri, Pratilipi, nthposition and elsewhere. Nabina Das's first novel, Footprints in the Bajra, was published this year by Cedar Books. She is a poet, fiction writer and India editor for the literary journal Danse Macabre. Nitoo Das teaches English at Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. Her first collection, Boki, was published by Virtual Artists Collective, Chicago, in September 2008. Rahul Soni is a writer, editor and translator "of no fixed address". He co-edits the bilingual journal Pratilipi and works with Writer's Side ( www.writersside.com ) among other things. Vyomesh Shukla has published a poetry collection and is editor of a magazine, Samas. _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From indersalim at gmail.com Wed Aug 4 17:25:35 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 17:25:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Is Farhan Haq ( UNO offical ) an Artist? Message-ID: Dear all Thinking about the Kashmir and the Historical promise which were not hounred and the present KANE JUNG ( stone Pelting ) pheonomenon which is claiming lives of innocent/stone pelters people in scores. Offically it is 26 since Friday only'. What are the ways of Protest: i want to see some artists joining in this process too. Farhan Haq is one such person (artist) who perhaps passed his own as UN Secretary General's comment to the press which was published all over thw world. The Indian Govt, who are clueless in kashmir feel obviously unnereved and have made the UN Chief's office to issue a denial statement, perhaps clandestinely circulated by Farhan. So that makes him an artist? There has to be some thinking about the ways how to stop Security forces in Kashmir to kill the stone-pelters. In other places in India protesters burn buses and what not, but we never hear police killing even children and women during such street actions. No wonder there is deep Anti India sentiment in Kashmir. Kashmir was never a Heaven as i i know, but not such a hell as it is now, but at least bollywood in 60-70's found in this one: Yeh Wadiya Kashmir hai .... ( This valley of Kashmir.... ) Janat ka nazar, (a heavenly spectacle ) which has refrence to the the old Persian couplet that if there is Heaven on Earth, it is here , it is here, it is here, But there is Wada ( promise ) in Wadiya ( valley ) which is not speaking the conflict but just about its romantic landscape Thus the reality depicted on screen is quite different from the realty on ground. May be by opening some sheen from some very peaceful glossy wods reveal the pain underneath. with love inder salim -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From jeebesh at sarai.net Wed Aug 4 17:51:54 2010 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 17:51:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Supreme Court quashes defamation cas Message-ID: <0EDFFDC9-63DB-430F-ACF2-3E95DE6CE258@sarai.net> PRESS STATEMENT Supreme Court quashes defamation case on activists by Association of Pesticide Manufacturing Companies 4th August, 2010, Warangal and New Delhi A two Judge bench of the Indian Supreme Court of India, on 20th July, 2010, quashed[1] the criminal defamation case against 11 activists initiated by the Crop Care Federation (formerly Pesticides Associations of India, a consortium of pesticide manufacturing companies)). The chemical consortium had filed the case against the activists in the Magistrate's Court of Warangal for publishing a report titled "The Killing Fields of Warangal" in 2002. The report which was a preliminary investigation of the impacts of pesticides use in the cotton belt of Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh (India) was termed defamatory by the largest and most powerful pesticide companies in the country. In its judgement on 20th July 2010, the Honourable Court observed that “The general tenor of the report indicates that the report meant to focus the harmful effects of exposure to pesticides. It is quite evident from the report that it was not meant to harm, hurt or defame any individual or the manufacturing company”. The ruling marks a landmark judgment favouring freedom of speech, and transparency and was fought by very well known Indian environmental lawyer, Mr. Raj Panjwani. This SLAPP type litigation (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation), brought upon by one section of pesticide industries, would have resulted in a continued long and expensive trial for the activists, which had already begun over 5 years ago. The Warangal court had also issued non-bailable arrest warrants against some of the 'accused' in 2007, after Andhra Pradesh High Court had dismissed the appeal to quash the proceedings The list of those who were charged included: Dr. Rajan R Patil (Epidemiologist), Ms. Madhumita Dutta (Corporate Accountability Desk – The Other Media), Mr. Ravi Agarwal (Toxics Link), Dr. D. Narasimha Reddy, Mr. P. Damoder (Sarvodaya Youth Organisation), Mr. Rajesh Rangarajan (formerly with Toxics Link), Ms. Abitha Anand (independent Journalist), Salil Chaturvedi (Splash Communications), Kishore Wankhade (formerly with GGF) and others. We, as the members of the fact-finding team and others associated with this report, condemn such harassment of environmental and public interest activists. We decry pesticide industry's intimidating tactics to suppress public voice, deny access to information and to put profits before farmers’ health. We, as the members of the fact-finding team and others associated with this report, humbly declare our commitment to the following: · Bring to the attention of the people, farmers and policy makers in the country and the world about increasing hazards of pesticides to farmers and growing scientific evidence about the hazards of these chemicals and the grassroots level use of pesticides. · Work for rational/ethical policies of use and distribution of pesticides with an unequivocal emphasis to phase out toxic substances and chemicals used in their manufacture. · Declare our commitment to non-chemical method of agricultural production. Help prevent harassment of public-spirited individuals and activists fighting for similar causes. We, as members of the fact-finding team call upon state and national governments to actively work towards eliminating the threats posed by hazardous agrochemicals for the well-being of farmers and the agricultural environment. NOTE: Background The fact finding team consisted of representatives of diverse organizations that are involved with agricultural issues in rural areas, sustainable development, environmental protection and related public health issues. This included representatives of Toxics Link (New Delhi), Community Health Cell (Bangalore) and Sarvodaya Youth Organization (Warangal). The findings of this team were published in an indicative report which aimed to be a transparent and account of indicative evidence that has been collected methodically and released for public debate to help in devising a rational and ethical pesticides policy in the country. The Cropcare Federation of India (formerly Pesticide Association of India), a consortium of manufacturers of agrochemicals has criticized this report and has claimed to be defamatory in nature. The Federation initiated criminal proceedings against the members of the fact-finding team and others associated with the publishing of the said report stating that the report is a malicious and defamatory attempt by the members of the team to defame the pesticide manufacturers and traders among the general public, thereby affecting their credibility and their business. Subsequently, the organizations and the individuals were engaged in a legal battle at the Warangal Metropolitan Magistrate's Court where the case had been filed. Members of the fact-finding team and others associated with this report denied all the allegations as false, misconstrued and out of context of the report. This indicative report was based on findings of the fact finding team after: a) Visits to a number of villages in Warangal district; b) Discussions with farmers and their relatives in the district; c) Discussions with members of the medical profession and the Indian Medical Association in the area who were involved in the treatment of patients affected by spraying of pesticides; d) Discussions with officials in the district including joint director- agriculture, and e) Dialogue with other stakeholders in the district. Driven by the primary objective of protecting the health of farmers, the indicative study was done in a transparent manner, with all the data, the methods used and the sources publicly announced in a spirit of accountability. It called for a larger investigation into the issue. The objective clearly was neither against any industry, nor against any particular association. The concern was about human health and ecology as a whole. The final recommendations of the fact finding team state that: 1. Initiation of education and counselling programmes for farmers and farm labourers in Warangal district on organic agriculture (especially cotton) in association with civil society and government institutions. 2. A detailed investigation into similar experiences elsewhere in the country and a formulation of a comprehensive national pesticide policy that would focus on rational use of pesticides, control and strict monitoring of accessibility to such dangerous chemicals and gradual phase-out of chemical pesticides. 3. A larger investigation into the issues raised in the report. [1] Reference: Supreme Court of India, Special Leave Petition, 3700 of 2008, Rajesh Rangarajan vs M/S Crop Care Federation of India and ANR, arising from CPLP 4155/06, subject CRIMINAL MATTERS - MATTERS FOR/ AGAINST QUASHING OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, http://courtnic.nic.in/supremecourt/causedisp.asp From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Wed Aug 4 22:00:19 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 22:00:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Love in ancient Kashmir... by Neeraj Santoshi Message-ID: *Love in ancient Kashmir... Neeraj Santoshi * Much before Valentine’s Day became popular in India and fundamentalists started opposing it as a Western construct, people in Kashmir used to celebrate this festival dedicated to Kamadeva, the Indian God of Sex and Love, with much gaiety and aplomb. More than a thousand years ago, Kashmiris celebrated Madantrayodashi, a festival of Love celebrated on 13th of the bright half of Chaitra (March-April), when Kamadeva , the Indian equivalent of Eros of the Greeks and the Cupid of the Latins, used to be worshipped with various types of garlands and diverse incenses. Madantrayodashi comes from two words- `Madan’ which means he who intoxicates with love and `Trayodashi’, which means the 13th. The 6-8th century AD Sanskrit text Nilmata Purana says that ``on the 13th of bright half of Chaitra ``Kamadeva , (painted ) on cloth should be worshipped with various types of garlands and diverse incenses’’. In verse 680, Nilmata Purana records that on this day, ``One should decorate one’s own self and worship the ladies of the house. O twice born this (13th day) should be necessarily celebrated, the rest may be or my not be celebrated’’. On how this festival was celebrated, the famous text mentions, ``O descendent of Kasyapa, best among the brahmanas, on the12th, a pitcher full of cold water and decorated with flowers and leaves should be placed before Kamadeva, and before sunrise a husband himself should bathe his wife with water (from the pitcher).’’. The importance of Kamadeva in the life of Kashmiris could be gauged from the fact that there is reference about a pilgrimage in the name of Kamadeva. In verse 1365, Nilamata Purana states , ``Having bathed at Kamatirtha, a man obtains the fulfillment of his desires and having bathed at Apasarastirtha, he becomes possessed of beauty’’. At another place the text mentions, ``One obtains happiness and becomes beautiful after seeing Kamadeva erected by Agastya on the mountain’’. There is another connection of Kamadeva and Kashmir, the land of Shiva. There is a legend about Kamadeva’s annihilation and subsequent resurrection at the hands of Shiva. It is said that wishing to help Parvati, the daughter of Himalayas, in gaining the favour of Shiva, Kamadeva shot his floral arrows at Shiva to disrupt His meditation and help Parvati gain Shiva’s attention. Enraged by this, Shiva opened his third eye, and annihilated Kamadeva with a single glance. Later, at the behest of the Gods and Parvati, Shiva resurrected Kamadeva to life, thus ensuring the procreative continuity of the world through desire, love and sex. It is said that It was Kamadeva who succeeded in bringing Shiva who had turned away from love after the death of wife Sati, near to Parvati. Kamadeva, who is also called Madana (intoxicating), is represented as beautiful young man, having a bow made of sugarcane and five floral arrows in his hands, traveling through the three worlds accompanied by his wife Rati, the cuckoo, the humming bee, gentle breezes, all symbolizing the spring time and the ambience of romance. And Kashmir, with its natural bounty, seems made for love. Kamadeva’s ornaments are the conch and the lotus, both related to water, the symbol of creativity and fertility. And Kamadeva’s this ornament, is found aplenty in emerald waters of Kashmir . Some critics feel that V-Day is being propagated by some market forces as a whole new industry has come up to market ``love’’. Some rightwing activists have been opposing V-Day celebrations on the grounds that it is a Western concept and is diluting the age-old Indian culture. Though V-day is a Western construct, but love itself isn't Western or Eastern. In our tradition, Kama is the personification of the divine will which leads and propels the ray of creation. *Neeraj Santoshi is senior correspondent with the Hindustan Times. You can visit his blog at http://neerajsantoshi.blogspot.com/* From humans.austria at gmail.com Wed Aug 4 22:13:34 2010 From: humans.austria at gmail.com (kulamarva balakrishna kulamarva balakrishna) Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 18:43:34 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Is Farhan Haq ( UNO offical ) an Artist? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Vienna,04-08-2010 Salimbhai Inder, since when you forgot Muslim weapons of assassination are stones and pelting stones is sharia confirm punishment. I consider it a crime.You need a good spanking boy for defending what is not indefensible.The Kashmiri parents are teaching children to pelt stones to kill as the world is set eliminating the cowardly civilian killers of Pakistan. Don't you see that? Or you have a suicide belt offered by the Inter Services Intelligence? Did the Kashmiri children learn pelting stones by pelting stone on satan,saitan,shastau? Grow up Inder Salim, Yours, Kulamarva Balakrishna On 4 August 2010 13:55, Inder Salim wrote: > Dear all > > > Thinking about the Kashmir and the Historical promise which were not > hounred and the present > KANE JUNG ( stone Pelting ) pheonomenon which is claiming lives of > innocent/stone pelters people in scores. Offically it is 26 since > Friday only'. What are the ways of Protest: i want to see some artists > joining in this process too. > > Farhan Haq is one such person (artist) who perhaps passed his own as > UN Secretary General's comment to the press which was published all > over thw world. The Indian Govt, who are clueless in kashmir feel > obviously unnereved and have made the UN Chief's office to issue a > denial statement, perhaps clandestinely circulated by Farhan. So that > makes him an artist? > > There has to be some thinking about the ways how to stop Security > forces in Kashmir to kill the stone-pelters. In other places in India > protesters burn buses and what not, but we never hear police killing > even children and women during such street actions. No wonder there is > deep Anti India sentiment in Kashmir. > > Kashmir was never a Heaven as i i know, but not such a hell as it is > now, but at least bollywood in 60-70's found in this one: > Yeh Wadiya Kashmir hai .... ( This valley of Kashmir.... ) Janat > ka nazar, (a heavenly spectacle ) which has refrence to the the old > Persian couplet that if there is Heaven on Earth, it is here , it is > here, it is here, > > But there is Wada ( promise ) in Wadiya ( valley ) which is not > speaking the conflict but just about its romantic landscape > > Thus the reality depicted on screen is quite different from the realty > on ground. > > May be by opening some sheen from some very peaceful glossy wods > reveal the pain underneath. > > with love > inder salim > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Kulamarva Balakrishna Kleistgasse 31/33 A.1030 Vienna,Austria 00431-7997699 & mobile:0043-676-4953370 email:humans.austria at gmail.com www.humansaustria.blogspot.com Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring (TTTMM) & International Centre for Social & Environmental Engineering, Taravadu, Bengre, Padubidri 574 111, Karnataka, India Phone 0091820-2577058 -- Kulamarva Balakrishna Kleistgasse 31/33 A.1030 Vienna,Austria 00431-7997699 & mobile:0043-676-4953370 email:humans.austria at gmail.com www.humansaustria.blogspot.com Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring (TTTMM) & International Centre for Social & Environmental Engineering, Taravadu, Bengre, Padubidri 574 111, Karnataka, India Phone 0091820-2577058 From indersalim at gmail.com Wed Aug 4 22:59:13 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 22:59:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Is Farhan Haq ( UNO offical ) an Artist? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Balakrishan ji please click to read about Kashmir's trauma generation http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/interviews/Its-the-manifestation-of-anger-among-Kashmirs-trauma-generation/articleshow/6253131.cms love is On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 10:13 PM, kulamarva balakrishna kulamarva balakrishna wrote: > > > > > Vienna,04-08-2010 > > Salimbhai Inder, since when you forgot Muslim weapons of > assassination are stones and pelting stones is sharia confirm > punishment. I consider it a crime.You need a good spanking > boy for defending what is not indefensible.The Kashmiri > parents are teaching children to pelt stones to kill as the > world is set eliminating the cowardly civilian killers of Pakistan. > Don't you see that? Or you have a suicide belt offered by the > Inter Services Intelligence? Did the Kashmiri children learn > pelting stones by pelting stone on satan,saitan,shastau? > Grow up Inder Salim, > Yours, > Kulamarva Balakrishna > > On 4 August 2010 13:55, Inder Salim wrote: >> >> Dear all >> >> >> Thinking about the Kashmir and the Historical promise which were not >> hounred and the present >>  KANE JUNG ( stone Pelting ) pheonomenon which is claiming lives of >> innocent/stone pelters people in scores. Offically it is 26 since >> Friday only'. What are the ways of Protest: i want to see some artists >> joining in this process too. >> >> Farhan Haq is one such person (artist) who perhaps passed  his own as >> UN Secretary General's comment to the press which was published all >> over thw world. The Indian Govt, who are clueless in kashmir feel >> obviously unnereved and have made the UN Chief's office to issue a >> denial statement, perhaps clandestinely circulated by Farhan. So that >> makes him an artist? >> >> There has to be  some thinking about the ways how to stop Security >> forces in Kashmir  to kill the stone-pelters. In other places in India >> protesters burn buses  and what not, but we never  hear police killing >> even children and women during such street actions. No wonder there is >> deep Anti India sentiment in Kashmir. >> >> Kashmir was never a Heaven as i i know, but not such a hell as it is >> now,  but at least bollywood in 60-70's found in this one: >> Yeh Wadiya Kashmir hai .... ( This  valley of Kashmir....  )  Janat >> ka nazar, (a heavenly spectacle )  which has refrence to the the old >> Persian couplet that if there is Heaven on Earth, it is here , it is >> here, it is here, >> >>  But there is Wada ( promise ) in Wadiya ( valley ) which is not >> speaking the conflict but  just about its romantic landscape >> >> Thus the reality depicted on screen is quite different from the realty >> on ground. >> >> May be by opening some sheen from some very peaceful glossy wods >> reveal the pain underneath. >> >> with love >> inder salim >> -- >> >> http://indersalim.livejournal.com >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > -- > Kulamarva Balakrishna > Kleistgasse 31/33 > A.1030 Vienna,Austria > 00431-7997699 & mobile:0043-676-4953370 > email:humans.austria at gmail.com > www.humansaustria.blogspot.com > > Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring (TTTMM) & > International Centre for Social & Environmental Engineering, > Taravadu, Bengre, Padubidri 574 111, Karnataka, India > Phone 0091820-2577058 > > > > -- > Kulamarva Balakrishna > Kleistgasse 31/33 > A.1030 Vienna,Austria > 00431-7997699 & mobile:0043-676-4953370 > email:humans.austria at gmail.com > www.humansaustria.blogspot.com > > Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring (TTTMM) & > International Centre for Social & Environmental Engineering, > Taravadu, Bengre, Padubidri 574 111, Karnataka, India > Phone 0091820-2577058 > -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From indersalim at gmail.com Wed Aug 4 23:33:47 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 23:33:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Is Farhan Haq ( UNO offical ) an Artist? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Human Rights Report: The India government should avoid excessive use of force while dealing with demonstrators in the Kashmir valley, officials from international NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said this week. Since January this year, 33 civilians have been killed by the Indian security forces. At least 18 people, many of them teenagers, were allegedly killed during a crackdown on protests that began on 11 June 2010. But the unbated killings started long before the protests began in January this year. On 8 January, 16-year-old Inayat Khan became the first victim of this renewed military crackdown. Khan, a student had just passed his SSC exams with excellent marks, and was on his way to class in Srinagar when he was shot by troops. At his funeral, chants of ‘Inayat tere khoon se inquilab ayega’ (Inayat, your blood will bring revolution) reverberated in the air. Little did the mourners know that this was to be the first of many such funerals in the coming months. Yet in one way, the funeral incantations were prescient: the killings have increased the sense of both helplessness and rage felt by much of the local population towards the security forces – seen by many as occupational forces. In turn, this anger has led more and more onto the streets to demand justice for the dead – demands backed by the commoner’s weapon of choice, stones. Excessive use of force on stone-pelters further aggravated the death count in the following months in all the parts of the Valley. During crossfire during a grenade attack in Sopore, the police shot civilian Parvaiz Ahmed who had sustained bullet injuriy in the abdomen was brought dead to the hospital on 15 January. On January 24, in Shadimarg, 55 km south of Srinagar, Mushtaq Ahmed Mir was used as a human shield by the army during a search operation against suspected rebels. On 31 January, Wamiq Farooq (13) was shot at the Gani Memorial Stadium in downtown Srinagar, where he was playing cricket. While chasing protesters, the police entered the stadium and fired a teargas shell that hit Farooq at close range, killing him instantly. Though the concerned assistant sub-inspector of police was subsequently suspended – ‘for not having taken adequate precautions while firing a tear smoke shell towards protesters’, according to the official explanation – the police force subsequently took a complete u-turn, dubbing Wamiq ‘a miscreant who attempted to murder a policeman’ in a report filed in court on 20 February. Five days later, on February 5, Zahid Farooq (16) was killed by a Border Security Force (BSF) patrol in Braine not far from his residence on the Srinagar outskirts. Though the BSF initially denied any role in the murder, it later suspended a BSF commandant and a constable Commandant R K Birdi, Constable Lakhwinder Singh for the teenager’s killing. Both of the accused are currently on trial. Over the last month, a total of 11 persons, at least eight of them children between 13 and 19 years old, were killed in shootings by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paramilitary personnel stationed across the Kashmir valley, as protestors defied curfew regulations, held violent demonstrations and often clashed with the security personnel in Srinagar, Sopore and other towns which were put under curfew. As the pace of the murders picked up, so too did the need to downplay the incidents. On 13 April, Zubair Ahmed Bhat (17) – a student from Sopore who worked in Srinagar as a part-time labourer – was sitting on the banks of the Jhelum River with his friends. Suddenly, a group of paramilitary personnel came upon him and forced the entire group to jump into the river. While most could swim, Zubair struggled. Some boatmen passing by attempted to rescue him, but the troops fired teargas shells at them and Zubair drowned. But the police closed the file, labelling it ‘an accident’ – seemingly wilfully ignoring the eyewitness accounts. There have been several other cases, too, of senseless slaying, including troops even firing on funerals for the victims, resulting in the deaths of close relatives of the deceased. Indeed, for locals it has seemed that, over the past six months, just as they have begun to mourn a death, news of yet another death had reached them. On April 24, Ghulam Mohammed, father to nine children, was shot in Kellar, 60 km south of Srinagar by the Indian army. Further complicating the simmering tensions was news of fake encounters of three youth by the Indian Army. On 29 April, three youths, Muhammad Shafi Lone (23), Shehzad Ahmed (27) and Riyaz Ahmed (22) all residents of Nadihal Rafiabad were lured by counter-insurgents and Territorial Army personnel up to the Line of Control in Machil sector, on the pretext of employment. The following day, troops with 4 Rajput Rifles, a unit of the Indian Army, were said to have killed them in a staged encounter. The police later arrested two counter-insurgents and a member of the Territorial Army, all three of whom are currently in custody. For its part, the army quickly constituted a Court of Inquiry headed by a senior army officer, and the leadership suspended a major and a commanding officer of the 4 Rajput Rifles unit. On 11 June, 17-year-old Tufail Ahmed Mattoo of Srinagar was killed, according to initial reports, by a teargas shell fired by the police at the protestors. However, later reports said he was shot in the head. On 19 June, a Srinagar court has directed the state police to investigate this killing and submit its report by 28 June. On 20 June, as protests over the killing of Tufail Ahmed Mattoo turned violent, a 24-year-old carpet weaver of Srinagar, Rafiq Ahmed Bangroo, sustained serious head injuries and went into coma. He died on 19 June at the hospital. Some reports suggest that he was beaten by the CRPF personnel during the protests. The next day witnessed further protests over the death of Bangroo, as youths returning from his funeral attacked a CRPF post and attempted to set fire to a CRPF armoured vehicle. A 19-year-old relative of Bangroo, Javed Malla, was killed in the CRPF firing. On 25 June, Firdous Ahmad Kakroo and Shakeel Ahmad Ganai (24) were killed as the CRPF personnel fired at demonstrators demanding the bodies of two armed guerrillas killed by the security forces near the Sopore town, 55 km from Srinagar. Eyewitnesses had reported that the demonstrators set fire to the CRPF commanding officer’s vehicle and attacked a security bunker. The authorities claimed that the two were armed guerrillas with close links with Lashkar-e-Toiba and the CRPF claimed that it had fired in self-defence. On June 27, in Sopore, 22-year-old Bilal Ahmed Wani was killed as the CRPF personnel fired to quell protestors repeatedly defying curfew. On 28 June, in the south Kashmir town of Baramulla, Tauqeer Ahmed Rather (11) and Tajamul Ahmad Bhatt (17) were both shot dead by troops. Following this, the army moved into the area, and Baramulla has been under curfew ever since On June 29, three protestors, Ishfaq Ahmed Khanday (15) class tens tudent of SK Colony, Imtiyaz Ahmed Itoo (17) bakery shop worker and 17-year-old Shujatul Islam, class 12 student – were shot dead in Anantnag district. While the initial reports said they were killed in firing by the CRPF, later reports suggested that they had been initially detained and then killed. On July 6, in Srinagar, four people were killed. Abrar Ahamed Khan (16) was shot in Maisuma by the police. Muzafar Bhat (17), was picked up from his home in Tenpora bypass by the CRPF and drowed to death on July 5. In Maisuma, Fayaz Ahmed Wani (27) of Tengpora, father of two girls, was shot in his throat at the funreal of Muzafar Bhat. On the same day, Fancy Jan (25) from Batamaloo was shot while she was at the window putting up curtains in her home. On July 17, Faizan Ahmed Buhroo, a seventh class student of Guru Nanak School and son of a blacksmith. drowned after being beaten by Special Operation Group personnel of police in north Kashmir’s Varmul town in Baramulla. His body was retrieved from the river Jehlum at Chattipadshahi Bridge at around 5 pm. After the body was recovered, thousands of people took to streets in the town raising pro-freedom, anti-India and anti-police slogans. Carrying the body on a stretcher, people marched on the Srinagar-Muzzafarabad road demanding action against the SOG personnel Tanveer Ahmed alias Kaka, whom they blamed for the drowning of Faizan during clashes on Saturday in Azad Gunj area. On July 19, Fayaz Ahmad Khanday (24), a newly-wed youth who worked as a waiter, was shot when security forces opened fire at a funeral procession of Buhroo, another boy who was drowned when the security forces chased a stone-pelting mob on Saturday. Police sources said the body was fished out on the same day. When the funeral procession reached near the district commissioner’s office, the mourners turned violent, prompting the security forces to open fire. Of the 13 people injured in the incident, one died. “Fayaz Ahmad Khanday received a bullet in his chest and was declared dead. Another, critically injured, youth was shifted to hospital in Srinagar,” MS Nanda, medical superintendent of District Hospital, Baramulla, said. On July 30, two persons were killed and over 10 injured in Central Reserve Police Force firing in north Kashmir's Sopore district. Reports said, two youth were killed and six persons received bullet injuries when paramilitary CRPF and Railway Protection Force Personnel (RPF) opened fire on a group of protesters at Amargarh in Sopore after the Friday prayers. The two slain youth have been identified as Showkat Ahmad (22), son of Abdul Majeed and Mohammad Ahsan (55), both residents of Amargad on the outskirts of Sopore town. On July 30, Rafiq Ahmad, a resident of Pattan, was killed and at least 15 people were injured in Pattan, where Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the police allegedly went berserk and opened fire inside the Pattan sub-district hospital, north Kashmir. An eyewitness said, "Rafiq was shot in the chest and he died on the spot." On the same day, an injured protester from north Kashmir's Sheeri Baramulla succumbed to his injuries late Friday, sources at the SKIMS hospital Soura said. 32-year-old Nazir Ahmad, a baker by profession, had received a bullet injury in chest when police and CRPF troops opened fire on protesters in Pattan during a demonstration against the killing of two civilians in Sopore. Mudasir Ahmad, a 20-year-old youth was killed and at least seven persons injured when paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops opened fire on protesters at Naidkhai Poshwari village in Sumbal area of north Kashmir's Bandipora district on July 31. On July 31, Javed Ahmad Teli, a youth who was injured during clashes with the police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Forces in north Kashmir's Baramulla district succumbed to his injuries at the SK Institute of Medical Sciences in Soura, Srinagar. 33 CIVILIANS SO FAR On August 1, in Pampore Nayeem Ahmad Shah (19) and Rayees Ahmed Shah (24), a resident of Kadlabal were shot while protesting. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Afroza died of a gunshot in the neck when police and CRPF men fired on protesters in Namon village of south Kashmir's Khrew area. Relatives said she was standing by her door, witnessing the protests. On the same day, five youth were killed and ten others injured when the ammunition stored inside Khrew police station in South Kashmir exploded as angry protesters set ablaze the building late Sunday. One of the slain youth has been identified as Javed Ahmed Shiekh from Uyan village near Khrew. On August 2, Muhammad Yaqoob Bhat, 22, was killed when the police and the CRPF troops opened fire on protesters in Noman village of south Kashmir's Pulwama district Monday afternoon. was allegedly shot dead by Station House Officer (SHO) Kakpora, Niyaz Ahmad at point blank range this afternoon. Yaqoob was rushed by locals to the Public Health Centre Newa, where doctors declared him brought dead. A 20-year-old youth injured in police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) firing at Bijbehra in south Kashmir’s Islamabad district on Saturday succumbed to his injuries at the SK Institute of Medical Sciences here at Soura early Monday morning. The slain youth has been identified as Tariq Ahmed Dar son of Farooq Ahmed Dar from Simthan in Bijbehara. Khursheed Ahmed War (22), son of Muhammad Maqbool War, resident of Shumnag, Kupwara, was killed while six others were injured Monday, when paramilitary CRPF troops and Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel of the police opened fire on protesters who allegedly tried to attack a SOG camp in Kralpora town of Kupwara district in north Kashmir. Aashiq Hussain Bhat, a 14-year-old boy was killed and six others were injured in the clashes between the protesters and the troopers in Kulgam on August 2. The deceased identified as, son of Ghulam Hassan Bhat, resident of Wachiepora area of Kulgam district. The student of ninth standard, Ashiq received bullets in his shoulder and thigh and died en route to Srinagar for treatment. The ambulance, which carried Ashiq was also fired upon and the driver was beaten up, said an eyewitness. A man named Basher Ahmed Rishi, son of Mohammed Ismael Rishi from Wechei area was allegedly shot dead by a local policeman. The 44-year-old man was then thrown into a nearby stream from the Sangam bridge. Another teenager Arshid Ahmed son of Mohd Abdullah of Reshipora, Awantipora was also killed in Sangam. Eyewitnesses said, "Arshid's body bore torture march and there was no injury mark caused by a sharp metal." August 2, Sheikh Dawood Colony, in Batmaloo is in ferment following the killing of a 9-year-old-boy, identified as Sameer Ahmad Rah son of Fayaz Ahmad Rah of the same locality, allegedly beaten to death by paramilitary forces. 49 killed so far On August 3, Meharj-ud-din of Qamarwari was shot at 10 am by security forces on Tuesday. He had received a bullet injury in his chest and had died on way to SMHS hospital. Four others have been injured. While the people were mourning the death of the Qamarwari youth, CRPF troops and policemen shot dead a teenager Anees Ahmad, son of Khurshid Ahmad Ganai outside his Narwara residence in Eidgah area of Old City. According to reports and eyewitnesses, youth were holding demonstrations in Dangerpora locality of Narwara when troops and police opened random fire upon them. 17-year-old Anees, who received a bullet in his abdomen rushed to the nearby SMHS hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Anees’ body was taken in a procession to the historic Jamia Masjid. Thousands of people defied curfew and attended the teen’s funeral prayers as the Old City reverberated with pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. Hours later CRPF and police opened fire in Shalteng area on the city outskirts injuring nine people, one of them critically. The youth identified as Suhail Ahmad (16), son of Mohammad Yasin Dar of Zainakote was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition. Suhail later succumbed to his injuries. A youth was killed and fifteen others injured when CRPF troops and police opened indiscriminate fire on hundreds of protesters near Frisal area of Kulgam district this afternoon. The slain youth has been identified as Jehangir Ahmad, 22, son of Mohammad Yusuf Bhat of Chingam. Three of the critically injured persons have been rushed to Srinagar hospital for treatment. 25-year-old Reyaz Ahmed Bhat from Khrew in South Kashmir succumbed to his injuries at the SK Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura Tuesday afternoon. Bhat was critically injured during clashes with the police and the Central Reserve Police Force on Sunday in Khrew. 55 so far -- Adv Kamayani Bali Mahabal +919820749204 skype-lawyercumactivist "After a war, the silencing of arms is not enough. Peace means respecting all rights. You can’t respect one of them and violate the others. When a society doesn’t respect the rights of its citizens, it undermines peace and leads it back to war.” -- Maria Julia Hernandez www.otherindia.org www.binayaksen.net www.phm-india.org www.phmovement.org www.ifhhro.org On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 11:17 PM, kulamarva balakrishna kulamarva balakrishna wrote: > Vienna,04-08-2010 > Inder Salimbhai, > I read it.Perhaps I will respond tomorrow. > Thank you all the same lots of love in return. > I had two Kasmiri roommates,one Pandit Raina > another friendly Muslim Partner called > Moinuddin engaged in Kashmiri fruit business > in Bombay's Crawford Market. > We shared food together brought > by Abdullah, a baharwala from my village. > Kulamarva Balakrishna > > On 4 August 2010 19:29, Inder Salim wrote: >> >> Dear Balakrishan ji >> >> please click to read about Kashmir's trauma generation >> >> >> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/interviews/Its-the-manifestation-of-anger-among-Kashmirs-trauma-generation/articleshow/6253131.cms >> >> >> love >> is >> >> On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 10:13 PM, kulamarva balakrishna kulamarva >> balakrishna wrote: >> > >> > >> > >> > > > > Kulamarva Balakrishna > Kleistgasse 31/33 > A.1030 Vienna,Austria > 00431-7997699 & mobile:0043-676-4953370 > email:humans.austria at gmail.com > www.humansaustria.blogspot.com > > Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring (TTTMM) & > International Centre for Social & Environmental Engineering, > Taravadu, Bengre, Padubidri 574 111, Karnataka, India > Phone 0091820-2577058 > From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Thu Aug 5 15:41:01 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 03:11:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?NIGHT_LONG_SIT-IN_to_PROTEST_INDIA?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=99S_CRIMES_AGAINST_HUMANITY_in_KASHMIR=2C_on_Saturday=2C?= =?utf-8?q?_7th_of_August=2C_at_Jantar_Mantar=2C_New_Delhi=2E=2EStarting_t?= =?utf-8?q?ime=3A_5=3A30_pm?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <563420.69139.qm@web114711.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> From windows we hear grieving mothers, and snow begins to fall on us, like ash. Black on edges of flames it cannot extinguish the neighbourhoods, the homes set ablaze by mignight soldiers, Kashmir is burning. --- Agha Shahid Ali NIGHT LONG SIT-IN To PROTEST INDIA’S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY In KASHMIR On Saturday, 7th of August Venue: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi Time: 5:30 pm onwards Organized by: KASHMIRIS in DELHI The tyranny has reached a level where there are no words that can describe the condition of the victim. In the face of sheer wanton killing, desecration and humiliation, all we can do is appeal to every human conscience to come forward and raise a voice. From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Thu Aug 5 17:10:24 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 17:10:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Bill Mckibben - on US inaction on CC policy Message-ID: *We’re Hot as Hell and We’re Not Going to Take It Any More Three Steps to Establish a Politics of Global Warming* ByBill McKibben Try to fit these facts together: *Accordingto the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the planet has just come through the warmest decade, the warmest 12 months, the warmest six months, and the warmest April, May, and June on record. * A “staggering” newstudyfrom Canadian researchers has shown that warmer seawater has reduced phytoplankton, the base of the marine food chain, by 40% since 1950. *Nine nationshave so far set their all-time temperature records in 2010, including Russia (111 degrees), Niger (118), Sudan (121), Saudi Arabia and Iraq (126 apiece), and Pakistan, which also set thenew all-time Asia recordin May: a hair under 130 degrees. I can turn my oven to 130 degrees. * And then, in late July, the U.S. Senate decided to do exactly nothing about climate change. They didn’t do less than they could have -- they did* nothing*, preserving a perfect two-decade bipartisan record of no action. Senate majority leader Harry Reid decided not even to schedule a vote on legislation that would have capped carbon emissions. I wrote the first book for a general audience on global warming back in 1989, and I’ve spent the subsequent 21 years working on the issue. I’m a mild-mannered guy, a Methodist Sunday School teacher. Not quick to anger. So what I want to say is: this is fucked up. The time has come to get mad, and then to get busy. For many years, the lobbying fight for climate legislation on Capitol Hill has been led by a collection of the most corporate and moderate environmental groups, outfits like the Environmental Defense Fund. We owe them a great debt, and not just for their hard work. We owe them a debt because they did everything the way you’re supposed to: they wore nice clothes, lobbied tirelessly, and compromised at every turn. By the time they were done, they had a bill that only capped carbon emissions from electric utilities (not factories or cars) and was so laden with gifts for industry that if you listened closely you could actually hear the oinking. They bent over backwards like Soviet gymnasts. Senator John Kerry, the legislator they worked most closely with, issued this rallying cry as the final negotiations began: "We believe we have compromised significantly, and we're prepared to compromise further.” *And even that was not enough.*They were left out to dry by everyone -- not just Reid, not just the Republicans. Even President Obama wouldn’t lend a hand, investing not a penny of his political capital in the fight. The result: total defeat, no moral victories. *Now What?* So now we know what we didn’t before: making nice doesn’t work. It was worth a try, and I’m completely serious when I say I’m grateful they made the effort, but it didn’t even come close to working. So we better try something else. Step one involves actually talking about global warming. For years now, the accepted wisdom in the best green circles was: talk about anything else -- energy independence, oil security, beating the Chinese to renewable technology. I was at a session convened by the White House early in the Obama administration where some polling guru solemnly explained that “green jobs” polled better than “cutting carbon.” No, really? In the end, though, all these focus-group favorites are secondary. The task at hand is keeping the planet from melting. We need everyone -- beginning with the president -- to start explaining that basic fact at every turn. It*is*the heat, and also the humidity. Since warm air holds more water than cold, the atmosphere is about 5% moister than it was 40 years ago, which explains the freak downpours that seem to happen someplace on this continent every few days. It*is*the carbon -- that’s why the seas are turning acid, a point Obama could have made with ease while standing on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. “It’s bad that it’s black out there,” he might have said, “but even if that oil had made it safely ashore and been burned in our cars, it would still be wrecking the oceans.” Energy independence is nice, but you need a planet to be energy independent on. Mysteriously enough, this seems to be a particularly hard point for smart people to grasp. Even in the wake of the disastrous Senate non-vote, the Nature Conservancy’s climate experttold *New York Times*columnist Tom Friedman, “We have to take climate change out of the atmosphere, bring it down to earth, and show how it matters in people’s everyday lives.” Translation: ordinary average people can’t possibly recognize the real stakes here, so let’s put it in language they can understand, which is about their most immediate interests. It’s both untrue, as I’ll show below, and incredibly patronizing. It is, however, exactly what we’ve been doing for a decade and clearly, It Does Not Work. Step two, we have to ask for what we actually need, not what we calculate we might possibly be able to get. If we’re going to slow global warming in the very short time available to us, then we don’t actually need an incredibly complicated legislative scheme that gives door prizes to every interested industry and turns the whole operation over toGoldman Sachsto run. We need a stiff price on carbon, set by the scientific understanding that we can’t still be burning black rocks a couple of decades hence. That undoubtedly means upending the future business plans of Exxon and BP, Peabody Coal and Duke Energy, not to speak of everyone else who’s made a fortune by treating the atmosphere as an open sewer for the byproducts of their main business. Instead they should pay through the nose for that sewer, and here’s the crucial thing:*most of the money raised in the process should be returned directly to American pockets*. The monthly check sent to Americans would help fortify us against the rise in energy costs, and we’d still be getting the price signal at the pump to stop driving that SUV and start insulating the house. We also need to make real federal investments in energy research and development, to help drive down the price of alternatives -- the Breakthrough Institutepoints out, quite rightly, that we’re crazy to spend more of our tax dollars on research into new drone aircraft and Mars orbiters than we do on photovoltaics. Yes, these things are politically hard, but they’re not impossible. A politician who really cared could certainly use, say, the platform offered by the White House to sell a plan that taxed BP and actually gave the money to ordinary Americans. (So far they haven’t even used the platform offered by the White House toreinstallthe rooftop solar panels that Jimmy Carter put there in the 1970s and Ronald Reagan took down in his term.) Asking for what you need doesn’t mean you’ll get all of it. Compromise still happens. But as David Brower, the greatest environmentalist of the late twentieth century,explainedamid the fight to save the Grand Canyon: “We are to hold fast to what we believe is right, fight for it, and find allies and adduce all possible arguments for our cause. If we cannot find enough vigor in us or them to win, then let someone else propose the compromise. We thereupon work hard to coax it our way. We become a nucleus around which the strongest force can build and function.” Which leads to the third step in this process. If we’re going to get any of this done, we’re going to need a movement, the one thing we haven’t had. For 20 years environmentalists have operated on the notion that we’d get action if we simply had scientists explain to politicians and CEOs that our current ways wereending the Holocene, the current geological epoch. That turns out, quite conclusively, not to work. We need to be able to explain that their current ways will end something they actually care about, i.e. their careers. And since we’ll never have the cash to compete with Exxon, we better work in the currencies we can muster: bodies, spirit, passion. *Movement Time* As Tom Friedman put it in a strongcolumnthe day after the Senate punt, the problem was that the public “never got mobilized.” Is it possible to get people out in the streets demanding action about climate change? Last year, with almost no money, our scruffy little outfit,350.org, managed to organize what*Foreign Policy*calledthe “largest ever coordinated global rally of any kind” on any issue -- 5,200 demonstrations in 181 countries, 2,000 of them in the U.S.A. People were rallying not just about climate change, but around a remarkably wonky scientific data point, 350 parts per million carbon dioxide, which NASA’s James Hansen and his colleagues havedemonstratedis the most we can have in the atmosphere if we want a planet “similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted.” Which, come to think of it, we do. And the “we,” in this case, was not rich white folks. If you look at the25,000 pictures in our Flickr account, you’ll see that most of them were poor, black, brown, Asian, and young -- because that’s what most of the world is. No need for vice-presidents of big conservation groups to patronize them: shrimpers in Louisiana and women in burqas and priests in Orthodox churches and slumdwellers in Mombasa turned out to be completely capable of understanding the threat to the future. Those demonstrations were just a start (one we should have made long ago). We’re following up in October -- on 10-10-10 -- with aGlobal Work Party. All around the country and the world people will be putting up solar panels and digging community gardens and laying out bike paths. Not because we can stop climate change one bike path at a time, but because we need to make a sharp political point to our leaders: we’re getting to work, what about you? We need to shame them, starting now. And we need everyone working together. This movement is starting to emerge on many fronts. In September, for instance, opponents of mountaintop removal areconverging on DCto demand an end to the coal trade. That same month, Tim DeChristopher goes on trial in Salt Lake City for monkey-wrenching oil and gas auctions by submitting phony bids. (Naomi Klein and Terry Tempest Williams have called for folks togather atthe courthouse.) The big environmental groups are starting to wake up, too. The Sierra Club has a dynamic new leader,Mike Brune, who’s working hard with stalwarts like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. (Note to enviro groups: working together is fun and useful).Churchesare getting involved, as well as mosques and synagogues.Kids are leadingthe fight, all over the world -- they have to live on this planet for another 70 years or so, and they have every right to be pissed off. *But no one will come out to fight for watered down and weak legislation.*That’s not how it works. You don’t get a movement unless you take the other two steps I’ve described. And in any event it won’t work overnight. We’re not going to get the Senate to act next week, or maybe even next year. It took a decade after the Montgomery bus boycott to get the Voting Rights Act. But if there hadn’t been a movement, then the Voting Rights Act would have passed in… never. We may need to get arrested. We definitely need art, and music, and disciplined, nonviolent, but very real anger. Mostly, we need to tell the truth, resolutely and constantly. Fossil fuel is wrecking the one earth we’ve got. It’s not going to go away because we ask politely. If we want a world that works, we’re going to have to raise our voices. *Bill McKibben is founder of350.organd the author, most recently, ofEaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet. Earlier this year the Boston Globecalledhim “probably the country’s leading environmentalist” and Timedescribedhim as “the planet’s best green journalist.” He’s a scholar in residence at Middlebury College. To hear him discuss why the public needs to lead the fight against global warming**in Timothy MacBain's latest TomCast audio interview,**clickhereor, to download it to your iPod, here .* Copyright 2010 Bill McKibben -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Delhi Platform" group. To post to this group, send email to delhi-platform at googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to delhi-platform+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/delhi-platform?hl=en. From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Thu Aug 5 17:13:55 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 17:13:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Fwd=3A_NIGHT_LONG_SIT-IN_to_PROTES?= =?windows-1252?q?T_INDIA=92S_CRIMES_AGAINST_HUMANITY_in_KASHMIR=2C?= =?windows-1252?q?_on_Saturday=2C_7th_of_August=2C_at_Jantar_Mantar?= =?windows-1252?q?=2C_New_Delhi=2E=2EStarting_time=3A_5=3A30_pm?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: suvaid yaseen سويد ياسين Date: Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 11:11 PM Subject: NIGHT LONG SIT-IN to PROTEST INDIA’S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY in KASHMIR, on Saturday, 7th of August, at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi..Starting time: 5:30 pm NIGHT LONG SIT-IN To PROTEST INDIA’S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY In KASHMIR On Saturday, 7th of August Venue: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi Time: 5:30 pm onwards Organized by: KASHMIRIS in DELHI The tyranny has reached a level where there are no words that can describe the condition of the victim. In the face of sheer wanton killing, desecration and humiliation, all we can do is appeal to every human conscience to come forward and raise a voice. From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Thu Aug 5 17:40:33 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 17:40:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Frozen CO2, methane a time bomb : World Congress of Soil Scientists Message-ID: It's been an unusually warm summer in different regions of the Arctic; this is one seriously grave feedback from melting permafrost. Nagraj *Frozen CO2, methane a time bomb: experts * *August4, 2010* *AAP * Massive volumes ofcarbon dioxide and methane frozen in the earth's soils are a "time-bombticking under our feet", soil scientists say. The thawing of vastareas of frozen soils and the decay of peatlands under higher globaltemperatures could release massive volumes of carbon dioxide and methane intothe atmosphere - potentially doubling the amount of atmospheric green house gases. The World Congress of Soil Scientists in Brisbane has been told that frozen soils and peatlands inthe northern hemisphere are estimated to store up to 50 per cent of the world's organic soil carbon. University of Wisconsin-Madison soil scientist Dr James Bockheim said global warming threatens to thaw these soils, some of which have been frozen for thousands of years. "Atmospheric temperatures have increased by 3 (degrees) C over the past decades in theArctic and Antarctic regions and this continued warming may cause carbon stored in the surface permafrost to be released to the atmosphere as carbondioxide," he said. The potential release of greenhouse gases from frozen soils is not currently taken into account in the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) calculations as it is not known exactly how thawing will impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Rising global temperatures will also increase decomposition of old carbon stored in peatlands, many of which also are underlain by permafrost. Dr Merritt Turetsky, from the University of Guelph inCanada, is studying peatlands and describes them as a time-bomb ticking underour feet. "Peatlandsrepresent only 1-3 per cent of the world's land surface, but play a major rolein the global carbon cycle," Dr Turetsky said. "Peatlands have served as a long-term sink of carbon dioxide but today also represent one of the largest natural sources of methane. Dr Turetsky saidthat, under climate change, northern regions are also becoming more vulnerableto large-scale disturbances such as fire. Fires in remotenorthern regions can burn hundreds of thousands of hectares over severalmonths, and Dr Turetsky's research has shown that when fires burn intopeatlands, emissions of carbon and toxic metals such as mercury can surpassindustrial levels. From indersalim at gmail.com Thu Aug 5 19:02:56 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 19:02:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Is Farhan Haq ( UNO offical ) an Artist? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ABOUT STONE THROWING A spontaneous demonstration formed on the American side of the checkpoint, protesting the actions of the East and the inactions of the West: a few days later, the crowd stoned Soviet buses driving towards the Soviet War Memorial, located in the Tiergarten in the British sector. The Soviets tried to escort the buses with Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs). Thereafter, the Soviets were only allowed to cross via the Sandkrug Bridge crossing point (which was the nearest to Tiergarten) and were prohibited from bringing in APCs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkpoint_Charlie On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 11:33 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > Human Rights Report: > > The India government should avoid excessive use of force while dealing > with demonstrators in the Kashmir valley, officials from international > NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said this week. > Since January this year, 33 civilians have been killed by the Indian > security forces. > > At least 18 people, many of them teenagers, were allegedly killed > during a crackdown on protests that began on 11 June 2010. > > But the unbated killings started long before the protests began in > January this year. On 8 January, 16-year-old Inayat Khan became the > first victim of this renewed military crackdown. Khan, a student had > just passed his SSC exams with excellent marks, and was on his way to > class in Srinagar when he was shot by troops. > > At his funeral, chants of ‘Inayat tere khoon se inquilab ayega’ > (Inayat, your blood will bring revolution) reverberated in the air. > Little did the mourners know that this was to be the first of many > such funerals in the coming months. Yet in one way, the funeral > incantations were prescient: the killings have increased the sense of > both helplessness and rage felt by much of the local population > towards the security forces – seen by many as occupational forces. In > turn, this anger has led more and more onto the streets to demand > justice for the dead – demands backed by the commoner’s weapon of > choice, stones. > > Excessive use of force on stone-pelters further aggravated the death > count in the following months in all the parts of the Valley. > > During crossfire during a grenade attack in Sopore, the police shot > civilian Parvaiz Ahmed who had sustained bullet injuriy in the abdomen > was brought dead to the hospital on 15 January. > > On January 24, in Shadimarg, 55 km south of Srinagar, Mushtaq Ahmed > Mir was used as a human shield by the army during a search operation > against suspected rebels. > > On 31 January, Wamiq Farooq (13) was shot at the Gani Memorial Stadium > in downtown Srinagar, where he was playing cricket. While chasing > protesters, the police entered the stadium and fired a teargas shell > that hit Farooq at close range, killing him instantly. > > Though the concerned assistant sub-inspector of police was > subsequently suspended – ‘for not having taken adequate precautions > while firing a tear smoke shell towards protesters’, according to the > official explanation – the police force subsequently took a complete > u-turn, dubbing Wamiq ‘a miscreant who attempted to murder a > policeman’ in a report filed in court on 20 February. > > Five days later, on February 5, Zahid Farooq (16) was killed by a > Border Security Force (BSF) patrol in Braine not far from his > residence on the Srinagar outskirts. Though the BSF initially denied > any role in the murder, it later suspended a BSF commandant and a > constable Commandant R K Birdi, Constable Lakhwinder Singh for the > teenager’s killing. Both of the accused are currently on trial. > > Over the last month, a total of 11 persons, at least eight of them > children between 13 and 19 years old, were killed in shootings by the > Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paramilitary personnel stationed > across the Kashmir valley, as protestors defied curfew regulations, > held violent demonstrations and often clashed with the security > personnel in Srinagar, Sopore and other towns which were put under > curfew. > > As the pace of the murders picked up, so too did the need to downplay > the incidents. On 13 April, Zubair Ahmed Bhat (17) – a student from > Sopore who worked in Srinagar as a part-time labourer – was sitting on > the banks of the Jhelum River with his friends. Suddenly, a group of > paramilitary personnel came upon him and forced the entire group to > jump into the river. While most could swim, Zubair struggled. Some > boatmen passing by attempted to rescue him, but the troops fired > teargas shells at them and Zubair drowned. But the police closed the > file, labelling it ‘an accident’ – seemingly wilfully ignoring the > eyewitness accounts. > > There have been several other cases, too, of senseless slaying, > including troops even firing on funerals for the victims, resulting in > the deaths of close relatives of the deceased. Indeed, for locals it > has seemed that, over the past six months, just as they have begun to > mourn a death, news of yet another death had reached them. > > On April 24, Ghulam Mohammed, father to nine children, was shot in > Kellar, 60 km south of Srinagar by the Indian army. > > Further complicating the simmering tensions was news of fake > encounters of three youth by the Indian Army. > > On 29 April, three youths, Muhammad Shafi Lone (23), Shehzad Ahmed > (27) and Riyaz Ahmed (22) all residents of Nadihal Rafiabad were lured > by counter-insurgents and Territorial Army personnel up to the Line of > Control in Machil sector, on the pretext of employment. The following > day, troops with 4 Rajput Rifles, a unit of the Indian Army, were said > to have killed them in a staged encounter. > > The police later arrested two counter-insurgents and a member of the > Territorial Army, all three of whom are currently in custody. For its > part, the army quickly constituted a Court of Inquiry headed by a > senior army officer, and the leadership suspended a major and a > commanding officer of the 4 Rajput Rifles unit. > > On 11 June, 17-year-old Tufail Ahmed Mattoo of Srinagar was killed, > according to initial reports, by a teargas shell fired by the police > at the protestors. However, later reports said he was shot in the > head. On 19 June, a Srinagar court has directed the state police to > investigate this killing and submit its report by 28 June. > > On 20 June, as protests over the killing of Tufail Ahmed Mattoo turned > violent, a 24-year-old carpet weaver of Srinagar, Rafiq Ahmed Bangroo, > sustained serious head injuries and went into coma. He died on 19 June > at the hospital. Some reports suggest that he was beaten by the CRPF > personnel during the protests. The next day witnessed further protests > over the death of Bangroo, as youths returning from his funeral > attacked a CRPF post and attempted to set fire to a CRPF armoured > vehicle. A 19-year-old relative of Bangroo, Javed Malla, was killed in > the CRPF firing. > > On 25 June, Firdous Ahmad Kakroo and Shakeel Ahmad Ganai (24) were > killed as the CRPF personnel fired at demonstrators demanding the > bodies of two armed guerrillas killed by the security forces near the > Sopore town, 55 km from Srinagar. > > Eyewitnesses had reported that the demonstrators set fire to the CRPF > commanding officer’s vehicle and attacked a security bunker. The > authorities claimed that the two were armed guerrillas with close > links with Lashkar-e-Toiba and the CRPF claimed that it had fired in > self-defence. > > On June 27, in Sopore, 22-year-old Bilal Ahmed Wani was killed as the > CRPF personnel fired to quell protestors repeatedly defying curfew. > > On 28 June, in the south Kashmir town of Baramulla, Tauqeer Ahmed > Rather (11) and Tajamul Ahmad Bhatt (17) were both shot dead by > troops. Following this, the army moved into the area, and Baramulla > has been under curfew ever since > > On June 29, three protestors, Ishfaq Ahmed Khanday (15) class tens > tudent of SK Colony, Imtiyaz Ahmed Itoo (17) bakery shop worker and > 17-year-old Shujatul Islam, class 12 student – were shot dead in > Anantnag district. While the initial reports said they were killed in > firing by the CRPF, later reports suggested that they had been > initially detained and then killed. > > On July 6, in Srinagar, four people were killed. Abrar Ahamed Khan > (16) was shot in Maisuma by the police. > > Muzafar Bhat (17), was picked up from his home in Tenpora bypass by > the CRPF and drowed to death on July 5. > > In Maisuma, Fayaz Ahmed Wani (27) of Tengpora, father of two girls, > was shot in his throat at the funreal of Muzafar Bhat. > > On the same day, Fancy Jan (25) from Batamaloo was shot while she was > at the window putting up curtains in her home. > > On July 17, Faizan Ahmed Buhroo, a seventh class student of Guru Nanak > School and son of a blacksmith. drowned after being beaten by Special > Operation Group personnel of police in north Kashmir’s Varmul town in > Baramulla. > > His body was retrieved from the river Jehlum at Chattipadshahi Bridge > at around 5 pm. After the body was recovered, thousands of people took > to streets in the town raising pro-freedom, anti-India and anti-police > slogans. > Carrying the body on a stretcher, people marched on the > Srinagar-Muzzafarabad road demanding action against the SOG personnel > Tanveer Ahmed alias Kaka, whom they blamed for the drowning of Faizan > during clashes on Saturday in Azad Gunj area. > > On July 19, Fayaz Ahmad Khanday (24), a newly-wed youth who worked as > a waiter, was shot when security forces opened fire at a funeral > procession of Buhroo, another boy who was drowned when the security > forces chased a stone-pelting mob on Saturday. > > Police sources said the body was fished out on the same day. > > When the funeral procession reached near the district commissioner’s > office, the mourners turned violent, prompting the security forces to > open fire. Of the 13 people injured in the incident, one died. > > “Fayaz Ahmad Khanday received a bullet in his chest and was declared > dead. Another, critically injured, youth was shifted to hospital in > Srinagar,” MS Nanda, medical superintendent of District Hospital, > Baramulla, said. > > On July 30, two persons were killed and over 10 injured in Central > Reserve Police Force firing in north Kashmir's Sopore district. > Reports said, two youth were killed and six persons received bullet > injuries when paramilitary CRPF and Railway Protection Force Personnel > (RPF) opened fire on a group of protesters at Amargarh in Sopore after > the Friday prayers. The two slain youth have been identified as > Showkat Ahmad (22), son of Abdul Majeed and Mohammad Ahsan (55), both > residents of Amargad on the outskirts of Sopore town. > > On July 30, Rafiq Ahmad, a resident of Pattan, was killed and at least > 15 people were injured in Pattan, where Central Reserve Police Force > (CRPF) and the police allegedly went berserk and opened fire inside > the Pattan sub-district hospital, north Kashmir. An eyewitness said, > "Rafiq was shot in the chest and he died on the spot." > > On the same day, an injured protester from north Kashmir's Sheeri > Baramulla succumbed to his injuries late Friday, sources at the SKIMS > hospital Soura said. 32-year-old Nazir Ahmad, a baker by profession, > had received a bullet injury in chest when police and CRPF troops > opened fire on protesters in Pattan during a demonstration against the > killing of two civilians in Sopore. > > Mudasir Ahmad, a 20-year-old youth was killed and at least seven > persons injured when paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) > troops opened fire on protesters at Naidkhai Poshwari village in > Sumbal area of north Kashmir's Bandipora district on July 31. > > On July 31, Javed Ahmad Teli, a youth who was injured during clashes > with the police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Forces in > north Kashmir's Baramulla district succumbed to his injuries at the SK > Institute of Medical Sciences in Soura, Srinagar. > > 33 CIVILIANS SO FAR > > > On August 1, in Pampore Nayeem Ahmad Shah (19) and Rayees Ahmed Shah > (24), a resident of Kadlabal were shot while protesting. Meanwhile, > 17-year-old Afroza died of a gunshot in the neck when police and CRPF > men fired on protesters in Namon village of south Kashmir's Khrew > area. Relatives said she was standing by her door, witnessing the > protests. > > On the same day, five youth were killed and ten others injured when > the ammunition stored inside Khrew police station in South Kashmir > exploded as angry protesters set ablaze the building late Sunday. One > of the slain youth has been identified as Javed Ahmed Shiekh from Uyan > village near Khrew. > > On August 2, Muhammad Yaqoob Bhat, 22, was killed when the police and > the CRPF troops opened fire on protesters in Noman village of south > Kashmir's Pulwama district Monday afternoon. was allegedly shot dead > by Station House Officer (SHO) Kakpora, Niyaz Ahmad at point blank > range this afternoon. Yaqoob was rushed by locals to the Public Health > Centre Newa, where doctors declared him brought dead. > > A 20-year-old youth injured in police and Central Reserve Police Force > (CRPF) firing at Bijbehra in south Kashmir’s Islamabad district on > Saturday succumbed to his injuries at the SK Institute of Medical > Sciences here at Soura early Monday morning. The slain youth has been > identified as Tariq Ahmed Dar son of Farooq Ahmed Dar from Simthan in > Bijbehara. > > Khursheed Ahmed War (22), son of Muhammad Maqbool War, resident of > Shumnag, Kupwara, was killed while six others were injured Monday, > when paramilitary CRPF troops and Special Operations Group (SOG) > personnel of the police opened fire on protesters who allegedly tried > to attack a SOG camp in Kralpora town of Kupwara district in north > Kashmir. > > Aashiq Hussain Bhat, a 14-year-old boy was killed and six others were > injured in the clashes between the protesters and the troopers in > Kulgam on August 2. The deceased identified as, son of Ghulam Hassan > Bhat, resident of Wachiepora area of Kulgam district. > > The student of ninth standard, Ashiq received bullets in his shoulder > and thigh and died en route to Srinagar for treatment. > > The ambulance, which carried Ashiq was also fired upon and the driver > was beaten up, said an eyewitness. > > A man named Basher Ahmed Rishi, son of Mohammed Ismael Rishi from > Wechei area was allegedly shot dead by a local policeman. The > 44-year-old man was then thrown into a nearby stream from the Sangam > bridge. > > Another teenager Arshid Ahmed son of Mohd Abdullah of Reshipora, > Awantipora was also killed in Sangam. Eyewitnesses said, "Arshid's > body bore torture march and there was no injury mark caused by a sharp > metal." > > August 2, Sheikh Dawood Colony, in Batmaloo is in ferment following > the killing of a 9-year-old-boy, identified as Sameer Ahmad Rah son of > Fayaz Ahmad Rah of the same locality, allegedly beaten to death by > paramilitary forces. > > 49 killed so far > > On August 3, Meharj-ud-din of Qamarwari was shot at 10 am by security > forces on Tuesday. He had received a bullet injury in his chest and > had died on way to SMHS hospital. Four others have been injured. > > While the people were mourning the death of the Qamarwari youth, CRPF > troops and policemen shot dead a teenager Anees Ahmad, son of Khurshid > Ahmad Ganai outside his Narwara residence in Eidgah area of Old City. > > According to reports and eyewitnesses, youth were holding > demonstrations in Dangerpora locality of Narwara when troops and > police opened random fire upon them. 17-year-old Anees, who received a > bullet in his abdomen rushed to the nearby SMHS hospital where he > succumbed to his injuries. > > Anees’ body was taken in a procession to the historic Jamia Masjid. > Thousands of people defied curfew and attended the teen’s funeral > prayers as the Old City reverberated with pro-freedom and anti-India > slogans. Hours later CRPF and police opened fire in Shalteng area on > the city outskirts injuring nine people, one of them critically. > > The youth identified as Suhail Ahmad (16), son of Mohammad Yasin Dar > of Zainakote was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition. Suhail > later succumbed to his injuries. > > A youth was killed and fifteen others injured when CRPF troops and > police opened indiscriminate fire on hundreds of protesters near > Frisal area of Kulgam district this afternoon. The slain youth has > been identified as Jehangir Ahmad, 22, son of Mohammad Yusuf Bhat of > Chingam. Three of the critically injured persons have been rushed to > Srinagar hospital for treatment. > > 25-year-old Reyaz Ahmed Bhat from Khrew in South Kashmir succumbed to > his injuries at the SK Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura Tuesday > afternoon. Bhat was critically injured during clashes with the police > and the Central Reserve Police Force on Sunday in Khrew. > > 55 so far > > -- > Adv Kamayani Bali Mahabal > +919820749204 > skype-lawyercumactivist > > "After a war, the silencing of arms is not enough. Peace means > respecting all rights. You can’t respect one of them and violate the > others. When a society doesn’t respect the rights of its citizens, it > undermines peace and leads it back to war.” > -- Maria Julia Hernandez > > > www.otherindia.org > www.binayaksen.net > www.phm-india.org > www.phmovement.org > www.ifhhro.org > > On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 11:17 PM, kulamarva balakrishna kulamarva > balakrishna wrote: > > Vienna,04-08-2010 > > Inder Salimbhai, > > I read it.Perhaps I will respond tomorrow. > > Thank you all the same lots of love in return. > > I had two Kasmiri roommates,one Pandit Raina > > another friendly Muslim Partner called > > Moinuddin engaged in Kashmiri fruit business > > in Bombay's Crawford Market. > > We shared food together brought > > by Abdullah, a baharwala from my village. > > Kulamarva Balakrishna > > > > On 4 August 2010 19:29, Inder Salim wrote: > >> > >> Dear Balakrishan ji > >> > >> please click to read about Kashmir's trauma generation > >> > >> > >> > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/interviews/Its-the-manifestation-of-anger-among-Kashmirs-trauma-generation/articleshow/6253131.cms > >> > >> > >> love > >> is > >> > >> On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 10:13 PM, kulamarva balakrishna kulamarva > >> balakrishna wrote: > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > > > > > > Kulamarva Balakrishna > > Kleistgasse 31/33 > > A.1030 Vienna,Austria > > 00431-7997699 & mobile:0043-676-4953370 > > email:humans.austria at gmail.com > > www.humansaustria.blogspot.com > > > > Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring (TTTMM) & > > International Centre for Social & Environmental Engineering, > > Taravadu, Bengre, Padubidri 574 111, Karnataka, India > > Phone 0091820-2577058 > > > -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Thu Aug 5 20:01:52 2010 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 14:31:52 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?NIGHT_LONG_SIT-IN_to_PROTEST_INDIA?= =?windows-1252?q?=92S_CRIMES_AGAINST_HUMANITY_in_KASHMIR=2C_on_Saturday?= =?windows-1252?q?=2C_7th_of_August=2C_at_Jantar_Mantar=2C_New_Delhi=2E=2E?= =?windows-1252?q?Starting_time=3A_5=3A30_pm?= In-Reply-To: <563420.69139.qm@web114711.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: , , <563420.69139.qm@web114711.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Anarchy is dealt with more severely in the world. Kashmir turmoil feeds on exactly this kind of venom that the ‘subject line’ attempts to spew. This should certainly please the anti India jihadists & their sympathisers worldwide no matter at the cost of the lives of gullible young Kashmiris who are falling prey to religion driven separatism. Humanity suggests outright denouncement of the prevailing insanity in the streets of Kashmir. Rgds all LA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 03:11:01 -0700 > From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: [Reader-list] NIGHT LONG SIT-IN to PROTEST INDIA’S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY in KASHMIR, on Saturday, 7th of August, at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi..Starting time: 5:30 pm > > > > From windows we hear > grieving mothers, and snow begins to fall > on us, like ash. Black on edges of flames > it cannot extinguish the neighbourhoods, > the homes set ablaze by mignight soldiers, > Kashmir is burning. > > --- Agha Shahid Ali > > > > NIGHT LONG SIT-IN > To PROTEST > INDIA’S > CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY > In KASHMIR > > On Saturday, 7th of August > Venue: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi > Time: 5:30 pm onwards > > Organized by: KASHMIRIS in DELHI > > The tyranny has reached a level where there are no words that can describe the > condition of the victim. In the face of sheer wanton killing, desecration and > humiliation, all we can do is appeal to every human conscience to come forward > and raise a voice. > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From uddipana at gmail.com Thu Aug 5 20:24:20 2010 From: uddipana at gmail.com (Uddipana Goswami) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 20:24:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] help spread the news: action against corruption in assam Message-ID: dear all, a group of independent, free-thinking individuals have come together under the banner of 'supporting akhil gogoi' to launch a series of programs against corrupt politicians and to popularize th RTI in assam. i have included a note from the founder of the group, aryama dutta saikia, below this mail. your support and solidarity will be greatly appreciated, thanks and regards, uddipana *PRESS RELEASE* *Events: Anti-Corruption Vigils* 1. Silent peaceful black Arm-band vigil to mourn the corruption in Assam: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, Aug 8, 3 pm- 5 pm 2. Silent peaceful candlelight vigil to mourn the corruption in Assam: Near Dighali Pukhuri, Guwahati, Aug 8, 7 pm- 9 pm 3. Silent peaceful candlelight vigil to mourn the corruption in Assam: Swahid Bhawan, Nagaon, Aug 8, 7 pm- 9 pm 4. Silent peaceful candlelight vigil to mourn the corruption in Assam: Millennium Park, Jorhat, Aug 8, 7 pm- 9 pm At the very outset, I would like to state that we have no political affiliations. We do not belong to any one common political party or organization. Then who are we? We are some of the educated youth of Assam who, till now, have remained silent spectators. It is not that we did not care about the situation in my country. It's just that we had given up. Then, why are we suddenly showing so much interest? Tough question! But let me try to explain it. There is no ONE specific moment. I guess it has been a build up over the years. For years, we have been taken for a ride by one political party after another. The politicians have looted us to such an extent that today Assam is one of the poorest states in India, while the politicians of Assam are probably some of the richest people in Assam. And, for years, we have been complaining about corruption and saying "Why doesn't someone do something?" We waited and waited and waited. But, that miraculous "someone" did not come to our rescue. In fact, every time a common man such as a Manjunath or a Satyendra Dubey emerges, the opposing forces drown his voice. It is unrealistic and unfair to expect one Akhil Gogoi to eradicate corruption in Assam. Why should it be a one man’s war? It is then that we realised that we- ALL of us -will have to be that "someone" who will have to do "something". Afterall, it will be more difficult to drown the voices of a million people. The common man will now have to do something 'uncommon'. Now, a time has come when millions of common citizens like me are ready to stand up and say "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH." If we do not do that now, the next generation will never forgive us. Here, I quote from the Bhagvad Gita - "The one who tolerates injustice is as guilty as the one who does injustice." We have decided to not take part in this injustice anymore. We are raising our voice against corruption in our beloved motherland, Assam. I had created the page "Supporting Akhil Gogoi" on Facebook in May 2010, while I was at home, away from work, recovering from a surgery. I had created the page to only inform some of my friends about how Mr. Akhil Gogoi is utilizing RTI (Right to Information) Act in Assam to expose scandals and misuse of tax-payers' money by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. However, in less than 3 months, the number of people on the page increased to 1550! Now, of course, this page is no longer just mine. It has now become a place where a lot of like-minded people like me raise our voices against corruption. This is the place from where we, the educated youth of Assam, have decided to stand by our motherland. But raising our voice is not enough. Some action also has to be taken. But not just some emotional knee-jerk reaction to the current events. We will have to carry this forward. This is just the beginning. On Sunday, August 8, at a lot of us will be gathering to participate in peaceful silent vigils or a "mouno xuko xobha" to mourn the death of honesty among Assam politicians. THIS WILL BE A NON-POLITICAL GATHERING. WE WILL BE PROTESTING ONLY AND ONLY AGAINST CORRUPTION AMONG POLITICIANS IN ASSAM. We do not care who the ruling party is, as long as they work for the common people in a selfless manner. In our gathering, there will be no speeches and no "naaras (slogans)". Afterall, we are just a bunch of common people; we are not doing this to get votes! I have always strongly believed that the media can act as an effective catalyst to any positive social cause. It has the power and the authority to do so. And, that's why I am writing to you. I request you to help us spread the word about these vigils. I request you to help us send a message to corrupt politicians that we are not going to be cheated anymore. India is a democracy. If we, the common people, have the right to vote people to power, we also have the right to keep the politicians in check. *I also want to send out an appeal to each person of Assam.* On August 8, at 7pm, wherever you are - whether in Assam or outside Assam, join us. If you do not like corruption, then switch off the lights in your house and light a few candles outside your door. All of us together will have to send out a strong message to the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats - "It's NOT "okay" to be corrupt,”Everyone is corrupt" is not a valid justification. We DO NOT like corruption! Stop insulting our intelligence. Stop testing our patience!" Anticipating your support and thanking you in advance, Regards, Aryama Dutta Saikia *RECENT DEVELOPMENT: * Yesterday, our Supporting Akhil Gogoi page on Facebook has been temporarily blocked. It's surprising because one needs more than 100 "reports" for an FB page to be blocked! Facebook has said that they will review the content of the page. If Facebook does not find anything wrong, then the page will be reinstated in 24-48 hours. We are currently working on finding a safer and more permanent forum for action and interaction. -- Uddipana Goswami www.jajabori-mon.blogspot.com From rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com Thu Aug 5 20:47:12 2010 From: rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com (Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 20:47:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?NIGHT_LONG_SIT-IN_to_PROTEST_INDIA?= =?windows-1252?q?=92S_CRIMES_AGAINST_HUMANITY_in_KASHMIR=2C_on_Sat?= =?windows-1252?q?urday=2C_7th_of_August=2C_at_Jantar_Mantar=2C_New?= =?windows-1252?q?_Delhi=2E=2EStarting_time=3A_5=3A30_pm?= In-Reply-To: References: <563420.69139.qm@web114711.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Truth is after all very bitter, that is why it is covered with layers of untruth.regards, rajen On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 8:01 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: > > > Anarchy is dealt with more severely in the world. > > Kashmir turmoil feeds on exactly this kind of venom that the ‘subject > line’ attempts to spew. > This should certainly please the anti India jihadists & their sympathisers > worldwide no matter at the cost of the lives of gullible young Kashmiris who > are falling prey to religion driven separatism. > > Humanity suggests outright denouncement of the prevailing insanity in the > streets of Kashmir. > > > Rgds all > LA > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 03:11:01 -0700 > > From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com > > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > Subject: [Reader-list] NIGHT LONG SIT-IN to PROTEST INDIA’S CRIMES > AGAINST HUMANITY in KASHMIR, on Saturday, 7th of August, at Jantar Mantar, > New Delhi..Starting time: 5:30 pm > > > > > > > > From windows we hear > > grieving mothers, and snow begins to fall > > on us, like ash. Black on edges of flames > > it cannot extinguish the neighbourhoods, > > the homes set ablaze by mignight soldiers, > > Kashmir is burning. > > > > --- Agha Shahid Ali > > > > > > > > NIGHT LONG SIT-IN > > To PROTEST > > INDIA’S > > CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY > > In KASHMIR > > > > On Saturday, 7th of August > > Venue: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi > > Time: 5:30 pm onwards > > > > Organized by: KASHMIRIS in DELHI > > > > The tyranny has reached a level where there are no words that can > describe the > > condition of the victim. In the face of sheer wanton killing, desecration > and > > humiliation, all we can do is appeal to every human conscience to come > forward > > and raise a voice. > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > -- Rajen. From indersalim at gmail.com Thu Aug 5 22:11:55 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 22:11:55 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?NIGHT_LONG_SIT-IN_to_PROTEST_INDIA?= =?windows-1252?q?=92S_CRIMES_AGAINST_HUMANITY_in_KASHMIR=2C_on_Sat?= =?windows-1252?q?urday=2C_7th_of_August=2C_at_Jantar_Mantar=2C_New?= =?windows-1252?q?_Delhi=2E=2EStarting_time=3A_5=3A30_pm?= In-Reply-To: References: <563420.69139.qm@web114711.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Right now the question is how to stop security forces from being so ruthless in kashmir the other larger question is not embedded in the proposed protest in any case, who is afraid of a space called Jantar Mantar, a poltically benumbed space, good for doing some art... even journalists dont bother to visit Kashmiris Living in Delhi are mostly those who love peaceful life and dont throw stones, so being there would be a break from watching TV back home and meeting new faces, new opinions, with love is On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 8:47 PM, Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi < rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com> wrote: > Truth is after all very bitter, that is why it is covered with layers of > untruth.regards, > rajen > > On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 8:01 PM, Lalit Ambardar >wrote: > > > > > > > Anarchy is dealt with more severely in the world. > > > > Kashmir turmoil feeds on exactly this kind of venom that the ‘subject > > line’ attempts to spew. > > This should certainly please the anti India jihadists & their > sympathisers > > worldwide no matter at the cost of the lives of gullible young Kashmiris > who > > are falling prey to religion driven separatism. > > > > Humanity suggests outright denouncement of the prevailing insanity in the > > streets of Kashmir. > > > > > > Rgds all > > LA > > > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > > > > > Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 03:11:01 -0700 > > > From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com > > > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > > Subject: [Reader-list] NIGHT LONG SIT-IN to PROTEST INDIA’S CRIMES > > AGAINST HUMANITY in KASHMIR, on Saturday, 7th of August, at Jantar > Mantar, > > New Delhi..Starting time: 5:30 pm > > > > > > > > > > > > From windows we hear > > > grieving mothers, and snow begins to fall > > > on us, like ash. Black on edges of flames > > > it cannot extinguish the neighbourhoods, > > > the homes set ablaze by mignight soldiers, > > > Kashmir is burning. > > > > > > --- Agha Shahid Ali > > > > > > > > > > > > NIGHT LONG SIT-IN > > > To PROTEST > > > INDIA’S > > > CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY > > > In KASHMIR > > > > > > On Saturday, 7th of August > > > Venue: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi > > > Time: 5:30 pm onwards > > > > > > Organized by: KASHMIRIS in DELHI > > > > > > The tyranny has reached a level where there are no words that can > > describe the > > > condition of the victim. In the face of sheer wanton killing, > desecration > > and > > > humiliation, all we can do is appeal to every human conscience to come > > forward > > > and raise a voice. > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > > > -- > Rajen. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From indersalim at gmail.com Thu Aug 5 22:36:21 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 22:36:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Count Dracula and political conflict Message-ID: Dear all Transylvania is also often associated with *Dracul **http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula ** Recently i met an artist named Nemere from this Region in Japan . Then he described his identity. He had deep grudge against Romania, his country because he believed that the entire region is dominated politically and economically by Romanian majority population. His one of the performance was rubbing the official report of the Govt on the road which showed flawed figures to claim control over Transsylvnia. There is very interesting history of this region, just click to read *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania I was wondering about the areas in the world which are simmering with discontent. Yugoslavia was once a peaceful area , but it experienced the worst recently, and still most of its population are not sure about their locations with regard to their identity. In any case most of the serbs look similar to Slovenes and Croats. Religious identity was discovered sooner and devastated the entire regions with a whole sale hate between all. There is a literary a Dracula in Kashmir these days, and is devouring people in scores. Even if Kashmiri Dracula would transform into literature, the history of it would remain like Transylvania's unless there is some change in staus quo... I believe it is just a matter of time before the so called peaceful society of a regions turns violent, since there is a imposed history in each case. . Who knows when my artist friend from Romania turns into a stone pelter with love is http://indersalim.livejournal.com From dhrubajyotideka at hotmail.com Thu Aug 5 23:08:15 2010 From: dhrubajyotideka at hotmail.com (Dhruba Jyoti Deka) Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 23:08:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [Assam] help spread the news: action against corruption in assam In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sorry, I am unable. I too asked for help few months before, mailing more than 10 times. Another 2 noted person also mailed to assamnet for the same help. But in return, no help found. So, I am silent today. Yesterday you were silent. Today I am silent. Learn from the historical saying. > Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 20:24:20 +0530 > From: uddipana at gmail.com > To: activism-news-network at googlegroups.com; reader-list at sarai.net; assam at assamnet.org > Subject: [Assam] help spread the news: action against corruption in assam > > dear all, > > a group of independent, free-thinking individuals have come together under > the banner of 'supporting akhil gogoi' to launch a series of programs > against corrupt politicians and to popularize th RTI in assam. i have > included a note from the founder of the group, aryama dutta saikia, below > this mail. your support and solidarity will be greatly appreciated, > > thanks and regards, > uddipana > > *PRESS RELEASE* > > > > *Events: Anti-Corruption Vigils* > > 1. Silent peaceful black Arm-band vigil to mourn the corruption in Assam: > Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, Aug 8, 3 pm- 5 pm > 2. Silent peaceful candlelight vigil to mourn the corruption in Assam: > Near Dighali Pukhuri, Guwahati, Aug 8, 7 pm- 9 pm > 3. Silent peaceful candlelight vigil to mourn the corruption in Assam: > Swahid Bhawan, Nagaon, Aug 8, 7 pm- 9 pm > 4. Silent peaceful candlelight vigil to mourn the corruption in Assam: > Millennium Park, Jorhat, Aug 8, 7 pm- 9 pm > > > > At the very outset, I would like to state that we have no political > affiliations. We do not belong to any one common political party or > organization. Then who are we? We are some of the educated youth of Assam > who, till now, have remained silent spectators. It is not that we did not > care about the situation in my country. It's just that we had given up. > > > > Then, why are we suddenly showing so much interest? Tough question! But let > me try to explain it. There is no ONE specific moment. I guess it has been a > build up over the years. For years, we have been taken for a ride by one > political party after another. The politicians have looted us to such an > extent that today Assam is one of the poorest states in India, while the > politicians of Assam are probably some of the richest people in Assam. And, > for years, we have been complaining about corruption and saying "Why doesn't > someone do something?" We waited and waited and waited. But, that miraculous > "someone" did not come to our rescue. In fact, every time a common man such > as a Manjunath or a Satyendra Dubey emerges, the opposing forces drown his > voice. It is unrealistic and unfair to expect one Akhil Gogoi to eradicate > corruption in Assam. Why should it be a one man’s war? It is then that we > realised that we- ALL of us -will have to be that "someone" who will have to > do "something". Afterall, it will be more difficult to drown the voices of a > million people. The common man will now have to do something 'uncommon'. > Now, a time has come when millions of common citizens like me are ready to > stand up and say "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH." If we do not do that now, the next > generation will never forgive us. Here, I quote from the Bhagvad Gita - "The > one who tolerates injustice is as guilty as the one who does injustice." We > have decided to not take part in this injustice anymore. We are raising our > voice against corruption in our beloved motherland, Assam. > > > I had created the page "Supporting Akhil Gogoi" on Facebook in May 2010, > while I was at home, away from work, recovering from a surgery. I had > created the page to only inform some of my friends about how Mr. Akhil Gogoi > is utilizing RTI (Right to Information) Act in Assam to expose scandals and > misuse of tax-payers' money by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. However, > in less than 3 months, the number of people on the page increased to 1550! > Now, of course, this page is no longer just mine. It has now become a place > where a lot of like-minded people like me raise our voices against > corruption. This is the place from where we, the educated youth of Assam, > have decided to stand by our motherland. But raising our voice is not > enough. Some action also has to be taken. But not just some emotional > knee-jerk reaction to the current events. We will have to carry this > forward. This is just the beginning. > > > > On Sunday, August 8, at a lot of us will be gathering to participate in > peaceful silent vigils or a "mouno xuko xobha" to mourn the death of honesty > among Assam politicians. THIS WILL BE A NON-POLITICAL GATHERING. WE WILL BE > PROTESTING ONLY AND ONLY AGAINST CORRUPTION AMONG POLITICIANS IN ASSAM. We > do not care who the ruling party is, as long as they work for the common > people in a selfless manner. In our gathering, there will be no speeches and > no "naaras (slogans)". Afterall, we are just a bunch of common people; we > are not doing this to get votes! > > > > I have always strongly believed that the media can act as an effective > catalyst to any positive social cause. It has the power and the authority to > do so. And, that's why I am writing to you. I request you to help us spread > the word about these vigils. I request you to help us send a message to > corrupt politicians that we are not going to be cheated anymore. India is a > democracy. If we, the common people, have the right to vote people to power, > we also have the right to keep the politicians in check. > > > *I also want to send out an appeal to each person of Assam.* On August 8, at > 7pm, wherever you are - whether in Assam or outside Assam, join us. If you > do not like corruption, then switch off the lights in your house and light a > few candles outside your door. All of us together will have to send out a > strong message to the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats - "It's NOT "okay" > to be corrupt,”Everyone is corrupt" is not a valid justification. We DO NOT > like corruption! Stop insulting our intelligence. Stop testing our > patience!" > > > > Anticipating your support and thanking you in advance, > > > > Regards, > > Aryama Dutta Saikia > > > > > > *RECENT DEVELOPMENT: * > > > > Yesterday, our Supporting Akhil Gogoi page on Facebook has been temporarily > blocked. It's surprising because one needs more than 100 "reports" for an FB > page to be blocked! Facebook has said that they will review the content of > the page. If Facebook does not find anything wrong, then the page will be > reinstated in 24-48 hours. We are currently working on finding a safer and > more permanent forum for action and interaction. > > > -- > Uddipana Goswami > www.jajabori-mon.blogspot.com > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > assam at assamnet.org > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Thu Aug 5 12:46:44 2010 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (artNET) Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:16:44 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_Call_for_netart?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=3A_JavaMuseum_2010_-_Celebrate!?= Message-ID: <20100805091644.C572AFF7.3DB94FD8@192.168.0.3> Call for proposals deadline 1 September 2010 Celebrate! 2010 - 10 Years JavaMuseum - JavaMuseum - Forum for Internet Technology in Contemporary Art is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2010, but that's not all --> in addition [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2010, as well. On this occasion, JavaMuseum is realising a big show online, entitled: "CELEBRATE!" which started on 1 January 2010 already - http://2010.javamuseum.org Founded in 2000 and active since 2001 as a corporate part of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork:||cologne, JavaMuseum is one of the relevant platforms for Internet based art on the net. Under the direction of Wilfried Agricola de Cologne, JavaMuseum realised more than 20 showcases and competitions of netart in a global context between 2001 and 2009 and is hosting a comprehensive collection of netart since 2000 including more than 400 artists and 1000 art works. In 2006, JavaMuseum launched - JIP - JavaMuseum Interview Project containing meanwhile more than 80 interviews with expersts and artists in the fields of digital and electronic art. On occasion of its 10th anniversary, JavaMuseum is planning to complete until the end of 2010, the netart show, entitled: Celebrate! in order to celebrate netart as an exciting, but anyway widely underestimated art genre, yet. This represents the best reason for inviting artists active on the fields of new, digital and electronic media to submit their latest or their older netart art projects which may originate from the years 2000-2010. Please find the details, regulations and entry form on http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=1428 -------------------------------------------------------- JavaMuseum - Forum for Internet Technology in Contemporary Art http://www.javamuseum.org and JIP - JavaMuseum Interview Project http://jip.javamuseum.org are corporate parts of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne the experimental platform for art and new media from Cologne/Germany info[at]nmartproject.net _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From yasir.media at gmail.com Fri Aug 6 08:57:03 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2010 08:27:03 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir burns Message-ID: Kashmiris "leaderless defiance" The only package Kashmir needs is justice - opinion http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article551897.ece?homepage=true The politics of protest in Kashmir - editorial http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/editorial/The-politics-of-protest-in-Kashmir/articleshow/6263930.cms Protests continue against Indian rule in Kashmir - AP http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jvKA6FSwHfK3D4qLBBHtEDQt5rlwD9HBTGE82 Protesters in Indian Kashmir defy govt pleas - AFP http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h-qCJmN6g3IGjXBUSdINp35_Rajg reuters pictures http://tinyurl.com/kashmir-04aug2010 From yasir.media at gmail.com Fri Aug 6 09:12:03 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2010 08:42:03 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Count Dracula and political conflict In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ... and the real one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_III_the_Impaler http://www.donlinke.com/drakula/vlad.htm romanians dont particularly like to discuss dracul or vlad with strangers :D On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 10:06 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > Dear all > > Transylvania is also often associated with > *Dracul > **http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula > ** > Recently i met an artist named Nemere from this Region in Japan . Then he > described his identity. He had deep grudge against Romania, his country > because he believed that the entire region is dominated politically and > economically by Romanian majority population. His one of the performance > was rubbing the official report of the Govt on the road which showed > flawed figures to claim control over Transsylvnia. > > There is very interesting history of this region, just click to read > > *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania > > I was wondering about the areas in the world which are simmering with > discontent. Yugoslavia was once a peaceful area , but it experienced the > worst recently, and still most of its population are not sure about their > locations with regard to their identity. In any case most of the serbs look > similar to Slovenes and Croats. Religious identity was discovered sooner > and devastated the entire regions with a whole sale hate between all. > > There is a literary a Dracula in Kashmir these days, and is devouring > people > in scores. Even if Kashmiri Dracula would transform into literature, the > history of it would remain like Transylvania's unless there is some change > in staus quo... > > I believe it is just a matter of time before the so called peaceful society > of a regions turns violent, since there is a imposed history in each case. > . > Who knows when my artist friend from Romania turns into a stone pelter > > with love > is > > > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From saheliwomen at gmail.com Fri Aug 6 13:17:04 2010 From: saheliwomen at gmail.com (Saheli Women) Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2010 13:17:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Invitation>> bits of paper, bytes on the web - 29 years of Saheli In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: *BITS OF PAPER, BYTES ON THE WEB* *Come join us as we celebrate 29 years of Saheli,* *launch our website and,* *discuss the challenges of archiving women’s histories...* *Programme* Introduction>> - Bits of Paper: Why Archive? - Uma Chakravarti - Creating a Visual Archive of the Women Movement: Some Reflections - Urvashi Butalia - Browsing the Saheli website together Date: Saturday, August 7, 2010 Time: 3-6pm Venue: Saheli office Above Shop Nos 105-108 Defence Colony Flyover Market New Delhi 110024 We look forward to having you with us and sharing your own experiences of documenting, accessing and using online information! Do join us and spread the word! In solidarity, Saheli -- Saheli Women's Resource Centre Above Unit 105-108 Defence Colony Flyover Market New Delhi 100 024 From rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com Fri Aug 6 19:29:44 2010 From: rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com (Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi) Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2010 19:29:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?NIGHT_LONG_SIT-IN_to_PROTEST_INDIA?= =?windows-1252?q?=92S_CRIMES_AGAINST_HUMANITY_in_KASHMIR=2C_on_Sat?= =?windows-1252?q?urday=2C_7th_of_August=2C_at_Jantar_Mantar=2C_New?= =?windows-1252?q?_Delhi=2E=2EStarting_time=3A_5=3A30_pm?= In-Reply-To: References: <563420.69139.qm@web114711.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Inder ji, the issue also is why children are used for the "peaceful" protests, with women in the shield area. no "men" in the silent protests, only for violence in kashmir.?Love and regards, rajen On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 10:11 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > Right now the question is how to stop security forces from being so > ruthless > in kashmir > > the other larger question is not embedded in the proposed protest > > in any case, who is afraid of a space called Jantar Mantar, a poltically > benumbed space, > good for doing some art... > even journalists dont bother to visit > > Kashmiris Living in Delhi are mostly those who love peaceful life and dont > throw stones, so being there would be a break from watching TV back home > and > meeting new faces, new opinions, > > with love > is > > > > > > > On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 8:47 PM, Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi < > rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com> wrote: > > > Truth is after all very bitter, that is why it is covered with layers of > > untruth.regards, > > rajen > > > > On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 8:01 PM, Lalit Ambardar < > lalitambardar at hotmail.com > > >wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > Anarchy is dealt with more severely in the world. > > > > > > Kashmir turmoil feeds on exactly this kind of venom that the ‘subject > > > line’ attempts to spew. > > > This should certainly please the anti India jihadists & their > > sympathisers > > > worldwide no matter at the cost of the lives of gullible young > Kashmiris > > who > > > are falling prey to religion driven separatism. > > > > > > Humanity suggests outright denouncement of the prevailing insanity in > the > > > streets of Kashmir. > > > > > > > > > Rgds all > > > LA > > > > > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 03:11:01 -0700 > > > > From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com > > > > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > > > Subject: [Reader-list] NIGHT LONG SIT-IN to PROTEST INDIA’S CRIMES > > > AGAINST HUMANITY in KASHMIR, on Saturday, 7th of August, at Jantar > > Mantar, > > > New Delhi..Starting time: 5:30 pm > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From windows we hear > > > > grieving mothers, and snow begins to fall > > > > on us, like ash. Black on edges of flames > > > > it cannot extinguish the neighbourhoods, > > > > the homes set ablaze by mignight soldiers, > > > > Kashmir is burning. > > > > > > > > --- Agha Shahid Ali > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > NIGHT LONG SIT-IN > > > > To PROTEST > > > > INDIA’S > > > > CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY > > > > In KASHMIR > > > > > > > > On Saturday, 7th of August > > > > Venue: Jantar Mantar, New Delhi > > > > Time: 5:30 pm onwards > > > > > > > > Organized by: KASHMIRIS in DELHI > > > > > > > > The tyranny has reached a level where there are no words that can > > > describe the > > > > condition of the victim. In the face of sheer wanton killing, > > desecration > > > and > > > > humiliation, all we can do is appeal to every human conscience to > come > > > forward > > > > and raise a voice. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Rajen. > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rajen. From info at fondation-langlois.org Fri Aug 6 19:33:14 2010 From: info at fondation-langlois.org (Fondation Daniel Langlois) Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2010 10:03:14 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] News from the Daniel Langlois Foundation Message-ID: <17ce3d9474e494f767c4842000195d3b@fondation-langlois.org> David Rokeby, Very Nervous System (1983-) A new documentary collection has been added to our Web site. This new publication is about Very Nervous System by David Rokeby. It is a particularly interesting case study for two reasons. Firstly, it offers an unmatched demonstration of the importance of experience in media art. Very Nervous System is essentially an empty room until someone walks in and activates it. It is a work that is brought into being very literally through experience. Secondly, it is a seminal work in the history of media art, with a lifespan of more than 28 years. Its celebrity and longevity pose some particularly interesting questions about documentation and contextualisation of media artworks over time and through change. This documentary collection was compiled by Caitlin Jones and Lizzie Muller while the piece was being shown at Ars Electronica 2009 in Linz (Austria): http://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=2186 Audience Experience in Media Art Research @ ISEA The importance of the audience as part of the media art event is widely acknowledged, but although interaction and embodiment are well theorised, we are yet to achieve a well-grounded understanding of audience experience. This panel asks: How can we study, document and understand the audience experience and how it responds to concepts of creativity and of innovation in media art? An ISEA2010 RUHR Conference with Lizzie Muller, Katja Kwastek, Peter Ride, Nathaniel Stern, and Christopher Salter, on August 26, 2010 in Dortmund (Germany): http://www.isea2010ruhr.org/conference/thursday-26-august-2010-dortmund/p31-a-to-x-audience-experience-in-media-art-research From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Sun Aug 8 09:22:13 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2010 09:22:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] What Kashmiris Want Message-ID: By Sonia Jabbar Published in Hindustan Times as ŒThey the People.¹ Aug 8, 2010 In 2006, my friend Amin Bhatt and I were talking at a Srinagar café. ŒWhen I look at kids who are in their early 20s who have seen no other Kashmir but this, I wonder whether it¹s extraordinary patience or something that is smoldering inside, rage that is quietly being nursed,¹ he said. Today, when Kashmir burns, when teenagers confront armed security forces with stones, when 45 men and women have been shot or beaten to death in violent demonstrations since June 11, I can¹t help remember his words. Amin Bhatt is not a prophet, nor a separatist whose popularity rises with the death toll of Kashmiri civilians. He is a playwright and a theatre director. He is also a man whose younger brother was beaten to death in Baramulla in December 2005 when a grenade lobbed at an army convoy missed its target, provoking the soldiers into attacking bystanders. Far from the soldiers being punished, the army insisted Amin¹s brother was a militant involved in the attack. Amin¹s response was to write more scripts and direct plays that opened to packed audiences in Baramulla and in Srinagar. He may well have picked up a stone. Bakhti is an illiterate old widow in Tragpora, a village just north of Sopore who has for the past decade fought the Indian state in Srinagar¹s courts. Her son, Manzoor Ahmed Wani was a victim of a love-feud that resulted in his enforced disappearance. The police tracked down the hired killer, Tantray, a surrendered militant who worked with the army and Major Bhattacharya of the 28 Rashtriya Rifles (RR). But the Kashmiri was the only one to be arrested, tried and convicted, while Major Bhattacharya was hurriedly transferred out of Kashmir. Bakhti still tucks a thick file under her arm and travels to Srinagar once a month to seek justice. I suspect she knows the score because when I asked how I could help, she was very clear. ŒI don¹t want compensation or jobs for my other children. Please just ask them to show me where they dumped his body so that I can hold my child¹s bones to my breast one last time.¹ In March 2000 soon after the infamous massacre of Sikhs of Chittisinghpora, the 7 RR picked up Mohammad Yusuf Malik, a sheep trader and 4 others, passed them off as militants and murdered them in cold blood for cash rewards. Post mortem reports of the exhumed bodies showed that 2 had died of bullet wounds, 2 had 50-60% burns plus bullet wounds and one was burned to death. In Halan I faced his distraught 12-year old son. ŒThey murdered my father,¹ he said, fighting back the tears. My heart contracted. ŒI know,¹ I reached out to stroke his head. ŒNo!¹ he brushed my hand aside, ŒYou don¹t know anything! We got his body, but his body had no head.¹ I left Halan fearing for the little boy, how would he ever forget this nightmare, how would his scars ever heal? If we were in the west there would be trauma centers and shrinks to counsel him and then when he grew up if he still picked up a gun and ran amok at a Mc Donalds, everyone would point understandingly at his traumatized childhood. And yet, when it comes to Kashmir even senior politicians wonder what it is Œthey¹ want? Since June 11, the state has done little to soothe the hurt and anger. Each death has resulted in a fresh wave of street violence. Contrary to the understanding of the Home Ministry this is very simply the eruption of a cauldron that has long been simmering. There have been close to 80 civilian killings since Omar Abdullah took over as Chief Minister in January 2009. And each time the Valley erupts in protests the entire political edifice collapses. Ministers, MLAs, district level politicians, halqa presidents, and party workers vanish without a trace. Far from being out in their constituencies listening to the problems of people, consoling the families of the dead, providing succor to the wounded, the entire political class cowers in their fortress homes, and this includes the so-called separatists. Despite the successful legislative elections of 2002 and 2008 power has not trickled to the grass-root level. Panchayat elections are yet to happen in Kashmir. In this political vacuum all power is abdicated to the security forces, who have trained for the past 20 years to define the problem only in terms of law and order. It is no surprise that casualties are high. The mob is fierce, the police is understaffed, overworked and stressed. 80% of the J&K Police is used for security of politicians, who often demand greater numbers to boost their status. The remaining 20% that man police stations do not have the equipment nor the training to deal with angry mobs that number thousands. ŒWhat is granted under fear can be retained only so long as the fear lasts,¹ wrote Gandhi prophetically in Hind Swaraj. With Kashmiri youth losing fear of the might of the Indian state, New Delhi is fast running out of options. Perhaps the Prime Minister would find some answers if he went to Tragpora and listened to an old widow. From shuddha at sarai.net Sun Aug 8 15:02:22 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:02:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar Message-ID: Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar Last evening I went to Jantar Mantar after many years. It is a road I pass often, looking at the sad and melancholic little protests that line the kerb, whispering to an indifferent Capital the million mutinies of our banana plantation republic. Last evening was different. There were perhaps four to five hundred people, many, but not all Kashmiri, men and women, who had gathered to protest against the wanton destruction of life in the Kashmir valley by the security apparatus of the Indian state in the last few weeks and months. 45 civilian deaths in 8 weeks signals a state losing its head. Especially when the deaths occur when the police and paramilitaries fire live bullets on unarmed or stone pelting mobs. When stones, or unarmed bodies are met with ammunition, you know that the state has no respect whatsoever for bare life. That this should happen in a state that calls itself a democracy should make all of us who are its citizens reflect on how hollow 'democracy' feels to the mother or friend of a young boy or girl who is felled by a 'democratic' bullet. Protests in Delhi often have a routine, scripted quality. But this one was different. Professor S.A.R Geelani was level headed and dignified, as he spoke to the assembled, visibly upset young men and women, introduced each speaker in turn and appealed to people to stay calm, and not get provoked. I don't think that there has been a public gathering of young people from Kashmir in such numbers in Delhi, and the occasion had a cathartic, almost therapeutic character, as if the acknowledgment of each others presence could also make it possible for many amongst those gathered to say what needed to be said, loud and clear, in public, what they had only kept as a secret in their hearts. As a citizen of the Indian republic, I can only hang my head in shame at the venality of the state, and at how it openly sanctions the murder of Kashmiri men, women and children on the streets of the valley. Even a leading member of the Israeli military establishment (not known for their kindness towards occupied Palestinians) has recently admonished India's hard-line militarist mandarins in Kashmir on the appalling conditions that they administer in Kashmir. I stood in silence at the meeting. Listened to the slogans, the chanting, the statements, some made by friends like Sanjay Kak, others by people I do not know personally, but whose work and politics I have an interest in, even if I do not agree with, such as the poet and ex-political prisoner Varavara Rao. I met some old friends, talked quietly to strangers, and felt a momentary twinge of pride in Delhi, at least about the fact that so many of us were reclaiming a space on Jantar Mantar, for once to break the enormously deafening silence about Kashmir in a public and peaceful manner. There were different kinds of slogans that were heard. Some stressed the unity of all Kashmiris - be they Pandit, Muslim or Sikh. Occasionally, the air did reverberate with slogans that some might interpret as having a more secterian tinge - the 'Nara e Taqbeer - Allah o Akbar'. Many speakers, including Professor Geelani, and men and women people from the crowd, repeatedly made appeals not to 'communalize' the issue, and the same people who said, 'Allah o Akbar' also immediately switched to slogans emphasizing Kashmir's secular fabric, and called for Pandit-Muslim-Sikh unity in Kashmir. I did not feel perturbed by the airing of the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan, as I am not when I hear people say 'Vande Mataram' or indeed, 'Jai Shree Ram'. I am not a believer, and the fervent expression of belief on the part of those who do believe, neither enthuses, nor disturbs me. In each case, I am more interested in what lies behind the passion. And I believed that what lay behind the passion last evening, despite the anxiety on some of the faces in the crowd, was an appeal to the divine as the final arbiter of justice and peace in a deeply violent and unjust world. I can understand what motivates people to make that claim, even if I cannot make it myself, especially in a situation, where all appeals to mundane, worldly power, seem to have exhausted themselves. A situation where stones are met with bullets and grenades can make even the most sceptical of us lose faith in the grace of the mortals who rule, ultimately, only with the force of arms. Perhaps, not airing such slogans would have been tactically more intelligent. But I did not get the sense that those who had gathered in Jantar Mantar last evening had come to score intelligent and sophisticated political points. They had come to express their anger and their sadness, they had come to cease, for a brief moment, to be the anonymous, anxious Kashmiri in Delhi who is always worried about being labelled a 'terrorist' by a prejudiced neighbour, a callous policeman or a random stranger. They had come to be themselves, to mourn, and to tell the world of their mourning. I can only feel grateful that they could gather the courage to do this. There is an urgency, as Sanjay Kak reminded the gathering for forging an intelligent politics in response to what is going on in Kashmir, and that politics must not only rest on the engine of pain and anger. I totally agree with this, at the same time, I also know, that without an occasion like what we witnessed yesterday, when Kashmiris can openly express their anguish in the heart of India, it will not happen. I remain hopeful that it will. Some speakers, including Varavara Rao, Mohan Jha (from Delhi University, I hope I got his name right), Sanjay Kak, and a sikh gentleman from Amritsar whose name escapes me, spoke of the fact that there was a great deal of solidarity in India for the just demands of the Kashmiri people. The occasion did not, at any instance, degenerate into a vulgar clash of competing nationalisms. Outside the perimter of this protest, stood another - a small group of people associated with organizations that claim to represent the Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora, who were 'protesting' against the protest. I recognized a face in this crowd, I follow his self-righteous online outpourings quite regularly. Some of the speakers, including Mr. Geelani, alluded to them, saying that they shared in their pain, and even invited them to come and address the gathering. They however, remained aloof. Holding their placards, with their claim to monopoly of the pain and anguish of Kashmir. Ther stirred to life, when Sanjay Kak, spoke, heckling him, in a now familiar and churlish manner. I felt sad to see them, because they could make claim to suffering only as a means to divide people, not bring people together in solidarity. Just before I left, a young woman who had recently come to Delhi to study, spoke eloquently about what it means to have lost a childhood in Kashmir, to have seen brothers and friends shot. I do not know who she is, and I could not catch her name, perhaps it was 'Arshi', but I wished I could apologize to her personally, because I know that her childhood has been robbed by people speaking in the name of the state that claims my fealty. The occupation of Kashmir by India and Pakistan is an immoral and evil fact of our times. The sooner it ends, the better will it be for all of us in South Asia. True 'Azaadi' in Kashmir, for all its inhabitants, and for all those who have been displaced by more than twenty years of violence, can only help us all, in Srinagar, in Delhi, and elsewhere, to breathe more freely. From shuddha at sarai.net Sun Aug 8 19:53:36 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:53:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8163e401cc449201693b378cc03d492f@mail.sarai.net> Dear All, What got posted earlier - 'Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar' - by me was a draft of the text that is now on the Kafila website. I am reposting the text, (following some useful comments on this text by a friend on facebook) this time in its final, and complete version. If anyone wants to circulate this, please use this version. It is at - http://kafila.org/2010/08/08/kashmir-comes-to-jantar-mantar/ Thanks Shuddha -------------- Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar Shuddhabrata Sengupta, New Delhi, August 08, 2010 Last evening I went to Jantar Mantar after many years. It is a road I pass often, looking at the sad and melancholic little protests that line the kerb, whispering to an indifferent Capital the million mutinies of our banana plantation republic. Last evening was different. There were perhaps four to five hundred people, many, but not all Kashmiri, men and women, who had gathered to protest against the wanton destruction of life in the Kashmir valley by the security apparatus of the Indian state in the last few weeks and months. 45 civilian deaths in 8 weeks signals a state losing its head. Especially when the deaths occur when the police and paramilitaries fire live bullets on unarmed or stone pelting mobs. When stones, or unarmed bodies are met with ammunition, you know that the state has no respect whatsoever for bare life. That this should happen in a state that calls itself a democracy should make all of us who are its citizens reflect on how hollow 'democracy' feels to the mother or friend of a young boy or girl who is felled by a 'democratic' bullet. Protests in Delhi often have a routine, scripted quality. But this one was different. Professor S.A.R Geelani was level headed and dignified, as he spoke to the assembled, visibly upset young men and women, introduced each speaker in turn and appealed to people to stay calm, and not get provoked. I don't think that there has been a public gathering of young people from Kashmir in such numbers in Delhi, and the occasion had a cathartic, almost therapeutic character, as if the acknowledgment of each others presence could also make it possible for many amongst those gathered to say what needed to be said, loud and clear, in public, what they had only kept as a secret in their hearts. As a citizen of the Indian republic, I can only hang my head in shame at the venality of the state, and at how it openly sanctions the murder of Kashmiri men, women and children on the streets of the valley. Even a leading member of the Israeli military establishment (not known for their kindness towards occupied Palestinians) has recently admonished India's hard-line militarist mandarins in Kashmir on the appalling conditions that they administer in Kashmir. I stood in silence at the meeting. Listened to the slogans, the chanting, the statements, some made by friends like Sanjay Kak, others by people I do not know personally, but whose work and politics I have an interest in, even if I do not agree with, such as the poet and ex-political prisoner Varavara Rao. I met some old friends, talked quietly to strangers, and felt a momentary twinge of pride in Delhi, at least about the fact that so many of us were reclaiming a space on Jantar Mantar, for once to break the enormously deafening silence about Kashmir in a public and peaceful manner. There were different kinds of slogans that were heard. Most resonant of all was the slogan that has now become the signature of all protests in Kashmir, 'Hum Kya Chahtey - Azaadi' ('What do we want - Freedom') which speaks to the wide spectrum of sometimes disparate political currents and opinions which is together only because of one common objective - anger at the continued occupation of Kashmir by the armed might of the Indian state. Some slogans stressed the unity of all Kashmiris - be they Pandit, Muslim or Sikh. Occasionally, the air did reverberate with slogans that some might interpret as having a more secterian tinge - the 'Nara e Taqbeer - Allah o Akbar'. But the vast majority of slogans had simply one motif - 'Azaadi'. Sometimes spoken with joy, sometimes with anger, sometimes as a lament, sometimes with hope - with the vowels elongated to mean a myriad complexities that are rendered unspoken by the simplifying violence of the occupation. Many speakers, including Professor Geelani, and men and women people from the crowd, repeatedly made appeals not to 'communalize' the issue, and the same people who said, 'Allah o Akbar' also immediately switched to slogans emphasizing Kashmir's secular fabric, and called for Pandit-Muslim-Sikh unity in Kashmir. I did not feel perturbed by the airing of the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan, as I am not when I hear people say 'Vande Mataram' or indeed, 'Jai Shree Ram'. I am not a believer, and the fervent expression of belief on the part of those who do believe, neither enthuses, nor disturbs me. In each case, I am more interested in what lies behind the passion. And I believed that what lay behind the passion last evening, despite the anxiety on some of the faces in the crowd, was an appeal to the divine as the final arbiter of justice and peace in a deeply violent and unjust world. I can understand what motivates people to make that claim, even if I cannot make it myself, especially in a situation, where all appeals to mundane, worldly power, seem to have exhausted themselves. A situation where stones are met with bullets and grenades can make even the most sceptical of us lose faith in the grace of the mortals who rule, ultimately, only with the force of arms. Perhaps, not airing such slogans would have been tactically more intelligent. But I did not get the sense that those who had gathered in Jantar Mantar last evening had come to score intelligent and sophisticated political points. They had come to express their anger and their sadness, they had come to cease, for a brief moment, to be the anonymous, anxious Kashmiri in Delhi who is always worried about being labelled a 'terrorist' by a prejudiced neighbour, a callous policeman or a random stranger. They had come to be themselves, to mourn, and to tell the world of their mourning. I can only feel grateful that they could gather the courage to do this. There is an urgency, as Sanjay Kak reminded the gathering for forging an intelligent politics in response to what is going on in Kashmir, and that politics must not rest only on the engine of pain and anger. I totally agree with this, at the same time, I also know, that without an occasion like what we witnessed yesterday, when Kashmiris can openly express their desire for liberation and their anguish in the heart of India, in the vocabulary and language that has sustained their struggles over the past decades, it will not happen. I remain hopeful that it will. Some speakers, including Varavara Rao, Mohan Jha (from Delhi University, I hope I got his name right), Sanjay Kak, and a sikh gentleman from Amritsar whose name escapes me, spoke of the fact that there was a great deal of solidarity in India for the just demands of the Kashmiri people. The occasion did not, at any instance, degenerate into a vulgar clash of competing nationalisms. Outside the perimter of this protest, stood another - a small group of people associated with organizations that claim to represent the Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora, who were 'protesting' against the protest. I recognized a face in this crowd, I follow his self-righteous online outpourings quite regularly. Some of the speakers, including Mr. Geelani, alluded to them, saying that they shared in their pain, and even invited them to come and address the gathering. They however, remained aloof. Holding their placards, with their claim to monopoly of the pain and anguish of Kashmir. Ther stirred to life, when Sanjay Kak, spoke, heckling him, in a now familiar and churlish manner. I felt sad to see them, because they could make claim to suffering only as a means to divide people, not bring people together in solidarity. Just before I left, a young woman who had recently come to Delhi to study, spoke eloquently about what it means to have lost a childhood in Kashmir, to have seen brothers and friends shot. I do not know who she is, and I could not catch her name, perhaps it was 'Arshi', but I wished I could apologize to her personally, because I know that her childhood has been robbed by people speaking in the name of the state that claims my fealty. The occupation of Kashmir by India and Pakistan is an immoral and evil fact of our times. The sooner it ends, the better will it be for all of us in South Asia. True 'Azaadi' in Kashmir, for all its inhabitants, and for all those who have been displaced by more than twenty years of violence, can only help us all, in Delhi, and elsewhere, to breathe more freely. END ---------- From shuddha at sarai.net Sun Aug 8 19:54:59 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:54:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Sanjay Kak and Hilal Mir on the Stones and Streets of Kashmir Message-ID: <17b919232725501ef2caf4aa7d16582e@mail.sarai.net> Dear all, here are two excellent pieces of writing on the current situation in Kashmir, by Sanjay Kak (Times of India) and Hilal Mir (Hindustan Times). Please read and circulate widely. best, Shuddha The Last Option: A Stone in Her Hand Sanjay Kak, Times of India, August 08, 2010 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/The-last-option-A-stone-in-her-hand/articleshow/6272689.cms How I became a Stone Thrower for a Day Hilal Mir, Hindustan Times, August 07, 2010 http://www.hindustantimes.com/How-I-became-a-stone-thrower-for-a-day/H1-Article1-583646.aspx From shuddha at sarai.net Sun Aug 8 20:56:38 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:56:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Children of the Tehreek by Sanjay Kak (published in Himal Magazine) Message-ID: <10f3fea5ae59e09e6b7c0d99b62ef30f@mail.sarai.net> A text by Sanjay Kak published recently in Himal Magazine, on the children who are protesting on the streets of Kashmir. Read and circulate widely. best Shuddha -------- http://www.himalmag.com/Children-of-the-tehreek_nw4646.html?sms_ss=facebook From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Aug 8 21:14:45 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 21:14:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar In-Reply-To: <8163e401cc449201693b378cc03d492f@mail.sarai.net> References: <8163e401cc449201693b378cc03d492f@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Shuddha While I do understand that loss of lives is a despicable thing and we should criticize it, I would also like to ask you these things (and please, don't consider me to be on any side when I ask them, except that of being curious and pained at the whole list of events) : i) When people are throwing stones, and there is even burning of police vehicles and stations, leading to damage of public property, is there a logical course of action to achieve peace? If yes, what can it be? In other words, what can be the steps to break the cycle of violence and counter-violence? ii) What steps can one take, at least as a beginner, to ensure that such events are not repeated and we can actually get back to a situation where the stakeholders involved are genuinely interested in maintaining a modicum of peace and tranquility (this includes Indian state, Pakistani state and those entities in Kashmir which may be bent on indulging in violence)? iii) Most importantly, what are the constraints on arriving at a solution for the stakeholders involved in the process? For example, what stops the Indian state from making Kashmir independent or even say remove AFSPA (if that is a positive step in solving this problem)? What stops the Pakistani state from making positive assertions in this problem? What about the Kashmiris in this regard? iv) What does the word 'azadi' actually mean, in your view? (Kashmiris who are on this forum as also others, I would appreciate if you could put across the answer to this question). And how is this 'azadi' different from the current scenario, or from what the Indian republic currently ensures or has to ensure at least constitutionally? In the hope that I do get replies. Because on Sarai, if there are to be debates, they are to be around these questions (and also many more) on these issues, which can enlighten our minds and get us on some path may be in understanding the issue. And also make Sarai a better forum to debate in an exhaustive manner on many issues. Rakesh From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 8 21:15:36 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 21:15:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "Kashmir Discourse" at Jantar Mantar Delhi In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Kashmir Discourse at Jantar Mantar Delhi: “Luk yud chanaen lotvai lotvai KANAEN sannan, maney kaah gov, naag vuzan sahravan manz” . ( if people take STONES seriously, meaning is nothing, springs would erupt in deserts ). A parody of famous song, original written by Rafiq Raaz and sung by Vijay Malla. I have merely replaced the word Kathan (discourses ) with Kanaen ( Stones ). I guess, it is a matter of time when Kanean would return back to Kathan. The stones in the valley have already replaced the gun culture. The Protagonist of Kashmiri poetry is usually feminine, and the recent street action by Kashmiri common women by pelting stones against excesses of security forces has perhaps come to a full circle. This is all about thinking also, I guess. I don’t how many were “thinking people” at yesterday’s Jantar Mantar Protest organized by Kashmiris living in Delhi, but when Sanjay Kak, the noted film maker and activist, spoke about how “Kashmir Discourse” is picking up its tortoise like pace at various forums in Indian Civil Society, almost everybody believed him. He said in response to the comparing man Mr SAR Geelani who openly criticized the silence of entire Indian civil society for not reflecting the painful situation in Kashmir. There is no reason to highlight ‘victim hood’ as it may distract the deeper meaning of Azadi ( freedom ), Sanjay added. This line although was not picked by many sentimental speakers who jumped on to the mike, but one long bearded traders raised a slogan that Kashmiris are not Aatankvadis ( Terrorists ) which everybody responded back forcefully. This bearded man said with clarity that we ought not communalize the situation here because the format for protest is about the innocent killings, and not the Kashmir Issue, which we need to sort out in the valley itself. This space is for protest only. He looked wiser in comparison to the lot of other young boys who raised religious slogans every now and then. This reminded me “Aasi gay saeri Dasshat garad, tem gaey saeri Ahinsa Parast” by Rahman Rahi, ( we all terrorist, and they all are peace lovers ) I was delighted today that empty Jantar Mantar looked a charged space , since it has almost lost its sheen, perhaps, because of the obsolete nature of political protests, and the fact that mere slogans don’t bring a revolution nowadays. In fact the age of revolutions ( inqlaab ) are passe. Something has to happen at grass root level. So, inside the valley there is has to be some thinking about how to sustain the issue without being too sentimental. Perhaps the issue of freedom needs to come closer with other issues of trauma and deep study about how “everybody is Kashmir “ as a CPI (M) representative said in his Lal Salam address to the audience. What does it mean to talk about Kashmir, not only its politics but Women’s issues and other Environmental issues at the same time is perhaps what we mean by “ Kashmir Discourse “. A return to simple kashmir style living can be a world wide movement for a just freedom of human being. Many kashmiris would not like to see the one line Kashmir dispute mixed with other issues, but I believe if they let it happen there would be enormous support from thinking people all over the world. Violent methodology would only give excuse to men in power who want to to control Kashmir, by hook or by crook. True, without emotions the struggle wont be sustained, but there has to more stronger non-violent movement in Kashmir. For the first time SAS Geelani looks like Gandhi of Indian Independence movement. Anyway, when a student girl from Kashmir stood up at Jantar Manter, who travelled 2 days back to Delhi from Srinagar passionately revealed her anguish of living a fretful life back in the valley, it was moment to see how sincerity speaks fearlessly. She almost verified the fact that she is alive and wanted to tell about the people who are enduring a terrible situation in Kashmir. She said how she feels like mother whose womb is ripped when she hears the news that a young boy is shot dead by security forces. There was no slogan in her short narration and yet it was the most moving moment in the entire protest. Such was her sincere way of uttering the words that I forgot to switch on the small handy cam. Mr. Geelani reminded the audience about the fact that today’s audience comprises Hindus, including few Kashmiri Pandits and some Sikhs even, so we need to restraint the sentiments, but the religious slogans kept on emerging spontaneously, which unnerved a lady with bindi on her forehead standing next to me. She said we are equally disturbed by Shiv Sena slogans and they look similar. But, I explained her that the format indeed was not for such slogans, it is just going out of control. This all happened after Kashmiri Pandits protested against the protest. Some ten odd young Kashmiri Pandits suddenly stood in a line in front of the protest group sitting on the ground. Mr. Geelani said to them that we share the pain of their losses in the valley, and they too should sit in the audience in solidarity with them about the issue of innocent killings in the valley This actually intensified the Mazhabi Narey bazi (religious sloganeering) which obviously rendered some Sikhs from Punjab sitting in the crowd a little out of place. Kashmiri Pandits looked unimaginative as usual, but made the young Muslim boys to forget the real issue of protest and think about Nare-Takbeer Allah-o-Akbar …kind of things instead. There is indeed some opium in the nature of these slogans which nevertheless binds all very tightly, even for a momentary frenzy. Anyway, ours is a religious society, be it Hindu, Sikh or Muslim, who am I to poke my agnostic nose in all this, I thought. But, I always wondered why Kashmiri Pandits are more loyal than the King when it comes to Indian Nationalism which is not exclusive ‘Hindu’ if we give some damn to its secular constitution even. They always voted Congress party in the Valley but were betrayed in 1986 communal riots by Mufti Mohd Syed, the congress chief then. They were badly mistaken that ‘Congress’ is merely a ‘party’ and not ‘India’. If pandits in Valley had trusted Sheikh, I guess the migration might not have taken place. But the gap between Kashmir Pandits and Kashmir Muslims has widened since... Anyway, as long as I was there in solidarity with the protestors, I did not hear much mention of recent phenomenon of ‘ Kane Jung’ (Stone pelting ) which has radically replaced the gun culture in the valley. The success of this tool can be measured by the fact that almost everybody is taken aback here in India by the overwhelming nature of this unique way of fighting war on the streets on daily basis. There are instance when stones are stored and transported and placed at strategic place on the roads in advance. This results in the continuity of the stone-war in Kashmir. Well, no more Jantar Mantar reportage, but what made me conscious today is the fact when somebody on the mike mentioned the date 13th of July 1931. The date when scores of unarmed kashmiri men were gunned down by the Maharaja ( king ) in Srinagar. I instantly thought of a Hindu king, and the fact that India came into existence after acceptance of ‘two nation theory’ based on different nation hood for Hindus and Muslims of this subcontinent. So, no wonder that Muslims in the valley take on to the religious slogans on and off during any political protest. This is time tested methodology in the valley. History has indeed merged the ways of protesting and religious identity in the valley. People have internalized this over the years. But the credit goes to Sheikh Mohd Abudllah who never gave any political space to M.A Jinnah to implement ‘ Two Nation Theory ‘ in the valley. Credit goes to sheikh that no Kashmiri Pandit was killed in 1947 in the valley when Gandhi’s free India witnessed a whole scale blood bath. Sheikh was like sun in the valley, but India humiliated him, and the Indian formula to buy kashmiris with money since then is only Indian policy of Kashmir, which has come to a stand still because of ‘Kane Jung’. Many Kashmiris at Jantar Mantar voiced deep anger against this formula. It is high time that Kashmir Discourse is taken seriously by the thinking man in India , and inside Kashmir as well, and work out some solution to get rid of this daily ritual of innocent killings by security forces. Better if all the bourgeois thinking people too take note of… Love Inder Salim -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From reyhanchaudhuri at hotmail.com Sun Aug 8 21:43:25 2010 From: reyhanchaudhuri at hotmail.com (Dr. Reyhan Chaudhuri) Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 16:13:25 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir BURNS but whose goin2go2Ladakh In-Reply-To: References: , <8163e401cc449201693b378cc03d492f@mail.sarai.net>, Message-ID: Respected Reader List, Kashmir burns and it is awful.But please do not forget Ladakh.>It has almost vanished!It's devastated.Couldnt we have predicted and safe-guarded or saved some people,when we knew there were mudslides in western China(but East to Ladakh) and rain ravaged regions in Pakistan(west of Ladakh)? Kashmir was so immersed in it's problems,they forgot the gentlest and bravest people that were a part of their state (due to convoluted circumstances)and became part of it's province ,in the independent Indian Nation.In this catastrophic and emergency event,what is going to be done,one wonders... I know some of us are missing the point and churlishly deflecting the issue .But when the point happens to be on a lever plane tilting dangerously,the fulcrum has to take the whole seasaw into account; Yours timorously, R.Chaudhuri. R.Chaudhuri > Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 21:14:45 +0530 > From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com > To: shuddha at sarai.net > CC: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar > > Dear Shuddha > > While I do understand that loss of lives is a despicable thing and we should > criticize it, I would also like to ask you these things (and please, don't > consider me to be on any side when I ask them, except that of being curious > and pained at the whole list of events) : > > i) When people are throwing stones, and there is even burning of police > vehicles and stations, leading to damage of public property, is there a > logical course of action to achieve peace? If yes, what can it be? In other > words, what can be the steps to break the cycle of violence and > counter-violence? > > ii) What steps can one take, at least as a beginner, to ensure that such > events are not repeated and we can actually get back to a situation where > the stakeholders involved are genuinely interested in maintaining a modicum > of peace and tranquility (this includes Indian state, Pakistani state and > those entities in Kashmir which may be bent on indulging in violence)? > > iii) Most importantly, what are the constraints on arriving at a solution > for the stakeholders involved in the process? For example, what stops the > Indian state from making Kashmir independent or even say remove AFSPA (if > that is a positive step in solving this problem)? What stops the Pakistani > state from making positive assertions in this problem? What about the > Kashmiris in this regard? > > iv) What does the word 'azadi' actually mean, in your view? (Kashmiris who > are on this forum as also others, I would appreciate if you could put across > the answer to this question). And how is this 'azadi' different from the > current scenario, or from what the Indian republic currently ensures or has > to ensure at least constitutionally? > > In the hope that I do get replies. Because on Sarai, if there are to be > debates, they are to be around these questions (and also many more) on these > issues, which can enlighten our minds and get us on some path may be in > understanding the issue. And also make Sarai a better forum to debate in an > exhaustive manner on many issues. > > Rakesh > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Aug 8 21:52:11 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 21:52:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir BURNS but whose goin2go2Ladakh In-Reply-To: References: <8163e401cc449201693b378cc03d492f@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Reyhan Let not the tragedy of Ladakh be mixed with Kashmir.And to my knowledge or intuition, there would be not a member on this forum who would not be in solidarity with the victims of Ladakh. But please, I request you not to mix the issues to state that Kashmiris have no concern for Ladakh, or that Indian people have no concern for Ladakh. And I also hope that we are able to get Ladakh to a semblance of normality (the semblance is all we can hope for, as the people have lost their lives, loved ones, and all they would have valued, or much of it), and able to help them restore their lives in as best possible a manner as we can for them. (By we, I mean the Indian state, for here I am in solidarity with it in this initiative). But please, let's not mix Kashmir with Ladakh. Rakesh From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 8 22:06:04 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 22:06:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Discourse at jantar Mantar: My performance on day 2nd... Message-ID: Dear all I was called by the man on the mike. I introduced myself, as everybody was requested to initially I started in Kashmiri, but i was reminded that there non-kashmiris in the audience so i switched to English: I said, My name is Inder Salim. Hindus consider me Muslim and Muslims think i am Hindu, but i enjoy this confusion. Right now, i am quite sad about the painful situation in Kashmir. The present Kane Jung ( stone Pelting ) has replaced gun culture , which is good sign, and this Kane Jung too will transform into Kathe Jung ( war of words ). I said something more very briefly, but this was the gist. Before i moved in the center of sitting audience, i said that i will do a small action and if someone wants to join the action, i would be glad, if not it is alright: The 100 odd gathering of protesters were holding protest slogans in front of them, and one of it was I PROTEST , I took the sheet of paper from the hands of man holding the slogan . I took handkerchief from my pocket and tied it on my face as the men in valley do while throwing stones, to hide their identity, i exhibited the paper with I PROTEST written on it. I rolled it into a ball, and held it in my hand like a stone, and made the of action of a stone thrower. It was still moment for about half a minute. The audience clapped and i ended my performance. I was facing Indian Parliament I hope to receive images soon, as there were so many around clicking the still of my gesture. with love is -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 8 22:45:18 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:45:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Children of the Tehreek by Sanjay Kak (published in Himal Magazine) In-Reply-To: <10f3fea5ae59e09e6b7c0d99b62ef30f@mail.sarai.net> References: <10f3fea5ae59e09e6b7c0d99b62ef30f@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <000901cb371d$4732c540$d5984fc0$@in> All these stories about children/woman sufferings in Kashmir is irrelevant. It is foolishness to remove army fully from J&K, a sensitive border state. Army when trying to control the protesters naturally will hurt whoever comes in between. If protester is woman or child which is used by separatists/Pak army/ISI will also be hurt. Army don’t wants to hurt anyone willingly. They try to restore peace. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of shuddha at sarai.net Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2010 8:57 PM To: reader-list at sarai.net Subject: [Reader-list] Children of the Tehreek by Sanjay Kak (published in Himal Magazine) A text by Sanjay Kak published recently in Himal Magazine, on the children who are protesting on the streets of Kashmir. Read and circulate widely. best Shuddha -------- http://www.himalmag.com/Children-of-the-tehreek_nw4646.html?sms_ss=facebook _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From peter.ksmtf at gmail.com Sun Aug 8 23:39:04 2010 From: peter.ksmtf at gmail.com (T Peter) Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 23:39:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Irrational development projects lead to rights violations: Medha Patkar In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ‘Have some rationale while planning projects' Staff Reporter http://www.thehindu.com/2010/08/08/stories/2010080853400300.htm Irrational development projects lead to rights violations: Medha Patkar Thrissur: Irrational development programmes have led to violation of human rights of the under-privileged, social activist Medha Patkar has said. Addressing a meeting of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) here on Saturday, Ms. Patkar, national convener of NAPM, urged the Union and State governments to have some rationale while planning projects and deciding sites for industries. “Farm lands and even densely-populated areas have been evacuated for infrastructure. No ruler is bothered about the problems of the displaced people.” The nexus between politicians and land mafia had resulted in loss of precious land belonging to the common man, she said. “On one side, there are wide national highways and huge flyovers and on the other are the Adivasis, who have been denied all basic rights.” People had to raise their voice for survival as the State failed to protect people's Constitutional rights, she said. People's movements had been trying to voice the agony of the marginalised sections in a democratic manner, she said. Ms. Patkar said that State-sponsored violence should be stopped to bring back peace to the tribal belt of the country. “The rulers want to evacuate the tribals from the resource-rich belt to enable the corporate giants to occupy their land. Even the peaceful struggles of people's movements are branded insurgence,” she said. She appealed to all democratic forces to unite and fight the brazen attempts to grab the land of tribals and farmers. Senior journalist B.R.P. Baskar delivered keynote address. Leaders of various people's movements, including Laha Gopalan (Chengara land struggle); T. Peter (Fish worker's struggle); Vilayodi Venugopal (Anti CocoCola struggle, Plachimada); Hashim Chennampilly (Movement against land acquisition for NH-17 and NH-47 widening); A. Latha (Athirappilly hydel project issue); C.F. George (Chakkumkandam sewage issue) and T.K. Vasu (Lalur Makineekarana Viruddha Samara Samithi) also spoke. http://www.keralafishworkers.in http://www.alakal.net From shuddha at sarai.net Mon Aug 9 02:29:50 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:29:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar In-Reply-To: References: <8163e401cc449201693b378cc03d492f@mail.sarai.net> , Message-ID: <555171c5d8cc1abf589936cd8c7aedf1@mail.sarai.net> Dear Rakesh, many thanks for your response, and for your queries, which I take very seriously, and will try and answer, sincerely, to the best of my ability. I am as pained as you are by all that happens in Kashmir, and it is always my hope that this list, can remain one of the places (where despite the din and the acrimony) we can sometimes have a considered, thoughtful discussion on issues like kashmir (and not only on Kashmir). So thank you. I will take each of your questions in turn. q i) When people are throwing stones, and there is even burning of police vehicles and stations, leading to damage of public property, is there a logical course of action to achieve peace? If yes, what can it be? In other words, what can be the steps to break the cycle of violence and counter-violence? a i) Well, the first thing is, do you respond to this situation by sending more troops, as the government has done, or, do you say, that yes, people have a legitimate grievance and an anger about the loss of the lives of young people, and that they have the right to mourn and protest in a peaceful manner. Remember, the stone pelting began when characteristically, people were not allowed to mourn in public. And each stone pelting incident produced its own 'martyrs', who then, were again not allowed to be mourned. So, from the very beginning of this cycle of violence, there has been a gross mistake. The least that the Omar Abdullah government can do is to render a public apology for its misgovernance. the next thing it can do is to state that no police or paramilitary will shoot to kill at any crowd, provided they are not attacked with lethal weapons. the third thing they can do is to allow for public mourning to take place. The fourth thing they can ensure is that an independent enquiry into encounter killings takes place The fifth thing that they can do is to come clean on the mass graves that have been unearthed in Kashmir in the last two years, and tender public apologies for these heinous crimes. The list is long. None of these require either the state government or the central government to depart from their positions on the constitutionali position of Kashmir, but at least they will indicate that even if they oppose the partisans of 'azaadi' they at least are ready to admit to their own wrong-doing. A lot can happen, after this. Then of course the next logical step is to remove the AFSPA, which is a very serious deterrent to the possibility of peace in Kashmir. q ii) What steps can one take, at least as a beginner, to ensure that such events are not repeated and we can actually get back to a situation where the stakeholders involved are genuinely interested in maintaining a modicum of peace and tranquility (this includes Indian state, Pakistani state and those entities in Kashmir which may be bent on indulging in violence)? a ii) I think it is cheap to ask those who need to mourn to practice tranquility. 45 lives lost in police firing on unarmed or stone pelting mobs is an abnormal situation. We cannot ask an angry people to suddenly forsake their anger. To do so is to insult them. Why can we not demand that the state not act violently first? I see the Pakistani state as being just as venal as the Indian state, but I am reasonably certain that it has no role to play in the current wave of mass protests in Kashmir. Even those who are its clients in Kashmir have been silenced, and are in retreat, in Kashmir. The crowds have spared no one, not even the worthies of the Hurriyat conference, and even separatist leaders on occasion have not been allowed to speak or take 'advantage' of occasions of the mass expression of popular despair. q iii) Most importantly, what are the constraints on arriving at a solution for the stakeholders involved in the process? For example, what stops the Indian state from making Kashmir independent or even say remove AFSPA (if that is a positive step in solving this problem)? What stops the Pakistani state from making positive assertions in this problem? What about the Kashmiris in this regard? a iii) I think that the AFSPA must go. From Kashmir and from the North East. India's claim to be a democracy is a sham as long as the AFSPA remains in operation. We have to accept that there is a vested interest within sections of the military and security establishment in keeping instruments like the AFSPA alive, because it allows them to act with impunity. We have to demand that they be exposed. Pakistan has no role to play, as far as I am concerned. It (the Pakistani state) oppresses people as violently in Balochistan as the Indian state does in Kashmir, and the Pakistani establishment's statments about Kashmir is in my view, crocodile tears. They too want to keep the dispute alive, as it suits their militarist agendas exactly as much as it does that of their peers in India. As for the Kashmiri people, I think it is interesting to see what a 'leaderless' political movement is like. I think it can set an example. I find people like Shabnam Lone, and others, the bloggers and facebook enthusiasts of Kashmir - interesting voices. I think we need to listen to them, to create spaces where they can speak and debate freely. Secondly, all that India and Pakistan need to do is to abide by the UN resolutions on Kashmir, Let there be an internationally supervised plebiscite, let people determine their own futures. Why are we so hung up about the framework of the Indian constitution? Constitutions are documents written by human beings, not by divine agency. And if they become obstacles to the ascertainment of the popular will, then there is no reason why we have to be hidebound to them. It has been done, in Northern Ireland, in East Timor, in Kosovo, why can it not be done in Kashmir. If the governments of India and Pakistan are serious about Kashmir, they must realize and admit to the fact that the most important interlocutors are the Kashmiri people themselves. Remember, even the British colonial powers talked to Indian nationalists, on occasion, without conditions. Why must the Indian government, simply undertake to do the same. If it does, surely, the pro independence parties in Kashmir will also have to go the extra mile to talk sensibly. q iv) What does the word 'azadi' actually mean, in your view? (Kashmiris who are on this forum as also others, I would appreciate if you could put across the answer to this question). And how is this 'azadi' different from the current scenario, or from what the Indian republic currently ensures or has to ensure at least constitutionally? a iv) The word 'Azaadi' means different things, in a negative (I dont mean negative in a pejorative sense, simply as 'negation') and in a positive sense. In a negative sense it simply means 'freedom from the occupation' the desire to see the last bunker taken down, the last soldier leave, the barbed wires pulled down, the end of curfew, flag marches, identification parades, disappearances, deaths and the million daily humiliations that the occupation entails. I totally endorse this sentiment. If you talk to anyone who has grown up in Kashmir in the last twenty years, you get a very different picture of what life is like from anyone of us who has grown up say in Delhi, Bombay or Bangalore of Calcutta or Madras. In that sense, 'Azaadi' is simply a desire for a normal, boring life, and unfortunately, today, this normalcy can be guaranteed, only when the Indian state leaves. The Indian state is the abnormal intrusion in Kashmir, it has become intrusion through its own acts of commission and omission over the last sixty years. In the interests of the continued friendship between Indian and Kashmiri people, the Indian state has to step out of the picture. As far as the 'positive' content of Azaadi is concerned, I am less clear. I have time and again said (including on this list) to my friends in Kashmir, that they have to work hard to produce a freedom charter, a vision of what an 'Azaad Kashmir' a secular, democratic, tolerant, open, non militarized space can be like. I have been disappointed that this vision has never made it from private discussions to public fora. But I am still hopeful that the generation that is on the streets of Kashmir today, will actually inscribe this vision with content and reality. I still wait for that to happen. I know it can, but it can only happen, in a space of at least limited openness. We all have to try and see that the AFSPA goes as soon as possible, so that beginnings in this direction can be made, in earnest and seriousness I hope I have been able to do justice to your questions thanks and regards Shuddha On Sun, 8 Aug 2010 21:14:45 +0530 Rakesh Iyer wrote > Dear Shuddha > > While I do understand that loss of lives is a despicable thing and we should > criticize it, I would also like to ask you these things (and please, don't > consider me to be on any side when I ask them, except that of being curious > and pained at the whole list of events) : > From rashneek at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 08:46:14 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 08:46:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Jadoo Hai ya tilism timhare zuban main tum jhooth kyeh rahe the mujhe aaetbaar tha On Sun, Aug 8, 2010 at 3:02 PM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar > > Last evening I went to Jantar Mantar after many years. It is a road I pass > often, looking at the sad and melancholic little protests that line the > kerb, > whispering to an indifferent Capital the million mutinies of our banana > plantation republic. > > Last evening was different. There were perhaps four to five hundred people, > many, but not all Kashmiri, men and women, who had gathered to protest > against > the wanton destruction of life in the Kashmir valley by the security > apparatus > of the Indian state in the last few weeks and months. 45 civilian deaths in > 8 > weeks signals a state losing its head. Especially when the deaths occur > when > the police and paramilitaries fire live bullets on unarmed or stone pelting > mobs. When stones, or unarmed bodies are met with ammunition, you know that > the > state has no respect whatsoever for bare life. That this should happen in a > state that calls itself a democracy should make all of us who are its > citizens > reflect on how hollow 'democracy' feels to the mother or friend of a young > boy > or girl who is felled by a 'democratic' bullet. > > Protests in Delhi often have a routine, scripted quality. But this one was > different. Professor S.A.R Geelani was level headed and dignified, as he > spoke > to the assembled, visibly upset young men and women, introduced each > speaker in > turn and appealed to people to stay calm, and not get provoked. > > I don't think that there has been a public gathering of young people from > Kashmir in such numbers in Delhi, and the occasion had a cathartic, almost > therapeutic character, as if the acknowledgment of each others presence > could > also make it possible for many amongst those gathered to say what needed to > be > said, loud and clear, in public, what they had only kept as a secret in > their > hearts. > > As a citizen of the Indian republic, I can only hang my head in shame at > the > venality of the state, and at how it openly sanctions the murder of > Kashmiri > men, women and children on the streets of the valley. Even a leading member > of > the Israeli military establishment (not known for their kindness towards > occupied Palestinians) has recently admonished India's hard-line militarist > mandarins in Kashmir on the appalling conditions that they administer in > Kashmir. > > I stood in silence at the meeting. Listened to the slogans, the chanting, > the > statements, some made by friends like Sanjay Kak, others by people I do not > know personally, but whose work and politics I have an interest in, even if > I > do not agree with, such as the poet and ex-political prisoner Varavara Rao. > I > met some old friends, talked quietly to strangers, and felt a momentary > twinge > of pride in Delhi, at least about the fact that so many of us were > reclaiming a > space on Jantar Mantar, for once to break the enormously deafening silence > about > Kashmir in a public and peaceful manner. > > There were different kinds of slogans that were heard. Some stressed the > unity > of all Kashmiris - be they Pandit, Muslim or Sikh. Occasionally, the air > did > reverberate with slogans that some might interpret as having a more > secterian > tinge - the 'Nara e Taqbeer - Allah o Akbar'. > > Many speakers, including Professor Geelani, and men and women people from > the > crowd, repeatedly made appeals not to 'communalize' the issue, and the same > people who said, 'Allah o Akbar' also immediately switched to slogans > emphasizing Kashmir's secular fabric, and called for Pandit-Muslim-Sikh > unity > in Kashmir. > > I did not feel perturbed by the airing of the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan, as I > am > not when I hear people say 'Vande Mataram' or indeed, 'Jai Shree Ram'. I am > not > a believer, and the fervent expression of belief on the part of those who > do > believe, neither enthuses, nor disturbs me. In each case, I am more > interested > in what lies behind the passion. And I believed that what lay behind the > passion last evening, despite the anxiety on some of the faces in the > crowd, > was an appeal to the divine as the final arbiter of justice and peace in a > deeply violent and unjust world. I can understand what motivates people to > make > that claim, even if I cannot make it myself, especially in a situation, > where > all appeals to mundane, worldly power, seem to have exhausted themselves. A > situation where stones are met with bullets and grenades can make even the > most > sceptical of us lose faith in the grace of the mortals who rule, > ultimately, > only with the force of arms. > > Perhaps, not airing such slogans would have been tactically more > intelligent. > But I did not get the sense that those who had gathered in Jantar Mantar > last > evening had come to score intelligent and sophisticated political points. > They > had come to express their anger and their sadness, they had come to cease, > for > a brief moment, to be the anonymous, anxious Kashmiri in Delhi who is > always > worried about being labelled a 'terrorist' by a prejudiced neighbour, a > callous > policeman or a random stranger. They had come to be themselves, to mourn, > and to > tell the world of their mourning. I can only feel grateful that they could > gather the courage to do this. There is an urgency, as Sanjay Kak reminded > the > gathering for forging an intelligent politics in response to what is going > on > in Kashmir, and that politics must not only rest on the engine of pain and > anger. I totally agree with this, at the same time, I also know, that > without > an occasion like what we witnessed yesterday, when Kashmiris can openly > express > their anguish in the heart of India, it will not happen. I remain hopeful > that > it will. > > Some speakers, including Varavara Rao, Mohan Jha (from Delhi University, I > hope I got his name right), Sanjay Kak, and a sikh gentleman from Amritsar > whose name escapes me, spoke of the fact that there was a great deal of > solidarity in India for the just demands of the Kashmiri people. The > occasion > did not, at any instance, degenerate into a vulgar clash of competing > nationalisms. > > Outside the perimter of this protest, stood another - a small group of > people > associated with organizations that claim to represent the Kashmiri Pandit > Diaspora, who were 'protesting' against the protest. I recognized a face in > this crowd, I follow his self-righteous online outpourings quite regularly. > Some of the speakers, including Mr. Geelani, alluded to them, saying that > they > shared in their pain, and even invited them to come and address the > gathering. > They however, remained aloof. Holding their placards, with their claim to > monopoly of the pain and anguish of Kashmir. Ther stirred to life, when > Sanjay > Kak, spoke, heckling him, in a now familiar and churlish manner. I felt sad > to > see them, because they could make claim to suffering only as a means to > divide > people, not bring people together in solidarity. > > Just before I left, a young woman who had recently come to Delhi to study, > spoke eloquently about what it means to have lost a childhood in Kashmir, > to > have seen brothers and friends shot. I do not know who she is, and I could > not > catch her name, perhaps it was 'Arshi', but I wished I could apologize to > her > personally, because I know that her childhood has been robbed by people > speaking in the name of the state that claims my fealty. > > The occupation of Kashmir by India and Pakistan is an immoral and evil fact > of > our times. The sooner it ends, the better will it be for all of us in South > Asia. True 'Azaadi' in Kashmir, for all its inhabitants, and for all those > who > have been displaced by more than twenty years of violence, can only help us > all, in Srinagar, in Delhi, and elsewhere, to breathe more freely. > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 10:22:15 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:22:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Leh data? Message-ID: One of the striking things about reporting since the Leh cloudburst some days back is the absence of data of how much rain fell in that two hours that caused it. Now that could be because the data does not exist (less likely) but more likely because that data is under military supervision. One of the connected points made by Mausam Bhavan officials many months back in a meeting with some of us in Delhi Platform was how some of the rainfall data of those mountainous region is under army control. Possibly that applies here too. The Hindu has an interesting editorial on Leh today including the fact that many of the houses in villages there are mud-based - and hence badly damaged - since people do not expect it to rain so much in that region. jansatta also reports today floods in Tibet with possibly higher casaulties and damage. Along with the floods in Pakistan and the forest fires in Russia, GW seems to playing games with people's lives in this region. I wonder what it takes ... Naga From rashneek at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 10:44:01 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:44:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... Message-ID: *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - http://www.amarujal a.com/city/ CityDetail. aspx?id=1063&cid=143 *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM श्रीनगर। घाटी में उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन टाउन से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी सिख समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे हैं। गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें लिखा गया है कि भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों से श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह गिलानी से भी मुलाकात की है। आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है कि असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह गुप्त पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में १८२ अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत भरे माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल का कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. अग्निशेखर का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से सबक सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना नहीं मिली है। *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM श्रीनगर। घाटी में उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन टाउन से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी सिख समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे हैं। गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें लिखा गया है कि भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों से श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह गिलानी से भी मुलाकात की है। आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है कि असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह गुप्त पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में १८२ अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत भरे माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल का कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. अग्निशेखर का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से सबक सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना नहीं मिली है। best regards - Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From kaksanjay at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 10:49:31 2010 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:49:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither the the hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet with its dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... Impressive, or suspect... "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story business. Best Sanjay 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - > http://www.amarujal > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन > टाउन > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > सिख > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे हैं। > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें लिखा गया है कि भारत > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > से > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > गिलानी > से भी मुलाकात की है। > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है कि > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह गुप्त > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में १८२ > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > भरे > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > का > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. > अग्निशेखर > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से सबक > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना नहीं > मिली है। > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन > टाउन > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > सिख > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे हैं। > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें लिखा गया है कि भारत > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > से > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > गिलानी > से भी मुलाकात की है। > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है कि > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह गुप्त > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में १८२ > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > भरे > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > का > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. > अग्निशेखर > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से सबक > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना नहीं > मिली है। > > best regards > > - > > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 10:59:12 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in media. We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan Times; quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in spreading propaganda. Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If this can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back in Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist threatening. -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither the the > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet with its > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... > Impressive, or suspect... > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story business. > Best > Sanjay > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - > > http://www.amarujal > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > टाउन > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > सिख > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे > हैं। > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें लिखा गया है कि भारत > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > से > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > गिलानी > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > कि > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह > गुप्त > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में > १८२ > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > भरे > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > का > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. > > अग्निशेखर > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से > सबक > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना > नहीं > > मिली है। > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > टाउन > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > सिख > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे > हैं। > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें लिखा गया है कि भारत > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > से > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > गिलानी > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > कि > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह > गुप्त > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में > १८२ > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > भरे > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > का > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. > > अग्निशेखर > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से > सबक > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना > नहीं > > मिली है। > > > > best regards > > > > - > > > > Rashneek Kher > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From shuddha at sarai.net Mon Aug 9 11:47:50 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:47:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3e232274bf4e6c3781c338494c7c8837@mail.sarai.net> Dear All, For the benefit of all those who do not have access to the Devnagari script on their computers, or cannot read Hindi. let me briefly translate what Mr. Rashneek Kher has forwarded from this morning's edition of the Amar Ujala Newspaper. I hope Mr. Kher will correct any mistakes in my translation, and forgive me for undertaking to do what he should have done while forwarding this post. --------------- Six Pandit Families Leave in Terror http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143 Srinagar, August 09, 2010 Troublemakers have begun targeting minorities in Kashmir. There has also been an increase in incidences of stone pelting of the homes of minorties. As a consequence, six Kashmir Pandit families belonging to the Habba Kadal and Downtown areas of Srinagar have left Kashmir. People from outside Kashmir having businesses in Srinagar have also received threats. Representatives of the minorities have met with the Hurriyat leader S.A.S Geelani to express their concerns. There are 2845 persons belonging to 662 Kashmiri Pandit families living in 182 places in the Kashmir valley, even after the exodus of 1990. Sardar Kaen Singh of the Amira Kadal Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) Committe has said that 'anti social elements' have thrown anonymous pamphlets asking Sikhs to either join the protests in the valley, or leave. These 'secret letters' have been thrown in Sikh Temples at Tral,Aulchi Bagh and Mehjoor Nagar. The 'secret letters' will be handed over to Government Agencies. People from outside Kashmir having businesses in Srinagar have also received threats. Representatives of the minorities have met with the Hurriyat leader S.A.S Geelani to express their concerns. Mr. Vinod Kaul of the All Migrant Co Ordination Committee has said that the families who have fled were living in a climate of fear. Dr. Agnishekhar has said that the government that makes claims about the return of Pandit families should learn something from this. Mr. Raman Bhalla, minister of Revenue in the Jammu and Kashmir Government has said that he knows nothing about this. ------------------ Firstly, Amar Ujala is a newspaper well known for its communal biases. Time and again, the paper has been indicted by independent voices for its role in formenting communal tension. Secondly, it is no secret that papers like Amar Ujala have a glorious record, of being the mouthpieces of the intelligence apparatus. Notice, the absence of a single 'alleged' (in Hindi, 'Tathakathit') in the entire report, and the conflation of disparate facts. We read that minority homes have been targetted by stone pelters. We are not however told whether or not the six families who have left Srinagar lived in houses that were attacked by Stone pelters. A large number of Kashmiri muslim families have sent their children away from Kashmir at this juncture, primarily because young people are the targets of the security forces firepower. Several such young people were present at the sit-in at the saturday evening Jantar mantar that i reported on, on Sunday. Their numbers are considerably higher than the 'six families' mentioned by the Amar Ujala report. Morover, if this story had any credibility, then its sources would be named, and also, it would be picked up by the other media organizations, including Indian Express, the Hindu, and the major TV Channels, all of which have a sizable presence in Srinagar, and who, by no means, are sympathetic to the 'stone pelters' cause. I would caution everyone on this list to be careful of being swayed by the inevitable orchestra of misinformation that will now begin kicking in.There will be deliberate attempts to communalise the situation in Kashmir, to terrorize the remaining Kashmiri pandit families in the valley through a calibrated campaign of insinuation, staged incidents and misinformation. This is an old and tired trick, and we must all ensure that it does not succeed. What is particularly refreshing in the current wave of protests in the valley is the absence of any secterian colour. There will be concerted efforts made by the intelligence agencies to sabotage this fact. Every report that comes out of Kashmir should be weighed and assessed very carefully. The Amar Ujala report is a sign. I am grateful to Mr. Rashneek Kher for delivering to us, an early warning. best Shuddha On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:44:01 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - > http://www.amarujal > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > aspx?id=1063&cid=143 d=143> > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > हब्बाकदल और डाउन टाउन > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी सिख > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे हैं। > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें लिखा गया है कि भारत > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल > नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों से > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > गिलानी > से भी मुलाकात की है। > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है कि > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह गुप्त > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में १८२ > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत भरे > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल का > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > रहे थे। डा. अग्निशेखर > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से सबक > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना नहीं > मिली है। > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > हब्बाकदल और डाउन टाउन > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी सिख > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे हैं। > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें लिखा गया है कि भारत > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल > नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों से > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > गिलानी > से भी मुलाकात की है। > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है कि > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह गुप्त > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में १८२ > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत भरे > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल का > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > रहे थे। डा. अग्निशेखर > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से सबक > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना नहीं > मिली है। > > best regards > > - > > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 11:52:42 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 11:52:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Sanjay To state that because a news item has not appeared in KLashmir but is published in Amar Ujala, it's fictitious, is absolutely dubious. The Al-Jazeera actually has a relatively better collection of news on India and Indian people than some of the TV channels in our own country. Does that mean that Al-Jazeera is generating fiction? If there are doubts on this news item, it should be proven through another investigation. As of now, it should be just taken in the spirit that it could be true or false. Rakesh From shuddha at sarai.net Mon Aug 9 12:02:35 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:02:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net> Aditya, The list does not take allegations of 'terrorism' lightly. The person you are talking about happens to be a friend of mine, and I would again ask you to refrain from making allegations that you cannot prove, and that have been thrown out in court, not on 'technicalities'. The absence of evidence, and the manufacture of false evidence is not a 'technicality'. I was present on Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, as were you, and as were several others, none of whom are 'Islamist Propagandists'. There may have been some Islamists in the gathering, but by no means does that mean that the majority of those present were in any way Islamist. My unambiguous positions against 'Islamism' are public, and well known, especially to Islamists. I am sure there were many others who were present at Jantar Mantar who, like me, cannot by any stretch of imagination be called 'Islamist'. Also, calling reports such as those published in the Times of India, Hindustan Times, Economic Times and the Outlook, written by Sanjay Kak, Hilal Mir, Basharat Peer and Suveer Kaul 'planted' only exposes you to the possibility of being exposed for sheer humbuggery, and makes you liable to the charge of libel. Are you suggesting that now the Indian mainstream media is nowadays being influenced by stories planted by the IB that endorse an 'Anti-State' line. Is the Intelligence Bureau, and its peers (the only ones in a position to 'plant' stories in the media) now working hand in glove with separatists in Kashmir. So, is the sentiment for azaadi now a plaything in the hands of the Indian intelligence apparatus. Let's take this thought to its logical conclusion. If the Indian intelligence agencies are backing Kashmiri separatists and all those who argue for self determination in Kashmir, then logically, Indian nationalists ought to be cozying up to the Pakistani ISI. What does that make the Roots in Kashmir and the Panun Kashmir network - an objective ally of the Pakistani ISI? If that is so, it is news to me, and ought to be, to everyone in the whole wide world. Please refrain from dissimulation and disinformation, best, Shuddha On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul wrote > The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in media. > > We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan Times; > quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in spreading > propaganda. > > Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical > grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If this > can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back in > Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist threatening. > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak > > > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither the the > > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet with its > > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... > > Impressive, or suspect... > > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story business. > > Best > > Sanjay > > > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > > > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - > > > http://www.amarujal > > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< > > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> > > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > टाउन > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > सिख > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > हैं। > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > से > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > गिलानी > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > कि > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह > > गुप्त > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में > > १८२ > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > भरे > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > का > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. > > > अग्निशेखर > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से > > सबक > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना > > नहीं > > > मिली है। > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > टाउन > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > सिख > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > हैं। > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > से > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > गिलानी > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > कि > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह > > गुप्त > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में > > १८२ > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > भरे > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > का > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. > > > अग्निशेखर > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से > > सबक > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना > > नहीं > > > मिली है। > > > > > > best regards > > > > > > - > > > > > > Rashneek Kher > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From jeebesh at sarai.net Mon Aug 9 12:19:27 2010 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 12:19:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "leaderless protest" Message-ID: dear Aditya, Recently Siddharth Varadarajan wrote an edit piece in Hindu. He writes - "Whatever his other failings, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deserves praise for acknowledging that the protests which have rocked the Kashmir valley these past few weeks are ‘leaderless' and not the product of manipulation by some hidden individual or group." What do you have to say about this? warmly jeebesh http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/05/stories/2010080555331200.htm The only package Kashmir needs is justice Siddharth Varadarajan Whatever his other failings, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deserves praise for acknowledging that the protests which have rocked the Kashmir valley these past few weeks are ‘leaderless' and not the product of manipulation by some hidden individual or group. This admission has been difficult for the authorities to make because its implications are unpleasant, perhaps even frightening. In security terms, the absence of a central nervous system means the expanding body of protest cannot be controlled by arresting individual leaders. And in political terms, the spectre of leaderless revolt makes the offer of ‘dialogue' or the naming of a ‘special envoy' for Kashmir — proposals which might have made sense last year or even last month — seem completely and utterly pointless today. Ever since the current phase of disturbances began, intelligence officials have been wasting precious time convincing the leadership and public of India that the protests are solely or mostly the handiwork of agent provocateurs. So we have been told of the role of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and ISI, of the ‘daily wage of Rs. 200' — and even narcotics — being given to stone pelters. A few weeks back, an audio recording of a supposedly incriminating telephone call was leaked to the media along with a misleading transcript suggesting the Geelani faction of the Hurriyat was behind the upsurge. Now, our TV channels have “learned” from their “sources” that the protests will continue till President Obama's visit in November. Central to this delusional narrative of manipulated protest is the idea that the disturbances are confined to just a few pockets in the valley. Last week, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters the problem was limited to Srinagar and two other towns. No doubt, some areas like downtown Srinagar, Sopore and Baramulla were in the ‘vanguard' but one of the reasons the protests spread was popular frustration over the way in which the authenticity of mass sentiment was being dismissed by the government. For the women who came on to the streets with their pots and pans and even stones, or the youths who set up spontaneous blood donation camps to help those injured in the demonstrations, this attempt to strip their protest of both legitimacy and agency was yet another provocation. In the face of this mass upsurge, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has two options. He can declare, like the party apparatchiks in Brecht's poem, that since the people have thrown away the confidence of the government, it is time for the government to dissolve the people and elect another. Or he can admit, without prevarication or equivocation, that his government has thrown away the confidence of the ordinary Kashmiri. This was not the way things looked in January 2009, when Omar Abdullah became chief minister. Assembly elections had gone off well. And though turnout in Srinagar and other towns was low, there was goodwill for the young leader. Of course, those who knew the state well had warned the Centre not to treat the election as an end in itself. The ‘masla-e-Kashmir' remained on the table and the people wanted it resolved. Unfortunately, the Centre failed to recognise this. It is too early to gauge the reaction to Mr. Abdullah's promise of a “political package” once normalcy is restored. But the people have thronged the streets are likely to ask why this package — which the chief minister himself admitted was “long in the pipeline” — was never delivered for all the months normalcy prevailed. What came in the way of amending the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act? Of ensuring there was zero tolerance for human rights violations? Of strengthening the “ongoing peace process both internally and externally”, as the all- party meeting in Srinagar earlier this month reminded the Centre to do? At the heart of this missing package is the Centre's failure to craft a new security and political strategy for a situation where militancy no longer poses the threat it once did. The security forces in the valley continue to operate with an expansive mandate that is not commensurate with military necessity. Even if civilian deaths are less than before, the public's capacity to tolerate ‘collateral damage' when it is officially said that militancy has ended and normalcy has returned is also much less than before. The immediate trigger for the current phase of protests was the death of 17-year-old Tufail Mattoo, who was killed by a tear gas canister which struck his head during a protest in Srinagar in June against the Machhil fake encounter of April 30. Many observers have blamed his death — and the deaths of other young men since then — on the security forces lacking the training and means for non-lethal crowd control. Tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon are used all over the world in situations where protests turn violent but in India, live ammunition seems to be the first and only line of defence. Even tear gas canisters are so poorly designed here that they lead to fatalities. Whatever the immediate cause, however, it is also safe to say that young Tufail died as a direct result of Machhil. Though the Army has arrested the soldiers responsible for the fake encounter, the only reason they had the nerve to commit such a heinous crime was because they were confident they would get away with it. And at the root of that confidence is Pathribal, the notorious fake encounter of 2000. The army officers involved in the kidnapping and murder of five Kashmiri civilians there continue to be at liberty despite being charge-sheeted by the CBI. The Ministry of Defence has refused to grant sanction for their prosecution and has taken the matter all the way to the Supreme Court in an effort to ensure its men do not face trial. What was the message that went out as a result? Had the Centre made an example of the rotten apples that have spoiled the reputation of the Army instead of protecting them all these years, the Machhil encounter might never have happened. Tufail would not be dead and angry mobs would not be attacking police stations and government buildings. Impunity for the few has directly endangered the lives of all policemen and paramilitary personnel stationed in Kashmir. There is a lesson in this, surely, for those who say punishing the guilty will lower the morale of the security forces. Mr. Abdullah may not be the best administrator but his biggest handicap as chief minister has been the Centre's refusal to address the ordinary Kashmiri's concerns about the over-securitsation of the state. Today, when he is being forced to induct an even greater number of troops into the valley, the Chief Minister's ability to push for a political package built around demilitarisation is close to zero. At the Centre's urging, Mr. Abdullah made a televised speech to his people. His words do not appear to have made any difference. Nor could they, when the crisis staring us in the face is of national and international proportions. Today, the burden of our past sins in Kashmir has come crashing down like hailstones. Precious time is being frittered in thinking of ways to turn the clock back. Sending in more forces to shoot more protesters, changing the chief minister, imposing Governor's Rule — all of these are part of the reliquary of failed statecraft. We are where we are because these policies never worked. The Prime Minister can forget about the Commonwealth Games, AfPak and other issues. Kashmir is where his leadership is urgently required. The Indian state successfully overcame the challenge posed by terrorism and militancy. But a people in ferment cannot be dealt with the same way. Manmohan Singh must take bold steps to demonstrate his willingness to address the grievances of ordinary Kashmiris. He should not insult their sentiments by talking of economic packages, roundtable conferences and all-party talks. He should unreservedly express regret for the deaths that have occurred these past few weeks. He should admit, in frankness and humility, the Indian state's failure to deliver justice all these years. And he should ask the people of Kashmir for a chance to make amends. There is still no guarantee the lava of public anger which is flowing will cool. But if he doesn't make an all-out effort to create some political space today, there is no telling where the next eruption in the valley will take us. Corrections and Clarifications Safi A. Rizvi, Officer on Special Duty to the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, writes in response to Siddharth Varadarajan's article “The only package Kashmir needs is justice” (Editorial page, August 5, 2010) that a sentence in the fourth paragraph, “Last week, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters the problem was limited to Srinagar and two other towns,” is inaccurate. The transcript of the media briefing on July 30, 2010 reads as follows: “I do not agree with you that the writ of the separatists is running. Yes, in Srinagar and perhaps in some other towns they are able to mobilise support, urge people to indulge in stone pelting and are able to call bandhs. According to the J&K Government, there are many parts of the valley which are quite normal … The most aggressive activity is in Srinagar and few other towns.” From rashneek at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 12:31:58 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 12:31:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net> References: <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: Shudda...i see u r really angry..there was no need for translation because u didnt have devnagari fonts...simply click and it opens the website.. Anyways whether it is a lie or truth i dont know..i posted what i read..now whether you or Kak simply throw it as a piece of propoganda without verifying from someone in Kashmir is a reflection of your bias for sure. You can even ask the newspaper for the proof or simply sue them for spreading lies..i will join you if they are found indulging in spreading lies.I will file the case.You find out please. best rashneek 2010/8/9 shuddha at sarai.net > Aditya, > > The list does not take allegations of 'terrorism' lightly. The person you > are > talking about happens to be a friend of mine, and I would again ask you to > refrain from making allegations that you cannot prove, and that have been > thrown out in court, not on 'technicalities'. The absence of evidence, and > the > manufacture of false evidence is not a 'technicality'. > > I was present on Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, as were you, and as > were > several others, none of whom are 'Islamist Propagandists'. There may have > been > some Islamists in the gathering, but by no means does that mean that the > majority of those present were in any way Islamist. > > My unambiguous positions against 'Islamism' are public, and well known, > especially to Islamists. I am sure there were many others who were present > at > Jantar Mantar who, like me, cannot by any stretch of imagination be called > 'Islamist'. > > Also, calling reports such as those published in the Times of India, > Hindustan > Times, Economic Times and the Outlook, written by Sanjay Kak, Hilal Mir, > Basharat Peer and Suveer Kaul 'planted' only exposes you to the possibility > of > being exposed for sheer humbuggery, and makes you liable to the charge of > libel. Are you suggesting that now the Indian mainstream media is nowadays > being influenced by stories planted by the IB that endorse an 'Anti-State' > line. Is the Intelligence Bureau, and its peers (the only ones in a > position to > 'plant' stories in the media) now working hand in glove with separatists in > Kashmir. So, is the sentiment for azaadi now a plaything in the hands of > the > Indian intelligence apparatus. Let's take this thought to its logical > conclusion. If the Indian intelligence agencies are backing Kashmiri > separatists and all those who argue for self determination in Kashmir, then > logically, Indian nationalists ought to be cozying up to the Pakistani ISI. > What does that make the Roots in Kashmir and the Panun Kashmir network - an > objective ally of the Pakistani ISI? > > If that is so, it is news to me, and ought to be, to everyone in the whole > wide > world. > > Please refrain from dissimulation and disinformation, > > best, > > Shuddha > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul > > wrote > > > The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in media. > > > > We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan Times; > > quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in > spreading > > propaganda. > > > > Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical > > grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If this > > can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back in > > Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist threatening. > > > > -- > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > India Editor > > The Indian, Australia > > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > > > 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak > > > > > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither the > the > > > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet with > its > > > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... > > > Impressive, or suspect... > > > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story > business. > > > Best > > > Sanjay > > > > > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > > > > > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - > > > > http://www.amarujal > > > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > > > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< > > > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> > > > > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > दिया > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > टाउन > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > सिख > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > हैं। > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > इनमें > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > छोड़नी > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > से > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > गिलानी > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > कि > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > गुप्त > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > १८२ > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > भरे > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > कमेटी > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > का > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > रहे थे। डा. > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > को इस घटना से > > > सबक > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी > तक कोई सूचना > > > नहीं > > > > मिली है। > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > दिया > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > टाउन > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > सिख > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > हैं। > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > इनमें > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > छोड़नी > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > से > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > गिलानी > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > कि > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > गुप्त > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > १८२ > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > भरे > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > कमेटी > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > का > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > रहे थे। डा. > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > को इस घटना से > > > सबक > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी > तक कोई सूचना > > > नहीं > > > > मिली है। > > > > > > > > best regards > > > > > > > > - > > > > > > > > Rashneek Kher > > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From rashneek at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 12:34:42 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 12:34:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "leaderless protest" In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Jeebesh, The media has been so critical of Omar and rightly so.Now can we beleive a man who seems completely at his wits ends. Maybe it is leaderless as it happens in many cases that first a man leads a movement and then a movement leads a man. best regrds rashneek On Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 12:19 PM, Jeebesh wrote: > dear Aditya, > > Recently Siddharth Varadarajan wrote an edit piece in Hindu. He writes - > "Whatever his other failings, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deserves praise > for acknowledging that the protests which have rocked the Kashmir valley > these past few weeks are ‘leaderless' and not the product of manipulation by > some hidden individual or group." > > What do you have to say about this? > > warmly > jeebesh > > http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/05/stories/2010080555331200.htm > > The only package Kashmir needs is justice > > > Siddharth Varadarajan > > Whatever his other failings, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deserves praise > for acknowledging that the protests which have rocked the Kashmir valley > these past few weeks are ‘leaderless' and not the product of manipulation by > some hidden individual or group. > > This admission has been difficult for the authorities to make because its > implications are unpleasant, perhaps even frightening. In security terms, > the absence of a central nervous system means the expanding body of protest > cannot be controlled by arresting individual leaders. And in political > terms, the spectre of leaderless revolt makes the offer of ‘dialogue' or the > naming of a ‘special envoy' for Kashmir — proposals which might have made > sense last year or even last month — seem completely and utterly pointless > today. > > Ever since the current phase of disturbances began, intelligence officials > have been wasting precious time convincing the leadership and public of > India that the protests are solely or mostly the handiwork of agent > provocateurs. So we have been told of the role of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and > ISI, of the ‘daily wage of Rs. 200' — and even narcotics — being given to > stone pelters. A few weeks back, an audio recording of a supposedly > incriminating telephone call was leaked to the media along with a misleading > transcript suggesting the Geelani faction of the Hurriyat was behind the > upsurge. Now, our TV channels have “learned” from their “sources” that the > protests will continue till President Obama's visit in November. > > Central to this delusional narrative of manipulated protest is the idea > that the disturbances are confined to just a few pockets in the valley. Last > week, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters the problem was > limited to Srinagar and two other towns. No doubt, some areas like downtown > Srinagar, Sopore and Baramulla were in the ‘vanguard' but one of the reasons > the protests spread was popular frustration over the way in which the > authenticity of mass sentiment was being dismissed by the government. For > the women who came on to the streets with their pots and pans and even > stones, or the youths who set up spontaneous blood donation camps to help > those injured in the demonstrations, this attempt to strip their protest of > both legitimacy and agency was yet another provocation. > > In the face of this mass upsurge, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has two > options. He can declare, like the party apparatchiks in Brecht's poem, that > since the people have thrown away the confidence of the government, it is > time for the government to dissolve the people and elect another. Or he can > admit, without prevarication or equivocation, that his government has thrown > away the confidence of the ordinary Kashmiri. > > This was not the way things looked in January 2009, when Omar Abdullah > became chief minister. Assembly elections had gone off well. And though > turnout in Srinagar and other towns was low, there was goodwill for the > young leader. Of course, those who knew the state well had warned the Centre > not to treat the election as an end in itself. The ‘masla-e-Kashmir' > remained on the table and the people wanted it resolved. Unfortunately, the > Centre failed to recognise this. > > It is too early to gauge the reaction to Mr. Abdullah's promise of a > “political package” once normalcy is restored. But the people have thronged > the streets are likely to ask why this package — which the chief minister > himself admitted was “long in the pipeline” — was never delivered for all > the months normalcy prevailed. What came in the way of amending the Armed > Forces (Special Powers) Act? Of ensuring there was zero tolerance for human > rights violations? Of strengthening the “ongoing peace process both > internally and externally”, as the all-party meeting in Srinagar earlier > this month reminded the Centre to do? > > At the heart of this missing package is the Centre's failure to craft a new > security and political strategy for a situation where militancy no longer > poses the threat it once did. The security forces in the valley continue to > operate with an expansive mandate that is not commensurate with military > necessity. Even if civilian deaths are less than before, the public's > capacity to tolerate ‘collateral damage' when it is officially said that > militancy has ended and normalcy has returned is also much less than before. > > The immediate trigger for the current phase of protests was the death of > 17-year-old Tufail Mattoo, who was killed by a tear gas canister which > struck his head during a protest in Srinagar in June against the Machhil > fake encounter of April 30. Many observers have blamed his death — and the > deaths of other young men since then — on the security forces lacking the > training and means for non-lethal crowd control. Tear gas, rubber bullets > and water cannon are used all over the world in situations where protests > turn violent but in India, live ammunition seems to be the first and only > line of defence. Even tear gas canisters are so poorly designed here that > they lead to fatalities. > > Whatever the immediate cause, however, it is also safe to say that young > Tufail died as a direct result of Machhil. Though the Army has arrested the > soldiers responsible for the fake encounter, the only reason they had the > nerve to commit such a heinous crime was because they were confident they > would get away with it. And at the root of that confidence is Pathribal, the > notorious fake encounter of 2000. The army officers involved in the > kidnapping and murder of five Kashmiri civilians there continue to be at > liberty despite being charge-sheeted by the CBI. The Ministry of Defence has > refused to grant sanction for their prosecution and has taken the matter all > the way to the Supreme Court in an effort to ensure its men do not face > trial. What was the message that went out as a result? > > Had the Centre made an example of the rotten apples that have spoiled the > reputation of the Army instead of protecting them all these years, the > Machhil encounter might never have happened. Tufail would not be dead and > angry mobs would not be attacking police stations and government buildings. > Impunity for the few has directly endangered the lives of all policemen and > paramilitary personnel stationed in Kashmir. There is a lesson in this, > surely, for those who say punishing the guilty will lower the morale of the > security forces. > > Mr. Abdullah may not be the best administrator but his biggest handicap as > chief minister has been the Centre's refusal to address the ordinary > Kashmiri's concerns about the over-securitsation of the state. Today, when > he is being forced to induct an even greater number of troops into the > valley, the Chief Minister's ability to push for a political package built > around demilitarisation is close to zero. > > At the Centre's urging, Mr. Abdullah made a televised speech to his people. > His words do not appear to have made any difference. Nor could they, when > the crisis staring us in the face is of national and international > proportions. Today, the burden of our past sins in Kashmir has come crashing > down like hailstones. Precious time is being frittered in thinking of ways > to turn the clock back. Sending in more forces to shoot more protesters, > changing the chief minister, imposing Governor's Rule — all of these are > part of the reliquary of failed statecraft. We are where we are because > these policies never worked. > > The Prime Minister can forget about the Commonwealth Games, AfPak and other > issues. Kashmir is where his leadership is urgently required. The Indian > state successfully overcame the challenge posed by terrorism and militancy. > But a people in ferment cannot be dealt with the same way. Manmohan Singh > must take bold steps to demonstrate his willingness to address the > grievances of ordinary Kashmiris. He should not insult their sentiments by > talking of economic packages, roundtable conferences and all-party talks. He > should unreservedly express regret for the deaths that have occurred these > past few weeks. He should admit, in frankness and humility, the Indian > state's failure to deliver justice all these years. And he should ask the > people of Kashmir for a chance to make amends. There is still no guarantee > the lava of public anger which is flowing will cool. But if he doesn't make > an all-out effort to create some political space today, there is no telling > where the next eruption in the valley will take us. > > Corrections and Clarifications > > Safi A. Rizvi, Officer on Special Duty to the Union Home Minister P. > Chidambaram, writes in response to Siddharth Varadarajan's article “The only > package Kashmir needs is justice” (Editorial page, August 5, 2010) that a > sentence in the fourth paragraph, “Last week, Union Home Minister P. > Chidambaram told reporters the problem was limited to Srinagar and two other > towns,” is inaccurate. The transcript of the media briefing on July 30, 2010 > reads as follows: “I do not agree with you that the writ of the separatists > is running. Yes, in Srinagar and perhaps in some other towns they are able > to mobilise support, urge people to indulge in stone pelting and are able to > call bandhs. According to the J&K Government, there are many parts of the > valley which are quite normal … The most aggressive activity is in Srinagar > and few other towns.” > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From jeebesh at sarai.net Mon Aug 9 12:40:49 2010 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 12:40:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "leaderless protest" In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I was signposting the line about "leaderless protest". Not about individuals etc. On 09-Aug-10, at 12:34 PM, rashneek kher wrote: > Dear Jeebesh, > > The media has been so critical of Omar and rightly so.Now can we > beleive a > man who seems completely at his wits ends. > Maybe it is leaderless as it happens in many cases that first a man > leads a > movement and then a movement leads a man. > > best regrds > > rashneek > > On Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 12:19 PM, Jeebesh wrote: > >> dear Aditya, >> >> Recently Siddharth Varadarajan wrote an edit piece in Hindu. He >> writes - >> "Whatever his other failings, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deserves >> praise >> for acknowledging that the protests which have rocked the Kashmir >> valley >> these past few weeks are ‘leaderless' and not the product of >> manipulation by >> some hidden individual or group." >> >> What do you have to say about this? >> >> warmly >> jeebesh >> >> http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/05/stories/2010080555331200.htm >> >> The only package Kashmir needs is justice >> >> >> Siddharth Varadarajan >> >> Whatever his other failings, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deserves >> praise >> for acknowledging that the protests which have rocked the Kashmir >> valley >> these past few weeks are ‘leaderless' and not the product of >> manipulation by >> some hidden individual or group. >> >> This admission has been difficult for the authorities to make >> because its >> implications are unpleasant, perhaps even frightening. In security >> terms, >> the absence of a central nervous system means the expanding body of >> protest >> cannot be controlled by arresting individual leaders. And in >> political >> terms, the spectre of leaderless revolt makes the offer of >> ‘dialogue' or the >> naming of a ‘special envoy' for Kashmir — proposals which might >> have made >> sense last year or even last month — seem completely and utterly >> pointless >> today. >> >> Ever since the current phase of disturbances began, intelligence >> officials >> have been wasting precious time convincing the leadership and >> public of >> India that the protests are solely or mostly the handiwork of agent >> provocateurs. So we have been told of the role of the Lashkar-e- >> Taiba and >> ISI, of the ‘daily wage of Rs. 200' — and even narcotics — being >> given to >> stone pelters. A few weeks back, an audio recording of a supposedly >> incriminating telephone call was leaked to the media along with a >> misleading >> transcript suggesting the Geelani faction of the Hurriyat was >> behind the >> upsurge. Now, our TV channels have “learned” from their “sources” >> that the >> protests will continue till President Obama's visit in November. >> >> Central to this delusional narrative of manipulated protest is the >> idea >> that the disturbances are confined to just a few pockets in the >> valley. Last >> week, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters the problem >> was >> limited to Srinagar and two other towns. No doubt, some areas like >> downtown >> Srinagar, Sopore and Baramulla were in the ‘vanguard' but one of >> the reasons >> the protests spread was popular frustration over the way in which the >> authenticity of mass sentiment was being dismissed by the >> government. For >> the women who came on to the streets with their pots and pans and >> even >> stones, or the youths who set up spontaneous blood donation camps >> to help >> those injured in the demonstrations, this attempt to strip their >> protest of >> both legitimacy and agency was yet another provocation. >> >> In the face of this mass upsurge, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has >> two >> options. He can declare, like the party apparatchiks in Brecht's >> poem, that >> since the people have thrown away the confidence of the government, >> it is >> time for the government to dissolve the people and elect another. >> Or he can >> admit, without prevarication or equivocation, that his government >> has thrown >> away the confidence of the ordinary Kashmiri. >> >> This was not the way things looked in January 2009, when Omar >> Abdullah >> became chief minister. Assembly elections had gone off well. And >> though >> turnout in Srinagar and other towns was low, there was goodwill for >> the >> young leader. Of course, those who knew the state well had warned >> the Centre >> not to treat the election as an end in itself. The ‘masla-e-Kashmir' >> remained on the table and the people wanted it resolved. >> Unfortunately, the >> Centre failed to recognise this. >> >> It is too early to gauge the reaction to Mr. Abdullah's promise of a >> “political package” once normalcy is restored. But the people have >> thronged >> the streets are likely to ask why this package — which the chief >> minister >> himself admitted was “long in the pipeline” — was never delivered >> for all >> the months normalcy prevailed. What came in the way of amending the >> Armed >> Forces (Special Powers) Act? Of ensuring there was zero tolerance >> for human >> rights violations? Of strengthening the “ongoing peace process both >> internally and externally”, as the all-party meeting in Srinagar >> earlier >> this month reminded the Centre to do? >> >> At the heart of this missing package is the Centre's failure to >> craft a new >> security and political strategy for a situation where militancy no >> longer >> poses the threat it once did. The security forces in the valley >> continue to >> operate with an expansive mandate that is not commensurate with >> military >> necessity. Even if civilian deaths are less than before, the public's >> capacity to tolerate ‘collateral damage' when it is officially said >> that >> militancy has ended and normalcy has returned is also much less >> than before. >> >> The immediate trigger for the current phase of protests was the >> death of >> 17-year-old Tufail Mattoo, who was killed by a tear gas canister >> which >> struck his head during a protest in Srinagar in June against the >> Machhil >> fake encounter of April 30. Many observers have blamed his death — >> and the >> deaths of other young men since then — on the security forces >> lacking the >> training and means for non-lethal crowd control. Tear gas, rubber >> bullets >> and water cannon are used all over the world in situations where >> protests >> turn violent but in India, live ammunition seems to be the first >> and only >> line of defence. Even tear gas canisters are so poorly designed >> here that >> they lead to fatalities. >> >> Whatever the immediate cause, however, it is also safe to say that >> young >> Tufail died as a direct result of Machhil. Though the Army has >> arrested the >> soldiers responsible for the fake encounter, the only reason they >> had the >> nerve to commit such a heinous crime was because they were >> confident they >> would get away with it. And at the root of that confidence is >> Pathribal, the >> notorious fake encounter of 2000. The army officers involved in the >> kidnapping and murder of five Kashmiri civilians there continue to >> be at >> liberty despite being charge-sheeted by the CBI. The Ministry of >> Defence has >> refused to grant sanction for their prosecution and has taken the >> matter all >> the way to the Supreme Court in an effort to ensure its men do not >> face >> trial. What was the message that went out as a result? >> >> Had the Centre made an example of the rotten apples that have >> spoiled the >> reputation of the Army instead of protecting them all these years, >> the >> Machhil encounter might never have happened. Tufail would not be >> dead and >> angry mobs would not be attacking police stations and government >> buildings. >> Impunity for the few has directly endangered the lives of all >> policemen and >> paramilitary personnel stationed in Kashmir. There is a lesson in >> this, >> surely, for those who say punishing the guilty will lower the >> morale of the >> security forces. >> >> Mr. Abdullah may not be the best administrator but his biggest >> handicap as >> chief minister has been the Centre's refusal to address the ordinary >> Kashmiri's concerns about the over-securitsation of the state. >> Today, when >> he is being forced to induct an even greater number of troops into >> the >> valley, the Chief Minister's ability to push for a political >> package built >> around demilitarisation is close to zero. >> >> At the Centre's urging, Mr. Abdullah made a televised speech to his >> people. >> His words do not appear to have made any difference. Nor could >> they, when >> the crisis staring us in the face is of national and international >> proportions. Today, the burden of our past sins in Kashmir has come >> crashing >> down like hailstones. Precious time is being frittered in thinking >> of ways >> to turn the clock back. Sending in more forces to shoot more >> protesters, >> changing the chief minister, imposing Governor's Rule — all of >> these are >> part of the reliquary of failed statecraft. We are where we are >> because >> these policies never worked. >> >> The Prime Minister can forget about the Commonwealth Games, AfPak >> and other >> issues. Kashmir is where his leadership is urgently required. The >> Indian >> state successfully overcame the challenge posed by terrorism and >> militancy. >> But a people in ferment cannot be dealt with the same way. Manmohan >> Singh >> must take bold steps to demonstrate his willingness to address the >> grievances of ordinary Kashmiris. He should not insult their >> sentiments by >> talking of economic packages, roundtable conferences and all-party >> talks. He >> should unreservedly express regret for the deaths that have >> occurred these >> past few weeks. He should admit, in frankness and humility, the >> Indian >> state's failure to deliver justice all these years. And he should >> ask the >> people of Kashmir for a chance to make amends. There is still no >> guarantee >> the lava of public anger which is flowing will cool. But if he >> doesn't make >> an all-out effort to create some political space today, there is no >> telling >> where the next eruption in the valley will take us. >> >> Corrections and Clarifications >> >> Safi A. Rizvi, Officer on Special Duty to the Union Home Minister P. >> Chidambaram, writes in response to Siddharth Varadarajan's article >> “The only >> package Kashmir needs is justice” (Editorial page, August 5, 2010) >> that a >> sentence in the fourth paragraph, “Last week, Union Home Minister P. >> Chidambaram told reporters the problem was limited to Srinagar and >> two other >> towns,” is inaccurate. The transcript of the media briefing on July >> 30, 2010 >> reads as follows: “I do not agree with you that the writ of the >> separatists >> is running. Yes, in Srinagar and perhaps in some other towns they >> are able >> to mobilise support, urge people to indulge in stone pelting and >> are able to >> call bandhs. According to the J&K Government, there are many parts >> of the >> valley which are quite normal … The most aggressive activity is in >> Srinagar >> and few other towns.” >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 12:44:41 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 12:44:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: References: <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: Perhaps Shuddha ji should read The Times of India Page 3 and The Hindu Page 3 today for some perspective on Kashmir to broaden his horizons. Just because a 'terrorist' is Shuddhaji's friend; it absolves him of all the crimes. I dare you to act and not just warn on Sarai, Shuddha ji. Even I take terrorists and their activities seriously. It was an 'Islamic Propaganda'. As soon as 10 Kashmiri Pandits reached there and stood there in silence demanding their Rights, there were calls of an Islamic State and Aazadi from the other end. Tell your 'friend' not to call me and seek help for 'communal propaganda'. I won't support such protests filled with hatred. Anyway, a minority supports them. It will come to an end as soon as Amarnath Yatra ends as has happened in the past. Read M.J. Akbar in The Times of India to know more about Kashmir. -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > Shudda...i see u r really angry..there was no need for translation because > u didnt have devnagari fonts...simply click and it opens the website.. > Anyways whether it is a lie or truth i dont know..i posted what i read..now > whether you or Kak simply throw it as a piece of propoganda without > verifying from someone in Kashmir is a reflection of your bias for sure. > You can even ask the newspaper for the proof or simply sue them for > spreading lies..i will join you if they are found indulging in spreading > lies.I will file the case.You find out please. > > best > rashneek > > 2010/8/9 shuddha at sarai.net > > Aditya, >> >> The list does not take allegations of 'terrorism' lightly. The person you >> are >> talking about happens to be a friend of mine, and I would again ask you to >> refrain from making allegations that you cannot prove, and that have been >> thrown out in court, not on 'technicalities'. The absence of evidence, and >> the >> manufacture of false evidence is not a 'technicality'. >> >> I was present on Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, as were you, and as >> were >> several others, none of whom are 'Islamist Propagandists'. There may have >> been >> some Islamists in the gathering, but by no means does that mean that the >> majority of those present were in any way Islamist. >> >> My unambiguous positions against 'Islamism' are public, and well known, >> especially to Islamists. I am sure there were many others who were present >> at >> Jantar Mantar who, like me, cannot by any stretch of imagination be called >> 'Islamist'. >> >> Also, calling reports such as those published in the Times of India, >> Hindustan >> Times, Economic Times and the Outlook, written by Sanjay Kak, Hilal Mir, >> Basharat Peer and Suveer Kaul 'planted' only exposes you to the >> possibility of >> being exposed for sheer humbuggery, and makes you liable to the charge of >> libel. Are you suggesting that now the Indian mainstream media is nowadays >> being influenced by stories planted by the IB that endorse an 'Anti-State' >> line. Is the Intelligence Bureau, and its peers (the only ones in a >> position to >> 'plant' stories in the media) now working hand in glove with separatists >> in >> Kashmir. So, is the sentiment for azaadi now a plaything in the hands of >> the >> Indian intelligence apparatus. Let's take this thought to its logical >> conclusion. If the Indian intelligence agencies are backing Kashmiri >> separatists and all those who argue for self determination in Kashmir, >> then >> logically, Indian nationalists ought to be cozying up to the Pakistani >> ISI. >> What does that make the Roots in Kashmir and the Panun Kashmir network - >> an >> objective ally of the Pakistani ISI? >> >> If that is so, it is news to me, and ought to be, to everyone in the whole >> wide >> world. >> >> Please refrain from dissimulation and disinformation, >> >> best, >> >> Shuddha >> >> >> On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul < >> kauladityaraj at gmail.com> >> wrote >> >> > The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in >> media. >> > >> > We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan Times; >> > quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in >> spreading >> > propaganda. >> > >> > Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical >> > grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If >> this >> > can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back in >> > Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist threatening. >> > >> > -- >> > Aditya Raj Kaul >> > >> > India Editor >> > The Indian, Australia >> > >> > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ >> > >> > 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak >> > >> > > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither the >> the >> > > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet with >> its >> > > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... >> > > Impressive, or suspect... >> > > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story >> business. >> > > Best >> > > Sanjay >> > > >> > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher >> > > >> > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - >> > > > http://www.amarujal >> > > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. >> > > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< >> > > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> >> > > > >> > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों >> ने किया पलायन* >> > > > >> > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM >> > > > >> > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में >> > > > उपद्रवियों ने >> अल्पसंख्यकों >> > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर >> दिया >> > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों >> > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी >> > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन >> > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित >> परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। >> हब्बाकदल और डाउन >> > > > टाउन >> > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन >> > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन >> > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी >> > > > सिख >> > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी >> प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के >> लिए मजबूर कर रहे >> > > हैं। >> > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे >> > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। >> इनमें >> > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत >> > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में >> > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी >> छोड़नी >> > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों >> > > > से >> > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने >> वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की >> धमकी दी गई है। >> > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक >> शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी >> अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह >> > > > गिलानी >> > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। >> > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा >> > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष >> > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है >> > > कि >> > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, >> औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर >> गुरुद्वारों में यह >> > > गुप्त >> > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों >> को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया >> जाएगा। घाटी में >> > > १८२ >> > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले >> > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों >> > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत >> > > > भरे >> > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल >> > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन >> कमेटी >> > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल >> > > > का >> > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले >> परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह >> रहे थे। डा. >> > > > अग्निशेखर >> > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की >> वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार >> को इस घटना से >> > > सबक >> > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री >> रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी >> तक कोई सूचना >> > > नहीं >> > > > मिली है। >> > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों >> ने किया पलायन* >> > > > >> > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM >> > > > >> > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में >> > > > उपद्रवियों ने >> अल्पसंख्यकों >> > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर >> दिया >> > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों >> > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी >> > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन >> > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित >> परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। >> हब्बाकदल और डाउन >> > > > टाउन >> > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन >> > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन >> > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी >> > > > सिख >> > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी >> प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के >> लिए मजबूर कर रहे >> > > हैं। >> > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे >> > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। >> इनमें >> > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत >> > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में >> > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी >> छोड़नी >> > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों >> > > > से >> > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने >> वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की >> धमकी दी गई है। >> > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक >> शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी >> अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह >> > > > गिलानी >> > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। >> > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा >> > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष >> > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है >> > > कि >> > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, >> औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर >> गुरुद्वारों में यह >> > > गुप्त >> > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों >> को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया >> जाएगा। घाटी में >> > > १८२ >> > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले >> > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों >> > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत >> > > > भरे >> > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल >> > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन >> कमेटी >> > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल >> > > > का >> > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले >> परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह >> रहे थे। डा. >> > > > अग्निशेखर >> > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की >> वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार >> को इस घटना से >> > > सबक >> > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री >> रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी >> तक कोई सूचना >> > > नहीं >> > > > मिली है। >> > > > >> > > > best regards >> > > > >> > > > - >> > > > >> > > > Rashneek Kher >> > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com >> > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com >> > > > _________________________________________ >> > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > > > Critiques & Collaborations >> > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > > > subscribe in the subject header. >> > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > > _________________________________________ >> > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > > Critiques & Collaborations >> > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > > subscribe in the subject header. >> > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > > >> > _________________________________________ >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > Critiques & Collaborations >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe >> > in the subject header. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > From kamalhak at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 12:54:46 2010 From: kamalhak at gmail.com (kamalhak at gmail.com) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 07:24:46 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net> References: , <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <1795385454-1281338669-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-943894372-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Hum kya chahtey azadi- azadi ka matlab kya- La-illaha-illalaha. Naraiy tadbir- Allah-O-Akbar Aditya, Rashneek and the likes of their ilk are naïve to misrepresent the above slogans as islamist. They also behave as fascists while talking about Kashmiri aspirations of Nizame-Mustafa being the principal reason behind their exile. It is the reflection of their communal mind set that makes them to see wolf in slogans like, Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga. Above all it is their immaturity to talk about unfashionable concepts like Bharat Mata ki jai. Aditya and Rashneek, you are sleeping like Rip Van Winkle and have been left far behind the times. Rashneek, I believe poetry is your passion. You must understand Kabir's, 'tum kahtey ho kagaz dekhi- main kahta hoon ankhan dekhi' no longer holds true in contemporary India. There are two types of people who abound this nation, if you still this country to be one, now. One half is like Dhritrashtra who was blind by providence; the other half is like Ghandari, who chose to be blind by choice. You can't make either to see. So stop being like kids, capture the mindset of people and join the crowd. You will soon become a hero. Kamal Hak Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel -----Original Message----- From: "shuddha at sarai.net" Sender: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:02:35 To: sarai list; Aditya Raj Kaul Subject: Re: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... Aditya, The list does not take allegations of 'terrorism' lightly. The person you are talking about happens to be a friend of mine, and I would again ask you to refrain from making allegations that you cannot prove, and that have been thrown out in court, not on 'technicalities'. The absence of evidence, and the manufacture of false evidence is not a 'technicality'. I was present on Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, as were you, and as were several others, none of whom are 'Islamist Propagandists'. There may have been some Islamists in the gathering, but by no means does that mean that the majority of those present were in any way Islamist. My unambiguous positions against 'Islamism' are public, and well known, especially to Islamists. I am sure there were many others who were present at Jantar Mantar who, like me, cannot by any stretch of imagination be called 'Islamist'. Also, calling reports such as those published in the Times of India, Hindustan Times, Economic Times and the Outlook, written by Sanjay Kak, Hilal Mir, Basharat Peer and Suveer Kaul 'planted' only exposes you to the possibility of being exposed for sheer humbuggery, and makes you liable to the charge of libel. Are you suggesting that now the Indian mainstream media is nowadays being influenced by stories planted by the IB that endorse an 'Anti-State' line. Is the Intelligence Bureau, and its peers (the only ones in a position to 'plant' stories in the media) now working hand in glove with separatists in Kashmir. So, is the sentiment for azaadi now a plaything in the hands of the Indian intelligence apparatus. Let's take this thought to its logical conclusion. If the Indian intelligence agencies are backing Kashmiri separatists and all those who argue for self determination in Kashmir, then logically, Indian nationalists ought to be cozying up to the Pakistani ISI. What does that make the Roots in Kashmir and the Panun Kashmir network - an objective ally of the Pakistani ISI? If that is so, it is news to me, and ought to be, to everyone in the whole wide world. Please refrain from dissimulation and disinformation, best, Shuddha On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul wrote > The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in media. > > We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan Times; > quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in spreading > propaganda. > > Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical > grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If this > can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back in > Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist threatening. > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak > > > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither the the > > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet with its > > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... > > Impressive, or suspect... > > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story business. > > Best > > Sanjay > > > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > > > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - > > > http://www.amarujal > > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< > > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> > > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > टाउन > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > सिख > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > हैं। > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > से > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > गिलानी > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > कि > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह > > गुप्त > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में > > १८२ > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > भरे > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > का > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. > > > अग्निशेखर > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से > > सबक > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना > > नहीं > > > मिली है। > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > उपद्रवियों ने अल्पसंख्यकों > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर दिया > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > टाउन > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > सिख > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > हैं। > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। इनमें > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी छोड़नी > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > से > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की धमकी दी गई है। > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > गिलानी > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > कि > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर गुरुद्वारों में यह > > गुप्त > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया जाएगा। घाटी में > > १८२ > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > भरे > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > का > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह रहे थे। डा. > > > अग्निशेखर > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार को इस घटना से > > सबक > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी तक कोई सूचना > > नहीं > > > मिली है। > > > > > > best regards > > > > > > - > > > > > > Rashneek Kher > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Mon Aug 9 14:09:42 2010 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 08:39:42 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: ‘Truth’ appears to be the sole prerogative of those who promote & support the proponents of Azadi- Bara –e- Islam (freedom through Islam) in Kashmir. ‘Agent provocateurs’ can only prolong the agony of Kashmiris by their continued condoning of the extremist religious fervour that inspires the separatism in Kashmir. For them reports of calls for jihad in Kashmir are just ‘lies’ while the jihadi ranting at Jantar Mantar right in the heart of the capital of India is only an ‘aberration’. The visible contempt in the propaganda ‘report’ on the ‘Jeshn’ at Jantar Mantar for a ‘small group’ of protesting Kashmir Hindu Pandits rendered refugees in their own country post their ethnic cleansing in Kashmir at the hands of kashmiri pan Islamists two decades ago speaks it all about the ‘truthfulness’ of the ‘sympathisers’. Let it be known, Kashmiri Hindu Pandits who have suffered persecution ever since the advent of Islam in Kashmir in middle ages resulting in their numbers having been reduced from a majority to an ‘insignificant’ (in numbers) minority in their very place of origin, will never have a common cause with those who want to resurrect brute medievalism in Kashmir that was once regarded as the vale of ‘rishis’-the saints. On the one hand you run the propaganda campaigns through films like ‘Jashne Azadi’ to project the leadership of the Kashmiri Jihadists including those terror commanders who deserve to be tried for crimes against humanity & whose political makeover was facilitated by the ‘sympathisers’ & on the other you want to tell the world that the current turmoil is lead by none. Agreed, as usual the ‘leaders’ get themselves detained to enjoy the state hospitality while the gullible Kashmiris are exhorted to defy the very state & die in the name of religion. Sixty Kashmiris got killed two years ago when the storms was raised over building of temporary facilities for Amarnath pilgrims. The exhortation then was that the ‘demography’ of Kashmir was being planned by creating ‘Hindu habitations’ over those inhabitable Himalayan heights. Battle for leadership amongst the Jihadists was played in full view of public the streets of Kashmir then. Who is calling the shots amongst the separatists in Kashmir today-the grand old patriarch of Azadi- Bara –e- Islam (freedom through Islam)-final call came & stone pelting has stopped at least for a while. But unfortunately only after scores of young were made to lose their lives. It is a shame that young children & ladies are used as ‘human shields’ by the anarchists. It is a shame that the sympathies are garnered at the cost of young lives lost. But then who cares for the blood of an ordinary Kashmiri. Talking about plebiscite, UNO itself considers it outdated now. Yet the UN precondition for that being that Pakistan has to first withdraw its occupying forces from POK ( yes, it may be shocking but UN regards Pakistan & not India as the ‘occupier’),yet we never heard about AK47 wielding zealots marauding in POK nor do we know about any stone pelting in the streets of Muzafrabad. Pakistan will continue to use Kashmiris in the name of religious ‘brotherhood’ through its cronies in Kashmir in its proxy war against India to bleed it. Rgds all LA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 08:46:14 +0530 > From: rashneek at gmail.com > To: shuddha at sarai.net > CC: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar > > Jadoo Hai ya tilism timhare zuban main > tum jhooth kyeh rahe the mujhe aaetbaar tha > > > On Sun, Aug 8, 2010 at 3:02 PM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > > > Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar > > > > Last evening I went to Jantar Mantar after many years. It is a road I pass > > often, looking at the sad and melancholic little protests that line the > > kerb, > > whispering to an indifferent Capital the million mutinies of our banana > > plantation republic. > > > > Last evening was different. There were perhaps four to five hundred people, > > many, but not all Kashmiri, men and women, who had gathered to protest > > against > > the wanton destruction of life in the Kashmir valley by the security > > apparatus > > of the Indian state in the last few weeks and months. 45 civilian deaths in > > 8 > > weeks signals a state losing its head. Especially when the deaths occur > > when > > the police and paramilitaries fire live bullets on unarmed or stone pelting > > mobs. When stones, or unarmed bodies are met with ammunition, you know that > > the > > state has no respect whatsoever for bare life. That this should happen in a > > state that calls itself a democracy should make all of us who are its > > citizens > > reflect on how hollow 'democracy' feels to the mother or friend of a young > > boy > > or girl who is felled by a 'democratic' bullet. > > > > Protests in Delhi often have a routine, scripted quality. But this one was > > different. Professor S.A.R Geelani was level headed and dignified, as he > > spoke > > to the assembled, visibly upset young men and women, introduced each > > speaker in > > turn and appealed to people to stay calm, and not get provoked. > > > > I don't think that there has been a public gathering of young people from > > Kashmir in such numbers in Delhi, and the occasion had a cathartic, almost > > therapeutic character, as if the acknowledgment of each others presence > > could > > also make it possible for many amongst those gathered to say what needed to > > be > > said, loud and clear, in public, what they had only kept as a secret in > > their > > hearts. > > > > As a citizen of the Indian republic, I can only hang my head in shame at > > the > > venality of the state, and at how it openly sanctions the murder of > > Kashmiri > > men, women and children on the streets of the valley. Even a leading member > > of > > the Israeli military establishment (not known for their kindness towards > > occupied Palestinians) has recently admonished India's hard-line militarist > > mandarins in Kashmir on the appalling conditions that they administer in > > Kashmir. > > > > I stood in silence at the meeting. Listened to the slogans, the chanting, > > the > > statements, some made by friends like Sanjay Kak, others by people I do not > > know personally, but whose work and politics I have an interest in, even if > > I > > do not agree with, such as the poet and ex-political prisoner Varavara Rao. > > I > > met some old friends, talked quietly to strangers, and felt a momentary > > twinge > > of pride in Delhi, at least about the fact that so many of us were > > reclaiming a > > space on Jantar Mantar, for once to break the enormously deafening silence > > about > > Kashmir in a public and peaceful manner. > > > > There were different kinds of slogans that were heard. Some stressed the > > unity > > of all Kashmiris - be they Pandit, Muslim or Sikh. Occasionally, the air > > did > > reverberate with slogans that some might interpret as having a more > > secterian > > tinge - the 'Nara e Taqbeer - Allah o Akbar'. > > > > Many speakers, including Professor Geelani, and men and women people from > > the > > crowd, repeatedly made appeals not to 'communalize' the issue, and the same > > people who said, 'Allah o Akbar' also immediately switched to slogans > > emphasizing Kashmir's secular fabric, and called for Pandit-Muslim-Sikh > > unity > > in Kashmir. > > > > I did not feel perturbed by the airing of the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan, as I > > am > > not when I hear people say 'Vande Mataram' or indeed, 'Jai Shree Ram'. I am > > not > > a believer, and the fervent expression of belief on the part of those who > > do > > believe, neither enthuses, nor disturbs me. In each case, I am more > > interested > > in what lies behind the passion. And I believed that what lay behind the > > passion last evening, despite the anxiety on some of the faces in the > > crowd, > > was an appeal to the divine as the final arbiter of justice and peace in a > > deeply violent and unjust world. I can understand what motivates people to > > make > > that claim, even if I cannot make it myself, especially in a situation, > > where > > all appeals to mundane, worldly power, seem to have exhausted themselves. A > > situation where stones are met with bullets and grenades can make even the > > most > > sceptical of us lose faith in the grace of the mortals who rule, > > ultimately, > > only with the force of arms. > > > > Perhaps, not airing such slogans would have been tactically more > > intelligent. > > But I did not get the sense that those who had gathered in Jantar Mantar > > last > > evening had come to score intelligent and sophisticated political points. > > They > > had come to express their anger and their sadness, they had come to cease, > > for > > a brief moment, to be the anonymous, anxious Kashmiri in Delhi who is > > always > > worried about being labelled a 'terrorist' by a prejudiced neighbour, a > > callous > > policeman or a random stranger. They had come to be themselves, to mourn, > > and to > > tell the world of their mourning. I can only feel grateful that they could > > gather the courage to do this. There is an urgency, as Sanjay Kak reminded > > the > > gathering for forging an intelligent politics in response to what is going > > on > > in Kashmir, and that politics must not only rest on the engine of pain and > > anger. I totally agree with this, at the same time, I also know, that > > without > > an occasion like what we witnessed yesterday, when Kashmiris can openly > > express > > their anguish in the heart of India, it will not happen. I remain hopeful > > that > > it will. > > > > Some speakers, including Varavara Rao, Mohan Jha (from Delhi University, I > > hope I got his name right), Sanjay Kak, and a sikh gentleman from Amritsar > > whose name escapes me, spoke of the fact that there was a great deal of > > solidarity in India for the just demands of the Kashmiri people. The > > occasion > > did not, at any instance, degenerate into a vulgar clash of competing > > nationalisms. > > > > Outside the perimter of this protest, stood another - a small group of > > people > > associated with organizations that claim to represent the Kashmiri Pandit > > Diaspora, who were 'protesting' against the protest. I recognized a face in > > this crowd, I follow his self-righteous online outpourings quite regularly. > > Some of the speakers, including Mr. Geelani, alluded to them, saying that > > they > > shared in their pain, and even invited them to come and address the > > gathering. > > They however, remained aloof. Holding their placards, with their claim to > > monopoly of the pain and anguish of Kashmir. Ther stirred to life, when > > Sanjay > > Kak, spoke, heckling him, in a now familiar and churlish manner. I felt sad > > to > > see them, because they could make claim to suffering only as a means to > > divide > > people, not bring people together in solidarity. > > > > Just before I left, a young woman who had recently come to Delhi to study, > > spoke eloquently about what it means to have lost a childhood in Kashmir, > > to > > have seen brothers and friends shot. I do not know who she is, and I could > > not > > catch her name, perhaps it was 'Arshi', but I wished I could apologize to > > her > > personally, because I know that her childhood has been robbed by people > > speaking in the name of the state that claims my fealty. > > > > The occupation of Kashmir by India and Pakistan is an immoral and evil fact > > of > > our times. The sooner it ends, the better will it be for all of us in South > > Asia. True 'Azaadi' in Kashmir, for all its inhabitants, and for all those > > who > > have been displaced by more than twenty years of violence, can only help us > > all, in Srinagar, in Delhi, and elsewhere, to breathe more freely. > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 15:32:44 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 15:32:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Muslims protest against Separatist Propaganda in Kashmir Message-ID: Muslim Protesters protesting against Kashmiri Separatists in New Delhi - http://yfrog.com/j9yz3gj For more pictures visit - http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/ -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Cell - +91-9873297834 Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ From rashneek at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 16:25:23 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:25:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies Message-ID: I do not claim to know the authencity of this news.I think all he writes here could be his imagination neither do i know who the stone pelters were... http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57784 NO HINDI FONTS OR TRANSLATION REQUIRED. the journos profile is in the link below,just in case we may want to sue him http://aafayyaz.blogspot.com/2010/08/12-year-old-critically-injured-in-stone.html?spref=fb best regards -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From indersalim at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 16:51:23 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:51:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: a poem by Yirvun Kreel (a small insect drifting on water ) We might begin by recalling In terms of the formless dream Breezing soundlessly in the dry reeds Of the exegesis of existence That freedom is the oldest habit Today like always There are no gods in the heaven on earth Floating like henna-rimmed clouds Who are not ratified by this primeval habit On the surface we have open books With invisible hieroglyphics Hiding inside their very transparency Like an iota of predetermined rights Or a quota of predefined justice Books which also hold some closed chapters Within the bosom of self-generating confusion Self-degenerating Instruments of Accession Contracts of oppression Proofs only they can manufacture Truth again a metaphor for lies On the same page is restraint and severed limbs Official denials and headless corpses On the same page On the same page is fear and vice Raped women and naked lies On the same page On the same page is dialogue and fear Holding hands and helping knives On the same page On the same page is impunity and love Our life and their obfuscations On the same page On the same page is integral part and solidarity Territoriality and inheritable humanity On the same page On the same page is loss and gain Their impunity and our pain On the same page On the same page is brutality and legitimacy Injustice and resistance, occupation and peace On the same page These are not our pages The blood of our pens never ran into them These are not our chapters We never choose to close them These are not our books We never authored them So we burn them as incense Offered to the gods of our own imagination The fire is the fuel Which feeds our conscience We sharpen the pencils with our memories Of restrained limbs and severed lies Of naked women and raped truth Of everything we have been made to face And everything denied to our face We again know to choose our gods In the heaven or earth For the freedom they will provide us We learn to give shape To the formless dream Colour it with history and feeling Sound it with experience and love >From the debris of the discourse Of the shredded pages of their books We pick up our cautions To know that killing others Attempting to kill others People, dreams, ideas, truth Is not murder but suicide No more patronizing attitude Helplessness and self-pity no more No more lies and deceit Tyranny and oppression no more No more humiliation Injustice and fear no more No more, no more, no more We have had enough, no more We decide that we are going to win This exegesis on our existence We might end by remembering That freedom is the oldest habit. On Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 2:09 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: > > ‘Truth’ appears to be the sole prerogative of those who promote & support > the proponents of Azadi- Bara –e- Islam (freedom through Islam) in Kashmir. > ‘Agent provocateurs’ can only prolong the agony of Kashmiris by their > continued condoning of the extremist religious fervour that inspires the > separatism in Kashmir. For them reports of calls for jihad in Kashmir are > just ‘lies’ while the jihadi ranting at Jantar Mantar right in the heart of > the capital of India is only an ‘aberration’. The visible contempt in the > propaganda ‘report’ on the ‘Jeshn’ at Jantar Mantar for a ‘small group’ of > protesting Kashmir Hindu Pandits rendered refugees in their own country post > their ethnic cleansing in Kashmir at the hands of kashmiri pan Islamists two > decades ago speaks it all about the ‘truthfulness’ of the ‘sympathisers’. > Let it be known, Kashmiri Hindu Pandits who have suffered persecution ever > since the advent of Islam in Kashmir in middle ages resulting in their > numbers having been reduced from a majority to an ‘insignificant’ (in > numbers) minority in their very place of origin, will never have a common > cause with those who want to resurrect brute medievalism in Kashmir that was > once regarded as the vale of ‘rishis’-the saints. > > On the one hand you run the propaganda campaigns through films like ‘Jashne > Azadi’ to project the leadership of the Kashmiri Jihadists including those > terror commanders who deserve to be tried for crimes against humanity & > whose political makeover was facilitated by the ‘sympathisers’ & on the > other you want to tell the world that the current turmoil is lead by none. > Agreed, as usual the ‘leaders’ get themselves detained to enjoy the state > hospitality while the gullible Kashmiris are exhorted to defy the very state > & die in the name of religion. Sixty Kashmiris got killed two years ago when > the storms was raised over building of temporary facilities for Amarnath > pilgrims. The exhortation then was that the ‘demography’ of Kashmir was > being planned by creating ‘Hindu habitations’ over those inhabitable > Himalayan heights. Battle for leadership amongst the Jihadists was played in > full view of public the streets of Kashmir then. > Who is calling the shots amongst the separatists in Kashmir today-the grand > old patriarch of Azadi- Bara –e- Islam (freedom through Islam)-final call > came & stone pelting has stopped at least for a while. But unfortunately > only after scores of young were made to lose their lives. It is a shame that > young children & ladies are used as ‘human shields’ by the anarchists. It is > a shame that the sympathies are garnered at the cost of young lives lost. > But then who cares for the blood of an ordinary Kashmiri. > Talking about plebiscite, UNO itself considers it outdated now. Yet the UN > precondition for that being that Pakistan has to first withdraw its > occupying forces from POK ( yes, it may be shocking but UN regards Pakistan > & not India as the ‘occupier’),yet we never heard about AK47 wielding > zealots marauding in POK nor do we know about any stone pelting in the > streets of Muzafrabad. > Pakistan will continue to use Kashmiris in the name of religious > ‘brotherhood’ through its cronies in Kashmir in its proxy war against India > to bleed it. > > Rgds all > LA > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 08:46:14 +0530 > > From: rashneek at gmail.com > > To: shuddha at sarai.net > > CC: reader-list at sarai.net > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar > > > > Jadoo Hai ya tilism timhare zuban main > > tum jhooth kyeh rahe the mujhe aaetbaar tha > > > > > > On Sun, Aug 8, 2010 at 3:02 PM, shuddha at sarai.net > wrote: > > > > > Kashmir Comes to Jantar Mantar > > > > > > Last evening I went to Jantar Mantar after many years. It is a road I > pass > > > often, looking at the sad and melancholic little protests that line the > > > kerb, > > > whispering to an indifferent Capital the million mutinies of our banana > > > plantation republic. > > > > > > Last evening was different. There were perhaps four to five hundred > people, > > > many, but not all Kashmiri, men and women, who had gathered to protest > > > against > > > the wanton destruction of life in the Kashmir valley by the security > > > apparatus > > > of the Indian state in the last few weeks and months. 45 civilian > deaths in > > > 8 > > > weeks signals a state losing its head. Especially when the deaths occur > > > when > > > the police and paramilitaries fire live bullets on unarmed or stone > pelting > > > mobs. When stones, or unarmed bodies are met with ammunition, you know > that > > > the > > > state has no respect whatsoever for bare life. That this should happen > in a > > > state that calls itself a democracy should make all of us who are its > > > citizens > > > reflect on how hollow 'democracy' feels to the mother or friend of a > young > > > boy > > > or girl who is felled by a 'democratic' bullet. > > > > > > Protests in Delhi often have a routine, scripted quality. But this one > was > > > different. Professor S.A.R Geelani was level headed and dignified, as > he > > > spoke > > > to the assembled, visibly upset young men and women, introduced each > > > speaker in > > > turn and appealed to people to stay calm, and not get provoked. > > > > > > I don't think that there has been a public gathering of young people > from > > > Kashmir in such numbers in Delhi, and the occasion had a cathartic, > almost > > > therapeutic character, as if the acknowledgment of each others presence > > > could > > > also make it possible for many amongst those gathered to say what > needed to > > > be > > > said, loud and clear, in public, what they had only kept as a secret in > > > their > > > hearts. > > > > > > As a citizen of the Indian republic, I can only hang my head in shame > at > > > the > > > venality of the state, and at how it openly sanctions the murder of > > > Kashmiri > > > men, women and children on the streets of the valley. Even a leading > member > > > of > > > the Israeli military establishment (not known for their kindness > towards > > > occupied Palestinians) has recently admonished India's hard-line > militarist > > > mandarins in Kashmir on the appalling conditions that they administer > in > > > Kashmir. > > > > > > I stood in silence at the meeting. Listened to the slogans, the > chanting, > > > the > > > statements, some made by friends like Sanjay Kak, others by people I do > not > > > know personally, but whose work and politics I have an interest in, > even if > > > I > > > do not agree with, such as the poet and ex-political prisoner Varavara > Rao. > > > I > > > met some old friends, talked quietly to strangers, and felt a momentary > > > twinge > > > of pride in Delhi, at least about the fact that so many of us were > > > reclaiming a > > > space on Jantar Mantar, for once to break the enormously deafening > silence > > > about > > > Kashmir in a public and peaceful manner. > > > > > > There were different kinds of slogans that were heard. Some stressed > the > > > unity > > > of all Kashmiris - be they Pandit, Muslim or Sikh. Occasionally, the > air > > > did > > > reverberate with slogans that some might interpret as having a more > > > secterian > > > tinge - the 'Nara e Taqbeer - Allah o Akbar'. > > > > > > Many speakers, including Professor Geelani, and men and women people > from > > > the > > > crowd, repeatedly made appeals not to 'communalize' the issue, and the > same > > > people who said, 'Allah o Akbar' also immediately switched to slogans > > > emphasizing Kashmir's secular fabric, and called for Pandit-Muslim-Sikh > > > unity > > > in Kashmir. > > > > > > I did not feel perturbed by the airing of the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan, > as I > > > am > > > not when I hear people say 'Vande Mataram' or indeed, 'Jai Shree Ram'. > I am > > > not > > > a believer, and the fervent expression of belief on the part of those > who > > > do > > > believe, neither enthuses, nor disturbs me. In each case, I am more > > > interested > > > in what lies behind the passion. And I believed that what lay behind > the > > > passion last evening, despite the anxiety on some of the faces in the > > > crowd, > > > was an appeal to the divine as the final arbiter of justice and peace > in a > > > deeply violent and unjust world. I can understand what motivates people > to > > > make > > > that claim, even if I cannot make it myself, especially in a situation, > > > where > > > all appeals to mundane, worldly power, seem to have exhausted > themselves. A > > > situation where stones are met with bullets and grenades can make even > the > > > most > > > sceptical of us lose faith in the grace of the mortals who rule, > > > ultimately, > > > only with the force of arms. > > > > > > Perhaps, not airing such slogans would have been tactically more > > > intelligent. > > > But I did not get the sense that those who had gathered in Jantar > Mantar > > > last > > > evening had come to score intelligent and sophisticated political > points. > > > They > > > had come to express their anger and their sadness, they had come to > cease, > > > for > > > a brief moment, to be the anonymous, anxious Kashmiri in Delhi who is > > > always > > > worried about being labelled a 'terrorist' by a prejudiced neighbour, a > > > callous > > > policeman or a random stranger. They had come to be themselves, to > mourn, > > > and to > > > tell the world of their mourning. I can only feel grateful that they > could > > > gather the courage to do this. There is an urgency, as Sanjay Kak > reminded > > > the > > > gathering for forging an intelligent politics in response to what is > going > > > on > > > in Kashmir, and that politics must not only rest on the engine of pain > and > > > anger. I totally agree with this, at the same time, I also know, that > > > without > > > an occasion like what we witnessed yesterday, when Kashmiris can openly > > > express > > > their anguish in the heart of India, it will not happen. I remain > hopeful > > > that > > > it will. > > > > > > Some speakers, including Varavara Rao, Mohan Jha (from Delhi > University, I > > > hope I got his name right), Sanjay Kak, and a sikh gentleman from > Amritsar > > > whose name escapes me, spoke of the fact that there was a great deal of > > > solidarity in India for the just demands of the Kashmiri people. The > > > occasion > > > did not, at any instance, degenerate into a vulgar clash of competing > > > nationalisms. > > > > > > Outside the perimter of this protest, stood another - a small group of > > > people > > > associated with organizations that claim to represent the Kashmiri > Pandit > > > Diaspora, who were 'protesting' against the protest. I recognized a > face in > > > this crowd, I follow his self-righteous online outpourings quite > regularly. > > > Some of the speakers, including Mr. Geelani, alluded to them, saying > that > > > they > > > shared in their pain, and even invited them to come and address the > > > gathering. > > > They however, remained aloof. Holding their placards, with their claim > to > > > monopoly of the pain and anguish of Kashmir. Ther stirred to life, when > > > Sanjay > > > Kak, spoke, heckling him, in a now familiar and churlish manner. I felt > sad > > > to > > > see them, because they could make claim to suffering only as a means to > > > divide > > > people, not bring people together in solidarity. > > > > > > Just before I left, a young woman who had recently come to Delhi to > study, > > > spoke eloquently about what it means to have lost a childhood in > Kashmir, > > > to > > > have seen brothers and friends shot. I do not know who she is, and I > could > > > not > > > catch her name, perhaps it was 'Arshi', but I wished I could apologize > to > > > her > > > personally, because I know that her childhood has been robbed by people > > > speaking in the name of the state that claims my fealty. > > > > > > The occupation of Kashmir by India and Pakistan is an immoral and evil > fact > > > of > > > our times. The sooner it ends, the better will it be for all of us in > South > > > Asia. True 'Azaadi' in Kashmir, for all its inhabitants, and for all > those > > > who > > > have been displaced by more than twenty years of violence, can only > help us > > > all, in Srinagar, in Delhi, and elsewhere, to breathe more freely. > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Rashneek Kher > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 22:53:15 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 22:53:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Reg: Set - 12 on Right to Food Message-ID: Right to Food: Can India deliver to its poorest and hungriest? Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/right-to-food-can-india-deliver-to-its-poorest-and-hungriest-43155?cp *Bhopal: * Inside the drab district hospital, where dogs patter down the corridors, sniffing for food, Ratan Bhuria's children are curled together in the malnutrition ward, hovering at the edge of starvation. His daughter, Nani, is 4 and weighs 20 pounds. His son, Jogdiya is 2 and weighs only eight. Landless and illiterate, drowned by debt, Mr. Bhuria and his ailing children have staggered into the hospital ward after falling through India's social safety net. They should receive subsidized government food and cooking fuel. They do not. The older children should be enrolled in school and receiving a free daily lunch. They are not. And they are hardly alone. India's eight poorest states have more people in poverty, an estimated 421 million than Africa's 26 poorest nations, one study recently reported. For the governing Indian National Congress Party, which has staked its political fortunes on appealing to the poor, this persistent inability to make government work for people like Mr. Bhuria has set off an ideological debate over a question that once would have been unthinkable in India: Should the country begin to unshackle the poor from the inefficient, decades-old government food distribution system and try something radical, like simply giving out food coupons, or cash? The rethinking is being prodded by a potentially sweeping proposal that has divided the Congress Party. Its president, Sonia Gandhi, is pushing to create a constitutional right to food and expand the existing entitlement so that every Indian family would qualify for a monthly 77-pound bag of grain, sugar and kerosene. Such entitlements have helped the Congress Party win votes, especially in rural areas. Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/right-to-food-can-india-deliver-to-its-poorest-and-hungriest-43155?cp ****To Ms. Gandhi and many left-leaning social allies, making a food a legal right would give people like Mr. Bhuria a tool to demand benefits that rightfully belong to them. Many economists and market advocates within the Congress Party agree that the poor need better tools to receive their benefits but believe existing delivering system needs to be dismantled, not expanded; they argue that handing out vouchers equivalent to the bag of grain would liberate the poor from an unwieldy government apparatus and let them buy what they please, where they please. "The question is whether there is a role for the market in the delivery of social programs," said Bharat Ramaswami, a rural economist at the Indian Statistical Institute. "This is a big issue, Can you harness the market?" India's ability, or inability, in coming decades to improve the lives of the poor will very likely determine if it becomes a global economic power, and a regional rival to China, or if it continues to be compared with Africa in poverty surveys. India vanquished food shortages during the 1960s with the Green Revolution, which introduced high-yield grains and fertilizers and expanded irrigation, and the country has had one of the world's fastest-growing economies during the past decade. But its poverty and hunger indexes remain dismal, with roughly 42 percent of all Indian children under the age of 5 being underweight. The food system has existed for more than half a century and has become riddled with corruption and inefficiency. Studies show that 70 percent of a roughly $12 billion budget is wasted, stolen or absorbed by bureaucratic and transportation costs. Ms. Gandhi's proposal, still far from becoming law, has been scaled back, for now, so that universal eligibility would initially be introduced only in the country's 200 poorest districts, including here in Jhabua, at the western edge of the state of Madhya Pradesh. With some of the highest levels of poverty and child malnutrition in the world, Madhya Pradesh underscores the need for change in the food system. Earlier this year, the official overseeing the state's child development programs was arrested on charges of stealing money. In Jhabua, local news media recently reported a spate of child deaths linked to malnutrition in several villages. Investigators later discovered 3,500 fake food ration booklets in the district, believed to have been issued by low-level officials for themselves and their friends. Inside the district hospital, Mr. Bhuria said he had applied three times for a food ration card, but the clerk had failed to produce one. "Every time he would say, 'We will do it, we will do it,' " Mr. Bhuria recalled. "But he never did." A farmer, Mr. Bhuria fell into deep debt six years ago after he mortgaged his land for a loan of 150,000 rupees, or about $3,200. Like most people in the district, Mr. Bhuria is a Bhil, a member of a minority group whose customs call for the family of the groom to pay a "bride price" before a wedding. Mr. Bhuria spent most of his loan on his brother's wedding and was left landless, yet he and his wife kept having children. They now have six. He and his wife migrated with their children to work as day laborers in the neighboring state of Gujarat. Working in Gujarat is common for farmers from Jhabua, but since none can use their ration booklets outside their home villages, they struggle to feed their families. When migrants returned to plant their fields in July, the malnutrition wards began to fill up at the district hospital. "This is a cycle," said Dr. I. S. Chauhan, who oversees the wards. "The mother is also malnourished. And they are migrant workers. They work all day and can't care for their children." Moneylenders are common across rural India, often providing loans at extortionate rates. Some farmers hand over food booklets as collateral. Sitting in a small shop, Salim Khan said people approach him for loans when a child is sick or if they need cash to travel for migrant work. "Until they repay me," he said, "I keep their ration card." He uses the cards to buy grain at government Fair Price Shops at the subsidized rate of about 2 rupees, or 4 cents, a kilogram. He resells it on the open market for six times as much. The margin represents interest on the loan. He has held the ration cards of some migrants for seven years. "Sometimes I'll have 50 cards," he said. "Sometimes I'll have 100 or 150. It's not just me. Other lenders do this, too." He said he was willing to lend slightly more money to the most destitute because their yellow ration booklets made him eligible for the full 77 pounds of grain, the most available in a tiered rationing system. "The yellow ones are best for me," he said. This is just one of the illegalities that permeate the system, according to people in Jhabua. Bribery is also common; government inspectors are known to extort monthly payments from the clerks who sell the subsidized grain. Some clerks pay small bribes to local officials to get their jobs or keep them. In turn, moneylenders slip money to clerks to let them use the ration cards to collect the subsidized grain, sugar and fuel. In a cavernous government warehouse, bags of grain are stacked almost 15 feet high, awaiting trucks to carry loads to different Fair Price Shops. R. K. Pandey, the manager, blamed local men for the persistent malnutrition in the district, saying they often sell the subsidized wheat on the open market and buy alcohol. He also noted that the Bhil population favored corn, not wheat, so besides buying alcohol, they also sell the grain to buy corn. Efforts are under way to reform the national system. Officials in the state of Chhattisgarh have curbed corruption by tracking grain shipments on computers, so that officials cannot steal and resell it. Many social advocates, suspicious of market solutions, say that such reforms prove that the system can be improved. But pro-market advocates say that issuing either food coupons or direct payments would circumvent much of the corruption and allow recipients more mobility and freedom of choice. They point to the eventual creation of a new national identity system -- in which every person will have a number -- as a tool that can make such direct benefits possible. These sorts of debates seem like abstractions in much of Jhabua, where poverty and hunger are twinned. At the malnutrition ward, Dr. Chauhan said that Jogdiya, the tiny 2-year-old, had pneumonia, diarrhea and possibly tuberculosis. His health had been steadily deteriorating in recent weeks, but his father, Mr. Bhuria, had no money for either food or medicine. He had gone to Gujarat in mid-July in search of migrant work but then quickly returned after Jogdiya and Nani became sicker. A relative had warned him not to go, saying his children were too sick. But he had felt he had no choice. "We didn't have anything to eat," he had said. Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/right-to-food-can-india-deliver-to-its-poorest-and-hungriest-43155?cp From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 22:54:46 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 22:54:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Reg: Set - 12 on Right to Food In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Right to Food: Confusion over counting the poor *New Delhi: * Asha, a Rag picker holds out a roti with salt and says, "Most days we eat only this. Rice is ` 20 a kilo. We can't afford two rice meals a day." "It pains to see my family go hungry. But what can you do with ` 100 income a day?", adds rickshaw puller, Mohammad Zafar. Zaffar and Asha are homeless who earn about ` 100 a day for their 4-5 member families and have no social security to speak of. Undoubtedly they are poor but do they fit the Indian government's description of poverty that can secure them under the Food Security Bill? Well, they don't know and nor do we because India does not have a definitive definition of poverty. Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/right-to-food-confusion-over-counting-the-poor-19364?cp The Planning Commission has been asked to define 'Below Poverty Line' so that we know how many people fall in the bracket. The number of poor are ambiguous as there is no consensus whatsoever among the various surveys. Here are the figures: - Planning Commission: 27% - Suresh Tendulkar Report: 37% - Committee on unorganised sectors: 77% - United Nations : More than 75% Indians earn less than ` 90 a day Congress Spokesperson, Manish Tiwari says, "That is because different organisations are using different yardsticks to measure poverty levels. That is why the government is attempting to harmonise and reconcile it so you have a final number of people Below the Poverty Line." The difference between those living below the poverty line and those slightly above it is very bleak. The fact of the matter is, they both belong to the very poor section of our country. The least they expect from the government they elected to power is the Right to Food. Kamal Chenoy, Right To Food campaigner says, "It is not easy to identify the poor. But what is clear is that if you assess by nutritional values, the number is pretty high. The only way to assess is take into account all the people who have BPL cards. And the Planning Commission itself says that 40 per cent of BPL people don't have cards." The millions of poor and borderline poor in the country are still waiting for the government's final verdict on poverty Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/right-to-food-confusion-over-counting-the-poor-19364?cp From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 22:58:32 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 22:58:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Reg: Set - 12 on Right to Food In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: India's shame: Hungry, dying children NDTV Correspondent, Updated: March 20, 2010 10:37 IST *Jhabua District, Bhopal: * In two extremes of India's supply chain, while surplus grain worth crores of rupees is rotting away in Punjab, malnutrition leads to the death of 83 children every day in Madhya Pradesh. This is happening for the last four years For months Kommudi's family has only eaten corn powder boiled with water twice a day. Both her children are entitled to get lunch at the village anganwadi but Kommudi is too weak to take them there. Rewibai, Kommudi's Mother-in-law: "No one has come to see us. We have no money for their treatment." Satna, Khandwa, Dhar, Shivpuri, Sheopur, Sidhi, Rewa, Khargone, Jhabua, this is emerging as the most improverished belt of India, tribal Madhya Pradesh. Here malnourishment-related deaths among children have become like an epidemic. Agreeing with a state-wide survey the Health Department says as many 60% of Madhya Pradesh's children are malnourished. *Madhya Pradesh* *2009 findings* : 60% of children malnourished Diseases caused by malnutrition has killed over 1.2 lakh children in the last four years which means 83 children died everyday. *Madhya Pradesh 2005-2009* - 1,22,420 malnutrition-related deaths - 83 deaths a day The situation in Jhabua where Kommudi lives is the worst. In recent months 43 children have died in malnutrition-related ailments. *Jhabua * Nov 2009 to Jan 2010: 43 Children Died A survey in the district shows 7% infants in Jhabua die before their first birthday. *Jhabua * 2008 survey: 70 of 1,000 infants die before they turn 1 "Malnutrition actually creates an environment for various kind of diseases and in that particular context it is the very fundamental thing that Women and Child Development and the Health Department have to come together and create a programme to handle this problem of malnutrition in the state," says Sachin Jain, Adviser to the Supreme Court Commissioners On Right To Food. Ranjana Baghel, Minister, Women and Child Development says she refuses to make any commitments in this regard. So, who then is accountable for these deaths? Until and unless the two crucial departments bridge their differences the fight against malnutrition in Madhya Pradesh will never be won. Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/indias-shame-hungry-dying-children-18127?cp Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/indias-shame-hungry-dying-children-18127?cp From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Aug 10 01:58:11 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:58:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IPTK Files Complaint on Kashmir with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Message-ID: <2919b11b2b95efdf77ec9952f42dd3e3@mail.sarai.net> Dear All, This came in to my mailbox with a request for wide circulation. Please do read and circulate widely. best Shuddha --------------------------- STATEMENT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Srinagar, August 9, 2010 INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND JUSTICE IN INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR (IPTK) www.kashmirprocess.org IPTK Files Allegation on Kashmir Killings with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights IPTK filed a complaint letter with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and submitted a 16-page dossier to Dr. Christof Heyns, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, requesting an investigation into the killings of civilians in June-August 2010 in Indian-administered Kashmir. The allegation documents a list of 51 civilians who were reportedly killed by military, paramilitary, and police forces in Kashmir between June 11 and August 8 of 2010. The Special Rapporteur is expected to address the allegation to the Government of India, typically requesting a response within 60 days. We request that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights hold the Government of India accountable, investigate the conditions of repression in Kashmir, and ask that a minimum agenda for conflict resolution be followed. The general context of the humanitarian crisis is described on Pages 1-6. The allegations pertaining to the specific killings are on Pages 7-16. For the text of the allegation, see http://www.kashmirprocess.org/UNAllegation2010/. Whose Law and Whose Order?Civilian killings by police, paramilitary, and military: Between June 11-30, 2010: 13 deaths: All Muslim boys and men Between of July 1-31, 2010: 13 deaths: 12 Muslim boys and men, 1 Muslim woman Between August 1-8, 2010: 25 deaths: 23 Muslim boys and men, 2 Muslim women Total civilian death count: Between June 11-August 8, 2010, 51 Widespread peaceable protests across Indian-administered Kashmir dissenting the suppression of civil society by Indian forces have been continuously brutalized by the police, military, and paramilitary without provocation. Indian forces have acted with the knowledge and sanction of the Government of India and the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, using human rights violations to maintain military governance. In numerous instances, the repeated repression by state forces provoked civilians to engage in stone pelting and to be in non-compliance with unremitting curfews. In certain instances civilians engaged in acts of violence, including arson. There have been no reports of deaths of military, paramilitary, and police personnel resulting from violent acts by civilians. Each instance of civilian violence documented was provoked by the first and unmitigated use of force on civilians and/or persistent extrajudicial killings on the part of Indian forces. The cases recorded by IPTK are often interconnected -- individuals protesting the actions of Indian forces, caught in the midst of the unrest, or mourning the death of a civilian killed, without provocation, by Indian forces, were fired upon, leading to other killings by Indian forces, more civilian protests, greater use of force by the police and paramilitary, use of torture in certain instances by Indian forces, more killings by Indian forces, larger, even violent, civilian protests, and further state repression. They tell a story of the web of continued violence in which civil society in Kashmir is confined. In the deaths documented by IPTK, family and community members were largely unable to lodge First Information Reports (FIRs) due to unrest in their locality, or their requests to record FIRs were denied by the police. In most instances where FIRs have been lodged, the police have recorded them without consulting relevant stakeholders. At times, personnel from police stations whose officers were perpetrators of the crime, or personnel from neighbouring police stations, recorded the FIRs. Indian forces have threatened eyewitnesses. Civil society activists and media persons were denied access to localities in which the killing(s) took place. Massive numbers of civilians have been injured in Summer 2010 by the Indian military, paramilitary, and police in Kashmir. Recent acts of stone pelting, and incidents in which civilians damaged state property and engaged in arson, have also caused injury to paramilitary and policepersonnel. Accurate, independently derived figures are not available. We note that stone pelting, and selective incidents of arson and violence are not causal to the violence that is prevalent in Kashmir today. Along with civilians, Kashmiri journalists have been targeted by Indianforces. Arrests have been made on uncorroborated suspicion, as evidenced by the cases of Advocate Qayoom, Advocate Shaheen, and Muhamad Fazili. Police have engaged in extortion and demanded bribes from those in custody and those seeking to free the imprisoned. Between January 1 and August 8, 2010, reportedly 84 civilians have been killed (66 were killed by Indian forces, including military, paramilitary, and police), 120 persons identified as militants have been killed, and 66 Indian forces personnel have been killed (34 were killed by militants, 16 committed suicide, 2 died in fratricidal killings, 8 died in grenade/mine explosions, and 6 were killed by unidentified gunmen). Fake encounter killings are utilized to enhance the supposition of cross-border terrorism. Cross-Line of Control infiltrations and insurgency into Kashmir are real and significant issues, even as the Indian state exaggerates these realities to escalate militarization. During the humanitarian crisis that has subsumed the Kashmir Valley in Summer 2010, civil disobedience paralleled that of 1989 as well as 2008.State institutions, certain human rights organizations, and dominant media have asserted that civil society protests are being orchestrated by political interest groups in and outside Kashmir, with the objective of endorsing violence. Such contention refuses to recognize the inequitable historical-political power relations at play between the states of India and Pakistan and the Kashmiri peoples, and distorts the conditions that have provoked civilian youth to throw stones and selectively use arson and attack this summer. Minimum Agenda for Conflict Resolution. The conditions for nonviolent civilian dissent are being eroded by the Indian state. The approach of the Indian state has been, and continues to be, neo-imperial and aggressively militaristic. The Government of India assumes that the people of Kashmir should respond with nonviolence to the violent methods of the state. More troops were recently moved into Kashmir, even as there were reported shortages of blood, groceries, and cash. The recent protests in Kashmir evidence dissent to the present events and the confinement of civil society by Indian military and paramilitary forces since 1989, and the suppression of local demands for the right to self-determination since 1946. The Indian state has reiterated to the people of Kashmir that violence cannot lead to a resolution. The Government of India must recognize that its own violence is the primary deterrent to peace and justice in Kashmir. As a body comprised of human rights defenders, IPTK is committed to peaceable methods of conflict resolution. In order to ensure interim conditions that are facilitative of nonviolent conflict resolution, and enable ethical civil society participation, we urge that the Government of India, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, and the military, paramilitary, and police be held accountable to a minimum agenda in Indian-administered Kashmir inclusive of the following: 1. Immediate halt to, and moratorium on, extrajudicial killings, and the use of torture, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, and gendered violence by the Indian military, paramilitary, and police. 2. Agreement to non-interference in the exercise of civil liberties of Kashmiris, including the right to civil disobedience, and freedom of speech, movement, and travel. 3. Proactive demilitarization and the immediate revocation of authoritarian laws. 4. Release of political prisoners. 5. Detention and torture centres, including in army camps, be identified, made public, and dismantled. 6. Instatement of a Truth and Justice Commission for political and psychosocial reparation, permitting spaces for acknowledging the culture of grief and the staggering corporeal and spiritual fatalities of the past two decades, to imagine and energize local and civil society initiatives in order to heal, and imagine a different future. 7. Support of cultural, economic, and peace initiatives by disenfranchised groups, including half-widows, families of the disappeared, minority communities, and former militants. 8. International and transparent investigations into torture, disappearances, gendered violence, unlawful deaths, and unknown and mass graves constitutive of crimes against humanity committed by the Indian military, paramilitary, and police. 9. Open and transparent dialogue toward conflict resolution between Kashmir, India, and Pakistan, inclusive of Kashmiri civil society and leadership as primary stakeholders. From:Dr. Angana Chatterji, Convener IPTK and Professor, Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies Advocate Parvez Imroz, Convener IPTK and Founder, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society Gautam Navlakha, Convener IPTK and Editorial Consultant, Economic and Political Weekly Zahir-Ud-Din, Convener IPTK and Vice-President, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society Advocate Mihir Desai, Legal Counsel IPTK and Lawyer, Mumbai High Court and Supreme Court of India Khurram Parvez, Liaison IPTK and Programme Coordinator, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society Queries may be directed to:Khurram Parvez E-mail: kparvez at kashmirprocess.orgPhone: +91.194.2482820Mobile: +91.9419013553 From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Aug 10 02:13:11 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:13:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: <1795385454-1281338669-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-943894372-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> References: , <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net> , <1795385454-1281338669-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-943894372-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Message-ID: Dear all, I was present during the demonstration on Saturday evening, at which some of the people from RIK were also present. I heard what was said and I know what was not said. The Nara-e-Tadbir, Allah-0-Akbar slogan was raised, and I have written about this in my earlier post. On one occasion, one individual in the section of the crowd opposite to where I was standing, did say, 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La Illaha-Illallah', he was admonished by those around him, for raising a secterian slogan. Repeatedly, speaker after speaker said that no 'communal slogans' should be raised. One woman got up from the audience, went to the microphone and made a passionate appeal not to be distracted by a communal agenda. Actually, there was a person sitting quite close to where I stood, who said in a distinctly Eastern UP/ Bihar accent, slightly sheepishly, Hindustan ki Janata Kashmir ki Azaadi ki Larai ke Saath hai. No one responded to him, just as no one had responded the slogan - of - 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La Illaha-Illallah'. There were no references to Nizam e Mustafa, Azaadi Baraye Islam. No one said 'Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga'. My hearing is not impaired, if any one has said it out aloud, i would have heard it. There were repeated sloganeering of 'Pandit , Muslim, Sikh, Sare Kashmiri ek hain'. I want to point all this out in some detail, to show that the gathering did not raise slogans that called for foisting an Islamist state in Kashmir, as is being alleged by Kamal Hak. To equate the demand for Azaadi automatically with the demand for an Islamist state is a gross oversimplification. It also ends up providing the hard-core islamists in the 'Azaadi' camp with a legitimation that we should not assume they automatically have. It is no surprise that this is gifted to them by their opposite numbers, a communalized, prejudiced core, within the 'Indian Nationalist' flank , that vitiates the atmosphere . The following day's, Sunday's protest, at Jantar Mantar, was even more restrained. From what I gather from people who were there, there was not even the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan. Yes, the RIK and allied protestors who had come again on Sunday, were loud, and noisy, yes, apparently several of them used objectionable and unparliamentary language. If there was an aggressive use of words, I know where it would have come from. best Shuddha On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 07:24:46 +0000 kamalhak at gmail.com wrote > Hum kya chahtey azadi- azadi ka matlab kya- La-illaha-illalaha. > > Naraiy tadbir- Allah-O-Akbar > > Aditya, Rashneek and the likes of their ilk are naïve to misrepresent the > above slogans as islamist. They also behave as fascists while talking about > Kashmiri aspirations of Nizame-Mustafa being the principal reason behind > their exile. > > It is the reflection of their communal mind set that makes them to see wolf > in slogans like, Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga. > > Above all it is their immaturity to talk about unfashionable concepts like > Bharat Mata ki jai. > Aditya and Rashneek, you are sleeping like Rip Van Winkle and have been left > far behind the times. > Rashneek, I believe poetry is your passion. You must understand Kabir's, 'tum > kahtey ho kagaz dekhi- main kahta hoon ankhan dekhi' no longer holds true in > contemporary India. There are two types of people who abound this nation, if > you still this country to be one, now. > One half is like Dhritrashtra who was blind by providence; the other half is > like Ghandari, who chose to be blind by choice. You can't make either to see. > So stop being like kids, capture the mindset of people and join the crowd. > You will soon become a hero. > > Kamal Hak > Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel > > -----Original Message----- > From: "shuddha at sarai.net" > Sender: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net > Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:02:35 > To: sarai list; Aditya Raj > Kaul > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... > > Aditya, > > The list does not take allegations of 'terrorism' lightly. The person you are > talking about happens to be a friend of mine, and I would again ask you to > refrain from making allegations that you cannot prove, and that have been > thrown out in court, not on 'technicalities'. The absence of evidence, and > the > manufacture of false evidence is not a 'technicality'. > > I was present on Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, as were you, and as were > several others, none of whom are 'Islamist Propagandists'. There may have > been > some Islamists in the gathering, but by no means does that mean that the > majority of those present were in any way Islamist. > > My unambiguous positions against 'Islamism' are public, and well known, > especially to Islamists. I am sure there were many others who were present at > Jantar Mantar who, like me, cannot by any stretch of imagination be called > 'Islamist'. > > Also, calling reports such as those published in the Times of India, > Hindustan > Times, Economic Times and the Outlook, written by Sanjay Kak, Hilal Mir, > Basharat Peer and Suveer Kaul 'planted' only exposes you to the possibility > of > being exposed for sheer humbuggery, and makes you liable to the charge of > libel. Are you suggesting that now the Indian mainstream media is nowadays > being influenced by stories planted by the IB that endorse an 'Anti-State' > line. Is the Intelligence Bureau, and its peers (the only ones in a position > to > 'plant' stories in the media) now working hand in glove with separatists in > Kashmir. So, is the sentiment for azaadi now a plaything in the hands of the > Indian intelligence apparatus. Let's take this thought to its logical > conclusion. If the Indian intelligence agencies are backing Kashmiri > separatists and all those who argue for self determination in Kashmir, then > logically, Indian nationalists ought to be cozying up to the Pakistani ISI. > What does that make the Roots in Kashmir and the Panun Kashmir network - an > objective ally of the Pakistani ISI? > > If that is so, it is news to me, and ought to be, to everyone in the whole > wide > world. > > Please refrain from dissimulation and disinformation, > > best, > > Shuddha > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul > wrote > > > The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in media. > > > > We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan Times; > > quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in spreading > > propaganda. > > > > Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical > > grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If this > > can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back in > > Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist threatening. > > > > -- > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > India Editor > > The Indian, Australia > > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > > > 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak > > > > > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither the the > > > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet with > > > its > > > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... > > > Impressive, or suspect... > > > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story > > > business. > > > Best > > > Sanjay > > > > > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > > > > > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - > > > > http://www.amarujal > > > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > > > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< > > > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> > > > > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > दिया > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > टाउन > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > सिख > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > हैं। > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > इनमें > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > छोड़नी > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > से > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > गिलानी > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > कि > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > गुप्त > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > १८२ > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > भरे > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > कमेटी > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > का > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > रहे थे। डा. > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > को इस घटना से > > > सबक > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी > तक कोई सूचना > > > नहीं > > > > मिली है। > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित परिवारों > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > दिया > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > टाउन > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > सिख > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > हैं। > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > इनमें > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > छोड़नी > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > से > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > गिलानी > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > कि > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > गुप्त > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > १८२ > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित परिवारों > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > भरे > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > कमेटी > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > का > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > रहे थे। डा. > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > को इस घटना से > > > सबक > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें अभी > तक कोई सूचना > > > नहीं > > > > मिली है। > > > > > > > > best regards > > > > > > > > - > > > > > > > > Rashneek Kher > > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kamalhak at gmail.com Tue Aug 10 09:06:46 2010 From: kamalhak at gmail.com (Kamal Hak) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:06:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: References: <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net> <1795385454-1281338669-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-943894372-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Message-ID: Ha Ha Ha Shuddha, I admit I have been naive. I really pity myself for not recording the deafening roars of Azadi ka matlab kya- La illaha illalah. I believe people with hearing impairment find the large sounds entering their ears only as a small vibration of an inaudible wave. You may have contributed towards a new finding in science where a person finds a small, feeble cry of a single individual as a resounding roar. I was also present there and I also know what was said, what was meant and what was not said. Going by your argument that speaker after speaker urged the people not to raise communal slogans, will you please enlighten us what was the need for them to do so? Regards, Kamal Hak On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 2:13 AM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > Dear all, > > I was present during the demonstration on Saturday evening, at which some > of > the people from RIK were also present. I heard what was said and I know > what > was not said. > > The Nara-e-Tadbir, Allah-0-Akbar slogan was raised, and I have written > about > this in my earlier post. > > On one occasion, one individual in the section of the crowd opposite to > where I > was standing, did say, 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La Illaha-Illallah', he was > admonished by those around him, for raising a secterian slogan. Repeatedly, > speaker after speaker said that no 'communal slogans' should be raised. One > woman got up from the audience, went to the microphone and made a > passionate > appeal not to be distracted by a communal agenda. > > Actually, there was a person sitting quite close to where I stood, who said > in > a distinctly Eastern UP/ Bihar accent, slightly sheepishly, Hindustan ki > Janata > Kashmir ki Azaadi ki Larai ke Saath hai. No one responded to him, just as > no one > had responded the slogan - of - 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La Illaha-Illallah'. > > There were no references to Nizam e Mustafa, Azaadi Baraye Islam. No one > said > 'Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga'. My hearing is not > impaired, if any one has said it out aloud, i would have heard it. There > were > repeated sloganeering of 'Pandit , Muslim, Sikh, Sare Kashmiri ek hain'. > > I want to point all this out in some detail, to show that the gathering did > not > raise slogans that called for foisting an Islamist state in Kashmir, as is > being > alleged by Kamal Hak. To equate the demand for Azaadi automatically with > the > demand for an Islamist state is a gross oversimplification. It also ends up > providing the hard-core islamists in the 'Azaadi' camp with a legitimation > that > we should not assume they automatically have. It is no surprise that this > is > gifted to them by their opposite numbers, a communalized, prejudiced core, > within the 'Indian Nationalist' flank , that vitiates the atmosphere . > > The following day's, Sunday's protest, at Jantar Mantar, was even more > restrained. From what I gather from people who were there, there was not > even > the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan. Yes, the RIK and allied protestors who had come > again on Sunday, were loud, and noisy, yes, apparently several of them used > objectionable and unparliamentary language. If there was an aggressive use > of > words, I know where it would have come from. > > best > > Shuddha > > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 07:24:46 +0000 kamalhak at gmail.com wrote > > > Hum kya chahtey azadi- azadi ka matlab kya- La-illaha-illalaha. > > > > Naraiy tadbir- Allah-O-Akbar > > > > Aditya, Rashneek and the likes of their ilk are naïve to misrepresent the > > above slogans as islamist. They also behave as fascists while talking > about > > Kashmiri aspirations of Nizame-Mustafa being the principal reason behind > > their exile. > > > > It is the reflection of their communal mind set that makes them to see > wolf > > in slogans like, Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga. > > > > Above all it is their immaturity to talk about unfashionable concepts > like > > Bharat Mata ki jai. > > Aditya and Rashneek, you are sleeping like Rip Van Winkle and have been > left > > far behind the times. > > Rashneek, I believe poetry is your passion. You must understand Kabir's, > 'tum > > kahtey ho kagaz dekhi- main kahta hoon ankhan dekhi' no longer holds true > in > > contemporary India. There are two types of people who abound this nation, > if > > you still this country to be one, now. > > One half is like Dhritrashtra who was blind by providence; the other half > is > > like Ghandari, who chose to be blind by choice. You can't make either to > see. > > So stop being like kids, capture the mindset of people and join the > crowd. > > You will soon become a hero. > > > > Kamal Hak > > Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: "shuddha at sarai.net" > > Sender: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net > > Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:02:35 > > To: sarai list; Aditya Raj > > Kaul > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... > > > > Aditya, > > > > The list does not take allegations of 'terrorism' lightly. The person you > are > > talking about happens to be a friend of mine, and I would again ask you > to > > refrain from making allegations that you cannot prove, and that have been > > thrown out in court, not on 'technicalities'. The absence of evidence, > and > > the > > manufacture of false evidence is not a 'technicality'. > > > > I was present on Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, as were you, and as > were > > several others, none of whom are 'Islamist Propagandists'. There may have > > been > > some Islamists in the gathering, but by no means does that mean that the > > majority of those present were in any way Islamist. > > > > My unambiguous positions against 'Islamism' are public, and well known, > > especially to Islamists. I am sure there were many others who were > present at > > Jantar Mantar who, like me, cannot by any stretch of imagination be > called > > 'Islamist'. > > > > Also, calling reports such as those published in the Times of India, > > Hindustan > > Times, Economic Times and the Outlook, written by Sanjay Kak, Hilal Mir, > > Basharat Peer and Suveer Kaul 'planted' only exposes you to the > possibility > > of > > being exposed for sheer humbuggery, and makes you liable to the charge of > > libel. Are you suggesting that now the Indian mainstream media is > nowadays > > being influenced by stories planted by the IB that endorse an > 'Anti-State' > > line. Is the Intelligence Bureau, and its peers (the only ones in a > position > > to > > 'plant' stories in the media) now working hand in glove with separatists > in > > Kashmir. So, is the sentiment for azaadi now a plaything in the hands of > the > > Indian intelligence apparatus. Let's take this thought to its logical > > conclusion. If the Indian intelligence agencies are backing Kashmiri > > separatists and all those who argue for self determination in Kashmir, > then > > logically, Indian nationalists ought to be cozying up to the Pakistani > ISI. > > What does that make the Roots in Kashmir and the Panun Kashmir network - > an > > objective ally of the Pakistani ISI? > > > > If that is so, it is news to me, and ought to be, to everyone in the > whole > > wide > > world. > > > > Please refrain from dissimulation and disinformation, > > > > best, > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul < > kauladityaraj at gmail.com> > > wrote > > > > > The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in > media. > > > > > > We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan Times; > > > quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in > spreading > > > propaganda. > > > > > > Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical > > > grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If > this > > > can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back in > > > Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist threatening. > > > > > > -- > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > > > India Editor > > > The Indian, Australia > > > > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak > > > > > > > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither the > the > > > > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet > with > > > > its > > > > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... > > > > Impressive, or suspect... > > > > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story > > > > business. > > > > Best > > > > Sanjay > > > > > > > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > > > > > > > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - > > > > > http://www.amarujal > > > > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > > > > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< > > > > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> > > > > > > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित > परिवारों > > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > > दिया > > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > > टाउन > > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > > सिख > > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > > हैं। > > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > > इनमें > > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > > छोड़नी > > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > > से > > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > > गिलानी > > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > > कि > > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > > गुप्त > > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > > १८२ > > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों > > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > > भरे > > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > > कमेटी > > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > > का > > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > > रहे थे। डा. > > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > > को इस घटना से > > > > सबक > > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें > अभी > > तक कोई सूचना > > > > नहीं > > > > > मिली है। > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित > परिवारों > > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > > दिया > > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > > टाउन > > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > > सिख > > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > > हैं। > > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > > इनमें > > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > > छोड़नी > > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > > से > > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > > गिलानी > > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > > कि > > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > > गुप्त > > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > > १८२ > > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों > > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > > भरे > > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > > कमेटी > > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > > का > > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > > रहे थे। डा. > > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > > को इस घटना से > > > > सबक > > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें > अभी > > तक कोई सूचना > > > > नहीं > > > > > मिली है। > > > > > > > > > > best regards > > > > > > > > > > - > > > > > > > > > > Rashneek Kher > > > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > > in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > -- Kamal Hak "Zuv Shum Braman Ghara Gasa Ha" From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Aug 10 12:16:32 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:16:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies Message-ID: Dear All, This did not get sent to the list, by mistake best, Shuddha Original Message ---------------- Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies From: "shuddha at sarai.net" Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:48:43 +0530 Dear Rashneek, Ahmed Ali Fayyaz is not exactly an unknown quantity when it comes to the dishing out of 'processed' news from the Kashmir valley. He has plied this trade for a long time. Some of us are quite familiar with his body of work. That said, yes, a boy did get hurt, and yes, his name is Imtiyaz Ahmed Dar S/o Ghulam Nabi Dar R/o Shilwat, Sonawari. But he is not 12, he is 15, and studies in the 9th class (not that this makes a difference,as far as the substance of the story goes). I asked a friend to make enquiries about the boy. He did, and spoke the boy's uncle, Mohammed Ramzan Dar, who is also the head of the family. According to his uncle, the Boy had gone to Sumbul town to buy notebooks. While at the shop he got hit on the head with a stone. There was no crowd, no stone pelters. A stray stone, which could have been lobbed by a miscreant, or by anyone, hit him. He was immediately rushed to a doctor in the town, his family was informed, a cousin came and then he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS Soura. Luckily, the boy was NOT (contrary to the report) injured seriously. He does not have a visible wound, the person I spoke to has also spoken to the doctor who examined and treated the boy. The doctor has said that he has a hairline fracture. He has been given first aid and medication, and sent home. He is not in a critical condition, is out of danger and is recovering. The doctor also informed him that SKIMS Soura alone has had to treat 136 serious injuries from bullets, tear gas shells, baton charges and the occasional stone, (lobbed both by protestors and lobbed back by the security forces) This is by no means to overlook the fact that in the stone pelting, ordinary people have gotten hurt (either by accident, or due to stones thrown back by security forces) . But then, whenever possible, they have usually been rushed to hospitals by local people. The ferrying of people has of course often had to face the normal Kashmiri obstacle of a curfew. So, yes, some of what Ahmed Ali Fayyaz has written in his report, especially stating that the boy had a 'critical injury' is partly the work of his imagination. Even informers usually do a better job. best Shuddha On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:25:23 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > I do not claim to know the authencity of this news.I think all he writes > here could be his imagination neither do i know who the stone pelters > were... > > http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57784 > > NO HINDI FONTS OR TRANSLATION REQUIRED. > > the journos profile is in the link below,just in case we may want to sue him > > http://aafayyaz.blogspot.com/2010/08/12-year-old-critically-injured-in-stone. > html?spref=fb > > best regards > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Tue Aug 10 12:29:23 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:29:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Shuddha makes for a great journalist. I hope and pray that he replaces Barkha Dutt or Sagarika Ghose or both. By the way, Could you also verify the alleged exodus of 6 Kashmiri Pandit families or wasn't it on your list of priorities? best regards and Great job done, really. -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 12:16 PM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > Dear All, > > This did not get sent to the list, by mistake > > best, > > Shuddha > > > Original Message > ---------------- > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies > From: "shuddha at sarai.net" > Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:48:43 +0530 > > Dear Rashneek, > > Ahmed Ali Fayyaz is not exactly an unknown quantity when it comes to the > dishing out of 'processed' news from the Kashmir valley. He has plied this > trade for a long time. Some of us are quite familiar with his body of work. > > That said, yes, a boy did get hurt, and yes, his name is Imtiyaz Ahmed Dar > S/o > Ghulam Nabi Dar R/o Shilwat, Sonawari. But he is not 12, he is 15, and > studies > in the 9th class (not that this makes a difference,as far as the substance > of > the story goes). > > I asked a friend to make enquiries about the boy. He did, and spoke the > boy's > uncle, Mohammed Ramzan Dar, who is also the head of the family. According > to > his uncle, the Boy had gone to Sumbul town to buy notebooks. While at the > shop > he got hit on the head with a stone. There was no crowd, no stone pelters. > A > stray stone, which could have been lobbed by a miscreant, or by anyone, hit > him. He was immediately rushed to a doctor in the town, his family was > informed, a cousin came and then he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS Soura. > > Luckily, the boy was NOT (contrary to the report) injured seriously. He > does > not have a visible wound, the person I spoke to has also spoken to the > doctor > who examined and treated the boy. The doctor has said that he has a > hairline > fracture. He has been given first aid and medication, and sent home. He is > not > in a critical condition, is out of danger and is recovering. > > The doctor also informed him that SKIMS Soura alone has had to treat 136 > serious injuries from bullets, tear gas shells, baton charges and the > occasional stone, (lobbed both by protestors and lobbed back by the > security > forces) > > > This is by no means to overlook the fact that in the stone pelting, > ordinary > people have gotten hurt (either by accident, or due to stones thrown back > by > security forces) . But then, whenever possible, they have usually been > rushed > to hospitals by local people. The ferrying of people has of course often > had to > face the normal Kashmiri obstacle of a curfew. > > So, yes, some of what Ahmed Ali Fayyaz has written in his report, > especially > stating that the boy had a 'critical injury' is partly the work of his > imagination. > > Even informers usually do a better job. > > best > > Shuddha > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:25:23 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > > > I do not claim to know the authencity of this news.I think all he writes > > here could be his imagination neither do i know who the stone pelters > > were... > > > > http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57784 > > > > NO HINDI FONTS OR TRANSLATION REQUIRED. > > > > the journos profile is in the link below,just in case we may want to sue > him > > > > > http://aafayyaz.blogspot.com/2010/08/12-year-old-critically-injured-in-stone > . > > html?spref=fb > > > > best regards > > -- > > Rashneek Kher > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From rashneek at gmail.com Tue Aug 10 13:22:05 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:22:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: References: <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net> <1795385454-1281338669-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-943894372-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Message-ID: Dear Kamal Hak, Are you doubting what Shudda is saying.This is Kufr here. If he says they did not say a thing then they did not irrespective of whether they did or not. I support Shuddha. Rashneek On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 9:06 AM, Kamal Hak wrote: > Ha Ha Ha Shuddha, I admit I have been naive. I really pity myself for not > recording the deafening roars of Azadi ka matlab kya- La illaha illalah. I > believe people with hearing impairment find the large sounds entering their > ears only as a small vibration of an inaudible wave. You may have > contributed towards a new finding in science where a person finds a small, > feeble cry of a single individual as a resounding roar. I was also present > there and I also know what was said, what was meant and what was not said. > Going by your argument that speaker after speaker urged the people not to > raise communal slogans, will you please enlighten us what was the need for > them to do so? > > Regards, > > Kamal Hak > > On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 2:13 AM, shuddha at sarai.net >wrote: > > > Dear all, > > > > I was present during the demonstration on Saturday evening, at which some > > of > > the people from RIK were also present. I heard what was said and I know > > what > > was not said. > > > > The Nara-e-Tadbir, Allah-0-Akbar slogan was raised, and I have written > > about > > this in my earlier post. > > > > On one occasion, one individual in the section of the crowd opposite to > > where I > > was standing, did say, 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La Illaha-Illallah', he was > > admonished by those around him, for raising a secterian slogan. > Repeatedly, > > speaker after speaker said that no 'communal slogans' should be raised. > One > > woman got up from the audience, went to the microphone and made a > > passionate > > appeal not to be distracted by a communal agenda. > > > > Actually, there was a person sitting quite close to where I stood, who > said > > in > > a distinctly Eastern UP/ Bihar accent, slightly sheepishly, Hindustan ki > > Janata > > Kashmir ki Azaadi ki Larai ke Saath hai. No one responded to him, just as > > no one > > had responded the slogan - of - 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La > Illaha-Illallah'. > > > > There were no references to Nizam e Mustafa, Azaadi Baraye Islam. No one > > said > > 'Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga'. My hearing is not > > impaired, if any one has said it out aloud, i would have heard it. There > > were > > repeated sloganeering of 'Pandit , Muslim, Sikh, Sare Kashmiri ek hain'. > > > > I want to point all this out in some detail, to show that the gathering > did > > not > > raise slogans that called for foisting an Islamist state in Kashmir, as > is > > being > > alleged by Kamal Hak. To equate the demand for Azaadi automatically with > > the > > demand for an Islamist state is a gross oversimplification. It also ends > up > > providing the hard-core islamists in the 'Azaadi' camp with a > legitimation > > that > > we should not assume they automatically have. It is no surprise that this > > is > > gifted to them by their opposite numbers, a communalized, prejudiced > core, > > within the 'Indian Nationalist' flank , that vitiates the atmosphere . > > > > The following day's, Sunday's protest, at Jantar Mantar, was even more > > restrained. From what I gather from people who were there, there was not > > even > > the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan. Yes, the RIK and allied protestors who had > come > > again on Sunday, were loud, and noisy, yes, apparently several of them > used > > objectionable and unparliamentary language. If there was an aggressive > use > > of > > words, I know where it would have come from. > > > > best > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 07:24:46 +0000 kamalhak at gmail.com wrote > > > > > Hum kya chahtey azadi- azadi ka matlab kya- La-illaha-illalaha. > > > > > > Naraiy tadbir- Allah-O-Akbar > > > > > > Aditya, Rashneek and the likes of their ilk are naïve to misrepresent > the > > > above slogans as islamist. They also behave as fascists while talking > > about > > > Kashmiri aspirations of Nizame-Mustafa being the principal reason > behind > > > their exile. > > > > > > It is the reflection of their communal mind set that makes them to see > > wolf > > > in slogans like, Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga. > > > > > > Above all it is their immaturity to talk about unfashionable concepts > > like > > > Bharat Mata ki jai. > > > Aditya and Rashneek, you are sleeping like Rip Van Winkle and have been > > left > > > far behind the times. > > > Rashneek, I believe poetry is your passion. You must understand > Kabir's, > > 'tum > > > kahtey ho kagaz dekhi- main kahta hoon ankhan dekhi' no longer holds > true > > in > > > contemporary India. There are two types of people who abound this > nation, > > if > > > you still this country to be one, now. > > > One half is like Dhritrashtra who was blind by providence; the other > half > > is > > > like Ghandari, who chose to be blind by choice. You can't make either > to > > see. > > > So stop being like kids, capture the mindset of people and join the > > crowd. > > > You will soon become a hero. > > > > > > Kamal Hak > > > Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: "shuddha at sarai.net" > > > Sender: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net > > > Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:02:35 > > > To: sarai list; Aditya Raj > > > Kaul > > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... > > > > > > Aditya, > > > > > > The list does not take allegations of 'terrorism' lightly. The person > you > > are > > > talking about happens to be a friend of mine, and I would again ask you > > to > > > refrain from making allegations that you cannot prove, and that have > been > > > thrown out in court, not on 'technicalities'. The absence of evidence, > > and > > > the > > > manufacture of false evidence is not a 'technicality'. > > > > > > I was present on Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, as were you, and as > > were > > > several others, none of whom are 'Islamist Propagandists'. There may > have > > > been > > > some Islamists in the gathering, but by no means does that mean that > the > > > majority of those present were in any way Islamist. > > > > > > My unambiguous positions against 'Islamism' are public, and well known, > > > especially to Islamists. I am sure there were many others who were > > present at > > > Jantar Mantar who, like me, cannot by any stretch of imagination be > > called > > > 'Islamist'. > > > > > > Also, calling reports such as those published in the Times of India, > > > Hindustan > > > Times, Economic Times and the Outlook, written by Sanjay Kak, Hilal > Mir, > > > Basharat Peer and Suveer Kaul 'planted' only exposes you to the > > possibility > > > of > > > being exposed for sheer humbuggery, and makes you liable to the charge > of > > > libel. Are you suggesting that now the Indian mainstream media is > > nowadays > > > being influenced by stories planted by the IB that endorse an > > 'Anti-State' > > > line. Is the Intelligence Bureau, and its peers (the only ones in a > > position > > > to > > > 'plant' stories in the media) now working hand in glove with > separatists > > in > > > Kashmir. So, is the sentiment for azaadi now a plaything in the hands > of > > the > > > Indian intelligence apparatus. Let's take this thought to its logical > > > conclusion. If the Indian intelligence agencies are backing Kashmiri > > > separatists and all those who argue for self determination in Kashmir, > > then > > > logically, Indian nationalists ought to be cozying up to the Pakistani > > ISI. > > > What does that make the Roots in Kashmir and the Panun Kashmir network > - > > an > > > objective ally of the Pakistani ISI? > > > > > > If that is so, it is news to me, and ought to be, to everyone in the > > whole > > > wide > > > world. > > > > > > Please refrain from dissimulation and disinformation, > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul < > > kauladityaraj at gmail.com> > > > wrote > > > > > > > The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in > > media. > > > > > > > > We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan > Times; > > > > quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in > > spreading > > > > propaganda. > > > > > > > > Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical > > > > grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If > > this > > > > can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back > in > > > > Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist > threatening. > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > > > > > India Editor > > > > The Indian, Australia > > > > > > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > > > 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak > > > > > > > > > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither > the > > the > > > > > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet > > with > > > > > its > > > > > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... > > > > > Impressive, or suspect... > > > > > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story > > > > > business. > > > > > Best > > > > > Sanjay > > > > > > > > > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > > > > > > > > > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* > - > > > > > > http://www.amarujal > > > > > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > > > > > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< > > > > > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> > > > > > > > > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित > > परिवारों > > > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > > > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > > > दिया > > > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > > > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > > > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > > > टाउन > > > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > > > सिख > > > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > > > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > > > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > > > हैं। > > > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > > > इनमें > > > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > > > छोड़नी > > > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > > > से > > > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > > > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > > > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > > > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > > > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > > > गिलानी > > > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > > > कि > > > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > > > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > > > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > > > गुप्त > > > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > > > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > > > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > > > १८२ > > > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित > > परिवारों > > > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > > > भरे > > > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > > > कमेटी > > > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > > > का > > > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > > > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > > > रहे थे। डा. > > > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > > > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > > > को इस घटना से > > > > > सबक > > > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > > > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें > > अभी > > > तक कोई सूचना > > > > > नहीं > > > > > > मिली है। > > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित > > परिवारों > > > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > > > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > > > दिया > > > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > > > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > > > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > > > टाउन > > > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > > > सिख > > > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > > > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > > > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > > > हैं। > > > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > > > इनमें > > > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > > > छोड़नी > > > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > > > से > > > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > > > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > > > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > > > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > > > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > > > गिलानी > > > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > > > कि > > > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > > > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > > > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > > > गुप्त > > > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > > > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > > > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > > > १८२ > > > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित > > परिवारों > > > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > > > भरे > > > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > > > कमेटी > > > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > > > का > > > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > > > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > > > रहे थे। डा. > > > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > > > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > > > को इस घटना से > > > > > सबक > > > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > > > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें > > अभी > > > तक कोई सूचना > > > > > नहीं > > > > > > मिली है। > > > > > > > > > > > > best regards > > > > > > > > > > > > - > > > > > > > > > > > > Rashneek Kher > > > > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > > > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.netwith > > > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe > > > > in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe > > > in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > > -- > Kamal Hak > "Zuv Shum Braman Ghara Gasa Ha" > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From rashneek at gmail.com Tue Aug 10 13:24:39 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:24:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks Shuddha...good work bro...kuch pandito ka bhi pata kar dete bhai..i shall be grateful On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 12:29 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > Dear all, > > Shuddha makes for a great journalist. I hope and pray that he replaces > Barkha Dutt or Sagarika Ghose or both. > > By the way, Could you also verify the alleged exodus of 6 Kashmiri Pandit > families or wasn't it on your list of priorities? > > best regards and Great job done, really. > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > > On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 12:16 PM, shuddha at sarai.net >wrote: > > > Dear All, > > > > This did not get sent to the list, by mistake > > > > best, > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > Original Message > > ---------------- > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies > > From: "shuddha at sarai.net" > > Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:48:43 +0530 > > > > Dear Rashneek, > > > > Ahmed Ali Fayyaz is not exactly an unknown quantity when it comes to the > > dishing out of 'processed' news from the Kashmir valley. He has plied > this > > trade for a long time. Some of us are quite familiar with his body of > work. > > > > That said, yes, a boy did get hurt, and yes, his name is Imtiyaz Ahmed > Dar > > S/o > > Ghulam Nabi Dar R/o Shilwat, Sonawari. But he is not 12, he is 15, and > > studies > > in the 9th class (not that this makes a difference,as far as the > substance > > of > > the story goes). > > > > I asked a friend to make enquiries about the boy. He did, and spoke the > > boy's > > uncle, Mohammed Ramzan Dar, who is also the head of the family. According > > to > > his uncle, the Boy had gone to Sumbul town to buy notebooks. While at the > > shop > > he got hit on the head with a stone. There was no crowd, no stone > pelters. > > A > > stray stone, which could have been lobbed by a miscreant, or by anyone, > hit > > him. He was immediately rushed to a doctor in the town, his family was > > informed, a cousin came and then he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS > Soura. > > > > Luckily, the boy was NOT (contrary to the report) injured seriously. He > > does > > not have a visible wound, the person I spoke to has also spoken to the > > doctor > > who examined and treated the boy. The doctor has said that he has a > > hairline > > fracture. He has been given first aid and medication, and sent home. He > is > > not > > in a critical condition, is out of danger and is recovering. > > > > The doctor also informed him that SKIMS Soura alone has had to treat 136 > > serious injuries from bullets, tear gas shells, baton charges and the > > occasional stone, (lobbed both by protestors and lobbed back by the > > security > > forces) > > > > > > This is by no means to overlook the fact that in the stone pelting, > > ordinary > > people have gotten hurt (either by accident, or due to stones thrown back > > by > > security forces) . But then, whenever possible, they have usually been > > rushed > > to hospitals by local people. The ferrying of people has of course often > > had to > > face the normal Kashmiri obstacle of a curfew. > > > > So, yes, some of what Ahmed Ali Fayyaz has written in his report, > > especially > > stating that the boy had a 'critical injury' is partly the work of his > > imagination. > > > > Even informers usually do a better job. > > > > best > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:25:23 +0530 rashneek kher > wrote > > > > > I do not claim to know the authencity of this news.I think all he > writes > > > here could be his imagination neither do i know who the stone pelters > > > were... > > > > > > http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57784 > > > > > > NO HINDI FONTS OR TRANSLATION REQUIRED. > > > > > > the journos profile is in the link below,just in case we may want to > sue > > him > > > > > > > > > http://aafayyaz.blogspot.com/2010/08/12-year-old-critically-injured-in-stone > > . > > > html?spref=fb > > > > > > best regards > > > -- > > > Rashneek Kher > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe > > > in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From kamalhak at gmail.com Tue Aug 10 15:02:24 2010 From: kamalhak at gmail.com (kamalhak at gmail.com) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:32:24 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... In-Reply-To: References: <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net><1795385454-1281338669-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-943894372-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Message-ID: <1575447831-1281432726-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-1281649743-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Rashneek Kher, Thanks for teaching me a yet another lesson regarding the List. I now believe certain people's arguments on the List have to be taken as gospel truth. No arguments, no debates; only meek submission. Regards, Kamal Hak Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel -----Original Message----- From: rashneek kher Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:22:05 To: Kamal Hak Cc: shuddha at sarai.net; ; sarai list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... Dear Kamal Hak, Are you doubting what Shudda is saying.This is Kufr here. If he says they did not say a thing then they did not irrespective of whether they did or not. I support Shuddha. Rashneek On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 9:06 AM, Kamal Hak wrote: > Ha Ha Ha Shuddha, I admit I have been naive. I really pity myself for not > recording the deafening roars of Azadi ka matlab kya- La illaha illalah. I > believe people with hearing impairment find the large sounds entering their > ears only as a small vibration of an inaudible wave. You may have > contributed towards a new finding in science where a person finds a small, > feeble cry of a single individual as a resounding roar. I was also present > there and I also know what was said, what was meant and what was not said. > Going by your argument that speaker after speaker urged the people not to > raise communal slogans, will you please enlighten us what was the need for > them to do so? > > Regards, > > Kamal Hak > > On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 2:13 AM, shuddha at sarai.net >wrote: > > > Dear all, > > > > I was present during the demonstration on Saturday evening, at which some > > of > > the people from RIK were also present. I heard what was said and I know > > what > > was not said. > > > > The Nara-e-Tadbir, Allah-0-Akbar slogan was raised, and I have written > > about > > this in my earlier post. > > > > On one occasion, one individual in the section of the crowd opposite to > > where I > > was standing, did say, 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La Illaha-Illallah', he was > > admonished by those around him, for raising a secterian slogan. > Repeatedly, > > speaker after speaker said that no 'communal slogans' should be raised. > One > > woman got up from the audience, went to the microphone and made a > > passionate > > appeal not to be distracted by a communal agenda. > > > > Actually, there was a person sitting quite close to where I stood, who > said > > in > > a distinctly Eastern UP/ Bihar accent, slightly sheepishly, Hindustan ki > > Janata > > Kashmir ki Azaadi ki Larai ke Saath hai. No one responded to him, just as > > no one > > had responded the slogan - of - 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La > Illaha-Illallah'. > > > > There were no references to Nizam e Mustafa, Azaadi Baraye Islam. No one > > said > > 'Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga'. My hearing is not > > impaired, if any one has said it out aloud, i would have heard it. There > > were > > repeated sloganeering of 'Pandit , Muslim, Sikh, Sare Kashmiri ek hain'. > > > > I want to point all this out in some detail, to show that the gathering > did > > not > > raise slogans that called for foisting an Islamist state in Kashmir, as > is > > being > > alleged by Kamal Hak. To equate the demand for Azaadi automatically with > > the > > demand for an Islamist state is a gross oversimplification. It also ends > up > > providing the hard-core islamists in the 'Azaadi' camp with a > legitimation > > that > > we should not assume they automatically have. It is no surprise that this > > is > > gifted to them by their opposite numbers, a communalized, prejudiced > core, > > within the 'Indian Nationalist' flank , that vitiates the atmosphere . > > > > The following day's, Sunday's protest, at Jantar Mantar, was even more > > restrained. From what I gather from people who were there, there was not > > even > > the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan. Yes, the RIK and allied protestors who had > come > > again on Sunday, were loud, and noisy, yes, apparently several of them > used > > objectionable and unparliamentary language. If there was an aggressive > use > > of > > words, I know where it would have come from. > > > > best > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 07:24:46 +0000 kamalhak at gmail.com wrote > > > > > Hum kya chahtey azadi- azadi ka matlab kya- La-illaha-illalaha. > > > > > > Naraiy tadbir- Allah-O-Akbar > > > > > > Aditya, Rashneek and the likes of their ilk are naïve to misrepresent > the > > > above slogans as islamist. They also behave as fascists while talking > > about > > > Kashmiri aspirations of Nizame-Mustafa being the principal reason > behind > > > their exile. > > > > > > It is the reflection of their communal mind set that makes them to see > > wolf > > > in slogans like, Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga. > > > > > > Above all it is their immaturity to talk about unfashionable concepts > > like > > > Bharat Mata ki jai. > > > Aditya and Rashneek, you are sleeping like Rip Van Winkle and have been > > left > > > far behind the times. > > > Rashneek, I believe poetry is your passion. You must understand > Kabir's, > > 'tum > > > kahtey ho kagaz dekhi- main kahta hoon ankhan dekhi' no longer holds > true > > in > > > contemporary India. There are two types of people who abound this > nation, > > if > > > you still this country to be one, now. > > > One half is like Dhritrashtra who was blind by providence; the other > half > > is > > > like Ghandari, who chose to be blind by choice. You can't make either > to > > see. > > > So stop being like kids, capture the mindset of people and join the > > crowd. > > > You will soon become a hero. > > > > > > Kamal Hak > > > Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: "shuddha at sarai.net" > > > Sender: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net > > > Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:02:35 > > > To: sarai list; Aditya Raj > > > Kaul > > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... > > > > > > Aditya, > > > > > > The list does not take allegations of 'terrorism' lightly. The person > you > > are > > > talking about happens to be a friend of mine, and I would again ask you > > to > > > refrain from making allegations that you cannot prove, and that have > been > > > thrown out in court, not on 'technicalities'. The absence of evidence, > > and > > > the > > > manufacture of false evidence is not a 'technicality'. > > > > > > I was present on Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, as were you, and as > > were > > > several others, none of whom are 'Islamist Propagandists'. There may > have > > > been > > > some Islamists in the gathering, but by no means does that mean that > the > > > majority of those present were in any way Islamist. > > > > > > My unambiguous positions against 'Islamism' are public, and well known, > > > especially to Islamists. I am sure there were many others who were > > present at > > > Jantar Mantar who, like me, cannot by any stretch of imagination be > > called > > > 'Islamist'. > > > > > > Also, calling reports such as those published in the Times of India, > > > Hindustan > > > Times, Economic Times and the Outlook, written by Sanjay Kak, Hilal > Mir, > > > Basharat Peer and Suveer Kaul 'planted' only exposes you to the > > possibility > > > of > > > being exposed for sheer humbuggery, and makes you liable to the charge > of > > > libel. Are you suggesting that now the Indian mainstream media is > > nowadays > > > being influenced by stories planted by the IB that endorse an > > 'Anti-State' > > > line. Is the Intelligence Bureau, and its peers (the only ones in a > > position > > > to > > > 'plant' stories in the media) now working hand in glove with > separatists > > in > > > Kashmir. So, is the sentiment for azaadi now a plaything in the hands > of > > the > > > Indian intelligence apparatus. Let's take this thought to its logical > > > conclusion. If the Indian intelligence agencies are backing Kashmiri > > > separatists and all those who argue for self determination in Kashmir, > > then > > > logically, Indian nationalists ought to be cozying up to the Pakistani > > ISI. > > > What does that make the Roots in Kashmir and the Panun Kashmir network > - > > an > > > objective ally of the Pakistani ISI? > > > > > > If that is so, it is news to me, and ought to be, to everyone in the > > whole > > > wide > > > world. > > > > > > Please refrain from dissimulation and disinformation, > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul < > > kauladityaraj at gmail.com> > > > wrote > > > > > > > The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in > > media. > > > > > > > > We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan > Times; > > > > quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in > > spreading > > > > propaganda. > > > > > > > > Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical > > > > grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If > > this > > > > can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back > in > > > > Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist > threatening. > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > > > > > India Editor > > > > The Indian, Australia > > > > > > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > > > 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak > > > > > > > > > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither > the > > the > > > > > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet > > with > > > > > its > > > > > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... > > > > > Impressive, or suspect... > > > > > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story > > > > > business. > > > > > Best > > > > > Sanjay > > > > > > > > > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher > > > > > > > > > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* > - > > > > > > http://www.amarujal > > > > > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. > > > > > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< > > > > > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> > > > > > > > > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित > > परिवारों > > > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > > > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > > > दिया > > > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > > > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > > > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > > > टाउन > > > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > > > सिख > > > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > > > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > > > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > > > हैं। > > > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > > > इनमें > > > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > > > छोड़नी > > > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > > > से > > > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > > > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > > > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > > > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > > > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > > > गिलानी > > > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > > > कि > > > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > > > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > > > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > > > गुप्त > > > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > > > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > > > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > > > १८२ > > > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित > > परिवारों > > > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > > > भरे > > > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > > > कमेटी > > > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > > > का > > > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > > > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > > > रहे थे। डा. > > > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > > > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > > > को इस घटना से > > > > > सबक > > > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > > > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें > > अभी > > > तक कोई सूचना > > > > > नहीं > > > > > > मिली है। > > > > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित > > परिवारों > > > ने किया पलायन* > > > > > > > > > > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM > > > > > > > > > > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में > > > > > > उपद्रवियों ने > > > अल्पसंख्यकों > > > > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर > > > दिया > > > > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों > > > > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी > > > > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन > > > > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित > > > परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। > > > हब्बाकदल और डाउन > > > > > > टाउन > > > > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन > > > > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन > > > > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी > > > > > > सिख > > > > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी > > > प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के > > > लिए मजबूर कर रहे > > > > > हैं। > > > > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे > > > > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। > > > इनमें > > > > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत > > > > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में > > > > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी > > > छोड़नी > > > > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों > > > > > > से > > > > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने > > > वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की > > > धमकी दी गई है। > > > > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक > > > शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी > > > अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह > > > > > > गिलानी > > > > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। > > > > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा > > > > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष > > > > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है > > > > > कि > > > > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, > > > औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर > > > गुरुद्वारों में यह > > > > > गुप्त > > > > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों > > > को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया > > > जाएगा। घाटी में > > > > > १८२ > > > > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले > > > > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित > > परिवारों > > > > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत > > > > > > भरे > > > > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल > > > > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन > > > कमेटी > > > > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल > > > > > > का > > > > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले > > > परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह > > > रहे थे। डा. > > > > > > अग्निशेखर > > > > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की > > > वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार > > > को इस घटना से > > > > > सबक > > > > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री > > > रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें > > अभी > > > तक कोई सूचना > > > > > नहीं > > > > > > मिली है। > > > > > > > > > > > > best regards > > > > > > > > > > > > - > > > > > > > > > > > > Rashneek Kher > > > > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > > > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.netwith > > > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > > > To unsubscribe: > > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > > > > subscribe in the subject header. > > > > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe > > > > in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe > > > in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > > -- > Kamal Hak > "Zuv Shum Braman Ghara Gasa Ha" > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com Tue Aug 10 19:12:43 2010 From: rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com (Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:12:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Shuddha should be congratulated for "secular" intellectual reportage on the list. Love and regards, rajen On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 12:16 PM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > Dear All, > > This did not get sent to the list, by mistake > > best, > > Shuddha > > > Original Message > ---------------- > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies > From: "shuddha at sarai.net" > Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:48:43 +0530 > > Dear Rashneek, > > Ahmed Ali Fayyaz is not exactly an unknown quantity when it comes to the > dishing out of 'processed' news from the Kashmir valley. He has plied this > trade for a long time. Some of us are quite familiar with his body of work. > > That said, yes, a boy did get hurt, and yes, his name is Imtiyaz Ahmed Dar > S/o > Ghulam Nabi Dar R/o Shilwat, Sonawari. But he is not 12, he is 15, and > studies > in the 9th class (not that this makes a difference,as far as the substance > of > the story goes). > > I asked a friend to make enquiries about the boy. He did, and spoke the > boy's > uncle, Mohammed Ramzan Dar, who is also the head of the family. According > to > his uncle, the Boy had gone to Sumbul town to buy notebooks. While at the > shop > he got hit on the head with a stone. There was no crowd, no stone pelters. > A > stray stone, which could have been lobbed by a miscreant, or by anyone, hit > him. He was immediately rushed to a doctor in the town, his family was > informed, a cousin came and then he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS Soura. > > Luckily, the boy was NOT (contrary to the report) injured seriously. He > does > not have a visible wound, the person I spoke to has also spoken to the > doctor > who examined and treated the boy. The doctor has said that he has a > hairline > fracture. He has been given first aid and medication, and sent home. He is > not > in a critical condition, is out of danger and is recovering. > > The doctor also informed him that SKIMS Soura alone has had to treat 136 > serious injuries from bullets, tear gas shells, baton charges and the > occasional stone, (lobbed both by protestors and lobbed back by the > security > forces) > > > This is by no means to overlook the fact that in the stone pelting, > ordinary > people have gotten hurt (either by accident, or due to stones thrown back > by > security forces) . But then, whenever possible, they have usually been > rushed > to hospitals by local people. The ferrying of people has of course often > had to > face the normal Kashmiri obstacle of a curfew. > > So, yes, some of what Ahmed Ali Fayyaz has written in his report, > especially > stating that the boy had a 'critical injury' is partly the work of his > imagination. > > Even informers usually do a better job. > > best > > Shuddha > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:25:23 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > > > I do not claim to know the authencity of this news.I think all he writes > > here could be his imagination neither do i know who the stone pelters > > were... > > > > http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57784 > > > > NO HINDI FONTS OR TRANSLATION REQUIRED. > > > > the journos profile is in the link below,just in case we may want to sue > him > > > > > http://aafayyaz.blogspot.com/2010/08/12-year-old-critically-injured-in-stone > . > > html?spref=fb > > > > best regards > > -- > > Rashneek Kher > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Rajen. From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Aug 10 19:44:13 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:14:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <962827.52747.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Shuddha   What do you mean by 'processed' news'?   If Fayyaz is known for "dishing out 'processed' news", who are the ones known for 'dishing out' non-processed news from Kashmir?   In the next mail I will offer to you, for comparison betweeen Fayyaz's reporting and that of Greater Kashmir, the statement issued by Asiya Andrabi of Duktraan e Millat.   The very standards that you set for others Shuddha, you yourself flout by this poorly veiled allegation against Fayyaz.   But then, all news is in a manner of speaking 'processed'. From the 'roshomonic' stage to some degree of 'chinese whispers' at times, to the reporter, to the sub to the editor. When it is not, as in 'Live' TV coverage, it often makes a mockery of itself.   Fayyaz says that the boy's "head was broken with a stone".  Is that incorrect? I think not. A fractured skull is a broken skull.   Unless the term  is removed from the lexicon of all journalists (which would kill almost all 'investigative reporting') Fayyaz quotes what he calls 'informed sources'. Not a first hand report but from 'sources'. Is that a problem? How much of 'news' and even 'field reporting' is from being 'on the spot eyewitness to a particular happening'. Is quoting 'sources' a problem?   These sources tell Fayyaz: - the boy collapsed after the stone hit - was described as 'critical' at SKIMS - was discovered with a skull fracture - was put under 'intensive care'   Let us look at the 'processed' news that comes through you:   - Your friend fails to mention anything about a 'collapse'. That is incredible when you realise that the stone had enough kinetic energy to to fracture the skull (remember that the skull is a bloody hard nut to crack). An oversight perhaps.      It is more than likely that the boy 'collapsed' - had a concussion. Perhaps that is why he was (to quote your friend) "immediately rushed to a doctor in the town, ...... he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS Soura". Obviously he had everyone greatly worried inspite of his not having (to quote your 'sources') a 'visible wound'   - You confirm that "the boy did get hurt", that "The doctor has said that he has a hairline fracture. He has been given first aid and medication"     What kind of 'first aid' was he given when he reportedly had no 'visible wound'?     To stress the point. A stone hit that fractures the skull and does not leave a 'visible wound'? Looks like your 'sources' are mis-reporting to you. Fully the the work of someone or the other's amenisic imagination.   - Having availed of the opportunity to make a just short of a libelous remark against Fayyaz, your main grouse seems to be over the use of the word 'critical'.     A stone hit; A fractured skull; A (much more than likely) collapse/concussion. Is that a 'critical injury'? Yes it is. Irrespective of whether Fayyaz used the term on his own or was quoting his 'sources'. See http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900834_e.htm   - Given the 'history' of why the boy was brought to SKIMs in the first place, it would be the normal and essential thing to do for the hospital to put the boy under 'critical care' observation for some period.     Even after needing to administer him just 'first aid' and releasing him from the hospital (judging that he was not in a 'critical condition', they would have asked for the boy to be kept under observation for 'unsteady gait'; 'vomitting'; 'disorientation'.     Check on that from your 'sources'.    - Think about this too - why would your souces tell you that the boy "is out of danger" unless he was thought at some stage to be "in danger"?       Kshmendra --- On Tue, 8/10/10, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: From: shuddha at sarai.net Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies To: reader-list at sarai.net Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 12:16 PM Dear All, This did not get sent to the list, by mistake best, Shuddha Original Message ---------------- Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies From: "shuddha at sarai.net" Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:48:43 +0530 Dear Rashneek, Ahmed Ali Fayyaz is not exactly an unknown quantity when it comes to the dishing out of 'processed' news from the Kashmir valley. He has plied this trade for a long time. Some of us are quite familiar with his body of work. That said, yes, a boy did get hurt, and yes, his name is Imtiyaz Ahmed Dar S/o Ghulam Nabi Dar R/o Shilwat, Sonawari. But he is not 12, he is 15, and studies in the 9th class (not that this makes a difference,as far as the substance of the story goes). I asked a friend to make enquiries about the boy. He did, and spoke the boy's uncle, Mohammed Ramzan Dar, who is also the head of the family. According to his uncle, the Boy had gone to Sumbul town to buy notebooks. While at the shop he got hit on the head with a stone. There was no crowd, no stone pelters. A stray stone, which could have been lobbed by a miscreant, or by anyone, hit him. He was immediately rushed to a doctor in the town, his family was informed, a cousin came and then he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS Soura. Luckily, the boy was NOT (contrary to the report) injured seriously. He does not have a visible wound, the person I spoke to has also spoken to the doctor who examined and treated the boy. The doctor has said that he has a hairline fracture. He has been given first aid and medication, and sent home. He is not in a critical condition, is out of danger and is recovering. The doctor also informed him that SKIMS Soura alone has had to treat 136 serious injuries from bullets, tear gas shells, baton charges and the occasional stone, (lobbed both by protestors and lobbed back by the security forces) This is by no means to overlook the fact that in the stone pelting, ordinary people have gotten hurt (either by accident, or due to stones thrown back by security forces) . But then, whenever possible, they have usually been rushed to hospitals by local people. The ferrying of people has of course often had to face the normal Kashmiri obstacle of a curfew. So, yes, some of what Ahmed Ali Fayyaz has written in his report, especially stating that the boy had a 'critical injury' is partly the work of his imagination. Even informers usually do a better job. best Shuddha On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:25:23 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > I do not claim to know the authencity of this news.I think all he writes > here could be his imagination neither do i know who the stone pelters > were... > > http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57784 > > NO HINDI FONTS OR TRANSLATION REQUIRED. > > the journos profile is in the link below,just in case we may want to sue him > > http://aafayyaz.blogspot.com/2010/08/12-year-old-critically-injured-in-stone. > html?spref=fb > > best regards > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Aug 10 20:10:12 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:40:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Which one is 'processed news'? A A Fayyaz & Greater Kashmir Message-ID: <647237.35483.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Asiya Andrabi of Dukhtaraan e Millat issues a statement. Please see the news report on that by A A Fayyaz of Early Times (who has been accused of providing 'processed news') and in Greater Kashmir (which unabashedly covers and reports news with a tilt towards the separatists).   Remember that both are reporting on a issued statement. Notice how convieniently Greater Kashmir does not make any mention of the threatening and rabidly-Islamic parts of Asiya's statement   FIRST A A FAYYAZ in Early Times:   Asiya surprised by minority's tears over insecurity   'They (Hindus, Sikhs) will have to be part of Quit J&K Movement'     Ahmed Ali Fayyaz EARLY TIMES REPORT SRINAGAR, Aug 9: Dukhtaraan-e-Millat chairperson and radical separatist leader, Asiya Andrabi, today said that the non-Muslim minorities were free to join or not to join Kashmir's "freedom struggle" but she made it clear that they will have to observe shutdown over the separatists' calls and become a part of the current 'Quit Jammu & Kashmir Movement'.   Disappointed over reports that two delegations of the Hindus and the Sikhs had called on the Hurriyat (G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and "wept bitterly" over the sense of their insecurity, Dukhtaraan chief said that it had hurt the sentiments of the majority community in Kashmir.   "Delegations of Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti and All-party Sikh Coordination Committee have badly hurt the sentiments of the Muslims of Kashmir by weeping bitterly over their insecurity and choosing this form the expression before Syed Ali Shah Geelani", Asiya said in a statement released here this evening. According to her, Pandits and Sikhs were free to join or not to join the "freedom struggle" but they could not be exempted from observing shutdown over the calls issued by the Valley's separatist leaders. "Whenever, there is a call for shutdown, nobody will be allowed to operate shops or vehicles. They (Pandits and Sikhs) will have to essentially show their solidarity with Jammu Kashmir Chhordo Tehreek (by closing businesses and freezing vehicles on the days of shutdown)", Asiya said. According to her, the religious minorities in Kashmir would have to join 'Quit Jammu & Kashmir Movement' as both, majority as well as minority, would have to taste the fruit of the freedom together (after winning it whenever). Delegations of Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs had called on Mr Geelani here on Sunday and wept bitterly over their sense of insecurity. They had, reportedly, lamented before the octogenarian separatist leader over incidents of certain people harassing and forcing them to join the separatist demonstrations and other such programmes. Geelani, according to reports, had assured them nobody would be allowed to carry on activities aimed at causing another migration of the minorities. In her angry terse reaction, 50-year-old Dukhtaraan supremo claimed that the Kashmiri Muslims had always taken "extraordinary care" of the non-Muslim minorities. "Whenever an affliction did befall on the minorities, there was invariably an Indian sinister plan behind. From the mass migration of Pandits in 1990 to the massacre (of Sikhs and Pandits) at Chittisinghpura and Nadimarg, all these catastrophes were the handiwork of top Indian intelligence agencies. Kashmiri Muslims are extremely sensitive and humane", Asia added.   Andrabi claimed that even in the current days of crisis, Muslims had been providing maximum of the relief to the non-Muslims, who, according to her, had admitted it for themselves in various statements.   "In 2008, (members of) Sangharash Samiti burnded alive a number of Kashmiri Muslim drivers. It was all horrible and heart-rending but we observed maximum of our restraint and did not harm even a single (Amarnath shrine) pilgrim", Asiya asserted. As for providing security to the non-Muslim minorities, she argued that the majority community itself was at the receiving end as none of their lives and properties were secure. "When we are ourselves insecure, how can we guarantee security of the minorities?" she asked. "Minorities can ask for security from the majority only after we get freedom from India", she added. She said that everybody would have to live with a sense of insecurity as long as the Kashmiri Muslims struggled for "freedom for Islam".   Meanwhile, after Geelani, Jamaat-e-Islami has also assured security and dignity to members of the non-Muslim communities in Kashmir. A spokesman of the organization said in a statement today that the minorities were an integral part of the Kashmir society and they would have to feel secure. Meanwhile, Kashmir valley today observed total shutdown over Mr Geelani's call of three days of "protest strike". Authorities declared and enforced curfew in Srinagar while as similar restrictions were in place at almost all over district headquarters and major townships with formal announcement of curfew. Reports said that there was no major incident of violation or clash with forces, though thin groups of youngsters clashed with Police and CRPF at some places. Official sources said that not a single bullet was fired anywhere as the unruly groups dispersed by tearsmoke. These reports said that a mob manhandled a Police constable and torched his motorcycle at Shopian. http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57836     NEXT Greater Kashmir:   Srinagar, Aug 9:   The Chairperson of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Syeda Aasiya Andrabi on Monday said the representatives of minority community have hurt the sentiments of Kashmiris by claiming to be unsafe in the Valley. In a statement, Aasiya maintained that Kashmiris have been treating the minority community as part of the Kashmiri society and maintaining brotherhood with them. Aasiya was reacting to the concern shown by the representative of Kashmir Pandit Sangharsh Samiti and All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee during a meeting on Sunday with the Chairman Hurriyat (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani. “How can the people of minority community forget that Indian agencies were behind the migration of Kashmiri Pandits and massacres at Chattisinghpora and Nadimarg? Despite passing through trepidation, Kashmiris Muslims are presently distributing relief among the people of minority community,” Aasiya said. Aasiya said during the Amarnath land row, some communal parties had ruthlessly killed the Kashmiri drivers. “But we maintained calm. Kashmiris ensure that despite the ongoing unrest the Amarnath yatris perform the pilgrimage smoothly,” she said. She said at a time when Kashmiris were themselves feeling insecure and being victims of human rights violation, how can they ensure protection to others.   “Unless we achieve freedom from India, nobody in Kashmir is secure. We expect the members of minority community to extend support to our cause,” she said. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Aug/10/nobody-secure-in-kashmir-aasiya-39.asp       From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Tue Aug 10 21:23:26 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:23:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir campaigns for peace, Facebook and beyond Message-ID: Kashmir campaigns for peace, Facebook and beyond The Peace Book Campaign is an effort by a motley crowd of peace loving Kashmiris who wants a irenic and developed Jammu and Kashmir. Link - http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/10174832/Kashmir-campaigns-for-peace-F.html?h=A1 Simantik Dowerah New Delhi: Not all Kashmiris want to battle government bullets with stones. A fair number of citizens from Jammu and Kashmir would much prefer peace, and are trying to reach out to likeminded people via Facebook. Last month, * Mint* did a storyon Facebook groups that supported stone throwers and urged people join their cause. But the group Roots in Kashmir, is very different. Started four years ago with 65 members, Roots in Kashmirwas started to help Kashmiri pandits or the Hindu population who were forced out of the state due to militancy. However, with their state simmering in violence the group most recently launched the Peace Book Campaignasking people to help restore peace in the valley. So far, over 1,700 joined the campaign as on date. “The *Peace Book Campaign* is not a sole Roots in Kashmir campaign but a campaign where saner Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris cutting across religious and sectarian lines have come together to appeal for peace in Kashmir,” said Rashneek Kher, a representative of the group. Kher said group members were hurt to watch Kashmiri youths being killed on the roads. “On the face of it might seem that the young people are throwing stones but the malaise behind the same are instigators like (Syed Ali) Geelani and others. So as Kashmiris it is our duty to do our bit to bring down tempers, cool frayed nerves and bring some semblance of sanity,” Kher said. The group has not limited its efforts to cyberspace. “Roots in Kashmir tried everything from approaching the government to sending our proposals to separatists to knocking at the doors of human rights commissions. But our plea has fallen on deaf ears,” Kher said. “So we have set forth a mission of peace that is completely unbiased and requests nothing but sanity. We have no tolerance for people who support violence and people who seek support for stone throwers are again those who we think of as instigators and not someone who actually throw stones. So we will be sending books to them as they need it most,” he said. And what kind of books they are going to send? “We already have about 400 odd books on different subjects from simple story books to books on history and religion. We will send them as soon as we know it will reach them and not got stuck in some post office,” Kher said. Books are answer to stones and bullets, said Wangoo. Explaining why he joined the *Peace Book Campaign*, another group member Nadeem Jafri said, “This is the true way of fighting the menace. If we educate people and equip them with right knowledge, I am sure they would not face the atrocities which they are currently facing. And even if they face they will be capable of fighting it out.” On being asked, about the success of such a campaign, Kher was however, not very sure. “Honestly we don’t know how far it might or will go but that notwithstanding we must make concerted efforts for peace no matter howsoever small or inconsequential it might seem,” said the representative of group, which has already registered over 1,500 members. Jafri sounded far more positive. He said the campaign would certainly create a flutter among the educated people. “It is going to take some time but it will be effective,” he said. *simantik.d at livemint.com* -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Cell - +91-9873297834 Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ From aliens at dataone.in Tue Aug 10 21:54:24 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:54:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] fabricated stories Message-ID: <001201cb38a8$801e1f30$805a5d90$@in> Regarding Kashmir disturbance, so many fabricated stories have been published just to get sympathy from local Kashmiris, rest of the India and tarnish police/army's image. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Aug 10 23:44:46 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:44:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir campaigns for peace , Facebook and beyond In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <46c7a7c76eec1d08d65d585e18edf8ef@mail.sarai.net> Dear all, Now here is a campaign that I have no hesitation at all in supporting. Thank you Aditya Raj Kaul for drawing my attention to this initiative. I am always in favour of people getting books to read. Here is a list of books that I would recommend, and I hope they can be sent to Kashmir so that as many young people, (especially young adults in colleges and universities), as possible, are able to read them, especially as I think that these books will help them get a better understanding of their situation and also, because I believe that their thought provoking contents, will help them think about the best way to overcome the oppression and violence that grips Kashmir. The books are as follows : 1. The Veiled Suite : The Collected Poems of Agha Shahid Ali 2. Azad Kashmir: A Democratic Socialist Manifesto by Prem Nath Bazaz 3. Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer 4. Kashmir : The Untold Story by Humra Quraishi 5. Languages of Belonging by Chitralekha Zutshi 6. Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects by Mridu Rai 7. Kashmir in Conflict by Victoria Schofield Almost all the books, other then the last one, are easily available in a bookshop like Bahri Sons in Khan Market. And the second book by Prem Nath Bazaz is easily available in Srinagar. I can volunteer to make photocopied versions of the last book available. I would be happy to arrange for copies of some of these books to be delivered to the campaign, in the hope that they can be sent to Kashmir, in order to provide better and far more effective ammunition than mere stones into the hands of a thoughtful young person in Kashmir who might chance upon them. Since Rashneek Kher is mentioned as one of the people leading this campaign, I would be happy if he could send me an address where I can send these books to. I do hope my offer is taken in the spirit in which it is made. best Shuddha On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:23:26 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul wrote > Kashmir campaigns for peace, Facebook and beyond > The Peace Book Campaign is an effort by a motley crowd of peace loving > Kashmiris who wants a irenic and developed Jammu and Kashmir. > > Link - > http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/10174832/Kashmir-campaigns-for-peace-F.html?h > =A1 > Simantik Dowerah > > New Delhi: Not all Kashmiris want to battle government bullets with stones. > A fair number of citizens from Jammu and Kashmir would much prefer peace, > and are trying to reach out to likeminded people via Facebook. Last month, * > Mint* did a > story >on > Facebook groups that supported stone throwers and urged people join > their > cause. But the group Roots in Kashmir, is very different. > > Started four years ago with 65 members, Roots in > Kashmirwas started > to help Kashmiri pandits or the Hindu population who were forced > out of the state due to militancy. However, with their state simmering in > violence the group most recently launched the Peace Book > Campaignasking > people to help restore peace in the valley. So far, over 1,700 joined > the campaign as on date. > > “The *Peace Book Campaign* is not a sole Roots in Kashmir campaign but a > campaign where saner Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris cutting across religious > and sectarian lines have come together to appeal for peace in Kashmir,” > said > Rashneek Kher, a representative of the group. > > Kher said group members were hurt to watch Kashmiri youths being killed on > the roads. “On the face of it might seem that the young people are throwing > stones but the malaise behind the same are instigators like (Syed Ali) > Geelani and others. So as Kashmiris it is our duty to do our bit to bring > down tempers, cool frayed nerves and bring some semblance of sanity,” Kher > said. > > The group has not limited its efforts to cyberspace. “Roots in Kashmir > tried > everything from approaching the government to sending our proposals to > separatists to knocking at the doors of human rights commissions. But our > plea has fallen on deaf ears,” Kher said. > > “So we have set forth a mission of peace that is completely unbiased and > requests nothing but sanity. We have no tolerance for people who support > violence and people who seek support for stone throwers are again those who > we think of as instigators and not someone who actually throw stones. So we > will be sending books to them as they need it most,” he said. > > And what kind of books they are going to send? > > “We already have about 400 odd books on different subjects from simple > story > books to books on history and religion. We will send them as soon as we know > it will reach them and not got stuck in some post office,” Kher said. Books > are answer to stones and bullets, said Wangoo. > > Explaining why he joined the *Peace Book Campaign*, another group member > Nadeem Jafri said, “This is the true way of fighting the menace. If we > educate people and equip them with right knowledge, I am sure they would not > face the atrocities which they are currently facing. And even if they face > they will be capable of fighting it out.” > > On being asked, about the success of such a campaign, Kher was however, not > very sure. > > “Honestly we don’t know how far it might or will go but that > notwithstanding > we must make concerted efforts for peace no matter howsoever small or > inconsequential it might seem,” said the representative of group, which has > already registered over 1,500 members. > > Jafri sounded far more positive. > > He said the campaign would certainly create a flutter among the educated > people. > > “It is going to take some time but it will be effective,” he said. > > *simantik.d at livemint.com* > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > Cell - +91-9873297834 > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Aug 11 00:06:28 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:06:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Which one is 'processed news'? A A Fayyaz & Greater Kashmir In-Reply-To: <647237.35483.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <647237.35483.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshmendra, No disagreement with you on this score at all. If Asiya Andrabi (in my opinion, one of the most ridiculous charlatans to have been thrown up on the separatist side in Kashmir) had indeed said - 'minorities would HAVE to observe shutdowns under the Quit Jammu and Kashmir Movement', and that 'everybody would have to live with a sense of insecurity as long as the Kashmiri Muslims struggled for "freedom for Islam' - - and that these two specific utterances have been ommitted by Greater Kashmir in their report of her statement then they are clearly committing shoddy journalism. If Asiya Andrabi is not embarrassed to say this kind of nonsense, Greater Kashmir has no business covering up after her. That too, then, is I agree, 'processed news'. I totally agree with you about the fact that political leader issuing a secterian diktat like a street thug who might just as easiy have belonged to the Shiv Sena or the MNS in Mumbai is something that should definitely have been reported. best Shuddha On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:40:12 -0700 (PDT) Kshmendra Kaul wrote > Asiya Andrabi of Dukhtaraan e Millat issues a statement. Please see the news > report on that by A A Fayyaz of Early Times (who has been accused of > providing 'processed news') and in Greater Kashmir (which unabashedly covers > and reports news with a tilt towards the separatists). >   > Remember that both are reporting on a issued statement. Notice how > convieniently Greater Kashmir does not make any mention of the threatening > and rabidly-Islamic parts of Asiya's statement >   > FIRST A A FAYYAZ in Early Times: >   > Asiya surprised by minority's tears over insecurity >   > 'They (Hindus, Sikhs) will have to be part of Quit J&K Movement'   >   > Ahmed Ali Fayyaz > EARLY TIMES REPORT > SRINAGAR, Aug 9: Dukhtaraan-e-Millat chairperson and radical separatist > leader, Asiya Andrabi, today said that the non-Muslim minorities were free to > join or not to join Kashmir's "freedom struggle" but she made it clear that > they will have to observe shutdown over the separatists' calls and become a > part of the current 'Quit Jammu & Kashmir Movement'. >   > Disappointed over reports that two delegations of the Hindus and the Sikhs > had called on the Hurriyat (G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and "wept > bitterly" over the sense of their insecurity, Dukhtaraan chief said that it > had hurt the sentiments of the majority community in Kashmir. >   > "Delegations of Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti and All-party Sikh > Coordination Committee have badly hurt the sentiments of the Muslims of > Kashmir by weeping bitterly over their insecurity and choosing this form the > expression before Syed Ali Shah Geelani", Asiya said in a statement released > here this evening. According to her, Pandits and Sikhs were free to join or > not to join the "freedom struggle" but they could not be exempted from > observing shutdown over the calls issued by the Valley's separatist leaders. > "Whenever, there is a call for shutdown, nobody will be allowed to operate > shops or vehicles. They (Pandits and Sikhs) will have to essentially show > their solidarity with Jammu Kashmir Chhordo Tehreek (by closing businesses > and freezing vehicles on the days of shutdown)", Asiya said. > > According to her, the religious minorities in Kashmir would have to join > 'Quit Jammu & Kashmir Movement' as both, majority as well as minority, would > have to taste the fruit of the freedom together (after winning it whenever). > > Delegations of Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs had called on Mr Geelani here on > Sunday and wept bitterly over their sense of insecurity. They had, > reportedly, lamented before the octogenarian separatist leader over incidents > of certain people harassing and forcing them to join the separatist > demonstrations and other such programmes. Geelani, according to reports, had > assured them nobody would be allowed to carry on activities aimed at causing > another migration of the minorities. > > In her angry terse reaction, 50-year-old Dukhtaraan supremo claimed that the > Kashmiri Muslims had always taken "extraordinary care" of the non-Muslim > minorities. "Whenever an affliction did befall on the minorities, there was > invariably an Indian sinister plan behind. From the mass migration of Pandits > in 1990 to the massacre (of Sikhs and Pandits) at Chittisinghpura and > Nadimarg, all these catastrophes were the handiwork of top Indian > intelligence agencies. Kashmiri Muslims are extremely sensitive and humane", > Asia added. >   > Andrabi claimed that even in the current days of crisis, Muslims had been > providing maximum of the relief to the non-Muslims, who, according to her, > had admitted it for themselves in various statements. >   > "In 2008, (members of) Sangharash Samiti burnded alive a number of Kashmiri > Muslim drivers. It was all horrible and heart-rending but we observed maximum > of our restraint and did not harm even a single (Amarnath shrine) pilgrim", > Asiya asserted. As for providing security to the non-Muslim minorities, she > argued that the majority community itself was at the receiving end as none of > their lives and properties were secure. "When we are ourselves insecure, how > can we guarantee security of the minorities?" she asked. "Minorities can ask > for security from the majority only after we get freedom from India", she > added. She said that everybody would have to live with a sense of insecurity > as long as the Kashmiri Muslims struggled for "freedom for Islam". >   > Meanwhile, after Geelani, Jamaat-e-Islami has also assured security and > dignity to members of the non-Muslim communities in Kashmir. A spokesman of > the organization said in a statement today that the minorities were an > integral part of the Kashmir society and they would have to feel secure. > > Meanwhile, Kashmir valley today observed total shutdown over Mr Geelani's > call of three days of "protest strike". Authorities declared and enforced > curfew in Srinagar while as similar restrictions were in place at almost all > over district headquarters and major townships with formal announcement of > curfew. Reports said that there was no major incident of violation or clash > with forces, though thin groups of youngsters clashed with Police and CRPF at > some places. Official sources said that not a single bullet was fired > anywhere as the unruly groups dispersed by tearsmoke. These reports said that > a mob manhandled a Police constable and torched his motorcycle at Shopian. > http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57836 >   >   > NEXT Greater Kashmir: >   > Srinagar, Aug 9: >   > The Chairperson of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Syeda Aasiya Andrabi on Monday said > the representatives of minority community have hurt the sentiments of > Kashmiris by claiming to be unsafe in the Valley. > > In a statement, Aasiya maintained that Kashmiris have been treating the > minority community as part of the Kashmiri society and maintaining > brotherhood with them. > Aasiya was reacting to the concern shown by the representative of Kashmir > Pandit Sangharsh Samiti and All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee during a > meeting on Sunday with the Chairman Hurriyat (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani. > > “How can the people of minority community forget that Indian agencies were > behind the migration of Kashmiri Pandits and massacres at Chattisinghpora and > Nadimarg? Despite passing through trepidation, Kashmiris Muslims are > presently distributing relief among the people of minority community,” > Aasiya said. > > Aasiya said during the Amarnath land row, some communal parties had > ruthlessly killed the Kashmiri drivers. “But we maintained calm. Kashmiris > ensure that despite the ongoing unrest the Amarnath yatris perform the > pilgrimage smoothly,” she said. > > She said at a time when Kashmiris were themselves feeling insecure and being > victims of human rights violation, how can they ensure protection to > others.   > > “Unless we achieve freedom from India, nobody in Kashmir is secure. We > expect the members of minority community to extend support to our cause,” > she said. > http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Aug/10/nobody-secure-in-kashmir-aasiy > a-39.asp >   >   >   > > > From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Aug 11 00:31:33 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:31:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies In-Reply-To: <962827.52747.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <962827.52747.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshmendra, A hair line fracture of the skull, if it occurs without an accompanying subdural hematoma, is not something that we would call a 'broken skull'. And no, it is not critical. My issue with Ayyaz's report is not so much the extent of the boy's injuries, (any injury to the skull is something that anyone should take seriously, even if it is not critical, and is should of course get immediate medical attention) but in the discrepancy in his reporting a stone pelting mob, and the news that I heard, that there was no stone pelting mob, that a stray stone, perhaps lobbed by some miscreant, did hit the boy, but there was, in what I was told, no mob of stone pelters. And the people who told me this, spoke with the boy's family, and with the doctor who treated him. The difference between the presence and absence of a mob makes one hell of a 'Rashmonesque' difference. The main point that I would like to emphasize is that the doctor who treated the boy at the Trauma Centre at SKMS Soura also said that he has had to treat 136 cases of injury due to violence in the past few days, of which this boy was one, the huge majority of those injuries, did not come from stones, they came from bullets, tear gas shells and batons. And we know whose hands wield those weapons. that is the context to the boy;s injury that Mr. Fayyaz fails to let us in on. And that is why, it is a classic 'processed story'. I am sure you get my drift. best Shuddha On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:14:13 -0700 (PDT) Kshmendra Kaul wrote > Dear Shuddha >   > What do you mean by 'processed' news'? >   > If Fayyaz is known for "dishing out 'processed' news", who are the ones known > for 'dishing out' non-processed news from Kashmir? >   > In the next mail I will offer to you, for comparison betweeen Fayyaz's > reporting and that of Greater Kashmir, the statement issued by Asiya Andrabi > of Duktraan e Millat. >   > The very standards that you set for others Shuddha, you yourself flout by > this poorly veiled allegation against Fayyaz. >   > But then, all news is in a manner of speaking 'processed'. From the > 'roshomonic' stage to some degree of 'chinese whispers' at times, to the > reporter, to the sub to the editor. When it is not, as in 'Live' TV coverage, > it often makes a mockery of itself. >   > Fayyaz says that the boy's "head was broken with a stone".  Is that > incorrect? I think not. A fractured skull is a broken skull. >   > Unless the term  is removed from the lexicon of all journalists (which would > kill almost all 'investigative reporting') Fayyaz quotes what he calls > 'informed sources'. Not a first hand report but from 'sources'. Is that a > problem? How much of 'news' and even 'field reporting' is from being 'on the > spot eyewitness to a particular happening'. Is quoting 'sources' a problem? >   > These sources tell Fayyaz: > - the boy collapsed after the stone hit > - was described as 'critical' at SKIMS > - was discovered with a skull fracture > - was put under 'intensive care' >   > Let us look at the 'processed' news that comes through you: >   > - Your friend fails to mention anything about a 'collapse'. That is > incredible when you realise that the stone had enough kinetic energy to to > fracture the skull (remember that the skull is a bloody hard nut to crack). > An oversight perhaps. >   >    It is more than likely that the boy 'collapsed' - had a concussion. > Perhaps that is why he was (to quote your friend) "immediately rushed to a > doctor in the town, ...... he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS Soura". > Obviously he had everyone greatly worried inspite of his not having (to quote > your 'sources') a 'visible wound' >   > - You confirm that "the boy did get hurt", that "The doctor has said that he > has a hairline > fracture. He has been given first aid and medication" >   >   What kind of 'first aid' was he given when he reportedly had no 'visible > wound'? >   >   To stress the point. A stone hit that fractures the skull and does > not leave a 'visible wound'? Looks like your 'sources' are mis-reporting to > you. Fully the the work of someone or the other's amenisic imagination. >   > - Having availed of the opportunity to make a just short of a libelous remark > against Fayyaz, your main grouse seems to be over the use of the word > 'critical'. >   >   A stone hit; A fractured skull; A (much more than likely) > collapse/concussion. Is that a 'critical injury'? Yes it is. Irrespective of > whether Fayyaz used the term on his own or was quoting his 'sources'. See > http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900834_e.htm >   > - Given the 'history' of why the boy was brought to SKIMs in the first place, > it would be the normal and essential thing to do for the hospital to put the > boy under 'critical care' observation for some period. >   >   Even after needing to administer him just 'first aid' and releasing him > from the hospital (judging that he was not in a 'critical condition', they > would have asked for the boy to be kept under observation for 'unsteady > gait'; 'vomitting'; 'disorientation'. >   >   Check on that from your 'sources'.  >   > - Think about this too - why would your souces tell you that the boy "is out > of danger" unless he was thought at some stage to be "in danger"?     >   > Kshmendra > > --- On Tue, 8/10/10, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > > > From: shuddha at sarai.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 12:16 PM > > > Dear All, > > This did not get sent to the list, by mistake > > best, > > Shuddha > > > Original Message > ---------------- > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies > From: "shuddha at sarai.net" > Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:48:43 +0530 > > Dear Rashneek, > > Ahmed Ali Fayyaz is not exactly an unknown quantity when it comes to the > dishing out of 'processed' news from the Kashmir valley. He has plied this > trade for a long time. Some of us are quite familiar with his body of work. > > That said, yes, a boy did get hurt, and yes, his name is Imtiyaz Ahmed Dar > S/o > Ghulam Nabi Dar R/o Shilwat, Sonawari. But he is not 12, he is 15, and > studies > in the 9th class (not that this makes a difference,as far as the substance of > the story goes). > > I asked a friend to make enquiries about the boy. He did, and spoke the boy's > uncle, Mohammed Ramzan Dar, who is also the head of the family. According to > his uncle, the Boy had gone to Sumbul town to buy notebooks. While at the > shop > he got hit on the head with a stone. There was no crowd, no stone pelters. A > stray stone, which could have been lobbed by a miscreant, or by anyone, hit > him. He was immediately rushed to a doctor in the town, his family was > informed, a cousin came and then he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS Soura. > > Luckily, the boy was NOT (contrary to the report) injured seriously. He does > not have a visible wound, the person I spoke to has also spoken to the doctor > who examined and treated the boy. The doctor has said that he has a hairline > fracture. He has been given first aid and medication, and sent home. He is > not > in a critical condition, is out of danger and is recovering. > > The doctor also informed him that SKIMS Soura alone has had to treat 136 > serious injuries from bullets, tear gas shells, baton charges and the > occasional stone, (lobbed both by protestors and lobbed back by the security > forces) > > > This is by no means to overlook the fact that in the stone pelting, ordinary > people have gotten hurt (either by accident, or due to stones thrown back by > security forces) . But then, whenever possible, they have usually been rushed > to hospitals by local people. The ferrying of people has of course often had > to > face the normal Kashmiri obstacle of a curfew. > > So, yes, some of what Ahmed Ali Fayyaz has written in his report, especially > stating that the boy had a 'critical injury' is partly the work of his > imagination. > > Even informers usually do a better job. > > best > > Shuddha > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:25:23 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > > > I do not claim to know the authencity of this news.I think all he writes > > here could be his imagination neither do i know who the stone pelters > > were... > > > > http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57784 > > > > NO HINDI FONTS OR TRANSLATION REQUIRED. > > > > the journos profile is in the link below,just in case we may want to sue > > him > > > > > > http://aafayyaz.blogspot.com/2010/08/12-year-old-critically-injured-in-stone. > > html?spref=fb > > > > best regards > > -- > > Rashneek Kher > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > = From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Wed Aug 11 00:45:47 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:45:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Homage paid to Leh flash flood victims Message-ID: Homage paid to Leh flash flood victimsPTI Link - http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/homage-paid-to-leh-flash-flood-victims/219236.html New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar today paid their homage to those who lost their lives in the flash foods in Leh. In a programme, the spiritual guru and others prayed for the victims of the flash flood, triggered by a cloudburst in Leh last week. A candle light vigil and a prayer meet was also organised at Jantar Mantar under the banner of ''Friends of Ladakh''. The meeting was also supported by Kashmiri Pandit Youth groups including ''Roots in Kashmir'' and ''Panun Kashmir'', said a press release. From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Aug 11 02:45:43 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:45:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?Kashmir=27s_young_=2C_educated_=2C_angry_?= =?utf-8?q?and_politically_aware?= Message-ID: <041ccc9daa08a8c7aad9071a1b7cdfb7@mail.sarai.net> Kashmir's young, educated, angry and politically aware
 9 Aug 2010, 0031 hrs IST, Parvaiz Bukhari Economic Times, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6277584.cms?prtpage=1 They are being called the children of conflict, but the stone throwers in Kashmir today represent a connection with their political history free of the distorting prisms that for long have twisted the local worldview and their aspiration of a future outside the Indian union. This summer the identity of a stone-pelter became something that an average Kashmiri began to feel proud of, the frontline of the articulation of a political demand. For he is young, educated, angry, brutalised and politically aware. He demands to be heard, to express what he wants, thinks and feels. He supports what his earlier avatar, the armed militant, stood for. But in the post 9/11 world he is not allowing himself to be branded a terrorist. Shabir (name changed) is an internet savvy doctoral student at the University of Kashmir who comes across as a mild mannered character. Shabir hurled a stone for the first time ever in 2008 at a contingent of paramilitaries during the Amarnath land row. From the window of his house in a congested downtown Srinagar area, Shabir says he saw some CRPF soldiers call a few young boys over to them and lined them up. “Azadi chahiye tum ko, ye lo (So, you want freedom. Here, take it.) Each one of them was slapped several times,” he said. “My blood boiled in anger.” The next time there was a protest in his area Shabir joined it and hurled stones at the men in uniform. “I cleansed myself of the feeling of helplessness and I did not need a gun.” Apart from being a participant in Kashmir's own intifada, Shabir is pursuing his research and hopes to become a university teacher. He also spends long hours at his internet-enabled laptop digging out details of events that have marked Kashmir's bloody history from 1931 when people rose against the Dogra autocracy. He shows notes he has prepared situating the present in the political struggles by Kashmiris in the past. One of his notes has a statistical chart of death and loss listing rapes, torture, custodial killings and disappearances by the army, BSF and police. At the end is a question and his own answer to it. “Can India afford justice in Kashmir? No.” “I circulate this among students who ask me what the future of Kashmiris will be like,” says Shabir. Amid curfew a few days ago in the aftermath of the stone throwing clashes in Srinagar I caught up with a young man and asked him if he was also protesting. He said he was one of the most “timid” of men. A few others standing by smiled and went away. As I persisted, the young man invited me home and called a few others over. A postgraduate student, he said he shivered on seeing a dead body or blood of which he had seen a lot. Last year, he said, on hearing of protests in his area he returned early from university. When the protest was over he met a taxi driver who had just returned from Leh and had found it difficult to reach home. “Visibly tired and lost, he was quietly leaning against an electricity pole when I left him and walked on,” the university student said. “Suddenly I heard a gun shot,” he said. “I looked back and saw him fallen face down on the road.” That day the university student participated in the protest that broke out after the taxi driver's killing. “I throw stones at the CRPF. I overcame fear. I do not want to be timid in the face of death.” Listening on, a college student said he prays that he would never have to go to India for anything. “I do not throw stones but I join stone-pelters because I think it is important to add my voice to what they are protesting for,” he said. “The world should listen to us and not just those who claim to represent us.” But it is not just the young and ‘educated’ alone who rain stones, shaping a new discourse over Kashmir. I recently worked my way to a group of stone throwers in a relatively new 'flashpoint' of protests in Srinagar. One of them, an illiterate businessman, displayed an amazing understanding of electoral politics in Kashmir - the main source of his anger. On how the seven-phased assembly elections were conducted in 2008, he hit the nail on the head. “We were told the elections were held for local issues and not for or against azadi from India,” he said. “We voted for something and the world was told we voted for India. Was it a referendum?” Today the protester on the streets of Kashmir understands that mainstream media in India is the biggest participant, besides the politician, in muzzling and misinterpreting his voice. And the stone flung at everything that symbolises state authority has become the voice of a neglected people who are subjected to extreme militarisation and believe the world is not interested in changing their plight. (Parvaiz Bukhari is a journalist based in Srinagar) From rashneek at gmail.com Wed Aug 11 09:00:17 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:00:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir campaigns for peace , Facebook and beyond In-Reply-To: <46c7a7c76eec1d08d65d585e18edf8ef@mail.sarai.net> References: <46c7a7c76eec1d08d65d585e18edf8ef@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Shuddha and all other friends, Let us all work together in this.We have sent books to SAS Geelani's office as of now.But I have more books lined up. I have friends in Kashmir who will be glad to do the dissemination part.We can send to them.One is in Badgam District another in Shopian. Although the books Shuddha has mentioned are opiniated versions yet one must read and appreciate a point of view no mattter how much one dislikes it or finds it factually incorrect. Unlike Shuddha I wont recommend any titles or say they should read XYZ to get a "better grasp of situation" or it will help them handle "oppression better".My aim is simply to have kids back in school and not on a street throwing stones.I have sent Shams Faqir,Rasul Mir and likes alongside story books. So Shuddha if you so desire let us keep away such titles as you have recommended and simply send them Somerset Maugham or Saki or Motilal Saqi or Aggaey or Dharmavir Bharti or Ahad Azad for now. You and me can recommend titles later. I offer to Rs 10000/- for this cause. Best Regards Rashneek On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 11:44 PM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > Dear all, > > Now here is a campaign that I have no hesitation at all in supporting. > Thank > you Aditya Raj Kaul for drawing my attention to this initiative. I am > always in > favour of people getting books to read. Here is a list of books that I > would > recommend, and I hope they can be sent to Kashmir so that as many young > people, > (especially young adults in colleges and universities), as possible, are > able to > read them, especially as I think that these books will help them get a > better > understanding of their situation and also, because I believe that their > thought > provoking contents, will help them think about the best way to overcome the > oppression and violence that grips Kashmir. > > The books are as follows : > > 1. The Veiled Suite : The Collected Poems of Agha Shahid Ali > 2. Azad Kashmir: A Democratic Socialist Manifesto by Prem Nath Bazaz > 3. Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer > 4. Kashmir : The Untold Story by Humra Quraishi > 5. Languages of Belonging by Chitralekha Zutshi > 6. Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects by Mridu Rai > 7. Kashmir in Conflict by Victoria Schofield > > Almost all the books, other then the last one, are easily available in a > bookshop like Bahri Sons in Khan Market. And the second book by Prem Nath > Bazaz > is easily available in Srinagar. I can volunteer to make photocopied > versions of > the last book available. I would be happy to arrange for copies of some of > these > books to be delivered to the campaign, in the hope that they can be sent to > Kashmir, in order to provide better and far more effective ammunition than > mere > stones into the hands of a thoughtful young person in Kashmir who might > chance > upon them. > > Since Rashneek Kher is mentioned as one of the people leading this > campaign, I > would be happy if he could send me an address where I can send these books > to. > I do hope my offer is taken in the spirit in which it is made. > > best > > Shuddha > > > > > On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:23:26 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul < > kauladityaraj at gmail.com> > wrote > > > Kashmir campaigns for peace, Facebook and beyond > > The Peace Book Campaign is an effort by a motley crowd of peace loving > > Kashmiris who wants a irenic and developed Jammu and Kashmir. > > > > Link - > > > http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/10174832/Kashmir-campaigns-for-peace-F.html?h > > =A1 > > Simantik Dowerah > > > > New Delhi: Not all Kashmiris want to battle government bullets with > stones. > > A fair number of citizens from Jammu and Kashmir would much prefer peace, > > and are trying to reach out to likeminded people via Facebook. Last > month, * > > Mint* did a > > story< > http://www.livemint.com/2010/07/07184209/Fling-it-on-Facebook.html?h=A1 > > >on > > Facebook groups that supported stone throwers and urged people join > > their > > cause. But the group Roots in Kashmir, is very different. > > > > Started four years ago with 65 members, Roots in > > Kashmirwas started > > to help Kashmiri pandits or the Hindu population who were forced > > out of the state due to militancy. However, with their state simmering in > > violence the group most recently launched the Peace Book > > Campaignasking > > people to help restore peace in the valley. So far, over 1,700 joined > > the campaign as on date. > > > > “The *Peace Book Campaign* is not a sole Roots in Kashmir campaign but a > > campaign where saner Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris cutting across religious > > and sectarian lines have come together to appeal for peace in Kashmir,” > > said > > Rashneek Kher, a representative of the group. > > > > Kher said group members were hurt to watch Kashmiri youths being killed > on > > the roads. “On the face of it might seem that the young people are > throwing > > stones but the malaise behind the same are instigators like (Syed Ali) > > Geelani and others. So as Kashmiris it is our duty to do our bit to bring > > down tempers, cool frayed nerves and bring some semblance of sanity,” > Kher > > said. > > > > The group has not limited its efforts to cyberspace. “Roots in Kashmir > > tried > > everything from approaching the government to sending our proposals to > > separatists to knocking at the doors of human rights commissions. But our > > plea has fallen on deaf ears,” Kher said. > > > > “So we have set forth a mission of peace that is completely unbiased and > > requests nothing but sanity. We have no tolerance for people who support > > violence and people who seek support for stone throwers are again those > who > > we think of as instigators and not someone who actually throw stones. So > we > > will be sending books to them as they need it most,” he said. > > > > And what kind of books they are going to send? > > > > “We already have about 400 odd books on different subjects from simple > > story > > books to books on history and religion. We will send them as soon as we > know > > it will reach them and not got stuck in some post office,” Kher said. > Books > > are answer to stones and bullets, said Wangoo. > > > > Explaining why he joined the *Peace Book Campaign*, another group member > > Nadeem Jafri said, “This is the true way of fighting the menace. If we > > educate people and equip them with right knowledge, I am sure they would > not > > face the atrocities which they are currently facing. And even if they > face > > they will be capable of fighting it out.” > > > > On being asked, about the success of such a campaign, Kher was however, > not > > very sure. > > > > “Honestly we don’t know how far it might or will go but that > > notwithstanding > > we must make concerted efforts for peace no matter howsoever small or > > inconsequential it might seem,” said the representative of group, which > has > > already registered over 1,500 members. > > > > Jafri sounded far more positive. > > > > He said the campaign would certainly create a flutter among the educated > > people. > > > > “It is going to take some time but it will be effective,” he said. > > > > *simantik.d at livemint.com* > > > > -- > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > India Editor > > The Indian, Australia > > > > Cell - +91-9873297834 > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From indersalim at gmail.com Wed Aug 11 09:00:20 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:00:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir's young , educated , angry and politically aware In-Reply-To: <041ccc9daa08a8c7aad9071a1b7cdfb7@mail.sarai.net> References: <041ccc9daa08a8c7aad9071a1b7cdfb7@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: creative piece by Natasha Ginwala: In case of Emergency: Kashmir please click http://www.facebook.com/notes/natasha-ginwala/in-case-of-emergency-kashmir/423541089741 On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 2:45 AM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > Kashmir's young, educated, angry and politically aware > 9 Aug 2010, 0031 hrs IST, Parvaiz Bukhari > Economic Times, > http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6277584.cms?prtpage=1 > > They are being called the children of conflict, but the stone throwers in > Kashmir today represent a connection with their political history free of > the > distorting prisms that for long have twisted the local worldview and their > aspiration of a future outside the Indian union. > > This summer the identity of a stone-pelter became something that an average > Kashmiri began to feel proud of, the frontline of the articulation of a > political demand. For he is young, educated, angry, brutalised and > politically > aware. He demands to be heard, to express what he wants, thinks and feels. > He > supports what his earlier avatar, the armed militant, stood for. But in the > post 9/11 world he is not allowing himself to be branded a terrorist. > > Shabir (name changed) is an internet savvy doctoral student at the > University > of Kashmir who comes across as a mild mannered character. Shabir hurled a > stone > for the first time ever in 2008 at a contingent of paramilitaries during > the > Amarnath land row. From the window of his house in a congested downtown > Srinagar area, Shabir says he saw some CRPF soldiers call a few young boys > over > to them and lined them up. “Azadi chahiye tum ko, ye lo (So, you want > freedom. > Here, take it.) Each one of them was slapped several times,” he said. “My > blood boiled in anger.” The next time there was a protest in his area > Shabir > joined it and hurled stones at the men in uniform. “I cleansed myself of > the > feeling of helplessness and I did not need a gun.” > > Apart from being a participant in Kashmir's own intifada, Shabir is > pursuing > his research and hopes to become a university teacher. He also spends long > hours at his internet-enabled laptop digging out details of events that > have > marked Kashmir's bloody history from 1931 when people rose against the > Dogra > autocracy. He shows notes he has prepared situating the present in the > political struggles by Kashmiris in the past. One of his notes has a > statistical chart of death and loss listing rapes, torture, custodial > killings > and disappearances by the army, BSF and police. At the end is a question > and > his own answer to it. “Can India afford justice in Kashmir? No.” > > “I circulate this among students who ask me what the future of Kashmiris > will > be like,” says Shabir. > > > > > > > > > > > Amid curfew a few days ago in the aftermath of the stone throwing clashes > in > Srinagar I caught up with a young man and asked him if he was also > protesting. > He said he was one of the most “timid” of men. A few others standing by > smiled and went away. As I persisted, the young man invited me home and > called > a few others over. A postgraduate student, he said he shivered on seeing a > dead > body or blood of which he had seen a lot. Last year, he said, on hearing of > protests in his area he returned early from university. When the protest > was > over he met a taxi driver who had just returned from Leh and had found it > difficult to reach home. “Visibly tired and lost, he was quietly leaning > against an electricity pole when I left him and walked on,” the university > student said. “Suddenly I heard a gun shot,” he said. “I looked back and > saw him fallen face down on the road.” That day the university student > participated in the protest that broke out after the taxi driver's killing. > “I throw stones at the CRPF. I overcame fear. I do not want to be timid in > the face of death.” > > > Listening on, a college student said he prays that he would never have to > go to > India for anything. “I do not throw stones but I join stone-pelters because > I > think it is important to add my voice to what they are protesting for,” he > said. “The world should listen to us and not just those who claim to > represent us.” > > But it is not just the young and ‘educated’ alone who rain stones, shaping > a new discourse over Kashmir. I recently worked my way to a group of stone > throwers in a relatively new 'flashpoint' of protests in Srinagar. One of > them, > an illiterate businessman, displayed an amazing understanding of electoral > politics in Kashmir - the main source of his anger. On how the seven-phased > assembly elections were conducted in 2008, he hit the nail on the head. “We > were told the elections were held for local issues and not for or against > azadi > from India,” he said. “We voted for something and the world was told we > voted for India. Was it a referendum?” > > Today the protester on the streets of Kashmir understands that mainstream > media > in India is the biggest participant, besides the politician, in muzzling > and > misinterpreting his voice. And the stone flung at everything that > symbolises > state authority has become the voice of a neglected people who are > subjected to > extreme militarisation and believe the world is not interested in changing > their > plight. > > (Parvaiz Bukhari is a journalist based in Srinagar) > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From rashneek at gmail.com Wed Aug 11 09:50:27 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:50:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Next time ,throw a book-Saima Shakeel in The Dawn Message-ID: Along with a shoe, one wishes someone would throw a book or two at some of our newsmakers. Maybe, just maybe, it would do a world of good to them and to us, the 175 million Pakistani people who are affected daily by their words and (mis)deeds. However, in the case of some newsmakers, it appears that they are already hard at work studying some old classics …. *What they are reading* President Asif Zardari: *The Prince* by Niccolo Machiavelli Granted, the sixteenth-century treatise on statecraft will read like a virtual autobiography to the man who could very well write its updated version when he finally retires to his sixteenth century chateau in France, the Manoir de la Reine Blanche. Machiavelli, a public servant, based his famous work on the political machinations of the Medicis and Borgias, the two most powerful families in Renaissance Italy. Many critics argue that The Prince is a political satire and meant to be read as a tongue-in-cheek account. Others disagree, and the fact that it was first published five years after Machiavelli’s death makes one think that he, for one, did not consider it a laughing matter. Why am I convinced that this treatise must be the president’s bedtime reading? Well, mostly because the similarities between him and the prince are too astounding to be mere coincidence. Machiavelli’s prince does not wish to preserve moral good or spiritual integrity; he simply wants to attain and maintain his power. Having come to power through sheer luck or the blessing of some powerful figures, he has an easy gaining power but must work hard to keep it. His power is dependent on his benefactors’ goodwill which is a fickle thing at best. Also, consider the following excerpts from the treatise: “A man who strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, since there are so many men who are not good.” “The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.” “The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes.” See what I mean? Fauzia Wahab: *Gone with the Wind* by Margaret Mitchell Anyone who has seen the PPP’s central information secretary in action cannot doubt that she has been working hard learning a trick or 10 from that queen of melodrama, Scarlett O’ Hara. The South may have swept through by the victorious Yankees and Tara, the O’Hara family estate, burnt to a crisp, but Scarlett stubbornly refused to budge or face reality. She was determined to do anything (and I do mean, anything) to defend her landowning, slave-keeping lifestyle. Our own Ms Scarlett has been seen snorting, snickering and screaming on TV channels to defend what in any civilised society would be considered indefensible. This includes a president who takes off on a ‘joyride’ while the country is drowning to host what can only be described as his son’s ‘coronation’ in Birmingham. The same president who later said in the speech he made to supporters in Birmingham that his late wife and her father spoke ‘from inside him’ at a very critical time in the country’s history and urged him to declare ‘Pakistan Khappay’. Dear Scarlett, just like Rhett, we frankly don’t give a damn. *What he should be reading* Bilawal Zardari: *All the Shah’s Men* by Stephen Kinzer It’s not too late. While he is still completing his education, the young man would do well to read Kinzer’s gripping account of how the arrogant and corrupt regime of the US-backed Shah was overthrown in a bloody revolution. The book gives details of how the Iranian people, who’s benign lord the Shah claimed to be, finally turned against him with such ferocity that the royal family and their cronies were forced to flee the country in order to save their lives. Even today, despite their many differences of opinion and dissatisfaction with the rule of the ayatollahs, the one thing that the Iranian nation agrees on is that there can be no return of the monarchy. The only way that the late Shah’s only son, Reza Pahlavi, who continues to style himself ‘heir to the throne of Iran,’ can hope to re-enter the country is through foreign backing. And we all know what that leads to. Reza Pahlavi at least has claim, however flimsy, to be the scion of a royal dynasty. (His grandfather Reza Shah was commander of the Persian Cossack brigade who became king as the result of a coup.) Bilawal Zardari has no such claim. He claims that his late mother always taught him that, ‘democracy is the best revenge.’ Well, the Oxford-educated lad should know that there is no place for a dynasty in democracies. India is learning that at its great expense. Bilawal must discourage demagoguery within the People’s Party and encourage other, more senior, party leaders to take over the reins. -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Aug 11 10:49:37 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:49:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir campaigns for peace , Facebook and beyond In-Reply-To: References: <46c7a7c76eec1d08d65d585e18edf8ef@mail.sarai.net> , Message-ID: <91eaf033b4cb5a659a352ee0791d09e7@mail.sarai.net> Dear Kshmendra, I think everyone should read as many different kinds of opinions and make up their own minds. I agree with you that 'one must read and appreciate a point of view no mattter how much one dislikes it or finds it factually incorrect'. I am constantly reading things I disagree with, and dislike, and don't find it a problem. So, I don't quite understand your anxiety when you say - "So Shuddha if you so desire let us keep away such titles as you have recommended", I am not a great fan of Somerset Maugham, but I see no harm in your sending Somerset Maugham, so why should there be any harm in my sending the collected poems of Agha Shahid Ali, one of the titles I mentioned, which, according to you is 'opinionated'? Don't young Kashmiris have the right to read one of the finest poets in English with 'Roots' in Kashmir? So, let whosoever send whichever book they want to whosoever they please. Let a thousand books flower, and a hundred schools of thought contend. I have never had any time for the secterian and Islamist agenda of SAS Gilani. So, I don't want to send books to his office. If you want to send books to him, that is up to you. I see no harm in it, but I wont do it myself. But in the absence of a centralized repository that will send out books randomly to people and organizations in Kashmir, I would choose for myself where to send books to, and also, which and how many books to send. There are several organizations in Kashmir that one could send books to the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition for Civil Society is one, Anhad Srinagar is another, I would even recommend sending books to a cafe like Coffea Arabica on Maulana Azad Road in Srinagar, where lots of young people, writers and intellectuals gather regularly. Coffea Arabica has an active facebook page, and I am sure they they can be contacted I am sure there are more. One could also send them to libraries in universities, colleges and high schools in Kashmir. The SPS Public Library in Srinagar, which is a really historic library, could do with a healthy infusion of books and support. Here is a fragment I found about it in the online archive of the 'Rising Kashmir' newspaper. ------------------------------------------------------ Reading habits decrease with increase in literacy http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=archivecategory&id=0&year=2008&month=9&module=1&limit=8&limitstart=176 Rising Kashmir News Srinagar, Sep 23: Despite increase in literacy rate reading habits are diminishing in Valley as public libraries have only few visitors. The treasure trove of rare books is piled up in one of the oldest libraries in the Valley but most of the books have remained unread. The SPS Central library at Lal Mandi, Srinagar, is the oldest library in Srinagar. It has collection of 80,000 books on a wide range of subjects. The library has now turned high tech with the introduction of internet facilities also. But has failed to arouse much interest from the book lovers in Kashmir Valley. Bashir Ahmad, a retired teacher who is frequent visitor to the library said: "Most of the time library is deserted as people in the city and elsewhere lack awareness about the literary assistance they can get from this library.” Ahmad blamed the present curriculum for this state of affairs. "Students in most of the schools have been put under tremendous pressure and stress. They devote most of their time in academic studies," says Ahmad. A good number of students who visit the library complain that books are either book are not available or are obsolete. "I mostly read newspapers and magazines. Books related to my subject are not available here", says Irfan Bashir, a B.Sc student and a regular member of SPS Library. However, Deputy Director, Book purchasing committee, SPS library Kuldeep Singh contests the claim, "The syllabus oriented books are available in academic institutions so we prefer to procure books of wider scope and greater interest." In April 2006, internet was introduced in the library with free of cost. But the facility failed to generate interest among the visitors of the library. "People lack awareness and Media can be used to publicize this library but more than that I think our city has little number of readers and people prefer TV over books", said Singh. SPC library was established in 1898. The library is a free government run library with just a few hundred registered members. The bookish assets of this library range from pre historical to modern, from newspapers to philosophical text and from modern studies to religious manuscripts. " ------------------------------------- By the way, I have to say, in all honesty, that I am not a wholehearted fan am getting kids off the street and sending them back to school. I attribute my education to the fact that I cut a lot of classes when I was in school, and was on the streets a lot, and in public libraries, reading everything from philosophy to pornography. And finally, I found that the education I got on the streets and outside classrooms was much better than the one that they were dishing out in school. Sometimes picking a good stone and throwing it well can teach you lots of things as well. And sometimes a good book can teach you a thing or two that stones can't. No harm in a bit of both, I think. But that's just perverse me. best Shuddha On Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:00:17 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > Dear Shuddha and all other friends, > > Let us all work together in this.We have sent books to SAS Geelani's office > as of now.But I have more books lined up. > I have friends in Kashmir who will be glad to do the dissemination part.We > can send to them.One is in Badgam District another in Shopian. > Although the books Shuddha has mentioned are opiniated versions yet one must > read and appreciate a point of view no mattter how much one dislikes it or > finds it factually incorrect. > Unlike Shuddha I wont recommend any titles or say they should read XYZ to > get a "better grasp of situation" or it will help them handle "oppression > better".My aim is simply to have kids back in school and not on a street > throwing stones.I have sent Shams Faqir,Rasul Mir and likes alongside story > books. > So Shuddha if you so desire let us keep away such titles as you have > recommended and simply send them Somerset Maugham or Saki or Motilal Saqi or > Aggaey or Dharmavir Bharti or Ahad Azad for now. > You and me can recommend titles later. > I offer to Rs 10000/- for this cause. > > Best Regards > > Rashneek > > On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 11:44 PM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > > > Dear all, > > > > Now here is a campaign that I have no hesitation at all in supporting. > > Thank > > you Aditya Raj Kaul for drawing my attention to this initiative. I am > > always in > > favour of people getting books to read. Here is a list of books that I > > would > > recommend, and I hope they can be sent to Kashmir so that as many young > > people, > > (especially young adults in colleges and universities), as possible, are > > able to > > read them, especially as I think that these books will help them get a > > better > > understanding of their situation and also, because I believe that their > > thought > > provoking contents, will help them think about the best way to overcome the > > oppression and violence that grips Kashmir. > > > > The books are as follows : > > > > 1. The Veiled Suite : The Collected Poems of Agha Shahid Ali > > 2. Azad Kashmir: A Democratic Socialist Manifesto by Prem Nath Bazaz > > 3. Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer > > 4. Kashmir : The Untold Story by Humra Quraishi > > 5. Languages of Belonging by Chitralekha Zutshi > > 6. Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects by Mridu Rai > > 7. Kashmir in Conflict by Victoria Schofield > > > > Almost all the books, other then the last one, are easily available in a > > bookshop like Bahri Sons in Khan Market. And the second book by Prem Nath > > Bazaz > > is easily available in Srinagar. I can volunteer to make photocopied > > versions of > > the last book available. I would be happy to arrange for copies of some of > > these > > books to be delivered to the campaign, in the hope that they can be sent to > > Kashmir, in order to provide better and far more effective ammunition than > > mere > > stones into the hands of a thoughtful young person in Kashmir who might > > chance > > upon them. > > > > Since Rashneek Kher is mentioned as one of the people leading this > > campaign, I > > would be happy if he could send me an address where I can send these books > > to. > > I do hope my offer is taken in the spirit in which it is made. > > > > best > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > > > On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:23:26 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul < > > kauladityaraj at gmail.com> > > wrote > > > > > Kashmir campaigns for peace, Facebook and beyond > > > The Peace Book Campaign is an effort by a motley crowd of peace loving > > > Kashmiris who wants a irenic and developed Jammu and Kashmir. > > > > > > Link - > > > > > > > http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/10174832/Kashmir-campaigns-for-peace-F.html?h > > > =A1 > > > Simantik Dowerah > > > > > > New Delhi: Not all Kashmiris want to battle government bullets with > > stones. > > > A fair number of citizens from Jammu and Kashmir would much prefer peace, > > > and are trying to reach out to likeminded people via Facebook. Last > > month, * > > > Mint* did a > > > story< > > http://www.livemint.com/2010/07/07184209/Fling-it-on-Facebook.html?h=A1 > > > >on > > > Facebook groups that supported stone throwers and urged people join > > > their > > > cause. But the group Roots in Kashmir, is very different. > > > > > > Started four years ago with 65 members, Roots in > > > Kashmirwas started > > > to help Kashmiri pandits or the Hindu population who were forced > > > out of the state due to militancy. However, with their state simmering in > > > violence the group most recently launched the Peace Book > > > Campaignasking > > > people to help restore peace in the valley. So far, over 1,700 joined > > > the campaign as on date. > > > > > > “The *Peace Book Campaign* is not a sole Roots in Kashmir campaign but a > > > campaign where saner Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris cutting across religious > > > and sectarian lines have come together to appeal for peace in Kashmir,” > > > said > > > Rashneek Kher, a representative of the group. > > > > > > Kher said group members were hurt to watch Kashmiri youths being killed > > on > > > the roads. “On the face of it might seem that the young people are > > throwing > > > stones but the malaise behind the same are instigators like (Syed Ali) > > > Geelani and others. So as Kashmiris it is our duty to do our bit to bring > > > down tempers, cool frayed nerves and bring some semblance of sanity,” > > Kher > > > said. > > > > > > The group has not limited its efforts to cyberspace. “Roots in Kashmir > > > tried > > > everything from approaching the government to sending our proposals to > > > separatists to knocking at the doors of human rights commissions. But our > > > plea has fallen on deaf ears,” Kher said. > > > > > > “So we have set forth a mission of peace that is completely unbiased and > > > requests nothing but sanity. We have no tolerance for people who support > > > violence and people who seek support for stone throwers are again those > > who > > > we think of as instigators and not someone who actually throw stones. So > > we > > > will be sending books to them as they need it most,” he said. > > > > > > And what kind of books they are going to send? > > > > > > “We already have about 400 odd books on different subjects from simple > > > story > > > books to books on history and religion. We will send them as soon as we > > know > > > it will reach them and not got stuck in some post office,” Kher said. > > Books > > > are answer to stones and bullets, said Wangoo. > > > > > > Explaining why he joined the *Peace Book Campaign*, another group member > > > Nadeem Jafri said, “This is the true way of fighting the menace. If we > > > educate people and equip them with right knowledge, I am sure they would > > not > > > face the atrocities which they are currently facing. And even if they > > face > > > they will be capable of fighting it out.” > > > > > > On being asked, about the success of such a campaign, Kher was however, > > not > > > very sure. > > > > > > “Honestly we don’t know how far it might or will go but that > > > notwithstanding > > > we must make concerted efforts for peace no matter howsoever small or > > > inconsequential it might seem,” said the representative of group, which > > has > > > already registered over 1,500 members. > > > > > > Jafri sounded far more positive. > > > > > > He said the campaign would certainly create a flutter among the educated > > > people. > > > > > > “It is going to take some time but it will be effective,” he said. > > > > > > *simantik.d at livemint.com* > > > > > > -- > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > > > India Editor > > > The Indian, Australia > > > > > > Cell - +91-9873297834 > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe > > > in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Aug 11 10:53:07 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:53:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Next time , throw a book-Saima Shakeel in The Dawn In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <048dd0b6a0de9b7adfac376659044a00@mail.sarai.net> Dear Rashneek Kher, Thank you for forwarding this excellent article, I really enjoyed reading it, it's take on Zardari reading Machiavelli is spot on ! best Shuddha On Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:50:27 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > Along with a shoe, one wishes someone would throw a book or two at some of > our newsmakers. Maybe, just maybe, it would do a world of good to them and > to us, the 175 million Pakistani people who are affected daily by their > words and (mis)deeds. However, in the case of some newsmakers, it appears > that they are already hard at work studying some old classics …. > > *What they are reading* > > President Asif Zardari: *The Prince* by Niccolo Machiavelli > > Granted, the sixteenth-century treatise on statecraft will read like a > virtual autobiography to the man who could very well write its updated > version when he finally retires to his sixteenth century chateau in France, > the Manoir de la Reine Blanche. > > Machiavelli, a public servant, based his famous work on the political > machinations of the Medicis and Borgias, the two most powerful families in > Renaissance Italy. Many critics argue that The Prince is a political satire > and meant to be read as a tongue-in-cheek account. Others disagree, and the > fact that it was first published five years after Machiavelli’s death makes > one think that he, for one, did not consider it a laughing matter. > > Why am I convinced that this treatise must be the president’s bedtime > reading? Well, mostly because the similarities between him and the prince > are too astounding to be mere coincidence. > > Machiavelli’s prince does not wish to preserve moral good or spiritual > integrity; he simply wants to attain and maintain his power. Having come to > power through sheer luck or the blessing of some powerful figures, he has an > easy gaining power but must work hard to keep it. His power is dependent on > his benefactors’ goodwill which is a fickle thing at best. > > Also, consider the following excerpts from the treatise: > > “A man who strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, > since there are so many men who are not good.” > > “The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a > necessity of the present.” > > “The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; > and > when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But > when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all > costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes.” > > See what I mean? > > Fauzia Wahab: *Gone with the Wind* by Margaret Mitchell > > Anyone who has seen the PPP’s central information secretary in action > cannot > doubt that she has been working hard learning a trick or 10 from that queen > of melodrama, Scarlett O’ Hara. The South may have swept through by the > victorious Yankees and Tara, the O’Hara family estate, burnt to a crisp, > but > Scarlett stubbornly refused to budge or face reality. She was determined to > do anything (and I do mean, anything) to defend her landowning, > slave-keeping lifestyle. > > Our own Ms Scarlett has been seen snorting, snickering and screaming on TV > channels to defend what in any civilised society would be considered > indefensible. This includes a president who takes off on a ‘joyride’ while > the country is drowning to host what can only be described as his son’s > ‘coronation’ in Birmingham. The same president who later said in the speech > he made to supporters in Birmingham that his late wife and her father spoke > ‘from inside him’ at a very critical time in the country’s history and > urged > him to declare ‘Pakistan Khappay’. > > Dear Scarlett, just like Rhett, we frankly don’t give a damn. > > *What he should be reading* > > Bilawal Zardari: *All the Shah’s Men* by Stephen Kinzer > > It’s not too late. While he is still completing his education, the young > man > would do well to read Kinzer’s gripping account of how the arrogant and > corrupt regime of the US-backed Shah was overthrown in a bloody revolution. > The book gives details of how the Iranian people, who’s benign lord the > Shah > claimed to be, finally turned against him with such ferocity that the royal > family and their cronies were forced to flee the country in order to save > their lives. > > Even today, despite their many differences of opinion and dissatisfaction > with the rule of the ayatollahs, the one thing that the Iranian nation > agrees on is that there can be no return of the monarchy. The only way that > the late Shah’s only son, Reza Pahlavi, who continues to style himself > ‘heir > to the throne of Iran,’ can hope to re-enter the country is through foreign > backing. And we all know what that leads to. > > Reza Pahlavi at least has claim, however flimsy, to be the scion of a royal > dynasty. (His grandfather Reza Shah was commander of the Persian Cossack > brigade who became king as the result of a coup.) Bilawal Zardari has no > such claim. > > He claims that his late mother always taught him that, ‘democracy is the > best revenge.’ Well, the Oxford-educated lad should know that there is no > place for a dynasty in democracies. India is learning that at its great > expense. Bilawal must discourage demagoguery within the People’s Party and > encourage other, more senior, party leaders to take over the reins. > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakhi.sehgal at gmail.com Wed Aug 11 11:36:41 2010 From: rakhi.sehgal at gmail.com (Rakhi Sehgal) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:36:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call to Endorse and Participate in the India Lifeline to Gaza Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza Message-ID: *Apologies for cross posting!* * * *Please write directly to the campaign at if you'd like to endorse, participate or contribute in any way to the campaign. * * * In solidarity, Rakhi *_______________* * * *Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza: India Lifeline to Gaza* *September 2010* We the people of India extend our solidarity to the courageous people of Palestine in their struggle and resistance against the occupation of their land. Israel’s occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories has lasted for more than six decades in violation of international law, international humanitarian law and numerous United Nations resolutions. The occupation of Palestine must end! Gaza has been turned into a vast open-air-prison-cum-concentration camp for its 1.5 million inhabitants. The Palestinian population in the West Bank and in Jerusalem are under continuous repression, assaults and in a permanent state of siege due to the ever expanding settlements & the apartheid wall. The Palestinian people must have the freedom to exercise their right to self-determination including their right to establish on all the territories that Israel has occupied, an independent sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital. The structure of Zionist apartheid, based on ethno-religious discrimination that Israel has established, must be dismantled and it must grant equal rights to all its citizens, including the “Right of Return” to the Palestinians refugees. *Defend the right of Palestinian people to resist the occupation through all legitimate means* The campaign and struggle to end the blockade of Gaza is an integral part of, and a step to this larger struggle for self determination of the Palestinian People and for a State of Palestine. The people of Gaza are being subjected to the Israeli policy of collective punishment for asserting their democratic right to decide for themselves the leadership and political organisations to lead their struggle, govern their society and represent them in all negotiations. The genocidal nature of the war unleashed on Gaza, is also meant to serve as a warning to the rest of the Palestinian People. Israel, backed by the US and reactionary forces, is using war, terror and blockade to break the will of the people of Gaza. The Blockade of Gaza since 2007 has resulted in lack of essential supplies, petrol for electricity, imminent shortage of medicines, food and water which has triggered a humanitarian crisis that the world needs to respond to with urgency. The freedom and peace loving people of the world and democratic states have to defeat this nefarious design. Palestine is today one of the defining struggles for freedom, democracy and equality for peoples and nations. *Let us unite to win this battle* This struggle is broad, varied and multi-dimensional. It is humanitarian and for peace, freedom and human dignity. It is against occupation, imperialism, apartheid, Zionism and all forms of discrimination including religious discrimination. We call upon all organisations, movements and individuals to engage, contribute, actively participate and join the struggle. We commit to respect the right of all participants to share, emphasise and focus on any aspect and dimension of the struggle that is accordance with their own views, belief and ideology, provided they do not divide, weaken or vitiate the common and broad front against the blockade of Gaza and the very struggle for the liberation of Palestine. After the terrible massacre aboard the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May 2010, citizens around the world are taking action to help break the siege which is suffocating the lives of the people of Gaza and denying them their very right to exist. Different movements across the world are mobilising to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip and to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. The IHH (Insani Yardi Vakfi or The Foundation for Human Rights, Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief), participated in the Freedom Flotilla in which 9 of its peace activists were murdered in cold blood by Israeli soldiers on board of Mavi Marmara. The “Free Gaza Movement” has challenged the siege by organizing ships to the shores of Gaza. The “Viva Palestina” has mobilized more than 500 vehicles and 60 ships that will reach Gaza in September. “The European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza” will be sending more than 9000 delegates. Many more organizations around the world are now galvanizing the global solidarity movement and will be contributing with their local and global actions. Convoys from North and South Africa and ships from the USA, New Zealand, Canada & Australia are also due to join the global effort. We are committed to and believe that there must be a strong Asian involvement in the global movement to end the siege of Gaza and for the liberation of Palestine. It is important that India plays a part in initiating and building the Asian process for solidarity with Palestine. It is against this background that the undersigned organisations undertake to organise an Asian land convoy to Gaza. This convoy will leave from New Delhi mid-September and will travel across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and ultimately through the Rafah Crossing into Gaza-Palestine. The Asian convoy will be joined by delegations and vehicles in each of the nine countries through which it passes. We will coordinate with existing and new organisations and alliances in each of these countries and commit together to develop an Asia level campaign to free Palestine. In each of these countries public meetings, press conferences, meetings with mass organisations and political parties will be organised. We endorse the Solidarity Caravan from India to Palestine. In solidarity, *Organisations* Aman Bharat Awami Bharat Asha Parivar Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) Bharat Bachao Andolan Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur) Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Mazdoor Karyakarta Committee) Ekta Parishad Forum Against Oppression of Women Free Gaza - India India Palestine People’s Solidarity Forum Intercultural Resources IIM INHURED International (Nepal) Insaaniyat (Bombay) Loknaad Mazdoor Ekta Manch Muslim Intellectual Forum Muslim Political Council of India National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW) New Socialist Initiative (NSI) New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) Palestine Solidarity Movement People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Phule-Ambedkar Vichar Manch Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI) Republican Panther Saheli Women’s Resource Centre *South Asian Network of Gender Activists and Trainers (*SANGAT) South Asia Peace Alliance (SAPA) Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI) Vidyarthi Bharti Yuva Koshish *Individuals* Salman Usmani, New Delhi From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Aug 11 11:38:00 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:38:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Why is India Wasting its Time Chasing Blackberry Message-ID: Dear All, An interesting article by Prasanto K. Roy in rediff.com on the recent standoff between Blackberry (Research in Motion) and the Government of India. Has implications for the way the privacy, surveillance, censorship constellation will play out in India in the future. Hope this is of interest, and concern, to people on the list best, Shuddha ----------------------- Why is India wasting its time chasing BlackBerry? http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/aug/09/slide-show-1-tech-why-india-is-wasting-its-time-chasing-blackberry.htm#contentTop Prasanto K Roy 
You're a Delhi-based wannabe terrorist needing to communicate with your handlers. What do you do? Invisible-ink notes are passe, as are carrier pigeons. You will, of course, use electronic options. Like email. Walk into a cybercafe, log into a Gmail or Yahoo account. Don't use an account in your own name. And don't send email. Simply read instructions left for you in an unsent mail, saved as a draft in your account. And then, to reply, just edit the unsent email, and save it back as a draft. If email isn't traveling, it can't be intercepted. Or, like SMS. Get a prepaid SIM card with fake ID, use it for a month, then dump it. Or make good old phone calls using the SIM card, and dump it. There are other options. And they have a common thread: anonymity. You do not use your own identity, and you use a mode that is virtually untraceable. And that is why a terrorist would choose not to use a BlackBerry that can be linked to his identity. Nor is a postpaid BlackBerry connection as disposable as a prepaid SIM card. Sure, you can get postpaid mobile connections too on fake IDs, but because there is billing involved, valid addresses are required. That's not the only reason the terrorist would be wary of using a BlackBerry. First, he's not really sure how secure the mail is, once an agency is onto him. The mail is routed through servers in North America, and the US NationalSecurity Agency reportedly has the technology to crack encrypted mail in a few hours -- with or without help from RIM. Even more worrying for the terrorist: not all of the mail is encrypted. The headers, including the 'to'and 'from' email addresses, are plain text. Else the Internet would not be able to accept the email for delivery. And finally, the mail does not stay encrypted all the way. When it gets delivered to an external email system such as Gmail or corporate mail, it gets decrypted -- else the recipient wouldn't be able to read it. The exception is when you're not using a Gmail or a company mail ID, but are sending pure BlackBerry mail. That's not merely one sent between two RIM devices, but where both 'from' and 'to' are BlackBerry IDs. That's rare, but here's how it works. Your RIM device would usually be associated with your official address, say ram.rao at maruti.com. But you'd also have a BlackBerry email address, like ramrao at airtel.blackberry.com, which you'd use to originate a BlackBerry-only mail. Even then, RIM would record who the mail was sent by, who was it sent to, and when. So there are records with BlackBerry email, and they're like mobile-phone call records (which store who called whom, when, and for how long, for billing). RIM records who sent mail, when, and to whom. The content, however, is strongly encrypted. But our terrorist isn't using a BlackBerry. He's using Gmail, and he's not even sending the mail: he's just using draft mode to read and reply. So our surveillance agencies don't stand a chance of 'intercepting' that mail. Even if they're on to him, they don't know what ID he's using. And then they don't have the Gmail login ID. If they get that, then getting Google or Yahoo to give them access will take months, with all the protocol, Interpol, and the rest. . . by which time that account would have been closed, and the deed done. And that is why India is wasting its time chasing BlackBerry. It should first figure out what to do with the mail systems terrorists use, with foreign mail servers. Should it demand that all such servers be based in India? Google and Yahoo won't agree. So that would cut us off from the best of Internet mail systems. In fact, why not go further down that path, like China . . . and cut off the Internet? Route everything through a tightly-controlled gateway and firewall, and ensure that all servers are within China. And jail or shoot all dissidents, for a good measure. There are bigger dangers down the road that Saudi Arabia and India are treading. One, government officials are major users of BlackBerry mail. Do they really want to push RIM into a corner where it starts offering decryption to any government which asks? What then stops it from offering to decrypt Indian emails for China or Pakistan, if enough pressure is brought to bear on it? To no one's surprise, countries most proficient at cracking down on dissents and censoring local media have been the most active in squeezing RIM. Like China, Saudi Arabia polices the Internet, blocking access to sites with political and adult content. India, unfortunately, seems to be trying to join this not-so-elite club. From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Aug 11 12:00:37 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:30:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Which one is 'processed news'? A A Fayyaz & Greater Kashmir In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <754211.32935.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Shuddha   You might call Asiya Andrabi a 'charltan', I wont.   People like Asiya Andrabi and Syed Ali Shah Geelani are honest about the Islamic character of the "Aazadi" movement and it is openly reflected in their statements and actions. One might not like it, but it is honest.   Another 'player', Mirwaz Umar Farooq while professing the "Aazadi" movement to be non-sectarian cannot disguise his own Islamic subscription to the 'movement' by using the pulpit of Jama Masjid for political purposes and calling upon the Islamic community of the world (OIC etc) to intervene.   In them you have 3 major 'players' in the "Aazadi" movement making a mockery of those who would have us believe that movement is not exclusively wedded to Islam.   This Islamic nature of the 'movement' often finds itself targetting, not just India but a Hindu-India. It needs that formulation of a 'Hindu Identity' for it to attack. While that gets reflected indirectly and sometimes directly in the pronouncements of these 3 personalities, it is quite openly put forward in the public domain  by the support base of the 3. If someone is not aware of that, one has to just look at the 'comments' attached to news and opinions on 'Kashmir' and the interactions on social networking sites like Facebook.   Facile explanations to the contrary not withstanding, we saw this 'Islamic & Anti-Hindu-India' sentiment in the slogans at the 'Jantar Mantar Rally'    Yes there are other 'Leaders' associated with the "Aazadi" movement who cannot be accused of having publicly Islamised the 'movement' and I am sure some amongst them would sincerely want it to be 'secular'. In my opinion, they have not succeeded and will not succeed in that because it is only the 'We are Muslim' rationale that can be a credible foundation for the 'movement' whether stated or unstated. The 'movement', for those who subscribe to it, is an unfinished agenda of the demands by Muslims that led to the 1947 Partition. After lying near dormant for 4 decades it sprang forth in the late 1980s.   No, Asiya Andrabi is not a 'charltan'. She is honest.   The near 'Ethnic-Kashmiri Only' character it has, provides other interesting insights into the 'Aazadi movement'.   Kshmendra       --- On Wed, 8/11/10, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: From: shuddha at sarai.net Subject: Re: Which one is 'processed news'? A A Fayyaz & Greater Kashmir To: "sarai list" , "Kshmendra Kaul" Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 12:06 AM Dear Kshmendra, No disagreement with you on this score at all. If Asiya Andrabi (in my opinion, one of the most ridiculous charlatans to have been thrown up on the separatist side in Kashmir) had indeed said - 'minorities would HAVE to observe shutdowns under the Quit Jammu and Kashmir Movement', and that 'everybody would have to live with a sense of insecurity as long as the Kashmiri Muslims struggled for "freedom for Islam' - - and that these two specific utterances have been ommitted by Greater Kashmir in their report of her statement then they are clearly committing shoddy journalism. If Asiya Andrabi is not embarrassed to say this kind of nonsense, Greater Kashmir has no business covering up after her. That too, then, is I agree, 'processed news'. I totally agree with you about the fact that political leader issuing a secterian diktat like a street thug who might just as easiy have belonged to the Shiv Sena or the MNS in Mumbai is something that should definitely have been reported. best Shuddha On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:40:12 -0700 (PDT) Kshmendra Kaul wrote > Asiya Andrabi of Dukhtaraan e Millat issues a statement. Please see the news > report on that by A A Fayyaz of Early Times (who has been accused of > providing 'processed news') and in Greater Kashmir (which unabashedly covers > and reports news with a tilt towards the separatists). >   > Remember that both are reporting on a issued statement. Notice how > convieniently Greater Kashmir does not make any mention of the threatening > and rabidly-Islamic parts of Asiya's statement >   > FIRST A A FAYYAZ in Early Times: >   > Asiya surprised by minority's tears over insecurity >   > 'They (Hindus, Sikhs) will have to be part of Quit J&K Movement'   >   > Ahmed Ali Fayyaz > EARLY TIMES REPORT > SRINAGAR, Aug 9: Dukhtaraan-e-Millat chairperson and radical separatist > leader, Asiya Andrabi, today said that the non-Muslim minorities were free to > join or not to join Kashmir's "freedom struggle" but she made it clear that > they will have to observe shutdown over the separatists' calls and become a > part of the current 'Quit Jammu & Kashmir Movement'. >   > Disappointed over reports that two delegations of the Hindus and the Sikhs > had called on the Hurriyat (G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and "wept > bitterly" over the sense of their insecurity, Dukhtaraan chief said that it > had hurt the sentiments of the majority community in Kashmir. >   > "Delegations of Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti and All-party Sikh > Coordination Committee have badly hurt the sentiments of the Muslims of > Kashmir by weeping bitterly over their insecurity and choosing this form the > expression before Syed Ali Shah Geelani", Asiya said in a statement released > here this evening. According to her, Pandits and Sikhs were free to join or > not to join the "freedom struggle" but they could not be exempted from > observing shutdown over the calls issued by the Valley's separatist leaders. > "Whenever, there is a call for shutdown, nobody will be allowed to operate > shops or vehicles. They (Pandits and Sikhs) will have to essentially show > their solidarity with Jammu Kashmir Chhordo Tehreek (by closing businesses > and freezing vehicles on the days of shutdown)", Asiya said. > > According to her, the religious minorities in Kashmir would have to join > 'Quit Jammu & Kashmir Movement' as both, majority as well as minority, would > have to taste the fruit of the freedom together (after winning it whenever). > > Delegations of Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs had called on Mr Geelani here on > Sunday and wept bitterly over their sense of insecurity. They had, > reportedly, lamented before the octogenarian separatist leader over incidents > of certain people harassing and forcing them to join the separatist > demonstrations and other such programmes. Geelani, according to reports, had > assured them nobody would be allowed to carry on activities aimed at causing > another migration of the minorities. > > In her angry terse reaction, 50-year-old Dukhtaraan supremo claimed that the > Kashmiri Muslims had always taken "extraordinary care" of the non-Muslim > minorities. "Whenever an affliction did befall on the minorities, there was > invariably an Indian sinister plan behind. From the mass migration of Pandits > in 1990 to the massacre (of Sikhs and Pandits) at Chittisinghpura and > Nadimarg, all these catastrophes were the handiwork of top Indian > intelligence agencies. Kashmiri Muslims are extremely sensitive and humane", > Asia added. >   > Andrabi claimed that even in the current days of crisis, Muslims had been > providing maximum of the relief to the non-Muslims, who, according to her, > had admitted it for themselves in various statements. >   > "In 2008, (members of) Sangharash Samiti burnded alive a number of Kashmiri > Muslim drivers. It was all horrible and heart-rending but we observed maximum > of our restraint and did not harm even a single (Amarnath shrine) pilgrim", > Asiya asserted. As for providing security to the non-Muslim minorities, she > argued that the majority community itself was at the receiving end as none of > their lives and properties were secure. "When we are ourselves insecure, how > can we guarantee security of the minorities?" she asked. "Minorities can ask > for security from the majority only after we get freedom from India", she > added. She said that everybody would have to live with a sense of insecurity > as long as the Kashmiri Muslims struggled for "freedom for Islam". >   > Meanwhile, after Geelani, Jamaat-e-Islami has also assured security and > dignity to members of the non-Muslim communities in Kashmir. A spokesman of > the organization said in a statement today that the minorities were an > integral part of the Kashmir society and they would have to feel secure. > > Meanwhile, Kashmir valley today observed total shutdown over Mr Geelani's > call of three days of "protest strike". Authorities declared and enforced > curfew in Srinagar while as similar restrictions were in place at almost all > over district headquarters and major townships with formal announcement of > curfew. Reports said that there was no major incident of violation or clash > with forces, though thin groups of youngsters clashed with Police and CRPF at > some places. Official sources said that not a single bullet was fired > anywhere as the unruly groups dispersed by tearsmoke. These reports said that > a mob manhandled a Police constable and torched his motorcycle at Shopian. > http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57836 >   >   > NEXT Greater Kashmir: >   > Srinagar, Aug 9: >   > The Chairperson of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Syeda Aasiya Andrabi on Monday said > the representatives of minority community have hurt the sentiments of > Kashmiris by claiming to be unsafe in the Valley. > > In a statement, Aasiya maintained that Kashmiris have been treating the > minority community as part of the Kashmiri society and maintaining > brotherhood with them. > Aasiya was reacting to the concern shown by the representative of Kashmir > Pandit Sangharsh Samiti and All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee during a > meeting on Sunday with the Chairman Hurriyat (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani. > > “How can the people of minority community forget that Indian agencies were > behind the migration of Kashmiri Pandits and massacres at Chattisinghpora and > Nadimarg? Despite passing through trepidation, Kashmiris Muslims are > presently distributing relief among the people of minority community,” > Aasiya said. > > Aasiya said during the Amarnath land row, some communal parties had > ruthlessly killed the Kashmiri drivers. “But we maintained calm. Kashmiris > ensure that despite the ongoing unrest the Amarnath yatris perform the > pilgrimage smoothly,” she said. > > She said at a time when Kashmiris were themselves feeling insecure and being > victims of human rights violation, how can they ensure protection to > others.   > > “Unless we achieve freedom from India, nobody in Kashmir is secure. We > expect the members of minority community to extend support to our cause,” > she said. > http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Aug/10/nobody-secure-in-kashmir-aasiy > a-39.asp >   >   >   > > > From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Aug 11 12:02:51 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:32:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir campaigns for peace , Facebook and beyond In-Reply-To: <91eaf033b4cb5a659a352ee0791d09e7@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <33580.62027.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Perhaps it was meant for Rashneek --- On Wed, 8/11/10, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: From: shuddha at sarai.net Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir campaigns for peace , Facebook and beyond To: "rashneek kher" Cc: "sarai list" Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 10:49 AM Dear Kshmendra, I think everyone should read as many different kinds of opinions and make up their own minds. I agree with you that 'one must read and appreciate a point of view no mattter how much one dislikes it or finds it factually incorrect'. I am constantly reading things I disagree with, and dislike, and don't find it a problem. So, I don't quite understand your anxiety when you say - "So Shuddha if you so desire let us keep away such titles as you have recommended", I am not a great fan of Somerset Maugham, but I see no harm in your sending Somerset Maugham, so why should there be any harm in my sending the collected poems of Agha Shahid Ali, one of the titles I mentioned, which, according to you is 'opinionated'? Don't young Kashmiris have the right to read one of the finest poets in English with 'Roots' in Kashmir? So, let whosoever send whichever book they want to whosoever they please. Let a thousand books flower, and a hundred schools of thought contend. I have never had any time for the secterian and Islamist agenda of SAS Gilani. So, I don't want to send books to his office. If you want to send books to him, that is up to you. I see no harm in it, but I wont do it myself. But in the absence of a centralized repository that will send out books randomly to people and organizations in Kashmir, I  would choose for myself where to send books to, and also, which and how many books to send. There are several organizations in Kashmir that one could send books to the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition for Civil Society is one, Anhad Srinagar is another, I would even recommend sending books to a cafe like Coffea Arabica on Maulana Azad Road in Srinagar, where lots of young people, writers and intellectuals gather regularly. Coffea Arabica has an active facebook page, and I am sure they they can be contacted I am sure there are more. One could also send them to libraries in universities, colleges and high schools in Kashmir. The SPS Public Library in Srinagar, which is a really historic library, could do with a healthy infusion of books and support. Here is a fragment I found about it in the online archive of the 'Rising Kashmir' newspaper. ------------------------------------------------------ Reading habits decrease with increase in literacy http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=archivecategory&id=0&year=2008&month=9&module=1&limit=8&limitstart=176 Rising Kashmir News Srinagar, Sep 23: Despite increase in literacy rate reading habits are diminishing in Valley as public libraries have only few visitors. The treasure trove of rare books is piled up in one of the oldest libraries in the Valley but most of the books have remained unread. The SPS Central library at Lal Mandi, Srinagar, is the oldest library in Srinagar. It has collection of 80,000 books on a wide range of subjects. The library has now turned high tech with the introduction of internet facilities also. But has failed to arouse much interest from the book lovers in Kashmir Valley. Bashir Ahmad, a retired teacher who is frequent visitor to the library said: "Most of the time library is deserted as people in the city and elsewhere lack awareness about the literary assistance they can get from this library.” Ahmad blamed the present curriculum for this state of affairs. "Students in most of the schools have been put under tremendous pressure and stress. They devote most of their time in academic studies," says Ahmad. A good number of students who visit the library complain that books are either book are not available or are obsolete. "I mostly read newspapers and magazines. Books related to my subject are not available here", says Irfan Bashir, a B.Sc student and a regular member of SPS Library. However, Deputy Director, Book purchasing committee, SPS library Kuldeep Singh contests the claim, "The syllabus oriented books are available in academic institutions so we prefer to procure books of wider scope and greater interest." In April 2006, internet was introduced in the library with free of cost. But the facility failed to generate interest among the visitors of the library. "People lack awareness and Media can be used to publicize this library but more than that I think our city has little number of readers and people prefer TV over books", said  Singh. SPC library was established in 1898. The library is a free government run library with just a few hundred registered members. The bookish assets of this library range from pre historical to modern, from newspapers to philosophical text and from modern studies to religious manuscripts. " ------------------------------------- By the way, I have to say, in all honesty, that I am not a wholehearted fan am getting kids off the street and sending them back to school. I attribute my education to the fact that I cut a lot of classes when I was in school, and was on the streets a lot, and in public libraries, reading everything from philosophy to pornography. And finally, I found that the education I got on the streets and outside classrooms was much better than the one that they were dishing out in school. Sometimes picking a good stone and throwing it well can teach you lots of things as well. And sometimes a good book can teach you a thing or two that stones can't. No harm in a bit of both, I think. But that's just perverse me. best Shuddha On Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:00:17 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > Dear Shuddha and all other friends, > > Let us all work together in this.We have sent books to SAS Geelani's office > as of now.But I have more books lined up. > I have friends in Kashmir who will be glad to do the dissemination part.We > can send to them.One is in Badgam District another in Shopian. > Although the books Shuddha has mentioned are opiniated versions yet one must > read and appreciate a point of view no mattter how much one dislikes it or > finds it factually incorrect. > Unlike Shuddha I wont recommend any titles or say they should read XYZ to > get a "better grasp of situation" or it will help them handle "oppression > better".My aim is simply to have kids back in school and not on a street > throwing stones.I have sent Shams Faqir,Rasul Mir and likes alongside story > books. > So Shuddha if you so desire let us keep away such titles as you have > recommended and simply send them Somerset Maugham or Saki or Motilal Saqi or > Aggaey or Dharmavir Bharti or Ahad Azad for now. > You and me can recommend titles later. > I offer to Rs 10000/- for this cause. > > Best Regards > > Rashneek > > On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 11:44 PM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > > > Dear all, > > > > Now here is a campaign that I have no hesitation at all in supporting. > > Thank > > you Aditya Raj Kaul for drawing my attention to this initiative. I am > > always in > > favour of people getting books to read. Here is a list of books that I > > would > > recommend, and I hope they can be sent to Kashmir so that as many young > > people, > > (especially young adults in colleges and universities), as possible, are > > able to > > read them, especially as I think that these books will help them get a > > better > > understanding of their situation and also, because I believe that their > > thought > > provoking contents, will help them think about the best way to overcome the > > oppression and violence that grips Kashmir. > > > > The books are as follows : > > > > 1. The Veiled Suite : The Collected Poems of Agha Shahid Ali > > 2. Azad Kashmir: A Democratic Socialist Manifesto by Prem Nath Bazaz > > 3. Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer > > 4. Kashmir : The Untold Story by Humra Quraishi > > 5. Languages of Belonging by Chitralekha Zutshi > > 6. Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects by Mridu Rai > > 7. Kashmir in Conflict by Victoria Schofield > > > > Almost all the books, other then the last one, are easily available in a > > bookshop like Bahri Sons in Khan Market. And the second book by Prem Nath > > Bazaz > > is easily available in Srinagar. I can volunteer to make photocopied > > versions of > > the last book available. I would be happy to arrange for copies of some of > > these > > books to be delivered to the campaign, in the hope that they can be sent to > > Kashmir, in order to provide better and far more effective ammunition than > > mere > > stones into the hands of a thoughtful young person in Kashmir who might > > chance > > upon them. > > > > Since Rashneek Kher is mentioned as one of the people leading this > > campaign, I > > would be happy if he could send me an address where I can send these books > > to. > > I do hope my offer is taken in the spirit in which it is made. > > > > best > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > > > On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:23:26 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul < > > kauladityaraj at gmail.com> > > wrote > > > > > Kashmir campaigns for peace, Facebook and beyond > > > The Peace Book Campaign is an effort by a motley crowd of peace loving > > > Kashmiris who wants a irenic and developed Jammu and Kashmir. > > > > > > Link - > > > > > > > http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/10174832/Kashmir-campaigns-for-peace-F.html?h > > > =A1 > > > Simantik Dowerah > > > > > > New Delhi: Not all Kashmiris want to battle government bullets with > > stones. > > > A fair number of citizens from Jammu and Kashmir would much prefer peace, > > > and are trying to reach out to likeminded people via Facebook. Last > > month, * > > > Mint* did a > > > story< > > http://www.livemint.com/2010/07/07184209/Fling-it-on-Facebook.html?h=A1 > > > >on > > > Facebook groups that supported stone throwers and urged people join > > > their > > > cause. But the group Roots in Kashmir, is very different. > > > > > > Started four years ago with 65 members, Roots in > > > Kashmirwas started > > > to help Kashmiri pandits or the Hindu population who were forced > > > out of the state due to militancy. However, with their state simmering in > > > violence the group most recently launched the Peace Book > > > Campaignasking > > > people to help restore peace in the valley. So far, over 1,700 joined > > > the campaign as on date. > > > > > > “The *Peace Book Campaign* is not a sole Roots in Kashmir campaign but a > > > campaign where saner Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris cutting across religious > > > and sectarian lines have come together to appeal for peace in Kashmir,” > > > said > > > Rashneek Kher, a representative of the group. > > > > > > Kher said group members were hurt to watch Kashmiri youths being killed > > on > > > the roads. “On the face of it might seem that the young people are > > throwing > > > stones but the malaise behind the same are instigators like (Syed Ali) > > > Geelani and others. So as Kashmiris it is our duty to do our bit to bring > > > down tempers, cool frayed nerves and bring some semblance of sanity,” > > Kher > > > said. > > > > > > The group has not limited its efforts to cyberspace. “Roots in Kashmir > > > tried > > > everything from approaching the government to sending our proposals to > > > separatists to knocking at the doors of human rights commissions. But our > > > plea has fallen on deaf ears,” Kher said. > > > > > > “So we have set forth a mission of peace that is completely unbiased and > > > requests nothing but sanity. We have no tolerance for people who support > > > violence and people who seek support for stone throwers are again those > > who > > > we think of as instigators and not someone who actually throw stones. So > > we > > > will be sending books to them as they need it most,” he said. > > > > > > And what kind of books they are going to send? > > > > > > “We already have about 400 odd books on different subjects from simple > > > story > > > books to books on history and religion. We will send them as soon as we > > know > > > it will reach them and not got stuck in some post office,” Kher said. > > Books > > > are answer to stones and bullets, said Wangoo. > > > > > > Explaining why he joined the *Peace Book Campaign*, another group member > > > Nadeem Jafri said, “This is the true way of fighting the menace. If we > > > educate people and equip them with right knowledge, I am sure they would > > not > > > face the atrocities which they are currently facing. And even if they > > face > > > they will be capable of fighting it out.” > > > > > > On being asked, about the success of such a campaign, Kher was however, > > not > > > very sure. > > > > > > “Honestly we don’t know how far it might or will go but that > > > notwithstanding > > > we must make concerted efforts for peace no matter howsoever small or > > > inconsequential it might seem,” said the representative of group, which > > has > > > already registered over 1,500 members. > > > > > > Jafri sounded far more positive. > > > > > > He said the campaign would certainly create a flutter among the educated > > > people. > > > > > > “It is going to take some time but it will be effective,” he said. > > > > > > *simantik.d at livemint.com* > > > > > > -- > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > > > India Editor > > > The Indian, Australia > > > > > > Cell -  +91-9873297834 > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe > > > in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Aug 11 14:04:13 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:34:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] "Kashmir and Palestine" by Paarull Malhotra Message-ID: <488748.25403.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> paarull malhotra brings forward an interesting set of similiarities and dissimilarities in comparing the issues of 'palestine' and 'kashmir' (which include some judgements by her) i think paarull errs on 2 counts 1. she fails to either recognise or highlight that while the issue of 'palestine' is fairly well recognised for the geographical areas under reference and the ethno-religious groups involved , in the case of 'kashmir' there being no certainity in such recognitions compounds the problem 2. in talking about "India and Israel lack a credible peace partner on the other side" she compares the difficulty in dialogue between israel and the hamas with the difficulties between india and pakistan ...... whereas the immediacy of 'peace requirements' in 'kashmir' are confined to kashmir valley and need a dialogue between india and primarily the 'protesting people of kashmir'      but she does conclude her piece with "The talks with Pakistan can wait, we need to listen to the Kashmiris first."   ........... aalok aima     http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/paarull/1399/61971/kashmir-and-palestine.html   Kashmir and Palestine   by Paarull Malhotra   Tuesday , August 10, 2010   We're in Jerusalem. "I'm from Kashmir", our journalist friend makes his first tentative approach to a couple of Palestinian men. "You pray for us, we'll pray for you", they reply. The conversation is over. The Palestinians are in no mood for a chat. I'm not a party to this conversation but our group of Indian journalists has a quick laugh when it's relayed to us. So much for `solidarity to the cause'. But I also sense the frustration lurking behind that remark.   I see frustration when I'm at Aida (the word is Arabic for Return). It's a Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem city, West Bank. Young kids, some not older than 8 or 9, are filling water trickling out from a rusty tap. Our guide says they stay thirsty for days because Israel controls the supply and chooses to consume a bulk of the water, leaving very little for the Palestinians. Even discounting for propaganda, living in a camp for as long as you can remember can't be fun. (The Kashmiri Pandits will tell you the same, by the way).   I see a school with no window panes, it's boarded up on one side. The refugees worry about Israeli missiles blasting through the glass, hurting their kids. The camp has no tent - it long ago made way for Lajpat Nagar-like hovels, a family to a room, shared among lots of brothers and sisters. Karim, who shows us around, points to "those nice buildings at the top of the mountain. They are the Israeli settlers who came to steal our lands. Each family has an apartment". I smell despair.   And then there's the Wall that cuts through their homes, villages and factories - and the Israeli Defence Forces at every checkpoint. Frisking for a belt packed with explosives.   For Israelis, the wall is an anti-terror fence which has successfully kept many suicide bombers away, beginning 2003. There were only 614 attempts at suicide bombing last year, the government says proudly. For the Palestinians, the wall/fence is a visible symbol of occupation. It's also a major source of inconvenience for those who travel within West Bank and to Jerusalem and back. They ask, "If Israel needs it, why don't they build it on their side?".   Both are right.   I'm in the occupied territories the week Kashmir is on the boil. It makes me think of the Kashmiris who're out getting shot by the men in khakhi. Even in the rest of India, a Kashmiri risks being frisked more than the rest of us. For some others, a Kashmiri is a suspected terrorist - until proven innocent.   I see the similarities in the narrative of Palestine and Kashmir.   Yes, there are similarities even though 'azadi' for Kashmir is not on the table - while Israel recognises the Palestinians' right to a nation. There are similarities even though status quo will likely be a final solution for the Kashmir problem (i.e Pakistan keeps PoK and India keeps what it has) while Israel will eventually pull out from West Bank.   I see similarities not just because India is being embarrassed by Kashmir and Israel is being embarrassed by Gaza. But because I hear the same words over and over again - dignity, humiliation, occupation, terrorism, militancy, rage, anger, human rights violations.   Both are conflicts over land, with water now creeping into the discourse. Blood spilled - of countless innocents - and of 'martyrs' and brave soldiers. Both Israel and India are prickly about UN involvement. And both India and Israel lack a credible peace partner on the other side. Israel is unable to do business with Hamas -- because Hamas is either unwilling to or unable to control terror from Gaza which is under its control. It's radicalized. And it's resolutely opposed to Israel's existence. India faces the same problem with Pakistan. Elements within its Army are determined to sponsor terrorism, determined to break India up as revenge for Bangladesh.   But most importantly perhaps, parties to both conflicts are guilty of perpetuating them by missing opportunities, turning a blind eye to misgovernance, fostering a political vacuum and taking recourse to terrorism to widen the trust deficit.   If West Asia had its Camp David in 2000, seven years after the peace process officially began, we had our 2004-2007 period (coinciding with the composite dialogue) when the UPA led by Dr Manmohan Singh and General Musharraf made quiet progress on Kashmir. Cut to the present. We have Omar Abdullah playing Emperor Nero. The marginalisation of a mainstream opposition. The Centre squandering goodwill. The security forces thoroughly discredited. The revival of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the resurgence of the Dukhtaran-e-Millat.   Where did the millions of rupees in development funds go? The funds for jihad, by the way, too are believed to have gone into private pockets. Conflict, you see, is good business for some. In a year when we should have built upon the gains of a successful election, we gave them fake encounters and botched-up investigations. And when, driven by despair, the Kashmiri picked up a stone - he got a fatal bullet from a confused and clueless security force. But the leadership saw nothing, says nothing. And there could be more trouble on the horizon - if a largely secular movement turns radical, if the Kashmiri picks up the gun again.   If that happens, we would only have ourselves to blame. Just like the Palestinians blame themselves.   A thoroughly insensitive and corrupt Yasser Arafat regime raked in billions of dollars in international aid. The Palestinian Authority - led by Fatah -- squandered its chance at governance in West Bank and Gaza. Jericho, handed over by Israel to the PA, got a casino before it got a hospital. "The occupied territories got dozens of armed militias, people never saw the billions and were denied basic freedoms", says Khalid , an Israeli Arab journalist of Palestinian stock. In 2006, Hamas swept to power in Gaza. The Palestinians had wanted change, you see. Today, Israel is worried. Hamas is such bad news for Israel that it is almost grateful for having to deal with the PA, praising the security co-operation it offers to manage West Bank!   Hamas has also damaged the Palestinian cause. The deputy mayor of Bethlehem, a Fatah leader, admits, "Terror won't help us achieve our goals, people are suffering under Hamas in Gaza". A large Kashmiri cross-section is only too aware of the damage Pakistani-sponsored terrorism and jihad for Kashmir has done to their cause. India will want it to stay that way. In return, it has to clean up its act. It can start by stopping the killings.   Every policeman and soldier who kills an innocent must be punished. As for riot control, there's a wealth of technology that Israel has developed which we can assess for our use -- like an armoured car that fires small stones back, The Shout - an acoustic weapon, a speaker that deafens anyone near it, a sticky net that can be dropped from a helicopter to round up a huge group, paint guns and guns with stinky pellets to identify riot leaders long after a protest is over. The Israelis learnt from the 2nd initifada, we must learn from the 2010 uprising.   So here's where we stand.   The Israelis and Palestinians and the Indians and Pakistanis now find themselves being nudged by President Obama to return to the talking table. I hear many Israelis say "Let's wait it out. Maybe we should start seeing the problem with more humility and realise it won't be solved in our lifetime. The gap is too wide. It's not having direct talks that's important, it's what you say." I'm beginning to sense this fatigue vis-a-vis Pakistan in policy circles in Delhi as well, notwithstanding the Prime Minister's push for peace. But we cannot afford to abandon the Kashmiris. The talks with Pakistan can wait, we need to listen to the Kashmiris first. From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Aug 11 14:07:59 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:37:59 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] "Kashmir and Palestine" by Paarull Malhotra Message-ID: <911252.45535.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> comments reproduced from:   Facebook Group "Moderate Voice of Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh"   http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137304319631342&v=wall   Kshmendra --- On Wed, 8/11/10, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: From: Kshmendra Kaul Subject: "Kashmir and Palestine" by Paarull Malhotra To: "sarai list" Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 2:04 PM paarull malhotra brings forward an interesting set of similiarities and dissimilarities in comparing the issues of 'palestine' and 'kashmir' (which include some judgements by her) i think paarull errs on 2 counts 1. she fails to either recognise or highlight that while the issue of 'palestine' is fairly well recognised for the geographical areas under reference and the ethno-religious groups involved , in the case of 'kashmir' there being no certainity in such recognitions compounds the problem 2. in talking about "India and Israel lack a credible peace partner on the other side" she compares the difficulty in dialogue between israel and the hamas with the difficulties between india and pakistan ...... whereas the immediacy of 'peace requirements' in 'kashmir' are confined to kashmir valley and need a dialogue between india and primarily the 'protesting people of kashmir'      but she does conclude her piece with "The talks with Pakistan can wait, we need to listen to the Kashmiris first."   ........... aalok aima     http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/paarull/1399/61971/kashmir-and-palestine.html   Kashmir and Palestine   by Paarull Malhotra   Tuesday , August 10, 2010   We're in Jerusalem. "I'm from Kashmir", our journalist friend makes his first tentative approach to a couple of Palestinian men. "You pray for us, we'll pray for you", they reply. The conversation is over. The Palestinians are in no mood for a chat. I'm not a party to this conversation but our group of Indian journalists has a quick laugh when it's relayed to us. So much for `solidarity to the cause'. But I also sense the frustration lurking behind that remark.   I see frustration when I'm at Aida (the word is Arabic for Return). It's a Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem city, West Bank. Young kids, some not older than 8 or 9, are filling water trickling out from a rusty tap. Our guide says they stay thirsty for days because Israel controls the supply and chooses to consume a bulk of the water, leaving very little for the Palestinians. Even discounting for propaganda, living in a camp for as long as you can remember can't be fun. (The Kashmiri Pandits will tell you the same, by the way).   I see a school with no window panes, it's boarded up on one side. The refugees worry about Israeli missiles blasting through the glass, hurting their kids. The camp has no tent - it long ago made way for Lajpat Nagar-like hovels, a family to a room, shared among lots of brothers and sisters. Karim, who shows us around, points to "those nice buildings at the top of the mountain. They are the Israeli settlers who came to steal our lands. Each family has an apartment". I smell despair.   And then there's the Wall that cuts through their homes, villages and factories - and the Israeli Defence Forces at every checkpoint. Frisking for a belt packed with explosives.   For Israelis, the wall is an anti-terror fence which has successfully kept many suicide bombers away, beginning 2003. There were only 614 attempts at suicide bombing last year, the government says proudly. For the Palestinians, the wall/fence is a visible symbol of occupation. It's also a major source of inconvenience for those who travel within West Bank and to Jerusalem and back. They ask, "If Israel needs it, why don't they build it on their side?".   Both are right.   I'm in the occupied territories the week Kashmir is on the boil. It makes me think of the Kashmiris who're out getting shot by the men in khakhi. Even in the rest of India, a Kashmiri risks being frisked more than the rest of us. For some others, a Kashmiri is a suspected terrorist - until proven innocent.   I see the similarities in the narrative of Palestine and Kashmir.   Yes, there are similarities even though 'azadi' for Kashmir is not on the table - while Israel recognises the Palestinians' right to a nation. There are similarities even though status quo will likely be a final solution for the Kashmir problem (i.e Pakistan keeps PoK and India keeps what it has) while Israel will eventually pull out from West Bank.   I see similarities not just because India is being embarrassed by Kashmir and Israel is being embarrassed by Gaza. But because I hear the same words over and over again - dignity, humiliation, occupation, terrorism, militancy, rage, anger, human rights violations.   Both are conflicts over land, with water now creeping into the discourse. Blood spilled - of countless innocents - and of 'martyrs' and brave soldiers. Both Israel and India are prickly about UN involvement. And both India and Israel lack a credible peace partner on the other side. Israel is unable to do business with Hamas -- because Hamas is either unwilling to or unable to control terror from Gaza which is under its control. It's radicalized. And it's resolutely opposed to Israel's existence. India faces the same problem with Pakistan. Elements within its Army are determined to sponsor terrorism, determined to break India up as revenge for Bangladesh.   But most importantly perhaps, parties to both conflicts are guilty of perpetuating them by missing opportunities, turning a blind eye to misgovernance, fostering a political vacuum and taking recourse to terrorism to widen the trust deficit.   If West Asia had its Camp David in 2000, seven years after the peace process officially began, we had our 2004-2007 period (coinciding with the composite dialogue) when the UPA led by Dr Manmohan Singh and General Musharraf made quiet progress on Kashmir. Cut to the present. We have Omar Abdullah playing Emperor Nero. The marginalisation of a mainstream opposition. The Centre squandering goodwill. The security forces thoroughly discredited. The revival of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the resurgence of the Dukhtaran-e-Millat.   Where did the millions of rupees in development funds go? The funds for jihad, by the way, too are believed to have gone into private pockets. Conflict, you see, is good business for some. In a year when we should have built upon the gains of a successful election, we gave them fake encounters and botched-up investigations. And when, driven by despair, the Kashmiri picked up a stone - he got a fatal bullet from a confused and clueless security force. But the leadership saw nothing, says nothing. And there could be more trouble on the horizon - if a largely secular movement turns radical, if the Kashmiri picks up the gun again.   If that happens, we would only have ourselves to blame. Just like the Palestinians blame themselves.   A thoroughly insensitive and corrupt Yasser Arafat regime raked in billions of dollars in international aid. The Palestinian Authority - led by Fatah -- squandered its chance at governance in West Bank and Gaza. Jericho, handed over by Israel to the PA, got a casino before it got a hospital. "The occupied territories got dozens of armed militias, people never saw the billions and were denied basic freedoms", says Khalid , an Israeli Arab journalist of Palestinian stock. In 2006, Hamas swept to power in Gaza. The Palestinians had wanted change, you see. Today, Israel is worried. Hamas is such bad news for Israel that it is almost grateful for having to deal with the PA, praising the security co-operation it offers to manage West Bank!   Hamas has also damaged the Palestinian cause. The deputy mayor of Bethlehem, a Fatah leader, admits, "Terror won't help us achieve our goals, people are suffering under Hamas in Gaza". A large Kashmiri cross-section is only too aware of the damage Pakistani-sponsored terrorism and jihad for Kashmir has done to their cause. India will want it to stay that way. In return, it has to clean up its act. It can start by stopping the killings.   Every policeman and soldier who kills an innocent must be punished. As for riot control, there's a wealth of technology that Israel has developed which we can assess for our use -- like an armoured car that fires small stones back, The Shout - an acoustic weapon, a speaker that deafens anyone near it, a sticky net that can be dropped from a helicopter to round up a huge group, paint guns and guns with stinky pellets to identify riot leaders long after a protest is over. The Israelis learnt from the 2nd initifada, we must learn from the 2010 uprising.   So here's where we stand.   The Israelis and Palestinians and the Indians and Pakistanis now find themselves being nudged by President Obama to return to the talking table. I hear many Israelis say "Let's wait it out. Maybe we should start seeing the problem with more humility and realise it won't be solved in our lifetime. The gap is too wide. It's not having direct talks that's important, it's what you say." I'm beginning to sense this fatigue vis-a-vis Pakistan in policy circles in Delhi as well, notwithstanding the Prime Minister's push for peace. But we cannot afford to abandon the Kashmiris. The talks with Pakistan can wait, we need to listen to the Kashmiris first. From rashneek at gmail.com Wed Aug 11 14:48:24 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:48:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Next time , throw a book-Saima Shakeel in The Dawn In-Reply-To: <048dd0b6a0de9b7adfac376659044a00@mail.sarai.net> References: <048dd0b6a0de9b7adfac376659044a00@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: Thanks a lot Shuddha,I also loved reading it. regards rashneek On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 10:53 AM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > Dear Rashneek Kher, > > Thank you for forwarding this excellent article, I really enjoyed reading > it, > it's take on Zardari reading Machiavelli is spot on ! > > best > > Shuddha > > On Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:50:27 +0530 rashneek kher > wrote > > > Along with a shoe, one wishes someone would throw a book or two at some > of > > our newsmakers. Maybe, just maybe, it would do a world of good to them > and > > to us, the 175 million Pakistani people who are affected daily by their > > words and (mis)deeds. However, in the case of some newsmakers, it appears > > that they are already hard at work studying some old classics …. > > > > *What they are reading* > > > > President Asif Zardari: *The Prince* by Niccolo Machiavelli > > > > Granted, the sixteenth-century treatise on statecraft will read like a > > virtual autobiography to the man who could very well write its updated > > version when he finally retires to his sixteenth century chateau in > France, > > the Manoir de la Reine Blanche. > > > > Machiavelli, a public servant, based his famous work on the political > > machinations of the Medicis and Borgias, the two most powerful families > in > > Renaissance Italy. Many critics argue that The Prince is a political > satire > > and meant to be read as a tongue-in-cheek account. Others disagree, and > the > > fact that it was first published five years after Machiavelli’s death > makes > > one think that he, for one, did not consider it a laughing matter. > > > > Why am I convinced that this treatise must be the president’s bedtime > > reading? Well, mostly because the similarities between him and the prince > > are too astounding to be mere coincidence. > > > > Machiavelli’s prince does not wish to preserve moral good or spiritual > > integrity; he simply wants to attain and maintain his power. Having come > to > > power through sheer luck or the blessing of some powerful figures, he has > an > > easy gaining power but must work hard to keep it. His power is dependent > on > > his benefactors’ goodwill which is a fickle thing at best. > > > > Also, consider the following excerpts from the treatise: > > > > “A man who strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to > ruin, > > since there are so many men who are not good.” > > > > “The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a > > necessity of the present.” > > > > “The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; > > and > > when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. > But > > when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all > > costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes.” > > > > See what I mean? > > > > Fauzia Wahab: *Gone with the Wind* by Margaret Mitchell > > > > Anyone who has seen the PPP’s central information secretary in action > > cannot > > doubt that she has been working hard learning a trick or 10 from that > queen > > of melodrama, Scarlett O’ Hara. The South may have swept through by the > > victorious Yankees and Tara, the O’Hara family estate, burnt to a crisp, > > but > > Scarlett stubbornly refused to budge or face reality. She was determined > to > > do anything (and I do mean, anything) to defend her landowning, > > slave-keeping lifestyle. > > > > Our own Ms Scarlett has been seen snorting, snickering and screaming on > TV > > channels to defend what in any civilised society would be considered > > indefensible. This includes a president who takes off on a ‘joyride’ > while > > the country is drowning to host what can only be described as his son’s > > ‘coronation’ in Birmingham. The same president who later said in the > speech > > he made to supporters in Birmingham that his late wife and her father > spoke > > ‘from inside him’ at a very critical time in the country’s history and > > urged > > him to declare ‘Pakistan Khappay’. > > > > Dear Scarlett, just like Rhett, we frankly don’t give a damn. > > > > *What he should be reading* > > > > Bilawal Zardari: *All the Shah’s Men* by Stephen Kinzer > > > > It’s not too late. While he is still completing his education, the young > > man > > would do well to read Kinzer’s gripping account of how the arrogant and > > corrupt regime of the US-backed Shah was overthrown in a bloody > revolution. > > The book gives details of how the Iranian people, who’s benign lord the > > Shah > > claimed to be, finally turned against him with such ferocity that the > royal > > family and their cronies were forced to flee the country in order to save > > their lives. > > > > Even today, despite their many differences of opinion and dissatisfaction > > with the rule of the ayatollahs, the one thing that the Iranian nation > > agrees on is that there can be no return of the monarchy. The only way > that > > the late Shah’s only son, Reza Pahlavi, who continues to style himself > > ‘heir > > to the throne of Iran,’ can hope to re-enter the country is through > foreign > > backing. And we all know what that leads to. > > > > Reza Pahlavi at least has claim, however flimsy, to be the scion of a > royal > > dynasty. (His grandfather Reza Shah was commander of the Persian Cossack > > brigade who became king as the result of a coup.) Bilawal Zardari has no > > such claim. > > > > He claims that his late mother always taught him that, ‘democracy is the > > best revenge.’ Well, the Oxford-educated lad should know that there is no > > place for a dynasty in democracies. India is learning that at its great > > expense. Bilawal must discourage demagoguery within the People’s Party > and > > encourage other, more senior, party leaders to take over the reins. > > > > > > -- > > Rashneek Kher > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From kiccovich at yahoo.com Wed Aug 11 15:07:40 2010 From: kiccovich at yahoo.com (francesca recchia) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:37:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] ProtoVillage Message-ID: <526728.23905.qm@web113211.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Dear all I would like to share with you the project I am working on now and would love to have your feedback and suggestions. ProtoVillage (www.protovillage.org) adopts an integrated approach to rural development and intends to co-createin 1000 daysan “Adequate” village - socially, economically and environmentallyviable - thathas the inhabitants directly involved in its thinking and making. We want to develop a multi-dimensional definition of the "desired state" of being, and work with the populations to get to that desired state and have sufficient access to factors that ensure dignity of life. If a multi-dimensional approach can comprehensively define the poverty line, and effectively measure the population below it, we believe that the definition of a “desired state” can also be developed as a function of the same dimensions. We call this desired state "Adequacy", and it has 12 interdependent dimensions: Food, Water, Shelter, Clothing, Energy, Income Generation, Education, Health Care, Public Domain, Connectivity, Social Equity and Eco-Conservation/Disaster Management. ProtoVillage is our endeavour to develop and implement a model that is designed to be both broadly replicable and also capable of accounting for the uniqueness of local conditions. We are currently working towards the implementation of ProtoVillage in Tekulodu Panchayat, a cluster of three villages in Chilamathur Mandal in Anantapur District in Andhra Pradesh(India).In its first phase we are going to be based there for fivemonths developing an action research that,in collaboration with the inhabitants,will produce the knowledge about the village that grounds the further advancement of the project. There are different way to get involved and support the project: there are chances of collaboration for experts from different disciplines, students, artists and academic. If you are interested in joining in, please get in touch! Much love francesca francesca recchia kiccovich at yahoo.com it +39 338 166 3648 in +91 8106169883 From shreyadalwadi at yahoo.com Wed Aug 11 17:25:52 2010 From: shreyadalwadi at yahoo.com (shreyadalwadi at yahoo.com) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:55:52 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Hello- response to Protovillage Message-ID: <992992994-1281527704-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-1730851857-@bda2169.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Shreya Dalwadi -----Original Message----- From: shreyadalwadi at yahoo.com Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:53:35 To: Reply-To: shreyadalwadi at yahoo.com Subject: Hello- response to Protovillage Hi Dear, Let me introduce myself as Shreya Dalwadi, an architect town planner, currently practising in Vadodara, Gujarat. We practise under the aegis of Planning Solutions. We are currently involved in formal Village Development Plans for eight villages in Bharuch District of Gujarat State. It was nice to get in touch with you through reader list. Am interested to know more about you and your work profile. Please note my I'd n send other ids of yours. I would feel fortunate if we can discuss further on this project. Shreya Dalwadi From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 09:23:30 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:53:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] A poetic response by a Kashmir protester who witnessed vandalism at Jantar Mantar. Message-ID: <299825.13926.qm@web114720.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> I Refuse Ramzan Greetings. by Shahid Ikbal on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 at 20:37 My brother Kashmiri pandit I know not Who is dead? My chest embraced a bullet Did your conscience fell dead? I return all hugs of Eid I refuse Ramzan greetings You owe a condolence message Of fifty recent Dead. You ride pony to Amarnath You board a bus to Tulmul You never stop at Eidgah To pay tribute to The Dead. Your show at Jantar Manter I couldnot understand I took you as my shoulder You left my trust Dead. I open my heart for you For you and me is one I feel you suffering alone Why don't you see me Dead? From rashneek at gmail.com Thu Aug 12 09:35:54 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:35:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A poetic response by a Kashmir protester who witnessed vandalism at Jantar Mantar. In-Reply-To: <299825.13926.qm@web114720.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <299825.13926.qm@web114720.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: but hamko kahen kafir allah ki marzi hain... On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 9:23 AM, gowhar fazli wrote: > > I Refuse Ramzan Greetings. > by Shahid Ikbal on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 at 20:37 > > My brother Kashmiri pandit > > I know not Who is dead? > > My chest embraced a bullet > > Did your conscience fell dead? > > > > I return all hugs of Eid > > I refuse Ramzan greetings > > You owe a condolence message > > Of fifty recent Dead. > > > > You ride pony to Amarnath > > You board a bus to Tulmul > > You never stop at Eidgah > > To pay tribute to The Dead. > > > > Your show at Jantar Manter > > I couldnot understand > > I took you as my shoulder > > You left my trust Dead. > > > > I open my heart for you > > For you and me is one > > I feel you suffering alone > > Why don't you see me Dead? > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From kiccovich at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 10:41:18 2010 From: kiccovich at yahoo.com (francesca recchia) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:11:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Ladakh Fundraiser Message-ID: <755899.28413.qm@web113203.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> For those of you who are in Bangalore, please join! x francesca -------------------------------- It once beckoned to us as a dream. Since then, ten years and a multitude of adventures later Ladakh has become an integral part of getoffurass and in a lot of ways has helped us define what we are today. The land and the people has had a huge impact on the way we see and feel things. It has touched our lives andchanged us for the better. The friends we made here are the ones we would cherish for life. To watch a calamity like this befall this land and its simple, beautiful, loving people has affected us a great deal. We have put together this event for raising awareness and doing what we can to help. With you, with us at this event we hope to reach out to as many people as we can. Getoff Traveller Pankaj Trivedi was in the thick of action. He has come back with images and videos that we want to share with you. To know more about him, check his website – www.hornokplz.tv On Saturday the 14th of August we have organised an event to share, understand and explore on how we can help our friends, people and the place, to get over this devastating time. 1 Shanti Road has been kind to offer us the place to meet. So please make it there at 18:30pm, 14th August 2010 (pls RSVP) No.1 Shanthi road/Shanti Nagar/Bangalore-25 For map and direction details – pls check http://www.1shanthiroad.com/ We also plan to have an exhibition of images contributed from folks we know soon. Sale proceeds from the exhibition will be forwarded to Ladakh towards any kind of rehabilitation work. More about the exhibition to be posted on Facebook; getoff and onthemove pages. For more details – pls contact Sandhya at getoffurass.com hand phone; +919916192000 francesca recchia kiccovich at yahoo.com it +39 338 166 3648 in +91 8106169883 From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 11:51:26 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:21:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account Message-ID: <752300.28579.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account By Gowhar Fazili After the first reconciliation workshop involving Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim participants would visit migrant camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that had just begun to unfold by the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous amount of courage on part of the participants led them to share their personal and collective grief and suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can transform people and must be respected and valued. To further explore the spirit of oneness in suffering and to take it beyond the confines of the meeting venue, a visit by some Kashmiri Muslim participants was to be the next step. Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit Jammu in the month of September and we visited homes of Pandit participants residing in and outside the camps and also met with some other members of the community. The experience generated so many emotions and thoughts that it will take a lifetime to unpack them but I will try to share some of the observations that can be made. When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about the plan, they asked why I should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering is far too greater here in Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many widows, orphans, bereaved and people who have lost their homes and property in the ongoing turmoil in the valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by far. Some said that Pandits are a pampered lot. Both the central and the state government pamper Pandits and they are living better lives in the safety of camps in Jammu than any of us here. They also said that everybody from the humanitarian organizations to politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while we (Kashmiri Muslims) are merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they are undergoing because we are supposedly the source of all trouble. Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only to know if the stories that take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what extent. How do Pandits themselves feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, which has been their home for ages? Are they living away from their homeland by choice? What were the circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was it merely state policy whisk Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or was their enough fear in the atmosphere to have made a community of a such small size feel vulnerable and unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used to living in spacious house to live in a camp? What is the condition of the camps ... and so many questions that could be answered only through experience and first hand interaction. Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, we did not think it prudent to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a hotel and from there called some people we had met in the reconciliation workshop and fixed to visit their places on the next day. But even before we set out for our visits we received an early morning delegation of Pandits associated with the Chamber of Commerce. They had heard about our work and were curious to know more. They appreciated the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured us their support especially in the section of people associated with trade and commerce. They also spoke of the efforts they had made earlier to maintain relationship between the members of the two communities but that they could not sustain it for too long. They also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so that there could be sustained communication between the people of two communities. From then on Anil (one of the participants in the workshop) played our host and guided us to residences of the members. He had already fixed our schedule for the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in this manner. We began by visiting members who lived outside the camps. The houses we visited looked similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were a deliberate effort to live back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the houses even had an elaborately and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The residents explained that this keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very much at home possibly because of our common culture and the foods that we were treated to. The conversations went on endlessly as they do in Kashmir. There was a special feeling like when we meet relatives separated from us for a long time. There was so much to catch up on. We could sense among our hosts a deep longing and love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it was clearly evident by the manner in which they had maintained continuity with their way of life in an alien land and the profusion artifacts that they had surrounded themselves with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their eyes to receive us in their homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken place while we shared about our experiences and the situations we are faced with in either place. The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds of most Kashmiri Pandits was not economic loss but the fear of losing community itself in the vast sea of humanity that is India... They so much want to remain Kashmiris and so easily find extension of their selves among the co- community of Kashmiri Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can share the language, culture and the local idiom even though their religion is different. They can talk to us and share the inherited meanings while it is not possible with co-religionists from other parts of India. In Kashmir they also shared a relationship of mutual respect with other Kashmiris, while in a place like Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special community. They are merely outsiders who are encroaching on the local resources. But even now when we meet after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be familiar and know how to address each other and can share so much. In all our conversations the use of 'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and Pandits was frequent. We could still identify ourselves as a people apart from others. >From the homes we visited it was clear how much they must have had to struggle to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had taken years for some to finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. For a long while they felt that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to return very soon. Some said that they can still not relate to these houses as their own, and that whenever they dream of home they can only visualize their houses in Kashmir. I realized the difference between migrating for better opportunities like many of us do and being forced by circumstances to migrate from home and having no place to return to. I realized that Pandit migration was a tragic event for Kashmiri community as a whole because they took with them so much that was us. It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel so vulnerable as a community away from home. From there Anil led us to the camps for the first time. Since most of the participants for our workshop had come from the Porkhu camp we went there to meet up with the people. I must confess that my idea of Pandit camps while in Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as befit the so-called 'pampered' community. To my shock the camp can be described no better than a slum. Pandit camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood or single brick walls. In the barracks each family has been allotted a room or if the family is really large two rooms at the most. The lanes between the barracks are narrow and lined by deep open drains. The residents have constructed toilets and small kitchens and walls around the space on their own. Once inside, we felt very hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room where shifted to one side to make room for the seven men who had visited the house. The immediate feeling that came to our mind was that this was no place to live for ten days and these people had managed to live here for more than thirteen years. Yet we were treated very hospitably, as we would be in Kashmir. Again we realized that Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance even in terms of the food they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and traditional Kashmiri bread (chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who had visited Kashmir. Some of the members in the camp had to give serious explanation for having participated in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of having made a compromise with Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again that there was no hidden agenda and that none of the known political organizations had anything to do with our work. We decided to visit the camp once again on the next day in order to hear from more people and also to share the idea of reconciliation with them. To our surprise more people turned up for the meeting than we were prepared to face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty people in the meeting. But the hall meant for marriages and other functions began to fill until we had more than hundred people many of whom did not understand why we were there. Some of the people were charged up due to the election campaigns and the offer made by the central government to give rupees seven-lakh assistance for Pandits who chose to return to the valley. One of the elderly persons emphasized that they did not want this package because they saw it more as an insult added to the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri Pandits was not about money, but about insecurity and how they can redeem the way of life that was lost. “Would they be able to return the security we felt in living among our own people and how would they ensure that now, with the changes that our people have undergone by living away from each other?” It was clear that some of the people in the camp were mistaking us for the representatives of some political party or the central government. After hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts thought that we must be asked why we have come to the camps in the first place. We began by explaining that we did not represent any official initiatives for rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as concerned individuals who are not happy with the situation as it exists. “We have no offers to make because have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In a sense we feel guilty for not having done enough to stop the migration when it took place and also for not having been in touch for the last thirteen years. It is partly to absolve ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have also come to hear from your experiences and to observe how you people are living away from home and what you have to say.” This brief introduction changed the tone of the meeting and then on almost all the members individually began to share their experiences. Some laid emphasis on the unique brotherhood that existed among Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits and how they longed for its return, while others expressed the pain of living for thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the elderly were very vivid about their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at least die in Kashmir”, the younger ones were bitter about the state of helplessness and feared whether their future would be safe if they were to choose to return. Some of the members related the number of times Kashmiri Pandits have had to migrate from Kashmir and how every time after the peace was restored they returned to their homeland. They also said that if they were to return this time, they would want the surity that they do not have to migrate yet again. Some of the younger members were very bitter about the circumstances that led them to leave Kashmir and said that under no circumstances are they willing to forget how some of their people were tortured and killed. We tried to explain that to reconcile did not mean that one has to forget and we did not expect them to forget what they had experienced. Asking one to forget would amount to disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only feel that hate should not be the motive for our actions and that we must forgive without forgetting. One of the members explained how the state was maintaining the camps in bad repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners and visitors to the camps as a means of propaganda to impress upon them their own version of the conflict in Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals kept in a zoo, displayed whenever the need was felt. The state according to them could do better and at least afford to provide reasonable conditions of living for the migrants. The dilapidated condition of the camps was a deliberate state policy. Almost all the people appreciated our effort and felt that it was in some ways different from all the other efforts that are being made for their return and rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts were in the least sincere and thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that the greater part of the work is required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do not pose a big problem. It is only when certain receptiveness is created among the majority community in Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made possible. There was a difference of opinion whether they should return to their own respective villages or a separate enclave should be created to rehabilitate them in the valley. For some the texture of the villages over the years had changed so drastically that it was no longer possible for them to feel safe in their old homes. So though the interaction between the members of the two communities should get restored, but for their safety they must be settled in an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this arrangement would not be healthy, as it would not help restore old relationship and increase suspicion and segregation. The meeting lasted well over five hours into the night and at last when most people had spoken we sought permission to leave. But the people would not let us go and took us back to their homes where more rounds of tea and informal conversation resumed. We had to leave finally because of an earlier commitment to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside the camp. The conversations at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well past midnight, were in my opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language that can only be possible with the members of ones own community. There was endless joking and laughing! To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu was beyond our expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost. People are cautiously, willing to explore ... because the stake is worth every bit of effort. From ish at sarai.net Thu Aug 12 11:53:57 2010 From: ish at sarai.net (ISh S) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:53:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Inhabited Geometry - Performance today | Aug 12 Thursday | 8 pm | Message-ID: <4C63937D.5040807@sarai.net> Dear All ... Please come over to Sri Ram center today at 8 Pm for a performance of Inhabited Geometry Performed by 'Gati Dance'. I have composed the music for this recital. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ INHABITED GEOMETRY Thursday 12th August, 8 pm Shri Ram Centre ...Safdar Hashmi Marg, Mandi House New Delhi For Donor passes, contact 9971406113/ 9810283848/ 01141825766 Based on the notion of lived experience of architecture in Gaston Bachelard’s Poetics of Space, ‘Inhabited Geometry’ is an ensemble piece that aims to define, architecturally and imaginarily, the idea of home. As an investigation of the idea of 'site', cultural as well as architectural, and an attempt to create a new vocabulary emerging out of experiments with Bharatanatyam, this piece is essentially an exploration undertaken with six dancers to paint a picture of an imaginary home. Choreographed by Mandeep Raikhy Danced by Anusha Lall, Swati Mohan, Manju Sharma, Rajat Bakshi, Sanjay Singh Rana & Mandeep Raikhy Music by Ish S (Sound Reasons) Multi-media design by Chris Ziegler Lighting by Rajesh Singh ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ -- Sound Reasons Records/ Sarai-CSDS http://soundreasons.in http://freemuzik.net http://sarai.net From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 11:56:58 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:26:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? An observation by an ordinary protester Message-ID: <358501.30865.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> A remark by an ordinary participant Shadab Bashir at the Delhi Kashmir protests on his facebook notes: “Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? It is really sad and surprising to see Kashmiri Pandits shouting slogans and waving Indian flags to provoke Kashmiris who were at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi to protest against the ongoing human rights violation in Kashmir. More than 50 people died during the past two months due to high handedness of the Indian troops. Bullets were triggered out not only against stone pelters but also on innocent youth, children and women. A nine years old boy was beaten to death by Indian ‘security’ forces. This may be the highest kind of human rights violation for the rest of the India but Kashmiris are witnessing these incidents very often. Indian Army is displaying their arrogance against innocent Kashmiris, but even Kashmiri Pandits have no solidarity towards people of Kashmir as was witnessed by us at Jantar Mantar. Instead of joining hands with us for a good cause they tried to disturb our peaceful protest. When a person from their rally came waving an India flag and shouting provocative slogans towards us we refrained ourselves and shouted back that “You are our brothers”. It appears that they have no sympathy towards innocent killings of young people in Kashmir, being Kashmiris they should have joined our hands against this tyranny. Alas they have lost their Kashmiryat!” From rashneek at gmail.com Thu Aug 12 14:19:50 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:19:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? An observation by an ordinary protester In-Reply-To: <358501.30865.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <358501.30865.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: who invented the term and when did it exist....... On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 11:56 AM, gowhar fazli wrote: > > > A remark by an ordinary participant Shadab Bashir at the Delhi Kashmir > protests > > > on his facebook notes: > > > “Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? > > It is really sad and surprising to see Kashmiri Pandits shouting slogans > and > waving Indian flags to provoke Kashmiris who were at Jantar Mantar, New > Delhi > to protest against the ongoing human rights violation in Kashmir. > More than 50 people died during the past two months due to high handedness > of > the Indian troops. Bullets were triggered out not only against stone > pelters > but also on innocent youth, children and women. A nine years old boy was > beaten > > > to death by Indian ‘security’ forces. This may be the highest kind of > human > rights violation for the rest of the India but Kashmiris are witnessing > these > incidents very often. > > Indian Army is displaying their arrogance against innocent Kashmiris, but > even > Kashmiri Pandits have no solidarity towards people of Kashmir as was > witnessed > by us at Jantar Mantar. Instead of joining hands with us for a good cause > they > tried to disturb our peaceful protest. > > When a person from their rally came waving an India flag and shouting > provocative slogans towards us we refrained ourselves and shouted back > that > “You are our brothers”. It appears that they have no sympathy towards > innocent > killings of young people in Kashmir, being Kashmiris they should have > joined > our hands against this tyranny. > > Alas they have lost their Kashmiryat!” > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 14:46:48 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:16:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? An observation by an ordinary protester In-Reply-To: <358501.30865.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <521791.3932.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Gowhar   To such a trite remark (made along divide lines between Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims), there would be in response a pertinent and not so trite question:   "If Kashmiri Muslims lost their Kashmiriyat 1989 onwards, why should it surprise a Kashmiri Muslim if Kashmiri Pandits have consequently lost their Kashmiriyat ?"   Some of the slogans (reportedly) raised at the Jantar Mantar rally were not exactly suggesting that there is a nurturing environment for "Kashmiriyat". Were they?    There are various meanings and interpretations given to "Kashmiriyat" with no one being certain what exactly it means that would be mutually acceptable and whether it has any ennobling aspects at all.   The fact though is that amongst Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Muslims, both, there are still significant numbers who subscribe to the, nebulous it may be,  concept of "Kashmiriyat". They might not make propagandist slogans out of it but it is a feeling resident in their hearts.   Kshmendra  --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: From: gowhar fazli Subject: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? An observation by an ordinary protester To: "reader-list at sarai.net" Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:56 AM A remark by an ordinary participant Shadab Bashir at the  Delhi Kashmir protests on his facebook notes: “Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? It is really sad and surprising to see Kashmiri Pandits  shouting slogans and waving Indian flags to provoke Kashmiris who were at  Jantar Mantar, New Delhi to protest against the ongoing human rights violation  in Kashmir. More than 50 people died during the past two months due to  high handedness of the Indian troops. Bullets were triggered out not only  against stone pelters but also on innocent youth, children and women. A nine  years old boy was beaten to death by Indian ‘security’ forces. This may be the  highest kind of human rights violation for the rest of the India but Kashmiris  are witnessing these incidents very often. Indian Army is displaying their arrogance against innocent  Kashmiris, but even Kashmiri Pandits have no solidarity towards people of  Kashmir as was witnessed by us at Jantar Mantar. Instead of joining hands with  us for a good cause they tried to disturb our peaceful protest. When a person from their rally came waving an India flag and  shouting provocative slogans towards us we refrained ourselves and shouted back  that “You are our brothers”. It appears that they have no sympathy towards  innocent killings of young people in Kashmir, being Kashmiris they should have  joined our hands against this tyranny. Alas they have lost their Kashmiryat!”       _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 15:25:24 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:55:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: <752300.28579.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <81298.61187.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Gowhar   Thank you for sharing this.   Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? What do you think?   Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any such existing mechanism?   Your 2002 report conclude with  the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the  broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How?    Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by the Kashmiri Pandits still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for protection?   Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the Tehreek?   Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving strong condemnation?   Kshmendra --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: From: gowhar fazli Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account To: "reader-list at sarai.net" Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal  account By Gowhar Fazili After the first reconciliation workshop involving Kashmiri  Pandits and Kashmiri Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim participants  would visit migrant camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that had just  begun to unfold by the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous amount of  courage on part of the participants led them to share their personal and  collective grief and suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can transform  people and must be respected and valued. To further explore the spirit of  oneness in suffering and to take it beyond the confines of the meeting venue, a  visit by some Kashmiri Muslim participants was to be the next step. Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit Jammu in  the month of September and we visited homes of Pandit participants residing in  and outside the camps and also met with some other members of the community.  The experience generated so many emotions and thoughts that it will take a  lifetime to unpack them but I will try to share some of the observations that  can be made. When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about the plan,  they asked why I should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering is far too  greater here in Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many widows,  orphans, bereaved and people who have lost their homes and property in the  ongoing turmoil in the valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by far.  Some said that Pandits are a pampered lot. Both the central and the state  government pamper Pandits and they are living better lives in the safety of  camps in Jammu than any of us here. They also said that everybody from the  humanitarian organizations to politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while  we (Kashmiri Muslims) are merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they are  undergoing because we are supposedly the source of all trouble. Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only to know if  the stories that take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what extent. How do  Pandits themselves feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, which has  been their home for ages? Are they living away from their homeland by choice?  What were the circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was it merely state  policy whisk Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or was their enough  fear in the atmosphere to have made a community of a such small size feel  vulnerable and unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used to living in  spacious house to live in a camp? What is the condition of the camps ... and so  many questions that could be answered only through experience and first hand  interaction. Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, we did  not think it prudent to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a hotel  and from there called some people we had met in the reconciliation workshop and  fixed to visit their places on the next day. But even before we set out for our  visits we received an early morning delegation of Pandits associated with the  Chamber of Commerce. They had heard about our work and were curious to know  more. They appreciated the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured us  their support especially in the section of people associated with trade and  commerce. They also spoke of the efforts they had made earlier to maintain  relationship between the members of the two communities but that they could not  sustain it for too long. They also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so  that there could be sustained communication between the people of two  communities. >From then on Anil (one of the participants in the workshop)  played our host and guided us to residences of the members. He had already  fixed our schedule for the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in this  manner. We began by visiting members who lived outside the camps. The houses we  visited looked similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were a deliberate  effort to live back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the houses even had  an elaborately and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The residents  explained that this keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very much at  home possibly because of our common culture and the foods that we were treated  to. The conversations went on endlessly as they do in Kashmir. There was a  special feeling like when we meet relatives separated from us for a long time.  There was so much to catch up on. We could sense among our hosts a deep longing  and love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it was clearly evident by  the manner in which they had maintained continuity with their way of life in an  alien land and the profusion artifacts that they had surrounded themselves  with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their eyes to receive us in their  homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken place while we shared about  our experiences and the situations we are faced with in either place. The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds of most  Kashmiri Pandits was not economic loss but the fear of losing community itself  in the vast sea of humanity that is India... They so much want to remain  Kashmiris and so easily find extension of their selves among the co- community  of Kashmiri Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can share the  language, culture and the local idiom even though their religion is different.  They can talk to us and share the inherited meanings while it is not possible  with co-religionists from other parts of India. In Kashmir they also shared a  relationship of mutual respect with other Kashmiris, while in a place like  Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special community. They are merely  outsiders who are encroaching on the local resources. But even now when we meet  after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be familiar and know how to  address each other and can share so much. In all our conversations the use of  'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and Pandits was frequent. We  could still identify ourselves as a people apart from others. >From the homes we visited it was clear how much they must  have had to struggle to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had taken  years for some to finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. For a  long while they felt that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to return  very soon. Some said that they can still not relate to these houses as their  own, and that whenever they dream of home they can only visualize their houses  in Kashmir. I realized the difference between migrating for better  opportunities like many of us do and being forced by circumstances to migrate  from home and having no place to return to. I realized that Pandit migration  was a tragic event for Kashmiri community as a whole because they took with  them so much that was us. It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel so vulnerable  as a community away from home. >From there Anil led us to the camps for the first time.  Since most of the participants for our workshop had come from the Porkhu camp  we went there to meet up with the people. I must confess that my idea of Pandit  camps while in Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as befit the  so-called 'pampered' community. To my shock the camp can be described no better  than a slum. Pandit camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood or  single brick walls. In the barracks each family has been allotted a room or if  the family is really large two rooms at the most. The lanes between the  barracks are narrow and lined by deep open drains. The residents have  constructed toilets and small kitchens and walls around the space on their own.  Once inside, we felt very hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room  where shifted to one side to make room for the seven men who had visited the  house. The immediate feeling that came to our mind was that this was no place  to live for ten days and these people had managed to live here for more than  thirteen years. Yet we were treated very hospitably, as we would be in Kashmir.  Again we realized that Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance even  in terms of the food they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and traditional  Kashmiri bread (chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who had visited  Kashmir. Some of the members in the camp had to give serious explanation for  having participated in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of having  made a compromise with Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again that  there was no hidden agenda and that none of the known political organizations  had anything to do with our work. We decided to visit the camp once again on  the next day in order to hear from more people and also to share the idea of  reconciliation with them. To our surprise more people turned up for the meeting than  we were prepared to face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty people in  the meeting. But the hall meant for marriages and other functions began to fill  until we had more than hundred people many of whom did not understand why we  were there. Some of the people were charged up due to the election campaigns  and the offer made by the central government to give rupees seven-lakh  assistance for Pandits who chose to return to the valley. One of the elderly  persons emphasized that they did not want this package because they saw it more  as an insult added to the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri Pandits  was not about money, but about insecurity and how they can redeem the way of  life that was lost. “Would they be able to return the security we felt in  living among our own people and how would they ensure that now, with the  changes that our people have undergone by living away from each other?” It was clear that some of the people in the camp were  mistaking us for the representatives of some political party or the central  government. After hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts thought  that we must be asked why we have come to the camps in the first place. We  began by explaining that we did not represent any official initiatives for  rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as concerned  individuals who are not happy with the situation as it exists. “We have no  offers to make because have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In a  sense we feel guilty for not having done enough to stop the migration when it  took place and also for not having been in touch for the last thirteen years.  It is partly to absolve ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have also  come to hear from your experiences and to observe how you people are living  away from home and what you have to say.” This brief introduction changed the tone of the meeting and  then on almost all the members individually began to share their experiences.  Some laid emphasis on the unique brotherhood that existed among Kashmiri  Muslims and Pandits and how they longed for its return, while others expressed  the pain of living for thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the elderly  were very vivid about their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at least  die in Kashmir”, the younger ones were bitter about the state of helplessness  and feared whether their future would be safe if they were to choose to return.  Some of the members related the number of times Kashmiri Pandits have had to  migrate from Kashmir and how every time after the peace was restored they  returned to their homeland. They also said that if they were to return this  time, they would want the surity that they do not have to migrate yet again. Some of the younger members were very bitter about the  circumstances that led them to leave Kashmir and said that under no  circumstances are they willing to forget how some of their people were tortured  and killed. We tried to explain that to reconcile did not mean that one has to  forget and we did not expect them to forget what they had experienced. Asking  one to forget would amount to disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only  feel that hate should not be the motive for our actions and that we must forgive  without forgetting. One of the members explained how the state was maintaining  the camps in bad repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners and  visitors to the camps as a means of propaganda to impress upon them their own  version of the conflict in Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals  kept in a zoo, displayed whenever the need was felt. The state according to  them could do better and at least afford to provide reasonable conditions of  living for the migrants. The dilapidated condition of the camps was a  deliberate state policy. Almost all the people appreciated our effort and felt that  it was in some ways different from all the other efforts that are being made  for their return and rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts were in  the least sincere and thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that the  greater part of the work is required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do  not pose a big problem. It is only when certain receptiveness is created among  the majority community in Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made  possible. There was a difference of opinion whether they should return  to their own respective villages or a separate enclave should be created to  rehabilitate them in the valley. For some the texture of the villages over the  years had changed so drastically that it was no longer possible for them to  feel safe in their old homes. So though the interaction between the members of  the two communities should get restored, but for their safety they must be  settled in an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this arrangement would not  be healthy, as it would not help restore old relationship and increase  suspicion and segregation. The meeting lasted well over five hours into the night and  at last when most people had spoken we sought permission to leave. But the  people would not let us go and took us back to their homes where more rounds of  tea and informal conversation resumed. We had to leave finally because of an  earlier commitment to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside the  camp. The conversations at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well past  midnight, were in my opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language that  can only be possible with the members of ones own community. There was endless  joking and laughing! To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu was  beyond our expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the  broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost. People are  cautiously, willing to explore ... because the stake is worth every bit of  effort.       _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 15:54:20 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:24:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: <81298.61187.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <81298.61187.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <839384.4286.qm@web114718.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring serious reflection Kshmendra and I would not make light of them by replying a hurry.  I must confess that I am personally struggling with ambivalences often between mutually  exclusive and contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers for everything. However i promise I will try.  Thanks for reading the whole thing. In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage may go ahead. ________________________________ From: Kshmendra Kaul To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account Dear Gowhar Thank you for sharing this. Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? What do you think? Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any such existing mechanism? Your 2002 report conclude with  the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the  broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How?  Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by the Kashmiri Pandits still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for protection? Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the Tehreek? Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving strong condemnation? Kshmendra --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: >From: gowhar fazli >Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal >account >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM > > >Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal  account >By Gowhar Fazili > >After the first reconciliation workshop involving Kashmiri  Pandits and Kashmiri > >Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim participants  would visit migrant >camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that had just  begun to unfold by >the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous amount of  courage on part of > >the participants led them to share their personal and  collective grief and >suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can transform  people and must be >respected and valued. To further explore the spirit of  oneness in suffering and > >to take it beyond the confines of the meeting venue, a  visit by some Kashmiri >Muslim participants was to be the next step. > > >Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit Jammu in  the month of >September and we visited homes of Pandit participants residing in  and outside >the camps and also met with some other members of the community.  The experience > >generated so many emotions and thoughts that it will take a  lifetime to unpack >them but I will try to share some of the observations that  can be made. > > >When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about the plan,  they asked why I >should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering is far too  greater here in >Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many widows,  orphans, bereaved >and people who have lost their homes and property in the  ongoing turmoil in the > >valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by far.  Some said that Pandits >are a pampered lot. Both the central and the state  government pamper Pandits >and they are living better lives in the safety of  camps in Jammu than any of us > >here. They also said that everybody from the  humanitarian organizations to >politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while  we (Kashmiri Muslims) are >merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they are  undergoing because we are >supposedly the source of all trouble. > > >Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only to know if  the stories that >take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what extent. How do  Pandits themselves >feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, which has  been their home for >ages? Are they living away from their homeland by choice?  What were the >circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was it merely state  policy whisk >Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or was their enough  fear in the >atmosphere to have made a community of a such small size feel  vulnerable and >unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used to living in  spacious house > >to live in a camp? What is the condition of the camps ... and so  many questions > >that could be answered only through experience and first hand  interaction. > > >Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, we did  not think it prudent > >to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a hotel  and from there called >some people we had met in the reconciliation workshop and  fixed to visit their >places on the next day. But even before we set out for our  visits we received >an early morning delegation of Pandits associated with the  Chamber of Commerce. > >They had heard about our work and were curious to know  more. They appreciated >the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured us  their support especially >in the section of people associated with trade and  commerce. They also spoke of > >the efforts they had made earlier to maintain  relationship between the members >of the two communities but that they could not  sustain it for too long. They >also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so  that there could be sustained >communication between the people of two  communities. > > >From then on Anil (one of the participants in the workshop)  played our host and > >guided us to residences of the members. He had already  fixed our schedule for >the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in this  manner. We began by >visiting members who lived outside the camps. The houses we  visited looked >similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were a deliberate  effort to live > >back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the houses even had  an elaborately >and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The residents  explained that this >keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very much at  home possibly >because of our common culture and the foods that we were treated  to. The >conversations went on endlessly as they do in Kashmir. There was a  special >feeling like when we meet relatives separated from us for a long time.  There >was so much to catch up on. We could sense among our hosts a deep longing  and >love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it was clearly evident by  the >manner in which they had maintained continuity with their way of life in an  >alien land and the profusion artifacts that they had surrounded themselves  >with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their eyes to receive us in their  > >homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken place while we shared about  >our experiences and the situations we are faced with in either place. > > >The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds of most  Kashmiri Pandits >was not economic loss but the fear of losing community itself  in the vast sea >of humanity that is India... They so much want to remain  Kashmiris and so >easily find extension of their selves among the co- community  of Kashmiri >Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can share the  language, culture >and the local idiom even though their religion is different.  They can talk to >us and share the inherited meanings while it is not possible  with >co-religionists from other parts of India. In Kashmir they also shared a  >relationship of mutual respect with other Kashmiris, while in a place like  >Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special community. They are merely  >outsiders who are encroaching on the local resources. But even now when we meet  > >after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be familiar and know how to  >address each other and can share so much. In all our conversations the use of  >'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and Pandits was frequent. We  >could still identify ourselves as a people apart from others. > > >From the homes we visited it was clear how much they must  have had to struggle >to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had taken  years for some to >finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. For a  long while they felt >that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to return  very soon. Some said >that they can still not relate to these houses as their  own, and that whenever >they dream of home they can only visualize their houses  in Kashmir. > > >I realized the difference between migrating for better  opportunities like many >of us do and being forced by circumstances to migrate  from home and having no >place to return to. I realized that Pandit migration  was a tragic event for >Kashmiri community as a whole because they took with  them so much that was us. >It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel so vulnerable  as a community >away from home. > > >From there Anil led us to the camps for the first time.  Since most of the >participants for our workshop had come from the Porkhu camp  we went there to >meet up with the people. I must confess that my idea of Pandit  camps while in >Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as befit the  so-called 'pampered' >community. To my shock the camp can be described no better  than a slum. Pandit >camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood or  single brick walls. In >the barracks each family has been allotted a room or if  the family is really >large two rooms at the most. The lanes between the  barracks are narrow and >lined by deep open drains. The residents have  constructed toilets and small >kitchens and walls around the space on their own.  Once inside, we felt very >hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room  where shifted to one side to >make room for the seven men who had visited the  house. The immediate feeling >that came to our mind was that this was no place  to live for ten days and these > >people had managed to live here for more than  thirteen years. Yet we were >treated very hospitably, as we would be in Kashmir.  Again we realized that >Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance even  in terms of the food >they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and traditional  Kashmiri bread >(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who had visited  Kashmir. Some of > >the members in the camp had to give serious explanation for  having participated > >in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of having  made a compromise with > >Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again that  there was no hidden >agenda and that none of the known political organizations  had anything to do >with our work. We decided to visit the camp once again on  the next day in order > >to hear from more people and also to share the idea of  reconciliation with >them. > > >To our surprise more people turned up for the meeting than  we were prepared to >face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty people in  the meeting. But >the hall meant for marriages and other functions began to fill  until we had >more than hundred people many of whom did not understand why we  were there. >Some of the people were charged up due to the election campaigns  and the offer >made by the central government to give rupees seven-lakh  assistance for Pandits > >who chose to return to the valley. One of the elderly  persons emphasized that >they did not want this package because they saw it more  as an insult added to >the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri Pandits  was not about money, >but about insecurity and how they can redeem the way of  life that was lost. >“Would they be able to return the security we felt in  living among our own >people and how would they ensure that now, with the  changes that our people >have undergone by living away from each other?” > > >It was clear that some of the people in the camp were  mistaking us for the >representatives of some political party or the central  government. After >hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts thought  that we must be >asked why we have come to the camps in the first place. We  began by explaining >that we did not represent any official initiatives for  rehabilitation of >Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as concerned  individuals who are >not happy with the situation as it exists. “We have no  offers to make because >have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In a  sense we feel guilty for >not having done enough to stop the migration when it  took place and also for >not having been in touch for the last thirteen years.  It is partly to absolve >ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have also  come to hear from your >experiences and to observe how you people are living  away from home and what >you have to say.” > > >This brief introduction changed the tone of the meeting and  then on almost all >the members individually began to share their experiences.  Some laid emphasis >on the unique brotherhood that existed among Kashmiri  Muslims and Pandits and >how they longed for its return, while others expressed  the pain of living for >thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the elderly  were very vivid about >their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at least  die in Kashmir”, the >younger ones were bitter about the state of helplessness  and feared whether >their future would be safe if they were to choose to return.  Some of the >members related the number of times Kashmiri Pandits have had to  migrate from >Kashmir and how every time after the peace was restored they  returned to their >homeland. They also said that if they were to return this  time, they would want > >the surity that they do not have to migrate yet again. > > >Some of the younger members were very bitter about the  circumstances that led >them to leave Kashmir and said that under no  circumstances are they willing to >forget how some of their people were tortured  and killed. We tried to explain >that to reconcile did not mean that one has to  forget and we did not expect >them to forget what they had experienced. Asking  one to forget would amount to >disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only  feel that hate should not be >the motive for our actions and that we must forgive  without forgetting. > > >One of the members explained how the state was maintaining  the camps in bad >repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners and  visitors to the camps as > >a means of propaganda to impress upon them their own  version of the conflict in > >Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals  kept in a zoo, displayed >whenever the need was felt. The state according to  them could do better and at >least afford to provide reasonable conditions of  living for the migrants. The >dilapidated condition of the camps was a  deliberate state policy. > > >Almost all the people appreciated our effort and felt that  it was in some ways >different from all the other efforts that are being made  for their return and >rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts were in  the least sincere and >thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that the  greater part of the work is >required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do  not pose a big problem. It is >only when certain receptiveness is created among  the majority community in >Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made  possible. > > >There was a difference of opinion whether they should return  to their own >respective villages or a separate enclave should be created to  rehabilitate >them in the valley. For some the texture of the villages over the  years had >changed so drastically that it was no longer possible for them to  feel safe in >their old homes. So though the interaction between the members of  the two >communities should get restored, but for their safety they must be  settled in >an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this arrangement would not  be healthy, > >as it would not help restore old relationship and increase  suspicion and >segregation. > > >The meeting lasted well over five hours into the night and  at last when most >people had spoken we sought permission to leave. But the  people would not let >us go and took us back to their homes where more rounds of  tea and informal >conversation resumed. We had to leave finally because of an  earlier commitment >to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside the  camp. The conversations > >at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well past  midnight, were in my >opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language that  can only be possible >with the members of ones own community. There was endless  joking and laughing! > > >To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu was  beyond our >expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the  broken >relationships and the way of life that has been lost. People are  cautiously, >willing to explore ... because the stake is worth every bit of  effort. > > > >      >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >the subject header. >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 16:02:33 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:32:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Ladakh Fundraiser In-Reply-To: <755899.28413.qm@web113203.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <366826.70269.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Francesca and ALL   some references that might me of interest:   ### 'HELP LADAKH" on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137304319631342#!/group.php?gid=132158136827133&v=wall&ref=mf   ### The Redcross account no of Deputy Commissioner Leh. Pl Send a mail to dcleh-jk at nic.in with sub: Flash Flood relief giving details of donation you made for reconciliation. The Bank Account Details for Donation is given below For Flash flood Victims of Leh J&K. 1. Name of BankJammu & Kashmir Bank 2. Name Of Branch Leh Main 3. Title Secy RED CROSS Committee 4. IFSC Code JAKA0PRIEST 5. Account No 0069040500000276   ### Those who need donation booklets in Delhi please contact following persons Dawa 9711735696 Chostak 9718039477 Gyatso 9873413682 Phuntsok 999089445 Motup 9718688581 Chosgyal 9911957308 Thupstan 9718563659 Smanla 9718669468   ### In case u have collected Clothes , Food or Medical Aid , you may contact Mr .Harvinder Singh at 09811323625 in Delhi for Transport service to Leh .   ### For Ladakh - Urgently need blankets, cardigans and old sports shoes.Cardigans and shoes for all ages. Please send them to Arun Kapur's NGO, Ritinjali. Contact Naveen on +919999970118.   Kshmendra   --- On Thu, 8/12/10, francesca recchia wrote: From: francesca recchia Subject: [Reader-list] Ladakh Fundraiser To: "sarai" Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 10:41 AM For those of you who are in Bangalore, please join! x francesca -------------------------------- It once beckoned to us as a dream. Since then, ten years and a multitude of adventures later Ladakh has become an integral part of getoffurass and in a lot of ways has helped us define what we are today. The land and the people has had a huge impact on the way we see and feel things. It has touched our lives andchanged us for the better. The friends we made here are the ones we would cherish for life. To watch a calamity like this befall this land and its simple, beautiful, loving people has affected us a great deal. We have put together this event for raising awareness and doing what we can to help. With you, with us at this event we hope to reach out to as many people as we can. Getoff Traveller Pankaj Trivedi was in the thick of action. He has come back with images and videos that we want to share with you. To know more about him, check his website – www.hornokplz.tv On Saturday the 14th of August we have organised an event to share, understand and explore on how we can help our friends, people and the place, to get over this devastating time. 1 Shanti Road has been kind to offer us the place to meet. So please make it there at 18:30pm, 14th August 2010 (pls RSVP) No.1 Shanthi road/Shanti Nagar/Bangalore-25 For map and direction details – pls check http://www.1shanthiroad.com/ We also plan to have an exhibition of images contributed from folks we know soon. Sale proceeds from the exhibition will be forwarded to Ladakh towards any kind of rehabilitation work. More about the exhibition to be posted on Facebook; getoff and onthemove pages. For more details – pls contact Sandhya at getoffurass.com hand phone; +919916192000 francesca recchia kiccovich at yahoo.com it +39 338 166 3648 in +91 8106169883       _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 16:05:19 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:35:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: <839384.4286.qm@web114718.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <136312.89711.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Gowhar   I understand.   No easy answers.   Take care   Kshmendra  --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: From: gowhar fazli Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account To: "reader-list at sarai.net" Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring serious reflection Kshmendra and I would not make light of them by replying a hurry.  I must confess that I am personally struggling with ambivalences often between mutually  exclusive and contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers for everything. However i promise I will try.  Thanks for reading the whole thing. In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage may go ahead. ________________________________ From: Kshmendra Kaul To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account Dear Gowhar Thank you for sharing this. Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? What do you think? Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any such existing mechanism? Your 2002 report conclude with  the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the  broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How?  Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by the Kashmiri Pandits still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for protection? Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the Tehreek? Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving strong condemnation? Kshmendra --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: >From: gowhar fazli >Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal >account >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM > > >Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal  account >By Gowhar Fazili > >After the first reconciliation workshop involving Kashmiri  Pandits and Kashmiri > >Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim participants  would visit migrant >camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that had just  begun to unfold by >the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous amount of  courage on part of > >the participants led them to share their personal and  collective grief and >suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can transform  people and must be >respected and valued. To further explore the spirit of  oneness in suffering and > >to take it beyond the confines of the meeting venue, a  visit by some Kashmiri >Muslim participants was to be the next step. > > >Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit Jammu in  the month of >September and we visited homes of Pandit participants residing in  and outside >the camps and also met with some other members of the community.  The experience > >generated so many emotions and thoughts that it will take a  lifetime to unpack >them but I will try to share some of the observations that  can be made. > > >When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about the plan,  they asked why I >should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering is far too  greater here in >Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many widows,  orphans, bereaved >and people who have lost their homes and property in the  ongoing turmoil in the > >valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by far.  Some said that Pandits >are a pampered lot. Both the central and the state  government pamper Pandits >and they are living better lives in the safety of  camps in Jammu than any of us > >here. They also said that everybody from the  humanitarian organizations to >politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while  we (Kashmiri Muslims) are >merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they are  undergoing because we are >supposedly the source of all trouble. > > >Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only to know if  the stories that >take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what extent. How do  Pandits themselves >feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, which has  been their home for >ages? Are they living away from their homeland by choice?  What were the >circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was it merely state  policy whisk >Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or was their enough  fear in the >atmosphere to have made a community of a such small size feel  vulnerable and >unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used to living in  spacious house > >to live in a camp? What is the condition of the camps ... and so  many questions > >that could be answered only through experience and first hand  interaction. > > >Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, we did  not think it prudent > >to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a hotel  and from there called >some people we had met in the reconciliation workshop and  fixed to visit their >places on the next day. But even before we set out for our  visits we received >an early morning delegation of Pandits associated with the  Chamber of Commerce. > >They had heard about our work and were curious to know  more. They appreciated >the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured us  their support especially >in the section of people associated with trade and  commerce. They also spoke of > >the efforts they had made earlier to maintain  relationship between the members >of the two communities but that they could not  sustain it for too long. They >also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so  that there could be sustained >communication between the people of two  communities. > > >From then on Anil (one of the participants in the workshop)  played our host and > >guided us to residences of the members. He had already  fixed our schedule for >the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in this  manner. We began by >visiting members who lived outside the camps. The houses we  visited looked >similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were a deliberate  effort to live > >back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the houses even had  an elaborately >and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The residents  explained that this >keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very much at  home possibly >because of our common culture and the foods that we were treated  to. The >conversations went on endlessly as they do in Kashmir. There was a  special >feeling like when we meet relatives separated from us for a long time.  There >was so much to catch up on. We could sense among our hosts a deep longing  and >love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it was clearly evident by  the >manner in which they had maintained continuity with their way of life in an  >alien land and the profusion artifacts that they had surrounded themselves  >with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their eyes to receive us in their  > >homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken place while we shared about  >our experiences and the situations we are faced with in either place. > > >The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds of most  Kashmiri Pandits >was not economic loss but the fear of losing community itself  in the vast sea >of humanity that is India... They so much want to remain  Kashmiris and so >easily find extension of their selves among the co- community  of Kashmiri >Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can share the  language, culture >and the local idiom even though their religion is different.  They can talk to >us and share the inherited meanings while it is not possible  with >co-religionists from other parts of India. In Kashmir they also shared a  >relationship of mutual respect with other Kashmiris, while in a place like  >Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special community. They are merely  >outsiders who are encroaching on the local resources. But even now when we meet  > >after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be familiar and know how to  >address each other and can share so much. In all our conversations the use of  >'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and Pandits was frequent. We  >could still identify ourselves as a people apart from others. > > >From the homes we visited it was clear how much they must  have had to struggle >to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had taken  years for some to >finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. For a  long while they felt >that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to return  very soon. Some said >that they can still not relate to these houses as their  own, and that whenever >they dream of home they can only visualize their houses  in Kashmir. > > >I realized the difference between migrating for better  opportunities like many >of us do and being forced by circumstances to migrate  from home and having no >place to return to. I realized that Pandit migration  was a tragic event for >Kashmiri community as a whole because they took with  them so much that was us. >It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel so vulnerable  as a community >away from home. > > >From there Anil led us to the camps for the first time.  Since most of the >participants for our workshop had come from the Porkhu camp  we went there to >meet up with the people. I must confess that my idea of Pandit  camps while in >Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as befit the  so-called 'pampered' >community. To my shock the camp can be described no better  than a slum. Pandit >camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood or  single brick walls. In >the barracks each family has been allotted a room or if  the family is really >large two rooms at the most. The lanes between the  barracks are narrow and >lined by deep open drains. The residents have  constructed toilets and small >kitchens and walls around the space on their own.  Once inside, we felt very >hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room  where shifted to one side to >make room for the seven men who had visited the  house. The immediate feeling >that came to our mind was that this was no place  to live for ten days and these > >people had managed to live here for more than  thirteen years. Yet we were >treated very hospitably, as we would be in Kashmir.  Again we realized that >Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance even  in terms of the food >they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and traditional  Kashmiri bread >(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who had visited  Kashmir. Some of > >the members in the camp had to give serious explanation for  having participated > >in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of having  made a compromise with > >Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again that  there was no hidden >agenda and that none of the known political organizations  had anything to do >with our work. We decided to visit the camp once again on  the next day in order > >to hear from more people and also to share the idea of  reconciliation with >them. > > >To our surprise more people turned up for the meeting than  we were prepared to >face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty people in  the meeting. But >the hall meant for marriages and other functions began to fill  until we had >more than hundred people many of whom did not understand why we  were there. >Some of the people were charged up due to the election campaigns  and the offer >made by the central government to give rupees seven-lakh  assistance for Pandits > >who chose to return to the valley. One of the elderly  persons emphasized that >they did not want this package because they saw it more  as an insult added to >the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri Pandits  was not about money, >but about insecurity and how they can redeem the way of  life that was lost. >“Would they be able to return the security we felt in  living among our own >people and how would they ensure that now, with the  changes that our people >have undergone by living away from each other?” > > >It was clear that some of the people in the camp were  mistaking us for the >representatives of some political party or the central  government. After >hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts thought  that we must be >asked why we have come to the camps in the first place. We  began by explaining >that we did not represent any official initiatives for  rehabilitation of >Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as concerned  individuals who are >not happy with the situation as it exists. “We have no  offers to make because >have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In a  sense we feel guilty for >not having done enough to stop the migration when it  took place and also for >not having been in touch for the last thirteen years.  It is partly to absolve >ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have also  come to hear from your >experiences and to observe how you people are living  away from home and what >you have to say.” > > >This brief introduction changed the tone of the meeting and  then on almost all >the members individually began to share their experiences.  Some laid emphasis >on the unique brotherhood that existed among Kashmiri  Muslims and Pandits and >how they longed for its return, while others expressed  the pain of living for >thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the elderly  were very vivid about >their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at least  die in Kashmir”, the >younger ones were bitter about the state of helplessness  and feared whether >their future would be safe if they were to choose to return.  Some of the >members related the number of times Kashmiri Pandits have had to  migrate from >Kashmir and how every time after the peace was restored they  returned to their >homeland. They also said that if they were to return this  time, they would want > >the surity that they do not have to migrate yet again. > > >Some of the younger members were very bitter about the  circumstances that led >them to leave Kashmir and said that under no  circumstances are they willing to >forget how some of their people were tortured  and killed. We tried to explain >that to reconcile did not mean that one has to  forget and we did not expect >them to forget what they had experienced. Asking  one to forget would amount to >disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only  feel that hate should not be >the motive for our actions and that we must forgive  without forgetting. > > >One of the members explained how the state was maintaining  the camps in bad >repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners and  visitors to the camps as > >a means of propaganda to impress upon them their own  version of the conflict in > >Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals  kept in a zoo, displayed >whenever the need was felt. The state according to  them could do better and at >least afford to provide reasonable conditions of  living for the migrants. The >dilapidated condition of the camps was a  deliberate state policy. > > >Almost all the people appreciated our effort and felt that  it was in some ways >different from all the other efforts that are being made  for their return and >rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts were in  the least sincere and >thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that the  greater part of the work is >required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do  not pose a big problem. It is >only when certain receptiveness is created among  the majority community in >Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made  possible. > > >There was a difference of opinion whether they should return  to their own >respective villages or a separate enclave should be created to  rehabilitate >them in the valley. For some the texture of the villages over the  years had >changed so drastically that it was no longer possible for them to  feel safe in >their old homes. So though the interaction between the members of  the two >communities should get restored, but for their safety they must be  settled in >an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this arrangement would not  be healthy, > >as it would not help restore old relationship and increase  suspicion and >segregation. > > >The meeting lasted well over five hours into the night and  at last when most >people had spoken we sought permission to leave. But the  people would not let >us go and took us back to their homes where more rounds of  tea and informal >conversation resumed. We had to leave finally because of an  earlier commitment >to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside the  camp. The conversations > >at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well past  midnight, were in my >opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language that  can only be possible >with the members of ones own community. There was endless  joking and laughing! > > >To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu was  beyond our >expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the  broken >relationships and the way of life that has been lost. People are  cautiously, >willing to explore ... because the stake is worth every bit of  effort. > > > >      >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >the subject header. >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>       _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Thu Aug 12 16:24:57 2010 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:54:57 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? An observation by an ordinary protester In-Reply-To: <521791.3932.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <358501.30865.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>, <521791.3932.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: It is rather bizarre that ‘Kashmiriyat’ - what ever it meant then, that saw its demise with the systematic ethnic cleansing of hapless Kashmiri Hindu Pandits in Kashmir two decades ago…..is being searched for faraway in the streets of Delhi now home to many of Kashmir Hindu Pandits living in exile in their own country…. ???..... In absence of any ‘prose’ or ‘poetry’ on the plight of the ‘lost tribe’ of Kashmir………hounded out,... their pain that was inflicted on them becomes no less……………. It is not to trivialise the continued loss of lives of gullible Kashmiris in the mindless cycle of violence unleashed to achieve what is unknown. Our heart goes out to those who mourn for their loved ones. This is how Journalist Kuldip Nayar, a well known face of the self acclaimed civil society supporting pan Islamism inspired separatism in Kashmiri, laments in DAWN in ‘Kashmir without a soul’: DAWN.COM COLUMNISTS Kashmir without a soul By Kuldip Nayar Friday, 23 Oct, 2009 It is unbelievable but Srinagar has changed beyond recognition in the past four years since I was there last. Right from the swanky new airport to the hotel, a distance of about 10 km, there is modern construction. However, trees have been cut down mercilessly to accommodate fancy thoroughfares. Walls running along the road have been demolished and the rubble is there for all to see. As I covered the journey to my hotel, I missed the old Kashmiri houses from where women with long trinkets would peer out. Shops are well stocked and full of customers. Too much money is flowing in and the guess is that it is from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India in that order. The number of cars on the road is many times more than before. There are traffic jams and one has to keep the snarls in mind when one plans a trip. People move freely. I saw many women on the road without burka or headwear. Militancy is by and large over. Some terrorists strike once in a while. They attacked the police at Lal Chowk recently. But I get the feeling that the media magnifies stray incidents. When attacks were a regular feature, there was curfew after sunset. Now the people are on the road even at 11 pm. I did not see a single policeman on the road from the airport. Bunkers are mostly gone. I found one at Lal Chowk where some policemen stood with their fingers on the trigger. Papa One and Papa Two, the interrogation centres, have been closed. But detentions still take place. The biggest worry is the occasional disappearance of youth. Incidents like the rape of two women at Shopian are rare. But whenever they take place, they infuriate the people to the extent that they come out on the streets. The mode of search, whether of a vehicle or a person, has changed. Policemen are more polite and less intrusive. Still a member of a very respected family told me how he and his wife were stopped on the road. A policeman wanted to search the woman but on his insistence a female officer did so. The anti-India feeling is there beneath the surface. People are not afraid of saying so. However, pro-Pakistan sentiments have practically disappeared, more because of the Kashmiris’ perception of the mess in which the country is. I found the Hurriyat leaders sober. One leader told me that they had vibes from Delhi that something positive would emerge. They are looking forward to talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. There is an effort to have a consensus among the different parties, including the Hurriyat, before the prime minister’s arrival. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wants New Delhi to talk to all political parties but has also emphasised that India should have a dialogue with Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir problem. It was an interesting talk which I heard when I was sitting with the Hurriyat leaders. A young Pakistani American told them that what had surprised him after the span of three years since his last visit was that Kashmir was ‘being assimilated by India quickly’. They were embarrassed but did not want to reply to him in my presence. Born in Kashmir, this young man is a member of a think tank in Washington. He told them that free state elections, watched by a large number of Americans on televisions, had made a great impression. He said they were beginning to believe that the problem was ‘more or less over’. Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah is more candid than his son, Omar, who is losing his popularity fast. Farooq says there are ‘paid lobbies’ in the state to keep the problem alive. He accuses security forces, politicians and bureaucrats of having ‘a vested interest in the Kashmir crisis’. He has a point when he says that New Delhi has failed to make headway in resolving the problem. Not many solutions are hawked about now. There is a suggestion that both Kashmirs should be demilitarised, India withdrawing its forces from the valley and stationing them on its border and Pakistan doing likewise and pulling out its forces from Azad Kashmir. But this depends on India and Pakistan reaching a settlement, supported by the Kashmiris. The problem of Jammu and Ladakh has become ticklish. They do not want to stay with the valley. Jammu wants to join India and Ladakh wants a union territory status. True, the Hurriyat has never tried to woo Jammu and has seldom cared for the Kashmiri Pandits languishing there. Still both Jammu and Ladakh can be brought around if they were to be given an autonomous status by the valley within the state. I have no doubt that the Kashmir problem will be solved sooner or later. But too much has happened in the state in the past. This makes it difficult for the old Kashmir to come back to life. Familiar symbols are dying. Sufism has been replaced by assertive teachings. Kashmiri music is dying out because society has been forced to acquire a religious edge. Old crafts attract fewer artisans because there is a race to earn a quick buck. The wazwan, a string of Kashmiri dishes served at one sitting, is still there but new cooks are hard to get. The reintegration of Muslims and Pandits appears difficult. An Islamic identity has taken shape, reportedly more in the countryside. Kashmiriyat, a secular ethos, is beyond repair. The animosity among the three regions Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh, may dilute but will remain. It may still remain the state of Jammu and Kashmir. But its soul would be missing. The writer is a leading journalist based in Delhi. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/09-kashmir-without-a-soul--szh-01 Copyright © 2010 - Dawn Media Group Rgds all LA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:16:48 -0700 > From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com > To: reader-list at sarai.net; gowharfazili at yahoo.com > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? An observation by an ordinary protester > > Dear Gowhar > > To such a trite remark (made along divide lines between Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims), there would be in response a pertinent and not so trite question: > > "If Kashmiri Muslims lost their Kashmiriyat 1989 onwards, why should it surprise a Kashmiri Muslim if Kashmiri Pandits have consequently lost their Kashmiriyat ?" > > Some of the slogans (reportedly) raised at the Jantar Mantar rally were not exactly suggesting that there is a nurturing environment for "Kashmiriyat". Were they? > > There are various meanings and interpretations given to "Kashmiriyat" with no one being certain what exactly it means that would be mutually acceptable and whether it has any ennobling aspects at all. > > The fact though is that amongst Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Muslims, both, there are still significant numbers who subscribe to the, nebulous it may be, concept of "Kashmiriyat". They might not make propagandist slogans out of it but it is a feeling resident in their hearts. > > Kshmendra > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > > > From: gowhar fazli > Subject: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? An observation by an ordinary protester > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:56 AM > > > > > A remark by an ordinary participant Shadab Bashir at the Delhi Kashmir protests > > > on his facebook notes: > > > “Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? > > It is really sad and surprising to see Kashmiri Pandits shouting slogans and > waving Indian flags to provoke Kashmiris who were at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi > to protest against the ongoing human rights violation in Kashmir. > More than 50 people died during the past two months due to high handedness of > the Indian troops. Bullets were triggered out not only against stone pelters > but also on innocent youth, children and women. A nine years old boy was beaten > > > to death by Indian ‘security’ forces. This may be the highest kind of human > rights violation for the rest of the India but Kashmiris are witnessing these > incidents very often. > > Indian Army is displaying their arrogance against innocent Kashmiris, but even > Kashmiri Pandits have no solidarity towards people of Kashmir as was witnessed > by us at Jantar Mantar. Instead of joining hands with us for a good cause they > tried to disturb our peaceful protest. > > When a person from their rally came waving an India flag and shouting > provocative slogans towards us we refrained ourselves and shouted back that > “You are our brothers”. It appears that they have no sympathy towards innocent > killings of young people in Kashmir, being Kashmiris they should have joined > our hands against this tyranny. > > Alas they have lost their Kashmiryat!” > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kaksanjay at gmail.com Thu Aug 12 16:37:34 2010 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:37:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir Message-ID: An interesting post from the blog Mazameen-e-Ghai`b http://bluekashmir.blogspot.com/ Enjoy. Sanjay Kak The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir After two months of almost continuous clampdowns and lockdowns, 50 systematic killings, and hundreds of incarcerations, the debate in India about protests in Kashmir has continued to hover between bleeding-heart liberal talk and state attempts at dissimulation. While state deception, and the Hindu right racket, is obvious, expected, and nothing new, the increased space for liberal discourse has given a false impression that there is a change in heart. The liberal discourse in India on the question of Kashmir is not open, fair, or objective, but often borders on, and oftentimes overlaps, the more popular, explicitly nationalist polemics. >From news shows to newspaper articles every death in Kashmir is slyly or openly justified. Since the day some protestors in Pampore and Srinagar burnt a few police jeeps and a couple of decrepit old, low-level government office structures, fit not even to be cowsheds, the Indian media suggested that people are shot because they attack public property. They tried to conceal the fact that most of the victims were killed before those structures were burnt down. But then even before the Pampore incidents big media in India tried to create a moral equivalence between intentional murders of dozens of unarmed Kashmiri protestors and Indian paramilitary soldiers not getting enough rest, or their jeeps getting a few bumps. India’s “Kashmir experts” (some of them from Kashmir as well), who fall over each other to get a place on noisy and bogus talk shows in Delhi, have been bandying about that the current series of protests began with the June 11 killing of Tufail Mattoo. The fake encounter killings of three young men in Machil and of a 70-year-old man in Kupwara, the fatal shooting of another man in Keller forests, the wanton killings of Zahid and Wamiq in Srinagar, and numerous others preceded Tufail’s death. Not only were these other killings deliberately forced to recede from the public view, but the immense suffering, the daily grind, humiliation and torture that marks life in Kashmir under military occupation continues to be glossed over. The gloss often is the much-abused fabrication that Kashmiris live off Indian taxpayers’ money. Somehow it is assumed that Kashmiris don’t pay taxes, or that Kashmir doesn’t have an economy of its own beyond the government dole. The fact deliberately obscured is that the very thin slice of Kashmiri society that does benefit from Indian handouts is the one the Indian state has actively promoted as a class of collaborators in Kashmir. These are mostly the people who appear on TV shows in Delhi, and their view is projected as the countervailing view to the Indian hawks, who saturate the public sphere in Delhi newsrooms. The problem is that these same people openly announce that common Kashmiris will lynch them if they went out of their security cocoons. Then there are the nauseating media pundits who, on one side, show injured young children with bullet marks on their chests and, on the other, bring heavy mustached ex-military generals to offer their views on why children get shot. They implicitly announce that if Kashmiri children have to live, their parents better keep them inside their homes. This is the liberal Indian media. On the more popular platforms, like Rediff News or Times of India, respondents openly call for genocide of Kashmiris. It is crucial to read the low ethical barometer of this Delhi based media since it directly generates much Indian public opinion about Kashmir. How do societies become so pachydermic to gulp down with eager credulity such moral depravity? Even in the left–liberal big media, the systematic nature of deceit is clearly visible to the point that it has become farcical. The Hindu published an editorial that unscrupulously tried to make a case for curtailing Internet services to Kashmiris, one of the few places where the Indian government has not been completely successful in muzzling dissent. So disgruntled was this calumnious piece’s author that he created fictitious names to smear all the protest Kashmiris express online. For long the existence of Kashmiri protest was shrugged off as directed by Pakistan. Now after those theories have fallen flat, attempts are made to mystify what Kashmiris want. Isn’t it truly baffling that, while the rest of the world clearly know what Kashmiris want, India’s liberal experts have a hard time comprehending this resounding reality? For the last 20 years these experts have repeatedly asked the question: “But what do Kashmiris want?” Kashmiris have declared what they want in clear, succinct slogans (always in English, and in Hindustani) over microphones, on banners, and in protests, by raising fists, throwing stones, and firing guns, through their tears, cries, and wails, through burnt homes, imprisoned lives, and wounded, life-deprived bodies. The ones, who have finally managed to read the writing on the bloodied wall, fulminate in self-righteous anger that India will never give azadi to Kashmiris. This rejection of Kashmir’s freedom takes supercilious forms. They tell us Kashmiris to see ‘reason.’ Free Kashmir is not viable. In return, we ask them, if unfree, occupied Kashmir is viable for Kashmiris? They tell us Kashmir will become another playground for Great Power politics, and we ask them if India’s denial of Kashmir’s right to self-determination has not already turned Kashmir into one. Some of them warn us that independent Kashmir will be taken over by the U.S. But we ask them, have India and Pakistan not been ‘taken over’ by the U.S. already? Didn’t India eagerly, and without being asked, offer the U.S. its bases to attack Afghanistan? Don’t India and Pakistan race to Washington to get a little smile, a nod, a shoulder brush, an acknowledgement from Americans? They even tell Kashmiris that we will not survive, because we are landlocked, as if through history, which we successfully survived, we weren’t landlocked. (Are there no landlocked countries in the world?) And when these arguments sound all speculative, they tell us that Muslims in India will come under great threat from the majority Hindus if Kashmir separates from India. And, in the same breath they hasten to add that Indians are a tolerant, pluralist nation. Only in the end they tell us that we need to see the “harsh reality” of India’s power. Well, this is an argument that is shorn of fake sympathy for Kashmiris, of moral self-righteousness, and of the supercilious concern for the viability of an independent Kashmir. This is an argument, which one can grant a degree of objectivity, if not morality. The argument that uses the rationale of India’s superior military power against the logic of the Kashmiri struggle for freedom, however, also lays bare the irreconcilable interests of the present nature of the Indian state and those of the Kashmiri people. To that question, however, we ask them, who more than Kashmiris has faced, and knows about, the “harsh reality” of India’s power? According to their argument it is clear that Kashmiris should live with the occupation, if they must at all. Some even point out that gradually the “perception” of military occupation will go away. For instance, in a number of circles in India, it has falsely been argued that killings happen in reaction to protests, rather than the other way round. It is claimed that if protests were to stop, the so-called “cycle of death” will stop as well—a thesis India’s prime minister also delineated while asking Kashmiris to end protest. The fact is that the killings, protest or no protest, are intimately tied to the grating reality of the military occupation. This occupation, which lets half a million military personnel, along with a chain-link network of dark operatives of intelligence agencies, sit atop a dissenting population as a force for suppressive pacification, has uses for these regular killings. Regular killings, maiming, rapes and molestations, random raids and arrests, merciless beatings, forced labor, daily dishonor, are all employed to destroy our social bonds, to pulverize our sense of self, to create utter disillusionment and despondency, to demolish the basis for any claim to self-respect, and ultimately to tear apart being political from being Kashmiri and achieving the death of these feelings of belonging. Or better, kill politics and turn us Kashmiris into artifacts of our presumed culture. Is this in the Kashmiri national interest, one may ask those who justify it all in the name of “Indian national interest”? Occupation is a vicious process. It has gradually entered, and continues to enter, all aspects of Kashmiri life. Mass protests are outbursts, impassioned attempts to wriggle free. Freedom from this occupation is not just an aspiration, a wish, or a longing for a pipedream, but a desperate need. The struggle for life in Kashmir is the struggle for freedom. The protests surely intensify the occupation, but they also render the beast more visible, and easier to grasp. Ending protest will definitely not end the occupation, only it will be a sure, if slow route to a form of death down the road. The liberal discourse covers up all the contradictions present in the forced relations between India and Kashmir, and sells the dream of the Great Indian Democracy, a dream which large number of Indians themselves hardly believe in any more. This liberal discourse, which is too close to power, doesn’t mediate between Kashmiris and the Indian state. It is often just a face of the latter, even if a more slippery one. From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 16:44:38 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 04:14:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] "KASHMIRIS MUST ABANDON ILLUSIONS AND EMBRACE REALITY" By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Message-ID: <75595.66474.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> "KASHMIRIS MUST ABANDON ILLUSIONS AND EMBRACE REALITY"   By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan   I have been writing about Kashmir for many years now from the late 1960s onwards. From the very outset, I have been of the firm view that impractical politics have played havoc with Kashmir and that now, through practical and pragmatic politics, we can pave the way for a progressive Kashmir.                 The Kashmiri Muslims, on the whole, seem to have become disillusioned with everyone. They are living in an atmosphere of complete mistrust. The aim of this booklet is to assist them in coming out of this environment and to make them more confident. It is indeed possible for the Kashmiris to start a new life. But for this two conditions must be met. Firstly, they must recognize their own culpability for the predicament that they face today. And, secondly, they must abandon the imaginary world that they hanker after and learn to live in the real, practical world. Their incapable leaders have fed them on all sorts of imaginary longings, and these they must abandon. In doing so, they must adopt means that are in accordance with the present conditions and thereby begin to build a new life for themselves.                 Admitting the existing realities, the Kashmiri Muslims must recognize not out of compulsion, but, rather, willingly that Fate has decreed for them a part of India and that they have no option but to gladly accept this decision. There is nothing at all wrong with this. Indeed, this reality can be a source of great goodness and benefit for them. India is a huge country. It enjoys freedom and democracy. It is home to almost 200 million other Muslims. Most of the bigger Islamic institutions in South Asia are located in India. All across India are scattered the memories of a thousand and more years of Muslim presence, which continue to provide courage and inspiration to the country's Muslims. But more than all this, India provides all the freedoms and opportunities to Muslims to engage in the task of dawah or inviting others to the path of God's religion, a task which can win for Muslims everlasting joy and peace in heaven.                 Once, several years ago, I visited Karachi for a few days. There, I met a Muslim industrialist. He told me that the Indian Muslims were in a better position than their coreligionists in Pakistan. When I asked him why, he answered, 'Pakistan is a small country. We have a very small potential market for the products we manufacture. In contrast, India is a vast country. If you produce something there you have a huge market you can sell it to.'                 What this Pakistani industrialist told me has become a fact of life. In the twenty-first century, the Muslims of India have emerged as the most progressive Muslim community in the whole of South Asia. If the Muslims of Kashmir were to wholeheartedly lend their support to merger with India, they, too, will find that all sorts of doors to progress will be opened up to them. The opportunities that they would enjoy to progress economically and educationally being a part of India would not be available if they were to choose any other option. Even politically they stand to gain considerably by being part of India. If they were to abandon the politics of confrontation and willingly accept being with India, it is quite possible that, one day, India will have a democratically-elected Kashmiri Muslim Prime Minister. I have absolutely no doubt about this at all.   The Kashmiri Leadership I have been seriously pondering about the Kashmir issue for decades now. With God's grace, the views that I held about the subject when I started off remain just the same today. I have never felt the need to change them. I wrote my first article on Kashmir way back in 1968, which was published in the Urdu weekly Al-Jamiat, the official organ of the Jamiat ul-Ulema-e Hind. There, I argued that Shaikh Abdullah, the then leader of the Kashmiris, could have, if he had wanted and if he had adopted a pragmatic policy, decided the fate of the Kashmiris according to what he thought was appropriate. However, owing to his unrealistic dreams, he lost that opportunity and so it was now pointless ranting and raving against a situation that could no longer be changed.                 I kept repeating this line in various other articles that I wrote on the Kashmir issue over the years. I believe that many Kashmiris have veered round to my opinion, abandoning the path of militancy and taking to the path of education and progress instead. I constantly receive letters and phone calls from people in Kashmir telling me this.                 In many cases, movements are described as popular uprisings, but, in fact, they represent stirrings instigated by just a handful of leaders. A small group of men seeks to instigate the masses through fiery lectures and writings and, in this way, seek to project themselves as their 'leaders'. True leaders must shoulder an immense responsibility. They must enter the field of activism only if they are suitably prepared and capable for the task. Those who do so without the necessary preparation are grave criminals in the eyes of God, irrespective of how popular they may be among the masses.                 The time has now come for the Kashmiris to rise above their leaders and to view the entire Kashmir conflict afresh not in the light of the pronouncements of their leaders, but, rather, in the light of practical realities. Doing so, they must chart the course of their lives anew. There is simply no other way for them to succeed.   Lessons From Nature When a river is blocked by a boulder, it changes its course and, skirting round the boulder, it proceeds ahead. However, we foolish human beings act differently. We struggle in vain to seek to break the boulder and carry on. Consequently, we fail to move ahead and our journey comes to an abrupt end once and for all. This is precisely what has happened in Kashmir.                 The armed uprising in Kashmir against India began in October 1989. Just a month before this, I visited Kashmir, where I addressed a large gathering at Tagore Hall in Srinagar. Besides, on that trip I met with numerous Kashmiris. One day, I went with some Kashmiri Muslims to an open valley just outside Srinagar. The place was arrestingly beautiful. From the towering peaks rivulets tumbled into the valley below. We sat on the banks of a stream. I noticed the way the stream flowed till it arrived at a massive rock. The stream did not bang its head against the rock, seeking to break it and move ahead. Rather, when it met the rock it simply swerved to the left, around the rock, and kept on with its journey uninterrupted. I turned to my companions and said, 'This is a message from Nature to you. This fact of Nature tells you that if in the journey of life you face a hurdle, you should not seek to hurl yourself against it to carry on ahead. Rather, what you must do is to carefully avoid the hurdle and continue with your journey. This is the secret for success in life. It applies in the same way to communities as it does to individuals. The only way to progress is to ignore the hurdles one comes up against and, instead, to focus on and make use of the available opportunities.'                 Personally, I do not regard the military or political presence of India in Kashmir as a hurdle for the Kashmiris. The Indian military is present in Kashmir simply to protect the borders. Till 1989, the Indian Army in Kashmir was only stationed along the borders of Kashmir. Indian soldiers did not then enter Kashmiri villages and localities. But when in October 1989 Kashmiri activists took up weapons against India and launched a militant movement, the Indian Army entered Kashmiri settlements in order to combat the uprising because the militants were present in these settlements. Even if the Kashmiri Muslims had considered the presence of Indian soldiers in Kashmir to be a hurdle or a challenge, the only sensible way out for them was precisely what Nature itself has taught us that is to say, to ignore the problems and to avail the existing opportunities.                 This is not a principle that one should adopt simply out of compulsion. This principle is a universal one. It applies to all individuals and groups. It applies just as much to Muslim-majority countries as it does to countries where Muslims are a minority.   Un-Wise Methods A basic principle that we need to adhere to in contexts that involve conflict of interests is to willingly accept whatever is available to one in the existing situation. If at the very outset we refuse to do this and, instead, in a bid to get more than what we are being offered, we prolong the conflict, the conflict is bound to become even more complicated. Consequently, we will lose even whatever was available to us at the very outset.                 Let me cite an example to clarify this point. In 1917, the British drew up a plan to partition Palestine. It is known in history books as the Balfour Declaration. According to this scheme, a third of the land of Palestine would be given to the Jews, and the rest would remain with the Arabs, including the entire city of Jerusalem. However, the Muslim leaders of that time refused to accept this plan. If the leaders of the Muslims or the Arabs had adopted a pragmatic and realistic approach and accepted whatever was being offered to them at the time, they could have then concentrated all their energies and resources on constructive purposes. As a result, the conditions of the Palestinians could have been much better than that of the Jews. However, owing to the unrealistic approach of the Muslim leaders, the Palestinians lost their all and had to face total destruction.                 The same thing has happened in the case of Jammu and Kashmir because of the extreme incapability of the leaders of both Kashmir and Pakistan. The fact is that the present Kashmir conflict is largely a result of the foolishness of the Kashmiri leaders themselves, rather than, as they allege, the oppression of others or any sort of anti-Kashmiri conspiracy.                 In this regard, the record of the foolishness of Muslim leaders is a long and sordid one. I will allude to just one aspect of this here. In 1947, when India was partitioned, Pakistani leaders adopted a completely stupid stance and staked their claim to two Hindu-majority Indian princely states: Junagadh and Hyderabad. Had the Pakistani leaders adopted a sensible and pragmatic approach and not demanded that Junagadh and Hyderabad, which were far from the Pakistani borders and deep inside Indian territory, should accede to Pakistan, the issue of Kashmir would never have become so serious as it soon did. The question of Kashmir could then have very easily been solved in favour of Pakistan. But the avarice of the Pakistani leaders resulted in Pakistan getting neither Junagadh nor Hyderabad, and, at the same time, they failed to acquire Kashmir as well.                 Let me cite some facts to confirm my point. Chaudhry Muhamnmad Ali was the Prime Minister of Pakistan in the period 1955-1957. Prior to this, he had been a senior minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan. In his voluminous book Emergence of Pakistan he relates that shortly after the Partition, the Muslim ruler of the Hindu-majority princely state of Junagadh declared that his state would accede to Pakistan. India refused to accept this decision and sent in its armed forces that took over the state and incorporated it into India. After this, a meeting was held in Delhi, attended by Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel, from the Indian side, and Liaqat Ali Khan and Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, from the Pakistani side. Chaudhry Muhammad Ali writes:                 'Sardar Patel, although a bitter enemy of Pakistan, was a greater realist than Nehru. In one of the discussions between the two Prime Ministers, at which Patel and I were also present, Liaqat Ali Khan dwelt on the inconsistency of the Indian stand with regard to Junagadh and Kashmir. If Junagadh, despite its Muslim ruler's accession to Pakistan, belonged to India because of its Hindu majority, how could Kashmir, with its Muslim majority, be a part of India simply by virtue of its Hindu ruler having signed a conditional instrument of accession to India? If the instrument of accession signed by the Muslim ruler of Junagadh was of no validity, the instrument of accession signed by the Hindu ruler of Kashmir was also invalid. If the will of the people was to prevail in Junagadh, it must prevail in Kashmir as well. India could not claim both Junagadh and Kashmir.                 'When Liaqat made these incontrovertible points, Patel could not contain himself and burst out: “Why do you compare Junagadh with Kashmir? Talk of Hyderabad and Kashmir, and we could reach an agreement.” Patel's view at this time, and even later, was that India's efforts to retain Muslim-majority areas against the will of the people were a source not of strength but of weakness to India. He felt that if India and Pakistan agreed to let Kashmir go to Pakistan and Hyderabad to India, the problems of Kashmir and of Hyderabad could be solved peacefully and to the mutual advantage of India and Pakistan.'                 If what Chaudhry Muhammad Ali says is true, it is incontrovertible evidence that the conflict over Kashmir is a creation of the Pakistani leaders themselves, and not of India.                 Further proof of this is available in another book by an important Pakistani leader, Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan. This book was originally written in Urdu under the title Gumgashta Qaum. Its English title is The Nation That Lost Its Soul. In this book, Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan reveals:                 'When Mountbatten arrived in Lahore when fighting broke out in Kashmir, he addressed an important dinner meeting which was attended by the Pakistani Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan, the Governor of the Punjab, and four Ministers from the Punjab, where he delivered a message from Patel. In his message, Patel suggested that India and Pakistan should abide by the principles that had been agreed upon between the Congress and the Muslim League with regard to the political future of the princely states, according to which the states would accede to India or Pakistan depending on the religion of the majority of their inhabitants as well as their contiguity to either of the two countries. Accordingly, Patel suggested that Pakistan should take Kashmir and renounce its claims to Hyderabad Deccan, which had a Hindu majority and which had no land or sea border with Pakistan. After delivering this message, Mountbatten retired to the Government House to rest.'   Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan further relates: 'I was in-charge of Pakistan's operations in Kashmir. I went to see Liaqat Ali Khan, and pointed out that Indian forces had entered Kashmir and that Pakistan could not succeed in driving them out using the tribal raiders to ensure that Kashmir became part of Pakistan. I even said that it seemed unlikely that the Pakistani Army could succeed in doing so. Hence, I insisted, we must not reject Patel's offer. But Liaqat Ali Khan turned to me and said, “Sardar Sahib! Have I gone mad that I should leave the state of Hyderabad Deccan, which is even larger than the Punjab, in exchange for the mountains and peaks of Kashmir?”                 'I was stunned at Liaqat Ali Khan's reaction, shocked that our Prime Minister was so ignorant of geography, and at his preferring Hyderabad Deccan over Kashmir. This was nothing but living in a fool's paradise. To acquire Hyderabad was clearly impossible, and we were rejecting an opportunity that would have given us Kashmir. Yet, Liaqat was totally unaware of the importance of Kashmir for Pakistan. That is why I resigned in protest as in-charge of Kashmir operations.'                 If one accepts what Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan says as true, it is clear evidence that the conflict over Kashmir was created entirely by Muslim leaders and no one else. Here I will add that Nature does not permit an individual or a community to exact the price of its own mistakes from others. A person pays the price of his follies himself, and this rule applies to communities as well. Pakistan is no exception to this rule.   Be Realistic In April 1986, a group of Sikhs got together in Amritsar and declared what they called the independent state of Khalistan. At this time I wrote an article in the Hindustan Times, captioned 'Acceptance of Reality'. This article was about the situation in Punjab and Kashmir. Addressing the people of Punjab and Kashmir, I warned them that ongoing movements for an independent Punjab and an independent Kashmir would never succeed. I said that such movements were tantamount to breaking one's head against a boulder. Nothing could be gained from such movements, except, of course, some broken heads and worse. I advised the people of both states to be realistic, to accept the status quo and to focus their energies on positive purposes instead.                 The Sikhs realized this rather soon enough and the militant movement for Khalistan shortly came to an end. I am sure that, finally, the Kashmiris, too, will adopt this stance, but this might happen only after much suffering and destruction, indeed communal suicide, all in the name of 'Islamic martyrdom'.                 As I write these lines, my mind travels back to the 27th of January, 1992, when two well-educated Kashmiri Muslims came to meet me in Delhi. They were not members of any militant group, but yet they were staunch supporters of the Kashmiri militants. They were not active militants themselves in the practical sense of the term, but at the intellectual level they certainly were.                 In the course of our conversation, I told the men that their self-styled 'Kashmir movement' was not at all proper or acceptable. I said that it was certainly not an Islamic jihad, and it was obviously not going to lead to the creation of an 'Islamic system', unlike what its leaders so loudly claimed. Nor, I added, did separation from India make any practical sense. The 'movement' could only spell more destruction for the Kashmiris themselves. The men passionately defended the 'movement', and even claimed that shortly the Kashmiris would score a 'glorious success'. Then, on my request, they penned a few words in my diary. 'Once we separate from India', they wrote, 'our land will become an Islamic Kashmir.'                 I told the men that what they had written was nothing but baseless, wishful thinking. They would soon realize, I said, how mistaken and unrealistic they were. Then, I penned the following words in my diary:                 'If Kashmir separates from India, the independent state of Kashmir that would come into being or, if Kashmir joins Pakistan, the Pakistani province of Kashmir that would be formed, would be a destroyed and devastated Kashmir. The choice before Kashmiris is not between Indian Kashmir and Pakistani Kashmir, but, rather, between Indian Kashmir and a destroyed Kashmir.'                 More than a decade has passed after this meeting. The developments that have taken place in these ten or more years clearly illustrate how erroneous, baseless and misleading were the claims of these two Kashmiri self-styled mujahids that reflected nothing but foolish and wishful thinking. On the other hand, whatever I had, with the grace of God, written in my diary on that day and had told the men has come true. The developments over the last decade or so clearly indicate that, in today's context, Kashmir's benefit lies not in independence or in joining Pakistan, but, rather in being part of India and in abandoning the path of violence in exchange for peaceful reconstruction and progress.                 Kashmiris who think that they are engaged in a jihad call themselves 'lovers of Islam'. My advice to them is that they should become lovers of reality before considering themselves lovers of Islam, because the edifice of Islam is based on the hard ground of reality. No firm edifice can be built on fanciful or and wishful thinking.   Avoid Political Confrontation A wise man is one who knows the relative value of things. Judging by this statement, it appears that the Kashmiris lack even a single wise leader who is aware of the dire consequences of the path of militancy for the people of Kashmir themselves. This issue can be understood in the light of a verse in the Quran that explains that when the Prophet Solomon sent a letter in the name of the Queen of Sheba and demanded that she submit, she sought the advice of her courtiers. They said to her that because they had considerable military strength but they left the decision to her. The Queen replied to them, in the words of the Quran, thus:'Kings, when they enter a country, despoil it, and make the noblest of its people its meanestthis is what they do' (27: 34).                 The Quran here refers to a very important fact, and that is that when one confronts a powerful ruler, one must think carefully of the consequences of doing so. If the consequences would prove negative, then confrontation must be avoided. Experience proves that confronting a very powerful ruler is almost always counter-productive. It causes death and destruction on a massive scale, and the worst sufferers of this are innocent people. That is why confronting a powerful ruler must be avoided as far as possible. But if some people ignore this advice or principle and seek to directly confront a powerful ruler, it is pointless for them to later complain about loss of life and property. They ought to know that the destruction that they suffer is a price for their confronting a powerful ruler. Those who adopt the path of militancy to fight existing governments have necessarily to pay such a heavy price. It is simply impossible that a certain group commits a mistake and another group is then compelled to pay for it.                   I have come across numerous articles and books by Kashmiris and Pakistanis with such titles as The Wounded Kashmir or The Wounded Valley and so on. These writings talk about the oppression being heaped on the Kashmiris by the Indian Army. Such writings are quickly disseminated across the world. Yet, in practical terms, they have had no positive result at all. All they represent is screaming and berating, and cause no positive impact. I am of the view that the blame for the fact that all this complaining and protest has had no positive result must be placed on the shoulders of the Kashmiris themselves. The Kashmiris can learn a valuable lesson in this regard from the words of the Queen of Sheba as recorded in the Quran, which I referred to above. The Queen adopted a wise policy that avoided the possibility of destruction and oppression. In contrast, due to their foolishness the Kashmiris have actually invited the Indian Army to trample on them and to make them a target of their oppression.                 The beginnings of a solution to the vexed conflict over Kashmir is for the Kashmiris themselves to recognize their mistakes and learn a lesson from the example of the Queen of Sheba as described in the Quran. This will greatly assist them in planning afresh the course of their life as a people. There is simply no other possible solution.   What Wisdom Demands According to a report contained in the Sunan Abi Daud, the Prophet Muhammad is said to have advised Muslims to avoid the path of extremism, warning them that this could lead to their conditions becoming even more dire. The truth of this statement is clearly evident today in every single Muslim country where groups have taken to the path of militancy to attain their objectives. And this has happened in Kashmir, too.                 Over the last several decades, a culture of violence and extremism has gripped Kashmir, and, of course, this has had no positive consequence for its people at all. On the contrary, it has caused such terrible destruction that is simply indescribable. The ongoing conflict in Kashmir has played havoc with its economy and educational system. It has led to the death of over a hundred thousand people, with many more being injured and crippled for life. It has had a terrible toll on the moral fabric of Kashmiri society. It has forced a huge number of well-qualified and highly-educated Kashmiris to flee their state. It is obvious that the 'movement' that was launched and is being carried on in the name of the Kashmiri people has produced no benefit whatsoever for the common Kashmiris, although it certainly has bolstered the fortunes of their self-styled leaders.                 The Quran tells us in clear words, '[Y]ou may not grieve over what is lost to you […]' (57: 23). This verse of the Quran speaks of a rule that God has established and that prevails throughout the world and for all times. According to this rule, every person and every community has to experience some form of loss at some time or the other. No person or community is exempt from this rule, for this is part of the divine creation plan. This is God's law, and so it is impossible to change it.                 At the same time, there is another divine law that lays down that in this world opportunities shall never cease to exist. Whenever one opportunity is lost another one is created or is made available. Hence, wisdom demands that we should forget our lost opportunities and, instead, make use of new ones that are available to us. This is precisely what the Kashmiris should do today.                 Exploitative leaders thrive on fanning people's discontent and sense of being denied. On the other hand, true leaders lead movements that are based on using existing opportunities, and who employ such opportunities to chart a new future for their people.   Peace and Justice It is impossible for people to live in a constant state of war. But perhaps Kashmiri leaders are simply unaware of this basic fact. They want to continue their useless war endlessly, and now it has assumed even more grotesque forms with the advent of the phenomenon known as 'suicide bombing'. Little do they know that in the course of the Second World War Japanese soldiers resorted to suicide bombing on an even more massive scale but that this tactic completely failed. Not a single ruler in history, no matter how powerful, has been able to maintain a state of continual war. How then, one must ask, do the powerless people of Kashmir hope to keep up their useless struggle forever? What is bound to happen, sooner or later, is that the Kashmiri militants will one day tire of fighting and will find themselves compelled to give up arms. The right way for the fighting to stop, however, would be for the Kashmiris to decide willingly, on their own rather than out of fatigue or sheer compulsion, to end this destructive war at once.                 Once, I met a highly-educated Kashmiri Muslim. I said to him that the thing that Kashmir needs most desperately today is peace. He replied that the Kashmiris indeed do wantpeace, but, he asked, what sort of peace? True peace, he said, is inseparable from justice. Peace without justice, he argued, suits the oppressors but not the oppressed.                 I answered him saying that this was a grave misunderstanding and that it was one that was shared by all the Muslim 'leaders' throughout the world. Peace, I said, means the absence of war. Peace can never be established along with justice. Rather, once peace is established, it can later help create the necessary conditions for promoting or securing justice. And this, I said, was in accordance both with reason and with Islamic teachings.                 When the Prophet Muhammad entered into a peace treaty with the pagan Quraish of Mecca at Hudaibiyah he secured only peace, not justice. However, this peace then created an environment that enabled the Prophet to work for securing justice as well. This clearly shows that justice is not, and can never be, an integral component of peace. The two cannot be had simultaneously. Rather, justice can be secured only after peace is established, by using the opportunities that peace provides. It is not a direct and immediate product of peace.                 The leaders of the Kashmiri militant movement constantly argue that they want the Kashmir issue to be resolved in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. In other words, they insist that a referendum be held in Kashmir to decide its political future. However, these resolutions have become irrelevant today. The fact remains, however, that one can secure one's rights only on the basis of one's own strength, and not through someone else's assistance. It is simply unrealistic and wishful thinking to expect the United Nations resolutions to be acted upon in today's context.   This Is Not An Islamic Movement Kashmiri militants claim that what they are spearheading is actually an Islamic jihad. This is completely erroneous. This movement is by no means a jihad. Those who are engaged in this movement can by no means be called mujahidin.                 Just as there are certain rules to be abided by in offering ritual prayer, so, too, must jihad in the path of God (jihad fi sabil allah) follow certain rules that Islam has laid down. It is obvious that the self-styled mujahidin in Kashmir do not abide by these rules. For instance, a jihad needs to have a single amir or leader. It also requires a Muslim territory that can serve as its headquarters. A jihad cannot be fought for land, power, or wealth, but simply to establish God's word. The ongoing movement in Kashmir meets none of these necessary conditions to qualify as a jihad. It can be called a guerilla war or a proxy war, but certainly not an Islamic jihad. And both guerilla war and proxy war have no legitimacy in Islam. A guerilla war is un-Islamic because in Islam announcing and leading a jihad is the task of an accepted ruler or imam, not of ordinary people. Proxy war is prohibited in Islam because the government that engages in such a war does not openly declare so, while an open declaration of war is a necessary condition for an Islamic jihad.                 All these facts, as well as the completely useless war that continues to rage in Kashmir, cry out to the Kashmiri Muslims to put an end to fighting without a moment's delay. This fighting will not benefit them one bit, either in this world nor in the hereafter, in the life after death. Rather, it will be a cause for their destruction in both worlds. It will lead to their destruction in the hereafter because they are engaged in a war that they wrongly claim to be an Islamic jihad but which is not a jihad at all according to the Islamic rules.                 A struggle for political independence is not an Islamic movement, contrary to what its proponents might insist. Rather, it is wholly a communitarian or nationalist movement. There is no harm if such a movement is launched in the name of a nationality, but to label or claim it to be an 'Islamic movement' or an 'Islamic jihad' is to play with religion, and this can only lead to very heinous consequences.                 In this regard, it is instructive to note that no prophets of God launched any movement for the political freedom of their country or people, although most of the prophets lived in contexts in which political leaders do launch movements for national liberation. For instance, at the time of the Prophet Joseph, a pagan foreign family ruled over Egypt. Yet, the Prophet Joseph did not launch a political movement or struggle against them, although after him some political leaders, who were not among his companions, did engage in such efforts.                 If the Kashmiri Muslims want to make their movement a truly Islamic one, the first thing they must do is to completely renounce violence. They must also admit that the movement that they have launched has actually been a communitarian or nationalist one, on which they have wrongly stuck an 'Islamic' label. Naturally, such a movement cannot win God's help and favour.                 One often hears Kashmiris lament that they are being crushed on two sides by the Indian Army, on the one hand, and by militants, on the other. They also claim that when their so-called jihad was launched, a good number of pious and well-meaning people were involved in it but that now all sorts of criminals and other bad elements have joined it, thereby giving it a bad name. This, I believe, is wholly incorrect. Guerilla war inevitably degenerates into this sort of thing sooner or later. At first, guerilla war might be led by people who appear good and sincere, but later, inevitably, all sorts of bad elements join it. This is what has happened in the case of Kashmir, too, where bad elements have taken shelter under the garb of so-called Islamic jihad and are using this as a pretext to engage in killings and looting, for which they wrongly seek to provide religious legitimacy.                 This is why I believe that the continuing violent movement in Kashmir can serve absolutely no positive purpose at all for the Kashmiri Muslims themselves. They must admit that the launching of their guerilla war was wrong from the very first day itself. To admit their mistake is the first step that they must take, and they must desist from heaping the blame for whatever has happened in Kashmir on others.   Realistic Politics In life one is often provided with a second chance, and one must know how to make use of it. The leaders of Kashmir had a political dream for their land prior to the Partition that was, in a sense, their first chance. But they lost this chance with the Partition in 1947. The Kashmiris have a second chance now, which they must fully avail of so that they can build their society anew. The leaders of Kashmir dreamt of an independent country for their people. But this proved to be impossible because of the dramatic developments that took place in 1947 and immediately thereafter. Today, the only realistic possibility for Kashmir is to remain part of India, although with a special status as guaranteed by Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Till now, the Kashmiri leaders have been engaged in what I call 'the politics of the impossible'. Now, it behooves them to recognize practical realities and engage in 'the politics of the possible'. The Kashmiris must forget the past and learn to live in the present. They must seek to chart their course of life while recognizing the practical possibilities of the present, rather than living in the past or dreaming of impossible solutions and chimerical schemes.                 If Pakistan were to modify its policies on Kashmir by recognizing the existing ground realities, it would not be something novel for it. After all, in 1972 Pakistan initially refused to recognize the existence of a separate Bangladesh, but later it had to face what for it was the harsh reality of this new country and, finally, it was compelled to recognize it. Global Possibilities The Kashmiri Muslims have certain advantages which, sadly, they themselves have not fully explored or understood. For instance, if they choose willingly to be part of India, they can enjoy the status of being part of a country that has the distinction of having the world's largest Muslim population after Indonesia. If the Kashmiri Muslims were aware of the salience of this fact they would regard it as an immense blessing.                 Today, the whole world has become a global village. In this context, political structures and changes in them have become of relatively less importance. Our new global conditions have made it possible for anyone living anywhere on the face of the earth to communicate with people across the world without any restrictions. In such a situation, even if people and groups do not form part of the political class or have a state of their own they can gain all the benefits which in earlier times they could have only if they were part of the ruling class or had their own independent state. These global opportunities can be made available to the Kashmiris, too, but only if they act wisely and learn how to use them.   Victory For Both It often happens that two groups quarrel over a piece of land. A part of the land is grabbed by one group and the rest by the other. One way to end the quarrel is for both groups to fight each other till, at last, both of them are destroyed in the process. The other, and obviously more sensible, way is for both parties to agree that each would keep that part of the land that is currently in its possession, that they would cease fighting, and that they would concentrate, instead, on developing the land that they control. This is called a 'win-win solution'.                  This, to my mind, is the best and most practicable formula to solve the conflict between India and Pakistan over the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan presently control parts of the state. If the two agree to be satisfied with whatever part of the state they presently control and cease fighting, it would be a 'win-win solution'. They could then turn their attention to, and focus their resources on, developing their own countries, including the parts of Kashmir that they control.                 It is true that the portion of Kashmir under Pakistani control is considerably smaller in size than that which is under Indian rule. But the size of a territory is only of relative importance. What is most important is to use one's available resources in a wise manner, even if the area under one's control is small. Numerous small countries or territories have flourished and emerged as prosperous commercial and financial hubs across the world Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taiwan, for instance.                 Man is driven by his psyche. If one's psyche is negative, driven by negative and destructive emotions and impulses, one's whole personality turns negative. Conversely, if one is driven by positive urges, one will have a positive personality. This rule applies as much to individuals as it does to groups, communities and countries. The vexed issue of the political status of Jammu and Kashmir has been a continuing source of conflict and contestation between India and Pakistan from 1947 onwards. Both countries feel that the other has snatched its rights. Consequently, both countries are driven by very strongly negative and destructive emotions towards each other. These emotions have proven to be a major hurdle in the progress and prosperity of both countries. It is now time for both India and Pakistan to rid themselves of this poisonous negativity, of seeking to destroy each other, and develop a new mind-set that is based on the principle of 'I win, and so do you'. If this happens, new doors to progress will open for the peoples of both countries and, of course, for the Kashmiris as well.                 From 1947 till the present day, both India and Pakistan have seen each other as deadly enemies. But if the change in psyche that I call for occurs, both will begin to see each other as friends. This will prove to be a major boost in enabling both of them to work for the welfare of their own peoples while also paving the way for joint action for developing the region as a whole. This is the 'win-win solution' that we must work towards.   The author is a leading scholar on Islam and spiritualism. This article is adopted from his booklet "Peace in Kashmir". From indersalim at gmail.com Thu Aug 12 17:21:42 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:21:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? An observation by an ordinary protester In-Reply-To: References: <358501.30865.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <521791.3932.qm@web57208.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Friends agreed, that ' kashmiryat ' or its other expressions died in 1990 and also in 2010. Shall it continue to bleed if its has something saner embedded in it ? if yes, then it perhaps suits all of us to live in hate. if 'no' then we must discover a new word for a new life. Let it be KASHROUT ( difficult to write in english ) another word, already existing. But then, who cares about words, which is akin to boarders, and other such things which divide. Are we here on earth for thousands of years. And we know how history celebrates those voices which speak about oppression, injustice and love. So, it is perhaps high time for each one of you ( on both sides ) to decide what is that which defines life.... with love is On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 4:24 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: > > > It is rather bizarre that ‘Kashmiriyat’ - what ever it meant then, that saw > its demise with the systematic ethnic cleansing of hapless Kashmiri Hindu > Pandits in Kashmir two decades ago…..is being searched for faraway in the > streets of Delhi now home to many of Kashmir Hindu Pandits living in exile > in their own country…. ???..... > > In absence of any ‘prose’ or ‘poetry’ on the plight of the ‘lost tribe’ of > Kashmir………hounded out,... their pain that was inflicted on them becomes no > less……………. > > It is not to trivialise the continued loss of lives of gullible Kashmiris > in the mindless cycle of violence unleashed to achieve what is unknown. Our > heart goes out to those who mourn for their loved ones. > > This is how Journalist Kuldip Nayar, a well known face of the self > acclaimed civil society supporting pan Islamism inspired separatism in > Kashmiri, laments in DAWN in ‘Kashmir without a soul’: > > DAWN.COM > COLUMNISTS > > Kashmir without a soul > > By Kuldip Nayar > > Friday, 23 Oct, 2009 > > It is unbelievable but Srinagar has changed beyond recognition in the past > four years since I was there last. Right from the swanky new airport to the > hotel, a distance of about 10 km, there is modern construction. > However, trees have been cut down mercilessly to accommodate fancy > thoroughfares. Walls running along the road have been demolished and the > rubble is there for all to see. As I covered the journey to my hotel, I > missed the old Kashmiri houses from where women with long trinkets would > peer out. > Shops are well stocked and full of customers. Too much money is flowing in > and the guess is that it is from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India in that > order. The number of cars on the road is many times more than before. There > are traffic jams and one has to keep the snarls in mind when one plans a > trip. People move freely. I saw many women on the road without burka or > headwear. > Militancy is by and large over. Some terrorists strike once in a while. > They attacked the police at Lal Chowk recently. But I get the feeling that > the media magnifies stray incidents. When attacks were a regular feature, > there was curfew after sunset. Now the people are on the road even at 11 pm. > I did not see a single policeman on the road from the airport. Bunkers are > mostly gone. I found one at Lal Chowk where some policemen stood with their > fingers on the trigger. Papa One and Papa Two, the interrogation centres, > have been closed. But detentions still take place. The biggest worry is the > occasional disappearance of youth. Incidents like the rape of two women at > Shopian are rare. But whenever they take place, they infuriate the people to > the extent that they come out on the streets. > The mode of search, whether of a vehicle or a person, has changed. > Policemen are more polite and less intrusive. Still a member of a very > respected family told me how he and his wife were stopped on the road. A > policeman wanted to search the woman but on his insistence a female officer > did so. > The anti-India feeling is there beneath the surface. People are not afraid > of saying so. However, pro-Pakistan sentiments have practically disappeared, > more because of the Kashmiris’ perception of the mess in which the country > is. > I found the Hurriyat leaders sober. One leader told me that they had vibes > from Delhi that something positive would emerge. They are looking forward to > talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. There is an effort to have a > consensus among the different parties, including the Hurriyat, before the > prime minister’s arrival. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wants New Delhi to > talk to all political parties but has also emphasised that India should have > a dialogue with Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir problem. > It was an interesting talk which I heard when I was sitting with the > Hurriyat leaders. A young Pakistani American told them that what had > surprised him after the span of three years since his last visit was that > Kashmir was ‘being assimilated by India quickly’. They were embarrassed but > did not want to reply to him in my presence. > Born in Kashmir, this young man is a member of a think tank in Washington. > He told them that free state elections, watched by a large number of > Americans on televisions, had made a great impression. He said they were > beginning to believe that the problem was ‘more or less over’. > Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah is more candid than his son, Omar, > who is losing his popularity fast. Farooq says there are ‘paid lobbies’ in > the state to keep the problem alive. He accuses security forces, politicians > and bureaucrats of having ‘a vested interest in the Kashmir crisis’. He has > a point when he says that New Delhi has failed to make headway in resolving > the problem. Not many solutions are hawked about now. > There is a suggestion that both Kashmirs should be demilitarised, India > withdrawing its forces from the valley and stationing them on its border and > Pakistan doing likewise and pulling out its forces from Azad Kashmir. But > this depends on India and Pakistan reaching a settlement, supported by the > Kashmiris. > The problem of Jammu and Ladakh has become ticklish. They do not want to > stay with the valley. Jammu wants to join India and Ladakh wants a union > territory status. True, the Hurriyat has never tried to woo Jammu and has > seldom cared for the Kashmiri Pandits languishing there. Still both Jammu > and Ladakh can be brought around if they were to be given an autonomous > status by the valley within the state. > I have no doubt that the Kashmir problem will be solved sooner or later. > But too much has happened in the state in the past. This makes it difficult > for the old Kashmir to come back to life. Familiar symbols are dying. Sufism > has been replaced by assertive teachings. Kashmiri music is dying out > because society has been forced to acquire a religious edge. Old crafts > attract fewer artisans because there is a race to earn a quick buck. The > wazwan, a string of Kashmiri dishes served at one sitting, is still there > but new cooks are hard to get. > The reintegration of Muslims and Pandits appears difficult. An Islamic > identity has taken shape, reportedly more in the countryside. Kashmiriyat, a > secular ethos, is beyond repair. The animosity among the three regions > Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh, may dilute but will remain. It may still remain > the state of Jammu and Kashmir. But its soul would be missing. > The writer is a leading journalist based in Delhi. > > > http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/09-kashmir-without-a-soul--szh-01 > Copyright © 2010 - Dawn Media Group > > Rgds all > LA > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:16:48 -0700 > > From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com > > To: reader-list at sarai.net; gowharfazili at yahoo.com > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? > An observation by an ordinary protester > > > > Dear Gowhar > > > > To such a trite remark (made along divide lines between Kashmiri Pandits > and Kashmiri Muslims), there would be in response a pertinent and not so > trite question: > > > > "If Kashmiri Muslims lost their Kashmiriyat 1989 onwards, why should it > surprise a Kashmiri Muslim if Kashmiri Pandits have consequently lost their > Kashmiriyat ?" > > > > Some of the slogans (reportedly) raised at the Jantar Mantar rally were > not exactly suggesting that there is a nurturing environment for > "Kashmiriyat". Were they? > > > > There are various meanings and interpretations given to "Kashmiriyat" > with no one being certain what exactly it means that would be mutually > acceptable and whether it has any ennobling aspects at all. > > > > The fact though is that amongst Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Muslims, > both, there are still significant numbers who subscribe to the, nebulous it > may be, concept of "Kashmiriyat". They might not make propagandist slogans > out of it but it is a feeling resident in their hearts. > > > > Kshmendra > > > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > > > > > > From: gowhar fazli > > Subject: [Reader-list] Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? An > observation by an ordinary protester > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:56 AM > > > > > > > > > > A remark by an ordinary participant Shadab Bashir at the Delhi Kashmir > protests > > > > > > on his facebook notes: > > > > > > “Have Kashmir Pandits lost their Kashmiriyat? > > > > It is really sad and surprising to see Kashmiri Pandits shouting slogans > and > > waving Indian flags to provoke Kashmiris who were at Jantar Mantar, New > Delhi > > to protest against the ongoing human rights violation in Kashmir. > > More than 50 people died during the past two months due to high > handedness of > > the Indian troops. Bullets were triggered out not only against stone > pelters > > but also on innocent youth, children and women. A nine years old boy was > beaten > > > > > > to death by Indian ‘security’ forces. This may be the highest kind of > human > > rights violation for the rest of the India but Kashmiris are witnessing > these > > incidents very often. > > > > Indian Army is displaying their arrogance against innocent Kashmiris, > but even > > Kashmiri Pandits have no solidarity towards people of Kashmir as was > witnessed > > by us at Jantar Mantar. Instead of joining hands with us for a good > cause they > > tried to disturb our peaceful protest. > > > > When a person from their rally came waving an India flag and shouting > > provocative slogans towards us we refrained ourselves and shouted back > that > > “You are our brothers”. It appears that they have no sympathy towards > innocent > > killings of young people in Kashmir, being Kashmiris they should have > joined > > our hands against this tyranny. > > > > Alas they have lost their Kashmiryat!” > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 18:04:07 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 05:34:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: <136312.89711.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <136312.89711.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <551748.36263.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries:  I am engaging in plain talk at times and  I hope it does not hurt your sentiments because that it not the intension.  I would have ideally desired to take more time on this but for my other engagements.  I hope this is somewhat useful.   K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? What do you think?   G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits left.  Personally I feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was for us too. Though there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate humiliation against individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more diffused form that would have threatened the community at large.  The tone the resistance movement in Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the state became more and more repressive, became radical.  I think it was best for Pandits to have left at that time, but at no cost should they have severed political and social ties with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in Kashmir.     I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are displaced nor did I want to derive any political mileage out of calling them ‘migrants’.  The reason why I may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to get into a similar debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this word and thus lose the affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon.  This report was presented before an open public audience in Srinagar.   K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any such existing mechanism?   G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you across to friends who can and will help you, including some who were part of the earlier initiative.  If you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral or credible base to make such a sensitive move.  Even just as a thought, it is appreciable.   K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How?    G:  I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering of over hundred people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families and individuals we met outside the camp.    There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere at the moment. People have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in the ongoing violence and repression.     Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel the sentiment.  Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have a stated position of wanting the Pandits to return.  Personally I think possible return of Pandits is hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized manner.  Redemption of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution.  The more bloodshed there is, and the longer it takes, the harder it will get.  I think in the meanwhile if more and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and principled perspective rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it happened near Jantar Mantar,  Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, accommodative and gregarious… and you know it.   K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by the Kashmiri Pandits still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for protection?   G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking.  But a society in which naked dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily basis will throw up some deranged people, don’t you think.  You should not expect otherwise.    K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the Tehreek?   G:Were they!  By whom?  What exactly did they mean?  It is possible people would have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the Indian state which was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged in a political struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the masses and not expect Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian state.   K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving strong condemnation?   The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the moderates.  Secondly, more the oppression more radical the population will become.  Many people hate Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing because of his constant unflinching stand.  Various moderates were pulled into secret or open talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the secret talks or because the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the moderates were seen to have brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand is just.   In response to the reponse to the earlier post:   With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost their Kashmiriat by an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how the Pandit performance at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer insensitivity in terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise uphold.  Attacking the people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a National flag and counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss suffered, even while the blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was grossly insensitive.  It is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to disrupt it because you too have suffered loss some twenty years before.  As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not exactly home and safe.  I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for Islam but it does not constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently say they stand for Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam itself means accommodation of and justice for all.  At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, rather than what exactly they want.  Pandits could have been a great help in shaping and steering this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the Maharaja precipitated, Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not ideologically succumbed to the Hindu right wing in great numbers. ________________________________ From: Kshmendra Kaul To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account Dear Gowhar I understand. No easy answers. Take care Kshmendra  --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: >From: gowhar fazli >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >personal account >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM > > > > >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring serious reflection Kshmendra > >and I would not make light of them by replying a hurry.  I must confess that I >am personally struggling with ambivalences often between mutually  exclusive and > >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers for everything. However i >promise I will try.  Thanks for reading the whole thing. > >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage may go ahead. > > > > >________________________________ >From: Kshmendra Kaul >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli > >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >personal account > > >Dear Gowhar > >Thank you for sharing this. > >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances > >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? >What do you think? > >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some > >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any >such existing mechanism? > >Your 2002 report conclude with  the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire >to restore the  broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do > >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be > >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How?  > >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by the Kashmiri Pandits >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for >protection? > >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the >Tehreek? > >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire >separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving > >strong condemnation? > >Kshmendra > > >--- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > > >>From: gowhar fazli >>Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal >>account >>To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >>Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM >> >> >>Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal  account >>By Gowhar Fazili >> >>After the first reconciliation workshop involving Kashmiri  Pandits and Kashmiri >> >> >>Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim participants  would visit migrant >>camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that had just  begun to unfold by > > >>the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous amount of  courage on part of >> >> >>the participants led them to share their personal and  collective grief and >>suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can transform  people and must be >>respected and valued. To further explore the spirit of  oneness in suffering and >> >> >>to take it beyond the confines of the meeting venue, a  visit by some Kashmiri >>Muslim participants was to be the next step. >> >> >>Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit Jammu in  the month of >>September and we visited homes of Pandit participants residing in  and outside >>the camps and also met with some other members of the community.  The experience >> >> >>generated so many emotions and thoughts that it will take a  lifetime to unpack > > >>them but I will try to share some of the observations that  can be made. >> >> >>When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about the plan,  they asked why I >>should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering is far too  greater here in > > >>Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many widows,  orphans, bereaved >>and people who have lost their homes and property in the  ongoing turmoil in the >> >> >>valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by far.  Some said that Pandits >>are a pampered lot. Both the central and the state  government pamper Pandits >>and they are living better lives in the safety of  camps in Jammu than any of us >> >> >>here. They also said that everybody from the  humanitarian organizations to >>politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while  we (Kashmiri Muslims) are >>merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they are  undergoing because we are >>supposedly the source of all trouble. >> >> >>Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only to know if  the stories that >>take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what extent. How do  Pandits themselves > > >>feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, which has  been their home for >>ages? Are they living away from their homeland by choice?  What were the >>circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was it merely state  policy whisk > > >>Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or was their enough  fear in the > > >>atmosphere to have made a community of a such small size feel  vulnerable and >>unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used to living in  spacious house >> >> >>to live in a camp? What is the condition of the camps ... and so  many questions >> >> >>that could be answered only through experience and first hand  interaction. >> >> >>Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, we did  not think it prudent >> >> >>to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a hotel  and from there called > > >>some people we had met in the reconciliation workshop and  fixed to visit their > > >>places on the next day. But even before we set out for our  visits we received >>an early morning delegation of Pandits associated with the  Chamber of Commerce. >> >> >>They had heard about our work and were curious to know  more. They appreciated >>the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured us  their support especially > > >>in the section of people associated with trade and  commerce. They also spoke of >> >> >>the efforts they had made earlier to maintain  relationship between the members > > >>of the two communities but that they could not  sustain it for too long. They >>also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so  that there could be sustained > > >>communication between the people of two  communities. >> >> >>From then on Anil (one of the participants in the workshop)  played our host and >> >> >>guided us to residences of the members. He had already  fixed our schedule for >>the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in this  manner. We began by >>visiting members who lived outside the camps. The houses we  visited looked >>similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were a deliberate  effort to live >> >> >>back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the houses even had  an elaborately >>and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The residents  explained that this >>keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very much at  home possibly >>because of our common culture and the foods that we were treated  to. The >>conversations went on endlessly as they do in Kashmir. There was a  special >>feeling like when we meet relatives separated from us for a long time.  There >>was so much to catch up on. We could sense among our hosts a deep longing  and >>love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it was clearly evident by  the > > >>manner in which they had maintained continuity with their way of life in an  >>alien land and the profusion artifacts that they had surrounded themselves  >>with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their eyes to receive us in their  >> >> >>homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken place while we shared about  > > >>our experiences and the situations we are faced with in either place. >> >> >>The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds of most  Kashmiri Pandits >>was not economic loss but the fear of losing community itself  in the vast sea >>of humanity that is India... They so much want to remain  Kashmiris and so >>easily find extension of their selves among the co- community  of Kashmiri >>Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can share the  language, culture >>and the local idiom even though their religion is different.  They can talk to >>us and share the inherited meanings while it is not possible  with >>co-religionists from other parts of India. In Kashmir they also shared a  >>relationship of mutual respect with other Kashmiris, while in a place like  >>Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special community. They are merely  >>outsiders who are encroaching on the local resources. But even now when we meet  >> >> >>after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be familiar and know how to  >>address each other and can share so much. In all our conversations the use of  >>'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and Pandits was frequent. We  >>could still identify ourselves as a people apart from others. >> >> >>From the homes we visited it was clear how much they must  have had to struggle > > >>to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had taken  years for some to >>finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. For a  long while they felt > > >>that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to return  very soon. Some said >>that they can still not relate to these houses as their  own, and that whenever > > >>they dream of home they can only visualize their houses  in Kashmir. >> >> >>I realized the difference between migrating for better  opportunities like many > > >>of us do and being forced by circumstances to migrate  from home and having no >>place to return to. I realized that Pandit migration  was a tragic event for >>Kashmiri community as a whole because they took with  them so much that was us. > > >>It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel so vulnerable  as a community > > >>away from home. >> >> >>From there Anil led us to the camps for the first time.  Since most of the >>participants for our workshop had come from the Porkhu camp  we went there to >>meet up with the people. I must confess that my idea of Pandit  camps while in >>Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as befit the  so-called 'pampered' > > >>community. To my shock the camp can be described no better  than a slum. Pandit > > >>camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood or  single brick walls. In >>the barracks each family has been allotted a room or if  the family is really >>large two rooms at the most. The lanes between the  barracks are narrow and >>lined by deep open drains. The residents have  constructed toilets and small >>kitchens and walls around the space on their own.  Once inside, we felt very >>hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room  where shifted to one side to > > >>make room for the seven men who had visited the  house. The immediate feeling >>that came to our mind was that this was no place  to live for ten days and these >> >> >>people had managed to live here for more than  thirteen years. Yet we were >>treated very hospitably, as we would be in Kashmir.  Again we realized that >>Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance even  in terms of the food >>they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and traditional  Kashmiri bread >>(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who had visited  Kashmir. Some of >> >> >>the members in the camp had to give serious explanation for  having participated >> >> >>in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of having  made a compromise with >> >> >>Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again that  there was no hidden >>agenda and that none of the known political organizations  had anything to do >>with our work. We decided to visit the camp once again on  the next day in order >> >> >>to hear from more people and also to share the idea of  reconciliation with >>them. >> >> >>To our surprise more people turned up for the meeting than  we were prepared to > > >>face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty people in  the meeting. But >>the hall meant for marriages and other functions began to fill  until we had >>more than hundred people many of whom did not understand why we  were there. >>Some of the people were charged up due to the election campaigns  and the offer > > >>made by the central government to give rupees seven-lakh  assistance for Pandits >> >> >>who chose to return to the valley. One of the elderly  persons emphasized that >>they did not want this package because they saw it more  as an insult added to >>the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri Pandits  was not about money, >>but about insecurity and how they can redeem the way of  life that was lost. >>“Would they be able to return the security we felt in  living among our own >>people and how would they ensure that now, with the  changes that our people >>have undergone by living away from each other?” >> >> >>It was clear that some of the people in the camp were  mistaking us for the >>representatives of some political party or the central  government. After >>hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts thought  that we must be >>asked why we have come to the camps in the first place. We  began by explaining > > >>that we did not represent any official initiatives for  rehabilitation of >>Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as concerned  individuals who are >>not happy with the situation as it exists. “We have no  offers to make because >>have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In a  sense we feel guilty for >>not having done enough to stop the migration when it  took place and also for >>not having been in touch for the last thirteen years.  It is partly to absolve >>ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have also  come to hear from your > > >>experiences and to observe how you people are living  away from home and what >>you have to say.” >> >> >>This brief introduction changed the tone of the meeting and  then on almost all > > >>the members individually began to share their experiences.  Some laid emphasis >>on the unique brotherhood that existed among Kashmiri  Muslims and Pandits and >>how they longed for its return, while others expressed  the pain of living for >>thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the elderly  were very vivid about > > >>their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at least  die in Kashmir”, the >>younger ones were bitter about the state of helplessness  and feared whether >>their future would be safe if they were to choose to return.  Some of the >>members related the number of times Kashmiri Pandits have had to  migrate from >>Kashmir and how every time after the peace was restored they  returned to their > > >>homeland. They also said that if they were to return this  time, they would want >> >> >>the surity that they do not have to migrate yet again. >> >> >>Some of the younger members were very bitter about the  circumstances that led >>them to leave Kashmir and said that under no  circumstances are they willing to > > >>forget how some of their people were tortured  and killed. We tried to explain >>that to reconcile did not mean that one has to  forget and we did not expect >>them to forget what they had experienced. Asking  one to forget would amount to > > >>disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only  feel that hate should not be >>the motive for our actions and that we must forgive  without forgetting. >> >> >>One of the members explained how the state was maintaining  the camps in bad >>repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners and  visitors to the camps as >> >> >>a means of propaganda to impress upon them their own  version of the conflict in >> >> >>Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals  kept in a zoo, displayed >>whenever the need was felt. The state according to  them could do better and at > > >>least afford to provide reasonable conditions of  living for the migrants. The >>dilapidated condition of the camps was a  deliberate state policy. >> >> >>Almost all the people appreciated our effort and felt that  it was in some ways > > >>different from all the other efforts that are being made  for their return and >>rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts were in  the least sincere and >>thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that the  greater part of the work is > > >>required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do  not pose a big problem. It is > > >>only when certain receptiveness is created among  the majority community in >>Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made  possible. >> >> >>There was a difference of opinion whether they should return  to their own >>respective villages or a separate enclave should be created to  rehabilitate >>them in the valley. For some the texture of the villages over the  years had >>changed so drastically that it was no longer possible for them to  feel safe in > > >>their old homes. So though the interaction between the members of  the two >>communities should get restored, but for their safety they must be  settled in >>an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this arrangement would not  be healthy, >> >> >>as it would not help restore old relationship and increase  suspicion and >>segregation. >> >> >>The meeting lasted well over five hours into the night and  at last when most >>people had spoken we sought permission to leave. But the  people would not let >>us go and took us back to their homes where more rounds of  tea and informal >>conversation resumed. We had to leave finally because of an  earlier commitment > > >>to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside the  camp. The conversations >> >> >>at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well past  midnight, were in my >>opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language that  can only be possible >>with the members of ones own community. There was endless  joking and laughing! > > >> >> >>To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu was  beyond our >>expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the  broken >>relationships and the way of life that has been lost. People are  cautiously, >>willing to explore ... because the stake is worth every bit of  effort. >> >> >> >>      >>_________________________________________ >>reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>Critiques & Collaborations >>To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >>the subject header. >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > >      >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >the subject header. >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Aug 12 18:27:49 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:27:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: <551748.36263.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <136312.89711.qm@web57207.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <551748.36263.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Wow!! I just dream of such excellent exchanges on other issues as well, not just Kashmir. Rakesh From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 18:29:34 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 05:59:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account Message-ID: <171396.77406.qm@web114709.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries:  I am engaging in plain talk at times and  I hope it does not hurt your sentiments because that it not the intension.  I would have ideally desired to take more time on this but for my other engagements.  I hope this is somewhat useful.   K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? What do you think?   G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits left.  Personally I feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was for us too. Though there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate humiliation against individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more diffused form that would have threatened the community at large.  The tone the resistance movement in Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the state became more and more repressive, became radical.  I think it was best for Pandits to have left at that time, but at no cost should they have severed political and social ties with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in Kashmir.     I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are displaced nor did I want to derive any political mileage out of calling them ‘migrants’.  The reason why I may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to get into a similar debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this word and thus lose the affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon.  This report was presented before an open public audience in Srinagar.   K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any such existing mechanism?   G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you across to friends who can and will help you, including some who were part of the earlier initiative.  If you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral or credible base to make such a sensitive move.  Even just as a thought, it is appreciable.   K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How?    G:  I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering of over hundred people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families and individuals we met outside the camp.    There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere at the moment. People have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in the ongoing violence and repression.     Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel the sentiment.  Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have a stated position of wanting the Pandits to return.  Personally I think possible return of Pandits is hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized manner.  Redemption of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution.  The more bloodshed there is, and the longer it takes, the harder it will get.  I think in the meanwhile if more and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and principled perspective rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it happened near Jantar Mantar,  Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, accommodative and gregarious… and you know it.   K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by the Kashmiri Pandits still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for protection?   G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking.  But a society in which naked dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily basis will throw up some deranged people, don’t you think.  You should not expect otherwise.    K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the Tehreek?   G:Were they!  By whom?  What exactly did they mean?  It is possible people would have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the Indian state which was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged in a political struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the masses and not expect Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian state.   K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving strong condemnation?   The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the moderates.  Secondly, more the oppression more radical the population will become.  Many people hate Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing because of his constant unflinching stand.  Various moderates were pulled into secret or open talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the secret talks or because the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the moderates were seen to have brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand is just.   In response to the reponse to the earlier post:   With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost their Kashmiriat by an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how the Pandit performance at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer insensitivity in terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise uphold.  Attacking the people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a National flag and counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss suffered, even while the blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was grossly insensitive.  It is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to disrupt it because you too have suffered loss some twenty years before.  As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not exactly home and safe.  I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for Islam but it does not constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently say they stand for Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam itself means accommodation of and justice for all.  At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, rather than what exactly they want.  Pandits could have been a great help in shaping and steering this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the Maharaja precipitated, Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not ideologically succumbed to the Hindu right wing in great numbers. Best, Gowhar ________________________________ From: Kshmendra Kaul To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account Dear Gowhar I understand. No easy answers. Take care Kshmendra  --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: >From: gowhar fazli >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >personal account >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM > > > > >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring serious reflection Kshmendra > >and I would not make light of them by replying a hurry.  I must confess that I >am personally struggling with ambivalences often between mutually  exclusive and > >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers for everything. However i >promise I will try.  Thanks for reading the whole thing. > >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage may go ahead. > > > > >________________________________ >From: Kshmendra Kaul >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli > >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >personal account > > >Dear Gowhar > >Thank you for sharing this. > >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances > >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? >What do you think? > >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some > >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any >such existing mechanism? > >Your 2002 report conclude with  the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire >to restore the  broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do > >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be > >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How?  > >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by the Kashmiri Pandits >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for >protection? > >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the >Tehreek? > >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire >separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving > >strong condemnation? > >Kshmendra > > >--- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > > >>From: gowhar fazli >>Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal >>account >>To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >>Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM >> >> >>Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal  account >>By Gowhar Fazili >> >>After the first reconciliation workshop involving Kashmiri  Pandits and Kashmiri >> >> >>Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim participants  would visit migrant >>camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that had just  begun to unfold by > > >>the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous amount of  courage on part of >> >> >>the participants led them to share their personal and  collective grief and >>suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can transform  people and must be >>respected and valued. To further explore the spirit of  oneness in suffering and >> >> >>to take it beyond the confines of the meeting venue, a  visit by some Kashmiri >>Muslim participants was to be the next step. >> >> >>Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit Jammu in  the month of >>September and we visited homes of Pandit participants residing in  and outside >>the camps and also met with some other members of the community.  The experience >> >> >>generated so many emotions and thoughts that it will take a  lifetime to unpack > > >>them but I will try to share some of the observations that  can be made. >> >> >>When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about the plan,  they asked why I >>should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering is far too  greater here in > > >>Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many widows,  orphans, bereaved >>and people who have lost their homes and property in the  ongoing turmoil in the >> >> >>valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by far.  Some said that Pandits >>are a pampered lot. Both the central and the state  government pamper Pandits >>and they are living better lives in the safety of  camps in Jammu than any of us >> >> >>here. They also said that everybody from the  humanitarian organizations to >>politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while  we (Kashmiri Muslims) are >>merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they are  undergoing because we are >>supposedly the source of all trouble. >> >> >>Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only to know if  the stories that >>take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what extent. How do  Pandits themselves > > >>feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, which has  been their home for >>ages? Are they living away from their homeland by choice?  What were the >>circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was it merely state  policy whisk > > >>Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or was their enough  fear in the > > >>atmosphere to have made a community of a such small size feel  vulnerable and >>unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used to living in  spacious house >> >> >>to live in a camp? What is the condition of the camps ... and so  many questions >> >> >>that could be answered only through experience and first hand  interaction. >> >> >>Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, we did  not think it prudent >> >> >>to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a hotel  and from there called > > >>some people we had met in the reconciliation workshop and  fixed to visit their > > >>places on the next day. But even before we set out for our  visits we received >>an early morning delegation of Pandits associated with the  Chamber of Commerce. >> >> >>They had heard about our work and were curious to know  more. They appreciated >>the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured us  their support especially > > >>in the section of people associated with trade and  commerce. They also spoke of >> >> >>the efforts they had made earlier to maintain  relationship between the members > > >>of the two communities but that they could not  sustain it for too long. They >>also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so  that there could be sustained > > >>communication between the people of two  communities. >> >> >>From then on Anil (one of the participants in the workshop)  played our host and >> >> >>guided us to residences of the members. He had already  fixed our schedule for >>the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in this  manner. We began by >>visiting members who lived outside the camps. The houses we  visited looked >>similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were a deliberate  effort to live >> >> >>back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the houses even had  an elaborately >>and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The residents  explained that this >>keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very much at  home possibly >>because of our common culture and the foods that we were treated  to. The >>conversations went on endlessly as they do in Kashmir. There was a  special >>feeling like when we meet relatives separated from us for a long time.  There >>was so much to catch up on. We could sense among our hosts a deep longing  and >>love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it was clearly evident by  the > > >>manner in which they had maintained continuity with their way of life in an  >>alien land and the profusion artifacts that they had surrounded themselves  >>with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their eyes to receive us in their  >> >> >>homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken place while we shared about  > > >>our experiences and the situations we are faced with in either place. >> >> >>The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds of most  Kashmiri Pandits >>was not economic loss but the fear of losing community itself  in the vast sea >>of humanity that is India... They so much want to remain  Kashmiris and so >>easily find extension of their selves among the co- community  of Kashmiri >>Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can share the  language, culture >>and the local idiom even though their religion is different.  They can talk to >>us and share the inherited meanings while it is not possible  with >>co-religionists from other parts of India. In Kashmir they also shared a  >>relationship of mutual respect with other Kashmiris, while in a place like  >>Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special community. They are merely  >>outsiders who are encroaching on the local resources. But even now when we meet  >> >> >>after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be familiar and know how to  >>address each other and can share so much. In all our conversations the use of  >>'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and Pandits was frequent. We  >>could still identify ourselves as a people apart from others. >> >> >>From the homes we visited it was clear how much they must  have had to struggle > > >>to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had taken  years for some to >>finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. For a  long while they felt > > >>that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to return  very soon. Some said >>that they can still not relate to these houses as their  own, and that whenever > > >>they dream of home they can only visualize their houses  in Kashmir. >> >> >>I realized the difference between migrating for better  opportunities like many > > >>of us do and being forced by circumstances to migrate  from home and having no >>place to return to. I realized that Pandit migration  was a tragic event for >>Kashmiri community as a whole because they took with  them so much that was us. > > >>It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel so vulnerable  as a community > > >>away from home. >> >> >>From there Anil led us to the camps for the first time.  Since most of the >>participants for our workshop had come from the Porkhu camp  we went there to >>meet up with the people. I must confess that my idea of Pandit  camps while in >>Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as befit the  so-called 'pampered' > > >>community. To my shock the camp can be described no better  than a slum. Pandit > > >>camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood or  single brick walls. In >>the barracks each family has been allotted a room or if  the family is really >>large two rooms at the most. The lanes between the  barracks are narrow and >>lined by deep open drains. The residents have  constructed toilets and small >>kitchens and walls around the space on their own.  Once inside, we felt very >>hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room  where shifted to one side to > > >>make room for the seven men who had visited the  house. The immediate feeling >>that came to our mind was that this was no place  to live for ten days and these >> >> >>people had managed to live here for more than  thirteen years. Yet we were >>treated very hospitably, as we would be in Kashmir.  Again we realized that >>Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance even  in terms of the food >>they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and traditional  Kashmiri bread >>(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who had visited  Kashmir. Some of >> >> >>the members in the camp had to give serious explanation for  having participated >> >> >>in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of having  made a compromise with >> >> >>Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again that  there was no hidden >>agenda and that none of the known political organizations  had anything to do >>with our work. We decided to visit the camp once again on  the next day in order >> >> >>to hear from more people and also to share the idea of  reconciliation with >>them. >> >> >>To our surprise more people turned up for the meeting than  we were prepared to > > >>face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty people in  the meeting. But >>the hall meant for marriages and other functions began to fill  until we had >>more than hundred people many of whom did not understand why we  were there. >>Some of the people were charged up due to the election campaigns  and the offer > > >>made by the central government to give rupees seven-lakh  assistance for Pandits >> >> >>who chose to return to the valley. One of the elderly  persons emphasized that >>they did not want this package because they saw it more  as an insult added to >>the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri Pandits  was not about money, >>but about insecurity and how they can redeem the way of  life that was lost. >>“Would they be able to return the security we felt in  living among our own >>people and how would they ensure that now, with the  changes that our people >>have undergone by living away from each other?” >> >> >>It was clear that some of the people in the camp were  mistaking us for the >>representatives of some political party or the central  government. After >>hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts thought  that we must be >>asked why we have come to the camps in the first place. We  began by explaining > > >>that we did not represent any official initiatives for  rehabilitation of >>Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as concerned  individuals who are >>not happy with the situation as it exists. “We have no  offers to make because >>have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In a  sense we feel guilty for >>not having done enough to stop the migration when it  took place and also for >>not having been in touch for the last thirteen years.  It is partly to absolve >>ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have also  come to hear from your > > >>experiences and to observe how you people are living  away from home and what >>you have to say.” >> >> >>This brief introduction changed the tone of the meeting and  then on almost all > > >>the members individually began to share their experiences.  Some laid emphasis >>on the unique brotherhood that existed among Kashmiri  Muslims and Pandits and >>how they longed for its return, while others expressed  the pain of living for >>thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the elderly  were very vivid about > > >>their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at least  die in Kashmir”, the >>younger ones were bitter about the state of helplessness  and feared whether >>their future would be safe if they were to choose to return.  Some of the >>members related the number of times Kashmiri Pandits have had to  migrate from >>Kashmir and how every time after the peace was restored they  returned to their > > >>homeland. They also said that if they were to return this  time, they would want >> >> >>the surity that they do not have to migrate yet again. >> >> >>Some of the younger members were very bitter about the  circumstances that led >>them to leave Kashmir and said that under no  circumstances are they willing to > > >>forget how some of their people were tortured  and killed. We tried to explain >>that to reconcile did not mean that one has to  forget and we did not expect >>them to forget what they had experienced. Asking  one to forget would amount to > > >>disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only  feel that hate should not be >>the motive for our actions and that we must forgive  without forgetting. >> >> >>One of the members explained how the state was maintaining  the camps in bad >>repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners and  visitors to the camps as >> >> >>a means of propaganda to impress upon them their own  version of the conflict in >> >> >>Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals  kept in a zoo, displayed >>whenever the need was felt. The state according to  them could do better and at > > >>least afford to provide reasonable conditions of  living for the migrants. The >>dilapidated condition of the camps was a  deliberate state policy. >> >> >>Almost all the people appreciated our effort and felt that  it was in some ways > > >>different from all the other efforts that are being made  for their return and >>rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts were in  the least sincere and >>thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that the  greater part of the work is > > >>required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do  not pose a big problem. It is > > >>only when certain receptiveness is created among  the majority community in >>Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made  possible. >> >> >>There was a difference of opinion whether they should return  to their own >>respective villages or a separate enclave should be created to  rehabilitate >>them in the valley. For some the texture of the villages over the  years had >>changed so drastically that it was no longer possible for them to  feel safe in > > >>their old homes. So though the interaction between the members of  the two >>communities should get restored, but for their safety they must be  settled in >>an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this arrangement would not  be healthy, >> >> >>as it would not help restore old relationship and increase  suspicion and >>segregation. >> >> >>The meeting lasted well over five hours into the night and  at last when most >>people had spoken we sought permission to leave. But the  people would not let >>us go and took us back to their homes where more rounds of  tea and informal >>conversation resumed. We had to leave finally because of an  earlier commitment > > >>to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside the  camp. The conversations >> >> >>at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well past  midnight, were in my >>opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language that  can only be possible >>with the members of ones own community. There was endless  joking and laughing! > > >> >> >>To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu was  beyond our >>expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the  broken >>relationships and the way of life that has been lost. People are  cautiously, >>willing to explore ... because the stake is worth every bit of  effort. >> >> >> >>      >>_________________________________________ >>reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>Critiques & Collaborations >>To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >>the subject header. >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > >      >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >the subject header. >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Thu Aug 12 21:27:35 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:57:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <443786.49540.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Dear Sanjay and others, This is the most damning piece i have read on Indian liberal media.  Who is this Mazameen-e-Ghai'b chap so aptly borrwing a phrase from Ghalib and writing so powerfully.  Has this circultated in the mainstream Indian media? Gowhar Fazili ----- Original Message ---- From: Sanjay Kak To: Sarai Reader List Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:37:34 PM Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir An interesting post from the blog Mazameen-e-Ghai`b http://bluekashmir.blogspot.com/ Enjoy. Sanjay Kak The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir After two months of almost continuous clampdowns and lockdowns, 50 systematic killings, and hundreds of incarcerations, the debate in India about protests in Kashmir has continued to hover between bleeding-heart liberal talk and state attempts at dissimulation. While state deception, and the Hindu right racket, is obvious, expected, and nothing new, the increased space for liberal discourse has given a false impression that there is a change in heart. The liberal discourse in India on the question of Kashmir is not open, fair, or objective, but often borders on, and oftentimes overlaps, the more popular, explicitly nationalist polemics. From news shows to newspaper articles every death in Kashmir is slyly or openly justified. Since the day some protestors in Pampore and Srinagar burnt a few police jeeps and a couple of decrepit old, low-level government office structures, fit not even to be cowsheds, the Indian media suggested that people are shot because they attack public property. They tried to conceal the fact that most of the victims were killed before those structures were burnt down. But then even before the Pampore incidents big media in India tried to create a moral equivalence between intentional murders of dozens of unarmed Kashmiri protestors and Indian paramilitary soldiers not getting enough rest, or their jeeps getting a few bumps. India’s “Kashmir experts” (some of them from Kashmir as well), who fall over each other to get a place on noisy and bogus talk shows in Delhi, have been bandying about that the current series of protests began with the June 11 killing of Tufail Mattoo. The fake encounter killings of three young men in Machil and of a 70-year-old man in Kupwara, the fatal shooting of another man in Keller forests, the wanton killings of Zahid and Wamiq in Srinagar, and numerous others preceded Tufail’s death. Not only were these other killings deliberately forced to recede from the public view, but the immense suffering, the daily grind, humiliation and torture that marks life in Kashmir under military occupation continues to be glossed over. The gloss often is the much-abused fabrication that Kashmiris live off Indian taxpayers’ money. Somehow it is assumed that Kashmiris don’t pay taxes, or that Kashmir doesn’t have an economy of its own beyond the government dole. The fact deliberately obscured is that the very thin slice of Kashmiri society that does benefit from Indian handouts is the one the Indian state has actively promoted as a class of collaborators in Kashmir. These are mostly the people who appear on TV shows in Delhi, and their view is projected as the countervailing view to the Indian hawks, who saturate the public sphere in Delhi newsrooms. The problem is that these same people openly announce that common Kashmiris will lynch them if they went out of their security cocoons. Then there are the nauseating media pundits who, on one side, show injured young children with bullet marks on their chests and, on the other, bring heavy mustached ex-military generals to offer their views on why children get shot. They implicitly announce that if Kashmiri children have to live, their parents better keep them inside their homes. This is the liberal Indian media. On the more popular platforms, like Rediff News or Times of India, respondents openly call for genocide of Kashmiris. It is crucial to read the low ethical barometer of this Delhi based media since it directly generates much Indian public opinion about Kashmir. How do societies become so pachydermic to gulp down with eager credulity such moral depravity? Even in the left–liberal big media, the systematic nature of deceit is clearly visible to the point that it has become farcical. The Hindu published an editorial that unscrupulously tried to make a case for curtailing Internet services to Kashmiris, one of the few places where the Indian government has not been completely successful in muzzling dissent. So disgruntled was this calumnious piece’s author that he created fictitious names to smear all the protest Kashmiris express online. For long the existence of Kashmiri protest was shrugged off as directed by Pakistan. Now after those theories have fallen flat, attempts are made to mystify what Kashmiris want. Isn’t it truly baffling that, while the rest of the world clearly know what Kashmiris want, India’s liberal experts have a hard time comprehending this resounding reality? For the last 20 years these experts have repeatedly asked the question: “But what do Kashmiris want?” Kashmiris have declared what they want in clear, succinct slogans (always in English, and in Hindustani) over microphones, on banners, and in protests, by raising fists, throwing stones, and firing guns, through their tears, cries, and wails, through burnt homes, imprisoned lives, and wounded, life-deprived bodies. The ones, who have finally managed to read the writing on the bloodied wall, fulminate in self-righteous anger that India will never give azadi to Kashmiris. This rejection of Kashmir’s freedom takes supercilious forms. They tell us Kashmiris to see ‘reason.’ Free Kashmir is not viable. In return, we ask them, if unfree, occupied Kashmir is viable for Kashmiris? They tell us Kashmir will become another playground for Great Power politics, and we ask them if India’s denial of Kashmir’s right to self-determination has not already turned Kashmir into one. Some of them warn us that independent Kashmir will be taken over by the U.S. But we ask them, have India and Pakistan not been ‘taken over’ by the U.S. already? Didn’t India eagerly, and without being asked, offer the U.S. its bases to attack Afghanistan? Don’t India and Pakistan race to Washington to get a little smile, a nod, a shoulder brush, an acknowledgement from Americans? They even tell Kashmiris that we will not survive, because we are landlocked, as if through history, which we successfully survived, we weren’t landlocked. (Are there no landlocked countries in the world?) And when these arguments sound all speculative, they tell us that Muslims in India will come under great threat from the majority Hindus if Kashmir separates from India. And, in the same breath they hasten to add that Indians are a tolerant, pluralist nation. Only in the end they tell us that we need to see the “harsh reality” of India’s power. Well, this is an argument that is shorn of fake sympathy for Kashmiris, of moral self-righteousness, and of the supercilious concern for the viability of an independent Kashmir. This is an argument, which one can grant a degree of objectivity, if not morality. The argument that uses the rationale of India’s superior military power against the logic of the Kashmiri struggle for freedom, however, also lays bare the irreconcilable interests of the present nature of the Indian state and those of the Kashmiri people. To that question, however, we ask them, who more than Kashmiris has faced, and knows about, the “harsh reality” of India’s power? According to their argument it is clear that Kashmiris should live with the occupation, if they must at all. Some even point out that gradually the “perception” of military occupation will go away. For instance, in a number of circles in India, it has falsely been argued that killings happen in reaction to protests, rather than the other way round. It is claimed that if protests were to stop, the so-called “cycle of death” will stop as well—a thesis India’s prime minister also delineated while asking Kashmiris to end protest. The fact is that the killings, protest or no protest, are intimately tied to the grating reality of the military occupation. This occupation, which lets half a million military personnel, along with a chain-link network of dark operatives of intelligence agencies, sit atop a dissenting population as a force for suppressive pacification, has uses for these regular killings. Regular killings, maiming, rapes and molestations, random raids and arrests, merciless beatings, forced labor, daily dishonor, are all employed to destroy our social bonds, to pulverize our sense of self, to create utter disillusionment and despondency, to demolish the basis for any claim to self-respect, and ultimately to tear apart being political from being Kashmiri and achieving the death of these feelings of belonging. Or better, kill politics and turn us Kashmiris into artifacts of our presumed culture. Is this in the Kashmiri national interest, one may ask those who justify it all in the name of “Indian national interest”? Occupation is a vicious process. It has gradually entered, and continues to enter, all aspects of Kashmiri life. Mass protests are outbursts, impassioned attempts to wriggle free. Freedom from this occupation is not just an aspiration, a wish, or a longing for a pipedream, but a desperate need. The struggle for life in Kashmir is the struggle for freedom. The protests surely intensify the occupation, but they also render the beast more visible, and easier to grasp. Ending protest will definitely not end the occupation, only it will be a sure, if slow route to a form of death down the road. The liberal discourse covers up all the contradictions present in the forced relations between India and Kashmir, and sells the dream of the Great Indian Democracy, a dream which large number of Indians themselves hardly believe in any more. This liberal discourse, which is too close to power, doesn’t mediate between Kashmiris and the Indian state. It is often just a face of the latter, even if a more slippery one. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From asiatogaza.india at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 10:18:32 2010 From: asiatogaza.india at gmail.com (AsiaToGaza-India) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:18:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call to Endorse and Participate in the India Lifeline to Gaza Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza Message-ID: Friends, Several organisations have endorsed the call for a Campaign to End the Seige in Gaza and will be participating in an Asian land convoy that leaves from New Delhi mid-September and travels across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and ultimately through the Rafah Crossing into Gaza-Palestine. We hope you will endorse the campaign call and become part of the coordinating committee of the campaign that decides the broad policies of the campaign. All endorsing organisations are requested to contribute a minimum of Rs 1000 towards meeting campaign costs and also to nominate full-time volunteers to the secretariat to oversee and execute day-to-day functions and tasks. Please drop us a line informing us of your endorsement and/or your intent to participate in the caravan. *Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza: India Lifeline to Gaza * *September 2010* We the people of India extend our solidarity to the courageous people of Palestine in their struggle and resistance against the occupation of their land. Israel’s occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories has lasted for more than six decades in violation of international law, international humanitarian law and numerous United Nations resolutions. The occupation of Palestine must end! Gaza has been turned into a vast open-air-prison-cum-concentration camp for its 1.5 million inhabitants. The Palestinian population in the West Bank and in Jerusalem are under continuous repression, assaults and in a permanent state of siege due to the ever expanding settlements & the apartheid wall. The Palestinian people must have the freedom to exercise their right to self-determination including their right to establish on all the territories that Israel has occupied, an independent sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital. The structure of Zionist apartheid, based on ethno-religious discrimination that Israel has established, must be dismantled and it must grant equal rights to all its citizens, including the “Right of Return” to the Palestinians refugees. *Defend the right of Palestinian people to resist the occupation through all legitimate means* The campaign and struggle to end the blockade of Gaza is an integral part of, and a step to this larger struggle for self determination of the Palestinian People and for a State of Palestine. The people of Gaza are being subjected to the Israeli policy of collective punishment for asserting their democratic right to decide for themselves the leadership and political organisations to lead their struggle, govern their society and represent them in all negotiations. The genocidal nature of the war unleashed on Gaza, is also meant to serve as a warning to the rest of the Palestinian People. Israel, backed by the US and reactionary forces, is using war, terror and blockade to break the will of the people of Gaza. The Blockade of Gaza since 2007 has resulted in lack of essential supplies, petrol for electricity, imminent shortage of medicines, food and water which has triggered a humanitarian crisis that the world needs to respond to with urgency. The freedom and peace loving people of the world and democratic states have to defeat this nefarious design. Palestine is today one of the defining struggles for freedom, democracy and equality for peoples and nations. *Let us unite to win this battle* This struggle is broad, varied and multi-dimensional. It is humanitarian and for peace, freedom and human dignity. It is against occupation, imperialism, apartheid, Zionism and all forms of discrimination including religious discrimination. We call upon all organisations, movements and individuals to engage, contribute, actively participate and join the struggle. We commit to respect the right of all participants to share, emphasise and focus on any aspect and dimension of the struggle that is accordance with their own views, belief and ideology, provided they do not divide, weaken or vitiate the common and broad front against the blockade of Gaza and the very struggle for the liberation of Palestine. After the terrible massacre aboard the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May 2010, citizens around the world are taking action to help break the siege which is suffocating the lives of the people of Gaza and denying them their very right to exist. Different movements across the world are mobilising to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip and to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. The IHH (Insani Yardi Vakfi or The Foundation for Human Rights, Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief), participated in the Freedom Flotilla in which 9 of its peace activists were murdered in cold blood by Israeli soldiers on board of Mavi Marmara. The “Free Gaza Movement” has challenged the siege by organizing ships to the shores of Gaza. The “Viva Palestina” has mobilized more than 500 vehicles and 60 ships that will reach Gaza in September. “The European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza” will be sending more than 9000 delegates. Many more organizations around the world are now galvanizing the global solidarity movement and will be contributing with their local and global actions. Convoys from North and South Africa and ships from the USA, New Zealand, Canada & Australia are also due to join the global effort. We are committed to and believe that there must be a strong Asian involvement in the global movement to end the siege of Gaza and for the liberation of Palestine. It is important that India plays a part in initiating and building the Asian process for solidarity with Palestine. It is against this background that the undersigned organisations undertake to organise an Asian land convoy to Gaza. This convoy will leave from New Delhi mid-September and will travel across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and ultimately through the Rafah Crossing into Gaza-Palestine. The Asian convoy will be joined by delegations and vehicles in each of the nine countries through which it passes. We will coordinate with existing and new organisations and alliances in each of these countries and commit together to develop an Asia level campaign to free Palestine. In each of these countries public meetings, press conferences, meetings with mass organisations and political parties will be organised. We endorse the Solidarity Caravan from India to Palestine. In solidarity, *Organisations* Aman Bharat Awami Bharat Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) Bharat Bachao Andolan Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur) Ekta Parishad Free Gaza - India India Palestine People’s Solidarity Forum Intercultural Resources IIM Mazdoor Ekta Manch Muslim Intellectual Forum Muslim Political Council of India National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW) New Socialist Initiative (NSI) New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) Palestine Solidarity Movement People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Phule-Ambedkar Vichar Manch Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI) Republican Panther SACW.NET South Asia Peace Alliance (SAPA) Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI) Vidyarthi Bharti *Individuals* Salman Usmani, New Delhi From mailponni at gmail.com Thu Aug 12 13:54:43 2010 From: mailponni at gmail.com (ponni arasu) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:54:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] URGENT Call for Aid: Recent Floods in Pakistan- worse than tsunami, Pakistan and Haiti quakes: UN Message-ID: Dear all, The floods in Pakistan seem to have had effects much worse than many of the recent natural disasters ( http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=30627) and yet, there is hardly any attention in the media or otherwise about this, least of all here in India. I think it is imperative that we step up and at least do the bare minimum of gathering some funds to send over. All those interested can contact me on this email and I can put you in touch with friends in Pakistan who will tell you how you can get the money across. Please spread the word as soon as you can and make a contribution big or small at the earliest. Thank you. Hoping to hear back soon. Warmly, Ponni. -- in the dark times Will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing about the dark times. - Bertolt Brecht www.kafila.org From yasir.media at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 00:48:55 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:18:55 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] URGENT Call for Aid: Recent Floods in Pakistan- worse than tsunami, Pakistan and Haiti quakes: UN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=451097122802&id=519796991&ref=mf Following is alist of donation links, NGO's, relief resources, organizations and individuals working to support flood victims of Pakistan. If you are willing to contribute, or know somebody who can help, please contact the following: Charity Organizations in Pakistan: Al-Khidmat Foundation: Donate here: http://al-khidmatfoundation.org/donate-here.php Edhi Foundation: Donate here: http://www.edhifoundation.com/contact.asp Sarhad Rural Support Programme Concerned citizens based in Lahore are collecting relief items for the Sarhad Rural Support Programme, the largest NGO in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. SRSP's experience and size make it the most suitable choice for donations at this time. They are a part of the Rural Support Programmes Network (rspn.org), founded by Shoaib Sultan Khan, who was nominated for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize (along with President Obama and others). People may make donations directly to SRSP, write crossed cheques to us in favor of SRSP or donate relief goods directly to them (which will then be loaded on to trucks headed for SRSP warehouses in Peshawar. People are also welcome to join in the effort of loading the trucks and actually making the trip to the affected areas to see the profound difference their generosity makes in the lives of so many. The link to their Facebook page is : http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120053684708340 Contacy: Umar Agha. Cell: 0321 842-2425 and email: ua2121 at columbia.edu Maymar Trust To donate a ( 10 x 10) tent for a family: Rs. 12,000 A huge tent ( 14 x 14) for a few families: Rs. 5,000 A tent for a mosque ( 30 x 30) : Rs. 30,000 Gas Cylinder: Rs. 900 Generator: Rs. 80,000 Food: 8,000/-for one month Medical Supplies: Rs.20 to 25,000/- ( for one day ) Beds and bedding: 300 per bed Plastic Tirpal ( shade)( 4 x6) : Rs.900/- Donate here: Account Title: Muhammad Faisal A/c No: 011802008000265 Meezan Bank/ Gulshan-e-Maymar, Karachi. Or A/C Title: Tariq Manzoor 0118994011000621 Muslim Commercial Bank Branch Code: 1555 Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation see: http://www.oakdf.org.pk/ Here is the information required to make a donation: Title of Account: Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation Account #: 0030445261000455 Name of Bank: MCB Bank (1028), Super Market, Islamabad-Pakistan Swift Code: MUCBPKKAMCC Tax Exemption: 6043/ATD/2008-09 Sungi: Donate here: http://sungi.org/emergency_donations_contact_information.html Pakistan Red Crescent Society: PRCS has offices in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Muzaffarabad. Please see: http://www.prcs.org.pk/help.asp Pakistani Youth: Please see:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140364565986483&ref=mf An independent group of students: see: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147776388569606&ref=nf The Volunteers/ Voice of the Civil Society: VOTCS with the help of our Pak Army jawans will be sending Provisions to the affectees. VOTCS is now a registered (No. DSW 3369-K) welfare organization in Pakistan, and is operating as a Non-Profit, Public Charity in the North America, Inc. - 501(C)(3) Organization(Tax Exempted) HABIB BANK LIMITED ACCOUNT NO IS 1549-79001393-03 For more info call: Hadia khan at 03018245999 Sadia Haroon at 03218251122 Irum Farooque at 03002332142 Samina Punjwani@ 786-367-6559 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting786-367-6559end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting786-367-6559end_of_the_skype_highlighting Miami Florida RONAQ-E-QAINAAT Young doctors are in the process of arranging a series of free medical camps in the flood affected areas. First Camp is at Nowshera. Please Contact Ms. Alina Akhyar at alinaakhyar at yahoo.com, who will email you the Trust’s past activities, bank account details and other queries. They have already done some pretty impressive work. Account number: 00400101065364 account title: Khadija Nadeem Askari Bank Chaklala Scheme 3 branch Rawalpindi, Khadija is the founding member and handling all donations. International Charity Organizations: Trocaire (an Irish NGO that's funding Noor Education Trust, Rural Development Project and Pakistan Village Development Program): Trócaire has already launched an emergency appeal and committed €200,000 to help families and communities in the north west of the country. In Peshawar district, one of the worst affected areas, Trócaire's partners have already begun working in 4 villages where 10,000 people need food, water and support. Trócaire has been working in Pakistan for over 20 years, making it well placed to respond quickly to this disaster and get help quickly to where it's needed most. Cecil Dunne, Pakistan emergency officer says the situation is really desperate for over thousands of families who have been forced from their homes. “This is a terrible situation for families and communities who only a year ago had their lives turned upside down by widespread violence in this area and now they are on the run again from flooding. The thing is that the monsoon season hasn’t even started yet so people here are very vulnerable and need immediate help.” To donate: https://www.trocaire.org/make-a-donation http://www.trocaire.org/resources/news/2010/08/01/responding-floods-pakistan Islamic Relief USA: Donate here: http://www.islamicreliefusa.org/Page.aspx?pid=463 UNHCR: Donate here: http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/pakistan/global_landing.html You can also mail your donations to UNHCR: UNHCR Private Sector Fundraising Case Postale 2500 CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt Switzerland UNHCR Canada: https://www.strategicprofitsinc.com/hosted/unhcr/index_s.php UNICEF USA- Donate Here: https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?idb=784883377&df_id=1661&1661.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr010=vmk328n351.app17b United Nation’s World Food Programme: Donations are tax deductible for number of countries. Donate here: https://secure.my-websites.org/supporter/donatenow.do?n=gbss&dfdbid=1044253 Plan International ( Pakistan specific): https://secure.my-websites.org/supporter/donatenow.do?n=gbss&dfdbid=1044253 IRC (The International Rescue Committee): donate here: http://www.theirc.org/news/irc-team-responds-devastating-floods-pakistan Islamic Help (England): You can make a cheque/postal order made payable to ‘Islamic Help’ and send it to: Islamic Help 19 Ombersley Road Balsall Heath Birmingham B12 8UR Please do not send cash in the post and please do not forget to write your name and address on a piece of paper. Bank: You can put money directly in their bank account Name: Islamic Help Bank: HSBC Account No: 41687425 Sort Code: 40-42-12 If you are in a country other than the UK, you can go into any bank in the world and quote the following International Bank Account: Number (IBAN) and Branch Identifier Code (BIC) IBAN: GB 72 MIDL 404212 41687425 BIC: MIDL GB 2155 G Muslim Aid (England): Send a cheque or postal order made payable to ‘Muslim Aid’, together with a note of your name and address to: Muslim Aid, P O Box 3, London, E1 1WP Donate directly to their bank account: Name of the Muslim Aid Bank: LLOYDS TSB Address of the Muslim Aid Bank: LLOYDSTSB BANK PLC HIGHBURY CORNER 31 HOLLOWAY CORNER LONDON N7 8JU SWIFT/BIC/CODE (OUTSIDE UK): LOYDGB 21180 To donate in pound sterling £ Name of the account: MUSLIM AID-DONATION AC Sort code: 30-94-21 Account number: 01436818 Iban (outside UK): GB25 LOYD 3094 2101 436818 To donate in euros Name of the account: MUSLIM AID- EURO AC Sort code: 30-94-21 Account number: 86151365 Iban (outside UK): GB42 LOYD 3094 2186 151365 To donate in dollars $ Name of the account: MUSLIM AID-DOLLAR AC Sort code: 30-94-21 Account number: 12044226 Iban (outside UK): GB75 LOYD 3094 2112 044226 Muslims Hands: NGO in England. Donate Here: http://www.muslimhands.org/en/gb/appeals/pakistan_flood_crisis/ Save the Children: http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2010/help-families-pakistan-flooding.html?WT.mc_id=gg_e_np&gclid=CPPaxOHml6MCFQG3sgodyU0dow&WT.srch=1 On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 1:24 PM, ponni arasu wrote: > > Dear all, > > The floods in Pakistan seem to have had effects much worse than many of the > recent natural disasters ( > http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=30627) and yet, there is > hardly any attention in the media or otherwise about this, least of all here > in India. I think it is imperative that we step up and at least do the bare > minimum of gathering some funds to send over. All those interested can > contact me on this email and I can put you in touch with friends in Pakistan > who will tell you how you can get the money across. Please spread the word > as soon as you can and make a contribution big or small at the earliest. > > Thank you. > > Hoping to hear back soon. > > Warmly, > > Ponni. > > > -- > in the dark times > Will there also be singing? > Yes, there will also be singing > about the dark times. > > - Bertolt Brecht > > www.kafila.org > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From yasir.media at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 00:56:17 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:26:17 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] URGENT Call for Aid: Recent Floods in Pakistan- worse than tsunami, Pakistan and Haiti quakes: UN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: 3 i recommend without hesitation: [1] http://www.sarelief.com/ [2] In terms of selfless work witha large network wich wastes little, I recommend **Edhi Foundation: http://www.edhifoundation.com/contact.asp [3] and in terms of good people doing good work in sarhad/swat most affected area, i would suggest: **Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation & Sungi see: http://www.oakdf.org.pk/ Title of Account: Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation Account #: 0030445261000455 Name of Bank: MCB Bank (1028), Super Market, Islamabad-Pakistan Swift Code: MUCBPKKAMCC Tax Exemption: 6043/ATD/2008-09 **Sungi: Donate here: http://sungi.org/emergency_donations_contact_information.html If you require further info, contacts in pakistan about something, contacts in these agencies, i can follow up on request. From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Mon Aug 9 13:35:44 2010 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (nmf2010) Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:05:44 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BAnnouncements=5D_Program_-_Week_3?= =?iso-8859-1?q?3_-__NewMediaFest=272010?= Message-ID: <20100809100544.9D6D3B52.D850F49F@192.168.0.3> NewMediaFest'2010 ----------------------------------- program- week 33 --> 09 - 15 August 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=987 ----------------------------------- 1. ----------------------------------- Feature of the Week 33 - http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=978 JavaMuseum - Forum for Internet Technology in Contemporary Art re-launches in the framework of NewMediaFest'2010 the retrospective netart show of the late - Tiia Johannson - a pioneer of netart who died in 2002 only 36 years old. ----------------------------------- 2. ----------------------------------- Feature of The Month August 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=967 VideoChannel Cologne launched on 2 August 2010 --> [self] ~imaging v.4.0 artists portraying themselves in film & video now the series is complete including 100 artists films ----------------------------------- 3. ----------------------------------- VIP - VideoChannel Interview Project ---> http://vip.newmediafest.org/?p=440 is pleased to release the new interviews with Francesca Fini (Italy) - Toban Nichols (USA) Maria Canas (Spain) - Benjamin Rosenthal (USA) Ellen Lake (USA) - James Woodward (USA) Alexander Mouton (USA) ----------------------------------- 4. ----------------------------------- VideoChannel Cologne --> is re-launching during the week 33 Videoart from Puerto Rico curated by Heidi Figueroa-Sarriera & Marianne Ramirez-Aponte (Puerto Rico) including videos by --> Rafael Alcala, Welmo E.Romero Joseph, Carlos Ruiz-Valarino & Videoart from Malaysia curated by Roopesh Sitharan including videos by Tan Chui Mui & Liew Seng Tat Find all details on --> http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=987 ----------------------------------- NewMediaFest'2010 10 Years [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne global heritage of digital culture 1 January - 31 December 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org director and chief curator: Wilfried Agricola de Cologne 2010 [at] newmediafest.org ----------------------------------- _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements at sarai.net http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 09:02:19 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:02:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Foxconn Gas Leak: Report Message-ID: (From People's Democracy) TN Govt Gives up Responsibility S P Rajendran NEARLY 250 workers fell ill, experienced headache, dizziness and nausea, and also vomited blood after inhaling an unknown toxic gas on July 23 at a production plant belonging to a multinational company in Tamilnadu. This incident came to the people of Tamilnadu as a reminder of the Bhopal tragedy. The concerned company is Foxconn India, a mobile phone accessory maker. It is part of the Taiwan based Foxconn Technology Group worth 1.74 billion US dollars. After Hyundai Motor India and Nokia India, it is the third largest industrial employer in the special economic zone (SEZ) at Sriperumpudhur near Chennai, with nearly 9,000 workers. The company's Sunguvarchatram plant, employing 500 workers, was reopened on July 23 after nearly nine months, on the strength of increased orders for mobile accessories. This particular plant is situated close to the back entrance of Nokia India, a major MNC in this SEZ. It is to be noted that Foxconn India has been manufacturing the mobile components mainly for the Nokia India. When the plant gate reopened and the workers, including women, entered it on July 23, they began to faint and fall ill. Immediately they were taken to a local hospital at Sriperumpudhur in the absence of a dispensary with first aid facilities in the company premises. However, that hospital did not have sufficient facilities either. So some 235 workers were taken to the Sri Ramachandra Medical College hospital at Chennai with the help of workers at Foxconn India's main plant. At the Sri Ramachandra Medical College hospital, some 45 workers vomited blood and were put in the intensive care unit (ICU). The other workers, who were sent back home after treatment, complained of continuing sickness, vomiting and breathlessness. This sickness is said to be a symptom of isopropyl alcohol poisoning. Though the company said the plant did not have any gas tanks or gas related production, workers said that the plant uses isopropyl alcohol, a colourless inflammable chemical with strong odour, as a cleaning agent in all the sections. ‘TOXIC’ ROLE OF PRO-DMK UNION Even after the toxic gas incident, officials of the company refused to shut the plant down and compelled the remaining workers to continue work. When the workers opposed, the management of the company used the Labour Progressive Front (LPF), the ruling DMK's trade union, to compel the workers to continue work. Ezhilarasan, president of the LPF in Foxconn, was found extra-vocal in denying that isopropyl poisoning was the reason behind the workers falling sick. He acted as a puppet of the management during this whole episode. One notes that the LPF has got recognition from the company. At this juncture, members of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) intervened and organised the workers in the premises, demanding safety for their life. Very soon after the incident, Kancheepuram district CITU secretary E Muthukumar and other leaders reached the plant. They addressed the workers and concretised their demands. The workers complained that there were no safety measures in the plant. There were nearly 9,000 workers in the company but in the name of a dispensary, it had only a small room without any facilities. While lambasting the behaviour of the pro-DMK union in the factory, the CITU also lashed out at the management and demanded immediate shutdown of the plant till all safety aspects were checked and cleared by the authorities concerned. It also demanded that all the workers must get full salary for the period of closure. The management must immediately open a full-fledged dispensary with five per cent beds relative to the workforce in the company. Next day, on July 24, CITU state general secretary A Soundararajan, E Muthukumar and other leaders visited the workers at Sri Ramachandra Hospital. Soundararajan released a statement there, condemning the state government, the state’s labour ministry and the authorities of the Pollution Control Board for not conducting regular observation of safety measures of the industries in the SEZ. He sharply criticised that the DMK government, which has provided all kinds of facilities including uninterrupted power supply for the multinational companies in the SEZ, but is not ready to implement the labour laws including safety measures in the SEZ industries. He accused that the DMK government is implementing the centre's neo-liberal policies in Tamilnadu and has given up its responsibility in relation to the safety of workers in the industries. POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD TELLS LIES While the CITU indicted the Foxconn India, however, the Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) gave a clean chit to the company, saying only some of the workers had complained of nausea. In a statement issued on July 26, the TNPCB said the workers fell sick after inhaling a strong- odour pesticide. “Around 4 p m on July 23, four workers had vomited and fainted. They were taken to the hospital and sent home," it said. The CITU vehemently condemned this false report of the TNPCB and asked how the Pollution Control Board could issue such a statement even after 250 workers had fallen ill and 40 of them had to be admitted to the ICU. After the forceful intervention of the CITU, the Tamilnadu government had had to order on July 26 evening the closure of the plant till the safety measures were checked. On July 27, Tuesday, a team of district officials inspected the assembly unit at the company's plant in Sunguvachatram where employees had fainted. These included district revenue officer S Sivarasu who is also the collector in-charge of Kancheepuram, public health deputy director (Kancheepuram) S Rajasekaran, the state labour department’s joint commissioner K Madanamaohan and the chief factories inspector S Raghunathan. "When we inspected the site, we found there is no proper ventilation facilities available for the staff and three of them are not working. We asked them to provide better ventilation facilities to employees," Raghunathan later told the media. However, for reasons unknown, he ruled out any possibility of a poisonous gas having leaked. Instead, he said the lack of a proper ventilation system and air conditioners, combined with the spray of malathion, a pesticide, might have led to suffocation of the employees. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Addendum: Malathion cannot be the cause for the observed symptoms. It seems the TNPCB has no knowledge of the technical facts about malathion poisoning. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From taraprakash at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 09:35:49 2010 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (TaraPrakash) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:05:49 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Call to Endorse and Participate in the India Lifelineto Gaza Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza References: Message-ID: If an individual wants to make financial contribution to the campaign, what is the procedure? Any phone numbers for more details? ----- Original Message ----- From: "AsiaToGaza-India" To: ; Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 12:48 AM Subject: [Reader-list] Call to Endorse and Participate in the India Lifelineto Gaza Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza > Friends, > > > Several organisations have endorsed the call for a Campaign to End the > Seige > in Gaza and will be participating in an Asian land convoy that leaves from > New Delhi mid-September and travels across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, > Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and ultimately through the Rafah Crossing into > Gaza-Palestine. > > > We hope you will endorse the campaign call and become part of the > coordinating committee of the campaign that decides the broad policies of > the campaign. > > > All endorsing organisations are requested to contribute a minimum of Rs > 1000 > towards meeting campaign costs and also to nominate full-time volunteers > to > the secretariat to oversee and execute day-to-day functions and tasks. > > > Please drop us a line informing us of your endorsement and/or your intent > to > participate in the caravan. > > > *Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza: India Lifeline to Gaza * > > *September 2010* > > > > We the people of India extend our solidarity to the courageous people of > Palestine in their struggle and resistance against the occupation of their > land. Israel’s occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories has lasted > for more than six decades in violation of international law, international > humanitarian law and numerous United Nations resolutions. The occupation > of > Palestine must end! Gaza has been turned into a vast > open-air-prison-cum-concentration camp for its 1.5 million inhabitants. > The > Palestinian population in the West Bank and in Jerusalem are under > continuous repression, assaults and in a permanent state of siege due to > the > ever expanding settlements & the apartheid wall. The Palestinian people > must > have the freedom to exercise their right to self-determination including > their right to establish on all the territories that Israel has occupied, > an > independent sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital. The > structure of Zionist > apartheid, based on ethno-religious discrimination that Israel has > established, must be dismantled and it must grant equal rights to all its > citizens, including the “Right of Return” to the Palestinians refugees. > > *Defend the right of Palestinian people to resist the occupation through > all > legitimate means* > > The campaign and struggle to end the blockade of Gaza is an integral part > of, and a step to this larger struggle for self determination of the > Palestinian People and for a State of Palestine. The people of Gaza are > being subjected to the Israeli policy of collective punishment for > asserting > their democratic right to decide for themselves the leadership and > political > organisations to lead their struggle, govern their society and represent > them in all negotiations. > > > > The genocidal nature of the war unleashed on Gaza, is also meant to serve > as > a warning to the rest of the Palestinian People. Israel, backed by the US > and reactionary forces, is using war, terror and blockade to break the > will > of the people of Gaza. The Blockade of Gaza since 2007 has resulted in > lack > of essential supplies, petrol for electricity, imminent shortage of > medicines, food and water which has triggered a humanitarian crisis that > the > world needs to respond to with urgency. > > > > The freedom and peace loving people of the world and democratic states > have > to defeat this nefarious design. Palestine is today one of the defining > struggles for freedom, democracy and equality for peoples and nations. > > > *Let us unite to win this battle* > > This struggle is broad, varied and multi-dimensional. It is humanitarian > and > for peace, freedom and human dignity. It is against occupation, > imperialism, > apartheid, Zionism and all forms of discrimination including religious > discrimination. We call upon all organisations, movements and individuals > to > engage, contribute, actively participate and join the struggle. We commit > to > respect the right of all participants to share, emphasise and focus on any > aspect and dimension of the struggle that is accordance with their own > views, belief and ideology, provided they do not divide, weaken or vitiate > the common and broad front against the blockade of Gaza and the very > struggle for the liberation of Palestine. > > > > After the terrible massacre aboard the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May > 2010, citizens > around the world are taking action to help break the siege which is > suffocating the lives of the people of Gaza and denying them their very > right to exist. > > Different movements across the world are mobilising to end the blockade of > the Gaza Strip and to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. > The > IHH (Insani Yardi Vakfi or The Foundation for Human Rights, Freedoms and > Humanitarian Relief), participated in the Freedom Flotilla in which 9 of > its > peace activists were murdered in cold blood by Israeli soldiers on board > of > Mavi Marmara. The “Free Gaza Movement” has challenged the siege by > organizing ships to the shores of Gaza. The “Viva Palestina” has mobilized > more than 500 vehicles and 60 ships that will reach Gaza in September. > “The > European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza” will be sending more than 9000 > delegates. Many more organizations around the world are now galvanizing > the > global solidarity movement and will be contributing with their local and > global actions. Convoys from North and South Africa and ships from the > USA, > New Zealand, Canada & Australia are also due to join the global effort. > > We are committed to and believe that there must be a strong Asian > involvement in the global movement to end the siege of Gaza and for the > liberation of Palestine. It is important that India plays a part in > initiating and building the Asian process for solidarity with Palestine. > > > It is against this background that the undersigned organisations undertake > to organise an Asian land convoy to Gaza. This convoy will leave from New > Delhi mid-September and will travel across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, > Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and ultimately through the Rafah Crossing into > Gaza-Palestine. The Asian convoy will be joined by delegations and > vehicles > in each of the nine countries through which it passes. We will coordinate > with existing and new organisations and alliances in each of these > countries > and commit together to develop an Asia level campaign to free Palestine. > In > each of these countries public meetings, press conferences, meetings with > mass organisations and political parties will be organised. > > We endorse the Solidarity Caravan from India to Palestine. > > In solidarity, > > *Organisations* > Aman Bharat > Awami Bharat > Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) > > Bharat Bachao Andolan > Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur) > > Ekta Parishad > Free Gaza - India > India Palestine People’s Solidarity Forum > Intercultural Resources > IIM > Mazdoor Ekta Manch > > Muslim Intellectual Forum > Muslim Political Council of India > National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW) > > New Socialist Initiative (NSI) > > New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) > Palestine Solidarity Movement > People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) > > Phule-Ambedkar Vichar Manch > Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI) > > Republican Panther > SACW.NET > South Asia Peace Alliance (SAPA) > Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI) > > Vidyarthi Bharti > > > > *Individuals* > > Salman Usmani, New Delhi > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Fri Aug 13 10:50:57 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:20:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Death of a Stone thrower Message-ID: <924787.98513.qm@web114710.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> A very good micro-sociology of stone throwing phenomenon and its emotional economy. Death of a Stone thrower Muzamil Jaleel Posted online: August 12, 2010 at 1233 When the boys carry the stretcher through the narrow swampy street, there is rage even in their steps. Suddenly the slogans sound like rhythmic wails. A child watches from a window as an elderly woman holds him tight and then showers almonds and sweets. Few fall on the body, wrapped in a colourful blanket. It is already dark and the mourners try to find their way, guided by the light of their cell phone torches. Fida Nabi (17) is returning home one last time and his funeral procession is like a volcano of anger, a little confrontation with the security men can trigger a violent protest. The government has already decided to re-impose curfew after a day of hiatus and now officials are waiting anxiously to know the family’s plan to bury this teenager. Fida had been at the fore front of several protests. Tonight dozens of his teenager friends, assembled from across the downtown city, are seething with anger. A funeral procession in the day meant trouble so the streets are emptied off police and security men way ahead of time to avoid confrontation. The police officers are encouraging the family to conduct the burial in the dark of the night. The local police officer sends a message too. The orders have come from the top and pleas were followed by threats - we won’t allow more than 15 people to accompany the body after the sun rise. The elders don’t discuss the proposals of the police. They consult each other in whispers. The anger has spilled over the streets and with each passing moment more boys are arriving. There is something very common among Fida’s friends – their eyes are moist, wails hoarse and each one of them carries a large piece of green or black cloth mask covering their heads. For a moment, they act adult and shout political slogans. Then the pain of losing a dear friend reaches its threshold and they cry like little boys. Few are accompanied by mothers too. During this latest wave of mass protests here, teenagers have formed the forward lines of the Azadi groundswell as if the baton of the struggle has been silently handed over to them. The police and CRPF often open fire and they take bullets as well – in chest, neck and head. This real threat of death, however, has not deterred them to come out on the streets. It is clear that the children born during and after the first uprising of 1990 have finally come of age. “We have seen, heard and felt this war from the time we came to our senses. There are hardly any happy memories.’’ Fida’s friend Nisar (name changed on request) says. " I have seen the first funeral while I was in my mother’s lap. My mother had to carry me along when I was just eighteen days old. Her cousin had been killed and she couldn’t bear to stay home. Of course I don’t remember it but my mom has repeated even the minutest details of it so many times that it has become an essential part of our family lore’’. He says Fida is his second friend to die in CRPF firing in a week’s time. Fida’s story is tragic and it has in a way come to symbolise the tale of an entire generation, born in the conflict, during these protests. I dig a bit deeper to know Fida and the picture that emerged fits any regular teenager. He loved trendy clothes, wore a ring for good luck and carried a friendship band around his wrest. In a photograph clicked by his older brother Aabid recently, he stands as if a model is posing to promote a jeans line. His jet black hair is cropped in style and it seems he has purposely let a few curls touch his left eye brow. He is wearing a golden colour necklace and his white shirt is spotless. But what caught my eye is his casual gaze. Like any 17-year-old, he tried to look hip. "He would never take his necklace off. It was a gift, perhaps,’’ recalls Aabid. "He was more of a friend than a younger brother to me’’. Aabid says he had recently started wearing a Keffiyeh – the Arab style scarves that became a statement of resistance after Yasir Arafat popularized it. "He had seen a friend wearing it and got one too. He loved to do things that would make him stand out,’’ Aabid says. He says he saw him change recently. "Ever since these protests started, he was restless and angry,’’ Aabid says. "I think he was very sensitive. Whenever a soldier or a policeman would stop us to show our identity cards or frisk us, he would feel angry. He thought they always look (forces) for a chance to humiliate us’’. On August, 3, Fida had been at home in Usman Abad, a residential colony that has recently come up in the marshy paddy fields in the city outskirts. Eight months ago, his family had shifted from Nawabazar - a congested neighbourhood in politically volatile downtown. The construction of the house was yet to complete but Fida’s parents decided to move in anyway. They wanted to take their three sons, particularly Fida, away from the downtown. Fida had quit school soon after he had passed the matric examination. Worried, his father Ghulam Nabi – who works as a salesman at a shop - had made him promise to appear in class 11 examination as a private student. He had also given him money to buy second hand clothes and helped him to put a cart in the Sunday Market along the residency road. Aabid says Fida liked this new arrangement. He would work on Sundays and have all week free for fun. But he couldn’t carry on for too long. Again his father intervened and this time helped him (Fida) to find a salesman’s job at an acquaintance’s shop. "He was working at Sana garments in Safakadal these days,’’ Aabid says. Once the current wave of protests started, Fida became restless. "The shop is in the middle of the downtown city. He knew several among the boys who were protesting. His friends had been injured too while protesting. Many of them had been arrested by the police,’’ Aabid recalls. "He was there when Tufail (On June, 11, Tufail Ahmad Mattoo (17) who was killed when a policeman fired a plastic pellet straight on his head, killing him instantaneously and triggering this latest wave of protests) was buried’’. The garment shop was shut because of the unrest, but every day Fida would leave home to join his friends in downtown. "He never wanted to come to this new house. He would tell us that each time he comes to this new house, he feels he has left his heart in those narrow lanes of the old city. He was a boy from the old city’’. Fida seemed to have loved the congestion and mess of the old city - an affection that was not one sided. That day, he had been playing carrom with his younger brother and few visiting friends at the family’s new house. "He didn’t like it here in Usman Abad but once we shifted here, he had made few friends in the neighbourhood,’’ Aabid says. The government had clamped a strict curfew over the city but there were reports that boys were defying it everywhere. Fida had been talking to his friends on phone. His brother Aabid had not come home for a week ever since he had gone to cover protests in Baramulla because of the curfew. Aabid takes pictures for a local newspaper. "I had called home in the morning. He didn’t let me talk to mom properly and snatched the phone from her. He wanted to talk to me. He sounded cheerful,’’ Aabid recalls. "He wanted me to come home. I was insisting even as I told him there is curfew. When I recall that conversation, I feel perhaps he had a premonition ’’. His mother Zahida Nabi had pleaded with him not to step out. "I won’t let you go out today. It’s scary out there,’’ Zahida recalls. So he stayed home. At 6.30 in the evening, a large procession had assembled on the main road. Fida heard the sounds of the slogans and couldn’t stop himself. He stepped out, escaping the eye of his mother. The procession was going towards the city. By the time his mother Zahida knew, he had run to join the protest. A large contingent of police and CRPF had already arrived to prevent the protestors to enter the city at Shaltang junction. "I saw him standing near the parapet. I was about to call him and suddenly there was firing. I saw him holding his face with his hands and then he fell down,’’ Fida’s uncle Mohammad Amin recalls. "A bullet fired by a CRPF men ricocheted off a rock and pierced through his cheek. He was lying there. There was chaos all around and I couldn’t go closer’’. Finally, Fida was picked up and rushed to hospital. For five days, his mother waited patiently in the corridor outside the Intensive Care ward of Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, occasionally slipping in to see him breathe. At 10.15 pm on Sunday, Fida died. The doctor pulled the sheet over his head and walked away silently. "He’s alive,’’ Zahida Nabi screamed, putting her ear close to his chest to hear that little sound of life. Then she pulled her hair and tried to suckle him as if he was a baby. " Wake up my son– wake up – just once. I promise I will never scold you again,’’ she shouted, pleading with her dead son as if to break his sleep. The family and friends too were around and they rushed to arrange an ambulance to Fida home. "I didn’t know what to do. So I started calling friends,’’ Aabid recalls. "He died. Can you imagine? He is only 17. Have you seen his pictures? He was a handsome boy,’’ Aabid says and breaks down. "I just wish I had been with him. I want to see him one time the way he used to be. The bullet had disfigured his face. I want to see him smile. Oh God. Why did this happen?’’ Every human being has a measure of protection against pain. I feel I have reached my threshold. For years, I have witnessed blood and gore and felt numb but Aabid’s words pierce through my protective shell. The wails suddenly feel like sharp daggers, slicing through my heart. I didn’t know how to respond and walk away slowly. A few yards ahead, a group of boys are sitting silently in a dark corner. I join them. Their attire suggests they are all Fida’s friends. I am unable to see their faces and gauge the mood. But I start anyway and begin with small talk. They are forthcoming. Perhaps they have seen me talk to Aabid which gives them the confidence. These boys generally avoid talking to reporters. In fact, they detest media and are convinced that their story is always distorted. Did he throw stones? I ask. "Yes but only when the police and CRPF stopped the procession. I do too,’’ his friend, who didn’t give his name, says. "We want Azadi. We shout protest and shout slogans. The police and CRPF don’t like it. They try to catch us and we throw stones’’. He says Fida is a martyr. "His blood won’t go waste,’’ he insists. His voice is hoarse – perhaps he has been shouting slogans for days. I didn’t ask. Although the boys are polite, I can feel the anger. A few yards ahead, an elderly man tries to convince a large group of angry teenagers to let them bury him (Fida) in the local graveyard. It is evident that the elders feel the situation can go out of control. "They (police and CRPF) won’t allow us even to reach the main road during the day. They won’t let us go all the way to Nawabazar and then to Shaheed Mazar (Eidgah) to bury him. They are saying only 15 people can accompany his body,’’ an elder tells the boys. The teenagers are angry and are in no mood to budge. Their plan is to take the body to Nawabazar in downtown, wait for the sunrise and then take out a funeral procession to the neighbouring Eidgah where they want to bury him in `Behishtay Shohdaye Kashmir’. This graveyard is the biggest in the valley and was exclusively set up for all those men and women who were killed by security men during the last two decades. Hundreds of militants too are buried there. There is chaos and a few elderly women too pitch in to convince the boys. At one point, the teenagers give in. The elders organize Jinaza, the funeral prayer, in a hurry and the body is taken towards the local graveyard in neighbouring Parimpora. On their way, the boys change their mind and place the stretcher carrying Fida’s body on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway. Minutes ago, an army convoy had passed through and the elders apprehend a clash. After a lot of pleading, the boys agree to bring the body back home. Fida’s body is placed in the middle of a tent, erected in an empty plot of land, especially for the mourners. Dozens of women encircle it. Soon Fida’s mother Zahida Nabi brings henna to paint the little finger of his left hand – a local custom to prepare a groom before he leaves to the bride’s home. "He is a groom. He is a groom,’’ Zahida repeats. The crowd gets hysterical. And as the blanket is lifted off his face for a final glimpse, a few women shower almonds and sweets on his body. Fida’s mother starts singing dirges in Kashmiri. "Don’t die so soon my son– your nails are still wet with henna - Oh my friend – Oh my beloved son – won’t you miss me,’’ she sang as everyone repeated. "Oh my martyr – Oh my martyr, are you thirsty – are you thirsty’’. Soon Fida’s teenager friends start shouting Azadi slogans. Zahida starts franticly hugging Fida’s body. There is a girl, holding Fida’s feet and crying silently. Hours later Aabid tells me, Fida was seeing her. "She is devastated. They have had a little fight that morning and she wouldn’t take his calls,’’ he says. "Now she will never get a chance to talk to him (Fida) again’’. The police had been consistently sending messages asking not to delay the burial till the morning. Sensing the tension, a group of elders finally yield to the pressure of the boys and decide to quickly arrange for a truck to take the body to Nawabazar. "They won’t let us bury him here. So let’s see what happens once we reach Nawabazar,’’ an elder says. At around 3 am, the funeral procession finally leaves. The city is dark and empty – the security men have retreated to their sand bunkers and camps. The elders, however, don’t take chances and guide the truck through narrow lanes to avoid security bunkers. "We don’t want to even take a slight risk. We are avoiding to pass by any security bunker,’’ says Masood Ahmad, a businessman and a neighbor of the family. "The boys are shouting slogans and if they (security men) react angrily, there will be a massacre’’. In Nawabazar, the boys jump off the truck and quickly make an announcement over the mosque loudspeaker. A CRPF man walks out slowly to check but returns to his bunker immediately. Soon the residents start waking up and come out in dozens, rubbing their eyes. Another funeral prayer is organized – this time right in the chowk. The security men watch from the pigeon holes of their bunker but don’t venture out. Perhaps, there are orders not to confront the people tonight. The residents remember him and his four childhood friends, playing cricket in the inner lane on every strike day. Waseem, Bari, Suhail and Basit are all accompanying their bosom friend for his last journey. "We have met and become friends here. We wanted to bring him here one last time,’’ Waseem explains. "It means a lot to us. If anyone among was there in his place, he would have done the same’’. Fida was born here. When he died, every family in Nawabazar wept for him. Even the children have come out in the dead of the night to bid him a final goodbye. "We have carried you in our laps – we have loved you – you were our boy with beautiful eyes – how can you leave us,’’ women wail as they stand in semi circles around the stretcher that carries his body. Fida is a son of a thousand mothers here. Though his father Ghulam Nabi was from Sopore, he had married in Nawabazar and soon left his ancestral home to live in a rented house, near his in-laws. The boys pick up the stretcher again. Their plan is to keep the body inside the mosque and wait. A local cleric, however, intervenes and pacifies them. Finally, a procession moves towards the Eidgah graveyard. At 5 am, Fida is buried next to his friend Anees who was killed last week. "He (Fida) had come and helped dig the grave and carry mounds of earth,’’ his friend Waseem recalls. "We didn’t know, he is the next’’. It is already dawn. The sky over Srinagar is overcast. Within an hour, the soldiers will be again on the streets to impose curfew. PS: Fida’s friends tried to organize a blood donation camp at his house in Usman Abad neighbourhood but the police didn’t allow the officials of the Blood Bank from SMHS hospital to come. From taraprakash at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 10:58:16 2010 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (TaraPrakash) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:28:16 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... References: , <495220bd6d83e16922e0b5e05edf973f@mail.sarai.net>, <1795385454-1281338669-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-943894372-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Message-ID: Without doubting your words, I would like to add that what you didn't hear was not necessarily not said. If I remember correctly, last year on this list there was another such debate in the backdrop of an NDTV program. Somebody pointed at the sectarian nature of some present in the audience. I don't remember which slogan was mentioned to justify this claim. Your response was similar: that you were present in the studio and nothing of that sort was said. It was in fact Sonia Jabbar who confirmed that she heard someone in the audience say such a thing. The point is that we don't always hear everything that is said in our vicinity. Besides, it doesn't really matter what did 300 people in Jantar Mantar did or say. Or what 3 out of those 300 did. There so many more Indians who were not there in Jantar Mantar and there are so many more Kashmiris who are not out on the streets pelting stones. Some kids daring the Indian states, demanding freedom, without even knowing what it means or understanding responsibilities that come with freedom, should not prevail. Cooler heads should. The solution is not in showing passion, it's in talking. Good governance can still take care of the unrest. Some times even that is not required, take the example of Punjab. Indians have very well understood the misplaced importance given to freedom. It's a hollow romantic "sweet nothing" concept, the reality of which we face when we achieve it. Some times status quo is preferrable to any change. A lot of Iraqis who could give anything to get rid of Saddam Hussein's regime now think about Saddam's time as golden age. Kashmiris should have freedom to choose which pit they want to fall in, but the reality is that they won't be allowed to in the near future. A free Kashmir, sadly, is in no body's interest. ----- Original Message ----- From: To: ; "sarai list" ; "Aditya Raj Kaul" ; Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 4:43 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... > Dear all, > I was present during the demonstration on Saturday evening, at which some > of > the people from RIK were also present. I heard what was said and I know > what > was not said. > The Nara-e-Tadbir, Allah-0-Akbar slogan was raised, and I have written > about > this in my earlier post. > On one occasion, one individual in the section of the crowd opposite to > where I > was standing, did say, 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La Illaha-Illallah', he was > admonished by those around him, for raising a secterian slogan. > Repeatedly, > speaker after speaker said that no 'communal slogans' should be raised. > One > woman got up from the audience, went to the microphone and made a > passionate > appeal not to be distracted by a communal agenda. > Actually, there was a person sitting quite close to where I stood, who > said in > a distinctly Eastern UP/ Bihar accent, slightly sheepishly, Hindustan ki > Janata > Kashmir ki Azaadi ki Larai ke Saath hai. No one responded to him, just as > no one > had responded the slogan - of - 'Azaadi ka Matlab Kya, La > Illaha-Illallah'. > There were no references to Nizam e Mustafa, Azaadi Baraye Islam. No one > said > 'Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga'. My hearing is not > impaired, if any one has said it out aloud, i would have heard it. There > were > repeated sloganeering of 'Pandit , Muslim, Sikh, Sare Kashmiri ek hain'. > I want to point all this out in some detail, to show that the gathering > did not > raise slogans that called for foisting an Islamist state in Kashmir, as is > being > alleged by Kamal Hak. To equate the demand for Azaadi automatically with > the > demand for an Islamist state is a gross oversimplification. It also ends > up > providing the hard-core islamists in the 'Azaadi' camp with a legitimation > that > we should not assume they automatically have. It is no surprise that this > is > gifted to them by their opposite numbers, a communalized, prejudiced core, > within the 'Indian Nationalist' flank , that vitiates the atmosphere . > The following day's, Sunday's protest, at Jantar Mantar, was even more > restrained. From what I gather from people who were there, there was not > even > the 'Allah o Akbar' slogan. Yes, the RIK and allied protestors who had > come > again on Sunday, were loud, and noisy, yes, apparently several of them > used > objectionable and unparliamentary language. If there was an aggressive use > of > words, I know where it would have come from. > best > > Shuddha > > > > > On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 07:24:46 +0000 kamalhak at gmail.com wrote > >> Hum kya chahtey azadi- azadi ka matlab kya- La-illaha-illalaha. >> >> Naraiy tadbir- Allah-O-Akbar >> >> Aditya, Rashneek and the likes of their ilk are naïve to misrepresent the >> above slogans as islamist. They also behave as fascists while talking >> about >> Kashmiri aspirations of Nizame-Mustafa being the principal reason behind >> their exile. >> >> It is the reflection of their communal mind set that makes them to see >> wolf >> in slogans like, Kashmir mein rehna hai to Alah-O-Akbar kahna hoga. >> >> Above all it is their immaturity to talk about unfashionable concepts >> like >> Bharat Mata ki jai. >> Aditya and Rashneek, you are sleeping like Rip Van Winkle and have been >> left >> far behind the times. >> Rashneek, I believe poetry is your passion. You must understand Kabir's, >> 'tum >> kahtey ho kagaz dekhi- main kahta hoon ankhan dekhi' no longer holds true >> in >> contemporary India. There are two types of people who abound this nation, >> if >> you still this country to be one, now. >> One half is like Dhritrashtra who was blind by providence; the other half >> is >> like Ghandari, who chose to be blind by choice. You can't make either to >> see. >> So stop being like kids, capture the mindset of people and join the >> crowd. >> You will soon become a hero. >> >> Kamal Hak >> Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: "shuddha at sarai.net" >> Sender: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net >> Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:02:35 >> To: sarai list; Aditya Raj >> Kaul >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] More Kashmir comes out.... >> >> Aditya, >> >> The list does not take allegations of 'terrorism' lightly. The person you >> are >> talking about happens to be a friend of mine, and I would again ask you >> to >> refrain from making allegations that you cannot prove, and that have been >> thrown out in court, not on 'technicalities'. The absence of evidence, >> and >> the >> manufacture of false evidence is not a 'technicality'. >> >> I was present on Saturday evening at Jantar Mantar, as were you, and as >> were >> several others, none of whom are 'Islamist Propagandists'. There may have >> been >> some Islamists in the gathering, but by no means does that mean that the >> majority of those present were in any way Islamist. >> >> My unambiguous positions against 'Islamism' are public, and well known, >> especially to Islamists. I am sure there were many others who were >> present at >> Jantar Mantar who, like me, cannot by any stretch of imagination be >> called >> 'Islamist'. >> >> Also, calling reports such as those published in the Times of India, >> Hindustan >> Times, Economic Times and the Outlook, written by Sanjay Kak, Hilal Mir, >> Basharat Peer and Suveer Kaul 'planted' only exposes you to the >> possibility >> of >> being exposed for sheer humbuggery, and makes you liable to the charge of >> libel. Are you suggesting that now the Indian mainstream media is >> nowadays >> being influenced by stories planted by the IB that endorse an >> 'Anti-State' >> line. Is the Intelligence Bureau, and its peers (the only ones in a >> position >> to >> 'plant' stories in the media) now working hand in glove with separatists >> in >> Kashmir. So, is the sentiment for azaadi now a plaything in the hands of >> the >> Indian intelligence apparatus. Let's take this thought to its logical >> conclusion. If the Indian intelligence agencies are backing Kashmiri >> separatists and all those who argue for self determination in Kashmir, >> then >> logically, Indian nationalists ought to be cozying up to the Pakistani >> ISI. >> What does that make the Roots in Kashmir and the Panun Kashmir network - >> an >> objective ally of the Pakistani ISI? >> >> If that is so, it is news to me, and ought to be, to everyone in the >> whole >> wide >> world. >> >> Please refrain from dissimulation and disinformation, >> >> best, >> >> Shuddha >> >> >> On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:59:12 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul >> >> wrote >> >> > The tragic stories which reflect reality are rarely to be found in >> > media. >> > >> > We just see planted articles in The Times of India and Hindustan Times; >> > quite frequent in last few days. Clearly, they are successful in >> > spreading >> > propaganda. >> > >> > Islamic Propagandists led my well known 'terrorist' (out on technical >> > grounds) had taken over Jantar Mantar with communal sloganeering. If >> > this >> > can happen in New Delhi, we know how the remaining 3000 Pandits back in >> > Kashmir would be living in fear psychosis after separatist threatening. >> > >> > -- >> > Aditya Raj Kaul >> > >> > India Editor >> > The Indian, Australia >> > >> > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ >> > >> > 2010/8/9 Sanjay Kak >> > >> > > This news item is clearly a scoop, a breaking story that neither the >> > > the >> > > hundred strong "Indian" press corps in Srinagar, nor the internet >> > > with >> > > its >> > > dozens of egroups, have been able to get at... >> > > Impressive, or suspect... >> > > "Amar Ujala" is clearly headed for the big time in the news story >> > > business. >> > > Best >> > > Sanjay >> > > >> > > 2010/8/9 rashneek kher >> > > >> > > > *Under Separatist Threatening Kashmiri Pandits leave the valley* - >> > > > http://www.amarujal >> > > > a.com/city/ CityDetail. >> > > > aspx?id=1063&cid=143< >> > > > http://www.amarujala.com/city/CityDetail.aspx?id=1063&cid=143> >> > > > >> > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित > परिवारों >> ने किया पलायन* >> > > > >> > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM >> > > > >> > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में >> > > > उपद्रवियों ने >> अल्पसंख्यकों >> > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर >> दिया >> > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों >> > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी >> > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन >> > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित >> परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। >> हब्बाकदल और डाउन >> > > > टाउन >> > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन >> > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन >> > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी >> > > > सिख >> > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी >> प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के >> लिए मजबूर कर रहे >> > > हैं। >> > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे >> > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। >> इनमें >> > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत >> > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में >> > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी >> छोड़नी >> > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों >> > > > से >> > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने >> वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की >> धमकी दी गई है। >> > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक >> शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी >> अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह >> > > > गिलानी >> > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। >> > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा >> > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष >> > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है >> > > कि >> > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, >> औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर >> गुरुद्वारों में यह >> > > गुप्त >> > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों >> को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया >> जाएगा। घाटी में >> > > १८२ >> > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले >> > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों >> > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत >> > > > भरे >> > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल >> > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन >> कमेटी >> > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल >> > > > का >> > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले >> परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह >> रहे थे। डा. >> > > > अग्निशेखर >> > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की >> वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार >> को इस घटना से >> > > सबक >> > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री >> रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें > अभी >> तक कोई सूचना >> > > नहीं >> > > > मिली है। >> > > > *दहशत में छह पंडित > परिवारों >> ने किया पलायन* >> > > > >> > > > Story Update : Monday, August 09, 2010 12:47 AM >> > > > >> > > > श्रीनगर। घाटी में >> > > > उपद्रवियों ने >> अल्पसंख्यकों >> > > > को निशाना बनाना शुरू कर >> दिया >> > > > है। अल्पसंख्यकों के घरों >> > > > में पथराव की घटनाओं में भी >> > > > इजाफा हुआ है। नतीजतन >> > > > घाटी से छह कश्मीरी पंडित >> परिवारों ने पलायन कर लिया है। >> हब्बाकदल और डाउन >> > > > टाउन >> > > > से ताल्लुक रखने वाले इन >> > > > परिवारों ने १९९० में पलायन >> > > > नहीं किया था। उपद्रवी >> > > > सिख >> > > > समुदाय को भी भारत विरोधी >> प्रदर्शनों में शामिल होने के >> लिए मजबूर कर रहे >> > > हैं। >> > > > गुरुद्वारों में धमकी भरे >> > > > पत्र फेंके जा रहे हैं। >> इनमें >> > > > लिखा गया है कि भारत >> > > > विरोधी प्रदर्शनों में >> > > > शामिल नहीं हुए तो घाटी >> छोड़नी >> > > > पड़ेगी। बाहरी राज्यों >> > > > से >> > > > श्रीनगर में कारोबार करने >> वालों को भी घाटी छोड़ने की >> धमकी दी गई है। >> > > > अल्पसंख्यकों के एक >> शिष्टमंडल ने कट्टरपंथी >> अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह >> > > > गिलानी >> > > > से भी मुलाकात की है। >> > > > आमीरा कदल गुरुद्वारा >> > > > प्रबंधक कमेटी के अध्यक्ष >> > > > सरदार केएन सिंह का कहना है >> > > कि >> > > > असामाजिक तत्वों ने त्राल, >> औलची बाग सहित मेहजूर नगर >> गुरुद्वारों में यह >> > > गुप्त >> > > > पत्र फेंके हैं। इन पत्रों >> को जल्द ही सरकार को सौंप दिया >> जाएगा। घाटी में >> > > १८२ >> > > > अलग-अलग जगहों पर रहने वाले >> > > > ६६२ कश्मीरी पंडित > परिवारों >> > > > के २८४५ सदस्य दहशत >> > > > भरे >> > > > माहौल में रह रहे हैं। आल >> > > > माइग्रेंट कोआर्डिनेशन >> कमेटी >> > > > के अध्यक्ष विनोद कौल >> > > > का >> > > > कहना है कि पलायन करने वाले >> परिवार दहशत के माहौल में रह >> रहे थे। डा. >> > > > अग्निशेखर >> > > > का भी कहना है कि पंडितों की >> वापसी का दावा करने वाली सरकार >> को इस घटना से >> > > सबक >> > > > सीखना होगा। राजस्व मंत्री >> रमन भल्ला ने कहा कि उन्हें > अभी >> तक कोई सूचना >> > > नहीं >> > > > मिली है। >> > > > >> > > > best regards >> > > > >> > > > - >> > > > >> > > > Rashneek Kher >> > > > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com >> > > > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com >> > > > _________________________________________ >> > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > > > Critiques & Collaborations >> > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > > > subscribe in the subject header. >> > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > > _________________________________________ >> > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > > Critiques & Collaborations >> > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > > subscribe in the subject header. >> > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > > >> > _________________________________________ >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > Critiques & Collaborations >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> > subscribe >> > in the subject header. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe >> in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 11:55:40 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:55:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] On the floods in Pakistan Message-ID: Shame The bridge suspended over the Indus at Thalpan is a magnificent structure, spanning the breadth of a river swollen with the silt-laden burden it carries along its journey to the sea. I have walked across this incredible specimen of civil engineering several times on my quest for the ancient carvings which grace the igneous rock littering the banks of the Indus all the way from Ladakh in India to Swat Kohistan. The carving of two Buddhas, two Bodhisatvas, and a Purnaghata or vase of plenty etched into the rock-face alongside the Karakoram Highway has already been defaced, painted over by the Sipah e Sahaba for whom any representation of humans, sacred or otherwise, is considered sacrilegious. An inscription in either Kharoshti or Brahmi, (it is too distant for me to make the distinction), is partially obscured by the rising tide of water in the river. I stare at the water as it swirls beneath the bridge, breaking against the black rocks which rise from the river like beasts woken from a long slumber. The river is angry, and I fear the consequence of this anger as it travels along its veins through a body which has been neglected and abused for too long. Within three days of my sojourn in Chilas, the Indus had risen to inundate the terraced fields located on its northern bank. Along the many nullah¹s which stream down from melting glaciers, the icy water has uprooted trees and devastated homes situated on rocky precipices, carrying men, women, children and livestock into the torrent. Timber which must have held up a thatched roof lies smashed against the rocks, an animal bobs in the water, I hold my breath, praying that it was still alive. I look away ­ I know it is too late to save it. Children run after drift wood; one falls in trying to salvage what he can, never to emerge from the depths of the angry, swirling water. I know I can do nothing, I know it is too late to save him. But that does not absolve me, the fact that I was not at the right place at the right place, doing the right thing. The fact that this is the largest disaster to have hit our beloved country does not mean that nobody can be apportioned responsibility. It is not the magnitude of the crisis which lies at the doorstep of government, but the magnitude of its neglect and ineptitude which sits squarely at the doorstep of State apparatus. For a country which is hurtling from one crisis to another, disaster preparedness should have been a national priority. All able-bodied citizens should have received at least the most fundamental training to cope with crises of all sorts, for times are uncertain, and the only certitude lies in the fact that the fabric which has been stretched, pulled, burnt, slashed, and mutilated is no longer able to provide shelter to those who have nothing but the open sky. How long can the banks of the Mighty Indus contain the anger which flows within? How long will the people of Pakistan be told to exercise patience, to ³sacrifice their futures for the sake of the country²? How long will children have to suffer hunger and deprivation, women the denial of their rights, men the abuse of their dignity? How long will inept bureaucrats implement short-sighted policy crafted by myopic politicians whose primary concern is to make back their election costs plus more? How long shall the crooked in power grant contracts to their brethren in kind? How long shall thieves rule us, and traitors befool us? How long shall the ³enlightened² who sit at the same table as the guilty remain chaste and untouched by the sludge of decrepitude? How long shall we wallow in the flood waters of shame? In Birmingham another drama is played out as Larkana and Jamshoro are threatened with drowning. It is not just the poor timing of President Asif Ali Zardari¹s European jaunt or his brazen visit to the Villa of Ill-Gotten Gains. It is the arrogance of his indifference, the vacuous content of his speech, the half-hearted cheering of the dismal Rent-a-Jiyala which is pathetic and reprehensible. It is the defence of the indefensible which is shameless and shameful at the same time. Only a nation drowning in ignominy can tolerate such disgrace. It is time for us to find a foothold before we lurch towards the abyss over which we slide toward the deep. Feryal Ali Gauhar Feryal Ali Gauhar is a Lahore-based filmmaker, actor and writer. From shuddha at sarai.net Fri Aug 13 12:17:30 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 06:47:30 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] On the floods in Pakistan In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <525467327-1281681975-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-411191687-@bda289.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Thank you for sharing this Sonia. Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone -----Original Message----- From: SJabbar Sender: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:55:40 To: Sarai Subject: [Reader-list] On the floods in Pakistan Shame The bridge suspended over the Indus at Thalpan is a magnificent structure, spanning the breadth of a river swollen with the silt-laden burden it carries along its journey to the sea. I have walked across this incredible specimen of civil engineering several times on my quest for the ancient carvings which grace the igneous rock littering the banks of the Indus all the way from Ladakh in India to Swat Kohistan. The carving of two Buddhas, two Bodhisatvas, and a Purnaghata or vase of plenty etched into the rock-face alongside the Karakoram Highway has already been defaced, painted over by the Sipah e Sahaba for whom any representation of humans, sacred or otherwise, is considered sacrilegious. An inscription in either Kharoshti or Brahmi, (it is too distant for me to make the distinction), is partially obscured by the rising tide of water in the river. I stare at the water as it swirls beneath the bridge, breaking against the black rocks which rise from the river like beasts woken from a long slumber. The river is angry, and I fear the consequence of this anger as it travels along its veins through a body which has been neglected and abused for too long. Within three days of my sojourn in Chilas, the Indus had risen to inundate the terraced fields located on its northern bank. Along the many nullah¹s which stream down from melting glaciers, the icy water has uprooted trees and devastated homes situated on rocky precipices, carrying men, women, children and livestock into the torrent. Timber which must have held up a thatched roof lies smashed against the rocks, an animal bobs in the water, I hold my breath, praying that it was still alive. I look away ­ I know it is too late to save it. Children run after drift wood; one falls in trying to salvage what he can, never to emerge from the depths of the angry, swirling water. I know I can do nothing, I know it is too late to save him. But that does not absolve me, the fact that I was not at the right place at the right place, doing the right thing. The fact that this is the largest disaster to have hit our beloved country does not mean that nobody can be apportioned responsibility. It is not the magnitude of the crisis which lies at the doorstep of government, but the magnitude of its neglect and ineptitude which sits squarely at the doorstep of State apparatus. For a country which is hurtling from one crisis to another, disaster preparedness should have been a national priority. All able-bodied citizens should have received at least the most fundamental training to cope with crises of all sorts, for times are uncertain, and the only certitude lies in the fact that the fabric which has been stretched, pulled, burnt, slashed, and mutilated is no longer able to provide shelter to those who have nothing but the open sky. How long can the banks of the Mighty Indus contain the anger which flows within? How long will the people of Pakistan be told to exercise patience, to ³sacrifice their futures for the sake of the country²? How long will children have to suffer hunger and deprivation, women the denial of their rights, men the abuse of their dignity? How long will inept bureaucrats implement short-sighted policy crafted by myopic politicians whose primary concern is to make back their election costs plus more? How long shall the crooked in power grant contracts to their brethren in kind? How long shall thieves rule us, and traitors befool us? How long shall the ³enlightened² who sit at the same table as the guilty remain chaste and untouched by the sludge of decrepitude? How long shall we wallow in the flood waters of shame? In Birmingham another drama is played out as Larkana and Jamshoro are threatened with drowning. It is not just the poor timing of President Asif Ali Zardari¹s European jaunt or his brazen visit to the Villa of Ill-Gotten Gains. It is the arrogance of his indifference, the vacuous content of his speech, the half-hearted cheering of the dismal Rent-a-Jiyala which is pathetic and reprehensible. It is the defence of the indefensible which is shameless and shameful at the same time. Only a nation drowning in ignominy can tolerate such disgrace. It is time for us to find a foothold before we lurch towards the abyss over which we slide toward the deep. Feryal Ali Gauhar Feryal Ali Gauhar is a Lahore-based filmmaker, actor and writer. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 16:01:47 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:01:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] record temperatures in 17 countries Message-ID: from the Guardian, 12 August Naga World feeling the heat as 17 countries experience record temperatures 2010 sees record highs in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine but also many African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries 2010 is becoming the year of the heatwave, with record temperatures set in 17 countries. Record highs have occurred in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine – the three nations at the centre of the eastern European heatwave which has lasted for more than three weeks – but also African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries. Temperatures in Moscow, which have been consistently 20C above normal, today fell to 31C (86F), and President Dmitry Medvedev cancelled a state of emergency in three out of seven Russian regions affected by forest fires. Thousand of hectares of forest burned in the fires, killing 54 people and leaving thousands homeless. For days, Moscow was shrouded in smog, and environmentalists raised fears that the blaze could release radioactive particles from areas contaminated in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Wildfires have also swept through northern Portugal, killing two firefighters and destroying 18,000 hectares (44,500 acres) of forests and bushland since late July. Some 600 firefighters were today struggling to contain 29 separate fires. But the extreme heat experienced in Europe would barely have registered in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Niger, Pakistan and Sudan, all of which have recorded temperatures of more than 47C (115F) since June. The number of record highs is itself a record – the previous record was for 14 new high temperatures in 2007. The freak weather conditions, which have devastated crops and wildlife, are believed to have killed thousands of elderly people, especially in Russia and northern India. The 2003 European heatwave killed about 15,000 people. Pakistan, now experiencing its worst ever floods, had Asia's hottest day in its history on 26 May, when 53.5C (128.3F) was recorded in Mohenjo-daro, according to the Pakistani Meteorological Department. The heatwaves have also been occurring in the US, where Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Washington, Baltimore and Trenton all documented their highest ever temperatures in July. The global research, collated by meteorologists at weather information provider Weather Underground, supports US government data collated on 11 different indicators – from air and sea temperatures to melting ice – which showed temperatures rising around the world since the 1850s. This June was also the hottest ever on record and 2010 is on course to be the warmest year since records began, according to separate data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published last month. Only one country has set a record for its coldest-ever temperature in 2010. Guinea, in west Africa, recorded 1.4C (34.5F) in a nine-day cold snap at Mali-ville in the Labe region in January. Farmers lost most of their crops and animals. Record temperatures in 2010 Belarus, 7 August, 38.9C (102F) at Gomel Ukraine, 1 August, 41.3C (106.3F), Lukhansk, Voznesensk Cyprus, 1 August, 46.6C (115.9F), Lefconica Finland, 29 July, 37.2C (99F), Joensuu Qatar, 14 July, 50.4C (122.7F), Doha airport Russia, 11 July, 44.0C (111.2F), Yashkul Sudan, 25 June, 49.6C (121.3F), Dongola Niger, 22 June, 47.1C (116.8F), Bilma Saudi Arabia, 22 June, 52.0C (125.6F), Jeddah Chad, 22 June, 47.6C (117.7F), Faya Kuwait, 15 June, 52.6C (126.7F), Abdaly Iraq, 14 June, 52.0C (125.6F), Basra Pakistan, 26 May, 53.5C (128.3F), Mohenjo-daro Burma, 12 May, 47C (116.6F), Myinmu Ascension Island, 25 March, 34.9C (94.8F), Georgetown Solomon Islands, 1 February, 36.1C (97F), Lata Nendo Colombia, 24 January, 42.3C (108F), Puerto Salgar From akmalik45 at yahoo.com Fri Aug 13 19:35:22 2010 From: akmalik45 at yahoo.com (A.K. Malik) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 07:05:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: <171396.77406.qm@web114709.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <70165.91014.qm@web112101.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Hi, Can you find an equivalent word for "Forced to flee under threat of violence"? Regards, (A.K.MALIK) --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > From: gowhar fazli > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 6:29 PM > > > A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries:  I am > engaging in plain talk > at times and  I hope it does not hurt your sentiments > because that it not the > intension.  I would have ideally desired to take more time > on this but for my > other engagements.  I hope this is somewhat useful. >   > K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were > forced by > circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or > 'internally displaced' be a > better term? What do you think? >   > G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits > left.  Personally I > feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was > for us too. Though > there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate > humiliation against > individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more > diffused form that would > have threatened the community at large.  The tone the > resistance movement in > Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the > state became more and > more repressive, became radical.  I think it was best for > Pandits to have left > at that time, but at no cost should they have severed > political and social ties > with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in > Kashmir.   > >   > I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are > displaced nor did I want to > derive any political mileage out of calling them > ‘migrants’.  The reason why I > may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to > get into a similar > debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this > word and thus lose the > affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon.  > This report was > presented before an open public audience in Srinagar. >   > K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this > time around the > Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements > for them to meet at > least some of those who have similarly suffered intense > miseries and more? Is > there any such existing mechanism? >   > G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you > across to friends who can > and will help you, including some who were part of the > earlier initiative.  If > you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral > or credible base to > make such a sensitive move.  Even just as a thought, it is > appreciable. >   > K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a > tremendous and deep felt > desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of > life that has been > lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the > gulf of 'broken > relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some > sort of a 'return'? If > yes; How?  >   > G:  I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering > of over hundred > people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families > and individuals we met > outside the camp.  > >   > There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere > at the moment. People > have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in > the ongoing violence > and repression.   >   > Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel > the sentiment.  > Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have > a stated position of > wanting the Pandits to return.  Personally I think > possible return of Pandits is > hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized > manner.  Redemption > of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution.  The more > bloodshed there is, and > the longer it takes, the harder it will get.  I think in > the meanwhile if more > and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and > principled perspective > rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it > happened near Jantar > Mantar,  Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, > accommodative and > gregarious… and you know it. >   > K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by > the Kashmiri Pandits > still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS > Geelani and beg for > protection? >   > G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking.  But a > society in which naked > dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily > basis will throw up some > deranged people, don’t you think.  You should not expect > otherwise.  > >   > K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much > vaunted Civil Society > of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have > to be part of the > Tehreek? >   > G:Were they!  By whom?  What exactly did they mean?  It > is possible people would > have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the > Indian state which > was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged > in a political > struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the > masses and not expect > Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian > state. >   > K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst > Kashmiri Muslims (who > desire separation from India) is towards an Independent > Kashmir why does SAS > (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of > space he does without > receiving strong condemnation? >   > The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the > moderates.  Secondly, > more the oppression more radical the population will > become.  Many people hate > Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing > because of his > constant unflinching stand.  Various moderates were pulled > into secret or open > talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the > secret talks or because > the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the > moderates were seen to have > brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand > is just. >   > In response to the reponse to the earlier post: >   > With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost > their Kashmiriat by > an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how > the Pandit performance > at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer > insensitivity in > terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise > uphold.  Attacking the > people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a > National flag and > counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss > suffered, even while the > blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was > grossly insensitive.  It > is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to > disrupt it because you too > have suffered loss some twenty years before.  > > As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but > Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not > exactly home and safe.  > > I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for > Islam but it does not > constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently > say they stand for > Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam > itself means > accommodation of and justice for all.  > > At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, > rather than what > exactly they want.  Pandits could have been a great help > in shaping and steering > this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the > Maharaja precipitated, > Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not > ideologically succumbed to the > Hindu right wing in great numbers. > Best, > Gowhar > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Kshmendra Kaul > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > ; > gowhar fazli > > Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant > camps in Jammu 2002- A > personal account > > > Dear Gowhar > > I understand. > > No easy answers. > > Take care > > Kshmendra  > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli > wrote: > > > >From: gowhar fazli > >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant > camps in Jammu 2002- A > >personal account > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM > > > > > > > > > >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring > serious reflection Kshmendra > > > >and I would not make light of them by replying a > hurry.  I must confess that I > >am personally struggling with ambivalences often > between mutually  exclusive and > > > >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers > for everything. However i > > >promise I will try.  Thanks for reading the whole > thing. > > > >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage > may go ahead. > > > > > > > > > >________________________________ > >From: Kshmendra Kaul > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > ; > gowhar fazli > > > >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant > camps in Jammu 2002- A > >personal account > > > > > >Dear Gowhar > > > >Thank you for sharing this. > > > >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but > were forced by circumstances > > > >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally > displaced' be a better term? > >What do you think? > > > >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this > time around the Kashmiri > > >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for > them to meet at least some > > > >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries > and more? Is there any > >such existing mechanism? > > > >Your 2002 report conclude with  the comment "a > tremendous and deep felt desire > >to restore the  broken relationships and the way of > life that has been lost." Do > > > >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf > of 'broken relationships' be > > > >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a > 'return'? If yes; How?  > > > >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by > the Kashmiri Pandits > >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of > SAS Geelani and beg for > >protection? > > > >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much > vaunted Civil Society of > >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have > to be part of the > >Tehreek? > > > >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst > Kashmiri Muslims (who desire > > >separation from India) is towards an Independent > Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir > >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space > he does without receiving > > > >strong condemnation? > > > >Kshmendra > > > > > >--- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli > wrote: > > > > > >>From: gowhar fazli > >>Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant > camps in Jammu 2002- A personal > > >>account > >>To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > >>Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM > >> > >> > >>Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A > personal  account > >>By Gowhar Fazili > >> > >>After the first reconciliation workshop involving > Kashmiri  Pandits and Kashmiri > >> > >> > >>Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim > participants  would visit migrant > >>camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that > had just  begun to unfold by > > > > > >>the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous > amount of  courage on part of > >> > >> > >>the participants led them to share their personal > and  collective grief and > >>suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can > transform  people and must be > >>respected and valued. To further explore the spirit > of  oneness in suffering and > >> > >> > >>to take it beyond the confines of the meeting > venue, a  visit by some Kashmiri > > >>Muslim participants was to be the next step. > >> > >> > >>Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit > Jammu in  the month of > >>September and we visited homes of Pandit > participants residing in  and outside > > >>the camps and also met with some other members of > the community.  The experience > >> > >> > >>generated so many emotions and thoughts that it > will take a  lifetime to unpack > > > > > >>them but I will try to share some of the > observations that  can be made. > >> > >> > >>When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about > the plan,  they asked why I > >>should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering > is far too  greater here in > > > > > >>Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many > widows,  orphans, bereaved > >>and people who have lost their homes and property > in the  ongoing turmoil in the > >> > >> > >>valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by > far.  Some said that Pandits > >>are a pampered lot. Both the central and the > state  government pamper Pandits > >>and they are living better lives in the safety of  > camps in Jammu than any of us > >> > >> > >>here. They also said that everybody from the  > humanitarian organizations to > >>politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while  > we (Kashmiri Muslims) are > >>merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they > are  undergoing because we are > > >>supposedly the source of all trouble. > >> > >> > >>Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only > to know if  the stories that > > >>take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what > extent. How do  Pandits themselves > > > > > >>feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, > which has  been their home for > > >>ages? Are they living away from their homeland by > choice?  What were the > >>circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was > it merely state  policy whisk > > > > > >>Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or > was their enough  fear in the > > > > > >>atmosphere to have made a community of a such small > size feel  vulnerable and > >>unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used > to living in  spacious house > >> > >> > >>to live in a camp? What is the condition of the > camps ... and so  many questions > >> > >> > >>that could be answered only through experience and > first hand  interaction. > >> > >> > >>Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, > we did  not think it prudent > >> > >> > >>to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a > hotel  and from there called > > > > > >>some people we had met in the reconciliation > workshop and  fixed to visit their > > > > > >>places on the next day. But even before we set out > for our  visits we received > > >>an early morning delegation of Pandits associated > with the  Chamber of Commerce. > >> > >> > >>They had heard about our work and were curious to > know  more. They appreciated > > >>the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured > us  their support especially > > > > > >>in the section of people associated with trade > and  commerce. They also spoke of > >> > >> > >>the efforts they had made earlier to maintain  > relationship between the members > > > > > >>of the two communities but that they could not  > sustain it for too long. They > >>also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so  > that there could be sustained > > > > > >>communication between the people of two  > communities. > >> > >> > >>From then on Anil (one of the participants in the > workshop)  played our host and > >> > >> > >>guided us to residences of the members. He had > already  fixed our schedule for > > >>the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in > this  manner. We began by > >>visiting members who lived outside the camps. The > houses we  visited looked > >>similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were > a deliberate  effort to live > >> > >> > >>back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the > houses even had  an elaborately > > >>and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The > residents  explained that this > >>keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very > much at  home possibly > >>because of our common culture and the foods that we > were treated  to. The > >>conversations went on endlessly as they do in > Kashmir. There was a  special > >>feeling like when we meet relatives separated from > us for a long time.  There > >>was so much to catch up on. We could sense among > our hosts a deep longing  and > > >>love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it > was clearly evident by  the > > > > > >>manner in which they had maintained continuity with > their way of life in an  > >>alien land and the profusion artifacts that they > had surrounded themselves  > >>with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their > eyes to receive us in their  > >> > >> > >>homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken > place while we shared about  > > > > > >>our experiences and the situations we are faced > with in either place. > >> > >> > >>The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds > of most  Kashmiri Pandits > >>was not economic loss but the fear of losing > community itself  in the vast sea > > >>of humanity that is India... They so much want to > remain  Kashmiris and so > >>easily find extension of their selves among the co- > community  of Kashmiri > >>Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can > share the  language, culture > >>and the local idiom even though their religion is > different.  They can talk to > > >>us and share the inherited meanings while it is not > possible  with > >>co-religionists from other parts of India. In > Kashmir they also shared a  > >>relationship of mutual respect with other > Kashmiris, while in a place like  > >>Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special > community. They are merely  > > >>outsiders who are encroaching on the local > resources. But even now when we meet  > >> > >> > >>after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be > familiar and know how to  > >>address each other and can share so much. In all > our conversations the use of  > > >>'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and > Pandits was frequent. We  > >>could still identify ourselves as a people apart > from others. > >> > >> > >>From the homes we visited it was clear how much > they must  have had to struggle > > > > > >>to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had > taken  years for some to > >>finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. > For a  long while they felt > > > > > >>that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to > return  very soon. Some said > > >>that they can still not relate to these houses as > their  own, and that whenever > > > > > >>they dream of home they can only visualize their > houses  in Kashmir. > >> > >> > >>I realized the difference between migrating for > better  opportunities like many > > > > > >>of us do and being forced by circumstances to > migrate  from home and having no > > >>place to return to. I realized that Pandit > migration  was a tragic event for > >>Kashmiri community as a whole because they took > with  them so much that was us. > > > > > >>It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel > so vulnerable  as a community > > > > > >>away from home. > >> > >> > >>From there Anil led us to the camps for the first > time.  Since most of the > >>participants for our workshop had come from the > Porkhu camp  we went there to > >>meet up with the people. I must confess that my > idea of Pandit  camps while in > > >>Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as > befit the  so-called 'pampered' > > > > > >>community. To my shock the camp can be described no > better  than a slum. Pandit > > > > > >>camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood > or  single brick walls. In > >>the barracks each family has been allotted a room > or if  the family is really > >>large two rooms at the most. The lanes between > the  barracks are narrow and > >>lined by deep open drains. The residents have  > constructed toilets and small > >>kitchens and walls around the space on their own.  > Once inside, we felt very > >>hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room  > where shifted to one side to > > > > > >>make room for the seven men who had visited the  > house. The immediate feeling > >>that came to our mind was that this was no place  > to live for ten days and these > >> > >> > >>people had managed to live here for more than  > thirteen years. Yet we were > >>treated very hospitably, as we would be in > Kashmir.  Again we realized that > >>Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance > even  in terms of the food > >>they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and > traditional  Kashmiri bread > >>(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who > had visited  Kashmir. Some of > >> > >> > >>the members in the camp had to give serious > explanation for  having participated > >> > >> > >>in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of > having  made a compromise with > >> > >> > >>Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again > that  there was no hidden > >>agenda and that none of the known political > organizations  had anything to do > >>with our work. We decided to visit the camp once > again on  the next day in order > >> > >> > >>to hear from more people and also to share the idea > of  reconciliation with > >>them. > >> > >> > >>To our surprise more people turned up for the > meeting than  we were prepared to > > > > > >>face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty > people in  the meeting. But > >>the hall meant for marriages and other functions > began to fill  until we had > >>more than hundred people many of whom did not > understand why we  were there. > >>Some of the people were charged up due to the > election campaigns  and the offer > > > > > >>made by the central government to give rupees > seven-lakh  assistance for Pandits > >> > >> > >>who chose to return to the valley. One of the > elderly  persons emphasized that > > >>they did not want this package because they saw it > more  as an insult added to > > >>the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri > Pandits  was not about money, > > >>but about insecurity and how they can redeem the > way of  life that was lost. > >>“Would they be able to return the security we > felt in  living among our own > >>people and how would they ensure that now, with > the  changes that our people > >>have undergone by living away from each other?” > >> > >> > >>It was clear that some of the people in the camp > were  mistaking us for the > >>representatives of some political party or the > central  government. After > >>hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts > thought  that we must be > >>asked why we have come to the camps in the first > place. We  began by explaining > > > > > >>that we did not represent any official initiatives > for  rehabilitation of > >>Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as > concerned  individuals who are > >>not happy with the situation as it exists. “We > have no  offers to make because > > >>have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In > a  sense we feel guilty for > > >>not having done enough to stop the migration when > it  took place and also for > >>not having been in touch for the last thirteen > years.  It is partly to absolve > > >>ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have > also  come to hear from your > > > > > >>experiences and to observe how you people are > living  away from home and what > >>you have to say.” > >> > >> > >>This brief introduction changed the tone of the > meeting and  then on almost all > > > > > >>the members individually began to share their > experiences.  Some laid emphasis > > >>on the unique brotherhood that existed among > Kashmiri  Muslims and Pandits and > > >>how they longed for its return, while others > expressed  the pain of living for > > >>thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the > elderly  were very vivid about > > > > > >>their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at > least  die in Kashmir”, the > >>younger ones were bitter about the state of > helplessness  and feared whether > >>their future would be safe if they were to choose > to return.  Some of the > >>members related the number of times Kashmiri > Pandits have had to  migrate from > > >>Kashmir and how every time after the peace was > restored they  returned to their > > > > > >>homeland. They also said that if they were to > return this  time, they would want > >> > >> > >>the surity that they do not have to migrate yet > again. > >> > >> > >>Some of the younger members were very bitter about > the  circumstances that led > > >>them to leave Kashmir and said that under no  > circumstances are they willing to > > > > > >>forget how some of their people were tortured  and > killed. We tried to explain > > >>that to reconcile did not mean that one has to  > forget and we did not expect > >>them to forget what they had experienced. Asking  > one to forget would amount to > > > > > >>disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only  > feel that hate should not be > >>the motive for our actions and that we must > forgive  without forgetting. > >> > >> > >>One of the members explained how the state was > maintaining  the camps in bad > >>repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners > and  visitors to the camps as > >> > >> > >>a means of propaganda to impress upon them their > own  version of the conflict in > >> > >> > >>Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals  > kept in a zoo, displayed > >>whenever the need was felt. The state according > to  them could do better and at > > > > > >>least afford to provide reasonable conditions of  > living for the migrants. The > > >>dilapidated condition of the camps was a  > deliberate state policy. > >> > >> > >>Almost all the people appreciated our effort and > felt that  it was in some ways > > > > > >>different from all the other efforts that are being > made  for their return and > > >>rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts > were in  the least sincere and > > >>thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that > the  greater part of the work is > > > > > >>required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do  > not pose a big problem. It is > > > > > >>only when certain receptiveness is created among  > the majority community in > >>Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made  > possible. > >> > >> > >>There was a difference of opinion whether they > should return  to their own > >>respective villages or a separate enclave should be > created to  rehabilitate > >>them in the valley. For some the texture of the > villages over the  years had > >>changed so drastically that it was no longer > possible for them to  feel safe in > > > > > >>their old homes. So though the interaction between > the members of  the two > >>communities should get restored, but for their > safety they must be  settled in > > >>an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this > arrangement would not  be healthy, > >> > >> > >>as it would not help restore old relationship and > increase  suspicion and > >>segregation. > >> > >> > >>The meeting lasted well over five hours into the > night and  at last when most > >>people had spoken we sought permission to leave. > But the  people would not let > > >>us go and took us back to their homes where more > rounds of  tea and informal > >>conversation resumed. We had to leave finally > because of an  earlier commitment > > > > > >>to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside > the  camp. The conversations > >> > >> > >>at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well > past  midnight, were in my > >>opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language > that  can only be possible > > >>with the members of ones own community. There was > endless  joking and laughing! > > > > > >> > >> > >>To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu > was  beyond our > >>expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to > restore the  broken > >>relationships and the way of life that has been > lost. People are  cautiously, > >>willing to explore ... because the stake is worth > every bit of  effort. > >> > >> > >> > >>      > >>_________________________________________ > >>reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > the city. > >>Critiques & Collaborations > >>To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with subscribe in > > >>the subject header. > >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >>List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > >      > >_________________________________________ > >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > >Critiques & Collaborations > >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with subscribe in > >the subject header. > >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > >List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > >       > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 20:33:15 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:33:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Comrade Arjun In-Reply-To: References: <000301cb3ab7$ae0ffa60$0901a8c0@winea7e178c4a2> Message-ID: The only possible solution to the 'so-called maoists' problem is to liquidate them along with their fascist patronizers like the TMC. Otherwise, there is no hope. They have been behaving this way right from the sixties. See http://newsclick.in/india/dangerous-repeat-history Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 3:46 PM, Nagraj Adve wrote: > From Nirmalangshu. > Naga > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Nirmalangshu Mukherji > Date: 13 August 2010 12:43 > Subject: Comrade Arjun > > > Friends, > > > > I received the following letter today from two mass organisations in > Orissa. It appears that the Maoists have killed one of their comrades. > The details are attached. The complaint is not new. I am aware of > similar complaints from other ML organisations. This is a serious > problem that is affecting the spread and the unity of struggles > against the predatory state just when the masses are rising in > articulated anger in different parts of the country. ML organisations > have repeatedly appealed to the Maoists to refrain from attacking > their own fraternity. Such appeals appear to have fallen on deaf ears. > It is time democratic organisations reflect deeply on the issue, and > raise their voice. > > > > Nirmalangshu > > > > > > > > To > > Prof.Nirmalanshu Mukherjee > > Delhi. > > > > Dear Friend, > > > >             We hope that you are aware that the Maoists have murdered > Com.Arjun, an Adivasi and the leader of Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh on > Aug, 9, 2010 in Koraput district.  Here were are enclosing an appeal > from the All India Khet Mazdoor Kisan Sabha (AIKMKS) and Chasi Muliya > Sangh, Orissa together with some other related material for your > information. > >             We feel that this is not an isolated or spontaneous act. > The Maoists have made it as part of their line to malign, threaten and > physically eliminate the leaders and activists of other political and > mass organizations who refuse to fall in their line in an attempt to > usurp the areas and movements and forcibly impose their own > domination. They had committed this kind of crimes in several parts of > the country even against other political and mass organizations.  They > had already shed much blood of people in the name of revolution.  This > line and methods are causing much harm to the just struggles of our > people. They are having an effect of disorganizing, disrupting and > destroying the democratic movements. They are creating many > difficulties and hurdles in the way of democrats and democratic > organisations in championing the democratic rights and mobilizing the > democratic opinion against the violaters of democratic, civil and > human rights. > >             We hope, as a democrat you would react against this > dangerous drift.  We appeal to you to do whatever is possible to > appraise the ghastly act of murder to the democracts and mobilize the > democratic opinion in Indian and abroad against it and the politics > and methods of murder pursued by the Maoists.  This will greathy help > in defending the interests of people and democratic movement as a > whole in our country. > > Thanking you, > > > > > > Vijayawada, >                            VISWAM > > Dt: 12.08.2010 >                            GENERAL SECRETARY, > > >                                      CPI(ML) > > > > > Nirmalangshu Mukherji > Professor of Philosophy > University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 > Web: people.du.ac.in/~nmukherji/ >  Ph: 27666253 (Res) >        27666629 (Off) > From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 21:31:45 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:31:45 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Flood relief for Ladakh and Pakistan Message-ID: A message from Ravina Aggarwal: Hello friends, Many of you have asked about how you may contribute to a relief fund that will deal with the awful flash floods disaster in Ladakh. There is no easy answer as the rescue operations for missing persons are still of paramount concern and the roads are still inaccessible in many areas. The hard task of rebuilding will take a long time. From my communication with colleagues on the ground, these are some of the needs besides food and shelter that they anticipate for rehabilitation in the next few months: € Medical Aid € Water: Rebuilding and cleaning water sources to prevent epidemics due to contamination, € Redevelopment: planning and restoring broken houses, shops, and infrastructure in a more sustainable way, € Education: reopening schools as well as exploring alternative ways of imparting education temporarily € Communications: Building linkages within Ladakh and outside € Trauma Management: Needs Assessment of Individuals and Counseling services Cultural Conservation efforts for Damaged heritage LAMO (Ladakh Arts and Media Organization) is accepting monetary donations at this point but only in Indian rupees. We are not yet equipped to take donations of food or clothing although we are working a deal with the airlines and have organized medical aid supplies. If you wish to donate, please make a cheque payable to The LAMO Trust (our Ladakhi address is LAMO, PO Box 152, Below Leh Palace, Old Town, Leh, Ladakh 191401 but due to lack of communications at this point you can send it in the name of The LAMO Trust to me at 13, Nizamuddin East (right side), 2nd Floor, New Delhi 110013). Please do send us a facebook message or an email to lamorelief at gmail.com indicating your contribution is on its way and give your name and mail/email address and indicate for what purpose you would like your contribution to be used. That way we can channel it to the appropriate cause, either through activities that LAMO will undertake or through other ngos or departments with which we are networked. To ensure accountability, LAMO will send periodic e-reports on the use of this money to contributors. LAMO¹s activities are centered on the intersection of arts and media with town planning, poverty, and diversity in Ladakh. In August 4th, the day I returned from Leh, my colleagues from LAMO presented their work on a project (supported by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust)on water and the Old Town of Leh to the Minister of Tourism and Culture for Jammu and Kashmir to advocate for planned and inclusive redevelopment of Old Town. The organization is committed to this vision and will continue to take it forward in spite of adverse circumstances. Thanks to all your thoughtful wishes for the people in Ladakh. Ravina ---------------- Relief4Pakistan Campaign: Relief4Pakistan is a grassroots donation campaign designed in response to the deadly floods in Pakistan. To donate: www. www.relief4pakistan.com From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 00:07:49 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:07:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Comrade Arjun In-Reply-To: References: <000301cb3ab7$ae0ffa60$0901a8c0@winea7e178c4a2> Message-ID: A. Mani, This is ill-informed, blinkered, dangerous nonsense. Naga On 13 August 2010 20:33, A. Mani wrote: > The only possible solution to the 'so-called maoists' problem is to > liquidate them along with their fascist patronizers like the TMC. > Otherwise, there is no hope. They have been behaving this way right > from the sixties. > See http://newsclick.in/india/dangerous-repeat-history > > > Best > > A. Mani > > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > > > > > On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 3:46 PM, Nagraj Adve wrote: >> From Nirmalangshu. >> Naga >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: Nirmalangshu Mukherji >> Date: 13 August 2010 12:43 >> Subject: Comrade Arjun >> >> >> Friends, >> >> >> >> I received the following letter today from two mass organisations in >> Orissa. It appears that the Maoists have killed one of their comrades. >> The details are attached. The complaint is not new. I am aware of >> similar complaints from other ML organisations. This is a serious >> problem that is affecting the spread and the unity of struggles >> against the predatory state just when the masses are rising in >> articulated anger in different parts of the country. ML organisations >> have repeatedly appealed to the Maoists to refrain from attacking >> their own fraternity. Such appeals appear to have fallen on deaf ears. >> It is time democratic organisations reflect deeply on the issue, and >> raise their voice. >> >> >> >> Nirmalangshu >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> To >> >> Prof.Nirmalanshu Mukherjee >> >> Delhi. >> >> >> >> Dear Friend, >> >> >> >>             We hope that you are aware that the Maoists have murdered >> Com.Arjun, an Adivasi and the leader of Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh on >> Aug, 9, 2010 in Koraput district.  Here were are enclosing an appeal >> from the All India Khet Mazdoor Kisan Sabha (AIKMKS) and Chasi Muliya >> Sangh, Orissa together with some other related material for your >> information. >> >>             We feel that this is not an isolated or spontaneous act. >> The Maoists have made it as part of their line to malign, threaten and >> physically eliminate the leaders and activists of other political and >> mass organizations who refuse to fall in their line in an attempt to >> usurp the areas and movements and forcibly impose their own >> domination. They had committed this kind of crimes in several parts of >> the country even against other political and mass organizations.  They >> had already shed much blood of people in the name of revolution.  This >> line and methods are causing much harm to the just struggles of our >> people. They are having an effect of disorganizing, disrupting and >> destroying the democratic movements. They are creating many >> difficulties and hurdles in the way of democrats and democratic >> organisations in championing the democratic rights and mobilizing the >> democratic opinion against the violaters of democratic, civil and >> human rights. >> >>             We hope, as a democrat you would react against this >> dangerous drift.  We appeal to you to do whatever is possible to >> appraise the ghastly act of murder to the democracts and mobilize the >> democratic opinion in Indian and abroad against it and the politics >> and methods of murder pursued by the Maoists.  This will greathy help >> in defending the interests of people and democratic movement as a >> whole in our country. >> >> Thanking you, >> >> >> >> >> >> Vijayawada, >>                            VISWAM >> >> Dt: 12.08.2010 >>                            GENERAL SECRETARY, >> >> >>                                      CPI(ML) >> >> >> >> >> Nirmalangshu Mukherji >> Professor of Philosophy >> University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 >> Web: people.du.ac.in/~nmukherji/ >>  Ph: 27666253 (Res) >>        27666629 (Off) >> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From zulfi14 at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 00:31:57 2010 From: zulfi14 at gmail.com (zulfiya hamzaki) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:31:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: <70165.91014.qm@web112101.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <171396.77406.qm@web114709.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <70165.91014.qm@web112101.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: How about "Exodus"? It refers to the departure or journey of a large number of people to escape from a hostile environment. Regards, Zulfiya On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 7:35 PM, A.K. Malik wrote: > Hi, > Can you find an equivalent word for "Forced to flee under threat of > violence"? > Regards, > > (A.K.MALIK) > > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > > > From: gowhar fazli > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu > 2002- A personal account > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 6:29 PM > > > > > > A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries: I am > > engaging in plain talk > > at times and I hope it does not hurt your sentiments > > because that it not the > > intension. I would have ideally desired to take more time > > on this but for my > > other engagements. I hope this is somewhat useful. > > > > K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were > > forced by > > circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or > > 'internally displaced' be a > > better term? What do you think? > > > > G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits > > left. Personally I > > feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was > > for us too. Though > > there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate > > humiliation against > > individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more > > diffused form that would > > have threatened the community at large. The tone the > > resistance movement in > > Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the > > state became more and > > more repressive, became radical. I think it was best for > > Pandits to have left > > at that time, but at no cost should they have severed > > political and social ties > > with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in > > Kashmir. > > > > > > I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are > > displaced nor did I want to > > derive any political mileage out of calling them > > ‘migrants’. The reason why I > > may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to > > get into a similar > > debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this > > word and thus lose the > > affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon. > > This report was > > presented before an open public audience in Srinagar. > > > > K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this > > time around the > > Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements > > for them to meet at > > least some of those who have similarly suffered intense > > miseries and more? Is > > there any such existing mechanism? > > > > G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you > > across to friends who can > > and will help you, including some who were part of the > > earlier initiative. If > > you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral > > or credible base to > > make such a sensitive move. Even just as a thought, it is > > appreciable. > > > > K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a > > tremendous and deep felt > > desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of > > life that has been > > lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the > > gulf of 'broken > > relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some > > sort of a 'return'? If > > yes; How? > > > > G: I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering > > of over hundred > > people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families > > and individuals we met > > outside the camp. > > > > > > There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere > > at the moment. People > > have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in > > the ongoing violence > > and repression. > > > > Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel > > the sentiment. > > Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have > > a stated position of > > wanting the Pandits to return. Personally I think > > possible return of Pandits is > > hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized > > manner. Redemption > > of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution. The more > > bloodshed there is, and > > the longer it takes, the harder it will get. I think in > > the meanwhile if more > > and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and > > principled perspective > > rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it > > happened near Jantar > > Mantar, Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, > > accommodative and > > gregarious… and you know it. > > > > K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by > > the Kashmiri Pandits > > still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS > > Geelani and beg for > > protection? > > > > G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking. But a > > society in which naked > > dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily > > basis will throw up some > > deranged people, don’t you think. You should not expect > > otherwise. > > > > > > K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much > > vaunted Civil Society > > of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have > > to be part of the > > Tehreek? > > > > G:Were they! By whom? What exactly did they mean? It > > is possible people would > > have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the > > Indian state which > > was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged > > in a political > > struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the > > masses and not expect > > Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian > > state. > > > > K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst > > Kashmiri Muslims (who > > desire separation from India) is towards an Independent > > Kashmir why does SAS > > (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of > > space he does without > > receiving strong condemnation? > > > > The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the > > moderates. Secondly, > > more the oppression more radical the population will > > become. Many people hate > > Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing > > because of his > > constant unflinching stand. Various moderates were pulled > > into secret or open > > talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the > > secret talks or because > > the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the > > moderates were seen to have > > brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand > > is just. > > > > In response to the reponse to the earlier post: > > > > With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost > > their Kashmiriat by > > an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how > > the Pandit performance > > at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer > > insensitivity in > > terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise > > uphold. Attacking the > > people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a > > National flag and > > counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss > > suffered, even while the > > blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was > > grossly insensitive. It > > is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to > > disrupt it because you too > > have suffered loss some twenty years before. > > > > As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but > > Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not > > exactly home and safe. > > > > I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for > > Islam but it does not > > constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently > > say they stand for > > Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam > > itself means > > accommodation of and justice for all. > > > > At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, > > rather than what > > exactly they want. Pandits could have been a great help > > in shaping and steering > > this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the > > Maharaja precipitated, > > Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not > > ideologically succumbed to the > > Hindu right wing in great numbers. > > Best, > > Gowhar > > > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: Kshmendra Kaul > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > ; > > gowhar fazli > > > > Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant > > camps in Jammu 2002- A > > personal account > > > > > > Dear Gowhar > > > > I understand. > > > > No easy answers. > > > > Take care > > > > Kshmendra > > > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli > > wrote: > > > > > > >From: gowhar fazli > > >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant > > camps in Jammu 2002- A > > >personal account > > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > > >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring > > serious reflection Kshmendra > > > > > >and I would not make light of them by replying a > > hurry. I must confess that I > > >am personally struggling with ambivalences often > > between mutually exclusive and > > > > > >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers > > for everything. However i > > > > >promise I will try. Thanks for reading the whole > > thing. > > > > > >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage > > may go ahead. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >________________________________ > > >From: Kshmendra Kaul > > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > ; > > gowhar fazli > > > > > >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant > > camps in Jammu 2002- A > > >personal account > > > > > > > > >Dear Gowhar > > > > > >Thank you for sharing this. > > > > > >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but > > were forced by circumstances > > > > > >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally > > displaced' be a better term? > > >What do you think? > > > > > >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this > > time around the Kashmiri > > > > >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for > > them to meet at least some > > > > > >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries > > and more? Is there any > > >such existing mechanism? > > > > > >Your 2002 report conclude with the comment "a > > tremendous and deep felt desire > > >to restore the broken relationships and the way of > > life that has been lost." Do > > > > > >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf > > of 'broken relationships' be > > > > > >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a > > 'return'? If yes; How? > > > > > >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by > > the Kashmiri Pandits > > >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of > > SAS Geelani and beg for > > >protection? > > > > > >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much > > vaunted Civil Society of > > >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have > > to be part of the > > >Tehreek? > > > > > >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst > > Kashmiri Muslims (who desire > > > > >separation from India) is towards an Independent > > Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir > > >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space > > he does without receiving > > > > > >strong condemnation? > > > > > >Kshmendra > > > > > > > > >--- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli > > wrote: > > > > > > > > >>From: gowhar fazli > > >>Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant > > camps in Jammu 2002- A personal > > > > >>account > > >>To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > > >>Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM > > >> > > >> > > >>Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A > > personal account > > >>By Gowhar Fazili > > >> > > >>After the first reconciliation workshop involving > > Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri > > >> > > >> > > >>Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim > > participants would visit migrant > > >>camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that > > had just begun to unfold by > > > > > > > > >>the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous > > amount of courage on part of > > >> > > >> > > >>the participants led them to share their personal > > and collective grief and > > >>suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can > > transform people and must be > > >>respected and valued. To further explore the spirit > > of oneness in suffering and > > >> > > >> > > >>to take it beyond the confines of the meeting > > venue, a visit by some Kashmiri > > > > >>Muslim participants was to be the next step. > > >> > > >> > > >>Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit > > Jammu in the month of > > >>September and we visited homes of Pandit > > participants residing in and outside > > > > >>the camps and also met with some other members of > > the community. The experience > > >> > > >> > > >>generated so many emotions and thoughts that it > > will take a lifetime to unpack > > > > > > > > >>them but I will try to share some of the > > observations that can be made. > > >> > > >> > > >>When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about > > the plan, they asked why I > > >>should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering > > is far too greater here in > > > > > > > > >>Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many > > widows, orphans, bereaved > > >>and people who have lost their homes and property > > in the ongoing turmoil in the > > >> > > >> > > >>valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by > > far. Some said that Pandits > > >>are a pampered lot. Both the central and the > > state government pamper Pandits > > >>and they are living better lives in the safety of > > camps in Jammu than any of us > > >> > > >> > > >>here. They also said that everybody from the > > humanitarian organizations to > > >>politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while > > we (Kashmiri Muslims) are > > >>merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they > > are undergoing because we are > > > > >>supposedly the source of all trouble. > > >> > > >> > > >>Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only > > to know if the stories that > > > > >>take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what > > extent. How do Pandits themselves > > > > > > > > >>feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, > > which has been their home for > > > > >>ages? Are they living away from their homeland by > > choice? What were the > > >>circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was > > it merely state policy whisk > > > > > > > > >>Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or > > was their enough fear in the > > > > > > > > >>atmosphere to have made a community of a such small > > size feel vulnerable and > > >>unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used > > to living in spacious house > > >> > > >> > > >>to live in a camp? What is the condition of the > > camps ... and so many questions > > >> > > >> > > >>that could be answered only through experience and > > first hand interaction. > > >> > > >> > > >>Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, > > we did not think it prudent > > >> > > >> > > >>to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a > > hotel and from there called > > > > > > > > >>some people we had met in the reconciliation > > workshop and fixed to visit their > > > > > > > > >>places on the next day. But even before we set out > > for our visits we received > > > > >>an early morning delegation of Pandits associated > > with the Chamber of Commerce. > > >> > > >> > > >>They had heard about our work and were curious to > > know more. They appreciated > > > > >>the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured > > us their support especially > > > > > > > > >>in the section of people associated with trade > > and commerce. They also spoke of > > >> > > >> > > >>the efforts they had made earlier to maintain > > relationship between the members > > > > > > > > >>of the two communities but that they could not > > sustain it for too long. They > > >>also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so > > that there could be sustained > > > > > > > > >>communication between the people of two > > communities. > > >> > > >> > > >>From then on Anil (one of the participants in the > > workshop) played our host and > > >> > > >> > > >>guided us to residences of the members. He had > > already fixed our schedule for > > > > >>the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in > > this manner. We began by > > >>visiting members who lived outside the camps. The > > houses we visited looked > > >>similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were > > a deliberate effort to live > > >> > > >> > > >>back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the > > houses even had an elaborately > > > > >>and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The > > residents explained that this > > >>keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very > > much at home possibly > > >>because of our common culture and the foods that we > > were treated to. The > > >>conversations went on endlessly as they do in > > Kashmir. There was a special > > >>feeling like when we meet relatives separated from > > us for a long time. There > > >>was so much to catch up on. We could sense among > > our hosts a deep longing and > > > > >>love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it > > was clearly evident by the > > > > > > > > >>manner in which they had maintained continuity with > > their way of life in an > > >>alien land and the profusion artifacts that they > > had surrounded themselves > > >>with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their > > eyes to receive us in their > > >> > > >> > > >>homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken > > place while we shared about > > > > > > > > >>our experiences and the situations we are faced > > with in either place. > > >> > > >> > > >>The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds > > of most Kashmiri Pandits > > >>was not economic loss but the fear of losing > > community itself in the vast sea > > > > >>of humanity that is India... They so much want to > > remain Kashmiris and so > > >>easily find extension of their selves among the co- > > community of Kashmiri > > >>Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can > > share the language, culture > > >>and the local idiom even though their religion is > > different. They can talk to > > > > >>us and share the inherited meanings while it is not > > possible with > > >>co-religionists from other parts of India. In > > Kashmir they also shared a > > >>relationship of mutual respect with other > > Kashmiris, while in a place like > > >>Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special > > community. They are merely > > > > >>outsiders who are encroaching on the local > > resources. But even now when we meet > > >> > > >> > > >>after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be > > familiar and know how to > > >>address each other and can share so much. In all > > our conversations the use of > > > > >>'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and > > Pandits was frequent. We > > >>could still identify ourselves as a people apart > > from others. > > >> > > >> > > >>From the homes we visited it was clear how much > > they must have had to struggle > > > > > > > > >>to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had > > taken years for some to > > >>finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. > > For a long while they felt > > > > > > > > >>that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to > > return very soon. Some said > > > > >>that they can still not relate to these houses as > > their own, and that whenever > > > > > > > > >>they dream of home they can only visualize their > > houses in Kashmir. > > >> > > >> > > >>I realized the difference between migrating for > > better opportunities like many > > > > > > > > >>of us do and being forced by circumstances to > > migrate from home and having no > > > > >>place to return to. I realized that Pandit > > migration was a tragic event for > > >>Kashmiri community as a whole because they took > > with them so much that was us. > > > > > > > > >>It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel > > so vulnerable as a community > > > > > > > > >>away from home. > > >> > > >> > > >>From there Anil led us to the camps for the first > > time. Since most of the > > >>participants for our workshop had come from the > > Porkhu camp we went there to > > >>meet up with the people. I must confess that my > > idea of Pandit camps while in > > > > >>Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as > > befit the so-called 'pampered' > > > > > > > > >>community. To my shock the camp can be described no > > better than a slum. Pandit > > > > > > > > >>camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood > > or single brick walls. In > > >>the barracks each family has been allotted a room > > or if the family is really > > >>large two rooms at the most. The lanes between > > the barracks are narrow and > > >>lined by deep open drains. The residents have > > constructed toilets and small > > >>kitchens and walls around the space on their own. > > Once inside, we felt very > > >>hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room > > where shifted to one side to > > > > > > > > >>make room for the seven men who had visited the > > house. The immediate feeling > > >>that came to our mind was that this was no place > > to live for ten days and these > > >> > > >> > > >>people had managed to live here for more than > > thirteen years. Yet we were > > >>treated very hospitably, as we would be in > > Kashmir. Again we realized that > > >>Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance > > even in terms of the food > > >>they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and > > traditional Kashmiri bread > > >>(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who > > had visited Kashmir. Some of > > >> > > >> > > >>the members in the camp had to give serious > > explanation for having participated > > >> > > >> > > >>in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of > > having made a compromise with > > >> > > >> > > >>Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again > > that there was no hidden > > >>agenda and that none of the known political > > organizations had anything to do > > >>with our work. We decided to visit the camp once > > again on the next day in order > > >> > > >> > > >>to hear from more people and also to share the idea > > of reconciliation with > > >>them. > > >> > > >> > > >>To our surprise more people turned up for the > > meeting than we were prepared to > > > > > > > > >>face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty > > people in the meeting. But > > >>the hall meant for marriages and other functions > > began to fill until we had > > >>more than hundred people many of whom did not > > understand why we were there. > > >>Some of the people were charged up due to the > > election campaigns and the offer > > > > > > > > >>made by the central government to give rupees > > seven-lakh assistance for Pandits > > >> > > >> > > >>who chose to return to the valley. One of the > > elderly persons emphasized that > > > > >>they did not want this package because they saw it > > more as an insult added to > > > > >>the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri > > Pandits was not about money, > > > > >>but about insecurity and how they can redeem the > > way of life that was lost. > > >>“Would they be able to return the security we > > felt in living among our own > > >>people and how would they ensure that now, with > > the changes that our people > > >>have undergone by living away from each other?” > > >> > > >> > > >>It was clear that some of the people in the camp > > were mistaking us for the > > >>representatives of some political party or the > > central government. After > > >>hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts > > thought that we must be > > >>asked why we have come to the camps in the first > > place. We began by explaining > > > > > > > > >>that we did not represent any official initiatives > > for rehabilitation of > > >>Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as > > concerned individuals who are > > >>not happy with the situation as it exists. “We > > have no offers to make because > > > > >>have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In > > a sense we feel guilty for > > > > >>not having done enough to stop the migration when > > it took place and also for > > >>not having been in touch for the last thirteen > > years. It is partly to absolve > > > > >>ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have > > also come to hear from your > > > > > > > > >>experiences and to observe how you people are > > living away from home and what > > >>you have to say.” > > >> > > >> > > >>This brief introduction changed the tone of the > > meeting and then on almost all > > > > > > > > >>the members individually began to share their > > experiences. Some laid emphasis > > > > >>on the unique brotherhood that existed among > > Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits and > > > > >>how they longed for its return, while others > > expressed the pain of living for > > > > >>thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the > > elderly were very vivid about > > > > > > > > >>their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at > > least die in Kashmir”, the > > >>younger ones were bitter about the state of > > helplessness and feared whether > > >>their future would be safe if they were to choose > > to return. Some of the > > >>members related the number of times Kashmiri > > Pandits have had to migrate from > > > > >>Kashmir and how every time after the peace was > > restored they returned to their > > > > > > > > >>homeland. They also said that if they were to > > return this time, they would want > > >> > > >> > > >>the surity that they do not have to migrate yet > > again. > > >> > > >> > > >>Some of the younger members were very bitter about > > the circumstances that led > > > > >>them to leave Kashmir and said that under no > > circumstances are they willing to > > > > > > > > >>forget how some of their people were tortured and > > killed. We tried to explain > > > > >>that to reconcile did not mean that one has to > > forget and we did not expect > > >>them to forget what they had experienced. Asking > > one to forget would amount to > > > > > > > > >>disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only > > feel that hate should not be > > >>the motive for our actions and that we must > > forgive without forgetting. > > >> > > >> > > >>One of the members explained how the state was > > maintaining the camps in bad > > >>repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners > > and visitors to the camps as > > >> > > >> > > >>a means of propaganda to impress upon them their > > own version of the conflict in > > >> > > >> > > >>Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals > > kept in a zoo, displayed > > >>whenever the need was felt. The state according > > to them could do better and at > > > > > > > > >>least afford to provide reasonable conditions of > > living for the migrants. The > > > > >>dilapidated condition of the camps was a > > deliberate state policy. > > >> > > >> > > >>Almost all the people appreciated our effort and > > felt that it was in some ways > > > > > > > > >>different from all the other efforts that are being > > made for their return and > > > > >>rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts > > were in the least sincere and > > > > >>thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that > > the greater part of the work is > > > > > > > > >>required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do > > not pose a big problem. It is > > > > > > > > >>only when certain receptiveness is created among > > the majority community in > > >>Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made > > possible. > > >> > > >> > > >>There was a difference of opinion whether they > > should return to their own > > >>respective villages or a separate enclave should be > > created to rehabilitate > > >>them in the valley. For some the texture of the > > villages over the years had > > >>changed so drastically that it was no longer > > possible for them to feel safe in > > > > > > > > >>their old homes. So though the interaction between > > the members of the two > > >>communities should get restored, but for their > > safety they must be settled in > > > > >>an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this > > arrangement would not be healthy, > > >> > > >> > > >>as it would not help restore old relationship and > > increase suspicion and > > >>segregation. > > >> > > >> > > >>The meeting lasted well over five hours into the > > night and at last when most > > >>people had spoken we sought permission to leave. > > But the people would not let > > > > >>us go and took us back to their homes where more > > rounds of tea and informal > > >>conversation resumed. We had to leave finally > > because of an earlier commitment > > > > > > > > >>to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside > > the camp. The conversations > > >> > > >> > > >>at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well > > past midnight, were in my > > >>opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language > > that can only be possible > > > > >>with the members of ones own community. There was > > endless joking and laughing! > > > > > > > > >> > > >> > > >>To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu > > was beyond our > > >>expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to > > restore the broken > > >>relationships and the way of life that has been > > lost. People are cautiously, > > >>willing to explore ... because the stake is worth > > every bit of effort. > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >>_________________________________________ > > >>reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > > the city. > > >>Critiques & Collaborations > > >>To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > with subscribe in > > > > >>the subject header. > > >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >>List archive: > > > > > > > > > > > >_________________________________________ > > >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > > city. > > >Critiques & Collaborations > > >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > with subscribe in > > >the subject header. > > >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > >List archive: > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > > city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > with subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 00:39:23 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:39:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Comrade Arjun In-Reply-To: References: <000301cb3ab7$ae0ffa60$0901a8c0@winea7e178c4a2> Message-ID: A. mani, My mildly curt response was to your mail. I have not read the attached article, which I certainly will tomorrow. Naga On 14 August 2010 00:07, Nagraj Adve wrote: > A. Mani, > This is ill-informed, blinkered, dangerous nonsense. > Naga > > > On 13 August 2010 20:33, A. Mani wrote: >> The only possible solution to the 'so-called maoists' problem is to >> liquidate them along with their fascist patronizers like the TMC. >> Otherwise, there is no hope. They have been behaving this way right >> from the sixties. >> See http://newsclick.in/india/dangerous-repeat-history >> >> >> Best >> >> A. Mani >> >> >> -- >> A. Mani >> ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS >> http://www.logicamani.co.cc >> >> >> >> >> On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 3:46 PM, Nagraj Adve wrote: >>> From Nirmalangshu. >>> Naga >>> >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: Nirmalangshu Mukherji >>> Date: 13 August 2010 12:43 >>> Subject: Comrade Arjun >>> >>> >>> Friends, >>> >>> >>> >>> I received the following letter today from two mass organisations in >>> Orissa. It appears that the Maoists have killed one of their comrades. >>> The details are attached. The complaint is not new. I am aware of >>> similar complaints from other ML organisations. This is a serious >>> problem that is affecting the spread and the unity of struggles >>> against the predatory state just when the masses are rising in >>> articulated anger in different parts of the country. ML organisations >>> have repeatedly appealed to the Maoists to refrain from attacking >>> their own fraternity. Such appeals appear to have fallen on deaf ears. >>> It is time democratic organisations reflect deeply on the issue, and >>> raise their voice. >>> >>> >>> >>> Nirmalangshu >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> To >>> >>> Prof.Nirmalanshu Mukherjee >>> >>> Delhi. >>> >>> >>> >>> Dear Friend, >>> >>> >>> >>>             We hope that you are aware that the Maoists have murdered >>> Com.Arjun, an Adivasi and the leader of Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh on >>> Aug, 9, 2010 in Koraput district.  Here were are enclosing an appeal >>> from the All India Khet Mazdoor Kisan Sabha (AIKMKS) and Chasi Muliya >>> Sangh, Orissa together with some other related material for your >>> information. >>> >>>             We feel that this is not an isolated or spontaneous act. >>> The Maoists have made it as part of their line to malign, threaten and >>> physically eliminate the leaders and activists of other political and >>> mass organizations who refuse to fall in their line in an attempt to >>> usurp the areas and movements and forcibly impose their own >>> domination. They had committed this kind of crimes in several parts of >>> the country even against other political and mass organizations.  They >>> had already shed much blood of people in the name of revolution.  This >>> line and methods are causing much harm to the just struggles of our >>> people. They are having an effect of disorganizing, disrupting and >>> destroying the democratic movements. They are creating many >>> difficulties and hurdles in the way of democrats and democratic >>> organisations in championing the democratic rights and mobilizing the >>> democratic opinion against the violaters of democratic, civil and >>> human rights. >>> >>>             We hope, as a democrat you would react against this >>> dangerous drift.  We appeal to you to do whatever is possible to >>> appraise the ghastly act of murder to the democracts and mobilize the >>> democratic opinion in Indian and abroad against it and the politics >>> and methods of murder pursued by the Maoists.  This will greathy help >>> in defending the interests of people and democratic movement as a >>> whole in our country. >>> >>> Thanking you, >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Vijayawada, >>>                            VISWAM >>> >>> Dt: 12.08.2010 >>>                            GENERAL SECRETARY, >>> >>> >>>                                      CPI(ML) >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Nirmalangshu Mukherji >>> Professor of Philosophy >>> University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 >>> Web: people.du.ac.in/~nmukherji/ >>>  Ph: 27666253 (Res) >>>        27666629 (Off) >>> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 04:19:36 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 04:19:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Comrade Arjun In-Reply-To: References: <000301cb3ab7$ae0ffa60$0901a8c0@winea7e178c4a2> Message-ID: On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 12:07 AM, Nagraj Adve wrote: > A. Mani, > This is ill-informed, blinkered, dangerous nonsense. > Naga > Your opinion is nonsensical. I know a lot about the so-called Maoist brand of politics and their associated business model and I spoke about the only possible conclusion. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 10:48:25 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 10:48:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Comrade Arjun In-Reply-To: References: <000301cb3ab7$ae0ffa60$0901a8c0@winea7e178c4a2> Message-ID: Mr. Mani This is, in my view a highly prejudiced article. And I say that because of the following things: i) The Left is not an innocent player of politics as has been claimed in the article. The Left has a very strong cadre base and can organize violence at the drop of a pin. In fact, they have done so on innumerable occasions in the past. In the case of Nandigram, the Left had actually killed people or attacked those who were its earlier supporters but had turned against it due to the possible loss of their livelihoods. In the case of Singur, the Left had used police for actually unleashing violence on the people. I won't say that the people didn't respond in kind, for where they could they did. And in the context of the Indian state (and so the West Bengal provincial govt. as well), that violence was necessary to get the issue important for everybody. If Singur and Nandigram would not have witnessed violence from those who were fighting for their own rights against the CPI (M), the Left would have massacred everybody who were opposed to acquisition of land. ii) The Left and Trinamool Congress have been attacking each other for the past many years. And the reason is very simple. In the case of any other province where the Left is not strong, you can raise opposition to the government or form a political party and fight against its wrong policies. Even political organizations which don't fight elections can organize demonstrations on issues they feel important, and they are given the right to dissent. Yes it is under attack in many states as well like Gujarat and to a certain extent in other states, but it still is there. But in West Bengal, the Left just crushes any dissent by ensuring that govt. schemes work only for those who are on its' side. The Left has turned the police into an arm of itself. The Left, which opposes Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh, has now created a virtual Salwa Judum in West Bengal as well (except that it is not known by that name). The Left has thus ensured that any political opposition to it must have the ability to organize violence to fight out the Left. And so the Trinamool has been violent. iii) As far as the Maoists is concerned, it may be true certainly that Mamata is playing politics by hobnobbing with the Maoists. But the real solution to Maoism can't and shouldn't be by butchering them or shooting them down. If the Trinamool and Maoists are accused of dehumanizing those they kill, then this solution also does the same. How then are we different from the Maoists (or even the Trinamool, and I would include, the Left)? See, we all believe in some idea of India or the other. People may believe in Hindu Rashtra, socialist or capitalist society, secular republic, democracy and so on. The key thing is that Communism is also one among such beliefs. Just because I don't agree with India becoming a Hindu Rashtra doesn't mean that I should kill all the Hindu Rashtra activists of this country calling them anti-national. If I don't agree with any ideology, then the real thing is not to ask people to change beliefs at the drop of a gun, but by fighting it politically. It would be prudent on Indian govt's part to first take out all CRPF and other batallions from the provinces affected by Naxalism and then call for a cease fire agreement followed by talks with Maoists. And our govt. should go ahead with these talks. Because Naxalism is not about development. It's about the fight to dignity and a way of life which is placed at a higher pedestal by the tribals. You may not like it, but you have no right of stopping them from living like that. At best, you can advise them. But that's it. Rakesh From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 11:26:05 2010 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:26:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Fwd=3A_Signals_from_Vijayawada_and?= =?windows-1252?q?_Lalgarh_=96_and_Challenges_before_Revolutionary_?= =?windows-1252?q?Communists?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Kavita Krishnan Date: Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 1:23 PM Subject: Signals from Vijayawada and Lalgarh – and Challenges before Revolutionary Communists To: *Signals from Vijayawada and Lalgarh –* *and Challenges before Revolutionary Communists* - Dipankar Bhattacharya Contrary to media speculations predicting a veritable showdown between the so-called Bengal line and central line in the CPI(M), the Vijayawada ‘mini-Congress’ of the CPI(M) ahead of the crucial West Bengal and Kerala polls of 2011 turned out to be a rather tame affair, saving the real fireworks maybe for a later-day post-mortem. The much-hyped ‘rectification campaign’ was quietly forgotten and the revived ‘anti-Congressism’ on the national level was carefully calibrated by Prakash Karat himself with his remark ‘never say never’ regarding a possible future alliance with the Congress. And of course, weaning the Congress away from the TMC remains the ultimate tactical dream of the comrades in both Alimuddin Street as well as AKG Bhavan. The Vijayawada session adopted a special resolution on West Bengal and Kerala which seeks to once again describe the CPI(M)-led governments in these two states as products of history and decades of struggles. The resolution would like to appropriate every development in these states – from increased rice production to reduced infant mortality – as a CPI(M) achievement, and demand popular sympathy as a besieged and beleaguered victim at the receiving end of a grand conspiracy of the ruling classes. Imperialism, the Indian big bourgeoisie, foreign-funded NGOs, the corporate media, the Maoists and the ‘so-called intelligentsia’ are apparently all colluding to oust the CPI(M) from power because of the CPI(M)’s opposition to neo-liberal policies. What the resolution does not do is to explain the paradox as to why and how most of these conspirators who were all praise for the CPI(M) model in West Bengal till the other day suddenly turned against it. The DFID, ADB and World Bank have been closely involved in both West Bengal and Kerala; Ratan Tata’s press conference with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the full-page newspaper advertisement praising the dynamism of CPI(M)-ruled West Bengal are too recent to fade from even the proverbially short-lived public memory; and the corporate media’s love affair with the charming ‘Buddhadeb Babu’ and the Bengal intelligentsia’s organic ties with the ‘ministry of culture’ administered personally by the ‘culture’-loving Chief Minister have never been a secret. Regarding Kerala, the resolution talks of the threat of fundamentalist forces and an anti-CPI(M) ganging up of casteist and communal forces. Here again, the CPI(M) is silent about its own selective policies of covert and even overt alliances with the same casteist and communal forces. In the last election, the CPI(M) was busy courting some Muslim organisations and now the CPI(M) Chief Minister invokes Hindu fears and prejudices by talking of a conspiracy to turn Kerala into a Muslim-majority state! Vijayawada resolution is eloquent in its attempt to project the CPI(M) as a great champion of the democratic rights of the Muslims, but conspicuously silent about its own Chief Ministers (both in West Bengal and Kerala) periodically invoking the communal prejudices propagated and nurtured by the RSS whether in the name of combating Bangladeshi infiltration, fundamentalism or terrorism. Clearly, as long as the going was good, the CPI(M) never adopted a resolution to explain all this in the light of the glorious communist legacy it claims to inherit and follow! Today when the tide has turned, the CPI(M) is trying to fall back on history and portray itself as a beleaguered victim of a grand anti-communist offensive. The CPI(M) says the ruling classes never gave up their conspiratorial offensive, but how come they are able to sway the people today in a way they could never in the recent past? The resolution says the CPI(M) has detected a few errors in its system and is fixing them and the people can once again trust the CPI(M) establishment. So much for the CPI(M)’s grand ‘rectification’ rhetoric! But if one reads between the lines, the truth does have its own way of asserting itself here and there – the main resolution, for instance, has this to say with regard to strengthening the CPI(M)’s independent role: “The Party’s work among the basic classes should be given priority. The lag in the work amongst the peasantry and the rural poor in building class and mass struggles has to be overcome. … This is necessary to give a struggle orientation to the organization.” Here one can read the confession of fear of a party which knows it has only been paying lip-service to the idea of struggle and is facing serious isolation from the basic classes. But giving ‘a struggle orientation to the organisation’ is not a linguistic question – it has never been achieved just by inserting two sentences and paragraphs in resolutions which are otherwise mortally afraid of facing up to the truth. While the CPI(M) was busy brainstorming in Vijayawada, on August 9 Mamata Banerjee held a professedly ‘apolitical’ rally at Lalgarh accompanied by the likes of Medha Patkar and Swami Agnivesh, addressing masses mobilised primarily by the Maoist-backed PCAPA. Her address was meant primarily for the Maoists – she asked them to rethink their boycott strategy (which she says only benefits the CPI(M)), promised them ‘development’ (school, hospital and jobs for all in railway factories!) and dialogue, hinted at a possible conditional moratorium on the operation of joint forces and had a word of grief for the killing of Azad (“the way Azad was killed was not right”). The CPI(M) keeps asking the Congress to explain Mamata’s ties with the Maoists – but she is merely pursuing the strategy already perfected by the Congress in Andhra Pradesh. The Maoists had readily played ball in Andhra and paid a heavy price. They seem to be ready to repeat the course in West Bengal, busy as they are eulogising Mamata even as her government spearheads the Operation Green Hunt. Mamata Banerjee has been around in West Bengal politics for several decades, her dramatic rise began as a young Congress MP way back in 1984, but her brand of maverick populism never really got a broad support in rural Bengal as well as among the urban intelligentsia till Singur and Nandigram happened. Ever since, she has acquired an iconic status as the only immediate alternative to a thoroughly discredited and considerably degenerated CPI(M) establishment in West Bengal. While all kinds of forces are marketing her as the personification of change (Swami Agnivesh, for instance, concluded his 9 August speech at Lalgarh with the categorical exhortation “Naya Zamana Aayega, Mamata Banerjee ka Zamana Aayega” – Bengal will witness the birth of a new era, the era of Mamata Banerjee), revolutionary communists will have to summon all their perseverance and courage to expose and challenge her politics precisely on the touchstone of ‘change’ – the most popular political word in Bengal today. The CPI(M) is not wrong in talking of a concerted anti-Left offensive on the part of the ruling classes. But it is surely wrong in hoping that it could selectively use one part of the offensive (Operation Green Hunt – the entire CPI(M) resolution is not only conspicuously silent about it but also tacitly endorses it) for its own benefit (the CPI(M) talks so much about the semi-fascist terror of the 1970s but has hardly learnt anything from it). And the CPI(M) is completely dishonest about what has triggered the anti-Left offensive – what has enabled the ruling classes to go on the offensive is not the CPI(M)’s professed opposition to neo-liberalism, but its readiness to embrace it even at the risk of alienating and antagonising the peasantry and the working people. The CPI(M) will have to pay the price for its opportunist sins and revolutionary communists can have no sympathy for it on this score. Any meaningful defence of the legacy and gains of the Indian communist movement and resistance to the anti-Left offensive of the ruling classes necessarily calls for a firm and decisive rejection of and struggle against the CPI(M)’s opportunism. (The author is General Secretary, CPI(ML) Liberation)) -- You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on the foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole. -AMBEDKAR http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 11:34:11 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:34:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Fwd=3A_Signals_from_Vijayawada_and?= =?windows-1252?q?_Lalgarh_=96_and_Challenges_before_Revolutionary_?= =?windows-1252?q?Communists?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Venugopalan ji I would just state two points: i) The Left may have realized that it needed to work for the peasantry. But the fact is that Bengal in itself has had partial land reforms with no cooperatives formed to improve productivity using a combination of traditional and modern methods which can also assure the labourers and the farmers of good prices. The agricultural productivity of West Bengal has not improved much post the 1990's. ii) The Left has been mostly engaged in building a cadre base which acts as the strongman at the village level, as many articles and studies tend to show. This strongman clique has grown corrupt and the people had no choice but to support it in the hope of getting the amenities they deserved as rights, not as things offered as gifts by the Left. Isn't the Left also responsible for the degeneration of politics in West Bengal to violence where anybody who has to get him/her self heard has to resort to it? iii) Does the Left really know what is secularism as such? Rakesh From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Sat Aug 14 14:13:36 2010 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 08:43:36 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: References: <171396.77406.qm@web114709.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>, <70165.91014.qm@web112101.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>, Message-ID: Physical intimidation;written threats delivered at home;hit lists put on the walls of the holy mosques ; threats from the loudspeakers of holy mosques; selective brutal killings of young & old in broad day light in streets in full view of conspicously silent public/neighbours & in homes ;rape & murder ; Wandahama & Nadimarg mass murders ........did not become stories......no one attempted to weave any......how your own chose to become unknown with eyes shut lest guilt would be seen, never made it to any discourse...till the tribe vanished almost, from the lands..... Ethnic cleansing....genocide....near genocide...mass exodus...exodus....departure or journey of a large number.....escape from hostile environment.....forced to flee under threat of violence...migration.... etc.etc...???.... who cares...??? Did it ever matter? Does it matter now ? Now, it sounds like comforting the lamb after it was sacrificed " well dear,you know it, the blade was shinning sharp........................" Rgds all LA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:31:57 +0530 > From: zulfi14 at gmail.com > To: akmalik45 at yahoo.com > CC: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account > > How about "Exodus"? It refers to the departure or journey of a large number > of people to escape from a hostile environment. > > Regards, > Zulfiya > > On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 7:35 PM, A.K. Malik wrote: > > > Hi, > > Can you find an equivalent word for "Forced to flee under threat of > > violence"? > > Regards, > > > > (A.K.MALIK) > > > > > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > > > > > From: gowhar fazli > > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu > > 2002- A personal account > > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 6:29 PM > > > > > > > > > A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries: I am > > > engaging in plain talk > > > at times and I hope it does not hurt your sentiments > > > because that it not the > > > intension. I would have ideally desired to take more time > > > on this but for my > > > other engagements. I hope this is somewhat useful. > > > > > > K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were > > > forced by > > > circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or > > > 'internally displaced' be a > > > better term? What do you think? > > > > > > G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits > > > left. Personally I > > > feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was > > > for us too. Though > > > there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate > > > humiliation against > > > individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more > > > diffused form that would > > > have threatened the community at large. The tone the > > > resistance movement in > > > Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the > > > state became more and > > > more repressive, became radical. I think it was best for > > > Pandits to have left > > > at that time, but at no cost should they have severed > > > political and social ties > > > with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in > > > Kashmir. > > > > > > > > > I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are > > > displaced nor did I want to > > > derive any political mileage out of calling them > > > ‘migrants’. The reason why I > > > may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to > > > get into a similar > > > debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this > > > word and thus lose the > > > affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon. > > > This report was > > > presented before an open public audience in Srinagar. > > > > > > K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this > > > time around the > > > Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements > > > for them to meet at > > > least some of those who have similarly suffered intense > > > miseries and more? Is > > > there any such existing mechanism? > > > > > > G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you > > > across to friends who can > > > and will help you, including some who were part of the > > > earlier initiative. If > > > you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral > > > or credible base to > > > make such a sensitive move. Even just as a thought, it is > > > appreciable. > > > > > > K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a > > > tremendous and deep felt > > > desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of > > > life that has been > > > lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the > > > gulf of 'broken > > > relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some > > > sort of a 'return'? If > > > yes; How? > > > > > > G: I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering > > > of over hundred > > > people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families > > > and individuals we met > > > outside the camp. > > > > > > > > > There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere > > > at the moment. People > > > have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in > > > the ongoing violence > > > and repression. > > > > > > Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel > > > the sentiment. > > > Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have > > > a stated position of > > > wanting the Pandits to return. Personally I think > > > possible return of Pandits is > > > hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized > > > manner. Redemption > > > of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution. The more > > > bloodshed there is, and > > > the longer it takes, the harder it will get. I think in > > > the meanwhile if more > > > and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and > > > principled perspective > > > rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it > > > happened near Jantar > > > Mantar, Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, > > > accommodative and > > > gregarious… and you know it. > > > > > > K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by > > > the Kashmiri Pandits > > > still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS > > > Geelani and beg for > > > protection? > > > > > > G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking. But a > > > society in which naked > > > dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily > > > basis will throw up some > > > deranged people, don’t you think. You should not expect > > > otherwise. > > > > > > > > > K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much > > > vaunted Civil Society > > > of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have > > > to be part of the > > > Tehreek? > > > > > > G:Were they! By whom? What exactly did they mean? It > > > is possible people would > > > have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the > > > Indian state which > > > was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged > > > in a political > > > struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the > > > masses and not expect > > > Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian > > > state. > > > > > > K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst > > > Kashmiri Muslims (who > > > desire separation from India) is towards an Independent > > > Kashmir why does SAS > > > (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of > > > space he does without > > > receiving strong condemnation? > > > > > > The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the > > > moderates. Secondly, > > > more the oppression more radical the population will > > > become. Many people hate > > > Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing > > > because of his > > > constant unflinching stand. Various moderates were pulled > > > into secret or open > > > talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the > > > secret talks or because > > > the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the > > > moderates were seen to have > > > brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand > > > is just. > > > > > > In response to the reponse to the earlier post: > > > > > > With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost > > > their Kashmiriat by > > > an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how > > > the Pandit performance > > > at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer > > > insensitivity in > > > terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise > > > uphold. Attacking the > > > people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a > > > National flag and > > > counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss > > > suffered, even while the > > > blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was > > > grossly insensitive. It > > > is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to > > > disrupt it because you too > > > have suffered loss some twenty years before. > > > > > > As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but > > > Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not > > > exactly home and safe. > > > > > > I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for > > > Islam but it does not > > > constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently > > > say they stand for > > > Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam > > > itself means > > > accommodation of and justice for all. > > > > > > At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, > > > rather than what > > > exactly they want. Pandits could have been a great help > > > in shaping and steering > > > this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the > > > Maharaja precipitated, > > > Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not > > > ideologically succumbed to the > > > Hindu right wing in great numbers. > > > Best, > > > Gowhar > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: Kshmendra Kaul > > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > ; > > > gowhar fazli > > > > > > Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM > > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant > > > camps in Jammu 2002- A > > > personal account > > > > > > > > > Dear Gowhar > > > > > > I understand. > > > > > > No easy answers. > > > > > > Take care > > > > > > Kshmendra > > > > > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > >From: gowhar fazli > > > >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant > > > camps in Jammu 2002- A > > > >personal account > > > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > > > > >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring > > > serious reflection Kshmendra > > > > > > > >and I would not make light of them by replying a > > > hurry. I must confess that I > > > >am personally struggling with ambivalences often > > > between mutually exclusive and > > > > > > > >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers > > > for everything. However i > > > > > > >promise I will try. Thanks for reading the whole > > > thing. > > > > > > > >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage > > > may go ahead. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >________________________________ > > > >From: Kshmendra Kaul > > > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > ; > > > gowhar fazli > > > > > > > >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM > > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant > > > camps in Jammu 2002- A > > > >personal account > > > > > > > > > > > >Dear Gowhar > > > > > > > >Thank you for sharing this. > > > > > > > >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but > > > were forced by circumstances > > > > > > > >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally > > > displaced' be a better term? > > > >What do you think? > > > > > > > >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this > > > time around the Kashmiri > > > > > > >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for > > > them to meet at least some > > > > > > > >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries > > > and more? Is there any > > > >such existing mechanism? > > > > > > > >Your 2002 report conclude with the comment "a > > > tremendous and deep felt desire > > > >to restore the broken relationships and the way of > > > life that has been lost." Do > > > > > > > >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf > > > of 'broken relationships' be > > > > > > > >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a > > > 'return'? If yes; How? > > > > > > > >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by > > > the Kashmiri Pandits > > > >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of > > > SAS Geelani and beg for > > > >protection? > > > > > > > >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much > > > vaunted Civil Society of > > > >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have > > > to be part of the > > > >Tehreek? > > > > > > > >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst > > > Kashmiri Muslims (who desire > > > > > > >separation from India) is towards an Independent > > > Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir > > > >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space > > > he does without receiving > > > > > > > >strong condemnation? > > > > > > > >Kshmendra > > > > > > > > > > > >--- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > >>From: gowhar fazli > > > >>Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant > > > camps in Jammu 2002- A personal > > > > > > >>account > > > >>To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > > > > >>Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A > > > personal account > > > >>By Gowhar Fazili > > > >> > > > >>After the first reconciliation workshop involving > > > Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim > > > participants would visit migrant > > > >>camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that > > > had just begun to unfold by > > > > > > > > > > > >>the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous > > > amount of courage on part of > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>the participants led them to share their personal > > > and collective grief and > > > >>suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can > > > transform people and must be > > > >>respected and valued. To further explore the spirit > > > of oneness in suffering and > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>to take it beyond the confines of the meeting > > > venue, a visit by some Kashmiri > > > > > > >>Muslim participants was to be the next step. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit > > > Jammu in the month of > > > >>September and we visited homes of Pandit > > > participants residing in and outside > > > > > > >>the camps and also met with some other members of > > > the community. The experience > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>generated so many emotions and thoughts that it > > > will take a lifetime to unpack > > > > > > > > > > > >>them but I will try to share some of the > > > observations that can be made. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about > > > the plan, they asked why I > > > >>should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering > > > is far too greater here in > > > > > > > > > > > >>Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many > > > widows, orphans, bereaved > > > >>and people who have lost their homes and property > > > in the ongoing turmoil in the > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by > > > far. Some said that Pandits > > > >>are a pampered lot. Both the central and the > > > state government pamper Pandits > > > >>and they are living better lives in the safety of > > > camps in Jammu than any of us > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>here. They also said that everybody from the > > > humanitarian organizations to > > > >>politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while > > > we (Kashmiri Muslims) are > > > >>merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they > > > are undergoing because we are > > > > > > >>supposedly the source of all trouble. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only > > > to know if the stories that > > > > > > >>take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what > > > extent. How do Pandits themselves > > > > > > > > > > > >>feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, > > > which has been their home for > > > > > > >>ages? Are they living away from their homeland by > > > choice? What were the > > > >>circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was > > > it merely state policy whisk > > > > > > > > > > > >>Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or > > > was their enough fear in the > > > > > > > > > > > >>atmosphere to have made a community of a such small > > > size feel vulnerable and > > > >>unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used > > > to living in spacious house > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>to live in a camp? What is the condition of the > > > camps ... and so many questions > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>that could be answered only through experience and > > > first hand interaction. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, > > > we did not think it prudent > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a > > > hotel and from there called > > > > > > > > > > > >>some people we had met in the reconciliation > > > workshop and fixed to visit their > > > > > > > > > > > >>places on the next day. But even before we set out > > > for our visits we received > > > > > > >>an early morning delegation of Pandits associated > > > with the Chamber of Commerce. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>They had heard about our work and were curious to > > > know more. They appreciated > > > > > > >>the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured > > > us their support especially > > > > > > > > > > > >>in the section of people associated with trade > > > and commerce. They also spoke of > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>the efforts they had made earlier to maintain > > > relationship between the members > > > > > > > > > > > >>of the two communities but that they could not > > > sustain it for too long. They > > > >>also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so > > > that there could be sustained > > > > > > > > > > > >>communication between the people of two > > > communities. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>From then on Anil (one of the participants in the > > > workshop) played our host and > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>guided us to residences of the members. He had > > > already fixed our schedule for > > > > > > >>the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in > > > this manner. We began by > > > >>visiting members who lived outside the camps. The > > > houses we visited looked > > > >>similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were > > > a deliberate effort to live > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the > > > houses even had an elaborately > > > > > > >>and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The > > > residents explained that this > > > >>keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very > > > much at home possibly > > > >>because of our common culture and the foods that we > > > were treated to. The > > > >>conversations went on endlessly as they do in > > > Kashmir. There was a special > > > >>feeling like when we meet relatives separated from > > > us for a long time. There > > > >>was so much to catch up on. We could sense among > > > our hosts a deep longing and > > > > > > >>love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it > > > was clearly evident by the > > > > > > > > > > > >>manner in which they had maintained continuity with > > > their way of life in an > > > >>alien land and the profusion artifacts that they > > > had surrounded themselves > > > >>with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their > > > eyes to receive us in their > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken > > > place while we shared about > > > > > > > > > > > >>our experiences and the situations we are faced > > > with in either place. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds > > > of most Kashmiri Pandits > > > >>was not economic loss but the fear of losing > > > community itself in the vast sea > > > > > > >>of humanity that is India... They so much want to > > > remain Kashmiris and so > > > >>easily find extension of their selves among the co- > > > community of Kashmiri > > > >>Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can > > > share the language, culture > > > >>and the local idiom even though their religion is > > > different. They can talk to > > > > > > >>us and share the inherited meanings while it is not > > > possible with > > > >>co-religionists from other parts of India. In > > > Kashmir they also shared a > > > >>relationship of mutual respect with other > > > Kashmiris, while in a place like > > > >>Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special > > > community. They are merely > > > > > > >>outsiders who are encroaching on the local > > > resources. But even now when we meet > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be > > > familiar and know how to > > > >>address each other and can share so much. In all > > > our conversations the use of > > > > > > >>'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and > > > Pandits was frequent. We > > > >>could still identify ourselves as a people apart > > > from others. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>From the homes we visited it was clear how much > > > they must have had to struggle > > > > > > > > > > > >>to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had > > > taken years for some to > > > >>finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. > > > For a long while they felt > > > > > > > > > > > >>that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to > > > return very soon. Some said > > > > > > >>that they can still not relate to these houses as > > > their own, and that whenever > > > > > > > > > > > >>they dream of home they can only visualize their > > > houses in Kashmir. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>I realized the difference between migrating for > > > better opportunities like many > > > > > > > > > > > >>of us do and being forced by circumstances to > > > migrate from home and having no > > > > > > >>place to return to. I realized that Pandit > > > migration was a tragic event for > > > >>Kashmiri community as a whole because they took > > > with them so much that was us. > > > > > > > > > > > >>It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel > > > so vulnerable as a community > > > > > > > > > > > >>away from home. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>From there Anil led us to the camps for the first > > > time. Since most of the > > > >>participants for our workshop had come from the > > > Porkhu camp we went there to > > > >>meet up with the people. I must confess that my > > > idea of Pandit camps while in > > > > > > >>Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as > > > befit the so-called 'pampered' > > > > > > > > > > > >>community. To my shock the camp can be described no > > > better than a slum. Pandit > > > > > > > > > > > >>camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood > > > or single brick walls. In > > > >>the barracks each family has been allotted a room > > > or if the family is really > > > >>large two rooms at the most. The lanes between > > > the barracks are narrow and > > > >>lined by deep open drains. The residents have > > > constructed toilets and small > > > >>kitchens and walls around the space on their own. > > > Once inside, we felt very > > > >>hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room > > > where shifted to one side to > > > > > > > > > > > >>make room for the seven men who had visited the > > > house. The immediate feeling > > > >>that came to our mind was that this was no place > > > to live for ten days and these > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>people had managed to live here for more than > > > thirteen years. Yet we were > > > >>treated very hospitably, as we would be in > > > Kashmir. Again we realized that > > > >>Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance > > > even in terms of the food > > > >>they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and > > > traditional Kashmiri bread > > > >>(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who > > > had visited Kashmir. Some of > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>the members in the camp had to give serious > > > explanation for having participated > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of > > > having made a compromise with > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again > > > that there was no hidden > > > >>agenda and that none of the known political > > > organizations had anything to do > > > >>with our work. We decided to visit the camp once > > > again on the next day in order > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>to hear from more people and also to share the idea > > > of reconciliation with > > > >>them. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>To our surprise more people turned up for the > > > meeting than we were prepared to > > > > > > > > > > > >>face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty > > > people in the meeting. But > > > >>the hall meant for marriages and other functions > > > began to fill until we had > > > >>more than hundred people many of whom did not > > > understand why we were there. > > > >>Some of the people were charged up due to the > > > election campaigns and the offer > > > > > > > > > > > >>made by the central government to give rupees > > > seven-lakh assistance for Pandits > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>who chose to return to the valley. One of the > > > elderly persons emphasized that > > > > > > >>they did not want this package because they saw it > > > more as an insult added to > > > > > > >>the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri > > > Pandits was not about money, > > > > > > >>but about insecurity and how they can redeem the > > > way of life that was lost. > > > >>“Would they be able to return the security we > > > felt in living among our own > > > >>people and how would they ensure that now, with > > > the changes that our people > > > >>have undergone by living away from each other?” > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>It was clear that some of the people in the camp > > > were mistaking us for the > > > >>representatives of some political party or the > > > central government. After > > > >>hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts > > > thought that we must be > > > >>asked why we have come to the camps in the first > > > place. We began by explaining > > > > > > > > > > > >>that we did not represent any official initiatives > > > for rehabilitation of > > > >>Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as > > > concerned individuals who are > > > >>not happy with the situation as it exists. “We > > > have no offers to make because > > > > > > >>have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In > > > a sense we feel guilty for > > > > > > >>not having done enough to stop the migration when > > > it took place and also for > > > >>not having been in touch for the last thirteen > > > years. It is partly to absolve > > > > > > >>ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have > > > also come to hear from your > > > > > > > > > > > >>experiences and to observe how you people are > > > living away from home and what > > > >>you have to say.” > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>This brief introduction changed the tone of the > > > meeting and then on almost all > > > > > > > > > > > >>the members individually began to share their > > > experiences. Some laid emphasis > > > > > > >>on the unique brotherhood that existed among > > > Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits and > > > > > > >>how they longed for its return, while others > > > expressed the pain of living for > > > > > > >>thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the > > > elderly were very vivid about > > > > > > > > > > > >>their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at > > > least die in Kashmir”, the > > > >>younger ones were bitter about the state of > > > helplessness and feared whether > > > >>their future would be safe if they were to choose > > > to return. Some of the > > > >>members related the number of times Kashmiri > > > Pandits have had to migrate from > > > > > > >>Kashmir and how every time after the peace was > > > restored they returned to their > > > > > > > > > > > >>homeland. They also said that if they were to > > > return this time, they would want > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>the surity that they do not have to migrate yet > > > again. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Some of the younger members were very bitter about > > > the circumstances that led > > > > > > >>them to leave Kashmir and said that under no > > > circumstances are they willing to > > > > > > > > > > > >>forget how some of their people were tortured and > > > killed. We tried to explain > > > > > > >>that to reconcile did not mean that one has to > > > forget and we did not expect > > > >>them to forget what they had experienced. Asking > > > one to forget would amount to > > > > > > > > > > > >>disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only > > > feel that hate should not be > > > >>the motive for our actions and that we must > > > forgive without forgetting. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>One of the members explained how the state was > > > maintaining the camps in bad > > > >>repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners > > > and visitors to the camps as > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>a means of propaganda to impress upon them their > > > own version of the conflict in > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals > > > kept in a zoo, displayed > > > >>whenever the need was felt. The state according > > > to them could do better and at > > > > > > > > > > > >>least afford to provide reasonable conditions of > > > living for the migrants. The > > > > > > >>dilapidated condition of the camps was a > > > deliberate state policy. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Almost all the people appreciated our effort and > > > felt that it was in some ways > > > > > > > > > > > >>different from all the other efforts that are being > > > made for their return and > > > > > > >>rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts > > > were in the least sincere and > > > > > > >>thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that > > > the greater part of the work is > > > > > > > > > > > >>required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do > > > not pose a big problem. It is > > > > > > > > > > > >>only when certain receptiveness is created among > > > the majority community in > > > >>Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made > > > possible. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>There was a difference of opinion whether they > > > should return to their own > > > >>respective villages or a separate enclave should be > > > created to rehabilitate > > > >>them in the valley. For some the texture of the > > > villages over the years had > > > >>changed so drastically that it was no longer > > > possible for them to feel safe in > > > > > > > > > > > >>their old homes. So though the interaction between > > > the members of the two > > > >>communities should get restored, but for their > > > safety they must be settled in > > > > > > >>an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this > > > arrangement would not be healthy, > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>as it would not help restore old relationship and > > > increase suspicion and > > > >>segregation. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>The meeting lasted well over five hours into the > > > night and at last when most > > > >>people had spoken we sought permission to leave. > > > But the people would not let > > > > > > >>us go and took us back to their homes where more > > > rounds of tea and informal > > > >>conversation resumed. We had to leave finally > > > because of an earlier commitment > > > > > > > > > > > >>to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside > > > the camp. The conversations > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well > > > past midnight, were in my > > > >>opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language > > > that can only be possible > > > > > > >>with the members of ones own community. There was > > > endless joking and laughing! > > > > > > > > > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu > > > was beyond our > > > >>expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to > > > restore the broken > > > >>relationships and the way of life that has been > > > lost. People are cautiously, > > > >>willing to explore ... because the stake is worth > > > every bit of effort. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>_________________________________________ > > > >>reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > > > the city. > > > >>Critiques & Collaborations > > > >>To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > > with subscribe in > > > > > > >>the subject header. > > > >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > >>List archive: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >_________________________________________ > > > >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > > > city. > > > >Critiques & Collaborations > > > >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > > with subscribe in > > > >the subject header. > > > >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > >List archive: > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > > > city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > > with subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From jeebesh at sarai.net Sat Aug 14 14:32:22 2010 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:32:22 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: References: <171396.77406.qm@web114709.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>, <70165.91014.qm@web112101.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>, Message-ID: dear Lalit, Looks like the stress of news is having a toll on your coherence. understandable. we live in difficult times of confused visibility and unpredictable silences. take care. warmly jeebesh On 14-Aug-10, at 2:13 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote: > > Physical intimidation;written threats delivered at home;hit lists > put on the walls of the holy mosques ; threats from the loudspeakers > of holy mosques; selective brutal killings of young & old in broad > day light in streets in full view of conspicously silent public/ > neighbours & in homes ;rape & murder ; Wandahama & Nadimarg mass > murders ........did not become stories......no one attempted to > weave any......how your own chose to become unknown with eyes shut > lest guilt would be seen, never made it to any discourse...till the > tribe vanished almost, from the lands..... > > > > Ethnic cleansing....genocide....near genocide...mass > exodus...exodus....departure or journey of a large number.....escape > from hostile environment.....forced to flee under threat of > violence...migration.... etc.etc...???.... who cares...??? Did it > ever matter? Does it matter now ? > > > > Now, it sounds like comforting the lamb after it was sacrificed " > well dear,you know it, the blade was shinning > sharp........................" > > Rgds all > > LA > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >> Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:31:57 +0530 >> From: zulfi14 at gmail.com >> To: akmalik45 at yahoo.com >> CC: reader-list at sarai.net >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in >> Jammu 2002- A personal account >> >> How about "Exodus"? It refers to the departure or journey of a >> large number >> of people to escape from a hostile environment. >> >> Regards, >> Zulfiya >> >> On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 7:35 PM, A.K. Malik >> wrote: >> >>> Hi, >>> Can you find an equivalent word for "Forced to flee under threat of >>> violence"? >>> Regards, >>> >>> (A.K.MALIK) >>> >>> >>> --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: >>> >>>> From: gowhar fazli >>>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in >>>> Jammu >>> 2002- A personal account >>>> To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >>>> Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 6:29 PM >>>> >>>> >>>> A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries: I am >>>> engaging in plain talk >>>> at times and I hope it does not hurt your sentiments >>>> because that it not the >>>> intension. I would have ideally desired to take more time >>>> on this but for my >>>> other engagements. I hope this is somewhat useful. >>>> >>>> K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were >>>> forced by >>>> circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or >>>> 'internally displaced' be a >>>> better term? What do you think? >>>> >>>> G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits >>>> left. Personally I >>>> feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was >>>> for us too. Though >>>> there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate >>>> humiliation against >>>> individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more >>>> diffused form that would >>>> have threatened the community at large. The tone the >>>> resistance movement in >>>> Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the >>>> state became more and >>>> more repressive, became radical. I think it was best for >>>> Pandits to have left >>>> at that time, but at no cost should they have severed >>>> political and social ties >>>> with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in >>>> Kashmir. >>>> >>>> >>>> I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are >>>> displaced nor did I want to >>>> derive any political mileage out of calling them >>>> ‘migrants’. The reason why I >>>> may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to >>>> get into a similar >>>> debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this >>>> word and thus lose the >>>> affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon. >>>> This report was >>>> presented before an open public audience in Srinagar. >>>> >>>> K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this >>>> time around the >>>> Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements >>>> for them to meet at >>>> least some of those who have similarly suffered intense >>>> miseries and more? Is >>>> there any such existing mechanism? >>>> >>>> G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you >>>> across to friends who can >>>> and will help you, including some who were part of the >>>> earlier initiative. If >>>> you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral >>>> or credible base to >>>> make such a sensitive move. Even just as a thought, it is >>>> appreciable. >>>> >>>> K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a >>>> tremendous and deep felt >>>> desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of >>>> life that has been >>>> lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the >>>> gulf of 'broken >>>> relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some >>>> sort of a 'return'? If >>>> yes; How? >>>> >>>> G: I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering >>>> of over hundred >>>> people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families >>>> and individuals we met >>>> outside the camp. >>>> >>>> >>>> There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere >>>> at the moment. People >>>> have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in >>>> the ongoing violence >>>> and repression. >>>> >>>> Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel >>>> the sentiment. >>>> Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have >>>> a stated position of >>>> wanting the Pandits to return. Personally I think >>>> possible return of Pandits is >>>> hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized >>>> manner. Redemption >>>> of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution. The more >>>> bloodshed there is, and >>>> the longer it takes, the harder it will get. I think in >>>> the meanwhile if more >>>> and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and >>>> principled perspective >>>> rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it >>>> happened near Jantar >>>> Mantar, Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, >>>> accommodative and >>>> gregarious… and you know it. >>>> >>>> K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by >>>> the Kashmiri Pandits >>>> still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS >>>> Geelani and beg for >>>> protection? >>>> >>>> G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking. But a >>>> society in which naked >>>> dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily >>>> basis will throw up some >>>> deranged people, don’t you think. You should not expect >>>> otherwise. >>>> >>>> >>>> K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much >>>> vaunted Civil Society >>>> of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have >>>> to be part of the >>>> Tehreek? >>>> >>>> G:Were they! By whom? What exactly did they mean? It >>>> is possible people would >>>> have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the >>>> Indian state which >>>> was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged >>>> in a political >>>> struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the >>>> masses and not expect >>>> Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian >>>> state. >>>> >>>> K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst >>>> Kashmiri Muslims (who >>>> desire separation from India) is towards an Independent >>>> Kashmir why does SAS >>>> (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of >>>> space he does without >>>> receiving strong condemnation? >>>> >>>> The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the >>>> moderates. Secondly, >>>> more the oppression more radical the population will >>>> become. Many people hate >>>> Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing >>>> because of his >>>> constant unflinching stand. Various moderates were pulled >>>> into secret or open >>>> talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the >>>> secret talks or because >>>> the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the >>>> moderates were seen to have >>>> brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand >>>> is just. >>>> >>>> In response to the reponse to the earlier post: >>>> >>>> With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost >>>> their Kashmiriat by >>>> an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how >>>> the Pandit performance >>>> at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer >>>> insensitivity in >>>> terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise >>>> uphold. Attacking the >>>> people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a >>>> National flag and >>>> counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss >>>> suffered, even while the >>>> blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was >>>> grossly insensitive. It >>>> is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to >>>> disrupt it because you too >>>> have suffered loss some twenty years before. >>>> >>>> As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but >>>> Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not >>>> exactly home and safe. >>>> >>>> I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for >>>> Islam but it does not >>>> constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently >>>> say they stand for >>>> Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam >>>> itself means >>>> accommodation of and justice for all. >>>> >>>> At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, >>>> rather than what >>>> exactly they want. Pandits could have been a great help >>>> in shaping and steering >>>> this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the >>>> Maharaja precipitated, >>>> Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not >>>> ideologically succumbed to the >>>> Hindu right wing in great numbers. >>>> Best, >>>> Gowhar >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ________________________________ >>>> From: Kshmendra Kaul >>>> To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >>>> ; >>>> gowhar fazli >>>> >>>> Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM >>>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant >>>> camps in Jammu 2002- A >>>> personal account >>>> >>>> >>>> Dear Gowhar >>>> >>>> I understand. >>>> >>>> No easy answers. >>>> >>>> Take care >>>> >>>> Kshmendra >>>> >>>> --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>>> From: gowhar fazli >>>>> Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant >>>> camps in Jammu 2002- A >>>>> personal account >>>>> To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >>>> >>>>> Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring >>>> serious reflection Kshmendra >>>>> >>>>> and I would not make light of them by replying a >>>> hurry. I must confess that I >>>>> am personally struggling with ambivalences often >>>> between mutually exclusive and >>>>> >>>>> contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers >>>> for everything. However i >>>> >>>>> promise I will try. Thanks for reading the whole >>>> thing. >>>>> >>>>> In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage >>>> may go ahead. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ________________________________ >>>>> From: Kshmendra Kaul >>>>> To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >>>> ; >>>> gowhar fazli >>>>> >>>>> Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM >>>>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant >>>> camps in Jammu 2002- A >>>>> personal account >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Dear Gowhar >>>>> >>>>> Thank you for sharing this. >>>>> >>>>> Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but >>>> were forced by circumstances >>>>> >>>>> to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally >>>> displaced' be a better term? >>>>> What do you think? >>>>> >>>>> Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this >>>> time around the Kashmiri >>>> >>>>> Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for >>>> them to meet at least some >>>>> >>>>> of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries >>>> and more? Is there any >>>>> such existing mechanism? >>>>> >>>>> Your 2002 report conclude with the comment "a >>>> tremendous and deep felt desire >>>>> to restore the broken relationships and the way of >>>> life that has been lost." Do >>>>> >>>>> you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf >>>> of 'broken relationships' be >>>>> >>>>> bridged, by word and action and some sort of a >>>> 'return'? If yes; How? >>>>> >>>>> Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by >>>> the Kashmiri Pandits >>>>> still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of >>>> SAS Geelani and beg for >>>>> protection? >>>>> >>>>> Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much >>>> vaunted Civil Society of >>>>> Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have >>>> to be part of the >>>>> Tehreek? >>>>> >>>>> Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst >>>> Kashmiri Muslims (who desire >>>> >>>>> separation from India) is towards an Independent >>>> Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir >>>>> should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space >>>> he does without receiving >>>>> >>>>> strong condemnation? >>>>> >>>>> Kshmendra >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli >>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> From: gowhar fazli >>>>>> Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant >>>> camps in Jammu 2002- A personal >>>> >>>>>> account >>>>>> To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >>>> >>>>>> Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >>>> personal account >>>>>> By Gowhar Fazili >>>>>> >>>>>> After the first reconciliation workshop involving >>>> Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim >>>> participants would visit migrant >>>>>> camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that >>>> had just begun to unfold by >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous >>>> amount of courage on part of >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> the participants led them to share their personal >>>> and collective grief and >>>>>> suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can >>>> transform people and must be >>>>>> respected and valued. To further explore the spirit >>>> of oneness in suffering and >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> to take it beyond the confines of the meeting >>>> venue, a visit by some Kashmiri >>>> >>>>>> Muslim participants was to be the next step. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit >>>> Jammu in the month of >>>>>> September and we visited homes of Pandit >>>> participants residing in and outside >>>> >>>>>> the camps and also met with some other members of >>>> the community. The experience >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> generated so many emotions and thoughts that it >>>> will take a lifetime to unpack >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> them but I will try to share some of the >>>> observations that can be made. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about >>>> the plan, they asked why I >>>>>> should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering >>>> is far too greater here in >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many >>>> widows, orphans, bereaved >>>>>> and people who have lost their homes and property >>>> in the ongoing turmoil in the >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by >>>> far. Some said that Pandits >>>>>> are a pampered lot. Both the central and the >>>> state government pamper Pandits >>>>>> and they are living better lives in the safety of >>>> camps in Jammu than any of us >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> here. They also said that everybody from the >>>> humanitarian organizations to >>>>>> politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while >>>> we (Kashmiri Muslims) are >>>>>> merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they >>>> are undergoing because we are >>>> >>>>>> supposedly the source of all trouble. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only >>>> to know if the stories that >>>> >>>>>> take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what >>>> extent. How do Pandits themselves >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, >>>> which has been their home for >>>> >>>>>> ages? Are they living away from their homeland by >>>> choice? What were the >>>>>> circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was >>>> it merely state policy whisk >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or >>>> was their enough fear in the >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> atmosphere to have made a community of a such small >>>> size feel vulnerable and >>>>>> unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used >>>> to living in spacious house >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> to live in a camp? What is the condition of the >>>> camps ... and so many questions >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> that could be answered only through experience and >>>> first hand interaction. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, >>>> we did not think it prudent >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a >>>> hotel and from there called >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> some people we had met in the reconciliation >>>> workshop and fixed to visit their >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> places on the next day. But even before we set out >>>> for our visits we received >>>> >>>>>> an early morning delegation of Pandits associated >>>> with the Chamber of Commerce. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> They had heard about our work and were curious to >>>> know more. They appreciated >>>> >>>>>> the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured >>>> us their support especially >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> in the section of people associated with trade >>>> and commerce. They also spoke of >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> the efforts they had made earlier to maintain >>>> relationship between the members >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> of the two communities but that they could not >>>> sustain it for too long. They >>>>>> also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so >>>> that there could be sustained >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> communication between the people of two >>>> communities. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> From then on Anil (one of the participants in the >>>> workshop) played our host and >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> guided us to residences of the members. He had >>>> already fixed our schedule for >>>> >>>>>> the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in >>>> this manner. We began by >>>>>> visiting members who lived outside the camps. The >>>> houses we visited looked >>>>>> similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were >>>> a deliberate effort to live >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the >>>> houses even had an elaborately >>>> >>>>>> and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The >>>> residents explained that this >>>>>> keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very >>>> much at home possibly >>>>>> because of our common culture and the foods that we >>>> were treated to. The >>>>>> conversations went on endlessly as they do in >>>> Kashmir. There was a special >>>>>> feeling like when we meet relatives separated from >>>> us for a long time. There >>>>>> was so much to catch up on. We could sense among >>>> our hosts a deep longing and >>>> >>>>>> love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it >>>> was clearly evident by the >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> manner in which they had maintained continuity with >>>> their way of life in an >>>>>> alien land and the profusion artifacts that they >>>> had surrounded themselves >>>>>> with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their >>>> eyes to receive us in their >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken >>>> place while we shared about >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> our experiences and the situations we are faced >>>> with in either place. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds >>>> of most Kashmiri Pandits >>>>>> was not economic loss but the fear of losing >>>> community itself in the vast sea >>>> >>>>>> of humanity that is India... They so much want to >>>> remain Kashmiris and so >>>>>> easily find extension of their selves among the co- >>>> community of Kashmiri >>>>>> Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can >>>> share the language, culture >>>>>> and the local idiom even though their religion is >>>> different. They can talk to >>>> >>>>>> us and share the inherited meanings while it is not >>>> possible with >>>>>> co-religionists from other parts of India. In >>>> Kashmir they also shared a >>>>>> relationship of mutual respect with other >>>> Kashmiris, while in a place like >>>>>> Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special >>>> community. They are merely >>>> >>>>>> outsiders who are encroaching on the local >>>> resources. But even now when we meet >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be >>>> familiar and know how to >>>>>> address each other and can share so much. In all >>>> our conversations the use of >>>> >>>>>> 'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and >>>> Pandits was frequent. We >>>>>> could still identify ourselves as a people apart >>>> from others. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> From the homes we visited it was clear how much >>>> they must have had to struggle >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had >>>> taken years for some to >>>>>> finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. >>>> For a long while they felt >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to >>>> return very soon. Some said >>>> >>>>>> that they can still not relate to these houses as >>>> their own, and that whenever >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> they dream of home they can only visualize their >>>> houses in Kashmir. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> I realized the difference between migrating for >>>> better opportunities like many >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> of us do and being forced by circumstances to >>>> migrate from home and having no >>>> >>>>>> place to return to. I realized that Pandit >>>> migration was a tragic event for >>>>>> Kashmiri community as a whole because they took >>>> with them so much that was us. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel >>>> so vulnerable as a community >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> away from home. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> From there Anil led us to the camps for the first >>>> time. Since most of the >>>>>> participants for our workshop had come from the >>>> Porkhu camp we went there to >>>>>> meet up with the people. I must confess that my >>>> idea of Pandit camps while in >>>> >>>>>> Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as >>>> befit the so-called 'pampered' >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> community. To my shock the camp can be described no >>>> better than a slum. Pandit >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood >>>> or single brick walls. In >>>>>> the barracks each family has been allotted a room >>>> or if the family is really >>>>>> large two rooms at the most. The lanes between >>>> the barracks are narrow and >>>>>> lined by deep open drains. The residents have >>>> constructed toilets and small >>>>>> kitchens and walls around the space on their own. >>>> Once inside, we felt very >>>>>> hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room >>>> where shifted to one side to >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> make room for the seven men who had visited the >>>> house. The immediate feeling >>>>>> that came to our mind was that this was no place >>>> to live for ten days and these >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> people had managed to live here for more than >>>> thirteen years. Yet we were >>>>>> treated very hospitably, as we would be in >>>> Kashmir. Again we realized that >>>>>> Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance >>>> even in terms of the food >>>>>> they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and >>>> traditional Kashmiri bread >>>>>> (chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who >>>> had visited Kashmir. Some of >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> the members in the camp had to give serious >>>> explanation for having participated >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of >>>> having made a compromise with >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again >>>> that there was no hidden >>>>>> agenda and that none of the known political >>>> organizations had anything to do >>>>>> with our work. We decided to visit the camp once >>>> again on the next day in order >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> to hear from more people and also to share the idea >>>> of reconciliation with >>>>>> them. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> To our surprise more people turned up for the >>>> meeting than we were prepared to >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty >>>> people in the meeting. But >>>>>> the hall meant for marriages and other functions >>>> began to fill until we had >>>>>> more than hundred people many of whom did not >>>> understand why we were there. >>>>>> Some of the people were charged up due to the >>>> election campaigns and the offer >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> made by the central government to give rupees >>>> seven-lakh assistance for Pandits >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> who chose to return to the valley. One of the >>>> elderly persons emphasized that >>>> >>>>>> they did not want this package because they saw it >>>> more as an insult added to >>>> >>>>>> the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri >>>> Pandits was not about money, >>>> >>>>>> but about insecurity and how they can redeem the >>>> way of life that was lost. >>>>>> “Would they be able to return the security we >>>> felt in living among our own >>>>>> people and how would they ensure that now, with >>>> the changes that our people >>>>>> have undergone by living away from each other?” >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> It was clear that some of the people in the camp >>>> were mistaking us for the >>>>>> representatives of some political party or the >>>> central government. After >>>>>> hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts >>>> thought that we must be >>>>>> asked why we have come to the camps in the first >>>> place. We began by explaining >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> that we did not represent any official initiatives >>>> for rehabilitation of >>>>>> Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as >>>> concerned individuals who are >>>>>> not happy with the situation as it exists. “We >>>> have no offers to make because >>>> >>>>>> have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In >>>> a sense we feel guilty for >>>> >>>>>> not having done enough to stop the migration when >>>> it took place and also for >>>>>> not having been in touch for the last thirteen >>>> years. It is partly to absolve >>>> >>>>>> ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have >>>> also come to hear from your >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> experiences and to observe how you people are >>>> living away from home and what >>>>>> you have to say.” >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> This brief introduction changed the tone of the >>>> meeting and then on almost all >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> the members individually began to share their >>>> experiences. Some laid emphasis >>>> >>>>>> on the unique brotherhood that existed among >>>> Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits and >>>> >>>>>> how they longed for its return, while others >>>> expressed the pain of living for >>>> >>>>>> thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the >>>> elderly were very vivid about >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at >>>> least die in Kashmir”, the >>>>>> younger ones were bitter about the state of >>>> helplessness and feared whether >>>>>> their future would be safe if they were to choose >>>> to return. Some of the >>>>>> members related the number of times Kashmiri >>>> Pandits have had to migrate from >>>> >>>>>> Kashmir and how every time after the peace was >>>> restored they returned to their >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> homeland. They also said that if they were to >>>> return this time, they would want >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> the surity that they do not have to migrate yet >>>> again. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Some of the younger members were very bitter about >>>> the circumstances that led >>>> >>>>>> them to leave Kashmir and said that under no >>>> circumstances are they willing to >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> forget how some of their people were tortured and >>>> killed. We tried to explain >>>> >>>>>> that to reconcile did not mean that one has to >>>> forget and we did not expect >>>>>> them to forget what they had experienced. Asking >>>> one to forget would amount to >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only >>>> feel that hate should not be >>>>>> the motive for our actions and that we must >>>> forgive without forgetting. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> One of the members explained how the state was >>>> maintaining the camps in bad >>>>>> repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners >>>> and visitors to the camps as >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> a means of propaganda to impress upon them their >>>> own version of the conflict in >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals >>>> kept in a zoo, displayed >>>>>> whenever the need was felt. The state according >>>> to them could do better and at >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> least afford to provide reasonable conditions of >>>> living for the migrants. The >>>> >>>>>> dilapidated condition of the camps was a >>>> deliberate state policy. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Almost all the people appreciated our effort and >>>> felt that it was in some ways >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> different from all the other efforts that are being >>>> made for their return and >>>> >>>>>> rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts >>>> were in the least sincere and >>>> >>>>>> thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that >>>> the greater part of the work is >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do >>>> not pose a big problem. It is >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> only when certain receptiveness is created among >>>> the majority community in >>>>>> Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made >>>> possible. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> There was a difference of opinion whether they >>>> should return to their own >>>>>> respective villages or a separate enclave should be >>>> created to rehabilitate >>>>>> them in the valley. For some the texture of the >>>> villages over the years had >>>>>> changed so drastically that it was no longer >>>> possible for them to feel safe in >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> their old homes. So though the interaction between >>>> the members of the two >>>>>> communities should get restored, but for their >>>> safety they must be settled in >>>> >>>>>> an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this >>>> arrangement would not be healthy, >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> as it would not help restore old relationship and >>>> increase suspicion and >>>>>> segregation. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> The meeting lasted well over five hours into the >>>> night and at last when most >>>>>> people had spoken we sought permission to leave. >>>> But the people would not let >>>> >>>>>> us go and took us back to their homes where more >>>> rounds of tea and informal >>>>>> conversation resumed. We had to leave finally >>>> because of an earlier commitment >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside >>>> the camp. The conversations >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well >>>> past midnight, were in my >>>>>> opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language >>>> that can only be possible >>>> >>>>>> with the members of ones own community. There was >>>> endless joking and laughing! >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu >>>> was beyond our >>>>>> expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to >>>> restore the broken >>>>>> relationships and the way of life that has been >>>> lost. People are cautiously, >>>>>> willing to explore ... because the stake is worth >>>> every bit of effort. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> _________________________________________ >>>>>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and >>>> the city. >>>>>> Critiques & Collaborations >>>>>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net >>>> with subscribe in >>>> >>>>>> the subject header. >>>>>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>>>>> List archive: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _________________________________________ >>>>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the >>>> city. >>>>> Critiques & Collaborations >>>>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net >>>> with subscribe in >>>>> the subject header. >>>>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader- >>>>> list >>>>> List archive: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _________________________________________ >>>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the >>>> city. >>>> Critiques & Collaborations >>>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net >>>> with subscribe in the subject header. >>>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>>> List archive: >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >>> subscribe in the subject header. >>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: >>> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 15:31:28 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:31:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Comrade Arjun In-Reply-To: References: <000301cb3ab7$ae0ffa60$0901a8c0@winea7e178c4a2> Message-ID: On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 10:48 AM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > This is, in my view a highly prejudiced article. And I say that because of > the following things: You have been brainwashed by the right wing media. > i) The Left is not an innocent player of politics as has been claimed in the > article. The Left has a very strong cadre base and can organize violence at > the drop of a pin. In fact, they have done so on innumerable occasions in > the past. In the case of Nandigram, the Left had actually killed people or > attacked those who were its earlier supporters but had turned against it due > to the possible loss of their livelihoods. > The media reporting has been all biased. All the violence was initiated by the TMC-'so-called-maoists' combine against left supporters and violence definitely means continued violence. Plenty of Left refugees resulted as a result of the violence. The SEZ question is different- the left view on the SEZ regulations (under the present circumstances) is very different from that of the centre. > get the issue important for everybody. If Singur and Nandigram would not > have witnessed violence from those who were fighting for their own rights > against the CPI (M), the Left would have massacred everybody who were > opposed to acquisition of land. Nonsense. In Nandigram, the TMC-'so-called Maoist' combine attacked left supporters and evicted them first. There was a tactical mistake by the police. Singur witnessed vandalism and violence by the TMC-'so-called Maoist' combine. > But in West Bengal, the Left just crushes any dissent by ensuring that govt. > schemes work only for those who are on its' side. The Left has turned the > police into an arm of itself. The Left, which opposes Salwa Judum in The Left does not oppose dissent and all parties are active in West Bengal. It is the bankrupt TMC and congress, that believes in violence. The right-wing media propaganda is not borne by ground reality. The propaganda (including the recent nonsense in Tehelka) is used to physically attack the Left. Of course, the Left has to defend itself. > > iii) As far as the Maoists is concerned, it may be true certainly that > Mamata is playing politics by hobnobbing with the Maoists. But the real > solution to Maoism can't and shouldn't be by butchering them or shooting > them down. If the Trinamool and Maoists are accused of dehumanizing those > they kill, then this solution also does the same. How then are we different > from the Maoists (or even the Trinamool, and I would include, the Left)? The 'so-called-maoists' are merceneries with no coherent ideology. They are a great threat to what little democracy exists in the country. In Jharkand, because of their machinations, the major political parties have become more corrupt and removed themselves from 'any politics' or development whatsoever. Most of the MLAs in their assembly have been elected with the 'so-called Maoists' support. As per their doctrine, 'corruption is against the Indian state' and therefore probably, they are for corruption. Apart from extortion, looting and other means of income, this is an important source. They expect this situation to cause 'the people to rise spontaneously'. with violence and their guns. This murder of democracy has a solid business model (at least for those with power in place) and cannot be countered with 'stupid talks' and calls for armed intervention and nothing less. They do not have a 'mass base' for talks. > Because Naxalism is not about development. It's about the fight to dignity > and a way of life which is placed at a higher pedestal by the tribals. You > may not like it, but you have no right of stopping them from living like > that. At best, you can advise them. But that's it. These 'so-called maoists' do not have any concept of development or development model. The naxals of the seventies did have a erroneous method of development in mind. They want complete anarchy first. The naxals have been playing with tribal identities too, but do not care about building a mass base. All they have been doing is recruiting tribals into the lower levels of their army. But the tribals are probably going to be collateral damage, given the anti tribal position of both the Centre and naxals. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Sat Aug 14 17:21:23 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 04:51:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] I recommend this book: Kashmir campaigns for peace , Facebook and beyond. In-Reply-To: <91eaf033b4cb5a659a352ee0791d09e7@mail.sarai.net> References: <46c7a7c76eec1d08d65d585e18edf8ef@mail.sarai.net> , <91eaf033b4cb5a659a352ee0791d09e7@mail.sarai.net> Message-ID: <828395.96260.qm@web114701.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Shudda and others on the book campaign, I recommend Arvind Gigoo's 'The Ugly Kashmiri' for all in and outside Kashmir. He is a genius and cuts both ways. Below is an extract from is extremely powerful book: The Ugly Kashmiri (Cameos in Exile) Arvind Gigoo “Political delirium turns people insane, and man, being unpredictable, becomes the enemy of man. When peace bores him he destroys; when destruction tires him he reconstructs. Hatred and love go hand in hand. Few people stick to their convictions when uncomfortable circumstances happen. Beliefs and commitments crumble to dust. The talks of values and ideals sound fine in peace. In troubled times the hollowness, stupidity and ugliness of man come to the fore. A liberal man proves irrational and dangerous, and an illiterate underdog or a goon performs a heroic or a noble deed. Man is an interesting paradox.” AG Still I still am; I am not still. Strength Divided we stand; united we fall. A Hindu “Are you a Kashmir Pandit?” “No, I am a Kashmiri Hindu.” The Apple Adam and Eve fell in love with Paradise out of it. The Kill We salute this man for he is a martyr, We kill this man for he is a traitor, We nail this man for he is an informer. Conversion I “I was a Kashmiri. I have become an Indian.” “Converts are fanatics.” Conversion II “I was for Pakistan. I have become a Kashmiri.” “Converts are liberal.” Conversion III “I was an Indian. I have become a Kashmiri.” “Conversion is the mother of repentance.” Dilemma Soldier: “Shave off your beard.” Son: “Grow beard.” The Catch Sir, kindly transfer me to Kashmir. I will cash ... I mean ... I will catch them and save my country. Body and Mind There my mind was here, Here my mind is there. Emancipation “Listen! How can I talk about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits? I am a secularist.” Hospitality Summer of 1982 “Dear soldier, have this Kashmir tea for you are a guest.” Winter of 1990 “You bloody soldier, take this bullet for you are a dog.” The Cause “Those who chose to stay there have betrayed our cause.” “What is your cause?” “The effect is the cause.” Windfall This shouldn’t end. I have become rich. The Dirty Stream We are happy that this misguided youth has joined the national mainstream now. Alive Abdul Jabbar: “Why did you Pandits leave? Amarnath is still there. Nobody has killed him.” Uncomfortable Comfort I don’t know why I still love those hateful Muslims and hate these fellow Hindus. Incognito I dress up like a Muslim woman. I don’t apply the tilak on my forehead. Yet they know that I am a Pandit woman. They must be intelligent. The Sympathizer “My dear Nila Kanth, Indian soldiers have looted the house of all Pandits. Why don’t you sell your house to me?” Tourism Permanent tourists! What luck! The Loss Your loss is bigger than mine. You lost your house, your land and your property. I lost only my only son. Words Dear sirs, only in my writings do I say that we must return. In fact, I am better here. Lingo “Mere bete, hamesha Kashmiri zabaan mein baat karo. Apne culture ko nahin bhulo.” “O.K., dad.” Dirty “Dirty Kashmiris! But why do I feel smallish before them?” Covenant I “Am I your leader?” “Yes.” “Am I your leader?” “Yes.” “Am I your leader?” “Yes.” Covenant II “Am I your leader?” “No.” “Am I your leader?” “Yes.” “Am I your leader?” “Don’t know.” Covenant III “Am I not your leader?” “No.” “Am I your leader?” “No.” “Don’t you trust me as your leader?” “No.” Chameleon From Pakistan to plebiscite to India to Pakistan to independence to anything and anywhere in one breath. The Author “Who is the author of these cameos?” “An anti-Kashmiri Pandit.” The Ugly Kashmiri (Cameos in Exile) Arvind Gigoo These cameos are extracts from Arvind Gigoo’s book ‘The Ugly Kashmiri’ (Allied Publishers Pvt. Limited, 2006) which depict his reflections of the happenings in Kashmir. The basic theme of the cameos is the need for change from ugliness to beauty. ----- Original Message ---- From: "shuddha at sarai.net" To: rashneek kher Cc: sarai list Sent: Wed, August 11, 2010 10:49:37 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir campaigns for peace , Facebook and beyond Dear Kshmendra, I think everyone should read as many different kinds of opinions and make up their own minds. I agree with you that 'one must read and appreciate a point of view no mattter how much one dislikes it or finds it factually incorrect'. I am constantly reading things I disagree with, and dislike, and don't find it a problem. So, I don't quite understand your anxiety when you say - "So Shuddha if you so desire let us keep away such titles as you have recommended", I am not a great fan of Somerset Maugham, but I see no harm in your sending Somerset Maugham, so why should there be any harm in my sending the collected poems of Agha Shahid Ali, one of the titles I mentioned, which, according to you is 'opinionated'? Don't young Kashmiris have the right to read one of the finest poets in English with 'Roots' in Kashmir? So, let whosoever send whichever book they want to whosoever they please. Let a thousand books flower, and a hundred schools of thought contend. I have never had any time for the secterian and Islamist agenda of SAS Gilani. So, I don't want to send books to his office. If you want to send books to him, that is up to you. I see no harm in it, but I wont do it myself. But in the absence of a centralized repository that will send out books randomly to people and organizations in Kashmir, I would choose for myself where to send books to, and also, which and how many books to send. There are several organizations in Kashmir that one could send books to the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition for Civil Society is one, Anhad Srinagar is another, I would even recommend sending books to a cafe like Coffea Arabica on Maulana Azad Road in Srinagar, where lots of young people, writers and intellectuals gather regularly. Coffea Arabica has an active facebook page, and I am sure they they can be contacted I am sure there are more. One could also send them to libraries in universities, colleges and high schools in Kashmir. The SPS Public Library in Srinagar, which is a really historic library, could do with a healthy infusion of books and support. Here is a fragment I found about it in the online archive of the 'Rising Kashmir' newspaper. ------------------------------------------------------ Reading habits decrease with increase in literacy http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=archivecategory&id=0&year=2008&month=9&module=1&limit=8&limitstart=176 Rising Kashmir News Srinagar, Sep 23: Despite increase in literacy rate reading habits are diminishing in Valley as public libraries have only few visitors. The treasure trove of rare books is piled up in one of the oldest libraries in the Valley but most of the books have remained unread. The SPS Central library at Lal Mandi, Srinagar, is the oldest library in Srinagar. It has collection of 80,000 books on a wide range of subjects. The library has now turned high tech with the introduction of internet facilities also. But has failed to arouse much interest from the book lovers in Kashmir Valley. Bashir Ahmad, a retired teacher who is frequent visitor to the library said: "Most of the time library is deserted as people in the city and elsewhere lack awareness about the literary assistance they can get from this library.” Ahmad blamed the present curriculum for this state of affairs. "Students in most of the schools have been put under tremendous pressure and stress. They devote most of their time in academic studies," says Ahmad. A good number of students who visit the library complain that books are either book are not available or are obsolete. "I mostly read newspapers and magazines. Books related to my subject are not available here", says Irfan Bashir, a B.Sc student and a regular member of SPS Library. However, Deputy Director, Book purchasing committee, SPS library Kuldeep Singh contests the claim, "The syllabus oriented books are available in academic institutions so we prefer to procure books of wider scope and greater interest." In April 2006, internet was introduced in the library with free of cost. But the facility failed to generate interest among the visitors of the library. "People lack awareness and Media can be used to publicize this library but more than that I think our city has little number of readers and people prefer TV over books", said Singh. SPC library was established in 1898. The library is a free government run library with just a few hundred registered members. The bookish assets of this library range from pre historical to modern, from newspapers to philosophical text and from modern studies to religious manuscripts. " ------------------------------------- By the way, I have to say, in all honesty, that I am not a wholehearted fan am getting kids off the street and sending them back to school. I attribute my education to the fact that I cut a lot of classes when I was in school, and was on the streets a lot, and in public libraries, reading everything from philosophy to pornography. And finally, I found that the education I got on the streets and outside classrooms was much better than the one that they were dishing out in school. Sometimes picking a good stone and throwing it well can teach you lots of things as well. And sometimes a good book can teach you a thing or two that stones can't. No harm in a bit of both, I think. But that's just perverse me. best Shuddha On Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:00:17 +0530 rashneek kher wrote > Dear Shuddha and all other friends, > > Let us all work together in this.We have sent books to SAS Geelani's office > as of now.But I have more books lined up. > I have friends in Kashmir who will be glad to do the dissemination part.We > can send to them.One is in Badgam District another in Shopian. > Although the books Shuddha has mentioned are opiniated versions yet one must > read and appreciate a point of view no mattter how much one dislikes it or > finds it factually incorrect. > Unlike Shuddha I wont recommend any titles or say they should read XYZ to > get a "better grasp of situation" or it will help them handle "oppression > better".My aim is simply to have kids back in school and not on a street > throwing stones.I have sent Shams Faqir,Rasul Mir and likes alongside story > books. > So Shuddha if you so desire let us keep away such titles as you have > recommended and simply send them Somerset Maugham or Saki or Motilal Saqi or > Aggaey or Dharmavir Bharti or Ahad Azad for now. > You and me can recommend titles later. > I offer to Rs 10000/- for this cause. > > Best Regards > > Rashneek > > On Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 11:44 PM, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > > > Dear all, > > > > Now here is a campaign that I have no hesitation at all in supporting. > > Thank > > you Aditya Raj Kaul for drawing my attention to this initiative. I am > > always in > > favour of people getting books to read. Here is a list of books that I > > would > > recommend, and I hope they can be sent to Kashmir so that as many young > > people, > > (especially young adults in colleges and universities), as possible, are > > able to > > read them, especially as I think that these books will help them get a > > better > > understanding of their situation and also, because I believe that their > > thought > > provoking contents, will help them think about the best way to overcome the > > oppression and violence that grips Kashmir. > > > > The books are as follows : > > > > 1. The Veiled Suite : The Collected Poems of Agha Shahid Ali > > 2. Azad Kashmir: A Democratic Socialist Manifesto by Prem Nath Bazaz > > 3. Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer > > 4. Kashmir : The Untold Story by Humra Quraishi > > 5. Languages of Belonging by Chitralekha Zutshi > > 6. Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects by Mridu Rai > > 7. Kashmir in Conflict by Victoria Schofield > > > > Almost all the books, other then the last one, are easily available in a > > bookshop like Bahri Sons in Khan Market. And the second book by Prem Nath > > Bazaz > > is easily available in Srinagar. I can volunteer to make photocopied > > versions of > > the last book available. I would be happy to arrange for copies of some of > > these > > books to be delivered to the campaign, in the hope that they can be sent to > > Kashmir, in order to provide better and far more effective ammunition than > > mere > > stones into the hands of a thoughtful young person in Kashmir who might > > chance > > upon them. > > > > Since Rashneek Kher is mentioned as one of the people leading this > > campaign, I > > would be happy if he could send me an address where I can send these books > > to. > > I do hope my offer is taken in the spirit in which it is made. > > > > best > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > > > On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:23:26 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul < > > kauladityaraj at gmail.com> > > wrote > > > > > Kashmir campaigns for peace, Facebook and beyond > > > The Peace Book Campaign is an effort by a motley crowd of peace loving > > > Kashmiris who wants a irenic and developed Jammu and Kashmir. > > > > > > Link - > > > > > > > http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/10174832/Kashmir-campaigns-for-peace-F.html?h > > > =A1 > > > Simantik Dowerah > > > > > > New Delhi: Not all Kashmiris want to battle government bullets with > > stones. > > > A fair number of citizens from Jammu and Kashmir would much prefer peace, > > > and are trying to reach out to likeminded people via Facebook. Last > > month, * > > > Mint* did a > > > story< > > http://www.livemint.com/2010/07/07184209/Fling-it-on-Facebook.html?h=A1 > > > >on > > > Facebook groups that supported stone throwers and urged people join > > > their > > > cause. But the group Roots in Kashmir, is very different. > > > > > > Started four years ago with 65 members, Roots in > > > Kashmirwas started > > > to help Kashmiri pandits or the Hindu population who were forced > > > out of the state due to militancy. However, with their state simmering in > > > violence the group most recently launched the Peace Book > > > Campaignasking > > > people to help restore peace in the valley. So far, over 1,700 joined > > > the campaign as on date. > > > > > > “The *Peace Book Campaign* is not a sole Roots in Kashmir campaign but a > > > campaign where saner Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris cutting across religious > > > and sectarian lines have come together to appeal for peace in Kashmir,” > > > said > > > Rashneek Kher, a representative of the group. > > > > > > Kher said group members were hurt to watch Kashmiri youths being killed > > on > > > the roads. “On the face of it might seem that the young people are > > throwing > > > stones but the malaise behind the same are instigators like (Syed Ali) > > > Geelani and others. So as Kashmiris it is our duty to do our bit to bring > > > down tempers, cool frayed nerves and bring some semblance of sanity,” > > Kher > > > said. > > > > > > The group has not limited its efforts to cyberspace. “Roots in Kashmir > > > tried > > > everything from approaching the government to sending our proposals to > > > separatists to knocking at the doors of human rights commissions. But our > > > plea has fallen on deaf ears,” Kher said. > > > > > > “So we have set forth a mission of peace that is completely unbiased and > > > requests nothing but sanity. We have no tolerance for people who support > > > violence and people who seek support for stone throwers are again those > > who > > > we think of as instigators and not someone who actually throw stones. So > > we > > > will be sending books to them as they need it most,” he said. > > > > > > And what kind of books they are going to send? > > > > > > “We already have about 400 odd books on different subjects from simple > > > story > > > books to books on history and religion. We will send them as soon as we > > know > > > it will reach them and not got stuck in some post office,” Kher said. > > Books > > > are answer to stones and bullets, said Wangoo. > > > > > > Explaining why he joined the *Peace Book Campaign*, another group member > > > Nadeem Jafri said, “This is the true way of fighting the menace. If we > > > educate people and equip them with right knowledge, I am sure they would > > not > > > face the atrocities which they are currently facing. And even if they > > face > > > they will be capable of fighting it out.” > > > > > > On being asked, about the success of such a campaign, Kher was however, > > not > > > very sure. > > > > > > “Honestly we don’t know how far it might or will go but that > > > notwithstanding > > > we must make concerted efforts for peace no matter howsoever small or > > > inconsequential it might seem,” said the representative of group, which > > has > > > already registered over 1,500 members. > > > > > > Jafri sounded far more positive. > > > > > > He said the campaign would certainly create a flutter among the educated > > > people. > > > > > > “It is going to take some time but it will be effective,” he said. > > > > > > *simantik.d at livemint.com* > > > > > > -- > > > Aditya Raj Kaul > > > > > > India Editor > > > The Indian, Australia > > > > > > Cell - +91-9873297834 > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe > > > in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Sat Aug 14 21:24:25 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 08:54:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: <171396.77406.qm@web114709.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <347239.60523.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Gowhar   Thank you for your response. Plain talk is best. There are sentiments much more important than mine or your personal sentiments.   1. On Pandits leaving/migration/exodus/internally displaced/rendered-refugees etc:   Yes there are different views on this. The unkindest one being that it was a conspiracy by Jagmohan so that thereafter the Muslims can be massacered. That view, I think, comes out of lack of knowledge or an attempt at shielding the Muslims of Kashmir from being accused of failure to accept collective societal responsibility under the now often used term of “Kashmiriyat”.   I agree with you that it must have been ‘really scary’. Not only because of the targeted killings, which were not of some Pandits alone. Some Muslims too were executed for their perceived ‘Indianness’. The Pandits of course carried by default the ‘Indian’ tag.   The ‘acts of deliberate humiliation against individual Pandits’ would not have been any new experience for the Pandits, as anyone living in Kashmir prior to the displacement would testify to. The jeers, taunts, bullying directed at the “Bhatt’a” (Kashmiri Pandit) was something the Pandits had through the years evolved into accepting and had got on with their lives in Kashmir. The Muslims also had in earlier periods of history been similarly subjected to a disrespectful and discriminatory attitude by the Pandits. But actual violence was unknown. That changed.   Apart from the targeted killing of some Pandits an environment got created, through other acts, that must have built up such a ‘scare’ that became unbearable and forced upon the Pandits the decision to leave. This was through the contents of Handbills that were circulated, Posters, Announcements in Newspapers, Marking of Pandit houses and the resounding echoing of simultaneous declarations over the loudspeakers of mosques. If all that were not enough, there were the hushedly whispered advices from Muslim friends and neighbours (much of it given in sincerity, I am sure) telling the Pandits that it was better if they leave for at least a few days until the situation improved.   You did not explain it but perhaps that was the background which has led you to say “I think it was best for Pandits to have left at that time”.   I think it is a matter of subjective interpretation whether the  becoming ‘radical’ of the ‘tone the resistance movement’ was consequent to ‘the state became more and more repressive’ or it was the other way round in 1988-89-90. A fruitless argument.   It is only fair to mention that not all Pandits faced all of the abovementioned pressures in whichever locality they lived in. Once Paranoia, (in that situation a justifiable one) gets triggered and picks up a critical mass, it knows no boundaries.   2. On Pandits “at no cost should …. have severed political and social ties with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in Kashmir ”:   It is an appreciable wishing, but I do not see how it could practically be otherwise.   The Pandits have had no ‘political’ role to play in Kashmir at the level of the masses. The known Pandit ‘political personalities’ came to prominence only because of their personal equations in political parties.   The engagement by Pandits in ‘discourse’ used to be limited to ‘Coffee House discussions’ and “Vaa’na penji pyeth” (shop gatherings). Yes now there is lot of ‘discourse’ by Pandits. It is ‘off-shore’ and is one of berating the “Aazadi Movement” and it’s “Islamic character” which Pandits understandably see as the only reason for their displacement.   The Pandits though have not severed their ‘social ties’ with Kashmir or with Kashmiri Muslims; All reports of interactions between the two, whether in Kashmir or out, testify to that. Whenever the situation in Kashmir has been short of ‘threatening’, Pandits have visited in droves.   You have yourself commented “Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel the sentiment.”                        3. On nomenclatures:   It was a casual query of no great significance (other than for Kashmiri Pandits) and your use of the term ‘migrant’, as you kindly explained was for a specific audience who would recognize who/what that term signified.   4. On KPs and KMs meet each other exercise:   I was not clear enough. I meant to ask about such meetings being planned under the aegis of ICRD.   Otherwise, there is substantial interaction taking place between them in cyberspace, on cultural commonalities and political positions, very civilized too.   There are such initiatives by various other individuals and groups with presence and presentations being made in Kashmir , most of them informal and in a very private manner.   Just today I was reading in ‘Conveyor’ about the conference on 26th June ‘Perspectives on Exodus: Past, Present and Future’ organized by Anamika Mujoo Girottee and Sadaf Munshi of ‘Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network’   5. On return of Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir :   I agree with your evaluation of the hinderances to such a ‘return’ and that “possible return of Pandits is hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized manner”.   It might be the stated position of every political group that they want “the Pandits to return” but that is really expecting too much when personalities like SAS Geelani and Asiya Andrabi command the political space and influence that they do in Kashmir . Those are only the blatant ones.   You would also know that many amongst the Kashmiri Pandits are of the firm opinion that ‘return’ of KPs will serve only as political fodder for those who want to project the “Aazadi Movement” as being a ‘secular’ one. Not without merit do they ask why the KPs should facilitate that convoluted representation of the facts.   6. On hope that “Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and principled perspective”:   It is a very subjective judgment about who is engaging with or engaged in Kashmir “from a moral and principled perspective” and who in “a jingoistic and demonizing manner”. If the intents are not accusatory but are directed towards sincerity in looking for reconciliation then such subjective judgments are best avoided, including those around the Jantar Mantar meet.   The question, many KPs ask is “Why should KPs ‘engage’ with KMs at all when KMs have made no effort to ‘engage’ with KPs after hounding us out of Kashmir?”   A variant on that is “Don’t talk to us about ‘Kashmiriyat’. It was the “peace’ of the lambs with the wolves”   This resentment gets heightened when they encounter the “Jagmohan Reason” given as an explanation for their displacement out of Kashmir .   You will understand why ‘moral’ and ‘principled’and ‘jingoistic’ and ‘demonising’ are very subjective judgments.     7. On SAS Geelani being a ‘deranged’ person:   I think you are being unfair. SAS Geelani is an ‘honest’ person, as is Asiya Andrabi. Honest about the Islamic character of the ‘movement’ and what it expects of Non-Muslims.   At least SAS Geelani has maintained a principled ideologically political position ever since 1947 which has nothing to do with, what you called, and can at best be a description of some periods from the last couple of decades, of “a society in which naked dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily basis".      8. On Indian State “becoming more and more communal” in Kashmir :   It is a convienient and perhaps strategically useful identity to ascribe to the “ Indian State ”. I wonder though how accurate it is especially when the “State” includes the Governing and ‘Security’ dispensations in J&K which also have Muslims in them in large numbers.   If the ‘separatist’ movement in Kashmir is one of ‘Muslims Only’, as it is, any action by the State against the ‘movement’ will be action against ‘Muslims Only’.   I do not want to dwell on this since, ‘communal’ or not, I find it totally unacceptable that the ‘State’ should indulge in use of force in the manner it has and worse still be involved in ‘fake encounters’   9. On the Jantar Mantar meet:   Again, I will refrain from dwelling on this because any comment could be misconstrued as lack of sensitivity towards the loss of lives and the pain and suffering of the people.   Unfortunately, in my opinion, the core purpose got diverted to the politics of ‘separatism’; diverted, unless that was the purpose.   This I know that the manner in which the build-up to the Jantar Mantar meet was widely advertised and commented upon on social networking sites had already vitiated the atmosphere for it. Unfortunate.   10. On Pandits having “succumbed to the Hindu right wing in great numbers”:   This should not be surprising when (to repeat) the very displacement of the Pandits from Kashmir was seen taking place because of the Islamic character of the ‘separatist’ movement that hounded them out.   Also, there must be some zero-sum game at play that this succumbing by the Pandits has it’s mirroring in the Kashmiri Muslims having succumbed to Islamic right wing in great numbers. We do know which ‘succumbing’ took place first.   I will not go into the gulf between the professed ‘interpretation’ of Islam and the actual practice.     Gowhar, thanks for this opportunity to converse with you, prompted by your sharing your Report.   Take care   Kshmendra --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: From: gowhar fazli Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account To: "reader-list at sarai.net" Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 6:29 PM A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries:  I am engaging in plain talk at times and  I hope it does not hurt your sentiments because that it not the intension.  I would have ideally desired to take more time on this but for my other engagements.  I hope this is somewhat useful.   K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? What do you think?   G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits left.  Personally I feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was for us too. Though there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate humiliation against individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more diffused form that would have threatened the community at large.  The tone the resistance movement in Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the state became more and more repressive, became radical.  I think it was best for Pandits to have left at that time, but at no cost should they have severed political and social ties with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in Kashmir.     I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are displaced nor did I want to derive any political mileage out of calling them ‘migrants’.  The reason why I may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to get into a similar debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this word and thus lose the affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon.  This report was presented before an open public audience in Srinagar.   K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any such existing mechanism?   G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you across to friends who can and will help you, including some who were part of the earlier initiative.  If you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral or credible base to make such a sensitive move.  Even just as a thought, it is appreciable.   K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How?    G:  I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering of over hundred people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families and individuals we met outside the camp.    There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere at the moment. People have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in the ongoing violence and repression.     Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel the sentiment.  Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have a stated position of wanting the Pandits to return.  Personally I think possible return of Pandits is hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized manner.  Redemption of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution.  The more bloodshed there is, and the longer it takes, the harder it will get.  I think in the meanwhile if more and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and principled perspective rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it happened near Jantar Mantar,  Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, accommodative and gregarious… and you know it.   K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by the Kashmiri Pandits still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for protection?   G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking.  But a society in which naked dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily basis will throw up some deranged people, don’t you think.  You should not expect otherwise.    K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the Tehreek?   G:Were they!  By whom?  What exactly did they mean?  It is possible people would have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the Indian state which was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged in a political struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the masses and not expect Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian state.   K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving strong condemnation?   The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the moderates.  Secondly, more the oppression more radical the population will become.  Many people hate Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing because of his constant unflinching stand.  Various moderates were pulled into secret or open talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the secret talks or because the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the moderates were seen to have brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand is just.   In response to the reponse to the earlier post:   With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost their Kashmiriat by an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how the Pandit performance at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer insensitivity in terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise uphold.  Attacking the people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a National flag and counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss suffered, even while the blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was grossly insensitive.  It is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to disrupt it because you too have suffered loss some twenty years before.  As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not exactly home and safe.  I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for Islam but it does not constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently say they stand for Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam itself means accommodation of and justice for all.  At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, rather than what exactly they want.  Pandits could have been a great help in shaping and steering this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the Maharaja precipitated, Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not ideologically succumbed to the Hindu right wing in great numbers. Best, Gowhar ________________________________ From: Kshmendra Kaul To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account Dear Gowhar I understand. No easy answers. Take care Kshmendra  --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: >From: gowhar fazli >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >personal account >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM > > > > >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring serious reflection Kshmendra > >and I would not make light of them by replying a hurry.  I must confess that I >am personally struggling with ambivalences often between mutually  exclusive and > >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers for everything. However i >promise I will try.  Thanks for reading the whole thing. > >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage may go ahead. > > > > >________________________________ >From: Kshmendra Kaul >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli > >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >personal account > > >Dear Gowhar > >Thank you for sharing this. > >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances > >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? >What do you think? > >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some > >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any >such existing mechanism? > >Your 2002 report conclude with  the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire >to restore the  broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do > >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be > >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How?  > >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by the Kashmiri Pandits >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for >protection? > >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the >Tehreek? > >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire >separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving > >strong condemnation? > >Kshmendra > > From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 22:15:40 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 22:15:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Fwd=3A_Signals_from_Vijayawada_and?= =?windows-1252?q?_Lalgarh_=96_and_Challenges_before_Revolutionary_?= =?windows-1252?q?Communists?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Venugopalan K M wrote: > *Signals from Vijayawada and Lalgarh –* > *and Challenges before Revolutionary Communists* > > - Dipankar Bhattacharya > > The much-hyped ‘rectification > campaign’ was quietly forgotten and the revived ‘anti-Congressism’ on the > national level was carefully calibrated by Prakash Karat himself with his > remark ‘never say never’ regarding a possible future alliance with the > Congress. And of course, weaning the Congress away from the TMC remains the > ultimate tactical dream of the comrades in both Alimuddin Street as well as > AKG Bhavan. The author has got many of his facts wrong and the article is full of unreasoned opinions. That is what the party reports suggest. The rectification program has been in operation for a long while and anyway that is not to be part of public knowledge. It was not part of the main agenda of the meeting. No alliance with the congress has ever happened or will. I think such possibilities are idle speculation. > > > The Vijayawada session adopted a special resolution on West Bengal and > Kerala which seeks to once again describe the CPI(M)-led governments in > these two states as products of history and decades of struggles. The > resolution would like to appropriate every development in these states – > from increased rice production to reduced infant mortality – as a CPI(M) > achievement, and demand popular sympathy as a besieged and beleaguered > victim at the receiving end of a grand conspiracy of the ruling classes. > Imperialism, the Indian big bourgeoisie, foreign-funded NGOs, the corporate > media, the Maoists and the ‘so-called intelligentsia’ are apparently all > colluding to oust the CPI(M) from power because of the CPI(M)’s opposition > to neo-liberal policies. > > > > What the resolution does not do is to explain the paradox as to why and how > most of these conspirators who were all praise for the CPI(M) model in West > Bengal till the other day suddenly turned against it. The DFID, ADB and > World Bank have been closely involved in both West Bengal and Kerala; Ratan > Tata’s press conference with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the full-page > newspaper advertisement praising the dynamism of CPI(M)-ruled West Bengal No the right-wing media has never been in praise of the Left model in WB. Some of the investors might have helped. > And the CPI(M) is completely dishonest about what has triggered the > anti-Left offensive – what has enabled the ruling classes to go on the > offensive is not the CPI(M)’s professed opposition to neo-liberalism, but > its readiness to embrace it even at the risk of alienating and antagonising > the peasantry and the working people. > This is simply wrong. This has been discussed many times before. The Left was forced to follow a substantial part of the imposed neo-liberalism of the Central Govt. It may have been been a tactical mistake to use this to woo middle-class voters, but the actual problem has been - Given the Central Govt policies, define a feasible anti-neo-liberal model of development for State Govts. Nobody has been able to define a 'reasonable Leftist way' of doing this (especially in last decade). It has always been admitted. The strategy has always been to 'resist the onslaught of neo-liberal policies' Otherwise most of the article is direction-less and wanting on basic comprehension. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 23:14:12 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:14:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Abduction, Torture and Release of Lado Sikaka, Dongria Kondh Leader from Niyamgiri fighting Vedanta In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sukla Sen Date: 14 August 2010 10:56 Subject: Abduction, Torture and Release of Lado Sikaka, Dongria Kondh Leader from Niyamgiri fighting Vedanta http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=685722537#!/note.php?note_id=414650346628 On the release of Lado Sikaka by Surya Shankar Dash on Saturday, 14 August 2010 at 10:34 Lado Sikaka, the tribal leader of the Dongria Kondh, was released yesterday afternoon (12 Aug) by the police three days after he was abducted. He was left at Kalyansingpur town and had to walk 10 km to reach home. He was tortured by the police who have forced him to sign a written statement. The statement says that Lado "will not damage public or private property anymore and if he does so he will face legal action." This clever statement by police is to implicate him in cases he was not involved in and to easily frame him in the future also. The police also threatened to put him in a Maoist uniform and kill him in the forest. During interrogation Lado was repeatedly asked about Maoist presence in Niyamgiri. Lado strongly denied the allegations despite being beaten. Even under great duress he has made it clear that he and his community will not give up their struggle against the Vedanta's proposed mining of their sacred mountain Niyamgiri. Later when he was released he was handed over the cellphones and car keys that were snatched away from activists present during Lado's abduction, which vindicates Sidhart Naik's written complaint to the Lanjigarh police station. The police is desperately trying to establish links with the Dongria Kondh tribal movement and the Maoists in order to facilitate repressive measures that will clear all opposition from the tribe to the mining project. Already, last month two platoons of para-military had carried out a combing operation in Lado's village, Lakhpadar and had beaten up Sana Sikaka (who was also abducted with Lado and released in a few hours). The non-violent movement of the Dongria Kondh is now being given the Maoist tag only to facilitate Vedanta's mining plans that will devastate the life, livelihood and environment of the people. There is no proof of any Maoist insurgency happening in the Niyamgiri hills ever. So why is the police torturing innocent people fighting for their rights and treating them worse than hardcore criminals? The Dongria Kondh are one of the most endangered communities in the world and they have been promised special protection by the Indian Constitution. They are a Primitive Tribal Group. Abducting and torturing a leader of such a community is not only a grave violation of the Indian Constitution, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. It is a violent mockery to do so on a day observed across the world as World Indigenous People's Day (9 Aug). While the police is trying to justify its actions by faking Maoist presence in Niyamgiri it is clear that all those who deposed strongly against Vedanta in front of the N C Saxena Committee are being targetted. Already Arsee Majhi, anti Vedanta tribal activist from Bandhaguda village in Lanjigarh has been murdered the very day he had strongly criticized Vedanta in front of the Saxena Committee. Many villagers have also been arrested under false charges in the area. So, Lado's abduction by the police has nothing to do with the Maoists as there is no Maoist presence in the area. This is being cooked up by the police to justify such torture of members of a Primitive Tribal Group. The Police has to stop acting like the mercenary agent of Vedanta and rather should ensure protection of the tribals from the goons of Vedanta. We demand that the Central Govt should carry out a thorough investigation (as State Govt is favorably disposed towards Vedanta instead of citizens) to find out who ordered the abduction of Lado Sikaka and punish all those involved in this inhuman treatment of Lado Sikaka, the main leader of the Dongria Kondh's anti mining/anti Vedanta movement. The Orissa Govt should strictly order the Police to make a public statement why they abducted Lado in such a manner and why they refused to acknowledge Lado had been whisked away by them when asked by media persons. Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Free Binayak Sen" group. To post to this group, send an email to free-binayaksen at googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to free-binayaksen+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/free-binayaksen?hl=en-GB. From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 23:36:54 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:36:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 20 million homeless in Pak Message-ID: Much as climate change is not about events but about trends, the tragedy that is unfolding in Pakistan seems a good candidate. Naga Impact of Pakistan floods as bad as 1947 partition, says prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani calls on population to rise to flooding challenge as anger grows among 20 million people left homeless David Batty and Saeed Shah in Islamabad guardian.co.uk, Saturday 14 August 2010 12.09 BST Pakistan's government has compared the impact of the country's devastating floods to the country's partition from India as it revealed more than 20 million people had been made homeless by the disaster. The prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, said the country faced challenges similar to those during the 1947 partition of the subcontinent into Hindu-dominated India and Muslim-majority Pakistan in which about 500,000 people were killed in mass violence and thousands of families were torn apart as 10 million refugees crossed the new border. Gilani said 20 million people were now homeless and called on Pakistanis to rise to the occasion, amid growing fears of social unrest or even a military takeover following the government's shambolic response to the floods. "The nation faced the situation successfully at that time [of the partition] and inshallah [God willing] we will emerge successful in this test," he said. About 1,600 people have died in the floods and aid agencies expect the toll to rise due to outbreaks of deadly waterborne diseases. A case of cholera was confirmed today in Mingora, the main town in Swat Valley in the north-east of the country, and UN aid workers are taking proactive measures to try to avert a crisis. A UN humanitarian operations spokesman, Maurizio Giuliano, said at least 36,000 people believed to have potentially fatal acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) were being treated fo cholera. "Given that there is a significant risk of cholera, which is a deadly and dangerous and a potentially epidemic disease, instead of focusing on testing, everyone who has AWD is being treated for cholera," he told Reuters. Aid agencies have warned that 6 million children are at risk of life-threatening diarrhoeal diseases, malnutrition and pneumonia. Stagnant flood plains in densely populated, poverty-stricken urban areas may become breeding grounds for cholera, mosquitos and malaria. A spokesman for the UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) said: "It's extremely worrying that we are seeing the confirmation of our fears. "We now have to work very hard to prevent the spread of the disease. The danger is that cholera is both deadly and spreads incredibly easily. Unfortunately the circumstances in Pakistan are against us." The floods, triggered by torrential monsoon downpours just over two weeks ago, engulfed Pakistan's Indus river basin. Relief operations have yet to reach an estimated 6 million people, fuelling long-held grievances in the flood-hit areas. Villages have been wiped away. Some people only have a patch of land to stand on. But the impact of the disaster will be felt throughout Pakistan's population of 170 million. President Asif Ali Zardari, who has drawn criticism for going abroad to meet the leaders of Britain and France as the crisis unfolded, today vowed to rebuild the devastated country. "Despondency is forbidden in our religion. We consider it as a test from Allah for us. This is a test for us and for you," he told flood victims at a relief camp. "We will try to meet all your wishes. We will build a new house for you. We will build a new Pakistan." Fears that Zardari could be overthrown – possibly through an intervention by the army – have grown as rescuers continue to struggle to help the millions of people affected. Najam Sethi, editor of the weekly Friday Times, said: "The powers that be, that is the military and bureaucratic establishment, are mulling the formation of a national government, with or without the PPP [the ruling Pakistan People's party]. I know this is definitely being discussed. There is a perception in the army that you need good governance to get out of the economic crisis and there is no good governance." Other analysts say a military coup is unlikely because the army's priority is fighting the Taliban insurgency, and taking over during a disaster makes no sense. In Sindh province, flood victims have complained of looting and there are signs of increasing lawlessness. Gilani and the opposition leader Nawaz Sharif vowed to work together to tackle the crisis. "Politics at this time is haram [forbidden by Islam]," Sharif said in a joint news conference. The agricultural heartland has been wiped out, which will cause spiralling food prices and shortages. Many roads and irrigation canals have been destroyed, along with electricity supply infrastructure. "The immediate risk is one of food riots," said Marie Lall, an Asia expert at Chatham House. "There is already great resentment in Swat and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where people had to be cleared during the government offensive. Now there is the threat of social unrest as various factions, families and ethnic groups compete with each other in the event of a breakdown in government." The World Bank estimates that crops worth $1bn (£640m) have been ruined and the Pakistani finance secretary warned today that the disaster would cut the country's growth in half. The government may have to spend $1.7bn on reconstruction, and has said it will have to divert expenditure from badly needed development programmes. Fresh downpours could bring more destruction and displacement. Scattered showers with heavy downpours are expected in the upper north-west, upper Punjab, parts of the north and Kashmir over the next 24 hours, according to Pakistan's meteorological department. Naga From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 15 00:04:54 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:04:54 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: <347239.60523.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <171396.77406.qm@web114709.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <347239.60523.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Gowhar "Indians resisted the universal, preferring situation-specific solutions, in comparison to a Western... ". A.K. Ramanujan ( from the essay about Juggard in Deccan Herald ) I dont how much one should read into the universal, but we normally cherish the word and its capacity to embrace common concerns of human beings all over the world. But factually we fail to implement it sincerely. Recent protest at Jantar Mantar on innocent killings in kashmir was one occasion to bring KP's closer to KMs but not so, may be the victim hood card is closer to the chest. The pattern is operating in the valley even. For KP brothers it was the unfurling of Tri colour at Jantar Mantar in front of KM brothers which looked less nationalistic and more as a ( kavaj ) protective plate to play mischief. How unaesthetic the naked phallus can be when it plays its penetrative gaze in its own arena, one should have been at Jantar Mantar to see how KM brothers were so defensive and giving slogans, " you are our brothers ". against the men holding Tri Colour. A man like Gandhi would have been ashamed to see all this. That is why he stayed away from Delhi independance day, and went to Calcutta instead to bring the two ( HIndus and Muslims ) closer. One of the Muslims tired to strangle him, but he ignored , and even told him to forget. with love is On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 9:24 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > Dear Gowhar > > Thank you for your response. Plain talk is best. There are sentiments much more important than mine or your personal sentiments. > > 1. On Pandits leaving/migration/exodus/internally displaced/rendered-refugees etc: > > Yes there are different views on this. The unkindest one being that it was a conspiracy by Jagmohan so that thereafter the Muslims can be massacered. That view, I think, comes out of lack of knowledge or an attempt at shielding the Muslims of Kashmir from being accused of failure to accept collective societal responsibility under the now often used term of “Kashmiriyat”. > > I agree with you that it must have been ‘really scary’. Not only because of the targeted killings, which were not of some Pandits alone. Some Muslims too were executed for their perceived ‘Indianness’. The Pandits of course carried by default the ‘Indian’ tag. > > The ‘acts of deliberate humiliation against individual Pandits’ would not have been any new experience for the Pandits, as anyone living in Kashmir prior to the displacement would testify to. The jeers, taunts, bullying directed at the “Bhatt’a” (Kashmiri Pandit) was something the Pandits had through the years evolved into accepting and had got on with their lives in Kashmir. The Muslims also had in earlier periods of history been similarly subjected to a disrespectful and discriminatory attitude by the Pandits. But actual violence was unknown. That changed. > > Apart from the targeted killing of some Pandits an environment got created, through other acts, that must have built up such a ‘scare’ that became unbearable and forced upon the Pandits the decision to leave. This was through the contents of Handbills that were circulated, Posters, Announcements in Newspapers, Marking of Pandit houses and the resounding echoing of simultaneous declarations over the loudspeakers of mosques. If all that were not enough, there were the hushedly whispered advices from Muslim friends and neighbours (much of it given in sincerity, I am sure) telling the Pandits that it was better if they leave for at least a few days until the situation improved. > > You did not explain it but perhaps that was the background which has led you to say “I think it was best for Pandits to have left at that time”. > > I think it is a matter of subjective interpretation whether the  becoming ‘radical’ of the ‘tone the resistance movement’ was consequent to ‘the state became more and more repressive’ or it was the other way round in 1988-89-90. A fruitless argument. > > It is only fair to mention that not all Pandits faced all of the abovementioned pressures in whichever locality they lived in. Once Paranoia, (in that situation a justifiable one) gets triggered and picks up a critical mass, it knows no boundaries. > > 2. On Pandits “at no cost should …. have severed political and social ties with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in Kashmir ”: > > It is an appreciable wishing, but I do not see how it could practically be otherwise. > > The Pandits have had no ‘political’ role to play in Kashmir at the level of the masses. The known Pandit ‘political personalities’ came to prominence only because of their personal equations in political parties. > > The engagement by Pandits in ‘discourse’ used to be limited to ‘Coffee House discussions’ and “Vaa’na penji pyeth” (shop gatherings). Yes now there is lot of ‘discourse’ by Pandits. It is ‘off-shore’ and is one of berating the “Aazadi Movement” and it’s “Islamic character” which Pandits understandably see as the only reason for their displacement. > > The Pandits though have not severed their ‘social ties’ with Kashmir or with Kashmiri Muslims; All reports of interactions between the two, whether in Kashmir or out, testify to that. Whenever the situation in Kashmir has been short of ‘threatening’, Pandits have visited in droves. > > You have yourself commented “Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel the sentiment.” > > > 3. On nomenclatures: > > It was a casual query of no great significance (other than for Kashmiri Pandits) and your use of the term ‘migrant’, as you kindly explained was for a specific audience who would recognize who/what that term signified. > > 4. On KPs and KMs meet each other exercise: > > I was not clear enough. I meant to ask about such meetings being planned under the aegis of ICRD. > > Otherwise, there is substantial interaction taking place between them in cyberspace, on cultural commonalities and political positions, very civilized too. > > There are such initiatives by various other individuals and groups with presence and presentations being made in Kashmir , most of them informal and in a very private manner. > > Just today I was reading in ‘Conveyor’ about the conference on 26th June ‘Perspectives on Exodus: Past, Present and Future’ organized by Anamika Mujoo Girottee and Sadaf Munshi of ‘Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network’ > > 5. On return of Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir : > > I agree with your evaluation of the hinderances to such a ‘return’ and that “possible return of Pandits is hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized manner”. > > It might be the stated position of every political group that they want “the Pandits to return” but that is really expecting too much when personalities like SAS Geelani and Asiya Andrabi command the political space and influence that they do in Kashmir . Those are only the blatant ones. > > You would also know that many amongst the Kashmiri Pandits are of the firm opinion that ‘return’ of KPs will serve only as political fodder for those who want to project the “Aazadi Movement” as being a ‘secular’ one. Not without merit do they ask why the KPs should facilitate that convoluted representation of the facts. > > 6. On hope that “Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and principled perspective”: > > It is a very subjective judgment about who is engaging with or engaged in Kashmir “from a moral and principled perspective” and who in “a jingoistic and demonizing manner”. If the intents are not accusatory but are directed towards sincerity in looking for reconciliation then such subjective judgments are best avoided, including those around the Jantar Mantar meet. > > The question, many KPs ask is “Why should KPs ‘engage’ with KMs at all when KMs have made no effort to ‘engage’ with KPs after hounding us out of Kashmir?” > > A variant on that is “Don’t talk to us about ‘Kashmiriyat’. It was the “peace’ of the lambs with the wolves” > > This resentment gets heightened when they encounter the “Jagmohan Reason” given as an explanation for their displacement out of Kashmir . > > You will understand why ‘moral’ and ‘principled’and ‘jingoistic’ and ‘demonising’ are very subjective judgments. > > 7. On SAS Geelani being a ‘deranged’ person: > > I think you are being unfair. SAS Geelani is an ‘honest’ person, as is Asiya Andrabi. Honest about the Islamic character of the ‘movement’ and what it expects of Non-Muslims. > > At least SAS Geelani has maintained a principled ideologically political position ever since 1947 which has nothing to do with, what you called, and can at best be a description of some periods from the last couple of decades, of “a society in which naked dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily basis". > > 8. On Indian State “becoming more and more communal” in Kashmir : > > It is a convienient and perhaps strategically useful identity to ascribe to the “ Indian State ”. I wonder though how accurate it is especially when the “State” includes the Governing and ‘Security’ dispensations in J&K which also have Muslims in them in large numbers. > > If the ‘separatist’ movement in Kashmir is one of ‘Muslims Only’, as it is, any action by the State against the ‘movement’ will be action against ‘Muslims Only’. > > I do not want to dwell on this since, ‘communal’ or not, I find it totally unacceptable that the ‘State’ should indulge in use of force in the manner it has and worse still be involved in ‘fake encounters’ > > 9. On the Jantar Mantar meet: > > Again, I will refrain from dwelling on this because any comment could be misconstrued as lack of sensitivity towards the loss of lives and the pain and suffering of the people. > > Unfortunately, in my opinion, the core purpose got diverted to the politics of ‘separatism’; diverted, unless that was the purpose. > > This I know that the manner in which the build-up to the Jantar Mantar meet was widely advertised and commented upon on social networking sites had already vitiated the atmosphere for it. Unfortunate. > > 10. On Pandits having “succumbed to the Hindu right wing in great numbers”: > > This should not be surprising when (to repeat) the very displacement of the Pandits from Kashmir was seen taking place because of the Islamic character of the ‘separatist’ movement that hounded them out. > > Also, there must be some zero-sum game at play that this succumbing by the Pandits has it’s mirroring in the Kashmiri Muslims having succumbed to Islamic right wing in great numbers. We do know which ‘succumbing’ took place first. > > I will not go into the gulf between the professed ‘interpretation’ of Islam and the actual practice. > > > Gowhar, thanks for this opportunity to converse with you, prompted by your sharing your Report. > > Take care > > Kshmendra > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > > > From: gowhar fazli > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 6:29 PM > > > > > A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries:  I am engaging in plain talk > at times and  I hope it does not hurt your sentiments because that it not the > intension.  I would have ideally desired to take more time on this but for my > other engagements.  I hope this is somewhat useful. > > K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by > circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a > better term? What do you think? > > G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits left.  Personally I > feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was for us too. Though > there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate humiliation against > individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more diffused form that would > have threatened the community at large.  The tone the resistance movement in > Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the state became more and > more repressive, became radical.  I think it was best for Pandits to have left > at that time, but at no cost should they have severed political and social ties > with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in Kashmir. > > > I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are displaced nor did I want to > derive any political mileage out of calling them ‘migrants’.  The reason why I > may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to get into a similar > debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this word and thus lose the > affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon.  This report was > presented before an open public audience in Srinagar. > > K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the > Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at > least some of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is > there any such existing mechanism? > > G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you across to friends who can > and will help you, including some who were part of the earlier initiative.  If > you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral or credible base to > make such a sensitive move.  Even just as a thought, it is appreciable. > > K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a tremendous and deep felt > desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of life that has been > lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken > relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If > yes; How? > > G:  I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering of over hundred > people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families and individuals we met > outside the camp. > > > There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere at the moment. People > have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in the ongoing violence > and repression. > > Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel the sentiment. > Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have a stated position of > wanting the Pandits to return.  Personally I think possible return of Pandits is > hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized manner.  Redemption > of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution.  The more bloodshed there is, and > the longer it takes, the harder it will get.  I think in the meanwhile if more > and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and principled perspective > rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it happened near Jantar > Mantar,  Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, accommodative and > gregarious… and you know it. > > K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by the Kashmiri Pandits > still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for > protection? > > G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking.  But a society in which naked > dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily basis will throw up some > deranged people, don’t you think.  You should not expect otherwise. > > > K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society > of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the > Tehreek? > > G:Were they!  By whom?  What exactly did they mean?  It is possible people would > have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the Indian state which > was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged in a political > struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the masses and not expect > Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian state. > > K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who > desire separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS > (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without > receiving strong condemnation? > > The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the moderates.  Secondly, > more the oppression more radical the population will become.  Many people hate > Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing because of his > constant unflinching stand.  Various moderates were pulled into secret or open > talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the secret talks or because > the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the moderates were seen to have > brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand is just. > > In response to the reponse to the earlier post: > > With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost their Kashmiriat by > an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how the Pandit performance > at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer insensitivity in > terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise uphold.  Attacking the > people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a National flag and > counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss suffered, even while the > blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was grossly insensitive.  It > is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to disrupt it because you too > have suffered loss some twenty years before. > > As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not > exactly home and safe. > > I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for Islam but it does not > constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently say they stand for > Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam itself means > accommodation of and justice for all. > > At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, rather than what > exactly they want.  Pandits could have been a great help in shaping and steering > this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the Maharaja precipitated, > Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not ideologically succumbed to the > Hindu right wing in great numbers. > Best, > Gowhar > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Kshmendra Kaul > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli > > Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A > personal account > > > Dear Gowhar > > I understand. > > No easy answers. > > Take care > > Kshmendra > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > > > >From: gowhar fazli > >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A > >personal account > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM > > > > > > > > > >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring serious reflection Kshmendra > > > >and I would not make light of them by replying a hurry.  I must confess that I > >am personally struggling with ambivalences often between mutually  exclusive and > > > >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers for everything. However i > > >promise I will try.  Thanks for reading the whole thing. > > > >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage may go ahead. > > > > > > > > > >________________________________ > >From: Kshmendra Kaul > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" ; gowhar fazli > > > >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A > >personal account > > > > > >Dear Gowhar > > > >Thank you for sharing this. > > > >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were forced by circumstances > > > >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally displaced' be a better term? > >What do you think? > > > >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this time around the Kashmiri > > >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for them to meet at least some > > > >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries and more? Is there any > >such existing mechanism? > > > >Your 2002 report conclude with  the comment "a tremendous and deep felt desire > >to restore the  broken relationships and the way of life that has been lost." Do > > > >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf of 'broken relationships' be > > > >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a 'return'? If yes; How? > > > >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by the Kashmiri Pandits > >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS Geelani and beg for > >protection? > > > >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much vaunted Civil Society of > >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have to be part of the > >Tehreek? > > > >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst Kashmiri Muslims (who desire > > >separation from India) is towards an Independent Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir > >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space he does without receiving > > > >strong condemnation? > > > >Kshmendra > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From tasveerghar at gmail.com Sun Aug 15 08:53:29 2010 From: tasveerghar at gmail.com (Tasveer Ghar) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 08:53:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Aladdin and the soap sellers of Bombay cinema Message-ID: Dear friends Greetings from Tasveer Ghar, the house of images. In our continuing series based on the Priya Paul Collection of popular Indian art, we are happy to announce two new exciting image essays curated by well known scholars, on the following links: 1. Still Magic: An Aladdin's Cave of 1950s B-Movie Fantasy By Rosie Thomas http://www.tasveerghar.net/cmsdesk/essay/103/ An essay based on the cinema lobby cards and other images related to the 1950s fantasy movies from Bombay. The author, Rosie Thomas, is Director of the Centre for Research and Education in Art and Media (CREAM), Co-director of the India Media Centre, and Reader in Art and Media Practice at University of Westminster. 2. Selling Soap and Stardom: The Story of Lux By Sabeena Gadihoke http://www.tasveerghar.net/cmsdesk/essay/104/ The story of Indian cinema actresses appearing on soap advertisements over the years, especially the Lux beauty soap. The author, Sabeena Gadihoke, is Associate Professor of Video and Television Production at the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre at Jamia University in New Delhi and is also an independent documentary filmmaker and cameraperson. We would be delighted to hear your views on these and all our previous essays and features. Thanks for your support. Christiane Brosius Manishita Das Suboor Bakht Sumathi Ramaswamy Yousuf Saeed -- http://www.tasveerghar.net From akmalik45 at yahoo.com Sun Aug 15 11:56:05 2010 From: akmalik45 at yahoo.com (A.K. Malik) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:26:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: References: <171396.77406.qm@web114709.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <70165.91014.qm@web112101.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <910763.43213.qm@web112113.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Ya, I agree, it is perhaps the nearest best word meaning : a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment.The word used was migrant which is perhaps leaving for another place on one's own volition. Regards, (A.K.MALIK) ________________________________ From: zulfiya hamzaki To: A.K. Malik Cc: gowhar fazli ; Sarai List Sent: Sat, August 14, 2010 12:31:57 AM Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account How about "Exodus"? It refers to the departure or journey of a large number of people to escape from a hostile environment. Regards, Zulfiya On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 7:35 PM, A.K. Malik wrote: Hi, > Can you find an equivalent word for "Forced to flee under threat of >violence"? >Regards, > >(A.K.MALIK) > > > >--- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > >> From: gowhar fazli > >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >>personal account > >> To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >> Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 6:29 PM > >> >> >> A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries: I am >> engaging in plain talk >> at times and I hope it does not hurt your sentiments >> because that it not the >> intension. I would have ideally desired to take more time >> on this but for my >> other engagements. I hope this is somewhat useful. >> >> K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were >> forced by >> circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or >> 'internally displaced' be a >> better term? What do you think? >> >> G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits >> left. Personally I >> feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was >> for us too. Though >> there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate >> humiliation against >> individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more >> diffused form that would >> have threatened the community at large. The tone the >> resistance movement in >> Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the >> state became more and >> more repressive, became radical. I think it was best for >> Pandits to have left >> at that time, but at no cost should they have severed >> political and social ties >> with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in >> Kashmir. >> >> >> I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are >> displaced nor did I want to >> derive any political mileage out of calling them >> ‘migrants’. The reason why I >> may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to >> get into a similar >> debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this >> word and thus lose the >> affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon. >> This report was >> presented before an open public audience in Srinagar. >> >> K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this >> time around the >> Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements >> for them to meet at >> least some of those who have similarly suffered intense >> miseries and more? Is >> there any such existing mechanism? >> >> G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you >> across to friends who can >> and will help you, including some who were part of the >> earlier initiative. If >> you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral >> or credible base to >> make such a sensitive move. Even just as a thought, it is >> appreciable. >> >> K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a >> tremendous and deep felt >> desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of >> life that has been >> lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the >> gulf of 'broken >> relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some >> sort of a 'return'? If >> yes; How? >> >> G: I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering >> of over hundred >> people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families >> and individuals we met >> outside the camp. >> >> >> There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere >> at the moment. People >> have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in >> the ongoing violence >> and repression. >> >> Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel >> the sentiment. >> Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have >> a stated position of >> wanting the Pandits to return. Personally I think >> possible return of Pandits is >> hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized >> manner. Redemption >> of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution. The more >> bloodshed there is, and >> the longer it takes, the harder it will get. I think in >> the meanwhile if more >> and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and >> principled perspective >> rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it >> happened near Jantar >> Mantar, Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, >> accommodative and >> gregarious… and you know it. >> >> K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by >> the Kashmiri Pandits >> still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS >> Geelani and beg for >> protection? >> >> G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking. But a >> society in which naked >> dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily >> basis will throw up some >> deranged people, don’t you think. You should not expect >> otherwise. >> >> >> K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much >> vaunted Civil Society >> of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have >> to be part of the >> Tehreek? >> >> G:Were they! By whom? What exactly did they mean? It >> is possible people would >> have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the >> Indian state which >> was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged >> in a political >> struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the >> masses and not expect >> Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian >> state. >> >> K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst >> Kashmiri Muslims (who >> desire separation from India) is towards an Independent >> Kashmir why does SAS >> (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of >> space he does without >> receiving strong condemnation? >> >> The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the >> moderates. Secondly, >> more the oppression more radical the population will >> become. Many people hate >> Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing >> because of his >> constant unflinching stand. Various moderates were pulled >> into secret or open >> talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the >> secret talks or because >> the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the >> moderates were seen to have >> brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand >> is just. >> >> In response to the reponse to the earlier post: >> >> With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost >> their Kashmiriat by >> an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how >> the Pandit performance >> at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer >> insensitivity in >> terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise >> uphold. Attacking the >> people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a >> National flag and >> counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss >> suffered, even while the >> blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was >> grossly insensitive. It >> is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to >> disrupt it because you too >> have suffered loss some twenty years before. >> >> As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but >> Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not >> exactly home and safe. >> >> I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for >> Islam but it does not >> constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently >> say they stand for >> Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam >> itself means >> accommodation of and justice for all. >> >> At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, >> rather than what >> exactly they want. Pandits could have been a great help >> in shaping and steering >> this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the >> Maharaja precipitated, >> Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not >> ideologically succumbed to the >> Hindu right wing in great numbers. >> Best, >> Gowhar >> >> >> >> >> ________________________________ >> From: Kshmendra Kaul >> To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >> ; >> gowhar fazli >> >> Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant >> camps in Jammu 2002- A >> personal account >> >> >> Dear Gowhar >> >> I understand. >> >> No easy answers. >> >> Take care >> >> Kshmendra >> >> --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli >> wrote: >> >> >> >From: gowhar fazli >> >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant >> camps in Jammu 2002- A >> >personal account >> >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >> >> >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM >> > >> > >> > >> > >> >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring >> serious reflection Kshmendra >> > >> >and I would not make light of them by replying a >> hurry. I must confess that I >> >am personally struggling with ambivalences often >> between mutually exclusive and >> > >> >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers >> for everything. However i >> >> >promise I will try. Thanks for reading the whole >> thing. >> > >> >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage >> may go ahead. >> > >> > >> > >> > >> >________________________________ >> >From: Kshmendra Kaul >> >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >> ; >> gowhar fazli >> > >> >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM >> >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant >> camps in Jammu 2002- A >> >personal account >> > >> > >> >Dear Gowhar >> > >> >Thank you for sharing this. >> > >> >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but >> were forced by circumstances >> > >> >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally >> displaced' be a better term? >> >What do you think? >> > >> >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this >> time around the Kashmiri >> >> >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for >> them to meet at least some >> > >> >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries >> and more? Is there any >> >such existing mechanism? >> > >> >Your 2002 report conclude with the comment "a >> tremendous and deep felt desire >> >to restore the broken relationships and the way of >> life that has been lost." Do >> > >> >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf >> of 'broken relationships' be >> > >> >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a >> 'return'? If yes; How? >> > >> >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by >> the Kashmiri Pandits >> >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of >> SAS Geelani and beg for >> >protection? >> > >> >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much >> vaunted Civil Society of >> >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have >> to be part of the >> >Tehreek? >> > >> >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst >> Kashmiri Muslims (who desire >> >> >separation from India) is towards an Independent >> Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir >> >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space >> he does without receiving >> > >> >strong condemnation? >> > >> >Kshmendra >> > >> > >> >--- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli >> wrote: >> > >> > >> >>From: gowhar fazli >> >>Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant >> camps in Jammu 2002- A personal >> >> >>account >> >>To: "reader-list at sarai.net" >> >> >>Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM >> >> >> >> >> >>Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >> personal account >> >>By Gowhar Fazili >> >> >> >>After the first reconciliation workshop involving >> Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri >> >> >> >> >> >>Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim >> participants would visit migrant >> >>camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that >> had just begun to unfold by >> > >> > >> >>the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous >> amount of courage on part of >> >> >> >> >> >>the participants led them to share their personal >> and collective grief and >> >>suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can >> transform people and must be >> >>respected and valued. To further explore the spirit >> of oneness in suffering and >> >> >> >> >> >>to take it beyond the confines of the meeting >> venue, a visit by some Kashmiri >> >> >>Muslim participants was to be the next step. >> >> >> >> >> >>Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit >> Jammu in the month of >> >>September and we visited homes of Pandit >> participants residing in and outside >> >> >>the camps and also met with some other members of >> the community. The experience >> >> >> >> >> >>generated so many emotions and thoughts that it >> will take a lifetime to unpack >> > >> > >> >>them but I will try to share some of the >> observations that can be made. >> >> >> >> >> >>When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about >> the plan, they asked why I >> >>should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering >> is far too greater here in >> > >> > >> >>Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many >> widows, orphans, bereaved >> >>and people who have lost their homes and property >> in the ongoing turmoil in the >> >> >> >> >> >>valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by >> far. Some said that Pandits >> >>are a pampered lot. Both the central and the >> state government pamper Pandits >> >>and they are living better lives in the safety of >> camps in Jammu than any of us >> >> >> >> >> >>here. They also said that everybody from the >> humanitarian organizations to >> >>politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while >> we (Kashmiri Muslims) are >> >>merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they >> are undergoing because we are >> >> >>supposedly the source of all trouble. >> >> >> >> >> >>Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only >> to know if the stories that >> >> >>take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what >> extent. How do Pandits themselves >> > >> > >> >>feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, >> which has been their home for >> >> >>ages? Are they living away from their homeland by >> choice? What were the >> >>circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was >> it merely state policy whisk >> > >> > >> >>Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or >> was their enough fear in the >> > >> > >> >>atmosphere to have made a community of a such small >> size feel vulnerable and >> >>unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used >> to living in spacious house >> >> >> >> >> >>to live in a camp? What is the condition of the >> camps ... and so many questions >> >> >> >> >> >>that could be answered only through experience and >> first hand interaction. >> >> >> >> >> >>Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, >> we did not think it prudent >> >> >> >> >> >>to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a >> hotel and from there called >> > >> > >> >>some people we had met in the reconciliation >> workshop and fixed to visit their >> > >> > >> >>places on the next day. But even before we set out >> for our visits we received >> >> >>an early morning delegation of Pandits associated >> with the Chamber of Commerce. >> >> >> >> >> >>They had heard about our work and were curious to >> know more. They appreciated >> >> >>the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured >> us their support especially >> > >> > >> >>in the section of people associated with trade >> and commerce. They also spoke of >> >> >> >> >> >>the efforts they had made earlier to maintain >> relationship between the members >> > >> > >> >>of the two communities but that they could not >> sustain it for too long. They >> >>also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so >> that there could be sustained >> > >> > >> >>communication between the people of two >> communities. >> >> >> >> >> >>From then on Anil (one of the participants in the >> workshop) played our host and >> >> >> >> >> >>guided us to residences of the members. He had >> already fixed our schedule for >> >> >>the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in >> this manner. We began by >> >>visiting members who lived outside the camps. The >> houses we visited looked >> >>similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were >> a deliberate effort to live >> >> >> >> >> >>back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the >> houses even had an elaborately >> >> >>and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The >> residents explained that this >> >>keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very >> much at home possibly >> >>because of our common culture and the foods that we >> were treated to. The >> >>conversations went on endlessly as they do in >> Kashmir. There was a special >> >>feeling like when we meet relatives separated from >> us for a long time. There >> >>was so much to catch up on. We could sense among >> our hosts a deep longing and >> >> >>love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it >> was clearly evident by the >> > >> > >> >>manner in which they had maintained continuity with >> their way of life in an >> >>alien land and the profusion artifacts that they >> had surrounded themselves >> >>with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their >> eyes to receive us in their >> >> >> >> >> >>homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken >> place while we shared about >> > >> > >> >>our experiences and the situations we are faced >> with in either place. >> >> >> >> >> >>The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds >> of most Kashmiri Pandits >> >>was not economic loss but the fear of losing >> community itself in the vast sea >> >> >>of humanity that is India... They so much want to >> remain Kashmiris and so >> >>easily find extension of their selves among the co- >> community of Kashmiri >> >>Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can >> share the language, culture >> >>and the local idiom even though their religion is >> different. They can talk to >> >> >>us and share the inherited meanings while it is not >> possible with >> >>co-religionists from other parts of India. In >> Kashmir they also shared a >> >>relationship of mutual respect with other >> Kashmiris, while in a place like >> >>Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special >> community. They are merely >> >> >>outsiders who are encroaching on the local >> resources. But even now when we meet >> >> >> >> >> >>after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be >> familiar and know how to >> >>address each other and can share so much. In all >> our conversations the use of >> >> >>'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and >> Pandits was frequent. We >> >>could still identify ourselves as a people apart >> from others. >> >> >> >> >> >>From the homes we visited it was clear how much >> they must have had to struggle >> > >> > >> >>to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had >> taken years for some to >> >>finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. >> For a long while they felt >> > >> > >> >>that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to >> return very soon. Some said >> >> >>that they can still not relate to these houses as >> their own, and that whenever >> > >> > >> >>they dream of home they can only visualize their >> houses in Kashmir. >> >> >> >> >> >>I realized the difference between migrating for >> better opportunities like many >> > >> > >> >>of us do and being forced by circumstances to >> migrate from home and having no >> >> >>place to return to. I realized that Pandit >> migration was a tragic event for >> >>Kashmiri community as a whole because they took >> with them so much that was us. >> > >> > >> >>It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel >> so vulnerable as a community >> > >> > >> >>away from home. >> >> >> >> >> >>From there Anil led us to the camps for the first >> time. Since most of the >> >>participants for our workshop had come from the >> Porkhu camp we went there to >> >>meet up with the people. I must confess that my >> idea of Pandit camps while in >> >> >>Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as >> befit the so-called 'pampered' >> > >> > >> >>community. To my shock the camp can be described no >> better than a slum. Pandit >> > >> > >> >>camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood >> or single brick walls. In >> >>the barracks each family has been allotted a room >> or if the family is really >> >>large two rooms at the most. The lanes between >> the barracks are narrow and >> >>lined by deep open drains. The residents have >> constructed toilets and small >> >>kitchens and walls around the space on their own. >> Once inside, we felt very >> >>hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room >> where shifted to one side to >> > >> > >> >>make room for the seven men who had visited the >> house. The immediate feeling >> >>that came to our mind was that this was no place >> to live for ten days and these >> >> >> >> >> >>people had managed to live here for more than >> thirteen years. Yet we were >> >>treated very hospitably, as we would be in >> Kashmir. Again we realized that >> >>Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance >> even in terms of the food >> >>they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and >> traditional Kashmiri bread >> >>(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who >> had visited Kashmir. Some of >> >> >> >> >> >>the members in the camp had to give serious >> explanation for having participated >> >> >> >> >> >>in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of >> having made a compromise with >> >> >> >> >> >>Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again >> that there was no hidden >> >>agenda and that none of the known political >> organizations had anything to do >> >>with our work. We decided to visit the camp once >> again on the next day in order >> >> >> >> >> >>to hear from more people and also to share the idea >> of reconciliation with >> >>them. >> >> >> >> >> >>To our surprise more people turned up for the >> meeting than we were prepared to >> > >> > >> >>face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty >> people in the meeting. But >> >>the hall meant for marriages and other functions >> began to fill until we had >> >>more than hundred people many of whom did not >> understand why we were there. >> >>Some of the people were charged up due to the >> election campaigns and the offer >> > >> > >> >>made by the central government to give rupees >> seven-lakh assistance for Pandits >> >> >> >> >> >>who chose to return to the valley. One of the >> elderly persons emphasized that >> >> >>they did not want this package because they saw it >> more as an insult added to >> >> >>the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri >> Pandits was not about money, >> >> >>but about insecurity and how they can redeem the >> way of life that was lost. >> >>“Would they be able to return the security we >> felt in living among our own >> >>people and how would they ensure that now, with >> the changes that our people >> >>have undergone by living away from each other?” >> >> >> >> >> >>It was clear that some of the people in the camp >> were mistaking us for the >> >>representatives of some political party or the >> central government. After >> >>hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts >> thought that we must be >> >>asked why we have come to the camps in the first >> place. We began by explaining >> > >> > >> >>that we did not represent any official initiatives >> for rehabilitation of >> >>Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as >> concerned individuals who are >> >>not happy with the situation as it exists. “We >> have no offers to make because >> >> >>have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In >> a sense we feel guilty for >> >> >>not having done enough to stop the migration when >> it took place and also for >> >>not having been in touch for the last thirteen >> years. It is partly to absolve >> >> >>ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have >> also come to hear from your >> > >> > >> >>experiences and to observe how you people are >> living away from home and what >> >>you have to say.” >> >> >> >> >> >>This brief introduction changed the tone of the >> meeting and then on almost all >> > >> > >> >>the members individually began to share their >> experiences. Some laid emphasis >> >> >>on the unique brotherhood that existed among >> Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits and >> >> >>how they longed for its return, while others >> expressed the pain of living for >> >> >>thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the >> elderly were very vivid about >> > >> > >> >>their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at >> least die in Kashmir”, the >> >>younger ones were bitter about the state of >> helplessness and feared whether >> >>their future would be safe if they were to choose >> to return. Some of the >> >>members related the number of times Kashmiri >> Pandits have had to migrate from >> >> >>Kashmir and how every time after the peace was >> restored they returned to their >> > >> > >> >>homeland. They also said that if they were to >> return this time, they would want >> >> >> >> >> >>the surity that they do not have to migrate yet >> again. >> >> >> >> >> >>Some of the younger members were very bitter about >> the circumstances that led >> >> >>them to leave Kashmir and said that under no >> circumstances are they willing to >> > >> > >> >>forget how some of their people were tortured and >> killed. We tried to explain >> >> >>that to reconcile did not mean that one has to >> forget and we did not expect >> >>them to forget what they had experienced. Asking >> one to forget would amount to >> > >> > >> >>disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only >> feel that hate should not be >> >>the motive for our actions and that we must >> forgive without forgetting. >> >> >> >> >> >>One of the members explained how the state was >> maintaining the camps in bad >> >>repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners >> and visitors to the camps as >> >> >> >> >> >>a means of propaganda to impress upon them their >> own version of the conflict in >> >> >> >> >> >>Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals >> kept in a zoo, displayed >> >>whenever the need was felt. The state according >> to them could do better and at >> > >> > >> >>least afford to provide reasonable conditions of >> living for the migrants. The >> >> >>dilapidated condition of the camps was a >> deliberate state policy. >> >> >> >> >> >>Almost all the people appreciated our effort and >> felt that it was in some ways >> > >> > >> >>different from all the other efforts that are being >> made for their return and >> >> >>rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts >> were in the least sincere and >> >> >>thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that >> the greater part of the work is >> > >> > >> >>required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do >> not pose a big problem. It is >> > >> > >> >>only when certain receptiveness is created among >> the majority community in >> >>Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made >> possible. >> >> >> >> >> >>There was a difference of opinion whether they >> should return to their own >> >>respective villages or a separate enclave should be >> created to rehabilitate >> >>them in the valley. For some the texture of the >> villages over the years had >> >>changed so drastically that it was no longer >> possible for them to feel safe in >> > >> > >> >>their old homes. So though the interaction between >> the members of the two >> >>communities should get restored, but for their >> safety they must be settled in >> >> >>an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this >> arrangement would not be healthy, >> >> >> >> >> >>as it would not help restore old relationship and >> increase suspicion and >> >>segregation. >> >> >> >> >> >>The meeting lasted well over five hours into the >> night and at last when most >> >>people had spoken we sought permission to leave. >> But the people would not let >> >> >>us go and took us back to their homes where more >> rounds of tea and informal >> >>conversation resumed. We had to leave finally >> because of an earlier commitment >> > >> > >> >>to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside >> the camp. The conversations >> >> >> >> >> >>at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well >> past midnight, were in my >> >>opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language >> that can only be possible >> >> >>with the members of ones own community. There was >> endless joking and laughing! >> > >> > >> >> >> >> >> >>To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu >> was beyond our >> >>expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to >> restore the broken >> >>relationships and the way of life that has been >> lost. People are cautiously, >> >>willing to explore ... because the stake is worth >> every bit of effort. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>_________________________________________ >> >>reader-list: an open discussion list on media and >> the city. >> >>Critiques & Collaborations >> >>To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net >> with subscribe in >> >> >>the subject header. >> >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >>List archive: >> > >> > >> > >> >_________________________________________ >> >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the >> city. >> >Critiques & Collaborations >> >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net >> with subscribe in >> >the subject header. >> >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> >List archive: >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the >> city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net >> with subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: > > > >_________________________________________ >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >Critiques & Collaborations >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >the subject header. >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >List archive: From akmalik45 at yahoo.com Sun Aug 15 12:07:26 2010 From: akmalik45 at yahoo.com (A.K. Malik) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:37:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account In-Reply-To: References: <171396.77406.qm@web114709.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>, <70165.91014.qm@web112101.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>, Message-ID: <217389.24881.qm@web112106.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Hi Lalit, Probably I wanted to convey what you have written. No one even cares now but you get 100 responses if a muslim person is denied opening a bank account whether for valid/good reasons or otherwise. This is likely to go on in our life times. Long live vote bank politics and pseudo-secularism prevalent in our beloved country!!!!!!!! (A.K.MALIK) ________________________________ From: Lalit Ambardar To: zulfi14 at gmail.com; akmalik45 at yahoo.com Cc: "reader-list at sarai.net" Sent: Sat, August 14, 2010 2:13:36 PM Subject: RE: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account Physical intimidation;written threats delivered at home;hit lists put on the walls of the holy mosques ; threats from the loudspeakers of holy mosques; selective brutal killings of young & old in broad day light in streets in full view of conspicously silent public/neighbours & in homes ;rape & murder ; Wandahama & Nadimarg mass murders ........did not become stories......no one attempted to weave any......how your own chose to become unknown with eyes shut lest guilt would be seen, never made it to any discourse...till the tribe vanished almost, from the lands..... Ethnic cleansing....genocide....near genocide...mass exodus...exodus....departure or journey of a large number.....escape from hostile environment.....forced to flee under threat of violence...migration.... etc.etc...???.... who cares...??? Did it ever matter? Does it matter now ? Now, it sounds like comforting the lamb after it was sacrificed " well dear,you know it, the blade was shinning sharp........................" Rgds all LA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:31:57 +0530 > From: zulfi14 at gmail.com > To: akmalik45 at yahoo.com > CC: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A >personal account > > How about "Exodus"? It refers to the departure or journey of a large number > of people to escape from a hostile environment. > > Regards, > Zulfiya > > On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 7:35 PM, A.K. Malik wrote: > > > Hi, > > Can you find an equivalent word for "Forced to flee under threat of > > violence"? > > Regards, > > > > (A.K.MALIK) > > > > > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli wrote: > > > > > From: gowhar fazli > > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu > > 2002- A personal account > > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 6:29 PM > > > > > > > > > A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries: I am > > > engaging in plain talk > > > at times and I hope it does not hurt your sentiments > > > because that it not the > > > intension. I would have ideally desired to take more time > > > on this but for my > > > other engagements. I hope this is somewhat useful. > > > > > > K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were > > > forced by > > > circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or > > > 'internally displaced' be a > > > better term? What do you think? > > > > > > G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits > > > left. Personally I > > > feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was > > > for us too. Though > > > there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate > > > humiliation against > > > individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more > > > diffused form that would > > > have threatened the community at large. The tone the > > > resistance movement in > > > Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the > > > state became more and > > > more repressive, became radical. I think it was best for > > > Pandits to have left > > > at that time, but at no cost should they have severed > > > political and social ties > > > with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in > > > Kashmir. > > > > > > > > > I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are > > > displaced nor did I want to > > > derive any political mileage out of calling them > > > ‘migrants’. The reason why I > > > may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to > > > get into a similar > > > debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this > > > word and thus lose the > > > affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon. > > > This report was > > > presented before an open public audience in Srinagar. > > > > > > K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this > > > time around the > > > Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements > > > for them to meet at > > > least some of those who have similarly suffered intense > > > miseries and more? Is > > > there any such existing mechanism? > > > > > > G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you > > > across to friends who can > > > and will help you, including some who were part of the > > > earlier initiative. If > > > you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral > > > or credible base to > > > make such a sensitive move. Even just as a thought, it is > > > appreciable. > > > > > > K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a > > > tremendous and deep felt > > > desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of > > > life that has been > > > lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the > > > gulf of 'broken > > > relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some > > > sort of a 'return'? If > > > yes; How? > > > > > > G: I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering > > > of over hundred > > > people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families > > > and individuals we met > > > outside the camp. > > > > > > > > > There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere > > > at the moment. People > > > have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in > > > the ongoing violence > > > and repression. > > > > > > Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel > > > the sentiment. > > > Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have > > > a stated position of > > > wanting the Pandits to return. Personally I think > > > possible return of Pandits is > > > hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized > > > manner. Redemption > > > of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution. The more > > > bloodshed there is, and > > > the longer it takes, the harder it will get. I think in > > > the meanwhile if more > > > and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and > > > principled perspective > > > rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it > > > happened near Jantar > > > Mantar, Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted, > > > accommodative and > > > gregarious… and you know it. > > > > > > K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by > > > the Kashmiri Pandits > > > still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS > > > Geelani and beg for > > > protection? > > > > > > G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking. But a > > > society in which naked > > > dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily > > > basis will throw up some > > > deranged people, don’t you think. You should not expect > > > otherwise. > > > > > > > > > K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much > > > vaunted Civil Society > > > of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have > > > to be part of the > > > Tehreek? > > > > > > G:Were they! By whom? What exactly did they mean? It > > > is possible people would > > > have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the > > > Indian state which > > > was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged > > > in a political > > > struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the > > > masses and not expect > > > Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian > > > state. > > > > > > K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst > > > Kashmiri Muslims (who > > > desire separation from India) is towards an Independent > > > Kashmir why does SAS > > > (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of > > > space he does without > > > receiving strong condemnation? > > > > > > The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the > > > moderates. Secondly, > > > more the oppression more radical the population will > > > become. Many people hate > > > Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing > > > because of his > > > constant unflinching stand. Various moderates were pulled > > > into secret or open > > > talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the > > > secret talks or because > > > the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the > > > moderates were seen to have > > > brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand > > > is just. > > > > > > In response to the reponse to the earlier post: > > > > > > With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost > > > their Kashmiriat by > > > an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how > > > the Pandit performance > > > at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer > > > insensitivity in > > > terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise > > > uphold. Attacking the > > > people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a > > > National flag and > > > counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss > > > suffered, even while the > > > blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was > > > grossly insensitive. It > > > is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to > > > disrupt it because you too > > > have suffered loss some twenty years before. > > > > > > As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but > > > Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not > > > exactly home and safe. > > > > > > I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for > > > Islam but it does not > > > constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently > > > say they stand for > > > Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam > > > itself means > > > accommodation of and justice for all. > > > > > > At the moment people more sure of what they do not want, > > > rather than what > > > exactly they want. Pandits could have been a great help > > > in shaping and steering > > > this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the > > > Maharaja precipitated, > > > Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not > > > ideologically succumbed to the > > > Hindu right wing in great numbers. > > > Best, > > > Gowhar > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > > From: Kshmendra Kaul > > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > ; > > > gowhar fazli > > > > > > Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM > > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant > > > camps in Jammu 2002- A > > > personal account > > > > > > > > > Dear Gowhar > > > > > > I understand. > > > > > > No easy answers. > > > > > > Take care > > > > > > Kshmendra > > > > > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > >From: gowhar fazli > > > >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant > > > camps in Jammu 2002- A > > > >personal account > > > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > > > > >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring > > > serious reflection Kshmendra > > > > > > > >and I would not make light of them by replying a > > > hurry. I must confess that I > > > >am personally struggling with ambivalences often > > > between mutually exclusive and > > > > > > > >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers > > > for everything. However i > > > > > > >promise I will try. Thanks for reading the whole > > > thing. > > > > > > > >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage > > > may go ahead. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >________________________________ > > > >From: Kshmendra Kaul > > > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > ; > > > gowhar fazli > > > > > > > >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM > > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant > > > camps in Jammu 2002- A > > > >personal account > > > > > > > > > > > >Dear Gowhar > > > > > > > >Thank you for sharing this. > > > > > > > >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but > > > were forced by circumstances > > > > > > > >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally > > > displaced' be a better term? > > > >What do you think? > > > > > > > >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this > > > time around the Kashmiri > > > > > > >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for > > > them to meet at least some > > > > > > > >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries > > > and more? Is there any > > > >such existing mechanism? > > > > > > > >Your 2002 report conclude with the comment "a > > > tremendous and deep felt desire > > > >to restore the broken relationships and the way of > > > life that has been lost." Do > > > > > > > >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf > > > of 'broken relationships' be > > > > > > > >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a > > > 'return'? If yes; How? > > > > > > > >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by > > > the Kashmiri Pandits > > > >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of > > > SAS Geelani and beg for > > > >protection? > > > > > > > >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much > > > vaunted Civil Society of > > > >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have > > > to be part of the > > > >Tehreek? > > > > > > > >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst > > > Kashmiri Muslims (who desire > > > > > > >separation from India) is towards an Independent > > > Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir > > > >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space > > > he does without receiving > > > > > > > >strong condemnation? > > > > > > > >Kshmendra > > > > > > > > > > > >--- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > >>From: gowhar fazli > > > >>Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant > > > camps in Jammu 2002- A personal > > > > > > >>account > > > >>To: "reader-list at sarai.net" > > > > > > >>Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A > > > personal account > > > >>By Gowhar Fazili > > > >> > > > >>After the first reconciliation workshop involving > > > Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim > > > participants would visit migrant > > > >>camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that > > > had just begun to unfold by > > > > > > > > > > > >>the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous > > > amount of courage on part of > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>the participants led them to share their personal > > > and collective grief and > > > >>suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can > > > transform people and must be > > > >>respected and valued. To further explore the spirit > > > of oneness in suffering and > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>to take it beyond the confines of the meeting > > > venue, a visit by some Kashmiri > > > > > > >>Muslim participants was to be the next step. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit > > > Jammu in the month of > > > >>September and we visited homes of Pandit > > > participants residing in and outside > > > > > > >>the camps and also met with some other members of > > > the community. The experience > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>generated so many emotions and thoughts that it > > > will take a lifetime to unpack > > > > > > > > > > > >>them but I will try to share some of the > > > observations that can be made. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about > > > the plan, they asked why I > > > >>should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering > > > is far too greater here in > > > > > > > > > > > >>Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many > > > widows, orphans, bereaved > > > >>and people who have lost their homes and property > > > in the ongoing turmoil in the > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by > > > far. Some said that Pandits > > > >>are a pampered lot. Both the central and the > > > state government pamper Pandits > > > >>and they are living better lives in the safety of > > > camps in Jammu than any of us > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>here. They also said that everybody from the > > > humanitarian organizations to > > > >>politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while > > > we (Kashmiri Muslims) are > > > >>merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they > > > are undergoing because we are > > > > > > >>supposedly the source of all trouble. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only > > > to know if the stories that > > > > > > >>take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what > > > extent. How do Pandits themselves > > > > > > > > > > > >>feel about their migration from Kashmir valley, > > > which has been their home for > > > > > > >>ages? Are they living away from their homeland by > > > choice? What were the > > > >>circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was > > > it merely state policy whisk > > > > > > > > > > > >>Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or > > > was their enough fear in the > > > > > > > > > > > >>atmosphere to have made a community of a such small > > > size feel vulnerable and > > > >>unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used > > > to living in spacious house > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>to live in a camp? What is the condition of the > > > camps ... and so many questions > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>that could be answered only through experience and > > > first hand interaction. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival, > > > we did not think it prudent > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a > > > hotel and from there called > > > > > > > > > > > >>some people we had met in the reconciliation > > > workshop and fixed to visit their > > > > > > > > > > > >>places on the next day. But even before we set out > > > for our visits we received > > > > > > >>an early morning delegation of Pandits associated > > > with the Chamber of Commerce. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>They had heard about our work and were curious to > > > know more. They appreciated > > > > > > >>the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured > > > us their support especially > > > > > > > > > > > >>in the section of people associated with trade > > > and commerce. They also spoke of > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>the efforts they had made earlier to maintain > > > relationship between the members > > > > > > > > > > > >>of the two communities but that they could not > > > sustain it for too long. They > > > >>also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so > > > that there could be sustained > > > > > > > > > > > >>communication between the people of two > > > communities. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>From then on Anil (one of the participants in the > > > workshop) played our host and > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>guided us to residences of the members. He had > > > already fixed our schedule for > > > > > > >>the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in > > > this manner. We began by > > > >>visiting members who lived outside the camps. The > > > houses we visited looked > > > >>similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were > > > a deliberate effort to live > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the > > > houses even had an elaborately > > > > > > >>and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The > > > residents explained that this > > > >>keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very > > > much at home possibly > > > >>because of our common culture and the foods that we > > > were treated to. The > > > >>conversations went on endlessly as they do in > > > Kashmir. There was a special > > > >>feeling like when we meet relatives separated from > > > us for a long time. There > > > >>was so much to catch up on. We could sense among > > > our hosts a deep longing and > > > > > > >>love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it > > > was clearly evident by the > > > > > > > > > > > >>manner in which they had maintained continuity with > > > their way of life in an > > > >>alien land and the profusion artifacts that they > > > had surrounded themselves > > > >>with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their > > > eyes to receive us in their > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken > > > place while we shared about > > > > > > > > > > > >>our experiences and the situations we are faced > > > with in either place. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds > > > of most Kashmiri Pandits > > > >>was not economic loss but the fear of losing > > > community itself in the vast sea > > > > > > >>of humanity that is India... They so much want to > > > remain Kashmiris and so > > > >>easily find extension of their selves among the co- > > > community of Kashmiri > > > >>Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can > > > share the language, culture > > > >>and the local idiom even though their religion is > > > different. They can talk to > > > > > > >>us and share the inherited meanings while it is not > > > possible with > > > >>co-religionists from other parts of India. In > > > Kashmir they also shared a > > > >>relationship of mutual respect with other > > > Kashmiris, while in a place like > > > >>Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special > > > community. They are merely > > > > > > >>outsiders who are encroaching on the local > > > resources. But even now when we meet > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be > > > familiar and know how to > > > >>address each other and can share so much. In all > > > our conversations the use of > > > > > > >>'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and > > > Pandits was frequent. We > > > >>could still identify ourselves as a people apart > > > from others. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>From the homes we visited it was clear how much > > > they must have had to struggle > > > > > > > > > > > >>to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had > > > taken years for some to > > > >>finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu. > > > For a long while they felt > > > > > > > > > > > >>that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to > > > return very soon. Some said > > > > > > >>that they can still not relate to these houses as > > > their own, and that whenever > > > > > > > > > > > >>they dream of home they can only visualize their > > > houses in Kashmir. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>I realized the difference between migrating for > > > better opportunities like many > > > > > > > > > > > >>of us do and being forced by circumstances to > > > migrate from home and having no > > > > > > >>place to return to. I realized that Pandit > > > migration was a tragic event for > > > >>Kashmiri community as a whole because they took > > > with them so much that was us. > > > > > > > > > > > >>It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel > > > so vulnerable as a community > > > > > > > > > > > >>away from home. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>From there Anil led us to the camps for the first > > > time. Since most of the > > > >>participants for our workshop had come from the > > > Porkhu camp we went there to > > > >>meet up with the people. I must confess that my > > > idea of Pandit camps while in > > > > > > >>Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as > > > befit the so-called 'pampered' > > > > > > > > > > > >>community. To my shock the camp can be described no > > > better than a slum. Pandit > > > > > > > > > > > >>camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood > > > or single brick walls. In > > > >>the barracks each family has been allotted a room > > > or if the family is really > > > >>large two rooms at the most. The lanes between > > > the barracks are narrow and > > > >>lined by deep open drains. The residents have > > > constructed toilets and small > > > >>kitchens and walls around the space on their own. > > > Once inside, we felt very > > > >>hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room > > > where shifted to one side to > > > > > > > > > > > >>make room for the seven men who had visited the > > > house. The immediate feeling > > > >>that came to our mind was that this was no place > > > to live for ten days and these > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>people had managed to live here for more than > > > thirteen years. Yet we were > > > >>treated very hospitably, as we would be in > > > Kashmir. Again we realized that > > > >>Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance > > > even in terms of the food > > > >>they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and > > > traditional Kashmiri bread > > > >>(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who > > > had visited Kashmir. Some of > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>the members in the camp had to give serious > > > explanation for having participated > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of > > > having made a compromise with > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again > > > that there was no hidden > > > >>agenda and that none of the known political > > > organizations had anything to do > > > >>with our work. We decided to visit the camp once > > > again on the next day in order > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>to hear from more people and also to share the idea > > > of reconciliation with > > > >>them. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>To our surprise more people turned up for the > > > meeting than we were prepared to > > > > > > > > > > > >>face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty > > > people in the meeting. But > > > >>the hall meant for marriages and other functions > > > began to fill until we had > > > >>more than hundred people many of whom did not > > > understand why we were there. > > > >>Some of the people were charged up due to the > > > election campaigns and the offer > > > > > > > > > > > >>made by the central government to give rupees > > > seven-lakh assistance for Pandits > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>who chose to return to the valley. One of the > > > elderly persons emphasized that > > > > > > >>they did not want this package because they saw it > > > more as an insult added to > > > > > > >>the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri > > > Pandits was not about money, > > > > > > >>but about insecurity and how they can redeem the > > > way of life that was lost. > > > >>“Would they be able to return the security we > > > felt in living among our own > > > >>people and how would they ensure that now, with > > > the changes that our people > > > >>have undergone by living away from each other?” > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>It was clear that some of the people in the camp > > > were mistaking us for the > > > >>representatives of some political party or the > > > central government. After > > > >>hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts > > > thought that we must be > > > >>asked why we have come to the camps in the first > > > place. We began by explaining > > > > > > > > > > > >>that we did not represent any official initiatives > > > for rehabilitation of > > > >>Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as > > > concerned individuals who are > > > >>not happy with the situation as it exists. “We > > > have no offers to make because > > > > > > >>have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In > > > a sense we feel guilty for > > > > > > >>not having done enough to stop the migration when > > > it took place and also for > > > >>not having been in touch for the last thirteen > > > years. It is partly to absolve > > > > > > >>ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have > > > also come to hear from your > > > > > > > > > > > >>experiences and to observe how you people are > > > living away from home and what > > > >>you have to say.” > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>This brief introduction changed the tone of the > > > meeting and then on almost all > > > > > > > > > > > >>the members individually began to share their > > > experiences. Some laid emphasis > > > > > > >>on the unique brotherhood that existed among > > > Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits and > > > > > > >>how they longed for its return, while others > > > expressed the pain of living for > > > > > > >>thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the > > > elderly were very vivid about > > > > > > > > > > > >>their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at > > > least die in Kashmir”, the > > > >>younger ones were bitter about the state of > > > helplessness and feared whether > > > >>their future would be safe if they were to choose > > > to return. Some of the > > > >>members related the number of times Kashmiri > > > Pandits have had to migrate from > > > > > > >>Kashmir and how every time after the peace was > > > restored they returned to their > > > > > > > > > > > >>homeland. They also said that if they were to > > > return this time, they would want > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>the surity that they do not have to migrate yet > > > again. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Some of the younger members were very bitter about > > > the circumstances that led > > > > > > >>them to leave Kashmir and said that under no > > > circumstances are they willing to > > > > > > > > > > > >>forget how some of their people were tortured and > > > killed. We tried to explain > > > > > > >>that to reconcile did not mean that one has to > > > forget and we did not expect > > > >>them to forget what they had experienced. Asking > > > one to forget would amount to > > > > > > > > > > > >>disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only > > > feel that hate should not be > > > >>the motive for our actions and that we must > > > forgive without forgetting. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>One of the members explained how the state was > > > maintaining the camps in bad > > > >>repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners > > > and visitors to the camps as > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>a means of propaganda to impress upon them their > > > own version of the conflict in > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals > > > kept in a zoo, displayed > > > >>whenever the need was felt. The state according > > > to them could do better and at > > > > > > > > > > > >>least afford to provide reasonable conditions of > > > living for the migrants. The > > > > > > >>dilapidated condition of the camps was a > > > deliberate state policy. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>Almost all the people appreciated our effort and > > > felt that it was in some ways > > > > > > > > > > > >>different from all the other efforts that are being > > > made for their return and > > > > > > >>rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts > > > were in the least sincere and > > > > > > >>thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that > > > the greater part of the work is > > > > > > > > > > > >>required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do > > > not pose a big problem. It is > > > > > > > > > > > >>only when certain receptiveness is created among > > > the majority community in > > > >>Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made > > > possible. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>There was a difference of opinion whether they > > > should return to their own > > > >>respective villages or a separate enclave should be > > > created to rehabilitate > > > >>them in the valley. For some the texture of the > > > villages over the years had > > > >>changed so drastically that it was no longer > > > possible for them to feel safe in > > > > > > > > > > > >>their old homes. So though the interaction between > > > the members of the two > > > >>communities should get restored, but for their > > > safety they must be settled in > > > > > > >>an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this > > > arrangement would not be healthy, > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>as it would not help restore old relationship and > > > increase suspicion and > > > >>segregation. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>The meeting lasted well over five hours into the > > > night and at last when most > > > >>people had spoken we sought permission to leave. > > > But the people would not let > > > > > > >>us go and took us back to their homes where more > > > rounds of tea and informal > > > >>conversation resumed. We had to leave finally > > > because of an earlier commitment > > > > > > > > > > > >>to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside > > > the camp. The conversations > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well > > > past midnight, were in my > > > >>opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language > > > that can only be possible > > > > > > >>with the members of ones own community. There was > > > endless joking and laughing! > > > > > > > > > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu > > > was beyond our > > > >>expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to > > > restore the broken > > > >>relationships and the way of life that has been > > > lost. People are cautiously, > > > >>willing to explore ... because the stake is worth > > > every bit of effort. > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >>_________________________________________ > > > >>reader-list: an open discussion list on media and > > > the city. > > > >>Critiques & Collaborations > > > >>To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > > with subscribe in > > > > > > >>the subject header. > > > >>To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > >>List archive: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >_________________________________________ > > > >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > > > city. > > > >Critiques & Collaborations > > > >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > > with subscribe in > > > >the subject header. > > > >To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > >List archive: > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > > > city. > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > > > with subscribe in the subject header. > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > List archive: > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 15 12:48:11 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:48:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? Message-ID: <001b01cb3c4a$058638c0$1092aa40$@in> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-questions-PMs-Kashmir-autonomy- remark/articleshow/6292479.cms NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has questioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, saying autonomy for the state won't be tolerated. The BJP targeted the prime minister in Parliament on the issue and termed it as unfortunate. Manmohan Singh had on Tuesday night said that the Centre was willing to consider autonomy for the state within the ambit of the Constitution. Reaching out the people of the state, Singh told a meeting of representatives of various political parties from the state in New Delhi that if there was a consensus between them on autonomy, the Centre would consider it within the ambit of the Constitution. "We are all servants of the Constitution. There are many shades of opinion in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir. I and my senior ministers present here show our seriousness in addressing the issues," he said. Prime Minister said that he was aware of the alienation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and that it had to be removed. "Jammu and Kashmir residents must have a life of self-respect and dignity," he emphasized. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 15 13:35:00 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 13:35:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] From STONES to SHOES in Kashmir: Message-ID: DEAR ALL please click to see image and news about shoe thrown at Omar http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article572446.ece best is From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Sun Aug 15 14:18:36 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 01:48:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? In-Reply-To: <001b01cb3c4a$058638c0$1092aa40$@in> Message-ID: <652744.66741.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> J&K already enjoys some sort of 'autonomy'. It has a Constitution of it's own   What the BJP perhaps is objecting to is an 'increase' in that 'autonomy' that would take the relationship between J&K and the rest of the country to 'pre-1953 status' meaning for that relationship to be strictly as per the Instrument of Accession.   Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? To: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 12:48 PM http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-questions-PMs-Kashmir-autonomy- remark/articleshow/6292479.cms NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has questioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, saying autonomy for the state won't be tolerated. The BJP targeted the prime minister in Parliament on the issue and termed it as unfortunate. Manmohan Singh had on Tuesday night said that the Centre was willing to consider autonomy for the state within the ambit of the Constitution. Reaching out the people of the state, Singh told a meeting of representatives of various political parties from the state in New Delhi that if there was a consensus between them on autonomy, the Centre would consider it within the ambit of the Constitution. "We are all servants of the Constitution. There are many shades of opinion in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir. I and my senior ministers present here show our seriousness in addressing the issues," he said. Prime Minister said that he was aware of the alienation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and that it had to be removed. "Jammu and Kashmir residents must have a life of self-respect and dignity," he emphasized. Thanks Bipin Trivedi _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Sun Aug 15 14:46:20 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:46:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Let's prepare to eat ethanol or fight this insane system. Message-ID: Much as climate change is about trends and not specific events, this is likely yet another instance of how climate change impacts agriculture. This might seem like Russia's problem but in a globalized, interconnected world market, a significant drop in crop yields affects markets and prices elsewhere. I had no idea the deaths were so high but this number 15,000 deaths in Russia needs to be confirmed. Naga * * * * *Russia's Agony a "Wake-Up Call" to the World ** * * **Stephen Leahy* *VIENNA, Aug 11 (IPS) - A wind turbine on an acre of northern Iowa farmland could generate 300,000 dollars worth of greenhouse-gas-free electricity a year. Instead, the U.S. government pays out billions of dollars to subsidise grain for ethanol fuel that has little if any impact on global warming, according to Lester Brown.* "The smartest thing the U.S. could do is phase out ethanol subsidies," says Brown, the founder of the Washington-based Earth Policy Institute, in reference to rising food prices resulting from the unprecedented heat wave in western Russia that has decimated crops and killed at least 15,000 people. "The lesson here is that we must take climate change far more seriously, make major cuts in emissions and fast before climate change is out of control," Brown, one of the world's leading experts on agriculture and food, told IPS. Average temperatures during the month of July were eight degrees Celsius above normal in Moscow, he said, noting that "such a huge increase in temperature over an entire month is just unheard of." On Monday, Moscow reached 37 C when the normal temperature for August is 21 C. It was the 28th day in a row that temperatures exceeded 30 C. Soil moisture has fallen to levels seen only once in 500 years, says Brown. Wheat and other grain yields are expected to decline by 40 percent or more in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine - regions that provide 25 percent of the world's wheat exports. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a few days ago that Russia would ban all grain exports. Food prices will rise but how much is not known at this point, says Brown. "What we do know, however, is that the prices of wheat, corn, and soybeans are actually somewhat higher in early August 2010 than they were in early August 2007, when the record-breaking 2007-08 run-up in grain prices began." Emissions of greenhouse gases like CO2 from burning fossil fuels trap more of the sun's energy. Climate experts expected the number and intensity of heat waves and droughts to increase as a result. In 2009, heat and fire killed hundreds in Australia during the worst drought in more than century, which devastated the country's agriculture sector. In 2003, a European heat wave killed 53,000 people but as it occurred late in the summer crop, yields were not badly affected. If a heat wave like Russia's were centred around the grain- producing regions near Chicago or Beijing, the impacts could be many times worse because each of these regions produce five times the amount of grain as Russia does, says Brown. Such an event could result in the loss of 100 to 200 million tonnes of grain with unimaginable affects on the world's food supply. "Russia's heat wave is a wake-up call to the world regarding the vulnerability of the global food supply," he said. The global climate is warming and most food crops are both heat and drought sensitive. Rice yields have already fallen by 10-20 percent over the last 25 years in parts of Thailand, Vietnam, India and China due to global warming, new research has shown. Data from 227 fully-irrigated farms that grow "green revolution" crops are suffering significant yield declines due to warming temperatures at night, researchers found. "As nights get hotter, rice yields drop," reported Jarrod Welch of the University of California at San Diego and colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Aug. 9. Previous studies have shown this result in experimental plots, but this is the first under widespread, real-world conditions. With such pressures on the world's food supply it is simply wrong-headed to use 25 percent of U.S. grain for ethanol as a fuel for cars, said Brown. "Ethanol subsidies must be phased out and real cuts in carbon emissions made and urgently," he said. =================================================== -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiaclimatejustice" group. To post to this group, send email to indiaclimatejustice at googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to indiaclimatejustice+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiaclimatejustice?hl=en. From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 15 15:57:23 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:57:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? In-Reply-To: <652744.66741.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <001b01cb3c4a$058638c0$1092aa40$@in> <652744.66741.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <000901cb3c64$743297e0$5c97c7a0$@in> That is what the problem. J&K is already enjoying autonomy what more still PM offering? It's real questionable integrity of the PM. In my opinion J&K problem is this autonomy only, which should be removed fully. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From: Kshmendra Kaul [mailto:kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 2:19 PM To: sarai-list; Bipin Trivedi Subject: Re: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? J&K already enjoys some sort of 'autonomy'. It has a Constitution of it's own What the BJP perhaps is objecting to is an 'increase' in that 'autonomy' that would take the relationship between J&K and the rest of the country to 'pre-1953 status' meaning for that relationship to be strictly as per the Instrument of Accession. Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? To: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 12:48 PM http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-questions-PMs-Kashmir-autonomy- remark/articleshow/6292479.cms NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has questioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, saying autonomy for the state won't be tolerated. The BJP targeted the prime minister in Parliament on the issue and termed it as unfortunate. Manmohan Singh had on Tuesday night said that the Centre was willing to consider autonomy for the state within the ambit of the Constitution. Reaching out the people of the state, Singh told a meeting of representatives of various political parties from the state in New Delhi that if there was a consensus between them on autonomy, the Centre would consider it within the ambit of the Constitution. "We are all servants of the Constitution. There are many shades of opinion in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir. I and my senior ministers present here show our seriousness in addressing the issues," he said. Prime Minister said that he was aware of the alienation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and that it had to be removed. "Jammu and Kashmir residents must have a life of self-respect and dignity," he emphasized. Thanks Bipin Trivedi _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Sun Aug 15 16:56:07 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 04:26:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? In-Reply-To: <000901cb3c64$743297e0$5c97c7a0$@in> Message-ID: <387816.65923.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Bipin   You did not read all of what I wrote.   The demand is for increase in 'autonomy' to take it to the level that it existed at prior to 1953.   It is this demand from one section of the polity in Kashmir that was addressed by PM Singh. That is the section which wants Kashmir to continue as a part of India. Singh also qualified his comment by saying it could be discussed within the allowances of the Constitution. So, your questioning the integrity of the PM has no foundation.   Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: RE: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? To: "'Kshmendra Kaul'" Cc: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 3:57 PM That is what the problem. J&K is already enjoying autonomy what more still PM offering? It’s real questionable integrity of the PM.   In my opinion J&K problem is this autonomy only, which should be removed fully.   Thanks Bipin Trivedi       From: Kshmendra Kaul [mailto:kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 2:19 PM To: sarai-list; Bipin Trivedi Subject: Re: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE?   J&K already enjoys some sort of 'autonomy'. It has a Constitution of it's own   What the BJP perhaps is objecting to is an 'increase' in that 'autonomy' that would take the relationship between J&K and the rest of the country to 'pre-1953 status' meaning for that relationship to be strictly as per the Instrument of Accession.   Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? To: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 12:48 PM http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-questions-PMs-Kashmir-autonomy- remark/articleshow/6292479.cms NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has questioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, saying autonomy for the state won't be tolerated. The BJP targeted the prime minister in Parliament on the issue and termed it as unfortunate. Manmohan Singh had on Tuesday night said that the Centre was willing to consider autonomy for the state within the ambit of the Constitution. Reaching out the people of the state, Singh told a meeting of representatives of various political parties from the state in New Delhi that if there was a consensus between them on autonomy, the Centre would consider it within the ambit of the Constitution. "We are all servants of the Constitution. There are many shades of opinion in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir. I and my senior ministers present here show our seriousness in addressing the issues," he said. Prime Minister said that he was aware of the alienation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and that it had to be removed. "Jammu and Kashmir residents must have a life of self-respect and dignity," he emphasized. Thanks Bipin Trivedi _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>   From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 15 17:45:32 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:45:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? In-Reply-To: <387816.65923.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <000901cb3c64$743297e0$5c97c7a0$@in> <387816.65923.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <001d01cb3c73$91a36020$b4ea2060$@in> can u intimate, what is that prior to 1953 position? What is the difference between the two? In my knowledge J&K assembly there after passed some resolution for more autonomy. From: Kshmendra Kaul [mailto:kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 4:56 PM To: Bipin Trivedi Cc: sarai-list Subject: RE: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? Dear Bipin You did not read all of what I wrote. The demand is for increase in 'autonomy' to take it to the level that it existed at prior to 1953. It is this demand from one section of the polity in Kashmir that was addressed by PM Singh. That is the section which wants Kashmir to continue as a part of India. Singh also qualified his comment by saying it could be discussed within the allowances of the Constitution. So, your questioning the integrity of the PM has no foundation. Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: RE: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? To: "'Kshmendra Kaul'" Cc: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 3:57 PM That is what the problem. J&K is already enjoying autonomy what more still PM offering? It’s real questionable integrity of the PM. In my opinion J&K problem is this autonomy only, which should be removed fully. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From: Kshmendra Kaul [mailto:kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 2:19 PM To: sarai-list; Bipin Trivedi Subject: Re: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? J&K already enjoys some sort of 'autonomy'. It has a Constitution of it's own What the BJP perhaps is objecting to is an 'increase' in that 'autonomy' that would take the relationship between J&K and the rest of the country to 'pre-1953 status' meaning for that relationship to be strictly as per the Instrument of Accession. Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? To: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 12:48 PM http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-questions-PMs-Kashmir-autonomy- remark/articleshow/6292479.cms NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has questioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, saying autonomy for the state won't be tolerated. The BJP targeted the prime minister in Parliament on the issue and termed it as unfortunate. Manmohan Singh had on Tuesday night said that the Centre was willing to consider autonomy for the state within the ambit of the Constitution. Reaching out the people of the state, Singh told a meeting of representatives of various political parties from the state in New Delhi that if there was a consensus between them on autonomy, the Centre would consider it within the ambit of the Constitution. "We are all servants of the Constitution. There are many shades of opinion in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir. I and my senior ministers present here show our seriousness in addressing the issues," he said. Prime Minister said that he was aware of the alienation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and that it had to be removed. "Jammu and Kashmir residents must have a life of self-respect and dignity," he emphasized. Thanks Bipin Trivedi _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Sun Aug 15 18:03:56 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 05:33:56 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? In-Reply-To: <001d01cb3c73$91a36020$b4ea2060$@in> Message-ID: <350037.11238.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Bipin   It would be more educative if you read it up yourself on the internet, so that you understand all the aspects that I might not be able to do justice to.   To help you in this, please go through the relevant websites thrown up by: http://www.google.ae/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLJ_en___AE328&q=autonomy+kashmir+1953   I do not have anything further to add to this topic.   Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: RE: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? To: "'Kshmendra Kaul'" Cc: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 5:45 PM can u intimate, what is that prior to 1953 position? What is the difference between the two? In my knowledge J&K assembly there after passed some resolution for more autonomy.         From: Kshmendra Kaul [mailto:kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 4:56 PM To: Bipin Trivedi Cc: sarai-list Subject: RE: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE?   Dear Bipin   You did not read all of what I wrote.   The demand is for increase in 'autonomy' to take it to the level that it existed at prior to 1953.   It is this demand from one section of the polity in Kashmir that was addressed by PM Singh. That is the section which wants Kashmir to continue as a part of India. Singh also qualified his comment by saying it could be discussed within the allowances of the Constitution. So, your questioning the integrity of the PM has no foundation.   Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: RE: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? To: "'Kshmendra Kaul'" Cc: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 3:57 PM That is what the problem. J&K is already enjoying autonomy what more still PM offering? It’s real questionable integrity of the PM.   In my opinion J&K problem is this autonomy only, which should be removed fully.   Thanks Bipin Trivedi       From: Kshmendra Kaul [mailto:kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 2:19 PM To: sarai-list; Bipin Trivedi Subject: Re: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE?   J&K already enjoys some sort of 'autonomy'. It has a Constitution of it's own   What the BJP perhaps is objecting to is an 'increase' in that 'autonomy' that would take the relationship between J&K and the rest of the country to 'pre-1953 status' meaning for that relationship to be strictly as per the Instrument of Accession.   Kshmendra --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? To: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 12:48 PM http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-questions-PMs-Kashmir-autonomy- remark/articleshow/6292479.cms NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has questioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, saying autonomy for the state won't be tolerated. The BJP targeted the prime minister in Parliament on the issue and termed it as unfortunate. Manmohan Singh had on Tuesday night said that the Centre was willing to consider autonomy for the state within the ambit of the Constitution. Reaching out the people of the state, Singh told a meeting of representatives of various political parties from the state in New Delhi that if there was a consensus between them on autonomy, the Centre would consider it within the ambit of the Constitution. "We are all servants of the Constitution. There are many shades of opinion in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir. I and my senior ministers present here show our seriousness in addressing the issues," he said. Prime Minister said that he was aware of the alienation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and that it had to be removed. "Jammu and Kashmir residents must have a life of self-respect and dignity," he emphasized. Thanks Bipin Trivedi _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>     From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Aug 15 18:28:12 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:28:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? In-Reply-To: <350037.11238.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <001d01cb3c73$91a36020$b4ea2060$@in> <350037.11238.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Hi Since the question of Kashmir has come up in this thread, in regard to the autonomy, here is an article which I read on the site of Outlook. It is quite brief. I don't agree with each and every view of what the writer says here, but I do post it. Rakesh Article Link: http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?266685 From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 15 20:08:42 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:08:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Independence Day Speech : I am not listening Message-ID: Dear all please click to see the image-- http://indersalim.livejournal.com with love is From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 15 20:42:51 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:42:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? In-Reply-To: References: <001d01cb3c73$91a36020$b4ea2060$@in> <350037.11238.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <000c01cb3c8c$719577a0$54c066e0$@in> Link u posted do not opens can u post the content if u can open it? From: Rakesh Iyer [mailto:rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 6:28 PM To: Kshmendra Kaul Cc: Bipin Trivedi; sarai-list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? Hi Since the question of Kashmir has come up in this thread, in regard to the autonomy, here is an article which I read on the site of Outlook. It is quite brief. I don't agree with each and every view of what the writer says here, but I do post it. Rakesh Article Link: http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?266685 From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Aug 15 20:48:10 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:48:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IS KASHMIR AUTONOMY VIABLE? In-Reply-To: <000c01cb3c8c$719577a0$54c066e0$@in> References: <001d01cb3c73$91a36020$b4ea2060$@in> <350037.11238.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <000c01cb3c8c$719577a0$54c066e0$@in> Message-ID: Bipin Here is the article, a quite long one. Do take your time in reading it. Rakesh The article: Opinion Kashmir Now Or Never It is time to recuperate and refurbish the covenant of the federative promise and principle, setting a uniquely outstanding example both in terms of plurality of citizenship and of political partnership in opposition to totalitarian impulses Badri Raina *“Kashmir may be conquered by the force of spiritual merit but not by the force of soldiers.”* -- Kalhana Pandit I So total has been the loss of hegemony of Kashmir’s elected representatives, in government and in the legislature, over the last two months, and so desperately brutal the recourse to coercive subjugation of fearless young anger on the streets of the valley, that if ever there was a time to say resistance to authority (sic) deserves to be rewarded with what it seeks, it has been now. If the prospect, that is, of the secession of the valley—since other parts of the state of Jammu & Kashmir desire, contrarily, not secession but more complete integration with the Union of India — were not fraught with incalculable negative consequences not just for India and Pakistan, but for the inhabitants of the valley itself. To that I shall return. Just the other day, the home minister made two significant averments in Parliament. One that the union recognizes that the accession of the state of Jammu & Kashmir was a “unique one”; and, two, that, apart of all other things, the Republic and its successive governments had failed to keep promises made to the people of Jammu & Kashmir. Since the time for pussy footing about Kashmir is conclusively at an end, it would help to flesh out those two averments beyond the minister’s sketchily en passant mention. *Uniqueness of the Accession* It is to be recalled that the two conditions agreed upon as the signposts for India’s pre-Independence Princely States as determinants of whether they would accede to India or to Pakistan were the religion of the majority within the states, and the congruity of the states to either Dominion. In that context, the three states of Hyderabad, Junagarh, and Jammu & Kashmir offered interesting paradigms. Where the first two had Muslim rulers but majority Hindu populations, J&K had a Dogra-Hindu ruler but a majority Muslim population. Of the three, clearly, J&K, being also contiguous with Pakistan, had the clearest case for accession to Pakistan. Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Kashmir, however, desired accession to neither of the two new countries, but wished to remain Independent. Having succeeded in signing what was called a “Standstill” agreement with Pakistan, it was his hope to do the same with India. Except that the fates intervened in the shape of a precipitate invasion of the state he ruled by tribal warriors from the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan with the latter's active support and involvement in late October of 1947. With next to no means of his own to meet, let alone defeat the invasion, he found himself constrained to appeal to India for military help vide his request for Accession to India, dated October, 26, 1947. He wrote to the then Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma: “The mass infiltration of tribesmen drawn from the distant areas of the North-West Frontier. . .cannot possibly be done without the knowledge of the Provincial Government of the North West Frontier Province and the Government of Pakistan. Inspite of repeated requests made by my Government no attempt has been made to check these raiders or stop them from coming to my State. . . .I have no option but to ask for help from the Indian Dominion. Naturally they cannot send the help asked for by me without my State acceding to the Dominion of India. I have accordingly decided to do so and I attach the Instrument of Accession for acceptance by your Government.” That much for a Hindu ruler who had been reluctant to join even a Hindu-majority India but for the fact that circumstances forced such a decision upon him. Another matter that even on acceding, the Instrument of Accession he signed stated that the accession in no way bound him to “acceptance of any future constitution of India” (Clause 7), and that “Nothing in this instrument affects the continuance of my sovereignty in and over this State” (Clause 8). Stipulations that to this day continue to colour the fraught history of tensions between the Union and the State. As a result, Article 306 A was adopted in the Draft Constitution, and in course became the much-talked-about Article 370 in the final Constitution of India. Most significantly, the “special status” thus accorded to the State of J&K, backed by the then Home Minister of India, Patel (who said to the Constituent Assembly “in view of the special problems with which the government of Jammu & Kashmir is faced, we have made a special provision for the constitutional relationship of the State with the Union”) was accepted without demur also by Shyama Prasad Mukerjee, a member of Nehru’s cabinet, later to become the most vociferous and disruptive voice of the Hindu right-wing. More of that below. *But the best part of the “uniqueness” lay elsewhere, namely in the heroically principled declaration of allegiance to a prospectively secular and democratic Hindu-majority India by a Muslim Kashmiri leader of a Muslim-majority state, Sheikh Abdullah.* Internally, within the Princely State of J&K, a popular movement for the overthrow of the Maharaja’s rule had been underway for two decades before 1947, precipitating in the events of July 1931, when some 21 popular resistors were gunned down by the Maharaja’s police force in front of a court house—a watershed event that led to the formation of the “Muslim Conference” which came to be led by Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, a post-graduate from the Aligarh Muslim University who was denied a teaching post in the state by the Maharaja’s regime at a time when educated Kashmiri Muslims could be counted on finger-tips. Within mainland India, although the Muslim League came a cropper in the elections to the Provincial Assemblies of 1936, following upon the passing of the Government of India Act of 1935, between that loss and 1946, the Muslim League under Jinnah made huge strides among Muslims in the states of Punjab and Bengal. It was during this time that Jinnah was to make fervent arguments to Abdullah as to the obvious decision that the Kashmir Muslim Conference must make for joining forces with Jinnah’s League, and for the Pakistan resolution which the League had passed in 1940. Remarkably, however, despite the Kashmir Maharaja regime's concerted anti-Muslim rule, and despite having forged the “Muslim Conference,” Abdullah, by then the undisputedly tallest leader of the valley, and indeed the state, and despite the state having been a Muslim majority one, came to reject the two-nation communal thesis of the Muslim League, and declare his preference for the secular-democratic struggle that the Indian National Congress under Gandhi and Nehru had been waging against colonial rule, as he converted the “Muslim Conference” into the “National Conference” in 1938. Clearly, some nine years *before* the partition of India and of the tribal invasion of Kashmir. Abdullah in these years spoke repeatedly to his convictions. Arguing that the matter of accession could not be left to the whims and fancies of rulers, but must reflect the voice of the people, he gave public expression to the popular Kashmiri view in a speech on October 4, 1947 at a historic rally (some three weeks before the tribal invasion): “We shall not believe in the two-nation theory which has spread so much poison (cf to the communal killings that had been underway in the Punjab and in Bengal). Kashmir showed the light at this juncture (Gandhi was famously to say that the only light out of the darkness of communal killings he saw was in Kashmir where not a single incident took place). When brother kills brother in the whole of Hindustan, Kashmir raised its voice of Hindu-Muslim unity. I can assure the Hindu and Sikh minorities that as long as I am alive their life and honour will be quite safe.” Vide the Maharaja’s proclamation of March 5, 1948, Sheikh Abdullah took over as the Prime Minister of the state, and on the next day, he told a press conference: “We have decided to work and die for India. . .We made our decision not in October last, but in 1944, when we resisted the advances of Mr.Jinnah. Our refusal was categorical. Ever since the National Conference had attempted to keep the State clear of the pernicious two-nation theory while fighting the world’s worst autocracy ( *The Statesman, *7 March, 1948).” On December 3, at a function of the Gandhi Memorial College at Jammu: “Kashmiris would rather die following the footsteps of Gandhiji than accept the two-nation theory. We want to link the destiny of Kashmir with India because we feel that the ideal before India and Kashmir is one and the same.” Those ideals—secularism, democracy, end to feudal landlordship—became the basis for the adoption of the “provisional accession of the state to India” by the National Conference in the same month of October. II *The Betrayal* Although Accession vide Article 370 which conferred a “special status” on Jammu & Kashmir had, as stated above, received approval both from Patel and Shyama Prasad Mukerjee, a new situation was to develop as the Abdullah government in the state launched the New Kashmir Manifesto, bedrocked, among extraordinarily progressive pronouncements—equal status of women in education and employment being but one— on the promise of giving land to those who tilled it. Thus, disregarding Clause 6 of the Instrument of Accession (“Nothing in this Instrument shall empower the Dominion Legislature to make any law for this state authorizing the compulsory acquisition of land for any purpose,” and should land be thus needed, “I will at their request acquire the land”), Abdullah declared a maximum land ceiling of 22.75 acres, set up a Land Reforms Commission, and set about distributing surplus land thus acquired to those who actually were tillers on the soil. Abdullah was to rub home the point that such land reforms would never have been possible in a feudal Pakistan. This was trouble royal. Most of the land then was in possession of Hindu Dogras, and most of the tillers were Muslim Kashmiris. Thus it came to be that the material loss of landholdings was sought to be converted into a communal question vide an opposition now to Article 370 by a newly organized forum called the Praja Parishad which came to be led by the very Mukerjee who had been a willing party to the adoption of the Article as a member of the Union Cabinet. Under stipulations of the “special status,” Jammu & Kashmir had been granted to form its own Constituent Assembly. When elections to the CA took place in 1951, candidates picked by Abdullah’s National Conference won all 75 seats. The Assembly met on October 31, 1951. On November 5, Abdullah outlined the major agenda before it: To frame a Constitution for Kashmir; To decide on the fate of the royal Dynasty; To decide whether there should be any compensation paid to those who had lost their land through the Land Abolition Act; To “declare its reasoned conclusion regarding accession.” Abdullah noted: “The real character of a State is revealed in its Constitution. The Indian Constitution has set before the country the goal of a secular democracy based upon justice, freedom and equality for all without distinction. This is the bedrock of modern democracy. This should meet the argument that the Muslims of Kashmir cannot have security in India, where the large majority of the population are Hindus. Any unnatural cleavage between religious groups is the legacy of imperialism. . . .The Indian Constitution has amply and finally repudiated the concept of a religious State which is a throwback to medievalism. . . .The national movement in our State naturally gravitates towards these principles of secular democracy.” And, on Pakistan: “The most powerful argument that can be advanced in her favour is that Pakistan is a MuslimState, and, a big majority of our people being Muslims the State must accede to Pakistan. This claim of being a MuslimState is of course only a camouflage. It is a screen to dupe the common man, so that he may not see clearly that Pakistan is a feudal State in which a clique is trying by these methods to maintain itself in power. . . .Right-thinking men would point out that Pakistan is not an organic unity of all the Muslims in this subcontinent. It has, on the contrary, caused the dispersion of Indian Muslims for whom it was claimed to have been created (a perception first voiced by Maulana Azad in a prescient interview given to the Covert magazine in 1946, a year before Partition)” Abdullah considered the third option of Independence (Kashmir as an “Eastern Switzerland”), and concluded as follows: “I would like to remind you that from August 15 (the day of Indian Independence) to October 22, 1947 (when the tribal invasion began) our State was Independent and the result was that our weakness was exploited by the neighbour with invasion. What is the guarantee that in future too we may not be victims of a similar aggression.” All that notwithstanding, the Hindu right-wing assault began also to gather force, as it launched the Jana Sangh (precursor of today’s Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP) in 1951—the same year as the establishment of the Constituent Assembly in the State. And its leader became Shyama Prasad Mukerjee, with the RSS lending two of its leaders for support, namely Atal Behari Vajpai and L.K.Advani. As stated earlier, stung by the redistribution of landholdings, it sought to make the terms of the Accession the issue, and defying the democratic-federal principles enshrined both in the Constitution of India and in their reflection in the trust reposed thereof by Abdullah, it announced a programme ostensibly aimed to strengthen national unity. At its first session, it called for: An education system based on “Bhartya culture” (read Hinduism); The use of Hindi in schools (in full knowledge that, other than Kashmiri, Urdu was the language predominantly used by educated Kashmiri Muslims; indeed, from about the first decade of the twentieth century, the wholly artificial cleavage between Hindi and Urdu had begun to be deployed by communalists on either side to press their claims to “true” national allegiance; ) The denial of any special privileges to minorities; Full integration of Jammu & Kashmir into the Indian Union. On the other side, in letters exchanged over a period of time between Abdullah and Nehru, the shape of an agreement between the State and the Union was taking shape. That came to be called the Delhi Agreement (1952). It stated: Commitment to Article 370 That the State Legislature would be empowered to confer special rights on “state subjects” (a right that had been won through the anti-Maharaja struggles of 1927 and 1932—a form of privilege restricted to permanent residents of the State in property ownership and jobs); That Kashmir would have its own flag, although subordinate to the Union Tricolour; That the Sadar-e-Riyasat (later on Governor of the State) would be elected by the State Assembly, but would take office with the concurrence of the President of India; That the Supreme Court of India would, “for the time being,” have only appellate jurisdiction in Jammu & Kashmir; That an internal Emergency could only be applied with the concurrence of the State Legislature. Late in the same year, the riposte to this from the Hindu right-wing came in the form of the following slogan—one around which the Jana Sangh sought to mount its attack on the terms of Accession. And the slogan was: *Ek desh mein do Vidhan, Ek desh mein do Nishaan, Ek desh mein do Pradhan, Nahi challenge, nahi challenge.* (We will not accept two Constitutions, two flags, and two prime ministers in one and the same country.) This communalist right-wing putsch against the principles on which the State had accepted to accede to India began to find resonance also within a section of the Congress Party. To Nehru’s great chagrin but helplessness, his candidate for the first President of India, Rajagopalachari, was rejected in favour of Rajendra Prasad (who was soon to lock horns with Nehru on the Hindu Code Bill, and to go to the Somnath Mandir ,once ravaged by Ghazni, among many other chieftains of old, to effect renovations on State expense—a move wholly in conflict with the secular foundations of the Republic). Other collateral tendencies began also to surface, such as bespoke scant regard on behalf of the Union of India for the federative principles. In his despondent letter to Maulana Azad, dated 16 July, 1953, Abdullah complained about the usurpations underway, in contravention of what terms had been agreed upon: “We the people of Kashmir, regard the promises and assurances of the representatives of the government of India, such as Lord Mountbatten and Sardar Patel, as surety for the assistance rendered by us in securing the signatures of Maharaja of Kashmir on the Instrument of Accession, which made it clear that the internal autonomy and sovereignty of the Acceding States shall be maintained except in regard to three subjects which will be under the Central government (namely, Defence, Communications, and External Affairs).” And: “When the Constituent Assembly of India proceeded to frame the Union Constitution there arose before it the question of the State. Our Representatives took part in the last sessions of the Assembly and presented their point of view in the light of basic principles on which the National Conference had supported State’s Accession to India. Our view-point drew appreciation and Article 370 of the Constitution came into being determining our position under the new Constitution.” Abdullah pointed out that although it had been agreed that the “Accession involves no financial obligations on the States” such demands were being made; and “the changes effected on several occasions in relationship between India and Kashmir greatly agitated the public opinion.” And on the other source of perceived menace: “A big party in India (the Jana Sangh) still forcefully demands merger of the State with India. In the State itself Praja Parishad is threatening to resort to direct action if the demand for the State's complete merger with India is not conceded.” Abdullah’s anguish at what seemed gathering storms on two fronts—the subversion by the Union of the terms of Accession, and a Hindu communalist putsch to undo Article 370, found poignant expression in a speech he had meant to deliver to an Eid gathering on august 21, 1953 (twelve days after his government was dismissed and Abdullah arrested and incarcerated). In that he wrote: “. . .there is the suggestion that the accession should be finalized by vote of the Constituent Assembly.” “It is the Muslims who have to decide accession with India and not the non-Muslims. . . .The question is: must I not carry the support of the majority community with me? If I must, then it becomes necessary that I should satisfy them to the same extent that a non-Muslim is satisfied that his future hopes and aspirations are safe in India. Unfortunately, apart from the disastrous effects which the pro-Merger agitation in Jammu produced in Kashmir (the valley). . .the Muslim middle class in Kashmir has been greatly perturbed to see that while the present relationship of the State with India has opened new opportunities for their Hindu and Sikh brothers to ameliorate their lot, they have been assigned the position of a frog in the well. . . . *What the* *Muslim intelligentsia in Kashmir is trying to look for is a definite and* *concrete stake in India.”*(emphasis added) As stated, the dye had been cast, and his great friend Nehru had him arrested on the suspicion that he had been hobnobbing with the Americans for support to secede from the Union and declare Independence. Although there might have been grounds for such a suspicion, to this day no proof is forthcoming. But read the lament quoted above, and there is not a jot more or different that informs the frustrated Kashmiri youth in the valley who are at this minute agitating in the valley, willing to confront police bullets. It is another matter that long years after in 1974, Abdullah signed an Accord with Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India which stipulated, among other things, that “Parliament will continue to have power to make laws relating to the prevention of activities directed towards disclaiming, questioning, or disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India or bringing about secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union. . .” etc., When the Indian Home Minister therefore speaks of keeping promises with the Kashmiris, those promises have a much wider ambit than the question merely of amending the vile Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which allows the least army man to shoot to kill without accountability. Throughout these turbulent years of conflict, never once has any government of India sought to formulate schemes whereby talented Kashmiri Muslims, products of an educational explosion—all thanks to Abdullah’s New Kashmir programme, could be made to feel not just safe in the heartland but valued assets in the ongoing story of national “development.” Not to speak of the communal lens through which Kashmiri Muslims continue to be viewed by Indian society at large, an old malaise made dangerously trenchant subsequent to the era of “terrorism.” And, paradoxically, the more that strong-arm methods and vicious prejudices fail to deliver desired results, the more the State means to persist with them. And now that some streaks of recognition seem to dawn on policy establishments, the present-day incarnation of the old Praja Parishad and Jana Sangh are back to the same old perfidies, robbing the secular democratic sections within the Congress chiefly of any will or courage to disregard Hindu right-wing communalism and do right by Kashmir. III *Azadi* Some 51 teenage Kashmiris screaming for secession have died in the last two months from police bullets in the valley. Quite apart from the legalese of the question (the Sheikh/Indira Gandhi Accord for one), and apart also from the hard reality that such secession will neither ever be agreed to by any political establishment in India or any government of the day, or accepted by Indians at large, hypothetically, what prospects could be envisaged were the other parts of the State who do not want secession to be persuaded that the valley of Kashmir be bestowed Independence and Sovereignty? --following such a declaration, demands for *Azadi* could gain legitimacy in Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, to name a few, and be hard to deny once a precedent is set; --a Hindu communalist backlash could ostensibly engulf India, rendering the lives of Indian Muslims tenuous, and leading to demands that India be declared a Hindu State, since the secession of the valley would have proved the two-nation theory to have been correct after all; --within Pakistan, first the Baloch, and then the Sindhis might take heart and set themselves the objective to be freed of Punjabi ethnic dominance through secession; --within the valley, a Bangladesh-like situation might well emerge, namely a struggle among those who will wish to retain a secular democratic state and those who might argue for an Islamic state; it is well to remember that of its forty years or so of independent nationhood, brought about under the leadership of the Awami National Party on secular principles, some thirty years were to see the communalist Leaguers in power; until now when under the present regime again the Supreme Court there has struck down Article 5 of the amended constitution, and thereby once again reverted to denying any religion-based party formations, but after the spilling of much blood. This writer has often been accused of exaggerating the sufi-secular orientation of Kashmiri Muslims, and of sentimentally misreading acts of personal and individual camaraderie and brotherhood displayed by Kashmir Muslims towards visiting Pandits as representative of the totality. I have also been kindly once commented upon as a “Jehadi lapdog” (just use Google). But all that notwithstanding, it remains a fact that at the time of the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in 1990, a campaign was in evidence as loud-speakers from mosques blared how the “Nizam-e-Mustafa” (Islamic Statehood) was at hand, how the Pandits must hasten their exodus, taking care to leave their women behind, though. You will also hear the speculation that one reason why elements within the valley do not, at bottom, wish the Pandits to return home en mass is that they do not wish an Indian “fifth column” to be reinstated therein, since with them gone, the desire for an Islamic State acquires greater facilitation. Much as the Jews in Israel, for example, fear the return of Palestinian refugees into what was once their homeland. I must also confess to another sort of experience on some recent visits to the valley, namely the chagrin with which any mention of “Kashmiriyat” (denoting the good old syncretic ways of Kashmiris) now tends to be received there. Indeed, I recall being at a seminar in the university in Srinagar where a senior academic read a one or two page “paper” titled “Kashmiriyat” only, in fact, to rubbish the concept, without much substance albeit. “Kashmiriyat” is now seen as something of a trick to deny the fact that Kashmir in essence is Islamic, something that finds increasing expression in text books on history and culture, as the pre-Islamic period (roughly up to the fourteenth century, A.D.) is sought to be relegated. Then the incident that happened not so long ago at Pulwama, where a Sikh Kashmiri was surrounded, and asked to speak the Islamic Qalima, failing which some of his hair was shorn off. Let it also be said that the incident, uncharacteristic in the extreme, drew condemnation from all sections of Kashmiri leadership. Although, therefore, some residual Kashmiri Pandits who never left the valley continue to be protected by their Muslim neighbours, and their weddings and funerals organized with customary syncretic brotherhood, and although their periodic visits from camps outside the valley to age-old Hindu shrines in the valley are greeted with warmth, it would be wrong to deny that after the near-total evacuation of the Pandits, the impulse to forge a Sovereign and Independent valley into a theocratic state might not be altogether a baseless surmise. Be that as it may, what might be the security logistics of the new state, bordering as it does Russia, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and in that situation, India as well? To return to what Sheikh Abdullah had said with regard to this option (“Eastern Switzerland”), how might the new state meet those vulnerabilities? And how might it be said that Imperialism from you-know-where, already stationed in countries nearby, might not feel that at long last the valley was his for the taking, with all the Afghanistan-like consequences that could follow, both in terms of turmoil and cultural defilement? Not to speak of the kind souls from Pakistan’s wild-western provinces, many in fact now resident in the main city centres of Pakistan? How might Kashmiris resist their call to a Jehadist embrace, in disregard of time-honoured ethnic Kashmiri prizing of exclusivity and identity? And if they became insistent despite a polite “no”, who might come to the aid of the Kashmiris? Kashmiris are insistent everyday as the current imbroglio proceeds that jobs, development, opportunities—these are not the issues. Yet, these might indeed in time become issues of central magnitude for a prospectively landlocked valley to deal with, in the absence of both monetary and infrastructural resources. Those resources then may have to come from other places with all the attendant implications, be it the Saudis, or the Americans, or the Chinese. Altogether, a pickle-in-the-making. IV If those be not unfounded considerations, what is to be done? And it is time that the question is addressed with some candid concern. A good beginning is made, I think, if all parties to the contention recognize that Kashmir is not a problem that may ever be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. And it would be wrong to think that what is said therein is merely a pre-emptive ploy. I doubt me much that time will prove me wrong. Let me say at once that the two options which seem closest to the heart of contending parties—the union and the agitators—I see as non-starters, namely the wish on behalf of the Indian state, on the one hand, that things may drag on as before till exhaustion seals a fait accompli, and, on the other, the desire, however fervent, of the young agitators for a country of their own in the valley. The first is bad not only because such a fait accompli will not happen, but because it speaks poorly to the founding pretensions of the Republic of India—chiefly its claim to “unity in diversity.” And it reinforces a sentiment felt more widely than just in the valley that the Indian state has, since the 1990 beginning of the neo-liberal era especially, become increasingly impatient of both secularism and democracy, and wholly inimical to the rights of a majority of Indians who to this day, in Abdullah’s words, feel no “definite and concrete stake in India.” This applies as a thought to the lives of India’s tribal populations, to Dalits, and to minorities of various description on a differentiated scale of neglect. In that context, the Indian state can only be fooling itself to think that sooner than later the Kashmiris will tire and turn around. And the second is a bad option because, as suggested above, the consequences of the secession of the valley are potentially fraught only with negatives for all parties to the dispute, and to the subcontinent as a whole. Those recognitions return us willy nilly to salutary reflections on the possibility of recuperating and refurbishing the covenant of the federative promise and principle—something on which the accession of the state to the union had been based in the first place, setting a uniquely outstanding example both in terms of plurality of citizenship and of political partnership in opposition to totalitarian impulses in both areas. This Kashmiri still thinks that the Delhi Agreement (above) of 1952 still offers the most workable and fair point of engagement. With the caveat that with the advantage of hindsight any cool Kashmiri would recognize that extending the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India and of the Election Commission of India to the state, far from impinging on the State’s Autonomy, would in fact be credible guarantees of protection from excesses and denials. As to the majoritarian nationalists, they are as much a menace to the rest of India as to any attempt to arrive at a fair solution in Kashmir. That being so, the Indian state and civil society must needs muster the strength and the will to defy and defeat their shenanigans, if the nation is to be saved not so much from the Kashmiris as, first of all, from them. It is good, late than never, that the Prime Minister has made some noises to the sort of effect suggested here. Let his government and society at large understand fully that it is now or never in Kashmir, and therefore avoid going into another decade-long siesta after the current violence inevitably lulls. As to Pakistan, I am simply tempted to nod assent to what Sheikh Abdullah had told the United Nations when he went there to plead India’s case: “I refuse to accept Pakistan as a party in the affairs of Jammu and Kashmir state; I refuse this point blank.” After what it has done to its own people over the decades, that refusal seems most in order. What the occupied part of Kashmir in Pakistan may do with their fate is best left to them as well. Significantly, the most recent Chatham House conducted poll showed some 58% of Kashmiris willing to formalize the Line of Control between the two parts of Kashmir as the International border between India and Pakistan. That is as it should be. And once that happens, human and other commerce between the two Kashmirs can be put on a sound international footing, all ambiguities and hassles removed. If initiatives along above lines are not undertaken soon, it may be pointless to write any further on the subject of the Kashmir problem. Not reason, analysis, or conjoint effort may then sort it out, but a conflagration that may lead who knows where. ------------------------------ *Note:* * * *Literature on Kashmir is mind-boglingly numerous, and I have sought to look into as much as time and tide allow. But, for purposes of this piece, I wish to record my indebtedness to three authors on Kashmir chiefly—Prem Nath Bazaz, Balraj Puri, and M.J. Akbar on whose work I have drawn with abandon. The interpretations thereof being entirely my responsibility* From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 15 22:47:03 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:47:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IS THERE ANY KASHMIR SOLUTION? Message-ID: <000001cb3c9d$ae37dde0$0aa799a0$@in> I invite all to suggest Kashmir solution according to you. Readers from this list staying in Kashmir, indicate what you want actually. Since it is so confusing about your real problem and demand. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From kamalhak at gmail.com Sun Aug 15 23:46:13 2010 From: kamalhak at gmail.com (kamalhak at gmail.com) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:16:13 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] IS THERE ANY KASHMIR SOLUTION? In-Reply-To: <000001cb3c9d$ae37dde0$0aa799a0$@in> References: <000001cb3c9d$ae37dde0$0aa799a0$@in> Message-ID: <336356052-1281896149-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-442215735-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Majority of Kashmir, physically as well as demo graphical, has been held hostage by a small majority for last twenty years. The voice of this silent majority has either been not taken seriously or suppressed deliberately. This hapless majority consisting of people from Ladakh, Jammu, displaced Kashmiri Pandits and a significant number of Kashmiri Muslims do not share the aspiration of separatists. Any solution that seeks to undermine the aspirations of these people will prove to be counterproductive and will eventually lead to another set of problems. Under the circumstances, the best possible solution to the problem would be a geopolitical reorganization of the state. It would make a lot of sense to grant statehood to Jammu and Ladakh. Create a union territory in Kashmir for all those Kashmiris, cutting across religious lines, who have faith in Indian constitution and believe in sovereignty of India. The rest of Kashmir should be left free for creation of a dispensation that meets the realistic and achievable goals of alienated sections of Kashmiri people. Regards, Kamal Hak Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel -----Original Message----- From: Bipin Trivedi Sender: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:47:03 To: sarai-list Subject: [Reader-list] IS THERE ANY KASHMIR SOLUTION? I invite all to suggest Kashmir solution according to you. Readers from this list staying in Kashmir, indicate what you want actually. Since it is so confusing about your real problem and demand. Thanks Bipin Trivedi _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From jeebesh at sarai.net Sun Aug 15 23:55:50 2010 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 23:55:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A critique of nonviolence Message-ID: <2054B910-BD9B-47D7-A5F3-6E75A27F5067@sarai.net> dear all, in this essay of exceptional scholarship we could find an opening for a renewed thinking. warmly jeebesh http://www.india-seminar.com/2010/608/608_sibaji_bandyopadhyay.htm A critique of nonviolence SIBAJI BANDYOPADHYAY Ahimsā paramo dharmo – this is one aphorism with which almost every Indian schoolchild is acquainted. From early childhood we are tutored to discern the symptoms of the pathological everyday we inhabit, taught to be increasingly protective of ourselves in a progressively more violent world, and in the same breath told that all sane Indians of the past swore by the creed of ‘nonviolence’. Offering, as though a therapeutic solace to the troubled souls of today, it is incessantly reiterated that ancient Indians were unwavering in asserting the ethical propriety of ahimsā. We are repeatedly reminded, the one singular achievement of ancient India was that all her sages, meaning ‘custodians of people’ called upon to preserve harmony among different callings and thus augment loka-samgraha or ‘social wealth’, condemned himsāor ‘violence’ without so much as a demur. And, to refurbish this popular wisdom, the modern ideologues committed to it invariably hark back to the Mahābhārata, the colossal work that within the tradition of Indian taxonomy of genres bears the title itihāsa. With the express intention of affirming iti-ha-āsa or ‘so indeed it was’, they cite selective portions of the Mahābhārata. With great fondness, they keep mouthing, for example, the dictum handed out to Yudhishthira by grandsire Bhishma in ‘Anuśānaparvan’. The dictum, lilting in terms of lyrical cadence, makes the expression ‘ahimsā paramo dharmo’ or ‘ahimsā is the highest dharma’ more weighty by appending to it expressions such as, ‘Ahimsā is the highest form of self-control’, ‘Ahimsā is the highest austerity’, ‘Ahimsā is the highest sacrifice’, ‘Ahimsā is the best friend’, ‘Ahimsā is the greatest happiness’, ‘Ahimsā is the highest truth’ (13.117.37-38).* Indisputably, there is a kind of critical consensus that itihāsa places an exceedingly high premium on ‘nonviolence’. Also certainly, it is this uncritical or unconscious adherence to the same unanimity, which gives to the painstaking statistical exercise undertaken by Alf Hiltebeitel the quality of the unexpected. Alf Hiltebeitel, in his 2001 book Rethinking the Mahābhārata, prepares a tally-sheet for the phrase paramo dharmo and demonstrates that out of the 54 times it occurs in the Mahābhārata, it is conjoined with the word ahimsā only four times – and, of those four, one is contained in Bhishma’s dictum quoted earlier!1 Even if we grant that frequency distributions based on quantitative analyses are by themselves not sufficiently strong measures of weights attached to values, Alf Hiltebeitel’s chart provides other information that have the potential to meet the deficiency. We gather from it that along with ‘nonviolence’ and ‘truth’ there is one order of excellence extolled by the Mahābhārata, which by a curious twist of logic, appears to give lie to the truth of nonviolence. And that is ānŗśamsya or ‘noncruelty’. Moreover, and surely this is telling, although the expression ānŗśamsyam paro dharma or ‘noncruelty is the supreme dharma’ features eight times in the Mahābhārata, it is only very recently that scholars have begun to take cognizance of ānŗśamsya as a complex concept on its own right. Mukund Lath, in his path-blazing 1987 article on the term has gone so far as to say, ‘It has been kind of voyage of discovery for me, to understand what ānŗśamsya means in the Mahābhārata… [It is more so because] outside the Mahābhārata, whether in the literature preceding the Mahābhārata or following it, the word hardly has the supreme significance [as] it has in the epic’.2 The obvious questions that this observation gives rise to are: (a) What is the ideological role of ānŗśamsya in the Mahābhārata? (b) Does it have any relevance beyond the framework of itihāsa? In the justly famous dialogue between Yudhishthira and Dharma, the highest authority on the meaning of Good-ness, appearing as a Yaksha in the ‘Âraņyakaparvan’, the philosophical Yudhishthira’s response to Yaksha’s question, ‘What is the greatest virtue in the world?’ was, ānŗśamsyam paro dharmo, ‘absence of cruelty is the highest virtue’ (3. 297.54-55 and 3. 297.71). In the course of the interrogation which took in its stride such intriguing existential issues as ‘the substance of self’, ‘the meaning of happiness’, ‘the surest path of acquiring authentic knowledge’, ‘the problem of recognizing one’s own mortality’, the statement ānŗśamsyam paro dharma comes twice. The fact that Yudhishthira the Dharmarāja chose to conclude the session by stating it once again gives to the expression the air of a well-considered maxim (3.297.11-298.22). It surely is instructive that the person most sensitive and upright among the chief protagonists of the Mahābhārata, the one hero compulsively obsessed with intricacies involving moral conundrums, should choose to mark ‘noncruelty’ and not ‘nonviolence’ as the ultimate humane attribute. However, the underlying assumptions behind the privileging is supplied not by Yudhishthira but by a fowler by profession – instead of Dharmarāja, they are spelt out by a Sūdra reverentially referred to as Dharmavyādha. They are there in the lecture, rather lengthy and tiresome one at that, which the Dharmic Fowler delivered to a haughty Brahminin ‘Âraņyakaparvan’ (3.198.1 to 3.206.32). Let us now focus on the salient features of the discourse on ānŗśamsya spun by Dharmavyādha of Mithilā, the conscientious Sūdra whose very livelihood depended on killing fowls of the air, beasts of the field and selling flesh in the open market. Schematically put, this is what Dharmavyādha said: 1. ‘Ahimsā is the highest dharma, which, again, is founded upon truth’ (3.198.69). (Incidentally, of the four times we encounter the phrase ahimsā paramo dharma in the Mahābhārata, one of them comes from Dharmavyādha.) 2. But, even though men of learning and wisdom have advocated non- violence from the earliest times, anyone who thinks hard enough is bound to reach the conclusion that there is none who is nonviolent (3.199.28). (This same view is forcefully voiced by Arjuna in ‘Śāntiparvan’. The hero whom an immobilizing depression seized immediately before the commencement of the Kurukshetra War but who, thanks to Krishna’s sobering as well as stimulating discourse managed to shake it off just in the nick of time said, long after peace had returned to the land, ‘I do not see a single person in this world who lives by nonviolence’ (12.15.20). 3. Hence, the best way to resolve the paradox is to temper the exacting demands of ‘nonviolence’ by emphasizing ‘leniency’ or ‘noncruelty’ and, for all practical purposes, replace the commandment ‘ahimsā is the highest dharma’ by ‘ānŗśamsya is the highest dharma’ (3.203.41). (In Mukund Lath’s words, ‘What the Mahābhārata preaches is not ahimsā but ānŗśamsya’.3 Lath’s claim is indeed provocative. Unlike J.L. Mehta, who believes ‘[Mahābhārata’s] central message, repeated again and again, is that non-violence (ahimsa) and compassion (anrisamsya) are the highest duties of man’4, Lath sees a distinct hierarchy at work in the Mahābhārata – a subtle distinguishing operation that places ānŗśamsya over and above ahimsā.) Dharmavyādha reckons ‘state of violence’ to be an irremediable, unavoidable factor of ‘human condition’. By the same token, in his system of Ethics, ahimsā obtains the precarious status of an unrealizable ideal – it is as if, no matter how morally judicious a subject is in conducting his daily life, the goal of ahimsā can only be approached by moving along an asymptomatic curve that converges only at infinity. The Dharmic Fowler’s axiomatic propositions – propositions that he himself claims to be part and parcel of authentic ‘Brahmanic philosophy’ (3.201.14) – lead inexorably to the framing of, what, for the sake of convenience may be called, a ‘principle of proxy’. In the Brāhmanic universe of the scrupulous Sūdra, the notion of ānŗśamsya functions as a stand-in for ahimsā. It maintains a critical distance from both the components of the himsā-ahimsā or ‘violence-nonviolence’ binary without dissolving either of the two. It opens up a discursive space within which excessive violence is condemned and unqualified nonviolence considered unviable. Placed as a golden mean between two extremes, ānŗśamsya gestures towards the apparently contradictory prescript of ‘violence without violation’. In short, given the fact that every being on earth is obliged to abide by certain violent but objective conditions, the only way left to man to differentiate himself from other living things and assert his specific species-being is to treat ānŗśamsya as the closest possible approximate of ahimsā. But then, we are dealing with itihāsa, a compendium of fables that has the extraordinary felicity of attaching contending signifieds to the same signifier. This flexibility may be bothersome; but, it often achieves effects that are overwhelming. Ānŗśamsya too has an indeterminate ambiguity about it. There are moments in the Mahābhārata in which the word comes so close to anukrosha or ‘empathy’ as to make ahimsā and ānŗśamsya not only mutually exchangeable (as envisaged by J.L. Mehta) but also to construe a general grammar of ‘ethical care’ on the basis of ānŗśamsya.5 The ‘fable of the parrot’ in the Anuśāsanaparvan is a case in point. On Yudhishthira’s plea ‘I wish to hear of the merits of ānŗśamsya’, Bhishma had recounted the legend (13.5.1-31). The story went: a fowler had mistakenly pierced a forest-tree with a poison-arrow; as a result, the tree withered away; despite the destruction, a parrot living in the hollow of the tree’s trunk did not desert his nest; surprised by this show of (irrational) attachment, Indra approached the parrot and enquired into his reasons for cohabiting with the condemned; justifying his voluntary decision on the grounds of ‘compassion’, ‘kindliness of feeling’ and affection for the erstwhile protector, the parrot invoked successively the concepts ānŗśamsya and anukrosha (13.5. 22-23).6 The puzzle posed by the parable was, how come lower animals exhibit a sensibility which humans take for granted to be peculiarly humane. Indra wondered about the parrot’s supernatural feat of practicing ānŗśamsya (13.5.9) and resolved the problem by adducing to the primary supposition of a (supposed) ‘Natural Ethics’. Indra discerned in the parrot’s behaviour a confirmation of the principle of ‘mutual care’ – there was no mystery; the urge to be generous towards others was a predilection common to allcreatures (13.5.10). Doubtless, the ‘fable of the parrot’ exceeds the limit set by Dharmavyādha to the category of ānŗśamsya. Similar exceeding can be found in other parts of the Mahābhārata too. For example, in the almost last (significant) episode of itihāsa in which Indra forbade Yudhishthira from entering the celestial abode if Dharmarāja insisted on continuing with the dog that had been accompanying him in his final journey. Yudhishthira was, however, adamant; he refused to abandon the humble animal. In expressing his touching loyalty for the loyal dog, Yudhishthira employed the word ānŗśamsya (17.3.7); and, a little later, shedding the disguise of the dog, Dharma himself praised Yudhishthira for being thoroughly informed by the moral compulsion of anukrosha (17.3.17). Here too, conjoined as it is with a word etymologically rooted in the notion of ‘crying out that "follows" (anu) someone else’s "cry"(krosha)’7, ānŗśamsya over- steps the boundary imposed on it by Dharmavyādha. But, before one can cognize the ‘supplement’ that ‘supplants’ any ‘steady’ signification, it is imperative to follow the ‘logic’ of the ‘main argument’ to its end. Hoping that spots of confounding aporia would inevitably appear as we proceed and the spree for the free play of deconstruction would gather force, we mostly restrict ourselves to Dharmavyādha’s discourse in this paper. To trace the genealogical route of the term ānŗśamsya (as explicated by Dharmavyādha) most scholars refer back to the great ideological clash that took place about two and half thousand years back in the Indo-Gangetic plain. The two parties involved in the battle are generally known as the Brahmin and the Śŗamaņ – the former comprising the votaries of animal sacrifice and the latter men disenchanted by Vedic chants and the magical powers imputed to the act of sacrifice. Most of the Śŗamaņs – the two most prominent of whom were the Buddhists and the Jains – denounced the senselessness involved in killing innocent animals for either gratification or appeasement of the so-called gods. It was the dumbness of being cruel towards ‘dumb creatures’, a form of dumbness unhesitatingly sanctified by priests practiced in the art of Vedic rituals, which exercised them the most – the dissenting Śŗamaņs fleshed out their idea of ahimsā as a protest against this outrage. This, however, does not mean that all those anti-Brahminical sects which propagated ahimsā also preached that it was beneath the dignity of men to consume meat as food. The fact that the ideals of ahimsā and vegetarianism did not stem from the same origin but evolved along two different paths is borne out by facts like: while the Theravāda school of Buddhism permitted its followers to eat flesh provided they were not guilty of procuring the flesh by their own hands, the Jain scriptures poured scorn on the Theravāda ordinance as being an example of sophistry designed to camouflage the desire for the taste of meat – in contradistinction to the early Buddhists, the Jains from the very beginning favoured absolute prohibition on all meat-eating.8 While the Buddhist Emperor Ashoka (3rd c. BCE) is credited to have introduced virtual vegetarianism, the declaration in his First Rock Edict, ‘Here [meaning perhaps, Ashoka’s capital] no animal is to be killed for sacrifice’, clearly imposed a limiting condition on the solicitous state policy governing the practice of vegetarianism.9 It is also legitimate to think that in the process of bringing about a ‘revaluation of all (Brāhmanical) values’ through the category of nonviolence – in the Jain-like exaggerated diction or otherwise – the Śŗamaņs reinforced some of the precepts which were part of the tradition of (pre-Śŗamaņic) Upanişad. The Śŗamaņic insistence on ahimsā certainly cast a new light on sayings such as, ‘Verily, a person is a sacrifice… austerity, almsgiving, uprightness, ahimsā, truthfulness are the gifts [for that sacrifice]’ (Chāndogya Upanişad: III. 16.1 and III. 17.4).10 Again, undoubtedly, fighting against the home-dwelling Brāhmins, the priests who had no qualms about earning their livelihood by gifting animal flesh to gods, the homeless Śŗamaņs could have garnered moral support for their irremediable wanderlust as well as claim a longer and nobler lineage than the himsā-epitomizing Brāhmins from pre- Śŗamaņic utterances as ‘Verily, he is the great unborn Self… Desiring Him only as their worlds, monks wonder forth. Verily, because they knew this, the ancient (sages) did not wish for offspring’ (Bŗhad-āraņyaka Upanişad: IV. 4.22).11 On the whole, despite the earlier invocations of the creed of nonviolence, the Brāhmin-Śŗamaņ hostility was scripted by treating ahimsā as the moot point of contention – and, due to that, what were before, at best, perfunctory and scattered, coalesced to shape a wholesome discourse. Moreover, such is the wholesomeness of the discourse, it still shows no sign of disintegration. Patanjāli, India’s legendary grammarian of 2nd c. BCE, had compared the Brāhmin-Śŗamaņ hostility with the natural snake-mongoose hostility. Then again, while expounding on the ‘antagonistic compound’, Patanjāli had instantiated it by referring to the ‘eternal conflict’ between the Brāhmin and the Śŗamaņ!12 This grammatical wit is sufficiently incisive to keep us forewarned that the ancient ideological contrariety is yet to be transcended. Neither Mukund Lath13 nor Alf Hiltebeitel14 would face any difficulty in accepting Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya as a compromise formula – a formula devised to diffuse the disaccord between the orthodox Brahmana and the non-conformist Śŗamaņ. What is more, this view is quite palatable to many a radical interpreter of India’s past, such as, Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, the author of the outstanding treatise, Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgītā (1971).15 None of them would contest that the concept of uncompromising ahimsā conceived by a section of the Śŗamaņs in order to morally nullify the himsā- oriented Brāhminical practices provided the founding condition for Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya. Of course, there are dissenters; e.g., Chaturvedi Badrinath, the author of The Mahābhārata: An Enquiry in the Human Condition. He wrote as late as in 2006, ‘The three powerful words ahimsā paramo dharmo that [keep] resound[ing] in the Mahābhārata …would later become the cardinal foundation of Jainism’.16 Nevertheless, if we leave aside the complicated business of arguing on the basis of historical evidence and take the softer option of deriving information from literary study of characters, it seems the first view has the greater chance of being vindicated. Take a look at the Mahābhārata’s chief ideologue of ānŗśamsya, the Dharmic Butcher. Dharmavyādha’s body is like a repository of various contesting predilections; it houses all but combines them in such a fashion that all real antagonistic contradictions seem to disappear: he does not slay animals but pursues his family-trade by selling the meat of hogs and buffaloes killed by others (3.198.31); he lays out chopped out flesh in the marketplace for the gratification of culinary appetite of his customers but he himself is a strict vegetarian (3.198.32); he subscribes to the theory of karmaphala but, (as though to negate the Buddhist-like semantic revolution of redefining the word karma to connote ‘personal intention’ in place of ‘Brahmin ritualism’17), insists that it is Destiny which calls people to their respective vocations (3.199.2). He readily admits that his profession is heinous but exculpates himself on the ground that he is a mere ‘passive instrument’ (3.199.3); he displays a great sense of discomfiture vis- à-vis the cruelties he daily practices but mitigates it by claiming that his steadfastness in observing swadharma or ‘the duty of one’s order’ (3.199.14) bestows upon his job the benediction of ānŗśamsya or ‘noncruelty’; he appreciates the lowliness of his rough trade but it gladdens him to think that he supplies meat to ‘gods’ (3.199.4) offered in duly conducted Sacrifices. On the whole, Mahābhārata’s Dharmavyādha, a rare example of a Sūdra trained in ‘Brahmanic philosophy’, stands out as a person who to the last syllable of his being fulfils one of Manu’s kernel injunctions. In the very first chapter of his Book of Laws, Manu had issued the writ: ‘The Lord assigned only one activity to a Sūdra: serving the other castes without resentment’.18 And, it is this lack of ‘resentment’ (or better still of Nietzschean ressentiment) towards so-called natural superiors which enables Dharmavyādha to simultaneously epitomize servility and make a case for ‘leniency’ or ‘compassion’. It is, therefore, not surprising that playing the role of mediating middle term, ānŗśamsya should come to the rescue of the Vedic Sacrifice, remove the taint of himsā ascribed to it by the Śŗamaņs. It underpins the rationale behind the new ‘rules of the game’ chalked up by embattled Brahmanism, by lawmakers embarrassed by Śŗāmaņic charges. Ânŗśamsya places, for example, Manu’s dictum, ‘…killing in sacrifice is not killing…The violence sanctioned by the Veda and regulated by official restraints is known as nonviolence’,19 on a surer footing. Clearly, the ‘new word’20 which captures the imagination of both Mukund Lath and Alf Hiltebeitel, is rather about attitude than any concrete instance of violence or nonviolence – set up to countermand the Śŗāmaņic over-valorization of ahimsā, ānŗśamsya bespeaks of an ‘affective state’. Encourages as it does to cultivate a sense of detachment to the consequences of his actions in the mind of the doer, the ‘new word’ bears familial resemblances with many Brahmanic and Śŗāmaņic concepts. For example: in ‘Śāntiparvan’, after saying, ‘I know what ānŗśamsya is, because I have always marked the conduct of good people’ (12.158.1), Yudhishthira heaps praises on a sensibility central to the set of precepts associated with the famed nishkāma karma (12.164.41-46). Aparigrahah is one word that ānŗśamsya recalls most strenuously. The word itself has a checkered history. Aparigrahah generally implies ‘non-possession’. It appears in the ancient, most probably pre- Buddhist, Jābāla Upanişad;21 it is one of the ‘Five Great Vows’ enjoined by Jainism;22 it recurs once in Chapter Six, Verse number ten in the Bhagavadgītā.23 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – the apostle of ahimsā of modern India who on occasions looked back to Yudhishthira in his attempts to define the term24 and besides translating the Gītā into Gujarati composed immensely influential commentaries on the book – was deeply impressed by the Gītā’s employment of aparigrahah. Lest we muddle up things, it is important to remember that aparigrahah or ‘[to be] free from longing for possessions’25 used in conjunction with thoroughgoing ahimsā connotes a value quite distinct from the one produced by its conjunction with the more malleable ānŗśamsya. Being a self-professed ‘practical idealist’,26 Gandhi was often driven to reflect on the epistemological limits of the creed of ‘nonviolence’. A pacifist, he consistently disavowed the ‘doctrine of the sword’ in his battles against imperialist forces. In pointing to the distinctive character of man’s species-being Gandhi did not, unlike the Dharmic Fowler, stop at ‘noncruelty’, but said, ‘Nonviolence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute’.27 He paid tributes to Mahavira, the Jain teacher who was among the staunchest advocates of the gospel of ahimsā, and the Buddha as well and termed them ‘soldiers’ for the cause of ‘nonviolence’.28 Nonetheless, Gandhi maintained, there were certain aspects of violence which were ‘inevitable’;29 he boldly asserted that his own doctrine of ahimsā was ‘new’, not ‘dependent upon the authority of [previous] works’ including those belonging to the Jain school of thought.30 There are several passages in Gandhi’s An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth (volume I: 1927; volume II: 1929) in which he expresses great fascination with the Gītā and its English translation by Edwin Arnold titled The Song Celestial(1885).31 He took the Gītā as his Book of ‘conduct’ and sought to develop his idea of ahimsā on its basis.32 And, it is striking that Gandhi’s political lexicon is most profoundly coloured by a word which appears only once in the Gītā, his ‘dictionary of daily reference’.33 That word, as Gandhi put it himself, ‘gripped’34 him from the start and as years passed by, helped him to forge his most original contribution in the field of social sciences: the notion of ‘trusteeship’. The word was aparigrahah. Gandhi wrote in his Autobiography: ‘I understood the Gita teaching of [aparigrahah or] non-possession to mean that those who desired salvation should act like a trustee who, though having control over great possessions, regards not an iota of them as his own’.35 Note the crucial difference: while according to the Jain tenet aparigrahaħ signifies renunciation of all material possession in the exact sense of the term, Gandhi derives from Gītā’s aparigrahaħ the profile of a ‘subject’ who does not give up his private property for good but has the perspicuity to not to call anything one’s own for the sake of public good. It may now be safely surmised that the concept of ānŗśamsya has a positive bearing on itihāsa as well as on modern history. The ‘supreme significance’36 ascribed to it in the epic is doubtless absent in post-Mahābhārata literature. However, its hidden intellectual career can be uncovered once we align ānŗśamsya with aparigrahah and follow the latter’s role in shaping the image of the responsible leader of New India – a man gifted with both control over great possessions and the right attitude towards them; a man who affirms ahimsā but knows periodic release of controlled violence may be mandatory in the discharge of his duties. There still remains a serious epistemological problem. It is quite apparent that in pre-modern texts the will to himsā is equated to will to slay – it is assumed that even the most trivial act of himsā inclusive that of ‘speech’ or ‘thought’ is grounded on and geared to the final solution of annihilating some other. Even when the Jains advised that it was advisable to avoid violence ‘not so much because it harm[ed] other beings [but] because it harm[ed] the individual who commit[ed] it’,37 the ‘selfish’ motive was dictated by the fear of damaging, in the extreme case damaging physically, someone else. Nonetheless, it seems, in the light of more recent formulations, neither the Śŗāmaņic celebration of ahimsā nor the Mahābhārata’s resolution of opposites through ānŗśamsya nor the latter’s disguised deployment in modern political theory, evince sufficient alertness to the mechanisms of violence. A whole section of Mahābhārata’s ‘Śāntiparvan’ is devoted to āpad-dharma, to the rules in situations of extremity when normal rules do not apply (12.129.14 to 12.167.24). Almost at the beginning of the section there is a sloka which is like a prelude to what is to follow. It says: ‘As a hunter discovers the track of a deer wounded with arrow by marking spots of blood on the ground, so should one try to find out the reasons of dharma’ (12.130.20). We are then introduced to a series of tales and counsels whose chief burden is to underscore the over-riding importance of ‘self-preservation’. The instruction is: ‘See the efficacy of self- interest’ (12.136.140). Therefore, recognizing instinctively that ‘this body is my friend’ (12.139.73), a person should not refrain from doing things, no matter how distressful or distasteful they are, in order to save his most intimate friend; knowing that, ‘One should keep up his life by any means in his power without judging of their charter’ (12.139.59), it is quite permissible and passable for a person threatened by imminent death to cause injury to others. (Incidentally, Gandhi too accepted the necessity of applying violence for self-defence.) This means at the moment of deepest crisis, the man caught up in it has every right to suspend all codes of formal behaviour orsadāchāra. More importantly, this also indicates that, in the ultimate analysis, the source of violence is always positioned as beingexternal to the body; it is taken for granted that the violence which may entail one’s destruction is always inflicted from the outside; the terrible enemy is forever stationed elsewhere. This sense of exteriority in relation to fatal dangers also circumscribes the reach of ahimsā – to be ‘nonviolent’ then becomes a corollary and an extension of the urge to conserve one’s body. It is no wonder, therefore, that Sudharman, a direct disciple of Mahāvira, in stating the irrevocable factum tenet of the Jain system, the first of the ‘Five Great Vows’,38 took recourse to the metaphor of the ‘body’ dreading foreign invasion and the criterion of ‘reciprocity’. He said: ‘All [bodies] are subject to pain; hence they should not be killed… Know this to be the real meaning of the Law of ahimsā: as you do not wish to be killed, so others do not wish to be killed’.39 Armed with this Law, Sudharman launched a frontal attack on the competing Śŗamaņ school of Buddhism and declared: ‘See! There are men pretend[ing] to be houseless, i.e., monks such as the Bauddhas, [who] destroy earth-body by bad and injurious things…a wise man should not act sinfully towards earth, nor cause others to act so’.40 Going by this extremist dogma, if a man lays down his life for any cause, say, for ahimsā, he does so because he willfully lets the other- directed himsā to fall upon him and not because desire for violence stems from his own body. Mahābhārata too – the text, that in S. Radhakrishnan’s opinion is a stellar example of ‘readjustments’ initiated by Brāhmanism to process some of the objections raised by diverse ‘systems of revolt’41 – in substance reiterates the same criterion of ‘reciprocity’ when it teaches that the sum total of man’s duties is contained in the maxim, ‘Thou shalt not do to others what is disagreeable to thyself’.42 However, complacency apropos violence can no longer be entertained. Among others, the psychoanalytic intervention in the matter precludes such a possibility. In 1920 Sigmund Freud published Beyond the Pleasure Principle (English translation: 1922). Sitting in Vienna, Freud composed that perplexing work just after the First World War ended and the Austro-Hungarian Empire had vanished from the political map. The two inter-related concepts he introduced in the book have radically altered all earlier visions as regards man’s aptitude for controlling violence. One of them was primary masochism and the other, death-instincts. At one point in Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Freud alluded to E. Hering’s theory that all ‘living substance[s]’ were subject to two contrary processes, one ‘constitutive or assimilatory’ and the other ‘destructive or dissimilatory’. Next, with no prior intimation whatsoever, Freud suddenly took a mighty speculative leap. He substituted Hering’s ‘vital processes’ by ‘instinctual impulses’ and proposed that every living substance was ‘dualistic’ in nature – each was simultaneously motivated by ‘life instincts’ and ‘death instincts’.43 The expression ‘death-instincts’, later more famously known as Thanatos, makes its ‘first published appearance’44 in Beyond the Pleasure Principle – and, at the very moment of its debut it forces us to take seriously, perhaps for the first time in recorded history, bizarre hypotheses such as, ‘[There exists an irresoluble] opposition between the ego or death instincts and the sexual or life instincts’45 or ‘The instincts of self-preservation… are component instincts whose function is to assure that the organism shall follow its own path of death’.46 The death-driven Freudian psyche supplies the aetiology necessary for sociological analyses of ‘suicide’. But, it does more. Thanatos and the ‘primary regression’ called masochism together bring ‘violence’ to centre stage – the human appetite for self- consumption changes the meaning of ‘danger’ to include instances that overstep boundaries set by the principle of ‘self- preservation’; the sensational hypothesis that ‘pain’ can jolly well be a pleasurable sensation for the human animal, in effect, problematizes the Śŗāmaņic doctrine of ‘mutual dependence’, the psychosomatic axiom upon which the pre-modern notion of ahimsā was premised. The 1932 correspondence between Albert Einstein, the physicist whose elegant formula e = mc2 provided the theoretical frame for making the atom bomb a practical proposition, and Sigmund Freud, the psychoanalyst who widened the horizon of ‘violence’, unambiguously demonstrates that the latter in later life regarded the antimony of two basal instincts, eros and Thanatos, as one inviolable factor of ‘human condition’.47 So did the Śŗamaņs when they spoke of bodily pains and Mahābhārata’s Dharmavyādha when he said it was absurd to think that one could avoid doing violence to others in any absolute sense. In each case the theory is produced in response to a specific circumstance, each articulation is backed by a political intention. If the Śŗāmaņic insistence on ahimsā, on according respect to all and giving credence to individual suffering was a strategy to mount an ethical attack on Brahmanism and Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya an apologia for Brahmanism, then Freud’s Thanatos was an offshoot of the brutalities regularly practiced by men during the First World War and the initial phase of Nazism. And, Adolf Hitler, the arch-ideologue of Nazism, in the concluding chapter titled ‘The Right to Self- Defence’ in his 1924 autobiography Mein Kampfhad written: ‘[just as] a weak pigmy cannot contend against athletes, a negotiator without any armed defence at his back must always bow in obescience’.48 On 6 August 1945, the allied forces fighting against the Evil of Nazism dropped the first atom bomb on Hiroshima and thereby officially inaugurated the Nuclear Age. With that strike, at one stroke man acquired a ‘new attribute’: ‘the ability to extinguish all life upon earth’.49 Replaces as it does the age-old diachronic order associated with ‘death’ by the possibility of the ‘synchronic’, by the ever-looming terrifying thought that man can actually make everything and being sign out all at once if he so wills, also brings to Freud’s idea of Thanatos or individualistic death-wish a quaint charm. It is in the historical context of the technological revolution which has the capacity of posing ‘utter calamity’ as the telos of humanity, that the real one feels, epistemological challenge of today is to re-think the question of ‘nonviolence’; ask again, what really is ahimsā? Footnotes: * All Mahābhārata references are to the Critical Edition of the Mahābhārata published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune. The English translations are based on (a) M.N. Dutt, The Mahābhārata (nine volumes), Parimal Publications, Delhi, 2004 and (b) Kisari Mohan Ganguli, The Mahābhārata (four volumes), Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 2004. 1. Alf Hiltebeitel, ‘Chapter Five: Don’t Be Cruel’, Rethinking the Mahābhārata: A Reader’s Guide to the Education of the Dharma King (first published 2001), Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002, p. 207. 2. Mukund Lath, ‘The Concept of Ānŗśamsya in the Mahābhārata’, The Mahābhārata Revisited, ed. R.N. Dandekar, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1990, p. 113, p. 115. 3. Mukund Lath, ibid., p. 119. 4. J.L. Mehta, ‘The Discourse of Violence in the Mahabharata’, Philosophy and Religion: Essays in Interpretation, Indian Council of Philosophical Research and Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi, 1990, p. 256. 5. Vrinda Dalmiya, ‘Dogged Loyalties: A Classical Indian Intervention in Care Ethics’, Ethics in the World Religions, eds. J. Runzo and Nancy M. Martin, Oxford, 2007, pp. 293-306. 6. For discussions on the fable see: (a) Alf Hiltebeitel, op cit., p. 213; (b) Vrinda Dalmiya, op cit., p. 294. 7. For a detailed discussion on the moral implications of anukrosha, see Vrinda Dalmiya, ibid., pp. 298-305. 8. Sources of Indian Tradition (Volume One: ‘From the Beginning to 1800), ed. Ainslie T. Embree, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 1992, pp. 170-171. 9. The original text: ‘1 Shilānusāshana’, Ashokalipi, ed. and tr. Amulyachandra Sen, Mahabodhi Book Agency, Kolkata, 1994, p. 144. For English translation see: Sources of Indian Tradition (Volume One), op .cit., p. 144. 10. Chāndogya Upanişad, ‘III.16.1’ and ‘III.17.4’, tr. S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanişads, HarperCollins Publishers India, New Delhi, 1998, p. 394 and p. 396. 11. Bŗhad-āraņyaka Upanişad, ‘IV.4.22’, The Principal Upanişads, ibid., p. 279. 12. The Vyākaraņa Mahābhāsya of Pataňjali, edited by F. Kielhorn, Volume 1, p. 474, p. 476. 13. Mukund Lath, op cit., pp. 118-119. 14. Alf Hiltebeitel, op cit., p. 203. 15. Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, ‘Chapter II: Section B: The Compromising Character of the Bhagavadgītā’, Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgītā, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2008, pp. 106-109. 16. Chaturvedi Badrinath, ‘Chapter Five: Ahimsā – Non-violence, the Foundation of Life’, The Mahābhārata: An Inquiry in the Human Condition, ed., p. 114 [emphasis added] 17. Richard F. Gombrich, ‘Chapter III: The Buddha’s Dhamma’, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, Routledge, London, 1988, p. 67. 18. Manusamhitā, ‘I.91’, ed. Panchanan Tarkaratna, Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, Kolkata, 2000, p. 40. For English translation see: The Laws of Manu, ‘I.91’, tr. Wendy Doniger and Brian K. Smith, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 1991, p. 13. 19. Manusamhitā, ‘V.39 & V.44’, ed. Panchanan Tarkaratna, op cit., p. 129 and p. 130. For English translation see, The Laws of Manu, ‘V.39 and V.44’, tr. Wendy Doniger and Brian K. Smith, op cit., p. 103 and p. 103. 20. (a) Mukund Lath, op cit., p. 113. (b) Alf Hiltebeitel, op cit., p. 202. 21. Jābāla Upanişad, ‘Verse No. 5’, tr. S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanişads, HarperCollins, New Delhi,1998, p. 898. 22. Âkārāňga Sūtra, ‘Book II, Lecture I5: i-v’, tr. Herman Jacobi, The Sacred Books of the East (Volume 22), ed. F. Max Müller, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2002, pp. 202-210. Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, ‘Lecture XXIII’, tr. Herman Jacobi, The Sacred Books of the East (Volume 45), ed. F. Max Müller, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2004, pp. 119-129. 23. The Bhagavadgītā, ‘VI.10’, ed. S. Radhakrishnan, HarperCollins, New Delhi, p. 192. 24. M.K. Gandhi, ‘Problems of Non-violence’ (in Gujarati: 9 August 1925), The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XXXII, The Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Delhi, 1968, p. 273. 25. The Bhagavadgītā, ‘VI.10’, tr. S. Radhakrishnan, op cit., pp. 192-193. 26. M.K. Gandhi, ‘The Doctrine of the Sword’, (in Gujarati: 11 August 1920), The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XXI, op cit., p. 134. 27. Ibid,, p. 134. 28. M.K. Gandhi, ‘On Ahimsa’, The Penguin Gandhi Reader, ed. Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Penguin Books, New Delhi,1993, p. 97. 29. M.K. Gandhi, ‘Problems of Non-violence’, The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XXXII, op cit., p. 273. 30. M.K. Gandhi, ‘On Ahimsa: Reply to Lala Lajpat Rai’ (October 1916), The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XV, op cit., pp. 251-252. 31. ‘I have read almost all the English translations of [the Gītā], and I regard Sir Edwin Arnold’s as the best’: M.K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume I, Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, 1968, p. 100. 32. M.K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume II, ibid., p. 393. 33. Ibid., p. 393. 34. Ibid., p. 393. 35. Ibid., p. 394. 36. Mukund Lath, op cit., p. 115. 37. A.L. Basham, ‘Introduction: Basic Doctrines of Jainism’, Sources of Indian Tradition (Volume One), op cit., p. 57. 38. Âkārāňga Sūtra, ‘Book II, Lecture I5: i’, op cit., pp. 202-204. Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, ‘Lecture XXIII’, op cit., pp. 119-129. See also, Upinder Singh, ‘Chapter Six: Cities, Kings and Renunciasists: North India, c. 600-300 BCE: Section: Early Jainism’, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Pearson Longman, Delhi, 2009, pp. 312-319. 39. Sūtrakritāňga, ‘Book I, Lecture I, Chapter 4: Verse nos. 9 & 10’, tr. Herman Jacobi, The Sacred Books of the East (Volume 45), ed. F. Max Müller, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2004, pp. 247-248. The same commandment is repeated in: Sūtrakritāňga, ‘Book I, Lecture II: Verse nos. 9 and 10’, op cit., p. 311. 40. Âkārāňga Sūtra, ‘Book I, Lecture I, Lesson 2’, op cit., pp. 3-5. 41. S. Radhakrishnan, ‘Chapter VIII: Epic Philosophy’, Indian Philosophy, Volume 1, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1999, pp. 477-478. 42. Ibid., p. 506. 43. Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, tr. James Strachey, The Penguin Freud Library, Volume 11: ‘On Metapsychology’, Penguin Books, London, 1991, pp. 311-322. 44. Angela Richards, ‘Footnote 2’, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, op cit., p. 272. 45. Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, op cit., p. 316. 46. Ibid., p. 311. 47. For a detailed discussion on the subject see, Sibaji Bandyopadhyay, ‘Defining Terror: A Freudian Exercise’, Science, Literature and Aesthetics, ed. Amiya Dev, History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Volume XV, Part 3, Centre for Studies in Civilization, New Delhi, 2008, pp. 567-631. 48. Adolf Hitler, ‘The Right to Self-Defence’, Mein Kampf, Jainco Publishers, Delhi, p. 572. 49. Heinar Kipphardt, In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, tr. Ruth Speirs, Methuen, London, 1967, p. 67. From ajayrainaa at gmail.com Fri Aug 13 00:19:39 2010 From: ajayrainaa at gmail.com (Ajay Raina) Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:19:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir Message-ID: <6484E154-2074-4075-BC57-C6F40C81FEF4@gmail.com> Dear Gowhar, You write so well yourself and yet you feel compelled to compliment somebody else for his virulent and unbalanced post. It is as damning as all other posts by anti-india web sires / blogs are. What is new here that needs space in mainstream media? Dont you see PTV? Is this how reconciliation is done or have you given up on it already? Ajay Raina From shuddha at gmail.com Sat Aug 14 16:04:06 2010 From: shuddha at gmail.com (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:04:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Foxconn Gas Leak: Report In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <47855D93-F0FE-4F08-8E2A-F76866603F1D@gmail.com> Thank you for sending this interesting report on the gas leak at Foxconn. It just goes to show how terrible work conditions still are for industrial workers in India, and how pliant trade unions sometimes become in terms of defending the interests of managements rather than that of workers. best Shuddha On 13-Aug-10, at 9:02 AM, A. Mani wrote: > (From People's Democracy) > > > TN Govt Gives up Responsibility > > S P Rajendran > > > > NEARLY 250 workers fell ill, experienced headache, dizziness and > nausea, and also vomited blood after inhaling an unknown toxic gas on > July 23 at a production plant belonging to a multinational company in > Tamilnadu. > > > This incident came to the people of Tamilnadu as a reminder of the > Bhopal tragedy. > > > The concerned company is Foxconn India, a mobile phone accessory > maker. It is part of the Taiwan based Foxconn Technology Group worth > 1.74 billion US dollars. After Hyundai Motor India and Nokia India, it > is the third largest industrial employer in the special economic zone > (SEZ) at Sriperumpudhur near Chennai, with nearly 9,000 workers. > > > The company's Sunguvarchatram plant, employing 500 workers, was > reopened on July 23 after nearly nine months, on the strength of > increased orders for mobile accessories. > > > This particular plant is situated close to the back entrance of Nokia > India, a major MNC in this SEZ. It is to be noted that Foxconn India > has been manufacturing the mobile components mainly for the Nokia > India. > > > When the plant gate reopened and the workers, including women, entered > it on July 23, they began to faint and fall ill. > > > Immediately they were taken to a local hospital at Sriperumpudhur in > the absence of a dispensary with first aid facilities in the company > premises. However, that hospital did not have sufficient facilities > either. So some 235 workers were taken to the Sri Ramachandra Medical > College hospital at Chennai with the help of workers at Foxconn > India's main plant. > > > At the Sri Ramachandra Medical College hospital, some 45 workers > vomited blood and were put in the intensive care unit (ICU). > > > The other workers, who were sent back home after treatment, complained > of continuing sickness, vomiting and breathlessness. > > > This sickness is said to be a symptom of isopropyl alcohol poisoning. > Though the company said the plant did not have any gas tanks or gas > related production, workers said that the plant uses isopropyl > alcohol, a colourless inflammable chemical with strong odour, as a > cleaning agent in all the sections. > > > ‘TOXIC’ ROLE OF PRO-DMK UNION > > Even after the toxic gas incident, officials of the company refused to > shut the plant down and compelled the remaining workers to continue > work. When the workers opposed, the management of the company used the > Labour Progressive Front (LPF), the ruling DMK's trade union, to > compel the workers to continue work. Ezhilarasan, president of the LPF > in Foxconn, was found extra-vocal in denying that isopropyl poisoning > was the reason behind the workers falling sick. He acted as a puppet > of the management during this whole episode. One notes that the LPF > has got recognition from the company. > > > At this juncture, members of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) > intervened and organised the workers in the premises, demanding safety > for their life. > > > Very soon after the incident, Kancheepuram district CITU secretary E > Muthukumar and other leaders reached the plant. They addressed the > workers and concretised their demands. The workers complained that > there were no safety measures in the plant. There were nearly 9,000 > workers in the company but in the name of a dispensary, it had only a > small room without any facilities. > > > While lambasting the behaviour of the pro-DMK union in the factory, > the CITU also lashed out at the management and demanded immediate > shutdown of the plant till all safety aspects were checked and cleared > by the authorities concerned. It also demanded that all the workers > must get full salary for the period of closure. The management must > immediately open a full-fledged dispensary with five per cent beds > relative to the workforce in the company. > > > Next day, on July 24, CITU state general secretary A Soundararajan, E > Muthukumar and other leaders visited the workers at Sri Ramachandra > Hospital. Soundararajan released a statement there, condemning the > state government, the state’s labour ministry and the authorities of > the Pollution Control Board for not conducting regular observation of > safety measures of the industries in the SEZ. He sharply criticised > that the DMK government, which has provided all kinds of facilities > including uninterrupted power supply for the multinational companies > in the SEZ, but is not ready to implement the labour laws including > safety measures in the SEZ industries. He accused that the DMK > government is implementing the centre's neo-liberal policies in > Tamilnadu and has given up its responsibility in relation to the > safety of workers in the industries. > > > POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD TELLS LIES > > While the CITU indicted the Foxconn India, however, the Tamilnadu > Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) gave a clean chit to the company, > saying only some of the workers had complained of nausea. > > > In a statement issued on July 26, the TNPCB said the workers fell sick > after inhaling a strong- odour pesticide. “Around 4 p m on July 23, > four workers had vomited and fainted. They were taken to the hospital > and sent home," it said. > > > > The CITU vehemently condemned this false report of the TNPCB and asked > how the Pollution Control Board could issue such a statement even > after 250 workers had fallen ill and 40 of them had to be admitted to > the ICU. > > > After the forceful intervention of the CITU, the Tamilnadu government > had had to order on July 26 evening the closure of the plant till the > safety measures were checked. > > > On July 27, Tuesday, a team of district officials inspected the > assembly unit at the company's plant in Sunguvachatram where employees > had fainted. These included district revenue officer S Sivarasu who is > also the collector in-charge of Kancheepuram, public health deputy > director (Kancheepuram) S Rajasekaran, the state labour department’s > joint commissioner K Madanamaohan and the chief factories inspector S > Raghunathan. "When we inspected the site, we found there is no proper > ventilation facilities available for the staff and three of them are > not working. We asked them to provide better ventilation facilities to > employees," Raghunathan later told the media. > > However, for reasons unknown, he ruled out any possibility of a > poisonous gas having leaked. Instead, he said the lack of a proper > ventilation system and air conditioners, combined with the spray of > malathion, a pesticide, might have led to suffocation of the > employees. > _________________________________________________________________ > _________________________________________________________________ > > > Addendum: Malathion cannot be the cause for the observed symptoms. > It seems the TNPCB has no knowledge of the technical facts about > malathion poisoning. > > > > > Best > > A. Mani > > > > > > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Mon Aug 16 06:07:40 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 06:07:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 4:37 PM, Sanjay Kak wrote: > An interesting post from the blog Mazameen-e-Ghai`b > http://bluekashmir.blogspot.com/ > Enjoy. > Sanjay Kak > > > The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir > > After two months of almost continuous clampdowns and lockdowns, 50 > systematic killings, and hundreds of incarcerations, the debate in > India about protests in Kashmir has continued to hover between > bleeding-heart liberal talk and state attempts at dissimulation. While > state deception, and the Hindu right racket, is obvious, expected, and > nothing new, the increased space for liberal discourse has given a > false impression that there is a change in heart. The liberal > discourse in India on the question of Kashmir is not open, fair, or > objective, but often borders on, and oftentimes overlaps, the more > popular, explicitly nationalist polemics. > In Kashmir and other parts of the country, the basic problems are due to unbridled capitalism and neoliberalism. Trying to hide these problems with demands for a separate state and countermeasures does suit those in power at the centre. But if a separate state can grant a classless secular democratic society with a 'truly socialist division of labour', then it may be sensible. Otherwise these separatist movements will perpetuate a cruel joke on the people. Their agenda does seem to be very lacking and all these may be just a game to further big business interests (who do not really care about nationalist boundaries). Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From kamalhak at gmail.com Mon Aug 16 10:45:55 2010 From: kamalhak at gmail.com (kamalhak at gmail.com) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:15:55 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] IS THERE ANY KASHMIR SOLUTION? In-Reply-To: <336356052-1281896149-cardhu_blackberry.rim.net-copy_sent_folder-1709554566-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> References: <000001cb3c9d$ae37dde0$0aa799a0$@in><336356052-1281896149-cardhu_blackberry.rim.net-copy_sent_folder-1709554566-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Message-ID: <1437298490-1281935730-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-1140203488-@bda129.bisx.produk.on.blackberry> Sorry for a typographical error in my earlier post. Please read the opening para as, "Majority of Kashmir, physically as well as demo graphical, has been held hostage by a small minority(instead of majority) for last twenty years. Regards, Kamal Hak Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel -----Original Message----- From: kamalhak at gmail.com Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:16:13 To: Bipin Trivedi; ; sarai-list Reply-To: kamalhak at gmail.com Subject: Re: [Reader-list] IS THERE ANY KASHMIR SOLUTION? Majority of Kashmir, physically as well as demo graphical, has been held hostage by a small majority for last twenty years. The voice of this silent majority has either been not taken seriously or suppressed deliberately. This hapless majority consisting of people from Ladakh, Jammu, displaced Kashmiri Pandits and a significant number of Kashmiri Muslims do not share the aspiration of separatists. Any solution that seeks to undermine the aspirations of these people will prove to be counterproductive and will eventually lead to another set of problems. Under the circumstances, the best possible solution to the problem would be a geopolitical reorganization of the state. It would make a lot of sense to grant statehood to Jammu and Ladakh. Create a union territory in Kashmir for all those Kashmiris, cutting across religious lines, who have faith in Indian constitution and believe in sovereignty of India. The rest of Kashmir should be left free for creation of a dispensation that meets the realistic and achievable goals of alienated sections of Kashmiri people. Regards, Kamal Hak Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel -----Original Message----- From: Bipin Trivedi Sender: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:47:03 To: sarai-list Subject: [Reader-list] IS THERE ANY KASHMIR SOLUTION? I invite all to suggest Kashmir solution according to you. Readers from this list staying in Kashmir, indicate what you want actually. Since it is so confusing about your real problem and demand. Thanks Bipin Trivedi _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From anivar at movingrepublic.org Mon Aug 16 12:57:35 2010 From: anivar at movingrepublic.org (Anivar Aravind) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:57:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Online Exhibition on Kandamal by Dalit Artists In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear friends, Perhaps you are aware that even after two years, the Christian adivasi and dalit survivors of the Kandhamal violence are still struggling for justice. Thousands of people cannot go back to their own lands and many are still living in tents in Kandhamal. Education of children is disrupted and their trauma is still continuing. The culprits of communal violence are getting acquitted without any punishment from the courts. In this context, the National Solidarity Forum, a coalition of over 50 organisations from different parts of the country have given a call for protests, public meetings or any other civil society action on August 25, 2010 as `Kandhamal Day'. Since the attacks on Christians have taken place in over 10 states in India, the local issues may also be taken up along with the event. As part of the call for proteston August 25th two dalit artists, Shashi Memuri and Venkatesh have completed a series of paintings and sketches for an exhibition on the situation in Kandhamal after visiting more than 50 villages in the area recently. These can be downloaded from the http://orissaconcerns.net and print outs can be taken in A/3 size. We request all secular groups and organizations to make use of this exhibition before, during or after Kandhamal Day, in colleges, schools, institutions and public places. If the exhibition is organized in your area before Kandhamal Day it may also be contribute to the public action on August 25th. We plan to cover your solidarity actions/protest reports and news in OrissaConcerns.net. Please send reports and photographs of your actions to anivar at movingrepublic.org and nptkandhamal at gmail.com so that other groups will also be informed and inspired by your action. Download Posters From Here Tune http://orissaconcerns.net/kandhamal for Updates from Kandhamal & from Peoples Tribunal happening in Delhi Details about National People’s Tribunal on Kandhamal, 22-24 August 2010 http://orissaconcerns.net/2010/08/national-people%E2%80%99s-tribunal-on-kandhamal-22-24-august-2010/ In Solidarity Dhirendra Panda Coordinator National Solidarity Forum Anivar Aravind (Editor , OrissaConcerns.net) Moving Republic -- "[It is not] possible to distinguish between 'numerical' and 'nonnumerical' algorithms, as if numbers were somehow different from other kinds of precise information." - Donald Knuth -- "[It is not] possible to distinguish between 'numerical' and 'nonnumerical' algorithms, as if numbers were somehow different from other kinds of precise information." - Donald Knuth From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Mon Aug 16 13:13:43 2010 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (artNET) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:43:43 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?Program_-_Week_34_-__NewMediaFest=27?= =?iso-8859-1?q?2010?= Message-ID: <20100816094343.79B57EA8.33229D4D@192.168.0.3> NewMediaFest'2010 --------------------------------------------- program- week 34 --> 16 - 22 August 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=993 --------------------------------------------- 1. --------------------------------------------- Feature of the Week 34 http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=996 Cinematheque - streaming media environments re-launches on 16 August 2010 as the Feature of the Week 34 "Slowtime?" - Quicktime as an artistic medium the online show from 2007 exploring the video format "Quicktime" for its artistic capabilities. --------------------------------------------- 2. --------------------------------------------- Feature of The Month August 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=967 VideoChannel Cologne launched on 2 August 2010 [self] ~imaging v.4.0 artists portraying themselves in film & video -->v.4.0 is adding another 25 artists to this video project consisting in total of 100 films & videos --------------------------------------------- 3. --------------------------------------------- VIP - VideoChannel Interview Project http://vip.newmediafest.org/?p=440 is pleased to release some new interviews with Larry Caveney (USA), Glenn Church (USA) Ming-Yu Lee (Taiwan), Erin Gee (Canada) Jose Vieira (Portugal), Minso Kim (South Korea) Chris Dupuis (Canada) --------------------------------------------- 4. --------------------------------------------- During week 34, VideoChannel Cologne is re-launching the showcase --> "art cartoons & animated narratives" curated by Wilfried Agricola de Cologne featuring videos by 25 artists from Serbia, USA, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Brzil, UK, Australia, Croatia, Ireland & Taiwan More details on http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=993 --------------------------------------------- NewMediaFest'2010 10 Years [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne global heritage of digital culture 1 January - 31 December 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org director and chief curator: Wilfried Agricola de Cologne 2010 [at] newmediafest.org --------------------------------------------- From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Mon Aug 16 13:50:00 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 01:20:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <906003.93473.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Mani   No State can provide a "classless secular democratic society". State is the people and people are nowhere automatically inclined towards running such a State. At best they can strive. There is no example of such a State that has simultaneously or even in exclusion (without abberations) any one  of the 3 elements of 'classless'; 'secular'; 'democratic'.   Whatever might be the other arguments for and against a 'Separate State of Kashmir' your analysis of the current problems and their genesis is quite ridiculous.   Kshmendra      --- On Mon, 8/16/10, A. Mani wrote: From: A. Mani Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir To: "sarai list" Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 6:07 AM On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 4:37 PM, Sanjay Kak wrote: > An interesting post from the blog Mazameen-e-Ghai`b > http://bluekashmir.blogspot.com/ > Enjoy. > Sanjay Kak > > > The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir > > After two months of almost continuous clampdowns and lockdowns, 50 > systematic killings, and hundreds of incarcerations, the debate in > India about protests in Kashmir has continued to hover between > bleeding-heart liberal talk and state attempts at dissimulation. While > state deception, and the Hindu right racket, is obvious, expected, and > nothing new, the increased space for liberal discourse has given a > false impression that there is a change in heart. The liberal > discourse in India on the question of Kashmir is not open, fair, or > objective, but often borders on, and oftentimes overlaps, the more > popular, explicitly nationalist polemics. > In Kashmir and other parts of the country, the basic problems are due to unbridled capitalism and neoliberalism. Trying to hide these problems with demands for a separate state and countermeasures does suit those in power at the centre. But if a separate state can grant a classless secular democratic society with a 'truly socialist division of labour', then it may be sensible. Otherwise these separatist movements will perpetuate a cruel joke on the people. Their agenda does seem to be very lacking and all these may be just a game to further big business interests (who do not really care about nationalist boundaries). Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kaksanjay at gmail.com Mon Aug 16 14:46:15 2010 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:46:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?=22PM=92s_butt-numbing_speech=22?= Message-ID: Here is a piece that makes me want to retract all the nasty things I've ever said about the Indian media, and its ways... Enjoy! Sanjay Kak ----------------------- PM’s butt-numbing speech http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/columnists/pm%E2%80%99s-butt-numbing-speech/197921.html Aditya Sinha When I read the prime minister’s speech this week on Kashmir, I too wanted to pick up a stone and hurl it at the government. Not because the speech was, as with most of Manmohan Singh’s speeches, butt-numbingly boring. Not because it was, as a Kashmiri facebook friend put it, “the same old rhetoric”. It was because the prime minister, being the head of the government of the second largest population on the planet, speaks for that population with a certain gravitas; and all that this well-respected mild-mannered academic could think to do was offer the Kashmiris a bribe. It wasn’t an original brainwave at that; prime ministers since Jawaharlal Nehru have adopted bribery as their Kashmir policy. Kashmiris gave their verdict on the speech by returning to stone-pelting. That boys are picking up stones at the risk of catching a bullet (fired in warning) with the middle of their foreheads tells you how hoary the bribery-policy is. That youngsters continue to retaliate to bullets with stones instead of crossing a hill and picking up an AK-47 tells you a lot about self-restraint. If events during the past few weeks in Kashmir weren’t so pessimism-inducing, one might say the boys were Gandhians with stones. Manmohan Singh — forgive me, I’ve lost too much respect for him to address him as prime minister — is no orator and so it would be unfair, after over 50 deaths of mostly students, to expect him to reach out to the Kashmiris with a poem instead of blithely stating that “I share the grief and sorrow” of every Kashmiri mother. His predecessor was eminently capable of crystallising in a poem the empathy that Kashmiris need to hear from the vast nation of India that they now see as an occupying, totalitarian state. His predecessor followed a political ideology but when it came to this very complex issue, he became pragmatic in the way that statesmen do. Manmohan Singh cannot be pragmatic. It’s not only because he is not a politician (you merely need to take a hard look at Kashmir to see why sneering at politics or politicians is always a lazy option); it’s not only because his big political achievement during UPA-I, the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, was the result not of political deal-making but of strong-arm tactics; but it looks increasingly as if it is because Manmohan Singh has no ideology. His party boss Sonia Gandhi is more worthy because at least she publicly champions a left-of-centre ideology. He champions none, other than perhaps the market. The Kashmiris wouldn’t care a toss if Manmohan Singh had at least hinted at the beginning of a political roadmap to sort out their grievance. Instead, he made only one specific announcement, of the constitution of an expert group to find jobs for Kashmiris, comprising worthies like C Rangarajan, N R Narayana Murthy and Tarun Das. This is laughable because it implies that the reason boys are on the streets risking paramilitary bullets is because they don’t have jobs. It is sad because Manmohan Singh is either unmindful or, worse, deliberately ignoring the fact that Kashmiris with jobs — not just in the Valley but outside as well — are among those on the streets. We can safely say that the stone-pelting has nothing to do with employment opportunities. This gives Manmohan Singh’s speech a sinister character: for, by inference, it would appear that he has utter disdain for the Kashmiri political aspiration. He’s not alone in this disdain. An example of the avoidance of this simple fact is what one former top espiocrat has written on the protests: like many wonks who sit comfortably on their butter-chicken-fed-backsides in the imperial capital, he ascribes the stone-pelting to a well thought-out Pakistani policy; and further, he blames Mufti Mohd Sayeed’s PDP for fanning the flames by pushing an extreme autonomy position instead of swooning at Delhi’s pseudo-autonomy promises (which are about as genuine as promises of full employment or total eradication of poverty). Firstly, “well thought-out Pakistan policy” is not just an oxymoron but a logical impossibility. Secondly, the PDP is a political party that responds to issues that through its cadres it recognises as relevant to its people. A party that addresses issues relevant only to Rome does not remain a relevant party for long. If a Tamil party invokes issues of Tamil pride, a Kashmiri party will do the analogous. The PDP is not being irresponsible — to its people. It knows that soft autonomy isn’t going to cut it now. The only way to get people interested is to talk hard autonomy. Give the PDP credit for at least keeping within the mainstream, even if it doesn’t look that way to a bunch of North Block whiz-kids. You could defend Manmohan Singh saying that he has to be careful in his speeches because as prime minister he has to represent all shades of opinion and when it comes to Kashmir there are some very strong views, particularly among the conservatives. These views are not new, subtle or even well thought out: a corrosive former editor used to say that India should keep the land and throw out all the Muslims. This kind of thinking belies the general belief that Indians are an intelligent race, inventors of the zero and masters of modern software coding. The alarming part however is that Manmohan Singh is bullied by this opinion. Again, it is strange that when it comes to a foreign country, Pakistan, Manmohan Singh is willing to defy the BJP and try out new things, to the extent of making concessions like he did at Sharm-el-Sheikh, to the dismay of many Indians. And he has kept at it, not looking over his shoulder at Indian public opinion, despite the Pakistan Army’s obvious impatience to launch another terrorist strike at India. Yet when it comes to Kashmir, which is supposedly an inalienable part of our nation, Manmohan Singh is less than bold and less than generous. It can only mean he is less than interested. Besides making some of us want to pick up a few stones and hurl it at Manmohan Singh, his lack of interest in sorting out Kashmir makes you wonder why it fails to move him. One can only guess, but again why not contrast him with his predecessor, who was actually keen on a settlement. His predecessor was a political prime minister, worthy of his office. This man is not. India deserves a better PM standing at Red Fort on its 63rd Independence Day. editorchief at expressbuzz.com About The Author; Aditya Sinha is the Editor-in-Chief of The New Indian Express and is based in Chennai. From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Mon Aug 16 20:38:32 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:38:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: <906003.93473.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <906003.93473.qm@web57204.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 1:50 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > Whatever might be the other arguments for and against a 'Separate State of Kashmir' your analysis of the current problems and their genesis is quite ridiculous. > The usual reasons cited, in the right-wing media, for the rise of separatist movements in Kashmir never bother to investigate the motives of those who have started them in the first place. Leaders of these political parties are not communal or anti-national duds who drown their corporate interests with communal and nationalist/anti-nationalist passion. The ground level jokes is not a genesis. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From indersalim at gmail.com Mon Aug 16 22:23:47 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:23:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A critique of nonviolence In-Reply-To: <2054B910-BD9B-47D7-A5F3-6E75A27F5067@sarai.net> References: <2054B910-BD9B-47D7-A5F3-6E75A27F5067@sarai.net> Message-ID: "a man who affirms ahimsā but knows periodic release of controlled violence may be mandatory in the discharge of his duties." "dharma’ (12.130.20). We are then introduced to a series of tales and counsels whose chief burden is to underscore the over-riding importance of ‘self-preservation’. "The puzzle posed by the parable was, how come lower animals exhibit a sensibility which humans take for granted to be peculiarly humane. Indra wondered about the parrot’s supernatural feat of practicing ānŗśamsya (13.5.9) and resolved the problem by adducing to the primary supposition of a (supposed) ‘Natural Ethics’. Indra discerned in the parrot’s behaviour a confirmation of the principle of ‘mutual care’ – there was no mystery; the urge to be generous towards others was a predilection common to allcreatures (13.5.10)." Dear Jeebesh thanks for this mind boggling forward on non-cruelty v/s non-violence.... there is much more to the essay than one can reflect by reading it once, Some quote from above are quite inspiring. Well, this reminded me about the first murder of this world according to Islamic sacred scriptures. The sons of Adam and Eve : Habeel and Qabeel who fought each other supposedly for a woman, There was no objection to her being their Sister, but the jealously which led to violence. It was then the crow ( ) who gave the idea of burying to Qabeel who was wondering about the dead corpse of his brother on his shoulders. This happened while the crow demonstrated Qabeel how to bury while he buried a dead crow. shall read it again, to reflect back how to think about the urgency to understand non-violence in the present... thanks once again love is On Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 11:55 PM, Jeebesh wrote: > dear all, > > in this essay of exceptional scholarship we could find an opening for a > renewed thinking. > > warmly > > jeebesh > > > > http://www.india-seminar.com/2010/608/608_sibaji_bandyopadhyay.htm > > A critique of nonviolence > > SIBAJI BANDYOPADHYAY > > Ahimsā paramo dharmo – this is one aphorism with which almost every Indian > schoolchild is acquainted. From early childhood we are tutored to discern > the symptoms of the pathological everyday we inhabit, taught to be > increasingly protective of ourselves in a progressively more violent world, > and in the same breath told that all sane Indians of the past swore by the > creed of ‘nonviolence’. Offering, as though a therapeutic solace to the > troubled souls of today, it is incessantly reiterated that ancient Indians > were unwavering in asserting the ethical propriety of ahimsā. > > We are repeatedly reminded, the one singular achievement of ancient India > was that all her sages, meaning ‘custodians of people’ called upon to > preserve harmony among different callings and thus augment loka-samgraha or > ‘social wealth’, condemned himsāor ‘violence’ without so much as a demur. > And, to refurbish this popular wisdom, the modern ideologues committed to it > invariably hark back to the Mahābhārata, the colossal work that within the > tradition of Indian taxonomy of genres bears the title itihāsa. With the > express intention of affirming iti-ha-āsa or ‘so indeed it was’, they cite > selective portions of the Mahābhārata. > > With great fondness, they keep mouthing, for example, the dictum handed out > to Yudhishthira by grandsire Bhishma in ‘Anuśānaparvan’. The dictum, lilting > in terms of lyrical cadence, makes the expression ‘ahimsā paramo dharmo’ or > ‘ahimsā is the highest dharma’ more weighty by appending to it expressions > such as, ‘Ahimsā is the highest form of self-control’, ‘Ahimsā is the > highest austerity’, ‘Ahimsā is the highest sacrifice’, ‘Ahimsā is the best > friend’, ‘Ahimsā is the greatest happiness’, ‘Ahimsā is the highest truth’ > (13.117.37-38).* > > Indisputably, there is a kind of critical consensus that itihāsa places an > exceedingly high premium on ‘nonviolence’. Also certainly, it is this > uncritical or unconscious adherence to the same unanimity, which gives to > the painstaking statistical exercise undertaken by Alf Hiltebeitel the > quality of the unexpected. Alf Hiltebeitel, in his 2001 book Rethinking the > Mahābhārata, prepares a tally-sheet for the phrase paramo dharmo and > demonstrates that out of the 54 times it occurs in the Mahābhārata, it is > conjoined with the word ahimsā only four times – and, of those four, one is > contained in Bhishma’s dictum quoted earlier!1 > > > Even if we grant that frequency distributions based on quantitative analyses > are by themselves not sufficiently strong measures of weights attached to > values, Alf Hiltebeitel’s chart provides other information that have the > potential to meet the deficiency. We gather from it that along with > ‘nonviolence’ and ‘truth’ there is one order of excellence extolled by the > Mahābhārata, which by a curious twist of logic, appears to give lie to the > truth of nonviolence. And that is ānŗśamsya or ‘noncruelty’. Moreover, and > surely this is telling, although the expression ānŗśamsyam paro dharma or > ‘noncruelty is the supreme dharma’ features eight times in the Mahābhārata, > it is only very recently that scholars have begun to take cognizance of > ānŗśamsya as a complex concept on its own right. > > Mukund Lath, in his path-blazing 1987 article on the term has gone so far as > to say, ‘It has been kind of voyage of discovery for me, to understand what > ānŗśamsya means in the Mahābhārata… [It is more so because] outside the > Mahābhārata, whether in the literature preceding the Mahābhārata or > following it, the word hardly has the supreme significance [as] it has in > the epic’.2 > > The obvious questions that this observation gives rise to are: (a) What is > the ideological role of ānŗśamsya in the Mahābhārata? (b) Does it have any > relevance beyond the framework of itihāsa? > > > In the justly famous dialogue between Yudhishthira and Dharma, the highest > authority on the meaning of Good-ness, appearing as a Yaksha in the > ‘Âraņyakaparvan’, the philosophical Yudhishthira’s response to Yaksha’s > question, ‘What is the greatest virtue in the world?’ was, ānŗśamsyam paro > dharmo, ‘absence of cruelty is the highest virtue’ (3. 297.54-55 and 3. > 297.71). In the course of the interrogation which took in its stride such > intriguing existential issues as ‘the substance of self’, ‘the meaning of > happiness’, ‘the surest path of acquiring authentic knowledge’, ‘the problem > of recognizing one’s own mortality’, the statement ānŗśamsyam paro dharma > comes twice. The fact that Yudhishthira the Dharmarāja chose to conclude the > session by stating it once again gives to the expression the air of a > well-considered maxim (3.297.11-298.22). > > It surely is instructive that the person most sensitive and upright among > the chief protagonists of the Mahābhārata, the one hero compulsively > obsessed with intricacies involving moral conundrums, should choose to mark > ‘noncruelty’ and not ‘nonviolence’ as the ultimate humane attribute. > However, the underlying assumptions behind the privileging is supplied not > by Yudhishthira but by a fowler by profession – instead of Dharmarāja, they > are spelt out by a Sūdra reverentially referred to as Dharmavyādha. They are > there in the lecture, rather lengthy and tiresome one at that, which the > Dharmic Fowler delivered to a haughty Brahminin ‘Âraņyakaparvan’ (3.198.1 to > 3.206.32). > > > Let us now focus on the salient features of the discourse on ānŗśamsya spun > by Dharmavyādha of Mithilā, the conscientious Sūdra whose very livelihood > depended on killing fowls of the air, beasts of the field and selling flesh > in the open market. Schematically put, this is what Dharmavyādha said: > > 1. ‘Ahimsā is the highest dharma, which, again, is founded upon truth’ > (3.198.69). (Incidentally, of the four times we encounter the phrase ahimsā > paramo dharma in the Mahābhārata, one of them comes from Dharmavyādha.) > > 2. But, even though men of learning and wisdom have advocated non-violence > from the earliest times, anyone who thinks hard enough is bound to reach the > conclusion that there is none who is nonviolent (3.199.28). (This same view > is forcefully voiced by Arjuna in ‘Śāntiparvan’. The hero whom an > immobilizing depression seized immediately before the commencement of the > Kurukshetra War but who, thanks to Krishna’s sobering as well as stimulating > discourse managed to shake it off just in the nick of time said, long after > peace had returned to the land, ‘I do not see a single person in this world > who lives by nonviolence’ (12.15.20). > > 3. Hence, the best way to resolve the paradox is to temper the exacting > demands of ‘nonviolence’ by emphasizing ‘leniency’ or ‘noncruelty’ and, for > all practical purposes, replace the commandment ‘ahimsā is the highest > dharma’ by ‘ānŗśamsya is the highest dharma’ (3.203.41). (In Mukund Lath’s > words, ‘What the Mahābhārata preaches is not ahimsā but ānŗśamsya’.3 Lath’s > claim is indeed provocative. Unlike J.L. Mehta, who believes > ‘[Mahābhārata’s] central message, repeated again and again, is that > non-violence (ahimsa) and compassion (anrisamsya) are the highest duties of > man’4, Lath sees a distinct hierarchy at work in the Mahābhārata – a subtle > distinguishing operation that places ānŗśamsya over and above ahimsā.) > > > Dharmavyādha reckons ‘state of violence’ to be an irremediable, unavoidable > factor of ‘human condition’. By the same token, in his system of Ethics, > ahimsā obtains the precarious status of an unrealizable ideal – it is as if, > no matter how morally judicious a subject is in conducting his daily life, > the goal of ahimsā can only be approached by moving along an asymptomatic > curve that converges only at infinity. The Dharmic Fowler’s axiomatic > propositions – propositions that he himself claims to be part and parcel of > authentic ‘Brahmanic philosophy’ (3.201.14) – lead inexorably to the framing > of, what, for the sake of convenience may be called, a ‘principle of proxy’. > > In the Brāhmanic universe of the scrupulous Sūdra, the notion of ānŗśamsya > functions as a stand-in for ahimsā. It maintains a critical distance from > both the components of the himsā-ahimsā or ‘violence-nonviolence’ binary > without dissolving either of the two. It opens up a discursive space within > which excessive violence is condemned and unqualified nonviolence considered > unviable. Placed as a golden mean between two extremes, ānŗśamsya gestures > towards the apparently contradictory prescript of ‘violence without > violation’. In short, given the fact that every being on earth is obliged to > abide by certain violent but objective conditions, the only way left to man > to differentiate himself from other living things and assert his specific > species-being is to treat ānŗśamsya as the closest possible approximate of > ahimsā. > > > But then, we are dealing with itihāsa, a compendium of fables that has the > extraordinary felicity of attaching contending signifieds to the same > signifier. This flexibility may be bothersome; but, it often achieves > effects that are overwhelming. Ānŗśamsya too has an indeterminate ambiguity > about it. There are moments in the Mahābhārata in which the word comes so > close to anukrosha or ‘empathy’ as to make ahimsā and ānŗśamsya not only > mutually exchangeable (as envisaged by J.L. Mehta) but also to construe a > general grammar of ‘ethical care’ on the basis of ānŗśamsya.5 The ‘fable of > the parrot’ in the Anuśāsanaparvan is a case in point. On Yudhishthira’s > plea ‘I wish to hear of the merits of ānŗśamsya’, Bhishma had recounted the > legend (13.5.1-31). > > The story went: a fowler had mistakenly pierced a forest-tree with a > poison-arrow; as a result, the tree withered away; despite the destruction, > a parrot living in the hollow of the tree’s trunk did not desert his nest; > surprised by this show of (irrational) attachment, Indra approached the > parrot and enquired into his reasons for cohabiting with the condemned; > justifying his voluntary decision on the grounds of ‘compassion’, > ‘kindliness of feeling’ and affection for the erstwhile protector, the > parrot invoked successively the concepts ānŗśamsya and anukrosha (13.5. > 22-23).6 > > > The puzzle posed by the parable was, how come lower animals exhibit a > sensibility which humans take for granted to be peculiarly humane. Indra > wondered about the parrot’s supernatural feat of practicing ānŗśamsya > (13.5.9) and resolved the problem by adducing to the primary supposition of > a (supposed) ‘Natural Ethics’. Indra discerned in the parrot’s behaviour a > confirmation of the principle of ‘mutual care’ – there was no mystery; the > urge to be generous towards others was a predilection common to allcreatures > (13.5.10). > > Doubtless, the ‘fable of the parrot’ exceeds the limit set by Dharmavyādha > to the category of ānŗśamsya. Similar exceeding can be found in other parts > of the Mahābhārata too. For example, in the almost last (significant) > episode of itihāsa in which Indra forbade Yudhishthira from entering the > celestial abode if Dharmarāja insisted on continuing with the dog that had > been accompanying him in his final journey. Yudhishthira was, however, > adamant; he refused to abandon the humble animal. In expressing his touching > loyalty for the loyal dog, Yudhishthira employed the word ānŗśamsya > (17.3.7); and, a little later, shedding the disguise of the dog, Dharma > himself praised Yudhishthira for being thoroughly informed by the moral > compulsion of anukrosha (17.3.17). Here too, conjoined as it is with a word > etymologically rooted in the notion of ‘crying out that "follows" (anu) > someone else’s "cry"(krosha)’7, ānŗśamsya over-steps the boundary imposed on > it by Dharmavyādha. > > But, before one can cognize the ‘supplement’ that ‘supplants’ any ‘steady’ > signification, it is imperative to follow the ‘logic’ of the ‘main argument’ > to its end. Hoping that spots of confounding aporia would inevitably appear > as we proceed and the spree for the free play of deconstruction would gather > force, we mostly restrict ourselves to Dharmavyādha’s discourse in this > paper. > > > To trace the genealogical route of the term ānŗśamsya (as explicated by > Dharmavyādha) most scholars refer back to the great ideological clash that > took place about two and half thousand years back in the Indo-Gangetic > plain. The two parties involved in the battle are generally known as the > Brahmin and the Śŗamaņ – the former comprising the votaries of animal > sacrifice and the latter men disenchanted by Vedic chants and the magical > powers imputed to the act of sacrifice. > > Most of the Śŗamaņs – the two most prominent of whom were the Buddhists and > the Jains – denounced the senselessness involved in killing innocent animals > for either gratification or appeasement of the so-called gods. It was the > dumbness of being cruel towards ‘dumb creatures’, a form of dumbness > unhesitatingly sanctified by priests practiced in the art of Vedic rituals, > which exercised them the most – the dissenting Śŗamaņs fleshed out their > idea of ahimsā as a protest against this outrage. This, however, does not > mean that all those anti-Brahminical sects which propagated ahimsā also > preached that it was beneath the dignity of men to consume meat as food. > > > The fact that the ideals of ahimsā and vegetarianism did not stem from the > same origin but evolved along two different paths is borne out by facts > like: while the Theravāda school of Buddhism permitted its followers to eat > flesh provided they were not guilty of procuring the flesh by their own > hands, the Jain scriptures poured scorn on the Theravāda ordinance as being > an example of sophistry designed to camouflage the desire for the taste of > meat – in contradistinction to the early Buddhists, the Jains from the very > beginning favoured absolute prohibition on all meat-eating.8 While the > Buddhist Emperor Ashoka (3rd c. BCE) is credited to have introduced virtual > vegetarianism, the declaration in his First Rock Edict, ‘Here [meaning > perhaps, Ashoka’s capital] no animal is to be killed for sacrifice’, clearly > imposed a limiting condition on the solicitous state policy governing the > practice of vegetarianism.9 > > > It is also legitimate to think that in the process of bringing about a > ‘revaluation of all (Brāhmanical) values’ through the category of > nonviolence – in the Jain-like exaggerated diction or otherwise – the > Śŗamaņs reinforced some of the precepts which were part of the tradition of > (pre-Śŗamaņic) Upanişad. The Śŗamaņic insistence on ahimsā certainly cast a > new light on sayings such as, ‘Verily, a person is a sacrifice… austerity, > almsgiving, uprightness, ahimsā, truthfulness are the gifts [for that > sacrifice]’ (Chāndogya Upanişad: III. 16.1 and III. 17.4).10 > > Again, undoubtedly, fighting against the home-dwelling Brāhmins, the priests > who had no qualms about earning their livelihood by gifting animal flesh to > gods, the homeless Śŗamaņs could have garnered moral support for their > irremediable wanderlust as well as claim a longer and nobler lineage than > the himsā-epitomizing Brāhmins from pre-Śŗamaņic utterances as ‘Verily, he > is the great unborn Self… Desiring Him only as their worlds, monks wonder > forth. Verily, because they knew this, the ancient (sages) did not wish for > offspring’ (Bŗhad-āraņyaka Upanişad: IV. 4.22).11 > > On the whole, despite the earlier invocations of the creed of nonviolence, > the Brāhmin-Śŗamaņ hostility was scripted by treating ahimsā as the moot > point of contention – and, due to that, what were before, at best, > perfunctory and scattered, coalesced to shape a wholesome discourse. > Moreover, such is the wholesomeness of the discourse, it still shows no sign > of disintegration. > > Patanjāli, India’s legendary grammarian of 2nd c. BCE, had compared the > Brāhmin-Śŗamaņ hostility with the natural snake-mongoose hostility. Then > again, while expounding on the ‘antagonistic compound’, Patanjāli had > instantiated it by referring to the ‘eternal conflict’ between the Brāhmin > and the Śŗamaņ!12 This grammatical wit is sufficiently incisive to keep us > forewarned that the ancient ideological contrariety is yet to be > transcended. > > > Neither Mukund Lath13 nor Alf Hiltebeitel14 would face any difficulty in > accepting Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya as a compromise formula – a formula > devised to diffuse the disaccord between the orthodox Brahmana and the > non-conformist Śŗamaņ. What is more, this view is quite palatable to many a > radical interpreter of India’s past, such as, Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, the > author of the outstanding treatise, Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgītā > (1971).15 None of them would contest that the concept of uncompromising > ahimsā conceived by a section of the Śŗamaņs in order to morally nullify the > himsā-oriented Brāhminical practices provided the founding condition for > Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya. Of course, there are dissenters; e.g., Chaturvedi > Badrinath, the author of The Mahābhārata: An Enquiry in the Human Condition. > He wrote as late as in 2006, ‘The three powerful words ahimsā paramo dharmo > that [keep] resound[ing] in the Mahābhārata …would later become the cardinal > foundation of Jainism’.16 > > Nevertheless, if we leave aside the complicated business of arguing on the > basis of historical evidence and take the softer option of deriving > information from literary study of characters, it seems the first view has > the greater chance of being vindicated. Take a look at the Mahābhārata’s > chief ideologue of ānŗśamsya, the Dharmic Butcher. > > > Dharmavyādha’s body is like a repository of various contesting > predilections; it houses all but combines them in such a fashion that all > real antagonistic contradictions seem to disappear: he does not slay animals > but pursues his family-trade by selling the meat of hogs and buffaloes > killed by others (3.198.31); he lays out chopped out flesh in the > marketplace for the gratification of culinary appetite of his customers but > he himself is a strict vegetarian (3.198.32); he subscribes to the theory of > karmaphala but, (as though to negate the Buddhist-like semantic revolution > of redefining the word karma to connote ‘personal intention’ in place of > ‘Brahmin ritualism’17), insists that it is Destiny which calls people to > their respective vocations (3.199.2). > > He readily admits that his profession is heinous but exculpates himself on > the ground that he is a mere ‘passive instrument’ (3.199.3); he displays a > great sense of discomfiture vis-à-vis the cruelties he daily practices but > mitigates it by claiming that his steadfastness in observing swadharma or > ‘the duty of one’s order’ (3.199.14) bestows upon his job the benediction of > ānŗśamsya or ‘noncruelty’; he appreciates the lowliness of his rough trade > but it gladdens him to think that he supplies meat to ‘gods’ (3.199.4) > offered in duly conducted Sacrifices. > > On the whole, Mahābhārata’s Dharmavyādha, a rare example of a Sūdra trained > in ‘Brahmanic philosophy’, stands out as a person who to the last syllable > of his being fulfils one of Manu’s kernel injunctions. In the very first > chapter of his Book of Laws, Manu had issued the writ: ‘The Lord assigned > only one activity to a Sūdra: serving the other castes without > resentment’.18 And, it is this lack of ‘resentment’ (or better still of > Nietzschean ressentiment) towards so-called natural superiors which enables > Dharmavyādha to simultaneously epitomize servility and make a case for > ‘leniency’ or ‘compassion’. > > > It is, therefore, not surprising that playing the role of mediating middle > term, ānŗśamsya should come to the rescue of the Vedic Sacrifice, remove the > taint of himsā ascribed to it by the Śŗamaņs. It underpins the rationale > behind the new ‘rules of the game’ chalked up by embattled Brahmanism, by > lawmakers embarrassed by Śŗāmaņic charges. Ânŗśamsya places, for example, > Manu’s dictum, ‘…killing in sacrifice is not killing…The violence sanctioned > by the Veda and regulated by official restraints is known as nonviolence’,19 > on a surer footing. > > > Clearly, the ‘new word’20 which captures the imagination of both Mukund Lath > and Alf Hiltebeitel, is rather about attitude than any concrete instance of > violence or nonviolence – set up to countermand the Śŗāmaņic > over-valorization of ahimsā, ānŗśamsya bespeaks of an ‘affective state’. > Encourages as it does to cultivate a sense of detachment to the consequences > of his actions in the mind of the doer, the ‘new word’ bears familial > resemblances with many Brahmanic and Śŗāmaņic concepts. For example: in > ‘Śāntiparvan’, after saying, ‘I know what ānŗśamsya is, because I have > always marked the conduct of good people’ (12.158.1), Yudhishthira heaps > praises on a sensibility central to the set of precepts associated with the > famed nishkāma karma (12.164.41-46). > > Aparigrahah is one word that ānŗśamsya recalls most strenuously. The word > itself has a checkered history. Aparigrahah generally implies > ‘non-possession’. It appears in the ancient, most probably pre-Buddhist, > Jābāla Upanişad;21 it is one of the ‘Five Great Vows’ enjoined by Jainism;22 > it recurs once in Chapter Six, Verse number ten in the Bhagavadgītā.23 > > Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – the apostle of ahimsā of modern India who on > occasions looked back to Yudhishthira in his attempts to define the term24 > and besides translating the Gītā into Gujarati composed immensely > influential commentaries on the book – was deeply impressed by the Gītā’s > employment of aparigrahah. Lest we muddle up things, it is important to > remember that aparigrahah or ‘[to be] free from longing for possessions’25 > used in conjunction with thoroughgoing ahimsā connotes a value quite > distinct from the one produced by its conjunction with the more malleable > ānŗśamsya. > > > Being a self-professed ‘practical idealist’,26 Gandhi was often driven to > reflect on the epistemological limits of the creed of ‘nonviolence’. A > pacifist, he consistently disavowed the ‘doctrine of the sword’ in his > battles against imperialist forces. In pointing to the distinctive character > of man’s species-being Gandhi did not, unlike the Dharmic Fowler, stop at > ‘noncruelty’, but said, ‘Nonviolence is the law of our species as violence > is the law of the brute’.27 He paid tributes to Mahavira, the Jain teacher > who was among the staunchest advocates of the gospel of ahimsā, and the > Buddha as well and termed them ‘soldiers’ for the cause of ‘nonviolence’.28 > Nonetheless, Gandhi maintained, there were certain aspects of violence which > were ‘inevitable’;29 he boldly asserted that his own doctrine of ahimsā was > ‘new’, not ‘dependent upon the authority of [previous] works’ including > those belonging to the Jain school of thought.30 > > > There are several passages in Gandhi’s An Autobiography or The Story of My > Experiments with Truth (volume I: 1927; volume II: 1929) in which he > expresses great fascination with the Gītā and its English translation by > Edwin Arnold titled The Song Celestial(1885).31 He took the Gītā as his Book > of ‘conduct’ and sought to develop his idea of ahimsā on its basis.32 And, > it is striking that Gandhi’s political lexicon is most profoundly coloured > by a word which appears only once in the Gītā, his ‘dictionary of daily > reference’.33 That word, as Gandhi put it himself, ‘gripped’34 him from the > start and as years passed by, helped him to forge his most original > contribution in the field of social sciences: the notion of ‘trusteeship’. > The word was aparigrahah. > > Gandhi wrote in his Autobiography: ‘I understood the Gita teaching of > [aparigrahah or] non-possession to mean that those who desired salvation > should act like a trustee who, though having control over great possessions, > regards not an iota of them as his own’.35 Note the crucial difference: > while according to the Jain tenet aparigrahaħ signifies renunciation of all > material possession in the exact sense of the term, Gandhi derives from > Gītā’s aparigrahaħ the profile of a ‘subject’ who does not give up his > private property for good but has the perspicuity to not to call anything > one’s own for the sake of public good. > > > It may now be safely surmised that the concept of ānŗśamsya has a positive > bearing on itihāsa as well as on modern history. The ‘supreme > significance’36 ascribed to it in the epic is doubtless absent in > post-Mahābhārata literature. However, its hidden intellectual career can be > uncovered once we align ānŗśamsya with aparigrahah and follow the latter’s > role in shaping the image of the responsible leader of New India – a man > gifted with both control over great possessions and the right attitude > towards them; a man who affirms ahimsā but knows periodic release of > controlled violence may be mandatory in the discharge of his duties. > > There still remains a serious epistemological problem. It is quite apparent > that in pre-modern texts the will to himsā is equated to will to slay – it > is assumed that even the most trivial act of himsā inclusive that of > ‘speech’ or ‘thought’ is grounded on and geared to the final solution of > annihilating some other. Even when the Jains advised that it was advisable > to avoid violence ‘not so much because it harm[ed] other beings [but] > because it harm[ed] the individual who commit[ed] it’,37 the ‘selfish’ > motive was dictated by the fear of damaging, in the extreme case damaging > physically, someone else. Nonetheless, it seems, in the light of more recent > formulations, neither the Śŗāmaņic celebration of ahimsā nor the > Mahābhārata’s resolution of opposites through ānŗśamsya nor the latter’s > disguised deployment in modern political theory, evince sufficient alertness > to the mechanisms of violence. > > > A whole section of Mahābhārata’s ‘Śāntiparvan’ is devoted to āpad-dharma, to > the rules in situations of extremity when normal rules do not apply > (12.129.14 to 12.167.24). Almost at the beginning of the section there is a > sloka which is like a prelude to what is to follow. It says: ‘As a hunter > discovers the track of a deer wounded with arrow by marking spots of blood > on the ground, so should one try to find out the reasons of dharma’ > (12.130.20). We are then introduced to a series of tales and counsels whose > chief burden is to underscore the over-riding importance of > ‘self-preservation’. > > The instruction is: ‘See the efficacy of self-interest’ (12.136.140). > Therefore, recognizing instinctively that ‘this body is my friend’ > (12.139.73), a person should not refrain from doing things, no matter how > distressful or distasteful they are, in order to save his most intimate > friend; knowing that, ‘One should keep up his life by any means in his power > without judging of their charter’ (12.139.59), it is quite permissible and > passable for a person threatened by imminent death to cause injury to > others. (Incidentally, Gandhi too accepted the necessity of applying > violence for self-defence.) > > This means at the moment of deepest crisis, the man caught up in it has > every right to suspend all codes of formal behaviour orsadāchāra. More > importantly, this also indicates that, in the ultimate analysis, the source > of violence is always positioned as beingexternal to the body; it is taken > for granted that the violence which may entail one’s destruction is always > inflicted from the outside; the terrible enemy is forever stationed > elsewhere. This sense of exteriority in relation to fatal dangers also > circumscribes the reach of ahimsā – to be ‘nonviolent’ then becomes a > corollary and an extension of the urge to conserve one’s body. > > > It is no wonder, therefore, that Sudharman, a direct disciple of Mahāvira, > in stating the irrevocable factum tenet of the Jain system, the first of the > ‘Five Great Vows’,38 took recourse to the metaphor of the ‘body’ dreading > foreign invasion and the criterion of ‘reciprocity’. He said: ‘All [bodies] > are subject to pain; hence they should not be killed… Know this to be the > real meaning of the Law of ahimsā: as you do not wish to be killed, so > others do not wish to be killed’.39 > > Armed with this Law, Sudharman launched a frontal attack on the competing > Śŗamaņ school of Buddhism and declared: ‘See! There are men pretend[ing] to > be houseless, i.e., monks such as the Bauddhas, [who] destroy earth-body by > bad and injurious things…a wise man should not act sinfully towards earth, > nor cause others to act so’.40 Going by this extremist dogma, if a man lays > down his life for any cause, say, for ahimsā, he does so because he > willfully lets the other-directed himsā to fall upon him and not because > desire for violence stems from his own body. Mahābhārata too – the text, > that in S. Radhakrishnan’s opinion is a stellar example of ‘readjustments’ > initiated by Brāhmanism to process some of the objections raised by diverse > ‘systems of revolt’41 – in substance reiterates the same criterion of > ‘reciprocity’ when it teaches that the sum total of man’s duties is > contained in the maxim, ‘Thou shalt not do to others what is disagreeable to > thyself’.42 > > > However, complacency apropos violence can no longer be entertained. Among > others, the psychoanalytic intervention in the matter precludes such a > possibility. In 1920 Sigmund Freud published Beyond the Pleasure Principle > (English translation: 1922). Sitting in Vienna, Freud composed that > perplexing work just after the First World War ended and the > Austro-Hungarian Empire had vanished from the political map. The two > inter-related concepts he introduced in the book have radically altered all > earlier visions as regards man’s aptitude for controlling violence. One of > them was primary masochism and the other, death-instincts. > > At one point in Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Freud alluded to E. Hering’s > theory that all ‘living substance[s]’ were subject to two contrary > processes, one ‘constitutive or assimilatory’ and the other ‘destructive or > dissimilatory’. Next, with no prior intimation whatsoever, Freud suddenly > took a mighty speculative leap. He substituted Hering’s ‘vital processes’ by > ‘instinctual impulses’ and proposed that every living substance was > ‘dualistic’ in nature – each was simultaneously motivated by ‘life > instincts’ and ‘death instincts’.43 > > > The expression ‘death-instincts’, later more famously known as Thanatos, > makes its ‘first published appearance’44 in Beyond the Pleasure Principle – > and, at the very moment of its debut it forces us to take seriously, perhaps > for the first time in recorded history, bizarre hypotheses such as, ‘[There > exists an irresoluble] opposition between the ego or death instincts and the > sexual or life instincts’45 or ‘The instincts of self-preservation… are > component instincts whose function is to assure that the organism shall > follow its own path of death’.46 > > The death-driven Freudian psyche supplies the aetiology necessary for > sociological analyses of ‘suicide’. But, it does more. Thanatos and the > ‘primary regression’ called masochism together bring ‘violence’ to centre > stage – the human appetite for self-consumption changes the meaning of > ‘danger’ to include instances that overstep boundaries set by the principle > of ‘self-preservation’; the sensational hypothesis that ‘pain’ can jolly > well be a pleasurable sensation for the human animal, in effect, > problematizes the Śŗāmaņic doctrine of ‘mutual dependence’, the > psychosomatic axiom upon which the pre-modern notion of ahimsā was premised. > > > The 1932 correspondence between Albert Einstein, the physicist whose elegant > formula e = mc2 provided the theoretical frame for making the atom bomb a > practical proposition, and Sigmund Freud, the psychoanalyst who widened the > horizon of ‘violence’, unambiguously demonstrates that the latter in later > life regarded the antimony of two basal instincts, eros and Thanatos, as one > inviolable factor of ‘human condition’.47 So did the Śŗamaņs when they spoke > of bodily pains and Mahābhārata’s Dharmavyādha when he said it was absurd to > think that one could avoid doing violence to others in any absolute sense. > In each case the theory is produced in response to a specific circumstance, > each articulation is backed by a political intention. > > If the Śŗāmaņic insistence on ahimsā, on according respect to all and giving > credence to individual suffering was a strategy to mount an ethical attack > on Brahmanism and Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya an apologia for Brahmanism, then > Freud’s Thanatos was an offshoot of the brutalities regularly practiced by > men during the First World War and the initial phase of Nazism. And, Adolf > Hitler, the arch-ideologue of Nazism, in the concluding chapter titled ‘The > Right to Self-Defence’ in his 1924 autobiography Mein Kampfhad written: > ‘[just as] a weak pigmy cannot contend against athletes, a negotiator > without any armed defence at his back must always bow in obescience’.48 > > On 6 August 1945, the allied forces fighting against the Evil of Nazism > dropped the first atom bomb on Hiroshima and thereby officially inaugurated > the Nuclear Age. With that strike, at one stroke man acquired a ‘new > attribute’: ‘the ability to extinguish all life upon earth’.49 Replaces as > it does the age-old diachronic order associated with ‘death’ by the > possibility of the ‘synchronic’, by the ever-looming terrifying thought that > man can actually make everything and being sign out all at once if he so > wills, also brings to Freud’s idea of Thanatos or individualistic death-wish > a quaint charm. It is in the historical context of the technological > revolution which has the capacity of posing ‘utter calamity’ as the telos of > humanity, that the real one feels, epistemological challenge of today is to > re-think the question of ‘nonviolence’; ask again, what really is ahimsā? > > > Footnotes: > > * All Mahābhārata references are to the Critical Edition of the Mahābhārata > published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune. The English > translations are based on (a) M.N. Dutt, The Mahābhārata (nine volumes), > Parimal Publications, Delhi, 2004 and (b) Kisari Mohan Ganguli, The > Mahābhārata (four volumes), Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 2004. > > 1. Alf Hiltebeitel, ‘Chapter Five: Don’t Be Cruel’, Rethinking the > Mahābhārata: A Reader’s Guide to the Education of the Dharma King (first > published 2001), Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002, p. 207. > > 2. Mukund Lath, ‘The Concept of Ānŗśamsya in the Mahābhārata’, The > Mahābhārata Revisited, ed. R.N. Dandekar, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1990, > p. 113, p. 115. > > 3. Mukund Lath, ibid., p. 119. > > 4. J.L. Mehta, ‘The Discourse of Violence in the Mahabharata’, Philosophy > and Religion: Essays in Interpretation, Indian Council of Philosophical > Research and Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi, 1990, p. 256. > > 5. Vrinda Dalmiya, ‘Dogged Loyalties: A Classical Indian Intervention in > Care Ethics’, Ethics in the World Religions, eds. J. Runzo and Nancy M. > Martin, Oxford, 2007, pp. 293-306. > > 6. For discussions on the fable see: (a) Alf Hiltebeitel, op cit., p. 213; > (b) Vrinda Dalmiya, op cit., p. 294. > > 7. For a detailed discussion on the moral implications of anukrosha, see > Vrinda Dalmiya, ibid., pp. 298-305. > > 8. Sources of Indian Tradition (Volume One: ‘From the Beginning to 1800), > ed. Ainslie T. Embree, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 1992, pp. 170-171. > > 9. The original text: ‘1 Shilānusāshana’, Ashokalipi, ed. and tr. > Amulyachandra Sen, Mahabodhi Book Agency, Kolkata, 1994, p. 144. > > For English translation see: Sources of Indian Tradition (Volume One), op > .cit., p. 144. > > 10. Chāndogya Upanişad, ‘III.16.1’ and ‘III.17.4’, tr. S. Radhakrishnan, The > Principal Upanişads, HarperCollins Publishers India, New Delhi, 1998, p. 394 > and p. 396. > > 11. Bŗhad-āraņyaka Upanişad, ‘IV.4.22’, The Principal Upanişads, ibid., p. > 279. > > 12. The Vyākaraņa Mahābhāsya of Pataňjali, edited by F. Kielhorn, Volume 1, > p. 474, p. 476. > > 13. Mukund Lath, op cit., pp. 118-119. > > 14. Alf Hiltebeitel, op cit., p. 203. > > 15. Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, ‘Chapter II: Section B: The Compromising Character > of the Bhagavadgītā’, Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgītā, Motilal > Banarsidass, Delhi, 2008, pp. 106-109. > > 16. Chaturvedi Badrinath, ‘Chapter Five: Ahimsā – Non-violence, the > Foundation of Life’, The Mahābhārata: An Inquiry in the Human Condition, > ed., p. 114 [emphasis added] > > 17. Richard F. Gombrich, ‘Chapter III: The Buddha’s Dhamma’, Theravada > Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, > Routledge, London, 1988, p. 67. > > 18. Manusamhitā, ‘I.91’, ed. Panchanan Tarkaratna, Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, > Kolkata, 2000, p. 40. > > For English translation see: The Laws of Manu, ‘I.91’, tr. Wendy Doniger and > Brian K. Smith, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 1991, p. 13. > > 19. Manusamhitā, ‘V.39 & V.44’, ed. Panchanan Tarkaratna, op cit., p. 129 > and p. 130. > > For English translation see, The Laws of Manu, ‘V.39 and V.44’, tr. Wendy > Doniger and Brian K. Smith, op cit., p. 103 and p. 103. > > 20. (a) Mukund Lath, op cit., p. 113. (b) Alf Hiltebeitel, op cit., p. 202. > > 21. Jābāla Upanişad, ‘Verse No. 5’, tr. S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal > Upanişads, HarperCollins, New Delhi,1998, p. 898. > > 22. Âkārāňga Sūtra, ‘Book II, Lecture I5: i-v’, tr. Herman Jacobi, The > Sacred Books of the East (Volume 22), ed. F. Max Müller, Motilal > Banarsidass, Delhi, 2002, pp. 202-210. > > Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, ‘Lecture XXIII’, tr. Herman Jacobi, The Sacred Books > of the East (Volume 45), ed. F. Max Müller, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, > 2004, pp. 119-129. > > 23. The Bhagavadgītā, ‘VI.10’, ed. S. Radhakrishnan, HarperCollins, New > Delhi, p. 192. > > 24. M.K. Gandhi, ‘Problems of Non-violence’ (in Gujarati: 9 August 1925), > The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XXXII, The Publications > Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, > Delhi, 1968, p. 273. > > 25. The Bhagavadgītā, ‘VI.10’, tr. S. Radhakrishnan, op cit., pp. 192-193. > > 26. M.K. Gandhi, ‘The Doctrine of the Sword’, (in Gujarati: 11 August 1920), > The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XXI, op cit., p. 134. > > 27. Ibid,, p. 134. > > 28. M.K. Gandhi, ‘On Ahimsa’, The Penguin Gandhi Reader, ed. Rudrangshu > Mukherjee, Penguin Books, New Delhi,1993, p. 97. > > 29. M.K. Gandhi, ‘Problems of Non-violence’, The Collected Works of Mahatma > Gandhi, Volume XXXII, op cit., p. 273. > > 30. M.K. Gandhi, ‘On Ahimsa: Reply to Lala Lajpat Rai’ (October 1916), The > Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XV, op cit., pp. 251-252. > > 31. ‘I have read almost all the English translations of [the Gītā], and I > regard Sir Edwin Arnold’s as the best’: M.K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or The > Story of My Experiments with Truth, The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, > Volume I, Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, 1968, p. 100. > > 32. M.K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, > The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume II, ibid., p. 393. > > 33. Ibid., p. 393. > > 34. Ibid., p. 393. > > 35. Ibid., p. 394. > > 36. Mukund Lath, op cit., p. 115. > > 37. A.L. Basham, ‘Introduction: Basic Doctrines of Jainism’, Sources of > Indian Tradition (Volume One), op cit., p. 57. > > 38. Âkārāňga Sūtra, ‘Book II, Lecture I5: i’, op cit., pp. 202-204. > > Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, ‘Lecture XXIII’, op cit., pp. 119-129. > > See also, Upinder Singh, ‘Chapter Six: Cities, Kings and Renunciasists: > North India, c. 600-300 BCE: Section: Early Jainism’, A History of Ancient > and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Pearson > Longman, Delhi, 2009, pp. 312-319. > > 39. Sūtrakritāňga, ‘Book I, Lecture I, Chapter 4: Verse nos. 9 & 10’, tr. > Herman Jacobi, The Sacred Books of the East (Volume 45), ed. F. Max Müller, > Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2004, pp. 247-248. > > The same commandment is repeated in: Sūtrakritāňga, ‘Book I, Lecture II: > Verse nos. 9 and 10’, op cit., p. 311. > > 40. Âkārāňga Sūtra, ‘Book I, Lecture I, Lesson 2’, op cit., pp. 3-5. > > 41. S. Radhakrishnan, ‘Chapter VIII: Epic Philosophy’, Indian Philosophy, > Volume 1, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1999, pp. 477-478. > > 42. Ibid., p. 506. > > 43. Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, tr. James Strachey, The > Penguin Freud Library, Volume 11: ‘On Metapsychology’, Penguin Books, > London, 1991, pp. 311-322. > > 44. Angela Richards, ‘Footnote 2’, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, op cit., > p. 272. > > 45. Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, op cit., p. 316. > > 46. Ibid., p. 311. > > 47. For a detailed discussion on the subject see, Sibaji Bandyopadhyay, > ‘Defining Terror: A Freudian Exercise’, Science, Literature and Aesthetics, > ed. Amiya Dev, History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian > Civilization, Volume XV, Part 3, Centre for Studies in Civilization, New > Delhi, 2008, pp. 567-631. > > 48. Adolf Hitler, ‘The Right to Self-Defence’, Mein Kampf, Jainco > Publishers, Delhi, p. 572. > > 49. Heinar Kipphardt, In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, tr. Ruth > Speirs, Methuen, London, 1967, p. 67. > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From yasir.media at gmail.com Mon Aug 16 23:39:46 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:09:46 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Flood Relief Efforts - Disaster Management Training Session In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] []]]]]]]]] Flood Relief Efforts - Disaster Management Training Session [[[[[[[] [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] from this page http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/event.php?eid=146854898666492&ref=ts ** NOTE NEW TIME : THURSDAY 3-5 PM on the website check the menus on top - this is the software http://pakistan.sahanafoundation.org/eden/ the wiki is more descriptive of whqat this group is doing http://eden.sahanafoundation.org/wiki/Pakistan ** We will be organising training sessions for anyone interested on how to use this software. First session will be held at a University in Karachi on Monday and from Tuesday onward will be broadcasted live to universities in 15 cities across the country. We invite your friends, particularly students, folks in the media & folks in NGOs already working to provide help where it is needed. We would like to train at least 1000 volunteers during the week. ** Time Thursday · 3:00pm - 5:00pm Location Main Hub at NED. Universites outside Karachi have requested to delay the session for a couple of day.The date has been shifted to Thursday 19/08/2010 Created By Nayel Noorani, Azhar Rizvi ** More Info Do you want to do something to help the 15 million (and counting) Pakistanis affected by the floods, but don't know what to do? Are you already doing something but feeling confused about what's happening? Pakistanis! Are you fully aware of the situation in the flood-affected areas? We are dealing with a disaster that is bigger than the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan & the earthquake in Haiti this year.... This requires a bigger response too! While there are lots of pockets of great work being done, our biggest obstacle at the moment is a lack of information on what is really happening and where and how deep the need for help lies. To overcome this obstacle, Sahana Foundation, in collaboration with the Rotary & Rotaract Clubs of Karachi Cosmopolitan, Rotary District 3271, Sapphire Consultants have established an information management system to collate information from just about every person who has access to the internet, using a PC, laptop or cell phone. This is the same system that is being used in Haiti to coordinate relief and rebuilding efforts and has now been customized for Pakistan. This software is used for: - Posting and Tracking affected areas and numbers of displaced people - Posting Tracking relief items needed in each area - Tracking the generation and movement of relief packages from the major cities of Pakistan to the flood-affected areas - Google/Yahoo Map of effected areas. - List of hospitals and relief centers. All this LIVE! The software can be accessed by visiting: http://pakistan.sahanafoundation.org/eden/ (No installation needed) Help files are available at: http://eden.sahanafoundation.org/wiki/Pakistan From iram at sarai.net Mon Aug 16 23:25:00 2010 From: iram at sarai.net (Iram Ghufran) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:55:00 +0600 Subject: [Reader-list] Opening >> City as Studio: EXB 10.04 Message-ID: <4C697B74.9040706@sarai.net> All are invited. Opening >> City as Studio: EXB 10.04 "An evening of new artworks, performance, poetry, energy, found knowledge, argument, star-gazing and friendly but unpredictable moves" Date: August 20, 2010 Time: Noon onwards. We expect to finish installing by 6pm. Performances continue till midnight :) Venue: Sarai CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi City as Studio: EXB 10.04 focuses on the processes initiated as part of the Sarai-CSDS 'City as Studio' Fellowship programme for artists and practitioners. It will showcase work done and processes initiated during the studio residency by an exciting group of artists, architects, filmmakers, dancers, writers, researchers, media practitioners and their interlocutors at Sarai. Featuring the work of: Shamsher Ali, Nabina Das, Rohini Devasher, Iram Ghufran, Dhrupadi Ghosh, Goutam Ghosh, Deepankar Gohain, Amitabh Kumar, Ashawari Mazumdar, Paribartana Mohanty, Radhika Murthy, Samir Parkar, Bhagwati Prasad, Gaurav Sharma, Priya Sen Performances by: Manola Gayatri, Deepankar Gohain, Vivek Narayanan, Inder Salim, Shuddhabrata Sengupta among others. Produced at the Sarai Media Lab, Sarai-CSDS, Delhi August 2010 Exhibition timings 11am to 5 pm Monday to Friday from August 20 to September 17, 2010 For details on our previous exhibitions see - http://www.sarai.net/practices/media-forms/city-as-studio-exb From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Tue Aug 17 01:17:16 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:17:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A mother, a son and Kashmir's education tragedy Message-ID: *A mother, a son and Kashmir's education tragedy * *Praveen Swami* *Link - http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/17/stories/2010081756841400.htm* * Islamist radical Asiya Andrabi wants schools and colleges shut. Her son wants a passport to study abroad * ------------------------------ * In June, some private schools briefly reopened, but shut down again after Andrabi's warning Secessionists have long insulated their children's education from the troubled region's politics * ------------------------------ SRINAGAR: Last month, Kashmiri Islamist leader Asiya Andrabi lashed out at parents worried about the consequences the weeks of violent street protests she has spearheaded might have for their children. “Losses of life, material and the education of children,” she said in a July 13 statement, “are inevitable in our freedom struggle. But these cannot be reasons to make compromises. The material sacrifices made by students, cart-pushers or daily-wage labourers have no value when compared to those who are ready to make the supreme sacrifice for the cause of freedom.” But documents filed in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court suggest that the fugitive Dukhtaran-e-Millat leader's son does not want to be among the tens of thousands of school and college students who have been locked out of educational institutions since June — or to join the ranks of those dying on Srinagar's streets. Petition for passport In a petition filed before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on April 30, 2010, Ms. Andrabi's teenage son Muhammad Bin Qasim had asked to be issued a passport in order to pursue a college education abroad. Filed on behalf on Mr. Qasim by a maternal uncle, since he was then a minor, the petition says the teenager has “applied for admission in Malaysia and has indicted his first choice as Bachelor of Information Technology and second one as Bachelor of Laws [sic.].” June, 1992-born Qasim, documents filed in court show, applied for an Indian passport on March 2, 2010. He applied for admission to a university abroad after obtaining 553 out of a possible 750 marks in his final year school examinations last year However, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which verifies the antecedents of passport applicants, claims the 18-year-old could be a threat to the state's security. In a May 24, 2010 response to Qasim's application, senior additional advocate-general A.M. Magray has stated that the teenager may be “misused” by his anti-India family if allowed to travel abroad. The Jammu and Kashmir government's affidavit relies on the fact that several of Qasim's relatives have been key figures in the State's anti-India movement. His father, Ashiq Husain Faktoo, a former member of the terrorist group Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, is serving a life sentence for the 1992 murder of human rights activist H.N. Wanchoo. Inayatullah Andrabi, another of Qasim's uncles, was a founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing, the Islami Jamaat-e-Tulaba. Qasim, then just three, had himself spent 13 months in prison along with his parents after their arrest in 1993. Ms. Andrabi's inflammatory polemic has given an increasingly ugly shape to the protests in Kashmir. Earlier this month, she condemned representatives of religious minorities who met with Tehreek-i-Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani to voice their concern at communal strains in the ongoing mobilisation. “Minorities can ask for security from the majority only after we get freedom from India,” she said. Ms. Andrabi also claimed, without basis, that Hindu fundamentalists in Jammu had “burned alive a number of Kashmiri Muslim drivers”. But there is nothing to show that Qasim is involved in his parents' politics. Last summer, Ms. Andrabi dragged her son home from Jammu, after learning he had been selected to play in a national-level cricket tournament. “How,” Ms. Andrabi had told the media, “can I let him play for India? My son will never serve a country that is our enemy. It is just impossible.” “I was playing,” Qasim responded in an interview, “for Kashmir. Cricket is my passion. After Islam and my parents, cricket is everything for me. I just wanted to play at least one national-level match in my life.” Bleak future Hundreds of Kashmir families have been exploring educational opportunities outside the region. Schools and universities have been shut since early this summer, when protests on Srinagar's streets began to escalate. In June, some privately-run schools briefly reopened — but shut down again after Ms. Andrabi warned that she would not be responsible for the consequences. Educational institutions in Jammu have since reported a surge in applications. Kashmir's élite, including anti-India secessionists, have long insulated their children's education from the troubled region's politics. Incarcerated Islamist leader and lawyer Mian Abdul Qayoom, for example, sent one of his three daughters to study medicine in Darbhanga. His nephew is a ninth-semester student at the Dogra Law College in Jammu — a privately owned institution owned, perhaps ironically, by local Congress leader Gulchain Singh Charak. Two other nephews, and a niece, obtained degrees in law and science from Pune. The unfortunate ones “The élite of our society,” journalist Manzoor Anjum wrote in an editorial commentary in the Urdu-language newspaper Uqab last month, “had already sent their children outside Kashmir for the pursuit of education, and those who had not done so earlier are doing so now. But the people who cannot afford to do so, who are in the majority, are caught between the devil and the deep sea. The bleak future of their children stares them in the face.” -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Cell - +91-9873297834 Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Tue Aug 17 08:47:49 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:47:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Reg: Report on Vedanta Mining Project Message-ID: Hi As you may remember, a 4-member panel was constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to look into whether the Union govt. should clear the Vedanta mining project in the Niyamgiri hills of Orissa or not. It in gist, says not to clear the project. For all those who want to read it, here is the link: http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/Saxena_Vedanta.pdf Rakesh From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Tue Aug 17 17:06:43 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:36:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <880721.65747.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Mani   Can you lay off from that propagandist note of "the right-wing media". I am a Kashmiri and not some media-stooge.   Since you claim to know a lot about 'the rise of separatist movements in Kashmir' and 'the motives of those who have started them in the first place' will you educate us on what are the "corporate interests" of the "Leaders of these political parties" who according to you "are not communal or anti-national duds" but "drown their corporate interests with communal and nationalist/anti-nationalist passion."   Can you give some concrete examples of those 'corporate interests' or are you only full of incoherent propagandist crap?   Actually I dont know why I am wasting my time on your idiotic statements.   Kshmendra --- On Mon, 8/16/10, A. Mani wrote: From: A. Mani Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir To: "sarai list" Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 8:38 PM On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 1:50 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > Whatever might be the other arguments for and against a 'Separate State of Kashmir' your analysis of the current problems and their genesis is quite ridiculous. > The usual reasons cited, in the right-wing media, for the rise of separatist movements in Kashmir never bother to investigate the motives of those who have started them in the first place. Leaders of these political parties are not communal or anti-national duds  who drown their corporate interests with communal and nationalist/anti-nationalist passion. The ground level jokes is not a genesis. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From cashmeeri at yahoo.com Tue Aug 17 18:01:20 2010 From: cashmeeri at yahoo.com (cashmeeri) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:31:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] A critique of nonviolence - absolutely brilliant Message-ID: <763512.72880.qm@web112609.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Jeebesh   Thanks for sharing this absolutely brilliant essay.   I am intrigued by SB stating towards the start of the essay that:   "along with ‘nonviolence’ and ‘truth’ there is one order of excellence extolled by the Mahābhārata, which by a curious twist of logic, appears to give lie to the truth of nonviolence. And that is ānŗśamsya or ‘noncruelty’."   I did not see anything in the essay that put forward that  'curious twist of logic' since the range of differentiations between ‘ahimsā' (nonviolence) and 'ānŗśamsya' (noncruelty) have been competently brought out.   Further on SB himself puts it appropiately "Placed as a golden mean between two extremes, ānŗśamsya gestures towards the apparently contradictory prescript of ‘violence without violation’."   I do not understand why he characterises that understanding of 'violence without violation' as containing contradictory elements since he himself analyses the positions that explain that 'prescript'.   Renewed thinking: My thoughts went to 'human rights' and 'environmental' abuse.   Thanks again   .............. aalok aima     --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Jeebesh wrote: From: Jeebesh Subject: [Reader-list] A critique of nonviolence To: "Sarai Reader-list" Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 11:55 PM dear all, in this essay of exceptional scholarship we could find an opening for a renewed thinking. warmly jeebesh http://www.india-seminar.com/2010/608/608_sibaji_bandyopadhyay.htm A critique of nonviolence SIBAJI BANDYOPADHYAY Ahimsā paramo dharmo – this is one aphorism with which almost every Indian schoolchild is acquainted. From early childhood we are tutored to discern the symptoms of the pathological everyday we inhabit, taught to be increasingly protective of ourselves in a progressively more violent world, and in the same breath told that all sane Indians of the past swore by the creed of ‘nonviolence’. Offering, as though a therapeutic solace to the troubled souls of today, it is incessantly reiterated that ancient Indians were unwavering in asserting the ethical propriety of ahimsā. We are repeatedly reminded, the one singular achievement of ancient India was that all her sages, meaning ‘custodians of people’ called upon to preserve harmony among different callings and thus augment loka-samgraha or ‘social wealth’, condemned himsāor ‘violence’ without so much as a demur. And, to refurbish this popular wisdom, the modern ideologues committed to it invariably hark back to the Mahābhārata, the colossal work that within the tradition of Indian taxonomy of genres bears the title itihāsa. With the express intention of affirming iti-ha-āsa or ‘so indeed it was’, they cite selective portions of the Mahābhārata. With great fondness, they keep mouthing, for example, the dictum handed out to Yudhishthira by grandsire Bhishma in ‘Anuśānaparvan’. The dictum, lilting in terms of lyrical cadence, makes the expression ‘ahimsā paramo dharmo’ or ‘ahimsā is the highest dharma’ more weighty by appending to it expressions such as, ‘Ahimsā is the highest form of self-control’, ‘Ahimsā is the highest austerity’, ‘Ahimsā is the highest sacrifice’, ‘Ahimsā is the best friend’, ‘Ahimsā is the greatest happiness’, ‘Ahimsā is the highest truth’ (13.117.37-38).* Indisputably, there is a kind of critical consensus that itihāsa places an exceedingly high premium on ‘nonviolence’. Also certainly, it is this uncritical or unconscious adherence to the same unanimity, which gives to the painstaking statistical exercise undertaken by Alf Hiltebeitel the quality of the unexpected. Alf Hiltebeitel, in his 2001 book Rethinking the Mahābhārata, prepares a tally-sheet for the phrase paramo dharmo and demonstrates that out of the 54 times it occurs in the Mahābhārata, it is conjoined with the word ahimsā only four times – and, of those four, one is contained in Bhishma’s dictum quoted earlier!1 Even if we grant that frequency distributions based on quantitative analyses are by themselves not sufficiently strong measures of weights attached to values, Alf Hiltebeitel’s chart provides other information that have the potential to meet the deficiency. We gather from it that along with ‘nonviolence’ and ‘truth’ there is one order of excellence extolled by the Mahābhārata, which by a curious twist of logic, appears to give lie to the truth of nonviolence. And that is ānŗśamsya or ‘noncruelty’. Moreover, and surely this is telling, although the expression ānŗśamsyam paro dharma or ‘noncruelty is the supreme dharma’ features eight times in the Mahābhārata, it is only very recently that scholars have begun to take cognizance of ānŗśamsya as a complex concept on its own right. Mukund Lath, in his path-blazing 1987 article on the term has gone so far as to say, ‘It has been kind of voyage of discovery for me, to understand what ānŗśamsya means in the Mahābhārata… [It is more so because] outside the Mahābhārata, whether in the literature preceding the Mahābhārata or following it, the word hardly has the supreme significance [as] it has in the epic’.2 The obvious questions that this observation gives rise to are: (a) What is the ideological role of ānŗśamsya in the Mahābhārata? (b) Does it have any relevance beyond the framework of itihāsa? In the justly famous dialogue between Yudhishthira and Dharma, the highest authority on the meaning of Good-ness, appearing as a Yaksha in the ‘Âraņyakaparvan’, the philosophical Yudhishthira’s response to Yaksha’s question, ‘What is the greatest virtue in the world?’ was, ānŗśamsyam paro dharmo, ‘absence of cruelty is the highest virtue’ (3. 297.54-55 and 3. 297.71). In the course of the interrogation which took in its stride such intriguing existential issues as ‘the substance of self’, ‘the meaning of happiness’, ‘the surest path of acquiring authentic knowledge’, ‘the problem of recognizing one’s own mortality’, the statement ānŗśamsyam paro dharma comes twice. The fact that Yudhishthira the Dharmarāja chose to conclude the session by stating it once again gives to the expression the air of a well-considered maxim (3.297.11-298.22). It surely is instructive that the person most sensitive and upright among the chief protagonists of the Mahābhārata, the one hero compulsively obsessed with intricacies involving moral conundrums, should choose to mark ‘noncruelty’ and not ‘nonviolence’ as the ultimate humane attribute. However, the underlying assumptions behind the privileging is supplied not by Yudhishthira but by a fowler by profession – instead of Dharmarāja, they are spelt out by a Sūdra reverentially referred to as Dharmavyādha. They are there in the lecture, rather lengthy and tiresome one at that, which the Dharmic Fowler delivered to a haughty Brahminin ‘Âraņyakaparvan’ (3.198.1 to 3.206.32). Let us now focus on the salient features of the discourse on ānŗśamsya spun by Dharmavyādha of Mithilā, the conscientious Sūdra whose very livelihood depended on killing fowls of the air, beasts of the field and selling flesh in the open market. Schematically put, this is what Dharmavyādha said: 1. ‘Ahimsā is the highest dharma, which, again, is founded upon truth’ (3.198.69). (Incidentally, of the four times we encounter the phrase ahimsā paramo dharma in the Mahābhārata, one of them comes from Dharmavyādha.) 2. But, even though men of learning and wisdom have advocated non-violence from the earliest times, anyone who thinks hard enough is bound to reach the conclusion that there is none who is nonviolent (3.199.28). (This same view is forcefully voiced by Arjuna in ‘Śāntiparvan’. The hero whom an immobilizing depression seized immediately before the commencement of the Kurukshetra War but who, thanks to Krishna’s sobering as well as stimulating discourse managed to shake it off just in the nick of time said, long after peace had returned to the land, ‘I do not see a single person in this world who lives by nonviolence’ (12.15.20). 3. Hence, the best way to resolve the paradox is to temper the exacting demands of ‘nonviolence’ by emphasizing ‘leniency’ or ‘noncruelty’ and, for all practical purposes, replace the commandment ‘ahimsā is the highest dharma’ by ‘ānŗśamsya is the highest dharma’ (3.203.41). (In Mukund Lath’s words, ‘What the Mahābhārata preaches is not ahimsā but ānŗśamsya’.3 Lath’s claim is indeed provocative. Unlike J.L. Mehta, who believes ‘[Mahābhārata’s] central message, repeated again and again, is that non-violence (ahimsa) and compassion (anrisamsya) are the highest duties of man’4, Lath sees a distinct hierarchy at work in the Mahābhārata – a subtle distinguishing operation that places ānŗśamsya over and above ahimsā.) Dharmavyādha reckons ‘state of violence’ to be an irremediable, unavoidable factor of ‘human condition’. By the same token, in his system of Ethics, ahimsā obtains the precarious status of an unrealizable ideal – it is as if, no matter how morally judicious a subject is in conducting his daily life, the goal of ahimsā can only be approached by moving along an asymptomatic curve that converges only at infinity. The Dharmic Fowler’s axiomatic propositions – propositions that he himself claims to be part and parcel of authentic ‘Brahmanic philosophy’ (3.201.14) – lead inexorably to the framing of, what, for the sake of convenience may be called, a ‘principle of proxy’. In the Brāhmanic universe of the scrupulous Sūdra, the notion of ānŗśamsya functions as a stand-in for ahimsā. It maintains a critical distance from both the components of the himsā-ahimsā or ‘violence-nonviolence’ binary without dissolving either of the two. It opens up a discursive space within which excessive violence is condemned and unqualified nonviolence considered unviable. Placed as a golden mean between two extremes, ānŗśamsya gestures towards the apparently contradictory prescript of ‘violence without violation’. In short, given the fact that every being on earth is obliged to abide by certain violent but objective conditions, the only way left to man to differentiate himself from other living things and assert his specific species-being is to treat ānŗśamsya as the closest possible approximate of ahimsā. But then, we are dealing with itihāsa, a compendium of fables that has the extraordinary felicity of attaching contending signifieds to the same signifier. This flexibility may be bothersome; but, it often achieves effects that are overwhelming. Ānŗśamsya too has an indeterminate ambiguity about it. There are moments in the Mahābhārata in which the word comes so close to anukrosha or ‘empathy’ as to make ahimsā and ānŗśamsya not only mutually exchangeable (as envisaged by J.L. Mehta) but also to construe a general grammar of ‘ethical care’ on the basis of ānŗśamsya.5 The ‘fable of the parrot’ in the Anuśāsanaparvan is a case in point. On Yudhishthira’s plea ‘I wish to hear of the merits of ānŗśamsya’, Bhishma had recounted the legend (13.5.1-31). The story went: a fowler had mistakenly pierced a forest-tree with a poison-arrow; as a result, the tree withered away; despite the destruction, a parrot living in the hollow of the tree’s trunk did not desert his nest; surprised by this show of (irrational) attachment, Indra approached the parrot and enquired into his reasons for cohabiting with the condemned; justifying his voluntary decision on the grounds of ‘compassion’, ‘kindliness of feeling’ and affection for the erstwhile protector, the parrot invoked successively the concepts ānŗśamsya and anukrosha (13.5. 22-23).6 The puzzle posed by the parable was, how come lower animals exhibit a sensibility which humans take for granted to be peculiarly humane. Indra wondered about the parrot’s supernatural feat of practicing ānŗśamsya (13.5.9) and resolved the problem by adducing to the primary supposition of a (supposed) ‘Natural Ethics’. Indra discerned in the parrot’s behaviour a confirmation of the principle of ‘mutual care’ – there was no mystery; the urge to be generous towards others was a predilection common to allcreatures (13.5.10). Doubtless, the ‘fable of the parrot’ exceeds the limit set by Dharmavyādha to the category of ānŗśamsya. Similar exceeding can be found in other parts of the Mahābhārata too. For example, in the almost last (significant) episode of itihāsa in which Indra forbade Yudhishthira from entering the celestial abode if Dharmarāja insisted on continuing with the dog that had been accompanying him in his final journey. Yudhishthira was, however, adamant; he refused to abandon the humble animal. In expressing his touching loyalty for the loyal dog, Yudhishthira employed the word ānŗśamsya (17.3.7); and, a little later, shedding the disguise of the dog, Dharma himself praised Yudhishthira for being thoroughly informed by the moral compulsion of anukrosha (17.3.17). Here too, conjoined as it is with a word etymologically rooted in the notion of ‘crying out that "follows" (anu) someone else’s "cry"(krosha)’7, ānŗśamsya over-steps the boundary imposed on it by Dharmavyādha. But, before one can cognize the ‘supplement’ that ‘supplants’ any ‘steady’ signification, it is imperative to follow the ‘logic’ of the ‘main argument’ to its end. Hoping that spots of confounding aporia would inevitably appear as we proceed and the spree for the free play of deconstruction would gather force, we mostly restrict ourselves to Dharmavyādha’s discourse in this paper. To trace the genealogical route of the term ānŗśamsya (as explicated by Dharmavyādha) most scholars refer back to the great ideological clash that took place about two and half thousand years back in the Indo-Gangetic plain. The two parties involved in the battle are generally known as the Brahmin and the Śŗamaņ – the former comprising the votaries of animal sacrifice and the latter men disenchanted by Vedic chants and the magical powers imputed to the act of sacrifice. Most of the Śŗamaņs – the two most prominent of whom were the Buddhists and the Jains – denounced the senselessness involved in killing innocent animals for either gratification or appeasement of the so-called gods. It was the dumbness of being cruel towards ‘dumb creatures’, a form of dumbness unhesitatingly sanctified by priests practiced in the art of Vedic rituals, which exercised them the most – the dissenting Śŗamaņs fleshed out their idea of ahimsā as a protest against this outrage. This, however, does not mean that all those anti-Brahminical sects which propagated ahimsā also preached that it was beneath the dignity of men to consume meat as food. The fact that the ideals of ahimsā and vegetarianism did not stem from the same origin but evolved along two different paths is borne out by facts like: while the Theravāda school of Buddhism permitted its followers to eat flesh provided they were not guilty of procuring the flesh by their own hands, the Jain scriptures poured scorn on the Theravāda ordinance as being an example of sophistry designed to camouflage the desire for the taste of meat – in contradistinction to the early Buddhists, the Jains from the very beginning favoured absolute prohibition on all meat-eating.8 While the Buddhist Emperor Ashoka (3rd c. BCE) is credited to have introduced virtual vegetarianism, the declaration in his First Rock Edict, ‘Here [meaning perhaps, Ashoka’s capital] no animal is to be killed for sacrifice’, clearly imposed a limiting condition on the solicitous state policy governing the practice of vegetarianism.9 It is also legitimate to think that in the process of bringing about a ‘revaluation of all (Brāhmanical) values’ through the category of nonviolence – in the Jain-like exaggerated diction or otherwise – the Śŗamaņs reinforced some of the precepts which were part of the tradition of (pre-Śŗamaņic) Upanişad. The Śŗamaņic insistence on ahimsā certainly cast a new light on sayings such as, ‘Verily, a person is a sacrifice… austerity, almsgiving, uprightness, ahimsā, truthfulness are the gifts [for that sacrifice]’ (Chāndogya Upanişad: III. 16.1 and III. 17.4).10 Again, undoubtedly, fighting against the home-dwelling Brāhmins, the priests who had no qualms about earning their livelihood by gifting animal flesh to gods, the homeless Śŗamaņs could have garnered moral support for their irremediable wanderlust as well as claim a longer and nobler lineage than the himsā-epitomizing Brāhmins from pre-Śŗamaņic utterances as ‘Verily, he is the great unborn Self… Desiring Him only as their worlds, monks wonder forth. Verily, because they knew this, the ancient (sages) did not wish for offspring’ (Bŗhad-āraņyaka Upanişad: IV. 4.22).11 On the whole, despite the earlier invocations of the creed of nonviolence, the Brāhmin-Śŗamaņ hostility was scripted by treating ahimsā as the moot point of contention – and, due to that, what were before, at best, perfunctory and scattered, coalesced to shape a wholesome discourse. Moreover, such is the wholesomeness of the discourse, it still shows no sign of disintegration. Patanjāli, India’s legendary grammarian of 2nd c. BCE, had compared the Brāhmin-Śŗamaņ hostility with the natural snake-mongoose hostility. Then again, while expounding on the ‘antagonistic compound’, Patanjāli had instantiated it by referring to the ‘eternal conflict’ between the Brāhmin and the Śŗamaņ!12 This grammatical wit is sufficiently incisive to keep us forewarned that the ancient ideological contrariety is yet to be transcended. Neither Mukund Lath13 nor Alf Hiltebeitel14 would face any difficulty in accepting Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya as a compromise formula – a formula devised to diffuse the disaccord between the orthodox Brahmana and the non-conformist Śŗamaņ. What is more, this view is quite palatable to many a radical interpreter of India’s past, such as, Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, the author of the outstanding treatise, Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgītā (1971).15 None of them would contest that the concept of uncompromising ahimsā conceived by a section of the Śŗamaņs in order to morally nullify the himsā-oriented Brāhminical practices provided the founding condition for Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya. Of course, there are dissenters; e.g., Chaturvedi Badrinath, the author of The Mahābhārata: An Enquiry in the Human Condition. He wrote as late as in 2006, ‘The three powerful words ahimsā paramo dharmo that [keep] resound[ing] in the Mahābhārata …would later become the cardinal foundation of Jainism’.16 Nevertheless, if we leave aside the complicated business of arguing on the basis of historical evidence and take the softer option of deriving information from literary study of characters, it seems the first view has the greater chance of being vindicated. Take a look at the Mahābhārata’s chief ideologue of ānŗśamsya, the Dharmic Butcher. Dharmavyādha’s body is like a repository of various contesting predilections; it houses all but combines them in such a fashion that all real antagonistic contradictions seem to disappear: he does not slay animals but pursues his family-trade by selling the meat of hogs and buffaloes killed by others (3.198.31); he lays out chopped out flesh in the marketplace for the gratification of culinary appetite of his customers but he himself is a strict vegetarian (3.198.32); he subscribes to the theory of karmaphala but, (as though to negate the Buddhist-like semantic revolution of redefining the word karma to connote ‘personal intention’ in place of ‘Brahmin ritualism’17), insists that it is Destiny which calls people to their respective vocations (3.199.2). He readily admits that his profession is heinous but exculpates himself on the ground that he is a mere ‘passive instrument’ (3.199.3); he displays a great sense of discomfiture vis-à-vis the cruelties he daily practices but mitigates it by claiming that his steadfastness in observing swadharma or ‘the duty of one’s order’ (3.199.14) bestows upon his job the benediction of ānŗśamsya or ‘noncruelty’; he appreciates the lowliness of his rough trade but it gladdens him to think that he supplies meat to ‘gods’ (3.199.4) offered in duly conducted Sacrifices. On the whole, Mahābhārata’s Dharmavyādha, a rare example of a Sūdra trained in ‘Brahmanic philosophy’, stands out as a person who to the last syllable of his being fulfils one of Manu’s kernel injunctions. In the very first chapter of his Book of Laws, Manu had issued the writ: ‘The Lord assigned only one activity to a Sūdra: serving the other castes without resentment’.18 And, it is this lack of ‘resentment’ (or better still of Nietzschean ressentiment) towards so-called natural superiors which enables Dharmavyādha to simultaneously epitomize servility and make a case for ‘leniency’ or ‘compassion’. It is, therefore, not surprising that playing the role of mediating middle term, ānŗśamsya should come to the rescue of the Vedic Sacrifice, remove the taint of himsā ascribed to it by the Śŗamaņs. It underpins the rationale behind the new ‘rules of the game’ chalked up by embattled Brahmanism, by lawmakers embarrassed by Śŗāmaņic charges. Ânŗśamsya places, for example, Manu’s dictum, ‘…killing in sacrifice is not killing…The violence sanctioned by the Veda and regulated by official restraints is known as nonviolence’,19 on a surer footing. Clearly, the ‘new word’20 which captures the imagination of both Mukund Lath and Alf Hiltebeitel, is rather about attitude than any concrete instance of violence or nonviolence – set up to countermand the Śŗāmaņic over-valorization of ahimsā, ānŗśamsya bespeaks of an ‘affective state’. Encourages as it does to cultivate a sense of detachment to the consequences of his actions in the mind of the doer, the ‘new word’ bears familial resemblances with many Brahmanic and Śŗāmaņic concepts. For example: in ‘Śāntiparvan’, after saying, ‘I know what ānŗśamsya is, because I have always marked the conduct of good people’ (12.158.1), Yudhishthira heaps praises on a sensibility central to the set of precepts associated with the famed nishkāma karma (12.164.41-46). Aparigrahah is one word that ānŗśamsya recalls most strenuously. The word itself has a checkered history. Aparigrahah generally implies ‘non-possession’. It appears in the ancient, most probably pre-Buddhist, Jābāla Upanişad;21 it is one of the ‘Five Great Vows’ enjoined by Jainism;22 it recurs once in Chapter Six, Verse number ten in the Bhagavadgītā.23 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – the apostle of ahimsā of modern India who on occasions looked back to Yudhishthira in his attempts to define the term24 and besides translating the Gītā into Gujarati composed immensely influential commentaries on the book – was deeply impressed by the Gītā’s employment of aparigrahah. Lest we muddle up things, it is important to remember that aparigrahah or ‘[to be] free from longing for possessions’25 used in conjunction with thoroughgoing ahimsā connotes a value quite distinct from the one produced by its conjunction with the more malleable ānŗśamsya. Being a self-professed ‘practical idealist’,26 Gandhi was often driven to reflect on the epistemological limits of the creed of ‘nonviolence’. A pacifist, he consistently disavowed the ‘doctrine of the sword’ in his battles against imperialist forces. In pointing to the distinctive character of man’s species-being Gandhi did not, unlike the Dharmic Fowler, stop at ‘noncruelty’, but said, ‘Nonviolence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute’.27 He paid tributes to Mahavira, the Jain teacher who was among the staunchest advocates of the gospel of ahimsā, and the Buddha as well and termed them ‘soldiers’ for the cause of ‘nonviolence’.28 Nonetheless, Gandhi maintained, there were certain aspects of violence which were ‘inevitable’;29 he boldly asserted that his own doctrine of ahimsā was ‘new’, not ‘dependent upon the authority of [previous] works’ including those belonging to the Jain school of thought.30 There are several passages in Gandhi’s An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth (volume I: 1927; volume II: 1929) in which he expresses great fascination with the Gītā and its English translation by Edwin Arnold titled The Song Celestial(1885).31 He took the Gītā as his Book of ‘conduct’ and sought to develop his idea of ahimsā on its basis.32 And, it is striking that Gandhi’s political lexicon is most profoundly coloured by a word which appears only once in the Gītā, his ‘dictionary of daily reference’.33 That word, as Gandhi put it himself, ‘gripped’34 him from the start and as years passed by, helped him to forge his most original contribution in the field of social sciences: the notion of ‘trusteeship’. The word was aparigrahah. Gandhi wrote in his Autobiography: ‘I understood the Gita teaching of [aparigrahah or] non-possession to mean that those who desired salvation should act like a trustee who, though having control over great possessions, regards not an iota of them as his own’.35 Note the crucial difference: while according to the Jain tenet aparigrahaħ signifies renunciation of all material possession in the exact sense of the term, Gandhi derives from Gītā’s aparigrahaħ the profile of a ‘subject’ who does not give up his private property for good but has the perspicuity to not to call anything one’s own for the sake of public good. It may now be safely surmised that the concept of ānŗśamsya has a positive bearing on itihāsa as well as on modern history. The ‘supreme significance’36 ascribed to it in the epic is doubtless absent in post-Mahābhārata literature. However, its hidden intellectual career can be uncovered once we align ānŗśamsya with aparigrahah and follow the latter’s role in shaping the image of the responsible leader of New India – a man gifted with both control over great possessions and the right attitude towards them; a man who affirms ahimsā but knows periodic release of controlled violence may be mandatory in the discharge of his duties. There still remains a serious epistemological problem. It is quite apparent that in pre-modern texts the will to himsā is equated to will to slay – it is assumed that even the most trivial act of himsā inclusive that of ‘speech’ or ‘thought’ is grounded on and geared to the final solution of annihilating some other. Even when the Jains advised that it was advisable to avoid violence ‘not so much because it harm[ed] other beings [but] because it harm[ed] the individual who commit[ed] it’,37 the ‘selfish’ motive was dictated by the fear of damaging, in the extreme case damaging physically, someone else. Nonetheless, it seems, in the light of more recent formulations, neither the Śŗāmaņic celebration of ahimsā nor the Mahābhārata’s resolution of opposites through ānŗśamsya nor the latter’s disguised deployment in modern political theory, evince sufficient alertness to the mechanisms of violence. A whole section of Mahābhārata’s ‘Śāntiparvan’ is devoted to āpad-dharma, to the rules in situations of extremity when normal rules do not apply (12.129.14 to 12.167.24). Almost at the beginning of the section there is a sloka which is like a prelude to what is to follow. It says: ‘As a hunter discovers the track of a deer wounded with arrow by marking spots of blood on the ground, so should one try to find out the reasons of dharma’ (12.130.20). We are then introduced to a series of tales and counsels whose chief burden is to underscore the over-riding importance of ‘self-preservation’. The instruction is: ‘See the efficacy of self-interest’ (12.136.140). Therefore, recognizing instinctively that ‘this body is my friend’ (12.139.73), a person should not refrain from doing things, no matter how distressful or distasteful they are, in order to save his most intimate friend; knowing that, ‘One should keep up his life by any means in his power without judging of their charter’ (12.139.59), it is quite permissible and passable for a person threatened by imminent death to cause injury to others. (Incidentally, Gandhi too accepted the necessity of applying violence for self-defence.) This means at the moment of deepest crisis, the man caught up in it has every right to suspend all codes of formal behaviour orsadāchāra. More importantly, this also indicates that, in the ultimate analysis, the source of violence is always positioned as beingexternal to the body; it is taken for granted that the violence which may entail one’s destruction is always inflicted from the outside; the terrible enemy is forever stationed elsewhere. This sense of exteriority in relation to fatal dangers also circumscribes the reach of ahimsā – to be ‘nonviolent’ then becomes a corollary and an extension of the urge to conserve one’s body. It is no wonder, therefore, that Sudharman, a direct disciple of Mahāvira, in stating the irrevocable factum tenet of the Jain system, the first of the ‘Five Great Vows’,38 took recourse to the metaphor of the ‘body’ dreading foreign invasion and the criterion of ‘reciprocity’. He said: ‘All [bodies] are subject to pain; hence they should not be killed… Know this to be the real meaning of the Law of ahimsā: as you do not wish to be killed, so others do not wish to be killed’.39 Armed with this Law, Sudharman launched a frontal attack on the competing Śŗamaņ school of Buddhism and declared: ‘See! There are men pretend[ing] to be houseless, i.e., monks such as the Bauddhas, [who] destroy earth-body by bad and injurious things…a wise man should not act sinfully towards earth, nor cause others to act so’.40 Going by this extremist dogma, if a man lays down his life for any cause, say, for ahimsā, he does so because he willfully lets the other-directed himsā to fall upon him and not because desire for violence stems from his own body. Mahābhārata too – the text, that in S. Radhakrishnan’s opinion is a stellar example of ‘readjustments’ initiated by Brāhmanism to process some of the objections raised by diverse ‘systems of revolt’41 – in substance reiterates the same criterion of ‘reciprocity’ when it teaches that the sum total of man’s duties is contained in the maxim, ‘Thou shalt not do to others what is disagreeable to thyself’.42 However, complacency apropos violence can no longer be entertained. Among others, the psychoanalytic intervention in the matter precludes such a possibility. In 1920 Sigmund Freud published Beyond the Pleasure Principle (English translation: 1922). Sitting in Vienna, Freud composed that perplexing work just after the First World War ended and the Austro-Hungarian Empire had vanished from the political map. The two inter-related concepts he introduced in the book have radically altered all earlier visions as regards man’s aptitude for controlling violence. One of them was primary masochism and the other, death-instincts. At one point in Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Freud alluded to E. Hering’s theory that all ‘living substance[s]’ were subject to two contrary processes, one ‘constitutive or assimilatory’ and the other ‘destructive or dissimilatory’. Next, with no prior intimation whatsoever, Freud suddenly took a mighty speculative leap. He substituted Hering’s ‘vital processes’ by ‘instinctual impulses’ and proposed that every living substance was ‘dualistic’ in nature – each was simultaneously motivated by ‘life instincts’ and ‘death instincts’.43 The expression ‘death-instincts’, later more famously known as Thanatos, makes its ‘first published appearance’44 in Beyond the Pleasure Principle – and, at the very moment of its debut it forces us to take seriously, perhaps for the first time in recorded history, bizarre hypotheses such as, ‘[There exists an irresoluble] opposition between the ego or death instincts and the sexual or life instincts’45 or ‘The instincts of self-preservation… are component instincts whose function is to assure that the organism shall follow its own path of death’.46 The death-driven Freudian psyche supplies the aetiology necessary for sociological analyses of ‘suicide’. But, it does more. Thanatos and the ‘primary regression’ called masochism together bring ‘violence’ to centre stage – the human appetite for self-consumption changes the meaning of ‘danger’ to include instances that overstep boundaries set by the principle of ‘self-preservation’; the sensational hypothesis that ‘pain’ can jolly well be a pleasurable sensation for the human animal, in effect, problematizes the Śŗāmaņic doctrine of ‘mutual dependence’, the psychosomatic axiom upon which the pre-modern notion of ahimsā was premised. The 1932 correspondence between Albert Einstein, the physicist whose elegant formula e = mc2 provided the theoretical frame for making the atom bomb a practical proposition, and Sigmund Freud, the psychoanalyst who widened the horizon of ‘violence’, unambiguously demonstrates that the latter in later life regarded the antimony of two basal instincts, eros and Thanatos, as one inviolable factor of ‘human condition’.47 So did the Śŗamaņs when they spoke of bodily pains and Mahābhārata’s Dharmavyādha when he said it was absurd to think that one could avoid doing violence to others in any absolute sense. In each case the theory is produced in response to a specific circumstance, each articulation is backed by a political intention. If the Śŗāmaņic insistence on ahimsā, on according respect to all and giving credence to individual suffering was a strategy to mount an ethical attack on Brahmanism and Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya an apologia for Brahmanism, then Freud’s Thanatos was an offshoot of the brutalities regularly practiced by men during the First World War and the initial phase of Nazism. And, Adolf Hitler, the arch-ideologue of Nazism, in the concluding chapter titled ‘The Right to Self-Defence’ in his 1924 autobiography Mein Kampfhad written: ‘[just as] a weak pigmy cannot contend against athletes, a negotiator without any armed defence at his back must always bow in obescience’.48 On 6 August 1945, the allied forces fighting against the Evil of Nazism dropped the first atom bomb on Hiroshima and thereby officially inaugurated the Nuclear Age. With that strike, at one stroke man acquired a ‘new attribute’: ‘the ability to extinguish all life upon earth’.49 Replaces as it does the age-old diachronic order associated with ‘death’ by the possibility of the ‘synchronic’, by the ever-looming terrifying thought that man can actually make everything and being sign out all at once if he so wills, also brings to Freud’s idea of Thanatos or individualistic death-wish a quaint charm. It is in the historical context of the technological revolution which has the capacity of posing ‘utter calamity’ as the telos of humanity, that the real one feels, epistemological challenge of today is to re-think the question of ‘nonviolence’; ask again, what really is ahimsā? Footnotes: * All Mahābhārata references are to the Critical Edition of the Mahābhārata published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune. The English translations are based on (a) M.N. Dutt, The Mahābhārata (nine volumes), Parimal Publications, Delhi, 2004 and (b) Kisari Mohan Ganguli, The Mahābhārata (four volumes), Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 2004. 1. Alf Hiltebeitel, ‘Chapter Five: Don’t Be Cruel’, Rethinking the Mahābhārata: A Reader’s Guide to the Education of the Dharma King (first published 2001), Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002, p. 207. 2. Mukund Lath, ‘The Concept of Ānŗśamsya in the Mahābhārata’, The Mahābhārata Revisited, ed. R.N. Dandekar, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1990, p. 113, p. 115. 3. Mukund Lath, ibid., p. 119. 4. J.L. Mehta, ‘The Discourse of Violence in the Mahabharata’, Philosophy and Religion: Essays in Interpretation, Indian Council of Philosophical Research and Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi, 1990, p. 256. 5. Vrinda Dalmiya, ‘Dogged Loyalties: A Classical Indian Intervention in Care Ethics’, Ethics in the World Religions, eds. J. Runzo and Nancy M. Martin, Oxford, 2007, pp. 293-306. 6. For discussions on the fable see: (a) Alf Hiltebeitel, op cit., p. 213; (b) Vrinda Dalmiya, op cit., p. 294. 7. For a detailed discussion on the moral implications of anukrosha, see Vrinda Dalmiya, ibid., pp. 298-305. 8. Sources of Indian Tradition (Volume One: ‘From the Beginning to 1800), ed. Ainslie T. Embree, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 1992, pp. 170-171. 9. The original text: ‘1 Shilānusāshana’, Ashokalipi, ed. and tr. Amulyachandra Sen, Mahabodhi Book Agency, Kolkata, 1994, p. 144. For English translation see: Sources of Indian Tradition (Volume One), op .cit., p. 144. 10. Chāndogya Upanişad, ‘III.16.1’ and ‘III.17.4’, tr. S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanişads, HarperCollins Publishers India, New Delhi, 1998, p. 394 and p. 396. 11. Bŗhad-āraņyaka Upanişad, ‘IV.4.22’, The Principal Upanişads, ibid., p. 279. 12. The Vyākaraņa Mahābhāsya of Pataňjali, edited by F. Kielhorn, Volume 1, p. 474, p. 476. 13. Mukund Lath, op cit., pp. 118-119. 14. Alf Hiltebeitel, op cit., p. 203. 15. Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, ‘Chapter II: Section B: The Compromising Character of the Bhagavadgītā’, Early Buddhism and the Bhagavadgītā, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2008, pp. 106-109. 16. Chaturvedi Badrinath, ‘Chapter Five: Ahimsā – Non-violence, the Foundation of Life’, The Mahābhārata: An Inquiry in the Human Condition, ed., p. 114 [emphasis added] 17. Richard F. Gombrich, ‘Chapter III: The Buddha’s Dhamma’, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, Routledge, London, 1988, p. 67. 18. Manusamhitā, ‘I.91’, ed. Panchanan Tarkaratna, Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, Kolkata, 2000, p. 40. For English translation see: The Laws of Manu, ‘I.91’, tr. Wendy Doniger and Brian K. Smith, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 1991, p. 13. 19. Manusamhitā, ‘V.39 & V.44’, ed. Panchanan Tarkaratna, op cit., p. 129 and p. 130. For English translation see, The Laws of Manu, ‘V.39 and V.44’, tr. Wendy Doniger and Brian K. Smith, op cit., p. 103 and p. 103. 20. (a) Mukund Lath, op cit., p. 113. (b) Alf Hiltebeitel, op cit., p. 202. 21. Jābāla Upanişad, ‘Verse No. 5’, tr. S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanişads, HarperCollins, New Delhi,1998, p. 898. 22. Âkārāňga Sūtra, ‘Book II, Lecture I5: i-v’, tr. Herman Jacobi, The Sacred Books of the East (Volume 22), ed. F. Max Müller, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2002, pp. 202-210. Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, ‘Lecture XXIII’, tr. Herman Jacobi, The Sacred Books of the East (Volume 45), ed. F. Max Müller, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2004, pp. 119-129. 23. The Bhagavadgītā, ‘VI.10’, ed. S. Radhakrishnan, HarperCollins, New Delhi, p. 192. 24. M.K. Gandhi, ‘Problems of Non-violence’ (in Gujarati: 9 August 1925), The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XXXII, The Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Delhi, 1968, p. 273. 25. The Bhagavadgītā, ‘VI.10’, tr. S. Radhakrishnan, op cit., pp. 192-193. 26. M.K. Gandhi, ‘The Doctrine of the Sword’, (in Gujarati: 11 August 1920), The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XXI, op cit., p. 134. 27. Ibid,, p. 134. 28. M.K. Gandhi, ‘On Ahimsa’, The Penguin Gandhi Reader, ed. Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Penguin Books, New Delhi,1993, p. 97. 29. M.K. Gandhi, ‘Problems of Non-violence’, The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XXXII, op cit., p. 273. 30. M.K. Gandhi, ‘On Ahimsa: Reply to Lala Lajpat Rai’ (October 1916), The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XV, op cit., pp. 251-252. 31. ‘I have read almost all the English translations of [the Gītā], and I regard Sir Edwin Arnold’s as the best’: M.K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume I, Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, 1968, p. 100. 32. M.K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume II, ibid., p. 393. 33. Ibid., p. 393. 34. Ibid., p. 393. 35. Ibid., p. 394. 36. Mukund Lath, op cit., p. 115. 37. A.L. Basham, ‘Introduction: Basic Doctrines of Jainism’, Sources of Indian Tradition (Volume One), op cit., p. 57. 38. Âkārāňga Sūtra, ‘Book II, Lecture I5: i’, op cit., pp. 202-204. Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, ‘Lecture XXIII’, op cit., pp. 119-129. See also, Upinder Singh, ‘Chapter Six: Cities, Kings and Renunciasists: North India, c. 600-300 BCE: Section: Early Jainism’, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Pearson Longman, Delhi, 2009, pp. 312-319. 39. Sūtrakritāňga, ‘Book I, Lecture I, Chapter 4: Verse nos. 9 & 10’, tr. Herman Jacobi, The Sacred Books of the East (Volume 45), ed. F. Max Müller, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2004, pp. 247-248. The same commandment is repeated in: Sūtrakritāňga, ‘Book I, Lecture II: Verse nos. 9 and 10’, op cit., p. 311. 40. Âkārāňga Sūtra, ‘Book I, Lecture I, Lesson 2’, op cit., pp. 3-5. 41. S. Radhakrishnan, ‘Chapter VIII: Epic Philosophy’, Indian Philosophy, Volume 1, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1999, pp. 477-478. 42. Ibid., p. 506. 43. Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, tr. James Strachey, The Penguin Freud Library, Volume 11: ‘On Metapsychology’, Penguin Books, London, 1991, pp. 311-322. 44. Angela Richards, ‘Footnote 2’, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, op cit., p. 272. 45. Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, op cit., p. 316. 46. Ibid., p. 311. 47. For a detailed discussion on the subject see, Sibaji Bandyopadhyay, ‘Defining Terror: A Freudian Exercise’, Science, Literature and Aesthetics, ed. Amiya Dev, History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Volume XV, Part 3, Centre for Studies in Civilization, New Delhi, 2008, pp. 567-631. 48. Adolf Hitler, ‘The Right to Self-Defence’, Mein Kampf, Jainco Publishers, Delhi, p. 572. 49. Heinar Kipphardt, In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, tr. Ruth Speirs, Methuen, London, 1967, p. 67. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From patrice at xs4all.nl Tue Aug 17 22:02:27 2010 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:32:27 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] Julia Roberts becomes Hindu. But in which caste? Message-ID: <798a4990119c8d2fa05a0758643294c1.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl> original to: http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/column_dear-julia-roberts_1423112 bwo GoaNet/ Ruby Goes (?) By Venkatesan Vembu | Place: Mumbai Venkatesan Vembu It has been brought to our attention, here at the Census bureau of India, that you have recently proclaimed yourself a “practising Hindu” who goes to temples to “chant and pray”. Representatives of overseas Hindu organisations, seeing you as a brand ambassador who can elevate their religious-spiritual order into a higher visibility orbit, have enthusiastically welcomed you into the Hindu Very Divided Family. A few dharmic organisations have made solicitous enquiries about the precise nature of the rituals you underwent as part of your formal initiation into the Hindu fold. Being fastidious custodians of dharmic purity, they would like to re-enact your rite of initiation in the proper way whenever you are in India next. A few of our god-men who were unfortunately embroiled in sex scandals with our desi actresses have crawled out of the woodworks to articulate their desire to welcome you into the warm embrace of the Hindu order. However, given their recent experience of embraces involving film stars, you might be well advised to give them a wide berth. As you may have inferred from all this, and from the extensive coverage you’ve received in the Indian media, you’ve created quite a stir here. There have sadly been a few uncharitable commentaries suggesting that your search for a higher spiritual plane was, in fact, a lowly marketing gimmick for your latest movie. But that apart, it’s all been positive. Which brings us to the subject of this letter. As an official body in a secular republic, we merely take academic note of your proselytisation. In any case, since you’re not an Indian citizen, you fall outside the purview of our decennial census enumeration exercise. In other words, from our perspective, you’re practically ‘untouchable’. Even so, we’re writing to enlist your help with a matter that currently has all of India agitated: the proposed caste enumeration as part of the Census 2011 exercise. There’s been considerable opposition to the proposal on the grounds that it will be ‘socially divisive’. Yet, you only have to look at matrimonial ads in our newspapers to know that caste considerations are alive in our society. Perhaps the opposition to caste enumeration springs from an inhibition about proclaiming our caste identity. Perhaps all it takes to break the ice is a celebrity endorsement of the caste enumeration project, a brand ambassador of caste identity. We believe that as the newest star to embrace Hinduism, as someone whose 1990 film Sundar Kanya (Pretty Woman dubbed in Hindi) had a silver jubilee run, and who currently enjoys enormous goodwill in India, that ambassador ought to be you. So, Ms Roberts, tell us: what is your caste? Are you Julia Iyer or Jat Julia? Yours sincerely Census bureau From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Tue Aug 17 23:16:07 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:16:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: <880721.65747.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <880721.65747.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 5:06 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Can you lay off from that propagandist note of "the right-wing media". I am a Kashmiri and not some media-stooge. > > Since you claim to know a lot about 'the rise of separatist movements in Kashmir' and 'the > motives of those who have started them in the first place' will you educate us on what are the "corporate interests" of the "Leaders of these political parties" who according to you "are not communal or anti-national duds" but "drown their corporate interests with communal and nationalist/anti-nationalist passion." > What I meant to say was that the same old Pakistani and other interests in Kashmir have become integrated /diluted with corporate interests. The funding sources of the Hurriyat include a wide spectrum of corporates and not necessarily from abroad. You should be knowing at least some of the links. Even real estate developers in Jammu pay them. J&K has not escaped the liberalisation policies of successive Central Govts since the 90s, though Government spending (or promised to) in the state has been relatively more (according to official statistics) or rather has been forced to. There is plenty of unemployment in the capital itself for enough unrest. If you think that religious fundamentalism and Pakistan are the main causes... then it is probably not so... is the whole of J&K burning or is it just a few locations? There is plenty of monetary profit in the politics industry for all the right-wing parties involved. Nowadays these people think in clear investment-return terms. All this of course means that the real material concerns of the majority may never be addressed. You should think more before jumping to conclusions. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Tue Aug 17 23:49:31 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:49:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Extreme events Message-ID: Will this summer of extremes be a wake-up call? This decade has been marked by a number of weather extremes – which show how vulnerable our societies are • 2010 could be among warmest years recorded by man Stefan Rahmstorf guardian.co.uk, Monday 16 August 2010 13.19 BST This summer has been one of weather-related extremes in Russia, Pakistan, China, Europe, the Arctic – you name it. But does this have anything to do with global warming, and are human emissions to blame? While it cannot be scientifically proven (or disproven, for that matter) that global warming caused any particular extreme event, we can say that global warming very likely makes many kinds of extreme weather both more frequent and more severe. For weeks, central Russia has been in the grips of its worst-ever heatwave, which has caused probably thousands of fatalities. As a result of drought and heat, more than 500 wildfires have raged out of control, smothering Moscow in smoke and threatening several nuclear facilities. Russia's government has banned wheat exports, sending world grain prices soaring. Meanwhile, Pakistan is struggling with unprecedented flooding that has killed more than a thousand people and affected millions more. In China, flash floods have so far killed more than a thousand people and destroyed more than a million homes. On a smaller scale, European countries like Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic have also suffered serious flooding. Meanwhile, global temperatures in recent months have been at their highest levels in records that go back 130 years. Arctic sea-ice cover reached its lowest ever recorded average level for the month of June. In Greenland two huge chunks of ice broke off in July and August. Are these events connected? Looking only at individual extreme events will not reveal their cause, just like watching a few scenes from a movie does not reveal the plot. But, viewed in a broader context, and using the logic of physics, important parts of the plot can be understood. This decade has been marked by a number of extremes. In 2003, the most severe heatwave in living memory broke temperature records by a large margin and caused 70,000 deaths in Europe. In 2005, the most severe hurricane season ever witnessed in the Atlantic devastated New Orleans and broke records in terms of the number and intensity of storms. In 2007, unprecedented wildfires raged across Greece, nearly destroying the ancient site of Olympia. And the Northwest Passage in the Arctic became ice-free for the first time in living memory. Last year, more than a hundred people were killed in bush fires in Australia, following drought and record-breaking heat. This cluster of record-breaking events could be merely an streak of bad luck. But that is extremely unlikely. This is far more likely to be the result of a warming climate – a consequence of this decade being, worldwide, the hottest for a thousand years. All weather is driven by energy, and the sun ultimately provides this energy. But the biggest change in Earth's energy budget by far over the past hundred years is due to the accumulation in our atmosphere of greenhouse gases, which limit the exit of heat into space. Owing to fossil-fuel emissions, there is now one-third more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than at any time in at least a million years, as the latest ice drilling in Antarctica has revealed. The changes in the planet's energy budget caused by solar variations are at least ten times smaller in comparison. And they go in the wrong direction: in recent years, the sun has been at its dimmest since satellite measurements began in the 1970's. So, when unprecedented extreme weather events occur, the prime suspect is naturally the biggest atmospheric change that has happened over the past hundred years – one that has been caused by human emissions. The fact that heatwaves like the one in Russia become more frequent and extreme in a warmer world is easy to understand. Extreme rainfall events will also become more frequent and intense in a warmer climate, owing to another simple fact of physics: warm air can hold more moisture. For each degree celsius of warming, 7% more water is available to rain down from saturated air masses. Drought risk also increases with warming: even where rainfall does not decline, increased evaporation dries out the soils. The carbon-dioxide effect can also change the preferred patterns of atmospheric circulation, which can exacerbate extremes of heat, drought, or rainfall in some regions, while reducing them in others. The problem is that a reduction in those extremes to which we are already well-adapted provides only modest benefits, whereas the new extremes to which we are not adapted can be devastating, as recent events in Pakistan show. The events of this summer show how vulnerable our societies are to weather-related extremes. But what we see now is happening after only 0.8C of global warming. With swift and decisive action, we can still limit global warming to a total of 2C or a bit less. Even that much warming would require a massive effort to adapt to weather extremes and rising sea levels, which needs to start now. With weak action, like that promised by governments in Copenhagen last December, we will be on course for 3-4C of global warming. This is bound to outstrip the ability of many societies and ecosystems to adapt. And, with no action at all, the planet could even heat up by 5-7C by the end of this century – and more thereafter. Knowingly marching down that road would be insane. We must face the facts: our emissions of greenhouse gases probably are at least partly to blame for this summer of extremes. Clinging to the hope that it is all chance, and all natural, seems naive. Let us hope that this summer of extremes is a last-minute wake-up call to policy makers, the corporate world, and citizens alike. • Stefan Rahmstorf is Professor of physics of the oceans at Potsdam University, and a member of the German Advisory Council on Global Change. His latest book is The Climate Crisis (co-written with David Archer). From mgowhar at gmail.com Tue Aug 17 23:56:09 2010 From: mgowhar at gmail.com (mgowhar) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:56:09 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?=28no_subject=29?= Message-ID: “SUPPLEMENT STONE” *Note: This piece is just a parody and not intended to malign anybody or to hurt feelings. * The Chief Minister of J&K Omar Abdullah has ordered a high level “magisterial probe” after reports of people of Kashmir Valley abnormally turning fatter. Addressing a hurriedly called Press Conference at his residence Papa -2 ....oops Hari Niwas, Gupkar, CM assured transparent and time bound investigations into the matter. Responding to a question of allegations of Government hand in the whole affair Omar said “this is nonsense; you can’t blame government for everything and anything. As I have showed in the past and I assure you even this time that no culprit will be shielded. But as of now investigations have revealed recovery of mysterious powder from many parts of valley” Sources privy to CM pleading anonymity disclosed that the shocking incidents have shook the rank and file of administration. “We have deputed special teams to the affected areas on instructions from CM. The samples of the mysterious powder have been send to New Delhi for forensic tests. Top Sources in police and admistration also revealed that as a preventive measure police and sweepers have been instructed to remove the stones left on the streets and by lanes of worst affected areas. Meanwhile people had to break their doors and walls with crowbars and iron rods as they couldn’t fit in. The worst affected areas of Srinagar, Sopore, Baramulla and Anantnag have appealed for surplus crowbars and man power. “We appeal to fellow brethren of Valley to help us at this testing moment with whatever resources they can”, said a resident of Maisuma.(A locality reeling under curfew from more than.) *Separatist Version: * Cutting across usual party divide all separatist parties have blamed Government agencies for the fat phenomenon. A joint statement of “All Parties Hurriyat Confrence stressed that the” fat phenomenon” is a covert policy of GOI to weaken the ongoing struggle. “The GOI is playing dirty tricks so that people of Valley will not be in position to pelt stones and run due the accumulated fat.” Hurriyat Confrence (G) has come up with its rhetorical ‘pur zoor mazamat’ and urged people to remain united at the moment of crisis. As a rare incident of its kind Hurriyat Confrence (M) has come up echoing the stance of Hurriyat (G). M has called people to support G as the former is scheduled to attend a ‘talking tea party’ at Islamabad. Meanwhile, the leaders of Itihaad-e- Sangbaraan (United Stone Pelters) have retorted on their stand to continue their ongoing fight until they achieve what they call “freedom from occupational forces.” *Police Version:* Police has appealed to all the respected citizens of the valley to surrender all the stones in their possession. Each stone will be rewarded with Rs 5 at nearest Police Station. (Offered for limited period only). **** Note:* Respectable citizens are supposed to bring stones sealed in bags. This is to nullify the speculations that some miscreants may respond to the message by throwing stones on Police Stations and ask for compensation. *Centre: * The centre has rubbed the allegations of their involvement in the ‘fat phenomenon’. “There is definitely a foreign hand. We have a quarter of our population suffering from hunger. If we had any technology of the kind we could have used it on them. Samples of food in the affected areas have shown large traces of stone powder. Apparently miscreants have smuggled the technology of digesting stones.” said Jayanti Natrajan official spokeswomen for ruling Congress party. BJP the main opposition party has however cornered the ruling party on the whole issue. BJP lamented Congress on taking soft stand on National Security. “BJP thinks that Government initially led miscreants dump large amounts of stone. We are now under serious threat. Government should ensure that no stone is left unturned to ensure that no stone is left with anti national elements.” It was not considered important to look for peoples account on the whole issue. In any case they don’t figure anywhere in the whole issue. After all we need an economical or political solution, where is the need to ask people? They will be shortly given what is felt appropriate...!! From mgowhar at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 00:00:11 2010 From: mgowhar at gmail.com (mgowhar) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:11 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?=93SUPPLEMENT_STONE=94?= Message-ID: “SUPPLEMENT STONE” *Note: This piece is just a parody and not intended to malign anybody or to hurt feelings. * The Chief Minister of J&K Omar Abdullah has ordered a high level “magisterial probe” after reports of people of Kashmir Valley abnormally turning fatter. Addressing a hurriedly called Press Conference at his residence Papa -2 ....oops Hari Niwas, Gupkar, CM assured transparent and time bound investigations into the matter. Responding to a question of allegations of Government hand in the whole affair Omar said “this is nonsense; you can’t blame government for everything and anything. As I have showed in the past and I assure you even this time that no culprit will be shielded. But as of now investigations have revealed recovery of mysterious powder from many parts of valley” Sources privy to CM pleading anonymity disclosed that the shocking incidents have shook the rank and file of administration. “We have deputed special teams to the affected areas on instructions from CM. The samples of the mysterious powder have been send to New Delhi for forensic tests. Top Sources in police and admistration also revealed that as a preventive measure police and sweepers have been instructed to remove the stones left on the streets and by lanes of worst affected areas. Meanwhile people had to break their doors and walls with crowbars and iron rods as they couldn’t fit in. The worst affected areas of Srinagar, Sopore, Baramulla and Anantnag have appealed for surplus crowbars and man power. “We appeal to fellow brethren of Valley to help us at this testing moment with whatever resources they can”, said a resident of Maisuma.(A locality reeling under curfew from more than.) *Separatist Version: * Cutting across usual party divide all separatist parties have blamed Government agencies for the fat phenomenon. A joint statement of “All Parties Hurriyat Confrence stressed that the” fat phenomenon” is a covert policy of GOI to weaken the ongoing struggle. “The GOI is playing dirty tricks so that people of Valley will not be in position to pelt stones and run due the accumulated fat.” Hurriyat Confrence (G) has come up with its rhetorical ‘pur zoor mazamat’ and urged people to remain united at the moment of crisis. As a rare incident of its kind Hurriyat Confrence (M) has come up echoing the stance of Hurriyat (G). M has called people to support G as the former is scheduled to attend a ‘talking tea party’ at Islamabad. Meanwhile, the leaders of Itihaad-e- Sangbaraan (United Stone Pelters) have retorted on their stand to continue their ongoing fight until they achieve what they call “freedom from occupational forces.” *Police Version:* Police has appealed to all the respected citizens of the valley to surrender all the stones in their possession. Each stone will be rewarded with Rs 5 at nearest Police Station. (Offered for limited period only). **** Note:* Respectable citizens are supposed to bring stones sealed in bags. This is to nullify the speculations that some miscreants may respond to the message by throwing stones on Police Stations and ask for compensation. *Centre: * The centre has rubbed the allegations of their involvement in the ‘fat phenomenon’. “There is definitely a foreign hand. We have a quarter of our population suffering from hunger. If we had any technology of the kind we could have used it on them. Samples of food in the affected areas have shown large traces of stone powder. Apparently miscreants have smuggled the technology of digesting stones.” said Jayanti Natrajan official spokeswomen for ruling Congress party. BJP the main opposition party has however cornered the ruling party on the whole issue. BJP lamented Congress on taking soft stand on National Security. “BJP thinks that Government initially led miscreants dump large amounts of stone. We are now under serious threat. Government should ensure that no stone is left unturned to ensure that no stone is left with anti national elements.” It was not considered important to look for peoples account on the whole issue. In any case they don’t figure anywhere in the whole issue. After all we need an economical or political solution, where is the need to ask people? They will be shortly given what is felt appropriate...!! From yasir.media at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 01:17:10 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:47:10 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Aitemaad Pakistan: call for flood relief In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: fwd. very good group that i recommend. pl fwd. y From: naeem sadiq Date: Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 10:53 PM Subject: Aitemaad Pakistan: call for flood relief To: aitemaad pakistan Dear Friends, Pakistan faces a great human calamity. One tenth of its population stands helplessly between a distant, drowned and disappeared home on one side and no food, shelter or even hope on the other. The misery of hunger , disease and homelessness is unbearable. They need help and they need it now. Can the citizens of Pakistan unite once again to respond to this great human tragedy? Led by Justice (Retd.) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim a group of citizens visited many affected districts of Sindh to take a first hand understanding of the nature and size of the problem and its possible solutions. We come back with a feeling that unless we as citizens put our shoulders together to create a massive relief effort, the misery and suffering of millions would be further compounded by each passing day. It was therefore decided to assemble under the banner of “ Aitemaad Pakistan ” and begin immediate relief efforts which would later also be extended to the other rehabilitation needs of the affected people. This is a request on behalf of ‘Aitemaad Pakistan”, a non-government organization, for immediate help and donations, which may be made in cash or kind. We have created a transparent process of fund collection, need assessment and delivery of food, water and other relief items. This is done by our volunteers in co-ordination with local administration and the reliable NGOs working in the affected areas. Our first target is to collect and distribute 24 thousand dry ration bags, to provide approximately two million meals. (meals for 6000 families for 4 weeks) Each bag consists of Ata 10 kg, cooking oil 1 litres, rice 5 kg, dal 2 kg, tea 1/4 kg, sugar 1 kg, salt 1 packet, chili one packet, powder milk 1 kg, soap 1 piece, match box 1. The cost of each such bag is Rs.1500 approximately. Donors could either themselves prepare bags with items mentioned above or make a cash or cheque contribution. Those wishing to* volunteer their time and services* may please contact us at : aitemaad at gmail.com *Other items that may be donated are, clothing, bedsheets, 'chatais' (mattings), hand pumps, * * mosquito nets and **medicine.* Please send your donations to: *Bank Account Title: AITEMAAD PAKISTAN TRUST* > > *Account #: 0107-036-1914* > * Swift: MEZNPKKA* * * * Meezan Bank, Clifton, Karachi* * Office and Collection address:* *43/2/J, Block 6, PECHS, **Karachi**.* * * * E mail:* aitemaad at gmail.com *Contact persons:* * * Nazim Haji (0321-8220999) Zubair Habib (0300-8260409) Younus Dagha (0300-2021252) Naeem Sadiq (0333-351-8539) Nadeem Younas (0321-2526153) Zahid Ebrahim (0333-2155840) Fazil Bharucha (0300-8221282) Shoaib Anwar Ali (0300-2251424) Dr. Samrina Hashmi PMA (0333 2347623) Dr. Sher Shah Syed PMA (0333-2156735) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~ Foreign aid is when poor people in rich countries donate cash to rich people in poor countries. ~ Say no to bottled water and Demand clean tap water for ALL. ~ "When a cause comes along and you know in your bones that it is just, yet refuse to defend it--at that moment you begin to die. And I have never seen so many corpses walking around talking about justice." - Mumia Abu-Jamal ~ On fake degree holders - “The worst crime is faking it. I would rather be hated for who I am rather than loved for who I am not”. ~ Kurt Cobain From atreyid at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 01:32:36 2010 From: atreyid at gmail.com (Atreyi Dasgupta) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:02:36 -0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Eminent human rights defender Naba Dutta arrested Message-ID: Forwarded message - Mr. Naba Dutta along with his 3 companions; Ms. Progna Paromita Dutta Roy Chowdhury, Mr. Gautam Ghosh and Mr. Dipankar Mazumdar all attached with Nagarik Mancha, a civil society organization mainly focused on environmental and labor issues proceeded for a preannounced programme of sit- in; front of the Block Development Officer’s office at Narayangarh block of West Midnapur. The programme was organized by Lodha Shabar Vumij Kalyan Smiti. Mr. Naba Datta and his companion started from Kolkata by a vehicle (Toyota – Quallis 2.4D Model) with registration number WB-02M-8565. After reaching the place they peacefully completed the meeting and started for Kolkata by the said vehicle only. The driver of the car Mr. Ashok Midhya and Mr. Joydeb Singh of Lodha Shabar Vumij Kalayan Samiti was also in the car with the abovementioned activists of Nagarik Mancha. While Mr. Naba Datta and his associates with the driver (names mentioned above) were on their way to Kolkata, one police vehicle intercepted them and asked to follow their vehicle without showing any reasons. While asked about the reason of such illegal act the police personnel who made the said persons captive replied as, ‘we are taking you at Narayangarh Police Station’. Mr. Naba Dutta’s car followed the police vehicle without making any further argument. All the police personnel who taken the persons in hostage were not in police uniform but using a police car being plain clothes. When the cars crossed the Narayangarh Police Station, Mr. Naba Dutta and his companions sensed some foul and asked the police personnel about their actual motive and where they want to take them off but those police personnel denied to give any answer and told the driver of Naba Datta’s car only to follow their vehicle. After a long drive the police personnel stopped in front of Sadatpur Investigation Centre under Jhargram Police Station and asked Mr. Naba Dutta and his associates to halt. After few minutes Mr. Naba Dutta was taken alone to Manikpur Beat House under Jhargram Police Station. By this time, except Mr. Naba Dutta all his other colleagues i.e. Ms. Progna Paromita Dutta Roy Chowdhury, Mr. Gautam Ghosh, Mr. Dipankar Mazumdar of Nagarik Mancha and Mr. Joydeb Singh of Lodha Shabar Vumij Kalayan Samiti with the driver, Mr. Ashok Middhya of Car no. WB-02M-8565 was released from police custody after submitting PR (Personal Release) Bond. Thereafter Mr. Naba Dutta was taken to one police car no. WB 34N 0011. As we informed by our sources that from Manikpara Beat House Mr. Naba Dutta was taken to Sadatpur Investigation Centre again, which is around 90 km from the Manikpara Beat House, where he was stationed till 9.30pm. The police personnel arrested Mr. Naba Dutta and his associates were in plain clothe, which is sheer violation of the guidelines laid down by the apex court of India in DK Basu case (AIR 1997 SC 610) regarding procedure of arrest. The family members of Mr. Naba Dutta should be informed about his whereabouts and charges framed against him at the utmost. While arresting them they not even prepared memo of arrest at the place of arrest, which is again a violation of the said guideline and Criminal procedure Code. The whole episode was not only illegal but proving the whims of police and district authorities. Misdeeds of police again establish the fact that rule of law is in verge of collapse, where every dissenting voice is going to maim by authoritarian approach of the state and its machinery. We are deeply concern about the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Naba Dutta, a renowned human rights activist and apprehending that his personal security is in risk. We demand immediate unconditional release of Mr. Naba Dutta as it is a violation of guideline set up by the National Human Rights Commission om Human Rights Defenders. We also demand that the state authority should immediately impart his whereabouts in public and ensure his wellbeing. We strongly condemn the very act of the police and the West Bengal Government which shows that they are not willing to follow the rule of law. -- Kirity Roy Secretary Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) & National Convenor (PACTI) Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity 26 Guitendal Lane Howrah 711101 West Bengal INDIA Mobile: 09903099699 Tele Fax : +91-33-2640 4118 Phone: +91-33-2640 4520 e. mail : kirityroy at gmail.com Web: www.masum.org.in From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 04:42:40 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:42:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fooling People in the Name of Economics Message-ID: -An analysis of a recent article on inflation in ET http://www.pragoti.org/node/4098 Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From delhi.yunus at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 05:50:48 2010 From: delhi.yunus at gmail.com (Syed Yunus) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:50:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fooling People in the Name of Economics In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks for sharing this. At least some one is discussing the main issues. On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 4:42 AM, A. Mani wrote: > -An analysis of a recent article on inflation in ET > > http://www.pragoti.org/node/4098 > > > > Best > > A. Mani > > > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Change is the only constant in life ! From c.anupam at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 11:18:57 2010 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:18:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fooling People in the Name of Economics In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks for this article. Very timely. Anupam On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 5:50 AM, Syed Yunus wrote: > Thanks for sharing this. > > At least some one is discussing the main issues. > > On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 4:42 AM, A. Mani wrote: > > > -An analysis of a recent article on inflation in ET > > > > http://www.pragoti.org/node/4098 > > > > > > > > Best > > > > A. Mani > > > > > > > > -- > > A. Mani > > ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS > > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > -- > > Change is the only constant in life ! > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Aug 18 11:19:55 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:49:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Mani   You are a typical example from such people who's worldview is restricted to interpreting everything around them through the dogma that they subscribe to. In this you are no better than the worst examples of religious fundamentalists/extremists.   Use your brains.   If 'corporate interests' had any significant role in the Kashmir imbroglio, would benefiting from 'corporates' be better served by separation from India or being a part of India? Would an 'independent' Kashmir or Kashmir integrated into (a near bankrupt) Pakistan provide more from 'corporate interests' or do Indian Corporates have deeper pockets for doling out money?   I might be in total disagreement with the 'movement' in Kashmir for separation from India but I would be a fool and anyone would be a fool not to recognise the foundations of those political aspirations as being similar to what led to the 1947 partition.     And you are being a fool Mani.   You asked " is the whole of J&K burning or is it just a few locations?" In the answer to that question lies the dismissal of your 'corporate interests' theory. You obviously know very little about J&K   What I mentioned as " the foundations of those political aspirations as being similar to what led to the 1947 partition", are primarily confined to Kashmir Valley and that is why only Kashmir Valley is burning.   In my last mail I had written that I should not be wasting my time on you but you are providing amusement. It is interesting to see to what limits idiocies will be mouthed.   Kshmendra      --- On Tue, 8/17/10, A. Mani wrote: From: A. Mani Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir To: "sarai list" Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 11:16 PM On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 5:06 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Can you lay off from that propagandist note of "the right-wing media". I am a Kashmiri and not some media-stooge. > > Since you claim to know a lot about 'the rise of separatist movements in Kashmir' and 'the > motives of those who have started them in the first place' will you educate us on what are the "corporate interests" of the "Leaders of these political parties" who according to you "are not communal or anti-national duds" but "drown their corporate interests with communal and nationalist/anti-nationalist passion." > What I meant to say was that the same old Pakistani and other interests in Kashmir have become integrated /diluted with corporate interests. The funding sources of the Hurriyat include a wide spectrum of corporates and not necessarily from abroad. You should be knowing at least some of the links. Even real estate developers in Jammu pay them. J&K has not escaped the liberalisation policies of successive Central Govts since the 90s, though Government spending (or promised to) in the state has been relatively more (according to official statistics) or rather has been forced to. There is plenty of unemployment in the capital itself for enough unrest. If you think that religious fundamentalism and Pakistan are the main causes... then it is probably not so... is the whole of J&K burning or is it just a few locations? There is plenty of monetary profit in the politics industry  for all the right-wing parties involved. Nowadays these people think in clear investment-return terms. All this of course means that the real material concerns of the majority may never be addressed. You  should think more before jumping to conclusions. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From c.anupam at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 11:31:52 2010 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:31:52 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Kshmendra, We perhaps do not know anything about Kashmir or Kashmiriyat. Why dont you educate us? I want to understand your retorts as you stated in your previous mails, when Mani raised the issue: "use your brains" "are you being a fool Mani" "In my last mail I had written that I should not be wasting my time on you but you are providing amusement. It is interesting to see to what limits idiocies will be mouthed." apart from these statements, you have countered any of the claims made by Mani. I am speaking as an observer, as these mails come to my inbox. Yes, I have a choice of not subscribing this list, but i chose to observe and participate. So educate us first. Thanks Anupam On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > Dear Mani > > You are a typical example from such people who's worldview is restricted to > interpreting everything around them through the dogma that they subscribe > to. In this you are no better than the worst examples of religious > fundamentalists/extremists. > > Use your brains. > > If 'corporate interests' had any significant role in the Kashmir imbroglio, > would benefiting from 'corporates' be better served by separation from India > or being a part of India? Would an 'independent' Kashmir or Kashmir > integrated into (a near bankrupt) Pakistan provide more from 'corporate > interests' or do Indian Corporates have deeper pockets for doling out money? > > I might be in total disagreement with the 'movement' in Kashmir for > separation from India but I would be a fool and anyone would be a fool not > to recognise the foundations of those political aspirations as being similar > to what led to the 1947 partition. > > And you are being a fool Mani. > > You asked " is the whole of J&K burning or is it just a few locations?" In > the answer to that question lies the dismissal of your 'corporate interests' > theory. You obviously know very little about J&K > > What I mentioned as " the foundations of those political aspirations as > being similar to what led to the 1947 partition", are primarily confined to > Kashmir Valley and that is why only Kashmir Valley is burning. > > In my last mail I had written that I should not be wasting my time on you > but you are providing amusement. It is interesting to see to what limits > idiocies will be mouthed. > > Kshmendra > > > > --- On Tue, 8/17/10, A. Mani wrote: > > > From: A. Mani > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on > Kashmir > To: "sarai list" > Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 11:16 PM > > > On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 5:06 PM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: > > Can you lay off from that propagandist note of "the right-wing media". I > am a Kashmiri and not some media-stooge. > > > > Since you claim to know a lot about 'the rise of separatist movements in > Kashmir' and 'the > > motives of those who have started them in the first place' will you > educate us on what are the "corporate interests" of the "Leaders of these > political parties" who according to you "are not communal or anti-national > duds" but "drown their corporate interests with communal and > nationalist/anti-nationalist passion." > > > > What I meant to say was that the same old Pakistani and other > interests in Kashmir have become integrated /diluted with corporate > interests. The funding sources of the Hurriyat include a wide spectrum > of corporates and not necessarily from abroad. You should be knowing > at least some of the links. Even real estate developers in Jammu pay > them. > > J&K has not escaped the liberalisation policies of successive Central > Govts since the 90s, though Government spending (or promised to) in > the state has been relatively more (according to official statistics) > or rather has been forced to. There is plenty of unemployment in the > capital itself for enough unrest. > > If you think that religious fundamentalism and Pakistan are the main > causes... then it is probably not so... is the whole of J&K burning or > is it just a few locations? There is plenty of monetary profit in the > politics industry for all the right-wing parties involved. Nowadays > these people think in clear investment-return terms. All this of > course means that the real material concerns of the majority may never > be addressed. > > You should think more before jumping to conclusions. > > > Best > > A. Mani > > > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Wed Aug 18 15:45:12 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:15:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir Message-ID: <945947.93289.qm@web57201.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Anupam   I have desisted from interacting with you after, in the last interaction between us, you advised me about yourself that "As for my moral and ethical courage, such things do not apply to me."   Morality is a very personal thing but 'ethics' I value and without 'ethics' there cannot ever be a meaningful interaction.   I might have withdrawn but I do not hold any grudge (inspite of one particularly abusive mail from you). That aside, Kashmir is too dear to me and on that I will interact with anyone.    It appears you perhaps have not followed the thread and perhaps did not read all of my mail and instead have zeroed in only on the invectives I used. I could be wrong.   Each one of those invectives was a qualifying comment for an explanation that either preceded or succeeded it.   (The amusement at observing possible limits of idiocies bore reference to Mani's obvious lack of much knowledge about Kashmir or the 'separatist movement' there and his insistence on persisting with the corporate/business interests angle which he first introduced with "the basic problems are due to unbridled capitalism and neoliberalism)   So let me re-present the relevant part of my earlier mail so that the invectives have a connection and add (at the end) the conversation pieces where it all started from.   START Use your brains. If 'corporate interests' had any significant role in the Kashmir imbroglio, would benefiting from 'corporates' be better served by separation from India or being a part of India? Would an 'independent' Kashmir or Kashmir integrated into (a near bankrupt) Pakistan provide more from 'corporate interests' or do Indian Corporates have deeper pockets for doling out money?   I might be in total disagreement with the 'movement' in Kashmir for separation from India but I would be a fool and anyone would be a fool not to recognise the foundations of those political aspirations as being similar to what led to the 1947 partition.  And you are being a fool Mani. END   I remember what was perhaps the first conversation with you, where you mentioned having attended a meet in Jammu and had met Artistes/Journalists (if I remember correctly) from Kashmir. Do you carry the impression that the 'separatist movement' in Kashmir and the hurts and dissatisfactions have any connection with or are subservient to corporate/business interests?     (RE: 'educating' anyone) "Kashmiriyat" has not been on the menu here and has been increasingly questioned as being a false construct of recent origins. If there are questions about Kashmir, I will certainly try to give my perspectives if I can.    Kshmendra --- On Wed, 8/18/10, anupam chakravartty wrote: From: anupam chakravartty Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 11:31 AM Dear Kshmendra, We perhaps do not know anything about Kashmir or Kashmiriyat. Why dont you educate us? I want to understand your retorts as you stated in your previous mails, when Mani raised the issue: "use your brains" "are you being a fool Mani"  "In my last mail I had written that I should not be wasting my time on you but you are providing amusement. It is interesting to see to what limits idiocies will be mouthed." apart from these statements, you have countered any of the claims made by Mani. I am speaking as an observer, as these mails come to my inbox. Yes, I have a choice of not subscribing this list, but i chose to observe and participate. So educate us first. Thanks Anupam On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: Dear Mani   You are a typical example from such people who's worldview is restricted to interpreting everything around them through the dogma that they subscribe to. In this you are no better than the worst examples of religious fundamentalists/extremists.   Use your brains.   If 'corporate interests' had any significant role in the Kashmir imbroglio, would benefiting from 'corporates' be better served by separation from India or being a part of India? Would an 'independent' Kashmir or Kashmir integrated into (a near bankrupt) Pakistan provide more from 'corporate interests' or do Indian Corporates have deeper pockets for doling out money?   I might be in total disagreement with the 'movement' in Kashmir for separation from India but I would be a fool and anyone would be a fool not to recognise the foundations of those political aspirations as being similar to what led to the 1947 partition.     And you are being a fool Mani.   You asked " is the whole of J&K burning or is it just a few locations?" In the answer to that question lies the dismissal of your 'corporate interests' theory. You obviously know very little about J&K   What I mentioned as " the foundations of those political aspirations as being similar to what led to the 1947 partition", are primarily confined to Kashmir Valley and that is why only Kashmir Valley is burning.   In my last mail I had written that I should not be wasting my time on you but you are providing amusement. It is interesting to see to what limits idiocies will be mouthed.   Kshmendra      From: A. Mani Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 11:16 PM What I meant to say was that the same old Pakistani and other interests in Kashmir have become integrated /diluted with corporate interests. The funding sources of the Hurriyat include a wide spectrum of corporates and not necessarily from abroad. You should be knowing at least some of the links. Even real estate developers in Jammu pay them. J&K has not escaped the liberalisation policies of successive Central Govts since the 90s, though Government spending (or promised to) in the state has been relatively more (according to official statistics) or rather has been forced to. There is plenty of unemployment in the capital itself for enough unrest. If you think that religious fundamentalism and Pakistan are the main causes... then it is probably not so... is the whole of J&K burning or is it just a few locations? There is plenty of monetary profit in the politics industry  for all the right-wing parties involved. Nowadays these people think in clear investment-return terms. All this of course means that the real material concerns of the majority may never be addressed. You  should think more before jumping to conclusions. Best A. Mani Kshmendra Kaul kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Mon Aug 16 13:50:00 IST 2010 Dear Mani   No State can provide a "classless secular democratic society". State is the people and people are nowhere automatically inclined towards running such a State. At best they can strive. There is no example of such a State that has simultaneously or even in exclusion (without abberations) any one  of the 3 elements of 'classless'; 'secular'; 'democratic'.   Whatever might be the other arguments for and against a 'Separate State of Kashmir' your analysis of the current problems and their genesis is quite ridiculous.   Kshmendra    From: A. Mani Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 6:07 AM   In Kashmir and other parts of the country, the basic problems are due to unbridled capitalism and neoliberalism. Trying to hide these problems with demands for a separate state and countermeasures does suit those in power at the centre. But if a separate state can grant a classless secular democratic society with a 'truly socialist division of labour', then it may be sensible. Otherwise these separatist movements will perpetuate a cruel joke on the people. Their agenda does seem to be very lacking and all these may be just a game to further big business interests (who do not really care about nationalist boundaries). Best A. Mani           From rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 19:57:24 2010 From: rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com (Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:57:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: <6484E154-2074-4075-BC57-C6F40C81FEF4@gmail.com> References: <6484E154-2074-4075-BC57-C6F40C81FEF4@gmail.com> Message-ID: Dear Ajay, Indian society as a whole and indian democracy, has space for traitors, anti societal elements, also the fanatics in any faith, amusing factor is the importance given by these fanatics of a faith, in one state just because they are in majority, want to drift away from main societal nation, but all benefits of democracy. !Rule of laws is such that bad prevails longer ,lingers on inspite of good efforts to have good societal values. regards, rajen On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 12:19 AM, Ajay Raina wrote: > Dear Gowhar, > You write so well yourself and yet you feel compelled to compliment > somebody else for his virulent and unbalanced post. It is as damning as all > other posts by anti-india web sires / blogs are. What is new here that needs > space in mainstream media? Dont you see PTV? Is this how reconciliation is > done or have you given up on it already? > > Ajay Raina > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rajen. From rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 20:02:34 2010 From: rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com (Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:02:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Julia Roberts becomes Hindu. But in which caste? In-Reply-To: <798a4990119c8d2fa05a0758643294c1.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl> References: <798a4990119c8d2fa05a0758643294c1.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl> Message-ID: Rank bad comments of an intellectual who uses intellect to belittle way of life.! regards, rajen On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 10:02 PM, Patrice Riemens wrote: > original to: > http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/column_dear-julia-roberts_1423112 > bwo GoaNet/ Ruby Goes (?) > > > By Venkatesan Vembu | Place: Mumbai > Venkatesan Vembu > > > It has been brought to our attention, here at the Census bureau of India, > that you have recently proclaimed yourself a “practising Hindu” who goes > to temples to “chant and pray”. Representatives of overseas Hindu > organisations, seeing you as a brand ambassador who can elevate their > religious-spiritual order into a higher visibility orbit, have > enthusiastically welcomed you into the Hindu Very Divided Family. > > A few dharmic organisations have made solicitous enquiries about the > precise nature of the rituals you underwent as part of your formal > initiation into the Hindu fold. Being fastidious custodians of dharmic > purity, they would like to re-enact your rite of initiation in the proper > way whenever you are in India next. > > A few of our god-men who were unfortunately embroiled in sex scandals with > our desi actresses have crawled out of the woodworks to articulate their > desire to welcome you into the warm embrace of the Hindu order. However, > given their recent experience of embraces involving film stars, you might > be well advised to give them a wide berth. > > As you may have inferred from all this, and from the extensive coverage > you’ve received in the Indian media, you’ve created quite a stir here. > There have sadly been a few uncharitable commentaries suggesting that your > search for a higher spiritual plane was, in fact, a lowly marketing > gimmick for your latest movie. > > But that apart, it’s all been positive. > > Which brings us to the subject of this letter. As an official body in a > secular republic, we merely take academic note of your proselytisation. In > any case, since you’re not an Indian citizen, you fall outside the purview > of our decennial census enumeration exercise. In other words, from our > perspective, you’re practically ‘untouchable’. > > Even so, we’re writing to enlist your help with a matter that currently > has all of India agitated: the proposed caste enumeration as part of the > Census 2011 exercise. There’s been considerable opposition to the proposal > on the grounds that it will be ‘socially divisive’. Yet, you only have to > look at matrimonial ads in our newspapers to know that caste > considerations are alive in our society. > > Perhaps the opposition to caste enumeration springs from an inhibition > about proclaiming our caste identity. Perhaps all it takes to break the > ice is a celebrity endorsement of the caste > enumeration project, a brand ambassador of caste identity. We believe that > as the newest star to embrace Hinduism, as someone whose 1990 film Sundar > Kanya (Pretty Woman dubbed in Hindi) had a silver jubilee run, and who > currently enjoys enormous goodwill in India, that ambassador ought to be > you. > > So, Ms Roberts, tell us: what is your caste? Are you Julia Iyer or Jat > Julia? > > Yours sincerely > Census bureau > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rajen. From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 21:50:35 2010 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:50:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Delhi Declaration [ All India Left Coordination: 11 Aug 2010] In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Delhi Declaration All India Left Coordination (Adopted at All-India Left Convention sponsored by CPI(ML)(Liberation), CPM Punjab,  Lal Nishan Party (Leninist) Maharashtra, and Left Coordination Committee, Kerala, and held at Constitution Club, New Delhi on 11 August 2010) Recent years have been witness to an aggressive US imperialism pushing the world into renewed war and occupation as well as an unprecedented financial crisis. In the name of globalisation, imperialism has intensified attempts to appropriate and exploit the natural and human resources of the developing world, but while accentuating exploitation and disparities, globalisation has also led to intensification of all the inherent contradictions of global capitalism and new waves of popular anti-imperialist resistance the world over. The Indian ruling classes have adopted a strategy of integrating India into this US-led imperialist order on economic as well as strategic plane. Reckless implementation of pro-imperialist, pro-corporate policies – coupled with the pro-landlord agrarian strategy being pursued since Independence – by the Indian ruling classes has pushed the country into alarming depths of an all-round crisis marked by relentless rise in prices, chronic mass hunger, widespread unemployment and rampant corruption. Even as tens of millions of the country’s poorest people reel under starvation, the debt-trap-turned death-trap continues to claim the lives of crisis-ridden peasants in their hundreds and thousands. Amidst systematic loot and siphoning of the country’s wealth and precious resources, the working people are being relentlessly exploited, displaced and dispossessed in the name of ‘development’. The recent farcical verdict on the world’s biggest industrial genocide which happened a quarter century ago in Bhopal has unmasked a most reprehensible and thoroughly corrupt nexus among state power and corporate power undermining every principle of justice and human and national dignity. Meanwhile, the growing incidence of oppression of dalits and women and the shocking spectacle of ‘honour killings’ in the National Capital Region and its surroundings point to an ugly social reality beneath the gloss of glamourised and globalised development. While the Indian people are seeking answers to these maladies and alternatives to these disastrous anti-people policies and the corrupt and criminalized political culture, the ruling classes and their parties, whether in power or in opposition, are making a clamour for greater liberalization to give more concessions to capital and a harder state to unleash more repression and restrictions on the people. Against this backdrop, four fighting organizations of the Left, viz., CPI(ML)(Liberation), CPM Punjab, Lal Nishan Party (Leninist) Maharashtra, and Left Coordination Committee, Kerala, have resolved to come together and form an All-India Left Coordination with a view to strengthening the Left movement in the country. While pursuing the goal of a countrywide Left resurgence, the AILC will focus on the following key areas of a democratic agenda: (i) Resisting the whole gamut of neo-liberal pro-corporate pro-imperialist policies being followed almost without exception by all governments at the Centre and in the states, and fighting for an immediate halt to the ongoing spree of disinvestment/privatization measures and for curbing penetration of FDI in key sectors of our national economy and other sectors of strategic/national importance, (ii) Opposing Indo-US strategic partnership and growing subordination of Indian foreign policy to the global hegemony of imperialist forces, US imperialism in particular; promoting friendly relations, especially people-to-people ties, with neighbouring countries, and uniting with the struggles of the peoples of the world against globalisation, war and imperialist machinations, (iii) Fighting for an alternative path of self-reliant and people-centred development as against the present imperialist-dictated, corporate-driven and big capital-led ‘profit-centred development’ resulting in relentless rise in prices, growing hunger and unemployment, sharp regional and social inequalities, landgrab, displacement, resources-grab/deprivation and serious environmental degradation – an alternative that would promote relatively more egalitarian and employment-intensive and less energy-, resources- and capital-intensive path of development, (iv) Fighting for a comprehensive policy regime ensuring fundamental rights to food, shelter, education, healthcare, basic amenities, work and social security for all, (v) Fighting against every facet of agrarian crisis, for adequate protection of Indian agriculture from the adverse WTO diktats, for scrapping of SEZ Act 2005 and Land Acquisition Act, 1894, for thorough-going implementation of land reforms and promotion of small peasant-centred agricultural development, (vi) Launching struggles for the nationalisation of wholesale trade of foodgrains and for creation and strengthening of a Universal Public Distribution System (PDS) for essential commodities of daily use as well as for subsidised agricultural inputs and automatic inclusion of all agricultural and other rural workers, small peasants, artisans, unorganised and contract workers in the BPL category, (vii)Resisting the growing state-led assault on democracy, fighting for a democratic political solution of the long-standing problems of Kashmir, North-East and the Maoist insurgency, for scrapping of draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, disbanding of Salwa Judum, and halt to Operation Green Hunt and anti-minority witch-hunt in the name of combating terrorism, (viii)Resisting communal violence, and caste and gender oppression and fighting for minority rights and affirmative action for development of deprived sections within minority communities, and the rights and dignity of dalits, adivasis, women and all marginalized sections, (ix) Fighting for labour rights for all sections of workers, especially the right to living wages, job security, universal health and social insurance, trade union rights including mandatory recognition through secret ballot and democratization of the workplace/industrial relations, adequate protection for migrant workers and unorganized workers including agricultural labour, and against contractualisation, outsourcing, hire-and-fire, and indiscriminate privatisation which are hallmarks of the neoliberal offensive; (x) Promoting the women’s movement against patriarchy and oppression, to struggle for gender equality, justice, and women’s dignity, as well as equal rights and opportunities in society as well as in the workplace; resisting violence both within and outside the home; challenging obscurantist practices that demean women; resisting all attempts to curb women’s freedom in the name of upholding tradition or culture; demanding speedy legislation against sexual harassment in workplaces, ‘honour’ killings and sexual violence, as well as for 33% reservation in Assemblies and Parliament. (xi) Promoting the student-youth movement to secure ‘right to education and employment’, demand a Common School System to ensure schooling of high quality for all, and resist commercialization and pro-imperialist restructuring of education and denial of democratic rights to the student community, (xii) Promoting people’s cultural awakening against the corporate cultural invasion that denigrates women and working people, the feudal culture of ‘honour killing’ and various retrograde social and cultural practices that seek legitimacy in the name of tradition, fighting for democratization of social, professional and inter-personal life and supporting the progressive democratic aspirations of the intelligentsia. The AILC will strive to build a countrywide movement over these issues while also fighting for the resolution of various pressing local problems. The AILC rejects all kinds of fundamentalism, terrorism and national/sub-national chauvinism and upholds the values of democracy, secularism and social progress in every sphere of national life Within the Left movement, AILC will fight against the trend of class collaboration and rightward drift and degeneration while rejecting the line of Left adventurism/anarcho-militarism. To advance the Left-democratic agenda and strengthen the Left and democratic movement, the AILC will work consistently for broader Left unity and seek cooperation with various democratic forces including individual activists. The formation of the AILC marks only a modest beginning and we appeal to all activists and well-wishers of the Left and democratic movement to join and help us in this endeavour. * * * * * -- You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on the foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole. -AMBEDKAR http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Wed Aug 18 23:20:23 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:20:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > You are a typical example from such people who's worldview is restricted to interpreting everything around them through the dogma that they subscribe to. In this you are no better than the worst examples of religious fundamentalists/extremists. > You are a brainless idiot. Moreover you are suffering from fixed views and a fixed pre-1989 perspective on the Kashmir issue. > > If 'corporate interests' had any significant role in the Kashmir imbroglio, would benefiting from 'corporates' be better served by separation from India or being a part of India? Would an 'independent' Kashmir or Kashmir integrated into (a near bankrupt) Pakistan provide more from 'corporate interests' or do Indian Corporates have deeper pockets for doling out money? > There are no 'Indian corporates' and 'Pakistani corporates', there are mutual rivalries within corporates. If corporate X has a larger control over party P, then party P wins will mean corporate X stands to gain a windfall. But things get more complicated, when communal aspects get involved. The sangh parivar has a lot to gain from the Hurriyat's behaviour and without suitable investments such actions cannot be induced. When they were in power, they could drive the country into war with Pakistan, but do nothing on the J&K issue or with the supposedly 'antinationalist' part of the Hurriyat. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From taraprakash at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 01:02:50 2010 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:32:50 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: References: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: You are so correct about the corporates. They are mutually interested in downsizing and weakening the state everywhere. They would like to reduce the state only to its coercive powers, not to be used when it comes to the interest of the corporates. I am not sure on what basis you can differentiate the communal organizations from the corporates. Their modus operandi and motives are in paradigmatic relationship with the "secular" corporates. Best On 8/18/10, A. Mani wrote: > On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: >> >> You are a typical example from such people who's worldview is restricted >> to interpreting everything around them through the dogma that they >> subscribe to. In this you are no better than the worst examples of >> religious fundamentalists/extremists. >> > > You are a brainless idiot. > Moreover you are suffering from fixed views and a fixed pre-1989 > perspective on the Kashmir issue. > >> >> If 'corporate interests' had any significant role in the Kashmir >> imbroglio, would benefiting from 'corporates' be better served by >> separation from India or being a part of India? Would an 'independent' >> Kashmir or Kashmir integrated into (a near bankrupt) Pakistan provide more >> from 'corporate interests' or do Indian Corporates have deeper pockets for >> doling out money? >> > > There are no 'Indian corporates' and 'Pakistani corporates', there are > mutual rivalries within corporates. If corporate X has a larger > control over party P, then party P wins will mean corporate X stands > to gain a windfall. But things get more complicated, when communal > aspects get involved. The sangh parivar has a lot to gain from the > Hurriyat's behaviour and without suitable investments such actions > cannot be induced. When they were in power, they could drive the > country into war with Pakistan, but do nothing on the J&K issue or > with the supposedly 'antinationalist' part of the Hurriyat. > > > > Best > > A. Mani > > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From taraprakash at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 01:02:50 2010 From: taraprakash at gmail.com (Tara Prakash) Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:32:50 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: References: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: You are so correct about the corporates. They are mutually interested in downsizing and weakening the state everywhere. They would like to reduce the state only to its coercive powers, not to be used when it comes to the interest of the corporates. I am not sure on what basis you can differentiate the communal organizations from the corporates. Their modus operandi and motives are in paradigmatic relationship with the "secular" corporates. Best On 8/18/10, A. Mani wrote: > On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Kshmendra Kaul > wrote: >> >> You are a typical example from such people who's worldview is restricted >> to interpreting everything around them through the dogma that they >> subscribe to. In this you are no better than the worst examples of >> religious fundamentalists/extremists. >> > > You are a brainless idiot. > Moreover you are suffering from fixed views and a fixed pre-1989 > perspective on the Kashmir issue. > >> >> If 'corporate interests' had any significant role in the Kashmir >> imbroglio, would benefiting from 'corporates' be better served by >> separation from India or being a part of India? Would an 'independent' >> Kashmir or Kashmir integrated into (a near bankrupt) Pakistan provide more >> from 'corporate interests' or do Indian Corporates have deeper pockets for >> doling out money? >> > > There are no 'Indian corporates' and 'Pakistani corporates', there are > mutual rivalries within corporates. If corporate X has a larger > control over party P, then party P wins will mean corporate X stands > to gain a windfall. But things get more complicated, when communal > aspects get involved. The sangh parivar has a lot to gain from the > Hurriyat's behaviour and without suitable investments such actions > cannot be induced. When they were in power, they could drive the > country into war with Pakistan, but do nothing on the J&K issue or > with the supposedly 'antinationalist' part of the Hurriyat. > > > > Best > > A. Mani > > > -- > A. Mani > ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From mgowhar at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 01:56:51 2010 From: mgowhar at gmail.com (mgowhar) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:56:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Why Kashmir's survivors want to return to the streets. By Soutik Biswas.BBC Message-ID: * Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10983548 His voice weakened by pain, Hilal Ahmed says in a near whisper that he is lucky to be alive.* The 22-year-old student of zoology says he was participating in a peaceful protest march demanding "freedom from India" in his hometown, Anantnag, in Indian-administered Kashmir on 2 August when he was hit by bullets - on his stomach and arm - allegedly fired by security forces. "I felt a burning, hot feeling in my stomach as I fell down. I looked down to see some blood oozing out of my stomach. I didn't feel any pain. I began to walk, and then I collapsed," says Mr Ahmed, lying on a hospital bed in the capital, Srinagar. It took three and a half hours for his family and friends to bring him to the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, barely 40km from where he was shot. It took time to pick him from the streets and negotiate several security checkpoints on the way to Srinagar. *'Peaceful protests'* At the hospital, where most of the victims of the ongoing conflict in the Kashmir valley are being admitted, doctors found that a bullet had pierced through his abdomen and perforated the small and large intestines. Poisonous intestinal matter was flooding into the stomach. Doctors repaired his intestines and his arm after a three-hour surgery. "I don't know what I did to deserve this," says Hilal, softly. "I did not pelt stones. I knew that if we pelted stones we could be shot at. But I still got a bullet in my stomach. I don't understand." What he does know that he is fortunate to come out alive in a conflict between pro-freedom protesters and security forces that has already claimed the lives of nearly 60 people in the past two months. Kashmir, analysts say, is again teetering on the brink, with anti-India sentiments running high in the Muslim-dominated valley. Mr Ahmed, who wants to be become a researcher in zoology one day, says he will return to the streets to participate in "peaceful" protests once he recovers fully from his injuries. "I don't feel any anger. We are fighting for our rights. I am sure peaceful protests will bring results. I am sure the sacrifices of the martyrs, the boys who died this time, will not go in vain. Azadi (freedom) is a very important cause," he says. Mr Ahmed brings out his small diary with a brown plastic cover from under his pillow and asks me to read a little poem he has written from his hospital bed. It is a staccato, heart-felt piece of spontaneous verse peppered with a question that most people in the valley are asking these days. It also hints at the turmoil among Kashmir's youth. Facing the weapon/Bare hands/Who will listen? Facing the bullets/Oozing this blood/Who will listen? Wishing the smiles/Full of tears/Who will listen? Turning the heaven/Into hell/Who will listen? Two beds away, Owais Ahmed, another survivor is asking the same question. The 15-year-old schoolboy received a bullet when he was going to a wedding with his uncle in Kupwara on 2 August. The two were crossing a protest demonstration when they got separated. After a while, Owais says, he saw his uncle fall to a bullet. When he went into the crowd to recover him, he also received a bullet in his stomach. It took people three hours to get Owais to the hospital. Doctors found that the bullet - possibly fired from an elevation - had torn into Owais's abdomen and exited from his back, shattering one of his hip bones, and leaving two big holes in his intestines. 'Why?' They wheeled him into emergency surgery, and removed part of his colon. A week later, lying in the hospital bed, Owais cannot fathom why they were fired upon. "The protest had ended. I was walking to a marriage ceremony with my uncle. So why this," he says faintly. At the 66-year-old, 750-bed SMHS hospital, doctors are used to treating critically injured victims of the conflict like Mr Ahmed and Owais. They call it "crisis management" - something they have doing since 1989 since the valley exploded with a fierce anti-India movement and militancy. This year, the hospital received three patients hit by bullets allegedly fired by security forces during protests in May. In June it had 15 such patients, and in July, 27. In the first nine days of August, the hospital had already received 57 such patients - pointing to the increasing ferocity of the conflict. Six of the over 100 patients have died, and many others are seriously wounded. The hospital's trauma theatre has been busy, with harried surgeons sometimes operating on four patients simultaneously. "Most of the bullet injuries are in the abdominal area, chest, eyes and neck. They are single and multiple bullet wounds. They are all young men, in their late teens or early 20s," says hospital chief, Dr Waseem Qureshi. They have also treated young men critically injured or blinded by rubber bullets, a doctor says. The oldest patient was 47-year-old man, and the youngest "eight or nine years old," either beaten by security forces or trampled over during a stampede. Back at the ward, doctors worry about an infection on Owais Ahmed's wounds. But the boy says he wants to return to the streets and protest peacefully because he "cannot let down the cause." "I know what it is all about. I know it's about our freedom. The protests are justified. I will protest peacefully. My parents wont mind," he says, with a wan smile spreading on his long face. "I have no fear now. I have been baptised by fire," says Owais, who wants to study to become a business management graduate. It is a sentiment which, many analysts feel, Delhi is not paying enough heed to. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regards Gowhar Farooq Bhat. From delhi.yunus at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 06:27:27 2010 From: delhi.yunus at gmail.com (Syed Yunus) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:27:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: References: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Thanks for these pieces of arguments. As a non expert, I was contemplating that at this particular point of time almost all the policy changes are taking place (in india) but why dont I see a serious debate on such issues in media or online groups like sarai. i mean issues like changing taxation, education, laws, norms related to financial access/banking ,social security i.e insurance and PF pension etc. Is it the curse of expertise? or the pressure to focus on one? which is making us ignorant and expert at the same time. or perhaps some strong emotional issues is driving our attention to some where else? for example: common wealth scams have taken most of the media space, parliament is stormed every day on inflation but policies regarding to above issues are being influenced smoothly with out any opposition. Is the opposition dead? Who is sitting at the key policy making positions? What is common between, Pranab mukherjee, Man mohan singh, Montek singh, P. chidambaram, and Kapil Sibbal? As a non expert i can easliy question and I dont have to answer. Thanks again, Yunus On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 1:02 AM, Tara Prakash wrote: > You are so correct about the corporates. They are mutually interested > in downsizing and weakening the state everywhere. They would like to > reduce the state only to its coercive powers, not to be used when it > comes to the interest of the corporates. I am not sure on what basis > you can differentiate the communal organizations from the corporates. > Their modus operandi and motives are in paradigmatic relationship with > the "secular" corporates. > > Best > > > > On 8/18/10, A. Mani wrote: > > On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Kshmendra Kaul > > wrote: > >> > >> You are a typical example from such people who's worldview is restricted > >> to interpreting everything around them through the dogma that they > >> subscribe to. In this you are no better than the worst examples of > >> religious fundamentalists/extremists. > >> > > > > You are a brainless idiot. > > Moreover you are suffering from fixed views and a fixed pre-1989 > > perspective on the Kashmir issue. > > > >> > >> If 'corporate interests' had any significant role in the Kashmir > >> imbroglio, would benefiting from 'corporates' be better served by > >> separation from India or being a part of India? Would an 'independent' > >> Kashmir or Kashmir integrated into (a near bankrupt) Pakistan provide > more > >> from 'corporate interests' or do Indian Corporates have deeper pockets > for > >> doling out money? > >> > > > > There are no 'Indian corporates' and 'Pakistani corporates', there are > > mutual rivalries within corporates. If corporate X has a larger > > control over party P, then party P wins will mean corporate X stands > > to gain a windfall. But things get more complicated, when communal > > aspects get involved. The sangh parivar has a lot to gain from the > > Hurriyat's behaviour and without suitable investments such actions > > cannot be induced. When they were in power, they could drive the > > country into war with Pakistan, but do nothing on the J&K issue or > > with the supposedly 'antinationalist' part of the Hurriyat. > > > > > > > > Best > > > > A. Mani > > > > > > -- > > A. Mani > > ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS > > http://www.logicamani.co.cc > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Change is the only constant in life ! From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 08:04:10 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:04:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: References: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Wow Indeed! I think the issue has now degenerated into what one does know of Kashmir or Kashmiriyat, as also of corporates. Firstly, all of you are either going to point to articles on Kashmir or Kashmiriyat to specify what it is, unless of course you have lived there and may be willing to share your experiences with us. How do I know if the articles you send are to be trusted or not? Secondly, Mani jee, where are the corporates involved? Is the Hurriyat a corporate? Is Sangh Parivar a corporate? Are the political parties themselves corporates? At least specify which are the corporates involved in this problem? Frankly, all this Kashmiriyat business for me is bullshit. I don't want to know whether it existed or not. This seems to me like that another dubious creation of our nation, namely, Unity in Diversity. I do see that everyday: Tamils abusing North Indians for not preparing good South Indian food, Kannadigas having a volley of abuse at Tamils, Kerala people telling that they are better than Tamils, North Indians coming to Chennai (living in IIT Madras) wanting Tamilians to live like (and be open like) North Indians.....the list is endless Rakesh From javedmasoo at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 10:30:40 2010 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (Javed) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:30:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] attack on religious freedom in Delhi Message-ID: In one corner of Delhi, an attack on religious freedom Vidya Subrahmaniam A year after mob attack, mosque remains unbuilt on allotted land It's a mosque, but only in name. The corner plot measuring 361.86 sq. m. in Sector 16, Block ‘D' in Rohini is bare except for a half-raised compound wall and a temporary roof. Construction here came to a halt on Friday, June 26, 2009 — after slogan-shouting Hindutva mobs set upon the namazis, critically injuring 40-year-old labourer Mohammad Moin, and assaulting dozens of others. Some policemen also sustained injuries in the attack. The fact that such an incident could take place in the national capital and remain unreported and unresolved a year later raises disturbing questions —about the response of the administration, and about a minority's right to enjoy the freedom of religion in the face of majoritarian pressure. Only 10 days prior to the violence, the Delhi Development Authority had handed over the plot to the Darsgah-e-Islamia Intezamia Committee (DIIC) specifying that it was for the “construction of a mosque.” However, in the aftermath of the violence, the DDA cancelled the allotment: “The competent authority has ordered that considering the objections of the local residents and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) it will not be desirable to continue with allotment of land for a mosque at its present location.” It took several heated hearings at the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) for the DDA finally to restore the land to the DIIC a whole year later, on July 12, 2010. But it extracted a written undertaking that the mosque would be out of bounds for “outsiders,” including friends and relatives of local Muslims. For Rohini's Muslims, forced to commute long distances for prayers, a mosque in the neighbourhood was a wish fulfilled. June 26, 2009 was to be a special Friday. But trouble had already started over the imminent construction. Overnight, inflammatory posters appeared urging Hindu residents to gather at the district park on June 26 to stop the mosque from coming up. “Jago Hindu Jago, (wake up Hindus)” said the text, warning Rohini's Hindu residents to awaken before it was “too late.” Apprehending violence, the DIIC alerted the local police station, which posted a posse at the site. But saffron easily overpowered khakhi that day. With loudspeakers blaring hate messages, frenzied crowds lunged at the namazis. The hooligans abused Moin and slit his throat. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where his bleeding wound was stitched up. The fury of the crowds then turned to the policemen. Curiously, despite the large-scale violence, the injured namazis were unable to file an FIR. The local Station House Officer informed them that he had himself registered an FIR against 19 offenders under IPC sections 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 149 (guilt by association), 186, 353 and 332 (all relating to obstruction of official duty). The FIR made no mention of the injuries to the namazis. Nor would the SHO provide them a copy of the FIR. Muslim residents of Rohini hold a good-conduct certificate from none other than local Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kulwant Rana. In a letter to the DDA dated May 30, 2009, Mr. Rana made a strong pitch for the mosque, saying “community members here have endeared themselves to everyone with their love and affection.” So when the case came up before the NCM, Chairman Mohammad Shafi Qureshi was dumbfounded that the DDA had ordered cancellation of the land allotment citing “objections from local residents and RWAs.” The land had been allotted after due diligence. And on June 26, 2009, the aggression was from the other side. So how could the DDA take such a drastic measure based on some flimsy objections? Besides, the DDA was no one to decide on law and order. At one point during the hearing, the NCM chairman caustically asked a DDA official: “If my neighbour does not like my face, would you cancel my allotment?” The NCM succeeded in getting the land restored to Rohini's Muslims. Yet it is perturbed with the rider that the site be barred for non-Rohini Muslim residents. The Commission noted: “Their [Muslim] belief is that the message of their faith is for the entire mankind, including the non-Muslim. There is no restriction on entry of any Muslim in any of the Masjids not only in India but throughout the world for offering namaz as nobody is considered ‘outsider.' This condition is violative of Article 25 (Right to freedom of religion granted in the Constitution) and DDA has absolutely no right to impose such a condition.” But such is the fear among Rohini's Muslims that let alone fighting for “outsiders,” they will not even say when they plan to build the masjid. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article580633.ece From kaksanjay at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 10:37:06 2010 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:37:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Land for nothing, bullets for free' Message-ID: Land for nothing, bullets for free Shobhan Saxena, 18 August 2010 http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Main-Street/entry/land-for-nothing-bullets-for Young boys, barely in their teens, pick stones, take aim and hit the policemen. A few older lads with bamboo sticks in their hands charge at the cops who are carrying Kalashnikovs. Then a group of middle-aged women, many with their heads covered, descend on the street. They too join the stone-pelting crowd. Raising slogans against the government, the stone-pelting boys turn their attention to police vehicles. From inside the jeeps, the heavily-armed policemen watch the restless crowd. As big rocks crash into their windscreens and stones hit their helmets, a few cops unlock their rifles, aim into the crowd and fire. Suddenly, the crowd freezes. Three boys drop dead. And then the crowd moves towards the police who flee the spot, leaving behind a cloud of dust and trail of blood. If you are thinking this incident happened in the valley of Kashmir, you are wrong. This clash between stone-pelters and armed cops took place this week in the heart of India – in the villages of Agra, Aligarh and Mathura. Angry over "low compensation" paid to them for their land acquired by the UP government for the Rs 10,000-crore Yamuna Expressway, the farmers came out on the road to protest. They were joined by their sons. Even their mothers, wives and daughters joined the demonstration as they wielded lathis and chucked stones at the cops. And, even after the police bullets snuffed life out three men, more people came out with more stones in their hands. Now, even after the UP government's decision to raise the compensation, release the jailed leader of the movement and drop all cases against the agitating people, the agitation is showing no signs of abating. It seems the people are no longer scared of police bullets. Though the footage of stone-pelters of Srinagar have been played non-stop on our TV screens with the running commentary which slams the "separatists" for provoking the "misguided young men" to throw stones at the security forces and undermine the idea of India, the fact that clashes between the people and police have been happening all over the country is conveniently forgotten or ignored. All these clashes have happened because of one reason: the government's acquisition of agricultural land for some private project. And all these clashes have ended in dead bodies – of people, not police. In Andhra Pradesh, police fired at poor peasants protesting against the grabbing of their land for a power plant. In Orissa, the police have fired on unarmed tribals rallying against their displacement a number of times in the past few months. The same story has been repeated in Maharashtra. And, now, the tragedy is being played in UP. In India, people have been displaced and forced to migrate due to industrialization since the 1950s, but in the past few years the government’s tendency to grab people’s land, pay some compensation and kick them out of the land they have lived on for centuries has reached dangerous proportions. In the name of SEZs, in the name of development and new projects, people are being displaced all over the country. Knowing well that no amount of money can compensate the loss of agricultural land, people are rising against the government. This problem is going to become more acute in the time to come as government – central as well as state – act as an agency that acquires land on behalf of private business. We can forget the bloody mayhem of Singur and Nandigram at our own peril. Our economy might be aspiring to reach double-digit figure and we may claim to be world leaders in information technology, but we can’t create more land. As India’s population increases and agricultural production falls, it’s criminal for the government to convert green fields into factories and real estate properties. And, it’s even worse to fire on protesting crowds. In a brilliant play called ‘Seema Rekha’ by Vishnu Prabhakar, after police fires on a group of students, a politician reminds the police chief that "the police are given guns and bullets for the protection of people and not to attack them." Even if the police have to fire in self-defence, firing is the last resort after all other options have been exhausted. But, in the world's biggest democracy, firing on the protesting crowds has become the first option for our trigger-happy security forces. Nowhere is the situation worse than Kashmir, where 55 people have been killed by police bullets in as many days. Despite the promises of "healing the valley", the security forces will continue to fire at unarmed people. Maybe the government fears that the stone-pelters of Srinagar are giving ideas to people in other parts of the country. Maybe the government only cares for land and not the people. After all land is money. Maybe the government believes that a few dead bodies here and there shouldn’t hamper the country’s march towards the superpower status. That’s why the state shows equal enthusiasm in grabbing the people’s land and firing at them when they protest. From c.anupam at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 12:55:29 2010 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:55:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: References: <608670.16899.qm@web57206.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear readers, This is in response to Mani's reply: The sangh parivar has a lot to gain from the Hurriyat's behaviour and without suitable investments such actions cannot be induced. When they were in power, they could drive the country into war with Pakistan, but do nothing on the J&K issue or with the supposedly 'antinationalist' part of the Hurriyat. Something which I came across in 2008 about Amarnath land row. ( It is possible that the unrest may have nothing to with the land row) http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2008/navlakha080808.html "The point is this promotion of Amarnath can be faulted on temporal, religious and secular grounds. In other words it is downright duplicitous when the Indian state promotes religious tourism (tourism in any event) in the guise of the welfare of Hindu pilgrims. This is an extension and/or part of the process of acquisition of a huge mass of land (orchard and cultivable fields, including the precious saffron fields of Pampore) by Indian security forces and water management and control through the National Hydro Power Corporation." Thanks Anupam On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 8:04 AM, Rakesh Iyer wrote: > Wow Indeed! > > I think the issue has now degenerated into what one does know of Kashmir or > Kashmiriyat, as also of corporates. > > Firstly, all of you are either going to point to articles on Kashmir or > Kashmiriyat to specify what it is, unless of course you have lived there > and > may be willing to share your experiences with us. How do I know if the > articles you send are to be trusted or not? > > Secondly, Mani jee, where are the corporates involved? Is the Hurriyat a > corporate? Is Sangh Parivar a corporate? Are the political parties > themselves corporates? At least specify which are the corporates involved > in > this problem? > > Frankly, all this Kashmiriyat business for me is bullshit. I don't want to > know whether it existed or not. This seems to me like that another dubious > creation of our nation, namely, Unity in Diversity. I do see that everyday: > > Tamils abusing North Indians for not preparing good South Indian food, > Kannadigas having a volley of abuse at Tamils, Kerala people telling that > they are better than Tamils, North Indians coming to Chennai (living in IIT > Madras) wanting Tamilians to live like (and be open like) North > Indians.....the list is endless > > Rakesh > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Aug 19 17:42:55 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:12:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Write to PM Singh on "Nuke Bill" & "Unlimited LIability" Message-ID: <552708.51260.qm@web57202.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear ....., We have been let down. Yesterday it was BRAI bill today it's the nuclear liability bill. The Standing Committee looking at the nuclear liability bill submitted its report in the Parliament[1]. The Cabinet meets today, the bill gets tabled next week and the BJP is now in support. The Committee has accepted some of the changes suggested by Greenpeace, but has ignored unlimited liability. In its current form the bill limits the liability for operator of the nuclear facility and if the impacts of a nuclear accident cross it, then the Indian tax payers will be footing the bill. Nuclear is risky and the Government should exercise highest caution. The Prime Minister, keen on clearing this bill, needs to know that we want unlimited liability. Can you write to PM Manmohan Singh asking him to incorporate unlimited liability in the bill? http://www.greenpeace.org/india/unlimited-liability There is very little time to change this clause. A lot of people writing to the PM will make him notice what we want. Even after the Bhopal fiasco the Government and the main opposition party, have not realised the importance of unlimited liability. Even the current law in the country is for unlimited liability. This bill is making an exception. Earlier the Standing Committee accepted the following changes proposed by Greenpeace: The victim’s right to re-course, increase in the duration of the right to claim damages and economic channelling, allowing law suits against suppliers. We can try and do the same this time as well. Show your support for unlimited liability. Write to the PM now. http://www.greenpeace.org/india/unlimited-liability Thanks a billion! Karuna Raina Nuclear Campaigner Greenpeace India   Source: 1. Parliament panel report on Nuclear Liability Bill tabled, The Hindustan Times, 18th, August, 2010 http://www.hindustantimes.com/Parliament-panel-report-on-Nuclear-Liability-Bill-tabled/Article1-588399.aspx   From kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com Thu Aug 19 18:30:18 2010 From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com (Kshmendra Kaul) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:00:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <670136.47787.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Dear Mani   You could be right. Maybe I am a 'brainless idiot'. So, help me understand.   1. You said "The sangh parivar has a lot to gain from the Hurriyat's behaviour". I agree on that. The "Hindutvavaadi" platform of the 'sangh parivar' get strengthened by "Hurriyat's behaviour".   In this does the 'sangh parivar' serve any business interests or itself gain monetarily?   2. You go on to say that "without suitable investments such actions cannot be induced.".   So are you saying, as you seem to be, that the "Hurriyat behaviour" is financed by the 'sangh parivar'? Or is there any other form of 'suitable investments' to 'induce' this  Hurriyat's behaviour"?   3. You describe the Hurriyat as being "supposedly 'antinationalist' ". Supposedly???   Are you saying that actually the Hurriyat are "Nationalist" and all this is a game between the 'sangh parivar' and "Hurriyat" for the sake of monetary gain? That this 'Independence Movement' in Kashmir is a stage managed farce?   That leaves me still wondering where the corporate/business interests fit in and which/who are they.    Kshmendra   --- On Wed, 8/18/10, A. Mani wrote: From: A. Mani Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir To: "sarai list" Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 11:20 PM On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > You are a typical example from such people who's worldview is restricted to interpreting everything around them through the dogma that they subscribe to. In this you are no better than the worst examples of religious fundamentalists/extremists. > You are a brainless idiot. Moreover you are suffering from fixed views and a fixed pre-1989 perspective on the Kashmir issue. > > If 'corporate interests' had any significant role in the Kashmir imbroglio, would benefiting from 'corporates' be better served by separation from India or being a part of India? Would an 'independent' Kashmir or Kashmir integrated into (a near bankrupt) Pakistan provide more from 'corporate interests' or do Indian Corporates have deeper pockets for doling out money? > There are no 'Indian corporates' and 'Pakistani corporates', there are mutual rivalries within corporates. If corporate X has a larger control over party P, then party P wins will mean corporate X stands to gain a windfall. But things get more complicated, when communal aspects get involved. The sangh parivar has a lot to gain from the Hurriyat's behaviour and without suitable investments such actions cannot be induced.  When they were in power, they could drive the country into war  with Pakistan, but do nothing on the J&K issue or with the supposedly 'antinationalist' part of the Hurriyat. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From zulfi14 at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 22:53:35 2010 From: zulfi14 at gmail.com (Zulfiya Hamzaki) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:53:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A Peepli Live Independence Day Message-ID: *A Peepli Live Independence Day* Vidya Subrahmaniam http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article576806.ece?homepage=true India's “fantastic” growth story and the concerns and struggles of the ordinary people increasingly seem like parallel tracks. Up until India's entry into the high growth era, Independence Day was a calendar event telecast faithfully by Doordarshan. Once the growth story started to break, private television companies robustly joined in the freedom celebrations. As India graduated from poverty and pestilence to “cool and happening,” a procession of celebrities, big and small, turned up on various TV channels on August 15 to applaud the country's arrival on the world stage. This year the voices were more mixed, less gushy. Ironically, the party pooper was a rebel from the Bollywood stable. *Peepli Live*, a biting satire on farm suicides and agrarian distress from Aamir Khan productions, not only dared to invade the theatres on the sacred Independence-Day weekend, it proceeded to shine the torch on the gung-ho brigade lining up to sing hosannas to the unstoppable future of this country. The slice of India the film exposed was as close to the ground as the world of celebrity endorsement was far from it. Though *Peepli*'s hard-hitting core was wrapped in disarming humour, its dark, disturbing message cut deep and close: Would those within the charmed growth circle please step out and see life as others lived it? Perhaps thanks to the *Peepli *effect, this August 15 saw a subdued Kareena Kapoor go on TV to speak of the unfulfilled dreams of the teeming millions. Amitabh Bachchan agonised that India was still being called a developing, third world country. The sombre mood seemed to have infected the programming too. A television actor interrupted a boisterous song-and dance *azadi*(independence) extravaganza organised by an entertainment channel to announce pessimistically that he saw no reason to celebrate: “Our women get assaulted, crime, poverty and corruption are growing. Is there anything to celebrate?” Of course, there was a reality check, lest it should seem that the entire jet-set had been hit by an attack of conscience. This was courtesy the anchor of the show who decided to show footage from interviews he had done with young people from Mumbai. The poll was on the meaning of *azadi*, but barring one, none could name the country's incumbent Prime Minister and not even one could tell the year of India's independence. One young man thought “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” was a slogan coined by yesteryear actor Manoj Kumar. As India welcomed its 64th year of freedom, the country seemed to be straddling two diametrically opposite spaces. One, depressingly poor, bereft — and very angry. The other unhealthily prosperous yet frighteningly detached from the country's history, heritage and constitutional vision. But the tragi-comedy of this August 15 was far from over. The tricolour was still being unfurled and the singing of the national anthem was under way at many venues when the poor, shut-out space hit back. *Peepli Live* truly went live. News came in that farmers in western Uttar Pradesh were on the rampage over a police firing that had killed some of their brethren. The farmers had been protesting pitifully inadequate compensation for land acquired for the construction of the glitzy Yamuna expressway that would connect Delhi and Agra. Reports suggested that land bought for a song from the farmers had been resold at exorbitant prices. The dark comedy turned darker in Srinagar where a suspended policeman cut Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the middle of flag hoisting to aim a shoe at him. The harried Mr. Abdullah thanked the policeman saying at least this was a break from the trend of Kashmiris pelting stones. And, finally, in Chhattisgarh naxal power struck again — this time in the form of the beheaded body of a Central Reserve Police Force policeman. Three different incidents, each in its own way symbolising the widening gulf between the state and the vast majority of its people. The so-called stakeholders in India's growth and prosperity could not have chosen a worse day to show their disenchantment with the way project India was shaping up. So it was with dulled senses that one saw Prime Minister Manmohan Singh take his place behind the bullet-proof enclosure at Red Fort for the seventh time in a row. This was a landmark occasion. Dr. Singh is only the third Prime Minister to have reached the seventh year in office. More significantly, he is the first non-Gandhi-Nehru Congress Prime Minister to have achieved this distinction. Yet it was difficult to share his enthusiasm as he rejoiced in the return of the high growth trajectory after the recession of the past year: “Today India stands among the fastest growing economies of the world. As the world's largest democracy, we have become an example for many other countries to emulate … Our country is viewed with respect all over the world. Our views command attention in international fora …” Further, “We are building a new India in which every citizen would have a stake, an India which would be prosperous and in which all citizens would be able to live a life of honour and dignity ...” The Prime Minister had sent out a similar message of hope the previous August 15. Somehow that speech had not seemed so formulaic or so ritualistic. Two months earlier, the United Progressive Alliance government had returned with a renewed mandate after a fairly productive stint in office. The Congress's own tally had breached the 200-mark suggesting the broadening of its appeal among voters; or at the minimum the support bases of its rivals had shrunk to give it more seats. Either way, it was a vote for the Congress. In north India, which felt the positive effect of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the waiver of farm loans, Dr. Singh's leadership came in for much praise. UPA-I had its share of problems, but redeemingly, its overall vision was strongly inclusive. The Prime Minister appeared to make sense when he emphasised high growth as necessary to fund his government's social sector programmes. One year on, the vision seems to have got blurred with the *aam aadmi*pushed further to the periphery. Rather than build on the successes of the NREGS and the Right to Information Act, the government wants them diluted. Universal food security seems an increasingly difficult goal. The historic Right to Education Act is facing dissent over its too stringent provisions. But what disturbs more than all this is the growing sense of alienation among the common people. India's fantastic growth story and the daily concerns and struggles of its people suddenly seem like two parallel tracks that can never converge. Queen Elizabeth II famously described the year 1992 as *annus horribilis*(horrible year) for her family and for the United Kingdom. This year could turn into India's *annus horribilis* if the government does not act quickly to douse the fires raging in different pockets. Kashmir, which saw two peaceful elections and seemed to have retreated, even if very slowly, from the anger and anarchy of the past, is again precipitously close to the brink. The circle of violence in Chhattisgarh has become worse for the government's inept and insensitive intervention. People have been left numb by the spiralling price graph, and even more so by the insensitivity of a government that suggests that inflation is a price to pay for growth. The UPA-I's biggest asset was its leadership. Dr. Singh and Sonia Gandhi stood for decency in public life — a fact that did not go unnoticed in the 2009 general election. Their reputations are still intact but a discomfiting odour has come to surround the government and the party they run. And there is a cocky arrogance about both. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the way the Congress and the government have brazened out allegations of corruption in the Commonwealth Games. When initially, Mani Shankar Aiyar lamented the wasted expenditure on the CWG, many thought he was letting the side down. But watching India's Capital turn into a nightmare city of waste and rubble, the same people might today want to applaud him. It does not matter whether the allegations of corruption around the CWG are true or not. It is there for every Delhi citizen to see. It is there in the excavations of sidewalks that were laid out only six months ago. It is there in the manic, last-minute beautification efforts that must include banishing the hawkers from their zones and hiding the poor out of sight. The Prime Minister has intervened at a time when it is common knowledge that thousands of crores have already gone into the bottomless CWG pit. At a press conference a year ago, Dr. Singh admitted that he would have resigned if the civil nuclear deal with the United States had not gone through. There are areas of India that are crying out for the same zeal and commitment to be shown to them. From indersalim at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 23:54:05 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:54:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] FILL IT, SHUT IT & FORGET IT: Performance at Sarai 20th ( evening ) Message-ID: Dear all Please join Using paper usually meant for envelopes, filled in envelop with text : FILL IT, SHUT IT & FORGET IT with a stamp behind: " We are then introduced to a series of tales and counsels whose chief burden is to underscore the over-riding importance of ' self-preservation " The original paper roll was nearly 300 kg, ( 1000 meter ) out of which 11 by 15 inches would go in the yellow envelope as FILL IT and the postal lac ( traditional postal sealing system still in practice ) would function as SHUT IT and this envelope as gift , one to each in the audience, would be its FORGET IT Some sheets or the part of remaining roll would go out on the main road, in continuation to its other end in the space where next to burning candle the sealing of envelopes would be on. The 'paper' has its own mind.... let me see its how... This would be part of the major exhibition/performance of City-as-Studio programme, is open to start any time afternoon The entire evening at Sarai is open to all. Many interesting creative exercises on view.... with love inder salim http://indersalim.livejournal.com From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 03:01:13 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 03:01:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deception of the Indian Liberal Discourse on Kashmir In-Reply-To: <670136.47787.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> References: <670136.47787.qm@web57205.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 6:30 PM, Kshmendra Kaul wrote: > > 1. You said "The sangh parivar has a lot to gain from the Hurriyat's behaviour". I agree on that. The "Hindutvavaadi" platform of the 'sangh parivar' get strengthened by "Hurriyat's behaviour". > > In this does the 'sangh parivar' serve any business interests or itself gain monetarily? > 2. You go on to say that "without suitable investments such actions cannot be induced.". > > So are you saying, as you seem to be, that the "Hurriyat behaviour" is financed by the 'sangh parivar'? Or is there any other form of 'suitable investments' to 'induce' this  Hurriyat's behaviour"? > > 3. You describe the Hurriyat as being "supposedly 'antinationalist' ". Supposedly??? > > Are you saying that actually the Hurriyat are "Nationalist" and all this is a game between the 'sangh parivar' and "Hurriyat" for the sake of monetary gain? That this 'Independence Movement' in Kashmir is a stage managed farce? > Irrespective of what extremist groups in Pakistan and India may be doing, both countries have become far more subservient to US interests. The basic motivation for conflict is just missing. The Hurriyat has an anti-nationalist agenda ... that is clear. But it should also be clear to most people that they 'cannot do too much damage' to the country. According to reports, they get funds from various sources (from inside the country and abroad). Their leadership exploits the worsening problems of lower middle class and poor, but cites 'emotional reasons' as the dominant force behind their 'movement'. The actual level of agreements that they have (to make it a complete farce) is not clear. But many things point to such a state of affairs. 'supposedly anti-nationalist' was more about the apparent interpretation of the Hurriyat by the BJP. The usual way a big business invests in politics is by having its lobbyists within a party and by funding it. Generally they will pay many parties. A big business biased towards and funding the sangh parivar may itself chose to fund the Hurriyat or it may as well be the work of the sangh parivar itself. There are examples of such duplicity including the Ram sena case. Funding for specific purposes is a different game in which people with smaller turnover (<20 cr) may participate. Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From rashneek at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 09:32:44 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:32:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another bloody lie from some journo Message-ID: I not vouch for the credibility of the news:It says Sikhs have been told to leave valley or embrace Islam. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Embrace-Islam-or-leave-Valley-Sikhs-threatened/articleshow/6346853.cms and this time from the newspaper that sometimes Sanjay Kak writes for and not Amar Ujjala. -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From cubbykabi at yahoo.com Fri Aug 20 12:06:30 2010 From: cubbykabi at yahoo.com (kabi cubby sherman) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:06:30 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Fwd: Tribunalon Kandhamal/ Exhibition on Kandhamal- please circulate In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <64442.599.qm@web94711.mail.in2.yahoo.com> for those interested best kabi Meter Down - काली पीली की कहानी blog: http://meterdown.wordpress.com podcast: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/meterdown ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: ANHAD Mumbai Sent: Fri, 20 August, 2010 10:51:32 AM Subject: Fwd: Tribunalon Kandhamal/ Exhibition on Kandhamal- please circulate National People’s Tribunal on Kandhamal 22nd, 23rd and 24th August, 2010 Venue: Speaker’s Hall, the Constitution Club, New Delhi PROGRAMME SCHEDULE Jury Members: Justice A.P.Shah, Justice Rajinder Sachar, Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, Dr. Ram Dayal Munda, P.S.Krishnan, Ruth Manorama, Vinod Raina, Rabi Das, Vahida Nainar, Urvashi Butalia, Harsh Mander, Mahesh Bhatt 22.08.2010 (Sunday) 10.00-11.00 Registration 12.00-1.00 Inauguration of the Exhibition (Deputy Chairman Hall, 2nd Floor) -By Javed Akhtar 1.00-2.00 break 2.00-02.10 Welcome and Introduction- Ram Puniyani, Member Secretary , NPT 2.10- 4.00 Session -1 Testimonies by Victims from Kandhamal Testimonies by experts Study Report on ‘Impact of Violence on Adivasis and Dalits’ by NCDHR 4.00-4.30 BREAK 4.30-6.30pm Session -2 (Police, Administration and Criminal Justice System) Testimonies by Victims from Kandhamal, Testimonies by experts Study Report ‘Law Must Change its Course’ by Ms.Saumya Mishra Role of NHRIs in the context of Kandhamal violence by Mr.Henri Tphagne, People’s Watch 23.08.2010 (Monday) 09.30-11.00 Session -3 (Housing, Compensation, Relief & Rehabilitation, Food and Livelihood Issues, Displacement/Migration) Testimonies by Victims from Kandhamal Fact Finding Report on Status of Women and Children in Relief Camps by Ila Ben Pathak Damage Assessment Report by Jan Vikas, Ahmadabad Case study on Livelihood Status of Victims by Prof.Ashok Gladston State of Housing to Violence Affected Persons by Bijay Singh, SFDC, Orissa Report on Rapid Assessment of Present Situation in Kandhamal by Prof.Nirakar Mallik 11.00-11.30 BREAK 11.30-1.00 Session - 4 (Children and Education) Testimonies by Victims from Kandhamal, Testimonies by experts, Study Report on State of violence affected Children and their Rights by HAQ: centre for Child Rights Case Study on Child Laborers from Violence Affected families by Mahendra Parida on behalf IRDWSI 1.00-2.00 BREAK 2.00-3.30 Session -5 (Women, gender violence and Human Rights ) Testimonies by Victims from Kandhamal, Study Report on Impact of Violence on Women in Kandhamal by Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work 3.30-4.00 BREAK 4.00-6.00 Session -6 (Role of Media, Political Parties, Civil Society, Peace & Reconciliation) Testimonies by Victims from Kandhamal, Testimonies by experts Peace Training and Efforts after Kandhamal Violence by Irfan Engineer, IPSCR 24.08.2010 (Tuesday) 9.00-1.00PM JURY FINALISES THE RECOMMENDATIONS 1.00-3.00 LUNCH & GETTING THE PRESS STATEMENT READY 3.00PM PRESS CONFERENCE / RELEASE OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE JURY -- Prem Singh Dangwal (ANHAD MUMBAi) A-2 /1205, Hillpark Towers, Capt.Samant Marg, Near Agarwal Estate Jogeshwari West. Mumbai-400102 Tel-022-26792833/ 09820398010 From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 12:31:03 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:31:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Another bloody lie from some journo In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Rashneek, How dare you send this news item? It has been proved time and again on this forum that Hindus and Sikhs cannot be targeted in the valley. It is decided for media and non-negotiable as per plan. Wonder how TOI managed to publish this on the front-page. That wasn't decided at all. Kashmiri Separatists are the pioneers of Secularism. So what if 7 lakh Pandits live as refugees in their own country after a bloody exodus in 1990 at the hands of Islamic Freedom Terrorists? 3000 Hindus and 60,000 Sikhs are Communal elements and hence deserve to be threatened and massacred. All in the name of Nizam-e-Mustafa and Allah-O-Akbar. -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ On Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 9:32 AM, rashneek kher wrote: > I not vouch for the credibility of the news:It says Sikhs have been told to > leave valley or embrace Islam. > > > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Embrace-Islam-or-leave-Valley-Sikhs-threatened/articleshow/6346853.cms > > and this time from the newspaper that sometimes Sanjay Kak writes for and > not Amar Ujjala. > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From nilankur at cultureunplugged.com Fri Aug 20 12:46:40 2010 From: nilankur at cultureunplugged.com (nilankur) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:46:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] WikiLeaks, Open Source of Truth in the Global Matrix Message-ID: http://truthseekers.cultureunplugged.com/truth_seekers/2010/08/wikileaks-open-source-of-truth-in-the-global-matrix.html WikiLeaks, Open Source of Truth in the Global Matrix Nozomi Hayase | 12.Aug.10 Like many others, when I was young I looked up to larger than life heroes depicted in animation and films. The world of these super- heroes was made up of both the villains and those that take on evil forces of greed and power to fight for ordinary people. I remember a close friend in college once said "I wish I was independently wealthy, so that I wouldn't have to worry about making money and could become a superman to help humanity." His voice occasionally arises in me when I face the many injustices and social problems in the world. The release of an explosive 2007 video by a shadowy organization called WikiLeaks titled 'Collateral Murder' recently shook the world. Opening with a quote from Orwell’s 1984, it depicted from the point of view of Americans in an Apache helicopter the gunning down of Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad street. The news of this WikiLeaks group taking on powerful government secrecy and corruption of power somehow reminded me of my childhood heroes. In its three years of existence, WikiLeaks has begun to change the way governments, media and corporations operate by offering an transnational safe haven for whistleblowers from all over the world. In the wake of this video release, Julian Assange, the main public face of the organization stepped forward into the limelight. He shared how the purpose of releasing this footage was to show what the face of modern war really looks like (Assange, 2010). The public profile of WikiLeaks was heightened considerably by this event and as the controversy boiled over, it raised questions for many about government secrecy and importance of transparency as well as legal and moral accountability of powerful institutions. When videos and documentation such as this are leaked that give a glimpse of the vast world of secrets routinely hidden from the public by those in power, one may wonder what else about our world and government is being hidden from us? This uncomfortable question makes the film The Matrix even more real to those that really think about it. “The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us, even now in this very room …It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth!” said Morpheus to Neo (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999). I began to question why so much of the truth has been systematically being kept from us. What was behind the all pervasive efforts to keep the masses blind to so many important events? The word matrix means a framework from which something grows. In the film it is portrayed as a system that enslaves and “grows” humanity for its own purposes. What is this Matrix that surrounds us today and that we are so blind to? We believe that we live in a democracy, where the rule of law exists to protect all victims of deceit and crime. Yet we see an ever increasing gap between the poor and rich, perpetual wars and spiraling levels of corruption, which governments and corporations are often party to. How has it come to this? The rapid industrialization of Western civilization and now materialism in the form of consumerism have been shaping every aspect of our lives. Information itself has become a commodity to be manipulated for private gain. Journalists around the world, especially those who try to expose the root of conflicts in the Middle East are increasingly met with severe censorship. Freedom of expression in Western societies is also becoming somewhat of an illusion in this time of government and corporate secrecy. Assange and others like him began to see how thoroughly the national-security state was embedded in all aspects of life. Leading up to the founding of WikiLeaks, Assange became aware that this institutionalized system intrinsically pushes against altruistic human virtues. “He saw human struggle not as left versus right, or faith versus reason, but as individual versus institution.” and that “truth, creativity, love and compassion are corrupted by institutional hierarchies, and by ‘patronage networks’” (Khatchadourian, 2010). I began to see this interlocking system that Assange referred to as similar to what is portrayed in the Matrix films: a system that depends on keeping the mass of humanity unaware of its true nature, all the while farming their life energy. "Anyone who hasn’t unplugged is potentially an agent. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone and they are no one …. They are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors. They are holding all the keys” (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999). We are part of this system that holds few options for its members beyond what serves it. It leaves little room to even question the existence of the system itself. After graduation, my college friend struggled with society's expectations of a man's obligation within that narrow prescription. I have now begun to see myself in that same struggle. The system seems to slowly rip off the wings of our humanity, the farther we move into adulthood. He, like many others, became numbed to his pain as he became busy pursuing a career path, preparing to accept what the world handed down to him, and eventually to perform unknowingly as an agent of the system. In the Matrix film, the protagonist Neo was allegedly the chosen One, whose destiny was to attain freedom from the system and dismantle it, There have been real life heroes in history trying to change its course. Dr. King, Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy revealed that their destinies were to fight against an unjust system. They were heroes that showed a way to imagine a new future. Yet one by one they disappeared from sight. I saw apathy and cynicism spreading in people. I saw the armored shell of fear that many so often put around themselves. It became harder to strive for something higher, as if the death of heroes killed something in them. I realized how important it is to do something. "We all only live once. So we are obligated to make good use of the time that we have and to do something that is meaningful and satisfying. This [WikiLeaks] is something that I find meaningful and satisfying. That is my temperament. I enjoy creating systems on a grand scale, and I enjoy helping people who are vulnerable. And I enjoy crushing bastards". Right -WikiLeaks.org founder Julian Assange, discusses why he started the WikiLeaks project. Photo Courtesy - commons.wikimedia.org What can be overwhelming is to realize how so many of our problems have become transnational, especially in light of how the interlocking world economy is teetering on a precipice. Today with the WTO and NAFTA, corporate power has extended its reach beyond borders, transforming economies, cultures and nations on their terms. The Matrix is global, expanding into and transforming whole cultures, consuming local and state economies with debt and monetary control, plugging them one by one into a kind of blood-sucking machine. The question arose, how can people free themselves from this global Matrix? How can citizens counteract or create an alternative to this system? Sometimes it seems there is little that ordinary people can do. In the darkness that hovers over the world, the actions of that nonprofit truth haven WikiLeaks, shines a light of possibility for a new direction. This secret group in a way employs a kind of espionage. It is working for the common people from a global perspective and differs from traditional forms like the CIA, which was developed based on security and preservation of the nation state, as against another state. “We’re not interested in national security. We’re interested in justice…. We are a supranational organization.” said Assange (smh.com.au, 2010). Another liberating aspect of WikiLeaks is that it works on the basis and philosophy of open source principles. The idea of open source is best seen in the philosophy behind an operating system known as Linux, based on an African philosophy known as Ubuntu, a concept which bishop Desmond Tutu defines as a way of being and identity that is formed by community (as cited in Battle, 1997). Here, ancient African wisdom typically dismissed by those on the Western path of progress advocates collaboration and sharing. It now inspires and comes onto the global stage as a vehicle to revitalize the impulse for democracy. In the film, Neo needed a key-maker who could open certain critical doors. In a sense, in our world, the whistleblower is the Keymaker, the witness opening the doors to the source, weakening the actual structure of the powerbrokers and conspiracies. WikiLeaks is a sophisticated self-sustaining gate that allows the flow of light in and the flow of damning evidence out, which eventually dissolves the walls of illegitimate secrecy. When technology is used in this sense for sharing ideas, culture, and circulation of critical information and services, open source can serve as a spiritual source that hacks the Matrix. First and foremost, the battle for each person must be with themselves, freeing their own mind that is programmed by the Matrix. In the combat training scene, Morpheus asked Neo “How did I beat you?” Neo responded, “You’re too fast.” Morpheus asked again “Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? … What are you waiting for? You’re faster than this”. Finally Morpheus reminds Neo of a secret weapon within, “Don’t think you are, know you are...” A dehumanizing system teaches us how we are inwardly powerless and impotent, degraded into passive consumers and always driven by fear. Morpheus teaches Neo to undo the programming of the mind and reclaim ones own power to imagine a new future: “You have to let it all go, Neo, fear, doubt and disbelief. Free your mind” (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999). In light of US wars, sweatshops in Asia, the Israeli attack on the Gaza aid ships and the lack of accountability in the BP Gulf oil disaster, the question may arise, are these the actions of a just and civil society? And, if we can't trust the systems, where can we find hope? In the Matrix film, the Oracle prophesied the arrival of the One who would put an end to war and dismantle the Matrix. The Oracle’s prophecy I see being carried out by ordinary citizens. The work of WikiLeaks is shared and sustained by many volunteers. Assange, on a shoestring budget and with no permanent home works relentlessly, spending most of his time at airports moving to the next destination. In Iceland, after WikiLeaks exposure of the bankers rip-off of ordinary citizens, people stood up for themselves with the aid of a newly invigorated fourth estate. They are now working to draft a law that will create a safe haven for whistleblowers. It will protect anyone that exposes crimes or corruption by people in power all around the world (Cohen, 2010). It is not powerful leaders and politicians, but everyday people who I see as the heroes. Deeply rooted in local community values such as sharing and transparency, people everywhere have been pooling their collective efforts, becoming the One that arises from the ashes of the unsustainable and crumbling commercial globalization, where economic exploitation and national security trump human concerns to the detriment of all. I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid. You’re afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin…. Where we go from here is a choice that I leave up to you." (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999) WikiLeaks, the open source of truth in a Global Matrix, showed me a door. On the other side lies a truth about the forgotten heroes within. The key to open the door is inside each person and the life of this planet depends us awakening the hero who will bring society into a new era. WikiLeaks is an icon of our time, reaching for the door to tomorrow. It is up to each person to walk through it. Citations: Assange, J. (2010, May 16). Unpublished political speech presented at the Oslo freedom forum. Norway. Battle, M. J. (1997). Reconciliation: The Ubuntu theology of Desmond Tutu. OH: The Pilgrim Press. Cohen, N. (2010, February 21). A Vision of Iceland as a Haven for Journalist. The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/business/media/22link.html Khatchadourian, R. (2010, June 7). No Secrets: Julian Assange’s Mission for Total Transparency. The New Yorker. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/100607fa_fact_khatchadourian?currentPage=all#ixzz0pWdlAepe Smh.com.au. (2010, May 22). The Secret Life of Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange. Retrieved June 8, 2010, from http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-secret-life-of-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-20100521-w1um.html Wachowski, A. (Writer/Director), & Wachowski, L. (Writer/Director). (1999). The Matrix. [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers. nilankur 'frame voice. find vigor' http://www.cultureunplugged.com/filmedia/truthSeekers.php From c.anupam at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 13:47:59 2010 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:47:59 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] WikiLeaks, Open Source of Truth in the Global Matrix In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks for posting this Nilankur. On Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 12:46 PM, nilankur wrote: > > > http://truthseekers.cultureunplugged.com/truth_seekers/2010/08/wikileaks-open-source-of-truth-in-the-global-matrix.html > > WikiLeaks, Open Source of Truth in the Global Matrix > > Nozomi Hayase | 12.Aug.10 > > Like many others, when I was young I looked up to larger than life heroes > depicted in animation and films. The world of these super-heroes was made up > of both the villains and those that take on evil forces of greed and power > to fight for ordinary people. I remember a close friend in college once said > "I wish I was independently wealthy, so that I wouldn't have to worry about > making money and could become a superman to help humanity." His voice > occasionally arises in me when I face the many injustices and social > problems in the world. > > The release of an explosive 2007 video by a shadowy organization called > WikiLeaks titled 'Collateral Murder' recently shook the world. Opening with > a quote from Orwell’s 1984, it depicted from the point of view of Americans > in an Apache helicopter the gunning down of Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad > street. The news of this WikiLeaks group taking on powerful government > secrecy and corruption of power somehow reminded me of my childhood heroes. > > In its three years of existence, WikiLeaks has begun to change the way > governments, media and corporations operate by offering an transnational > safe haven for whistleblowers from all over the world. In the wake of this > video release, Julian Assange, the main public face of the organization > stepped forward into the limelight. He shared how the purpose of releasing > this footage was to show what the face of modern war really looks like > (Assange, 2010). The public profile of WikiLeaks was heightened considerably > by this event and as the controversy boiled over, it raised questions for > many about government secrecy and importance of transparency as well as > legal and moral accountability of powerful institutions. > > When videos and documentation such as this are leaked that give a glimpse > of the vast world of secrets routinely hidden from the public by those in > power, one may wonder what else about our world and government is being > hidden from us? This uncomfortable question makes the film The Matrix even > more real to those that really think about it. “The Matrix is everywhere, it > is all around us, even now in this very room …It is the world that has been > pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth!” said Morpheus to Neo > (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999). I began to question why so much of the truth > has been systematically being kept from us. What was behind the all > pervasive efforts to keep the masses blind to so many important events? > > > > > The word matrix means a framework from which something grows. In the film > it is portrayed as a system that enslaves and “grows” humanity for its own > purposes. What is this Matrix that surrounds us today and that we are so > blind to? We believe that we live in a democracy, where the rule of law > exists to protect all victims of deceit and crime. Yet we see an ever > increasing gap between the poor and rich, perpetual wars and spiraling > levels of corruption, which governments and corporations are often party to. > How has it come to this? > > > The rapid industrialization of Western civilization and now materialism in > the form of consumerism have been shaping every aspect of our lives. > Information itself has become a commodity to be manipulated for private > gain. Journalists around the world, especially those who try to expose the > root of conflicts in the Middle East are increasingly met with severe > censorship. Freedom of expression in Western societies is also becoming > somewhat of an illusion in this time of government and corporate secrecy. > Assange and others like him began to see how thoroughly the > national-security state was embedded in all aspects of life. Leading up to > the founding of WikiLeaks, Assange became aware that this institutionalized > system intrinsically pushes against altruistic human virtues. “He saw human > struggle not as left versus right, or faith versus reason, but as individual > versus institution.” and that “truth, creativity, love and compassion are > corrupted by institutional hierarchies, and by ‘patronage networks’” > (Khatchadourian, 2010). I began to see this interlocking system that Assange > referred to as similar to what is portrayed in the Matrix films: a system > that depends on keeping the mass of humanity unaware of its true nature, all > the while farming their life energy. > > "Anyone who hasn’t unplugged is potentially an agent. Inside the Matrix, > they are everyone and they are no one …. They are the gatekeepers. They are > guarding all the doors. They are holding all the keys” (Wachowski & > Wachowski, 1999). We are part of this system that holds few options for its > members beyond what serves it. It leaves little room to even question the > existence of the system itself. After graduation, my college friend > struggled with society's expectations of a man's obligation within that > narrow prescription. I have now begun to see myself in that same struggle. > The system seems to slowly rip off the wings of our humanity, the farther we > move into adulthood. He, like many others, became numbed to his pain as he > became busy pursuing a career path, preparing to accept what the world > handed down to him, and eventually to perform unknowingly as an agent of the > system. > > In the Matrix film, the protagonist Neo was allegedly the chosen One, whose > destiny was to attain freedom from the system and dismantle it, There have > been real life heroes in history trying to change its course. Dr. King, > Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy revealed that their destinies were to fight > against an unjust system. They were heroes that showed a way to imagine a > new future. Yet one by one they disappeared from sight. I saw apathy and > cynicism spreading in people. I saw the armored shell of fear that many so > often put around themselves. It became harder to strive for something > higher, as if the death of heroes killed something in them. I realized how > important it is to do something. > > > "We all only live once. So we are obligated to make good use of the time > that we have and to do something that is meaningful and satisfying. This > [WikiLeaks] is something that I find meaningful and satisfying. That is my > temperament. I enjoy creating systems on a grand scale, and I enjoy helping > people who are vulnerable. And I enjoy crushing bastards". > > Right -WikiLeaks.org founder Julian Assange, discusses why he started the > WikiLeaks project. > > > Photo Courtesy - commons.wikimedia.org > > What can be overwhelming is to realize how so many of our problems have > become transnational, especially in light of how the interlocking world > economy is teetering on a precipice. Today with the WTO and NAFTA, corporate > power has extended its reach beyond borders, transforming economies, > cultures and nations on their terms. The Matrix is global, expanding into > and transforming whole cultures, consuming local and state economies with > debt and monetary control, plugging them one by one into a kind of > blood-sucking machine. > > > > The question arose, how can people free themselves from this global Matrix? > How can citizens counteract or create an alternative to this system? > Sometimes it seems there is little that ordinary people can do. In the > darkness that hovers over the world, the actions of that nonprofit truth > haven WikiLeaks, shines a light of possibility for a new direction. > > This secret group in a way employs a kind of espionage. It is working for > the common people from a global perspective and differs from traditional > forms like the CIA, which was developed based on security and preservation > of the nation state, as against another state. “We’re not interested in > national security. We’re interested in justice…. We are a supranational > organization.” said Assange (smh.com.au, 2010). > > Another liberating aspect of WikiLeaks is that it works on the basis and > philosophy of open source principles. The idea of open source is best seen > in the philosophy behind an operating system known as Linux, based on an > African philosophy known as Ubuntu, a concept which bishop Desmond Tutu > defines as a way of being and identity that is formed by community (as cited > in Battle, 1997). Here, ancient African wisdom typically dismissed by those > on the Western path of progress advocates collaboration and sharing. It now > inspires and comes onto the global stage as a vehicle to revitalize the > impulse for democracy. > > In the film, Neo needed a key-maker who could open certain critical doors. > In a sense, in our world, the whistleblower is the Keymaker, the witness > opening the doors to the source, weakening the actual structure of the > powerbrokers and conspiracies. WikiLeaks is a sophisticated self-sustaining > gate that allows the flow of light in and the flow of damning evidence out, > which eventually dissolves the walls of illegitimate secrecy. When > technology is used in this sense for sharing ideas, culture, and circulation > of critical information and services, open source can serve as a spiritual > source that hacks the Matrix. > > > > > First and foremost, the battle for each person must be with themselves, > freeing their own mind that is programmed by the Matrix. In the combat > training scene, Morpheus asked Neo “How did I beat you?” Neo responded, > “You’re too fast.” Morpheus asked again “Do you believe that my being > stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? … What > are you waiting for? You’re faster than this”. Finally Morpheus reminds Neo > of a secret weapon within, “Don’t think you are, know you are...” A > dehumanizing system teaches us how we are inwardly powerless and impotent, > degraded into passive consumers and always driven by fear. Morpheus teaches > Neo to undo the programming of the mind and reclaim ones own power to > imagine a new future: “You have to let it all go, Neo, fear, doubt and > disbelief. Free your mind” (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999). > > > In light of US wars, sweatshops in Asia, the Israeli attack on the Gaza aid > ships and the lack of accountability in the BP Gulf oil disaster, the > question may arise, are these the actions of a just and civil society? And, > if we can't trust the systems, where can we find hope? > > In the Matrix film, the Oracle prophesied the arrival of the One who would > put an end to war and dismantle the Matrix. The Oracle’s prophecy I see > being carried out by ordinary citizens. The work of WikiLeaks is shared and > sustained by many volunteers. Assange, on a shoestring budget and with no > permanent home works relentlessly, spending most of his time at airports > moving to the next destination. In Iceland, after WikiLeaks exposure of the > bankers rip-off of ordinary citizens, people stood up for themselves with > the aid of a newly invigorated fourth estate. They are now working to draft > a law that will create a safe haven for whistleblowers. It will protect > anyone that exposes crimes or corruption by people in power all around the > world (Cohen, 2010). It is not powerful leaders and politicians, but > everyday people who I see as the heroes. Deeply rooted in local community > values such as sharing and transparency, people everywhere have been pooling > their collective efforts, becoming the One that arises from the ashes of the > unsustainable and crumbling commercial globalization, where economic > exploitation and national security trump human concerns to the detriment of > all. > > I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid. > You’re afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I > didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell > you how it’s going to begin…. Where we go from here is a choice that I leave > up to you." (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999) > > WikiLeaks, the open source of truth in a Global Matrix, showed me a door. > On the other side lies a truth about the forgotten heroes within. The key to > open the door is inside each person and the life of this planet depends us > awakening the hero who will bring society into a new era. WikiLeaks is an > icon of our time, reaching for the door to tomorrow. It is up to each person > to walk through it. > > > > Citations: > > Assange, J. (2010, May 16). Unpublished political speech presented at the > Oslo freedom forum. Norway. > > Battle, M. J. (1997). Reconciliation: The Ubuntu theology of Desmond Tutu. > OH: The Pilgrim Press. > > Cohen, N. (2010, February 21). A Vision of Iceland as a Haven for > Journalist. The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/business/media/22link.html > > Khatchadourian, R. (2010, June 7). No Secrets: Julian Assange’s Mission for > Total Transparency. The New Yorker. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from > http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/100607fa_fact_khatchadourian?currentPage=all#ixzz0pWdlAepe > > Smh.com.au. (2010, May 22). The Secret Life of Wikileaks Founder Julian > Assange. Retrieved June 8, 2010, from > http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-secret-life-of-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-20100521-w1um.html > > Wachowski, A. (Writer/Director), & Wachowski, L. (Writer/Director). (1999). > The Matrix. [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers. > > > > > > nilankur > 'frame voice. find vigor' > http://www.cultureunplugged.com/filmedia/truthSeekers.php > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From sudeshna.kca at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 13:50:25 2010 From: sudeshna.kca at gmail.com (Sudeshna Chatterjee) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:50:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fallacy of Commonwealth Legacy Message-ID: There is an article by me on the fallacy of Commonwealth Games legacy in today's Hindustan Times 20Aug2010 (edit page- page12). Since the print version had taken out some vital sentences to reduce the word count from 1000 to less than 800, I am attaching the real piece that I had submitted to HT to make better sense. They even changed the title! You can find the HT article at: - Mega size, minor gains Best wishes, Sudeshna * Fallacy of Commonwealth Legacy What do four children, one sitting outside a modest house in an African town, another in a Chinese living room, a third in a Latin American market place and a fourth at an East European dining table have in common? All four pairs of eyes are glued to TV sets watching the London Olympics in 2012. This was the inspirational film that was part of London’s winning Olympic bid in 2005. But that’s not what connects these four children across the globe; the real connection is the shared dream of glory as future sports persons representing different sports and winning for their respective countries in future Olympics. That is the kind of inspirational dream a mega sporting event has the power to evoke. That is also the possible legacy of a landmark sports event like the Olympics, hosted by a major global city such as London, a legacy that instils love of sports not only among the young of the host nation but also among children across the globe. London’s Olympic legacy plans continue to be focused on sports and development for youth. If we now shift our gaze to the other contemporary mega sporting event, the 2010 Commonwealth Games, hosted by another mega and aspiring global city, New Delhi, the discourse around legacy appears to be at best flimsy, uninformed and perhaps meriting new terminologies such as “lackacy” or “lootacy”. To put it bluntly, at least in material terms, legacy of a mega event is what is left behind for the city after the party leaves town. Mostly this is measured by the benefits accrued by the city such as in improved living conditions: better transport, better housing, better sports infrastructure, better urban space. Delhi in its bid for the Games had indeed pledged improved city infrastructure to make over Delhi as a world class city. According to some experts, CWG is actually an exercise in urban renewal, sports is an afterthought. This argument is supported by facts such as 85% of the spending has been on infrastructure. Quite recently the so-called “legacy plan” of the Commonwealth games was unfurled. It comprised a request for qualification (RFQ) for operations and maintenance of five Commonwealth Games stadia in Delhi through Public-Private-Partnership. The closing date for the bids is August 23, 2010, barely days away from the Games. Who will qualify? Companies possessing net worth in hundreds of crores and with experience of construction and not sports management! Typically PPP involves funding and resources of private parties in creating public amenities. Here public money, public resources and public land have been used to create public facilities which will be handed over to private parties paying the highest premium to the authorities as a concession fee. In return the private companies will be given the right to host sporting and non-sporting activities (read Shaadis and Bollywood tamasha as in the Asiad facilities) to generate revenues for maintaining these facilities. How will already leaky, badly constructed, waterlogged sports facilities, all potential white elephants, maintained by private companies for profit help develop a sporting culture among our youth—one of the ridiculous CWG promises of Suresh Kalmadi? Will the private company allow neighbourhood kids to come play inside the facility every evening? Love of sports can only be instilled in children if they have readily accessible grounds of different scales within and around neighbourhoods. You only get good at something by playing it on an everyday basis while having fun. Can any of the stadium operators promise that even to the children living in the immediate vicinity of the stadium complexes? In its current format, the legacy plan is just another lootacy plan which might go the Emaar MGF way of financial bailout by the government in case any private party fails to maintain the sick white elephant. Why couldn’t these facilities equipped with expensive turfs and tracks and swimming pools be handed over to the respective sports federations for hosting appropriate sporting events and engage local communities in developing a culture of that sport? The term “beautifying” has never been as ugly as in the case of the streetscaping to create world class amenities in Delhi. Knee-high kerb stones, badly laid pavers that come loose with rains, narrowly spaced bollards that prevent wheelchairs, strollers and prams in sidewalks are but some of the reasons why the public consider the beautification drive a big scam. Moreover why pour hundreds of crores in beautifying facilities in the NDMC areas which anyways enjoy the best infrastructure in the city? Wasn’t this a perfect opportunity to develop areas which are never considered for development? South Africa set a wonderful example of such a development paradigm through the FIFA world cup by constructing beautiful transit-oriented community spaces in the most underprivileged parts of Cape Town as public viewing areas to enable people who cannot afford to get to the stadiums, which were located in the central areas, to watch the games. This is part of a very tangible 2010 World Cup legacy that furthered the concept of dignified public places as an integral part of a post-apartheid spatial planning strategy. Cut back to Delhi. What we see is a reverse trend of snatching away vital public space around low-income settlements in the proximity of the CWG zone to create more white elephant infrastructure such as parking decks. Imagine if Delhi had a socio-spatial strategy of creating new public spaces in Bhalaswa, Holambi Kalan, Bhawana and other such unheard of places which serve as resettlement colonies for displaced poor people from the city, many of whom had been displaced by the games housing, the commonwealth games would indeed have created a legacy of social and spatial integration. And best of all, the city would not only have shared the social experience of CWG with the poor but also given a chance to their children to share the dream of future sporting greatness with other children around the world. Those would have been legacies worthy of a mega sporting event in an aspiring global city. Sudeshna Chatterjee is an urban designer and writer. * This is the edited print version that managed to decontextualize some core ideas such as the deal with streetscaping. -- Sudeshna Chatterjee, PhD Partner, Kaimal Chatterjee & Associates Architecture Urban Design Research New Delhi, India Research Affiliate Children, Youth and Environments Center for Research and Design University of Colorado, Boulder From shahzulf at yahoo.com Fri Aug 20 14:26:44 2010 From: shahzulf at yahoo.com (Zulfiqar Shah) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 01:56:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Indus Flood Relief Fund Message-ID: <582271.51710.qm@web38801.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear all, Himal Southasian have set up a fund in Kathmandu for those all over Southasia and elsewhere seeking to support the immediate, ongoing relief efforts in Pakistan. Please avail this facility to send money to the victims of flood along the Indus. See the link below for fund transfer details. The recipient organisation is The Institute for Social Movements-Pakistan (ISM PAK) in Hyderabad (Sindh), working with the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) on emergency response and support. ISM PAK and OPP urgently need funds for rations, medicine, shelters, drinking water, infant diet support, livestock fodder and vaccination, hygiene kits, makeshift toilets and schooling camps. No administrative charge will be applied to your support, every paise will be transferred to ISM PAK for benefit of the flood vicitms. Let us know if you would prefer to remain anonymous as a supporter. Details: http://www.himalmag.com/Indus-Flood-Relief-Himal-Southasian-Fund-Collection-Drive_fnw73.html In Solidarity, Zulfiqar Shah   -------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Director The Institute for Social Movements, Pakistan C 25, Data Nagar, Qasimabad Hyderabad 71000 Phone: +92 22 2654905 Phone: +92 22 2654605 Cell: +92 333 464 8881 Email: zulfiqar at ismpak.org              ismpak at live.com URL: www.ismpak.org ----------------------------------------------------------------- From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 14:55:48 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:55:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Sikhs supporting Kashmir cause in London Message-ID: Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0y9-CJrtL8 From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 14:57:15 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:57:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Sikh_body_observes_Aug_15_as_=91Bl?= =?windows-1252?q?ack_Day=92?= Message-ID: Sikh body observes Aug 15 as ‘Black Day’ Pledges support to Kashmiris Rising Kashmir News Srinagar, Aug 15, 2010: http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/sikh-body-observes-aug-15-as-%E2%80%98black-day%E2%80%99-285.aspx The Amritsar-based Sikh body Dal Khalasa Sunday held a sit-in to observe August 15 as “black day”. In a statement here, Dal Khalsa said its activists observed a peaceful sit-in to highlight the serious human rights problems in Kashmir, Punjab and North East states. “Primary among them is the culture of impunity to security forces. By observing August 15 as black day, we are keeping the desire for freedom alive,” the statement said. Dal Khalsa activists displayed placards that read “Punjab wants Azadi”. The party said the violations of human rights by Indian security agencies have been uncountable “But the energetic Sikhs with their distinctive unique birthright and history stand still without any retreat.” The statement promised support to Kashmiris, Nagas and Assamese saying people in these regions are also observing India's Independence Day as a Black Day. “Let’s make a pledge that the common cause of all oppressed peoples will be brought to one platform,” it said. The people of Punjab stand with the people of Pakistan as they have bravely responded to widespread and unprecedented flooding that has killed more than 1,600 people and left two million people affected. We also express our sorrow and grief over the loss of human lives due to cloudburst in Leh region of J&K. Dal Khalsa pledged sustained Sikh support for Kashmiris “in their struggle for right to self determination in line with deepening partnership between the two pro-struggling ethnic minorities.” From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:00:07 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:00:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Ten years ago... Message-ID: Terrible truth of a massacre laid on for a president The day Bill Clinton arrived in India, 35 Sikhs were murdered. India blamed militants, but the villagers tell a different story By Peter Popham in Chatti-Singhpura Saturday, 1 April 2000 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/terrible-truth-of-a-massacre-laid-on-for-a-president-719252.html The world came to the village of Chatti-Singhpura yesterday, nearly two weeks after 35 men of the village were lined up against walls and shot dead. National politicians and Sikh religious leaders dropped in by helicopter, and thousands of Sikhs from other parts of India came by road to this pretty village in the Kashmir valley, where the cherry trees are blooming and the willows putting out fresh shoots against a background of snowy mountains. They came to offer their condolences. They broughtsolace and solidarity - but noanswers. For the Indian authorities, no further answers are required. Of all the brutal events witnessed by the valley in the past 10 years, few, by their lights, were more clear cut. The massacre occurred at 7.50pm on Monday 20 March, just a few hours before Bill Clinton flew to Delhi to begin his state visit to India. All the killers escaped without being identified. The following morning, India's National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, told journalists that the massacre was a case of "cross-border terrorism", carried out by the two most prominent Islamic militias in the valley, Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba. Both, India claims, are heavily supported by Pakistan. Two days later, on 24 March, the government claimed to have arrested what one newspaper called "the Butcher of Anantnag" (Anantnag is the closest town), the "Hizbul Mujahideen kingpin responsible for planning and executing the brutal massacre", one Mohammad Yaqoob Wagay. The next day, during "sustained interrogation", Mr Wagay was said to have yielded the names of his colleagues. More astonishing success followed. On 25 March, five of those named by Mr Wagay were reportedly killed by Indian paramilitaries, 20km from the massacre site, during a fire-fight that went on for four hours. This triumph punctuated the end of Mr Clinton's Indian trip, just as the massacre had overshadowed its beginning. When informed about the massacre, Mr Clinton had commented: "First let's see who did it." The Indians, it seemed, had done exactly that - just in time to temper the mood of his meeting over the border with Pakistan's generalissimo, Pervez Musharraf. Yet there was something not quite right about the killings on 25 March of those blamed for the massacre. No weapons were recovered and, instead of passing the bodies to the police, the army told local villagers to bury them. Identification was impossible because the bodies were burnt beyond recognition. It so happened - and these things happen a lot in Kashmir - that a number of apparently ordinary, harmless Kashmiri civilians had been lifted from the streets of Anantnag in the days after the massacre. Among those who disappeared was a 24-year-old local shopkeeper named Zahoor Ahmad Dalal. According to his mother, Zahoor came home from his textile shop in Anantnag's main street on Friday 24 March at 6pm, parked his van, changed his clothes, drank two cups of tea and, leaving it rather late, set off for evening prayers at the local mosque. They have not seen him since. His family did the rounds of army, police and paramilitaries to find out if he had been taken in for questioning. All denied it. The mystery of what happened to Zahoor may never have been solved, had not relatives of two other men who vanished on the same day visited the site where the bodies had been burnt after the 25 March "encounter" to look for evidence of who exactly had died. They found scraps of clothing, as well as the identity card of their own missing kinsman, Juma Khan. When they brought a fragment of a pullover to the home of Zahoor Ahmad Dalal - maroon in colour, ribbed, man-made fibre - his mother, Raja, recognised it as the one her son had been wearing. From that moment the family went into mourning. Normal life came to a halt in Anantnag this week as thousands of local men protested against "the killing of innocent civilians", passed off as the killing of militants in encounters. After two days of turmoil, the deputy commissioner agreed on Thursday to send a magistrate to supervise the exhumation of the bodies ofthe five men for proper identification. One pillar in the solid looking structure the government had built around the Sikh massacre had crumbled. Did this put the whole building in jeopardy? That begs the question of how solid a structure it was to begin with. The National Security Adviser's speedy explanation of who was to blame for the massacre has not been reinforced by any evidence. Both the organisations he named have denied involvement, blaming India for the massacre. The man in custody has not been charged with anything. In Chatti-Singhpura, meanwhile, the bereaved women sit in the houses from which their menfolk were summoned for "crackdown" - valley shorthand for army search operations - then minutes later murdered, while their friends and relatives do what they can to comfort them. "One of my sons had come back from the shop with vegetables and eggs," remembers Jeet Kaur, an elderly woman, "when a man dressed like asoldier came to the door and said it was a crackdown and ordered him to come out. He told us to turn out the lights. He said it would only take a couple of minutes." He was right: within minutes the air was torn by machine-gun fire. Jeet Kaur lost five men: her husband, two sons and two grandsons. Contrary to the quick, clear assertions of the National Security Adviser, nothing is straightforward about the Chatti-Singhpura massacre. As a wise old newspaper editor in Srinagar put it to me: "It is not clear who did it. It is a mystery. It will remain a mystery." Better that way. Can a nation believe that its own guardians took the lives of Jeet Kaur's menfolk and 30 others forthe sake of jogging a President's elbow - and retain its sanity? Better, surely, to bury it in mystery. From sanjaykhak at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:06:33 2010 From: sanjaykhak at gmail.com (Sanjay Khak) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:06:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Islamist terrorists beating up local Kashmiri people Message-ID: Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvQEE9lEFo8 This is the video that the indian news org "The Hindu" obtained documenting the torture of three north Kashmir residents in the autumn of 2008 by pakistan supported terrorists. Read the following story for context - http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article577287.ece best Sanjay Khak From sanjaykhak at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:09:08 2010 From: sanjaykhak at gmail.com (Sanjay Khak) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:09:08 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Are Muslims the sole stakeholders of Kashmir? Message-ID: Are Muslims the sole stakeholders of Kashmir? Nancy Kaul Link - http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=1036 Muslims of the Kashmir Valley have long been portraying themselves as the sole inhabitants not only of the Valley, but of the entire Jammu and Kashmir State, including Ladakh. It is almost as if the Hindus of the Kashmir Valley who were forcibly driven out of their homes two decades ago had never existed, and as if the Hindus of Jammu and Buddhists of Ladakh also do not exist. Such is the stranglehold of Muslims in the State that they have succeeded in propagating the myth that the only people who live and count in the State of J&K are Muslims, and they are the sole stakeholders of the place, which is far from the truth. And now, with the so-called liberal brigade which includes inter alia some self-styled and internationally-funded individuals, a far more sinister design is emerging. In fact, it is giving a helping hand to terrorists and Islamic Jihadis to slowly seep deeper; this is the success of Islamic terrorism and its methods of which Jammu & Kashmir is facing a frontal attack. Much more is the tragedy emerging out of the so-called dialogues, debates, discussions and Track II’s, etc., where the sole casualty is the ‘integrity’ and ‘sovereignty’ of India. The fundamental ethos and civilisational moorings of the nation are being eroded and undermined by harebrained formulas and lunatic solutions. Many a times the agenda is pre-decided, as are the final reports and resolutions. The participants by and large, and the organizers of these dubious seminars, tend to take a line of allowing terrorists and separatists a free rein and free speech, which starts in venom-spitting against India and compromise on the vital and strategic issues of integrity and sovereignty, and ends at ways and means of Balkanizing the nation. One such seminar organised jointly on Nov. 7, 2009, jointly by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, Teen Murti Bhavan, and conducted by CSDS Faculty member, Madhu Kishwar. It turned to be an ill-disguised platform for blatant India-bashing by separatists, terrorists and so-called Indian liberals. The writer was also invited to speak in her capacity as a known Kashmiri Internally Displaced Person. Yet in her zeal to appease Muslims, particularly those belonging to the Valley, Ms Kishwar appeared to be miles ahead in the quest to dismantle the territorial integrity of the country. The writer was not allowed to read her paper, and in fact suffered the most humiliating behaviour at the hands of Kishwar and her fellow traveller, the eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani. The organizers need to understand that they cannot force the rest of us to kow-tow to the Sunni Muslim line in Kashmir. Although the seminar (as suggested by the invitation) was organized by the CSDS and Nehru Memorial Museum, the official report of the seminar proceedings and some letters of ‘sought support’ in the great endeavour of Muslim appeasement and Balkanizing India appeared rather inexplicably on a website called *Manushi*, which is managed by neither of these two bodies. It is possibly owned personally by Kishwar, who once edited a magazine by that name, though it has been defunct for some years now, and even the website appears dated. Facts are blatantly disfigured in Kishwar’s report, which is an open support to separatists and the so-called autonomy or self-rule envisaging politicians who are more or less acting in tandem with the separatists. Kishwar should realize that by doing this, the horrendous behaviour particularly of Ram Jethmalani, can neither be forgiven nor forgotten, and she was an equal partner in the crime. It was she who had invited the writer to the seminar or so-called dialogue. The viewpoint of neither the separatists nor the secessionists nor others can be treated as binding or agreeable to me. If hours and hours had been allotted to the Hurriyat, People’s Democratic Party and such, why could ten minutes not be given to the speaker with a different perspective? During the course of long hourly speeches of Gani Bhat of the Hurriyat, Mohammed Shafi Uri of the National Conference, and Muzzaffar Beg of the PDP, I neither objected nor interrupted anyone even though I do not subscribe to either autonomy, self-rule or separatism and devolution of sovereignty. Yet one may ask why Mehbooba Mufti was invited to speak at length in the second session when Muzzaffar Beg had already taken more than enough potshots at the basis of Indian unity – Article 1 of the Constitution. An important question that has to be answered by the organizers and those who not only stopped me from reading my paper but also humiliated and misbehaved with me, is WHY, after I had read just one page of my prepared speech, Kishwar announced that I can read no further? Why did Ram Jethmalani behave in a derogatory and humiliating manner? Where was the necessary dignity of the organizers when he got up and said he will not allow the paper to be read and will ask me to leave the place? Jethmalani, Kishwar, and the others who shouted and did not allow the paper to be read forgot in their appeasement of Muslims of the Valley that I had been called by them. Why should a learned lawyer misbehave and gag the voice of a law-abiding citizen who is internally displaced in her own country because of the violence and terrorism unleashed in the Valley? His conduct in fact mauled the freedom of speech and in turn Articles 16, 19 and 21 which are guaranteed under the Constitution of India. Why should it be taken for granted that only the likes of Hurriyat, PDP and separatists have a right to speak? Why are the other equal stakeholders in the valley not entitled to articulate their viewpoint*? Is asking for the free flow of the Indian Constitution a crime? * It is rather unfortunate and in fact demeaning of Kishwar to lie in her report about the seminar. Where were the representatives from Jammu region and Ladakh? Where were the Buddhists, Dogras, Sikhs, Christians from the State? What is the motto behind giving incorrect information to Indians by her? How could they then not allow even ten minutes to listen to the other viewpoint? Why in Kishwar’s Final Report is there no mention of the demand put forward by Ramesh Manvati of Panun Kashmir? Is it because Kishwar’s personal agenda also seems to further the cause of the PDP, and Muslims in particular? In this regard it may be pertinent to mention that Madhu Kishwar has been enjoying the hospitality of PDP now and again; in fact she visited Rajouri along with Mufti Mohammed Syed in second half of December 2009. In a bid to clothe her pre-fabricated design of furthering the Kashmiri Muslim agenda she has unashamedly and blatantly given an incorrect picture to the country. The factual details are not only missing, but also incorrect:- For instance, the claim that *Swaraj* was Gandhi’s vision is the biggest untruth for any self-respecting Indian. It was Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak who envisaged the vision of *Swaraj* and gave the famous slogan: “Swaraj is my birthright”. Although this was in the context of the British Raj and not Indians, yet Kishwar in her appeasement of the PDP termed its self-rule document which envisages devolution of Indian sovereignty on the same level, and even called it more creative than even the European Union! This is both flawed and questionable, as EU is a Union of several countries and nationalities, while India is one country and nationality. Yet Kishwar has made the very basics of nation-state existence, geo-political, cultural and civilisational aspects, and thousands of years of history and existence redundant in her zeal for Muslim appeasement! There are reams and reams of kudos to the insane ideas which include having two currencies in the State and joint management of the State. Apart from an apology for her shoddy behaviour, Kishwar should explain what all support she was giving to separatists in the 1990s, as Yasin Malik himself mentioned at Teen Murti that she supported his ideas in 1994, at a meeting in his house in Srinagar. Kishwar and her ilk are no better than the separatists, and for all their so-called liberal tags, a few foreign jaunts and funds are enough to make them cut at the very roots of the nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. I pray to Ma Durga to stand by truth and let it prevail and Ma MahaKali to deliver justice. *Tailpiece: what is RSS up to?* As I was concluding this piece, a friend sent me an email of a discussion organised in Delhi on 19 Jan. 2010 to observe the Kashmir Exodus of 19 January 1990, the day loudspeakers from mosques in the Valley blared open and grim threats to the Hindus: Pandits get out of the Valley, leave your women behind. I had received the email information before – it was a discussion organised by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, and the main speakers were listed as the new BJP President Nitin Gadkari, former J&K Governor Jagmohan, and Ladakh Union Territory Front president Thupstan Chhewang, among others. Thus it was with a sense of shock that I realized that my informant was drawing my attention to the fact that the impugned Madhu Kishwar, Editor, Manushi, was suddenly listed as one of the main speakers at the functions, sharing equal honours with the new BJP president! Now, the provincial Gadkari may or may not be familiar with Kishwar and her professional history, but the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation is an RSS think tank, and someone very powerful in the RSS or the BJP must have been behind her sudden elevation in a place where she has no business to be at all. RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Rao Bhagwat has more than once categorically stated the position of the RSS on Jammu & Kashmir, both in Jammu and in New Delhi. And if the public positions of the Sarsanghachalak can be upturned in such a daring fashion in the capital itself (powerful BJP leaders visit Jammu and say concessions ‘must be given’ to Muslims, without telling the Nation at large and Hindus in particular why), RSS needs to do a serious audit about the Hindutva commitment of its cadres and the BJP which seeks its advice and support. If a foundation dedicated to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who is widely believed to have been martyred for the cause of Jammu & Kashmir’s full and final integration into India, for one constitution and one flag (*ek nishan, ek pradhan*), can provide a platform for a fellow traveller of terrorists, secessionists, separatists and outright criminals, then what is the RSS’ stand? The issue is too critical to be brushed under the carpet and demands a clarification and an answer. *The author is* *convener, **Daughters of Vitasta* From sanjaykhak at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:10:58 2010 From: sanjaykhak at gmail.com (Sanjay Khak) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:10:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] To forget is to forgive Message-ID: To forget is to forgive Posted on January 24, 2010 *To forget would be to forgive* Kanchan Gupta Pioneer Twenty years ago this past week, Hindus were forced to flee Kashmir Valley, their ancestral land, by Islamic fanatics baying for their blood. Not a finger was raised by the state in admonition nor did ‘civil society’ feel outraged. In these 20 years, India has forgotten that outrage, a grotesque assault on our idea of nationhood. So much so, nobody even talks of the Kashmiri Pandits, driven out of their home and hearth, virtually stripped of their identity and reduced to living as refugees in their own country, any more. Our ‘secular’ media, obsessed as it is with pandering to the baser instincts of Muslim separatists, waxing eloquent about the many sorrows of India’s least of all minorities, arguing the case for rabid *mullahs* and demanding ‘greater autonomy’ for Jammu & Kashmir so that the Tricolour doesn’t fly there any more, has not thought it fit to take note of the 20th anniversary of the new age Exodus. Our politicians, who salivate for Muslim votes and are willing to go to any extent to appease ‘minority sentiments’ — including approving the automatic though absurd inclusion of Muslims in the list of BPL beneficiaries of the Indian state’s munificence in keeping with the Prime Minister’s ‘Muslims first’ policy — would rather pretend this particular event never happened. Our judiciary, which endlessly agonises over terrorists and their molls being killed in Gujarat, has not thought it fit to set up a Special Investigation Team to identify the guilty men of 1990 and bring them to justice. It would seem Hindu pride, Hindu dignity and Hindu lives are irrelevant in this wondrous land of ours. Tragically, Hindus have no sense of history: Those who have come of age in these 20 years, we can be sure, are ignorant of how the Kashmir Valley was cleansed of its Hindu population through a modern day genocide. To forget, it is often said, is to forgive. But should we forgive those who committed this monstrous act of criminal misdeed? Should we forget that the Government of India has disowned the Hindus of Kashmir Valley? Should we rationalise the remorseless attitude of the Government of Jammu & Kashmir towards the plight of Kashmiri Pandits? *** *Srinagar, January 4, 1990.* *Aftab*, a local Urdu newspaper, publishes a Press release issued by Hizb-ul Mujahideen, set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1989 to wage *jihad* for Jammu & Kashmir’s secession from India and accession to Pakistan, asking all Hindus to pack up and leave. Another local paper, *Al Safa*, repeats this expulsion order. In the following days, there is near chaos in the Kashmir Valley with Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference Government abdicating all responsibilities. Masked men run amok, waving Kalashnikovs, shooting to kill and shouting anti-India slogans. Reports of killing of Kashmiri Pandits begin to trickle in; there are explosions; inflammatory speeches are made from the pulpits of mosques, using public address systems meant for calling the faithful to prayers. A terrifying fear psychosis begins to take grip of Kashmiri Pandits. Walls are plastered with posters and handbills, summarily ordering all Kashmiris to strictly follow the Islamic dress code, prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks and imposing a ban on video parlours and cinemas. The masked men with Kalashnikovs force people to re-set their watches and clocks to Pakistan Standard Time. Shops, business establishments and homes of Kashmiri Pandits, the original inhabitants of the Kashmir Valley with a recorded cultural and civilisational history dating back 5,000 years, are marked out. Notices are pasted on doors of Pandit houses, peremptorily asking the occupants to leave Kashmir within 24 hours or face death and worse. Some are more lucid: “*Be one with us, run, or die!*” * * * *Srinagar, January 19, 1990.* Mr Jagmohan arrives to take charge as Governor. Mr Farooq Abdullah, whose Government has all but ceased to exist, resigns and goes into a sulk. Curfew is imposed as a first measure to restore some semblance of law and order. But it fails to have a deterrent effect. Throughout the day, Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front and Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists use public address systems at mosques to exhort people to defy curfew and take to the streets. Masked men, firing from their Kalashnikovs, march up and down, terrorising cowering Pandits who, by then, have locked themselves in their homes. As evening falls, the exhortations become louder and shriller. Three taped slogans are repeatedly played the whole night from mosques: ‘*Kashmir mei agar rehna hai, Allah-o-Akbar kehna hai*’ (If you want to stay in Kashmir, you have to say Allah-o-Akbar); ‘*Yahan kya chalega, Nizam-e-Mustafa*’ (What do we want here? Rule of Sharia’h); ‘*Asi gachchi Pakistan, Batao roas te Batanev san*’ (We want Pakistan along with Hindu women but without their men). The Pandits have reason to be fearful. In the preceding months, 300 Hindu men and women, nearly all of them Kashmiri Pandits, had been slaughtered ever since the brutal murder of noted lawyer Pandit Tika Lal Taploo by the JKLF in Srinagar on September 14, 1989. Soon after that, Justice NK Ganju of the Srinagar High Court was shot dead. Pandit Sarwanand Premi, 80-year-old poet, and his son were kidnapped, tortured, their eyes gouged out, and hanged to death. A Kashmiri Pandit nurse working at the Soura Medical College Hospital in Srinagar was gang-raped and then beaten to death. Another woman was abducted, raped and sliced into pieces at a saw mill. In villages and towns across the valley, terrorist hit lists have been floating about. All the names are of Pandits. With no Government worth its name, the administration having collapsed, the police nowhere to be seen, despondency sets in. As the night of January 19, 1990, wears itself out, despondency gives way to desperation. And tens of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits across the valley take a painful decision: To flee their homeland to save their lives. Thus takes place a 20th century Exodus. * * * After the Holocaust, Jews reflected on their persecution and resolved, ‘Never again.’ Yad Vashem is not only a moving memorial to the atrocities committed against Jews, it is also an archive that documents specific details, including names, addresses and photographs, so that future generations neither forget nor forgive their tormentors. Twenty years after the persecution of Hindus began in Kashmir Valley, we don’t even know how many men, women and children were stripped of their rights; how many were raped, slaughtered and maimed; their names; and, what happened to those who survived. Barring those living in refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi, in the hope that some day they will be able to return to Kashmir Valley with their dignity and safety assured. Deep within they know, and the rest of us know, that is never going to happen. And thereby hangs a tragic tale of callous Hindu indifference. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:12:18 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:12:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Dal Khalsa hails Kashmiri youth Message-ID: Dal Khalsa hails Kashmiri youth Lauds Geelani’s Leadership; Seeks UN Probe In Killings http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Aug/4/dal-khalsa-hails-kashmiri-youth-25.asp Amritsar, Aug 3: The Dal Khalsa has hailed the spirit and steadfastness of Kashmiri youth who, according to it were sacrificing lives while facing the state repression in the valley since last two months. The party head Harcharnjit Singh, general secretary Dr Manjinder Singh and spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh in a e-mailed statement said they were moved by the sufferings of the Kashmiris who were striving for freedom. “By facing the bullets and batons of armed forces with brave hearts, the Kashmiris have shown to the world that they prefer death to slavery”. They urged the Sikh community in Kashmir to donate blood to injured Kashmiris as a mark of solidarity with them. They also lauded the role of Hurriyat (G) chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani for displaying leadership qualities and skills in this hour of crisis. “As India has failed to protect the human rights in Kashmir, it was time for the United Nations to get involved,” the leaders demanded. They asked the UN secretary general to designate a high level delegation to conduct independent investigations into the killings of scores of youths, mostly teenagers who were killed by police and CRPF since June 11. Accusing the government of India for using excessive force in Kashmir, they said forces were firing indiscriminately on Kashmiri protestors and beating them to silence their voices. “New Delhi has flooded the valley with troops that were torturing protestors to death during detention”. Criticizing the detention of Hurriyat leaders including Shabir Shah, JKLF chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, High Court Bar Association chief, Mian Qayoom booked under Public Safety Act, they asked for their early release along with other protestors. Lastupdate on : Tue, 3 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time From sanjaykhak at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:15:50 2010 From: sanjaykhak at gmail.com (Sanjay Khak) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:15:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "Kashmir Romantics" are a serious threat to India - M.D. Nalapat Message-ID: *India should stop subsidising the ISI’s agents in Kashmir "Kashmir Romantics" are a serious threat to India* *By MD Nalapat* As Dr Rajendra Prasad was not born in Anand Bhavan, his writings have not received the attention of the state, whereas they ought to have been required reading for every high-school student. An example is India Divided, in which the first President of the Republic of India describes how the Muslim League led by MA Jinnah would immediately move on to another demand, as soon as the other one was satiated. The true father of Pakistan was not Jinnah but Winston Churchill, who worked tirelessly to divide Hindus from Muslims, and to truncate India into as much of a rump as could be managed at the time. The ISI would be emboldened to further push ahead with its efforts at seeking to once again (as during the period 1927-47) separate Muslims from the rest of the country. Already, there are multiple (and well-funded) voices within this vibrant community that are calling on it to dress separately, live separately, study separately and think separately from other communities. A victory in Kashmir for the separatists would embolden them across the entire country, thereby provoking a backlash within the Hindu, Sikh and Christian communities, all of whom are content to be part of multireligious India. *UNLIKE the Peoples Republic of China, which incorporated Xinjiang and Tibet into itself soon after driving the KMT from the mainland in 1949, India's leaders of that period allowed (and in some cases participated) in the division of the subcontinent into Myanmar, Sri Lanka,Nepal, Bhutan,the Maldives and Pakistan. Much of the reason lies in the fact that most were in their 60s and 70s, and wanted to enjoy the fruiys of office before they passed on. After having sworn that Pakistan would be formed "over my dead body", Mahatma Gandhi subsequently not only agreed to the further breakup of India, but demanded that a large sum of money to be transferred to Karachi even while Indian troops were being killed by their Pakistani counterparts in Kashmir. * The transfer of cash to Pakistan in 1948 is perhaps the only example of a country ensuring that its enemy be given the financial sinews needed to wage war against itself. Small wonder that from then onwards,the establishment in Pakistan has been convinced that the generosity of spirit of the Indian political elite in matters of national interest would enable it to expand its winnings in a costless way,especially after the 1972 Shimla Agreement showed that it was easy for Pakistan to retrieve from the conference room what its troops had lost on the battlefield As Dr Rajendra Prasad was not born in Anand Bhavan, his writings have not received the attention of the state, whereas they ought to have been required reading for every high-school student. An example is "India Divided", in which the first President of the Republic of India describes how the Muslim League led by M A Jinnah would immediately move on to another demand, as soon as the other one was satiated. The true father of Pakistan was not Jinnah but Winston Churchill,who worked tirelessly to divide Hindus from Muslims, and to truncate India into as much of a rump as could be managed at the time. Jinnah and Churchill carried on a clandestine correspondence with each other, and much of the former’s tactics was dictated by the latter. The Congress policy effectively siding with Japan during its 1940-45 war against the British ensured the silencing of those voices in Britain that opposed Churchill's race-driven determination to keep India subjugated. Having studied the lessons of the 1857 revolt, after which the heaviest punishment fell on the Muslim community, Junnah was determined to never again get on the wrong side of London. He therefore took advantage of the serial blunders committed by the Congress Party, such as the withdrawal from provincial ministries in 1939 and the Axis-leaning "neutrality" that the party adopted when the 1939-45 war broke out, thereby alienating friends in the UK who wanted to see a united India succeed the Raj. Since 1947, a country such as China that was half the size of India in economic terms developed its economy into three times India's size by the 1990s,while (then) impoverished countries such as (South) Korea grew to a stage where their per capura incomes became fifty times that of India. Despite all this, the sarkari historians whose texts are the only ones allowed to be imbibed by our young tell us that the leaders of our country were intellectual and moral giants. While Mahatma Gandhi has been largely forgotten in favour of his protege Jawaharlal Nehru, the many intellectuals hovering around 10 Janpath write tome after tome about how Motilal Nehru’s only son "brought democracy to India". Really? It was Jawaharlal Nehru who retained almost all the British-era laws in "free" India. Let it not be forgotten that these laws were not laws passed by the British for themselves, but to control a slave population. British laws for indian subjects were very different from British laws for the citizens of the UK, yet it is the former that continues to form the basis of the Indian judicial system,a set of constructs that grants almost unlimited powers to the state. Which is, of course, the reason why no government since 1947 has changed the legal system into a genuinely democratic one, that transfers rights to citizens and obligations to the state. Again, it was Jawaharlal Nehru (the creator of India, in the superb prose of Sunil Khilnani and Shashi Tharoor) who set up the Permit License Raj, which almost destroyed honest enterprise in India. He (on the advice of Nicholas Kaldor) created a tex structure that speedily reduced any honest assessee to penury, thereby creating the Black Money Mountain that has overhung the economy ever since. And it was Nehru who established a state monopoly in broadcasting, as well as in numerous other sectors of the economy. These days, through measures such as the proposed laws designed to ensure a uniform (and lowest common multiple) curriculam for all the country's schools, and by investing the Income-tax Department with powers that it had only during the time of the East India Company, the Sonia Gandhi-led UPA is showing its fealty to Jawaharlal Nehru. A leader who distrusted his own people,who turned to outsiders for advice, and who put in place a regime that severely restricted the freedoms enjoyed by the common citizen. Even to set up a small shop, it was needed to get multiple licenses and permissions, as also to build a house. About the only action in Nehru’s "democratic" India that did not need permission from some agency of the state was to go to the morning toilet. Citizens were generously allowed this privilege anywhere they wished. The culmination of Nehruvian "democracy" can be seen in the party system in India, the core of any genuinely free society. Almost every political party in India, bar the Communist parties, is controlled by either a family or a self-perpetuatinge clique of individuals. The voter is therefore given the choice of choosing between the servant of Family X or Family Y, or between the hangers-on of Clique Z or Family B. Those with some spine, those who refuse to act as the domestic staff of either a particular family or a clique, have zero chance of political advancement. The absence of inner-party democracy has reduced freedom of electoral choice to a travesty in India, but this will not stop those hungry for an invitation from Number Ten and the several advantages that brings to pen yet more articles on how Nehru and his family "brought democracy to the heathens of India". As almost all of them are based abroad, they are happy that -for example -financial institutions there continue to hold more than $1.3 trillion of illegal bank deposits from Indian citizens. Had Sonia Gandhi permitted the UPA to bring an amnesty scheme (on the lines of that done recently by Italy, a country that she is familiar with), more than $ 400 billion would have come into the country in the shape of 5-year Build India Bonds. This money would have given the means to raise the country’s infrastructure to international standards, especially if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is given the freedom to utilise such funds in an honest and effective way, without constant interference from the likes of those who seek to profit from each decision of the state, another legacy of the peerless "Jawaha" (the term used by Edwina Mountbatten to describe her close friend). Corruption can weaken India,but Kashmir can break India up into multiple pieces. Should the ISI succeed in its game plan of creating a Talibanised enclave within the state, the effect on societal relations in the rest of India would be catastrophic. The ISI would be emboldened to further push ahead with its efforts at seeking to once again (as during the period 1927-47) separate Muslims from the rest of the country. Already, there are multiple (and well-funded) voices within this vibrant community that are calling on it to dress separately, live separately, study separately and think separately from other communities. A victory in Kashmir for the separatists would embolden them across the entire country,thereby provoking a backlash within the Hindu,Sikh and Christian communities,all of whom are content to be part of multireligious India. Once Union Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram moved to exclude Kashmir from the Unique Identification Scheme of the Government of India, he sent a clear signal that the Home Ministry did not regard Kashmiris as Indians. This misstep, followed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's pandering to the separatists and kicking at those who have fought them all these years, gave the oxygen needed for the separatists to ramp up their movement. Governor NN Vohra is known to be a follower of the Wajahat Habibullah school of thought, which sees no harm in allowing Kashmir to "go its own way". Unlike his father, who was as devoted to India as Lala Lajpat Rai, the younger Habibullah has ingested a lot of sophisticated concepts from his frequent stints abroad, all of which have fused in the apparent belief that a Muslim-majority state can throw secularism out of the window. Today in Kashmir, those who are not Wahabbi are discriminated against, even if they be Shia or Sufi. Only the fanatics get attention and largesse,including from the state. Indeed, the more trouble they create, the more the cash that they get from a panicky Centre. *It is time for the romance between State and Separatists to end. The Kashmir virus is in danger of spreading across the whole country, unless it be dealt with firmly. The more concessions that are given, the quicker will be its descent into chaos. What is needed is to show that those destroying the tenor of life in the state will have to pay the financial price for doing so. The rest of India should not any more subsidise the ISI’s agents in Kashmir.* *(The writer is former editor of Matrubhumi and Times of India)* From sanjaykhak at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:20:06 2010 From: sanjaykhak at gmail.com (Sanjay Khak) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:20:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Sikhs resolve to fight communalism in Kashmir Message-ID: Sikhs resolve to fight communalism in Kashmir Thu, Aug 19 07:44 PM Srinagar, Aug 19 (PTI) Sikh community members today resolved to defeat "evil designs" of anti-social elements, who allegedly sent letters asking them to either join protests or leave the Valley, to disrupt communal harmony in the region. "Sikhs met today under the banner of All Party Sikh Coordination Committee, reviewed the situation arising out of unsigned letters put up at various places in the Valley and decided to defeat the evil designs of some anti-social elements bent upon to create wedge between Muslims and Sikhs", Coordinator of the Committee, Jagmohan Singh Raina said. Among those who attended the meeting were Ajeet Singh Mastana, President Akali Dal (Badal), Bikram Singh, Regional Head of Akali Dal (Maan), Harjeet Singh President Sikh Student Federation (Mehta). From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:21:27 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:21:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Dal Khalsa joins protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to highlight plight of Kashmiri people Message-ID: Dal Khalsa joins protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to highlight plight of Kashmiri people Punjab Newsline Network Sunday, 08 August 2010 http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/dal-khalsa-joins-protest-jantar-mantar-delhi-highlight-plight-kashmiri-people/22618 CHANDIGARH: To highlight the dismal plight of Kashmiris and protest against the unabated killings across the valley since June 11, the Dal Khalsa participated in a sit-in organized by Kashmiris of Delhi at Jantar Mantar this evening. Informing the media persons on phone, Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh said it’s the spirited protest in which hundreds of Kashmiris including students, professionals and businessmen assembled at Jantar Mantar carrying placards reading “stop crimes against humanity and UN to break its stoic silence on Kashmir”. Photographs of human rights violations were put on display in large numbers. They also kept blood drenched school bags to make the denizens of Delhi aware about the school children being killed by trigger happy policemen and troopers. Hailing the spirit and steadfastness of Kashmiri youth who were sacrificing their lives while facing the state repression in the valley since last 2 months, the Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh they were moved by the sufferings of the Kashmiri people that were striving for their rights and freedom. “By facing the bullets and batons of security forces with brave hearts, the Kashmiris have shown to the world that they prefer death to slavery". Angry young Kashmiri protesters mostly studying in various educational institutions raised the most popular slogan in the Valley “Hum Kya Chathe Azadi (We want freedom),” in the heart of New Delhi. They sang songs and poems to pay respect to those who have been killed. Both boys and girls in an emotive chord lambasted the Indian civil society for keeping “mum” on the killings of Kashmiris. A girl speaker castigated the advice of Home Minister to Kashmiri parents for keeping their wards inside the houses. She reminded P Chidambaram that security forces in the valley had picked up large number of youth from their houses in the past and killed them in fake-encounters. Accusing the Indian government for using excessive force in Kashmir, the organizer of the event Prof S A R Geelani said security forces were firing indiscriminately on Kashmiri protestors and beating them to silence their voices. Satnam Singh another Dal Khalsa leader was more vocal. While addressing the gathering he praised the leadership of Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani and echoed his call to keep the on-going protests peaceful and non-violent. Dr Manjinder Singh expressed solidarity with the people of Kashmir and with the families of victims of state repression. Members of Democratic Students Union, All India students Association, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, Peoples Union For Democratic Rights, Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights and Resistance Media also participated in the sit-in. The tempers ran high when a handful of Kashmiri Pandits arrived at venue and started condemning the pro-freedom leaders. Although police force present there in large numbers prevented them in coming close to the venue, the organizers requested them to join the sit-in to protest the innocent killings. Prof Geelani said “you are also our brothers, come on the stage and not fall in the trap of agencies who intend to divide us”. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:22:13 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:22:13 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Sajjan Kumar visited our locality prior to 84 riots: Victim Message-ID: Sajjan Kumar visited our locality prior to 84 riots: Victim Press Trust Of India New Delhi, August 10, 2010First Published: 23:20 IST(10/8/2010) Last Updated: 23:20 IST(10/8/2010) http://www.hindustantimes.com/Sajjan-Kumar-visited-our-locality-prior-to-84-riots-Victim/Article1-584878.aspx A woman, who lost five of her family members in 1984 anti-Sikh riots, today told a court here conducting trial against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar that he had visited her locality, including her house, prior to the incident involving killings of her husband and son. "I had stated in my statement before CBI that Sajjan had visited the locality a few days prior to the occurrence in connection with the development work and had paid a visit to the houses of the individuals including my house," Jagdish Kaur told Additional Sessions Judge Sunita Gupta. Kaur was confronted by Kumar's counsel I U Khan with her previous statement where this point was not recorded. She was making her statement during her cross examination for the 15th day in a row. However, it was pointed out that her statement before G T Nanavati Commission stated -- "I can identify the leader of the mob Sajjan Kumar, MP, because a few days back he visited our mohallah regarding sewage water problem." Kaur, in her statement, denied she had been tutored by CBI or Kumar's opponents to make statement against the politician. The witness also related how she was turned away by the Delhi police when she approached them for lodging of a complaint after the incident. "So many Sikhs are being killed, whom should we listen to? Whatever action we would take, it would be taken collectively, police had told me," Kaur claimed. The cross-examination of the witness remained inconclusive and is likely to conclude on August 12. Kaur had on July 3 identified Kumar and his nephew Khokkar, and other accused Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal as accomplices who had allegedly instigated mobs during the 1984 carnage. Kaur's family members, including her husband Kehar Singh, were killed in the riots that followed the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. CBI had filed two chargesheets against Kumar and others on January 13 in the riots cases registered in 2005 on the recommendation of the Nanavati Commission. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:26:42 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:26:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Some powers didn't want Chattisinghpora investigated' Message-ID: >From "JUSTICE FOR CHITTISINGHPORA MASSACRE" http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=126469580715039#!/group.php?gid=126469580715039&v=info ---------------------------- ‘SOME INDIAN AGENCY DID IT’ Sikh Human Right Activists report on Chittisinghpura Report of panel of Justice (Retd; from High Court) Ajit Singh Bains- PHRO, Sardar Inderjit Singh Jaijee- MASR, Lt. General (Retd.) Kartar Singh Gill is available at :- http://www.punjabmonitor.com/home/Binder1.pdf http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kartarpur/message/4655 'Some powers didn't want Chattisinghpora investigated'- Farooq Abdullah We have been casting doubts that the killing of 35 innocent Sikhs of Chittisinghpora, Anantnag, J & K was the handiwork of Indian agents. We have been saying so on the basis of reports of human right activists, newspaper reports and filing of criminal case on 5 Indian officers with a related crime. The Indian Govt on the other hand was expecting from us Sikhs to digest its story that it was the work of terrorists from across the border i.e from Pakistan. Day in and day out we are receiving signals making it amply clear that massacre was work of Delhi's conspiracy. But now a very important thing has happened the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mr. Farooq Abdullah has confessed that some powers didn't want Chittisingpora to be investigated. It is a clear signal that it was the work of Indian forces. I request my Sikh brothers overseas to highlight this massacre on the international fora so that the case is investigated and culprits brought to book. I have no hope from the chamcha Congressite leaders of Punjab. Here is the news from two different sources. I have also appended below the other clipping so that background of the case becomes clear. B.S.Goraya Amritsar + 'Some powers didn't want Chattisinghpora investigated'- Farooq Abdullah Ishfaq-ul-Hassan Monday, November 23, 2009 3:28 IST http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_some-powers-didn-t-want-chattisinghpora-inv\ estigated_1315175 Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah claimed on Sunday that some powers did not want the massacre of 34 Sikhs in Chattisinghpora in 2000 to be investigated. "I wanted the judge probing the fake encounter in Brakpora to look into the Chattisinghpora massacre too, but some powers did not want to do it. Now that the central government is headed by a Sikh, the Sikhs of J&K should mount pressure and get the case reinvestigated by a retired supreme court judge," Farooq, who was the chief minister of J&K from 1996-2002, said at a function here. Unidentified gunmen descended on Chattisinghpora on March 20, 2000, and killed 34 Sikhs. Five days later, security forces branded the five men as militants and killed them in Pathribal. Abdullah ordered the exhumation of those killed in Pathribal and their DNA samples were sent to Hyderabad. It emerged that the samples had been fudged. "They were held responsible for killing Sikhs. Thanks to Allah, they were proved innocent." he said. The minister said he is writing a book which will have a chapter on this incident, "This should be opened after my death." http://www.risingka/ shmir.com/ index.php? option=com_ content&task= view&id=18601& Itemid=1 Chittisinghpora massacre NC seeks fresh probe Rising Kashmir News Srinagar, Nov 22: Alleging that the vested interests sabotaged earlier investigations, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Sunday urged the Sikh Community to build pressure on New Delhi to re-investigate the Chattisinghpora massacre by a retired Supreme Court judge. "Chattisinghpora incident is still fresh in my mind. I still remember the day when I was having lunch with former US President Bill Clinton when this unfortunate incident took place," Farooq said at a function organised by Khalsa Democratic Front at SKICC on Sunday. He said, "Clinton told me to have food, I denied. I told him that I can't eat as my heart was crying in pain over the killing of 35 innocent Sikhs." Stating that Clinton has truly written in his book that had he not visited India Chattisinghpora massacre would not have taken place, the NC president said, "I have some reservations about Chattisinghpora incident and I will make these public through my book. The book will be released after my death so that nobody will question me". He urged the Sikh community to build pressure on New Delhi for fresh probe into the Chattisinghpora massacre. "You have a very honest Prime Minister, who belongs to your community. Persuade him to appoint a retired judge of Supreme Court to re-investigating the case so that truth is revealed," he said. Farooq said Justice Anand was carrying out the investigations into the incident but vested interests sabotaged the entire process. "I tried a lot to get the massacre investigated by a retired SC judge but couldn't as vested interests scuttled the move," he said. He said it was unfortunate that five innocent persons were picked up in connection with the Chatisinghpora incident. "Thank God, they were proved innocent," he said. Urging the Sikh community living in the State not to feel isolated, he said, "Sikhs have offered sacrifices right from 1947. I know what happened to Sikhs in 1984. It is my firm belief that if Punjab will face untoward situation, repercussions will be witnessed in Kashmir. The fate of Punjab and Kashmir is interlinked and I have maintained it on various occasions." Farooq urged the Sikh community not to shy away from raising their issues. "You are part and parcel of Kashmir. You should select the people who could talk about the issues you are facing. During my tenure, I tried my best to give representation to the community in Service Selection Board, Public Service Commission and many other departments. " Earlier, acting chairman of Legislative Council Arvinder Singh termed Chattishingpora incident as a 'big wound' in the hearts of Sikhs. He criticised Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) President Simran Jeet Singh Man for blaming troopers for the Chattisinghpora incident. "It is a senseless statement. We have nothing to do with Punjab politics. We are living in a democratic set up and don't need advices from the leaders coming from Punjab," he said. Jagpal S Tiwana Dartmouth, Canada +++ Probe Purohits links with Sikh massacre of Chittisinghpora Kashmir I am sorry my this mail will show the otherwise brave Indian army in poor light. This relates to killing of 35 Sikhs when the killers came in uniform. Now since Col. Purohit has been identified having links with terrorists we feel it is high time that massacre of 35 innocent Sikhs be also probed. The way L.K.Advani has come to the rescue of these terrorists, we suspect the same large group or what they call regiment might be there indulging into such activities. Incidentally when on March 20, 2000 Sikhs were massacred this same Advani went to Kashmir to congratulate the army officers on the spot. It is high time that India do some probing in this kind of massacre of minorities or else it will loose its credibility of being a largest democracy of world where the rights of minorities are also protected. ---- US president Bill Clington was to visit to India on March 24, but on March 20, 35 Kashmiri Sikhs were massacred by men in uniform. Clington and the US media had then blamed Hindu militants for the massacre. Indian media had blamed foreign mercenaries acting on behalf of Pakistan. Four days later the army killed five persons and branded them as the Pakistani mercenaries responsible for massacre of Sikhs. As there were persistent agitations against killing of those 5 Kashmiris the Govt had to order enquiry into this and the bodies of the 5 Kashmiris were exhumed from graves and they were identified the real civilians at the much discomfort to army. The J&K Govt got it enquired from a commission of enquiry. As a result of which five army officers were identified and CBI charge sheeted them. The then CM of J&K Mr. Farooque Abdulla was ready, as he has stated, to get this Sikh massacre also enquired into by a court of enquiry but was prevented by the Delhi leaders. Things became clear who was responsible for the massacre after the accused officers have openly confessed that they did it on orders from seniors. It is more than 2 years now that the army officers were booked by the CBI but unfortunately no Sikh politician has raised his voice on the massacre of 35 Sikhs of Anant Nag district. The Govt has not bothered to look into this massacre. What does it mean? Are the rights of microscopic minorities like the Sikhs are safe in India???? + I have given the necessary links to the concerned incidence as under. Please go through them carefully. Those who can read Punjabi can find background material at: www.punjabmonitor.com/XXI/Chitti.htm B.S.Goraya Amritsar + http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20081121/main4.htm Pragya ‘torture’ BJP charges being looked into, PM tells Advani Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 20 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s efforts to smoothen the ruffled feathers of the Sangh parivar in general and Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani in particular, over the investigations into the Malegaon blasts and interrogation of Pragya Singh Thakur seem to have had no serious impact. Advani had issued a strong statement from Raipur on Tuesday in defence of Pragya, referring to her allegations of “barbaric torture†against the Mahrashtra ATS. He had demanded scrapping the ATS team and turning the investigations into a judicial probe instead. ..................... ********** ATS links Lt Col Purohit with Samjhauta blasts http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ats-links-lt-col-purohit-with-samjhauta-blasts/78233-\ 3.html CNN-IBN TimePublished on Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 17:37, Updated on Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 18:04 in Nation section Malegaon Blasts, Samjhauta Express Blasts , New Delhi LINK GETS STRONGER: Malegaon bomb blast case prime accused Lt Col P S Purhot being taken to court. New Delhi: Prime accused in Malegaon bomb blast case Lt Col P S Purohit was also directly involved with 2007’s twin Samjhauta Express blasts that killed 68 people and injured 50, Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police told a Nashik Court on Saturday. ATS alleged Purohit handed Army RDX from a consignment entrusted to him to one 'Bhagwan', who used it to carry out the Samjhauta Express blasts. T....................... ++ M.S.Gill Member Parliament and former Chief Election Commissioner has taken up the cause of Chittisingpora Sikhs. He has written to the concerned authorities on this.. Please read the news: http://www.ajitjalandhar.com/20070318/general.php ++ Chittisinghpora â€" Pathribal Massacre : "We were not alone"- accused Brigardier "Jis ka koi nahi us ka khuda hai yaro" On March 20, 2000, innocent Sikhs numbering 35 were killed in Anantnag Distt. of Kashmir. People including human right groups had strong suspicions that it was the kartoot of Indian agencies. It was done in view of US president Bill Clington's visit to Indian Sub-continent. The Sikhs were used as dummy because the politicians knew that there is hardly any statesman who can raise the cry here and internationally. Because the Akali leaders like Parkash Singh Badal were manageable. More over they knew Badal was their ally of the ruling alliance Delhi and his son was a minister. They knew the Congress's Sikh leaders have no guts because their own party had massacred about 3000 Sikhs in 1984. Obviously no one bothered to enquire into the massacre. But God has his own ways to reveal the truth. The killers of Chittisingpora subsequently killed 5 innocent Kashmiri Muslims and claimed that they have liquidated the foreign militants responsible for Chittisinghpora massacre. What the army branded as mercenaries were innocent Kashmiris of the nearby villages. There was a mass protest and the graves had to exhumed and it was finally determined that the people were local innocents. Under tremendous pressure the Govt had to order CBI enquiry which has now booked 5 army officers including a Brigadier. But in the present story Brigadier claims that army alone is not responsible for the misdeed. Here is a story that appeared in Indian Express few days ago but slipped the eye this writer. Kartarpur Kooker B.S.Goraya Amritsar ++ Blame J-K cops, not just us for Pathribal: Brigadier to DGMO RITU SARIN Posted online: Monday, May 15, 2006 at 0000 hrs http://indianexpress.com/story/4462.html# Fake encounter: Joint Op was on Anantnag SSP’s information: Brig Saxena; Army plans to appeal against trial, suggest court martial Digging up the Pathribal truth Related Stories Records show J-K police had big role in 2000 fake encounter For own survival, J-K govt hushed up sex scandal two years agoBar Association plea gets PIL treatment Prostitution legal in J&K, govt plans to scrap old law J-K sex racket: BSF begins internal probe NEW DELHI, MAY 14: With the CBI filing chargesheets against five Army officers in the fake Pathribal encounter and the case listed for hearing on May 24 in a Srinagar court, Army Headquarters plans to ask the court to let them hold a court martial instead of subjecting the officers to a trial after a CBI probe. The Indian Express has learnt that Brigadier Ajay Saxena, the seniormost officer named as an accused by the CBI, has written a letter to Lt General Madan Gopal, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), pointing out how five Army personnel (four officers and a JCO) have been singled out for “harassment, ignominy, humiliation, agony and financial strain†over an operation conducted jointly by the Army and J&K Police. Brig Saxena has said that the operation was ordered by a senior Army officer (Sector Commander) of the Rashtriya Rifles on the basis of information provided by the SSP of Anantnag. Brig Saxena’s wife, Sushma Saxena, has also written to the Army chief’s wife Anupama Singh who’s the president of the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA). Saying she was expressing the views of wives of all five officers who have been indicted by the CBI, Sushma Saxena wrote: “If our husbands are prosecuted in this case, then every husband who is fighting in the Valley in the future is also liable to face such action... all our husbands have done is obey orders and carry out operations based on information provided by a Senior Commander and the police.†The circumstances of the Pathribal encounter have now been outlined by the indicted officers for the Army top brass. The DGMO is understood to have been told that: • The Pathribal encounter took place in an area notified as a Disturbed Area under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1990 and that protection should be provided to the five officers named as “accused†by the CBI. • That two of the five persons killed in the operation were on the list of active overground workers maintained by the Rashtriya Rifles and that the CBI probe revealed that a third among the dead also had terrorist links. • That during the relevant period (command of Brig Saxena), the 7 RR unit received over 50 awards, including a dozen Sena medals. In two years, the unit eliminated 78 militants. • That the CBI chargesheet had serious operational ramifications for future Kashmir operations since it would create distrust in the rank and file about verbal orders and posed a threat to the lone Kashmiri accused whose intelligence inputs had led to the elimination of 40 terrorists. Though the CBI’s legal panel rules that the agency does not require sanction for prosecuting Army officers because killing of innocent persons in a fake encounter cannot be taken as discharge of “official dutyâ€, the Army is gearing to challenge that view in the Srinagar court. The Army’s counter is that the Pathribal encounter was a joint Police-Army operation, carried out on intelligence provided by the J&K police and that trial would jeopardise further joint counter-insurgency operations. ritu.sarin at expressindia.com --------------------- Records show J-K police had big role in 2000 fake encounter Express News Service Posted online: Monday, May 15, 2006 at 0000 hrs http://indianexpress.com/story/4463.html NEW DELHI, MAY 14: While the CBI has chargesheeted five Army officers, including a Brigadier, for the killing of five civilians in a fake encounter in Pathribal six years ago, the fact remains that the J-K police too played a major role in the encounter. This is what The Indian Express found out: Blame J-K cops, not just us for Pathribal: Brigadier to DGMO For own survival, J-K govt hushed up sex scandal two years agoBar Association plea gets PIL treatment Prostitution legal in J&K, govt plans to scrap old law J-K sex racket: BSF begins internal probe • The FIR filed by the 7 Rashtriya Rifles described the fake encounter as a “joint operation†with J-K Police • Daily diary reports of Sherbagh police post clearly indicates that on the orders of the then Anantnag SSP, Farooq Khan, a SoG (Special Operations Group) party was sent for a “secret operationâ€. In fact, ASI Bashir Ahmad wrote about the “secret mission†in his departure report • Tajinder Singh, then DySP (SOG) Anantnag, and Col Ajay Saxena explained the “joint RR-police operation†with the help of an extensive site map to then Union Home Minister L K Advani, giving graphic details about the killing of five Pak-based Lashkar terrorists who were behind the massacre of Sikhs in Chittisinghpora • Advani congratulated the police and Army for the operation and even had a group picture taken with the police and Army officers. Cash awards were also announced for the officers • Kashmi Zonal Police headquarters issued a press statement, claiming that five Lashkar terrorists responsible for the Chittisinghpora massacre had been eliminated in a joint RR-Police operation. The then Union Home Secretary Kamal Pandey gave a similar statement at a press conference in New Delhi • Mohammad Yaqoob Wagay alias Chatti Guru, a local milkman, was picked up a few days after the March 20, 2000 Chittisinghpora massacre by the police for allegedly “guiding†the killers to the village. Union Home Secretary Kamal Pandey announced his arrest in New Delhi and the police and RR claimed that based on Wagay’s “leadsâ€, they had killed five Lashkar terrorists • Nine months later, Anantnag Police admitted that the police had no corroborative evidence to chargesheet Wagay and that they have reduced the charge from multiple murder to “trying to breach peace (CrPC 107/151)†• Once the CBI established that the five killed in the joint police-RR operation were actually civilians, the question is: who picked up the civilians? The J&K Police itself established that a Maruti van was used to ferry one of the victims, Zahoor Ahmad Dal, from Anantnag. This van was a seized vehicle, in the custody of the police. Anantnag SSP during encounter gets clean chit, new posting NEW DELHI: After remaining under suspension for three years in connection with the Pathribal killings, Farooq Khan was posted last week to Rajouri as SSP. An IPS officer of the 1994 batch, Khan received a clean chit from CBI last year but the Mufti Sayeed government refused to to reinstate him. â€"PTI B.S.Goraya (From Amritsar) Editor www.punjabmonitor.com www.kartarpur.com www.groups.yahoo.com/group/kartarpur/ From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:26:31 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:26:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Ten years ago... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: From: The New York Times A Kashmiri Mystery By Barry Bearak Published: December 31, 2000 When Bill Clinton went to India in March, it was the first visit by an American president in 22 years. Among the careful preparations for the historic occasion were a painstaking cleanup around the Taj Mahal, a reconnoitering for wild tigers he might glimpse on a V.I.P. safari and the murder of 35 Sikh villagers in a place called Chittisinghpora. This massacre, occurring on the evening of March 20, preceded Clinton's arrival by only a few hours. It was a monstrous way to transmit a message, whatever that message was, and the scale of the killing was large even amid the exceptional sorrows of the Kashmir Valley. The slaughter was also remarkable in that the victims were Sikhs, a religious minority never before targeted during a bloody decade infused with grief. In the aftermath, the valley's 60,000 Sikhs faced the possibility that they were now someone's strategic quarry and that a mass migration might be a sensible reaction to the danger. The killers came to the village at about 7:20 p.m. They shunned the openness of the steep and twisting mountain road and hiked instead through the nearby apple orchards and rice fields. There were perhaps a dozen of them, perhaps twice that. They were dressed in what appeared to be the regulation issue of the Indian Army. Darkness had fallen across the hamlet, where 200 families, almost all Sikhs, eked out a living in a spot of rugged Himalayan beauty. Their ancestors had been rooted in this same windswept place -- often in the very same dwellings -- for generations. Chittisinghpora (pronounced chitty-SING-pora) is a palette of greens and browns and yellows. A creek runs through it like a lifeline across the palm of a hand. Walnut and pine trees provide canopies of shade above deeply sloping footpaths. The houses are mostly made of mud bricks and weathered timber, many of them with A-frame roofs and open lofts stuffed with hay. That evening, the electricity was out, a frequent problem, and many villagers had lit candles and were listening to news of the presidential visit on transistor radios. The homes are spread out. There are no phones. Most people were unaware of the armed strangers standing at opposite sides of the village, near its two temples, known as gurudwaras, or God's portals. The intruders gathered up men who were returning from evening prayers and collected several more from nearby stores and houses. They worked hurriedly. Some had their faces covered with black cloth, the patka often worn by soldiers on search operations. Two Sikhs -- out of curiosity or helpfulness -- approached the commotion with lanterns and were taken off with the rest for their trouble. In all, 37 men were rounded up. Panic had yet to set in, for the rousting of civilians was nothing unusual. Chittisinghpora lies in an area rife with the militants who are fighting a hit-and-run war against India. Some of these guerrillas are Kashmiris whose purpose is a separatist insurrection; the rest are Pakistanis and other foreigners waging a jihad to wrench the largely Muslim territory from a largely Hindu country. Occasionally, the militants impose on a village for food and sanctuary, and house-to-house searches by the Indian soldiers in pursuit are not uncommon. Indeed, the arriving strangers told the Sikhs they were on the trail of three guerrillas. But while the story was believable, Karamjeet Singh, a high-school teacher and one of the 37, thought something was suspiciously awry. These soldiers did not seem like the army, he recalled later. Some were taking swigs from a bottle and staggering. They spoke in Urdu and not the Hindi more common to soldiers. He whispered his fears to the others. Many had become similarly scared and were now preoccupied with the mumbling of prayers. In an impulsive instant, the teacher darted toward a shallow ditch and crawled away through the mud. Of the 36 who remained, only one, a 40-year-old named Nanak Singh, survived. And only he among the villagers was an eyewitness to the actual carnage. The Sikhs were herded into two groups and made to kneel, facing the gurudwaras. The weather was cold, the wind brisk. The men were wearing heavy garb across their shoulders, and their heads were covered with the turbans required by their faith. They were killed with efficiency, shot first with a persistent rat-tat-tat from a volley of machine-gun fire, then with single bursts by executioners who moved from one fallen Sikh to another, stilling motion and silencing moans. Singh was at first saved by the shield of a toppling body. Then he was wounded in the hip during the second round of shooting. He tried to lie perfectly still. He remembers that some of the gunmen had faces painted in the raucous fashion of Holi, a Hindu holiday being celebrated that day. As the killers marched off, a few called out the parting words ''Jai mata di,'' a Hindi phrase of praise for a Hindu goddess. The entire attack lasted about half an hour. President Clinton, acting with caution, condemned the massacre without casting blame. In that agnosticism, he was unusual in this region of 1.1 billion people. India and Pakistan have been fighting each other since their synchronized birth 53 years ago, usually with Kashmir, which they both claim, as the cause. Amid all the unknowing of what took place in the remote darkness, both Indians and Pakistanis were decidedly sure of who was responsible for the murders. As is their habit, they clung to nearly identical versions of reality, only with the role of villain reversed. In India, people saw the treacherous connivance of Pakistan, up to old tricks and once again trying to focus the world's attention on woebegone Kashmir; in Pakistan, they saw the sinister hand of India, trying to make the Muslim ''freedom fighters'' seem detestable while American policy makers were present to watch. This was typical of the world's two newest nuclear powers. A half-century of enmity had done more than lead them into three all-out wars and several smaller ones. It had distilled the murkiness of their mutual grudges into clarified good and evil. One thinks the other capable of most anything -- and they are just about right. The first articles in Indian newspapers reported with confidence that ''militants'' had committed the crime. That the killers were dressed in army fatigues was easily explained away, for guerrilla groups often donned such clothing. The drunken behavior and Hindi slogans were seen as crude, preposterous impersonations of Indian soldiers. Officialdom backed these early assumptions. Within a day, the country's powerful national security adviser, Brajesh Mishra, said there was absolute proof that two of the bigger militant groups in Kashmir- Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen -- were guilty of the bloodshed. ''These outfits are supported by the government of Pakistan,'' he declared in an explanation most likely aimed at the press corps in the Clinton entourage. In India, there is no such need to connect the dots. Most journalists assume that the militants receive their guns and take their orders from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Subsequent articles were enlivened by scoops. Leaks from anonymous government sources told of intercepted communications that contained the actual orders to kill the Sikhs. And on March 25, any doubts about culpability were seemingly put to rest with the announcement that a collaborator had been apprehended. After interrogation, he had guided security forces to a mountain redoubt in the village of Panchalthan, where five of those who had massacred the Sikhs were hiding. In an ensuing shootout, the guerrillas were killed. Indian authorities predicted that they would soon catch the rest. In Pakistan, the Chittisinghpora massacre was first reported as the work of ''unidentified gunmen,'' but then the state television station swiftly cobbled together the evidence and concluded that ''the Indian Army was involved in this gory incident.'' Follow-up stories in newspapers and on TV made an easy tiptoe from facts alleged to facts presumed to facts that could be taken as history -- and the accepted version came to be that Indian commandos were guilty of the atrocity. Indeed, any other possibility was deemed implausible by editorialists and commentators. After all, they said, freedom fighters in Kashmir attack military targets, not innocent civilians. And besides, they never move in such large numbers. If they had, they would have been detected and eliminated beneath the bare trees of early spring. During the week of the Clinton visit, I spent time in both countries and was struck then -- as so often before -- by the parallel and yet opposing realities. In the following months, I kept repeated company with the Chittisinghpora massacre, pondering it as a metaphor, which has been easy enough, and puzzling over it as a whodunit, which has been a general bafflement. I might have expected as much. The Kashmir conflict has a way of boiling truth into vapor. Every fact is contested, every confession suspect, every alliance a prelude to some sort of betrayal. People ambushed, caught in cross-fires, snatched away, hideously tortured, buried and forgotten in clandestine graves: all this has become commonplace ever since the rebellion against India began in late 1989. Atrocities -- real and concocted -- are employed as necessary skullduggery. The death toll has been tabulated at more than 34,000 by the Indian government. Others insist the count is double that. In both nations, my questions about blame often provoked impatience, as if the answers ought to be obvious to anyone but an idiot or a child. Indignation sometimes substituted for any response at all. I would be asked in return: How can you think we would be evil enough to kill all those people? How can you think we would be so dumb? Stubborn animosity between nations is nothing uncommon, of course. But for India and Pakistan, the long years of ill will have been especially regrettable, diverting each from its most pressing woe, the lingering catastrophe of pervasive poverty. In Pakistan, the loser in all three wars, the discord has added the burden of chronic political instability. Democracy has failed to take root. In May 1998, the costs of continuing the hostility rose appreciably. India -- with a new government led by Hindu nationalists -- tested several nuclear devices. Soon after, and predictably enough, Pakistan responded in kind. The minute hand lurched forward on the doomsday clock, and world leaders began taking a closer look at belligerence in the subcontinent. What they saw was alarming: two archenemies eyeball to eyeball across a disputed cease-fire line. Daily barrages of artillery fire. A guerrilla war engineered by one, whittling away the patience of the other. Hatred, vengefulness, obstinacy. Bill Clinton had apparently done some risk analysis of his own. Not long before his India trip, he called the region ''the most dangerous place in the world.'' Chittisinghpora is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. To make the journey is to observe something akin to the military occupation of paradise. Moghul emperors in the 17th century thought these clear streams and lush mountains the closest thing to a heaven on earth, and 20th-century tourists once agreed. But now the highways are booby-trapped with I.E.D.'s, improvised explosive devices. Drivers are regularly pulled over, civilians routinely frisked. Army caravans move slowly in a continuous serpentine, skirting roadblocks and barricades, their passengers pointing rifles out of canvas-topped vehicles. Soldiers in olive flak jackets stand at regular intervals, their attention shuttling from the busy growl of the traffic to the ominous quiet of surrounding fields of saffron and mustard seed. My visit to the village did not come until nearly six months after the massacre, and by then many there had told their stories again and again to confusing effect -- to the police, to the military, to politicians, to reporters, to human rights groups, to Sikh leaders from India and abroad. Quoted versions varied not only from person to person but also from day to day. Villagers themselves quarreled about what -- and whom -- they had seen and heard. In hopes of penetrating the contradictions, I recruited a friend, Surinder Oberoi, a Sikh journalist based in Srinagar and one of the best reporters I have met in India. He in turn enlisted a Sikh businessman who had advised many of the families in Chittisinghpora since the killings. We would make the drive together. But before leaving, the businessman wanted to look me over. He was not immediately friendly. ''So you want to know the truth?'' he said in an accusatory voice loud enough for oratory. ''Don't you know the truth can get these people killed?'' I inquired then as to why he was assisting us. ''I think it is time for the truth to come out,'' he answered in lower decibels. ''Yes, I think now it's time.'' His presence certainly opened doors. In Chittisinghpora, we were greeted warmly, taken into a brightly painted house and seated solicitously on the floor, as is the custom, with thick cushions for our backs. Several bearded men rushed in and out of the room and introduced themselves. I tried to keep track of who was who by the color of their turbans. ''Tell this man the truth,'' the businessman urged. And one of the older Sikhs seemed pleased to take this as his cue. ''We have told many stories to many people, but today we will tell only the whole truth,'' he promised in preamble to a declaration: ''It is a fact that our people have been killed by a conspiracy of the intelligence agencies of Pakistan. One month before the massacre, there were militants who spent time in our village. They were from Pakistan, and they made friends with us. And this is how we were thanked, with a barbaric act.'' Actually, there was nothing new in this synopsis. Immediately after the massacre, during a time that teemed with rage, a few villagers had blamed a handful of Pakistani militants who had visited Chittisinghpora in the weeks before. While such stopovers were hardly uncommon, these guerrillas were exceptional in the casualness of their mingling. They were said to have once strung their rifles to trees and watched a sandlot game of cricket. Now, reflecting back, it was thought that they had actually been scouting the village with a murderous plot in mind. A few Sikh widows said they had recognized the voices of these men at their doors leading their husbands away to die. They said the marauders seemed to know where people lived -- and had even called out some names. In a few retellings, Mohammad Yaqoob Wagay, a young Muslim milkman who lived nearby, had accompanied the killers. He was an imam who often led prayers at the mosque. He loved cricket. He was friendly with these and other guerrillas, and the police had since taken him into custody. But within days of the massacre, there had been a retreat from much of this finger-pointing. Doubt was now emphasized. Maybe the killers had been militants, maybe the army, maybe neither. This newly avowed uncertainty was a result of counsel from some of India's leading Sikhs. They believed that if their people were to stay in the Kashmir Valley, good relations had to be maintained with the surrounding Muslim majority, which -- while exhausted by the endless violence -- was largely sympathetic to the militants. To these leaders, unwavering neutrality was clearly preferable to what New Delhi was then proposing. The government wanted to give weapons to the Sikhs, as it had to Hindus, to form ''village defense committees.'' In Chittisinghpora, I received a lesson in this tactical ambivalence. The older Sikh who had been talking was interrupted. A long argument began, with stunted English set aside for gusts of Punjabi, not a word of which I understood. Oberoi was amused. He leaned over to me and whispered, ''They're debating whether it is for the greater good of the village to lie to you, and if so, what are the right lies to tell.'' Some of my hosts eventually grew embarrassed at their neglect of a guest. By way of apology, they told me that villagers had done a lot of fibbing since the massacre and that I should not be offended. It was a matter of survival; there were fears of a second raid. Besides, outsiders with less right to lie had also been doing it. It upset them how often their statements -- and misstatements -- had been misquoted by people with private agendas. What followed was a very odd interview, with several men trying to agree on -- and then dictate -- appropriate words for my notebook, politely alerting me as to which ones were true and which were not, though everything was expected to be published. In either case, they demanded that their names be spared except when the topic turned to money, which it often did, and then they wanted to stand personally behind their deep umbrage. Donors, public and private, had given more than $20,000 to each family that lost men in the massacre. But the villagers said everyone had suffered and so everyone deserved cash. They reminded me that if Bill Clinton hadn't come to India, the killings would never have occurred -- and that Americans had some obligation to mitigate their suffering. We spoke for well over an hour, stopping for a lunch of eggplant, rice and red beans. Then I took a stroll through the village to talk to others. Some were reticent, some not. Some made me wonder if their recollections were merely inventions to help them make sense of their grief. Always, I kept trying to bring them back to the matter of blame. If they thought the militants did it, how sure were they? The answer was: Not very. Could anyone identify a single one of the attackers? The answer was: No. If this fellow Wagay had been involved, what exactly was his role? The answer was: God only knows. On March 25, when Indian officials announced their reprisal against five of the guilty militants, they said that it was Wagay whose confession had led them to the hideaway in Panchalthan, about 11 miles from Chittisinghpora. But speaking of lies, that one seems to have been a big one. In the district of Anantnag, most people I met had long overcome any doubt about the massacre. To them, it seemed an open-and-shut case, with the Indian authorities -- and not the militants -- to blame. They were unsure of the particulars, or how high up the conspiracy went, but they supposed that the actual killing had been done by iqwanis, or renegades, former guerrillas who were now nothing more than shiftless mercenaries. In the past, the authorities had used these men for some of the nastier misdeeds of effective ''counterinsurgency.'' The clincher for these suspicions was the incident at Panchalthan. The army's Rashtriya Rifles and the state police's elite Special Operations Group had supposedly cornered the five guerrillas in a herdsman's shack. Mortar fire then carried the day. Though the bodies were hideously burned and mutilated, the dead were all said to be Pakistanis who took orders from a well-known commander named Abu Muhaz. Nimble and timely sleuthing solved the crime on President Clinton's last full day in India. But this was yet another truth that seemed destined for the ethers. Gravediggers said they had discovered a local man's identity card with the charred bodies. One even thought he recognized the remains of his cousin. Muhaz himself appeared at a village mosque near Chittisinghpora and told people that none of his cadre had been killed; he suggested that they find out who had. As it happened, several men from the area were mysteriously missing. Speculation took off at a gallop: had Indian forces kidnapped them, murdered them, burned them and then tried to pass off their unrecognizable bodies as foreign militants? In the moral vacuum that has become Kashmir, such things are possible. Relatives of the missing men demanded an exhumation of the bodies. They organized protests. On April 3 -- nine days after the Panchalthan shootout and two weeks after the massacre -- a raggedy procession came down from the mountain pastures and onto the main road, toward the city of Anantnag, the district capital. There were hundreds of people at the start, then more all the time, chanting, ''We want justice.'' They passed uneventfully through several military checkpoints, but when they reached a small traffic circle in the town of Brakpora, they were fired upon. The spray of bullets came from behind a bunker made from bags of cement and manned by federal and state police officers. Eight protesters -- seven of them farmers and shepherds from the village of Brari Angan -- were killed. Some were shot in the back as they fled. Police officials claimed that their men were only returning fire, but a judicial inquiry found otherwise. Unwarranted panic was the kindest explanation. Three days later, the marchers received their wish. The five bodies were dug up by a forensics team from Srinagar. Hundreds of people, many of them unruly, turned up for the morbid two-day event, though there was not much to see. Blankets were held up to sequester the graves. Only doctors and public officials and family members were allowed to examine the blackened and disfigured corpses. These relatives occasionally burst into tears as burial shrouds were removed, professing to recognize a ring on a finger or a cyst on a scalp or a shred from a familiar sweater. One woman identified her husband from a fragment of jaw attached to a fluff of beard. Then the next day she changed her mind, settling on a different bag of remains, this time pointing to a bend in the nose, a hole in an ear and the shape of the torso. The five men killed at Panchalthan are now believed to be two farmers from Brari Angan, both named Jumma Khan and one of them a man of 60; two shepherds from the village of Halan, Bashir Ahmed Butt and Mohammad Yusuf Malik; and one young cloth merchant from the city of Anantnag, Zahoor Dalal. Or at least these are the people whose families were given the bodies. Dr. Balbir Kaur, head of the forensics team, said it was hard to disinter the dead properly in the midst of a mob, and she hardly considered the emotional graveside identifications to be definitive. DNA samples were taken, but nine months later the tests have yet to be done -- an inexplicable delay in so important a case. Whatever the results, scientific chicanery will now be presumed. I later interviewed three of the families of the victims. Both of the Jumma Khans, their relatives said, were taken from their homes by men in army attire and led off into the night. Zahoor Dalal, the merchant, had simply disappeared, out for an evening walk, due back in minutes to count the day's receipts. His mother sat silently on the floor for the better part of an hour while I spoke with his uncle. Tragedy had signed its name to her pale oval face, and finally a moaning began from deep inside her, turning slowly into a wail. ''I will only meet him again now in the other world!'' she cried. Once more, I was confounded. I couldn't be sure that any of these people had really lost their loved ones at Panchalthan, but I was nearly sure that they were sure. In any case, the story was drifting elsewhere. By then, many of the authorities -- in the government, in the intelligence services, in the police -- had quietly abandoned the merchandising of their once airtight case. In a revised analysis, Wagay, the milkman, was now thought to be innocent. Poor soul, he had been gruesomely tortured during questioning, a police official told me. He now remained locked up on the minor charge of breaching the peace. This was for his own safety. Someday, he would be a crucial witness in that ugly, regrettable business, the Panchalthan incident. That shootout was now considered a murderous fiction contrived by ambitious men in the Indian security forces. Pending further investigation, there were promises to punish those responsible. I had developed some sources in high places. A few were familiar with the accumulating evidence and willing to share it, though their trustworthiness was also nothing I took for granted. One source told me: ''After Chittisinghpora, there was tremendous pressure to catch the militants. Name, fame, money, career: those were the reasons to fake an encounter. They couldn't catch the militants, so they picked up locals. Unfortunately, locals have families that ask questions. It didn't work.'' Important people were chagrined. To their relief, however, another militant had recently been captured, someone, they said, who truly had partaken in the massacre -- someone who had even fired shots. His name was Mohammad Suhail Malik. ''Would you like to talk to him?'' I was asked. Oddly enough, i had already interviewed the new prisoner. This had happened unexpectedly. On the return drive from Chittisinghpora, the Sikh businessman spotted a friend, another prominent Sikh, in a car going the other way. The vehicles stopped, and the two men went off for a private chat. This friend, using his influence, had just met Suhail Malik, who, so far as he could tell, was rendering an authentic confession. He agreed to help us get into the small compound that served as the Indian interrogation center. Malik is an 18-year-old with an upstart beard and hair that falls down into his eyes. He appeared somber and tired, a suitable look for someone in his predicament. I twice offered him a chair, but he refused, preferring the floor. A heavy chain sagged between the tight manacles on his wrists. He barely moved. Conditions for the interview were far from ideal. There were six of us in a small, dark room, including a nervous guard who felt the liaison lacked adequate approval. A display on one wall carried horrid snapshots of dead militants. Malik responded to every question, but his answers were spare, repeating details I had already read in a police dossier in Srinagar: he was from the city of Sialkot, in Pakistan. He belonged to the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which had tutored him in marksmanship and mountain climbing. He sneaked into India in October 1999, carrying the rupee equivalent of $200 in expense money. He took part in only two missions before Chittisinghpora, one an attack on an army outpost, the other an assault on a bus carrying soldiers. He knew nothing about the plot to kill the Sikhs until immediately beforehand, as he stood in an orchard. He used his weapon when commanded. ''I fired, but I don't know if I killed anyone,'' he said laconically. ''I suppose I did. I don't know.'' The conversation was mostly in Urdu, once again a language I did not speak. I could study his eyes but not his phrasing or inflections, the little clues as to what was being held back in the privacy of his head. When we left, I asked Surinder Oberoi, my journalist friend, if he thought Malik was telling the truth. ''Yes, I think so,'' he answered after a pause. Then he added a cautionary shrug and a sentence that stopped after the words ''But you know. . . . '' Malik showed no signs of physical abuse, but, as with Wagay, the torture of someone in his situation would not be unusual. Once, over a casual lunch, an Indian intelligence official told me that Malik had been ''intensively interrogated.'' I asked him what that usually meant. ''You start with beatings, and from there it can go almost anywhere,'' he said. Certainly, I knew what most Pakistanis would say of the confession -- that the teenager would admit to anything after persistent electrical prodding by the Indians. And it left me to surmise that if his interrogators had made productive use of pain, was it to get him to reveal the truth or to repeat their lies? My second talk with Malik came the next day, courtesy of the more formal invitation. This session was less hurried but still unsatisfactory. Three of us were asking questions, including someone from the authorities. The prisoner, chains in tow, still refused a chair. I told him again that I was an American journalist trying to get at the facts. I could only imagine how far-fetched that sounded to an 18-year-old Pakistani in an Indian jail. I asked about his family. His mother was dead, and his father ran a small general store. Malik had attended a government school through the fifth grade, but like many boys in Pakistan, he had switched over to a madrassah, a religious academy, where the books and courses were free. He knew parts of the Koran by heart. ''If I could, I would spend my entire life learning about the holy prophet,'' he said. We again went over the details of the massacre. I tried to test him, asking for descriptions of the village. But he said he had not seen much in the darkness. He had been ordered to shoot -- and so he shot. He did not have much more to add. ''We were told what to do and not why,'' he said. ''Afterward, we were told not to talk about it.'' He allowed that he was likely to spend the rest of his life in an Indian prison -- and yes, he said, this was a dreary prospect. He would have preferred the glory of martyrdom. His eyes, usually downcast, had occasionally drifted about, and with this talk of a purposeful death, all of us in the room grew aware of a loaded Kalashnikov leaning against a wall in the corner. With a flicker of a smile, the gun's careless owner slowly rolled the wheels of his chair to the right, blocking the manacled prisoner's path to the weapon. Malik never looked that way again. I was curious to know how he had linked up with Lashkar-e-Taiba. It was one of the largest -- and perhaps the most unflinching -- of the dozen or so militant groups. Malik said he had heard their speeches while he studied in the city of Lahore. He trusted their vision of the world -- and said he trusted it still. Penance did not accompany his confession. As for the 35 dead Sikhs, he said they may have been civilians, but they could not have been innocents. ''The Koran teaches us not to kill innocents,'' he said. ''If Lashkar told us to kill those people, then it was right to do it. I have no regrets.'' This one time, he seemed to think his answer too abbreviated. His lips pursed, his eyebrows narrowed. He said: ''When I was sent here from Pakistan, I was told the Indian Army kills Muslims. It treats them badly and burns their mosques and refuses to let them pray. They must be freed from these clutches.'' Then he looked at me curiously, seeming to ask, Isn't that so? Civics lessons about Kashmir are necessarily complicated. The term itself is confusing. In common coinage, it refers to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, home to an estimated 9.5 million people. But the state has several distinct regions, of which the fabled Vale of Kashmir -- with about half the population -- is but one. Only there do people speak Kashmiri -- and only there do they have a strong sense of being a separate nation. Roughly two-thirds of the Jammu region is Hindu, a population far more comfortable under Indian aegis. Buddhists make up about half of sparsely populated Ladakh. They speak Tibetan and worry more about domination by Srinagar than by New Delhi. The happiest solutions for one chunk of the state are unlikely to be very pleasing to another. Jammu and Kashmir was once an even larger domain, an unnatural amalgam of fiefs brought together for expedience by the subcontinent's British colonial masters. In 1947, when India and Pakistan were being born, it nominally belonged to the Hindu maharajah, Hari Singh. Before departing, the British asked the region's 562 landed potentates to choose one nation or the other. These decisions by and large followed a certain logic of geography or religion. But Singh, preferring independence, dawdled past the deadline. This unrealistic conceit ended when tribesmen from Pakistan's northern frontier came to the aid of a local rebellion. The maharajah then anxiously reconsidered, casting the lot of his predominantly Muslim realm with predominantly Hindu India. To many Muslims, it seemed that Kashmir had fallen under the thumb of the infidel. War broke out between the two infant nations, and an ensuing cease-fire left about one-third of the most populous part of Kashmir with Pakistan and two-thirds with India. The United Nations, itself a newborn, pushed for a long-term solution. Agreements reached in 1948 and 1949 called for the Pakistanis to withdraw all their troops and for the Indians to pull back the bulk of theirs. This was to be followed by a plebiscite, allowing the people to pick the nation they wanted to join. But none of these actions ever took place, with both sides blaming the other for reneging. The wisdom of Solomon did not prevail; the baby was split. Indian-controlled Kashmir, while never happily a part of the nation, was a relatively peaceful place until the rebellion's start in 1989. This uprising gathered fuel from various combustibles, among them Kashmiri nationalism and rigged elections that favored New Delhi's preferences. Pakistan eagerly supplied the tinder of combat training and guns. At first, the foot soldiers were entirely home-grown. Kashmiri youth, lit with the fever of azadi, or freedom, thought they could unbind the ties to India with some well-placed explosives and high-profile kidnappings. They misjudged New Delhi, which considered the insurrection a threat to the very idea of nationhood -- and was willing to fight back without persnickety regard for gentlemanly tactics or human rights. They also misjudged Islamabad, which came to favor only those rebels it could bend to its will. Many militants themselves strayed from unselfish purposes. They became no more than criminal gangs, and Kashmiris began to dread both sides. Some 250,000 Kashmiri Hindus, known as Pandits, fled the valley, fearing for their lives. The character of the rebellion has since changed. Though hundreds of Kashmiris are still making war in the mountains, most have laid down their guns, if not their dreams of azadi. More and more, the guerrillas, like Malik, come from elsewhere. They know little about Kashmir and its people. Their interest in liberating the land is not so much for the benefit of the Kashmiris as for the ideal of a pan-Islamic state. The differing passions of the different militant groups make diplomacy particularly hard. When the prospect of peace raises its hand, it usually results in a rap on the knuckles. Last summer, one militant group declared a brief cease-fire, but the others considered the move traitorous and stepped up attacks. Now India has announced a temporary pause in its initiation of military operations, and Pakistan has responded with a partial withdrawal of troops from its side of the cease-fire line. There is talk about the possibility of talks, though in the past, talking has yielded only the repetition of entrenched views. After half a century of fighting, compromise seems a betrayal of past sacrifices. For its part, Pakistan finds the militancy a cut-rate way to torment India, which has 350,000 troops tied down in Kashmir. But however much a bargain, the guerrilla campaign has also become part and parcel of Pakistan's own precariousness. In the late spring of 1999, a more ambitious incursion into Indian-controlled Kashmir nearly provoked an all-out war and ended in humiliating retreat. Months afterward, amid the recriminations, Pakistan's army -- as has been its habit -- overthrew the elected government, and Gen. Pervez Musharraf named himself chief executive. At first, he was welcomed as a potential savior by the downcast nation. Pakistan stands at the brink of bankruptcy, spared from default only by an IV drip from international lenders who have grown exasperated. The possibility of a collapse into anarchy is the great reiterating topic of the educated elite. Though it was hoped that the general could stamp out corruption and balance the books, he has instead found himself betwixt and between, coveting approval -- and money -- from the West while bowing to powerful fundamentalists at home. For him, the struggle for Kashmir may well have become a necessity for survival as well as a crusade of the heart. Pakistan has thousands of armed if impoverished zealots who are long on righteousness and short on respect for the government. Pursuing the holy war against India may be all that diverts them from fomenting jihad at home. Suhail Malik is such a zealot. He intrigued me. And as my interest in him grew, I was puzzled by why I seemed alone in my curiosity. News of his capture had gotten little attention in the usually aggressive Indian press. A TV station had run a short spot; a wire service had put out a few paragraphs. This seemed oddly neglectful, but an Indian friend explained to me that Kashmir was redundant with outrages, and people suffered from ''massacre fatigue.'' Chittisinghpora had been papered over by fresher death. In fact, it was one of these other massacres that led the police to Malik. Thirty Hindu pilgrims on retreat in Kashmir were gunned down on Aug. 1. Two militants were killed at the scene. As investigators tell the story, an address found on one of these men led them to Aligarh in the state of Uttar Pradesh. There, a month later, they happened upon Malik, taking an authorized break from the hard work of jihad. I wanted to interview the teenager once more, this time without the authorities present. Somehow, I thought I could win his trust, offer him an out, persuade him that he did not have to confess to the massacre unless it was true. I was grasping. I wanted to study his eyes again. But I never secured the necessary permissions. The closest I got was his family. Had Malik and I talked, I could have told him about my recent trips to Pakistan. I had seen his father and his favorite uncle and a man he reveres, Prof. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba (the Army of the Pure) and its parent organization, Markaz Ad-daawah Wal Irshad (the Center for Preaching). Of the three, the professor was the easiest to locate. His organizations are a prominent force in Pakistan. The jihad in Kashmir is not their only occupation. They run more than 130 madrassahs as well as a modern-looking university that rises out of the wheat fields near Lahore. Saeed, a retired professor of Islamic studies at an engineering college, preferred to see me in that city itself. We met in Lashkar's ''media center,'' a small room filled with young men writing at computer terminals. The professor, a big, doughy man, is quite gracious for someone so often regarded as a terrorist. Cookies were served on a silver plate. We talked for a time before I took out Malik's photo and told him of the young man's confession. Saeed shook his head. ''We do not believe in killing innocents,'' he said, stroking his henna-tinted beard. ''I have condemned this very massacre.'' He glanced at the picture a second time and said he doubted that Malik had ever belonged to Lashkar. And, as a professor would, he offered me some guidance: ''It is very easy to extract statements with torture. Look, you can see he is handcuffed and not free to talk.'' The photo was then passed around the room. A dozen or so acolytes had come to observe the interview. One of Saeed's aides harrumphed with derision. ''This man's beard is not anywhere long enough,'' he said, as if I were trying to pawn off some charlatan as a legitimate Lashkar militant. In Lahore, I also tried to visit Malik's uncle, an herbal doctor named Zafar Iqbal. He, too, is a religious scholar. I went to his home several times, but I was always told that the doctor had gone out and that he might not return for hours or days or even longer. I inferred from this that Iqbal was disinclined to talk about his nephew's possible involvement in a massacre. He may have been warned by Pakistani intelligence agents, for I was being followed everywhere. The men were very obvious about it. They questioned my driver and translator. They tailgated our car. Eventually, someone at Iqbal's home slipped up and mentioned that the doctor had gone to the annual convention of the Jamaat-i-Islami political party. I found him in a huge field outside Islamabad amid a crowd of 350,000 people. This was not so hard to do. Pakistan's leading fundamentalist party is well organized. Every city had its own cluster of tents off to the side, and every tent had a roster of names. Malik's uncle had apparently withered under the sun and left the open air, where powerful speeches were firing the masses with talk of the Kashmir jihad. Repeatedly, America and India were condemned. Pakistan's government -- regarded as insufficiently pious -- was also taking a grandiloquent beating. When I approached the doctor, he was resting on a blanket, talking with friends and wearing a name tag. He is a white-haired man with piercing eyes. He did not want to say much. In fact, he denied that he knew any Suhail Malik. This of course was a lie, and he did not care that I was aware of it. He told my translator: ''You, being a Pakistani, should not help these foreign agents. They come in the guise of journalists when they are really agents of the Christians and the Jews.'' I had gotten a more hospitable reception from Anwar Malik, Suhail's father. He owns a tiny general store in Sialkot, a city not far from the border with Kashmir. The elder Malik had been hard to find with the grudging information I was given by his son. Sialkot had the air of newfound prosperity. Sporting-goods companies have made it a manufacturing center for soccer balls, which are exported the world over. Modern office buildings have been constructed with ornate windows and facades. Drivers in new four-wheel-drive vehicles blast their horns to get past sluggish donkey carts that block their way. The family's house is across a lane from the store, beside a stagnant pond laden with blooms of garbage. The home is large as such places go, and much of the furniture is made of polished wood and looks relatively new. Anwar Malik led the way into a room with a double bed, an armoire and a chest of drawers. Drapes covered the windows. One wall had a bright painting done on a felt background. Another held the glossy decals of Lashkar-e-Taiba. I didn't know if the father was aware of the fate of his son, so I tried to approach the subject gently. A short, stout man of 53, he replied quietly that yes, he had heard something about it. Pakistan and India are neighbors. Urdu is similar to Hindi. People in one country sometimes watch the TV shows of the other. A friend had seen Suhail's face on a news show. Anwar was unsure what it was all about. He wanted to know more. ''This is painful for me,'' he said. ''Nothing like this has ever happened in our family.'' Anwar has two sons. The older has gone to work in Saudi Arabia and is earning good money. Suhail, on the other hand, had been adrift for a while, sometimes living in Lahore, sometimes Sialkot. The father was vague about his son's decision to go fight in Kashmir. Despite the decals, he insisted that he did not know which, if any, group Suhail had joined. He began to wring his hands and his words meandered. ''If you look at things from an Islamic perspective, going to Kashmir was the right thing to do,'' he said. ''But we are poor people. If you look at things from the family perspective, considering our circumstances, you would have to think otherwise.'' I took out the photo. Anwar studied it. His lips quivered slightly. By then, one of Suhail's boyhood friends had entered the room. He seemed tickled with the snapshot. To him, the manacles were like jewelry. ''It's a great picture!'' he declared. Anwar left the room and returned with a bottle of mineral water. He waited to open the seal, so as to assure me that the contents were untainted. He said the obvious, that he had never had an American in his home before. I told him that I travel quite a bit. I had even been to this sorrowful place Chittisinghpora and had been living with a great mystery. I had yet to solve it to my satisfaction, but it had become my wise tutor in Kashmir's misshapen history. ''An awful thing happened in that village,'' I said, pushing the conversation into the discomforting place it had to go. I told him about the grief of the Sikh families and described what had gone on that night: the lining up of the men before the gurudwaras, the bursts of the machine guns, the bloody heap. And I told him Suhail had confessed to this terrible thing in front of me. Until then, I had merely been someone with news of his son. But now I was also a man with an accusation that required some sort of response. I was asking him to consider the opposing reality from across the border -- and I wanted him to imagine it with his son in the role of villain. He considered all this for a time. And finally, with a father's sincerity, he said: ''I don't think so. It can't be. My son is confessing, you can say, because the Indians have beaten him. My son is just like me, and I would not do anything like this.'' As we talked a bit longer, a memory suddenly fell into place. It brightened him with relief, and he sat up straight. Chittisinghpora: the name had not meant much before, but he recalled it now. This was the massacre committed the night Clinton arrived. The relief then converted into actual cheer and a delicate smile. He spoke to me with the kindness of someone assisting a stranger in an unfamiliar town. ''Everyone knows about this crime,'' he said patiently. ''The Indian Army did it.'' Photos: Nanak Singh survived the Chittisinghpora massacre; his son and brother did not. (Raghu Rai/Magnum, for The New York Times); The 35 Sikhs were machine-gunned here, then finished off with single shots by executioners. (Robert Nickelsberg/Liaison); Relatives of the massacred, like the other villagers, remain unsure about where blame lies. (Raghu Rai/Magnum, for The New York Times) Barry Bearak is co-chief of the New Delhi bureau of The New York Times. On 20/08/10 3:00 PM, "Aditya Raj Baul" wrote: > Terrible truth of a massacre laid on for a president The day Bill Clinton > arrived in India, 35 Sikhs were murdered. India blamed militants, but the > villagers tell a different story By Peter Popham in > Chatti-Singhpura Saturday, 1 April > 2000 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/terrible-truth-of-a-massacre > -laid-on-for-a-president-719252.html The world came to the village of > Chatti-Singhpura yesterday, nearly two weeks after 35 men of the village were > lined up against walls and shot dead. National politicians and Sikh religious > leaders dropped in by helicopter, and thousands of Sikhs from other parts of > India came by road to this pretty village in the Kashmir valley, where the > cherry trees are blooming and the willows putting out fresh shoots against > a background of snowy mountains. They came to offer their condolences. They > broughtsolace and solidarity - but noanswers. For the Indian authorities, no > further answers are required. Of all the brutal events witnessed by the > valley in the past 10 years, few, by their lights, were more clear cut. The > massacre occurred at 7.50pm on Monday 20 March, just a few hours before Bill > Clinton flew to Delhi to begin his state visit to India. All the killers > escaped without being identified. The following morning, India's National > Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, told journalists that the massacre was a > case of "cross-border terrorism", carried out by the two most prominent > Islamic militias in the valley, Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba. Both, > India claims, are heavily supported by Pakistan. Two days later, on 24 March, > the government claimed to have arrested what one newspaper called "the Butcher > of Anantnag" (Anantnag is the closest town), the "Hizbul Mujahideen kingpin > responsible for planning and executing the brutal massacre", one Mohammad > Yaqoob Wagay. The next day, during "sustained interrogation", Mr Wagay was > said to have yielded the names of his colleagues. More astonishing success > followed. On 25 March, five of those named by Mr Wagay were reportedly killed > by Indian paramilitaries, 20km from the massacre site, during a fire-fight > that went on for four hours. This triumph punctuated the end of Mr Clinton's > Indian trip, just as the massacre had overshadowed its beginning. When > informed about the massacre, Mr Clinton had commented: "First let's see who > did it." The Indians, it seemed, had done exactly that - just in time to > temper the mood of his meeting over the border with Pakistan's generalissimo, > Pervez Musharraf. Yet there was something not quite right about the killings > on 25 March of those blamed for the massacre. No weapons were recovered > and, instead of passing the bodies to the police, the army told > local villagers to bury them. Identification was impossible because the bodies > were burnt beyond recognition. It so happened - and these things happen a lot > in Kashmir - that a number of apparently ordinary, harmless Kashmiri civilians > had been lifted from the streets of Anantnag in the days after the > massacre. Among those who disappeared was a 24-year-old local shopkeeper > named Zahoor Ahmad Dalal. According to his mother, Zahoor came home from > his textile shop in Anantnag's main street on Friday 24 March at 6pm, parked > his van, changed his clothes, drank two cups of tea and, leaving it rather > late, set off for evening prayers at the local mosque. They have not seen him > since. His family did the rounds of army, police and paramilitaries to find > out if he had been taken in for questioning. All denied it. The mystery of > what happened to Zahoor may never have been solved, had not relatives of two > other men who vanished on the same day visited the site where the bodies had > been burnt after the 25 March "encounter" to look for evidence of who exactly > had died. They found scraps of clothing, as well as the identity card of their > own missing kinsman, Juma Khan. When they brought a fragment of a pullover to > the home of Zahoor Ahmad Dalal - maroon in colour, ribbed, man-made fibre - > his mother, Raja, recognised it as the one her son had been wearing. From that > moment the family went into mourning. Normal life came to a halt in Anantnag > this week as thousands of local men protested against "the killing of innocent > civilians", passed off as the killing of militants in encounters. After two > days of turmoil, the deputy commissioner agreed on Thursday to send a > magistrate to supervise the exhumation of the bodies ofthe five men for > proper identification. One pillar in the solid looking structure the > government had built around the Sikh massacre had crumbled. Did this put the > whole building in jeopardy? That begs the question of how solid a structure > it was to begin with. The National Security Adviser's speedy explanation of > who was to blame for the massacre has not been reinforced by any evidence. > Both the organisations he named have denied involvement, blaming India for > the massacre. The man in custody has not been charged with anything. In > Chatti-Singhpura, meanwhile, the bereaved women sit in the houses from which > their menfolk were summoned for "crackdown" - valley shorthand for army search > operations - then minutes later murdered, while their friends and relatives do > what they can to comfort them. "One of my sons had come back from the shop > with vegetables and eggs," remembers Jeet Kaur, an elderly woman, "when a man > dressed like asoldier came to the door and said it was a crackdown and ordered > him to come out. He told us to turn out the lights. He said it would only take > a couple of minutes." He was right: within minutes the air was torn by > machine-gun fire. Jeet Kaur lost five men: her husband, two sons and two > grandsons. Contrary to the quick, clear assertions of the National > Security Adviser, nothing is straightforward about the > Chatti-Singhpura massacre. As a wise old newspaper editor in Srinagar put it > to me: "It is not clear who did it. It is a mystery. It will remain a > mystery." Better that way. Can a nation believe that its own guardians took > the lives of Jeet Kaur's menfolk and 30 others forthe sake of jogging > a President's elbow - and retain its sanity? Better, surely, to bury it in > mystery. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open > discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To > subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the subject header. To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:29:43 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:29:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The massacre at Chattisinghpora Message-ID: The massacre at Chattisinghpora http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/The_massacre_at_Chattisinghpora The March 20 massacre of 35 Sikhs in a Jammu and Kashmir village has the potential to widen the communal divide in the State, a fallout that could further the designs of the Far Right among all denominations. PRAVEEN SWAMI in Anantnag: SMALL patches of earth stained by blood mark the spot where the victims of Jammu and Kashmir's worst communal massacre lost their lives. Impromptu shrines have come up to tell visiting VIPs and ordinary people the story of the March 20 killings. Photographs of the 35 men shot that night have been pinned to a board inside the Singh Sabha gurdwara. A blackboard in the adjoining Shankerpora hamlet has the names of the 18 victims executed there scrawled in chalk. The shrines will stay in place until March 31, when thousands of Sikhs from around the country are expected to join in the last rites of the victims. After the last of the visitors leave, Chattisinghpora's real problems will begin. The people of the village, like the rest of the Kashmir Valley's tiny Sikh community, will have to decide whether to leave for Jammu or to stay on and fight to defend their land and homes. That decision, and the political forces set in play by the killings, could be critical to the future of the State. NISSAR AHMED A mother follows the stretcher carrying her son's body in Chattisinghpora. There is a shroud of fear over Chattisinghpora. Few people are willing to talk to strangers. Ranjit Singh, the Singh Sabha Gurdwara's young priest, acts as the village's official spokesperson, reading out a stilted statement on the killings to visiting mediapersons. "How could we know who committed the crime?" he asks. "They wore Army uniforms, and spoke Urdu, but we recognised none of them." Karamjit Singh, a local schoolteacher who was among the 17 men who were lined up for execution outside the gurdwara, is even more scared. He had escaped into the darkness before the firing began, but a single question on what provoked his suspicion is enough to end all further conversation. But others in the village are more willing to talk, at least after being promised that their identities would not be revealed. Their stories are consistent. About 20 men, clad in olive green combat fatigues, arrived in the village at 7-15 p.m. They told the people that they were soldiers, and ordered the men out to be questioned. When the men were lined up in two groups, a few hundred metres from each other, the firing began. As they started firing, the gunmen shouted 'Jai Mata Di' and 'Jai Hind'. In th eatrical fashion, one of them took swigs from a bottle of rum even as the killing went on. While leaving, one of the men called out to his associates: "Gopal, chalo hamare saath" (Come with us, Gopal). Twenty two-year-old Arvind Singh, who was watching television in his home, had not come out when the gunmen arrived. When the firing began, he thought an encounter had broken out. "Terrorists used to come to the village regularly," he says. "The Army used to patrol the village, but had never carried out searches or interrogations. So the terrorists often used to stay here." Just three weeks before the killing, one group of terrorists, also in combat fatigues, had spent an afternoon watching children play cricket. Most villagers in fact feel betrayed. "Our sisters and wives used to serve them food and tea at all hours of the day and night," says Babu Singh, a resident of Shankarpora. "How could they repay us like this?" Others have not lived to ask the question. Jagir Singh, a retired Subedar-Major, had made his peace with the terrorists in order to survive, and his home was one of those most frequently used for shelter. His appeals for mercy on those grounds did not help. He was shot along with his sons Gurdeep Singh (who had married last year) and six-year-old Ajit Pal Singh. There are no men now in the house, and Babu Singh's wife has been sitting in their porch ever since the massacre, too stunned to talk. Families like that of Jagir Singh had bought their peace with the terrorists in the early 1990s, in order to avoid meeting the fate of the Kashmiri Pandit communities around them who were being mercilessly driven out. Now, with almost no Pandits left, it was the ir turn to face the terrorist campaign. NISSAR AHMED An old couple grieves over the body of their only son. FEW people in the village believe stories claiming that the assailants were Indian Army soldiers. The reasons are simple. For one, the 7 Rashtriya Rifles, which is in charge of the area, is made up overwhelmingly of Sikh soldiers from the Punjab Regiment. Its troops and officers speak Punjabi, not Urdu. And the villagers, unlike Lashkar-e-Taiba cadre indoctrinated on stories of Hindu and Sikh barbarism, know that soldiers do not wander about on operations with bottles of liquor, shouting religious sloga ns as they fire. The terrorists evidently acted as they thought Indian soldiers would, a caricature that finds repeated mention in Lashkar-e-Taiba literature. The organisation's website even proclaims that Gurkha soldiers eat their dead parents' bodies. But the people of Chattisinghpora had one crucial piece of evidence which pointed to the killers. Just before the firing began, one of the men lined up had recognised someone among the gunmen. "Chattiya, tu idhar kya kar raha hai?" (What are you doing here, Chatt?), he asked. The person he spoke to immediately opened fire. Although police investigators are not discussing the point, it is possible that either of the survivors - Karamjit Singh, who escaped unhurt, or Nanak Singh, admitted with multiple bullet injuries in Srinagar's Bone and Joint Hospital - heard the exchange. Agitated residents pointed the Anantnag Police to every Muslim whom they suspected of a role in the killings. Mohammad Yakub Magray, nicknamed Chatt Guri, was just one of them. IT took some of the best interrogators from the ruthlessly efficient Jammu and Kashmir Police Special Operations Group almost 48 hours to break Magray. He was, it turned out, a Hizbul Mujahideen operative active on the organisation's wireless network wit h the code-name Zamrood. On the night of the killings, Magray said, he had travelled with the Lashkar-e-Taiba's Anantnag area commander, a Pakistani national code-named Abu Maaz, to Chattisinghpora. Maaz, six feet tall with a large birthmark on his right cheek, was accompanied by some Lashkar members Magray knew by their code-names: Shahid, Babar, Tipu Khan and Maqsood. Five Kashmiri Hizbul Mujahideen members, led by Saifullah, possibly the code name for local operative Ghulam Rasool Wani, also came along. Abu Maaz, Magray said, had initiated the action after general instructions were received asking Lashkar-e-Taiba units to launch major attacks during President Clinton's visit to India. The first targets to be considered were military installations, but n o volunteers could be found for a suicide attack. Kashmiri Pandit hamlets were then discussed, but the idea was quickly rejected. The group attempted an assault on Kashmiri Pandits at Telwani, near Anantnag, in February. Three Pandits were killed there, but Army and police pickets in the area responded rapidly, and the Lashkar unit only just managed to escape. Sikh villages were, by contrast, unguarded. A random night patrol had been through Chattisinghpora three days earlier, so it was likely to be at least a week before troops would be there again. Magray's continuing interrogation seems to be delivering at least some retribution. Dawn raids on March 25 by personnel of the Anantnag Police and 7 Rashtriya Rifles, led by Senior Superintendent of Police Farooq Khan and Colonel Ajay Saxena, led to the elimination of five members of Abu Maaz's unit at Panchal Thal, perched on the Pir Panjal range 9 km from Chattisinghpora. Assault rifles, grenades and two wireless sets were recovered from the killed terrorists. "We expect further success soon," said Khan. "Magray has given us valuable information on hideouts, and we are developing separate intelligence which should lead us to those involved in the killings." RETRIBUTION, however, will do little to secure the future of the Kashmir Valley's estimated 60,000 Sikhs, many of whom live in rural areas. Interestingly, the people of Chattisinghpora do not endorse claims made by some Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders that the community was not properly defended. "We never wanted protection here," says Babu Singh, "because we never thought there would be a problem... Our policy was to live, and to do that, we went out of our way to avoid confrontation with anybody." N ow the villagers must decide how they will respond to the state's proposals that they set up village defence committees to guard their future. Few appear enthusiastic about the prospect, however. "What will we do when we have to leave the village?" asks local priest Ranjit Singh. Yet the fact remains that the people of Chattisinghpora, and Sikhs elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir, will have to do some hard thinking. Although similar massacres may not be imminent, the fact remains that the campaign of ethnic cleansing launched by the Islamic Right a decade ago has now turned on the community. While some accounts claim that terrorist groups have no anti-Sikh agenda, the truth is less simple. Several Jammu and Kashmir Police officers at the cutting edge of the anti-terrorist operations are Sikh - such as Director-General of Police Gurbachan Jagat, Inspector-General of Police (Operations) P.S Gill and Srinagar Superintendent of Police (Operations) Manohar Singh. This fact has not passed unnoticed, and at least one Srinagar-based Sikh j ournalist has found himself being subjected to hostility on this account in recent months. "The fact of the matter," says Rashtriya Rifles sector commander Brigadier Deepak Bajaj, "is that we can't protect everyone, everywhere, all the time. People have to learn to protect themselves too." Should the people of Chattisinghpora agree in the comi ng weeks to set up a village defence committee, it would be the first instance in the Kashmir Valley of people's resistance to terrorism. That, in turn, could have enormous knock-on effects, not just among religious minorities but ordinary Muslims, the p rincipal victims of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Sadly, there has been little political effort to bring about a genuine mass coalition against the Islamic Far Right. Few politicians sought to tap the spontaneous outrage the Chattisinghpora killings p rovoked across Jammu and Kashmir, cutting across religious lines. INDEED, the political fallout from Chattisinghpora could be just what the Lashkar-e-Taiba wants to see happening. The disgraceful attacks on Muslim properties in New Delhi, and the ugly anti-Muslim posturing of Sikh and Hindu chauvinist groups in Jammu, have deepened communal fissures. Hindu right-wingers who spoke of an Islamic conspiracy against Hindus and Sikhs alone ignored the fact that terrorists killed 77 Muslims through Jammu and Kashmir in the first two months of this year, while just 10 of the ir victims were non-Muslim. Last year, 723 Muslims and 98 non-Muslims were killed by terrorists, making it clear that the majority community in the State is paying the price for the violence that is enormously disproportionate to its numbers. Even the me mbers of Magray's immediate family do not appear to share his convictions. One of his brothers is a soldier in the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and a first cousin is in the Border Security Force's 4 Battalion, both deployed on counter-terrorist opera tions. NISSAR AHMED Two women, who lost their relatives, console each other. Another problem has been the incorporation of the Chattisinghpora massacre in a larger narrative of Sikh communal politics. Shortly after mainstream politicians like Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and Congress(I) leader Manmohan Singh visited the village, right-wing Sikh politicians entered the fray. Former Akal Takht Jathedar Ranjit Singh and former Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee president G.S. Tohra, both sacked by Badal, claimed that the killings were part of an Indian conspiracy to defame a neighbouring country. Ranjit Singh claimed to have developed a friendship in Tihar Jail with Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Maqbool Butt, who was executed for murder. Ranjit Singh, who himself served a life term, said that Butt and other Kashmiri terrorists would never target Sikhs. Such unsavoury political abuse of massacres has, in the past, contributed not a little to growing communal divisions in Jammu and Kashmir. Hindu and Sikh politicians almost never visit Muslim victims of violence, while Muslim politicians rarely make a sustained effort to campaign for the rights of the minorities. Where there is little political gain to be had from killings, politicians stay away altogether. The line of dignitaries queueing up at Chattisinghpora, for example, stands in stark contrast to the disgraceful treatment of the families of the migrant workers from Bilaspur, Madhya Pradesh, who were massacred at Sandu in the midst of the Kargil war. Individual police officers had on that occasion used funds meant for anti-terrorist intelligence gathering to hire buses for the families to transport their dead home. After the ceremonies of March 31, Chattisinghpora will most likely disappear from the public consciousness, displaced by the next round of killings elsewhere. Official India has been busy attacking Pakistan for the killings. The terrorists trained in tha t country with official sponsorship are indeed responsible for the carnage. But for the communal hatred and bitterness that the killings have left behind, politicians of the religious Right have no one to blame but themselves. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:31:41 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:31:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 1984 anti-Sikh riots Message-ID: The 1984 Anti-Sikh riots, also referred to as the 1984 Anti-Sikh Pogroms or Massacres,[1][2][3][4]were four days of violence in northern India, particularly Delhi, during which armed mobs, belonging to the Indian National Congress, killed unarmed Sikh men, women, and children, looted and set fire to Sikh homes, businesses and schools, and attacked Gurdwaras. The violence began in June 1984, during Operation Blue Star, when Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to attack Sikh separatists in the Golden Temple. The attack on the Golden Temple resulted in innocent pilgrims being killed, and religious artifacts and historical buildings being destroyed. The attack, and a later operation by Indian paramilitary forces to clear separatists from the countryside of Punjab, was perceived by many moderate Sikhs as an assault on their faith. The violence in Delhi was triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards in response to her actions during the preceding months. The Government of India reported 2,700 Sikh deaths however human rights organizations and newspapers report the death toll to be 10,000-17,000. In the aftermath of the riot, the Government of India reported 20,000 had fled the city, however the PUCL reported "at least" 50,000 displaced persons[5]. The most affected regions were neighborhoods in Delhi. Human rights organizations and the newspapers believe the massacre was organized.[3][6] The collusion of political officials in the massacres and the failure to prosecute any killers alienated normal Sikhs and increased support for the Khalistan movement.[7] The Akal Takht, the governing religious body of Sikhism, considers the killings to be a genocide.[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_anti-Sikh_riots From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:33:51 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:33:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Phoolka not to quit '84 cases Message-ID: Phoolka not to quit '84 cases New Delhi July 22, 2010 Senior advocate H.S. Phoolka on Wednesday decided to defer his decision to quit the legal battle on behalf of the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases. On Tuesday, Phoolka had decided to withdraw his appearance from all such cases after allegations of deriving personal benefit. He had said he was "disgraced, hurt and humiliated". "The Jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib urged me to continue," Phoolka said. "Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee president P.S. Sarna has been summoned to the Akal Takhat on July 26 to explain the issue," he added. On July 17, Sarna and his brother had alleged that Phoolka had charged Rs 1.09 crore from the committee. Phoolka denied the allegations. "The committee paid me Rs 15,000 in 1985. I haven't received any money after that," he said. He added that the allegations were a conspiracy to shield guilty Congress leaders by distracting him from the riots cases. In his allegations, Sarna had pointed out that DSGMC had spent Rs 1.09 crore on the ongoing administrative expenses on the team headed by Phoolka when he appeared before the Justice G.T. Nanavati Commission that was set up to investigate the riots. Print Close URL for this article : http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/106236/India/Phoolka+not+to+quit+'84+cases.html From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:39:36 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:39:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] TIME photos: The new Kashmiri intifadeh Message-ID: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2011817,00.html From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:44:24 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:44:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Bullet_pierced_Milad=92s_brain?= Message-ID: Bullet pierced Milad’s brain KHALID GUL http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Aug/20/bullet-pierced-milad-s-brain-22.asp Kulgam, Aug 19: Parents of 8-year old Milad would have never in their worst dreams thought that they would lose him forever to a CRPF bullet. After battling for life for six days, Milad gave in at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of SK Institute of Medical Sciences Thursday morning. After returning from Darsgah last Saturday, August 14, Milad had complained of vomiting and was rushed to district hospital Islamabad by his parents and relatives in a private vehicle. According to the family, Milad was hit by a bullet on way to the hospital. “We preferred to take KP Road instead of Lal-Chowk route to reach the hospital but on the way we got down from the vehicle after paramilitary CRPF personnel fired upon us at Lazibal in Islamabad. We somehow managed to escape the scene. But just few minutes later, I saw blood on my sleeve,” recalled his father Muhammad Amin Dar, 31. “On reaching the hospital we found that hospital was full of chaos as more injured were pouring in and we wasted no time to rush injured Milad in an ambulance to SKIMS,” he said. Medical Superintendent of SKIMS, Dr Syed Amin Tabish said, “Milad was unstable when he admitted in the emergency ward last Saturday. He had a bullet injury and his brain was severely damaged. He had been put on the ventilator since he got here.” A doctor who saw him in the emergency ward said, “Milad was bleeding from his nose and had a wound of about 0.5 cm on his head. He had a history of fever and diarrhoea also.” He added, “We called the paediatrician and opted for CT scan, thinking may be it was an infection in the brain. We had no idea that the infant had been shot in the head. Even his parents didn’t know. The bullet had travelled from one side of the brain to the other.” “I am assuming the child must have gone numb in extreme fear that he did not even feel the pain of the bullet piercing his head. Had he felt pain, he would have complained or cried at least,” he said. Hailing originally from Wanpora village of Khudwani in Kulgam district, Milad’s father had shifted to Laar village in Ganderbal, where he served as Imam of a local mosque for last five years. Dar along with his family had come to Harnag village of Islamabad district to visit a relative. Milad was laid to rest in his native village of Wanpora in Kulgam amid tears and sobs. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:45:16 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:45:16 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Police brutalize Hazratbal residents Message-ID: Police brutalize Hazratbal residents Cops Fire On Devotees, Ransack Houses, Abuse SHO FAHEEM ASLAM http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Aug/20/police-brutalize-hazratbal-residents-21.asp Srinagar, Aug 19: As if beating devotees inside the Hazratbal shrine was not enough, police Thursday unleashed a reign of terror in the area by firing upon the peaceful protesters and breaking windowpanes of dozens of houses and vehicles. Police also cane charged the protesters, injuring many of them. The police action came barely a few minutes after the locals claimed to have recovered playing cards inside the shrine and started raising pro-freedom slogans there. The residents thronged the shrine after the six-day long stalemate “temporarily ended” following their hectic negotiations with the government. ‘PLAYING CARDS RECOVERED’: “After the stalemate ended, we visited the shrine to be a part of its cleaning process,” said the residents. “But to our shock, we recovered a set of playing cards from the upper gallery of the shrine.” The resident accused the policemen of armed police, manning the shrine, of playing cards there. “We can tolerate anything but not any unethical activity inside the shrine,” they said, raising pro-freedom slogans from the shrine microphones. As the news spread, police fired dozens of rounds on the protesters outside the shrine to disperse them. No bullet injuries were however reported. But minutes after the firing, policemen barged into different localities with bamboo sticks and broke the windowpanes of dozens of houses and vehicles. This scared the residents, particularly women and children, who accused police of unleashing a reign of terror. “Police is meant to secure people and ensure their safety in times of need. But here they are terrorizing people in this holy month of Ramadan. It is highly condemnable,” said Shams, a resident. “The government must take action against the policemen involved in the heinous crime. The matter must be probed thoroughly.” Police also beat up several people including women in Dhobi Mohalla and ransacked many houses, triggering a scuffle. “We were beaten ruthlessly,” said the residents. “Men of armed police barged into our houses and started beating women and children. Many protesters sustained injuries.” Windowpanes of several vehicles were also broken. On Thursday, the stalemate “temporarily ended” when the government, in a fresh round of talks with the residents, agreed to fulfill their demands including transfer of policemen involved in Saturday’s police action and removal of barracks from the shrine complex in a phased manner. “Though a majority of youth were not with the decision of phased removal of barracks, but keeping in view the holy month of Ramadan, the stalemate had to be ended. But the police terror followed and aggravated the crisis,” the residents said. On Wednesday, the senior superintendent of police (Srinagar), Ashiq Bukhari, had “added fuel to the fire” by openly refusing to remove the police barracks while the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Meraj Ahmad Kakroo, had sought time to meet the demand. On Thursday, strict curfew was clamped in the area following Muslim Waqf Board’s announcement that it would clean the shrine to resume the prayers. While no local was with the Board’s announcement, the SSP’s diktat and the announcement had infuriated the residents. COPS ‘ABUSE’ SHO: The station house officer of Police Station Nigeen was abused and his vehicle attacked by personnel of armed police after he asked them not to open fire on the protesters. Witnesses said at least 30 personnel caught hold of the SHO and his escort and stated hurling abuses at them. Confirming the armed police action, a senior police official, insisting not to be named, said, “The armed policemen tried to aim a Light Machine Gun at the protesters. The SHO and his men caught hold of the LMG and aimed it in the air following which over 100 rounds were used. The armed personnel abused the SHO for saving the protesters. Had he not caught hold of the gun, the armed cops would have killed scores of people.” The official said the armed cops were “frustrated” on seeing that the locals won by getting them transferred from the area. “It is sheer frustration on part of the armed cops. They attacked SHO’s vehicle as well. We request the government to get the matter probed,” he said. According to sources, SHO Nigeen Hazratbal has registered and FIR against the armed police for highhandedness. NO PRAYERS FOR 6TH DAY: Meanwhile no prayers were held in the shrine for the 6th consecutive day. People continued to offer the five-time congregational prayers either on road or inside their houses. This is for the second time in the history that no prayers could be offered in the shrine. Earlier it had happened during the month-long Hazratbal siege in 1993. The curbs on prayers evoked severe criticism from different political and non-political quarters. Meanwhile, the area continued to be tense following police action on protesters. POLICE SILENT: No police officer agreed to speak on the issue. However, the entire episode happened at a time when the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Meraj Ahmad Kakroo, was in Hazratbal to hold talks with the residents. OFFICIAL VERSION According to a spokesman of J&K Muslim Waqf Board, Gusul (cleaning) ceremony of Asar-i-Sharief, Hazratbal was performed before Zuhar prayers as per the agreement made earlier in presence of Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Mehraj Ahmad Kakroo and Superintendent of Police, Srinagar. The ceremony was performed amidst Darood Khawani in which large number of respectables and people of adjoining areas participated. On this occasion, Vice Chairman, Muslim Waqf Board, M Y Qadri, Secretary of Waqf Board and other Waqf officials were present. The spokesman said during Gusul Khawani, some boys came down from the balcony with two playing card leaves in their hands and attempted to create confusion. “They also forced people to move out. Obviously, this seems to be a deliberate attempt to deprive people from offering prayers in the Dargah Sharief on one pretext or another pretext,” the spokesman said. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 15:46:07 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:46:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Sikhs demand end to killings in Kashmir Message-ID: Sikhs demand end to killings http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Jul/14/sikhs-demand-end-to-killings-43.asp Srinagar, July 13: The all party Sikh Coordination Committee Kashmir has condemned the recent killings in the valley and demanded an end to the killings and violence. In a statement, coordinator APSCC Jagmohan Singh Raina urged the state and Union government to bring permanent peace by putting end to the killings. “The prevailing situation has brought sufferings to people on various fronts. We demand an end to these killings and restoration of peace. The city looks lifeless with empty streets, closed shops and deserted Shikaras amid the heavy presence of security forces,” Jagmohan said. “Due to curfew, common people are starving but nothing has been done to solve it apart from continuing curfew, which is saddest part of democratically elected government of Jammu and Kashmir,” he added. From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Fri Aug 20 16:53:04 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:53:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Police brutalize Hazratbal residents In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Thanks for this detailed account as well as the one on Milad. On 20/08/10 3:45 PM, "Aditya Raj Baul" wrote: > Police brutalize Hazratbal residents Cops Fire On Devotees, Ransack Houses, > Abuse SHO FAHEEM > ASLAM http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Aug/20/police-brutalize-hazratba > l-residents-21.asp Srinagar, Aug 19: As if beating devotees inside the > Hazratbal shrine was not enough, police Thursday unleashed a reign of terror > in the area by firing upon the peaceful protesters and breaking windowpanes of > dozens of houses and vehicles. Police also cane charged the protesters, > injuring many of them. The police action came barely a few minutes after the > locals claimed to have recovered playing cards inside the shrine and started > raising pro-freedom slogans there. The residents thronged the shrine after > the six-day long stalemate ³temporarily ended² following their > hectic negotiations with the government. ŒPLAYING CARDS RECOVERED¹: ³After > the stalemate ended, we visited the shrine to be a part of its cleaning > process,² said the residents. ³But to our shock, we recovered a set of playing > cards from the upper gallery of the shrine.² The resident accused the > policemen of armed police, manning the shrine, of playing cards there. ³We can > tolerate anything but not any unethical activity inside the shrine,² they > said, raising pro-freedom slogans from the shrine microphones. As the news > spread, police fired dozens of rounds on the protesters outside the shrine to > disperse them. No bullet injuries were however reported. But minutes after the > firing, policemen barged into different localities with bamboo sticks and > broke the windowpanes of dozens of houses and vehicles. This scared the > residents, particularly women and children, who accused police of unleashing a > reign of terror. ³Police is meant to secure people and ensure their safety in > times of need. But here they are terrorizing people in this holy month > of Ramadan. It is highly condemnable,² said Shams, a resident. ³The government > must take action against the policemen involved in the heinous crime. The > matter must be probed thoroughly.² Police also beat up several people > including women in Dhobi Mohalla and ransacked many houses, triggering a > scuffle. ³We were beaten ruthlessly,² said the residents. ³Men of armed police > barged into our houses and started beating women and children. Many > protesters sustained injuries.² Windowpanes of several vehicles were also > broken. On Thursday, the stalemate ³temporarily ended² when the government, > in a fresh round of talks with the residents, agreed to fulfill their demands > including transfer of policemen involved in Saturday¹s police action and > removal of barracks from the shrine complex in a phased manner. ³Though a > majority of youth were not with the decision of phased removal of barracks, > but keeping in view the holy month of Ramadan, the stalemate had to be ended. > But the police terror followed and aggravated the crisis,² the residents > said. On Wednesday, the senior superintendent of police (Srinagar), > Ashiq Bukhari, had ³added fuel to the fire² by openly refusing to remove > the police barracks while the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Meraj > Ahmad Kakroo, had sought time to meet the demand. On Thursday, strict > curfew was clamped in the area following Muslim Waqf Board¹s announcement that > it would clean the shrine to resume the prayers. While no local was with the > Board¹s announcement, the SSP¹s diktat and the announcement had infuriated the > residents. COPS ŒABUSE¹ SHO: The station house officer of Police Station > Nigeen was abused and his vehicle attacked by personnel of armed police after > he asked them not to open fire on the protesters. Witnesses said at least 30 > personnel caught hold of the SHO and his escort and stated hurling abuses at > them. Confirming the armed police action, a senior police official, insisting > not to be named, said, ³The armed policemen tried to aim a Light Machine Gun > at the protesters. The SHO and his men caught hold of the LMG and aimed it > in the air following which over 100 rounds were used. The armed > personnel abused the SHO for saving the protesters. Had he not caught hold > of the gun, the armed cops would have killed scores of people.² The official > said the armed cops were ³frustrated² on seeing that the locals won by getting > them transferred from the area. ³It is sheer frustration on part of the armed > cops. They attacked SHO¹s vehicle as well. We request the government to get > the matter probed,² he said. According to sources, SHO Nigeen Hazratbal has > registered and FIR against the armed police for highhandedness. NO PRAYERS > FOR 6TH DAY: Meanwhile no prayers were held in the shrine for the 6th > consecutive day. People continued to offer the five-time congregational > prayers either on road or inside their houses. This is for the second time > in the history that no prayers could be offered in the shrine. Earlier it had > happened during the month-long Hazratbal siege in 1993. The curbs on prayers > evoked severe criticism from different political and non-political > quarters. Meanwhile, the area continued to be tense following police action on > protesters. POLICE SILENT: No police officer agreed to speak on the issue. > However, the entire episode happened at a time when the Deputy Commissioner, > Srinagar, Meraj Ahmad Kakroo, was in Hazratbal to hold talks with the > residents. OFFICIAL VERSION According to a spokesman of J&K Muslim Waqf > Board, Gusul (cleaning) ceremony of Asar-i-Sharief, Hazratbal was performed > before Zuhar prayers as per the agreement made earlier in presence of > Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Mehraj Ahmad Kakroo and Superintendent > of Police, Srinagar. The ceremony was performed amidst Darood Khawani in which > large number of respectables and people of adjoining areas participated. On > this occasion, Vice Chairman, Muslim Waqf Board, M Y Qadri, Secretary of Waqf > Board and other Waqf officials were present. The spokesman said during Gusul > Khawani, some boys came down from the balcony with two playing card leaves in > their hands and attempted to create confusion. ³They also forced people to > move out. Obviously, this seems to be a deliberate attempt to deprive people > from offering prayers in the Dargah Sharief on one pretext or another > pretext,² the spokesman > said. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open > discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To > subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the subject header. To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 15:58:10 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:58:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Kashmir=92s_only_Jain_temple_burnt?= =?windows-1252?q?_down?= Message-ID: Kashmir’s only Jain temple burnt down Idols Safe As Priest, Sniffing Trouble, Hid Them In Hotel Hemali Chhapia & Mansi Choksi | TNN The Times of India Mumbai: Two years ago, a family from Mumbai built a temple in the lap of snow-capped mountains miles away in Srinagar. The derasar (temple), carved out of teak, decked with marigolds and installed with three idols of Jain tirthankars, was set up for the thousands of Jains who streamed into the volatile region every holiday season. But last Saturday, the only Jain temple in the Kashmir Valley was burnt down by a mob. “It is now ground zero. There is nothing left,’’ says Jyotin Doshi, chairman of Gem, a travel agency in Mumbai, whose family built the temple. A shaken-up Doshi recalls speaking to the priest, the lone caretaker of the temple, on the night the violence erupted. “There was curfew in the Valley but he noticed people gathering outside the temple,’’ he says. The priest, who is disturbed and has now returned to his village near Lucknow, quickly gathered the three idols, which were sculpted out of panchdhatu (an alloy of gold, silver, copper, iron and zinc), and hid them in a hotel. “Three hours later, the mob struck and destroyed what we had built,’’ says Doshi. Two members of Doshi’s team from Mumbai, Apurva Bhansali and Jiten Dharod, flew to Srinagar the next day when the curfew was lifted. They packed the idols in cardboard boxes and flew to Sabarmati in Gujarat. “Before the two had reached, the news had spread in Sabarmati. When the idols were installed in Chintamani Parshwanath derasar there, there were more than 14,000 people who came for darshan,’’ he says. Doshi says his family set up the temple to realize his 68-year-old mother’s dream. “There are many Jain travellers who can’t start their day without offering prayers. She believed that the Valley needed a Jain temple for them,’’ he says. After news spread, the Doshi family has been flooded with support from the community. “We don’t want anything out of this. Such an issue is easily made into a political controversy. We only want closure through nonviolence. Our idols are safe and that’s what matters,’’ he says. The Doshis, a family from Mumbai, had set up the derasar in Srinagar two years ago to realize the wishes of their mother, who wanted to build a temple for Jains. After the shrine was destroyed in violence, they secretly took the idols to Gujarat From shuddha at sarai.net Sat Aug 21 17:03:35 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (shuddha at sarai.net) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 17:03:35 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?utf-8?q?Kashmir=E2=80=99s_only_Jain_temple_burnt_?= =?utf-8?q?down?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear All, I'd like to thank Shri Aditya Raj Kaul for sharing this 'developing' story. I am sure it will 'develop' further. I am curious to know where exactly in Srinagar, Kashmir, this 'Jain Temple' is, or more correctly, if the story is to be believed, was, located? I am sure it would be easy to find a street name, an exact address, even a photograph of the location. Perhaps we could be pointed to a link (no doubt there must be a niche on a website like 'Flickr' where it would be documented) where we could see with our own eyes an image of the sad and unfortunate destruction of this sole Jain Temple in the Kashmir valley. Interestingly, the first report of this alleged incident came to light in a website called 'Desh Gujarat'. I would advise everyone to take a close look at Desh Gujarat to observe the origins of this developing story. The report in Desh Gujarat is dated 11th August 2010. Which means, contrary to the report forwarded to us by Shri Aditya Raj Kaul, it must have occured, not on Saturday, the 14th of August, but even earlier, at least before the 11th of August . See the following link http://deshgujarat.com/2010/08/11/7-jain-idols-rescued-from-srinagar-jain-mandir-brought-to-ahmedabad/ But it isn't just time travel from one date to another alone that makes this story interesting. There seems to be an indication of some space travel as well. The 'Desh Gujarat' Report says : "The Sunni islamist anti-nationals of Kashmir, recently destroyed a Jain Mandir located on the banks of Alaknanda river in Kashmir valley’s Srinagar city. However, before they could do any harm to the idols, tha Jain Mandir’s priest took the idols out of the Mandir and shifted them to safer place." All very well. The only problem is a minor Geographical one. There happen to be two places called Srinagar. One is in the Kashmir valley, and the other is in the Pauri-Garhwal region of Uttaranchal/Uttarakhand. The Alakananda River flows, not through Srinagar in Kashmir, (where the river is the Jhelum) but through Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal. And there is indeed a Jain Temple located by the banks of the Alaknanda in Srinagar, in Pauri Garhwal. see - http://www.jainheritagecentres.com/Uttarpradesh/Srinagar.htm Now, either the Alaknanda River has travelled a few hundred kilometres north west from Pauri Garhwal to the Kashmir valley, across the Pir Panjal, carrying the Jain Temple with it, or there is something a bit fishy in this story. I am perefectly willing to believe that the first is the case, but I would like some convincing evidence of such a marvel of the engineering sciences, and I am curious to know why, we did not know of such a feat earlier. If indeed, it had taken place. Could it be, that a bit of imaginative reporting (travelling like a bad game of 'Chinese Whispers', from before the 11th of August to the 14th of August, and from hearsay to 'Desh Gujarat' to the Times News Network, jumping across the inconvenient obstacles of space and time) has transposed the fate of a Jain temple in one Srinagar on to the map of another? I remain curious, and as always, interested, Shuddha On Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:58:10 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul wrote > Kashmir’s only Jain temple burnt down Idols Safe As Priest, Sniffing > Trouble, Hid Them In Hotel Hemali Chhapia & Mansi Choksi | TNN > The Times of India > > Mumbai: Two years ago, a family from Mumbai built a temple in the lap of > snow-capped mountains miles away in Srinagar. The derasar (temple), carved > out of teak, decked with marigolds and installed with three idols of Jain > tirthankars, was set up for the thousands of Jains who streamed into the > volatile region every holiday season. > > But last Saturday, the only Jain temple in the Kashmir Valley was burnt > down by a mob. “It is now ground zero. There is nothing left,’’ says Jyotin > Doshi, chairman of Gem, a travel agency in Mumbai, whose family built the > temple. > > A shaken-up Doshi recalls speaking to the priest, the lone caretaker of > the temple, on the night the violence erupted. “There was curfew in the > Valley but he noticed people gathering outside the temple,’’ he says. The > priest, who is disturbed and has now returned to his village near > Lucknow, quickly > gathered the three idols, which were sculpted out of panchdhatu (an alloy of > gold, silver, copper, iron and zinc), and hid them in a hotel. “Three hours > later, the mob struck and destroyed what we had built,’’ says Doshi. > > Two members of Doshi’s team from Mumbai, Apurva Bhansali and Jiten > Dharod, flew to Srinagar the next day when the curfew was lifted. They > packed the idols in cardboard boxes and flew to Sabarmati in Gujarat. > “Before the two had reached, the news had spread in Sabarmati. When the > idols were installed in Chintamani Parshwanath derasar there, there were > more than 14,000 people who came for darshan,’’ he says. > > Doshi says his family set up the temple to realize his 68-year-old > mother’s dream. “There are many Jain travellers who can’t start their day > without offering prayers. She believed that the Valley needed a Jain temple > for them,’’ he says. > > After news spread, the Doshi family has been flooded with support from > the community. “We don’t want anything out of this. Such an issue is easily > made into a political controversy. We only want closure through nonviolence. > Our idols are safe and that’s what matters,’’ he says. > The Doshis, a family from Mumbai, had set up the derasar in Srinagar two > years ago to realize the wishes of their mother, who wanted to build a > temple for Jains. After the shrine was destroyed in violence, they secretly > took the idols to Gujarat > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From mgowhar at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 21:01:02 2010 From: mgowhar at gmail.com (mgowhar) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:01:02 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "Report on desecrated Jain temple by national newspaper rubbished" Message-ID: Link http://www.kashmirdispatch.com/ShowStory.asp?NewsID=2108&CategoryID=29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Srinagar, August 21: A report in The Times of India’s (TOI) Mumbai edition about the burning of a Jain temple in Srinagar has been termed “mischievious” by the state government. “The news report about the burning of a Jain temple in Srinagar is absolutely baseless and it’s a mischievous report,” said Mehraj-ud-Din Kakroo, District Commissioner Srinagar. The general manager of the hotel in whose premises the temporary structure was erected to attract Jain tourists also rubbished the report. While speaking to Kashmir Dispatch, General Manager Imran from Silver Star Hotel, said, “The temporary temple was dismantled and the idols were removed by the Mumbai-based tour operator after his three-year contract expired last month.” “We had a three-year long contract with the travel agency for hosting tourists, mostly from Jain faith. The tour operator asked us to build a temporary Jain temple in the hotel to attract the Jain followers and facilitate their prayers in the hotel,” explained Imran. “On August 10, they came and removed the idols and dismantled the fabricated structure,” he added. The article, which appeared on Saturday, August 21, claimed that a Jain temple was burnt in Srinagar on Saturday by violent mobs. Quoting Gem Tour operator Jyotin Doshi, the report stated Doshi’s family built that temple, three years ago in the premises of a private hotel Silver Star. The Mumbai-based tour operator added, “There was curfew in the Valley but he (the priest) noticed people gathering outside the temple. The priest quickly gathered the three idols, which were sculpted out of panchdhatu (an alloy of gold, silver, copper, iron and zinc), and hid them in a hotel. Three hours later, the mob struck and destroyed what we had built.’’ The report further claims that two members of Doshi’s team from Mumbai, Apurva Bhansali and Jiten Dharod, flew to Srinagar the next day when the curfew was lifted. They packed the idols in cardboard boxes and flew to Sabarmati. “It was not burnt and TOI will come out with a corrigendum,” said Jyotin Doshi, Chairman of Gem Tours, Mumbai, who facilitated the construction of the Jain temple in the Hotel told Kashmir Dispatch. "The structure was broken; we don’t know by whom, we had a contract with the hotel for five years under which the temple was built on the hotel property," he said. “We don’t want to create enmity and request everybody to stop thinking about the matter. We have now installed the idols in Ahmedabad and there is nothing more I can say on this. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regards. Gowhar Farooq. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 21:53:12 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:53:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmiri Sikhs say they are safe in Valley Message-ID: Kashmiri Sikhs say they are safe in Valley 2010-08-20 21:40:00 http://sify.com/news/kashmiri-sikhs-say-they-are-safe-in-valley-news-national-kiuvEdedhai.html Kashmiri Sikhs refute suggestions that they are in any danger, after they received letters claiming to be from separatist organizations, insisting to join the protests against civilian killings, or leave the Valley, altogether. The Sikh populace on Friday said they are safe in the Valley. "What was the need to send these letters? If any organization has done this, they would have done it using their letterhead. We can say that this must be done by a central government or state government-paid organization," said Indumeet Singh, the Chairman of the United Sikh Front Kashmir. "We don't have any problem here, we are living here for the past 20 years in the midst of so much of militancy, and we never faced any such problems," he added. Locals also said they are completely safe in the Valley, adding that they had been staying there since many years. "If we have any problem, the Muslim brothers always came and helped us. This is a kind of propaganda by one of the organizations, which are working here. We are a kind of a scapegoat for them. They want to gain something out of it," said Rajender Singh, a local. Meanwhile, separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani reassured Sikhs, and said they shouldn't feel threatened and should, in fact, ignore the fake letters. He added that nobody would force them to join the protests. "It is not necessary that any Muslim would do. This can be done by any third person who wants to spread misinformation and wants to harm and stop our movement," said Geelani. Sikh organizations, said that they feel secure with the majority of Muslim community. Meanwhile, Rattan Singh Ajnala, a lawmaker of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) raised the matter in the Lok Sabha and said that Sikhs have always been there whenever the country needed them. Ajnala showed a newspaper, which carried an article stating that the Sikhs in the Valley got letters from separatist organizations, threatening them to either join their movements or leave the Valley. By Parvez Butt (ANI) From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 21:59:17 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:59:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] JKNPP accuses Omar govt of giving communal twist to Kashmir crisis Message-ID: JKNPP accuses Omar govt of giving communal twist to Kashmir crisis Published: Saturday, Aug 21, 2010, 18:46 IST Place: Srinagar | Agency: PTI http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_jknpp-accuses-omar-govt-of-giving-communal-twist-to-kashmir-crisis_1426730 Amid reports about Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir getting threats from militants, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) today accused the Omar government of trying to give a communal twist to the crisis in the Valley to divert people's attention from its own "failure" to tackle the situation. "I appeal to people, particularly the youth, to beware of National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance leaders who have been trying to divert the attention of the people and the rest of the country from the state government's failure to tackle the situation by giving it a communal twist," JKNPP chief Bhim Singh said in a statement in Srinagar. Singh praised the minorities, particularly the Sikh community, for strengthening the secular values in the state, especially in the valley. Accusing the NC-Congress alliance headed by Omar Abdullah of absolutely failing to deliver, the JKNPP chief demanded immediate imposition of governor's rule in the state. In an apparent reference to separatists, he alleged that a few individuals and busy bodies were running a parallel administration in the Valley and said it was a fit case for the governor to intervene under Section 92 of the state's Constitution and take over the responsibilities of the government for some time. Singh said even the autonomy issue raised by NC leaders was an attempt to sideline the real issue to save the chief minister and his "tainted" government from the wrath of Section 92. "There are no takers of autonomy or self-rule in the entire state. The resolution of the issue lies in the reorganisation of the state on the basis of cultural, linguistic, geographical identities of each region, Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu", he said. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 22:16:56 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:16:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] When Muslim neighbours helped in a Kashmiri Pandit's last rites Message-ID: When Muslim neighbours helped in a Kashmiri Pandit's last rites http://news.oneindia.in/2010/08/12/whenmuslim-neighbours-helped-in-a-kashmiri-pandits-lastr.html Srinagar, Aug.12 (ANI): Setting an inspirational example of brotherhood and communal amity in the ongoing the holy month of Ramadan, a group of Muslims on Thursday here helped their Hindu brethrens to perform the last rites of a Kashmiri Hindu. Somnath Koul, a Kashmiri Pandit, died at about 7:00 a.m.. But in the absence of enough people to properly perform the last rites, the Muslim neighbours filled the vacuum. "This body is of our neighbour who was a Kashmiri Pandit. He died at around 7 in the morning today (August 12). There were just a few Pandits in their house, rest of us are all Muslims, so we have assisted in the performing of all his last rites," said Shahid Muneer, a Muslim neighbour of Somnath Koul. Veerjee Koul, son of the deceased Somnath expressed his gratitude to his Muslim neighbours. "Muslims have contributed a lot. 90 percent of the people present here are Muslims. As you have seen how many people were present here. So we are very thankful to the Muslims," said Veerjee Koul, son of the deceasd. It was a rare sight to witness a large number of Muslims making their presence felt during the last rites of a Hindu. So much so the Muslims facilitated almost all the arrangements for the final rituals. Somnath was a resident of Chanapora region on the outskirts of Srinagar city. On the onset of turbulence in the Kashmir valley, there was an exodus of thousands of Kashmiri Pandit families who migrated to other places of the country. However, the family members of Somnath decided to stay back in the valley. By Parvez Bhatt (ANI) From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 22:21:20 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:21:20 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'Threat To Sikhs Baseless, Concocted Lie' Message-ID: 'Threat To Sikhs Baseless, Concocted Lie' http://www.kashmirobserver.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5301:threat-to-sikhs-baseless-concocted-lie-govt-&catid=3:regional-news&Itemid=4 Srinagar Aug 20, KONS-The state government and the top Hurriyat leadership today strongly denied the report published in a New Delhi newspaper regarding alleged harassment of some members of Sikh community in Kashmir. Both have termed it as baseless and concocted propaganda against Kashmiri people. A government spokesman termed the report “a deliberate attempt to malign the strong secular image of the people of Kashmir outside the state”. He said that letters written by some anonymous mischievous person can’t be projected as view of majority as has been done by the said newspaper. The spokesman said that all the communities are living amicably in the valley and cited the instance of a group of people (Muslims) who performed last rites of their neighbour belonging to Pandit community just the other day. Spokesman, while terming the story published by the newspaper as a figment of imagination and sheer falsehood said that the valley of Kashmir is the bedrock of strong, secular ideology, which has been established by it during all the testing times. He further said that news report is aimed at creating confusion at a time when the situation was slowly moving towards normalcy. He cited the successful example of Amarnath Yatra in which lakhs of devotees paid obeisance at holy cave with the people of Kashmir warmly facilitating their pilgrimage. He said it seems handiwork of those elements, who are bent on creating wedge between various communities to foment trouble. He said that recently three weeks before one isolated ugly incident which occurred at Tral was unanimously condemned by entire population. Meanwhile Kashmiri Sikhs too have refuted the reports saying they were safe in the Valley. "What was the need to send these letters? If any genuine organization wanted to do this, they would have used their letterhead. We can say that this can even be the handiwork of a central or state govt backed group," said Indumeet Singh, the Chairman of the United Sikh Front Kashmir. "We don't have any problem here, we are living here for the past 20 years in the midst of so much of militancy, and we never faced any such problems," he added. "Whenever we had any problem, the Muslim brethren have always been there to help us. Meanwhile, top Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani reassured Sikh community of his total support saying they shouldn't feel threatened and should, in fact, ignore the fake letters. He added that nobody would force them to join the protests. "This certainly is job of some vested interest who are out to harm our movement which is based on justice and fairplay," Geelani said. Chairman of the moderate Hurriyat conference, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq to has strongly denounced the reports. In his sermon at Jamia mosque today, Mirwaiz said this conspiracy has been hatched at this stage by various agencies only to defame the noble struggle of Kashmiri people which has unnerved the powers. He reassured minorities in Kashmir, including Sikhs, to feel safe as their Muslim brethren were behind them as a solid shield adding "together we will defeat such elements". From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 23:04:26 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:04:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] How Narendra Modi's attack on Jains and Buddhists backfired Message-ID: http://in.news.yahoo.com/060923/43/67v1f.html Narendra Modi's anti-conversion ploy misfires By Amulya Ganguly IANS Saturday September 23, 08:39 AM If Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi presumed that an anti-conversion law was the right card to play to consolidate his position in a state that is yet to recover fully from the after-effects of the 2002 riots, then he seems to have miscalculated. The Hindutva lobby has routinely used laws of this nature to target the Christian missionaries and propagate the fear that the conversion of Hindus, along with the faster growth rate of the Muslims, would gradually reduce the Hindus to a minority in India. Although the law only rules out conversion through coercion or allurement, the objective is to create the impression that the Christian missionaries are up to no good. The fallout has been to intimidate them and keep the entire community under pressure. An occasional attack on churches and on individual Christians, including nuns, has been the result of these tactics of the saffron brotherhood. However, the problem with the latest law is that it has clubbed the Jain and Buddhist communities too along with the Hindus. The explanation behind the move is that Article 25 of the constitution does put the Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs on the same category as Hindus in the matter of laws regulating or restricting economic, political and secular activities associated with religious practices. However, members of these communities have generally been against this categorization although it remains in the statute book. Significantly, the Sikhs haven't been included in the Gujarat legislation presumably to avoid offending them and thereby jeopardizing the ties between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sikh-dominated Akali Dal in Punjab, where an election is due early next year. As may be expected, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has noted the exclusion and called for including Sikhs in the new law since it is less concerned with political sensitivities than with expanding the Hindu sphere of influence. But it is unlikely that Modi will heed its request if only because he now has to contend with the protests from the Jains and Buddhists. Since both constitute small and peaceable communities, it is unlikely that there will be any serious law and order problems. But the impression will persist that Modi's chief motivation is to derive political mileage through what he considers a safe route, especially because he has chosen to leave out the Sikhs. But there is another aspect of which Modi may be aware. The Buddhists may be small in numbers but there is a connection between them and Dalits ever since B.R. Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism in 1956 when the iconic Dalit leader said: 'By discarding my ancient religion which stood for inequality and oppression, today I am reborn.' This is the central point of difference between Hinduism and the other religions, which even Ambedkar admitted were 'a part and parcel of Bharatiya culture', because there is no caste system in the latter. It is possible, therefore, that the Dalits in Gujarat, as also elsewhere in India, will not be too pleased with this blatant decision by Modi to play cynical games with religion. As a party, therefore, the BJP will have to contend with the resentment of Dalits in states like Uttar Pradesh where they have considerable electoral clout. Modi's latest decision may not be unrelated to the widespread criticism of his government by his own party men over the recent floods in the state. Moreover, the Congress has been trying to exploit the recent reopening under orders of the Supreme Court of more than 2,000 riot cases, which had been closed by the state police on flimsy grounds. The Congress has been claiming that the Supreme Court intervention, which also led to the transfer of several important cases to Mumbai for a fair trial, has tarnished Gujarat's reputation. The criticism carries weight because it targets not only the state's politicians and policemen for shielding the members of the saffron fraternity for their involvement in the riots but also the lower judiciary, which could not ensure that justice was done to the victims. Since the BJP is already sharply divided in Gujarat with no love lost between Modi and the influential group led by former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, the former evidently had to initiate a step which would boost his position before the next elections. Given the speculation that Modi has to ensure a second successive victory for his party in the state before he can move to the centre in search of a larger role, the anti-conversion measure was an obvious choice for him. But what he may not have taken into account is the fact that the Hindutva wave of the 1990s has waned. As much was clear from the decision of one of BJP's foremost allies, the Janata Dal-United, to oppose an anti-conversion law proposed by the BJP-led government in Jharkhand which has since fallen. It is worth recalling in this context that the Janata Dal-United leaders did not let Modi take part in the election campaign in Bihar, which it subsequently won. So, given Modi's continuing unpopularity except among his supporters in Gujarat, he seems to have unnecessarily courted further controversy by alienating the Jains and Buddhists. (Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 23:07:00 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:07:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Surat - Thieves steal five idols from Jain temple Message-ID: Thieves steal five idols from Jain temple TNN, Aug 3, 2010, 10.11pm IST http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Thieves-steal-five-idols-from-Jain-temple/articleshow/6253496.cms Surat: Thieves struck at a Jain temple by breaking the locks of its two doors at Gopipura here in the wee hours of Tuesday and fled away with five panchdhatu idols of Tirthankar worth Rs 12,300, police said. When the devotees and the priest entered the temple premises, they found the lock of the temple door broken. On checking, they found five panchdhatu idols missing from the temple. Surprisingly, the thieves did not steal the silver crowns on the idols which were taken by them. It is suspected that the thieves took the idols to be of gold and hence left behind the silver crowns. The temple is located at the densely populated Gopiputa Kajinu Maidan near Gopipura crossroads. The area has many narrow lanes and any noise in the temple can alert the residents too. However, the burglars still managed to steal the idols without getting caught. Read more: Thieves steal five idols from Jain temple - Surat - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Thieves-steal-five-idols-from-Jain-temple/articleshow/6253496.cms#ixzz0xGN6J64L From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 23:11:32 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:11:32 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Who Is Asking The Sikhs In Kashmir To Convert? Message-ID: Who Is Asking The Sikhs In Kashmir To Convert? By Farzana Versey 20 August, 2010 Countercurrents.org Has anyone asked this crucial question? Before it can be voiced in cogent terms, the government ’swings into action’ to protect the Sikhs. Let us not forget that the Congress party had done no such protecting of the community in the capital city and the rest of the country in 1984. Those who were indicted and held responsible for the carnage managed to hold important portfolios and stay in power for years. People are still waiting for compensation. Therefore, the central government’s prompt action – and it is rather surprising that not only does it come from the home minister, but also the finance minister and the external affairs minister – reveals that it has found a new ruse to deal with the people’s movement in the Valley. Unlike the Kashmiri Pandits who were systematically made to ‘flee’ by vested interests, the Sikhs are not an extremely wealthy or powerful group and decided to stay back. As the largest minority group comprising 60,000 people, they faced problems just as the other locals did. Now there is news that they have received letters asking them to join the protest or convert to Islam. Some of these letters state: “When you are enjoying the joys here, why can’t you share the grief and sorrow of Kashmiris as well? We know you are afraid of bullets. Hold protests inside gurudwaras or leave Kashmir.’’ In these notes there is no mention of conversion. There is a call for joining forces and fighting in their own religious places. The coordinator of the All Party Sikh Coordination Committee (ASCC), Jagmohan Singh Raina, said, “Our community members have received unsigned letters at various places. Some letters have asked Sikhs to embrace Islam.’’ He said his people would not leave and much rather fight the “evil designs’’. It must be noted that these are unsigned letters. Whose evil designs are these? If members of the community do decide to convert, will it not alert the authorities? Will their converting to Islam not become an even greater hindrance to the civilian war taking place? Why did Raina choose to appeal to separatist organisations like the JKLF, the Hurriyat and rather incongruously the PoK-based United Jihad Council to ensure peace and amity? Why did he and his organisation not address the issue to the chief minister Omar Abdullah? The issue reached Parliament and, as reports say, the government “held out an assurance that Sikhs had nothing to fear in Kashmir in the wake of reported threats to the minority community from militants to convert to Islam or leave the Valley”. There is no mention of the letters that asked them to join the protest movement. The NDA members, always on the lookout for such ‘communal’ concerns, had to be placated; Chidambaram told them, “nobody will be allowed to harm the Sikh community”. Indeed, the community ought to be protected but this verbal heroism is senseless when the local population is being harmed everyday. Has there been such immediate sympathy expressed for the ongoing war and killings of civilians and security personnel? A shoe thrown at Omar Abdullah gets more mileage than the street protests. Pranab Mukherjee became magnanimous: "Not only Muslims of Kashmir but the whole of India would rise as one to stand by the Sikh community.” When was the last time the whole of India stood as one to stand by a community, and how could it when the establishment orchestrates such harm? Has anybody informed the whole of India about where those letters have come from? Why did the Sikh representative in Kashmir talk to the militant groups? Why was the PoK organisation informed? Assuming these threats are coming from the Pakistani side, why would they be interested in “peace and amity”? It just does not sound right. While Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called these letters fake and had on an earlier occasion dramatically stated that the Sikhs could not be forced to join the protests and harming them would be like inflicting a wound on his body, it conveys the impression that his body has a great deal of importance. And if the JKLF and the Hurriyat do have a say in every such matter, then it begs the query as to what is the status of an elected government in the state? It is a known fact that when militant groups send out threats, they like to flash their credentials. Since this is an upsurge from the ground level, it would be presumed that the locals are sending those letters. This is damaging to them as well as to what they have held important all along – the coexistence with minorities. This is reminiscent of the planted fliers posted on walls during the exodus of Pandits. This time both the central and state governments do not know how to deal with the uprising in the Valley. Omar Abdullah can only give assurances when he knows well that there is nothing he can do because there is nothing he has done to salvage the situation. The separatist organisations are also riding on the wave rather than taking responsibility for it. Instead of assurances in Parliament and smart talk, the government should find out where the mischief is taking place and the origin of those letters. The Sikhs who have received them should file FIRs in the police station. That will be the first step towards getting the government involved rather than the government just standing from afar and issuing homilies. There is far more here then appears evident and the shoe could point in any direction. It’s time for the establishment to talk on its feet. Farzana Versey is a Mumbai-based author-columnist. She can be reached at kaaghaz.kalam at gmail.com From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sat Aug 21 23:16:28 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:16:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Of kangris and shoes! Message-ID: Of kangris and shoes! Kangri is a traditional Kashmiri weapon commonly used in winter while the shoe is a symbol of disgrace in local parlance M Ashraf http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/of-kangris-and-shoes-537.aspx Recently a senior columnist while commenting on the Independence Day shoe-gate in Kashmir related the story of the throwing of a Kangri (wicker covered earthen pot filled with burning charcoal traditionally used in winter under the locally worn robe for warming) in 1963 on a political leader which resulted in a major change in the political set up of the state in mid sixties. The incident had virtually wiped out a dynasty from the political scene. The prominent members of the clan went into hiding for quite sometime. The upheaval had resulted from the removal of the holy relic from its place in the Hazratbal shrine. The eleven year long suppression under Bakshi’s rule found a readymade outlet through the holy relic agitation. The upsurge was spontaneous and throughout the valley. The kangri incident on the old Amira Kadal Bridge resulted in the burning down of the vehicle of Rashid Bakshi, a cousin of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad. The vehicle was thrown into the river Jhelum. Same day Radio Station, Regal Cinema, and a number of other vehicles were burnt down by the mobs. However, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ordered that the peoples’ fury should not be restricted and they should be allowed to vent their emotions through processions and public meetings. People sat down in almost all major road crossings and lit huge log fires to escape the winter chill. They were round the clock reciting holy Quran. Community kitchens were set up and everybody was getting meals on the roadside. The agitation continued almost for a month till the holy relic was mysteriously placed back in its original location. The loss and recovery of the holy relic is probably the biggest mystery of the twentieth century? The movement kick started by the loss of holy relic was very intelligently channelled by Lal Bahadur Shastri, who had been deputed by Panditji to handle it, in collaboration with Maulana Masoodi towards the demand for the release of Sheikh Abdullah and the restoration of the right of self-determination. The movement also threw up Moulvi Farooq as a new leader heading the Action Committee. A new youth leadership was also thrown up due to the participation of a large number of students. This leadership was subsequently decimated by Sheikh Abdullah by labelling them as Intelligence Bureau agents! He was scared of losing his hold on the masses. The State got a new political set up headed by G M Sadiq, an honest, upright politician with strong communist leanings. It was probably the only clean government Kashmir has seen in the recent history? He was totally liberal and progressive and very much respected the educated and the intellectuals. Pandit Nehru had also realised his mistake of betraying his friend Sheikh Abdullah and sent him as an emissary to meet General Ayub Khan the then President of Pakistan to work out a settlement of the Kashmir problem. Unfortunately, Panditji’s demise disrupted the initiative. Pakistan tried to take advantage of the mass upsurge in Kashmir and sent its commandos to start an armed uprising. This venture failed as Kashmiris were not mentally prepared for an armed struggle. The infiltration resulted in an all out war. However, Kashmir tangle after a destructive war still remained unresolved! Kangri which had been used in this agitation has remained a weapon of choice for Kashmiri agitators in winter. It is an equivalent of a Molotov cocktail easily hidden under pheran (Kashmir robe)! In contrast to Kangri, which according to the senior columnist is a Kashmiri WMD, Shoe is symbolic of all types of disgrace in Kashmiri parlance. Shoe called Pozar in Kashmiri is associated with the worst form of insult and rebuke. Pozar wassin or pozar wallin in Kashmiri means to be disgraced or to disgrace. If a person wants to disgrace someone, he picks up a shoe and thrashes him with it. This method is used often to express anger against someone by disgracing him with a lowly shoe and is not meant so much to give physical harm. It is more symbolic than substantive. In the present case of the shoe hurling on the chief minister during the Indian Independence Day parade it was not so much to insult and disgrace the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah but has been an attempt to highlight the mass unrest against India. There could not have been a better opportunity than this to project the event worldwide through the electronic media. In fact, that is exactly what happened. The most important annual address of the prime minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort went into background and the shoe hurling on Omar Abdullah by a policeman shouting slogans for freedom grabbed all the headlines. The event was more significant as it represented a peaceful attempt to highlight the plight of Kashmiris than some earlier attempts during the peak of militancy when rockets were regularly fired against the parade from the neighbouring houses and lanes into the stadium. Those incidents represented the militant phase of the Kashmir’s uprising and the shoe hurling, which was in a lighter vein praised by the chief minister himself, symbolises the new form of peaceful protest. However, keeping in view some personal qualities of Omar Abdullah one feels that he did not deserve to be disgraced. Anger is right and one could direct it against him but not disgrace! He had started with a clean slate as a young, upright, and honest leader. People had great expectations from him. He had made many promises during the election campaign. But he failed to fulfil most of those promises especially the ones regarding the harrowing behaviour of the security forces. He seemed to be caught in the cobwebs of a coterie of mafia dons and his advisors did not give him the correct advice! Delhi very cleverly used him to face all the brunt which was actually directed against it. There is a difference in the kangri hurling of early sixties and the shoe hurling of August 15 this year. In the earlier case, the person concerned was a bully and totally uncouth. The kangri was hurled at the start of the revolution and swept away the whole lot. In the present shoe hurling, the person is not so bad but what he has come to represent is reprehensible to the common Kashmiri! Again the shoe was hurled in the present case when the revolution is already at its peak and the government has already been in a literal sense swept away and exists in name only! There is an astonishing aspect. One is at a loss to differentiate between the person who had an emotional outburst in the assembly merely on a moral allegation and the present one coming on TV off and on during the ongoing massacre of the Kashmiri youth. Are these two faces of the same person? Difficult to imagine! From aliens at dataone.in Sat Aug 21 23:51:19 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:51:19 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] INDIA TAX NET DRAGON Message-ID: <005a01cb415d$a8ec8d30$fac5a790$@in> ` TAX STRUCTURE IN INDIA ` Question Answers on TAXES What are you doing? - Business - pay professional tax! What are you doing in Business? - Selling the Goods. - pay sales tax!! >From where are you getting Goods? - From other State/Abroad - pay central sales tax, custom duty & octroi! What are you getting in Selling Goods? - Profit. - pay income tax! How do you distribute profit ? - By way of dividend - pay dividend distribution tax Where you Manufacturing the Goods? - Factory. - pay excise duty! Do you have Office / Warehouse/ Factory? - Yes - pay municipal & fire tax! Do you have Staff? - Yes - pay staff professional tax! Doing business in Millions? - Yes - pay turnover tax! No - then pay minimum alternate tax Are you taking out over 25,000 Cash from Bank? - Yes, for Salary. - pay cash handling tax! Where are you taking your client for Lunch & Dinner? - Hotel - pay food & entertainment tax! Are you going Out of Station for Business? - Yes - pay fringe benefit tax! Have you taken or given any Service/s? - Yes - pay service tax! How come you got such a Big Amount? - Gift on birthday. - pay gift tax! Do you have any Wealth? - Yes - pay wealth tax! To reduce Tension, for entertainment, where are you going? - Cinema or Resort. - pay entertainment tax! Have you purchased House? - Yes - pay stamp duty & registration fee ! How you Travel? - Bus - pay surcharge! Any Additional Tax? - Yes - pay educational, additional educational & surcharge on all the central govt.'s tax !!! Delayed any time Paying Any Tax? - Yes - pay interest & penalty! INDIAN :: Can I Die Now?? - Wait we are about to launch the funeral tax!!! From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Sun Aug 22 08:36:51 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:06:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image Message-ID: <432236.69403.qm@web114706.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Wonder if anyone has access to the advertisement. This would be interesting. The drama is endless. http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/anhad-seeks-apology-from-bjp-553.aspx ANHAD seeks apology from BJP Rising Kashmir News Srinagar, August21: Shabnam Hashmi, managing trustee of ANHAD, a Non-governmental organization, has written a letter to Bhartiya Janata Party and expressed shock over the usage of a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration by BJP in its “Kashmir Bachao Divas” which was organized by BJP today at Mavlankar Auditorium, Constitution Club, New Delhi. “I am absolutely shocked to see a BJP advertisement issued in the Indian Express on 20.8.2010 and Navbharat Times on 21.8.2010 wherein a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi held on 8.7.10 has been misused,” it was written in the letter sent by Hashmi to BJP President,Gadkari. ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in response to the hate ideology of the Sangh Parivar displayed during the Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal organization. “To use our photograph in your advertisement is not only an insult to ANHAD, but it also grossly defames our organization because it seems to suggest that Anhad has given the consent to BJP to use the photograph of its demonstration. Nothing could be further from the truth. “The demonstration organized by ANHAD was specifically regarding the excessive acts of violence by the security forces in Kashmir. This is in total contrast to the BJP meeting which is unconcerned about the plight of the people of Kashmir and looks at the issue as a law and order problem and calls for even more severe repression by the use of security forces,” the letter read. ANHAD in the letter said that it is highly defamatory, illegal and unethical on part of BJP to use its material without any permission and criticized BJP for the “total ideological bankruptcy.” “We call upon the BJP to issue an advertisement of equal size in all the newspapers in which this advertisement has appeared apologizing for the use of that photograph and stating therein that ANHAD and the persons who are shown in the photograph have nothing to do with the BJP,” the letter read. From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Sun Aug 22 08:50:53 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:20:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Why does BJP appropriate images all the time? Message-ID: <345450.30348.qm@web114718.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Is this a deliberate policy to remain in the news by making a fool of themselves or an unending series of blunders? http://www.hindustantimes.com/Valley-blooper-in-new-BJP-ad/Article1-590075.aspx Valley blooper in new BJP ad After Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, it is the turn of the Delhi BJP to embarrass the party’s top brass with another advertising folly. This time, the party used a photograph of NGO Anhad activists protesting the use of security forces in Kashmir to accuse the UPA government of failing to tackle terrorism in the valley on eve of party’s Kashmir Bachao Divas. The NGO had been most vocal critic of BJP since the Gujarat riots and even filed a petition in Supreme Court against the state government in alleged fake encounter of Samir Pathan. “Use of photograph without our permission... goes beyond your Kashmir Bachao Divas as Anhad and BJP are two diame-trically opposite organizations,” said Anhad’s managing trustee Shabnam Hashmi, in a letter to BJP president Nitin Gadkari. The photograph is of Anhad activists in a Kashmir-related protest in New Delhi. The picture was used in full-page advertisements in two national newspapers with a caption “in protest against UPA government’s failure to tackle terrorist and separatist forces in Kashmir”. Hashmi warned of legal action if the BJP did not apologise. Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta said “It was an unintentional error. The advertising company may had put a backgrounder and by mistake may have used Anhad photograph”. In June, the Gujarat government had used a photograph of Muslim girls in UP’s Shibli Inter College to showcase how Muslim girls were doing well in the Narendra Modi-ruled state. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/590075.aspx © Copyright 2009 Hindustan Times From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 22 11:09:27 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:09:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image In-Reply-To: <432236.69403.qm@web114706.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <432236.69403.qm@web114706.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <000001cb41bc$63403340$29c099c0$@in> Dear Gowhar, The reason given for the formation of ANHAD itself is baseless. They says that it was formed for hatred ideology shown by SANGH after 2002 Gujarat carnage. First of all there is no any such hatred exists from any corner either from SANGH or BJP. So, don't give excuse or wrong reason to form NGO. So many NGO are working and this is one more. Let it be. What about the protester in Kashmir proved to be instigated from across the border? So, allegation against violation by security forces is baseless. They doing there duty to restore piece, which they do everywhere in caase of protest. As a NGO, why they are not protesting against Pak for their mischief since years? Why don't they protest against Kashmir separatists fully responsible for violence since years? Such biased behavior of NGO looses the credibility and no right to blame anyone unless they change themselves and act neutrally. J&K is border state and there is no question to remove army/security forces from there. If anyone suggests or think that way is fool. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of gowhar fazli Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 8:37 AM To: reader-list at sarai.net Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image Wonder if anyone has access to the advertisement. This would be interesting. The drama is endless. http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/anhad-seeks-apology-from-bjp-553.aspx ANHAD seeks apology from BJP Rising Kashmir News Srinagar, August21: Shabnam Hashmi, managing trustee of ANHAD, a Non-governmental organization, has written a letter to Bhartiya Janata Party and expressed shock over the usage of a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration by BJP in its “Kashmir Bachao Divas” which was organized by BJP today at Mavlankar Auditorium, Constitution Club, New Delhi. “I am absolutely shocked to see a BJP advertisement issued in the Indian Express on 20.8.2010 and Navbharat Times on 21.8.2010 wherein a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi held on 8.7.10 has been misused,” it was written in the letter sent by Hashmi to BJP President,Gadkari. ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in response to the hate ideology of the Sangh Parivar displayed during the Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal organization. “To use our photograph in your advertisement is not only an insult to ANHAD, but it also grossly defames our organization because it seems to suggest that Anhad has given the consent to BJP to use the photograph of its demonstration. Nothing could be further from the truth. “The demonstration organized by ANHAD was specifically regarding the excessive acts of violence by the security forces in Kashmir. This is in total contrast to the BJP meeting which is unconcerned about the plight of the people of Kashmir and looks at the issue as a law and order problem and calls for even more severe repression by the use of security forces,” the letter read. ANHAD in the letter said that it is highly defamatory, illegal and unethical on part of BJP to use its material without any permission and criticized BJP for the “total ideological bankruptcy.” “We call upon the BJP to issue an advertisement of equal size in all the newspapers in which this advertisement has appeared apologizing for the use of that photograph and stating therein that ANHAD and the persons who are shown in the photograph have nothing to do with the BJP,” the letter read. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com Sun Aug 22 16:22:29 2010 From: rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com (Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:22:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] INDIA TAX NET DRAGON In-Reply-To: <005a01cb415d$a8ec8d30$fac5a790$@in> References: <005a01cb415d$a8ec8d30$fac5a790$@in> Message-ID: Dear Bipin, it is rather an amusing situation for citizen in India, that inspite of such taxes, the percentage of citizens honestly paying taxes is very low, for thanks to the "consultants" and "chartered" accountants, there are numerous loop holes to exploit, use, and be legally correct in not paying any tax for the corporate Zjars who cock a snook at tax laws, just as the political leadership which increases its own salaries five fold, thus looting the collected tax.! With over a billion population one may look cynically if it is said that income tax payers of India is just 2.1 percent of the total population, of this 73 percent is salaried class who have no option but to pay as the tax is deducted at salary source.! Babus who still occupy positins of power, after the retirement, judicial officers who enjoy remunerations after retirement, politicians who pass the nuclear liability bill for the citizens after hefty quid pro quo s are all in league when it comes to legally voiding taxes.! Poor indian citizen pays taxes in indirect way even when he buys tooth paste or a small purchase of a tooth brush.! But the leaders in society get all the pin to aeroplane at national cost from national exchequer, that is demcratic rule at work.! Does it surprise any one if terror activities and the supporting NGOs for them, are also legally need not pay tax as they thrive on illegal funding.inlegal format, be it naxalites, or any faith fanatics.? love and regards, rajen. On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 11:51 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > ` TAX STRUCTURE IN INDIA ` > > Question Answers on TAXES > > What are you doing? - Business - pay professional tax! > What are you doing in Business? - Selling the Goods. - pay sales tax!! > From where are you getting Goods? - From other State/Abroad - pay central > sales tax, custom duty & octroi! > What are you getting in Selling Goods? - Profit. - pay income tax! > How do you distribute profit ? - By way of dividend - pay dividend > distribution tax > Where you Manufacturing the Goods? - Factory. - pay excise duty! > Do you have Office / Warehouse/ Factory? - Yes - pay municipal & fire tax! > Do you have Staff? - Yes - pay staff professional tax! > Doing business in Millions? - Yes - pay turnover tax! > No - then pay minimum alternate tax > Are you taking out over 25,000 Cash from Bank? - Yes, for Salary. - pay > cash > handling tax! > Where are you taking your client for Lunch & Dinner? - Hotel - pay food & > entertainment tax! > Are you going Out of Station for Business? - Yes - pay fringe benefit tax! > Have you taken or given any Service/s? - Yes - pay service tax! > How come you got such a Big Amount? - Gift on birthday. - pay gift tax! > Do you have any Wealth? - Yes - pay wealth tax! > To reduce Tension, for entertainment, where are you going? - Cinema or > Resort. - pay entertainment tax! > Have you purchased House? - Yes - pay stamp duty & registration fee ! > How you Travel? - Bus - pay surcharge! > Any Additional Tax? - Yes - pay educational, additional educational & > surcharge on all the central govt.'s tax !!! > Delayed any time Paying Any Tax? - Yes - pay interest & penalty! > > INDIAN :: Can I Die Now?? - Wait we are about to launch the funeral tax!!! > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rajen. From javedmasoo at gmail.com Sun Aug 22 17:18:28 2010 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (Javed) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:18:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fasting Muslim prisoners beaten up in Bhopal Message-ID: Fasting Muslim prisoners beaten up in Bhopal 21 August 2010 By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net, Bhopal: What will Muslim jail inmates do while observing fast in the month of Ramzan when policemen deny them water for “Wuzu” (ablution) and eatables to break the day-long fast? These jail inmates are bound to raise their voices against the violation of their religious and human rights. The situation gets further surcharged when policemen allegedly scorn at their religion passing objectionable remarks about Ramzan and Islam and go about cane-charging them. In the scuffle that follows many inmates get injured, some of them seriously, with their faces splashed with blood. Such a scenario prevailed here in Bhopal on Friday wherein about a dozen Muslim jail inmates were injured, eight of them seriously, when they were allegedly beaten up by policemen in the lockup of the district court where they had been brought up for hearing. The injured prisoners had to be taken to hospital for treatment. The infuriated prisoners alleged that they were abused and brutally beaten up in the lockup by batons. They claimed that when they asked for water for “Wuzu” ablution to perform “Namaz” (prayers) in the evening and some eatables about half an hour before “Aftaar” (breaking of Muslim fast) the policemen refused and reportedly made objectionable remarks about Ramzan. When they protested the remarks vociferously, the policemen allegedly hit them. In the melee that ensued some of the prisoners sustained head injuries. This angered the prisoners and they refused to leave the lockup inside the court to be taken back to jail. They staged “dharna” (sit-in) in the lockup inside the court premises. They insisted that they would not budge until media personnel were allowed inside the lockup so that they could narrate their plight and the inhuman behavior of policemen. The melodrama reportedly lasted for nearly four hours. In all 131 jail inmates were later taken back to jail in vehicles. It is interesting to note that non-Muslim prisoners supported the fasting Muslim colleagues against the police high-handedness. The prisoners alleged that two policemen were abusive towards those observing fast during Ramzan and hurt their religious sentiments. Almost all the prisoners together with those who were observing fast blamed the two policemen for the situation. They alleged that policemen of district police line brutally beat them and also made objectionable comments. They raised slogans against constables Arun Malik and Amar Singh in particular. The jail inmates also alleged that they were not allowed to meet their kin and guards of police line forced them for bribe. However, the police officials have refuted the claims of the prisoners and said that the injuries had been self-inflicted. They banged their heads against the walls of the lockup and in the process their faces got splashed with blood, they asserted Officials maintained that the injured ones have been admitted in the hospital while a case in this regard would be registered after investigation. Meanwhile, it may be stated here that a few days back there was a serious altercation between advocates of Bhopal district court and policemen leading to manhandling of some advocates. The working of the Bhopal district court is at standstill since advocates, thereafter, are on strike demanding action against the erring policemen who misbehaved with them. From shuddha at sarai.net Sun Aug 22 18:22:07 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:22:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image In-Reply-To: <000001cb41bc$63403340$29c099c0$@in> References: <432236.69403.qm@web114706.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <000001cb41bc$63403340$29c099c0$@in> Message-ID: <34B5D7F6-336D-4F56-B7E7-258C2213ADFD@sarai.net> Dear Bipin, I am intrigued, and confused. if, as you say, the very reason for the formation of an organization like Anhad is 'baseless', then, why should the BJP seek to use an image of a demonstration by this 'baseless' organization, for a cause that you again say is 'baseless' ( "...allegation against violation by security forces is baseless" ) in order to promote its own important agenda on Kashmir? The BJP is an important national party, and I am sure it must have a significant presence, and a popular 'base' (as befits a national party of its stature) in the territory of the Kashmir valley, which, as the BJP reminds us, is an 'inalienable part of the Indian union'. Surely there are millions of Kashmiris in the Kashmir valley who would readily rally to the BJP's clarion call for even more security forces in the valley, and for lofty ideals like the abrogation of article 370. Can't the BJP simply use a photograph from such an event, where millions of patriotic Kashmiris are forcefully and sincerely chanting "Indian Forces kill more Kashmiris" in order to decorate its advertisement. Why must it resort to this low and unbecoming trick of filching a photograph of a 'baseless' demonstration by a 'baseless' organization for a 'baseless' cause in order to communicate its own priceless message? Or is this how a party with a 'difference' demonstrates its difference? I remain confused, I hope you will clarify my confusion, best regards Shuddha On 22-Aug-10, at 11:09 AM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > Dear Gowhar, > > The reason given for the formation of ANHAD itself is baseless. > They says that it was formed for hatred ideology shown by SANGH > after 2002 Gujarat carnage. First of all there is no any such > hatred exists from any corner either from SANGH or BJP. So, don't > give excuse or wrong reason to form NGO. So many NGO are working > and this is one more. Let it be. > > What about the protester in Kashmir proved to be instigated from > across the border? So, allegation against violation by security > forces is baseless. They doing there duty to restore piece, which > they do everywhere in caase of protest. As a NGO, why they are not > protesting against Pak for their mischief since years? Why don't > they protest against Kashmir separatists fully responsible for > violence since years? Such biased behavior of NGO looses the > credibility and no right to blame anyone unless they change > themselves and act neutrally. > > J&K is border state and there is no question to remove army/ > security forces from there. If anyone suggests or think that way is > fool. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list- > bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of gowhar fazli > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 8:37 AM > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for > appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image > > Wonder if anyone has access to the advertisement. This would be > interesting. > The drama is endless. > > http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/anhad-seeks-apology-from- > bjp-553.aspx > > > > ANHAD seeks apology from BJP > > > Rising Kashmir News > Srinagar, August21: Shabnam Hashmi, managing trustee of ANHAD, a > Non-governmental organization, has written a letter to Bhartiya > Janata Party and > expressed shock over the usage of a photograph of an ANHAD > demonstration by BJP > in its “Kashmir Bachao Divas” which was organized by BJP today at > Mavlankar > Auditorium, Constitution Club, New Delhi. > > > > > “I am absolutely shocked to see a BJP advertisement issued in the > Indian Express > on 20.8.2010 and Navbharat Times on 21.8.2010 wherein a photograph > of an ANHAD > demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi held on 8.7.10 has been > misused,” it > was written in the letter sent by Hashmi to BJP President,Gadkari. > > ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in response to the hate ideology of the > Sangh Parivar > displayed during the Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal > organization. > > “To use our photograph in your advertisement is not only an insult > to ANHAD, but > it also grossly defames our organization because it seems to > suggest that Anhad > has given the consent to BJP to use the photograph of its > demonstration. Nothing > could be further from the truth. > “The demonstration organized by ANHAD was specifically regarding > the excessive > acts of violence by the security forces in Kashmir. This is in > total contrast > to the BJP meeting which is unconcerned about the plight of the > people of > Kashmir and looks at the issue as a law and order problem and calls > for even > more severe repression by the use of security forces,” the letter > read. > ANHAD in the letter said that it is highly defamatory, illegal and > unethical on > part of BJP to use its material without any permission and > criticized BJP for > the “total ideological bankruptcy.” > > > “We call upon the BJP to issue an advertisement of equal size in > all the > newspapers in which this advertisement has appeared apologizing for > the use of > that photograph and stating therein that ANHAD and the persons who > are shown in > the photograph have nothing to do with the BJP,” the letter read. > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From shuddha at sarai.net Sun Aug 22 19:07:27 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:07:27 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Struggle NOT Islamist - Says Mirwaiz Message-ID: <0A04BA35-824D-4CAC-A8C3-68D209A58500@sarai.net> Dear All, This was in today's edition of the Indian Express. I thought it would be of interest to people on the list, not just because of the categorical rejection by the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference (M) of a communal and Islamist direction for the movement against the occupation in the Kashmir valley, but also, especially as some of the people on the list have been very exercised on the issue of the anonymous 'letters' sent to Sikhs and Sikh places of worship, which the Mirwaiz explicitly refers to here. regards, Shuddha --------------------- Our struggle not Islamist, says Mirwaiz Express News Service Indian Express, August 22, 2010 http://www.indianexpress.com/news/our-struggle-not-islamist-says- mirwaiz/663459/ Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Saturday lashed out at the forces “bent on branding the struggle in Kashmir as Islamist”. The letters urging Sikhs to embrace Islam, he said, was a part of this gameplan. “We think the indigenous nature of the ongoing uprising has unnerved some forces to start conspiring against the movement,” Mirwaiz told The Sunday Express. “Otherwise how can a few anonymous letters delivered to a few Sikh households be treated as the voice of the Valley’s majority population.” He alleged the letters were the handiwork of intelligence agencies. “This is part of the deliberate strategy to float the letters and blow the news story about them in a section of media,” Mirwaiz said, adding that when it came to reporting on the ongoing unrest, media was generally not so enthusiastic. “This place has lost 60 people in two months and there is no sense of outrage”. Mirwaiz said Sikhs are an inalienable part of the valley’s cultural fabric and assured them of safety. “The community has lived with the majority community through thick and thin. And together we will brave the trials and tribulations in future,” he said. The Hurriyat leader said Kashmir’s movement is not Islamist. “Kashmir’s struggle is not about Muslim versus Hindu or Muslim Kashmir versus Hindu India,’ Mirwaiz said. “But some forces are trying to give a communal colour to the freedom movement. I urge Hindus,Sikhs and other minority community members to not pay attention to such letters or warnings.” Meanwhile, the J&K has denied reports that Sikhs have been harassed. A government spokesman said such reports were meant to malign the secular image of Kashmiris. Pointing out that just the other day a group of people had performed the last rites of a person from another community, he said all communities were living amicably in the Valley. The ugly isolated incident occurred at Tral in Pulwama district around three weeks ago, and it was unanimously condemned, the spokesman said, adding CM Omar Abdullah has assured Sikhs that steps would be taken to strengthen mutual ties between all the communities living in the Valley. Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From yasir.media at gmail.com Sun Aug 22 19:19:13 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:49:13 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] Article by CIA's ex chief of station in Islamabad Message-ID: FLOOD OF MISERY The soul of the 'Land of the Pure' By Robert Grenier Robert Grenier was the CIA's chief of station in Islamabad, Pakistan, from 1999 to 2002. He was also the director of the CIA's counter-terrorism centre. http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/floodofmisery/2010/08/201081163736786937.html From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Sun Aug 22 21:22:00 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:22:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Quality of EIA Report for Jaitapur Message-ID: Not all of the environment groups seem to be aware of all details of the fraudulent EIA report favoring the Nuclear bomb in Jaitapur. See: http://pd.cpim.org/2010/0620_pd/06202010_6.html Does anyone have the study by the group constituted by the Tata inst of Soc Sci? Best A. Mani -- A. Mani ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 22 21:26:12 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:26:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image In-Reply-To: <34B5D7F6-336D-4F56-B7E7-258C2213ADFD@sarai.net> References: <432236.69403.qm@web114706.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <000001cb41bc$63403340$29c099c0$@in> <34B5D7F6-336D-4F56-B7E7-258C2213ADFD@sarai.net> Message-ID: <001501cb4212$8edaf570$ac90e050$@in> Dear Shuddha, My reply was to the statement mentioned "ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in response to the hate ideology of the Sangh Parivar displayed during the Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal organization.". the reason given to form this organization was baseless. It is good that ANHAD concern about the Kashmir people suffered in the recent protest and so we all are concerned. But, what is the root of this protest? Have they ever blamed Pak terrorist organization/ISI mainly culprit for all this things. Have they ever blamed separatists there in Kashmir mainly responsible for disturbances all these days? Why you say only BJP reminds Kashmir as "inalienable part of the Indian union. Everyone including congress and PM says that. Do you have doubt about the Kashmir, a part of India? Thanks Bipin Trivedi From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta [mailto:shuddha at sarai.net] Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 6:22 PM To: Bipin Trivedi Cc: 'gowhar fazli'; sarai-list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image Dear Bipin, I am intrigued, and confused. if, as you say, the very reason for the formation of an organization like Anhad is 'baseless', then, why should the BJP seek to use an image of a demonstration by this 'baseless' organization, for a cause that you again say is 'baseless' ( "...allegation against violation by security forces is baseless" ) in order to promote its own important agenda on Kashmir? The BJP is an important national party, and I am sure it must have a significant presence, and a popular 'base' (as befits a national party of its stature) in the territory of the Kashmir valley, which, as the BJP reminds us, is an 'inalienable part of the Indian union'. Surely there are millions of Kashmiris in the Kashmir valley who would readily rally to the BJP's clarion call for even more security forces in the valley, and for lofty ideals like the abrogation of article 370. Can't the BJP simply use a photograph from such an event, where millions of patriotic Kashmiris are forcefully and sincerely chanting "Indian Forces kill more Kashmiris" in order to decorate its advertisement. Why must it resort to this low and unbecoming trick of filching a photograph of a 'baseless' demonstration by a 'baseless' organization for a 'baseless' cause in order to communicate its own priceless message? Or is this how a party with a 'difference' demonstrates its difference? I remain confused, I hope you will clarify my confusion, best regards Shuddha On 22-Aug-10, at 11:09 AM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: Dear Gowhar, The reason given for the formation of ANHAD itself is baseless. They says that it was formed for hatred ideology shown by SANGH after 2002 Gujarat carnage. First of all there is no any such hatred exists from any corner either from SANGH or BJP. So, don't give excuse or wrong reason to form NGO. So many NGO are working and this is one more. Let it be. What about the protester in Kashmir proved to be instigated from across the border? So, allegation against violation by security forces is baseless. They doing there duty to restore piece, which they do everywhere in caase of protest. As a NGO, why they are not protesting against Pak for their mischief since years? Why don't they protest against Kashmir separatists fully responsible for violence since years? Such biased behavior of NGO looses the credibility and no right to blame anyone unless they change themselves and act neutrally. J&K is border state and there is no question to remove army/security forces from there. If anyone suggests or think that way is fool. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of gowhar fazli Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 8:37 AM To: reader-list at sarai.net Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image Wonder if anyone has access to the advertisement. This would be interesting. The drama is endless. http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/anhad-seeks-apology-from-bjp-553.aspx ANHAD seeks apology from BJP Rising Kashmir News Srinagar, August21: Shabnam Hashmi, managing trustee of ANHAD, a Non-governmental organization, has written a letter to Bhartiya Janata Party and expressed shock over the usage of a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration by BJP in its "Kashmir Bachao Divas" which was organized by BJP today at Mavlankar Auditorium, Constitution Club, New Delhi. "I am absolutely shocked to see a BJP advertisement issued in the Indian Express on 20.8.2010 and Navbharat Times on 21.8.2010 wherein a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi held on 8.7.10 has been misused," it was written in the letter sent by Hashmi to BJP President,Gadkari. ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in response to the hate ideology of the Sangh Parivar displayed during the Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal organization. "To use our photograph in your advertisement is not only an insult to ANHAD, but it also grossly defames our organization because it seems to suggest that Anhad has given the consent to BJP to use the photograph of its demonstration. Nothing could be further from the truth. "The demonstration organized by ANHAD was specifically regarding the excessive acts of violence by the security forces in Kashmir. This is in total contrast to the BJP meeting which is unconcerned about the plight of the people of Kashmir and looks at the issue as a law and order problem and calls for even more severe repression by the use of security forces," the letter read. ANHAD in the letter said that it is highly defamatory, illegal and unethical on part of BJP to use its material without any permission and criticized BJP for the "total ideological bankruptcy." "We call upon the BJP to issue an advertisement of equal size in all the newspapers in which this advertisement has appeared apologizing for the use of that photograph and stating therein that ANHAD and the persons who are shown in the photograph have nothing to do with the BJP," the letter read. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 22 21:57:29 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:57:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image In-Reply-To: <001501cb4212$8edaf570$ac90e050$@in> References: <432236.69403.qm@web114706.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <000001cb41bc$63403340$29c099c0$@in> <34B5D7F6-336D-4F56-B7E7-258C2213ADFD@sarai.net> <001501cb4212$8edaf570$ac90e050$@in> Message-ID: Dear Bipin how to tell a young kashmiri that there is LOC between India and Pakistan in Kashmir, how to tell that there is no LOC even at Saichen Glacier . well for most of Indians it looks only about Geography, but what is nature of conflict? the root of it is that Kashmir never joined Indian Union in 1947 may be this stone pelting is an outburst of that long lasting complaint, which was ignited by recent innocent killings. This was bound to happen, i think it is high time , that Indian Govt thinks seriously about the basic nature of conflict. best is On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 9:26 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > Dear Shuddha, > > > > My reply was to the statement mentioned "ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in > response to the hate ideology of the Sangh Parivar displayed during the > Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal organization.". the reason > given to form this organization was baseless. > > > > It is good that ANHAD concern about the Kashmir people suffered in the > recent protest and so we all are concerned. But, what is the root of this > protest? Have they ever blamed Pak terrorist organization/ISI mainly culprit > for all this things. Have they ever blamed separatists there in Kashmir > mainly responsible for disturbances all these days? > > > > Why you say only BJP reminds Kashmir as "inalienable part of the Indian > union. Everyone including congress and PM says that. Do you have doubt about > the Kashmir, a part of India? > > > > Thanks > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta [mailto:shuddha at sarai.net] > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 6:22 PM > To: Bipin Trivedi > Cc: 'gowhar fazli'; sarai-list > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of > a Kashmir Protest Image > > > > Dear Bipin, > > > > I am intrigued, and confused. > > > >  if, as you say, the very reason for the formation of an organization like > Anhad is 'baseless', then, why should the BJP seek to use an image of a > demonstration by this 'baseless' organization, for a cause that you again > say is 'baseless' ( "...allegation against violation by security forces is > baseless" ) in order to promote its own important agenda on Kashmir? > > > > The BJP is an important national party, and I am sure it must have a > significant presence,  and a popular 'base' (as befits a national party of > its stature) in the territory of the Kashmir valley, which, as the BJP > reminds us, is an 'inalienable part of the Indian union'. > > > > Surely there are millions of Kashmiris in the Kashmir valley who would > readily rally to the BJP's clarion call for even more security forces in the > valley, and for lofty ideals like the abrogation of article 370. Can't the > BJP simply use a photograph from such an event, where millions of patriotic > Kashmiris are forcefully and sincerely chanting "Indian Forces kill more > Kashmiris" in order to decorate its advertisement. > > > > Why must it resort to this low and unbecoming trick of filching a photograph > of a 'baseless' demonstration by a 'baseless' organization for a 'baseless' > cause in order to communicate its own priceless message? > > > > Or is this how a party with a 'difference' demonstrates its difference? > > > > I remain confused, I hope you will clarify my confusion, > > > > best regards > > > > Shuddha > > > > On 22-Aug-10, at 11:09 AM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > > > > > Dear Gowhar, > > > > The reason given for the formation of ANHAD itself is baseless. They says > that it was formed for hatred ideology shown by SANGH after 2002 Gujarat > carnage. First of all there is no any such hatred exists from any corner > either from SANGH or BJP. So, don't give excuse or wrong reason to form NGO. > So many NGO are working and this is one more. Let it be. > > > > What about the protester in Kashmir proved to be instigated from across the > border? So, allegation against violation by security forces is baseless. > They doing there duty to restore piece, which they do everywhere in caase of > protest. As a NGO, why they are not protesting against Pak for their > mischief since years? Why don't they protest against Kashmir separatists > fully responsible for violence since years? Such biased behavior of NGO > looses the credibility and no right to blame anyone unless they change > themselves and act neutrally. > > > > J&K is border state and there is no question to remove army/security forces > from there. If anyone suggests or think that way is fool. > > > > Thanks > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of gowhar fazli > > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 8:37 AM > > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a > Kashmir Protest Image > > > > Wonder if anyone has access to the advertisement.  This would be > interesting. > >  The drama is endless. > > > > http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/anhad-seeks-apology-from-bjp-553.aspx > > > > > > > > ANHAD seeks apology from BJP > > > > > > Rising Kashmir News > > Srinagar, August21: Shabnam Hashmi, managing trustee of ANHAD, a > > Non-governmental organization, has written a letter to Bhartiya Janata Party > and > > expressed shock over the usage of a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration by > BJP > > in its "Kashmir Bachao Divas" which was organized by BJP today at Mavlankar > > Auditorium, Constitution Club, New Delhi. > > > > > > > > > > "I am absolutely shocked to see a BJP advertisement issued in the Indian > Express > > on 20.8.2010 and Navbharat Times on 21.8.2010 wherein a photograph of an > ANHAD > > demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi held on 8.7.10 has been misused," > it > > was written in the letter sent by Hashmi to BJP President,Gadkari. > > > > ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in response to the hate ideology of the Sangh > Parivar > > displayed during the Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal > organization. > > > > "To use our photograph in your advertisement is not only an insult to ANHAD, > but > > it also grossly defames our organization because it seems to suggest that > Anhad > > has given the consent to BJP to use the photograph of its demonstration. > Nothing > > could be further from the truth. > > "The demonstration organized by ANHAD was specifically regarding the > excessive > > acts of violence by the security forces in Kashmir.  This is in total > contrast > > to the BJP meeting which is unconcerned about the plight of the people of > > Kashmir and looks at the issue as a law and order problem and calls for even > > > more severe repression by the use of security forces," the letter read. > > ANHAD in the letter said that it is highly defamatory, illegal and unethical > on > > part of BJP to use its material without any permission and criticized BJP > for > > the "total ideological bankruptcy." > > > > > > "We call upon the BJP to issue an advertisement of equal size in all the > > newspapers in which this advertisement has appeared apologizing for the use > of > > that photograph and stating therein that ANHAD and the persons who are shown > in > > the photograph have nothing to do with the BJP," the letter read. > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > > Raqs Media Collective > > shuddha at sarai.net > > www.sarai.net > > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 22 22:21:58 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:21:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] INDIA TAX NET DRAGON In-Reply-To: References: <005a01cb415d$a8ec8d30$fac5a790$@in> Message-ID: <002301cb421a$5907d6e0$0b1784a0$@in> Dear Rajen, Yes, instead of making the things easier, govt. making the things complicated, complex laws helps in the tax evasion. In the last tenure of Chidambaram time it becomes even more complicated. Out of the total 2.1% paying taxes as you mentioned 73% is salaried class and if you can see the total salaried class in country is also much more than 73% about 90% so nothing strange in it. Corporate may be in single digit % than also paying much higher tax value wise even after tax evasion by loop holes of our complex laws. Calculation method of tax payers merely 2.1% or say 2.5 crore people is itself is faulty. Since, there is no tax in agriculture which counts to about 60/70 % of population. say, 65% and if you add BPL which is about 30 and we add 25 instead of 30 than also 65+25 comes to 90% not at all coming in tax net. So, out of 10% or just 12 crore population (2 to 2.4 crore family) if 2.5 crore paying tax comes to about 20% paying income tax (or if you count family wise it comes to almost 100% paying income tax) and if you count indirect and other complex taxes takes in the tax net to these non payers 90% also. So, this complex various taxes is the main problem. Govt. is planning GST (goods & service tax replacing excise, vat, service tax and may be few others) only single point tax for all taxes is good move if it is implicated honestly and of course IT and few other will remain there. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From: Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi [mailto:rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 4:22 PM To: Bipin Trivedi Cc: sarai-list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] INDIA TAX NET DRAGON Dear Bipin, it is rather an amusing situation for citizen in India, that inspite of such taxes, the percentage of citizens honestly paying taxes is very low, for thanks to the "consultants" and "chartered" accountants, there are numerous loop holes to exploit, use, and be legally correct in not paying any tax for the corporate Zjars who cock a snook at tax laws, just as the political leadership which increases its  own salaries five fold, thus looting the collected tax.! With over a billion population one may look cynically if it is said that income tax payers of India is just 2.1 percent of the total population, of this 73 percent is salaried class who have no option but to pay as the tax is deducted at salary source.! Babus who still occupy positins of power, after the retirement, judicial officers who enjoy remunerations after retirement, politicians who pass the nuclear liability bill for the citizens after hefty quid pro quo s are all in league when it comes to legally voiding taxes.!  Poor indian citizen pays taxes in indirect way even when he buys tooth paste or a small purchase of a tooth brush.! But the leaders in society get all the pin to aeroplane at national cost from national exchequer, that is demcratic rule at work.! Does it surprise any one if terror activities and the supporting NGOs for them, are also legally need not pay tax as they thrive on illegal funding.in legal format, be it naxalites, or any faith fanatics.? love and regards, rajen. On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 11:51 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: ` TAX STRUCTURE IN INDIA ` Question Answers on TAXES What are you doing? - Business - pay professional tax! What are you doing in Business? - Selling the Goods. - pay sales tax!! >From where are you getting Goods? - From other State/Abroad - pay central sales tax, custom duty & octroi! What are you getting in Selling Goods? - Profit. - pay income tax! How do you distribute profit ? - By way of dividend - pay dividend distribution tax Where you Manufacturing the Goods? - Factory. - pay excise duty! Do you have Office / Warehouse/ Factory? - Yes - pay municipal & fire tax! Do you have Staff? - Yes - pay staff professional tax! Doing business in Millions? - Yes - pay turnover tax!                              No - then pay minimum alternate tax Are you taking out over 25,000 Cash from Bank? - Yes, for Salary. - pay cash handling tax! Where are you taking your client for Lunch & Dinner? - Hotel - pay food & entertainment tax! Are you going Out of Station for Business? - Yes - pay fringe benefit tax! Have you taken or given any Service/s? - Yes - pay service tax! How come you got such a Big Amount? - Gift on birthday. - pay gift tax! Do you have any Wealth? - Yes - pay wealth tax! To reduce Tension, for entertainment, where are you going? - Cinema or Resort. - pay entertainment tax! Have you purchased House? - Yes - pay stamp duty & registration fee ! How you Travel? - Bus - pay surcharge! Any Additional Tax? - Yes - pay educational, additional educational & surcharge on all the central govt.'s tax !!! Delayed any time Paying Any Tax? - Yes - pay interest & penalty! INDIAN :: Can I Die Now?? - Wait we are about to launch the funeral tax!!! _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rajen. From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 22 22:23:39 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:23:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] IS THERE ANY KASHMIR SOLUTION? Message-ID: <002401cb421a$928c9220$b7a5b660$@in> Dear All, Everyone keen to post Kashmir issue but no one interested to participate in the debate of Kashmir solution. Sometime back I have invited all to give Kashmir solution what they feel, but accept Kamalhak, no one has replied in this matter. Please have your views freely in this matter. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From rashneek at gmail.com Mon Aug 23 08:36:15 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:36:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Struggle NOT Islamist - Says Mirwaiz In-Reply-To: <0A04BA35-824D-4CAC-A8C3-68D209A58500@sarai.net> References: <0A04BA35-824D-4CAC-A8C3-68D209A58500@sarai.net> Message-ID: I wish Mirwaiz could put some action behind his hollow words. That he uses the pulpit of Hazratbal to propogate secular thought itself says a lot. The slogan of fuzzy "azaadi" was heard loud and clear here in Delhi as well.I need not repeat it.By the way why were hundreds of Hindu houses burnt and temples razed to ground if the Azadi isnt Islamist. On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 7:07 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > Dear All, > > This was in today's edition of the Indian Express. I thought it would be of > interest to people on the list, not just because of the categorical > rejection by the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference (M) of a communal and > Islamist direction for the movement against the occupation in the Kashmir > valley, but also, especially as some of the people on the list have been > very exercised on the issue of the anonymous 'letters' sent to Sikhs and > Sikh places of worship, which the Mirwaiz explicitly refers to here. > > regards, > > Shuddha > --------------------- > Our struggle not Islamist, says Mirwaiz > Express News Service > Indian Express, August 22, 2010 > > http://www.indianexpress.com/news/our-struggle-not-islamist-says-mirwaiz/663459/ > > Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Saturday lashed out at the forces > “bent on branding the struggle in Kashmir as Islamist”. The letters urging > Sikhs to embrace Islam, he said, was a part of this gameplan. > > “We think the indigenous nature of the ongoing uprising has unnerved some > forces to start conspiring against the movement,” Mirwaiz told The Sunday > Express. “Otherwise how can a few anonymous letters delivered to a few Sikh > households be treated as the voice of the Valley’s majority population.” > > He alleged the letters were the handiwork of intelligence agencies. “This > is part of the deliberate strategy to float the letters and blow the news > story about them in a section of media,” Mirwaiz said, adding that when it > came to reporting on the ongoing unrest, media was generally not so > enthusiastic. “This place has lost 60 people in two months and there is no > sense of outrage”. > > Mirwaiz said Sikhs are an inalienable part of the valley’s cultural fabric > and assured them of safety. “The community has lived with the majority > community through thick and thin. And together we will brave the trials and > tribulations in future,” he said. > > The Hurriyat leader said Kashmir’s movement is not Islamist. “Kashmir’s > struggle is not about Muslim versus Hindu or Muslim Kashmir versus Hindu > India,’ Mirwaiz said. “But some forces are trying to give a communal colour > to the freedom movement. I urge Hindus,Sikhs and other minority community > members to not pay attention to such letters or warnings.” > > Meanwhile, the J&K has denied reports that Sikhs have been harassed. A > government spokesman said such reports were meant to malign the secular > image of Kashmiris. Pointing out that just the other day a group of people > had performed the last rites of a person from another community, he said all > communities were living amicably in the Valley. > > The ugly isolated incident occurred at Tral in Pulwama district around > three weeks ago, and it was unanimously condemned, the spokesman said, > adding CM Omar Abdullah has assured Sikhs that steps would be taken to > strengthen mutual ties between all the communities living in the Valley. > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From jeebesh at sarai.net Mon Aug 23 08:38:30 2010 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:38:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A critique of nonviolence - absolutely brilliant In-Reply-To: <763512.72880.qm@web112609.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <763512.72880.qm@web112609.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1D805558-D226-4060-A1E4-97A1DFBE6F19@sarai.net> dear Aalok Aima, Below is a response from the author to your comments. warmly jeebesh Dear Aalok Aima, Thank you for your prompt response. Firstly, the phrase ‘a curious twist of logic’ that appears in the sentence quoted by you should be read in reference to the set of common-place arguments involving the credo of ‘nonviolence’. The intention behind its employment was to bring into sharper focus the ‘logic’ that impels one to regard ‘nonviolence’ as the highest ethical virtue extolled by the Mahābhārata. The point is: by overlooking (or better still, by suppressing) the concept of ānŗśamsya or ‘noncruelty’ or ‘leniency’, the ideologues championing the cause of ‘nonviolence’ make it seem, the Mahābhārata resolved the tension between the terms ‘violence’ and ‘nonviolence’ with such astuteness that it effectively dissolved the ‘opposition’ inherent to the binary and settled for an unqualified privileging of ahimsā. Secondly, one of the aims of the essay was to demonstrate how, even when ānŗśamsya is raised to the status of being a ‘golden mean’, the notion of ‘violence’ re-surfaces through the in-between term. To do so, the essay in one of its sections, concentrated on the most elaborate treatment of the concept the Mahābhārata presents. The fact that a member of the lowest order in the four-fold varņa system mouths the richly textured discourse is tempting enough to regard it as yet another instance of Brāhmaņic trickery. For, what Dharmavyādha, the Sūdra ‘proficient in Brāhmaņic Philosophy’ (‘Âraņyakaparvan’: 201.14 [Critical Edition]), says in his long-winded speech does not essentially differ from the standard self-justifications offered by priests committed to Vedic rituals and animal-sacrifice. Dharmavyādha’s explication of ānŗśamsya does gesture towards ‘the prescript of “violence without violation”; but, peculiarly enough, by the same movement, it further strengthens the codes enshrined in Dharma-śastras and bolsters statements such as this of Manu, ‘killing in sacrifice is not killing…The violence sanctioned by the Veda and regulated by official restraints is known as nonviolence’ (The Laws of Manu: Chapter V, Verse nos. 39 & 44). In other words: ‘the prescript of ‘violence without violation’ that Dharmavyādha’s ānŗśamsya suggests does not mitigate the contradictions between ‘violence’ and ‘nonviolence’; instead, it makes them more flagrant. Lastly, read as a compromise formula, Mahābhārata’s ānŗśamsya, for most parts, is a Brāhmaņic ploy to countermand Śramaņic, i.e., the Buddhist and the Jain among others, criticisms of orthodox practices—a ploy that still succeeds in keeping in check the present- day ‘heterodox’ tendencies of (politically volatile) India. The ‘logic’ is indeed twisted. Sibaji On 17-Aug-10, at 6:01 PM, cashmeeri wrote: > Jeebesh > > Thanks for sharing this absolutely brilliant essay. > > I am intrigued by SB stating towards the start of the essay that: > > "along with ‘nonviolence’ and ‘truth’ there is one order of > excellence extolled by the Mahābhārata, which by a curious twist of > logic, appears to give lie to the truth of nonviolence. And that is > ānŗśamsya or ‘noncruelty’." > > I did not see anything in the essay that put forward that 'curious > twist of logic' since the range of differentiations between > ‘ahimsā' (nonviolence) and 'ānŗśamsya' (noncruelty) have been > competently brought out. > > Further on SB himself puts it appropiately "Placed as a golden mean > between two extremes, ānŗśamsya gestures towards the apparently > contradictory prescript of ‘violence without violation’." > > I do not understand why he characterises that understanding of > 'violence without violation' as containing contradictory elements > since he himself analyses the positions that explain that 'prescript'. > > Renewed thinking: My thoughts went to 'human rights' and > 'environmental' abuse. > > Thanks again > > .............. aalok aima > > > --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Jeebesh wrote: > > > From: Jeebesh > Subject: [Reader-list] A critique of nonviolence > To: "Sarai Reader-list" > Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 11:55 PM > > > dear all, > > in this essay of exceptional scholarship we could find an opening > for a renewed thinking. > > warmly > > jeebesh > > > > http://www.india-seminar.com/2010/608/608_sibaji_bandyopadhyay.htm From pawan.durani at gmail.com Mon Aug 23 09:21:23 2010 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:21:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Struggle NOT Islamist - Says Mirwaiz In-Reply-To: References: <0A04BA35-824D-4CAC-A8C3-68D209A58500@sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Rashneek , You need to be kidding . Mirwaiz is the modern day "Harischandra" . And we need to believe in people like Shuddha and Shivam Rig , who have no biases in their lives. The displacement of seven lakh hindus from valley was also not because of Islamist extremeism . It was just that seven lakh Pandits , who have always been united thought of going out of Kashmir for a 25 year picnic and camping. C'mon Shuddha ..... We all believe you ...Pls write more.... I am dying to know more promotions from you. Pawan On 8/23/10, rashneek kher wrote: > I wish Mirwaiz could put some action behind his hollow words. > That he uses the pulpit of Hazratbal to propogate secular thought itself > says a lot. > The slogan of fuzzy "azaadi" was heard loud and clear here in Delhi as > well.I need not repeat it.By the way why were hundreds of Hindu houses burnt > and temples razed to ground if the Azadi isnt Islamist. > > On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 7:07 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta > wrote: > >> Dear All, >> >> This was in today's edition of the Indian Express. I thought it would be >> of >> interest to people on the list, not just because of the categorical >> rejection by the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference (M) of a communal and >> Islamist direction for the movement against the occupation in the Kashmir >> valley, but also, especially as some of the people on the list have been >> very exercised on the issue of the anonymous 'letters' sent to Sikhs and >> Sikh places of worship, which the Mirwaiz explicitly refers to here. >> >> regards, >> >> Shuddha >> --------------------- >> Our struggle not Islamist, says Mirwaiz >> Express News Service >> Indian Express, August 22, 2010 >> >> http://www.indianexpress.com/news/our-struggle-not-islamist-says-mirwaiz/663459/ >> >> Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Saturday lashed out at the forces >> “bent on branding the struggle in Kashmir as Islamist”. The letters urging >> Sikhs to embrace Islam, he said, was a part of this gameplan. >> >> “We think the indigenous nature of the ongoing uprising has unnerved some >> forces to start conspiring against the movement,” Mirwaiz told The Sunday >> Express. “Otherwise how can a few anonymous letters delivered to a few >> Sikh >> households be treated as the voice of the Valley’s majority population.” >> >> He alleged the letters were the handiwork of intelligence agencies. “This >> is part of the deliberate strategy to float the letters and blow the news >> story about them in a section of media,” Mirwaiz said, adding that when it >> came to reporting on the ongoing unrest, media was generally not so >> enthusiastic. “This place has lost 60 people in two months and there is no >> sense of outrage”. >> >> Mirwaiz said Sikhs are an inalienable part of the valley’s cultural fabric >> and assured them of safety. “The community has lived with the majority >> community through thick and thin. And together we will brave the trials >> and >> tribulations in future,” he said. >> >> The Hurriyat leader said Kashmir’s movement is not Islamist. “Kashmir’s >> struggle is not about Muslim versus Hindu or Muslim Kashmir versus Hindu >> India,’ Mirwaiz said. “But some forces are trying to give a communal >> colour >> to the freedom movement. I urge Hindus,Sikhs and other minority community >> members to not pay attention to such letters or warnings.” >> >> Meanwhile, the J&K has denied reports that Sikhs have been harassed. A >> government spokesman said such reports were meant to malign the secular >> image of Kashmiris. Pointing out that just the other day a group of people >> had performed the last rites of a person from another community, he said >> all >> communities were living amicably in the Valley. >> >> The ugly isolated incident occurred at Tral in Pulwama district around >> three weeks ago, and it was unanimously condemned, the spokesman said, >> adding CM Omar Abdullah has assured Sikhs that steps would be taken to >> strengthen mutual ties between all the communities living in the Valley. >> >> >> Shuddhabrata Sengupta >> The Sarai Programme at CSDS >> Raqs Media Collective >> shuddha at sarai.net >> www.sarai.net >> www.raqsmediacollective.net >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From pawan.durani at gmail.com Mon Aug 23 09:27:30 2010 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:27:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?Kashmir=92s_only_Jain_temple_burnt?= =?windows-1252?q?_down?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Shuddha , I think now it must have been clear to you that the Temple was in the premises of a hotel in Kashmir . If you still have doubts , if the temple really existed , pls check the Kashmir Despatch report which acknowledges that Temple did exist . And I am sure you have enough knowledge that who runs Kashmir Despatch from across the border. Need some more gyan , pls do revert. Pawan On 8/21/10, shuddha at sarai.net wrote: > Dear All, > > I'd like to thank Shri Aditya Raj Kaul for sharing this 'developing' story. > I > am sure it will 'develop' further. I am curious to know where exactly in > Srinagar, Kashmir, this 'Jain Temple' is, or more correctly, if the story is > to > be believed, was, located? I am sure it would be easy to find a street name, > an > exact address, even a photograph of the location. Perhaps we could be > pointed > to a link (no doubt there must be a niche on a website like 'Flickr' where > it > would be documented) where we could see with our own eyes an image of the > sad > and unfortunate destruction of this sole Jain Temple in the Kashmir valley. > > Interestingly, the first report of this alleged incident came to light in a > website called 'Desh Gujarat'. I would advise everyone to take a close look > at > Desh Gujarat to observe the origins of this developing story. The report in > Desh Gujarat is dated 11th August 2010. Which means, contrary to the report > forwarded to us by Shri Aditya Raj Kaul, it must have occured, not on > Saturday, > the 14th of August, but even earlier, at least before the 11th of August . > > See the following link > http://deshgujarat.com/2010/08/11/7-jain-idols-rescued-from-srinagar-jain-mandir-brought-to-ahmedabad/ > > But it isn't just time travel from one date to another alone that makes this > story interesting. There seems to be an indication of some space travel as > well. > > The 'Desh Gujarat' Report says : > > "The Sunni islamist anti-nationals of Kashmir, recently destroyed a Jain > Mandir > located on the banks of Alaknanda river in Kashmir valley’s Srinagar city. > However, before they could do any harm to the idols, tha Jain Mandir’s > priest > took the idols out of the Mandir and shifted them to safer place." > > All very well. The only problem is a minor Geographical one. There happen to > be > two places called Srinagar. One is in the Kashmir valley, and the other is > in > the Pauri-Garhwal region of Uttaranchal/Uttarakhand. The Alakananda River > flows, not through Srinagar in Kashmir, (where the river is the Jhelum) but > through Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal. And there is indeed a Jain Temple located > by > the banks of the Alaknanda in Srinagar, in Pauri Garhwal. > > see - http://www.jainheritagecentres.com/Uttarpradesh/Srinagar.htm > > Now, either the Alaknanda River has travelled a few hundred kilometres north > west from Pauri Garhwal to the Kashmir valley, across the Pir Panjal, > carrying > the Jain Temple with it, or there is something a bit fishy in this story. I > am > perefectly willing to believe that the first is the case, but I would like > some > convincing evidence of such a marvel of the engineering sciences, and I am > curious to know why, we did not know of such a feat earlier. If indeed, it > had > taken place. > > Could it be, that a bit of imaginative reporting (travelling like a bad game > of > 'Chinese Whispers', from before the 11th of August to the 14th of August, > and > from hearsay to 'Desh Gujarat' to the Times News Network, jumping across the > inconvenient obstacles of space and time) has transposed the fate of a Jain > temple in one Srinagar on to the map of another? > > I remain curious, and as always, interested, > > Shuddha > > > > > > On Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:58:10 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul > wrote > >> Kashmir’s only Jain temple burnt down Idols Safe As Priest, Sniffing >> Trouble, Hid Them In Hotel Hemali Chhapia & Mansi Choksi | TNN >> The Times of India >> >> Mumbai: Two years ago, a family from Mumbai built a temple in the lap of >> snow-capped mountains miles away in Srinagar. The derasar (temple), carved >> out of teak, decked with marigolds and installed with three idols of Jain >> tirthankars, was set up for the thousands of Jains who streamed into the >> volatile region every holiday season. >> >> But last Saturday, the only Jain temple in the Kashmir Valley was >> burnt >> down by a mob. “It is now ground zero. There is nothing left,’’ says > Jyotin >> Doshi, chairman of Gem, a travel agency in Mumbai, whose family built the >> temple. >> >> A shaken-up Doshi recalls speaking to the priest, the lone caretaker >> of >> the temple, on the night the violence erupted. “There was curfew in the >> Valley but he noticed people gathering outside the temple,’’ he says. The >> priest, who is disturbed and has now returned to his village near >> Lucknow, quickly >> gathered the three idols, which were sculpted out of panchdhatu (an alloy >> of >> gold, silver, copper, iron and zinc), and hid them in a hotel. “Three >> hours >> later, the mob struck and destroyed what we had built,’’ says Doshi. >> >> Two members of Doshi’s team from Mumbai, Apurva Bhansali and Jiten >> Dharod, flew to Srinagar the next day when the curfew was lifted. They >> packed the idols in cardboard boxes and flew to Sabarmati in Gujarat. >> “Before the two had reached, the news had spread in Sabarmati. When the >> idols were installed in Chintamani Parshwanath derasar there, there were >> more than 14,000 people who came for darshan,’’ he says. >> >> Doshi says his family set up the temple to realize his 68-year-old >> mother’s dream. “There are many Jain travellers who can’t start their > day >> without offering prayers. She believed that the Valley needed a Jain >> temple >> for them,’’ he says. >> >> After news spread, the Doshi family has been flooded with support from >> the community. “We don’t want anything out of this. Such an issue is > easily >> made into a political controversy. We only want closure through >> nonviolence. >> Our idols are safe and that’s what matters,’’ he says. >> The Doshis, a family from Mumbai, had set up the derasar in Srinagar two >> years ago to realize the wishes of their mother, who wanted to build a >> temple for Jains. After the shrine was destroyed in violence, they >> secretly >> took the idols to Gujarat >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe >> in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From c.anupam at gmail.com Mon Aug 23 12:12:25 2010 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:12:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image In-Reply-To: References: <432236.69403.qm@web114706.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <000001cb41bc$63403340$29c099c0$@in> <34B5D7F6-336D-4F56-B7E7-258C2213ADFD@sarai.net> <001501cb4212$8edaf570$ac90e050$@in> Message-ID: Dear Readers, Veteran journalist Digant Oza from Gujarat who passed away on Saturday wrote a piece when NGOs came under fire by the saffron hoodlums. It was written in 2004. Kindly follow the link: http://www.countercurrents.org/gujarat-oza170404.htm excerpt: "Chief Minister Narendra Modi is learnt to have been cautioned by the BJP leadership in Delhi to refrain from going on the offensive even though this could have been an opportunity to consolidate the Hindu vote bank. Party insiders say the chief minister was keen to turn this to an advantage by raising the bogey of "anto-Gujarat forces out to tarnish the state's image." Thanks Anupam On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Inder Salim wrote: > Dear Bipin > > how to tell a young kashmiri that there is LOC between India and > Pakistan in Kashmir, > how to tell that there is no LOC even at Saichen Glacier . > > well for most of Indians it looks only about Geography, but what is > nature of conflict? > > the root of it is that Kashmir never joined Indian Union in 1947 > > may be this stone pelting is an outburst of that long lasting > complaint, which was ignited by recent innocent killings. > > This was bound to happen, > i think it is high time , that Indian Govt thinks seriously about the > basic nature of conflict. > > best > is > > > > On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 9:26 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > Dear Shuddha, > > > > > > > > My reply was to the statement mentioned "ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in > > response to the hate ideology of the Sangh Parivar displayed during the > > Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal organization.". the reason > > given to form this organization was baseless. > > > > > > > > It is good that ANHAD concern about the Kashmir people suffered in the > > recent protest and so we all are concerned. But, what is the root of this > > protest? Have they ever blamed Pak terrorist organization/ISI mainly > culprit > > for all this things. Have they ever blamed separatists there in Kashmir > > mainly responsible for disturbances all these days? > > > > > > > > Why you say only BJP reminds Kashmir as "inalienable part of the Indian > > union. Everyone including congress and PM says that. Do you have doubt > about > > the Kashmir, a part of India? > > > > > > > > Thanks > > > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta [mailto:shuddha at sarai.net] > > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 6:22 PM > > To: Bipin Trivedi > > Cc: 'gowhar fazli'; sarai-list > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation > of > > a Kashmir Protest Image > > > > > > > > Dear Bipin, > > > > > > > > I am intrigued, and confused. > > > > > > > > if, as you say, the very reason for the formation of an organization > like > > Anhad is 'baseless', then, why should the BJP seek to use an image of a > > demonstration by this 'baseless' organization, for a cause that you again > > say is 'baseless' ( "...allegation against violation by security forces > is > > baseless" ) in order to promote its own important agenda on Kashmir? > > > > > > > > The BJP is an important national party, and I am sure it must have a > > significant presence, and a popular 'base' (as befits a national party > of > > its stature) in the territory of the Kashmir valley, which, as the BJP > > reminds us, is an 'inalienable part of the Indian union'. > > > > > > > > Surely there are millions of Kashmiris in the Kashmir valley who would > > readily rally to the BJP's clarion call for even more security forces in > the > > valley, and for lofty ideals like the abrogation of article 370. Can't > the > > BJP simply use a photograph from such an event, where millions of > patriotic > > Kashmiris are forcefully and sincerely chanting "Indian Forces kill more > > Kashmiris" in order to decorate its advertisement. > > > > > > > > Why must it resort to this low and unbecoming trick of filching a > photograph > > of a 'baseless' demonstration by a 'baseless' organization for a > 'baseless' > > cause in order to communicate its own priceless message? > > > > > > > > Or is this how a party with a 'difference' demonstrates its difference? > > > > > > > > I remain confused, I hope you will clarify my confusion, > > > > > > > > best regards > > > > > > > > Shuddha > > > > > > > > On 22-Aug-10, at 11:09 AM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > Dear Gowhar, > > > > > > > > The reason given for the formation of ANHAD itself is baseless. They says > > that it was formed for hatred ideology shown by SANGH after 2002 Gujarat > > carnage. First of all there is no any such hatred exists from any corner > > either from SANGH or BJP. So, don't give excuse or wrong reason to form > NGO. > > So many NGO are working and this is one more. Let it be. > > > > > > > > What about the protester in Kashmir proved to be instigated from across > the > > border? So, allegation against violation by security forces is baseless. > > They doing there duty to restore piece, which they do everywhere in caase > of > > protest. As a NGO, why they are not protesting against Pak for their > > mischief since years? Why don't they protest against Kashmir separatists > > fully responsible for violence since years? Such biased behavior of NGO > > looses the credibility and no right to blame anyone unless they change > > themselves and act neutrally. > > > > > > > > J&K is border state and there is no question to remove army/security > forces > > from there. If anyone suggests or think that way is fool. > > > > > > > > Thanks > > > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto: > reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > > On Behalf Of gowhar fazli > > > > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 8:37 AM > > > > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > > > Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of > a > > Kashmir Protest Image > > > > > > > > Wonder if anyone has access to the advertisement. This would be > > interesting. > > > > The drama is endless. > > > > > > > > http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/anhad-seeks-apology-from-bjp-553.aspx > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ANHAD seeks apology from BJP > > > > > > > > > > > > Rising Kashmir News > > > > Srinagar, August21: Shabnam Hashmi, managing trustee of ANHAD, a > > > > Non-governmental organization, has written a letter to Bhartiya Janata > Party > > and > > > > expressed shock over the usage of a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration > by > > BJP > > > > in its "Kashmir Bachao Divas" which was organized by BJP today at > Mavlankar > > > > Auditorium, Constitution Club, New Delhi. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > "I am absolutely shocked to see a BJP advertisement issued in the Indian > > Express > > > > on 20.8.2010 and Navbharat Times on 21.8.2010 wherein a photograph of an > > ANHAD > > > > demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi held on 8.7.10 has been > misused," > > it > > > > was written in the letter sent by Hashmi to BJP President,Gadkari. > > > > > > > > ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in response to the hate ideology of the Sangh > > Parivar > > > > displayed during the Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal > > organization. > > > > > > > > "To use our photograph in your advertisement is not only an insult to > ANHAD, > > but > > > > it also grossly defames our organization because it seems to suggest that > > Anhad > > > > has given the consent to BJP to use the photograph of its demonstration. > > Nothing > > > > could be further from the truth. > > > > "The demonstration organized by ANHAD was specifically regarding the > > excessive > > > > acts of violence by the security forces in Kashmir. This is in total > > contrast > > > > to the BJP meeting which is unconcerned about the plight of the people of > > > > Kashmir and looks at the issue as a law and order problem and calls for > even > > > > > > more severe repression by the use of security forces," the letter read. > > > > ANHAD in the letter said that it is highly defamatory, illegal and > unethical > > on > > > > part of BJP to use its material without any permission and criticized BJP > > for > > > > the "total ideological bankruptcy." > > > > > > > > > > > > "We call upon the BJP to issue an advertisement of equal size in all the > > > > newspapers in which this advertisement has appeared apologizing for the > use > > of > > > > that photograph and stating therein that ANHAD and the persons who are > shown > > in > > > > the photograph have nothing to do with the BJP," the letter read. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > > > Critiques & Collaborations > > > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > > > > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > > > > Raqs Media Collective > > > > shuddha at sarai.net > > > > www.sarai.net > > > > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > -- > > http://indersalim.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From nc-agricowi at netcologne.de Mon Aug 23 15:37:07 2010 From: nc-agricowi at netcologne.de (artNET) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:07:07 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] =?iso-8859-1?q?Program_-_Week_35_-__NewMediaFest=27?= =?iso-8859-1?q?2010?= Message-ID: <20100823120707.84665D90.D2C697D5@192.168.0.3> NewMediaFest'2010 --------------------------------------------- program- week 35 --> 23 - 29 August 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=1012 --------------------------------------------- 1. --------------------------------------------- Feature of the Week 35 - 23-29 August 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=1004 JavaMuseum - Forum for Internet Technology in Contemporary Art relaunches --> Fundamental Patterns - Peripheral Basics its 2nd global competition of netart from the year 2002 featuring Calin Man as JavaArtist of the Year 2002 and 25 selected netartists -->including also the digital art show, entitled MANDALA - curated by Fatima Lasay featuring 25 of her students at Universty of the Philippines --------------------------------------------- 2. --------------------------------------------- Feature of The Month August 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org/?p=967 VideoChannel Cologne launched on 2 August 2010 [self] ~imaging v.4.0 artists portraying themselves in film & video -->v.4.0 is adding another 25 artists to this video project consisting in total of 100 films & videos --------------------------------------------- 3. --------------------------------------------- VIP - VideoChannel Interview Project http://vip.newmediafest.org/?p=440 is pleased to release some new interviews with Aaron Oldenburg (USA), Shigeo Arikawa (Japan) Jose Alejandro Lopez Perez (Colombia) Wiracha Daochai (Thailand), Antonio Alvarado (Spain) focAR (Romania), Brice Bowman (USA) --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- NewMediaFest'2010 10 Years [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne global heritage of digital culture 1 January - 31 December 2010 http://2010.newmediafest.org director and chief curator: Wilfried Agricola de Cologne 2010 [at] newmediafest.org ---------------------------------------------------- From rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com Mon Aug 23 16:49:38 2010 From: rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com (Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:49:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] INDIA TAX NET DRAGON In-Reply-To: <002301cb421a$5907d6e0$0b1784a0$@in> References: <005a01cb415d$a8ec8d30$fac5a790$@in> <002301cb421a$5907d6e0$0b1784a0$@in> Message-ID: Bipin ji, again, it is absolutely fallacious to state that there is no tax on agricultural income, as states recover taxes from those within the specified parameters who have income of a certain limit. Those corporate houses who have business of agriculture, like the monsanto and the half breeds of the world, who have genetic "research" have exemptions for income as they are researching the means to dominate the farmer with the seeds of their own for even ordinary produce like brinjal, cotton farmers today are the casualties of this half breeds who make agriculture as a business, not as a vocation.! regards, rajen On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 10:21 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > Dear Rajen, > > Yes, instead of making the things easier, govt. making the things > complicated, complex laws helps in the tax evasion. In the last tenure of > Chidambaram time it becomes even more complicated. Out of the total 2.1% > paying taxes as you mentioned 73% is salaried class and if you can see the > total salaried class in country is also much more than 73% about 90% so > nothing strange in it. Corporate may be in single digit % than also paying > much higher tax value wise even after tax evasion by loop holes of our > complex laws. > > Calculation method of tax payers merely 2.1% or say 2.5 crore people is > itself is faulty. Since, there is no tax in agriculture which counts to > about 60/70 % of population. say, 65% and if you add BPL which is about 30 > and we add 25 instead of 30 than also 65+25 comes to 90% not at all coming > in tax net. So, out of 10% or just 12 crore population (2 to 2.4 crore > family) if 2.5 crore paying tax comes to about 20% paying income tax (or if > you count family wise it comes to almost 100% paying income tax) and if you > count indirect and other complex taxes takes in the tax net to these non > payers 90% also. So, this complex various taxes is the main problem. Govt. > is planning GST (goods & service tax replacing excise, vat, service tax and > may be few others) only single point tax for all taxes is good move if it > is > implicated honestly and of course IT and few other will remain there. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > > From: Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi [mailto:rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com] > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 4:22 PM > To: Bipin Trivedi > Cc: sarai-list > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] INDIA TAX NET DRAGON > > Dear Bipin, > it is rather an amusing situation for citizen in India, that inspite of > such > taxes, the percentage of citizens honestly paying taxes is very low, for > thanks to the "consultants" and "chartered" accountants, there are numerous > loop holes to exploit, use, and be legally correct in not paying any tax > for > the corporate Zjars who cock a snook at tax laws, just as the political > leadership which increases its own salaries five fold, thus looting the > collected tax.! > With over a billion population one may look cynically if it is said that > income tax payers of India is just 2.1 percent of the total population, of > this 73 percent is salaried class who have no option but to pay as the tax > is deducted at salary source.! > Babus who still occupy positins of power, after the retirement, judicial > officers who enjoy remunerations after retirement, politicians who pass the > nuclear liability bill for the citizens after hefty quid pro quo s are all > in league when it comes to legally voiding taxes.! > Poor indian citizen pays taxes in indirect way even when he buys tooth > paste or a small purchase of a tooth brush.! But the leaders in society get > all the pin to aeroplane at national cost from national exchequer, that is > demcratic rule at work.! > Does it surprise any one if terror activities and the supporting NGOs for > them, are also legally need not pay tax as they thrive on illegal > funding.in > legal format, be it naxalites, or any faith fanatics.? > love and regards, > rajen. > On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 11:51 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > ` TAX STRUCTURE IN INDIA ` > > Question Answers on TAXES > > What are you doing? - Business - pay professional tax! > What are you doing in Business? - Selling the Goods. - pay sales tax!! > From where are you getting Goods? - From other State/Abroad - pay central > sales tax, custom duty & octroi! > What are you getting in Selling Goods? - Profit. - pay income tax! > How do you distribute profit ? - By way of dividend - pay dividend > distribution tax > Where you Manufacturing the Goods? - Factory. - pay excise duty! > Do you have Office / Warehouse/ Factory? - Yes - pay municipal & fire tax! > Do you have Staff? - Yes - pay staff professional tax! > Doing business in Millions? - Yes - pay turnover tax! > No - then pay minimum alternate tax > Are you taking out over 25,000 Cash from Bank? - Yes, for Salary. - pay > cash > handling tax! > Where are you taking your client for Lunch & Dinner? - Hotel - pay food & > entertainment tax! > Are you going Out of Station for Business? - Yes - pay fringe benefit tax! > Have you taken or given any Service/s? - Yes - pay service tax! > How come you got such a Big Amount? - Gift on birthday. - pay gift tax! > Do you have any Wealth? - Yes - pay wealth tax! > To reduce Tension, for entertainment, where are you going? - Cinema or > Resort. - pay entertainment tax! > Have you purchased House? - Yes - pay stamp duty & registration fee ! > How you Travel? - Bus - pay surcharge! > Any Additional Tax? - Yes - pay educational, additional educational & > surcharge on all the central govt.'s tax !!! > Delayed any time Paying Any Tax? - Yes - pay interest & penalty! > > INDIAN :: Can I Die Now?? - Wait we are about to launch the funeral tax!!! > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > -- > Rajen. > > -- Rajen. From juhisaklani at gmail.com Mon Aug 23 19:09:29 2010 From: juhisaklani at gmail.com (juhi saklani) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:09:29 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] helping Jaggo Message-ID: Dear friends whom-I-do-not-quite-know-yet, This is an appeal for help, about a desperate situation in which a domestic worker I know finds herself. I write in the hope that it may be satisfying for all of us to share with another person, help her family from sinking quite badly and generally create a happy hole in the narratives of frustration that so often seem to surround us. Jaggo has been washing dishes and cleaning houses for decades now. Her husband doesn’t earn anything much and she has three children. A lady she worked with for 10 years bought her a piece of land near Badarpur, where she managed to build a couple of rooms. This house is her only security. Much of Jaggo’s earnings simply go in commuting between her house and Delhi. She is also a part-time sweeper in a government office but they haven’t made her permanent in years. It seems she needs to give a hefty sum (which she can’t afford) to the in-house union leader who will share it with concerned officers and get this done. Some years back, Jaggo’s brother needed a similar sum to bribe someone at his office to be made permanent. He needed a loan but had nothing to mortgage. So he persuaded Jaggo to mortgage her house to a local moneylender for 50,000 rupees. But once he became permanent, he pleaded that he had three daughters to marry off and couldn’t pay back. He avoided her and eventually became hostile and threatening. Jaggo has now been paying off an interest of 60 per cent on this loan for years. She is often unable to pay the interest so the moneylender adds the remainder to the principal amount. Over the years she must have paid him more than 2 lakh rupees. I know the family have problems eating and the eldest son couldn’t go to college though he managed a creditable Class 12. He has been forced to start working as a peon in a small company. Banks or other private lenders are not willing to give her loan (for a more manageable interest) since the family income is just too small. THE IMMEDIATE PROBLEM This year Jaggo managed to get her principal loan back to 50,000 but has fell back on interest payments again. The moneylender has threatened that by 7 Sept he will again increase her principal drastically. Worse, he now seems to want to take over the house. If her ‘loan’ goes up to 1 lakh again, or if she loses her house, it would be really pushing this family down a spiral that you can easily imagine. Given the urgency, she needs to pay off the lender at one go. I am willing to contribute 20,000 rupees towards this situation but need to raise another 30,000/ before 7 Sept. If you could possibly contribute something to help her, it would be wonderful. This mail is going out to 30 people and she needs 30,000 rupees, but it would be so much nicer if more people (giving less money each) could be involved. Could you please also send this mail to anyone you feel may be interested in getting involved? And I hope around 10 Sept I can write to you all that she is, in her words, free at last. very grateful for your time and for your listening to the story of another person, warmly, juhi PS: You can give the money simply as (i) a donation to Jaggo, or (ii) as a loan to me (which I can pay back over the coming 3-4 months). HOW TO GIVE 1. You can give me cash. To discuss how to get it across, pls mail or call me at 9871145811. I can also come to pick it up, if you like. 2. You can make a cheque for Jaggo’s son – whose employer has just opened an account for him – and send/ courier it to me. Name: Kuldeep Kumar Account number: SB01006512 Bank: Corporation Bank Phone: 9350516437 [Pls write the account number and phone at the back of the cheque] Post this to me at: Juhi Saklani Outlook Traveller Guides, AB 6, 1st floor, Safdarjung Enclave (Kamal Cinema Market) New Delhi – 110029 [Cell: 9871145811] 3. You can deposit the cheque or cash directly into her son’s account. (Do mail or sms me so I can keep track of the amount of money). From aliens at dataone.in Mon Aug 23 20:46:37 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:46:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Struggle NOT Islamist - Says Mirwaiz In-Reply-To: References: <0A04BA35-824D-4CAC-A8C3-68D209A58500@sarai.net> Message-ID: <004901cb42d6$2eb24260$8c16c720$@in> Well said Pawan -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Pawan Durani Sent: Monday, August 23, 2010 9:21 AM To: rashneek kher Cc: sarai-list list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir Struggle NOT Islamist - Says Mirwaiz Dear Rashneek , You need to be kidding . Mirwaiz is the modern day "Harischandra" . And we need to believe in people like Shuddha and Shivam Rig , who have no biases in their lives. The displacement of seven lakh hindus from valley was also not because of Islamist extremeism . It was just that seven lakh Pandits , who have always been united thought of going out of Kashmir for a 25 year picnic and camping. C'mon Shuddha ..... We all believe you ...Pls write more.... I am dying to know more promotions from you. Pawan On 8/23/10, rashneek kher wrote: > I wish Mirwaiz could put some action behind his hollow words. > That he uses the pulpit of Hazratbal to propogate secular thought itself > says a lot. > The slogan of fuzzy "azaadi" was heard loud and clear here in Delhi as > well.I need not repeat it.By the way why were hundreds of Hindu houses burnt > and temples razed to ground if the Azadi isnt Islamist. > > On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 7:07 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta > wrote: > >> Dear All, >> >> This was in today's edition of the Indian Express. I thought it would be >> of >> interest to people on the list, not just because of the categorical >> rejection by the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference (M) of a communal and >> Islamist direction for the movement against the occupation in the Kashmir >> valley, but also, especially as some of the people on the list have been >> very exercised on the issue of the anonymous 'letters' sent to Sikhs and >> Sikh places of worship, which the Mirwaiz explicitly refers to here. >> >> regards, >> >> Shuddha >> --------------------- >> Our struggle not Islamist, says Mirwaiz >> Express News Service >> Indian Express, August 22, 2010 >> >> http://www.indianexpress.com/news/our-struggle-not-islamist-says-mirwaiz/663459/ >> >> Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Saturday lashed out at the forces >> “bent on branding the struggle in Kashmir as Islamist”. The letters urging >> Sikhs to embrace Islam, he said, was a part of this gameplan. >> >> “We think the indigenous nature of the ongoing uprising has unnerved some >> forces to start conspiring against the movement,” Mirwaiz told The Sunday >> Express. “Otherwise how can a few anonymous letters delivered to a few >> Sikh >> households be treated as the voice of the Valley’s majority population.” >> >> He alleged the letters were the handiwork of intelligence agencies. “This >> is part of the deliberate strategy to float the letters and blow the news >> story about them in a section of media,” Mirwaiz said, adding that when it >> came to reporting on the ongoing unrest, media was generally not so >> enthusiastic. “This place has lost 60 people in two months and there is no >> sense of outrage”. >> >> Mirwaiz said Sikhs are an inalienable part of the valley’s cultural fabric >> and assured them of safety. “The community has lived with the majority >> community through thick and thin. And together we will brave the trials >> and >> tribulations in future,” he said. >> >> The Hurriyat leader said Kashmir’s movement is not Islamist. “Kashmir’s >> struggle is not about Muslim versus Hindu or Muslim Kashmir versus Hindu >> India,’ Mirwaiz said. “But some forces are trying to give a communal >> colour >> to the freedom movement. I urge Hindus,Sikhs and other minority community >> members to not pay attention to such letters or warnings.” >> >> Meanwhile, the J&K has denied reports that Sikhs have been harassed. A >> government spokesman said such reports were meant to malign the secular >> image of Kashmiris. Pointing out that just the other day a group of people >> had performed the last rites of a person from another community, he said >> all >> communities were living amicably in the Valley. >> >> The ugly isolated incident occurred at Tral in Pulwama district around >> three weeks ago, and it was unanimously condemned, the spokesman said, >> adding CM Omar Abdullah has assured Sikhs that steps would be taken to >> strengthen mutual ties between all the communities living in the Valley. >> >> >> Shuddhabrata Sengupta >> The Sarai Programme at CSDS >> Raqs Media Collective >> shuddha at sarai.net >> www.sarai.net >> www.raqsmediacollective.net >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kamalhak at gmail.com Mon Aug 23 21:00:27 2010 From: kamalhak at gmail.com (Kamal Hak) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:30:27 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Struggle NOT Islamist - Says Mirwaiz In-Reply-To: References: <0A04BA35-824D-4CAC-A8C3-68D209A58500@sarai.net> Message-ID: Rashneek Kher, How dare you doubt the secular credentials of Mirwaiz?For that matter, you need to accept defintion of secularism as defined by the Kashmiri separatists and propogated by their apologists in India. Only them you will qualify to be a rational citizen of this country. Till then you will, otherwise, continue to be labelled as Hindu fanatic. B On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 8:06 PM, rashneek kher wrote: > I wish Mirwaiz could put some action behind his hollow words. > That he uses the pulpit of Hazratbal to propogate secular thought itself > says a lot. > The slogan of fuzzy "azaadi" was heard loud and clear here in Delhi as > well.I need not repeat it.By the way why were hundreds of Hindu houses > burnt > and temples razed to ground if the Azadi isnt Islamist. > > On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 7:07 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta >wrote: > > > Dear All, > > > > This was in today's edition of the Indian Express. I thought it would be > of > > interest to people on the list, not just because of the categorical > > rejection by the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference (M) of a communal > and > > Islamist direction for the movement against the occupation in the Kashmir > > valley, but also, especially as some of the people on the list have been > > very exercised on the issue of the anonymous 'letters' sent to Sikhs and > > Sikh places of worship, which the Mirwaiz explicitly refers to here. > > > > regards, > > > > Shuddha > > --------------------- > > Our struggle not Islamist, says Mirwaiz > > Express News Service > > Indian Express, August 22, 2010 > > > > > http://www.indianexpress.com/news/our-struggle-not-islamist-says-mirwaiz/663459/ > > > > Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Saturday lashed out at the > forces > > “bent on branding the struggle in Kashmir as Islamist”. The letters > urging > > Sikhs to embrace Islam, he said, was a part of this gameplan. > > > > “We think the indigenous nature of the ongoing uprising has unnerved some > > forces to start conspiring against the movement,” Mirwaiz told The Sunday > > Express. “Otherwise how can a few anonymous letters delivered to a few > Sikh > > households be treated as the voice of the Valley’s majority population.” > > > > He alleged the letters were the handiwork of intelligence agencies. “This > > is part of the deliberate strategy to float the letters and blow the news > > story about them in a section of media,” Mirwaiz said, adding that when > it > > came to reporting on the ongoing unrest, media was generally not so > > enthusiastic. “This place has lost 60 people in two months and there is > no > > sense of outrage”. > > > > Mirwaiz said Sikhs are an inalienable part of the valley’s cultural > fabric > > and assured them of safety. “The community has lived with the majority > > community through thick and thin. And together we will brave the trials > and > > tribulations in future,” he said. > > > > The Hurriyat leader said Kashmir’s movement is not Islamist. “Kashmir’s > > struggle is not about Muslim versus Hindu or Muslim Kashmir versus Hindu > > India,’ Mirwaiz said. “But some forces are trying to give a communal > colour > > to the freedom movement. I urge Hindus,Sikhs and other minority community > > members to not pay attention to such letters or warnings.” > > > > Meanwhile, the J&K has denied reports that Sikhs have been harassed. A > > government spokesman said such reports were meant to malign the secular > > image of Kashmiris. Pointing out that just the other day a group of > people > > had performed the last rites of a person from another community, he said > all > > communities were living amicably in the Valley. > > > > The ugly isolated incident occurred at Tral in Pulwama district around > > three weeks ago, and it was unanimously condemned, the spokesman said, > > adding CM Omar Abdullah has assured Sikhs that steps would be taken to > > strengthen mutual ties between all the communities living in the Valley. > > > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > > Raqs Media Collective > > shuddha at sarai.net > > www.sarai.net > > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Kamal Hak "Zuv Shum Braman Ghara Gasa Ha" From aliens at dataone.in Mon Aug 23 21:07:28 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:07:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir Struggle NOT Islamist - Says Mirwaiz In-Reply-To: References: <0A04BA35-824D-4CAC-A8C3-68D209A58500@sarai.net> Message-ID: <005001cb42d9$18bb5de0$4a3219a0$@in> Dear Kamal, Can you say what is the definition of secularism? -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Kamal Hak Sent: Monday, August 23, 2010 9:00 PM To: rashneek kher Cc: sarai-list list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir Struggle NOT Islamist - Says Mirwaiz Rashneek Kher, How dare you doubt the secular credentials of Mirwaiz?For that matter, you need to accept defintion of secularism as defined by the Kashmiri separatists and propogated by their apologists in India. Only them you will qualify to be a rational citizen of this country. Till then you will, otherwise, continue to be labelled as Hindu fanatic. B On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 8:06 PM, rashneek kher wrote: > I wish Mirwaiz could put some action behind his hollow words. > That he uses the pulpit of Hazratbal to propogate secular thought itself > says a lot. > The slogan of fuzzy "azaadi" was heard loud and clear here in Delhi as > well.I need not repeat it.By the way why were hundreds of Hindu houses > burnt > and temples razed to ground if the Azadi isnt Islamist. > > On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 7:07 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta >wrote: > > > Dear All, > > > > This was in today's edition of the Indian Express. I thought it would be > of > > interest to people on the list, not just because of the categorical > > rejection by the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference (M) of a communal > and > > Islamist direction for the movement against the occupation in the Kashmir > > valley, but also, especially as some of the people on the list have been > > very exercised on the issue of the anonymous 'letters' sent to Sikhs and > > Sikh places of worship, which the Mirwaiz explicitly refers to here. > > > > regards, > > > > Shuddha > > --------------------- > > Our struggle not Islamist, says Mirwaiz > > Express News Service > > Indian Express, August 22, 2010 > > > > > http://www.indianexpress.com/news/our-struggle-not-islamist-says-mirwaiz/663459/ > > > > Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Saturday lashed out at the > forces > > “bent on branding the struggle in Kashmir as Islamist”. The letters > urging > > Sikhs to embrace Islam, he said, was a part of this gameplan. > > > > “We think the indigenous nature of the ongoing uprising has unnerved some > > forces to start conspiring against the movement,” Mirwaiz told The Sunday > > Express. “Otherwise how can a few anonymous letters delivered to a few > Sikh > > households be treated as the voice of the Valley’s majority population.” > > > > He alleged the letters were the handiwork of intelligence agencies. “This > > is part of the deliberate strategy to float the letters and blow the news > > story about them in a section of media,” Mirwaiz said, adding that when > it > > came to reporting on the ongoing unrest, media was generally not so > > enthusiastic. “This place has lost 60 people in two months and there is > no > > sense of outrage”. > > > > Mirwaiz said Sikhs are an inalienable part of the valley’s cultural > fabric > > and assured them of safety. “The community has lived with the majority > > community through thick and thin. And together we will brave the trials > and > > tribulations in future,” he said. > > > > The Hurriyat leader said Kashmir’s movement is not Islamist. “Kashmir’s > > struggle is not about Muslim versus Hindu or Muslim Kashmir versus Hindu > > India,’ Mirwaiz said. “But some forces are trying to give a communal > colour > > to the freedom movement. I urge Hindus,Sikhs and other minority community > > members to not pay attention to such letters or warnings.” > > > > Meanwhile, the J&K has denied reports that Sikhs have been harassed. A > > government spokesman said such reports were meant to malign the secular > > image of Kashmiris. Pointing out that just the other day a group of > people > > had performed the last rites of a person from another community, he said > all > > communities were living amicably in the Valley. > > > > The ugly isolated incident occurred at Tral in Pulwama district around > > three weeks ago, and it was unanimously condemned, the spokesman said, > > adding CM Omar Abdullah has assured Sikhs that steps would be taken to > > strengthen mutual ties between all the communities living in the Valley. > > > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > > Raqs Media Collective > > shuddha at sarai.net > > www.sarai.net > > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Kamal Hak "Zuv Shum Braman Ghara Gasa Ha" _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aliens at dataone.in Mon Aug 23 21:21:50 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:21:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image In-Reply-To: References: <432236.69403.qm@web114706.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <000001cb41bc$63403340$29c099c0$@in> <34B5D7F6-336D-4F56-B7E7-258C2213ADFD@sarai.net> <001501cb4212$8edaf570$ac90e050$@in> Message-ID: <005101cb42db$1a730e10$4f592a30$@in> Dear Inder, It is absolutely wrong to say that Kashmir never joined Indian union. Historical document says that it is part of India during partition. It is Pakistan creating wrong situation and India the sorry state tolerated it since years unnecessarily. Even after independence Kashmiri's where living happily and unanimously since years which Pakistan, the rogue state could not tolerate it. Stone pelting was instigated by separatists and Pakistan authority both. It is just like 'buzta diya jyada jale'. They realize that their separatists movement diminishing gradually and so they have planned this massive protest by hook or crook. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Inder Salim Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 9:57 PM To: reader-list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a Kashmir Protest Image Dear Bipin how to tell a young kashmiri that there is LOC between India and Pakistan in Kashmir, how to tell that there is no LOC even at Saichen Glacier . well for most of Indians it looks only about Geography, but what is nature of conflict? the root of it is that Kashmir never joined Indian Union in 1947 may be this stone pelting is an outburst of that long lasting complaint, which was ignited by recent innocent killings. This was bound to happen, i think it is high time , that Indian Govt thinks seriously about the basic nature of conflict. best is On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 9:26 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > Dear Shuddha, > > > > My reply was to the statement mentioned "ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in > response to the hate ideology of the Sangh Parivar displayed during the > Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal organization.". the reason > given to form this organization was baseless. > > > > It is good that ANHAD concern about the Kashmir people suffered in the > recent protest and so we all are concerned. But, what is the root of this > protest? Have they ever blamed Pak terrorist organization/ISI mainly culprit > for all this things. Have they ever blamed separatists there in Kashmir > mainly responsible for disturbances all these days? > > > > Why you say only BJP reminds Kashmir as "inalienable part of the Indian > union. Everyone including congress and PM says that. Do you have doubt about > the Kashmir, a part of India? > > > > Thanks > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta [mailto:shuddha at sarai.net] > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 6:22 PM > To: Bipin Trivedi > Cc: 'gowhar fazli'; sarai-list > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of > a Kashmir Protest Image > > > > Dear Bipin, > > > > I am intrigued, and confused. > > > > if, as you say, the very reason for the formation of an organization like > Anhad is 'baseless', then, why should the BJP seek to use an image of a > demonstration by this 'baseless' organization, for a cause that you again > say is 'baseless' ( "...allegation against violation by security forces is > baseless" ) in order to promote its own important agenda on Kashmir? > > > > The BJP is an important national party, and I am sure it must have a > significant presence, and a popular 'base' (as befits a national party of > its stature) in the territory of the Kashmir valley, which, as the BJP > reminds us, is an 'inalienable part of the Indian union'. > > > > Surely there are millions of Kashmiris in the Kashmir valley who would > readily rally to the BJP's clarion call for even more security forces in the > valley, and for lofty ideals like the abrogation of article 370. Can't the > BJP simply use a photograph from such an event, where millions of patriotic > Kashmiris are forcefully and sincerely chanting "Indian Forces kill more > Kashmiris" in order to decorate its advertisement. > > > > Why must it resort to this low and unbecoming trick of filching a photograph > of a 'baseless' demonstration by a 'baseless' organization for a 'baseless' > cause in order to communicate its own priceless message? > > > > Or is this how a party with a 'difference' demonstrates its difference? > > > > I remain confused, I hope you will clarify my confusion, > > > > best regards > > > > Shuddha > > > > On 22-Aug-10, at 11:09 AM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > > > > > Dear Gowhar, > > > > The reason given for the formation of ANHAD itself is baseless. They says > that it was formed for hatred ideology shown by SANGH after 2002 Gujarat > carnage. First of all there is no any such hatred exists from any corner > either from SANGH or BJP. So, don't give excuse or wrong reason to form NGO. > So many NGO are working and this is one more. Let it be. > > > > What about the protester in Kashmir proved to be instigated from across the > border? So, allegation against violation by security forces is baseless. > They doing there duty to restore piece, which they do everywhere in caase of > protest. As a NGO, why they are not protesting against Pak for their > mischief since years? Why don't they protest against Kashmir separatists > fully responsible for violence since years? Such biased behavior of NGO > looses the credibility and no right to blame anyone unless they change > themselves and act neutrally. > > > > J&K is border state and there is no question to remove army/security forces > from there. If anyone suggests or think that way is fool. > > > > Thanks > > Bipin Trivedi > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of gowhar fazli > > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 8:37 AM > > To: reader-list at sarai.net > > Subject: [Reader-list] ANHAD seeks apology from BJP for appropriation of a > Kashmir Protest Image > > > > Wonder if anyone has access to the advertisement. This would be > interesting. > > The drama is endless. > > > > http://www.risingkashmir.com/news/anhad-seeks-apology-from-bjp-553.aspx > > > > > > > > ANHAD seeks apology from BJP > > > > > > Rising Kashmir News > > Srinagar, August21: Shabnam Hashmi, managing trustee of ANHAD, a > > Non-governmental organization, has written a letter to Bhartiya Janata Party > and > > expressed shock over the usage of a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration by > BJP > > in its "Kashmir Bachao Divas" which was organized by BJP today at Mavlankar > > Auditorium, Constitution Club, New Delhi. > > > > > > > > > > "I am absolutely shocked to see a BJP advertisement issued in the Indian > Express > > on 20.8.2010 and Navbharat Times on 21.8.2010 wherein a photograph of an > ANHAD > > demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi held on 8.7.10 has been misused," > it > > was written in the letter sent by Hashmi to BJP President,Gadkari. > > > > ANHAD, was formed in 2003 in response to the hate ideology of the Sangh > Parivar > > displayed during the Gujarat carnage of 2002, is an anti communal > organization. > > > > "To use our photograph in your advertisement is not only an insult to ANHAD, > but > > it also grossly defames our organization because it seems to suggest that > Anhad > > has given the consent to BJP to use the photograph of its demonstration. > Nothing > > could be further from the truth. > > "The demonstration organized by ANHAD was specifically regarding the > excessive > > acts of violence by the security forces in Kashmir. This is in total > contrast > > to the BJP meeting which is unconcerned about the plight of the people of > > Kashmir and looks at the issue as a law and order problem and calls for even > > > more severe repression by the use of security forces," the letter read. > > ANHAD in the letter said that it is highly defamatory, illegal and unethical > on > > part of BJP to use its material without any permission and criticized BJP > for > > the "total ideological bankruptcy." > > > > > > "We call upon the BJP to issue an advertisement of equal size in all the > > newspapers in which this advertisement has appeared apologizing for the use > of > > that photograph and stating therein that ANHAD and the persons who are shown > in > > the photograph have nothing to do with the BJP," the letter read. > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > > Raqs Media Collective > > shuddha at sarai.net > > www.sarai.net > > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aliens at dataone.in Mon Aug 23 21:58:49 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:58:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] [SPAM] - Re: INDIA TAX NET DRAGON In-Reply-To: References: <005a01cb415d$a8ec8d30$fac5a790$@in> <002301cb421a$5907d6e0$0b1784a0$@in> Message-ID: <005201cb42e0$448e11e0$cdaa35a0$@in> Dear Rajen, What you say is nothing and practically collection is very negligible. In my opinion those involved in agriculture must be in the IT net. This is the key loopholes for the tax evasion and big farmers and mostly politicians misuse it to generate black money. If we put agriculture in the tax net than black money generation can be restricted. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From: Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi [mailto:rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 23, 2010 4:50 PM To: Bipin Trivedi Cc: sarai-list Subject: [SPAM] - Re: [Reader-list] INDIA TAX NET DRAGON Bipin ji, again, it is absolutely fallacious to state that there is no tax on agricultural income, as states recover taxes from those within the specified parameters who have income of a certain limit. Those corporate houses who have business of agriculture, like the monsanto and the half breeds of the world, who have genetic "research" have exemptions for income as they are researching the means to dominate the farmer with the seeds of their own for even ordinary produce like brinjal, cotton farmers today are the casualties of this half breeds who make agriculture as a business, not as a vocation.! regards, rajen On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 10:21 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: Dear Rajen, Yes, instead of making the things easier, govt. making the things complicated, complex laws helps in the tax evasion. In the last tenure of Chidambaram time it becomes even more complicated. Out of the total 2.1% paying taxes as you mentioned 73% is salaried class and if you can see the total salaried class in country is also much more than 73% about 90% so nothing strange in it. Corporate may be in single digit % than also paying much higher tax value wise even after tax evasion by loop holes of our complex laws. Calculation method of tax payers merely 2.1% or say 2.5 crore people is itself is faulty. Since, there is no tax in agriculture which counts to about 60/70 % of population. say, 65% and if you add BPL which is about 30 and we add 25 instead of 30 than also 65+25 comes to 90% not at all coming in tax net.  So, out of 10% or just 12 crore population (2 to 2.4 crore family) if 2.5 crore paying tax comes to about 20% paying income tax (or if you count family wise it comes to almost 100% paying income tax) and if you count indirect and other complex taxes takes in the tax net to these non payers 90% also. So, this complex various taxes is the main problem. Govt. is planning GST (goods & service tax replacing excise, vat, service tax and may be few others) only single point tax for all taxes is good move if it is implicated honestly and of course IT and few other will remain there. Thanks Bipin Trivedi From: Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi [mailto:rajen786uppinangady at gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 4:22 PM To: Bipin Trivedi Cc: sarai-list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] INDIA TAX NET DRAGON Dear Bipin, it is rather an amusing situation for citizen in India, that inspite of such taxes, the percentage of citizens honestly paying taxes is very low, for thanks to the "consultants" and "chartered" accountants, there are numerous loop holes to exploit, use, and be legally correct in not paying any tax for the corporate Zjars who cock a snook at tax laws, just as the political leadership which increases its  own salaries five fold, thus looting the collected tax.! With over a billion population one may look cynically if it is said that income tax payers of India is just 2.1 percent of the total population, of this 73 percent is salaried class who have no option but to pay as the tax is deducted at salary source.! Babus who still occupy positins of power, after the retirement, judicial officers who enjoy remunerations after retirement, politicians who pass the nuclear liability bill for the citizens after hefty quid pro quo s are all in league when it comes to legally voiding taxes.!  Poor indian citizen pays taxes in indirect way even when he buys tooth paste or a small purchase of a tooth brush.! But the leaders in society get all the pin to aeroplane at national cost from national exchequer, that is demcratic rule at work.! Does it surprise any one if terror activities and the supporting NGOs for them, are also legally need not pay tax as they thrive on illegal funding.in legal format, be it naxalites, or any faith fanatics.? love and regards, rajen. On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 11:51 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote: ` TAX STRUCTURE IN INDIA ` Question Answers on TAXES What are you doing? - Business - pay professional tax! What are you doing in Business? - Selling the Goods. - pay sales tax!! >From where are you getting Goods? - From other State/Abroad - pay central sales tax, custom duty & octroi! What are you getting in Selling Goods? - Profit. - pay income tax! How do you distribute profit ? - By way of dividend - pay dividend distribution tax Where you Manufacturing the Goods? - Factory. - pay excise duty! Do you have Office / Warehouse/ Factory? - Yes - pay municipal & fire tax! Do you have Staff? - Yes - pay staff professional tax! Doing business in Millions? - Yes - pay turnover tax!                              No - then pay minimum alternate tax Are you taking out over 25,000 Cash from Bank? - Yes, for Salary. - pay cash handling tax! Where are you taking your client for Lunch & Dinner? - Hotel - pay food & entertainment tax! Are you going Out of Station for Business? - Yes - pay fringe benefit tax! Have you taken or given any Service/s? - Yes - pay service tax! How come you got such a Big Amount? - Gift on birthday. - pay gift tax! Do you have any Wealth? - Yes - pay wealth tax! To reduce Tension, for entertainment, where are you going? - Cinema or Resort. - pay entertainment tax! Have you purchased House? - Yes - pay stamp duty & registration fee ! How you Travel? - Bus - pay surcharge! Any Additional Tax? - Yes - pay educational, additional educational & surcharge on all the central govt.'s tax !!! Delayed any time Paying Any Tax? - Yes - pay interest & penalty! INDIAN :: Can I Die Now?? - Wait we are about to launch the funeral tax!!! _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rajen. -- Rajen. From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Mon Aug 23 23:25:31 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:55:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] An earnest plea regarding average postings on Kashmir. Message-ID: <643417.3925.qm@web114708.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> It is high time we shifted the discourse on Kashmir from a juvenile jingoistic black and white, maligning approach, which at best helps satisfy a few underdeveloped egos; to thinking about it as though Kashmiris (all Kashmiris and their neighbours as well!) were people too. The routine rabble rousing regurgitation of venom and factual distortions or piecemeal circulation of hearsay flattening the whole populations to suit ones fancy, affects lives of real people who are made of flesh and blood like us. I would appreciate if the response to this plea, if any, were not a clause by clause nitpicking of the text, but practical suggestions on how to elevate the discourse above mundane 'gali galoch'. I understand elsewhere, some will keep at it because they do not know any better or because that is what those places are meant for. But on this forum, where most other issues are dealt with reasonable seriousness, this too can be different. From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Aug 23 23:33:01 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:33:01 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Now protesters in Kashmir face stones Message-ID: Now protesters in Kashmir face stonesPTI Srinagar: Fed up with repeated strikes by separatists in Kashmir Valley, shopkeepers are up in arms against protesters, who are tasting their own bitter pill as locals are attacking them with stones. Clerics have also started making fervent appeals from mosques to open shops and restore normalcy in violence affected areas. An incident of clash was recently reported from Peerbagh in Budgham district of Central Kashmir - the scene of violent protests during the last few weeks. As separatists and their goons reached the area to enforce the strike, they were greeted with stones. Local shop owners showered stones on these rowdy elements who tried to force them to close down their establishments. The police could not do anything to quell the locals and shopkeepers as security men were outnumbered. These shopkeepers and locals reached the police station later and filed an FIR against 10 people of neighbouring Nabir Gund village holding them responsible for spoiling peace and threatening the locals. Far away in Anantnag in South Kashmir, an appeal for opening of shops was made as people were facing lot of hardships on account of frequent strikes during the Holy month of Ramzan. The separatists' strike calls have hit the economy and at many a places people have been seen selling off their belongings at distress rates. The business of shopkeepers has suffered a lot as the turmoil not only brought tourism to an abrupt halt but also forced establishments to remain closed for nearly two months now. In Ompura area in Central Kashmir, there have been instances of exchange of hot words between locals and anti-social elements when businessmen were forced to shut down their shops. In Meehama Pulwama in South Kashmir, four men were beaten up by locals three days back when they were trying to enforce a strike in the area. Senior police officials said people were voicing their concern and police was only intervening to prevent situation from turning worse. These issues are not limited to villages only. In Natipora area of the city, anti-social elements ransacked a bakery shop. The owner's only fault was to supply fresh traditional Kashmiri bread in his area. The incident triggered resentment among the public against the separatist agenda. "It is heartening that people have started coming out to register their protest against the separatists though such protests are scattered," said a senior police official. PTI -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ From rohitrellan at aol.in Tue Aug 24 08:34:52 2010 From: rohitrellan at aol.in (rohitrellan at aol.in) Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:04:52 -0400 Subject: [Reader-list] Urgent: Your suggestions wanted. In-Reply-To: <8CD114FFA45E0BA-1FC8-961@webmail-d078.sysops.aol.com> References: <8CD114F831DDD22-1FC8-8EE@webmail-d078.sysops.aol.com> <8CD114FFA45E0BA-1FC8-961@webmail-d078.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8CD115041CE34E3-1FC8-99E@webmail-d078.sysops.aol.com> "The Film & Television Producers Guild will be shortly submitting its Pre-Budget memorandum to the Union Information & Broadcasting Minister  enlisting important issues bearing significant repercussions on the film & television industry.       Accordingly, you are requested to communicate your concerns and suggestions to us so that the same can be duly incorporated in the said Pre-Budget Memorandum.         Keeping the urgency of the matter in mind, You are requested to send your points within a fortnight’s time".      Please mail your suggestions to ramesh.tekwani at gmail.com                     From anivar at movingrepublic.org Tue Aug 24 12:41:26 2010 From: anivar at movingrepublic.org (Anivar Aravind) Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:41:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Public Meeting on UID (Aug.25, 2010 Constitution Club) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: A CAMPAIGN FOR NO UID TILL COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION 21st August 2010 Dear Friend, Since May 2009, the UID project is under implementation. Even though any legislation sanctioning it is yet to be passed in parliament, the UID authority is functioning. Rs.19,500 million have been allocated to the project. In addition to this allocation, the census expenditure has a budget of Rs. 30,230 million. The UIDAI plans to use the census data, to issue Aadhar numbers. The total project is estimated to cost Rs. 1500 billion. The budget for the Authority was passed with the GoI annual budget but without discussion on it or setting up of UIDAI. The UID project envisages recording ten finger prints and iris scan of all people residing in India, allocating a unique number to each individual whose biometric data is captured, and storing it in a database with other basic information such as: name, parent’s name, date of birth, gender, and address. Clearly, the UID project will affect everyone residing in India. To ensure proper implementation it is important to carry out a detailed study of the project's viability and feasibility. That the project has been launched without such a study is a matter of grave concern. The authority presents the UID project to the public as a way to prevent leakages in the PDS and MGNREGS. If the project could achieve this, it would be a welcome solution, but even a cursory examination reveals several reasons why this objective seems impossible to achieve. Among these is the fact that many countries, after trying similar projects, have abandoned them because they were found to be incapable of achieving their projected objectives and posed high security risks. For example: in a study that was conducted by the London School of Economics on the UK Government's National ID card scheme, it was found that it would not achieve the objective of preventing illegal immigration and further that such a central database would itself become a target for terrorists, The new elected UK government scrapped the project in June 2010. The UID project also raises many questions concerning the abuse of personal data gathered in the process. The collection and logging of data, done in the manner proposed by the UIDAI, is in effect similar to “phone tapping”, a practice which can be abused by those overseeing it. The data collection itself is outsourced to private agencies. The linkages provided by UID to a person's data that is collected for the UID to other databases, such as bank accounts or mobile phone companies have the potential for serious abuse. Despite these concerns, the UIDAI has already taken initiatives, such as collaborating with many multinational and Indian private companies for gathering data and setting up / maintaining the database. This meeting is organised to discuss UID's lack of a feasibility study, huge cost, legality and real danger of abuse. Hence, we invite you to come for a public discussion where people from many diverse groups will express their viewpoints on the subject on - 25th August 2010 from 10.00 am to 6.00 p.m. at the Constitution Club Auditorium, Rafi Marg, New Delhi. High-Tea and meeting with MPs: 4 pm to 6 pm. This will be an interactive meeting in which, we hope you will be able to gain insight into this immense project, its costs and impacts. Please confirm your participation in the workshop at insafdelhi at gmail.com. This would help us make the necessary arrangements for your convenience. In Solidarity - Alternative Law Forum, Citizen Action Forum, Delhi Forum, PEACE, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) – Karnataka, Moving Republic, Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), Slum Janandolana – Karnataka, The Center for Internet and Society (CIS) and many other organisations and concerned individuals. -- "[It is not] possible to distinguish between 'numerical' and 'nonnumerical' algorithms, as if numbers were somehow different from other kinds of precise information." - Donald Knuth From peter.ksmtf at gmail.com Tue Aug 24 16:45:15 2010 From: peter.ksmtf at gmail.com (T Peter) Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:45:15 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kandhamal Day Dharna In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: JUSTICE FOR KANDHAMAL! NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST: AUGUST 25, 2010. DHARNA IN FROND OF TRIVANDRUM SECRETARIATE AT 11 AM JOIN AND INFORM OTHERS. Kerala Solidarity Forum From indersalim at gmail.com Tue Aug 24 16:46:51 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:46:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Metaphor in Art, but Horses Vocal Cords are Trimmed Message-ID: Metaphor in Art, but Horse's vocal cords are trimmed 1. But Horse's Vocal Cords are Trimmed. One of unfortunate ritual/practice of Matador play in Spain is the trimming of horse's vocal cords, much before the poor thing goes into the arena. This is done to suppress his own neigh in case that inhibits him, which may result into a fumble endangering the life of the rider( picador). This is also done to save spectators ears from listening the painful cry if the horse is killed by the bull. Horse's life is incidental. During that play, we know how dangerously the fatally wounded bull sometimes gores them both mercilessly; reasons we all know: Spanish 'beautiful' tradition!!! ( Link below ) But this trimming-of-vocal-cords has little or no effect on his mind, since he sometimes fumbles and falls down. and exposes himself and the rider to the sharp horns of raging bull in the arena. During that time, the rider merely becomes another limb of the fallen horse. The best time for the audience to see their tickets worth the price they bought. One of the world famous master work " Gurenica ' by Picasso has come out of his own Spanish background and his well known love for this tradition. In the painting the gored horse's head is the most piercing highlight . The strange pointed tongue is protruding almost skywards, because his belly is pierced and is in tremendous pain. The machine like head, and its mouth parts indeed manage to create a loud 'visual neigh' in our minds to feel the intensity of his pain. But, this at the cost of bull playing the roll of villain, who has , ironically ,victory looks in his eyes: the poor wounded Bull. There are other metaphors in the painting which do speak about the War, but the title has played the key role to make the painting functional. It was Guernica town in Spain which was bombarded by Franco of Spain in collusion with Hitler. The people's vocal cords indeed look trimmed when bombs fall on their heads. So, the fallen horse becomes a useful ready made tool to help us understand our own pain? The credit goes to Picasso to discover it so, but what about the violence which is already embedded in this tradition? If today, the Bull has managed to climb the ten feet wall and wounded 40 spectators, how is Picasso of today going to paint that? The problem, perhaps lies in the fact that Matador playing is a huge tourism industry in the West. Millions from America and Europe come to see this bloody thing. Not surprising that neo rich Asian too pay ( or dream ) to see all this 'khooni tamasha', 2. To Dodo, in Silence... There is a difference between 'the thought' of Buddha and the image of Buddha. There is a difference in 'the thought' about the extinction of Dodo and the image of it in the Museum. My Performance in Japan, thus tentatively titled, Understanding Mandala in the Present. Traditionally, we have the image of Buddha which is worshipped in temples and its subsequent realization in the tradition of drawing a Mandala. A typical Mandala has a core and there are forces/deities around that core, but to arrive at the core one needs to appease/negotiate/celebrate each circle of it, where Buddha himself is seated. ( or Bindu in Hinduism, we all know other details of Mandala ) In kashmir, the sound Mandala is 'Mandul'. Strange that the "downing back " of human being is also called as Mandul in Kashmir, with a very minute difference in sound. Isn't there a core ( anus ) in the buttock of each one of us, encircled by a circle, a circle of two halves:almost yin yang of Mandala Well. before the performance, i just happened to see Mandala Artists from Tibet in ancient RinkuJi Temple in Nagano. For few minutes you really love to see them doing it, but afterward you feel that the process of skilled sprinkling of powder on the surface is almost meditative and therefore, non-interactive. A jackson Pollock kind of performance, where the action is less than the final product, but very important. Anyway, the entire team of performance artists went up into mountains in Nagano, at a higher altitude than the location of the temple, where i found the a beautiful bird in the almirah of the house we were put in by the Curator. The wild bird was on a pedestal. All of it intact but empty inside, a mere decoration piece. That evening i did one performance with the empty bird in the evening while presentation of my work. And then in the morning outside with a old musician from Corotia. ( i shall write about that separately ) But in the afternoon, my third performance with the-bird-on-the-pedestal was about the understanding Mandala in the present. So i told the audience about my intention, before i requested them to sit in a circle, but not facing towards the core.( see image ) Now, only 'the Camera' knew how i was looking from behind, with empty bird inside the core. I moved towards the core, and I undressed myself, then i lifted the bird on the pedestal and made my dead its second pedestal. I made a round and put on my clothes again. I put on my clothes and moved out to show the image to them one by one in my camera itself. The image, showing me nude with the bird on my head: another pedestal to the bird already on pedestal. Everyone laughed. We dispersed. Later, one or two artists questioned me about the meaning of the performance, and I answered: traditionally the image of Buddha serves the viewer to visualize the thing which does not exist. So understand Buddha, one need to shake the Mandala, almost to annihilate the image of Buddha itself, to realize Buddha. That still is religion. The image of Buddha is as empty as empty bird in the Almirah. So, in the present, the a device to connect with Dodo in silence. So this is about other speices who are about to go extinct and need to return from mere image ( in discussion ) to the actual discussion, enabling them to live within the circular frames of their respective physical form. The tradition, therefore, may serve us to restore what is lost, and reinvigorate what is sensible. 3. This Inder Salim stuff from Kashmir...with love Well a house fly sits on anything, on sause, a piece of rope, on meat, on the nose, but with love on the shit. But, yesteday evening when i saw at Sarai a house fly dancing on the image of shit ( installation ) i was delighted. This little animal on my art work: This Inder salim Stuff.....a pair of 5 by 7 inche images of shit, before internal hemorrhage and after, between Indian and Pakistani flags, made me see it in a different context. It gained a vocabullary. I love these interventions. The image of shit and almost its negative on the other side, suspended and revloving on the same axis, of a before and an after, gravitating towards earth, with a little rounded wooden pedestal. That is how wind played a key role to dessiminate the smell ( the stink of politics in kashmir ) This all is happening in front of my twin portrait, Inder Salim: in suasages of beef and pork mixed. Please see it an acidic poltical work at your own peril. I dont think any political party in the world will negotiate peace with a sign like shit on the table, i wish if any peace efforts consumes the sign. So conceptually....... with love is some links to see http://www.care2.com/c2c/people/profile.html?pid=881129493 http://pics.livejournal.com/indersalim/pic/000q222s/ to be continued.... -- From ysaeed7 at yahoo.com Tue Aug 24 18:48:23 2010 From: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com (Yousuf) Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:18:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Indian researcher shows faults in EVMs, gets arrested Message-ID: <240133.13050.qm@web51404.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Indian researcher shows faults in EVMs, gets arrested Monday, 23 August 2010, 15:44 IST Bangalore: Hari Prasad, the Managing Director of Netindia an Indian research and development firm, on his refusal to disclose an anonymous source who provided an electronic voting machine to a team of security researchers was arrested. He and other researchers have long questioned the security of India's paperless electronic voting machines. Despite repeated reports of election irregularities and concerns about fraud, the Election Commission of India insists that the machines are tamper-proof. As per the reports Prasad was questioned Saturday morning at his home in Hyderabad by authorities who wanted to know the identity of the source who gave the voting machine to the research team. Prasad was ultimately arrested and taken to Mumbai, though reportedly hadn't been charged with a crime. In 2009, the commission publicly challenged Prasad to show that India's voting machines could be compromised, but refused to give him access to the machines to perform a review. Earlier this year, an anonymous source provided an Indian voting machine to a research team led by Prasad, The team exposed security flaws that could allow an attacker to change election results and compromise ballot secrecy. They published a paper detailing their findings. The Election Commission of India should have given researchers access to the voting machines in the first place. Prasad is a respected researcher who helped to discover a critical flaw in India's voting system. He and his fellow researchers would never have been able to document the weaknesses in India's voting machines without the help of their anonymous source. This is precisely why anonymity is important: it allows people to make important contributions to the public dialogue without fear of retribution. http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Indian_researcher_shows_faults_in_EVMs_gets_arrested-nid-70912.html/1/1/error1 From indersalim at gmail.com Tue Aug 24 23:04:21 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:04:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Raksha Bandan day In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks Raj Kamal ji perhaps, some sincerity in the image has made you ask this question, I give some benefit of doubt to myself. It is just a poster, done may years back... Well, i believe, India and Pakistan have a huge cultural past to share, in fact both are celebrating ( music, language, food ) , and the limits imposed by that bloody 47 divide has caused us to look more acutely into each others plights. It is happening deeply in our minds. I believe, that the more we feel distant to some one, the more we are attracted to that. We may be logically feel it, but i see it happening to all of us, even when we loudly say we are indifferent to others pain... I dont know the language of the those echoes which are very much in our veins, in our bone marrow, to feel that we belong to one big past, say Indus valley past, but why are we not worried about the sensibilities during the times when we ( establishment ) ignore the aid if millions are suffering, just because there is politics. How can we ignore the dying man, just because we dont feel the pain , sad. So, may be this poster is a humble way to look into that past, which is right now in front of me, you , all of us... My unknown sister is from Lahore. good wishes to such millions of ideas love is On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 10:13 PM, Rajkamal Goswami wrote: > what do you wish to convey through this image sir? > > On 8/24/10, Inder Salim wrote: >> Dear All >> >> a very beautiful day, >> a meaningful festival >> image at >> >> http://pics.livejournal.com/indersalim/pic/0000fcs2 >> >> love >> is >> >> -- >> > > > -- > Rajkamal > -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com Wed Aug 25 11:19:50 2010 From: rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com (Rajkamal Goswami) Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:19:50 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A good article-Maulana Azad As A Role Model For Contemporary Muslims Message-ID: Maulana Azad As A Role Model For Contemporary Muslims By Muqtedar Khan 24 August, 2010 Countercurrents.org On 15th of August, India celebrated its independence from British Colonization. Congratulations to India. For nearly 200 years the British occupied and exploited India and its resources. But we all know this aspect of the British culture first hand and it does not need much elaboration here. India too has emerged as a democracy after independence. It used to be a great civilization, now it is on its way to becoming a great world power. India is not only a successful democracy and an emerging fountain of knowledge for the World; it is also the other Holy Land. There are only four religions with over a billion adherents, two come from the Middle East (Islam and Christianity) and the other two were made in India (Hinduism and Buddhism). Whether it is Indian software engineers, doctors, or professors, Indians are not only scripting a phenomenal story of growth in India, but are also driving growth everywhere in the World. In the U.S. too Indians and their progeny are making an incredible impact. Bobby Jindal the Governor of Louisiana, Fareed Zakaria and Sanjay Gupta of CNN, Deepak Chopra, 11 Nobel Laureates, and thousands of scientists and entrepreneurs are making America a more scientific and prosperous nation. Kalpana Chawla the brave astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle accident was an Indian-American. And then there is yours truly. One of the most important reasons for India’s tremendous post-Independence success is its unwavering focus on education. One of the earliest architects of India’s freedom struggle and its focus on education was a Muslim scholar – Maulana Azad, a close companion of Mahatma Gandhi and the first Minister of Education of free India (from 1947-1958). His educational policies that created the world-renowned Indian Institutes of Technologies and brought education to women very early on played a big role in India’s social and economic development and its ability to nourish its democracy. Maulana Azad was a remarkable man by any standards. He was a freedom fighter, a journalist, a scholar, a politician and a statesman. He was born in Mecca in 1988 in a family of Islamic scholars, who taught Islam in Mecca and Calcutta. He received a traditional education in Islamic sciences but in his early teens he recognized that much of his education was religious indoctrination. So he rebelled against it and declared his intellectual freedom and took the nom de plume – Azad. Azad means free. He became a prominent player in India’s freedom struggle, motivated millions of Muslim Indians to join the movement through his various magazines and led the Indian National Congress during the crucial years from 1940-1946. He was an Indian Muslim leader and Islamic scholar who believed in Hindu-Muslim unity and opposed the partition of India on religious grounds. He believed that a secular, democratic India would safe guard the freedoms of both Muslims and Hindus. Azad’s faith in communal harmony came from his belief in the fundamental unity of all religions. Based on his reading of the Quran which claims that God has sent prophets with the divine message to all people, some of them known to Prophet Muhammed others he was not aware of (40:78) and that all religions are but one (23:52). It was this belief that made him reach out to Hindus, Christians, and Parsees, successfully. In spite of his political responsibilities, Azad found time to write books on India and on the Quran. His magnum opus was a thirty-volume commentary on the Quran and several other treatises on the Quran and a history of India’s struggle – India Wins Freedom. No leader in the Indian subcontinent, Hindu or Muslim, could match him in erudition and scholarship. No contemporary leader in the entire Muslim World is able to combine political leadership and Islamic scholarship like Azad. Muslims who live as minorities need leaders like Azad who emphasize respect for pluralism, believe in democracy and eschew mental and social ghettoes. Leaders who use religious identities as political instruments not only undermine the social harmony of societies but also do more harm than good for the very minorities whose interests they claim to advance. We live in an age of globalization, where boundaries are gradually losing their salience, in this age, politics of religious boundaries are artificial and counter productive. I hope that American Muslims will discover Azad and learn how to live and lead in a secular democracy; and non-Muslim Americans learn that not all Muslim leaders in history were divisive and partisan. Many like Azad, seek political and religious unity. Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Associate Professor at the University of Delaware and a Fellow of the Institute for Social policy and Understanding. -- Rajkamal From subhachops at gmail.com Wed Aug 25 14:24:00 2010 From: subhachops at gmail.com (Subhash) Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:24:00 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] India, Afghans created floods in Pakistan? Message-ID: Check Indian, Afghan Dams For Floods In Pakistan Headlines Thursday, August 19th, 2010 * Indian company controls dam on Kabul River, tens of dams control flow of Kashmir water into Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan * Flood gates of Afghan Sarobi Dam, Indian Baglihar Dam were opened to drown Pakistani plains * Two US allies, the puppet regime in Kabul and the ‘strategic ally’ in New Delhi, declare water war on Pakistan * The tragedy one again raises question marks on the US double game against Pakistan in the region * Melting glaciers have nothing to do with this tragedy; it also doesn’t explain why Kabul river surged It’s not as if the clouds dodged borders and focused on Pakistan only. Pakistan’s water flows from Indian-occupied Kashmir and from US-occupied Afghanistan. A natural deluge should have shown some spillover effect into Indian and Afghan regions adjoining Pakistan. It is interesting that a second and a third wave of floods is expected in Pakistan when there’s no rain to justify it. Where is the water coming from? Here’s a perspective by Mr. Zaid Hamid, a security analyst at BrassTacks, and Ms. Gulpari Mehsud. There is a very sinister aspect to the floods in Pakistan that no one is discussing in the media. While there were rains and flooding in some rivers of the country, the size, scale and the gush of water suddenly pumped into these rivers defies logic. This is especially true considering that rains have slowed down since the breakout of the floods on 29 July. It is two weeks since the rains stopped but water continues to rise in the rivers Indus and Chenab. There was no flooding in India or in Afghanistan. Never before have rivers in all the provinces of Pakistan flooded at the same time without a similar act affecting the upstream, the source. While some parts of the country, like some areas of Khyber Pakhtun Khwa saw flooding in 1929, the simultaneous floods covering all of Pakistan and in all of the rivers flowing in from Afghanistan and Indian-occupied Kashmir is something truly unprecedented. The speed and quantity of the gushing water and the short span of time in which it picked momentum preclude the possibility that water from melting glaciers are solely responsible for the floods. There is no evidence that suggests that glaciers decided to melt at a faster speed just in time for the heavy monsoon rains. There is every likelihood that what we are seeing today is that the Indians and the US-backed regime in Kabul are using water as a weapon for the first time to deluge Pakistan. There is no doubt about it. >From an initial look at the data, it seems that a natural spill of heavy rain was exploited by releasing water reservoirs in Indian-occupied Kashmir and on river Kabul. Let’s remember that the Met Office in Pakistan had already forecast heavy rains almost ten days before the first downpour. Different people received this news in different ways. Pakistani politicians, inept and incompetent as usual, slept over it. The anti-Pakistan terrorists based on Afghan soil and supported by several countries used this information to exacerbate terror against Pakistani citizens in the southwestern province of Balochistan, knowing that the State machinery would be distracted. Interestingly, even when it comes to water, it is Indians who are sitting to the left and right of Pakistan’s borders and controlling its water at the moment. The dam on Kabul river is handled by Indian personnel, while tens of dams choke Pakistan from the side of occupied Kashmir. RIVER KABUL In February, the Obama administration organized a meeting for senior government officials in Kabul and Islamabad who handle agricultural issues. The meeting was strangely held in Doha, Qatar, on US request. The agenda was to force the Pakistanis to grant agricultural concessions to the US-propped government in Kabul, without Pakistan getting anything in return. But in the meeting, Mr. Zahoor Malik, a senior Pakistani bureaucrat leading the Pakistani delegation, raised the issue of an Indian company with close links to the Indian government building a dam on river Kabul near the border with Pakistan. It is not clear what the Americans and Karzai’s officials had to say about this. There is a track record, however, that the incumbent pro-US government in Islamabad has often swept such issues under the carpet in order not to jeopardize Washington’s support for the Zardari government. All major rivers flowing into Pakistan including the Indus are blocked by Indian-built dams. US and British officials often defend India and dismiss Pakistani concerns as ‘conspiracy theories.’ Some Pakistani analysts accuse elements within US government and intelligence of using Afghan soil against Pakistan. But imagine this: India, a country that faces a debilitating conflict over Kashmir with Pakistan, goes to build tens of small and medium sized dams on all the rivers flowing down to Pakistan, and everything is supposed to work out smoothly? Not possible, even theoretically. But luckily Indian actions on the ground more than strengthen Pakistani concerns. After the first wave of floods, the other rivers were flowing normally and no extraordinary rains followed. But suddenly Chenab and Indus Rivers overflowed and the flow picked up speed, turning into a flood. India’s Baghliar Dam in occupied Kashmir opened its flood gates to cause a tragedy in the plains of Pakistan [Sindh and Punjab]. While Sarobi Dam – the Indian-maintained dam near Kabul – controls the flow of Kabul River entering Pakistan. The same thing happened here. Monsoons did not lash Afghanistan and there was no flooding there of any magnitude. But again, strangely, water flowing from river Kabul into Pakistan dramatically picked up speed as water levels increased turning into a flood. The speed with which this transformation occurred could have happened only because of one of two reasons: massive rains in Afghanistan or because Sarobi Dam released large amounts of water over a sustainable period of time. PAKISTANI POLITICIANS ANP, a US-allied party with strong links to Kabul and New Delhi and ruling the Pakistani northwestern province, has always opposed the construction of the Kalabagh Dam which would have saved thousands of lives and property had it been there. The ANP has argued that building the dam would drown the city of Nowshehra. Ironically, ANP’s lie was exposed when not only Nowshehra but also Charsadda drowned without the Kalabagh Dam being there and thanks to the artificial floods created in Kabul River by ANP’s Indian and Afghan patrons. [Earlier this year, Washington and New Delhi came to ANP’s defense on the Kalabagh Dam project by lobbying the World Bank to refuse Islamabad’s request for funding the dam. The Bank obliged and said it can’t fund the project due to Indian objections.] OUR RESPONSE How Pakistan responds to this latest Indian water war and aggression is something that remains to be seen. What is confirmed is that the incumbent pro-US government in Islamabad is useless when it comes to defending the Pakistani interest. To be fair to this government, this unusual situation in Islamabad started under former President Musharraf and continues with the current ‘elected’ government with amazing continuity. This water aggression has proved more lethal than the TTP [so-called Pakistani Taliban] and the BLA insurgencies, both of which were started from the Afghan springboard to punish Pakistan. Pakistan has taken another serious hit, more from its corrupt rulers than external enemies. These Indian Dams now need to be destroyed. India has declared war on us by exploiting and orchestrating these floods. By: Zaid Hamid, Gulpari Mehsud Short URL: http://www.daily.pk/?p=20298 From shuddha at sarai.net Wed Aug 25 16:56:07 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:56:07 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Unchanged strategy fuelling fire in Kashmir - Kashmir Times Message-ID: Dear all, I was forwarded this report, dated August 22, from the Kashmir Times recently. I thought it would be of interest to members of the list. Please note the remarks attributed to the CRPF officer at the end. best Shuddha ------------------ Unchanged strategy fuelling fire in Kashmir KT NEWS SERVICE http://www.kashmirtimes.com/archive/1008/100823/news8.htm KASHMIR TIMES, SRINAGAR, Aug 22: With no change in the strategy of the state and central governments in sight, there hardly seems any chance in near future of the ongoing killings, curfews and strikes coming to an end. Both the state government and centre continue with their strategy to end the ongoing protests with maximium use of security forces and police personnel on the ground and their subsequent actions. Amid the claims of directions of restraints to the security and police men, there is no end to firing bullets on protestors and firing directly smoke shells on them. While the prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and chief minister Omar Abdullah say sorry for the killings, condole the death and express sympathies with the bereaved families, the death toll increases with every passing day. However, from New Delhi to Srinagar, one voice slightly sounded different from others in government establishment. That is that of the governor N N Vohra, who directed the security forces and police to revisit their strategy of controlling mobs to ensure maximium protection to human lives. He mentioned this change of strategy in his Independence Day message, circulated on the evening of August 14 and later during his meeting with Director General of CRPF here. The direction of Vohra, who has acted as interlocutor of the union government for talks with separatists in the past, could not also bring any change at the ground level. There is a feeling here that the key to defuse the tension lies with the government. Stopping the killings can prove effective in this manner. “With every killing, the tempers run high in Kashmir. The government used to say that they were firing on violent protestors, but were the seven year old Milad Ahmad Dar of Kulgam and Sameer Ahmad Khan of Batamaloo violent protestors,” asks Abdul Majid, a business man. The appeal of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman Hurriyat Conference (G), to protestors not to attack police stations and government property did evoke a significant response on the ground. The attacks, which had made the police personnel insecure, came almost to an end. But the government strategy did not undergo any change as is evident from the increasing number of killings. “It seems that despite the assurances by the chief minister regarding space for the pro-freedom people, even peaceful protests are disallowed. Whenever peaceful protest is held, government comes with an iron hand and forces the protestors to resort to stone pelting,” said Rayees Ahmad, a teacher. Rakesh Kumar, a CRPF official, said whatever the ruling parties’ leaders from Srinagar to Delhi say to media, but they have directed forces to strictly crush the protests. “We have been asked not to allow these protests and ensure that people remain confined inside their homes during declared or undeclared curfew,” he said. Rakesh added that nobody has directed them not to open fire. “We are free to use force when the need arises even if we may try to observe restraint,” he said. According to him restraint is a vague term in present situation. “Dealing with the protestors depends upon the situation on the ground and the attitude of the security men towards it at that time,” he said. Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From bangalorefilmsociety at gmail.com Wed Aug 25 21:02:16 2010 From: bangalorefilmsociety at gmail.com (Bangalore Film Society ,) Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:32:16 -0700 Subject: [Reader-list] [water film festival]Voices from the Waters 2010 (27th to 30th) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: “The heron in the canyon, a bighorn ram on the cliff above, one lean coyote on the rim across the river hear the sound of the howl, the song of a wolf, rise in the twilight stillness and spread through the emptiness of the desert evening. One long and prolonged deep wild archaic howl, rising and rising and rising on the quiet air.” - Edward Abbey, The Monkey Wrench Gang “Claim the rain that showers down from the sky- drizzle, torrent and hail. Not just in your outstretched palms or in pitter-pattering buckets. Assert your stake in the clouds. The image of the cloud- the sprawling cumulonimbus that blocks out the sun. The memory of clouds- a magnificent white elephant will-o’-the-wisping into a swallow in pristine slow flight. Learn by heart, the high school elementary science of the clouds. Of water sizzled from the oceans, rivers, streams, ponds; of water squirreled away by the bouncing sunshine from over your skin, snatched from the immediacy of your breath. Look out the window, into the beyond where this science runs riot and bleeds into the landscape with color, texture, smell and the occasional ecstacy. A mysterious flower that has bloomed under you and over, consuming you. In shorthand, ‘Life’…. And once again, I repeat, ‘Claim the rain….’ - Dr. Shohei Kitamura, Raise the Song of the Wolf Voices from the Waters, Bangalore’s premier environmental film festival and open platform and the biggest of its kind in the world returns for its 5th edition which unfolds in color and noise across Bangalore from the 27th to 30th August 2010. Interspersed with songs, photo and art exhibitions, installations, water walks, interactive sessions with water activists and film directors and culminating in a conference, ‘Voices from the Waters 2010: 5th International Film Festival and Open Platform on Water’ seeks your presence as part of the intricate design of the fabric of the festival where you are the medium that remember, claim and affirm water as a fundamental human right and the source of all life. We Need You. At:- Venues and Schedules: [Main venue] Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Vasanthnagar For screening schedule click here Badami House, NR Road For screening schedule click here YWCA, Koramangala For screening schedule click here (for school children)Balbhavan, Cubbon Park For screening schedule click here (for college students) MES College, Malleswaram For screening list click here Suchitra Film Society, Banashankari. For screening list click here Conference on 30th August 2010: The Politics of Water ADMISSION FREE. Contact: 25493705/9886213516/9731120043/9535060987 bangalorefilmsociety at gmail.com http://voicesfromthewaters.com Everything above plus Les Cristaux Liquides plus Yo La Tengo: http://blogbfs.blogspot.com From aliens at dataone.in Wed Aug 25 21:15:23 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:15:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Unchanged strategy fuelling fire in Kashmir - KashmirTimes In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <000301cb446c$889fec90$99dfc5b0$@in> The stand taken by state/central government is absolutely right and so the remark by CRPF officer is also right and. It is time now to act with iron hand with separatists movement supporters and if necessary government should act firmly with Pakistan also. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Shuddhabrata Sengupta Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 4:56 PM To: sarai-list list Subject: [Reader-list] Unchanged strategy fuelling fire in Kashmir - Kashmir Times Dear all, I was forwarded this report, dated August 22, from the Kashmir Times recently. I thought it would be of interest to members of the list. Please note the remarks attributed to the CRPF officer at the end. best Shuddha ------------------ Unchanged strategy fuelling fire in Kashmir KT NEWS SERVICE http://www.kashmirtimes.com/archive/1008/100823/news8.htm KASHMIR TIMES, SRINAGAR, Aug 22: With no change in the strategy of the state and central governments in sight, there hardly seems any chance in near future of the ongoing killings, curfews and strikes coming to an end. Both the state government and centre continue with their strategy to end the ongoing protests with maximium use of security forces and police personnel on the ground and their subsequent actions. Amid the claims of directions of restraints to the security and police men, there is no end to firing bullets on protestors and firing directly smoke shells on them. While the prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and chief minister Omar Abdullah say sorry for the killings, condole the death and express sympathies with the bereaved families, the death toll increases with every passing day. However, from New Delhi to Srinagar, one voice slightly sounded different from others in government establishment. That is that of the governor N N Vohra, who directed the security forces and police to revisit their strategy of controlling mobs to ensure maximium protection to human lives. He mentioned this change of strategy in his Independence Day message, circulated on the evening of August 14 and later during his meeting with Director General of CRPF here. The direction of Vohra, who has acted as interlocutor of the union government for talks with separatists in the past, could not also bring any change at the ground level. There is a feeling here that the key to defuse the tension lies with the government. Stopping the killings can prove effective in this manner. “With every killing, the tempers run high in Kashmir. The government used to say that they were firing on violent protestors, but were the seven year old Milad Ahmad Dar of Kulgam and Sameer Ahmad Khan of Batamaloo violent protestors,” asks Abdul Majid, a business man. The appeal of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman Hurriyat Conference (G), to protestors not to attack police stations and government property did evoke a significant response on the ground. The attacks, which had made the police personnel insecure, came almost to an end. But the government strategy did not undergo any change as is evident from the increasing number of killings. “It seems that despite the assurances by the chief minister regarding space for the pro-freedom people, even peaceful protests are disallowed. Whenever peaceful protest is held, government comes with an iron hand and forces the protestors to resort to stone pelting,” said Rayees Ahmad, a teacher. Rakesh Kumar, a CRPF official, said whatever the ruling parties’ leaders from Srinagar to Delhi say to media, but they have directed forces to strictly crush the protests. “We have been asked not to allow these protests and ensure that people remain confined inside their homes during declared or undeclared curfew,” he said. Rakesh added that nobody has directed them not to open fire. “We are free to use force when the need arises even if we may try to observe restraint,” he said. According to him restraint is a vague term in present situation. “Dealing with the protestors depends upon the situation on the ground and the attitude of the security men towards it at that time,” he said. Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Thu Aug 26 06:54:59 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:24:59 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India Message-ID: <807446.86180.qm@web114720.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India A few things must happen in Kashmir before a political solution is found. There have to be public apologies and reparations from both the state and central governments for the deaths of civilians, particularly minors and women, in the summer of 2010. Curfew has to be lifted. Bereaved families have to be permitted peaceful, dignified and safe funerals for their dead. Orders to shoot-at-sight and fire live ammunition at protesters should be withdrawn with immediate effect. Representatives of the state government must show greater empathy for the people who elected them, especially by visiting the wounded in hospitals. A phased scale-back of paramilitary forces has to be announced, with numbers and dates, to be executed over the next three years, until eventually the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) may be repealed altogether and troops confined to border areas only. Policies that provide monetary incentives and fast-track promotions in counter-insurgency operations must be scrapped. Kashmiri leaders in prisons or under house arrest should be released and allowed to go about their business, including addressing public meetings, talking to the press, leading prayers at mosques and shrines, and entering into talks with the government. A timebound government-appointed commission of independent investigators needs to prepare a comprehensive report on the deaths, disappearances, unlawful detention, rapes and torture cases in Jammu and Kashmir, between 1990 and 2010, to be presented to the Indian Parliament. All of this is not just imperative for Kashmir to survive the immediate crisis — it is necessary for India too, to weather this storm. If Kashmir’s future is the primary responsibility of the people of Kashmir, then it is the responsibility of Indians to save the idea of India and bring it back from its near-total ruin in the Valley. One thing all players can agree on: the house has to be set in order without any reference whatsoever, in the first place, to third parties. After the Indian state and the people of Kashmir have taken these steps together , then comes the time to open up the issue for multilateral talks, with Pakistan , the UN, the US, and international humanitarian organisations. The process cannot reach the point of dialogue without an intensive period of soul-searching , homework and justice within the Indian Union. The Pakistanbacked militancy of the ’90s is in the past. Once India has established the rule of law to its utmost capacity, I am convinced it will have nothing to fear from any external agency. Kashmiris may still demand partial autonomy or complete secession, but that is a bridge to be crossed only after a bridge has been built. Talking about Gandhi in Kashmir (or in Maoist India) seems laughable. But Gandhi it was whom India listened to, when it fought hardest for its own decolonisation between 1920 and 1950. Throughout this time, the Mahatma tried to establish certain core ethical values for a new politics of swaraj. Among these were ideas that had a long history on the Indian subcontinent, such as ahimsa. We usually translate this as “non-violence”, but what Gandhi really meant was the moral courage necessary to relate to another person without the desire to harm him. THIS moral courage is difficult to achieve between any two persons, but it is hardest, and most essential, that ahimsa prevail in the relationship between adversaries, so Gandhi believed. He got the lesson of ahimsa, oddly enough, not from Asoka the Mauryan emperor of the 3rd century BC, who became a pacifist after causing great carnage , nor from Jain doctrine, which enshrines ahimsa as a key practice, but from the Bhagavad Gita, in which Krishna teaches Arjuna how to put up a good fight, without compromising his basic sense of morality and decency. But Gandhi also insisted on satya, the truth, enshrined in India’s national motto, satyameva jayate, “truth alone prevails” . In addition, he wanted India to recover its oldest tenets of ethical sovereignty : anukrosha, from the Ramayana , the capacity to feel another’s pain; aanrishamsya, from the Mahabharata, the elimination of cruelty from one’s conduct, which Yudhisthira recognised as the highest dharma, the norm-ofnorms , especially for a king. Gandhi sought not just political independence from British rule, but a truly liberating political culture, grounded in age-old ethical norms like non-violence , moral courage, non-cruelty , truthfulness and compassion. Without these values in place, he said, India would never be free, never have true swaraj. Most Indians have little sympathy for an independent Kashmiri nation. But an Indian mother would feel the pain of her Kashmiri counterpart whose teenage son was brutally killed while shouting slogans in a street demonstration. Ananya Vajpeyi Ph.D., University of Chicago (2004); M.Phil., University of Oxford (1996); Rhodes Scholar (1994-96) Areas of Special Interest Professor Vajpeyi teaches South Asian history, with a focus on caste, violence and non-violence, modernity, as well as nationalism and the state. She also teaches courses on imperialism, colonialism and decolonization in Asia and Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, she is interested in intellectual history and the comparative history of ideas in India and Europe. Contact Information Office: McCormack 4-626 Phone: 617-287-6877 617-287-6877 E-mail: ananya.vajpeyi at umb.edu From pawan.durani at gmail.com Thu Aug 26 09:55:04 2010 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:55:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Unchanged strategy fuelling fire in Kashmir - KashmirTimes In-Reply-To: <000301cb446c$889fec90$99dfc5b0$@in> References: <000301cb446c$889fec90$99dfc5b0$@in> Message-ID: Shuddha , Your interest in articles are in itself very interesting. Yesterday I met one Rameez Raja from Srinagar , he said that stone pelters are now emplyed long terms on monthly basis. Pawan On 8/25/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > The stand taken by state/central government is absolutely right and so the > remark by CRPF officer is also right and. It is time now to act with iron > hand with separatists movement supporters and if necessary government should > act firmly with Pakistan also. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of Shuddhabrata Sengupta > Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 4:56 PM > To: sarai-list list > Subject: [Reader-list] Unchanged strategy fuelling fire in Kashmir - Kashmir > Times > > Dear all, > > I was forwarded this report, dated August 22, from the Kashmir Times > recently. I thought it would be of interest to members of the list. > Please note the remarks attributed to the CRPF officer at the end. > > best > > Shuddha > ------------------ > > Unchanged strategy fuelling fire in Kashmir > KT NEWS SERVICE > http://www.kashmirtimes.com/archive/1008/100823/news8.htm > > KASHMIR TIMES, SRINAGAR, Aug 22: With no change in the strategy of > the state and central governments in sight, there hardly seems any > chance in near future of the ongoing killings, curfews and strikes > coming to an end. > > Both the state government and centre continue with their strategy > to end the ongoing protests with maximium use of security forces and > police personnel on the ground and their subsequent actions. Amid the > claims of directions of restraints to the security and police men, > there is no end to firing bullets on protestors and firing directly > smoke shells on them. > While the prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia > Gandhi and chief minister Omar Abdullah say sorry for the killings, > condole the death and express sympathies with the bereaved families, > the death toll increases with every passing day. > > However, from New Delhi to Srinagar, one voice slightly sounded > different from others in government establishment. That is that of > the governor N N Vohra, who directed the security forces and police > to revisit their strategy of controlling mobs to ensure maximium > protection to human lives. He mentioned this change of strategy in > his Independence Day message, circulated on the evening of August 14 > and later during his meeting with Director General of CRPF here. > > The direction of Vohra, who has acted as interlocutor of the union > government for talks with separatists in the past, could not also > bring any change at the ground level. > > There is a feeling here that the key to defuse the tension lies > with the government. Stopping the killings can prove effective in > this manner. “With every killing, the tempers run high in Kashmir. > The government used to say that they were firing on violent > protestors, but were the seven year old Milad Ahmad Dar of Kulgam and > Sameer Ahmad Khan of Batamaloo violent protestors,” asks Abdul Majid, > a business man. > > The appeal of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman Hurriyat Conference > (G), to protestors not to attack police stations and government > property did evoke a significant response on the ground. The attacks, > which had made the police personnel insecure, came almost to an end. > But the government strategy did not undergo any change as is evident > from the increasing number of killings. > > “It seems that despite the assurances by the chief minister > regarding space for the pro-freedom people, even peaceful protests > are disallowed. Whenever peaceful protest is held, government comes > with an iron hand and forces the protestors to resort to stone > pelting,” said Rayees Ahmad, a teacher. > > Rakesh Kumar, a CRPF official, said whatever the ruling parties’ > leaders from Srinagar to Delhi say to media, but they have directed > forces to strictly crush the protests. “We have been asked not to > allow these protests and ensure that people remain confined inside > their homes during declared or undeclared curfew,” he said. > > Rakesh added that nobody has directed them not to open fire. “We > are free to use force when the need arises even if we may try to > observe restraint,” he said. > > According to him restraint is a vague term in present situation. > “Dealing with the protestors depends upon the situation on the ground > and the attitude of the security men towards it at that time,” he said. > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kaksanjay at gmail.com Thu Aug 26 12:25:30 2010 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:25:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'The Islamism bogey in Kashmir' Message-ID: The Islamism bogey in Kashmir http://www.peerpower.com/et/2108/The-Islamism-bogey-in-Kashmir Posted on August 26, 2010 | Author: Najeeb Mubarki | While there is an Islamic viewpoint on things in Kashmir, it is far from being the dominant one. And attempts to portray it as such are part of a campaign of delegitimisation, says Najeeb Mubarki It was Bertolt Brecht who once suggested, in his sharp, almost genial way, while talking of a different uprising, in 1953 in East Germany, that the state could, as a solution, dissolve the people and elect another. That, perhaps, would for many be a consummation devoutly to be wished for when it comes to Kashmir. For, faced with the kind of uprising, the narrative as exists in Kashmir these days, it seems the counter narrative can only attempt to subvert or subsume the facts. And if one were to employ a bit of hyperbole, beyond the propaganda seems to lie a desire to somehow do away with the present lot of Kashmiris, and elect, or invent, another. Paradoxically, this consists of either seeking to invent a people more to one’s liking or, inversely, creating an image of a people so prone to extremism that empathy is simply impossible. There are broadly two main strands to the discourse on Kashmir which attempts that act of dissolving the reality. One would be the staid, stale assertion that the protests in the Valley, if not instigated from across the border, are managed by a mischief-prone minority, and are not really representative of the people’s feelings. In the third month of protests, and after 63 killings (thus far) by the state police and the CRPF, that ‘assertion’ seems to have died a natural death. Thus, the supposed silent majority, the potentially ‘likeable’ lot, the people who would have been hijacked by the minute number of protesters can’t really be brought to life. It is the second strand, that of invoking charges of Islamic extremism, which the counter campaign in the Indian media now seems to have settled on. On the surface, this campaign is conducted purely at the level of deploying images. By playing up the pictures and statements of an Islamist or two (preferably a female for better effect) and attempting to conjure a link to wider Kashmiri society. It is a classic case of abiased media seeking, and using, the few scattered instances which can reinforce that pre-existing bias. Quite like highlighting ‘letters’, pasted on a few walls, addressed to a minority community, to whip up visions of some imminent pogrom. At a wider, much more deeper and serious level, it is insinuated that some larger Islamist game plan is at work in Kashmir. It doesn’t take a politically incisive mind to realise that, at a global level, these days it is far easier to label a movement, a group or just a section of people Islamists than it is do deal with the political aspects of what those movements or sections might be trying to articulate. That they may well be aspiring to something that is far from, or actually negates, religious extremism. In India, that fact is aided by a wider failure to understand Kashmiris, or just a plain lack of awareness about their history and culture. Of course, the majority of people are Muslims in Kashmir. And of course, elements among those who raise the Islamist bogey in Kashmir are, inversely, people who simply dislike that fact of Kashmiris-as-Muslims. We could call it a border-world application of a certain brand of mainland communalism. And that attempt at displacing one’s own communalism onto Kashmiris neatly dovetails with the wider phenomenon of how Muslims are, post 9/11, subjects of suspicion in the West. But then, is there any truth to the charge, actually? You don’t need to be a sociologist or ethnographer to learn that forms of faith, of religiosity, inflect many aspects of life within a community. Particularly in a community in crisis, under siege, facing a situation where it feels its very existence and identity to be under threat. Thus, for example, while the larger meaning of the slogan of “Azadi “ might be some form of secular Kashmiri nationalism, the slogan of “Allah o Akbar” (God is Great) also attends it. It is, in essence, while a slogan of defiance, also a culturally determined one. Of course there are other slogans too. Or have been. Which would suggest a decidedly Islamist vision of what Kashmiri society should look like. But beyond even the empirically evident gap between slogans and immediately achievable political reality, quite often such slogans were echoed without any real political subscription. BUT beyond the level of sloganeering in the streets, there is the fact of centuries of Kashmiri cultural history. One that is unique in the subcontinent. A history and lived life that tempers and inflects even those who would ordinarily be labelled hardliners. With crisis and violence, however, there is a certain hardening, perhaps even some acceptance of the logic of religious difference, identity and politics. (And the issue of the Kashmiri Pandits, while linked to this, is a topic that needs separate, detailed attention). Take for instance, the rise of Hamas in Palestine. It hasn’t meant that Palestinian nationalism, avowedly secular, has turned Islamic. But that responding to the failure — internal, and also enforced by the total unacceptance of any real demands by the opposing side — of that secular leadership, the people voted a hardline faction into power, without necessarily sharing its religiously-driven objectives. Similarly, the fact of a Geelani becoming the de facto acknowledged leader of the ‘movement’ (as it is called) in Kashmir, is also due to the perception that he remained steadfast and incorruptible. His viewpoint may not be shared by all in some aspects, but he represents leadership for many. The dominant form of Islam in Kashmir is Sufism. In its peculiar Kashmiri variety. The religiosity of the Muslims reflected in equal, if not more,measure in the countless Sufi shrines as in mosques. Real, hardcore, Taliban style-extremism, simply, is alien to, and untransplantable on, the Kashmiri DNA, as it were. A section amongst Muslims does exist which disapproves of some rituals in Sufi shrines. But that, in Kashmir, doesn’t translate into a rejection of the Sufis themselves. Indeed, even the disapprovers hold the Sufis themselves in respect. In effect, then, the thought of the vast majority of Kashmiris ‘changing over’ to extremism is akin to asking someone to actually convert. An Islamic view of things exists in Kashmir, but it is just one of the viewpoints. The drive to seek, invoke, an Islamisation of Kashmir is insidiously linked to regurgitating, within Indian public opinion, the subcontinental history of partition and the creation of Pakistan. It is also an act of dissolving the Kashmiris and electing the ‘Muslim anti-national’. That done, Kashmir can be presented as reflecting the danger of that partition, again. Which then becomes a major roadblock in even attempting to articulate to the wider Indian public what Kashmir is really about, leave alone seeking a solution to the problem. From aswathypsenan at gmail.com Thu Aug 26 13:29:31 2010 From: aswathypsenan at gmail.com (Aswathy Senan) Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:29:31 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Call for Papers: International Conference on Asian Culture Industries In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: *Call for Papers* *International Conference **on Asian Culture Industries:* *A Comparative Study of India, Japan and South Korea* 21st December 2010 — 22nd December 2010, Bangalore** The Culture: Industries and Diversity in Asia (CIDASIA) research programme of CSCS invites proposals for papers at the International Conference on Asian Culture Industries to be held in Bangalore on 21st and 22nd December 2010. The conference is supported by Japan Foundation, New Delhi. We invite scholars working on cinema, television, pop music, animation, gaming, in Asia in general and India, Japan and South Korea in particular to send in their proposals. We also welcome proposals from researchers working on the recent history of entertainment industries and government policy towards these industries. The primary intention of the conference is to explore the possibility of comparative studies of entertainment industries in Asia. We focus on India, Japan and South Korea as a convenient starting point. The conference would like to examine the *two way movement* of cultural commodities in and out of these countries. Papers on the reception of cultural forms from these countries in other Asian locations too are welcome. We are *not* interested in papers devoted to detailed analyses of specific cultural texts. The culture industries of the countries under consideration have been largely *inward looking* for much of the post-colonial and post-imperial period. In the second half of the twentieth century they developed on the strength/weakness of their *domestic markets*, unlike Hong Kong which has a long and unbroken history of producing films for export. The conference will focus on the post-1990 period when for different reasons including * underground* circulation of cultural commodities in international markets, systematic efforts began to be made in these countries to export entertainment. The export of entertainment by Asian countries is coeval with the increasing *economic* importance of cultural production and consumption in today’s world. In India, for example, government agencies have estimated that cultural and creative industries contribute up to 34% of the GDP and employ 30% of the workforce. The circulation of cultural commodities in contexts other than those of their production draws attention to the hitherto under-researched area, namely the increased *interface between culture and economics*. In a global context where cultural production and consumption are engines of the economy, the manner in which cultural commodities flow, the resistances they encounter, the ways in which they are localized, transformed, and engender new cultural practices and have social and economic consequence that are completely unanticipated by the production centre are issues the conference will address. We would like to examine questions related to *cultural markets* and *cultural economy*. These include but are not limited to: a) *Cultural impenetrability*. Why do certain markets, especially Asian markets, prove to be impenetrable to commodities produced elsewhere? What role does the industrial and business context of the host market play in determining/limiting the flow of imported cultural commodities? b) *Localization*. The acceptance of cultural objects in new markets is a direct consequence of *localization*, or the mediation of the object by distribution and exhibition sectors of the host country. How are cultural imports localized in the contexts examined? Of particular interest is the role played by film and television industries in localizing imports through context-specific publicity campaigns, dubbing, etc. c) *Creation of new subcultures*. What new sub-cultures are formed in host countries and what is their similarity/difference with their counterparts in the production centre? These subcultures are at times premised on existing cultural stereotypes of the production centre and at other times they seriously challenge stereotypes (as in the case of Korean drama in Japan, which has contributed to the changed perception of Korea in Japan). d) *Invisible and underground markets and ‘Soft Power’*. The relative lack of control over distribution and exhibition and the rampant circulation of pirated media content in Asia create a situation in which cultural consumption is actively facilitated by unauthorized and underground markets. Typically, Japanese, Korean and Indian cultural commodities arrive in an authorized, legal market long after illegal channels have introduced them there. How do entertainment industries grapple with complex questions posed by unauthorized circulation of their productions? *Do current discussions of ‘soft power’ adequately account for the actual extent of the circulation and influence of imported forms?* e) *Dispersal across media formats*. Although dispersal of media content across a range of technologies and formats is not confined to Asia, we would like to draw attention to the ways in which digital technology has mediated the circulation of Asian cultural forms. The conference would like to examine the new opportunities and challenges of post-celluloid technologies for entertainment industries of the region. Tentatively, the conference will be organized around the following broad areas: 1. Asian Culture Industries: Conceptual and theoretical issues; 2. Celluloid and post-Celluloid media forms in Asia 3. Imported entertainment: Case studies of India, Japan and Korea 4. Export of Culture: focus on comparative studies of more than one context of reception. *Instructions for Submission:* Paper abstracts (250 words) should be submitted to S.V.Srinivas at * cidasia at cscs.res.in *. Abstracts may be in Word or RTF formats, following this order: author(s), affiliation, email address, title of abstract, body of abstract. Abstracts should be submitted no later than 30 August, 2010. If an abstract is accepted for the conference, a full draft paper should be submitted by November 10, 2010. The maximum duration of individual presentations within each panel will be 25 minutes. All papers should be unpublished because they will be published on the conference website and/or in an edited conference volume. *Financial and other support:* 1. Complete or partial air travel reimbursement will be provided for a limited number of participants traveling from within Asia. *Preference will be given to younger applicants*. 2. All participants will be provided basic, non-smoking accommodation free of cost for a maximum of three nights. Meals will be provided during the conference days. 3. Indian visa costs and taxi fares will not be covered by the organizers. If you wish to apply for a travel reimbursement, indicate in a separate paragraph below your abstract the approximate cost of your air ticket and the extent of support you require. As of now we only have funding to reimburse a *limited number of fares for participants travelling from locations in Asia and affiliated to institutions in Asian countries*. We are in the process of seeking additional funds but at this stage we cannot commit ourselves to supporting travel costs of participants from non-Asian locations. Further announcements about registration, funding and venue related details will be made available in due course. Please contact S.V. Srinivas at srinivas at cscs.res.in or *cidasia at cscs.res.in *for additional information. From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Thu Aug 26 13:50:18 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:50:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Should the US Be Bombed? -Tom Engelhardt In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Date: 26 August 2010 Subject: Should the US Be Bombed? -Tom Engelhardt Should the US Be Bombed? | CommonDreams.org Should the US Be Bombed? The Nonexistent Debate Over American Weapons Proliferation Policies by Tom Engelhardt For Star Trek fans, the news is grim. Some set of maniacs on planet Earth is ready to take all the pleasure out of that low-budget TV show and its ensuing set of big-budget movies. They are actually planning someday to manufacture phasers, ones large enough to vaporize incoming missiles and others small enough to be hand-held and, if not vaporize, then inflict terrible pain. Sooner or later, they expect to beam them down to this planet and set them to work. Oh, sorry, those aren't maniacs; they're the weaponizers at defense giant Raytheon (in conjunction with the U.S. military). As the National, the English-language newspaper of the United Arab Emirates, reported recently, Raytheon is in an arms race with Boeing to produce such weaponry perhaps for the coming decade. One of the strangest aspects of these last years when two administrations, the U.S. intelligence community, and the American media have focused on, obsessed about, speculated wildly about, and generally chewed over a single potential proliferation story -- Iran's nuclear program -- is how little other weapons proliferation stories even qualify as news. I'm excepting, of course, the usual alarms over possible nuclear weapons developments in North Korea, Syria, and the like. And I'm certainly not referring here to the estimated 200 to 400 nuclear weapons in Israel's undeclared arsenal that hardly rate a peep in our media. I'm thinking about us. We are, after all, the numero uno weapons proliferator on the planet. I'm thinking about -- to pick a few weapons systems almost at random -- the U.S. Air Force's next generation bomber, an advanced "platform" slated for 2018; or the truly futuristic bomber, "a suborbital semi-spacecraft able to move at hypersonic speed along the edge of the atmosphere," on the drawing boards for 2035. I'm talking about the coming generations of ever more powerful, ever more independent pilot-less drones which the Air Force is now planning out until 2047. As with the drones today, the story of those Raytheon "phasers," large and small, if they ever come on line, will be reasonably predictable. Ever since the Soviet Union disappeared in 1991, the world has been experiencing an arms race of one. A single great power, the United States, continues to develop new weapons technology, often for the distant future, that is staggeringly advanced and strikingly destructive (potentially reaching, in some cases, an almost nuclear level of local devastation). It continues to act, that is, as if it were still in an arms race with another threatening superpower. Once our latest wonder weapon is developed, whatever it may be, it is sooner or later sold to allies -- after all, we now control almost 70% of what's still dubbed the "global arms trade" -- while other states rush to develop their own versions of the same. (Just last week, for instance, Iran proudly unveiled its first "drone bomber.") Sooner or later, such weaponry will predictably drop down to the level of non-state groups. Just wait for the first "suicide" drone to hit something American, or the first terrorist to unsheathe a "phaser" on some airplane. Then, of course, a drone- or phaser-proliferation panic will set in, "rogue states" will be threatened for having the nerve to develop such weapons, and we will redouble our anti-drone or anti-phaser research, while our media discusses appropriately aggressive actions that need to be taken ASAP. Hence, Iran's present nuclear adventure (which, by the way, began in 1957, thanks to the Eisenhower administration's Atoms for Peace program). Check out Tony Karon's deconstruction at TomDispatch.com of the present "debate" over whether to bomb Iran back to the pre-nuclear age, and while you're doing so, take a second to wonder why there is no media debate over whether to bomb the U.S. After all, we are the planet's foremost weapons proliferator; we have a reputation for using what we produce and parceling it out as well; and, as it happens, we're still investing money in improvements to our vast nuclear arsenal. © 2010 TomDispatch.com Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the American Empire Project, runs the Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com. He is the author of The End of Victory Culture: a History of the Cold War and Beyond, as well as of a novel, The Last Days of Publishing. His most recent book is The American Way of War: How Bush's Wars Became Obama's (Haymarket Books). From indersalim at gmail.com Thu Aug 26 15:13:44 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:13:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'The Islamism bogey in Kashmir' In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks for this very original reflection of situation in Kashmir. those who are not too sentimental about Kashmir may carry forward the discussion on the article: Why Safrey-Azadi of Yasin Malik ( secular and free Kashmir ) is not popular ? Is popular SAS Geelani good for Indian establishment because his position on Kashmir is well known ( merger of Kashmir with pakistan, therefore loudly Islamic in texure ) ? Has the time comes for Kashmiris to give shape to a fresh Intellectual forum which may give spaces for voices from all over the world ? ( say eg World Intellecutals for Free Kashmir )? more on that love is - On 8/26/10, Sanjay Kak wrote: > The Islamism bogey in Kashmir > http://www.peerpower.com/et/2108/The-Islamism-bogey-in-Kashmir > > Posted on August 26, 2010 | Author: Najeeb Mubarki | > > While there is an Islamic viewpoint on things in Kashmir, it is far > from being the dominant one. And attempts to portray it as such are > part of a campaign of delegitimisation, says Najeeb Mubarki > > It was Bertolt Brecht who once suggested, in his sharp, almost genial > way, while talking of a different uprising, in 1953 in East Germany, > that the state could, as a solution, dissolve the people and elect > another. That, perhaps, would for many be a consummation devoutly to > be wished for when it comes to Kashmir. For, faced with the kind of > uprising, the narrative as exists in Kashmir these days, it seems the > counter narrative can only attempt to subvert or subsume the facts. > And if one were to employ a bit of hyperbole, beyond the propaganda > seems to lie a desire to somehow do away with the present lot of > Kashmiris, and elect, or invent, another. Paradoxically, this consists > of either seeking to invent a people more to one’s liking or, > inversely, creating an image of a people so prone to extremism that > empathy is simply impossible. > > There are broadly two main strands to the discourse on Kashmir which > attempts that act of dissolving the reality. One would be the staid, > stale assertion that the protests in the Valley, if not instigated > from across the border, are managed by a mischief-prone minority, and > are not really representative of the people’s feelings. In the third > month of protests, and after 63 killings (thus far) by the state > police and the CRPF, that ‘assertion’ seems to have died a natural > death. Thus, the supposed silent majority, the potentially ‘likeable’ > lot, the people who would have been hijacked by the minute number of > protesters can’t really be brought to life. > > It is the second strand, that of invoking charges of Islamic > extremism, which the counter campaign in the Indian media now seems to > have settled on. On the surface, this campaign is conducted purely at > the level of deploying images. By playing up the pictures and > statements of an Islamist or two (preferably a female for better > effect) and attempting to conjure a link to wider Kashmiri society. It > is a classic case of abiased media seeking, and using, the few > scattered instances which can reinforce that pre-existing bias. Quite > like highlighting ‘letters’, pasted on a few walls, addressed to a > minority community, to whip up visions of some imminent pogrom. > > At a wider, much more deeper and serious level, it is insinuated that > some larger Islamist game plan is at work in Kashmir. > > It doesn’t take a politically incisive mind to realise that, at a > global level, these days it is far easier to label a movement, a group > or just a section of people Islamists than it is do deal with the > political aspects of what those movements or sections might be trying > to articulate. That they may well be aspiring to something that is far > from, or actually negates, religious extremism. In India, that fact is > aided by a wider failure to understand Kashmiris, or just a plain lack > of awareness about their history and culture. Of course, the majority > of people are Muslims in Kashmir. And of course, elements among those > who raise the Islamist bogey in Kashmir are, inversely, people who > simply dislike that fact of Kashmiris-as-Muslims. We could call it a > border-world application of a certain brand of mainland communalism. > And that attempt at displacing one’s own communalism onto Kashmiris > neatly dovetails with the wider phenomenon of how Muslims are, post > 9/11, subjects of suspicion in the West. > > But then, is there any truth to the charge, actually? You don’t need > to be a sociologist or ethnographer to learn that forms of faith, of > religiosity, inflect many aspects of life within a community. > Particularly in a community in crisis, under siege, facing a situation > where it feels its very existence and identity to be under threat. > Thus, for example, while the larger meaning of the slogan of “Azadi “ > might be some form of secular Kashmiri nationalism, the slogan of > “Allah o Akbar” (God is Great) also attends it. It is, in essence, > while a slogan of defiance, also a culturally determined one. Of > course there are other slogans too. Or have been. Which would suggest > a decidedly Islamist vision of what Kashmiri society should look like. > But beyond even the empirically evident gap between slogans and > immediately achievable political reality, quite often such slogans > were echoed without any real political subscription. > > BUT beyond the level of sloganeering in the streets, there is the fact > of centuries of Kashmiri cultural history. One that is unique in the > subcontinent. A history and lived life that tempers and inflects even > those who would ordinarily be labelled hardliners. With crisis and > violence, however, there is a certain hardening, perhaps even some > acceptance of the logic of religious difference, identity and > politics. (And the issue of the Kashmiri Pandits, while linked to > this, is a topic that needs separate, detailed attention). > > Take for instance, the rise of Hamas in Palestine. It hasn’t meant > that Palestinian nationalism, avowedly secular, has turned Islamic. > But that responding to the failure — internal, and also enforced by > the total unacceptance of any real demands by the opposing side — of > that secular leadership, the people voted a hardline faction into > power, without necessarily sharing its religiously-driven objectives. > Similarly, the fact of a Geelani becoming the de facto acknowledged > leader of the ‘movement’ (as it is called) in Kashmir, is also due to > the perception that he remained steadfast and incorruptible. His > viewpoint may not be shared by all in some aspects, but he represents > leadership for many. > > The dominant form of Islam in Kashmir is Sufism. In its peculiar > Kashmiri variety. The religiosity of the Muslims reflected in equal, > if not more,measure in the countless Sufi shrines as in mosques. Real, > hardcore, Taliban style-extremism, simply, is alien to, and > untransplantable on, the Kashmiri DNA, as it were. A section amongst > Muslims does exist which disapproves of some rituals in Sufi shrines. > But that, in Kashmir, doesn’t translate into a rejection of the Sufis > themselves. Indeed, even the disapprovers hold the Sufis themselves in > respect. In effect, then, the thought of the vast majority of > Kashmiris ‘changing over’ to extremism is akin to asking someone to > actually convert. An Islamic view of things exists in Kashmir, but it > is just one of the viewpoints. > > The drive to seek, invoke, an Islamisation of Kashmir is insidiously > linked to regurgitating, within Indian public opinion, the > subcontinental history of partition and the creation of Pakistan. It > is also an act of dissolving the Kashmiris and electing the ‘Muslim > anti-national’. That done, Kashmir can be presented as reflecting the > danger of that partition, again. Which then becomes a major roadblock > in even attempting to articulate to the wider Indian public what > Kashmir is really about, leave alone seeking a solution to the > problem. > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- http://indersalim.livejournal.com From poojashali at gmail.com Thu Aug 26 17:20:04 2010 From: poojashali at gmail.com (pooja shali) Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:20:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Limited Edition to be screened at Jeevika film festival, Saturday, 28 August Message-ID: Jeevika Livelihood Film Festival presents Limited Edition Directed by: Monazir Alam, Pooja Shali, Sonia Nepram and Tenzin C. Bhutia Produced by: AJKMCRC, Jamia Milia Islamia Date: 28 august 2010 Time: 12.15 p.m. Venue: Casuarina Hall, India Habitat centre Everyday Lakshman Rao rides his rickety bicycle to reach a tea stall at I.T.O, New Delhi. Selling tea is his only source of income, to provide for his family. Conspicuous of his customers sipping chai, Rao pens down his thoughts on pale loose sheets. I am writing novel, he says. 55-year-old Rao believes that he will be known as a writer one day. A day when there shall be no tea stall to go to. Only a table to write books and hold reading sessions. Kindly take out some time to join us. We would be more than happy to interact with you and take your feedback. http://jeevika.org/2010/festival/jeevika-2010-schedule/ Warm regards Pooja Shali 09811759042 http://poojashali.blogspot.com/ To know more about the film and the directors, please join us on our Facebook page by the name of Limited Edition. From cashmeeri at yahoo.com Fri Aug 27 12:47:51 2010 From: cashmeeri at yahoo.com (cashmeeri) Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:17:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] 'The Islamism bogey in Kashmir' Message-ID: <906416.98759.qm@web112618.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> no amount of play of words or intellectualisms are going to hide the fact that the "movement" in kashmir is rooted in islam .... it is a 'movement' of muslims and for 'muslims' …… whether that is or should be called ‘islamism’ or not is a matter of choice on his part, najeeb gives no recognizable definition to “the kind of uprising, the narrative as exists in Kashmir these days” but is quick to issue a condemnation that “the counter narrative can only attempt to subvert or subsume the facts” …….. what is the ‘kind’ of the uprising? what is the ‘narrative’? what are the facts? it amazes, how when it is convienient, the ‘narrative’ of kashmir becomes simply the story of last three months it does for najeeb too ….. the only specific comment in his own ‘narrative’ is the reference to “the third month of protests, and after 63 killings (thus far) by the state police and the CRPF” …. is that what the situation in Kashmir is all about? is the history of the ‘cycles of violence’ one of the last three months alone? najeeb defines for us that “those who raise the Islamist bogey in Kashmir are, inversely, people who simply dislike that fact of Kashmiris-as-Muslims.” ….. it would interestingly serve as najeeb’s definition of someone like syed ali shah geelani who is at least honest in talking about Kashmir and the ‘movement’ as an islamic issue so najeeb educates us "Thus, for example, while the larger meaning of the slogan of “Azadi “ might be some form of secular Kashmiri nationalism, ..." might be? najeeb himself does not seem to be sure about that pray tell us what is that "some form of secular Kashmiri nationalism" .... tell us how is the constitution of this "secular Kashmiri nationalism" going to differ from the constitution of india (as an aside, you just need to add the word "secular" to the preamble of the current constitution of j&K and you will have a facilitating document for "secular Kashmiri nationalism") being honest about the 'muslim' character of the 'movement' does not automatically translate into "creating an image of a people so prone to extremism that empathy is simply impossible" as the writer would have us believe "islamic" does not equate to "extremist" but the writer seems to suggest that if you are honest about recognising the 'muslim' character of the 'movement' then you are calling the adherents 'extremist' ….. his deduction if it is one najeeb does acknowledge “Of course there are other slogans too. Or have been. Which would suggest a decidedly Islamist vision of what Kashmiri society should look like.” ….. and then goes on to advise us that “beyond even the empirically evident gap between slogans and immediately achievable political reality, quite often such slogans were echoed without any real political subscription.” so we are supposed to accept that the ‘other slogans’ are ‘without any real political subscription’ just because najeeb tells us so ……. is this what his ‘my way or highway’ statement was all about, that “the counter narrative can only attempt to subvert or subsume the facts” ? ……. who’s facts? ….. obviously najeeb’s facts     ............... aalok aima     --- On Thu, 8/26/10, Sanjay Kak wrote: From: Sanjay Kak Subject: [Reader-list] 'The Islamism bogey in Kashmir' To: "Sarai Reader List" Date: Thursday, August 26, 2010, 12:25 PM The Islamism bogey in Kashmir http://www.peerpower.com/et/2108/The-Islamism-bogey-in-Kashmir Posted on August 26, 2010 | Author: Najeeb Mubarki | While there is an Islamic viewpoint on things in Kashmir, it is far from being the dominant one. And attempts to portray it as such are part of a campaign of delegitimisation, says Najeeb Mubarki It was Bertolt Brecht who once suggested, in his sharp, almost genial way, while talking of a different uprising, in 1953 in East Germany, that the state could, as a solution, dissolve the people and elect another. That, perhaps, would for many be a consummation devoutly to be wished for when it comes to Kashmir. For, faced with the kind of uprising, the narrative as exists in Kashmir these days, it seems the counter narrative can only attempt to subvert or subsume the facts. And if one were to employ a bit of hyperbole, beyond the propaganda seems to lie a desire to somehow do away with the present lot of Kashmiris, and elect, or invent, another. Paradoxically, this consists of either seeking to invent a people more to one’s liking or, inversely, creating an image of a people so prone to extremism that empathy is simply impossible. There are broadly two main strands to the discourse on Kashmir which attempts that act of dissolving the reality. One would be the staid, stale assertion that the protests in the Valley, if not instigated from across the border, are managed by a mischief-prone minority, and are not really representative of the people’s feelings. In the third month of protests, and after 63 killings (thus far) by the state police and the CRPF, that ‘assertion’ seems to have died a natural death. Thus, the supposed silent majority, the potentially ‘likeable’ lot, the people who would have been hijacked by the minute number of protesters can’t really be brought to life. It is the second strand, that of invoking charges of Islamic extremism, which the counter campaign in the Indian media now seems to have settled on. On the surface, this campaign is conducted purely at the level of deploying images. By playing up the pictures and statements of an Islamist or two (preferably a female for better effect) and attempting to conjure a link to wider Kashmiri society. It is a classic case of abiased media seeking, and using, the few scattered instances which can reinforce that pre-existing bias. Quite like highlighting ‘letters’, pasted on a few walls, addressed to a minority community, to whip up visions of some imminent pogrom. At a wider, much more deeper and serious level, it is insinuated that some larger Islamist game plan is at work in Kashmir. It doesn’t take a politically incisive mind to realise that, at a global level, these days it is far easier to label a movement, a group or just a section of people Islamists than it is do deal with the political aspects of what those movements or sections might be trying to articulate. That they may well be aspiring to something that is far from, or actually negates, religious extremism. In India, that fact is aided by a wider failure to understand Kashmiris, or just a plain lack of awareness about their history and culture. Of course, the majority of people are Muslims in Kashmir. And of course, elements among those who raise the Islamist bogey in Kashmir are, inversely, people who simply dislike that fact of Kashmiris-as-Muslims. We could call it a border-world application of a certain brand of mainland communalism. And that attempt at displacing one’s own communalism onto Kashmiris neatly dovetails with the wider phenomenon of how Muslims are, post 9/11, subjects of suspicion in the West. But then, is there any truth to the charge, actually? You don’t need to be a sociologist or ethnographer to learn that forms of faith, of religiosity, inflect many aspects of life within a community. Particularly in a community in crisis, under siege, facing a situation where it feels its very existence and identity to be under threat. Thus, for example, while the larger meaning of the slogan of “Azadi “ might be some form of secular Kashmiri nationalism, the slogan of “Allah o Akbar” (God is Great) also attends it. It is, in essence, while a slogan of defiance, also a culturally determined one. Of course there are other slogans too. Or have been. Which would suggest a decidedly Islamist vision of what Kashmiri society should look like. But beyond even the empirically evident gap between slogans and immediately achievable political reality, quite often such slogans were echoed without any real political subscription. BUT beyond the level of sloganeering in the streets, there is the fact of centuries of Kashmiri cultural history. One that is unique in the subcontinent. A history and lived life that tempers and inflects even those who would ordinarily be labelled hardliners. With crisis and violence, however, there is a certain hardening, perhaps even some acceptance of the logic of religious difference, identity and politics. (And the issue of the Kashmiri Pandits, while linked to this, is a topic that needs separate, detailed attention). Take for instance, the rise of Hamas in Palestine. It hasn’t meant that Palestinian nationalism, avowedly secular, has turned Islamic. But that responding to the failure — internal, and also enforced by the total unacceptance of any real demands by the opposing side — of that secular leadership, the people voted a hardline faction into power, without necessarily sharing its religiously-driven objectives. Similarly, the fact of a Geelani becoming the de facto acknowledged leader of the ‘movement’ (as it is called) in Kashmir, is also due to the perception that he remained steadfast and incorruptible. His viewpoint may not be shared by all in some aspects, but he represents leadership for many. The dominant form of Islam in Kashmir is Sufism. In its peculiar Kashmiri variety. The religiosity of the Muslims reflected in equal, if not more,measure in the countless Sufi shrines as in mosques. Real, hardcore, Taliban style-extremism, simply, is alien to, and untransplantable on, the Kashmiri DNA, as it were. A section amongst Muslims does exist which disapproves of some rituals in Sufi shrines. But that, in Kashmir, doesn’t translate into a rejection of the Sufis themselves. Indeed, even the disapprovers hold the Sufis themselves in respect. In effect, then, the thought of the vast majority of Kashmiris ‘changing over’ to extremism is akin to asking someone to actually convert. An Islamic view of things exists in Kashmir, but it is just one of the viewpoints. The drive to seek, invoke, an Islamisation of Kashmir is insidiously linked to regurgitating, within Indian public opinion, the subcontinental history of partition and the creation of Pakistan. It is also an act of dissolving the Kashmiris and electing the ‘Muslim anti-national’. That done, Kashmir can be presented as reflecting the danger of that partition, again. Which then becomes a major roadblock in even attempting to articulate to the wider Indian public what Kashmir is really about, leave alone seeking a solution to the problem. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kaksanjay at gmail.com Fri Aug 27 20:16:39 2010 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:16:39 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] 'The Islamism bogey in Kashmir' & Mridu Rai Message-ID: With an in-principle approval from the author, I am taking the liberty of forwarding a Facebook response to Najeeb Mubaraki's recent piece. Best Sanjay Kak --------------------- Ramblings prompted by Najeeb Mubarki’s “The Islamism bogey in Kashmir” by Mridu Rai on Friday, August 27, 2010 at 1:31am This is a response I just had to pour out to the very good piece by Najeeb Mubarki that Sanjay Kak and others have posted. (Link: http://www.peerpower.com/et/2108/The-Islamism-bogey-in-Kashmir). I was going to write a brief comment on Sanjay’s page but it’s grown too long for me to try Sanjay’s patience with many email notifications bombarding his inbox. And I’m too lazy to write my thoughts out prettily for a response in the online magazine but really wanted to react so I am inflicting a note on some of you. Please feel free to ignore entirely and not indulge my obsession with this question of religion and politics. Mubaraki’s piece struck me as extremely timely given the not benignly motivated pieces that have been appearing of late in the English language press (or as my father puts it, the "English-knowing" press) in India to, as Mubarki puts it, declare the protests in Kashmir illegitimate; to wit, Praveen Swami’s pseudo-academic and half-baked pronouncements on the lumpen bourgeoisie of Srinagar being the unthinking tools of the big, bad “Islamists”. Swami is, of course, inspired by older fear-mongering scholarship such as that of Sumit Ganguly and others who saw in the mid 1980s the turning point towards the “Islamization” of Kashmiri politics. Mainstream India forgets how much of its own political discourse (and not just that of Nehru), ever since the late 1930's has valorized the fact of the majority of Kashmiris being Muslim in order to buttress India's "secular" identity. It now conveniently wants Kashmiri Muslims, to quote from the pretty terrific line by Mohammed Ali written in his Comrade in 1912, “to shuffle off [their] individuality and become completely Hinduized”. In India, of course, to become secular is essentially to be Hindu. Having said this, however, and at the risk of sounding like a niggler, I do have some difficulty with the concluding segments of Mubarki's article. He reiterates a tendency that I find disturbing, viz that of relying on some ahistorically drawn understanding of Sufism and Sufi practice as the effective answer to accusing characterizations of Islamism (I don’t quite like that term but I suppose he means a domineering Sunni orthodoxy). I see this also in efforts in the West, to nudge forward the “good” (almost invariably the Muslim of the shrine, not the mosque) Muslim in order shove the “bad” one to the backstage. The Rand Corporation’s project of buttressing the “moderate” Muslim to silence the “radicals” among them is once instance of such efforts. A seemingly more benign example was the recent music concert in NYC sponsored by the Pakistani government and an organization called the “Pakistani Peace Builders”. Tellingly, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, A.H. Haroon, who also played MC for much of the time, declared that their intent was “to be at peace with all of America”. Predictably most of the performances were either in the Sufi tradition or referred to Sufi saints, with the star act being Abid Parveen (who was fabulous). The trouble with the Rand Corporation’s efforts, as with the intent behind the Pakistani Peace Builders’ concert, is that it distorts in vital ways understandings of the Sufi tradition, at least as I understand it existed/exists in South Asia.  The Rand corp’s cultivation of sufi Islam (because for them it is some nebulous version of Sufi inspiration that “moderate” Muslims adhere to) and to bring it into the political fold, by teaching them civics and democratic practices, is at best misguided and at worst ludicrous. First of all, it smacks of a lack of understanding of the vast and variegated phenomenon being squished under the rubric “Sufism”. In South Asia, Sufi silsilahs ran the gamut of religious and political positions from the Chishtiya to the Naqshbandiya (and many others in between and beyond--I don’t intend to suggest these in any way as two definitive book-ends), with the former ostensibly maintaining distance from political power to representatives of the latter seeking to advise Mughal badshahs. But there is a tendency, among “liberals”, both Muslim and non-Muslim, in South Asia and in the West, to only concentrate on the Chistiya or similar versions of the Sufi tradition as exemplifying a “gentler” Islam. Shah Walliullah makes them uncomfortable, that is if they even know of him. In this context, efforts like the Rand Corps’ are particularly idiotic because if historically the Chishtis, for instance, derived much of their religious and social eminence precisely by maintaining their ostensible distance from political power, to build them into the political nemesis of “radical Islam” is to destroy that credibility and cachet. More importantly for me, at least in the way certain segments of Western thinking (true also of many in South Asia) understands Sufism, what appeals about it to them is some strange idea that those who favour the Sufi path are somehow less “seriously” (using the word in the way young Americans do) Muslim—having an “easier” commitment to Islam, a less rigorous one, a more “liberal” attitude to faith, in other words, perhaps “secular” Muslims or, even more absurdly, less “believing” Muslims. In other words, the Muslim immersed in the Sufi tradition is a “good” Muslim because he/she is also a “bad” Muslim. Am I sounding insane? I think people who need to be jolted out of such ignorant conceptions should read Prof. Ishaq Khan’s excellent discussion of the Rishi tradition in Kashmir (Kashmir’s Transition to Islam: the Role of Muslim Rishis). I remember reading it with dismay and outrage at first (it was also a radical departure from his previous writings that focused on the “syncretistic” traditions of South Asian Islam that so many other Indian historians also favoured. Indeed, that historical and ideological shift in Prof. Khan is interesting in itself and worthy of study – the shift coincides, to my mind, with developments post-1989 in the valley, particularly the treatment of and attitudes towards Kashmiri Muslims, but that’s another subject altogether). So I remember reading his book with some shock and outrage but it requires some hard work to get rid of preconceived notions. Prof. Khan makes a powerful point when he warns against thinking of the Rishi saints of Kashmir as anything but Muslim (not some Hindu-Muslim hybrid figures). I suspect you already know where I’m going with Mubarki’s piece—I am uncomfortable with this sort of privileging of the Sufi over other strands of Islam. Not that I believe he’s working along the lines I mentioned above, viz. a good Muslim being a bad Muslim, but I find, no matter what Mubarki’s intent, it tends in the same direction. His use of the word “hardcore” to describe “Taliban-style-extremism” that he condemns hints at some of the preceding, although he may not have intended it thus. So does his assertion that the resort to Islam-inspired slogans is cultural rather than religious. It has echoes of the squeamishness towards religion that most secular-nationalist historians in India have felt, which has led them in the process to abandon Religion to manipulation by right wing nut-jobs. Romila Thapar et. al’s (and please know that I have enormous respect for the scholarship of Thapar et. al., I only find their insistent “secularism” and all that it implies, unhelpful) – their defence of summarily vilified, mostly Muslim actors, in history is the rather weak argument that their actions were inspired by politics not religion. These views are deployed especially in defence of Mahmud of Ghazna and Aurangzeb, but also others. But this leaves such historians with nothing to say when the BJP destroys Babur’s mosque; after all, its motives were also primarily political and only disguised as religious. I find this need in Mubarki to highlight so prominently the Sufi strand of Kashmiri Islam particularly surprising because he, himself, very usefully points out that Sufism and the Islam of the mosque were and are not mutually exclusive. But his piece betrays the same propensity to pitch Sufism as the nicer side of Islam (To quote him, “The religiosity of the Muslims reflected in equal, if not more, measure in the countless Sufi shrines as in mosques” – note “if not more”). His eagerness to “rescue” Kashmir’s Islamic tradition, also leads him to make some egregious pronouncements based on no particular evidence and, for a historian particularly, deeply flawed for suggesting “inevitability”: “Real, hardcore, Taliban style-extremism” Mubarki says, “simply, is alien to, and untransplantable on, the Kashmiri DNA, as it were.” Invoking the Taliban, also, makes it so much more difficult for me to disagree with his statement without sounding like a Hindutva-vadi moron who is arguing that Kashmir’s Muslims are in fact prone to such talibanization. But the point is that even Taliban-style-extremism is not beyond context and history and it’s just plain wrong to put it out there like those terracotta mask fetishes painted over with monstrous faces that people hang outside new homes or houses-in-progress to ward off the evil eye. In any case, Mubarki’s, admittedly well-meaning piece leaves those among Kashmiris who believe (Believe]—not just culturally or pretend to do so for political reasons—and those among them who might practice strands of Islam that do not take them to the Sufi shrine but only to the mosque, and those who (God forbid!!!) might even deny Sufi traditions or, worse still (now we must shriek in horror), endorse a Sheikh Walliullah, or even worse, a Sheikh Ahmad Sarhindi-type or, horror of all horrors, those who might not-disagree-with all of Abdul Wahab’s ideas (I can hear screams in my head, by now)— it leaves those sorts of Muslims standing out in the wilderness, as potential “victims” to be manipulated at will by the “bad” Muslims or, more damagingly still, sees them lurking suspiciously as the ever-present portents of Islam in Kashmir going “bad”. And, as we know from the post 1947 history of Kashmir, and as Mubarki very importantly tells us in his piece, the Indian nation-state likes to have such an arsenal of illegitimate figures around as useful demons to be put forward when the need arises. As I see it, Mubarki’s piece--probably unwittingly--aids in creating such shadow figures. His is still not a line of argument that will “rescue” (unfair characterization of his intent, I’m sure) Kashmiri Muslims from efforts at delegitimizing their movement. To my mind, it has still not managed to both acknowledge the importance of religion and also tell us why the “Islamic viewpoint on things in Kashmir” is only one strand among many. It relies far too much on the insistence that the Islamic viewpoint “is far from being the dominant one”. And it certainly still leaves the Kashmiri Muslim for whom Islam might be the dominant influence in his/her life liable to be consigned to the heap of the “Islamists”, “fundoo”, “kattar Mussalmans” whose functioning is “indisputably,” to some minds, illegitimate. Please note that I am not disputing in the least bit the importance of the Sufi tradition in Kashmiri Islam, nor am I suggesting a defense of any “hardcore”(to re-employ Mubarki’s infelicitous word) style of Islam, but I do believe it is important to point out flaws in such discursive positions, especially as they do not do the political service they think they do. [Again, please feel free to not read this note. If you do, please forgive errors – don’t have the time to edit and didn’t find it necessary to do so for an informal heart-pouring with friends] From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Fri Aug 27 20:36:50 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:06:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Big Hi to all Message-ID: <961044.29540.qm@web45510.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Dear All,       Wishing you all belated VARALAKSHMI PUJA wishes.  Those who are all interested to know more about this are open for a discussion.  Regards,Dhatri. From rahul_capri at yahoo.com Fri Aug 27 20:56:17 2010 From: rahul_capri at yahoo.com (Rahul Asthana) Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:26:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] 'The Islamism bogey in Kashmir' & Mridu Rai In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <120274.7988.qm@web53607.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Regarding Mridu's piece, I think that is is not entirely logical to try to tie  the current practices or actions of individuals and groups to their history. Any ideology, no matter how it originated or even came to be defined, undergoes changes ; and I believe that the way a certain ideology manifests itself in the present , is something which may owe more to the exigencies of the present  than to the circumstances of its inception, and such a fluid identity, though ephemeral , does not become a candidate for being discarded, at least no more than the historical identity , as a predictor for future practices and actions of those groups. Thanks Rahul ----- Original Message ---- From: Sanjay Kak To: Sarai Reader List Sent: Fri, August 27, 2010 10:46:39 AM Subject: [Reader-list] 'The Islamism bogey in Kashmir' & Mridu Rai With an in-principle approval from the author, I am taking the liberty of forwarding a Facebook response to Najeeb Mubaraki's recent piece. Best Sanjay Kak --------------------- Ramblings prompted by Najeeb Mubarki’s “The Islamism bogey in Kashmir” by Mridu Rai on Friday, August 27, 2010 at 1:31am This is a response I just had to pour out to the very good piece by Najeeb Mubarki that Sanjay Kak and others have posted. (Link: http://www.peerpower.com/et/2108/The-Islamism-bogey-in-Kashmir). I was going to write a brief comment on Sanjay’s page but it’s grown too long for me to try Sanjay’s patience with many email notifications bombarding his inbox. And I’m too lazy to write my thoughts out prettily for a response in the online magazine but really wanted to react so I am inflicting a note on some of you. Please feel free to ignore entirely and not indulge my obsession with this question of religion and politics. Mubaraki’s piece struck me as extremely timely given the not benignly motivated pieces that have been appearing of late in the English language press (or as my father puts it, the "English-knowing" press) in India to, as Mubarki puts it, declare the protests in Kashmir illegitimate; to wit, Praveen Swami’s pseudo-academic and half-baked pronouncements on the lumpen bourgeoisie of Srinagar being the unthinking tools of the big, bad “Islamists”. Swami is, of course, inspired by older fear-mongering scholarship such as that of Sumit Ganguly and others who saw in the mid 1980s the turning point towards the “Islamization” of Kashmiri politics. Mainstream India forgets how much of its own political discourse (and not just that of Nehru), ever since the late 1930's has valorized the fact of the majority of Kashmiris being Muslim in order to buttress India's "secular" identity. It now conveniently wants Kashmiri Muslims, to quote from the pretty terrific line by Mohammed Ali written in his Comrade in 1912, “to shuffle off [their] individuality and become completely Hinduized”. In India, of course, to become secular is essentially to be Hindu. Having said this, however, and at the risk of sounding like a niggler, I do have some difficulty with the concluding segments of Mubarki's article. He reiterates a tendency that I find disturbing, viz that of relying on some ahistorically drawn understanding of Sufism and Sufi practice as the effective answer to accusing characterizations of Islamism (I don’t quite like that term but I suppose he means a domineering Sunni orthodoxy). I see this also in efforts in the West, to nudge forward the “good” (almost invariably the Muslim of the shrine, not the mosque) Muslim in order shove the “bad” one to the backstage. The Rand Corporation’s project of buttressing the “moderate” Muslim to silence the “radicals” among them is once instance of such efforts. A seemingly more benign example was the recent music concert in NYC sponsored by the Pakistani government and an organization called the “Pakistani Peace Builders”. Tellingly, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, A.H. Haroon, who also played MC for much of the time, declared that their intent was “to be at peace with all of America”. Predictably most of the performances were either in the Sufi tradition or referred to Sufi saints, with the star act being Abid Parveen (who was fabulous). The trouble with the Rand Corporation’s efforts, as with the intent behind the Pakistani Peace Builders’ concert, is that it distorts in vital ways understandings of the Sufi tradition, at least as I understand it existed/exists in South Asia.  The Rand corp’s cultivation of sufi Islam (because for them it is some nebulous version of Sufi inspiration that “moderate” Muslims adhere to) and to bring it into the political fold, by teaching them civics and democratic practices, is at best misguided and at worst ludicrous. First of all, it smacks of a lack of understanding of the vast and variegated phenomenon being squished under the rubric “Sufism”. In South Asia, Sufi silsilahs ran the gamut of religious and political positions from the Chishtiya to the Naqshbandiya (and many others in between and beyond--I don’t intend to suggest these in any way as two definitive book-ends), with the former ostensibly maintaining distance from political power to representatives of the latter seeking to advise Mughal badshahs. But there is a tendency, among “liberals”, both Muslim and non-Muslim, in South Asia and in the West, to only concentrate on the Chistiya or similar versions of the Sufi tradition as exemplifying a “gentler” Islam. Shah Walliullah makes them uncomfortable, that is if they even know of him. In this context, efforts like the Rand Corps’ are particularly idiotic because if historically the Chishtis, for instance, derived much of their religious and social eminence precisely by maintaining their ostensible distance from political power, to build them into the political nemesis of “radical Islam” is to destroy that credibility and cachet. More importantly for me, at least in the way certain segments of Western thinking (true also of many in South Asia) understands Sufism, what appeals about it to them is some strange idea that those who favour the Sufi path are somehow less “seriously” (using the word in the way young Americans do) Muslim—having an “easier” commitment to Islam, a less rigorous one, a more “liberal” attitude to faith, in other words, perhaps “secular” Muslims or, even more absurdly, less “believing” Muslims. In other words, the Muslim immersed in the Sufi tradition is a “good” Muslim because he/she is also a “bad” Muslim. Am I sounding insane? I think people who need to be jolted out of such ignorant conceptions should read Prof. Ishaq Khan’s excellent discussion of the Rishi tradition in Kashmir (Kashmir’s Transition to Islam: the Role of Muslim Rishis). I remember reading it with dismay and outrage at first (it was also a radical departure from his previous writings that focused on the “syncretistic” traditions of South Asian Islam that so many other Indian historians also favoured. Indeed, that historical and ideological shift in Prof. Khan is interesting in itself and worthy of study – the shift coincides, to my mind, with developments post-1989 in the valley, particularly the treatment of and attitudes towards Kashmiri Muslims, but that’s another subject altogether). So I remember reading his book with some shock and outrage but it requires some hard work to get rid of preconceived notions. Prof. Khan makes a powerful point when he warns against thinking of the Rishi saints of Kashmir as anything but Muslim (not some Hindu-Muslim hybrid figures). I suspect you already know where I’m going with Mubarki’s piece—I am uncomfortable with this sort of privileging of the Sufi over other strands of Islam. Not that I believe he’s working along the lines I mentioned above, viz. a good Muslim being a bad Muslim, but I find, no matter what Mubarki’s intent, it tends in the same direction. His use of the word “hardcore” to describe “Taliban-style-extremism” that he condemns hints at some of the preceding, although he may not have intended it thus. So does his assertion that the resort to Islam-inspired slogans is cultural rather than religious. It has echoes of the squeamishness towards religion that most secular-nationalist historians in India have felt, which has led them in the process to abandon Religion to manipulation by right wing nut-jobs. Romila Thapar et. al’s (and please know that I have enormous respect for the scholarship of Thapar et. al., I only find their insistent “secularism” and all that it implies, unhelpful) – their defence of summarily vilified, mostly Muslim actors, in history is the rather weak argument that their actions were inspired by politics not religion. These views are deployed especially in defence of Mahmud of Ghazna and Aurangzeb, but also others. But this leaves such historians with nothing to say when the BJP destroys Babur’s mosque; after all, its motives were also primarily political and only disguised as religious. I find this need in Mubarki to highlight so prominently the Sufi strand of Kashmiri Islam particularly surprising because he, himself, very usefully points out that Sufism and the Islam of the mosque were and are not mutually exclusive. But his piece betrays the same propensity to pitch Sufism as the nicer side of Islam (To quote him, “The religiosity of the Muslims reflected in equal, if not more, measure in the countless Sufi shrines as in mosques” – note “if not more”). His eagerness to “rescue” Kashmir’s Islamic tradition, also leads him to make some egregious pronouncements based on no particular evidence and, for a historian particularly, deeply flawed for suggesting “inevitability”: “Real, hardcore, Taliban style-extremism” Mubarki says, “simply, is alien to, and untransplantable on, the Kashmiri DNA, as it were.” Invoking the Taliban, also, makes it so much more difficult for me to disagree with his statement without sounding like a Hindutva-vadi moron who is arguing that Kashmir’s Muslims are in fact prone to such talibanization. But the point is that even Taliban-style-extremism is not beyond context and history and it’s just plain wrong to put it out there like those terracotta mask fetishes painted over with monstrous faces that people hang outside new homes or houses-in-progress to ward off the evil eye. In any case, Mubarki’s, admittedly well-meaning piece leaves those among Kashmiris who believe (Believe]—not just culturally or pretend to do so for political reasons—and those among them who might practice strands of Islam that do not take them to the Sufi shrine but only to the mosque, and those who (God forbid!!!) might even deny Sufi traditions or, worse still (now we must shriek in horror), endorse a Sheikh Walliullah, or even worse, a Sheikh Ahmad Sarhindi-type or, horror of all horrors, those who might not-disagree-with all of Abdul Wahab’s ideas (I can hear screams in my head, by now)— it leaves those sorts of Muslims standing out in the wilderness, as potential “victims” to be manipulated at will by the “bad” Muslims or, more damagingly still, sees them lurking suspiciously as the ever-present portents of Islam in Kashmir going “bad”. And, as we know from the post 1947 history of Kashmir, and as Mubarki very importantly tells us in his piece, the Indian nation-state likes to have such an arsenal of illegitimate figures around as useful demons to be put forward when the need arises. As I see it, Mubarki’s piece--probably unwittingly--aids in creating such shadow figures. His is still not a line of argument that will “rescue” (unfair characterization of his intent, I’m sure) Kashmiri Muslims from efforts at delegitimizing their movement. To my mind, it has still not managed to both acknowledge the importance of religion and also tell us why the “Islamic viewpoint on things in Kashmir” is only one strand among many. It relies far too much on the insistence that the Islamic viewpoint “is far from being the dominant one”. And it certainly still leaves the Kashmiri Muslim for whom Islam might be the dominant influence in his/her life liable to be consigned to the heap of the “Islamists”, “fundoo”, “kattar Mussalmans” whose functioning is “indisputably,” to some minds, illegitimate. Please note that I am not disputing in the least bit the importance of the Sufi tradition in Kashmiri Islam, nor am I suggesting a defense of any “hardcore”(to re-employ Mubarki’s infelicitous word) style of Islam, but I do believe it is important to point out flaws in such discursive positions, especially as they do not do the political service they think they do. [Again, please feel free to not read this note. If you do, please forgive errors – don’t have the time to edit and didn’t find it necessary to do so for an informal heart-pouring with friends] _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From tapasrayx at gmail.com Fri Aug 27 21:28:47 2010 From: tapasrayx at gmail.com (Tapas Ray [Gmail]) Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:28:47 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Big Hi to all In-Reply-To: <961044.29540.qm@web45510.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <961044.29540.qm@web45510.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Is it Varalakshmi or Varaha Lakshmi? It should be the latter if you consider the authority of the Nandikula Purana. The story is that Kartik went hunting wild boar one day. A particularly uncooperative animal attacked him instead of dying without fuss. Poor Kartik called out, "Sistuh! Save me!" Lakshmi heard his cries, came running with a brass pot full of gold coins, which pot she brought down upon the offending boar's thick skull with the full force of her comely arms, whereupon the said varaha died, heaving a sigh of relief for leaving the mortal coils behind at last. On 27 August 2010 20:36:50 UTC+5:30, we wi wrote: > Dear All, >       Wishing you all belated VARALAKSHMI PUJA wishes.  Those who are all > interested to know more about this are open for a discussion. > Regards,Dhatri. > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From javedmasoo at gmail.com Fri Aug 27 22:25:14 2010 From: javedmasoo at gmail.com (Javed) Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:25:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The problem of Muslim security Message-ID: The problem of Muslim security If Muslims in such large number are leaving their place of birth because of some fear, the administration should have found out the reason and taken necessary steps to stop their migration but this was not done and that is why adivasis were emboldened to attack Muslims... The excesses and oppression that were heaped on Muslims of Sarada town of Rajasthan’s Udaipur district have put the entire humanity to shame. In a democratic country whose Constitution guarantees the security of lives and properties of all its citizens and for which government has framed detailed rules and regulations, if hundreds of Muslims of the entire town are compelled to migrate to other places for the safety of their lives; it clearly means that there are some lapses or the other somewhere or that there are some black sheep who cannot tolerate the existence of Muslims. There is no reason to believe that Udaipur’s administration completely failed to provide security to Muslims and all of them were compelled because of the fear of adivasis to leave the entire town for some safe place. Some one took shelter in Udaipur city, others went over to their relatives at some other place. There were large number of people who perforce had to take shelter in mosques. Leaving a very large number of people: women, children and old people, their homes and hearths and taking refuge at safer places outside show that there is nothing like administration, law and order in Sarada town. If Muslims in such large number are leaving their place of birth because of some fear, the administration should have found out the reason and taken necessary steps to stop their migration but this was not done and that is why adivasis were emboldened to attack Muslims, loot and set their houses to fire thereby compelling them to flee for their lives. Obviously, creating confidence in them and to bring them back to their homes and hearths and to rehabilitate them will take years. This has happened in a state which is ruled by Congress. Had it been a BJP government it was understandable to some extent that this is another Gujarat-like conspiracy against Muslims but happening of such kind in a Congress-ruled state is surprising and distressing. What is even more distressing is that our national media has ignored it altogether. This means that all this game has been played under a planned and organised conspiracy. Police personnel entering the houses of Muslims and making searches and thereafter rioters also forcing their entry in houses of Muslims, looting and setting them on fire, slaughtering their cattle mercilessly are unforgettable incidents of cruelty and barbarism. There being no arrangement for their security by law enforcing authorities also create doubt that some sort of a conspiracy has certainly been hatched at some level. Government’s insensitivity to the plight of Indian Muslims and taking belated and half-hearted measures in controlling the situation indicate something else. This may probably be the first incident of this kind in Rajasthan against Muslims or any other community when hundreds of followers of a particular religion were compelled to flee to another place for the safety of their lives. Such incidents have certainly taken place in the Valley where thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were compelled to flee from their homes and take refugee at other places; but such excesses against them were committed by extremists and government had no role in their miserable and pitiable condition. Rather, government tried its best to prevent them from leaving their hearths and homes. It announced a series of concessions and facilities for them to stay at their homes and this process of facilities and inducements is still going on; but in Sarada the role of government and administration is very shameful and condemnable. In 2002 Muslims in large number were compelled to migrate to other places from riot affected areas during Gujarat riots because there also Modi government had planned genocide of Muslims but here in Sarada such a situation has taken place because of callousness and indifference of local administration. In this and other such incidents Muslims have more complaints against police and government machinery than the rioters and government and police are accused of connivance with rioters. It is now to be seen what steps are taken by Rajasthan’s chief minister Ashok Gehlot and what kind of arrangements are made for the relief and rehabilitation of uprooted Muslims. If this situation is not controlled at the earliest and with strong measures, communal elements will not hesitate in consigning the entire state to blood and fire. It is therefore the responsibility of state government to provide full security to Muslims and other minorities and weaker sections otherwise Muslims of the entire nation will have the feeling of insecurity which bodes ill for the whole country. (Editorial, Hamara Samaj Urdu daily, 29 July 2010 - translated by NA Ansari) From kaksanjay at gmail.com Fri Aug 27 22:47:26 2010 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:47:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "No time for the valley" Message-ID: Cutting Corners - Ashok Mitra http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100827/jsp/opinion/story_12849670.jsp NO TIME FOR THE VALLEY - The Indian nation is alienated from Kashmir Alienation has three facets: (a) I feel alienated from you, but you do not feel alienated from me; (b) you are disenchanted with me, I do not however reciprocate your feelings; and, finally, (c) it is a case of mutual alienation, you dislike me, I too hate you like poison. Over the years we have been asserting with some vehemence that none of these three species of alienation applies in the relationship between India and Kashmir; not only are we enamoured of Kashmir and its people, but the Kashmiris — the overwhelming majority of them — are also equally warm-hearted towards us, and there is no question at all of any mutual alienation. Perhaps this claim was not altogether wide of the mark in 1947 when Sheikh Abdullah, a great admirer of India’s freedom movement, had emerged as Sher-e-Kashmir and his National Conference was the jewel in the eyes of the Kashmiris. The Sheikh’s passionate love affair with India infected his followers as well. Those idyllic days did not last long. Sheikh Abdullah had, by 1953, got so alienated from New Delhi — or it could have been the other way round — that he was dislodged from the chief ministerial slot and clamped into prison. The story has been full of tension and confusion since then. Indian leaders have continued to describe Kashmir as an inalienable part of the country and Kashmiris as flesh of our flesh. They have, besides, kept up the pretence of Kashmiris feeling the same way towards us. In terms of the contemporary reality, this is sheer bunkum. The valley is now reduced to a sullen tract. Anger and resentment against India have accumulated over a hundred issues. Sometimes these explode in sporadic bursts of violence, including destruction of public property and incessant stone-pelting of police and security personnel. Phases of such violence have a cycle of their own. After a while, the riots die down and relative quiet descends on the valley. But dissatisfaction with the state of things does not abate. The Indian establishment has a handy explanation for these occasional uprisings: every time infiltration and instigation intensify across the border, there is a fresh bout of mass agitation, accompanied by renewed violence. This rigmarole has persisted for more or less the past two-and-a-half decades. The situation had taken a slightly different turn when a truce was signed with the Sheikh in the mid-1970s. The fat, though, was again in the fire following the ejection of the Sheikh’s son and successor, Farooq Abdullah, from the post of chief minister in the summer of 1984, the same fate that visited the Sheikh himself 31 years ago. Farooq and his family might have subsequently reconciled themselves with the powers-that-be in New Delhi, but the valley people have not, most of the flock constituting the rock solid base of the National Conference crossed over to alienation. It has been a ceaseless restlessness ever since. Kashmiris have pursued their day-to-day avocations hemmed in by security forces and constantly under alarm that their claustrophobic way of life might never end. New Delhi has stubbornly kept silent on Kashmir’s demand for recognition of its distinct ethos, a demand Article 370 has failed to satisfy. The valley people aspire for much more. What this additionality is, or could be, is a matter of discord, but the urge for something extra has been pretty widespread. Occasional elections and their outcome do not tell even part of the story. Behind the façade of the constitutional apparatus rests the nitty-gritty of rude fact: the valley is an occupied territory; remove for a day India’s army and security forces and it is impossible to gauge what might transpire at the next instant. Some of the stone-pelters may nurse illusions about Pakistan, some may think in terms of a sovereign, self-governing Kashmir, but they certainly do not want to be any part of India. After an uneasy interregnum of sorts, the valley is once more on the boil. Almost every day, crowds assemble in different street corners of Srinagar and the smaller towns, and target with abuses and stones the police and security personnel. Housewives, whose only weaponry are kitchen utensils and their bare hands, scream slogans protesting against this or that reported act of infamy committed by the army or the Central Reserve Police Force. It could be the allegation of a fake encounter killing where the victims have been young people from their immediate neighbourhood, or the whisking away of a couple of school children for interrogation while they were frolicking in the playground, or an incident where several houses have been ransacked in the name of search-and-comb operations, or a report of outraging the modesty of a nubile girl while she was out shopping. Discontent, howsoever diverse in its source, is out. It is an aesthetically obscene daily sight on the television screen: women of various age-groups and backgrounds, fury and agony writ on their faces, confronting the forces of law and order equipped with AK rifles. Some of the women even dare to try to snatch away the arms from the clutches of this or that security man. The rifles suddenly roar, a few women are injured on a stray day even as killings take place on a regular basis resulting from encounters between the rampaging youth and the forces. This has been, and is, the ground reality in Kashmir. There is no report of any perceptible reaction in the rest of the Union of India. Forget the political or legal disputations, it is the ungainly asymmetry of the spectacle that should wound human sensitivity: this battle line of security forces armed to the hilt on one side and weaponless housewives, young and old, on the other. The issue of ethics apart, it is aesthetically an atrocious asymmetry. But while some airy-fairy concern is expressed by individual politicians — and there is cursory talk of a multi-party delegation to be sent to Srinagar — the great Indian nation, with its load of civilization stretching 5,000 years, is extraordinarily mum. The media can afford to be full of narratives of sickeningly shady deals linked to the preparatory arrangements for the impending Commonwealth Games. But the debauching of civilization in Kashmir, no matter what its underlying reason, creates no ripples. One is suddenly hit by a fearsome realization: Indians by and large do not perhaps feel at all, this way or that, about the valley’s people; in other words, the Indian nation is alienated from Kashmir. The onus suddenly shifts to India. We have till now, at best, conceded that while we consider Kashmir to be inalienable from the rest of the land, some Kashmiris, led astray by outsiders, might feel distant from us. Our other-worldliness with respect to current events in the valley evokes the suspicion that we could not care less about Kashmiris or, for that matter, what troubles their womenfolk. This indifference is accompanied by a reluctance to face facts. A handful of Kashmiris, for instance, those close to the Abdullah clan, might still nurture affection towards India. But an incomparably larger number do not. The fatuity of the prime minister’s so-called all-party conference notwithstanding, even those considered Mehbooba Mufti’s camp- followers are having intense second thoughts in view of New Delhi’s obstinate persistence with the line that, but for Pakistani machinations, everything would be fine and excellent in Kashmir. In any case, if the media and the mood of a large cross-section of practising politicians are taken, India has other priorities, Kashmir occupies a low position in the agenda. A postscript seems called for. Activist women’s groups are a dime a dozen in the country. They are a determined lot, always on the prowl, no infringement of women’s rights escapes their attention. Official commissions at both Central and state levels also act as watchdogs to protect and expand the space for women. A proliferation of non-governmental organizations are equally active purportedly to serve the same mission. Moreover, quite a number of political parties have separate women’s cells to strengthen their base among women and, in the process, further the cause of women’s liberation. Hardly any of them has, however, bothered to speak up on what afflicts the battling women of Srinagar or bothered to travel to Kashmir to study the problem at first hand. No statement concerning the developing situation in the valley in which women are so transparently involved has been forthcoming from any of them. It is as if they have collectively decided to put across the message that India has no time for Kashmir; India’s women, too, have excluded the women of Kashmir from their agenda. From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sat Aug 28 13:03:42 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:03:42 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Who killed Sumit Kohli and why? Message-ID: A mother says her ‘Shaurya Chakra’ son was murdered By VARINDER BHATIA Indian Express Posted online: Sat Aug 28 2010, 11:23 hrs http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-mother-says-her-shaurya-chakra-son-was-murdered/673582/ Chandigarh: Veena Kohli, mother of Shaurya Chakra awardee Captain Sumit Kohli who died under mysterious circumstances four years ago, is meeting Defence Minister A K Antony in New Delhi tomorrow to demand a CBI probe into her son’s death. She alleges that Capt Kohli, who was found dead with a gunshot wound in Lolab in Kashmir, did not commit suicide — as was claimed, she says, by the commanding officer of the 18 Rashtriya Rifles — but was killed because he knew who were behind the killing of four porters in a fake encounter in Lolab in April 2004. She claims her son had assured the families of the porters that he would help them get justice. Subsequently, the Army initiated a probe into the killings. Captain Kohli, who received the Shaurya Chakra on Republic Day 2006, was found dead on April 30 the same year. His father, who suffered a stroke on learning of the death, died a day after his son’s cremation. According to Veena Kohli, her attempt to seek information on Sumit’s death, his post-mortem report under the Right to Information Act failed because the Army took the plea that it did not apply in J&K. She then moved the Delhi High Court which instructed the Army to supply the related documents. “Mere perusal of the Court of Inquiry proceedings and autopsy report raise suspicion about the death of my son. There are two medical reports which are contradictory. As per one report, the (bullet) entry wound was on the left side of the chin. But as per the other report, the entry wound was on right side of the chin. The post-mortem report is too generalised, and makes no specific mention of the wounds — entry wound, exit wound, their shapes and sizes. There is also no mention of blackening which is quite obvious in case a bullet is fired from close range,” Kohli said in her representation, a copy of which is with The Indian Express. “During the CoI proceedings, only interested witnesses were summoned... Commanding Officer of 18 Rashtriya Rifles in his statement asserted that Capt. Sumit Kohli committed suicide owing to some family problem. He even quoted that this fact was revealed to him by Brig (retd) R P Singh, one of our close family friends on telephone, whereas the said officer denies having spoken to him on this issue. There is no report from the forensic expert confirming that weapon with which Sumit committed suicide bore his fingerprints. There is no expert report to confirm the distance from which the bullet was fired,” the representation stated. “...strongly believe that my son has been killed by Army officers to stop him from revealing their role in the murder of four porters from Chatha village (J&K) in a fake encounter in the frontier district of Kupwara. I had even received an anonymous letter purportedly written by an officer known to my son stating therein that my son had confided in him that he was being targeted by certain officers,” it said. “The letter further mentioned that four porters from Chatha hamlet were killed in fake encounter by men from 18 Rashtriya Rifles posted in Lolab area of Kupwara. The said illegal killings were done two years prior to my son’s death under mysterious circumstances. My son had assured the victims families that he would help them get justice and had vowed not only to expose the murderers but also ensure they were punished for taking the lives of innocents. I have been telling this fact to Army authorities right from the day my son died under mysterious circumstances,” the representation stated. Veena Kohli’s lawyer Guneet Chaudhary said “queries were posed to Army Headquarters but the response too is self-contradictory”. To a query on the discrepancy in the certificates — one issued by the Regiment Medical Officer (RMO) said gunshot wound (GSW) was on right side of the chin while the civil hospital post-mortem said it was on the left side — the Army replied: “The Medical Case Sheet by the RMO in respect of Late Captain Sumit Kohli, Shaurya Chakra, mentioned entry wound seen below chin on left side and GSW head. It may be due to error in judgment carried out in field conditions by the RMO. However, the post-mortem report issued by Civil Medical Officer, Primary Health Centre (PHC), Tekipora which is an authority, mentions the entry wound below the chin towards the right side which stands correct. This is further corroborated and found correct from photographs of the late officer showing wound on the right side below the chin (exhibits of the Court of Inquiry). Both reports however mention the exit wound found in Occipital Region”. From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Sat Aug 28 14:13:23 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:13:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir Message-ID: >From The Hindu No Jain temple was burnt in Kashmir: officials Shujaat Bukhari SRINAGAR: The temporary structure housing a Jain temple in a local hotel was not burnt by a mob but was dismantled as a local hotel's contract with a Mumbai-based travel agency which built the structure on its premises has not been renewed. In the wake of reports in newspapers around India that the only Jain temple in Kashmir had been burnt by mobs leading the ongoing protests in the Valley, hotel and State officials told The Hindu that no such incident had taken place. According to Ghulam Mohiuddin, manager of Silver Star Hotel in Lasjan on the outskirts of Srinagar, the temporary structure was built as per contract with Gem Tours and Travels, a Mumbai-based travel agency, which wanted to provide a place where Jain tourists from other parts of India could worship while visiting Kashmir. ³But the three-year contract ended and was not extended, so the structure was also dismantled,² he said. The temple was established to attract Jain tourists. ³As the situation in the Valley worsened and the tourist inflow declined, the contract was not renewed and we thought there is no need for this,² he added. The 8x8 pre-fabricated structure was dismantled in the presence of the priest, Hans Raj, on August 10. Mr. Mohiuddin categorically denied that the temple was burnt or destroyed by a mob. ³This is just not true. It is a fact that a large mob passed through this area also but no one entered our premises so the question of touching the temple does not arise,² he told The Hindu. Before the hotel management decided to remove the structure, the owners of the travel agency were contacted through the priest Hans Raj, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. ³The idols were removed and properly handed over to them when they arrived in Srinagar the next day,² he said, adding the rumours seemed to be a conspiracy to spread hatred against Kashmiris. Deputy Commissioner (Srinagar) Meraj Kakroo also rubbished reports about the Jain temple being attacked. ³The report about the burning of the temple is baseless and mischievous,² he said. He added that no proper temple existed and ³as per our information, it was an internal arrangement made by the hotel owners.² Members of the community said there is, in fact, no Jain temple in Kashmir. While there were 40-odd Jain families living in the Valley prior to militancy, only five have stayed back. ³There is no Jain temple here, though a family has set up one in their house,² Amit Jain, a businessman, said. Repeated attempts by this correspondent to get a response from Gem Tours and Travels drew a blank. However, a local news portal, Kashmir Dispatch, reported that a team from the Doshi family, which built the temple, flew in to Srinagar the day after it was dismantled. ³They packed the idols in cardboard boxes and returned to Sabarmati,² it said. ³It was not burnt and [the newspaper which said it was] will come out with a corrigendum,² the portal quoted Jyotin Doshi, Chairman of Gem Tours, as saying. ³The structure was broken; we don't know by whom, we had a contract with the hotel for five years under which the temple was built on the hotel property,² he said. ³We don't want to create enmity and request everybody to stop thinking about the matter. We have now installed the idols in Ahmedabad and there is nothing more I can say on this,² the portal quoted Mr. Doshi as saying. From subhachops at gmail.com Sat Aug 28 16:45:24 2010 From: subhachops at gmail.com (Subhash) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:45:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] No Point-Blank Justice (Azad's encounter) Message-ID: No Point-Blank Justice Jurists say ‘encounters’ must be investigated by an independent agency. But no law makes this binding. Anuradha Raman http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?266868 Just as the ghost of Sohrabuddin Sheikh has come to haunt the Gujarat government and claimed the state’s home minister, will the ghost of Chemkuri Rajkumar Azad, the cpi (Maoist) second-in-command who was shot dead in an ‘encounter’ on July 1 in the Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh, come to haunt the upa government at the Centre? So it seems, at least from the post-mortem report. It was always suspected that Azad was killed in cold blood, though neither the state authorities nor the police will admit it. The killing came when the Maoists were preparing for a dialogue with the Centre, which, on its part, is refusing to help find out how he died or was killed. Union home minister P. Chidambaram ducked demands for an inquiry with lofty excuses: that law and order is a state subject, and so the Centre, in the true spirit of federalism, does not interfere in such matters. This isn’t selling well. “It seems the state and the Centre have abdicated responsibility,” says Justice Hosbet Suresh, a former judge of the Bombay High Court. “What prevents the Centre from asking the state to hold an inquiry? Such killings prima facie amount to murder and must be recorded as such. A judicial inquiry is an absolute necessity. It must be recognised that such killings violate fundamental human rights.” What is it about such encounters that the police wash their stained hands by saying they had to fire in self-defence and expect people to believe it? Here’s the Azad encounter scenario according to the police, belied by the post-mortem report (see main story) which points to a point-blank killing: Azad and his comrades opened fire from a vantage point on a hill; the police team retaliated; Azad and some others were killed. Former Delhi High Court chief justice A.P. Shah, who, during a stint as chief justice of Bombay High Court in the late 1990s, heard several encounter cases in which gangsters were eliminated, says, “We examined 110 cases over two years. Each time, the pattern was the same. The police said they acted in self-defence. But post-mortems always showed the gangsters had been shot either in the head of the left side of the chest. The cops, it would seem, were all exceptional marksmen.” Azad, too, was shot in the chest, in the region of the heart. Usually, nothing comes of encounter cases—even when an inquiry takes place. Justice Shah remembers heading a two-judge bench of the Bombay High Court that heard a pil filed by the PUCL on the encounter killings of two suspected terrorists. The bench had referred the matter to the principal judge of a civil court, who determined that the encounters were fake. But a new high court bench that took up the case overruled his finding. Some good did emerge, though. On sustained following up from PUCL, the bench also ordered Maharashtra to set up a state human rights commission, which was done in 1997. Justice Shah says it is important that an independent inquiry be conducted: “In all encounters, including Azad’s, only an independent inquiry—not one by the police—can bring out the truth.” Former judges and rights activists are all agreed that the judiciary hasn’t taken a proactive approach. In Andhra Pradesh alone, since the 1960s, some 2,000 people have been eliminated in encounters. And the courts have usually gone easy when security concerns are raised. It’s rarely that that they rein the police in. Last year, the Andhra Pradesh High Court made it mandatory for police to register an FIR after every encounter, with the names of the police personnel involved. It also mandated an independent inquiry and for the self-defence plea to be proved in a court of law. But the police went in appeal and the Supreme Court stayed the order. “It’s no surprise,” says Justice Suresh. “Every time the police or the state raises concerns of a threat to the country, courts usually grant a stay.” Justice J.S. Verma, a former chief justice of India who also headed the NHRC, says all encounter killings need to be thoroughly investigated. “We must find out whether the killings are an exception—they cannot be the rule,” he says. “And one cannot simply accept the version of the state.” In 1997, NHRC had drawn up guidelines, saying it wasn’t as if being law-enforcers confers on the police the right to take a life, though the law considers killing in self-defence, if proved, a mitigating circumstance. Therefore, the guidelines say, such killings must be investigated properly to ascertain the cause. Like other former judges, Justice V.S. Malimath is firm that such an investigation cannot be by the same police that registers the complaint. However, K.G. Kannabiran, a rights activist and lawyer, says the NHRC guidelines are ineffective. “We have asked time and again for judicial inquiries into police impunity, but in vain,” he says. “Should people be killed for their politics?” ----\ Some comments: “In the Azad case, the state and the Centre abdicated responsibility. What prevents the Centre from asking AP to hold an inquiry?” —Justice Hosbet Suresh, Ex-judge, Bombay High Court “I heard 110 cases of encounters in two years...the victims were all shot in the head or chest. The cops must be really great marksmen.” —Justice A.P. Shah, Ex-CJ, Delhi High Court “Encounter killings must be probed.... They mustn’t be the rule. And we can’t simply accept what the state says without question.” —Justice J.S. Verma, Ex-CJI, ex-NHRC head “The guidelines of the NHRC seem to be ineffective. Time and again we have asked for judicial inquiries into cases of police impunity.” —K.G. Kannabiran, Advocate, rights activist “In the Azad case, as in all others, an independent body must conduct the inquiry, not the same police that killed him.” —Justice V.S. Malimath, Ex-CJ of Kerala, Karnataka “P. Chidambaram, the home minister, should have been the first to order an inquiry into Azad’s killing. His silence indicates his guilt.” —Prashant Bhushan, Advocate, Supreme Court From patrice at xs4all.nl Sat Aug 28 18:02:34 2010 From: patrice at xs4all.nl (Patrice Riemens) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:32:34 +0200 Subject: [Reader-list] [Fwdfyi: [urbanibalism] Suprabha Seshan interview (at Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary, Kerala) Message-ID: <457e84b4be29f5a52b65b5bb7360958b.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl> ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: [urbanibalism] Suprabha Seshan interview From: "theun" Date: Sat, August 28, 2010 12:33 To: "Luminous List" "urban edibles list" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi A unique opportunity to hear Suprabha Seshan, head of the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in a radio interview behind a tiny microphone in the middle of the forest. GBS is a selftrained family-run garden, restoring the rainforest with unpresedented successrates of growing endangered species in their microclimates, with local tribal women. The Kerala rainforest is the origin of many of our spices and medicines. Cocky and myself visited the Sanctuary in 2005 for 6 weeks. Speaking on: - restoring the complex ecosystem of the rainforest by gardening - living in the forest in a sustainable way - CO2-reforestation monocultures - the destructive aspects of mining, ecotourism - the rise of India's economy and closing cycles - the sacred; worshiping the plastic statue of the elephant not the elephants themselves - the distance mainstream media create for people to engage with nature - the tention between their 'ecological lifestyle' and monetary and work cultures - the woods as a fundamental experience http://www.radioopensource.org/real-india-a-land-soon-without-tigers-and-maybe-orchids/ Theun ____________________________________ Urbanibalism mailing list http://www.urbanibalism.org From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Sat Aug 28 19:18:26 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:48:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Cultural roots In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <159603.93839.qm@web45511.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Dear All, Its not like some body pelted stones or shoes(a pure imitation) .   What is INDIA? What is its culture and boudaries, one should know at least throughly if not practiced under Hinduism.   The true fact is J&K integral part of India,temple exists at Ayodhya  before like wise at many places.   Hindus should speak on it now with full scale and the elected Government of India should act on POK(free it), temple(built it) and article 370(remove it). Whatever happens will happen and no body can avoid it(Best example is the partition). If Muslims don't participate/vote for parties then let them.  Those who can't digest the things can quit INDIA and live peacefully at PAKISTAN or elsewhere. PAKISTAN was created for those who are all dissatisfied with INDIA.   Now,The month "Shravan" has a great significance and important for woman in particular.  The significance is that in this month of "bahula ashtami" the lord Krishna took his birth where in we all celebrate it as "KRISHNASHTAMI".  Now the woman celebrate "2 puja" in this month not just in a part  or region but through out the united India.   The first one is  "mangala gouri", worshiped by girls on "Tuesday" for their better life in starting from the marriage year to 5 years. HistoryLong long ago a boy who was studying under a guru went from house to house seeking alms. This was a tradition then and the Guru and shishya only took what was needed for the day. But strangely this boy refused alms given by the queen of the land and took alms from other women. The king and the queen of the land were staunch Shiva devotees but did not have any children. The queen and the king discussed this strange incident and the next day, the queen again offered rice to the young boy. But the boy did not accept it. The king came and asked why he was not taking the rice from the queen. The boy said that the king and queen did not have children and it would not be wise to take alms from a couple who is unlucky. The king got angry and said only Lord Shiva can decide who should be lucky and unlucky. The king who was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva soon realized that the boy was Shiva in disguise. He then prayed to forgive his arrogance and asked to be blessed with a child. Shiva blessed the couple but said their child will only live for sixteen years. A boy, Chandrasekhar, was born to the couple and soon time passed by and the boy became a teenager. The king and the queen remembered the words of Shiva and decided to send young Chandrasekhar, who was fifteen, to Kashi. It is believed that those who die at Kashi will never be born again. Young Chandrasekhar was informed about his fate and without any other option he followed his uncle to Kashi. On the way, the young boy saw several new things. In a garden, they met a lovely princess. The boy and the uncle heard the princess discussing the glory of Mangala Gowri Puja. It was the Shravan month and the girls were performing the Mangala Gowri Vratha. The princess was saying that whoever she marries will live a long life because she performs the Mangala Gowri Puja with pure heart and devotion. The boy and the uncle moved forward and they met a prince who was sick. He explained to them that he was to marry the princess of the kingdom tomorrow but he was ashamed to go in front of people as he has fallen sick. The prince asked Chandrasekhar to help him out by appearing in the marriage function. Chandrasekhar agreed. Young Chandrasekhar appeared as the groom and the first day of the marriage function passed away smoothly. That night Chandrasekhar was to turn sixteen. He explained about his fate and about the real prince to the princess and decided to leave next morning to Kashi. But that night the princess saw a snake approaching Chandrasekhar; she grabbed a handful of unbroken grains used to perform Mangala Gowri Puja and threw it on the snake. The snake fell dead. She took the snake and hid it in the Kalash used to perform the Mangala Gowri Puja. Chandrasekhar left the next morning and he left his wedding ring there. The other prince took the place for the day’s wedding ceremony but the princess was not ready to marry him. She said firmly that Chandrasekhar was her husband and she will only sit next to him. Chandrasekhar reached Kashi and a year passed. He did not die. The strength and devotion with which the young princess performed the Mangala Gowri Puja saved him. While returning back to his kingdom, Chandrasekhar again reached the same spot. He longed to see the young princess even though he believed that she was happily married to the prince. Chandrasekhar heard that the princess was in the habit of feeding all the people who passed by her kingdom. He went and sat among the people who was partaking the food offered by the princess. Soon the princess appeared. She was closely examining all the people who were eating. She has been doing this from the day Chandrasekhar left; she was sure that one day he will pass by her kingdom. In no time, the young princess recognized Chandrasekhar. She showed him the wedding ring. The young Chandrasekhar could not control his tears. He said he did not die. The princess said she knew it and explained what happened on the night when he turned sixteen. Soon they got married and lived happily there after.                                                 *********************************** The 2 Nd  one is "Varalakshmi puja" celebrated by woman specifically married on 2nd Friday( alternately 4Th Friday) to obtain children,wealth and long life for their "mangala sutras"(Husband).   History In the kingdom of Magadha of yore, there lived a brahmin woman called Charumathi in a town named Kundina. The prosperous town was the home of Charumathi and her husband. She devotedly served her husband and her parents-in-law. Impressed by her piety, Goddess Mahalakshmi appeared in her dream and asked her to worship Vara-Lakshmi (literally, boon granting - goddess of wealth) and seek to fulfill her wishes. Varalakshmi is yet another form of Lord Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Thus was prescribed the Friday of Sravana month preceding the full moon day for the worship. When Charumathi explained her dream to her family, she found them encouraging her to perform the pooja. Many other women of the town also joined her in performing the pooja in a traditional way and offered many sweet dishes to the Goddess Varalakshmi. They prayed with deep devotion: "Padmaasane Padmakare sarva lokaika poojithe Narayana priyadevi supreethaa bhava sarvada" The well dressed women made offerings of delicious feast with utmost devotion. As they went round the deity in prayer, dazzling jewelry is said to have appeared as ornaments on the bodies of these worshippers and their houses filled with riches. They rewarded the priest who assisted them in performing the pooja and they all partook in the feast. The women expressed their gratitude to Charumathi who shared her dream and helped them become prosperous.  This pooja came to be practiced year after year by women. Done with devotion, it is said that boons would be granted and thus many wishes would be realized.  Regards,Dhatri. --- On Fri, 8/27/10, Tapas Ray [Gmail] wrote: From: Tapas Ray [Gmail] Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Big Hi to all To: "readerlist" Date: Friday, August 27, 2010, 9:28 PM Is it Varalakshmi or Varaha Lakshmi? It should be the latter if you consider the authority of the Nandikula Purana. The story is that Kartik went hunting wild boar one day. A particularly uncooperative animal attacked him instead of dying without fuss. Poor Kartik called out, "Sistuh! Save me!" Lakshmi heard his cries, came running with a brass pot full of gold coins, which pot she brought down upon the offending boar's thick skull with the full force of her comely arms, whereupon the said varaha died, heaving a sigh of relief for leaving the mortal coils behind at last. On 27 August 2010 20:36:50 UTC+5:30, we wi wrote: > Dear All, >       Wishing you all belated VARALAKSHMI PUJA wishes.  Those who are all > interested to know more about this are open for a discussion. > Regards,Dhatri. > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Sat Aug 28 19:22:56 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:52:56 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <770840.29068.qm@web45515.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> from Ghori...Aurangazeb to now there is no change,ruining ruining ruining whether it is religion, temple,scholary, place,asset or whatever.  --- On Sat, 8/28/10, SJabbar wrote: From: SJabbar Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir To: "Sarai" Date: Saturday, August 28, 2010, 2:13 PM >From The Hindu No Jain temple was burnt in Kashmir: officials Shujaat Bukhari SRINAGAR: The temporary structure housing a Jain temple in a local hotel was not burnt by a mob but was dismantled as a local hotel's contract with a Mumbai-based travel agency which built the structure on its premises has not been renewed. In the wake of reports in newspapers around India that the only Jain temple in Kashmir had been burnt by mobs leading the ongoing protests in the Valley, hotel and State officials told The Hindu that no such incident had taken place. According to Ghulam Mohiuddin, manager of Silver Star Hotel in Lasjan on the outskirts of Srinagar, the temporary structure was built as per contract with Gem Tours and Travels, a Mumbai-based travel agency, which wanted to provide a place where Jain tourists from other parts of India could worship while visiting Kashmir. ³But the three-year contract ended and was not extended, so the structure was also dismantled,² he said. The temple was established to attract Jain tourists. ³As the situation in the Valley worsened and the tourist inflow declined, the contract was not renewed and we thought there is no need for this,² he added. The 8x8 pre-fabricated structure was dismantled in the presence of the priest, Hans Raj, on August 10. Mr. Mohiuddin categorically denied that the temple was burnt or destroyed by a mob. ³This is just not true. It is a fact that a large mob passed through this area also but no one entered our premises so the question of touching the temple does not arise,² he told The Hindu. Before the hotel management decided to remove the structure, the owners of the travel agency were contacted through the priest Hans Raj, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. ³The idols were removed and properly handed over to them when they arrived in Srinagar the next day,² he said, adding the rumours seemed to be a conspiracy to spread hatred against Kashmiris. Deputy Commissioner (Srinagar) Meraj Kakroo also rubbished reports about the Jain temple being attacked. ³The report about the burning of the temple is baseless and mischievous,² he said. He added that no proper temple existed and ³as per our information, it was an internal arrangement made by the hotel owners.² Members of the community said there is, in fact, no Jain temple in Kashmir. While there were 40-odd Jain families living in the Valley prior to militancy, only five have stayed back. ³There is no Jain temple here, though a family has set up one in their house,² Amit Jain, a businessman, said. Repeated attempts by this correspondent to get a response from Gem Tours and Travels drew a blank. However, a local news portal, Kashmir Dispatch, reported that a team from the Doshi family, which built the temple, flew in to Srinagar the day after it was dismantled. ³They packed the idols in cardboard boxes and returned to Sabarmati,² it said. ³It was not burnt and [the newspaper which said it was] will come out with a corrigendum,² the portal quoted Jyotin Doshi, Chairman of Gem Tours, as saying. ³The structure was broken; we don't know by whom, we had a contract with the hotel for five years under which the temple was built on the hotel property,² he said. ³We don't want to create enmity and request everybody to stop thinking about the matter. We have now installed the idols in Ahmedabad and there is nothing more I can say on this,² the portal quoted Mr. Doshi as saying. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From tapasrayx at gmail.com Sat Aug 28 19:45:14 2010 From: tapasrayx at gmail.com (Tapas Ray [Gmail]) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:45:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots In-Reply-To: References: <159603.93839.qm@web45511.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Apologies. This message should have gone to the list. I sent it to dhatr1i instead. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tapas Ray [Gmail] Date: 28 August 2010 19:43:07 UTC+5:30 Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Cultural roots To: we wi I strongly disagree with Wee Wee on the question of indigestion. Those who cannot digest "it" can simply take digestive enzymes. Why go to Pakistan? That's mleccha land, with enough problems of its own! But I agree with Wee Wee that throwing shoes is abominable ... it was popularised by a mlechha hack in Iraq, remember? Alcoholic police constables, even if they are mlechhas themselves, should throw cow dung instead. Far more in keeping with Indian culture. And speaking of India, the definition of which Wee Wee has demanded, I venture to suggest that it's simply Aidni spelt backwards for some reason. No mystery there at all. On 28 August 2010 19:18:26 UTC+5:30, we wi wrote: > Dear All, > Its not like some body pelted stones or shoes(a pure imitation) .   What is > INDIA? What is its culture and boudaries, one should know at least throughly > if not practiced under Hinduism.   The true fact is J&K integral part of > India,temple exists at Ayodhya  before like wise at many places.   Hindus > should speak on it now with full scale and the elected Government of India > should act on POK(free it), temple(built it) and article 370(remove it). > Whatever happens will happen and no body can avoid it(Best example is the > partition). If Muslims don't participate/vote for parties then let them. >  Those who can't digest the things can quit INDIA and live peacefully at > PAKISTAN or elsewhere. PAKISTAN was created for those who are all > dissatisfied with INDIA. > Now,The month "Shravan" has a great significance and important for woman in > particular.  The significance is that in this month of "bahula ashtami" the From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Sat Aug 28 19:47:51 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:47:51 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir In-Reply-To: <770840.29068.qm@web45515.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <770840.29068.qm@web45515.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Don't trust The Times of India. Trust Shujaat Bukhari. Or else you will be treated as a communal. I guess his house was under raid during Amarnath agitation along with some PDP leaders. Police was searching for separatists. Well, No Jain Temple. Only 600 Hindu Temples destroyed. Ah! Just 600. Forget it yaar. Why bother? Perhaps that is where stone-pelter mobs get their weapon. Destroy temple, get stones. Transport them to main street corners. Simple! I heard 80 Shia familes have moved out of Kashmir in last two months. Sorry, I should already take it as my imagination. Sane voice has no place. Nothing doing! -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:22 PM, we wi wrote: > from Ghori...Aurangazeb to now there is no change,ruining ruining ruining > whether it is religion, temple,scholary, place,asset or whatever. > > --- On Sat, 8/28/10, SJabbar wrote: > > From: SJabbar > Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir > To: "Sarai" > Date: Saturday, August 28, 2010, 2:13 PM > > From The Hindu > > > > No Jain temple was burnt in Kashmir: officials > > Shujaat Bukhari > SRINAGAR: The temporary structure housing a Jain temple in a local hotel > was > not burnt by a mob but was dismantled as a local hotel's contract with a > Mumbai-based travel agency which built the structure on its premises has > not > been renewed. > > In the wake of reports in newspapers around India that the only Jain temple > in Kashmir had been burnt by mobs leading the ongoing protests in the > Valley, hotel and State officials told The Hindu that no such incident had > taken place. > > According to Ghulam Mohiuddin, manager of Silver Star Hotel in Lasjan on > the > outskirts of Srinagar, the temporary structure was built as per contract > with Gem Tours and Travels, a Mumbai-based travel agency, which wanted to > provide a place where Jain tourists from other parts of India could worship > while visiting Kashmir. > > ³But the three-year contract ended and was not extended, so the structure > was also dismantled,² he said. The temple was established to attract Jain > tourists. ³As the situation in the Valley worsened and the tourist inflow > declined, the contract was not renewed and we thought there is no need for > this,² he added. The 8x8 pre-fabricated structure was dismantled in the > presence of the priest, Hans Raj, on August 10. > > Mr. Mohiuddin categorically denied that the temple was burnt or destroyed > by > a mob. ³This is just not true. It is a fact that a large mob passed through > this area also but no one entered our premises so the question of touching > the temple does not arise,² he told The Hindu. Before the hotel management > decided to remove the structure, the owners of the travel agency were > contacted through the priest Hans Raj, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. ³The > idols were removed and properly handed over to them when they arrived in > Srinagar the next day,² he said, adding the rumours seemed to be a > conspiracy to spread hatred against Kashmiris. > > Deputy Commissioner (Srinagar) Meraj Kakroo also rubbished reports about > the > Jain temple being attacked. ³The report about the burning of the temple is > baseless and mischievous,² he said. He added that no proper temple existed > and ³as per our information, it was an internal arrangement made by the > hotel owners.² > > Members of the community said there is, in fact, no Jain temple in Kashmir. > While there were 40-odd Jain families living in the Valley prior to > militancy, only five have stayed back. ³There is no Jain temple here, > though > a family has set up one in their house,² Amit Jain, a businessman, said. > > Repeated attempts by this correspondent to get a response from Gem Tours > and > Travels drew a blank. However, a local news portal, Kashmir Dispatch, > reported that a team from the Doshi family, which built the temple, flew in > to Srinagar the day after it was dismantled. ³They packed the idols in > cardboard boxes and returned to Sabarmati,² it said. ³It was not burnt and > [the newspaper which said it was] will come out with a corrigendum,² the > portal quoted Jyotin Doshi, Chairman of Gem Tours, as saying. ³The > structure > was broken; we don't know by whom, we had a contract with the hotel for > five > years under which the temple was built on the hotel property,² he said. > > ³We don't want to create enmity and request everybody to stop thinking > about > the matter. We have now installed the idols in Ahmedabad and there is > nothing more I can say on this,² the portal quoted Mr. Doshi as saying. > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From yasir.media at gmail.com Sat Aug 28 20:38:23 2010 From: yasir.media at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?B?IHlhc2lyIH7ZitinINiz2LE=?=) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:08:23 +0500 Subject: [Reader-list] americans & pundits Message-ID: like the american who went to JuD camp and denied it http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/wrong-camp-780 like the sindhi pandits who went to india and were denied entry to a temple because 'you are pakistanis' ! From pkray11 at gmail.com Sun Aug 29 00:12:38 2010 From: pkray11 at gmail.com (Prakash K Ray) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:12:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] a review of peepli live by sudhanwa Deshpande Message-ID: http://newsclick.in/india/what-peepli-live-about From peter.ksmtf at gmail.com Sun Aug 29 07:15:10 2010 From: peter.ksmtf at gmail.com (T Peter) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:15:10 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fishermen seek action on Marine Enforcement In-Reply-To: <4c79b7f2.08028e0a.7d02.ffff9e30SMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> References: <4c79b7f2.08028e0a.7d02.ffff9e30SMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: Fishermen seek action on Marine Enforcement Express News ServiceFirst Published : 28 Aug 2010 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Swatantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF) is up in arms against the Marine Enforcement for turning a mute witness to the offshore trawling in the coastal areas of the district. Violating all rules, trawler boats are snatching away the squid habitation in many areas, they said. In a statement here, KSMTF president T Peter and secretary Anto Elias said that the fishermen have been receiving squids in the coastal areas of Vizhinjam, Poonthura, Valiathura and Veli. However, lately, trawling boats from Tamil Nadu and Neendakara have been engaging in offshore trawling here, probably to get hands on these squid habitations, the leaders said. According to the organisation’s leaders, there is a ban on the entry of trawling boats within 10 km of the shore. Also, as per the Dr Kalavar Committee recommendations, trawling has been banned in the sea off the district. All these norms have been thrown to thin air, the leaders alleged. The trawling boats are tearing the fishing nets thrown by the fishermen at night. If the coastal guards or the Marine Enforcement do not come to their rescue, the fishermen will be forced to confiscate the trawling boats by themselves, the leaders warned. ''Earlier, when sand mining had become a major problem in the coastal areas, we had organised a night vigil to combat it. If this trawling issue persists, we would once again organise a mass protest,'' said Peter. The leaders said that the government must take immediate action in this issue From babuubab at gmail.com Sun Aug 29 10:04:36 2010 From: babuubab at gmail.com (SUNDARA BABU) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:04:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Pakistan releases 442 Indian fishermen; Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Prem Dangal Congratulations ! On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 8:51 AM, wrote: > Dear all > It is a excellent news for all of us and would like to congratulation to > all those who have done lots efforts special thanks to PILER teams. > With solidarity of happiness > > On 8/29/10, Farooq Tariq wrote: >> >> Dear all, >> >> This is great news and we are all happy that those Indian prisoners who >> had completed their sentences would be released in next few days. Pakistan >> Fisherfolk Forum and PILER have taken a timely initiative and it has brought >> a happy news in many families accross both sides. Also I congratulate Iqbal >> Haider for representing the Indian prisoners in Supreme Court of Pakistan. >> Supreme Court has acted correctly to address this question and ordered the >> government to release all those without delay. >> >> Farooq Tariq >> spokesperson >> Labour Party Pakistan >> 40-Abbot Road Lahore, Pakistan >> Tel: 92 42 6315162 Fax: 92 42 6271149 Mobile: 92 300 8411945 >> >> labour_party at yahoo.com www.laborpakistan.org www.jeddojuhd.com >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> From: shuja98 at yahoo.com >> >> Dear All, >> I am glad to share this good news that Pakistani authorities today ordered >> release of 442 Indian fishermen, who would be released from different jails >> in batches. First batch to leave for India from Karachi on Monday. >> It is a great success peace activists of both the countries. >> Congratulations. >> Read the press release below. >> >> Shujauddin Qureshi >> Senior Research Associate >> Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), >> Gulshan-e-Maymar, Karachi-75340 >> Ph: +(92-21) 36351145-7 >> Fax: +(92-21) 36350345 >> Cell: +(92)300-3929788 >> URL: www.piler.org.pk >> >> PRESS RELEASE >> >> Pakistan releases 442 Indian fishermen; first batch of 100 Indians to >> leave for Wagah on Monday >> >> KARACHI, August 28: Sindh provincial government’s Home Department on >> Saturday issued orders for release and repatriation of 442 Indian Fisherman, >> including two minors, to their country. They have been under detention in >> four Jails of the province at District Jail Malir, Karachi Nara Jail >> Hyderabad, District Jail Badin and District Jail Naushehro Feroz. >> >> The provincial Home department’s notification No. SO(PPT)HD/01-09/09, >> dated 28th August 2010, has ordered release and repatriation of these Indian >> Fisherman’s in batches from the place and on the dates as specified below:- >> >> Sr. No >> >> Number of Indian Fisherman to be repatriated from District Jail Malir >> Karachi via Wagah Border >> >> Date of Departure / Release from Jail >> >> Date and time of repatriation at Wagah Border >> >> 01. >> >> 100 (Including two juveniles from Y.O.I.S, Karachi) >> >> 30-08-2010 about 8:00 AM >> >> 31-08-2010 at 10:00 AM >> >> 02. >> >> 100 >> >> 02-09-2010 about 8:00 AM >> >> 03-09-2010 at 10:00 AM >> >> 03. >> >> 101 >> >> 04-09-2010 about 8:00 AM >> >> 05-09-2010 at 10:00 AM >> >> 04. >> >> 141 >> >> 06-09-2010 about 8:00 AM >> >> 07-09-2010 at 10:00 AM >> >> A copy of the notification was received by former Attorney General and >> Federal Minister for Human Rights, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, >> Senator (R) Iqbal Haider and jail authorities have also confirmed. >> >> After hearing of the Constitution Petition No.48 of 2010 which was filed >> in the Supreme Court by Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) and Pakistan >> Institute Labour Education and Research (PILER), to challenge the continuing >> detention as well as arrest, prosecution, conviction of 582 Indian Fisherman >> in various Jails of Sindh. Sayed Iqbal Haider, senior advocate of the >> Supreme Court had been pursuing and arguing this Petition in the Supreme >> Court. >> >> Earlier on 12th August 2010, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had issued >> notices of the said Petition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of >> Interior, Government of Pakistan as well as Home Department, Government of >> Sindh, and had required them to disclosed under what legal provision or >> lawful Authority, the 582 Indian Fisherman, named in the Constitution >> Petition, were arrested, prosecuted, convicted and later detained after >> completion of their sentences. >> >> On the last date of hearing i.e 26th August 2010, the Supreme Court was >> informed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan that >> they it has already informed the Ministry of Interior of Pakistan to release >> the detained 456 Indian Fisherman, who have completed their sentences and >> their nationality has been confirmed by the Indian high commission. The >> Supreme Court had ordered repeat of the notice to the Ministry of Interior >> as to why these detained Indian fisherman are not being released and >> repatriated to India. The next date of hearing of this Petition in the >> Supreme Court is 14th September 2010, soon after the Eid-ul-Fitr. >> >> It is in the aforesaid back ground of the said Petition and Orders of the >> Supreme Court that the Government of Sindh has today issued the aforesaid >> Notification for release of at least 442 detained Indian Fishermen, in the >> batches and on the dates as specified above. >> >> The release and repatriation of the first batch of the detained Indian >> Fisherman will commence from 30th August 2010 Malir Jail at about 8:00 AM, >> for transfer to Wagah border in Lahore. Mr Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, Member >> of the Pak-India Joint Judicial Commission, Senator (R) Iqbal Haider, Senior >> Advocate of the Petitioners, as well as Chairman Pakistan Fisherfolk >> Mohammad Ali Shah and PILER team will bid farewell to the detained Indian >> Fisherman to be released on this occasion, at the Malir Prison on Monday at >> 8:00 AM. >> >> Meanwhile, the Executive Director of PILER Karamat Ali and PFF Chairman >> Mohammad Ali Shah has congratulated all the released Indian fishermen and >> peace activists of both India and Pakistan on this milestone success and >> hoped that India would reciprocate this gesture of goodwill by releasing >> over 150 Pakistani fishermen. >> >> They also reiterated their demand that arrest of the fishermen by both >> Indian and Pakistani maritime security agencies and Navies near Sir Creek in >> must be stopped forthwith and a mechanism should be evolved so that in case >> of violation of un-demarcated borders in Arabian sea by fishermen, they >> should be released after giving them warnings. >> >> Ends >> >> >> > From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Sun Aug 29 10:13:41 2010 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:13:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: 43rd Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr Speech, Aug 28th, 1963 " I HAVE A DREAM..." In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹ I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2 This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:    My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.    Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,    From every mountainside, let freedom ring! And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.    Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.    Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.    Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.    Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that:    Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.    Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.    Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.    From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:                Free at last! Free at last!                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!3 You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on the foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole. -AMBEDKAR http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Sun Aug 29 11:16:24 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:46:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <495841.81989.qm@web45502.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> There are no demands but its a generic view and public opinion for betterment and stability. You may be die hard follower/fan of so called modernness/advanced but the real modern world will never treat you as modern as it is.  Modernism is good for better living but it should not ruin the basics and cause the total destruction.  Whatever I write, particularly about "shravan festivals" is the practice not backwardness or myth.  If followed then probably there will be reduction of divorces,communication gaps,disbeliefs etc., there by causing good healthy atmosphere.  Its good to see the change in tapas. --- On Sat, 8/28/10, Tapas Ray [Gmail] wrote: From: Tapas Ray [Gmail] Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots To: "sarai list" Date: Saturday, August 28, 2010, 7:45 PM Apologies. This message should have gone to the list. I sent it to dhatr1i instead. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tapas Ray [Gmail] Date: 28 August 2010 19:43:07 UTC+5:30 Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Cultural roots To: we wi I strongly disagree with Wee Wee on the question of indigestion. Those who cannot digest "it" can simply take digestive enzymes. Why go to Pakistan? That's mleccha land, with enough problems of its own! But I agree with Wee Wee that throwing shoes is abominable ... it was popularised by a mlechha hack in Iraq, remember? Alcoholic police constables, even if they are mlechhas themselves, should throw cow dung instead. Far more in keeping with Indian culture. And speaking of India, the definition of which Wee Wee has demanded, I venture to suggest that it's simply Aidni spelt backwards for some reason. No mystery there at all. On 28 August 2010 19:18:26 UTC+5:30, we wi wrote: > Dear All, > Its not like some body pelted stones or shoes(a pure imitation) .   What is > INDIA? What is its culture and boudaries, one should know at least throughly > if not practiced under Hinduism.   The true fact is J&K integral part of > India,temple exists at Ayodhya  before like wise at many places.   Hindus > should speak on it now with full scale and the elected Government of India > should act on POK(free it), temple(built it) and article 370(remove it). > Whatever happens will happen and no body can avoid it(Best example is the > partition). If Muslims don't participate/vote for parties then let them. >  Those who can't digest the things can quit INDIA and live peacefully at > PAKISTAN or elsewhere. PAKISTAN was created for those who are all > dissatisfied with INDIA. > Now,The month "Shravan" has a great significance and important for woman in > particular.  The significance is that in this month of "bahula ashtami" the _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Sun Aug 29 11:38:04 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:08:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots In-Reply-To: <495841.81989.qm@web45502.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <7409.32323.qm@web45515.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Tapas is writing(Quoting purana,sanskrit words) on cure a good thing to notice but prevention is BETTER than cure.  Thoughts about cure is a betterment but thinking on prevention is more better.  So Still need advancement(raw->cure->prevention). --- On Sun, 8/29/10, we wi wrote: From: we wi Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots To: "readerlist" Date: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 11:16 AM There are no demands but its a generic view and public opinion for betterment and stability. You may be die hard follower/fan of so called modernness/advanced but the real modern world will never treat you as modern as it is.  Modernism is good for better living but it should not ruin the basics and cause the total destruction.  Whatever I write, particularly about "shravan festivals" is the practice not backwardness or myth.  If followed then probably there will be reduction of divorces,communication gaps,disbeliefs etc., there by causing good healthy atmosphere.  Its good to see the change in tapas. --- On Sat, 8/28/10, Tapas Ray [Gmail] wrote: From: Tapas Ray [Gmail] Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd:  Cultural roots To: "sarai list" Date: Saturday, August 28, 2010, 7:45 PM Apologies. This message should have gone to the list. I sent it to dhatr1i instead. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tapas Ray [Gmail] Date: 28 August 2010 19:43:07 UTC+5:30 Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Cultural roots To: we wi I strongly disagree with Wee Wee on the question of indigestion. Those who cannot digest "it" can simply take digestive enzymes. Why go to Pakistan? That's mleccha land, with enough problems of its own! But I agree with Wee Wee that throwing shoes is abominable ... it was popularised by a mlechha hack in Iraq, remember? Alcoholic police constables, even if they are mlechhas themselves, should throw cow dung instead. Far more in keeping with Indian culture. And speaking of India, the definition of which Wee Wee has demanded, I venture to suggest that it's simply Aidni spelt backwards for some reason. No mystery there at all. On 28 August 2010 19:18:26 UTC+5:30, we wi wrote: > Dear All, > Its not like some body pelted stones or shoes(a pure imitation) .   What is > INDIA? What is its culture and boudaries, one should know at least throughly > if not practiced under Hinduism.   The true fact is J&K integral part of > India,temple exists at Ayodhya  before like wise at many places.   Hindus > should speak on it now with full scale and the elected Government of India > should act on POK(free it), temple(built it) and article 370(remove it). > Whatever happens will happen and no body can avoid it(Best example is the > partition). If Muslims don't participate/vote for parties then let them. >  Those who can't digest the things can quit INDIA and live peacefully at > PAKISTAN or elsewhere. PAKISTAN was created for those who are all > dissatisfied with INDIA. > Now,The month "Shravan" has a great significance and important for woman in > particular.  The significance is that in this month of "bahula ashtami" the _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>       _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com Sun Aug 29 11:42:48 2010 From: rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com (Rakesh Iyer) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:42:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Urgent- a brother in need In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Sorry to put this up here, but this is an urgent mail for donation sent by someone in our institute, so am forwarding it. Rakesh Dear All, My dear classmate, Betiglu Eshete has met with a serious accident. I suppose its a road accident. I am told his spinal chord is crushed and there are ample chances that he might get partially paralysed. There is no treatment available for him in his country. He has to go to other country for an operation which might cost over 12 lakhs (approximate figure). Don't know if he can be transported. Our HOL, Dr.Ravindra Gettu is coordinating here for him and checking out the possibility for the operation in Apollo Hospital Chennai. Nothing is sure and clear. All the faculty are ready to donate some money either for his operation or for his assistance in Ethiopia. I am sure all of us feel for him. I am mailing this to few UOP candidates whose id I had. I request them to post this mail in the UOP circle-our batch or my class guys please take the initiative to forward this mail to the UOP batchmates. I am co-ordinating on our students side from here and if anyone wants to help Betiglu monetarily, kindly contact me in this id. If he can't come here for operation we are planning to send him the money to Ethiopia. This is as per Dr.Gettu's suggestion. shobha ramalingam Regards -- ------------------------------------------------ Shobha. R Ph.D Research Scholar BTCM Division, Civil Engg.Dept. IIT Madras, India ------------------------------------------------ -- -- Ajesh Kumar P.T. (M.Tech Ocean engineering, IIT Madras) Research Scholar in Ocean Engineering Department of Ocean Engineering IIT Madras, Phone: 09790843018 From indersalim at gmail.com Sun Aug 29 12:07:46 2010 From: indersalim at gmail.com (Inder Salim) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:07:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Once upon a time in Afghanistan Message-ID: Link for old pics of Afghan women at page's bottom: Forget about the power that, according to Mao, flows from the Barrels of Guns! A lot more power actually flows through the matte black barrels of Lenses. Camera lenses! And this is a power that flows a lot more silently and, most of the time, it works it magic very subtly. Very rarely do pictures explode on the media scene like the now infamous cover picture on the August 9th issue of Time magazine. Very rarely do pictures present us with such a questionable and ‘teachable’ Moment about Photography and its political uses. Rarely do photographs become such a powerful peg for discussions that go on and on. Discussions that need to go on because we have to understand, dissect and discuss the spaces that Photography occupies in contemporary society. Spaces that are hardly any different from the times when photography was a medium controlled by the Political and Secret Department of a British colonial Government. Photography, we have to remember, was invented at a time when colonialism was at its height and made photography a major player in the Colonial Game. British Army cadets, who were to be posted in the Colonies, were specially taught photography. And as the many captains and colonels amongst the list of 19th century photographers prove, they used it well. Photography is a powerful language, a valuable Voice of Authority for Authorities. One has to understand how it is used. A “Writing with Light”- Photo Graphy is becoming more powerful than any other human language. It is more than just the world’s first universally understood language, one that needs no translators and appears to have no word language limitations because it is a technology driven by newer and newer technologies which give it a reach and power that no language ever had. The endless flow of camera constructed pictures is, today, increasingly constructing our social and political landscape. Constructing us, actually, by manipulating the mental spaces that we live in. Defining our Drishti - our perception and very sense of self ! There are, after all, more photographs shot every year than there are bricks in the world. And photography, in its different, camera lens based, avatars (film and television, for example) is what makes us what we are -who we are manufactured to be. Cameras construct our worlds in ways that word oriented languages did not because the visual language they present us with is perceived to have credibility, a visusal veracity and a connection to objective truth that words did not. Pictures are becoming the bricks that construct our contemporary, increasingly visual world. A world that can no longer just ban the making of pictures as it once did or tried to do. A world in which technologies drive the move away from the Word driven and language riven cultures towards vast visual Information Landscapes that are increasingly becoming part of a real, war driven, information wars . Wars that are, says the Project for a New American Century, about Full Spectrum Domination. Domination that is blatant about not allowing any challenges –‘military, economic or cultural”. Domination that seeks ‘control of all international commons including Space and Cyberspace, Culture not excluded ’. Domination that is driven by never ending Wars that see whole societies as a battlefield. A battlefield where - in the language of the US Marines’ ‘Fourth generation Warfare’ – “ the action will occur concurrently- throughout all participants depth , including their society as a cultural and not just as physical entity”. Special” Human Terrain teams” now working alongside the American Armed Forces handle the cultural domination. These anthropologists, ethnographers etc are uniformed cultural warriors. They are, very problematically, working in battlefields to better understand and subvert cultures and peoples. Humanity is now, just a Terrain to be controlled. As a Major Ralph Peters, of the US Military put it “The de facto role of the US armed forces will be to keep the world safe for our economy and open to our cultural assault.” It is against this background of militrarised ‘perception management’ and cultural control that one needs to look at the Time magazine cover. It was its founder, after all, who first projected the idea of the 20th century as ‘An American Centrury’! Henry Luce used his media empire to project his agenda. Time, Fortune, Life and even the March of Time film series served to mediate his Synarchist ideas of corporate control of political power. That he was a member of Yale University’s secretive Skull and Bones society like so many other prominent American leaders, only adds to ones suspicions of the hidden agendas of hidden hands. Interestingly enough, Luce first used the term ‘American Century’ in a publication that is iconic in its use of photography. The words appeared in a 1941, Life magazine editorial. The celebrated manifesto began "The American Century". Henry R. Luce made the case for American global leadership when he urged his country men to "accept wholeheartedly our duty to exert upon the world the full impact of our influence for such purposes as we see fit and by such means as we see fit." Born in China, (a country which has interesting links to both Synarchism and the Skull and Bones Society) he was the son of an American missionary and wanted the United States to be more missionary in the global and universal projection of its power beyond its territories. Go beyond territorial control, into the control of ideas and ideologies It is the fact that he foresaw the power of photography in doing that and foregrounded it in his publications that interests and intrigues me. I am not surprised that “Time’ _ the first Magazine he founded - is still used (and uses photography) to push the ideas of a New American Century promoted by 21st century Synarchists like Dick Cheney . No Wikileaks, digital world, challenge to mainstream, corporate media is to be allowed, or go unchallenged. Not in these days of information wars and their clear cut ideas on “Perception Management”. The introduction in the August 9th issue of Time by the editor, Richard Stengel, makes it very clear that the magazine was aiming to counter the information leaked by Wikileaks on the uncontrollable World Wide Web. "The much publicized release of classified documents by WikiLeaks has already ratcheted up the debate about the war. Our story and the haunting cover image by the distinguished South African photographer Jodi Bieber are meant to contribute to that debate. We do not run this story or show this image either in support of the U.S. war effort or in opposition to it. We do it to illuminate what is actually happening on the ground. As lawmakers and citizens begin to sort through the information about the war and make up their minds, our job is to provide context and perspective on one of the most difficult foreign policy issues of our time. What you see in these pictures and our story is something that you cannot find in those 91,000 documents: a combination of emotional truth and insight into the way life is lived in that difficult land and the consequences of the important decisions that lie ahead." The cover photograph offers an insight, but it is an insight into the workings of Corporate Media. It is definitely not about any truth - emotional or otherwise. It is, for all practical purposes, a political poster that you pay for. The accompanying text about “What Happens if We Leave Afghanistan” is a statement and not a question. It is a statement about staying on militarily, and it ignores the fact that Bibi Aisha’s mutilation occurred last year, at a time when the American led forces had been in the country for nearly nine years and with their own puppet government in place. Had intervened in, decades earlier, to actually create the Taliban. A government that hardly gives women any real space in the new Sharia ruled Islamic Republic that exists under American largese. Reports by Afghan and Womens’ Human Right groups actually show, from the times of the Taliban, an increase in the violence against women. The cover photograph itself is a cynical attempt to photograph a desired future. It closely echoes the Steve McCurry photograph of another young Afghan girl on the cover of another American magazine. That ‘National Geographic’ cover represented the sad state of Afghanistan under Soviet occupation. This is one actually about life in Afghanistan after decades of American intervention and a decade of actual occupation. Both the covers, interestingly enough, presented young and good looking women. Ones that a western audience would be comfortable with. Ones the women in the west could connect with more easily. It is after all, they who are the actual targets of the propaganda. They and the lobbying they represent. Lobbying that is seen as necessary to keep the other international, partner armies in Afghanistan. It is an earlier WikiLeaks document which makes that agenda clear. The CIA’s “Red Cell Special Memorandum: Afghanistan: Sustaining West European Support for the NATO-led Mission- Why Counting on Apathy Might Not Be Enough” presents a plan for a propaganda war designed to shore up declining public support in Germany and France. Support for a continued war in Afghanistan. The memo is classified as ‘Confidential/No Foreign Nationals’ and presents a well thought out plan for the targeted manipulation of public opinion in the two NATO ally countries. Winning hearts and minds! This time in Europe and in America The fall of the Dutch government on the issue of Dutch troops in Afghanistan, worried the CIA. They became worried about repeat events in the countries that have the third and fourth largest troop contingents to the ISAF mission and proposed PR strategies that focused on pressure points that had been identified within these countries. For France it was the sympathy of the public for Afghan refugees and women. For Germany it was the fear of the consequences of defeat (drugs, more refugees, terrorism) as well as Germany’s standing in NATO. The CIA report had clear bullet points. Power points, actually! They are about reinforcing Power. • "Public Apathy Enables Leaders To Ignore Voters" • "...But Casualties Could Precipitate Backlash" • "Tailoring Messaging Could Forestall or At Least Contain Backlash" The CIA thought that "Appeals by President Obama and Afghan Women Might Gain Traction" and very clearly stated that “Afghan women could serve as ideal messengers in humanizing the ISAF role in combating the Taliban because of women's ability to speak personally and credibly about their experiences under the Taliban, their aspirations for the future, and their fears of a Taliban victory. Outreach initiatives that create media opportunities for Afghan women to share their stories with French, German, and other European women could help to overcome pervasive scepticism among women in Western Europe toward the ISAF mission... The ‘media opportunities for Afghan women’ became a simple oppurtunistic use of Afghan women. They and their bodies fitted seamlessly into the old orientalist discourses about western, humanising and civilizing missions. Missions meant to liberate oriental women them from their savage and cruel men. This is about white knights in shining steel or modern camouflage armour rescuing dusky, eastern damsels in eternal distress. Distress that photography was successfully used to stress in the beautifully lit and textured colour of a magazine cover reduced to a campaign poster for more war. More occupation of more oriental lands in the name of exotic oriental women. That the real prizes were and are natural resources is not worthy of mention except when those resources might be seen by a western audience, to pay for western wars. Like the Iraqi oil was supposed to pay for the Iraq war. Jodi Bieber did a great job - aesthetically speaking. The cover portrait could be a professional fashion shoot! And the mainstream media jumped in to push her and their own messages about the need to fight on. They asked no serious questions about how empathy, the photograph evoked, was used to promote antipathy. To promote more war and further the occupation of a suddenly mineral and oil rich Afghanistan. There were no questions about the price that the civilian population of Afghanistan, including women and children were paying in lives cut horribly short by wars that go on and on and seem to be designed to do just that in an unending war on a tactic that the weak use to resist stronger occupiers of their resource rich lands . Who is terrorising whom, one wonders. And why? Two interviews with Bieber that I heard on BBC and CNN, were focused in foregrounding her as a now famous photographer. A South African photographer, now based in London she was projected as a white, concerned woman photographer empathising with her Afghan sisters even as she (and they, the media themselves) ignored the privacy concerns of her subjects - women for whom purdah may actually be more than just a dictate by the terrible Taliban. The women who had to continue living their lives in the very badlands of Afghanistan she was showing up as evil and dangerous. I remember that ‘privacy concerns of victims’ were and are still used to prevent the release of photographs of tortured Iraqis in Abu Ghraib. And even when the pictures were used the faces were carefully blurred out. That concern for privacy and the blurring to hide the identity of Bibi Aisha was not necessary for the Time cover, it seems. Dropping the family name while putting her on the cover of a magazine that sells millions of copies is no real attempt to protect her identity. Concern for the’ rights of victims’ matters when it might show up the ugly face of American occupation but doesn’t when it is the other side that is sought to be demonised. The real story of the mutilation is not important either. Later stories that checked out the Time story found that Aisha’s father in law had done the deed and then got a sanction for it from village elders . It had not been ordered by any Taliban Commander, as the Time story insisted. Afghanistan becomes “ a broken 13th century country for the British Defense Secretary . A country full of “barbarians with 1200 AD mentality” for Erik Prince, the CEO of the infamous mercenary Blackwater ( now Xe) . What is wiped out of memory is shown by a collection of photographs from the Kabul of the mid 20th century. Recently republished in ‘Foreign Policy’ along with an essay by a Mohammed Qayoumi who lived there then, they present a conveniently forgotten Afghanistan. A country where women could wear western skirts and have bobbed haircuts as they attended universities and trained as doctors and nurses. There is more to people than just the ugly western stereotypes the Time cover tries to reinforce and create anew. The freedom loving Mujhaideen heroes of the Soviet era are now Talibanised as barbaric terrorists. Terrorists cannot be “humanised” even in photographs that the world will see. I am reminded of the Red Cross photographs of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (wearing a white robe, sporting a long salt and pepper beard and sitting serenely) that were seen as dangerous by a former Research Director of the Combating Terrorism Centre in the US Military Academy at West Point. Jarret Barchman said ‘whats problematic for me is it (the Photograph) really humanises the guy”. The dangerous Other is now not even supposed to be seen as a Human. The history of photography, especially in American wars is an intriguing history. It is a story more mistold than properly told. It is a story of careful control. A control that began after the Vietnam war which, the Pentagon believes, was lost because of the freedom and unhindered access that photographers had in Vietnam and photographs got to the media at home. Since then, photographers and even journalists have a limited (if any) access to American battle fields. One is now embedded into an in-bed -with intimacy that makes dangerous disclosures difficult. Images that are released and printed go through a careful culling by self censoring photographers and the editors at home. Editors who act as censors and become the controllers of what the world is allowed to see. No dead bodies of American soldiers. Not even in flag draped coffins. Rights to privacy of dead soldiers and their families was the official Bush excuse when, actually, no one wanted a repeat of Mogadishu where pictures of dead American soldiers being dragged through the streets had forced an American withdrawal. I wonder at how easily photography is used as a political weapon even as the medium itself is denied any political space or purpose. Photography, after the Second World War and McCarthyism, was consciously pushed into the sanitised spaces of Art galleries and Museums away from its past as a concerned, conscience pricking tool. We were told by institutional gate keepers like the Museum of Modern Art in New York that Photography was only about itself. It was an Art form that was about navel gazing photographers and about flattened formalist fields. Photography was not supposed to exist outside its own frame. It was not a medium that could be a window looking out on to the world’s uglier face – holding up a mirror to it. Photography was to be a Mirror for a photographer to look into- see and explore his subjective self – express himself as an Artist. An artist who never ever read what Roland Barthes says about one of the best ways of destroying the power of photography. Making it a Fine Art. But that is another story! SATISH SHARMA Link for old pics of Afghan women http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/27/once_upon_a_time_in_afghanistan?page=0,1 From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 29 12:58:04 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:58:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots In-Reply-To: References: <159603.93839.qm@web45511.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <002701cb474b$b855a150$2900e3f0$@in> Dear Tapas, Yes, J&K is integral part of India, what you think about it? Yes or no. So, that way those dissatisfied but staying in J&K and creating disturbance (separatists) must quit the country and if they don't go government must act harshly to throw them out. Since years our government remain liberal with separatists movement increased their strength. But, now government must take strong action to throw them out or forced them to keep mum if they want to stay here. That is what Dhatri's tone to leave the country. Mangala Gauri or gouri vrat or varalaxmi pooja all are question of faith help to increase mental power. All these are for few days in a year. Such religious process or dharmik vidhi or vrat/fast increases the will power. Fast once in a week is good for health also since with fast our digestive part get rest and gets more time for recreation. Our ancestor clubbed this processes with religion so everyone does it which is helpful to increase mental/physical health. But, one should not forget that one should spend time for such pooja for short time or few days once in a year and one should not spend major time in such activity, since their main duty is to take care of own family by giving good lessons of life, education, culture and for that one must spend major time in earning to take care of their family. This should be his prime duty and counted this as main dharma one has to perform. Best way to resolve the Kashmir problem is to treat it as normal state, remove all the special status given to it, remove article 370. Try it for at least 5 years and you will see the results and progress in all the parameters. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Tapas Ray [Gmail] Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2010 7:45 PM To: sarai list Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots Apologies. This message should have gone to the list. I sent it to dhatr1i instead. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tapas Ray [Gmail] Date: 28 August 2010 19:43:07 UTC+5:30 Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Cultural roots To: we wi I strongly disagree with Wee Wee on the question of indigestion. Those who cannot digest "it" can simply take digestive enzymes. Why go to Pakistan? That's mleccha land, with enough problems of its own! But I agree with Wee Wee that throwing shoes is abominable ... it was popularised by a mlechha hack in Iraq, remember? Alcoholic police constables, even if they are mlechhas themselves, should throw cow dung instead. Far more in keeping with Indian culture. And speaking of India, the definition of which Wee Wee has demanded, I venture to suggest that it's simply Aidni spelt backwards for some reason. No mystery there at all. On 28 August 2010 19:18:26 UTC+5:30, we wi wrote: > Dear All, > Its not like some body pelted stones or shoes(a pure imitation) . What is > INDIA? What is its culture and boudaries, one should know at least throughly > if not practiced under Hinduism. The true fact is J&K integral part of > India,temple exists at Ayodhya before like wise at many places. Hindus > should speak on it now with full scale and the elected Government of India > should act on POK(free it), temple(built it) and article 370(remove it). > Whatever happens will happen and no body can avoid it(Best example is the > partition). If Muslims don't participate/vote for parties then let them. > Those who can't digest the things can quit INDIA and live peacefully at > PAKISTAN or elsewhere. PAKISTAN was created for those who are all > dissatisfied with INDIA. > Now,The month "Shravan" has a great significance and important for woman in > particular. The significance is that in this month of "bahula ashtami" the _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kaksanjay at gmail.com Sun Aug 29 13:02:30 2010 From: kaksanjay at gmail.com (Sanjay Kak) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:02:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?=27Who_will_save_our_Na=92vis=3F?= =?windows-1252?q?=27?= Message-ID: Although I'm a bit tired of this continuing Na'vi comparison (especially since I haven't even seen the film!) here is a very useful comment on the judicial biases that underpin the arrogance of companies like Vedanta Best Sanjay Kak ----------------------------- Who will save our Na’vis? Times of India / Manoj Mitta, TNN, Aug 29, 2010 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Who-will-save-our-Navis/articleshow/6453608.cms Long before they gained currency as the real-life counterparts of the Na'vis portrayed by Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar", the author of the Vedanta verdict — Justice S H Kapadia — had made clear about how he saw the Dongaria Kondhs, who are officially classified as "primitive tribal group". Kapadia, now chief justice of India, described this tribe from Orissa as a people "living on grass". His unflattering, almost dismissive description came in a 2008 lecture, barely four months after his last order in the case. Given his choice of words, it is no surprise His Lordship found himself on the wrong side of history last week. In a bizarre reversal of roles, environment minister Jairam Ramesh all but overruled Kapadia's decision to grant the bauxite mining project the right to clear the forests in the Niyamgiri hills, where the 8,000 Dongaria Kondhs live. Clearly, the lapses that have come to light go beyond Vedanta and the Central and state governments. They extend to the Supreme Court as well. Kapadia did not call the Dongaria Kondhs grass-eaters in either of the orders he wrote in the Vedanta case. But the fact that he did so in a public lecture, which was reproduced in full in a law journal, may underline all that was wrong with the basis of his judgment. In the modern idiom, he might have seemed to have shown where he was coming from. Did he? Why did he call the tribe grass-eaters? He was seeking to justify the circumstances in which the court had come up with an economic formula — 5% of the project profits would go to tribal welfare — ostensibly to balance the conflicting interests of development and environment. But, as the government-appointed Saxena committee recently pointed out, the Dongaria Kondhs don't really need such intervention. Far from living on grass, they are known to be skilled horticulturists and earn handsome profit from growing pineapple, mango, banana, orange, lime and ginger. So much for Kapadia's indiscreet dismissiveness. But it pales when examined alongside the repercussions of the two SC orders in the Vedanta case. Ramesh's decision is, after all, limited to scrapping the mining proposal despite the court's decision to grant forest clearance to it. He could not do much about the even more damaging alumina refinery because it has already been built, with the court's blessings, at an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore and is in production. All that the minister could do is to issue notices seeking to know why the environmental clearance granted to the refinery should not be cancelled. The other notice asks why an application to expand its capacity six times should not be spiked. The refinery is located in the foothills, in Lanjigarh and was predicated on the mining of bauxite from Niyamgiri. Since it has been running for the past three years with ore from sources other than the Niyamgiri hills, the refinery has already wreaked havoc on its pristine environs. The air of the ecologically sensitive area is now polluted, the level of effluents in the Vamsadhara river is at unsafe limits and the ground water has been contaminated. So what does all of this tell us? Not just that Kapadia had a relatively unreconstructed view of forest tribes but that the court has been shoddy about its self-appointed task of overseeing the regulation of forests through a special bench and a central empowered committee (CEC). l The blunder of allowing the refinery at Lanjigarh could have been averted had the court taken prompt action on the petition filed before its CEC in November 2004. The petition was filed well before construction work began at the site and pointed out that Vedanta had obtained environmental clearance without disclosing that the Lanjigarh refinery was predicated on the mining of bauxite from Niyamgiri. l In September 2005, the CEC recommended the environmental clearance be revoked but the court properly heard the matter only in April 2007, by which time the refinery had been built and started to operate. l When the court passed its first order in November 2007, it declared that the refinery would be allowed to operate provided Sterlite, a subsidiary of Vedanta, adopted the rehabilitation package it had devised. But when Sterlite accordingly came forward with a fresh application, the court's final order of August 2008 said nothing about whether the environmental clearance given to the refinery was valid or not. Instead, the court granted forest clearance to the mining project on Niyamgiri, although it was an independent issue. l This led to an anomalous situation. Responding to a query from the environment minister last month, attorney general Goolam E Vahanvati was reduced to saying that the apex court's decision to grant forest clearance to the mining project was not binding on the government. Reason: the government alone is authorized by law to decide whether such clearance should be granted or not. The court's forest bench clearly needs to learn the lessons of the Vedanta case. Else, how are we to save our 21st century Na'vis? From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 29 13:22:03 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:22:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India In-Reply-To: <807446.86180.qm@web114720.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <807446.86180.qm@web114720.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <002801cb474f$1250ba20$36f22e60$@in> Dear Gowhar, Your suggestion perhaps to the Kashmir solution, will it not be one sided? So, you believe that authority imposing curfew unnecessarily. If disturbance continued, curfew bound to be there. Concentrate to stop the disturbance or put pressure on separatists to stop the disturbance, curfew will be removed automatically. No one wants to put armed forces in civilian area willingly. So, let the protest end, military will leave from the civilian area. Put pressure to stop infiltration across the border and terrorism activity, armed forces will removed fully from the civilian area and restricted to border places only. You said that Kashmiri leaders from the prisons should be released, again one sided suggestion? Are they ready to give affidavit that they will not involv in any separatists activity? Ruin in the valley? Who ruined it? It was not ruined by India or even common people of Kashmir. It is ruined by separatists of Kashmir involved in anti national activity supported by the rogue state, Pakistan. Who are you to suggest to government about foreign affairs. Earlier many times government tried to talk in open manner with Kashmir separatist leaders, what was the result? Separatist insists Pakistan for joint talk reflects their malign intention. Why they want to include pak in talk? Who is pak to decide in our internal India matter? You quote Gandhi and advised to learn India from Gandhi taught lessons. Do not forget that while pin pointing something, 3 fingers lean towards you. All the separatists and Pak have to learn lesson of ahimsa from Gandhi. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of gowhar fazli Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 6:55 AM To: reader-list at sarai.net Subject: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India A few things must happen in Kashmir before a political solution is found. There have to be public apologies and reparations from both the state and central governments for the deaths of civilians, particularly minors and women, in the summer of 2010. Curfew has to be lifted. Bereaved families have to be permitted peaceful, dignified and safe funerals for their dead. Orders to shoot-at-sight and fire live ammunition at protesters should be withdrawn with immediate effect. Representatives of the state government must show greater empathy for the people who elected them, especially by visiting the wounded in hospitals. A phased scale-back of paramilitary forces has to be announced, with numbers and dates, to be executed over the next three years, until eventually the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) may be repealed altogether and troops confined to border areas only. Policies that provide monetary incentives and fast-track promotions in counter-insurgency operations must be scrapped. Kashmiri leaders in prisons or under house arrest should be released and allowed to go about their business, including addressing public meetings, talking to the press, leading prayers at mosques and shrines, and entering into talks with the government. A timebound government-appointed commission of independent investigators needs to prepare a comprehensive report on the deaths, disappearances, unlawful detention, rapes and torture cases in Jammu and Kashmir, between 1990 and 2010, to be presented to the Indian Parliament. All of this is not just imperative for Kashmir to survive the immediate crisis — it is necessary for India too, to weather this storm. If Kashmir’s future is the primary responsibility of the people of Kashmir, then it is the responsibility of Indians to save the idea of India and bring it back from its near-total ruin in the Valley. One thing all players can agree on: the house has to be set in order without any reference whatsoever, in the first place, to third parties. After the Indian state and the people of Kashmir have taken these steps together , then comes the time to open up the issue for multilateral talks, with Pakistan , the UN, the US, and international humanitarian organisations. The process cannot reach the point of dialogue without an intensive period of soul-searching , homework and justice within the Indian Union. The Pakistanbacked militancy of the ’90s is in the past. Once India has established the rule of law to its utmost capacity, I am convinced it will have nothing to fear from any external agency. Kashmiris may still demand partial autonomy or complete secession, but that is a bridge to be crossed only after a bridge has been built. Talking about Gandhi in Kashmir (or in Maoist India) seems laughable. But Gandhi it was whom India listened to, when it fought hardest for its own decolonisation between 1920 and 1950. Throughout this time, the Mahatma tried to establish certain core ethical values for a new politics of swaraj. Among these were ideas that had a long history on the Indian subcontinent, such as ahimsa. We usually translate this as “non-violence”, but what Gandhi really meant was the moral courage necessary to relate to another person without the desire to harm him. THIS moral courage is difficult to achieve between any two persons, but it is hardest, and most essential, that ahimsa prevail in the relationship between adversaries, so Gandhi believed. He got the lesson of ahimsa, oddly enough, not from Asoka the Mauryan emperor of the 3rd century BC, who became a pacifist after causing great carnage , nor from Jain doctrine, which enshrines ahimsa as a key practice, but from the Bhagavad Gita, in which Krishna teaches Arjuna how to put up a good fight, without compromising his basic sense of morality and decency. But Gandhi also insisted on satya, the truth, enshrined in India’s national motto, satyameva jayate, “truth alone prevails” . In addition, he wanted India to recover its oldest tenets of ethical sovereignty : anukrosha, from the Ramayana , the capacity to feel another’s pain; aanrishamsya, from the Mahabharata, the elimination of cruelty from one’s conduct, which Yudhisthira recognised as the highest dharma, the norm-ofnorms , especially for a king. Gandhi sought not just political independence from British rule, but a truly liberating political culture, grounded in age-old ethical norms like non-violence , moral courage, non-cruelty , truthfulness and compassion. Without these values in place, he said, India would never be free, never have true swaraj. Most Indians have little sympathy for an independent Kashmiri nation. But an Indian mother would feel the pain of her Kashmiri counterpart whose teenage son was brutally killed while shouting slogans in a street demonstration. Ananya Vajpeyi Ph.D., University of Chicago (2004); M.Phil., University of Oxford (1996); Rhodes Scholar (1994-96) Areas of Special Interest Professor Vajpeyi teaches South Asian history, with a focus on caste, violence and non-violence, modernity, as well as nationalism and the state. She also teaches courses on imperialism, colonialism and decolonization in Asia and Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, she is interested in intellectual history and the comparative history of ideas in India and Europe. Contact Information Office: McCormack 4-626 Phone: 617-287-6877 617-287-6877 E-mail: ananya.vajpeyi at umb.edu _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Sun Aug 29 14:44:37 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:44:37 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "If (the government) allows protests, I can vouch that nobody will throw stones." Message-ID: Allow protests, no one will throw stones: most wanted separatist By Muzamil Jaleel Posted: Sun Aug 29 2010, 04:09 hrs Srinagar: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/allow-protests-no-one-will-throw-stones-most-wanted-separatist/673919/0 For over two months now, as stone-pelting crowds have hit the streets and grounded the Kashmir Valley, this 39-year-old man has been in hiding — and furiously at work. He is Masrat Alam, the most wanted separatist today, whose shadow lurks behind each protest via his angry “solidarity videos” and carefully crafted “protest calendars”. There’s a Rs 5-lakh police reward for any leads on where he may be. After much persuasion, Alam agrees to meet The Sunday Express at a location that cannot be identified. An hour-long journey by car, auto rickshaw and then on foot, this reporter is escorted deep inside a congested neighbourhood. Only then does it get clearer why police find it hard to trace Alam. He doesn’t use phones — landline or cell — and none of his men do either. “We know their (police and security agencies) tactics too well,” Alam smiles. “We are careful”. Being careful also means having a formidable network of young men and boys to ferry messages across the city and keep a round-the-clock tab on who comes to meet him and why. That’s why almost a mile from his hideout, our auto-rickshaw is stopped in a narrow lane. A group of boys sitting on the pavement point to another young man, dressed in white, flashy slippers, who leads us down a corridor, dark and silent, up a narrow flight of stairs to a tiny room where Alam sits. “We don’t throw stones for fun,” he says. “Throwing stones is not our hobby. The stone is a reaction. We want peaceful protests. We don’t want our children to lose their lives. The problem is they (the security forces) don’t let people protest. They impose curfew and restrictions. They open fire straight at people. Then it becomes difficult to control passions and people react by throwing stones.” So how can there be a let-up in this violent cycle? You can’t stop these protests, says Alam, then quickly adds: “If (the government) allows protests, I can vouch for the fact that nobody will throw stones. But they want to crush us, rather than acknowledging that we have a genuine demand, their response is force and force alone. I am underground because they want to put me behind bars.” A militant commander who has turned into a firebrand separatist, Alam walked out of prison on bail on June 8, barely three days before the killing of 17-year-old student Tufail Ahmad Matoo in police firing which triggered the current unrest across the Valley. He had served 21 months in custody under the Public Safety Act — the law he’s been booked under six times. Considered an “excellent organiser”, Alam is chairman of Kashmir’s Muslim League, a separatist group that looks at the Kashmir issue as an “unfinished agenda of partition”. “Our agenda does not cross the borders of Jammu and Kashmir. Our aim is azadi, complete liberation from India,” says Alam. “Let people decide what they want. Our demand is right of self-determination. Syed Ali Shah Geelani is my leader and my inspiration.” Though Alam rebuts that he wants to be a successor to Geelani and his hardline legacy, it is clear that he is among the main contenders for leadership after Geelani. Asked about his ideology and politics regarding the Kashmir conflict especially as he is viewed as an extreme hardliner within the separatist camp, Alam declines to comment, preferring to speak in more general terms. “To have a beard and pray is a matter of faith for me. To have a beard does not mean we are intolerant¿ it doesn’t mean that we will not allow anyone else to live here. They (the government) have no answer to our genuine cause so they try to demonize us,” he says. He raises the issue of minorities.”We are Muslims and it is our responsibility to provide all protection to the minority community even while we ourselves feel insecure living here.” As “evidence”, he underlines the fact that this year’s Amarnath Yatra, which ended last week, reported no incidents. “The government always portrayed a successful yatra as proof for the so-called return of peace in Kashmir. This year, they (the government) did everything to provoke people. Sixty four of our young men, most of them students and children, were killed. The Hazratbal shrine was desecrated but people didn’t fall prey to their (government’s) machinations. There has not been a single incident when protesters attacked any yatri while they were here,” he says. “Isn’t this a clear enough message that we are fighting for our rights and this struggle is not against people of any other religion but the state that has been crushing our voice with force and killings? The problem of Jammu & Kashmir is not that the people are protesting. It is the state that doesn’t want to see the truth. They (the government) think that once the people stop protesting, the problem will go. It won’t. It hasn’t all these years.” Why have his protest calendars shut down schools and businesses? “What was 17-year-old Tufail Matoo doing when he was killed? He was returning from tuition. How many students are among the 64 of our young men who were killed? They (the government) are always looking for an alibi to discredit the protests,” he says. “We will never want the education of our children to be hampered. But look at the situation. Whether there is a strike call or not, the government imposes curfew to stop the protests. If they (the government) allow people to protest peacefully, everything will be fine. They won’t because they don’t want the people to raise their voice against injustice.” Alam’s fiery speeches, burned on to CDs, are a throwback to the well-worn hardline routine but freshly packaged as a direct message to the security forces, bypassing the government. “You thought your violence would kill our dreams for freedom? They have not. You thought our spirit would break; we would turn against each other? We will not.” What’s his message to the central government? “New Delhi should stop closing its ears. This is a resistance movement. This is a people’s movement and it has gone beyond the organisational set up of any group,” says Alam. “If I am not there tomorrow, the resistance will continue because its source of strength are people.” A car honks outside, Alam peers through a little window. There is a knock at the door. “It’s getting late,” a young man says. “We need to leave”. From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Sun Aug 29 17:34:52 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:04:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots In-Reply-To: <002701cb474b$b855a150$2900e3f0$@in> Message-ID: <902678.28287.qm@web45510.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Yes That is to be done with immediate effect not anything else! --- On Sun, 8/29/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: From: Bipin Trivedi Subject: RE: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots To: "'Tapas Ray [Gmail]'" , "'we wi'" Cc: "sarai-list" Date: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 12:58 PM Dear Tapas, Yes, J&K is integral part of India, what you think about it? Yes or no. So, that way those dissatisfied but staying in J&K and creating disturbance (separatists) must quit the country and if they don't go government must act harshly to throw them out. Since years our government remain liberal with separatists movement increased their strength. But, now government must take strong action to throw them out or forced them to keep mum if they want to stay here. That is what Dhatri's tone to leave the country. Mangala Gauri or gouri vrat or varalaxmi pooja all are question of faith help to increase mental power. All these are for few days in a year. Such religious process or dharmik vidhi or vrat/fast increases the will power. Fast once in a week is good for health also since with fast our digestive part get rest and gets more time for recreation. Our ancestor clubbed this processes with religion so everyone does it which is helpful to increase mental/physical health. But, one should not forget that one should spend time for such pooja for short time or few days once in a year and one should not spend major time in such activity, since their main duty is to take care of own family by giving good lessons of life, education, culture and for that one must spend major time in earning to take care of their family. This should be his prime duty and counted this as main dharma one has to perform. Best way to resolve the Kashmir problem is to treat it as normal state, remove all the special status given to it, remove article 370. Try it for at least 5 years and you will see the results and progress in all the parameters. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Tapas Ray [Gmail] Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2010 7:45 PM To: sarai list Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Cultural roots Apologies. This message should have gone to the list. I sent it to dhatr1i instead. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tapas Ray [Gmail] Date: 28 August 2010 19:43:07 UTC+5:30 Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Cultural roots To: we wi I strongly disagree with Wee Wee on the question of indigestion. Those who cannot digest "it" can simply take digestive enzymes. Why go to Pakistan? That's mleccha land, with enough problems of its own! But I agree with Wee Wee that throwing shoes is abominable ... it was popularised by a mlechha hack in Iraq, remember? Alcoholic police constables, even if they are mlechhas themselves, should throw cow dung instead. Far more in keeping with Indian culture. And speaking of India, the definition of which Wee Wee has demanded, I venture to suggest that it's simply Aidni spelt backwards for some reason. No mystery there at all. On 28 August 2010 19:18:26 UTC+5:30, we wi wrote: > Dear All, > Its not like some body pelted stones or shoes(a pure imitation) .   What is > INDIA? What is its culture and boudaries, one should know at least throughly > if not practiced under Hinduism.   The true fact is J&K integral part of > India,temple exists at Ayodhya  before like wise at many places.   Hindus > should speak on it now with full scale and the elected Government of India > should act on POK(free it), temple(built it) and article 370(remove it). > Whatever happens will happen and no body can avoid it(Best example is the > partition). If Muslims don't participate/vote for parties then let them. >  Those who can't digest the things can quit INDIA and live peacefully at > PAKISTAN or elsewhere. PAKISTAN was created for those who are all > dissatisfied with INDIA. > Now,The month "Shravan" has a great significance and important for woman in > particular.  The significance is that in this month of "bahula ashtami" the _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aliens at dataone.in Sun Aug 29 21:13:18 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:13:18 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] "If (the government) allows protests, I can vouch that nobody will throw stones." In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <000901cb4790$f53f4c20$dfbde460$@in> Dear Aditya Baul, Thanks for posting one more fabricated story. However, if it is real than also as you say, Alam is chairman of Kashmir’s Muslim League, a separatist group that looks at the Kashmir issue as an “unfinished agenda of partition”. Can you say what the unfinished agenda of partition is? It is nothing but too fool the people and there is no such unfinished agenda at all. Alam says, "let the people decide what they want". The people have already decided by 60% voting. Such a people and of course Syed Ali Shah Geelani also should be kicked out of India. Will Pak accept them, who all these days instigate and support them? If you ask Pak for accepting them I am sure Pak will raise the hand and deny calmly. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of Aditya Raj Baul Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 2:45 PM To: reader-list Subject: [Reader-list] "If (the government) allows protests, I can vouch that nobody will throw stones." Allow protests, no one will throw stones: most wanted separatist By Muzamil Jaleel Posted: Sun Aug 29 2010, 04:09 hrs Srinagar: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/allow-protests-no-one-will-throw-stones-most-wanted-separatist/673919/0 For over two months now, as stone-pelting crowds have hit the streets and grounded the Kashmir Valley, this 39-year-old man has been in hiding — and furiously at work. He is Masrat Alam, the most wanted separatist today, whose shadow lurks behind each protest via his angry “solidarity videos” and carefully crafted “protest calendars”. There’s a Rs 5-lakh police reward for any leads on where he may be. After much persuasion, Alam agrees to meet The Sunday Express at a location that cannot be identified. An hour-long journey by car, auto rickshaw and then on foot, this reporter is escorted deep inside a congested neighbourhood. Only then does it get clearer why police find it hard to trace Alam. He doesn’t use phones — landline or cell — and none of his men do either. “We know their (police and security agencies) tactics too well,” Alam smiles. “We are careful”. Being careful also means having a formidable network of young men and boys to ferry messages across the city and keep a round-the-clock tab on who comes to meet him and why. That’s why almost a mile from his hideout, our auto-rickshaw is stopped in a narrow lane. A group of boys sitting on the pavement point to another young man, dressed in white, flashy slippers, who leads us down a corridor, dark and silent, up a narrow flight of stairs to a tiny room where Alam sits. “We don’t throw stones for fun,” he says. “Throwing stones is not our hobby. The stone is a reaction. We want peaceful protests. We don’t want our children to lose their lives. The problem is they (the security forces) don’t let people protest. They impose curfew and restrictions. They open fire straight at people. Then it becomes difficult to control passions and people react by throwing stones.” So how can there be a let-up in this violent cycle? You can’t stop these protests, says Alam, then quickly adds: “If (the government) allows protests, I can vouch for the fact that nobody will throw stones. But they want to crush us, rather than acknowledging that we have a genuine demand, their response is force and force alone. I am underground because they want to put me behind bars.” A militant commander who has turned into a firebrand separatist, Alam walked out of prison on bail on June 8, barely three days before the killing of 17-year-old student Tufail Ahmad Matoo in police firing which triggered the current unrest across the Valley. He had served 21 months in custody under the Public Safety Act — the law he’s been booked under six times. Considered an “excellent organiser”, Alam is chairman of Kashmir’s Muslim League, a separatist group that looks at the Kashmir issue as an “unfinished agenda of partition”. “Our agenda does not cross the borders of Jammu and Kashmir. Our aim is azadi, complete liberation from India,” says Alam. “Let people decide what they want. Our demand is right of self-determination. Syed Ali Shah Geelani is my leader and my inspiration.” Though Alam rebuts that he wants to be a successor to Geelani and his hardline legacy, it is clear that he is among the main contenders for leadership after Geelani. Asked about his ideology and politics regarding the Kashmir conflict especially as he is viewed as an extreme hardliner within the separatist camp, Alam declines to comment, preferring to speak in more general terms. “To have a beard and pray is a matter of faith for me. To have a beard does not mean we are intolerant¿ it doesn’t mean that we will not allow anyone else to live here. They (the government) have no answer to our genuine cause so they try to demonize us,” he says. He raises the issue of minorities.”We are Muslims and it is our responsibility to provide all protection to the minority community even while we ourselves feel insecure living here.” As “evidence”, he underlines the fact that this year’s Amarnath Yatra, which ended last week, reported no incidents. “The government always portrayed a successful yatra as proof for the so-called return of peace in Kashmir. This year, they (the government) did everything to provoke people. Sixty four of our young men, most of them students and children, were killed. The Hazratbal shrine was desecrated but people didn’t fall prey to their (government’s) machinations. There has not been a single incident when protesters attacked any yatri while they were here,” he says. “Isn’t this a clear enough message that we are fighting for our rights and this struggle is not against people of any other religion but the state that has been crushing our voice with force and killings? The problem of Jammu & Kashmir is not that the people are protesting. It is the state that doesn’t want to see the truth. They (the government) think that once the people stop protesting, the problem will go. It won’t. It hasn’t all these years.” Why have his protest calendars shut down schools and businesses? “What was 17-year-old Tufail Matoo doing when he was killed? He was returning from tuition. How many students are among the 64 of our young men who were killed? They (the government) are always looking for an alibi to discredit the protests,” he says. “We will never want the education of our children to be hampered. But look at the situation. Whether there is a strike call or not, the government imposes curfew to stop the protests. If they (the government) allow people to protest peacefully, everything will be fine. They won’t because they don’t want the people to raise their voice against injustice.” Alam’s fiery speeches, burned on to CDs, are a throwback to the well-worn hardline routine but freshly packaged as a direct message to the security forces, bypassing the government. “You thought your violence would kill our dreams for freedom? They have not. You thought our spirit would break; we would turn against each other? We will not.” What’s his message to the central government? “New Delhi should stop closing its ears. This is a resistance movement. This is a people’s movement and it has gone beyond the organisational set up of any group,” says Alam. “If I am not there tomorrow, the resistance will continue because its source of strength are people.” A car honks outside, Alam peers through a little window. There is a knock at the door. “It’s getting late,” a young man says. “We need to leave”. _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Sun Aug 29 21:25:57 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:25:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Fw: PRESS RELEASE_WSS Statement on Unethical Media Reporting In-Reply-To: <373726.24950.qm@web29601.mail.ird.yahoo.com> References: <373726.24950.qm@web29601.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ranjana Date: 29 August 2010 18:28 *From:* Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression < againstsexualviolence at gmail.com> *Subject:* PRESS RELEASE_WSS Statement on Unethical Media Reporting *Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression** (WSS)* is deeply concerned and disturbed by the news report *Raped repeatedly, Naxal leader quits Red ranks* that appeared on page 1 of the Times of India, dated August 27, 2010. *We unequivocally condemn any such violence and sexual assault inflicted on women, irrespective of the perpetrator(s), whether state or non state, in any situation, anywhere in the country.** If the story reported by the leading daily Times of India is correct, it is very serious and condemnable and the woman is not safe; the law should take its course and action should be taken against the accused. And if the story has been planted or used by the state and establishment as some seem to believe, we still fear for her safety from the police and security forces now that she has surrendered. It needs to be ensured that she will not be put under any pressure and that she will get access to lawyers and family.* However, we question the responsibility of the media and its credibility. Such reporting has serious implications and we as feminists and women’s groups wish to draw the attention of TOI and its readership to the following points in the interest of the privacy, security and safety of women: Firstly, the woman’s name and position have been revealed in the report, which is against the norms of reporting of rape. The picture in the newspaper is very clear and does little to hide her identity. TOI’s concern for the woman in this respect is lacking. Secondly, the report appears to be interested more in highlighting such cases in a loose and highly sensational way rather than sticking to facts with rigor. The report has conflated the very serious issue of rape and sexual violence with issues of sexual choices. In fact, the report uses statements like `she is caught in an ideology that she cannot understand’ but makes no attempt to engage with her at an intellectual level, even though she is reportedly an experienced person and not merely a woman among men. Thirdly, the story has not been substantiated as per journalistic obligations. Why has the reporter not made any effort to get any version of other sources- of perhaps differing hues? Fourthly, TOI needs to be more impartial in its reporting of cases of rape, irrespective of who the rapist is. We find that sexual violence by the army, police and paramilitary forces, in the ongoing military operations, is routinely ignored by the TOI as well as other media sources. This continues to place innumerable women across the country in extremely vulnerable situations; rapes and sexual assault of women by police and paramilitary in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, with the inordinate and suffocating presence of the police and paramilitary, has risen so high that fear and intimidation of women is high too. It has become impossible for an assaulted woman to even lodge an FIR. Many such survivors of rape in these regions have been harassed and forced to withdraw their complaints. Finally, the Home Minister has chosen to comment on the TOI story and claim there are more such cases - whereas he has been studiously silent on the many well documented instances where adivasi and poor women have tried to pursue cases of rape against police, paramilitary and SPOs. A recent example is that of an eighteen-year old girl in Gajapati district of Orissa, allegedly Maoist, who was picked up from her village in February along with another person, during combing operations by security forces, gang-raped and is now languishing in jail. No charge sheet has as yet been filed even after 6 months. We urge TOI to bring such stories to its readership across the country so that these women also get some justice. We urge the entire media and the government to break its silence on the miscarriage of justice in the Khairlanji case. *As a national forum against sexual violence and state repression, we assert that violence against women cannot and should not be used as weapons of war, by the warring sides to score points against each other. We are equal citizens of India- our sexuality cannot be used against us. The state should allow free movement in these areas so that it is possible to conduct impartial investigations of reports of sexual violence against women. * * * *Committed to the struggle against sexual violence and state repression,* Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression WSS is a network of women's rights, dalit rights, human rights and civil liberties organizations across India. It is a non-funded grassroots effort by women to stem the violence being perpetrated upon our bodies and on our societies by the State’s forces, by non-state actors and by the inability of our government to resolve conflict in a meaningful, sustainable and effective manner. As represented by: AIPWA, AISA (Delhi), APDR (West Bengal), Action India, All Tripura Indigenous and Minority Association, Alternate Law Forum, Ananya (Karnataka), Anhad (Delhi), Baiga Mahapanchayat (Chhattisgarh), Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan, CAVOW (India), CPDR (Maharashtra), Campaign for Justice and Peace (Karnataka), Chhattisgarh Mahila Adhikar Manch, Chhattisgarh Mahila Mukti Morcha, Dalit Adivasi Manch (Chhattisgarh), Dalit Stree Shakti (Andhra Pradesh), HumAnE (Orissa), HRLN (Jammu & Kashmir), HRLN (Madhya Pradesh), Hengasara Hakkina Sangha (Karnataka), Human Rights Alert (Manipur), IRMA (Manipur), IWID, Jagori (Delhi), Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (Madhya Pradesh), Jan Jagruti Manch (Chhattisgarh), Lalgarh Morcha, Lokayata (Maharashtra), MARA (Karnataka), Madhya Pradesh Mahila Manch, NAPM (Karnataka), NBA (Madhya Pradesh), Namma Manasa (Karnataka), Nari Mukti Sanstha (Delhi), Navsarjan Sanstha (Gujarat), Naya Chhattisgarh Mahila Sangh, Nirantar (Delhi), PSSK (Chhattisgarh), Patel Pat Chaunki (Chhattisgarh), Pratidhwani (Delhi), PUCL (india), Rachna Manch, Rohidas Mahila Kalyan Samiti (Chhattisgarh), Saheli (Delhi), Sahmet (Madhya Pradesh), Samajwadi Jan Parishad (Madhya Pradesh), Samata Vedike (Karnataka), Samanatha Mahila Vedike (Karnataka), Sangini (Madhya Pradesh), Vanangana (Uttar Pradesh), Vidyarthi Yuvjan Sabha, Women’s Right Resource Center (Madhya Pradesh), Yuva Samvaad (Madhya Pradesh), Stree Adhikar Sanghatan (Uttar Pradesh), Stree Jagruti Samiti, Trade Union Solidarity Committee (Maharashtra), WinG, Women Against Militarization and State Violence (The Other Media), Women's Commission(Jammu & Kashmir), Women’s Right Resource Center, Women’s Education Forum (Chhattisgarh), and many individuals. Contact email id: againstsexualviolence at gmail.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to humanrights-movement at googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to humanrights-movement+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en. From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Sun Aug 29 22:39:37 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:09:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India In-Reply-To: <002801cb474f$1250ba20$36f22e60$@in> Message-ID: <132375.18189.qm@web114713.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Dear Bipin, You have erroneously addressed your response and challenge to me while it should have been addressed/sent to the author, Ananya Vajpayee an Indian professor who teaches in the U.S. probably at Columbia. I simply shared her article in public interest. warmly, gowhar --- On Sun, 8/29/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > From: Bipin Trivedi > Subject: RE: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India > To: "'gowhar fazli'" > Cc: "sarai-list" > Date: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 1:22 PM > Dear Gowhar, > > Your suggestion perhaps to the Kashmir solution, will it > not be one sided? > > So, you believe that authority imposing curfew > unnecessarily. If disturbance continued, curfew bound to be > there. Concentrate to stop the disturbance or put pressure > on separatists to stop the disturbance, curfew will be > removed automatically. No one wants to put armed forces in > civilian area willingly. So, let the protest end, military > will leave from the civilian area. Put pressure to stop > infiltration across the border and terrorism activity, armed > forces will removed fully from the civilian area and > restricted to border places only. > > You said that Kashmiri leaders from the prisons should be > released, again one sided suggestion? Are they ready to give > affidavit that they will not involv in any separatists > activity? > > Ruin in the valley? Who ruined it? It was not ruined by > India or even common people of Kashmir. It is ruined by > separatists of Kashmir involved in anti national activity > supported by the rogue state, Pakistan. > > Who are you to suggest to government about foreign affairs. > Earlier many times government tried to talk in open manner > with Kashmir separatist leaders, what was the result? > Separatist insists Pakistan for joint talk reflects their > malign intention. Why they want to include pak in talk? Who > is pak to decide in our internal India matter? > > You quote Gandhi and advised to learn India from Gandhi > taught lessons. Do not forget that while pin pointing > something, 3 fingers lean towards you. All the separatists > and Pak have to learn lesson of ahimsa from Gandhi. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net > [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of gowhar fazli > Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 6:55 AM > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( > Self-Rule): Save the idea of India > > Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of > India > > A few things must happen in Kashmir before a political > solution is found. There have to be public apologies and > reparations from both the state and central governments for > the deaths of civilians, particularly minors and women, in > the summer of 2010. Curfew has to be lifted. Bereaved > families have to be permitted peaceful, dignified and safe > funerals for their dead. Orders to shoot-at-sight and fire > live ammunition at protesters should be withdrawn with > immediate effect. Representatives of the state government > must show greater empathy for the people who elected them, > especially by visiting the wounded in hospitals. > > A phased scale-back of paramilitary forces has to be > announced, with numbers and dates, to be executed over the > next three years, until eventually the Armed Forces Special > Powers Act (AFSPA) may be repealed altogether and troops > confined to border areas only. Policies that provide > monetary incentives and fast-track promotions in > counter-insurgency operations must be scrapped. > > Kashmiri leaders in prisons or under house arrest should be > released and allowed to go about their business, including > addressing public meetings, talking to the press, leading > prayers at mosques and shrines, and entering into talks with > the government. A timebound government-appointed commission > of independent investigators needs to prepare a > comprehensive report on the deaths, disappearances, unlawful > detention, rapes and torture cases in Jammu and Kashmir, > between 1990 and 2010, to be presented to the Indian > Parliament. > > All of this is not just imperative for Kashmir to survive > the immediate crisis — it is necessary for India too, to > weather this storm. If Kashmir’s future is the primary > responsibility of the people of Kashmir, then it is the > responsibility of Indians to save the idea of India and > bring it back from its near-total ruin in the Valley. One > thing all players can agree on: the house has to be set in > order without any reference whatsoever, in the first place, > to third parties. > After the Indian state and the people of Kashmir have taken > these steps together , then comes the time to open up the > issue for multilateral talks, with Pakistan , the UN, the > US, and international humanitarian organisations. The > process cannot reach the point of dialogue without an > intensive period of soul-searching , homework and justice > within the Indian Union. The Pakistanbacked militancy of the > ’90s is in the past. Once India has established the rule > of law to its utmost capacity, I am convinced it will have > nothing to fear from any external agency. Kashmiris may > still demand partial autonomy or complete secession, but > that is a bridge to be crossed only after a bridge has been > built. > > Talking about Gandhi in Kashmir (or in Maoist India) seems > laughable. But Gandhi it was whom India listened to, when it > fought hardest for its own decolonisation between 1920 and > 1950. Throughout this time, the Mahatma tried to establish > certain core ethical values for a new politics of swaraj. > Among these were ideas that had a long history on the Indian > subcontinent, such as ahimsa. We usually translate this as > “non-violence”, but what Gandhi really meant was the > moral courage necessary to relate to another person without > the desire to harm him. > > THIS moral courage is difficult to achieve between any two > persons, but it is hardest, and most essential, that ahimsa > prevail in the relationship between adversaries, so Gandhi > believed. He got the lesson of ahimsa, oddly enough, not > from Asoka the Mauryan emperor of the 3rd century BC, who > became a pacifist after causing great carnage , nor from > Jain doctrine, which enshrines ahimsa as a key practice, but > from the Bhagavad Gita, in which Krishna teaches Arjuna how > to put up a good fight, without compromising his basic sense > of morality and decency. > > But Gandhi also insisted on satya, the truth, enshrined in > India’s national motto, satyameva jayate, “truth alone > prevails” . In addition, he wanted India to recover its > oldest tenets of ethical sovereignty : anukrosha, from the > Ramayana , the capacity to feel another’s pain; > aanrishamsya, from the Mahabharata, the elimination of > cruelty from one’s conduct, which Yudhisthira recognised > as the highest dharma, the norm-ofnorms , especially for a > king. Gandhi sought not just political independence from > British rule, but a truly liberating political culture, > grounded in age-old ethical norms like non-violence , moral > courage, non-cruelty , truthfulness and compassion. Without > these values in place, he said, India would never be free, > never have true swaraj. > Most Indians have little sympathy for an independent > Kashmiri nation. But an Indian mother would feel the pain of > her Kashmiri counterpart whose teenage son was brutally > killed while shouting slogans in a street demonstration. > > > Ananya Vajpeyi > Ph.D., University of Chicago (2004); M.Phil., University of > Oxford (1996); Rhodes Scholar (1994-96) > Areas of Special Interest > > Professor Vajpeyi teaches South Asian history, with a focus > on caste, violence and non-violence, modernity, as well as > nationalism and the state. She also teaches courses on > imperialism, colonialism and decolonization in Asia and > Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, she > is interested in intellectual history and the comparative > history of ideas in India and Europe. > Contact Information > > Office: McCormack 4-626 > Phone:            >    617-287-6877      >    617-287-6877 > E-mail: ananya.vajpeyi at umb.edu > > >       > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Sun Aug 29 23:07:59 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:37:59 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Governing Kashmir: Critical Reflections on the Historical Present. Message-ID: <467145.17242.qm@web114702.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Found this interesting and useful for the ongoing K-debates on the list. Governing Kashmir Critical Reflections on the Historical Present ANALYSIS BY RICHARD SHAPIRO India's refrain to the people of Kashmir is as follows: Indian rule of Kashmir is legitimate because India is a secular democratic republic, organized by rule of law and constitutionally guaranteed human rights. As a democratic state, rule of law may be suspended for national security reasons to protect the state, and such action has been necessary in Kashmir because of cross-border terrorism and 'separatist' elements in Kashmir that includes armed militants. The suspension of democratic rights in Kashmir, India states, is necessary to protect India as a secular democratic republic. Elections are periodically held and touted as proof of democracy in India, but without a vibrant civil society ensuring social freedoms, electoral processes obfuscate the subjection of Srinagar to New Delhi and give Indian governance greater legitimacy than if the center took official control over the state of Jammu & Kashmir. What is the logic of Delhi to which Kashmiris are subjected? The people of Kashmir must be denied the rights guaranteed to citizens of India because every Kashmiri is considered a real or potential threat to India. Kashmiris are citizens of India who are denied the rights of citizens to protect the state as the guarantor of rights. Law and order demands the denial of democratic rights to the people of Kashmir. Freedom of assembly and movement, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of press, freedom of religion are the basic rights that make India a legitimate state, and it is precisely these rights that must be denied all Kashmiris because when Kashmiris exercise these rights it is considered evidence of the anti-national sentiment of Kashmiris. If Kashmiris want to prove themselves as loyal citizens of India than they must agree to not exercise the rights that are in principle available to the citizens of India. If Kashmiris want to prove their loyalty they must sacrifice their human rights and civil liberties for the protection of 'Greater India'. The Kashmiri cannot be loyal in the same way that a citizen of India is expected to be loyal, which includes the lawful right to organize to express dissent, to demand accountability on the part of government, to protest injustice and oppression in the streets, in the press, in institutions and organizations created to enable a vibrant civil society empowered to articulate its needs and concerns. Democracy, rule of law, and civil liberties are to be sacrificed by Kashmiris for the larger good of India. Those citizens systematically denied the rights of citizenship are to accept rule via permanent emergency because the state of India has determined, as a legitimate state, that such sacrifice is in the national interest. Every Kashmiri must accept the suspension of democratic rights because democratic expression by Kashmiri citizens threatens the nation that protects and safeguards democracy. To be pro-India requires that Kashmiris renounce their rights as citizens. To demand equal rights and rule of law is to be anti-India. To belong to the nation you must accept subjugation to the military and paramilitary legitimated by national security. To belong you must renounce what belonging bestows. Such belonging is already unbelonging, or the false belonging of the slave to the manor. Indivisible India functions through a mind-boggling number of hierarchically organized divisions. The primary division between friend and enemy, citizen and anti-national most profoundly affects Kashmiris, whose status as enemy/other leads the state to view every Kashmiri suspiciously. To protest the negation of civil rights and rule of law in Kashmir is deemed an assertion of anti-national sentiments and named a law and order problem. The law and order problem in Kashmir is that the exercise of civil and human rights by Kashmiris is regularly criminalized. Exercising democratic rights, demanding rule of law and due process is defined as a threat to India's democracy and rule of law. The laws of national emergency that provide impunity to military and paramilitary personnel exemplify the total disregard for law and order under Indian governance of Kashmir. To focus on the unfortunate expression of anger and frustration through stone pelting by young men as evidence of a law and order problem and the violence of protestors is quite simply an affront to critical intelligence. The continual killing of youth by armed forces, met by largely peaceful protests, responded to with more killings by police, is not a cycle of violence that can be traced to the actions of stone pelters. Responsibility for violence rests firmly on the shoulders of India, evidenced in the unprecedented militarization of daily life in Kashmir, the long history of brutality with impunity, the systemic exploitation of the people and resources of Kashmir, surveillance, humiliation, the suppression of civil liberties and the innumerable atrocities against a civilian population understood to be 'integral' to India. India has not simply acted to protect its borders and combat armed insurgents. India has criminalized Kashmiri civilians, viewing every Kashmiri as equivalent to Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, or Pakistani agents. The overwhelming presence of military personnel is not necessary to protect borders and defeat armed militants. Such force is necessary to dominate an entire people whose right to determine its own future has been recognized by the United Nations, international law, and the founders of modern India. By viewing every Kashmiri as a terrorist, terrorist sympathizer, or potential supporter of terrorism, India's dominant discourse reveals its 'communal' nature. What distinguishes the Kashmiri who dissents Indian rule from the indigenous person in central India labeled a Naxalite is that the latter is defined as 'one of our own people', and the Kashmiri is an enemy other, whose presence within India is nevertheless demanded to legitimate India as a secular nation, and safeguard economic resources. What makes the Kashmiri the enemy is precisely that as Muslim, dominant Indian discourse fails to distinguish between Kashmiri Muslim, Pakistani national, terrorist, once Mughal rulers, mujahedeen from Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda jihadist. Such indistinction in thought is state racism. To deterritorialize Islam into a monolithic homogeneity divorced from the particularity of culture, history, and politics furthers the communalization of Indian society and legitimates Indian dominance of Kashmir as a national security imperative. To collapse such distinctions to create the false unification of "Muslims" is a necessary step to demonize a people as enemy linked to international terrorism. The communalization of dominant state discourse also enables neglecting the systematic oppression of the approximately 140 million Muslims in India whose mistreatment does not disappear through incantations of Bollywood stars or recent Presidents of nation. It is also communal discourse to consider indigenous peoples in India to be 'our own people' because underneath this claim of inclusivity is the Hindutva notion that indigenous peoples were once Hindus and must simply be 'reconverted'. This communal discourse places the Kashmiri in the predicament of being necessary to India and a continual threat to India. The policy of India continually shouts to each and every Kashmiri. "You are our enemy. We are here to protect you." In the face of such impossibility, additionally each Kashmiri must be a citizen by virtue of 'agreeing' to forfeit the rights of citizenship or be anti-national by demanding the rights afforded free people. The Kashmiri is told, "If you want us to treat you more humanely, stop demanding human rights." "If you want a future, stop acting to determine your future." "If you want life, accept our right to determine life and death." To resolve the law and order problem starts with removing the military and paramilitary from its role in Kashmiri civil society, drawing back and reducing troops to police the borders, and allowing civil society to express itself without fear of reprisal toward determination of its own future. There is no law and order without a foundation in freedom of speech, press, assembly and movement. Law and order in Kashmir can only find its legitimacy in supporting the pursuit of justice, enhancing freedom, and enabling the riches inherent in different cultural legacies -- to live, to be, to learn, and to change. The obstacle to law and order in Kashmir is the same as the obstacle to justice, freedom, and cultural survival. That obstacle is Indian rule. The first step in removing this obstacle is immediate demilitarization of Kashmiri society. (Richard Shapiro is Chair, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies. This article has been written exclusively for Greater Kashmir) From gowharfazili at yahoo.com Mon Aug 30 00:05:08 2010 From: gowharfazili at yahoo.com (gowhar fazli) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:35:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Panun Kashmir makes a good case for a gag on the national media. Message-ID: <39896.69608.qm@web114705.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Panun Kashmir urges Govt. to take appropriate steps against some electronic channels by Vijay Kumar August 27, 2010 Jammu, August 27 (Scoop News) – Panun Kashmir (PK)deplores and urges GOI to take appropriate steps against some electronic channels like NDTV, CNN IBN etc, for their subversive programmes under the guise of discussions and discourses on Kashmir Issue unlike objective, unbiased and true reporting of print media at local and national level. In a statement Dr.Agnishekhar expressed their concern and anguish over present day government not taking exception to the pro-separatist policy pursued by these said channels. The meeting of office bearers of PK presided over by its convener Dr.Agnishekhar, PK feels that the NDTV, its biased anchors like Barkha Dutts and Sagarikas of CNN IBN have not behaved as responsible member of fourth estate instead the channel are propagating and supplementing the agenda of forces inimical to sovereignty and integrity of the nation. These channels are misusing the freedom of expression granted by constitution of India and are emboldened by the criminal silence of the polity of this nation. Statement said that On one hand these channels willfully ignore and sideline the plight and geo-political urges & aspirations of Kashmiri Hindus, Jammuites and Ladakhis and on the other hand cause of separatists; Islamic Jehadis; people who spit venom against the nation; forces hell bent upon to crate the second partition of the country; biased human right groups; and so called civil liberty activists are nurtured and promoted well by these electronic channels. These channels choose not to invite the genuine and mainstream political representative voices of Kashmiri Hindus, who are equally the stake holders of Kashmir Problem & its solution; and are busy fighting separatism and Islamic Jihad aimed at dismemberment of this country,said in a statement. Dr Agnishaker alleged that NDTV has been playing a partisan & biased role while reporting the events and news from time to time. One such glaring example is the treatment meted out to the path breaking statement of former United Nations Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan issued in Pakistan that the UN resolutions on Kashmir Issue are redundant and outdated. This statement of national significance was made subservient to Tahalka.com’s revelations in recent past. The recent Hindu bashing under the garb of so called Saffron Terrorism has figured prominently on the air but the activities of Bangalore Blast accused Madani already convicted in Coimbatore blasts found a passing reference on the channel. The recent bashing of Sikhs by jehadis in Kashmir found no prominent space in such Channels. He said, the recent discussion and discourses on Kashmir especially by Barkha dutt and her histrionics promoting the voices of Azadi, bashing of security forces, anti-india compaign are the issues of great concern for these channels. Ms Barkha dutt and her ilk have played havoc with image and integrity of this nation when foreign couples residing in Kashmir were invited as panelist in the discussion to plead the cause of separatists and malign the patriotic security forces of India, while as the voices of nationalistic panelists was gagged and edited. Panun Kashmir feels either the GOI is making ground fertile for granting the undesired and objectionable political dispensation to Kashmiri Muslims which will lead to secession of state from India, or it is using and patronizing the electronic channels like NDTV which are acting on the behest of forces which are at war with the civilizational ethos of India. Panun Kashmir will approach Press Council of India to register their protest against these channels for their unethical practices. PK appeals to the people of India and business houses in particular to reconsider their ties with NDTV and IBN for their activities endangering the sovereignty and integrity of the nation. From delhi.yunus at gmail.com Mon Aug 30 06:34:25 2010 From: delhi.yunus at gmail.com (Syed Yunus) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:34:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] A history lesson about your Social Security card and benefits Message-ID: Dear all, I found a very interesting piece of information on social security system in US, and it has created fresh doubts in me, about the changing financial policies and laws related to pension, insurance and off course the Unique Iidentification Number. Which is just a number with out any social security. Read the full text below http://www.bookwormroom.com/2010/08/03/a-history-lesson-about-your-social-security-card-and-benefits/ Thanks, Yunus -- Change is the only constant in life ! From rashneek at gmail.com Mon Aug 30 08:28:33 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:28:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir In-Reply-To: References: <770840.29068.qm@web45515.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear Sonia, Around May this year I was planning to rebuild my house in Kashmir.I was bouyed by the fact that my father could do the ancient Harmukatganga pilgrimmage.When I started enquiring about things around my house and asked about the cremation ground my friend Yasin Dar told me there are hardly any left in entire valley simply because people have bulit houses on them. There was a very small temple in our villgae.There were no more than 15 Pandit families so it would suffice but now I hear that someone's house stands where the temple was and the land is grabbed as well. So while this Jain temple might not have been broken or destroyed what about hundreds of such temples which are not very far from where our friend Shujaat lives. Tell him to look around and he will find the stamp of Butshikans everywhere. Love Rashneek On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:47 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote: > Don't trust The Times of India. Trust Shujaat Bukhari. Or else you will be > treated as a communal. I guess his house was under raid during Amarnath > agitation along with some PDP leaders. Police was searching for > separatists. > > > Well, No Jain Temple. Only 600 Hindu Temples destroyed. > > Ah! Just 600. Forget it yaar. Why bother? > > Perhaps that is where stone-pelter mobs get their weapon. Destroy temple, > get stones. Transport them to main street corners. Simple! > > I heard 80 Shia familes have moved out of Kashmir in last two months. > Sorry, > I should already take it as my imagination. Sane voice has no place. > Nothing > doing! > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:22 PM, we wi wrote: > > > from Ghori...Aurangazeb to now there is no change,ruining ruining ruining > > whether it is religion, temple,scholary, place,asset or whatever. > > > > --- On Sat, 8/28/10, SJabbar wrote: > > > > From: SJabbar > > Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir > > To: "Sarai" > > Date: Saturday, August 28, 2010, 2:13 PM > > > > From The Hindu > > > > > > > > No Jain temple was burnt in Kashmir: officials > > > > Shujaat Bukhari > > SRINAGAR: The temporary structure housing a Jain temple in a local hotel > > was > > not burnt by a mob but was dismantled as a local hotel's contract with a > > Mumbai-based travel agency which built the structure on its premises has > > not > > been renewed. > > > > In the wake of reports in newspapers around India that the only Jain > temple > > in Kashmir had been burnt by mobs leading the ongoing protests in the > > Valley, hotel and State officials told The Hindu that no such incident > had > > taken place. > > > > According to Ghulam Mohiuddin, manager of Silver Star Hotel in Lasjan on > > the > > outskirts of Srinagar, the temporary structure was built as per contract > > with Gem Tours and Travels, a Mumbai-based travel agency, which wanted to > > provide a place where Jain tourists from other parts of India could > worship > > while visiting Kashmir. > > > > ³But the three-year contract ended and was not extended, so the structure > > was also dismantled,² he said. The temple was established to attract Jain > > tourists. ³As the situation in the Valley worsened and the tourist inflow > > declined, the contract was not renewed and we thought there is no need > for > > this,² he added. The 8x8 pre-fabricated structure was dismantled in the > > presence of the priest, Hans Raj, on August 10. > > > > Mr. Mohiuddin categorically denied that the temple was burnt or destroyed > > by > > a mob. ³This is just not true. It is a fact that a large mob passed > through > > this area also but no one entered our premises so the question of > touching > > the temple does not arise,² he told The Hindu. Before the hotel > management > > decided to remove the structure, the owners of the travel agency were > > contacted through the priest Hans Raj, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. ³The > > idols were removed and properly handed over to them when they arrived in > > Srinagar the next day,² he said, adding the rumours seemed to be a > > conspiracy to spread hatred against Kashmiris. > > > > Deputy Commissioner (Srinagar) Meraj Kakroo also rubbished reports about > > the > > Jain temple being attacked. ³The report about the burning of the temple > is > > baseless and mischievous,² he said. He added that no proper temple > existed > > and ³as per our information, it was an internal arrangement made by the > > hotel owners.² > > > > Members of the community said there is, in fact, no Jain temple in > Kashmir. > > While there were 40-odd Jain families living in the Valley prior to > > militancy, only five have stayed back. ³There is no Jain temple here, > > though > > a family has set up one in their house,² Amit Jain, a businessman, said. > > > > Repeated attempts by this correspondent to get a response from Gem Tours > > and > > Travels drew a blank. However, a local news portal, Kashmir Dispatch, > > reported that a team from the Doshi family, which built the temple, flew > in > > to Srinagar the day after it was dismantled. ³They packed the idols in > > cardboard boxes and returned to Sabarmati,² it said. ³It was not burnt > and > > [the newspaper which said it was] will come out with a corrigendum,² the > > portal quoted Jyotin Doshi, Chairman of Gem Tours, as saying. ³The > > structure > > was broken; we don't know by whom, we had a contract with the hotel for > > five > > years under which the temple was built on the hotel property,² he said. > > > > ³We don't want to create enmity and request everybody to stop thinking > > about > > the matter. We have now installed the idols in Ahmedabad and there is > > nothing more I can say on this,² the portal quoted Mr. Doshi as saying. > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Mon Aug 30 08:42:53 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:42:53 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Dear Rashneek, Someone had posted news of a Jain temple being destroyed and someone had clarified that it had not. I merely posted the piece to set the record straight. Kashmir is such a contentious site that when someone claims something and you contradict it with facts the person immediately shifts the goalposts! My posting the piece on the Jain temple had nothing to do with denying the fact that temples have been destroyed in Kashmir or that Pandit properties have been the target of vandalism and worse. I really do hope that you are able to rebuild your house in Kashmir and in time, the small temple in your village. Best wishes, Sonia On 30/08/10 8:28 AM, "rashneek kher" wrote: > Dear Sonia, Around May this year I was planning to rebuild my house in > Kashmir.I was bouyed by the fact that my father could do the ancient > Harmukatganga pilgrimmage.When I started enquiring about things around my > house and asked about the cremation ground my friend Yasin Dar told me there > are hardly any left in entire valley simply because people have bulit houses > on them. There was a very small temple in our villgae.There were no more than > 15 Pandit families so it would suffice but now I hear that someone's > house stands where the temple was and the land is grabbed as well. So while > this Jain temple might not have been broken or destroyed what about hundreds > of such temples which are not very far from where our friend Shujaat > lives. Tell him to look around and he will find the stamp of Butshikans > everywhere. Love Rashneek On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:47 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul > wrote: > Don't trust The Times of India. Trust > Shujaat Bukhari. Or else you will be > treated as a communal. I guess his > house was under raid during Amarnath > agitation along with some PDP leaders. > Police was searching for > separatists. > > > Well, No Jain Temple. Only 600 > Hindu Temples destroyed. > > Ah! Just 600. Forget it yaar. Why bother? > > > Perhaps that is where stone-pelter mobs get their weapon. Destroy temple,> > get stones. Transport them to main street corners. Simple! > > I heard 80 Shia > familes have moved out of Kashmir in last two months. > Sorry, > I should > already take it as my imagination. Sane voice has no place. > Nothing > > doing! > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > > On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:22 PM, > we wi wrote: > > > from Ghori...Aurangazeb to now there is > no change,ruining ruining ruining > > whether it is religion, temple,scholary, > place,asset or whatever. > > > > --- On Sat, 8/28/10, SJabbar > wrote: > > > > From: SJabbar > > > Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in > Kashmir > > To: "Sarai" > > Date: Saturday, August 28, > 2010, 2:13 PM > > > > From The Hindu > > > > > > > > No Jain temple was burnt > in Kashmir: officials > > > > Shujaat Bukhari > > SRINAGAR: The temporary > structure housing a Jain temple in a local hotel > > was > > not burnt by a > mob but was dismantled as a local hotel's contract with a > > Mumbai-based > travel agency which built the structure on its premises has > > not > > been > renewed. > > > > In the wake of reports in newspapers around India that the > only Jain > temple > > in Kashmir had been burnt by mobs leading the ongoing > protests in the > > Valley, hotel and State officials told The Hindu that no > such incident > had > > taken place. > > > > According to Ghulam Mohiuddin, > manager of Silver Star Hotel in Lasjan on > > the > > outskirts of Srinagar, > the temporary structure was built as per contract > > with Gem Tours and > Travels, a Mumbai-based travel agency, which wanted to > > provide a place > where Jain tourists from other parts of India could > worship > > while > visiting Kashmir. > > > > ³But the three-year contract ended and was not > extended, so the structure > > was also dismantled,² he said. The temple was > established to attract Jain > > tourists. ³As the situation in the Valley > worsened and the tourist inflow > > declined, the contract was not renewed and > we thought there is no need > for > > this,² he added. The 8x8 pre-fabricated > structure was dismantled in the > > presence of the priest, Hans Raj, on > August 10. > > > > Mr. Mohiuddin categorically denied that the temple was > burnt or destroyed > > by > > a mob. ³This is just not true. It is a fact that > a large mob passed > through > > this area also but no one entered our > premises so the question of > touching > > the temple does not arise,² he told > The Hindu. Before the hotel > management > > decided to remove the structure, > the owners of the travel agency were > > contacted through the priest Hans > Raj, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. ³The > > idols were removed and properly > handed over to them when they arrived in > > Srinagar the next day,² he said, > adding the rumours seemed to be a > > conspiracy to spread hatred against > Kashmiris. > > > > Deputy Commissioner (Srinagar) Meraj Kakroo also rubbished > reports about > > the > > Jain temple being attacked. ³The report about the > burning of the temple > is > > baseless and mischievous,² he said. He added > that no proper temple > existed > > and ³as per our information, it was an > internal arrangement made by the > > hotel owners.² > > > > Members of the > community said there is, in fact, no Jain temple in > Kashmir. > > While there > were 40-odd Jain families living in the Valley prior to > > militancy, only > five have stayed back. ³There is no Jain temple here, > > though > > a family > has set up one in their house,² Amit Jain, a businessman, said. > > > > > Repeated attempts by this correspondent to get a response from Gem Tours > > > and > > Travels drew a blank. However, a local news portal, Kashmir > Dispatch, > > reported that a team from the Doshi family, which built the > temple, flew > in > > to Srinagar the day after it was dismantled. ³They > packed the idols in > > cardboard boxes and returned to Sabarmati,² it said. > ³It was not burnt > and > > [the newspaper which said it was] will come out > with a corrigendum,² the > > portal quoted Jyotin Doshi, Chairman of Gem > Tours, as saying. ³The > > structure > > was broken; we don't know by whom, we > had a contract with the hotel for > > five > > years under which the temple > was built on the hotel property,² he said. > > > > ³We don't want to create > enmity and request everybody to stop thinking > > about > > the matter. We > have now installed the idols in Ahmedabad and there is > > nothing more I can > say on this,² the portal quoted Mr. Doshi as saying. > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion > list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: > send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the > subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion > list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: > send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > > subscribe in the > subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion > list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send > an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject > header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rashneek > Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blo > gspot.com _________________________________________ reader-list: an open > discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To > subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the subject header. To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aliens at dataone.in Mon Aug 30 09:39:03 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:39:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India In-Reply-To: <132375.18189.qm@web114713.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <002801cb474f$1250ba20$36f22e60$@in> <132375.18189.qm@web114713.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <002f01cb47f9$17e8c270$47ba4750$@in> Yes you have posted here so addressed to you but somehow forgot to send cc to ananya which I have sent now. Thanks -----Original Message----- From: gowhar fazli [mailto:gowharfazili at yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 10:40 PM To: Bipin Trivedi Cc: reader-list at sarai.net Subject: RE: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India Dear Bipin, You have erroneously addressed your response and challenge to me while it should have been addressed/sent to the author, Ananya Vajpayee an Indian professor who teaches in the U.S. probably at Columbia. I simply shared her article in public interest. warmly, gowhar --- On Sun, 8/29/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > From: Bipin Trivedi > Subject: RE: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of India > To: "'gowhar fazli'" > Cc: "sarai-list" > Date: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 1:22 PM > Dear Gowhar, > > Your suggestion perhaps to the Kashmir solution, will it > not be one sided? > > So, you believe that authority imposing curfew > unnecessarily. If disturbance continued, curfew bound to be > there. Concentrate to stop the disturbance or put pressure > on separatists to stop the disturbance, curfew will be > removed automatically. No one wants to put armed forces in > civilian area willingly. So, let the protest end, military > will leave from the civilian area. Put pressure to stop > infiltration across the border and terrorism activity, armed > forces will removed fully from the civilian area and > restricted to border places only. > > You said that Kashmiri leaders from the prisons should be > released, again one sided suggestion? Are they ready to give > affidavit that they will not involv in any separatists > activity? > > Ruin in the valley? Who ruined it? It was not ruined by > India or even common people of Kashmir. It is ruined by > separatists of Kashmir involved in anti national activity > supported by the rogue state, Pakistan. > > Who are you to suggest to government about foreign affairs. > Earlier many times government tried to talk in open manner > with Kashmir separatist leaders, what was the result? > Separatist insists Pakistan for joint talk reflects their > malign intention. Why they want to include pak in talk? Who > is pak to decide in our internal India matter? > > You quote Gandhi and advised to learn India from Gandhi > taught lessons. Do not forget that while pin pointing > something, 3 fingers lean towards you. All the separatists > and Pak have to learn lesson of ahimsa from Gandhi. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net > [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of gowhar fazli > Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 6:55 AM > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: [Reader-list] Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( > Self-Rule): Save the idea of India > > Azadi(Freedom) and swaraj( Self-Rule): Save the idea of > India > > A few things must happen in Kashmir before a political > solution is found. There have to be public apologies and > reparations from both the state and central governments for > the deaths of civilians, particularly minors and women, in > the summer of 2010. Curfew has to be lifted. Bereaved > families have to be permitted peaceful, dignified and safe > funerals for their dead. Orders to shoot-at-sight and fire > live ammunition at protesters should be withdrawn with > immediate effect. Representatives of the state government > must show greater empathy for the people who elected them, > especially by visiting the wounded in hospitals. > > A phased scale-back of paramilitary forces has to be > announced, with numbers and dates, to be executed over the > next three years, until eventually the Armed Forces Special > Powers Act (AFSPA) may be repealed altogether and troops > confined to border areas only. Policies that provide > monetary incentives and fast-track promotions in > counter-insurgency operations must be scrapped. > > Kashmiri leaders in prisons or under house arrest should be > released and allowed to go about their business, including > addressing public meetings, talking to the press, leading > prayers at mosques and shrines, and entering into talks with > the government. A timebound government-appointed commission > of independent investigators needs to prepare a > comprehensive report on the deaths, disappearances, unlawful > detention, rapes and torture cases in Jammu and Kashmir, > between 1990 and 2010, to be presented to the Indian > Parliament. > > All of this is not just imperative for Kashmir to survive > the immediate crisis — it is necessary for India too, to > weather this storm. If Kashmir’s future is the primary > responsibility of the people of Kashmir, then it is the > responsibility of Indians to save the idea of India and > bring it back from its near-total ruin in the Valley. One > thing all players can agree on: the house has to be set in > order without any reference whatsoever, in the first place, > to third parties. > After the Indian state and the people of Kashmir have taken > these steps together , then comes the time to open up the > issue for multilateral talks, with Pakistan , the UN, the > US, and international humanitarian organisations. The > process cannot reach the point of dialogue without an > intensive period of soul-searching , homework and justice > within the Indian Union. The Pakistanbacked militancy of the > ’90s is in the past. Once India has established the rule > of law to its utmost capacity, I am convinced it will have > nothing to fear from any external agency. Kashmiris may > still demand partial autonomy or complete secession, but > that is a bridge to be crossed only after a bridge has been > built. > > Talking about Gandhi in Kashmir (or in Maoist India) seems > laughable. But Gandhi it was whom India listened to, when it > fought hardest for its own decolonisation between 1920 and > 1950. Throughout this time, the Mahatma tried to establish > certain core ethical values for a new politics of swaraj. > Among these were ideas that had a long history on the Indian > subcontinent, such as ahimsa. We usually translate this as > “non-violence”, but what Gandhi really meant was the > moral courage necessary to relate to another person without > the desire to harm him. > > THIS moral courage is difficult to achieve between any two > persons, but it is hardest, and most essential, that ahimsa > prevail in the relationship between adversaries, so Gandhi > believed. He got the lesson of ahimsa, oddly enough, not > from Asoka the Mauryan emperor of the 3rd century BC, who > became a pacifist after causing great carnage , nor from > Jain doctrine, which enshrines ahimsa as a key practice, but > from the Bhagavad Gita, in which Krishna teaches Arjuna how > to put up a good fight, without compromising his basic sense > of morality and decency. > > But Gandhi also insisted on satya, the truth, enshrined in > India’s national motto, satyameva jayate, “truth alone > prevails” . In addition, he wanted India to recover its > oldest tenets of ethical sovereignty : anukrosha, from the > Ramayana , the capacity to feel another’s pain; > aanrishamsya, from the Mahabharata, the elimination of > cruelty from one’s conduct, which Yudhisthira recognised > as the highest dharma, the norm-ofnorms , especially for a > king. Gandhi sought not just political independence from > British rule, but a truly liberating political culture, > grounded in age-old ethical norms like non-violence , moral > courage, non-cruelty , truthfulness and compassion. Without > these values in place, he said, India would never be free, > never have true swaraj. > Most Indians have little sympathy for an independent > Kashmiri nation. But an Indian mother would feel the pain of > her Kashmiri counterpart whose teenage son was brutally > killed while shouting slogans in a street demonstration. > > > Ananya Vajpeyi > Ph.D., University of Chicago (2004); M.Phil., University of > Oxford (1996); Rhodes Scholar (1994-96) > Areas of Special Interest > > Professor Vajpeyi teaches South Asian history, with a focus > on caste, violence and non-violence, modernity, as well as > nationalism and the state. She also teaches courses on > imperialism, colonialism and decolonization in Asia and > Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, she > is interested in intellectual history and the comparative > history of ideas in India and Europe. > Contact Information > > Office: McCormack 4-626 > Phone: > 617-287-6877 > 617-287-6877 > E-mail: ananya.vajpeyi at umb.edu > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net > with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Mon Aug 30 13:57:41 2010 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:57:41 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Latin America & Twenty-First Century Socialism Message-ID: "Alexandra Kollontai, the militant feminist and leader of the Workers’ Opposition, gives an enlightening example: What would happen if some of the members of the Russian Communist Party—those, for instance, who are fond of birds—decided to form a society for the preservation of birds? The idea itself seems useful. It does not in any way undermine any state project. But it only seems this way. All of a sudden there would appear some bureaucratic institution which would claim the right to manage this particular undertaking. That particular institution would immediately “incorporate” the society into the Soviet machine, deadening, thereby, the direct initiative. And instead of direct initiative, there would appear a heap of paper decrees and regulations which would give enough work to hundreds of other officials.162" *Latin America & Twenty-First Century Socialism: Inventing to Avoid Mistakes* *Marta Harnecker* * * *Bureaucracy: The Biggest Scourge * *One of the deviations that did the most damage in the historical experience of Soviet socialism was bureaucratism. Bureaucratism destroys the people’s energy and creativity, and, as the people are the real builders of the new society, it prevents the goal of twenty-first century socialism from being reached. The goal is that women and men develop themselves completely through revolutionary practice itself.* *Earlier, in discussing decentralization, we said that one cannot attribute the existence of bureaucracy in the Soviet state simply to the legacy of the tsarist past; it is more correct to say that it begins in the excessive centralization that existed in that state. However, if excessive centralization inevitably leads to bureaucratism, this phenomenon can also arise in state institutions, parties, and other kinds of public and private institutions. Moreover, if it were only a matter of the red tape and being shunted around, all that would have to be done would be to improve management methods, but that would not work.* *Where lies the root of this disaster? It is related to a basic issue: how management in an institution is conceived of and implemented. Do the top civil servants or cadres make the decisions—because they think they are the only ones who have the expertise to do so—or is trust placed in the membership and the organized people, in their energy and creativity?* *It was often said in the Soviet Union, devastated by an imperialist war and a civil war, that progress could only come about if the workers and peasants en masse were committed to work for the country’s reconstruction. But when workers and peasants took these remarks seriously and tried to apply them by taking the initiative (organizing, for example, a people’s cafeteria or a daycare center), their efforts were rejected by the central authorities. This was done on various pretexts, but the bottom line was that the authorities could not stand the fact that people had done things outside their control.* *Bureaucratism is the direct negation of people’s autonomous activity. Any independent initiative, any new thought is considered heresy, a violation of party discipline. The center must decide and supervise each and every thing that is done. Nothing can be done if the order didn’t come from the center.* *Alexandra Kollontai, the militant feminist and leader of the Workers’ Opposition, gives an enlightening example: * *What would happen if some of the members of the Russian Communist Party—those, for instance, who are fond of birds—decided to form a society for the preservation of birds? The idea itself seems useful. It does not in any way undermine any state project. But it only seems this way. All of a sudden there would appear some bureaucratic institution which would claim the right to manage this particular undertaking. That particular institution would immediately “incorporate” the society into the Soviet machine, deadening, thereby, the direct initiative. And instead of direct initiative, there would appear a heap of paper decrees and regulations which would give enough work to hundreds of other officials.**162* *Bureaucratism tries to solve problems with formal decisions taken by one person or a small group, both in the party and in some state institutions, but the real stakeholders are never consulted. This way of operating not only restricts the initiative of party members but also that of the nonparty masses. The essence of bureaucratism is that someone else decides for you.* *The Need to Encourage Public Criticism * *As we said previously, a long process of cultural transformation is required to free ourselves of the muck of the inherited culture. According to Marx, this transformation can only be achieved after decades of civil wars and people’s struggles, and history has proved him right. It is not only difficult for the common people to change; this is also true of some of those who are members of the political organization itself.* *Even the parties with the most experience in revolutionary struggle, those that led wars of national liberation for many years, such as the Chinese Communist Party or the Vietnamese Communist Party, have suffered from the scourge of bureaucratism and corruption. In spite of the enormous sacrifices they made during the long years of struggle to liberate their peoples, several of the leaders no longer serve the people. They have moved away from them, and have become comfortable and arrogant; they treat others in a high-handed, authoritarian manner; they enjoy privileges, and have become corrupt.* *Why do these situations arise? We must remember that revolutions carry the load of an inherited culture on their shoulders, a culture in which those who held public office had special considerations and privileges. * *It is natural that these civil servants, if their political future does not depend on the people, would be more inclined to satisfy the demands of their superiors than to respond to people’s needs and aspirations. What tends to happen is that, because they want to please their superiors or to obtain more monetary rewards, they falsify data or obtain results demanded of them at the cost of the quality of public works. It was rather common in the past in socialist countries to inflate production data. This was not only negative from a moral point of view, it was also negative from a political point of view because faulty information was provided about an actual situation. This prevented the party or government from taking the necessary corrective measures in time.* *We should also add that what tends to happen is that those who fawn over their bosses tend to be promoted to posts with more responsibility, whereas those who criticize and adopt an independent posture are marginalized in spite of being competent. And, since there is no encouragement for the people to exercise control over the way cadres behave, misappropriation of public resources for personal purposes becomes very tempting.* *How can we fight against these errors and deviations? Can we trust the party itself to resolve its problems internally by, for example, creating an ethics committee charged with dealing with these situations? It seems that this is not the solution.* *History has shown—especially in one-party regimes or regimes with an obviously hegemonic party that controls the government and often confuses itself with the government—that it is necessary for the party to be controlled from below, to be subject to public criticism. That seems to be the only way to prevent cadres from becoming bureaucratized or corrupt. As well, it prevents cadres from thinking they are the lords of the people’s destiny and putting the brakes on popular protagonism.* *Mao Zedong explained the need for criticism and self-criticism by using the image of a room that need cleaning regularly to prevent it from filling up with dust. His words on this point were: “[T]he only effective way to prevent all kinds of political dust and germs from contaminating the minds of our comrades and the body of our Party” is, among other things, “to fear neither criticism nor self-criticism,” to “say all you know and say it without reserve,” “Blame not the speaker but be warned by his words,” and “Correct mistakes if you have committed them and guard against them if you have not.”**163* *Criticizing Functionaries to Save the Party* *There are some authors who, when faced with the mistakes and deviations committed by party cadres, try to convince us that any party or, in my preferred terminology, any political instrument is bad. I think enough arguments have been made above to substantiate the thesis that we cannot do without a party when building socialism. The point, then, is not to try to do without a political instrument, but to find ways of correcting these possible deviations.* *Therefore, in the same way that Lenin thought that to save the Soviet state, it was necessary to accept the existence of strike movements that fight against bureaucratic deviations, we today think that to save the political instrument—which is much more than the sum of its leaders—we must allow the organized people to question publicly the mistakes and deviations that some of its cadres may commit. * *There is a basic argument for this: we must remember that the political organization is an instrument created so we can achieve the socialist goal of full human development for all people and that it is therefore the people and not the party that is most important. The people have the right to watch over the instrument; they need to make sure that it fulfills its role, that its cadres really help develop popular protagonism, that they do not stifle people’s initiatives, or use their positions to gain privileges or unjustified rewards.* *If we are realists, we cannot think that the very leaders of the party will commit harakiri. There is a tendency for them to want to protect themselves from criticism by their subordinates and by the people in general. Therefore, it is extremely important that it be the people who supervise the actions of government and party leaders. For that reason, the people must be allowed to criticize their leaders’ mistakes, without being accused of having an “anti-party attitude.” The political instrument has to understand that getting rid of these arrogant, corrupt officials who are causing it to lose prestige can only strengthen the party. * *It is important that the mistakes or deviations made by the leaders are not suffered in silence. Otherwise, the people’s discontent will build up and could explode at any movement. But if channels for expressing this discontent are established, the defects identified can be corrected in time. * *An argument often used to condemn public criticism is that enemies employ it to weaken the party and the transformation process. This is the reason some accuse those who make criticisms of being anti-party or counterrevolutionaries.* *The remarks Fidel Castro made on criticism and self-criticism are quite important on this point. He made these remarks after half a century of revolution, in an interview given to Ignacio Ramonet, editor of Le Monde Diplomatique, at the end of 2005. Some days previously, on November 17, the leader of the Cuban Revolution said that “a fight to the finish” must be waged against certain evils that exist in Cuba, such as small-scale corruption, theft from the state, and illegal enrichment. He also told Ramonet that they were “inviting the whole country to cooperate in this battle, the battle against all defects, including small theft and massive waste, of any sort and in any place.” * *When Ramonet asked him why the usual method of criticism and self-criticism hadn’t worked, Fidel replied: * *We used to trust in criticism and self-criticism, it’s true. But this has become almost fossilized. That method, in the way it was being used, no longer really worked because the criticism tended to be inside a small group; broader criticism was never used, criticism in a theatre, for example, with hundreds or thousands of people….We have to resort to criticism and self-criticism in the classroom, in the work place and outside the workplace, in the municipality, and in the country….We must take advantage of the shame that I am sure people feel.**164* *A little later on, after having admitted to various mistakes made by the revolution, he said: “I am not afraid of accepting the responsibility I have to accept. We cannot go about being wimpy. Let them attack me, let them criticize me. Yes, many must be hurting a little…[but] we have to take risks, we have to have the courage to tell the truth.”* *However, what I found the most surprising and the most interesting was what Castro said next: * *It doesn’t matter what those bandits abroad say….He who laughs last laughs loudest. And that is not saying bad things about the revolution. That is saying very good things about the revolutions because we are talking about a revolution that can deal with these problems, can take the bull by the horns, better than a Madrid bullfighter. We must have the courage to admit our own mistakes…because this is the only way to achieve the objective we set out to achieve.**165* *To sum up, although public criticism can be used by the enemy to attack the party and the revolution, it can be better used by revolutionaries to correct mistakes and to strengthen the party and the revolution.* *There would be no need for public criticism if the political instrument had an excellent information system that allowed it to quickly identify which of its cadres had fallen into errors or deviations, and if, moreover, it took immediate measures against those cadres. Nor would there be any need for criticism if this information were provided from outside the party or from its own grassroots members, and if the party had time to process the information and adopt the relevant sanctions.* *However, if these conditions do not exist, and the mistakes and deviations that occur every day are in full view of everyone, including the opposition, there is no other option but to denounce them publicly, so as to appeal, as Fidel says, to the shame of those who are destroying the political instrument by their attitudes. Is it not better to ask the people, those who have firsthand experience of these defects in the cadres, to watch over the cadres’ behavior and, in a constructive manner, denounce the mistakes and deviations they commit? Is that not better than letting our enemies, filled with rage and the desire to destroy our revolutionary project, denounce them?* *But stressing the need for public criticism does not mean swallowing any old criticism. We must avoid anarchic, destructive, and ill-founded condemnation. Criticism must be filled with the desire to solve problems, not to increase their number.* *To do this it is necessary that: (a) criticism and denunciations be well-founded; (b) strong sanctions exist for those who make unfounded criticisms or denunciations; (c) criticisms are accompanied by proposals for solutions; and (d) an effort is made to bring criticisms to the party first (and if they have not been answered after a short time, then they can be made public). The ideal situation would be for the party to take the initiative by opening up spaces, so that all those interested can make their opinions known on how the party and state cadres in a given locality are operating.* Notes 1. 162. ↩ An internal current in the Bolshevik Party that advocated greater internal party democracy; Kollontai, *The Workers’ Opposition*, http://marxists.org/archive/kollonta/1921/workers-opposition/ch03.htm. 2. 163. ↩ Mao Zedong, *On Coalition Government*,* *April 24, 1945, http://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-3/mswv3_25.htm . 3. 164. ↩ Ignacio Ramonet, *Cien Horas con Fidel* (La Habana: Publication Office of the Council of State), 677. 4. 165. ↩ Ibid., 682-83. > > The Political Instrument Needed to Lead the Transition > > Conclusion -------------------- Source: http://monthlyreview.org/100701harneckerPart2-7.php | Top | -- You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on the foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole. -AMBEDKAR http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Mon Aug 30 18:57:53 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:27:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <504824.57990.qm@web45516.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Dear Sonia,        Its too late if the Government won't react on POK now afterall its a INDIAN land not some foreign place.  Sonia madam the Muslim rulers ransacked the temple there at TajMahal and using the pillars and idols they built the Taj, we often say the proud of INDIA,symbol of love, and World wonder.  No need to burn the effegies its not the solution but look at the ransacking everywhere not just in 1 or 2 places.  At Varanasi the holy temple vandalized by the AURANGAZEB and built a mosque in the temple premises.  Later in the rest of the land the temple restored with the hidden linga by Indore queen along with Lahore King is a different issue. By fearing the voilence Late Mr. Gandhi  agreed for partition but the same happened after the division.  Irrespective of the division violence had to happen,  no change. If that is the result  India should be undivided.  The same violence has been continuing indefinitely.   If the JEHADIS just memorize these wierd atrocities and think about them for a min or 2 and express their pity thats sufficient for the INDIA.(Whether they perform namaj or notbut  they will surely become soft with this). Experience teach us lessons. Forget lanka for a moment built a TEMPLE at Ayodhya like the one built at SOMNATH.  The scholar ADISHANKARA visited the mount Kailas Manas Sarovar, offered prayers to shiva and as a result he got the SPATIKA linga from the lord directly(Shiva appeared physically and ADISANKARA able to saw this with his eye sight). The same linga is being worshipped even now in INDIA. This is the fact and there is no china, they even dont know what is Manas Sarovar by that time.  If facts are like this everybody portray temselves as owners.  China follow Buddism and they try to invade others.  Though Sidhartha  enlightened himself and created a theory to solve the missieries of the life(the old,the deceased,the dead,the graved), It doesn't meet the actual goal.  Not only that the soft theory was created by a KSHATRIYA by birth(Sidhartha) the warrior it leads to war always as it is the original characteristic.  Some body had miseries and they need conversion!  The damn thing. Is China don't have any troubles like INDIA or what? If so then why there are no moists in that country like we are having?  Their people don't want to ruin their country probably.  Next coming back US invaded other lands for different reasons, but now when it comes to INDIA(we didn't invaded anybody for any reason over indefinite age), there is nothing wrong in invading POK to avoid all sort of future headaches and reunite it with J&k as it is our own territory. As religion based 2 nation theory failed and its proved that division is wrong, let INDIA take back the PAKISTAN as a whole which is like a small state in India and govern it!  Whether failed or succeded PAKISTAN is for Muslims, let the muslims causing trouble settle in that Country and do whatever they want! What do you/anybody say? What is this yaar?  I seriously suggest you to read sanskrit version of MAYURA SURYA SHATAK stanza wise(hope no one comment this as a myth or faith or backwardness), and surely your eyes will open broadly and there by you can get more enlightnement. Thanks in advance with Regards, Dhatri. --- On Mon, 8/30/10, SJabbar wrote: From: SJabbar Subject: Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir To: "we wi" Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 1:47 PM Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir Dear Dhatri, I agree with everything you say.  You are absolutely right.  I will start a campaign tomorrow itself on the Taj Mahal.  Come let us raze it to the ground and build a fine temple.  After that let us invade Tibet and throw the Chinese out, after all it holds the holy site of Kailash Manasarovar.  And it goes without saying that we should open a second front and invade POK.  Then we should burn effigies of Aurangzeb and Marx on every street corner in every town in India.  Or maybe we should do that before invading Tibet?  And what about Sri Lanka?  I think we should definitely claim that island since we have so many places that are sacred to Lord Ram... Thank you so much for opening my eyes at last. Regards, sj On 30/08/10 1:39 PM, "we wi" wrote: Dear Sonia,         What about the temple destruction in rest of INDIA how can you condole ? Why don't you say some thing on Ayodhya,?  Why don't you say some thing on Taj Mahal(full of Hindu idols and pillars the site itself a temple)? Why don't you write some thing on Kohinoor diamond,peacock thrown ? Why don't you say anything on TIBET,POK(why don't we invade pok and bring the status as it was before 1947 one J&k state which is part n parcel of INDIA ;as USA invaded Iraq and Afghanistan y not INDIA act on its own occupied territory),China intrusions? Why don't you write on loyalty of Muslims(If they really want to be loyal to Pakistan then please settle in PAKISTAN and do whatever they like. If Pakistan unable to govern itself let INDIA govern them like any other state).  For building a mosque does it really necessary to destroy a temple? For spreading a religion does it really necessary to ruin another?(Conversions)!  WE will be happy if you write on AFGHANISTAN(gandhara an Indian land turned into something else),  vandalism by AURANGZEB and his predecessor during their rule and what is the best that GOVERNMENT to do NOW. Finally Why don't you write on the so called naxalism,Maoism in china as it is in INDIA(either these people go there and do the nonsense as they have been doing in INDIA or why dint the theories brought up there). Is Mao, Karl Max and theories are so great compared to that of many? (For example during the harshavardhana rule a scholar named MAYURA from J&k  proposed a theory Surya shatak to obtain the lost sight.  Even that is useful now if studied properly for a lasik vision.  ARYABHATTA,VARAHAMIHIRA,ADISHANKARA, VATSAYANA theories which are helpful to the world and its public even now. Regards, Dhatri. --- On Mon, 8/30/10, SJabbar wrote: From: SJabbar Subject: Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir To: "rashneek kher" , "Aditya Raj Kaul" Cc: "Sarai" Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 8:42 AM Dear Rashneek, Someone had posted news of a Jain temple being destroyed and someone had clarified that it had not.  I merely posted the piece to set the record straight. Kashmir is such a contentious site that when someone claims something and you contradict it with facts the person immediately shifts the goalposts! My posting the piece on the Jain temple had nothing to do with denying the fact that temples have been destroyed in Kashmir or that Pandit properties have been the target of vandalism and worse. I really do hope that you are able to rebuild your house in Kashmir and in time, the small temple in your village. Best wishes, Sonia On 30/08/10 8:28 AM, "rashneek kher" > wrote: > Dear Sonia, Around May this year I was planning to rebuild my house in > Kashmir.I was bouyed by the fact that my father could do the ancient > Harmukatganga pilgrimmage.When I started enquiring about things around my > house and asked about the cremation ground my friend Yasin Dar told me there > are hardly any left in entire valley simply because people have bulit houses > on them. There was a very small temple in our villgae.There were no more than > 15 Pandit families so it would suffice but now I hear that someone's > house stands where the temple was and the land is grabbed as well. So while > this Jain temple might not have been broken or destroyed what about hundreds > of such temples which are not very far from where our friend Shujaat > lives. Tell him to look around and he will find the stamp of Butshikans > everywhere. Love Rashneek On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:47 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul > >wrote: > Don't trust The Times of India. Trust > Shujaat Bukhari. Or else you will be > treated as a communal. I guess his > house was under raid during Amarnath > agitation along with some PDP leaders. > Police was searching for > separatists. > > > Well, No Jain Temple. Only 600 > Hindu Temples destroyed. > > Ah! Just 600. Forget it yaar. Why bother? > > > Perhaps that is where stone-pelter mobs get their weapon. Destroy temple,> > get stones. Transport them to main street corners. Simple! > > I heard 80 Shia > familes have moved out of Kashmir in last two months. > Sorry, > I should > already take it as my imagination. Sane voice has no place. > Nothing > > doing! > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > >  On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:22 PM, > we wi > wrote: > > > from Ghori...Aurangazeb to now there is > no change,ruining ruining ruining > > whether it is religion, temple,scholary, > place,asset or whatever. > > > > --- On Sat, 8/28/10, SJabbar > > wrote: > > > > From: SJabbar > > > > Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in > Kashmir > > To: "Sarai" > > > Date: Saturday, August 28, > 2010, 2:13 PM > > > > From The Hindu > > > > > > > > No Jain temple was burnt > in Kashmir: officials > > > > Shujaat Bukhari > > SRINAGAR: The temporary > structure housing a Jain temple in a local hotel > > was > > not burnt by a > mob but was dismantled as a local hotel's contract with a > > Mumbai-based > travel agency which built the structure on its premises has > > not > > been > renewed. > > > > In the wake of reports in newspapers around India that the > only Jain > temple > > in Kashmir had been burnt by mobs leading the ongoing > prot From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Mon Aug 30 18:58:12 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:28:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <56196.49353.qm@web45505.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Dear Sonia,        Its too late if the Government won't react on POK now afterall its a INDIAN land not some foreign place.  Sonia madam the Muslim rulers ransacked the temple there at TajMahal and using the pillars and idols they built the Taj, we often say the proud of INDIA,symbol of love, and World wonder.  No need to burn the effegies its not the solution but look at the ransacking everywhere not just in 1 or 2 places.  At Varanasi the holy temple vandalized by the AURANGAZEB and built a mosque in the temple premises.  Later in the rest of the land the temple restored with the hidden linga by Indore queen along with Lahore King is a different issue. By fearing the voilence Late Mr. Gandhi  agreed for partition but the same happened after the division.  Irrespective of the division violence had to happen,  no change. If that is the result  India should be undivided.  The same violence has been continuing indefinitely.   If the JEHADIS just memorize these wierd atrocities and think about them for a min or 2 and express their pity thats sufficient for the INDIA.(Whether they perform namaj or notbut  they will surely become soft with this). Experience teach us lessons. Forget lanka for a moment built a TEMPLE at Ayodhya like the one built at SOMNATH.  The scholar ADISHANKARA visited the mount Kailas Manas Sarovar, offered prayers to shiva and as a result he got the SPATIKA linga from the lord directly(Shiva appeared physically and ADISANKARA able to saw this with his eye sight). The same linga is being worshipped even now in INDIA. This is the fact and there is no china, they even dont know what is Manas Sarovar by that time.  If facts are like this everybody portray temselves as owners.  China follow Buddism and they try to invade others.  Though Sidhartha  enlightened himself and created a theory to solve the missieries of the life(the old,the deceased,the dead,the graved), It doesn't meet the actual goal.  Not only that the soft theory was created by a KSHATRIYA by birth(Sidhartha) the warrior it leads to war always as it is the original characteristic.  Some body had miseries and they need conversion!  The damn thing. Is China don't have any troubles like INDIA or what? If so then why there are no moists in that country like we are having?  Their people don't want to ruin their country probably.  Next coming back US invaded other lands for different reasons, but now when it comes to INDIA(we didn't invaded anybody for any reason over indefinite age), there is nothing wrong in invading POK to avoid all sort of future headaches and reunite it with J&k as it is our own territory. As religion based 2 nation theory failed and its proved that division is wrong, let INDIA take back the PAKISTAN as a whole which is like a small state in India and govern it!  Whether failed or succeded PAKISTAN is for Muslims, let the muslims causing trouble settle in that Country and do whatever they want! What do you/anybody say? What is this yaar?  I seriously suggest you to read sanskrit version of MAYURA SURYA SHATAK stanza wise(hope no one comment this as a myth or faith or backwardness), and surely your eyes will open broadly and there by you can get more enlightnement. Thanks in advance with Regards, Dhatri. --- On Mon, 8/30/10, SJabbar wrote: From: SJabbar Subject: Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir To: "we wi" Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 1:47 PM Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir Dear Dhatri, I agree with everything you say.  You are absolutely right.  I will start a campaign tomorrow itself on the Taj Mahal.  Come let us raze it to the ground and build a fine temple.  After that let us invade Tibet and throw the Chinese out, after all it holds the holy site of Kailash Manasarovar.  And it goes without saying that we should open a second front and invade POK.  Then we should burn effigies of Aurangzeb and Marx on every street corner in every town in India.  Or maybe we should do that before invading Tibet?  And what about Sri Lanka?  I think we should definitely claim that island since we have so many places that are sacred to Lord Ram... Thank you so much for opening my eyes at last. Regards, sj On 30/08/10 1:39 PM, "we wi" wrote: Dear Sonia,         What about the temple destruction in rest of INDIA how can you condole ? Why don't you say some thing on Ayodhya,?  Why don't you say some thing on Taj Mahal(full of Hindu idols and pillars the site itself a temple)? Why don't you write some thing on Kohinoor diamond,peacock thrown ? Why don't you say anything on TIBET,POK(why don't we invade pok and bring the status as it was before 1947 one J&k state which is part n parcel of INDIA ;as USA invaded Iraq and Afghanistan y not INDIA act on its own occupied territory),China intrusions? Why don't you write on loyalty of Muslims(If they really want to be loyal to Pakistan then please settle in PAKISTAN and do whatever they like. If Pakistan unable to govern itself let INDIA govern them like any other state).  For building a mosque does it really necessary to destroy a temple? For spreading a religion does it really necessary to ruin another?(Conversions)!  WE will be happy if you write on AFGHANISTAN(gandhara an Indian land turned into something else),  vandalism by AURANGZEB and his predecessor during their rule and what is the best that GOVERNMENT to do NOW. Finally Why don't you write on the so called naxalism,Maoism in china as it is in INDIA(either these people go there and do the nonsense as they have been doing in INDIA or why dint the theories brought up there). Is Mao, Karl Max and theories are so great compared to that of many? (For example during the harshavardhana rule a scholar named MAYURA from J&k  proposed a theory Surya shatak to obtain the lost sight.  Even that is useful now if studied properly for a lasik vision.  ARYABHATTA,VARAHAMIHIRA,ADISHANKARA, VATSAYANA theories which are helpful to the world and its public even now. Regards, Dhatri. --- On Mon, 8/30/10, SJabbar wrote: From: SJabbar Subject: Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir To: "rashneek kher" , "Aditya Raj Kaul" Cc: "Sarai" Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 8:42 AM Dear Rashneek, Someone had posted news of a Jain temple being destroyed and someone had clarified that it had not.  I merely posted the piece to set the record straight. Kashmir is such a contentious site that when someone claims something and you contradict it with facts the person immediately shifts the goalposts! My posting the piece on the Jain temple had nothing to do with denying the fact that temples have been destroyed in Kashmir or that Pandit properties have been the target of vandalism and worse. I really do hope that you are able to rebuild your house in Kashmir and in time, the small temple in your village. Best wishes, Sonia On 30/08/10 8:28 AM, "rashneek kher" > wrote: > Dear Sonia, Around May this year I was planning to rebuild my house in > Kashmir.I was bouyed by the fact that my father could do the ancient > Harmukatganga pilgrimmage.When I started enquiring about things around my > house and asked about the cremation ground my friend Yasin Dar told me there > are hardly any left in entire valley simply because people have bulit houses > on them. There was a very small temple in our villgae.There were no more than > 15 Pandit families so it would suffice but now I hear that someone's > house stands where the temple was and the land is grabbed as well. So while > this Jain temple might not have been broken or destroyed what about hundreds > of such temples which are not very far from where our friend Shujaat > lives. Tell him to look around and he will find the stamp of Butshikans > everywhere. Love Rashneek On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:47 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul > >wrote: > Don't trust The Times of India. Trust > Shujaat Bukhari. Or else you will be > treated as a communal. I guess his > house was under raid during Amarnath > agitation along with some PDP leaders. > Police was searching for > separatists. > > > Well, No Jain Temple. Only 600 > Hindu Temples destroyed. > > Ah! Just 600. Forget it yaar. Why bother? > > > Perhaps that is where stone-pelter mobs get their weapon. Destroy temple,> > get stones. Transport them to main street corners. Simple! > > I heard 80 Shia > familes have moved out of Kashmir in last two months. > Sorry, > I should > already take it as my imagination. Sane voice has no place. > Nothing > > doing! > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > >  On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:22 PM, > we wi > wrote: > > > from Ghori...Aurangazeb to now there is > no change,ruining ruining ruining > > whether it is religion, temple,scholary, > place,asset or whatever. > > > > --- On Sat, 8/28/10, SJabbar > > wrote: > > > > From: SJabbar > > > > Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in > Kashmir > > To: "Sarai" > > > Date: Saturday, August 28, > 2010, 2:13 PM > > > > From The Hindu > > > > > > > > No Jain temple was burnt > in Kashmir: officials > > > > Shujaat Bukhari > > SRINAGAR: The temporary > structure housing a Jain temple in a local hotel > > was > > not burnt by a > mob but was dismantled as a local hotel's contract with a > > Mumbai-based > travel agency which built the structure on its premises has > > not > > been > renewed. > > > > In the wake of reports in newspapers around India that the > only Jain > temple > > in Kashmir had been burnt by mobs leading the ongoing > protests in the > > Valley, hotel and State officials told The Hindu that no > such incident > had > > taken place. > > > > According to Ghulam Mohiuddin, > manager of Silver Star Hotel in Lasjan on > > the > > outskirts of Srinagar, > the temporary structure was built as per contract > > with Gem Tours and > Travels, a Mumbai-based travel agency, which wanted to > > provide a place > where Jain tourists from other parts of India could > worship > > while > visiting Kashmir. > > > > “But the three-year contract ended and was not > extended, so the structure > > was also dismantled,” he said. The temple was > established to attract Jain > > tourists. “As the situation in the Valley > worsened and the tourist inflow > > declined, the contract was not renewed and > we thought there is no need > for > > this,” he added. The 8x8 pre-fabricated > structure was dismantled in the > > presence of the priest, Hans Raj, on > August 10. > > > > Mr. Mohiuddin categorically denied that the temple was > burnt or destroyed > > by > > a mob. “This is just not true. It is a fact that > a large mob passed > through > > this area also but no one entered our > premises so the question of > touching > > the temple does not arise,” he told > The Hindu. Before the hotel > management > > decided to remove the structure, > the owners of the travel agency were > > contacted through the priest Hans > Raj, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. “The > > idols were removed and properly > handed over to them when they arrived in > > Srinagar the next day,” he said, > adding the rumours seemed to be a > > conspiracy to spread hatred against > Kashmiris. > > > > Deputy Commissioner (Srinagar) Meraj Kakroo also rubbished > reports about > > the > > Jain temple being attacked. “The report about the > burning of the temple > is > > baseless and mischievous,” he said. He added > that no proper temple > existed > > and “as per our information, it was an > internal arrangement made by the > > hotel owners.” > > > > Members of the > community said there is, in fact, no Jain temple in > Kashmir. > > While there > were 40-odd Jain families living in the Valley prior to > > militancy, only > five have stayed back. “There is no Jain temple here, > > though > > a family > has set up one in their house,” Amit Jain, a businessman, said. > > > > > Repeated attempts by this correspondent to get a response from Gem Tours > > > and > > Travels drew a blank. However, a local news portal, Kashmir > Dispatch, > > reported that a team from the Doshi family, which built the > temple, flew > in > > to Srinagar the day after it was dismantled. “They > packed the idols in > > cardboard boxes and returned to Sabarmati,” it said. > “It was not burnt > and > > [the newspaper which said it was] will come out > with a corrigendum,” the > > portal quoted Jyotin Doshi, Chairman of Gem > Tours, as saying. “The > > structure > > was broken; we don't know by whom, we > had a contract with the hotel for > > five > > years under which the temple > was built on the hotel property,” he said. > > > > “We don't want to create > enmity and request everybody to stop thinking > > about > > the matter. We > have now installed the idols in Ahmedabad and there is > > nothing more I can > say on this,” the portal quoted Mr. Doshi as saying. > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion > list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: > send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net  with > > subscribe in the > subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion > list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: > send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net  with > > subscribe in the > subject header. > > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion > list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send > an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net  with > subscribe in the subject > header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Mon Aug 30 19:40:33 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:10:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir In-Reply-To: <504824.57990.qm@web45516.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <920324.77137.qm@web45505.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Dear Sonia,   >>> Then we should burn effigies of Aurangzeb and Marx on every street corner in every >>>town in India.             Not necessary but if ourt Government change the names like lodhi marg, aurangajeb street , ghori road, ghajani road , this road, that road with a few exceptions like COTTON barriage,BROWN dictionary etc., of every street corner and keep the old names in every town in India that could be a great thing to feel,suggest and see like Shri Adisankara saw the god shiva physically with his own eye sight..   P.S: Exceptions are there for dargas and good people always.   Regards, Dhatri. --- On Mon, 8/30/10, we wi wrote: From: we wi Subject: Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir To: reader-list at sarai.net Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 6:57 PM Dear Sonia,        Its too late if the Government won't react on POK now afterall its a INDIAN land not some foreign place.  Sonia madam the Muslim rulers ransacked the temple there at TajMahal and using the pillars and idols they built the Taj, we often say the proud of INDIA,symbol of love, and World wonder.  No need to burn the effegies its not the solution but look at the ransacking everywhere not just in 1 or 2 places.  At Varanasi the holy temple vandalized by the AURANGAZEB and built a mosque in the temple premises.  Later in the rest of the land the temple restored with the hidden linga by Indore queen along with Lahore King is a different issue. By fearing the voilence Late Mr. Gandhi  agreed for partition but the same happened after the division.  Irrespective of the division violence had to happen,  no change. If that is the result  India should be undivided.  The same violence has been continuing indefinitely.   If the JEHADIS just memorize these wierd atrocities and think about them for a min or 2 and express their pity thats sufficient for the INDIA.(Whether they perform namaj or notbut  they will surely become soft with this). Experience teach us lessons.  Forget lanka for a moment built a TEMPLE at Ayodhya like the one built at SOMNATH.  The scholar ADISHANKARA visited the mount Kailas Manas Sarovar, offered prayers to shiva and as a result he got the SPATIKA linga from the lord directly(Shiva appeared physically and ADISANKARA able to saw this with his eye sight). The same linga is being worshipped even now in INDIA. This is the fact and there is no china, they even dont know what is Manas Sarovar by that time.  If facts are like this everybody portray temselves as owners.  China follow Buddism and they try to invade others.  Though Sidhartha  enlightened himself and created a theory to solve the missieries of the life(the old,the deceased,the dead,the graved), It doesn't meet the actual goal.  Not only that the soft theory was created by a KSHATRIYA by birth(Sidhartha) the warrior it leads to war always as it is the original characteristic.  Some body had miseries and they need conversion!  The damn thing. Is China don't have any troubles like INDIA or what? If so then why there are no moists in that country like we are having?  Their people don't want to ruin their country probably.  Next coming back US invaded other lands for different reasons, but now when it comes to INDIA(we didn't invaded anybody for any reason over indefinite age), there is nothing wrong in invading POK to avoid all sort of future headaches and reunite it with J&k as it is our own territory. As religion based 2 nation theory failed and its proved that division is wrong, let INDIA take back the PAKISTAN as a whole which is like a small state in India and govern it!  Whether failed or succeded PAKISTAN is for Muslims, let the muslims causing trouble settle in that Country and do whatever they want! What do you/anybody say? What is this yaar?  I seriously suggest you to read sanskrit version of MAYURA SURYA SHATAK stanza wise(hope no one comment this as a myth or faith or backwardness), and surely your eyes will open broadly and there by you can get more enlightnement. Thanks in advance with Regards, Dhatri. --- On Mon, 8/30/10, SJabbar wrote: From: SJabbar Subject: Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir To: "we wi" Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 1:47 PM Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir Dear Dhatri, I agree with everything you say.  You are absolutely right.  I will start a campaign tomorrow itself on the Taj Mahal.  Come let us raze it to the ground and build a fine temple.  After that let us invade Tibet and throw the Chinese out, after all it holds the holy site of Kailash Manasarovar.  And it goes without saying that we should open a second front and invade POK.  Then we should burn effigies of Aurangzeb and Marx on every street corner in every town in India.  Or maybe we should do that before invading Tibet?  And what about Sri Lanka?  I think we should definitely claim that island since we have so many places that are sacred to Lord Ram... Thank you so much for opening my eyes at last. Regards, sj On 30/08/10 1:39 PM, "we wi" wrote: Dear Sonia,         What about the temple destruction in rest of INDIA how can you condole ? Why don't you say some thing on Ayodhya,?  Why don't you say some thing on Taj Mahal(full of Hindu idols and pillars the site itself a temple)? Why don't you write some thing on Kohinoor diamond,peacock thrown ? Why don't you say anything on TIBET,POK(why don't we invade pok and bring the status as it was before 1947 one J&k state which is part n parcel of INDIA ;as USA invaded Iraq and Afghanistan y not INDIA act on its own occupied territory),China intrusions? Why don't you write on loyalty of Muslims(If they really want to be loyal to Pakistan then please settle in PAKISTAN and do whatever they like. If Pakistan unable to govern itself let INDIA govern them like any other state).  For building a mosque does it really necessary to destroy a temple? For spreading a religion does it really necessary to ruin another?(Conversions)!  WE will be happy if you write on AFGHANISTAN(gandhara an Indian land turned into something else),  vandalism by AURANGZEB and his predecessor during their rule and what is the best that GOVERNMENT to do NOW. Finally Why don't you write on the so called naxalism,Maoism in china as it is in INDIA(either these people go there and do the nonsense as they have been doing in INDIA or why dint the theories brought up there). Is Mao, Karl Max and theories are so great compared to that of many? (For example during the harshavardhana rule a scholar named MAYURA from J&k  proposed a theory Surya shatak to obtain the lost sight.  Even that is useful now if studied properly for a lasik vision.  ARYABHATTA,VARAHAMIHIRA,ADISHANKARA, VATSAYANA theories which are helpful to the world and its public even now. Regards, Dhatri. --- On Mon, 8/30/10, SJabbar wrote: From: SJabbar Subject: Re: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in Kashmir To: "rashneek kher" , "Aditya Raj Kaul" Cc: "Sarai" Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 8:42 AM Dear Rashneek, Someone had posted news of a Jain temple being destroyed and someone had clarified that it had not.  I merely posted the piece to set the record straight. Kashmir is such a contentious site that when someone claims something and you contradict it with facts the person immediately shifts the goalposts! My posting the piece on the Jain temple had nothing to do with denying the fact that temples have been destroyed in Kashmir or that Pandit properties have been the target of vandalism and worse. I really do hope that you are able to rebuild your house in Kashmir and in time, the small temple in your village. Best wishes, Sonia On 30/08/10 8:28 AM, "rashneek kher" > wrote: > Dear Sonia, Around May this year I was planning to rebuild my house in > Kashmir.I was bouyed by the fact that my father could do the ancient > Harmukatganga pilgrimmage.When I started enquiring about things around my > house and asked about the cremation ground my friend Yasin Dar told me there > are hardly any left in entire valley simply because people have bulit houses > on them. There was a very small temple in our villgae.There were no more than > 15 Pandit families so it would suffice but now I hear that someone's > house stands where the temple was and the land is grabbed as well. So while > this Jain temple might not have been broken or destroyed what about hundreds > of such temples which are not very far from where our friend Shujaat > lives. Tell him to look around and he will find the stamp of Butshikans > everywhere. Love Rashneek On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:47 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul > >wrote: > Don't trust The Times of India. Trust > Shujaat Bukhari. Or else you will be > treated as a communal. I guess his > house was under raid during Amarnath > agitation along with some PDP leaders. > Police was searching for > separatists. > > > Well, No Jain Temple. Only 600 > Hindu Temples destroyed. > > Ah! Just 600. Forget it yaar. Why bother? > > > Perhaps that is where stone-pelter mobs get their weapon. Destroy temple,> > get stones. Transport them to main street corners. Simple! > > I heard 80 Shia > familes have moved out of Kashmir in last two months. > Sorry, > I should > already take it as my imagination. Sane voice has no place. > Nothing > > doing! > > -- > Aditya Raj Kaul > > India Editor > The Indian, Australia > > > Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ > >  On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 7:22 PM, > we wi > wrote: > > > from Ghori...Aurangazeb to now there is > no change,ruining ruining ruining > > whether it is religion, temple,scholary, > place,asset or whatever. > > > > --- On Sat, 8/28/10, SJabbar > > wrote: > > > > From: SJabbar > > > > Subject: [Reader-list] No Jain temple burnt in > Kashmir > > To: "Sarai" > > > Date: Saturday, August 28, > 2010, 2:13 PM > > > > From The Hindu > > > > > > > > No Jain temple was burnt > in Kashmir: officials > > > > Shujaat Bukhari > > SRINAGAR: The temporary > structure housing a Jain temple in a local hotel > > was > > not burnt by a > mob but was dismantled as a local hotel's contract with a > > Mumbai-based > travel agency which built the structure on its premises has > > not > > been > renewed. > > > > In the wake of reports in newspapers around India that the > only Jain > temple > > in Kashmir had been burnt by mobs leading the ongoing > prot       _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kauladityaraj at gmail.com Mon Aug 30 20:48:36 2010 From: kauladityaraj at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Kaul) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:48:36 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] =?windows-1252?q?What_ails_Kashmir=3F_The_Sunni_ide?= =?windows-1252?q?a_of_=91azadi=92?= Message-ID: What ails Kashmir? The Sunni idea of ‘azadi’*Link* - http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/06210254/What-ails-Kashmir-The-Sunni-i.html The discomfort Kashmiris feel is about which laws self-rule must be under, and Hurriyat rejects a secular constitution We know what Hurriyat Conference wants: azadi, freedom. But freedom from what? Freedom from Indian rule. Doesn’t an elected Kashmiri, Omar Abdullah, rule from Srinagar? Yes, but Hurriyat rejects elections. Why? Because ballots have no *azadi *option.But why can’t the * azadi* demand be made by democratically elected leaders? Because elections are rigged through the Indian Army. Why is the Indian Army out in Srinagar and not in Surat? Because Kashmiris want *azadi. * Let’s try that again. What do Kashmiris want freedom from? India’s Constitution. What is offensive about India’s Constitution? It is not Islamic. This is the issue, let us be clear. The violence in Srinagar isn’t for democratic self-rule because Kashmiris have that. The discomfort Kashmiris feel is about which laws self-rule must be under, and Hurriyat rejects a secular constitution. Hurriyat deceives the world by using a universal word, *azadi*, to push a narrow, religious demand. Kashmiris have no confusion about what *azadi*means: It means Shariah. Friday holidays, amputating thieves’ hands, abolishing interest, prohibiting alcohol (and kite-flying), stoning adulterers, lynching apostates and all the rest of it that comprises the ideal Sunni state. Not one Shia gang terrorizes India; terrorism on the subcontinent is a Sunni monopoly. There is a token Shia among the Hurriyat’s bearded warriors, but it is essentially a Sunni group pursuing Sunni Shariah. Its most important figure is Umar Farooq. He’s called *mirwaiz*, meaning head of preachers (*waiz*), but he inherited his title at 17 and actually is no Islamic scholar. He is English-educated, but his base is Srinagar’s sullen neighbourhood of Maisuma, at the front of the stone-pelting. His following is conservative and, since he has little scholarship, he is unable to bend his constituents to his view. Hurriyat’s modernists are led by Sopore’s 80-year-old Ali Geelani of Jamaat-e-Islami. Jamaat was founded in 1941 by a brilliant man from Maharashtra called Maududi, who invented the structure of the modern Islamic state along the lines of a Communist one. Maududi opposed Jinnah’s tribal raid in Kashmir, which led to the Line of Control, saying jihad could only be prosecuted formally by a Muslim state, and not informally by militias. This wisdom was discarded later, and Hizb al-Mujahideen, starring Syed Salahuddin of cap and beard fame, is a Jamaat unit. Maududi was ecumenical, meaning that he unified the four Sunni groups of thought. He always excluded Shias, as heretics. The Kashmiri separatist movement is actually inseparable from Sunni fundamentalism. Those on the Hurriyat’s fringes who say they are Gandhians, like Yasin Malik, are carried along by the others in the group so long as the immediate task of resisting India is in common. But the Hurriyat and its aims are ultimately poisonous, even for Muslims. The Hurriyat Conference’s idea of freedom unfolds from a religious instinct, not a secular sentiment. This instinct is sectarian, and all the pro-*azadi*groups are Shia-killers. In promoting their hatred, the groups plead for the support of other Muslims by leaning on the name of the Prophet Muhammad. Hafiz is a title and means memorizer of the Quran. Mohammed Saeed’s Lashkar Tayyaba means army of Tyeb (“the good”), one of the Prophet’s names. This is incorrectly spelled and pronounced by our journalists as “Taiba” or “Toiba”, but Muslims can place the name. Lashkar rejects all law from sources other than the recorded sayings and actions of Muhammad. This is called being Wahhabi, and Wahhabis detest the Shia. Jaish Muhammad (Muhammad’s army) was founded in a Karachi mosque, and it is linked to the Shia-killing Sipah Sahaba (Army of Muhammad’s First Followers) in Pakistan’s Seraiki-speaking southern Punjab. The group follows a narrow, anti-Shia doctrine developed in Deoband. Decades of non-interference by the Pakistani state in the business of Kashmiri separatism has led to a loss of internal sovereignty in Pakistan. The state is no longer able to convince its citizens that it should act against these groups. Though their own Shia are regularly butchered, a poll shows that a quarter of Pakistanis think Lashkar Tayyaba does good work. We think Indian Muslims are different from Pakistanis and less susceptible to fanaticism. It is interesting that within Pakistan, the only group openly and violently opposed to Taliban and terrorism are UP and Bihar migrants who form Karachi’s secular Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party. So what do the separatist groups want? It is wrong to see them as being only terrorist groups. They operate in an intellectual framework, and there is a higher idea that drives the violence. This is a perfect state with an executive who is pious, male and Sunni. Such a state, where all is done according to the book, will get God to shower his blessings on the citizens, who will all be Sunnis. There are three types of Sunnis in Kashmir. Unionists, separatists, and neutrals. Unionists, like Omar Abdullah, are secular and likely to be repelled by separatism because they have seen the damage caused by political Islam in Pakistan. They might not be in love with Indians, but they see the beauty of the Indian Constitution. Neutrals, like Mehbooba Mufti, are pragmatic and will accept the Indian Constitution when in power, though they show defiance when out of it. This is fine, because they respond to a Muslim constituency that is uncertain, but isn’t totally alienated. The longer these two groups participate in democracy in Kashmir, the weaker the separatists become. The current violence is a result of this. Given their boycott of politics, the Hurriyat must rally its base by urging them to violence and most of it happens in Maisuma and Sopore. The violence should also clarify the problem in the minds of neutrals: If Kashmiri rule does not solve the *azadi *problem, what will? India’s liberals are defensive when debating Kashmir because of our unfulfilled promise on plebiscite. But they shouldn’t be. There is really no option to secular democracy, whether one chooses it through a plebiscite or whether it is imposed. It is a universal idea and there is no second form of government in any culture or religion that works. The Islamic state is utopian and it never arrives. Since it is driven by belief, however, the search becomes quite desperate. India has a constitution; Pakistan has editions. These are the various Pakistani constitutions: 1935 (secular), 1956 (federal), 1962 (dictatorial), 1973 (parliamentary), 1979 (Islamic), 1999 (presidential), 2008 (parliamentary). Why do they keep changing and searching? Muslims keep trying to hammer in Islamic bits into a set of laws that is actually quite complete. This is the Government of India Act of 1935, gifted to us by the British. Kashmiris have it, and perhaps at some point they will learn to appreciate its beauty. *Aakar Patel will take a break from his column to write a book. He will return early next year.* -- Aditya Raj Kaul India Editor The Indian, Australia Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/ From shuddha at sarai.net Mon Aug 30 20:54:33 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:54:33 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante Message-ID: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net> Dear All, Here is an account of daily life nowadays, in Srinagar, Kashmir, through the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident in Kashmir University. best Shuddha ------------------------- India’s brutality has turned Kashmir into a living hell http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir- into-a-living-hell-3472/ By Giogiana Violante This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the internet. I have not been allowed to receive or send text messages for three months. Just like all Kashmiris my telephone has been barred from such contact. The local news channels have been banned. India controls everything here. And then kills it. The situation is horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent curfew whereby all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter silence, suddenly a protest arises and then spreads throughout the whole city in a surge of frustrated and famished rioters shouting ‘AZADI AZADI AZADI’ (freedom) until it dissipates suddenly into a cacophony of gunshots and clouds of teargas. I observe all this going on at a safe remove of only one metre by a big thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir University, where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes upon hordes of protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there repellently incapable of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence and violence. The Indian army own total control and freedom to shoot at will, to shoot to kill, anyone whom they choose to. Last week a seven year old child was beaten to death. You cannot accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not like a bullet that goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven year old child can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being beaten to death. Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year- old is the size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person beats a tiny child to death when his stone throw must carry so little force that it barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common occurrence here. The other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only one minute away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private road attached to the university so I thought I would risk it. When I returned a roofless sumo vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs laughing and shouting came charging through the street waving their batons and guns. They headed for an old man and tried to hit him and then they knocked a 4-year-old boy off his tricycle. For fun. He was only 50 centimetres outside his house’s garden so that hardly counts as disobeying the curfew and yet they charged at him on purpose. They knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for me, which as a western woman I did not expect. I am living here within the deserted university grounds, alone with the security guards and a few random professors and clerks. The university was evacuated three months ago when the troubles commenced and the students and school children all over the valley have experienced, as they always do, a great void in their education. The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the doors of pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew is purely out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and kill an eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty street? A woman kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her hands had her hands beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I heard the usual impassioned pleads for freedom hailing from Hazratbal Mosque, which is just outside the university. For an hour the calls of ‘Azadi’ escalated and escalated until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. The shots continued sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that the mosque was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some died, of course. The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave like this, invading places of worship simply because of impassioned calls for freedom by a people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of power by the occupying forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right to retaliate. Nor the freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear my complete and utter uselessness in this situation. As a rich westerner even I cannot get food. The other day myself and seven boys shared two carrots between us and a handful of rice. So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not been able to open their businesses for three months? How can they even have the money to afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from somewhere? You risk your life in order to get food. How can you get food without leaving home? Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk in the university showed me his mauled arms and the gash in his thigh. His arms were black and purple with crusted blood from last week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made hell. ‘I went to get medicine’ he said, ‘and the army caught me’. I smiled and said, ‘Oh you people are always getting caught on the way to get medicine. Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.’ ‘Aren’t biscuits medicine?’ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. Lat week as I circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a forest of chinar trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, moghul gardens outside every department (Why are these gardens perfectly tendered? Given the situation outside how do these people have the strength and hope to even care to tend their gardens? Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would have expected the gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw a thin little old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one doesn’t see bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these conditions. My mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it from? Had he bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I suddenly realised I was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. The ugly things hunger does to a person’s mind is shocking. His bag was probably full of dirty laundry. Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something along the lines of: “Hey you, America! Why aren’t you helping us? You do something.” “What can I do?” I reply, “I’m neither a politician nor a journalist. I’m just trapped here like you.” “But you’re a Westener. You see how things are here. We have been living like this for twenty years. When you go back to your country you tell them. You ask them why they aren’t helping us.” “It’s your own fault,” I reply. “Why should we bother saving your country when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you’ve got is apples, goats and saffron. You’re doomed.” A few seconds of silence will be followed by a warm invitation to tea. Muslim hospitality. At this time when every tea leaf is precious these people will share even their last few crumbs of powdered milk with you. And you sit there sipping the tea wondering how and where they managed to procure it and how much it cost them in beatings. Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Mon Aug 30 21:51:43 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:51:43 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net> References: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net> Message-ID: Thank you for sharing this account. It makes you want to sing Sahir Ludhianvi's words from the rooftops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tH32hZxyfk http://www.hungamaforums.com/5189-jinhein-naaz-hai.html#post13472 best, Aditya Raj Baul On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 8:54 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > Dear All, > > Here is an account of daily life nowadays,  in Srinagar, Kashmir, through > the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident in Kashmir > University. > > best > > Shuddha > > ------------------------- > > India’s brutality has turned Kashmir into a living hell > > http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir-into-a-living-hell-3472/ > > By Giogiana Violante > > > This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the internet. I have > not been allowed to receive or send text messages for three months. Just > like all Kashmiris my telephone has been barred from such contact. The local > news channels have been banned. India controls everything here. And then > kills it. The situation is horrific. Over these months of food rationing and > persistent curfew whereby all is closed and the streets totally deserted in > utter silence, suddenly a protest arises and then spreads throughout the > whole city in a surge of frustrated and famished rioters shouting ‘AZADI > AZADI AZADI’ (freedom) until it dissipates suddenly into a cacophony of > gunshots and clouds of teargas. > > I observe all this going on at a  safe remove of only one metre by a big > thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir University, > where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes upon hordes of > protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there repellently incapable > of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence and violence. The Indian army > own total control and freedom to shoot at will, to shoot to kill, anyone > whom they choose to. > > Last week a seven year old child was beaten to death. You cannot > accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not like a bullet that > goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven year old child can > do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being beaten to death. > Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year-old is the size of > a three year old westerner. So what kind of person beats a tiny child to > death when his stone throw must carry so little force that it barely > deserves a shrug? This is such a common occurrence here. > > The other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only one > minute away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private road > attached to the university so I thought I would risk it. When I returned a > roofless sumo vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs laughing and shouting > came charging through the street waving their batons and guns. They headed > for an old man and tried to hit him and then they knocked a 4-year-old boy > off his tricycle. For fun. He was only 50 centimetres outside his house’s > garden so that hardly counts as disobeying the curfew and yet they charged > at him on purpose. They knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for me, > which as a western woman I did not expect. > > I am living here within the deserted university grounds, alone with the > security guards and a few random professors and clerks. The university was > evacuated three months ago when the troubles commenced and the students and > school children all over the valley have experienced, as they always do, a > great void in their education. > > The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the doors of > pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew is purely > out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and kill an > eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty street? A woman > kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her hands had her hands > beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I > heard the usual impassioned pleads for freedom hailing from Hazratbal > Mosque, which is just outside the university. For an hour the calls of > ‘Azadi’ escalated and escalated until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. > The shots continued sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that > the mosque was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some > died, of course. > > The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave like this, invading > places of worship simply because of impassioned calls for freedom by a > people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. This sort of thing > happens every day. Total abuse of power by the occupying forces. But the > people of Kashmir have no right to retaliate. Nor the freedom to even leave > their homes. I cannot bear my complete and utter uselessness in this > situation. As a rich westerner even I cannot get food. The other day myself > and seven boys shared two carrots between us and a handful of rice. > > So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not been able to open > their businesses for three months? How can they even have the money to > afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from somewhere? You risk your > life in order to get food. How can you get food without leaving home? > Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk in the university showed me his > mauled arms and the gash in his thigh. His arms were black and purple with > crusted blood from last week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made hell. > > ‘I went to get medicine’ he said, ‘and the army caught me’. I smiled and > said, ‘Oh you people are always getting caught on the way to get medicine. > Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.’ > > ‘Aren’t biscuits medicine?’ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. > > Lat week as I circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a forest > of chinar trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, moghul gardens > outside every department (Why are these gardens perfectly tendered? Given > the situation outside how do these people have the strength and hope to even > care to tend their gardens? Everything here is death and hopelessness. I > would have expected the gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I > saw a thin little old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one > doesn’t see bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these > conditions. My mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it > from? Had he bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I suddenly > realised I was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. The ugly things > hunger does to a person’s mind is shocking. His bag was probably full of > dirty laundry. > > Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something along the > lines of: > > “Hey you, America! Why aren’t you helping us? You do something.” > > “What can I do?” I reply, “I’m neither a politician nor a journalist. I’m > just trapped here like you.” > > “But you’re a Westener. You see how things are here. We have been living > like this for twenty years. When you go back to your country you tell them. > You ask them why they aren’t helping us.” > > “It’s your own fault,” I reply. “Why should we bother saving your country > when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you’ve got is apples, > goats and saffron. You’re doomed.” > > A few seconds of silence will be followed by a warm invitation to tea. > Muslim hospitality. At this time when every tea leaf is precious these > people will share even their last few crumbs of powdered milk with you. And > you sit there sipping the tea wondering how and where they managed to > procure it and how much it cost them in beatings. > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kmvenuannur at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 00:31:23 2010 From: kmvenuannur at gmail.com (Venugopalan K M) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:31:23 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: kmvenuann sent you a video: "101 East - Caste in stone" In-Reply-To: <20100830174647.7CE93401F2BC@youtube.com> References: <20100830174647.7CE93401F2BC@youtube.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: YouTube Service Date: Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:16 PM Subject: kmvenuann sent you a video: "101 East - Caste in stone" To: kmvenuannur [image: YouTube] help center| e-mail options | report spam kmvenuann has shared a video with you on YouTube: Al Jezira Video features Honour Killings 101 East - Caste in stone Age-old traditions continue to rule in modern-day India, where at least 1,000 people are killed in 'honour killings' every year. On this episode of 101 East we ask: Can India shake off the horror of honour killing? You can respond to kmvenuann by visiting your inbox . © 2010 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066 -- You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on the foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole. -AMBEDKAR http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Aug 31 00:23:06 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:23:06 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Panun Kashmir makes a good case for a gag on the national media. In-Reply-To: <39896.69608.qm@web114705.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <39896.69608.qm@web114705.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <44C36A49-0370-4C01-BA46-F9F928FF63B1@sarai.net> Dear Gowhar, Thank you for forwarding this important statement that exposes the politics of organizations like Panun Kashmir. In other words, Panun Kashmir wants to act as a surrogate censor. It wants to punish the TV channels that do not toe the Panun Kashmir line on Kashmir. It would be wonderful for Panun Kashmir, if the darkness of the Emergency were to suddenly descend again upon India, in order to hold on to the immorality of the occupation of Kashmir. This simply proves my point that a hardline Indian nationalist position on Kashmir logically leads to the narrowing of the political and cultural space within India. Azaadi for Kashmir, would, ultimately, be good for Azaadi (as in Liberty) also in India. Incidentally, there are quite a few TV channels, such as Times Now, which have staunchly upheld the hardline 'Indian Nationalist' position on Kashmir that Panun Kashmir endorses. Nobody, in their right mind would insist that these stations be prevented from airing the views that they champion. I loathe Arnab Goswami, but he ought in my mind, be free to dish out the nonsense that he does. Consequently, I fail to see why that specific set of positions (the ones that Panun Kashmir would endorse) should monopolize airtime. Let those positions contend with all others, as would be the normal practice in any society that wants to keep its eyes and ears open. Surely, in the interests of a genuine 'national' debate, people who watch television should have the freedom to access as many positions as is possible on the Kashmir question. If some (by no means al) of the voices that have appeared on NDTV or CNN-IBN appear to present positions away from the hardline Indian mainstream position on Kashmir, then it is equally true that a disproportionate amount of screen time on other channels is reserved for the hardline Indian nationalist position on Kashmir. Surely, a mature viewer should have the right to make up his or her mind on the issue, one way or another, by being exposed to spectrum of choices on offer. I notice, even in a CNN-IBN programme titled YNOT which profiled the views of young Kashmiris, adequate representation was given to various different views, including that which is close to the Panun Kashmir position. Is it the case of Panun Kashmir that television should present ONLY the views that it can deign to agree with? Is Panun Kashmir not satisifed by the more than adequate amount of airtime its position gets on mainstream Indian television. Does it want to determine and micro-manage every second of television airtime? If that is the case, then a tendency such as Panun Kashmir needs to be seen as an enemy of freedom of expression, and should be identified as such. In the long term, an organization like Panun Kashmir, because it is against the freedom of expression, because it is obsessed with a narrow, secterian agenda, is against the interests of all Kashmiris, be they Pandit, Muslim, Non Believers, Buddhists or whatever, it is against their interests, be they committed to India, committed to autonomy within India, or committed to azaadi. Panun Kashmir is committed, in the end, only to itself. Having said that, I might point out, that several of us, including myself, have consistently argued AGAINST censoring the Panun Kashmir point of view on this forum, despite its shrillness, despite its willingness to indulge in dissimulation, in the interests of free and fair debate. I have NO sympathy at all for the Panun Kashmir position, but I do believe that it has a right to express itself. Clearly, however, the Panun Kashmir position does not believe what I believe - that people who hold a different point of view should have the right to express themselves. While I can make room for Panun Kashmir in my imgaination of what it means to have space for a conversation on Kashmir, Panun Kashmir, clearly can make no room for the likes of me, let alone for the timid and tepid (but nevertheless welcome) steps taken by channels NDTV and CNN-IBN towards at least the semblence of an open-ended dialogue on what is happening in Kashmir. best Shuddha On 30-Aug-10, at 12:05 AM, gowhar fazli wrote: > Panun Kashmir urges Govt. to take appropriate steps against some > electronic channels > by Vijay Kumar August 27, 2010 > > Jammu, August 27 (Scoop News) – Panun > Kashmir (PK)deplores and urges GOI to take appropriate steps > against some electronic channels like NDTV, CNN IBN etc, for their > subversive programmes under the guise of discussions and discourses > on Kashmir Issue unlike objective, unbiased and true reporting of > print media at local and national level. > > In a statement Dr.Agnishekhar expressed their concern and anguish > over present day government not taking exception to the pro- > separatist policy pursued by these said channels. > > The meeting of office bearers of PK presided over > by its convener Dr.Agnishekhar, PK feels that the NDTV, its biased > anchors like Barkha Dutts and Sagarikas of CNN IBN have not behaved > as responsible member of fourth estate instead the channel are > propagating and supplementing the agenda of forces inimical to > sovereignty and integrity of the nation. These channels are > misusing the freedom of expression granted by constitution of India > and are emboldened by the criminal silence of the polity of this > nation. > > Statement said that On one hand these channels willfully ignore and > sideline the plight and geo-political urges & aspirations of > Kashmiri Hindus, Jammuites and Ladakhis and on the other hand cause > of separatists; Islamic Jehadis; people who spit venom against the > nation; forces hell bent upon to crate the second partition of the > country; biased human right groups; and so called civil liberty > activists are nurtured and promoted well by these electronic channels. > > These channels choose not to invite the genuine and mainstream > political representative voices of Kashmiri Hindus, who are equally > the stake holders of Kashmir Problem & its solution; and are busy > fighting separatism and Islamic Jihad aimed at dismemberment of > this country,said in a statement. > > Dr Agnishaker alleged that NDTV has been playing > a partisan & biased role while reporting the events and news from > time to time. One such glaring example is the treatment meted out > to the path breaking statement of former United Nations Secretary > General Mr. Kofi Annan issued in Pakistan that the UN resolutions > on Kashmir Issue are redundant and outdated. This statement of > national significance was made subservient to Tahalka.com’s > revelations in recent past. The recent Hindu bashing under the > garb of so called Saffron Terrorism has figured prominently on the > air but the activities of Bangalore Blast accused Madani already > convicted in Coimbatore blasts found a passing reference on the > channel. The recent bashing of Sikhs by jehadis in Kashmir found no > prominent space in such Channels. > > He said, the recent discussion and > discourses on Kashmir especially by Barkha dutt and her histrionics > promoting the voices of Azadi, bashing of security forces, anti- > india compaign are the issues of great concern for these channels. > Ms Barkha dutt and her ilk have played havoc with image and > integrity of this nation when foreign couples residing in Kashmir > were invited as panelist in the discussion to plead the cause of > separatists and malign the patriotic security forces of India, > while as the voices of nationalistic panelists was gagged and edited. > Panun Kashmir feels either the GOI is making > ground fertile for granting the undesired and objectionable > political dispensation to Kashmiri Muslims which will lead to > secession of state from India, or it is using and patronizing the > electronic channels like NDTV which are acting on the behest of > forces which are at war with the civilizational ethos of India. > Panun Kashmir will approach Press Council of India to register > their protest against these channels for their unethical practices. > PK appeals to the people of India and business houses in particular > to reconsider their ties with NDTV and IBN for their activities > endangering the sovereignty and integrity of the nation. > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Aug 31 00:30:40 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:30:40 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Appeal for Support - Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association Message-ID: Dear All, Please find below an appeal for support from the Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association for assistance with the costs of legal representation of the young people who have been charge-sheeted in the so called 'Batla House Encounter' Case, which, as you all may recall, has been discussed in detail on this list in the past. regards Shuddha -------------------------------- JAMIA TEACHERS’ SOLIDARITY ASSOCIATION APPEAL FOR SUPPORT Dear Friends, Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association has been running a campaign on the issue of Batla House ‘encounter’ and the subsequent arrests of youth whom the Delhi Police alleged to be terrorists. JTSA has exposed the various discrepancies and loopholes in the police version, compiled in its report, ‘Encounter’ at Batla House: Unanswered Questions (www.teacherssolidarity.org). While we have been leading a public demand for judicial probe into the ‘encounter’, the UPA government at the Centre and the Congress government in Delhi have persistently stonewalled all such demands. Two years on, the trials in the Delhi Blasts Case—of the five arrested youth, two of them students of Jamia Millia Islamia—have recently begun. The process of framing of charges has ended and presently arguments on charges are underway in Tees hazari. After the various state police departments cut a sorry figure when they came up with their own list of terror ‘masterminds’, the move has been to implicate these arrested youth in bomb blasts across the country. Moreover, separate FIRs and charge-sheets have been filed for every single bomb blast, even in the same city. This means that there will nearly 20 trials in Ahmedabad, five in Delhi and so on. In practical terms, it means that the trials will last for years. Worse still, the charge-sheets in Gujarat have been provided in Gujarati— thus placing the burden of translation on the families of the accused and escalating the legal expenses. JTSA is committed to ensuring the best legal recourse to the accused, as indeed should all citizens who believe in justice, truth and democracy. We appeal to you to support JTSA’s public campaigns and assist in the legal battle by contributing to our STRUGGLE FUND. Contributions can be made through cheque/ Demand Draft drawn in favour of Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association. Please call us on any of the numbers below if you wish to contribute, or write to us at: manisha.sethy at gmail.com; indianlit at yahoo.com; info.jtsa at gmail.com; sanghamitra.misra at gmail.com, sohaibnirvan at gmail.com Manisha Sethi (9811625577), Adeel Mehdi (9990923027), Ahmed Sohaib (9899462042), Sanghamitra Misra (9910236948) on behalf of JTSA Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Aug 31 01:00:05 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:00:05 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Latin America & Twenty-First Century Socialism In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Venugopalan, Many thanks for forwarding this very interesting text. It can be a useful starting point for a lively discussion on why the left, worldwide, has been particularly susceptible to being affected by the dead hand of bureaucratism. I would like to respond, for now, however, to a fascinating nugget of detail that is offered by this post by way of a quotation of a fragment of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921text - > "...What would happen if some of the members of the Russian Communist > Party—those, for instance, who are fond of birds—decided to form > a society > for the preservation of birds?: Here, Kollontai makes a surprising allusione to the love of birds within the culture of Communist Parties in the early twentieth century and indeed, in the the working class movement. This is not as accidental as it may sound. Birds, (pigeon fancying, pigeon racing) and birdwatching were an important segment of the margins of working class life and culture. Marx and Engels were both avid bird-men. It is no accident, that the Zimmerwald Conference, which was to crystallize into the principled proto-Communist-Internationalist opposition to the nationalist degeneration of European Social Democracy during the First World War, was convened under the cover of an 'ornithological congress'. Rosa Luxemburg, whose position (even in absentia) carried the day at Zimmerwald, and prepared the way for a genuine revival of Communist Internationalism, was an avid bird lover and naturalist. Her letters from prison contain many references to birds, and ornithology. Kollontai, as is well known, was very sympathetic to Rosa Luxemburg's position, before it got marginalized within the Communist movement. Perhaps, her reference to ' a society for the preservation of birds' is a coded reference (written, in a kind of esoteric 'language of the birds' sort of style) of the need for a revival of the spirit of Zimmerwald, of a critical, free thinking, democratic spirit within the Communist movement, which, like a rare bird species was, rapidly becoming endangered, as the political ecology and culture of Communist parties became increasingly authoritarian. Those, like me, who are interested in the fascinating intersections between the parallel histories of Marxism and Bird Watching, may find the following references of some use - 1. For more on Zimmerwald Conference, see Zimmerwald Conference 1915: Revolutionaries against the Imperialist War, International Communist Current http://en.internationalism.org/wr/290_zimmerwald.html 2. For the Ornithological ‘cover’ of the Zimmerwald Congress, See Marxism and Bird Watching by Rick Kuhn, Austalian National University http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/birds/marxbird.htm 3. For more on Rosa Luxemburg’s interest in Ornithology, see Marx at Karlsbad by Walt Contreras Sheasby in Capitalism Nature Socialism 12 (3) September 2001 best, lets keep stretching our wings, Shuddha On 30-Aug-10, at 1:57 PM, Venugopalan K M wrote: > "Alexandra Kollontai, the militant feminist and leader of the > Workers’ > Opposition, gives an enlightening example: > > What would happen if some of the members of the Russian Communist > Party—those, for instance, who are fond of birds—decided to form > a society > for the preservation of birds? The idea itself seems useful. It > does not in > any way undermine any state project. But it only seems this way. > All of a > sudden there would appear some bureaucratic institution which would > claim > the right to manage this particular undertaking. That particular > institution > would immediately “incorporate” the society into the Soviet > machine, > deadening, thereby, the direct initiative. And instead of direct > initiative, > there would appear a heap of paper decrees and regulations which > would give > enough work to hundreds of other officials.162" > > > > *Latin America & Twenty-First Century Socialism: Inventing to Avoid > Mistakes* > > *Marta Harnecker* > > * > * > > *Bureaucracy: The Biggest Scourge * > > *One of the deviations that did the most damage in the historical > experience > of Soviet socialism was bureaucratism. Bureaucratism destroys the > people’s > energy and creativity, and, as the people are the real builders of > the new > society, it prevents the goal of twenty-first century socialism > from being > reached. The goal is that women and men develop themselves completely > through revolutionary practice itself.* > > *Earlier, in discussing decentralization, we said that one cannot > attribute > the existence of bureaucracy in the Soviet state simply to the > legacy of the > tsarist past; it is more correct to say that it begins in the > excessive > centralization that existed in that state. However, if excessive > centralization inevitably leads to bureaucratism, this phenomenon > can also > arise in state institutions, parties, and other kinds of public and > private > institutions. Moreover, if it were only a matter of the red tape > and being > shunted around, all that would have to be done would be to improve > management methods, but that would not work.* > > *Where lies the root of this disaster? It is related to a basic > issue: how > management in an institution is conceived of and implemented. Do > the top > civil servants or cadres make the decisions—because they think > they are the > only ones who have the expertise to do so—or is trust placed in the > membership and the organized people, in their energy and creativity?* > > *It was often said in the Soviet Union, devastated by an > imperialist war and > a civil war, that progress could only come about if the workers and > peasants > en masse were committed to work for the country’s reconstruction. > But when > workers and peasants took these remarks seriously and tried to > apply them by > taking the initiative (organizing, for example, a people’s > cafeteria or a > daycare center), their efforts were rejected by the central > authorities. > This was done on various pretexts, but the bottom line was that the > authorities could not stand the fact that people had done things > outside > their control.* > > *Bureaucratism is the direct negation of people’s autonomous > activity. Any > independent initiative, any new thought is considered heresy, a > violation of > party discipline. The center must decide and supervise each and > every thing > that is done. Nothing can be done if the order didn’t come from > the center.* > > *Alexandra Kollontai, the militant feminist and leader of the > Workers’ > Opposition, gives an enlightening example: * > > *What would happen if some of the members of the Russian Communist > Party—those, for instance, who are fond of birds—decided to form > a society > for the preservation of birds? The idea itself seems useful. It > does not in > any way undermine any state project. But it only seems this way. > All of a > sudden there would appear some bureaucratic institution which would > claim > the right to manage this particular undertaking. That particular > institution > would immediately “incorporate” the society into the Soviet > machine, > deadening, thereby, the direct initiative. And instead of direct > initiative, > there would appear a heap of paper decrees and regulations which > would give > enough work to hundreds of other > officials.**162* 100701harneckerPart2-7.php#en50> > > *Bureaucratism tries to solve problems with formal decisions taken > by one > person or a small group, both in the party and in some state > institutions, > but the real stakeholders are never consulted. This way of > operating not > only restricts the initiative of party members but also that of the > nonparty > masses. The essence of bureaucratism is that someone else decides > for you.* > > *The Need to Encourage Public Criticism * > > *As we said previously, a long process of cultural transformation is > required to free ourselves of the muck of the inherited culture. > According > to Marx, this transformation can only be achieved after decades of > civil > wars and people’s struggles, and history has proved him right. It > is not > only difficult for the common people to change; this is also true > of some of > those who are members of the political organization itself.* > > *Even the parties with the most experience in revolutionary > struggle, those > that led wars of national liberation for many years, such as the > Chinese > Communist Party or the Vietnamese Communist Party, have suffered > from the > scourge of bureaucratism and corruption. In spite of the enormous > sacrifices > they made during the long years of struggle to liberate their peoples, > several of the leaders no longer serve the people. They have moved > away from > them, and have become comfortable and arrogant; they treat others in a > high-handed, authoritarian manner; they enjoy privileges, and have > become > corrupt.* > > *Why do these situations arise? We must remember that revolutions > carry the > load of an inherited culture on their shoulders, a culture in which > those > who held public office had special considerations and privileges. * > > *It is natural that these civil servants, if their political future > does not > depend on the people, would be more inclined to satisfy the demands > of their > superiors than to respond to people’s needs and aspirations. What > tends to > happen is that, because they want to please their superiors or to > obtain > more monetary rewards, they falsify data or obtain results demanded > of them > at the cost of the quality of public works. It was rather common in > the past > in socialist countries to inflate production data. This was not only > negative from a moral point of view, it was also negative from a > political > point of view because faulty information was provided about an actual > situation. This prevented the party or government from taking the > necessary > corrective measures in time.* > > *We should also add that what tends to happen is that those who > fawn over > their bosses tend to be promoted to posts with more responsibility, > whereas > those who criticize and adopt an independent posture are > marginalized in > spite of being competent. And, since there is no encouragement for the > people to exercise control over the way cadres behave, > misappropriation of > public resources for personal purposes becomes very tempting.* > > *How can we fight against these errors and deviations? Can we trust > the > party itself to resolve its problems internally by, for example, > creating an > ethics committee charged with dealing with these situations? It > seems that > this is not the solution.* > > *History has shown—especially in one-party regimes or regimes with > an > obviously hegemonic party that controls the government and often > confuses > itself with the government—that it is necessary for the party to be > controlled from below, to be subject to public criticism. That > seems to be > the only way to prevent cadres from becoming bureaucratized or > corrupt. As > well, it prevents cadres from thinking they are the lords of the > people’s > destiny and putting the brakes on popular protagonism.* > > *Mao Zedong explained the need for criticism and self-criticism by > using the > image of a room that need cleaning regularly to prevent it from > filling up > with dust. His words on this point were: “[T]he only effective way > to > prevent all kinds of political dust and germs from contaminating > the minds > of our comrades and the body of our Party” is, among other > things, “to fear > neither criticism nor self-criticism,” to “say all you know and > say it > without reserve,” “Blame not the speaker but be warned by his > words,” and > “Correct mistakes if you have committed them and guard against > them if you > have not.”**163* 100701harneckerPart2-7.php#en49> > > *Criticizing Functionaries to Save the Party* > > *There are some authors who, when faced with the mistakes and > deviations > committed by party cadres, try to convince us that any party or, in my > preferred terminology, any political instrument is bad. I think enough > arguments have been made above to substantiate the thesis that we > cannot do > without a party when building socialism. The point, then, is not to > try to > do without a political instrument, but to find ways of correcting > these > possible deviations.* > > *Therefore, in the same way that Lenin thought that to save the Soviet > state, it was necessary to accept the existence of strike movements > that > fight against bureaucratic deviations, we today think that to save the > political instrument—which is much more than the sum of its > leaders—we must > allow the organized people to question publicly the mistakes and > deviations > that some of its cadres may commit. * > > *There is a basic argument for this: we must remember that the > political > organization is an instrument created so we can achieve the > socialist goal > of full human development for all people and that it is therefore > the people > and not the party that is most important. The people have the right > to watch > over the instrument; they need to make sure that it fulfills its > role, that > its cadres really help develop popular protagonism, that they do > not stifle > people’s initiatives, or use their positions to gain privileges or > unjustified rewards.* > > *If we are realists, we cannot think that the very leaders of the > party will > commit harakiri. There is a tendency for them to want to protect > themselves > from criticism by their subordinates and by the people in general. > Therefore, it is extremely important that it be the people who > supervise the > actions of government and party leaders. For that reason, the > people must be > allowed to criticize their leaders’ mistakes, without being > accused of > having an “anti-party attitude.” The political instrument has to > understand > that getting rid of these arrogant, corrupt officials who are > causing it to > lose prestige can only strengthen the party. * > > *It is important that the mistakes or deviations made by the > leaders are not > suffered in silence. Otherwise, the people’s discontent will build > up and > could explode at any movement. But if channels for expressing this > discontent are established, the defects identified can be corrected > in time. > * > > *An argument often used to condemn public criticism is that enemies > employ > it to weaken the party and the transformation process. This is the > reason > some accuse those who make criticisms of being anti-party or > counterrevolutionaries.* > > *The remarks Fidel Castro made on criticism and self-criticism are > quite > important on this point. He made these remarks after half a century of > revolution, in an interview given to Ignacio Ramonet, editor of Le > Monde > Diplomatique, at the end of 2005. Some days previously, on November > 17, the > leader of the Cuban Revolution said that “a fight to the finish” > must be > waged against certain evils that exist in Cuba, such as small-scale > corruption, theft from the state, and illegal enrichment. He also told > Ramonet that they were “inviting the whole country to cooperate in > this > battle, the battle against all defects, including small theft and > massive > waste, of any sort and in any place.” * > > *When Ramonet asked him why the usual method of criticism and self- > criticism > hadn’t worked, Fidel replied: * > > *We used to trust in criticism and self-criticism, it’s true. But > this has > become almost fossilized. That method, in the way it was being > used, no > longer really worked because the criticism tended to be inside a small > group; broader criticism was never used, criticism in a theatre, for > example, with hundreds or thousands of people….We have to resort to > criticism and self-criticism in the classroom, in the work place > and outside > the workplace, in the municipality, and in the country….We must take > advantage of the shame that I am sure people > feel.**164* > > *A little later on, after having admitted to various mistakes made > by the > revolution, he said: “I am not afraid of accepting the > responsibility I have > to accept. We cannot go about being wimpy. Let them attack me, let > them > criticize me. Yes, many must be hurting a little…[but] we have to > take > risks, we have to have the courage to tell the truth.”* > > *However, what I found the most surprising and the most interesting > was what > Castro said next: * > > *It doesn’t matter what those bandits abroad say….He who laughs > last laughs > loudest. And that is not saying bad things about the revolution. > That is > saying very good things about the revolutions because we are > talking about a > revolution that can deal with these problems, can take the bull by the > horns, better than a Madrid bullfighter. We must have the courage > to admit > our own mistakes…because this is the only way to achieve the > objective we > set out to achieve.**165* 100701harneckerPart2-7.php#en47> > > *To sum up, although public criticism can be used by the enemy to > attack the > party and the revolution, it can be better used by revolutionaries to > correct mistakes and to strengthen the party and the revolution.* > > *There would be no need for public criticism if the political > instrument had > an excellent information system that allowed it to quickly identify > which of > its cadres had fallen into errors or deviations, and if, moreover, > it took > immediate measures against those cadres. Nor would there be any > need for > criticism if this information were provided from outside the party > or from > its own grassroots members, and if the party had time to process the > information and adopt the relevant sanctions.* > > *However, if these conditions do not exist, and the mistakes and > deviations > that occur every day are in full view of everyone, including the > opposition, > there is no other option but to denounce them publicly, so as to > appeal, as > Fidel says, to the shame of those who are destroying the political > instrument by their attitudes. Is it not better to ask the people, > those who > have firsthand experience of these defects in the cadres, to watch > over the > cadres’ behavior and, in a constructive manner, denounce the > mistakes and > deviations they commit? Is that not better than letting our > enemies, filled > with rage and the desire to destroy our revolutionary project, > denounce > them?* > > *But stressing the need for public criticism does not mean > swallowing any > old criticism. We must avoid anarchic, destructive, and ill-founded > condemnation. Criticism must be filled with the desire to solve > problems, > not to increase their number.* > > *To do this it is necessary that: (a) criticism and denunciations be > well-founded; (b) strong sanctions exist for those who make unfounded > criticisms or denunciations; (c) criticisms are accompanied by > proposals for > solutions; and (d) an effort is made to bring criticisms to the > party first > (and if they have not been answered after a short time, then they > can be > made public). The ideal situation would be for the party to take the > initiative by opening up spaces, so that all those interested can > make their > opinions known on how the party and state cadres in a given > locality are > operating.* > Notes > > 1. 162. ↩ 100701harneckerPart2-7.php#n50> An > internal current in the Bolshevik Party that advocated greater > internal > party democracy; Kollontai, *The Workers’ Opposition*, > http://marxists.org/archive/kollonta/1921/workers-opposition/ > ch03.htm. > 2. 163. ↩ > Mao Zedong, > *On Coalition Government*,* *April 24, 1945, > http://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/ > volume-3/mswv3_25.htm > . > 3. 164. ↩ > Ignacio > Ramonet, > *Cien Horas con Fidel* (La Habana: Publication Office of the > Council of > State), 677. > 4. 165. ↩ > Ibid., > 682-83. > >>> The Political Instrument Needed to Lead the Transition>> monthlyreview.org/100701harneckerPart2-6.php> > >>> Conclusion > > -------------------- > > Source: http://monthlyreview.org/100701harneckerPart2-7.php > > | Top | > > > > > > -- > > > You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot > build up a > nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will > build on the > foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole. > -AMBEDKAR > > > > http://venukm.blogspot.com > > http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur > > http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From rashneek at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 08:43:56 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:43:56 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: References: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net> Message-ID: Can someone educate her a little that there once lived half a million kafirs who were thrown out......by the peace loving oppressed masses and 20 years back there were no policemen here forget army and paramilitary... Ignorance is bliss On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 9:51 PM, Aditya Raj Baul wrote: > Thank you for sharing this account. It makes you want to sing Sahir > Ludhianvi's words from the rooftops: > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tH32hZxyfk > > http://www.hungamaforums.com/5189-jinhein-naaz-hai.html#post13472 > > best, > Aditya Raj Baul > > > On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 8:54 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta > wrote: > > Dear All, > > > > Here is an account of daily life nowadays, in Srinagar, Kashmir, through > > the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident in Kashmir > > University. > > > > best > > > > Shuddha > > > > ------------------------- > > > > India’s brutality has turned Kashmir into a living hell > > > > > http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir-into-a-living-hell-3472/ > > > > By Giogiana Violante > > > > > > This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the internet. I have > > not been allowed to receive or send text messages for three months. Just > > like all Kashmiris my telephone has been barred from such contact. The > local > > news channels have been banned. India controls everything here. And then > > kills it. The situation is horrific. Over these months of food rationing > and > > persistent curfew whereby all is closed and the streets totally deserted > in > > utter silence, suddenly a protest arises and then spreads throughout the > > whole city in a surge of frustrated and famished rioters shouting ‘AZADI > > AZADI AZADI’ (freedom) until it dissipates suddenly into a cacophony of > > gunshots and clouds of teargas. > > > > I observe all this going on at a safe remove of only one metre by a big > > thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir > University, > > where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes upon hordes of > > protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there repellently > incapable > > of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence and violence. The Indian > army > > own total control and freedom to shoot at will, to shoot to kill, anyone > > whom they choose to. > > > > Last week a seven year old child was beaten to death. You cannot > > accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not like a bullet that > > goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven year old child > can > > do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being beaten to death. > > Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year-old is the size > of > > a three year old westerner. So what kind of person beats a tiny child to > > death when his stone throw must carry so little force that it barely > > deserves a shrug? This is such a common occurrence here. > > > > The other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only one > > minute away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private road > > attached to the university so I thought I would risk it. When I returned > a > > roofless sumo vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs laughing and shouting > > came charging through the street waving their batons and guns. They > headed > > for an old man and tried to hit him and then they knocked a 4-year-old > boy > > off his tricycle. For fun. He was only 50 centimetres outside his house’s > > garden so that hardly counts as disobeying the curfew and yet they > charged > > at him on purpose. They knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for > me, > > which as a western woman I did not expect. > > > > I am living here within the deserted university grounds, alone with the > > security guards and a few random professors and clerks. The university > was > > evacuated three months ago when the troubles commenced and the students > and > > school children all over the valley have experienced, as they always do, > a > > great void in their education. > > > > The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the doors of > > pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew is > purely > > out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and kill an > > eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty street? A > woman > > kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her hands had her hands > > beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. Two weeks ago, on a > Friday, I > > heard the usual impassioned pleads for freedom hailing from Hazratbal > > Mosque, which is just outside the university. For an hour the calls of > > ‘Azadi’ escalated and escalated until suddenly I heard a spray of > gunshots. > > The shots continued sporadically over the next hour. I later found out > that > > the mosque was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some > > died, of course. > > > > The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave like this, > invading > > places of worship simply because of impassioned calls for freedom by a > > people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. This sort of thing > > happens every day. Total abuse of power by the occupying forces. But the > > people of Kashmir have no right to retaliate. Nor the freedom to even > leave > > their homes. I cannot bear my complete and utter uselessness in this > > situation. As a rich westerner even I cannot get food. The other day > myself > > and seven boys shared two carrots between us and a handful of rice. > > > > So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not been able to > open > > their businesses for three months? How can they even have the money to > > afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from somewhere? You risk > your > > life in order to get food. How can you get food without leaving home? > > Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk in the university showed me his > > mauled arms and the gash in his thigh. His arms were black and purple > with > > crusted blood from last week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made hell. > > > > ‘I went to get medicine’ he said, ‘and the army caught me’. I smiled and > > said, ‘Oh you people are always getting caught on the way to get > medicine. > > Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.’ > > > > ‘Aren’t biscuits medicine?’ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. > > > > Lat week as I circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a > forest > > of chinar trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, moghul gardens > > outside every department (Why are these gardens perfectly tendered? Given > > the situation outside how do these people have the strength and hope to > even > > care to tend their gardens? Everything here is death and hopelessness. I > > would have expected the gardens to have been left to run to desolation), > I > > saw a thin little old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one > > doesn’t see bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these > > conditions. My mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it > > from? Had he bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I > suddenly > > realised I was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. The ugly things > > hunger does to a person’s mind is shocking. His bag was probably full of > > dirty laundry. > > > > Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something along > the > > lines of: > > > > “Hey you, America! Why aren’t you helping us? You do something.” > > > > “What can I do?” I reply, “I’m neither a politician nor a journalist. I’m > > just trapped here like you.” > > > > “But you’re a Westener. You see how things are here. We have been living > > like this for twenty years. When you go back to your country you tell > them. > > You ask them why they aren’t helping us.” > > > > “It’s your own fault,” I reply. “Why should we bother saving your country > > when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you’ve got is apples, > > goats and saffron. You’re doomed.” > > > > A few seconds of silence will be followed by a warm invitation to tea. > > Muslim hospitality. At this time when every tea leaf is precious these > > people will share even their last few crumbs of powdered milk with you. > And > > you sit there sipping the tea wondering how and where they managed to > > procure it and how much it cost them in beatings. > > > > > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > > Raqs Media Collective > > shuddha at sarai.net > > www.sarai.net > > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe > > in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 09:35:44 2010 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:35:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: References: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Rashneek , You are asking too much . Have you forgotten that the post is shared on SARAI by Shuddha . He definition of liberal and peace loving is yet to be incorporated in Websters. He does find time to be part of those meetings and shows , where sedation & Islamist slogans are voiced [ nothing new for him ] .Recall one recently at Jantar Mantar. I do not recall him being a part of those Hindu minority of Kashmir which have been protesting in Delhi since last 21 years . He doesn't find anything wrong being part of those rallies , which have large presence of JLKF foot soldiers. For those who dont know JKLF , JKLF has done every trade in the book which a terrorist organisation does.....right from hijacking of plane , organizing training camps for budding terrorists , smuggling deadly weapons into India , kidnapping and killing of civilians. But then since it is Shuddha who has posted it , we must hail him for a worthy article he has posted. Hail Shuddha , .....Lage raho Pawan On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 8:43 AM, rashneek kher wrote: > Can someone educate her a little that there once lived half a million kafirs > who were thrown out......by the peace loving oppressed masses and 20 years > back there were no policemen here forget army and paramilitary... > Ignorance is bliss > > On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 9:51 PM, Aditya Raj Baul wrote: > >> Thank you for sharing this account. It makes you want to sing Sahir >> Ludhianvi's words from the rooftops: >> >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tH32hZxyfk >> >> http://www.hungamaforums.com/5189-jinhein-naaz-hai.html#post13472 >> >> best, >> Aditya Raj Baul >> >> >> On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 8:54 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta >> wrote: >> > Dear All, >> > >> > Here is an account of daily life nowadays,  in Srinagar, Kashmir, through >> > the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident in Kashmir >> > University. >> > >> > best >> > >> > Shuddha >> > >> > ------------------------- >> > >> > India’s brutality has turned Kashmir into a living hell >> > >> > >> http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir-into-a-living-hell-3472/ >> > >> > By Giogiana Violante >> > >> > >> > This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the internet. I have >> > not been allowed to receive or send text messages for three months. Just >> > like all Kashmiris my telephone has been barred from such contact. The >> local >> > news channels have been banned. India controls everything here. And then >> > kills it. The situation is horrific. Over these months of food rationing >> and >> > persistent curfew whereby all is closed and the streets totally deserted >> in >> > utter silence, suddenly a protest arises and then spreads throughout the >> > whole city in a surge of frustrated and famished rioters shouting ‘AZADI >> > AZADI AZADI’ (freedom) until it dissipates suddenly into a cacophony of >> > gunshots and clouds of teargas. >> > >> > I observe all this going on at a  safe remove of only one metre by a big >> > thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir >> University, >> > where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes upon hordes of >> > protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there repellently >> incapable >> > of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence and violence. The Indian >> army >> > own total control and freedom to shoot at will, to shoot to kill, anyone >> > whom they choose to. >> > >> > Last week a seven year old child was beaten to death. You cannot >> > accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not like a bullet that >> > goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven year old child >> can >> > do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being beaten to death. >> > Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year-old is the size >> of >> > a three year old westerner. So what kind of person beats a tiny child to >> > death when his stone throw must carry so little force that it barely >> > deserves a shrug? This is such a common occurrence here. >> > >> > The other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only one >> > minute away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private road >> > attached to the university so I thought I would risk it. When I returned >> a >> > roofless sumo vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs laughing and shouting >> > came charging through the street waving their batons and guns. They >> headed >> > for an old man and tried to hit him and then they knocked a 4-year-old >> boy >> > off his tricycle. For fun. He was only 50 centimetres outside his house’s >> > garden so that hardly counts as disobeying the curfew and yet they >> charged >> > at him on purpose. They knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for >> me, >> > which as a western woman I did not expect. >> > >> > I am living here within the deserted university grounds, alone with the >> > security guards and a few random professors and clerks. The university >> was >> > evacuated three months ago when the troubles commenced and the students >> and >> > school children all over the valley have experienced, as they always do, >> a >> > great void in their education. >> > >> > The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the doors of >> > pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew is >> purely >> > out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and kill an >> > eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty street? A >> woman >> > kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her hands had her hands >> > beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. Two weeks ago, on a >> Friday, I >> > heard the usual impassioned pleads for freedom hailing from Hazratbal >> > Mosque, which is just outside the university. For an hour the calls of >> > ‘Azadi’ escalated and escalated until suddenly I heard a spray of >> gunshots. >> > The shots continued sporadically over the next hour. I later found out >> that >> > the mosque was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some >> > died, of course. >> > >> > The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave like this, >> invading >> > places of worship simply because of impassioned calls for freedom by a >> > people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. This sort of thing >> > happens every day. Total abuse of power by the occupying forces. But the >> > people of Kashmir have no right to retaliate. Nor the freedom to even >> leave >> > their homes. I cannot bear my complete and utter uselessness in this >> > situation. As a rich westerner even I cannot get food. The other day >> myself >> > and seven boys shared two carrots between us and a handful of rice. >> > >> > So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not been able to >> open >> > their businesses for three months? How can they even have the money to >> > afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from somewhere? You risk >> your >> > life in order to get food. How can you get food without leaving home? >> > Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk in the university showed me his >> > mauled arms and the gash in his thigh. His arms were black and purple >> with >> > crusted blood from last week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made hell. >> > >> > ‘I went to get medicine’ he said, ‘and the army caught me’. I smiled and >> > said, ‘Oh you people are always getting caught on the way to get >> medicine. >> > Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.’ >> > >> > ‘Aren’t biscuits medicine?’ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. >> > >> > Lat week as I circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a >> forest >> > of chinar trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, moghul gardens >> > outside every department (Why are these gardens perfectly tendered? Given >> > the situation outside how do these people have the strength and hope to >> even >> > care to tend their gardens? Everything here is death and hopelessness. I >> > would have expected the gardens to have been left to run to desolation), >> I >> > saw a thin little old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one >> > doesn’t see bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these >> > conditions. My mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it >> > from? Had he bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I >> suddenly >> > realised I was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. The ugly things >> > hunger does to a person’s mind is shocking. His bag was probably full of >> > dirty laundry. >> > >> > Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something along >> the >> > lines of: >> > >> > “Hey you, America! Why aren’t you helping us? You do something.” >> > >> > “What can I do?” I reply, “I’m neither a politician nor a journalist. I’m >> > just trapped here like you.” >> > >> > “But you’re a Westener. You see how things are here. We have been living >> > like this for twenty years. When you go back to your country you tell >> them. >> > You ask them why they aren’t helping us.” >> > >> > “It’s your own fault,” I reply. “Why should we bother saving your country >> > when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you’ve got is apples, >> > goats and saffron. You’re doomed.” >> > >> > A few seconds of silence will be followed by a warm invitation to tea. >> > Muslim hospitality. At this time when every tea leaf is precious these >> > people will share even their last few crumbs of powdered milk with you. >> And >> > you sit there sipping the tea wondering how and where they managed to >> > procure it and how much it cost them in beatings. >> > >> > >> > >> > Shuddhabrata Sengupta >> > The Sarai Programme at CSDS >> > Raqs Media Collective >> > shuddha at sarai.net >> > www.sarai.net >> > www.raqsmediacollective.net >> > >> > >> > _________________________________________ >> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> > Critiques & Collaborations >> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe >> > in the subject header. >> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > > > > -- > Rashneek Kher > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From aliens at dataone.in Tue Aug 31 09:58:38 2010 From: aliens at dataone.in (Bipin Trivedi) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:58:38 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] PAK IS MAIN CULPRIT Message-ID: <002101cb48c4$fc604ab0$f520e010$@in> Yes Rashneek you are right. Between 1960 to 1990/95, Kashmir was heaven and people staying there with harmony which Pak could not tolerate and created the Geelani like people for separatists movement and the result people of Kashmir are living in hell now. So, Pak is main culprit as always in all bad things like terrorism, match fixing, shear bagger from western countries without self respect and many more. India needs to be strong to react in such a manner and freed Kashmir from all these ill effects by any means and if war is the ultimate solution for all these, let it be once for all. Thanks Bipin Trivedi -----Original Message----- From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of rashneek kher Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 8:44 AM To: Aditya Raj Baul Cc: sarai-list list Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante Can someone educate her a little that there once lived half a million kafirs who were thrown out......by the peace loving oppressed masses and 20 years back there were no policemen here forget army and paramilitary... Ignorance is bliss From rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 10:53:34 2010 From: rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com (Rajkamal Goswami) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:53:34 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] PAK IS MAIN CULPRIT In-Reply-To: <002101cb48c4$fc604ab0$f520e010$@in> References: <002101cb48c4$fc604ab0$f520e010$@in> Message-ID: Thanks Bipin Sir, Glad that one is addressing the right issue. regards Rajkamal On 8/31/10, Bipin Trivedi wrote: > > Yes Rashneek you are right. Between 1960 to 1990/95, Kashmir was heaven and > people staying there with harmony which Pak could not tolerate and created > the Geelani like people for separatists movement and the result people of > Kashmir are living in hell now. So, Pak is main culprit as always in all bad > things like terrorism, match fixing, shear bagger from western countries > without self respect and many more. > > India needs to be strong to react in such a manner and freed Kashmir from > all these ill effects by any means and if war is the ultimate solution for > all these, let it be once for all. > > Thanks > Bipin Trivedi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net] > On Behalf Of rashneek kher > Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 8:44 AM > To: Aditya Raj Baul > Cc: sarai-list list > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante > > Can someone educate her a little that there once lived half a million kafirs > who were thrown out......by the peace loving oppressed masses and 20 years > back there were no policemen here forget army and paramilitary... > Ignorance is bliss > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe > in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Rajkamal From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Tue Aug 31 11:05:57 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:35:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net> Message-ID: <249921.36364.qm@web45507.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Kid's don't have freedom at homes during their brought up in India. Afterwards one has to move in life like this towards growth.  Whats new in this article? --- On Mon, 8/30/10, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante To: "sarai-list list" Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 8:54 PM Dear All, Here is an account of daily life nowadays,  in Srinagar, Kashmir, through the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident in Kashmir University. best Shuddha ------------------------- India’s brutality has turned Kashmir into a living hell http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir-into-a-living-hell-3472/ By Giogiana Violante This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the internet. I have not been allowed to receive or send text messages for three months. Just like all Kashmiris my telephone has been barred from such contact. The local news channels have been banned. India controls everything here. And then kills it. The situation is horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent curfew whereby all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter silence, suddenly a protest arises and then spreads throughout the whole city in a surge of frustrated and famished rioters shouting ‘AZADI AZADI AZADI’ (freedom) until it dissipates suddenly into a cacophony of gunshots and clouds of teargas. I observe all this going on at a  safe remove of only one metre by a big thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir University, where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes upon hordes of protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there repellently incapable of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence and violence. The Indian army own total control and freedom to shoot at will, to shoot to kill, anyone whom they choose to. Last week a seven year old child was beaten to death. You cannot accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not like a bullet that goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven year old child can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being beaten to death. Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year-old is the size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person beats a tiny child to death when his stone throw must carry so little force that it barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common occurrence here. The other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only one minute away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private road attached to the university so I thought I would risk it. When I returned a roofless sumo vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs laughing and shouting came charging through the street waving their batons and guns. They headed for an old man and tried to hit him and then they knocked a 4-year-old boy off his tricycle. For fun. He was only 50 centimetres outside his house’s garden so that hardly counts as disobeying the curfew and yet they charged at him on purpose. They knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for me, which as a western woman I did not expect. I am living here within the deserted university grounds, alone with the security guards and a few random professors and clerks. The university was evacuated three months ago when the troubles commenced and the students and school children all over the valley have experienced, as they always do, a great void in their education. The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the doors of pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew is purely out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and kill an eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty street? A woman kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her hands had her hands beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I heard the usual impassioned pleads for freedom hailing from Hazratbal Mosque, which is just outside the university. For an hour the calls of ‘Azadi’ escalated and escalated until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. The shots continued sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that the mosque was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some died, of course. The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave like this, invading places of worship simply because of impassioned calls for freedom by a people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of power by the occupying forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right to retaliate. Nor the freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear my complete and utter uselessness in this situation. As a rich westerner even I cannot get food. The other day myself and seven boys shared two carrots between us and a handful of rice. So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not been able to open their businesses for three months? How can they even have the money to afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from somewhere? You risk your life in order to get food. How can you get food without leaving home? Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk in the university showed me his mauled arms and the gash in his thigh. His arms were black and purple with crusted blood from last week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made hell. ‘I went to get medicine’ he said, ‘and the army caught me’. I smiled and said, ‘Oh you people are always getting caught on the way to get medicine. Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.’ ‘Aren’t biscuits medicine?’ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. Lat week as I circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a forest of chinar trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, moghul gardens outside every department (Why are these gardens perfectly tendered? Given the situation outside how do these people have the strength and hope to even care to tend their gardens? Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would have expected the gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw a thin little old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one doesn’t see bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these conditions. My mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it from? Had he bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I suddenly realised I was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. The ugly things hunger does to a person’s mind is shocking. His bag was probably full of dirty laundry. Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something along the lines of: “Hey you, America! Why aren’t you helping us? You do something.” “What can I do?” I reply, “I’m neither a politician nor a journalist. I’m just trapped here like you.” “But you’re a Westener. You see how things are here. We have been living like this for twenty years. When you go back to your country you tell them. You ask them why they aren’t helping us.” “It’s your own fault,” I reply. “Why should we bother saving your country when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you’ve got is apples, goats and saffron. You’re doomed.” A few seconds of silence will be followed by a warm invitation to tea. Muslim hospitality. At this time when every tea leaf is precious these people will share even their last few crumbs of powdered milk with you. And you sit there sipping the tea wondering how and where they managed to procure it and how much it cost them in beatings. Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Tue Aug 31 11:16:43 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:46:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: kmvenuann sent you a video: "101 East - Caste in stone" In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <322331.95524.qm@web45504.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> no comments! But Mr.Ambedkar is also a human, being Hindu and due to anger with Hindureligion he shifted to Buddhism.   --- On Tue, 8/31/10, Venugopalan K M wrote: From: Venugopalan K M Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: kmvenuann sent you a video: "101 East - Caste in stone" To: "sarai-list" Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 12:31 AM ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: YouTube Service Date: Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:16 PM Subject: kmvenuann sent you a video: "101 East - Caste in stone" To: kmvenuannur    [image: YouTube]   help center| e-mail options | report spam kmvenuann has shared a video with you on YouTube: Al Jezira Video features Honour Killings     101 East - Caste in stone Age-old traditions continue to rule in modern-day India, where at least 1,000 people are killed in 'honour killings' every year. On this episode of 101 East we ask: Can India shake off the horror of honour killing? You can respond to kmvenuann by visiting your inbox .   © 2010 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066 -- You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on the foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole. -AMBEDKAR http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 12:59:48 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:59:48 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] From the English daily, Kashmir Images Message-ID: Waiting for Godot Manzoor Anjum The problem with our leadership is that instead of leading, they just follow the crowds. From its support to gun in early 90¹s to drumming of peaceful struggle post 9/11 and now patting of stone pelters, the leaders have always been led by the street. He is a plumber and lives in a rented room in Jawahar Nagar locality of Srinagar. He is diabetic and also suffering from some other diseases. His wife suffers of anemia. The couple has to sons ­ one studying in 10th and the other in 6th standard. Besides day to day expenses and rent of the room, the couple has to spend good amount on the purchase of medicines and education of the children. During the month of June, by hook and crook he managed to get some work and run his household. But in July, he couldn¹t even move out of his home and therefore there was no earning. Whatever little his wife had managed to save during past months was consumed in the month of July and in August, he had to borrow Rs. 1500 from his brother. As the ill luck would have it, his brother needed the money back desperately and that too just after fifteen days as his wife had fallen ill. This man had no money to repay and was forced to sell the gold ear-ring of his wife. And since then he has sold whatever was left with his wife - ear-rings, rings, bangles. Wife insists that they should arrange some tutor for the children who haven¹t been to school from past three months. Instead of thinking of hiring a tutor, the man is fighting with all odds to run his kitchen and arrange two meals for his family. He is borrowing money from here and there and constant pressure from money lenders has turned him into a psychological wreck now and to try his luck, he has started gambling and thus borrowing more money. Is there anybody who can assure him a respectable earning in the wake of constant and unabated strikes and protests? Is there anyone who can arrange a tutor for his kids? He is in depression and running from one shrine to another to find solace but there is none. He has no money for his diabetes and if the situation continues, as it is now, he will die of this deadly disease. And once he is dead, what will happen to his three dependants? How can his wife run the house-hold? Will she be forced to sell her body to ensure food and education to his children? Or will the stone-pelting brigades get two new recruits? And what will happen to the dreams that this mother had woven around these two kids? Wouldn¹t shattering of a mother¹s dream shatter all the heavens? When I heard about this family, the details pained my heart knowing that there would be hundreds and hundreds of such families all over suffering terribly due to continuous strikes. My heart pains and I think that the God who has given me the heart to feel is the one who has given the Œcourage¹ to those who are issuing frequent strike calls and thus who is going to prove that who is on the right path ­ me, with my understanding of the ground situation or they with the determination of going ahead with their protest calendar. Sometimes I think, had Gandhi given an indefinite strike call, would the English have left well before August, 1947, or would they been still ruling India. Had indefinite strikes been an effective weapon to end slavery and oppression, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi would have followed the same path? Fact is that these great leaders offer personal sacrifices instead of asking people to make sacrifices. Mao Zedong didn¹t remove his shoes from his feet for fifteen years. He continued marching and his people followed him. He never gave some Chaloo call to attract curfew. He marched himself towards his goal and every one in his nation followed him. Great leaders have always ensured that they achieve more than investing. They devise strategies to minimize sufferings of their people and to maximize the gains. But here in Kashmir, instead of working towards any sort of gains and achievement, our leadership is only ensuring more and more sacrifices. Why, because this struggle is not led by any visionary like Mao Zedong or Nelson Mandela. There is no Aung San Suu Kyi on the forefront who was imprisoned at the age of 13 and continues to suffer but resisted every violent move that was made by her supporters to seek her release. And here, we are led by the stone pelters whom we call the leaders of our future generation. No doubt that these young boys seem desperate to seek freedom from India but fact of the matter is that only a few of them are acquainted with the history of Kashmir dispute. For most of them, Kashmir is a religious issue. They think that they are Muslims and therefore it is their religious duty to get freedom from India. But how to get this freedom, they have no idea, they just pick up rocks and raise slogans of Islam and Azadi. Interestingly 40 per cent of the stone pelters are young kids between the age of 7 to 12 years. These kids should have been in schools or in play grounds. But here they are, on the streets, pelting stones and shouting slogans ­ slogans which their innocent minds fail to understand. We curse and oppose child labour because to make your children work is a crime. But at the same time we watch our young kids pelting stones on armed forces and in the return getting injured and killed. We don¹t attempt to stop our kids from this indulgence but just watch shamelessly and then beat our chests when some tragedy strikes. There is no denying the fact that most people from Kashmir Valley want India out. This is a wide spread sentiment here and the leaders use and misuse this sentiment to remain on the forefront. They have failed to devise strategies that would help satisfy peoples¹ sentiments and have even failed to identify the goal. There is an army of leaders, and each of them has his/her own goal and are trying to drag masses towards those particular goals. Now a new leadership is emerging and that is of stone pelters. This leadership too has its own goal. Though all are raising slogans of Islam and Azadi, there is a fight for supremacy and in this fight, the common people are made to suffer miserably. Don¹t we have a right to ask that how long this stone-pelting will go on and that how it is going to force India out? We are keeping an entire generation away from schools and think that thus we will get Azadi. Our schools are closed and in neighbouring Jammu and Ladakh, students are busy achieving academic excellence. And if the situation continues the way it is, after ten years or so, there will not be a single Kashmiri in government employment. Earlier these used to be 80 per cent Kashmiri employees working in civil secretariat. Now this place has been occupied by people of Jammu and Leh. This has not happened because of any conspiracy but because of our own follies as we have never prioritized education. And whatever we are doing now, it will never fetch us Azadi but ensure that in future Kashmiris can¹t get a decent job and wherever they are, they can¹t dream something beyond a class fourth job. We can¹t go on endless hartals. Despite pressures and force, people will resist against these strikes and revolt. That would be a big jolt to the very concept of the movement. But the leaders seem unmindful of this. They are busy taking credit for everything and anything, even if that thing happens to be against the people and the very movement they claim to be representing. When gun was the fashion, the leadership missed not a single moment to support it and say that this was the only way to achieve freedom. And when it (gun) fell from the grace post 9/11, the leadership suddenly became the staunch supporter of Œpeaceful struggle.¹ Now that stone pelting seems order of the day, the leaders too are busy patting these new warriors without thinking that why and how this new shift has come into force. Syed Sallahudin, the commander of Jehad Council, whose writ was running allover, his effigies are being burnt publicly and no one uttered a word of protest because power equation has changed. And with the change in power equation, the leadership too has been changing frequently. Fact of the matter is that the leadership has no idea what is going around. It has no strategy and no identified goal. It doesn¹t know which secret and intelligence agency is playing what role here. It is unmindful of what India and Pakistan are upto. It is a leadership that has no capability to lead. It just follows the crowds. Kashmir needs messiah ­ the messiah who can heal its wounds. We need a leader, a leader who is capable of leading and not following the crowds. We need someone who can rescue us from present chaos and anarchy and one who can lead us to real freedom. But will our Godot come? From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 13:11:03 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:11:03 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: <249921.36364.qm@web45507.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net> <249921.36364.qm@web45507.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Oh, now I understand. Indian forces killing school-going children, and laughing about it, is meant to be revenge for the exodus of Pandits 20 years ago. Now I understand. It's about revenge. How would Giogiana Violante know? On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 11:05 AM, we wi wrote: > Kid's don't have freedom at homes during their brought up in India. Afterwards one has to move in life like this towards growth.  Whats new in this article? > > --- On Mon, 8/30/10, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta > Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante > To: "sarai-list list" > Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 8:54 PM > > Dear All, > > Here is an account of daily life nowadays,  in Srinagar, Kashmir, through the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident in Kashmir University. > > best > > Shuddha > > ------------------------- > > India’s brutality has turned Kashmir into a living hell > > http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir-into-a-living-hell-3472/ > > By Giogiana Violante > > > This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the internet. I have not been allowed to receive or send text messages for three months. Just like all Kashmiris my telephone has been barred from such contact. The local news channels have been banned. India controls everything here. And then kills it. The situation is horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent curfew whereby all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter silence, suddenly a protest arises and then spreads throughout the whole city in a surge of frustrated and famished rioters shouting ‘AZADI AZADI AZADI’ (freedom) until it dissipates suddenly into a cacophony of gunshots and clouds of teargas. > > I observe all this going on at a  safe remove of only one metre by a big thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir University, where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes upon hordes of protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there repellently incapable of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence and violence. The Indian army own total control and freedom to shoot at will, to shoot to kill, anyone whom they choose to. > > Last week a seven year old child was beaten to death. You cannot accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not like a bullet that goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven year old child can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being beaten to death. Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year-old is the size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person beats a tiny child to death when his stone throw must carry so little force that it barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common occurrence here. > > The other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only one minute away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private road attached to the university so I thought I would risk it. When I returned a roofless sumo vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs laughing and shouting came charging through the street waving their batons and guns. They headed for an old man and tried to hit him and then they knocked a 4-year-old boy off his tricycle. For fun. He was only 50 centimetres outside his house’s garden so that hardly counts as disobeying the curfew and yet they charged at him on purpose. They knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for me, which as a western woman I did not expect. > > I am living here within the deserted university grounds, alone with the security guards and a few random professors and clerks. The university was evacuated three months ago when the troubles commenced and the students and school children all over the valley have experienced, as they always do, a great void in their education. > > The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the doors of pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew is purely out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and kill an eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty street? A woman kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her hands had her hands beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I heard the usual impassioned pleads for freedom hailing from Hazratbal Mosque, which is just outside the university. For an hour the calls of ‘Azadi’ escalated and escalated until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. The shots continued sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that the mosque was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some died, of course. > > The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave like this, invading places of worship simply because of impassioned calls for freedom by a people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of power by the occupying forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right to retaliate. Nor the freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear my complete and utter uselessness in this situation. As a rich westerner even I cannot get food. The other day myself and seven boys shared two carrots between us and a handful of rice. > > So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not been able to open their businesses for three months? How can they even have the money to afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from somewhere? You risk your life in order to get food. How can you get food without leaving home? Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk in the university showed me his mauled arms and the gash in his thigh. His arms were black and purple with crusted blood from last week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made hell. > > ‘I went to get medicine’ he said, ‘and the army caught me’. I smiled and said, ‘Oh you people are always getting caught on the way to get medicine. Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.’ > > ‘Aren’t biscuits medicine?’ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. > > Lat week as I circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a forest of chinar trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, moghul gardens outside every department (Why are these gardens perfectly tendered? Given the situation outside how do these people have the strength and hope to even care to tend their gardens? Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would have expected the gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw a thin little old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one doesn’t see bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these conditions. My mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it from? Had he bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I suddenly realised I was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. The ugly things hunger does to a person’s mind is shocking. His bag was probably full of dirty laundry. > > Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something along the lines of: > > “Hey you, America! Why aren’t you helping us? You do something.” > > “What can I do?” I reply, “I’m neither a politician nor a journalist. I’m just trapped here like you.” > > “But you’re a Westener. You see how things are here. We have been living like this for twenty years. When you go back to your country you tell them. You ask them why they aren’t helping us.” > > “It’s your own fault,” I reply. “Why should we bother saving your country when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you’ve got is apples, goats and saffron. You’re doomed.” > > A few seconds of silence will be followed by a warm invitation to tea. Muslim hospitality. At this time when every tea leaf is precious these people will share even their last few crumbs of powdered milk with you. And you sit there sipping the tea wondering how and where they managed to procure it and how much it cost them in beatings. > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 13:42:58 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:42:58 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net> Message-ID: This may come as a churlish response to what is obviously an unfeigned cri de coeur, but I find it difficult to let it pass without comment. With her very first sentence Ms. Violante condemns herself to hyperbole. She writes: " This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the internet." Why, where does she live? I have been in touch with friends every single day over the net and when I was in Kashmir in the first week of August when violence had peaked, there was no question of being cut off from the rest of the world. To suggest that people are on the street because they are "famished rioters," and that the shutdowns over the past 2 months have nothing to do with the hartaal calendars and stone pelters and everything to do with curfew is not even something that those on the street demanding azadi would declare. The Indian army whom she accuses of all kinds of excesses these past 2 months have held aloof from the present troubles. Not one of the 64 deaths have been ascribed to them, but to the J&K Police and the CRPF. Even a Kashmiri child knows the difference and if a foreigner doesn't, well, at least she can read the newspapers before attempting a hysterical analysis of a situation that needs no more hysteria. And 'Muslim' hospitality? As opposed to 'Hindu' security forces? On 30/08/10 8:54 PM, "Shuddhabrata Sengupta" wrote: > Dear All, Here is an account of daily life nowadays, in Srinagar, Kashmir, > through the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident in > Kashmir University. best Shuddha ------------------------- India¹s > brutality has turned Kashmir into a living > hell http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir- > into-a-living-hell-3472/ By Giogiana Violante This is the first time in > weeks I have had access to the internet. I have not been allowed to receive > or send text messages for three months. Just like all Kashmiris my telephone > has been barred from such contact. The local news channels have been banned. > India controls everything here. And then kills it. The situation is > horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent curfew whereby > all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter silence, suddenly a > protest arises and then spreads throughout the whole city in a surge of > frustrated and famished rioters shouting ŒAZADI AZADI AZADI¹ (freedom) until > it dissipates suddenly into a cacophony of gunshots and clouds of > teargas. I observe all this going on at a safe remove of only one metre by a > big thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir > University, where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes upon > hordes of protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there repellently > incapable of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence and violence. The > Indian army own total control and freedom to shoot at will, to shoot to > kill, anyone whom they choose to. Last week a seven year old child was beaten > to death. You cannot accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not > like a bullet that goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven > year old child can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being > beaten to death. Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year- > old is the size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person beats > a tiny child to death when his stone throw must carry so little force that > it barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common occurrence here. The > other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only one minute > away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private road attached to > the university so I thought I would risk it. When I returned a roofless sumo > vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs laughing and shouting came charging > through the street waving their batons and guns. They headed for an old man > and tried to hit him and then they knocked a 4-year-old boy off his > tricycle. For fun. He was only 50 centimetres outside his house¹s garden so > that hardly counts as disobeying the curfew and yet they charged at him on > purpose. They knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for me, which as > a western woman I did not expect. I am living here within the deserted > university grounds, alone with the security guards and a few random > professors and clerks. The university was evacuated three months ago when > the troubles commenced and the students and school children all over the > valley have experienced, as they always do, a great void in their > education. The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the > doors of pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew > is purely out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and kill an > eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty street? A woman > kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her hands had her hands > beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I > heard the usual impassioned pleads for freedom hailing from Hazratbal > Mosque, which is just outside the university. For an hour the calls of > ŒAzadi¹ escalated and escalated until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. > The shots continued sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that > the mosque was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some > died, of course. The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave > like this, invading places of worship simply because of impassioned calls > for freedom by a people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. > This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of power by the occupying > forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right to retaliate. Nor the > freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear my complete and utter > uselessness in this situation. As a rich westerner even I cannot get food. > The other day myself and seven boys shared two carrots between us and a > handful of rice. So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not > been able to open their businesses for three months? How can they even have > the money to afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from somewhere? > You risk your life in order to get food. How can you get food without > leaving home? Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk in the university > showed me his mauled arms and the gash in his thigh. His arms were black and > purple with crusted blood from last week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made > hell. ŒI went to get medicine¹ he said, Œand the army caught me¹. I smiled > and said, ŒOh you people are always getting caught on the way to get > medicine. Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.¹ ŒAren¹t > biscuits medicine?¹ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. Lat week as I > circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a forest of chinar > trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, moghul gardens outside every > department (Why are these gardens perfectly tendered? Given the situation > outside how do these people have the strength and hope to even care to tend > their gardens? Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would have > expected the gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw a thin > little old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one doesn¹t see > bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these conditions. My > mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it from? Had he > bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I suddenly realised I > was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. The ugly things hunger does > to a person¹s mind is shocking. His bag was probably full of dirty > laundry. Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something > along the lines of: ³Hey you, America! Why aren¹t you helping us? You do > something.² ³What can I do?² I reply, ³I¹m neither a politician nor a > journalist. I¹m just trapped here like you.² ³But you¹re a Westener. You > see how things are here. We have been living like this for twenty years. > When you go back to your country you tell them. You ask them why they aren¹t > helping us.² ³It¹s your own fault,² I reply. ³Why should we bother saving > your country when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you¹ve > got is apples, goats and saffron. You¹re doomed.² A few seconds of silence > will be followed by a warm invitation to tea. Muslim hospitality. At this > time when every tea leaf is precious these people will share even their last > few crumbs of powdered milk with you. And you sit there sipping the tea > wondering how and where they managed to procure it and how much it cost them > in beatings. Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media > Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net _____ > ____________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on > media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To > unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From kamalhak at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 13:45:44 2010 From: kamalhak at gmail.com (Kamal Hak) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:45:44 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Panun Kashmir makes a good case for a gag on the national media. In-Reply-To: <44C36A49-0370-4C01-BA46-F9F928FF63B1@sarai.net> References: <39896.69608.qm@web114705.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <44C36A49-0370-4C01-BA46-F9F928FF63B1@sarai.net> Message-ID: Dear Shuddha, I am amused at the naivety of your interferences. But I appreciate your concern for the freedom of expression. I am glad you have associated Panun Kashmir with hard core nationalist position. Though it is terribily out of fashion to say so on this forum, but I am sure hundreds and thousands of Panun Kashmir supporters within the Kashmiri Pandits and outside would be immensely proud of being nationalists to the core. However, that is not the point I want to make here. I am impressed by your anti-Panun Kashmir articulation here as it indicates your serious research into its agenda, programmes and activities. I would highly appreciate if you could enlighten us with some hard core researched facts about Panun Kashmir. I am sure it would of great help to people like me and of interest to many on this list. And in order to avoid any confusions, let me make it clear I am a displaced Kashmiri who fled Kashmir in April 1990 after repeatedly being declared a Mukhbir from a neighbourhood mosque. It is a different matter though in future the list might declare my flight from Kashmir a result of a delusion or momentary bout of schizophrenia, which makes a person hear voices when none exist. After all, wasn't it in your presence recently at Janpath that I was told Jagmohan threw me out. Since you chose to remain silent on the insinuation indicates your concurrence with the suggestion. It also creates doubts in me. How come the people, essentially consisting of post 1990 generation, know about the person responsible for my exodus while I continue to be unaware about that? I must admit and it is normal human phenomenon, people generally build conviction on perceptions which may not be essentially correct. I, like many of us, have also build a conviction regarding Panun Kashmir based on certain perceptions. Our perceptions could be wrong and I am willing to correct those. I hope you will assist me in doing so by enlightening me on facts about Panun Kashmir. Regards, Kamal Hak On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 12:23 AM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > Dear Gowhar, > > Thank you for forwarding this important statement that exposes the politics > of organizations like Panun Kashmir. > > In other words, Panun Kashmir wants to act as a surrogate censor. It wants > to punish the TV channels that do not toe the Panun Kashmir line on Kashmir. > It would be wonderful for Panun Kashmir, if the darkness of the Emergency > were to suddenly descend again upon India, in order to hold on to the > immorality of the occupation of Kashmir. This simply proves my point that a > hardline Indian nationalist position on Kashmir logically leads to the > narrowing of the political and cultural space within India. Azaadi for > Kashmir, would, ultimately, be good for Azaadi (as in Liberty) also in > India. > > Incidentally, there are quite a few TV channels, such as Times Now, which > have staunchly upheld the hardline 'Indian Nationalist' position on Kashmir > that Panun Kashmir endorses. Nobody, in their right mind would insist that > these stations be prevented from airing the views that they champion. I > loathe Arnab Goswami, but he ought in my mind, be free to dish out the > nonsense that he does. Consequently, I fail to see why that specific set of > positions (the ones that Panun Kashmir would endorse) should monopolize > airtime. Let those positions contend with all others, as would be the normal > practice in any society that wants to keep its eyes and ears open. > > Surely, in the interests of a genuine 'national' debate, people who watch > television should have the freedom to access as many positions as is > possible on the Kashmir question. If some (by no means al) of the voices > that have appeared on NDTV or CNN-IBN appear to present positions away from > the hardline Indian mainstream position on Kashmir, then it is equally true > that a disproportionate amount of screen time on other channels is reserved > for the hardline Indian nationalist position on Kashmir. Surely, a mature > viewer should have the right to make up his or her mind on the issue, one > way or another, by being exposed to spectrum of choices on offer. I notice, > even in a CNN-IBN programme titled YNOT which profiled the views of young > Kashmiris, adequate representation was given to various different views, > including that which is close to the Panun Kashmir position. Is it the case > of Panun Kashmir that television should present ONLY the views that it can > deign to agree with? Is Panun Kashmir not satisifed by the more than > adequate amount of airtime its position gets on mainstream Indian > television. Does it want to determine and micro-manage every second of > television airtime? > > If that is the case, then a tendency such as Panun Kashmir needs to be seen > as an enemy of freedom of expression, and should be identified as such. In > the long term, an organization like Panun Kashmir, because it is against the > freedom of expression, because it is obsessed with a narrow, secterian > agenda, is against the interests of all Kashmiris, be they Pandit, Muslim, > Non Believers, Buddhists or whatever, it is against their interests, be they > committed to India, committed to autonomy within India, or committed to > azaadi. Panun Kashmir is committed, in the end, only to itself. > > Having said that, I might point out, that several of us, including myself, > have consistently argued AGAINST censoring the Panun Kashmir point of view > on this forum, despite its shrillness, despite its willingness to indulge in > dissimulation, in the interests of free and fair debate. I have NO sympathy > at all for the Panun Kashmir position, but I do believe that it has a right > to express itself. Clearly, however, the Panun Kashmir position does not > believe what I believe - that people who hold a different point of view > should have the right to express themselves. While I can make room for Panun > Kashmir in my imgaination of what it means to have space for a conversation > on Kashmir, Panun Kashmir, clearly can make no room for the likes of me, let > alone for the timid and tepid (but nevertheless welcome) steps taken by > channels NDTV and CNN-IBN towards at least the semblence of an open-ended > dialogue on what is happening in Kashmir. > > best > > Shuddha > > > > > > > On 30-Aug-10, at 12:05 AM, gowhar fazli wrote: > > Panun Kashmir urges Govt. to take appropriate steps against some >> electronic channels >> by Vijay Kumar August 27, 2010 >> >> Jammu, August 27 (Scoop News) – Panun Kashmir >> (PK)deplores and urges GOI to take appropriate steps against some electronic >> channels like NDTV, CNN IBN etc, for their subversive programmes under the >> guise of discussions and discourses on Kashmir Issue unlike objective, >> unbiased and true reporting of print media at local and national level. >> >> In a statement Dr.Agnishekhar expressed their concern and anguish over >> present day government not taking exception to the pro-separatist policy >> pursued by these said channels. >> >> The meeting of office bearers of PK presided over by its >> convener Dr.Agnishekhar, PK feels that the NDTV, its biased anchors like >> Barkha Dutts and Sagarikas of CNN IBN have not behaved as responsible member >> of fourth estate instead the channel are propagating and supplementing the >> agenda of forces inimical to sovereignty and integrity of the nation. These >> channels are misusing the freedom of expression granted by constitution of >> India and are emboldened by the criminal silence of the polity of this >> nation. >> >> Statement said that On one hand these channels willfully ignore and >> sideline the plight and geo-political urges & aspirations of Kashmiri >> Hindus, Jammuites and Ladakhis and on the other hand cause of separatists; >> Islamic Jehadis; people who spit venom against the nation; forces hell bent >> upon to crate the second partition of the country; biased human right >> groups; and so called civil liberty activists are nurtured and promoted well >> by these electronic channels. >> >> These channels choose not to invite the genuine and mainstream political >> representative voices of Kashmiri Hindus, who are equally the stake holders >> of Kashmir Problem & its solution; and are busy fighting separatism and >> Islamic Jihad aimed at dismemberment of this country,said in a statement. >> >> Dr Agnishaker alleged that NDTV has been playing a >> partisan & biased role while reporting the events and news from time to >> time. One such glaring example is the treatment meted out to the path >> breaking statement of former United Nations Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan >> issued in Pakistan that the UN resolutions on Kashmir Issue are redundant >> and outdated. This statement of national significance was made subservient >> to Tahalka.com’s revelations in recent past. The recent Hindu bashing under >> the garb of so called Saffron Terrorism has figured prominently on the air >> but the activities of Bangalore Blast accused Madani already convicted in >> Coimbatore blasts found a passing reference on the channel. The recent >> bashing of Sikhs by jehadis in Kashmir found no prominent space in such >> Channels. >> >> He said, the recent discussion and discourses on >> Kashmir especially by Barkha dutt and her histrionics promoting the voices >> of Azadi, bashing of security forces, anti-india compaign are the issues of >> great concern for these channels. Ms Barkha dutt and her ilk have played >> havoc with image and integrity of this nation when foreign couples residing >> in Kashmir were invited as panelist in the discussion to plead the cause of >> separatists and malign the patriotic security forces of India, while as the >> voices of nationalistic panelists was gagged and edited. >> Panun Kashmir feels either the GOI is making ground >> fertile for granting the undesired and objectionable political dispensation >> to Kashmiri Muslims which will lead to secession of state from India, or it >> is using and patronizing the electronic channels like NDTV which are acting >> on the behest of forces which are at war with the civilizational ethos of >> India. Panun Kashmir will approach Press Council of India to register their >> protest against these channels for their unethical practices. PK appeals to >> the people of India and business houses in particular to reconsider their >> ties with NDTV and IBN for their activities endangering the sovereignty and >> integrity of the nation. >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with >> subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -- Kamal Hak "Zuv Shum Braman Ghara Gasa Ha" From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 13:46:25 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:46:25 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] From Greater Kashmir Message-ID: Aah ko chahiye ik OmarŠ TRAGEDY THE KILLING OF OMAR QAYOOM THE 64TH VICTIM OF GOVERNMENT VIOLENCE SINCE JUNE 11, HAS A FEW SPECIAL MESSAGES FOR CHIEF MINISTER OMAR ABDULLAH, WRITES MEHBOOB IQBAL EACH one of the sixty four victims of government violence since June 11 had a message to deliver to a deaf and dumb world around them. A message written in blood and delivered through mountains of newsprint and round the clock news shows, computers and networks. A message straight to the conscience. An SOS forjustice, attention and a right to a decent liberated life. But one boy named Omar Qayoom left behind not just his devastated parents and three sisters behind but multiple messages to his namesake chief minister Omar Abdullah. Not the least because he was the sixty fourth. The killing of Omar Qayoom took place in Soura a non-descript village steeped in poverty and ignorance before it was made famous by Omar Abdullah¹s grand father who was ultimately to bequeath the throne to his descendants. It was here in this locality that young Sheikh Abdullah, then a simple Muhammad Abdullah had slapped a uniformed functionary of an autocratic system. That slap caused a thunder far and wide for it was an act of defiance that was to script the history of Kashmir and leave indelible marks on entire South Asian region. A slap that founded a dynasty of elected rulers and an act that also began a new unending chapter of misery for the very people who were overawed by it and who followed the hero of that day without a murmur. As Muhammad Abdullah grew into Sher-e-Kashmir his unquestioning and unsuspecting believers zaroored him from one decision to another, one blunder to another. His magic ensured a god¹s status to him literally right up to his grave. Muhammad Abdullah of Soura, whatever his daring and whatever his sacrifices however owed a great deal to the very system that he ultimately over threw. He owed the ³Dogra Shahi² as he called it, an absolute and cruel dictatorship as he condemned it, the right to life which Maharaja Hari Singh mercifully granted him. Who would have ever heard of Sher e Kashmir if the daroga of Maharaja¹s capital had meted out the same treatment to baaghi Abdullah as Omar Abdullah¹s police did to Omar Qayoom? Omar Abdullah in the current cacophony of statements once graciously said, not long ago to Barhka Dutt, if the policeman shoots some one down on the street, the shoulder is mine. Omar Qayoom did not die of a bullet, for a change. He had, according to doctors a ³history of beating². Those who know claimed the 17 year old had a ruptured lung which cost him his budding life. One can only shudder at the kind of torture the boy must have gone through in police custody. Was it trampling under the heavy boots as in case of Waseem another child killed in Batmaloo or straight drilling of a baton inside his mouth as reported elsewhere? One is not sure but Omar Abdullah can certainly not take refuge under the argument that his shoulder was not used in this case. If it was the boot it was his, if it was the cane it was his. It was almost natural that the irate and highly provoked mob would target Sheikh Abdullah¹s house in the locality of his birth. That house is an icon--of hate now but was of reverence only few decades back. It was the one Abdullah property financed by the poor of the valley through sincere donations of their miserable savings. A rupee or two, silver from the thatched homes and gold from the dewankhanas. It was a monument of love and a tribute to Sheikh Abdullah¹s daring in the early decades of twentieth century. It also proved to be the Taj Mahal of Kashmir¹s most celebrated love story and destroyed by the disillusioned lovers themselves. Sheikh Abdullah started it himself with his flight to posh uptown areas and a more lavish lifestyle and the rest through a better understanding of what had struck them as a result of their blind love. As if on a cue the political opponents of the chief minister chose the same black Wednesday to rake up another house, they called Abdullah Mahal at Gupkar. Around the time Abdullah House in Soura was being attacked by the grand children of Sheikh¹s devotees a lesser known legislator Nizamuddin from Ahad Jan¹s area was fielded to do an encore of the shoe pelting of a more serious kind. One really is wonderstruck by the strange methods of history. How resoundingly can it deliver messages if there is an eye to discern, in the words of Qur¹an, ³Fa¹atabiroo ya ulilabsaar². Omar Qayoom¹s death at the hands of police of Omar Abdullah acted as the messenger. Is someone listening at the foot of Sulaiman Teng? Would a Muhammad Yousuf Teng muster up the courage to decode it for his god of small things? On August 2 when the chief minister succeeded in getting reinforcements for his beleaguered government he made announcement to that effect at a press conference in the national capital. In reply to a question he expressed relief at the fact that the ³casualties were still not many², not many really if the toll of Amarnath Ragda was a bench mark. He must have felt comfortable with the feeling that the number 64 was too far away yet and by the time it is crossed many would have forgotten about his comment. But his forces had to work overtime in achieving the unfortunate statistic in the same month as if to deny the chief minister this last comfort that he was still to better the performance of his predecessors. And they could not have done it in a more telling manner if one considers the ironies involved. Omar Qayoom of Soura, the namesake of Omar Abdullah the chief minister was not killed in random shooting. He was picked up and tortured to death as if for the sin of his name and the crime of his belonging to Sheikh Abdullah¹s Soura. A day after the attack on Abdullah House at Soura the current patriarch of the clan made a trademark speech in the Lok Sabha. He expressed his strong disapproval of the inability or reluctance of the government of India to get back the part of Jammu and Kashmir that is with Pakistan. Obviously the aging Farooq still harbours the fantasy of expanding his family empire. Only that he doesn¹t realize the significance of losing Soura. Mirza Ghalib has created verses for almost all occasions. The one that Farooq could recite using his considerable singing talent is Aah ko chahiye ik umr asar honey takŠ But it could be the favourite of the 64 mourning mothers as well with the slight phonetic variation Aah ko chahiye ik OmarŠAs it is joined by millions of sighs from the street, the farms, the mosques, prisons, police stations and hospital beds to constitute a gale of sighs Omar Qayoom the seventeen year old from Soura with ruptured lungs and trauma of torture might be pleading before AllahŠHow long my Lord? From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 13:57:28 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:57:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: References: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net> Message-ID: Perhaps she's dependent on cyber-cafes? Stuff like this doesn't move Sonia Jabbar: "Last week a seven year old child was beaten to death. You cannot accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not like a bullet that goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven year old child can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being beaten to death." You are more concerned about blaming the strikes, protests and stone-pelting. You show your true colours again and again, Ms Jabbar. You change them frequently but the true colours come out pretty often. On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 1:42 PM, SJabbar wrote: > This may come as a churlish response to what is obviously an unfeigned cri > de coeur, but I find it difficult to let it pass without comment. > With her very first sentence Ms. Violante condemns herself to hyperbole. She > writes: " This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the > internet." > > Why, where does she live?  I have been in touch with friends every single > day over the net and when I was in Kashmir in the first week of August when > violence had peaked, there was no question of being cut off from the rest of > the world. > > To suggest that people are on the street because they are "famished > rioters," and that the shutdowns over the past 2 months have nothing to do > with the hartaal calendars and stone pelters and everything to do with > curfew is not even something that those on the street demanding azadi would > declare. > > The Indian army whom she accuses of all kinds of excesses these past 2 > months have held aloof from the present troubles.  Not one of the 64 deaths > have been ascribed to them, but to the J&K Police and the CRPF.  Even a > Kashmiri child knows the difference and if a foreigner doesn't, well, at > least she can read the newspapers before attempting a hysterical analysis of > a situation that needs no more hysteria. > > And 'Muslim' hospitality? As opposed to 'Hindu' security forces? > > > > On 30/08/10 8:54 PM, "Shuddhabrata Sengupta" wrote: > >> Dear All, > > Here is an account of daily life nowadays,  in Srinagar, Kashmir, >> > through the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident > in >> Kashmir University. > > best > > Shuddha > > ------------------------- > > India¹s >> brutality has turned Kashmir into a living >> hell > > http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir- >> > into-a-living-hell-3472/ > > By Giogiana Violante > > > This is the first time in >> weeks I have had access to the internet. I > have not been allowed to receive >> or send text messages for three > months. Just like all Kashmiris my telephone >> has been barred from > such contact. The local news channels have been banned. >> India > controls everything here. And then kills it. The situation is >> > horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent curfew > whereby >> all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter > silence, suddenly a >> protest arises and then spreads throughout the > whole city in a surge of >> frustrated and famished rioters shouting > ŒAZADI AZADI AZADI¹ (freedom) until >> it dissipates suddenly into a > cacophony of gunshots and clouds of >> teargas. > > I observe all this going on at a  safe remove of only one metre by a >> > big thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir >> > University, where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes > upon >> hordes of protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there > repellently >> incapable of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence > and violence. The >> Indian army own total control and freedom to shoot > at will, to shoot to >> kill, anyone whom they choose to. > > Last week a seven year old child was beaten >> to death. You cannot > accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not >> like a bullet > that goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven >> year old > child can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being >> beaten > to death. Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year- >> > old is the size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person > beats >> a tiny child to death when his stone throw must carry so little > force that >> it barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common > occurrence here. > > The >> other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only > one minute >> away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private > road attached to >> the university so I thought I would risk it. When I > returned a roofless sumo >> vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs > laughing and shouting came charging >> through the street waving their > batons and guns. They headed for an old man >> and tried to hit him and > then they knocked a 4-year-old boy off his >> tricycle. For fun. He was > only 50 centimetres outside his house¹s garden so >> that hardly counts > as disobeying the curfew and yet they charged at him on >> purpose. They > knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for me, which as >> a > western woman I did not expect. > > I am living here within the deserted >> university grounds, alone with > the security guards and a few random >> professors and clerks. The > university was evacuated three months ago when >> the troubles commenced > and the students and school children all over the >> valley have > experienced, as they always do, a great void in their >> education. > > The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the >> doors > of pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew >> > is purely out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and > kill an >> eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty > street? A woman >> kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her > hands had her hands >> beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. > Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I >> heard the usual impassioned pleads for > freedom hailing from Hazratbal >> Mosque, which is just outside the > university. For an hour the calls of >> ŒAzadi¹ escalated and escalated > until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. >> The shots continued > sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that >> the mosque > was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some >> died, of > course. > > The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave >> like this, > invading places of worship simply because of impassioned calls >> for > freedom by a people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. >> > This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of power by the > occupying >> forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right to > retaliate. Nor the >> freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear > my complete and utter >> uselessness in this situation. As a rich > westerner even I cannot get food. >> The other day myself and seven boys > shared two carrots between us and a >> handful of rice. > > So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not >> been able > to open their businesses for three months? How can they even have >> the > money to afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from > somewhere? >> You risk your life in order to get food. How can you get > food without >> leaving home? Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk > in the university >> showed me his mauled arms and the gash in his > thigh. His arms were black and >> purple with crusted blood from last > week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made >> hell. > > ŒI went to get medicine¹ he said, Œand the army caught me¹. I smiled >> > and said, ŒOh you people are always getting caught on the way to get >> > medicine. Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.¹ > > ŒAren¹t >> biscuits medicine?¹ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. > > Lat week as I >> circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a > forest of chinar >> trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, > moghul gardens outside every >> department (Why are these gardens > perfectly tendered? Given the situation >> outside how do these people > have the strength and hope to even care to tend >> their gardens? > Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would have >> expected the > gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw a thin >> little > old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one doesn¹t see >> > bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these conditions. > My >> mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it from? > Had he >> bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I > suddenly realised I >> was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. > The ugly things hunger does >> to a person¹s mind is shocking. His bag > was probably full of dirty >> laundry. > > Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something >> > along the lines of: > > ³Hey you, America! Why aren¹t you helping us? You do >> something.² > > ³What can I do?² I reply, ³I¹m neither a politician nor a >> journalist. > I¹m just trapped here like you.² > > ³But you¹re a Westener. You >> see how things are here. We have been > living like this for twenty years. >> When you go back to your country > you tell them. You ask them why they aren¹t >> helping us.² > > ³It¹s your own fault,² I reply. ³Why should we bother saving >> your > country when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you¹ve >> > got is apples, goats and saffron. You¹re doomed.² > > A few seconds of silence >> will be followed by a warm invitation to > tea. Muslim hospitality. At this >> time when every tea leaf is precious > these people will share even their last >> few crumbs of powdered milk > with you. And you sit there sipping the tea >> wondering how and where > they managed to procure it and how much it cost them >> in beatings. > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media >> Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _____ >> ____________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on >> media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to >> reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To >> unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: >> <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 15:57:12 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:57:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: Message-ID: And you, who cowers behind a false name are still free to judge me, my intentions and my deepest feelings, sir/madam. We are still unsure whether the 7 year-old was victim of a stampede or was indeed brutally beaten. There are lots of people who gleefully dance on the graves of 7 year olds and wait for the next victim so that they can howl with righteous anger. I condemn all 64 deaths of civilians whether they were accidental or intentional but I am not about to join a hysterical chorus to prove I stand on some moral high ground. On 31/08/10 1:57 PM, "Aditya Raj Baul" wrote: > Perhaps she's dependent on cyber-cafes? Stuff like this doesn't move Sonia > Jabbar: "Last week a seven year old child was beaten to death. You cannot > accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not like a bullet that goes > astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven year old child can do > sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being beaten to death." You are > more concerned about blaming the strikes, protests and stone-pelting. You > show your true colours again and again, Ms Jabbar. You change them frequently > but the true colours come out pretty often. On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 1:42 PM, > SJabbar wrote: > This may come as a churlish response > to what is obviously an unfeigned cri > de coeur, but I find it difficult to > let it pass without comment. > With her very first sentence Ms. Violante > condemns herself to hyperbole. She > writes: " This is the first time in weeks > I have had access to the > internet." > > Why, where does she live?  I have > been in touch with friends every single > day over the net and when I was in > Kashmir in the first week of August when > violence had peaked, there was no > question of being cut off from the rest of > the world. > > To suggest that > people are on the street because they are "famished > rioters," and that the > shutdowns over the past 2 months have nothing to do > with the hartaal > calendars and stone pelters and everything to do with > curfew is not even > something that those on the street demanding azadi would > declare. > > The > Indian army whom she accuses of all kinds of excesses these past 2 > months > have held aloof from the present troubles.  Not one of the 64 deaths > have > been ascribed to them, but to the J&K Police and the CRPF.  Even a > Kashmiri > child knows the difference and if a foreigner doesn't, well, at > least she > can read the newspapers before attempting a hysterical analysis of > a > situation that needs no more hysteria. > > And 'Muslim' hospitality? As > opposed to 'Hindu' security forces? > > > > On 30/08/10 8:54 PM, "Shuddhabrata > Sengupta" wrote: > >> Dear All, > > Here is an account of > daily life nowadays,  in Srinagar, Kashmir, >> > through the eyes of a woman > student (a westerner) currently resident > in >> Kashmir University. > > > best > > Shuddha > > ------------------------- > > India¹s >> brutality has > turned Kashmir into a living >> hell > > > http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir- >> > > into-a-living-hell-3472/ > > By Giogiana Violante > > > This is the first time > in >> weeks I have had access to the internet. I > have not been allowed to > receive >> or send text messages for three > months. Just like all Kashmiris > my telephone >> has been barred from > such contact. The local news channels > have been banned. >> India > controls everything here. And then kills it. The > situation is >> > horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent > curfew > whereby >> all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter > > silence, suddenly a >> protest arises and then spreads throughout the > whole > city in a surge of >> frustrated and famished rioters shouting > ŒAZADI AZADI > AZADI¹ (freedom) until >> it dissipates suddenly into a > cacophony of > gunshots and clouds of >> teargas. > > I observe all this going on at a  safe > remove of only one metre by a >> > big thick brick wall interrupted by the > Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir >> > University, where I am residing. I see > through the iron bars hordes > upon >> hordes of protesters being shot at > randomly, and I stand there > repellently >> incapable of doing anything. An > endless cycle of silence > and violence. The >> Indian army own total control > and freedom to shoot > at will, to shoot to >> kill, anyone whom they choose > to. > > Last week a seven year old child was beaten >> to death. You cannot > > accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not >> like a bullet > that > goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven >> year old > child > can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being >> beaten > to death. > Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year- >> > old is the > size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person > beats >> a tiny > child to death when his stone throw must carry so little > force that >> it > barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common > occurrence here. > > The >> > other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only > one > minute >> away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private > road > attached to >> the university so I thought I would risk it. When I > returned > a roofless sumo >> vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs > laughing and > shouting came charging >> through the street waving their > batons and guns. > They headed for an old man >> and tried to hit him and > then they knocked a > 4-year-old boy off his >> tricycle. For fun. He was > only 50 centimetres > outside his house¹s garden so >> that hardly counts > as disobeying the curfew > and yet they charged at him on >> purpose. They > knocked him off the tricycle > and then headed for me, which as >> a > western woman I did not expect. > > I > am living here within the deserted >> university grounds, alone with > the > security guards and a few random >> professors and clerks. The > university > was evacuated three months ago when >> the troubles commenced > and the > students and school children all over the >> valley have > experienced, as > they always do, a great void in their >> education. > > The Indian army gun > down eleven-year-old girls banging on the >> doors > of pharmacists when it is > clear that their disobedience of the curfew >> > is purely out of desperation. > How can a full grown man gun down and > kill an >> eleven-yea- old girl > banging on a pharmacy door in an empty > street? A woman >> kneeling on the > pavement covering her face with her > hands had her hands >> beaten to a pulp > and they had to be amputated. > Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I >> heard the > usual impassioned pleads for > freedom hailing from Hazratbal >> Mosque, which > is just outside the > university. For an hour the calls of >> ŒAzadi¹ > escalated and escalated > until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. >> The > shots continued > sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that >> > the mosque > was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some >> > died, of > course. > > The Indian army have the right and the freedom to > behave >> like this, > invading places of worship simply because of > impassioned calls >> for > freedom by a people who are being totally crushed > and obliterated. >> > This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of > power by the > occupying >> forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right > to > retaliate. Nor the >> freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear > > my complete and utter >> uselessness in this situation. As a rich > westerner > even I cannot get food. >> The other day myself and seven boys > shared two > carrots between us and a >> handful of rice. > > So how can these Kashmiris be > managing when they have not >> been able > to open their businesses for three > months? How can they even have >> the > money to afford food, even if there > WAS food to be had from > somewhere? >> You risk your life in order to get > food. How can you get > food without >> leaving home? Yesterday a young boy > working as a clerk > in the university >> showed me his mauled arms and the > gash in his > thigh. His arms were black and >> purple with crusted blood from > last > week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made >> hell. > > ŒI went to get > medicine¹ he said, Œand the army caught me¹. I smiled >> > and said, ŒOh you > people are always getting caught on the way to get >> > medicine. Rubbish it > was medicine. You went to get biscuits.¹ > > ŒAren¹t >> biscuits medicine?¹ he > replied, smiling the same smile as mine. > > Lat week as I >> circled the > admittedly beautiful university grounds, a > forest of chinar >> trees and > endless rows of roses in full bloom, > moghul gardens outside every >> > department (Why are these gardens > perfectly tendered? Given the situation >> > outside how do these people > have the strength and hope to even care to > tend >> their gardens? > Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would > have >> expected the > gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw > a thin >> little > old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one > doesn¹t see >> > bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these > conditions. > My >> mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it > from? > Had he >> bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I > > suddenly realised I >> was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. > The > ugly things hunger does >> to a person¹s mind is shocking. His bag > was > probably full of dirty >> laundry. > > Sometimes someone will address me > angrily as I pass by, something >> > along the lines of: > > ³Hey you, > America! Why aren¹t you helping us? You do >> something.² > > ³What can I do?² > I reply, ³I¹m neither a politician nor a >> journalist. > I¹m just trapped > here like you.² > > ³But you¹re a Westener. You >> see how things are here. We > have been > living like this for twenty years. >> When you go back to your > country > you tell them. You ask them why they aren¹t >> helping us.² > > > ³It¹s your own fault,² I reply. ³Why should we bother saving >> your > country > when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you¹ve >> > got is apples, > goats and saffron. You¹re doomed.² > > A few seconds of silence >> will be > followed by a warm invitation to > tea. Muslim hospitality. At this >> time > when every tea leaf is precious > these people will share even their last >> > few crumbs of powdered milk > with you. And you sit there sipping the tea >> > wondering how and where > they managed to procure it and how much it cost > them >> in beatings. > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at > CSDS > Raqs Media >> Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _____ >> > ____________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list > on >> media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an > email to >> reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject > header. > To >> unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: >> > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion > list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send > an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject > header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> ___________________________ > ______________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To > unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From rashneek at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 16:14:26 2010 From: rashneek at gmail.com (rashneek kher) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:14:26 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] The Deluge and After-Dr.K.L.Chaudhary Message-ID: The Deluge and After K L Chowdhury I read about the flooding of Kashmiri Pandit Refugee Camps on the night of 19th August from a Jammu-based news paper. There were accounts of KP leaders and a cabinet minister of the state having visited the camps on the next morning and promised all help on an emergency footing. Next day I received phone calls from camp inmates that the flood victims were in need of medical aid. That prompted me to lead a medical team of Shriya Bhatt Mission Hospital and Research Center to Mishriwalla ‘Migrant’ Camp to take stock of the health and living conditions of the camp inmates ravaged by floods. We went there on the 21 August and spent the whole morning and afternoon in the camp. It was Saturday and the place looked barren. We saw depressed faces around us. A few inmates took us round the camp dwellings affected by the flood in order to get a general feel of the place and people and to make an on the spot verification of the extensive damage wrought to the belongings including the bedding, floor matting, electrical equipment, books and other utilities. Mishriwalla Camp is situated in a desolate suburb about 15 kilometers from the city on the left of the Jammu-Akhnoor highway. It is a craggy landscape from where the earth is being gouged out to provide raw material for the brick kilns that dot the whole neighbourhood and pump the effluent and smoke into the vicinity polluting the atmosphere. The refugee camp comprises a number of one-room tenements built in rows and separated by narrow lanes on a ground that slopes down towards a small stream that runs in the hinterland and feeds the fields of Mishriwalla from the Ranbir Canal. There are two public utility toilet blocks adjacent to a bund that separates the fields and the stream from the refugee camp. These latrines cater to the needs of the refugee camp . The flood waters had come from this swollen stream and the open fields. The swirling waters had run over the bund and through the public toilets and latrines, spilling excreta on the ground and carrying it through the narrow lanes and along the drains inside the rooms where the water had risen to a level of three to four feet. A camp inmate related his horror when he woke up at about 2 AM and found himself in a waterlogged bed. He stood up and saw the room filled with water. The water was madly gushing in from his door and finding its way into the kitchen. His pots and pans were floating, the inverter and gas stove had sunk, his one month ration of food grains, pulses, condiments etc had disappeared under the water. He shouted aloud in pain and disbelief. When he opened the door he was horrified to find the tenements sunk half way in a sea of water. By that time the neighbourhood was up and people were shouting, calling for help, running amok, and not knowing where to turn. It was a long long night of horror. The deluge had caused total damage to the beddings and matting, destroyed the pantries, caused short circuit of electric gadgets, and damaged other household utilities. Nearly 125 one-room tenements had come under the spell of the swirling water, adversely affecting more than a thousand inmates. We walked through the smell and stench that has enveloped the locality. The whole place was rife with mosquitoes, flies and other vermin. The water had receded, leaving the rooms damp and smelling. The dark and dingy tenements have turned into hell holes from the heat and humidity and lack of ventilation. Inside these inhospitable dungeons people sweated, sweltered and sighed. There was no one to wipe tears. The inmates were still in a state of shock from the calamity. Their bedding was wet or unusable. They were assembling the remains of their earthly possessions and trying to rebuild their lives. Wading through the heavily contaminated flood waters has caused extensive skin infections and allergies. Almost all the inmates of the affected segment of the refugee camp were scratching, oozing pus and blood from the skin infections. A large number of them have also contracted a highly contagious eye infection. The patients present a picture of swollen, angry red and lacrimating eyes. It looks like a viral conjunctivitis and is spreading fast in the camp in an epidemic. I hope it is not one of the viruses that have a potential to cause neurological complications in these patients. Many inmates were in acute panic state, others were recovering from heat exhaustion and fatigue syndrome by the physical effort of trying to retrieve what is left of their belongings from the deluge. Yet, others were hoarse from shouting. When one of them asked me to write a medicine for his hoarseness and I advised him to give rest to his voice, he grumbled, “We did not know what to do when we saw ourselves marooned. We just shouted and kept shouting for help. Besides, so many of them, leaders and ministers, have been coming here, and we have to repeat the same story over and over again. They come with false promises and politicize our tragedy, making a mockery of our travails. It seems they are all deaf and we have been shouting ourselves hoarse in vain.” I had no answer. We were informed that a no help had arrived from any source. Some government officials had followed the minister’s visit and gone round the place but were not impressed nor convinced that there was much damage, because by that time the flood water had receded and the inmates had cleaned and dried up what was left of their beddings and dwellings. Neither has any team of doctors been sent by the government to attend to their health problems. With that any hope that the administration would come to their rescue has evaporated. I was besieged by hundreds of sick patients whom I examined on the roadside under the shade of a tree, all those whose health has been directly or indirectly impacted by the catastrophe as well as other chronic and acutely ill patients in the camp. It was a heart-wrenching experience. Then we went visiting each of the affected families to find to our horror the wretched living conditions of our brethren. There are rooms that have never seen the light of day like catacombs harboring people in a pathetic state of health who look more dead than alive. Tenement number 534 presented a horrific picture. We entered through a corridor lit by an eerie light diffusing from a small green skylight that gave a somber look as it led us inside a dark room sans windows or ventilators. A huge water cooler in a corner was vainly blowing hot air directed at a dark complexioned wasted figure with a swollen tummy lying on a wet mattress on the floor. Mrs. Omkar Nath - that was the name of the figure - could barely speak with her feeble voice, her hands tremulous, her feet edematous, her cheeks hollow, and her eyes sunken. She begged for the final release. She was suffering from terminal liver disease. Her son, a lowly employee in the police department related the tale of woe, how they were eight members cramped in that hole. He looked a pale shadow of what a police man should look like. Veena in nearby tenement number 530, and her husband Kanaya Lal, almost dragged me into their cheerless room. The pair was still flood-shocked and hysterical. She was trembling and torn with anxiety. They had lost their belongings to the flood and greatly in need of material and moral help. I examined her on the bare floor and did all I could to comfort the couple. Sangeeta led me to her home 528. The floor had been washed of the flood trail of mud and filth. There was nothing except the remains of the depredation left behind by the receding waters in that room where she lead a spartan existence with her family off the pittance that the government provides as dole. It was distressing to witness the same story in each room we visited. Malnutrition, anemia, osteoporosis, vitamin deficiencies, etc. are rampant in the camp inmates. Chronic respiratory disease because of the environmental pollution from the brick kilns and the overcrowding is common. There is widespread disease, depression and despair. Because of the contamination of all the filth from gutters and toilets there is a looming danger of the outbreak of water-borne disease like cholera, gastroenteritis, typhoid, hepatitis, as well as insect-borne disease like malaria and dengue fever. We picked up a team of social activists on the spot form amongst the camp inmates. I have tasked them to prepare a list of all the sick patients. Special medical camps will be held for them and all arrangements made to carry them to and from our mission hospital at Durga Nagar for examination and treatment. We will also hold a dermatology camp to take care of the skin infections. Virji Bhat, Roopji Pandita, Jawahar Lal, Chandji, and Vinodji who comprised my visiting medical team were joined on the following day by Adarsh Ajit, Romesh Raina, and Rajesh Dhar to effect the distribution of chemical disinfectants and to provide a liberal supply of chlorines tablets for water purification, antibiotic eye drops and skin ointments and lotions for each of the 125 families affected. The whole team will stay in touch with the camp inmates to oversee the other projects of healthcare delivery that we will embark upon. They will also visit other refugee camps affected by the flash floods. I wonder if the Sate government will ever reverse its policy of apartheid, shed its apathy, and treat the Kashmir Pandit refugees as children of the State. The media are not interested in the news about these forgotten people living on the fringes of society. The refugees languishing in Mishriwalla, Purkhoo and other camps are waiting for the national conscience to awaken. -- Rashneek Kher http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com From pawan.durani at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 16:17:57 2010 From: pawan.durani at gmail.com (Pawan Durani) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:17:57 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Shivam .... I miss your name .... On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 3:57 PM, SJabbar wrote: > And you, who cowers behind a false name are still free to judge me, my > intentions and my deepest feelings, sir/madam. > > We are still unsure whether the 7 year-old was victim of a stampede or was > indeed brutally beaten. There are lots of people who gleefully dance on the > graves of 7 year olds and wait for the next victim so that they can howl > with righteous anger. I condemn all 64 deaths of civilians whether they were > accidental or intentional but I am not about to join a hysterical chorus to > prove I stand on some moral high ground. > > On 31/08/10 1:57 PM, "Aditya Raj Baul" wrote: > >> Perhaps she's dependent on cyber-cafes? > > Stuff like this doesn't move Sonia >> Jabbar: "Last week a seven year old > child was beaten to death. You cannot >> accidentally beat a seven year > old to death. It is not like a bullet that goes >> astray. I cannot see > how a stone thrown by a seven year old child can do >> sufficient damage > to any man to warrant his being beaten to death." > > You are >> more concerned about blaming the strikes, protests and stone-pelting. > > You >> show your true colours again and again, Ms Jabbar. You change them > frequently >> but the true colours come out pretty often. > > > On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 1:42 PM, >> SJabbar wrote: >> This may come as a churlish response >> to what is obviously an unfeigned cri >> de coeur, but I find it difficult to >> let it pass without comment. >> With her very first sentence Ms. Violante >> condemns herself to hyperbole. She >> writes: " This is the first time in weeks >> I have had access to the >> internet." >> >> Why, where does she live?  I have >> been in touch with friends every single >> day over the net and when I was in >> Kashmir in the first week of August when >> violence had peaked, there was no >> question of being cut off from the rest of >> the world. >> >> To suggest that >> people are on the street because they are "famished >> rioters," and that the >> shutdowns over the past 2 months have nothing to do >> with the hartaal >> calendars and stone pelters and everything to do with >> curfew is not even >> something that those on the street demanding azadi would >> declare. >> >> The >> Indian army whom she accuses of all kinds of excesses these past 2 >> months >> have held aloof from the present troubles.  Not one of the 64 deaths >> have >> been ascribed to them, but to the J&K Police and the CRPF.  Even a >> Kashmiri >> child knows the difference and if a foreigner doesn't, well, at >> least she >> can read the newspapers before attempting a hysterical analysis of >> a >> situation that needs no more hysteria. >> >> And 'Muslim' hospitality? As >> opposed to 'Hindu' security forces? >> >> >> >> On 30/08/10 8:54 PM, "Shuddhabrata >> Sengupta" wrote: >> >>> Dear All, >> >> Here is an account of >> daily life nowadays,  in Srinagar, Kashmir, >>> >> through the eyes of a woman >> student (a westerner) currently resident >> in >>> Kashmir University. >> >> >> best >> >> Shuddha >> >> ------------------------- >> >> India¹s >>> brutality has >> turned Kashmir into a living >>> hell >> >> >> http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir- >>> >> >> into-a-living-hell-3472/ >> >> By Giogiana Violante >> >> >> This is the first time >> in >>> weeks I have had access to the internet. I >> have not been allowed to >> receive >>> or send text messages for three >> months. Just like all Kashmiris >> my telephone >>> has been barred from >> such contact. The local news channels >> have been banned. >>> India >> controls everything here. And then kills it. The >> situation is >>> >> horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent >> curfew >> whereby >>> all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter >> >> silence, suddenly a >>> protest arises and then spreads throughout the >> whole >> city in a surge of >>> frustrated and famished rioters shouting >> ŒAZADI AZADI >> AZADI¹ (freedom) until >>> it dissipates suddenly into a >> cacophony of >> gunshots and clouds of >>> teargas. >> >> I observe all this going on at a  safe >> remove of only one metre by a >>> >> big thick brick wall interrupted by the >> Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir >>> >> University, where I am residing. I see >> through the iron bars hordes >> upon >>> hordes of protesters being shot at >> randomly, and I stand there >> repellently >>> incapable of doing anything. An >> endless cycle of silence >> and violence. The >>> Indian army own total control >> and freedom to shoot >> at will, to shoot to >>> kill, anyone whom they choose >> to. >> >> Last week a seven year old child was beaten >>> to death. You cannot >> >> accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not >>> like a bullet >> that >> goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven >>> year old >> child >> can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being >>> beaten >> to death. >> Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year- >>> >> old is the >> size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person >> beats >>> a tiny >> child to death when his stone throw must carry so little >> force that >>> it >> barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common >> occurrence here. >> >> The >>> >> other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only >> one >> minute >>> away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private >> road >> attached to >>> the university so I thought I would risk it. When I >> returned >> a roofless sumo >>> vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs >> laughing and >> shouting came charging >>> through the street waving their >> batons and guns. >> They headed for an old man >>> and tried to hit him and >> then they knocked a >> 4-year-old boy off his >>> tricycle. For fun. He was >> only 50 centimetres >> outside his house¹s garden so >>> that hardly counts >> as disobeying the curfew >> and yet they charged at him on >>> purpose. They >> knocked him off the tricycle >> and then headed for me, which as >>> a >> western woman I did not expect. >> >> I >> am living here within the deserted >>> university grounds, alone with >> the >> security guards and a few random >>> professors and clerks. The >> university >> was evacuated three months ago when >>> the troubles commenced >> and the >> students and school children all over the >>> valley have >> experienced, as >> they always do, a great void in their >>> education. >> >> The Indian army gun >> down eleven-year-old girls banging on the >>> doors >> of pharmacists when it is >> clear that their disobedience of the curfew >>> >> is purely out of desperation. >> How can a full grown man gun down and >> kill an >>> eleven-yea- old girl >> banging on a pharmacy door in an empty >> street? A woman >>> kneeling on the >> pavement covering her face with her >> hands had her hands >>> beaten to a pulp >> and they had to be amputated. >> Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I >>> heard the >> usual impassioned pleads for >> freedom hailing from Hazratbal >>> Mosque, which >> is just outside the >> university. For an hour the calls of >>> ŒAzadi¹ >> escalated and escalated >> until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. >>> The >> shots continued >> sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that >>> >> the mosque >> was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some >>> >> died, of >> course. >> >> The Indian army have the right and the freedom to >> behave >>> like this, >> invading places of worship simply because of >> impassioned calls >>> for >> freedom by a people who are being totally crushed >> and obliterated. >>> >> This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of >> power by the >> occupying >>> forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right >> to >> retaliate. Nor the >>> freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear >> >> my complete and utter >>> uselessness in this situation. As a rich >> westerner >> even I cannot get food. >>> The other day myself and seven boys >> shared two >> carrots between us and a >>> handful of rice. >> >> So how can these Kashmiris be >> managing when they have not >>> been able >> to open their businesses for three >> months? How can they even have >>> the >> money to afford food, even if there >> WAS food to be had from >> somewhere? >>> You risk your life in order to get >> food. How can you get >> food without >>> leaving home? Yesterday a young boy >> working as a clerk >> in the university >>> showed me his mauled arms and the >> gash in his >> thigh. His arms were black and >>> purple with crusted blood from >> last >> week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made >>> hell. >> >> ŒI went to get >> medicine¹ he said, Œand the army caught me¹. I smiled >>> >> and said, ŒOh you >> people are always getting caught on the way to get >>> >> medicine. Rubbish it >> was medicine. You went to get biscuits.¹ >> >> ŒAren¹t >>> biscuits medicine?¹ he >> replied, smiling the same smile as mine. >> >> Lat week as I >>> circled the >> admittedly beautiful university grounds, a >> forest of chinar >>> trees and >> endless rows of roses in full bloom, >> moghul gardens outside every >>> >> department (Why are these gardens >> perfectly tendered? Given the situation >>> >> outside how do these people >> have the strength and hope to even care to >> tend >>> their gardens? >> Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would >> have >>> expected the >> gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw >> a thin >>> little >> old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one >> doesn¹t see >>> >> bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these >> conditions. >> My >>> mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it >> from? >> Had he >>> bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I >> >> suddenly realised I >>> was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. >> The >> ugly things hunger does >>> to a person¹s mind is shocking. His bag >> was >> probably full of dirty >>> laundry. >> >> Sometimes someone will address me >> angrily as I pass by, something >>> >> along the lines of: >> >> ³Hey you, >> America! Why aren¹t you helping us? You do >>> something.² >> >> ³What can I do?² >> I reply, ³I¹m neither a politician nor a >>> journalist. >> I¹m just trapped >> here like you.² >> >> ³But you¹re a Westener. You >>> see how things are here. We >> have been >> living like this for twenty years. >>> When you go back to your >> country >> you tell them. You ask them why they aren¹t >>> helping us.² >> >> >> ³It¹s your own fault,² I reply. ³Why should we bother saving >>> your >> country >> when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you¹ve >>> >> got is apples, >> goats and saffron. You¹re doomed.² >> >> A few seconds of silence >>> will be >> followed by a warm invitation to >> tea. Muslim hospitality. At this >>> time >> when every tea leaf is precious >> these people will share even their last >>> >> few crumbs of powdered milk >> with you. And you sit there sipping the tea >>> >> wondering how and where >> they managed to procure it and how much it cost >> them >>> in beatings. >> >> >> >> Shuddhabrata Sengupta >> The Sarai Programme at >> CSDS >> Raqs Media >>> Collective >> shuddha at sarai.net >> www.sarai.net >> >> www.raqsmediacollective.net >> >> >> _____ >>> >> ____________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list >> on >>> media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an >> email to >>> reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject >> header. >> To >>> unsubscribe: >> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: >>> >> <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion >> list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send >> an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject >> header. >> To unsubscribe: >> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: >> <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > ___________________________ >> ______________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the >> city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to >> reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To >> unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: >> <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From shuddha at sarai.net Tue Aug 31 01:10:14 2010 From: shuddha at sarai.net (Shuddhabrata Sengupta) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:10:14 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Ten Theses on Wikileaks by Geert Lovink and Patrice Riemens References: <618C12B7-0731-4EA7-B308-56380CE26225@xs4all.nl> Message-ID: <6E5F42A3-CA38-48AB-BCA8-B9620B8FE167@sarai.net> For those intrigued by Wikileaks - Begin forwarded message: > Resent-From: nettime at kein.org > From: Geert Lovink > Date: 30 August 2010 5:53:10 PM GMT+05:30 > Resent-To: Nettime > To: nettime-l at kein.org > Subject: Ten Theses on Wikileaks by Geert Lovink and > Patrice Riemens > > Ten Theses on Wikileaks > By Geert Lovink and Patrice Riemens > > These 0. > "What do I think of Wikileaks? I think it would be a good > idea!" (after Mahatma Gandhi's famous quip on 'Western Civilisation') > > These 1. > Disclosures and leaks have been of all times, but never before has a > non state- or non- corporate affiliated group done this at the scale > Wikileaks managed to with the 'Afghan War Logs'. But nonetheless we > believe that this is more something of a quantitative leap than of a > qualitative one. In a certain sense, these 'colossal' Wikileaks > disclosures can simply be explained as a consequence of the dramatic > spread of IT usage, together with a dramatic drop in its costs, > including those for the storage of millions of documents. Another > contributing factor is the fact that safekeeping state and corporate > secrets - never mind private ones - has become rather difficult in an > age of instant reproducibility and dissemination. Wikileaks here > becomes symbolic for a transformation in the 'information society' at > large, and holds up a mirror of future things to come. So while one > can look at Wikileaks as a (political) project, and criticize it for > its modus operandi, or for other reasons, it can also be seen as a > 'pilot' phase in an evolution towards a far more generalized culture > of anarchic exposure, beyond the traditional politics of openness and > transparency. > > These 2. > For better or for worse, Wikileaks has skyrocketed itself into the > realm of high-level international politics. Out of the blue, Wikileaks > has briefly become a full-blown player both on the world scene, as > well as in the national sphere of some countries. By virtue of its > disclosures, Wikileaks, small as it is, appears to carry the same > weight as government or big corporations - in the domain of > information gathering and publicizing at least. But at same time it is > unclear whether this is a permanent feature or a hype-induced > temporary phenomenon - Wikileaks appears to believe the former, but > only time will tell. Nonetheless Wikileaks, by word of its best known > representative Julian Assange, think that, as a puny non-state and > non- > corporate actor, it is boxing in the same weight-class as the > Pentagon - and starts to behave accordingly. One could call this the > 'Talibanization' stage of postmodern - "Flat World" - theory where > scales, times, and places have been declared largely irrelevant. What > counts is the celebrity momentum and the amount of media attention. > Wikileaks manages to capture that attention by way of spectacular > information hacks where other parties, especially civil society groups > and human rights organizations, are desperately struggling to get > their message across. Wikileaks genially puts to use the 'escape > velocity' of IT - using IT to leave IT behind and irrupt into the > realm of real-world politics. > > These 3. > In the ongoing saga termed "The Decline of the US Empire", Wikileaks > enters the stage as the slayer of a soft target. It would be difficult > to imagine it doing quite the same to the Russian or Chinese > government, or even to that of Singapore - not to speak of their ... > err ... 'corporate' affiliates. Here distinct, and huge, cultural and > linguistic barriers are at work, not to speak of purely power-related > ones, that would need to be surmounted. Also vastly different > constituencies obtain there, even if we speak about the more limited > (and allegedly more globally shared) cultures and agendas of hackers, > info-activists and investigative journalists. In that sense Wikileaks > in its present manifestation remains a typically 'Western' product and > cannot claim to be a truly universal or global undertaking. > > These 4. > One of the main difficulty with explaining Wikileaks arises from the > fact it is unclear - and also unclear to the Wikileaks people > themselves - whether it sees itself and operates as a content provider > or as a simple carrier of leaked data (whichever one, as predicated by > context and circumstances, is the impression). This, by the way, has > been a common problem ever since media went massively online and > publishing and communications became a service rather than a product. > Julian Assenge cringes every time he is portrayed as the editor-in- > chief of Wikileaks, yet on the other hand, Wikileaks says it edits > material before publication and claims it checks documents for > authenticity with the help of hundreds of volunteer analysts. This > kind of content vs. carrier debates have been going on for a number of > decades amongst media activists with no clear outcome. Therefore, > instead of trying to resolve this inconsistency, it might be better to > look for fresh approaches and develop new, critical, concepts for what > has become a hybrid publishing practice involving actors far beyond > the traditional domain of professional news media. > > These 5. > The steady decline of investigative journalism due to diminishing > support and funding is an undeniable fact. The ever-ongoing > acceleration and over-crowding in the so-called attention economy > makes that there is no longer enough room for complicated stories. The > corporate owners of mass circulation media are also less and less > inclined to see the working of the neo-liberal globalized economy and > its politics detailled and discussed at length. The shift of > information towards infotainment demanded by the public and media- > owners has unfortunately also been embraced as a working style by > journalists themselves making it difficult to publish complex stories. > Wikileaks erupts in this state of affairs as an outsider within the > steamy ambiance of 'citizen journalism' and DIY news reporting in the > blogosphere. What Wikileaks anticipates, but so far has not been able > to organize, is the 'crowd sourcing' of the actual interpretation of > its leaked documents. > Traditional investigative journalism consisted of three phase: > unearthing facts, cross-checking these and backgrounding them into an > understandable discourse. Wikileaks does the first, claims to do the > second, but leaves the issue of the third completely blank. This is > symptomatic of a particular brand of the open access ideology, whereby > the economy of content production itself is externalized to unknown > entities 'out there'. The crisis in investigative journalism is > neither understood nor recognized. How the productive entities are > supposed to sustain themselves is left in the dark. It is simply > presumed that the analysis and interpretation will be taken up by the > traditional news media but this is not happening automatically. The > saga of the Afghan War Logs demonstrates that Wikileaks has to > approach and negotiate with well-established traditional media to > secure sufficient credibility. But at the same time these also prove > unable to fully process the material. > > These 6. > Wikileaks is a typical SPO (Single Person Organization). This means > that initiative-taking, decision making, and the execution process is > largely centralized in the hands of one single person. Much like small > and medium-size businesses the founder cannot be voted out and unlike > many collectives leadership is not rotating. This is not an uncommon > feature within organizations, indifferent whether they operate in the > realm of politics, culture or the 'civil society' sector. SPOs are > recognizable, exciting, inspiring, and easy to feature in the media. > Their sustainability, however is largely dependent on the actions of > their charismatic leader, and their functioning is difficult to > reconcile with democratic values. This is also why they are difficult > to replicate and do not scale up easily. Sovereign hacker Julian > Assange is the identifying figurehead of Wikileaks, whose notoriety > and reputation very much merges with his own, blurring the distinction > between what it does and stands for and Assange's (rather agitated) > private life and (somewhat unpolished) political opinions. > > These 7. > Wikileaks is also an organization deeply shaped by 1980s hacker > culture combined with the political values of techno-libertarianism > which emerged in the 1990s. The fact that Wikileaks has been founded, > and is still to a large extent run by hard core geeks, forms an > essential frame of reference to understand its values and moves. This, > unfortunately, comes together with a good dose of the somewhat less > savory aspects of hacker culture. Not that idealism, the desire to > contribute to making the world a better place, could be denied to > Wikileaks, quite on the contrary. But this idealism is paired with a > preference for conspiracies, an elitist attitude and a cult of secrecy > (never mind condescending manners) which is not conducive to > collaboration with like minded people and groups - reduced to the > position of simple consumers of Wikileaks outcomes. > > These 8. > Lack of commonality with congenial 'another world is possible' > movements forces Wikileaks to seek public attention by way of > increasingly spectacular - and risky - disclosures, while gathering a > constituency of often wildly enthusiastic, but totally passive > supporters. Following the nature and quantity of Wikileaks exposures > from its inception up to the present day is eerily reminiscent of > watching a firework display, and that includes a 'grand finale' in the > form of the doomsday-machine pitched, waiting-to-be-unleashed, > 'Insurance' document. This raises serious doubts about the long-term > sustainability of Wikileaks itself, but possibly also, that of the > Wikileaks model. Wikileaks operates on a ridiculously small size > (probably no more than a dozen of people form the core of its > operation). While the extent and savvyness of Wikileaks' tech support > is proved by its very existence, Wikileaks' claim to several hundreds, > or even more, volunteer analysts and experts is unverifiable, and to > be frank, barely credible. This is clearly Wikileaks Achilles' heel, > not only from a risks and/or sustainability standpoint, but > politically as well - which is what matters to us here. > > These 9. > Wikileaks displays a stunning lack of transparancy in its internal > organization. Its excuse that "Wikileaks needs to be completely opaque > in order to force others to be totally transparent." amounts to little > more than Mad Magazine's famous Spy vs Spy cartoons. You win from the > opposition but in a way that makes you undistinguishable from it. And > claiming the moral high ground afterwards is not really helpful - Tony > Blair too excelled in that exercise. As Wikileaks is neither a > political collective nor an NGO in the legal sense, and not a company > or part of social movement for that matter, we need first of all > discuss what type of organization it is that we deal with. Is it a > virtual project? After all, it does exist as a hosted website with a > domain name, which is the bottom line. But does it have a goal beyond > the personal ambition of its founder(s)? Is Wikileaks reproducible and > will we see the rise of national or local chapters that keep the name > Wikileaks? And according to which playing rules will they operate? Or > should we rather see it as a concept that travels from context to > context and that, like a meme, transforms itself in time and space? > Maybe Wikileaks will organize itself around an own version of the > IETF's slogan 'rough consensus and running code'? Project like > Wikipedia and Indymedia have both resolved this issue in their own > ways, but not without crises, forks and disruptive conflicts. A > critique like the one voiced here does not aim to force Wikileaks into > a traditional format but on the contrary to explore whether Wikileaks > (and its future clones, associates, avatars and assorted family > members) could stand model for new forms of organizations and > collaborations. Elsewhere the term 'organized network' has been coined > as a possible term for this formats. In the past there was talked of > 'tactical media'. Others have used the generic term 'internet > activism'. Perhaps Wikileaks has other ideas in what direction it > wants to take this organizational debate. But where? It is of course > up to Wikileaks to decide for itself but up to now we have seen very > little by way of an answer, leaving others, like the Wall Street > Journal, to raise questions, e.g., about Wikileaks' financial bona > fides. > > These 10. > We do not think that taking a stand in favor or against Wikileaks is > what matters most. Wikileaks is there, and there to stay till it > either scuttles itself or is destroyed by the forces opposing its > operation. Our point is rather to (try to) pragmatically assess and > ascertain what Wikileaks can, could - and maybe even, who knows, > should - do, and help formulate how 'we' could relate to and interact > with Wikileaks. Despite all its drawbacks, and against all odds, > Wikileaks has rendered a sterling service to the cause of > transparency, democracy and openness. We might wish it to be > different, but, as the French would say, if something like it did not > exist, it would have to be invented. The 'quantitative turn' of > information overload is a fact of present life. One can only expect > the glut of disclosable information to grow further - and > exponentially so. To organize and interpret this Himalaya of data is a > collective challenge that is out there, whether we give it the name > 'Wikileaks' or not. > > Amsterdam, late August 2010 > > > # distributed via : no commercial use without permission > # is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, > # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets > # more info: http://mail.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l > # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime at kein.org Shuddhabrata Sengupta The Sarai Programme at CSDS Raqs Media Collective shuddha at sarai.net www.sarai.net www.raqsmediacollective.net From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Tue Aug 31 17:10:27 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:40:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <363266.28006.qm@web45505.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> one should know and able understand the difference between DISCIPLINE and FREEDOM.  Please don't write rubbish.  --- On Tue, 8/31/10, Aditya Raj Baul wrote: From: Aditya Raj Baul Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante To: Cc: "sarai-list list" Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 1:11 PM Oh, now I understand. Indian forces killing school-going children, and laughing about it, is meant to be revenge for the exodus of Pandits 20 years ago. Now I understand. It's about revenge. How would Giogiana Violante know? On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 11:05 AM, we wi wrote: > Kid's don't have freedom at homes during their brought up in India. Afterwards one has to move in life like this towards growth.  Whats new in this article? > > --- On Mon, 8/30/10, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > > From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta > Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante > To: "sarai-list list" > Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 8:54 PM > > Dear All, > > Here is an account of daily life nowadays,  in Srinagar, Kashmir, through the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident in Kashmir University. > > best > > Shuddha > > ------------------------- > > India’s brutality has turned Kashmir into a living hell > > http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir-into-a-living-hell-3472/ > > By Giogiana Violante > > > This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the internet. I have not been allowed to receive or send text messages for three months. Just like all Kashmiris my telephone has been barred from such contact. The local news channels have been banned. India controls everything here. And then kills it. The situation is horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent curfew whereby all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter silence, suddenly a protest arises and then spreads throughout the whole city in a surge of frustrated and famished rioters shouting ‘AZADI AZADI AZADI’ (freedom) until it dissipates suddenly into a cacophony of gunshots and clouds of teargas. > > I observe all this going on at a  safe remove of only one metre by a big thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir University, where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes upon hordes of protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there repellently incapable of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence and violence. The Indian army own total control and freedom to shoot at will, to shoot to kill, anyone whom they choose to. > > Last week a seven year old child was beaten to death. You cannot accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not like a bullet that goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven year old child can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being beaten to death. Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year-old is the size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person beats a tiny child to death when his stone throw must carry so little force that it barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common occurrence here. > > The other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only one minute away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private road attached to the university so I thought I would risk it. When I returned a roofless sumo vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs laughing and shouting came charging through the street waving their batons and guns. They headed for an old man and tried to hit him and then they knocked a 4-year-old boy off his tricycle. For fun. He was only 50 centimetres outside his house’s garden so that hardly counts as disobeying the curfew and yet they charged at him on purpose. They knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for me, which as a western woman I did not expect. > > I am living here within the deserted university grounds, alone with the security guards and a few random professors and clerks. The university was evacuated three months ago when the troubles commenced and the students and school children all over the valley have experienced, as they always do, a great void in their education. > > The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the doors of pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew is purely out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and kill an eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty street? A woman kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her hands had her hands beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I heard the usual impassioned pleads for freedom hailing from Hazratbal Mosque, which is just outside the university. For an hour the calls of ‘Azadi’ escalated and escalated until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. The shots continued sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that the mosque was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some died, of course. > > The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave like this, invading places of worship simply because of impassioned calls for freedom by a people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of power by the occupying forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right to retaliate. Nor the freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear my complete and utter uselessness in this situation. As a rich westerner even I cannot get food. The other day myself and seven boys shared two carrots between us and a handful of rice. > > So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not been able to open their businesses for three months? How can they even have the money to afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from somewhere? You risk your life in order to get food. How can you get food without leaving home? Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk in the university showed me his mauled arms and the gash in his thigh. His arms were black and purple with crusted blood from last week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made hell. > > ‘I went to get medicine’ he said, ‘and the army caught me’. I smiled and said, ‘Oh you people are always getting caught on the way to get medicine. Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.’ > > ‘Aren’t biscuits medicine?’ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. > > Lat week as I circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a forest of chinar trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, moghul gardens outside every department (Why are these gardens perfectly tendered? Given the situation outside how do these people have the strength and hope to even care to tend their gardens? Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would have expected the gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw a thin little old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one doesn’t see bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these conditions. My mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it from? Had he bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I suddenly realised I was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. The ugly things hunger does to a person’s mind is shocking. His bag was probably full of dirty laundry. > > Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something along the lines of: > > “Hey you, America! Why aren’t you helping us? You do something.” > > “What can I do?” I reply, “I’m neither a politician nor a journalist. I’m just trapped here like you.” > > “But you’re a Westener. You see how things are here. We have been living like this for twenty years. When you go back to your country you tell them. You ask them why they aren’t helping us.” > > “It’s your own fault,” I reply. “Why should we bother saving your country when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you’ve got is apples, goats and saffron. You’re doomed.” > > A few seconds of silence will be followed by a warm invitation to tea. Muslim hospitality. At this time when every tea leaf is precious these people will share even their last few crumbs of powdered milk with you. And you sit there sipping the tea wondering how and where they managed to procure it and how much it cost them in beatings. > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From c.anupam at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 17:12:24 2010 From: c.anupam at gmail.com (anupam chakravartty) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:12:24 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Ten Theses on Wikileaks by Geert Lovink and Patrice Riemens In-Reply-To: <6E5F42A3-CA38-48AB-BCA8-B9620B8FE167@sarai.net> References: <618C12B7-0731-4EA7-B308-56380CE26225@xs4all.nl> <6E5F42A3-CA38-48AB-BCA8-B9620B8FE167@sarai.net> Message-ID: thanks for posting them Shuddha. anupam On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 1:10 AM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote: > For those intrigued by Wikileaks - > > Begin forwarded message: > > Resent-From: nettime at kein.org >> From: Geert Lovink >> Date: 30 August 2010 5:53:10 PM GMT+05:30 >> Resent-To: Nettime >> To: nettime-l at kein.org >> Subject: Ten Theses on Wikileaks by Geert Lovink and Patrice >> Riemens >> >> Ten Theses on Wikileaks >> By Geert Lovink and Patrice Riemens >> >> These 0. >> "What do I think of Wikileaks? I think it would be a good >> idea!" (after Mahatma Gandhi's famous quip on 'Western Civilisation') >> >> These 1. >> Disclosures and leaks have been of all times, but never before has a >> non state- or non- corporate affiliated group done this at the scale >> Wikileaks managed to with the 'Afghan War Logs'. But nonetheless we >> believe that this is more something of a quantitative leap than of a >> qualitative one. In a certain sense, these 'colossal' Wikileaks >> disclosures can simply be explained as a consequence of the dramatic >> spread of IT usage, together with a dramatic drop in its costs, >> including those for the storage of millions of documents. Another >> contributing factor is the fact that safekeeping state and corporate >> secrets - never mind private ones - has become rather difficult in an >> age of instant reproducibility and dissemination. Wikileaks here >> becomes symbolic for a transformation in the 'information society' at >> large, and holds up a mirror of future things to come. So while one >> can look at Wikileaks as a (political) project, and criticize it for >> its modus operandi, or for other reasons, it can also be seen as a >> 'pilot' phase in an evolution towards a far more generalized culture >> of anarchic exposure, beyond the traditional politics of openness and >> transparency. >> >> These 2. >> For better or for worse, Wikileaks has skyrocketed itself into the >> realm of high-level international politics. Out of the blue, Wikileaks >> has briefly become a full-blown player both on the world scene, as >> well as in the national sphere of some countries. By virtue of its >> disclosures, Wikileaks, small as it is, appears to carry the same >> weight as government or big corporations - in the domain of >> information gathering and publicizing at least. But at same time it is >> unclear whether this is a permanent feature or a hype-induced >> temporary phenomenon - Wikileaks appears to believe the former, but >> only time will tell. Nonetheless Wikileaks, by word of its best known >> representative Julian Assange, think that, as a puny non-state and non- >> corporate actor, it is boxing in the same weight-class as the >> Pentagon - and starts to behave accordingly. One could call this the >> 'Talibanization' stage of postmodern - "Flat World" - theory where >> scales, times, and places have been declared largely irrelevant. What >> counts is the celebrity momentum and the amount of media attention. >> Wikileaks manages to capture that attention by way of spectacular >> information hacks where other parties, especially civil society groups >> and human rights organizations, are desperately struggling to get >> their message across. Wikileaks genially puts to use the 'escape >> velocity' of IT - using IT to leave IT behind and irrupt into the >> realm of real-world politics. >> >> These 3. >> In the ongoing saga termed "The Decline of the US Empire", Wikileaks >> enters the stage as the slayer of a soft target. It would be difficult >> to imagine it doing quite the same to the Russian or Chinese >> government, or even to that of Singapore - not to speak of their ... >> err ... 'corporate' affiliates. Here distinct, and huge, cultural and >> linguistic barriers are at work, not to speak of purely power-related >> ones, that would need to be surmounted. Also vastly different >> constituencies obtain there, even if we speak about the more limited >> (and allegedly more globally shared) cultures and agendas of hackers, >> info-activists and investigative journalists. In that sense Wikileaks >> in its present manifestation remains a typically 'Western' product and >> cannot claim to be a truly universal or global undertaking. >> >> These 4. >> One of the main difficulty with explaining Wikileaks arises from the >> fact it is unclear - and also unclear to the Wikileaks people >> themselves - whether it sees itself and operates as a content provider >> or as a simple carrier of leaked data (whichever one, as predicated by >> context and circumstances, is the impression). This, by the way, has >> been a common problem ever since media went massively online and >> publishing and communications became a service rather than a product. >> Julian Assenge cringes every time he is portrayed as the editor-in- >> chief of Wikileaks, yet on the other hand, Wikileaks says it edits >> material before publication and claims it checks documents for >> authenticity with the help of hundreds of volunteer analysts. This >> kind of content vs. carrier debates have been going on for a number of >> decades amongst media activists with no clear outcome. Therefore, >> instead of trying to resolve this inconsistency, it might be better to >> look for fresh approaches and develop new, critical, concepts for what >> has become a hybrid publishing practice involving actors far beyond >> the traditional domain of professional news media. >> >> These 5. >> The steady decline of investigative journalism due to diminishing >> support and funding is an undeniable fact. The ever-ongoing >> acceleration and over-crowding in the so-called attention economy >> makes that there is no longer enough room for complicated stories. The >> corporate owners of mass circulation media are also less and less >> inclined to see the working of the neo-liberal globalized economy and >> its politics detailled and discussed at length. The shift of >> information towards infotainment demanded by the public and media- >> owners has unfortunately also been embraced as a working style by >> journalists themselves making it difficult to publish complex stories. >> Wikileaks erupts in this state of affairs as an outsider within the >> steamy ambiance of 'citizen journalism' and DIY news reporting in the >> blogosphere. What Wikileaks anticipates, but so far has not been able >> to organize, is the 'crowd sourcing' of the actual interpretation of >> its leaked documents. >> Traditional investigative journalism consisted of three phase: >> unearthing facts, cross-checking these and backgrounding them into an >> understandable discourse. Wikileaks does the first, claims to do the >> second, but leaves the issue of the third completely blank. This is >> symptomatic of a particular brand of the open access ideology, whereby >> the economy of content production itself is externalized to unknown >> entities 'out there'. The crisis in investigative journalism is >> neither understood nor recognized. How the productive entities are >> supposed to sustain themselves is left in the dark. It is simply >> presumed that the analysis and interpretation will be taken up by the >> traditional news media but this is not happening automatically. The >> saga of the Afghan War Logs demonstrates that Wikileaks has to >> approach and negotiate with well-established traditional media to >> secure sufficient credibility. But at the same time these also prove >> unable to fully process the material. >> >> These 6. >> Wikileaks is a typical SPO (Single Person Organization). This means >> that initiative-taking, decision making, and the execution process is >> largely centralized in the hands of one single person. Much like small >> and medium-size businesses the founder cannot be voted out and unlike >> many collectives leadership is not rotating. This is not an uncommon >> feature within organizations, indifferent whether they operate in the >> realm of politics, culture or the 'civil society' sector. SPOs are >> recognizable, exciting, inspiring, and easy to feature in the media. >> Their sustainability, however is largely dependent on the actions of >> their charismatic leader, and their functioning is difficult to >> reconcile with democratic values. This is also why they are difficult >> to replicate and do not scale up easily. Sovereign hacker Julian >> Assange is the identifying figurehead of Wikileaks, whose notoriety >> and reputation very much merges with his own, blurring the distinction >> between what it does and stands for and Assange's (rather agitated) >> private life and (somewhat unpolished) political opinions. >> >> These 7. >> Wikileaks is also an organization deeply shaped by 1980s hacker >> culture combined with the political values of techno-libertarianism >> which emerged in the 1990s. The fact that Wikileaks has been founded, >> and is still to a large extent run by hard core geeks, forms an >> essential frame of reference to understand its values and moves. This, >> unfortunately, comes together with a good dose of the somewhat less >> savory aspects of hacker culture. Not that idealism, the desire to >> contribute to making the world a better place, could be denied to >> Wikileaks, quite on the contrary. But this idealism is paired with a >> preference for conspiracies, an elitist attitude and a cult of secrecy >> (never mind condescending manners) which is not conducive to >> collaboration with like minded people and groups - reduced to the >> position of simple consumers of Wikileaks outcomes. >> >> These 8. >> Lack of commonality with congenial 'another world is possible' >> movements forces Wikileaks to seek public attention by way of >> increasingly spectacular - and risky - disclosures, while gathering a >> constituency of often wildly enthusiastic, but totally passive >> supporters. Following the nature and quantity of Wikileaks exposures >> from its inception up to the present day is eerily reminiscent of >> watching a firework display, and that includes a 'grand finale' in the >> form of the doomsday-machine pitched, waiting-to-be-unleashed, >> 'Insurance' document. This raises serious doubts about the long-term >> sustainability of Wikileaks itself, but possibly also, that of the >> Wikileaks model. Wikileaks operates on a ridiculously small size >> (probably no more than a dozen of people form the core of its >> operation). While the extent and savvyness of Wikileaks' tech support >> is proved by its very existence, Wikileaks' claim to several hundreds, >> or even more, volunteer analysts and experts is unverifiable, and to >> be frank, barely credible. This is clearly Wikileaks Achilles' heel, >> not only from a risks and/or sustainability standpoint, but >> politically as well - which is what matters to us here. >> >> These 9. >> Wikileaks displays a stunning lack of transparancy in its internal >> organization. Its excuse that "Wikileaks needs to be completely opaque >> in order to force others to be totally transparent." amounts to little >> more than Mad Magazine's famous Spy vs Spy cartoons. You win from the >> opposition but in a way that makes you undistinguishable from it. And >> claiming the moral high ground afterwards is not really helpful - Tony >> Blair too excelled in that exercise. As Wikileaks is neither a >> political collective nor an NGO in the legal sense, and not a company >> or part of social movement for that matter, we need first of all >> discuss what type of organization it is that we deal with. Is it a >> virtual project? After all, it does exist as a hosted website with a >> domain name, which is the bottom line. But does it have a goal beyond >> the personal ambition of its founder(s)? Is Wikileaks reproducible and >> will we see the rise of national or local chapters that keep the name >> Wikileaks? And according to which playing rules will they operate? Or >> should we rather see it as a concept that travels from context to >> context and that, like a meme, transforms itself in time and space? >> Maybe Wikileaks will organize itself around an own version of the >> IETF's slogan 'rough consensus and running code'? Project like >> Wikipedia and Indymedia have both resolved this issue in their own >> ways, but not without crises, forks and disruptive conflicts. A >> critique like the one voiced here does not aim to force Wikileaks into >> a traditional format but on the contrary to explore whether Wikileaks >> (and its future clones, associates, avatars and assorted family >> members) could stand model for new forms of organizations and >> collaborations. Elsewhere the term 'organized network' has been coined >> as a possible term for this formats. In the past there was talked of >> 'tactical media'. Others have used the generic term 'internet >> activism'. Perhaps Wikileaks has other ideas in what direction it >> wants to take this organizational debate. But where? It is of course >> up to Wikileaks to decide for itself but up to now we have seen very >> little by way of an answer, leaving others, like the Wall Street >> Journal, to raise questions, e.g., about Wikileaks' financial bona >> fides. >> >> These 10. >> We do not think that taking a stand in favor or against Wikileaks is >> what matters most. Wikileaks is there, and there to stay till it >> either scuttles itself or is destroyed by the forces opposing its >> operation. Our point is rather to (try to) pragmatically assess and >> ascertain what Wikileaks can, could - and maybe even, who knows, >> should - do, and help formulate how 'we' could relate to and interact >> with Wikileaks. Despite all its drawbacks, and against all odds, >> Wikileaks has rendered a sterling service to the cause of >> transparency, democracy and openness. We might wish it to be >> different, but, as the French would say, if something like it did not >> exist, it would have to be invented. The 'quantitative turn' of >> information overload is a fact of present life. One can only expect >> the glut of disclosable information to grow further - and >> exponentially so. To organize and interpret this Himalaya of data is a >> collective challenge that is out there, whether we give it the name >> 'Wikileaks' or not. >> >> Amsterdam, late August 2010 >> >> >> # distributed via : no commercial use without permission >> # is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, >> # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets >> # more info: http://mail.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l >> # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime at kein.org >> > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with > subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From dhatr1i at yahoo.com Tue Aug 31 17:23:52 2010 From: dhatr1i at yahoo.com (we wi) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:53:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Reader-list] From the English daily, Kashmir Images In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <580733.33597.qm@web45504.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> discipline,responsibility and control are the messiah.  We all aren't living in INDIA with or without problems? Aren't we enjoy freedom? --- On Tue, 8/31/10, SJabbar wrote: From: SJabbar Subject: [Reader-list] From the English daily, Kashmir Images To: "Sarai" Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 12:59 PM Waiting for Godot Manzoor Anjum The problem with our leadership is that instead of leading, they just follow the crowds. From its support to gun in early 90¹s to drumming of peaceful struggle post 9/11 and now patting of stone pelters, the leaders have always been led by the street. He is a plumber and lives in a rented room in Jawahar Nagar locality of Srinagar. He is diabetic and also suffering from some other diseases. His wife suffers of anemia. The couple has to sons ­ one studying in 10th and the other in 6th standard. Besides day to day expenses and rent of the room, the couple has to spend good amount on the purchase of medicines and education of the children. During the month of June, by hook and crook he managed to get some work and run his household. But in July, he couldn¹t even move out of his home and therefore there was no earning. Whatever little his wife had managed to save during past months was consumed in the month of July and in August, he had to borrow Rs. 1500 from his brother. As the ill luck would have it, his brother needed the money back desperately and that too just after fifteen days as his wife had fallen ill. This man had no money to repay and was forced to sell the gold ear-ring of his wife. And since then he has sold whatever was left with his wife -  ear-rings, rings, bangles. Wife insists that they should arrange some tutor for the children who haven¹t been to school from past three months. Instead of thinking of hiring a tutor, the man is fighting with all odds to run his kitchen and arrange two meals for his family. He is borrowing money from here and there and constant pressure from money lenders has turned him into a psychological wreck now and to try his luck, he has started gambling and thus borrowing more money. Is there anybody who can assure him a respectable earning in the wake of constant and unabated strikes and protests? Is there anyone who can arrange a tutor for his kids? He is in depression and running from one shrine to another to find solace but there is none. He has no money for his diabetes and if the situation continues, as it is now, he will die of this deadly disease. And once he is dead, what will happen to his three dependants? How can his wife run the house-hold? Will she be forced to sell her body to ensure food and education to his children? Or will the stone-pelting brigades get two new recruits? And what will happen to the dreams that this mother had woven around these two kids? Wouldn¹t shattering of a mother¹s dream shatter all the heavens? When I heard about this family, the details pained my heart knowing that there would be hundreds and hundreds of such families all over suffering terribly due to continuous strikes. My heart pains and I think that the God who has given me the heart to feel is the one who has given the courage¹ to those who are issuing frequent strike calls and thus who is going to prove that who is on the right path ­ me, with my understanding of the ground situation or they with the determination of going ahead with their protest calendar. Sometimes I think, had Gandhi given an indefinite strike call, would the English have left well before August, 1947, or would they been still ruling India. Had indefinite strikes been an effective weapon to end slavery and oppression, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi would have followed the same path? Fact is that these great leaders offer personal sacrifices instead of asking people to make sacrifices.  Mao Zedong didn¹t remove his shoes from his feet for fifteen years. He continued marching and his people followed him. He never gave some Chaloo call to attract curfew. He marched himself towards his goal and every one in his nation followed him. Great leaders have always ensured that they achieve more than investing. They devise strategies to minimize sufferings of their people and to maximize the gains. But here in Kashmir, instead of working towards any sort of gains and achievement, our leadership is only ensuring more and more sacrifices. Why, because this struggle is not led by any visionary like Mao Zedong or Nelson Mandela. There is no Aung San Suu Kyi on the forefront who was imprisoned at the age of 13 and continues to suffer but resisted every violent move that was made by her supporters to seek her release. And here, we are led by the stone pelters whom we call the leaders of our future generation. No doubt that these young boys seem desperate to seek freedom from India but fact of the matter is that only a few of them are acquainted with the history of Kashmir dispute. For most of them, Kashmir is a religious issue. They think that they are Muslims and therefore it is their religious duty to get freedom from India. But how to get this freedom, they have no idea, they just pick up rocks and raise slogans of Islam and Azadi. Interestingly 40 per cent of the stone pelters are young kids between the age of 7 to 12 years. These kids should have been in schools or in play grounds. But here they are, on the streets, pelting stones and shouting slogans ­ slogans which their innocent minds fail to understand. We curse and oppose child labour because to make your children work is a crime. But at the same time we watch our young kids pelting stones on armed forces and in the return getting injured and killed. We don¹t attempt to stop our kids from this indulgence but just watch shamelessly and then beat our chests when some tragedy strikes. There is no denying the fact that most people from Kashmir Valley want India out. This is a wide spread sentiment here and the leaders use and misuse this sentiment to remain on the forefront. They have failed to devise strategies that would help satisfy peoples¹ sentiments and have even failed to identify the goal. There is an army of leaders, and each of them has his/her own goal and are trying to drag masses towards those particular goals. Now a new leadership is emerging and that is of stone pelters. This leadership too has its own goal. Though all are raising slogans of Islam and Azadi, there is a fight for supremacy and in this fight, the common people are made to suffer miserably. Don¹t we have a right to ask that how long this stone-pelting will go on and that how it is going to force India out? We are keeping an entire generation away from schools and think that thus we will get Azadi.  Our schools are closed and in neighbouring Jammu and Ladakh, students are busy achieving academic excellence. And if the situation continues the way it is, after ten years or so, there will not be a single Kashmiri in government employment. Earlier these used to be 80 per cent Kashmiri employees working in civil secretariat. Now this place has been occupied by people of Jammu and Leh. This has not happened because of any conspiracy but because of our own follies as we have never prioritized education. And whatever we are doing now, it will never fetch us Azadi but ensure that in future Kashmiris can¹t get a decent job and wherever they are, they can¹t dream something beyond a class fourth job. We can¹t go on endless hartals. Despite pressures and force, people will resist against these strikes and revolt. That would be a big jolt to the very concept of the movement. But the leaders seem unmindful of this. They are busy taking credit for everything and anything, even if that thing happens to be against the people and the very movement they claim to be representing. When gun was the fashion, the leadership missed not a single moment to support it and say that this was the only way to achieve freedom. And when it (gun) fell from the grace post 9/11, the leadership suddenly became the staunch supporter of peaceful struggle.¹ Now that stone pelting seems order of the day, the leaders too are busy patting these new warriors without thinking that why and how this new shift has come into force. Syed Sallahudin, the commander of Jehad Council, whose writ was running allover, his effigies are being burnt publicly and no one uttered a word of protest because power equation has changed. And with the change in power equation, the leadership too has been changing frequently. Fact of the matter is that the leadership has no idea what is going around. It has no strategy and no identified goal. It doesn¹t know which secret and intelligence agency is playing what role here. It is unmindful of what India and Pakistan are upto. It is a leadership that has no capability to lead. It just follows the crowds. Kashmir needs messiah ­ the messiah who can heal its wounds. We need a leader, a leader who is capable of leading and not following the crowds. We need someone who can rescue us from present chaos and anarchy and one who can lead us to real freedom. But will our Godot come? _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From jeebesh at sarai.net Tue Aug 31 17:37:49 2010 From: jeebesh at sarai.net (Jeebesh) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:37:49 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] From the English daily, Kashmir Images In-Reply-To: <580733.33597.qm@web45504.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <580733.33597.qm@web45504.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On 31-Aug-10, at 5:23 PM, we wi wrote: > Waiting for Godot > Manzoor Anjum > > The problem with our leadership is that instead of leading, they > just follow > the crowds. Can we not think this as a problem? But as an emerging reality full of potential for a possible new counter-politics that has already disturbed the consensus and is striving for a new language. The deep enmeshing of the "political" with state-power and capital is now a consensus and a common-sense. The present " acting without leaders" maybe a way out in a much deeper way. warmly jeebesh From nagraj.adve at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 17:41:04 2010 From: nagraj.adve at gmail.com (Nagraj Adve) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:41:04 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] coffee anyone? Message-ID: Coffee threatened by beetles in a warming world A tiny insect that thrives in warmer temperatures — the coffee berry borer — has been spreading steadily, devastating coffee plants in Africa, Latin America, and around the world * Erica Westly for Yale Environment 360, part of the Guardian Environment Network * guardian.co.uk, Friday 27 August 2010 11.46 BST The highlands of southwestern Ethiopia should be ideal for growing coffee. After all, this is the region where coffee first originated hundreds of years ago. But although coffee remains Ethiopia's number one export, the nation's coffee farmers have been struggling. The Arabica coffee grown in Ethiopia and Latin America is an especially climate-sensitive crop. It requires just the right amount of rain and an average annual temperature between 64 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 degrees Fahrenheit to prosper. As temperatures rise — Ethiopia's average low temperature has increased by about .66 degrees F every decade since 1951, according to the country's National Meteorological Agency — and rains become more variable, Ethiopian coffee farmers have suffered increasingly poor yields. Last year was especially bad, with exports dropping by 33 percent. Some have moved their coffee trees to higher elevations, while others have been forced to switch to livestock and more heat-tolerant crops, such as enset, a starchy root vegetable similar to the plantain. Now, there is evidence that a warming climate may be linked to one of the major threats facing the coffee industry in Ethiopia and elsewhere: A tiny insect known as the coffee berry borer beetle has been devastating coffee plants around the world, and new research suggests even slight temperature increases promote the spread of the pest. The beetle is a relatively recent problem in Ethiopia and Latin America, where most Arabica coffee is grown. A field survey of Ethiopia's coffee-growing regions conducted in the late 1960s found no trace of the beetle, but in 2003 researchers reported that the pest was widespread. Drought and heavy rains during harvest time may be the prevailing problems for coffee growers in Ethiopia and other countries; but the lack of an effective treatment for the coffee berry borer is cause for concern, especially given new research findings tying the spread of the beetle to rising temperatures. Coffee may not be a basic food crop, such as wheat, but it is arguably one of the most important agricultural products. Valued as high as $90 billion a year, coffee, which is grown in more than 70 countries, is one of the most heavily traded commodities in terms of monetary value. Seventy percent of the world's coffee comes from small, family-owned farms and more than 100 million people are dependent on the crop for their livelihood. Researchers estimate that the coffee berry borer causes more than $500 million in damages each year, making it the most costly pest affecting coffee today. Coffee growers have tried various tactics to stop the beetle, but to little avail. Pesticides don't help, and even if they did, they are an unfavorable option, given their negative effects on coffee quality. Until recently, the coffee berry borer was confined to just a few regions in Central Africa. But since the 1980s, the beetle has gradually spread to every coffee-growing region except Hawaii, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea. Juliana Jaramillo, a biologist at Kenya's International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology, suspects temperature increases are to blame. She and her collaborators recently identified the temperature range in which the beetle can survive. They found that the average minimum temperature the borer requires to reproduce is about 68 degrees F, and the mountainous regions of Ethiopia did not reach that temperature until 1984. The borer did not appear in Colombia, Jaramillo's native country, until 1988, but it has since become a persistent problem. Twenty years ago, Colombia was the second-largest coffee exporter in the world, and regularly sent abroad more than 12 million bags of Arabica coffee each year. But production has not reached that level since 1994, and 2009 was the country's worst year ever. At an International Coffee Organization meeting in February, a Colombian coffee representative revealed that the country's coffee exports had dipped to 7.9 million bags last year and that infestation by the borer — along with excessive rainfall and reduced application of fertilizer — was partly to blame. Eliminating the coffee berry borer has become Jaramillo's mission. She grew up in the picturesque Caldas region — the heart of Colombia's coffee country — and her family still maintains a small coffee farm there. "It's really a personal problem for me," she said. After establishing the temperature limits of the borer, Jaramillo and her colleagues used climate data to estimate the number of reproductive cycles the beetle could complete annually in four coffee-growing regions. While Ethiopia was on the low end, with only one to two generations per year, Colombia was one of the highest, supporting up to 4.7 generations of the borer in one year. Jaramillo believes the discrepancy is largely due to Colombia's year-long growing season. Coffee plants are most susceptible to pests when they're flowering, so regions that receive rain all year, such as Colombia, are more vulnerable to the borer than those with distinct dry and rainy periods, such as Ethiopia and Kenya. Female borers kill coffee plants by burrowing into coffee berries to lay their eggs. (Each female can lay up to 200.) The resulting damage attracts herbivores and pathogens. In Latin America, the pest is known simply as la broca, which means "the drill." In their research, Jaramillo and her collaborators found that for every 1.8 degrees F increase in temperature, the coffee berry borer became 8.5 percent more infectious on average. Not only did the female beetles lay more eggs at higher temperatures, but they also drilled deeper into coffee berries, causing more physical damage. A follow up study, published this year in the Journal of Economic Entomology, found that higher temperatures also caused the female beetles to travel from berry to berry earlier. Even more troubling, Jaramillo's data indicate that the beetle can survive in a dormant state in sub-tropical conditions. That means farmers will not be able to escape the pest by moving to higher altitudes. Indeed, researchers in Uganda and Indonesia have already started finding the borer as high as 6,115 feet above sea level; the beetle is typically only found at 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level. "Coffee is migrating," said Dean Cycon, owner of Dean's Beans, a Massachusetts-based specialty coffee company that works with farmers around the world. "As it's getting hotter at the lower altitudes, the lower plants are dying off, so it marches the coffee forest up the slopes." Jaramillo's research indicates that the borers are migrating with the coffee plants. Jaramillo's father, Alvaro Jaramillo — a climatologist at the National Coffee Research Center in Manizales, Colombia — has calculated that for every 1.8 degrees F increase in temperature, Colombian coffee growers will have to move their plants up about 550 feet in altitude to maintain current levels of quality and quantity. The coffee berry borer could also be more difficult to control at higher altitudes since moving a pest into a new ecosystem makes its behavior harder to predict. For example, insects that could serve as natural enemies to the coffee berry borer may not interact with the beetle in the same way at higher elevations. "Natural enemies can be very useful in pest control, but their cycle has to be in sync with the pest's," said Curtis Petzoldt, a researcher at Cornell University's Integrated Pest Management Program. Traditionally, the cooling effects of shade trees have provided some of the best protection from coffee pests, including the coffee berry borer. Studies have shown shade trees can reduce the temperature around coffee leaves by 3 degrees F to 7 degrees F, depending on the environment. There is also evidence that shade-grown coffee plants produce higher-quality coffee. But many coffee growers have cut down the trees around their coffee plants in order to increase sun access. "There is a dogma that sun-grown coffee produces higher yields than shade-grown coffee," explained Fernando Vega, a coffee researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Jaramillo's main collaborator. And consistently dwindling supplies can make farmers desperate. "If you're getting a lesser crop — and in many of the countries they are — there's more fear that you have to grab every percentage you can," said Cycon. Across western North America, huge tracts of forest are dying off at an extraordinary rate, mostly because of outbreaks of insects. Scientists are now seeing such forest die-offs around the world and are linking them to changes in climate, science journalist Jim Robbins reports. But shade trees can take years to grow, and while some coffee retailers, including Starbucks, have started promoting shade-grown coffee, it's still the exception rather than the rule. The notion of sustainable growing practices has also become popular with coffee importers, but these forward-looking efforts, which focus largely on conserving water and reducing carbon emissions, do little to address the climate-related problems that coffee growers are now facing. Coffee farmers need new strategies to combat threats such as the coffee berry borer, Jaramillo said, and that requires research. "I think the coffee industry has two options," she said. "Either they start investing in climate research, or they educate the consumers to drink something else." From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 18:17:46 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:17:46 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] From the English daily, Kashmir Images In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Could be, Jeebesh, and that IS an interesting idea, but I'm afraid the present is fuelled by rage and rage alone. Not sure it can sustain itself beyond a point. Rage tends to burn itself out and then you land up at the door of the inevitable question, "what next?" This what next is the big political question and implies the inevitable engaging with your enemy in a more sustainable way, perhaps as in a dialogue. But dialogue on what when there is no consensus in the crowd about the meaning of azadi. On 31/08/10 5:37 PM, "Jeebesh" wrote: > On 31-Aug-10, at 5:23 PM, we wi wrote: > Waiting for Godot > Manzoor > Anjum > > The problem with our leadership is that instead of leading, they > > just follow > the crowds. Can we not think this as a problem? But as an > emerging reality full of potential for a possible new counter-politics that > has already disturbed the consensus and is striving for a new language. The > deep enmeshing of the "political" with state-power and capital is now a > consensus and a common-sense. The present " acting without leaders" maybe a > way out in a much deeper > way. warmly jeebesh _________________________________________ reader-list: > an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To > subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in > the subject header. To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 18:29:21 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:29:21 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Dawn editorial Message-ID: Indian aid offer Dawn Editorial Monday, 30 Aug, 2010 | 02:09 PM PST | After a fortnight of dragging its heels, Pakistan on Saturday refused to directly accept India¹s offer of flood relief worth $5m, suggesting, instead, that the aid be routed through the UN. We hope that India does so, for Pakistan¹s need is dire and delays in assistance can mean the difference between life and death for millions. It is for this reason that we must also reflect on the Pakistani stance. It is a matter of record that India¹s offer was acknowledged by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in New York that the Pakistan government appreciated and had accepted India¹s initiative. As recently as Friday, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the offer had been accepted. The foreign ministry, however, maintained throughout that the matter was still under discussion, and these claims were borne out by the weekend decision. One wonders why there is so much confusion among the ranks of those who represent the government. It appears that despite Pakistan¹s desperate need for aid, in the end political considerations were given precedence over the welfare of the citizenry. The latter requires immediate assistance regardless of its source. Pakistan may have benefited if it had recognised that, given its tense ties with India, particularly after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the offer constituted a confidence booster in terms of the possibility of improved relations in the future, something which has been attempted for some time now. True, Pakistan chose the middle ground. It has not outright rejected India¹s offer. But in choosing this route, it has exposed itself to allegations of political cynicism and ungraceful behaviour from the Indian press and public, particularly since India made the offer as a result of domestic criticism that its government was allowing political considerations to override humanitarian concerns. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/ editorial/indian-aid-offer-080 From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 18:56:28 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:56:28 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: If that means you're accusing me of being Shivam, you're wrong. I'm Aditya Raj Baul. On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 4:17 PM, Pawan Durani wrote: > Shivam  .... I miss your name .... > > On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 3:57 PM, SJabbar wrote: >> And you, who cowers behind a false name are still free to judge me, my >> intentions and my deepest feelings, sir/madam. >> >> We are still unsure whether the 7 year-old was victim of a stampede or was >> indeed brutally beaten. There are lots of people who gleefully dance on the >> graves of 7 year olds and wait for the next victim so that they can howl >> with righteous anger. I condemn all 64 deaths of civilians whether they were >> accidental or intentional but I am not about to join a hysterical chorus to >> prove I stand on some moral high ground. >> >> On 31/08/10 1:57 PM, "Aditya Raj Baul" wrote: >> >>> Perhaps she's dependent on cyber-cafes? >> >> Stuff like this doesn't move Sonia >>> Jabbar: "Last week a seven year old >> child was beaten to death. You cannot >>> accidentally beat a seven year >> old to death. It is not like a bullet that goes >>> astray. I cannot see >> how a stone thrown by a seven year old child can do >>> sufficient damage >> to any man to warrant his being beaten to death." >> >> You are >>> more concerned about blaming the strikes, protests and stone-pelting. >> >> You >>> show your true colours again and again, Ms Jabbar. You change them >> frequently >>> but the true colours come out pretty often. >> >> >> On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 1:42 PM, >>> SJabbar wrote: >>> This may come as a churlish response >>> to what is obviously an unfeigned cri >>> de coeur, but I find it difficult to >>> let it pass without comment. >>> With her very first sentence Ms. Violante >>> condemns herself to hyperbole. She >>> writes: " This is the first time in weeks >>> I have had access to the >>> internet." >>> >>> Why, where does she live?  I have >>> been in touch with friends every single >>> day over the net and when I was in >>> Kashmir in the first week of August when >>> violence had peaked, there was no >>> question of being cut off from the rest of >>> the world. >>> >>> To suggest that >>> people are on the street because they are "famished >>> rioters," and that the >>> shutdowns over the past 2 months have nothing to do >>> with the hartaal >>> calendars and stone pelters and everything to do with >>> curfew is not even >>> something that those on the street demanding azadi would >>> declare. >>> >>> The >>> Indian army whom she accuses of all kinds of excesses these past 2 >>> months >>> have held aloof from the present troubles.  Not one of the 64 deaths >>> have >>> been ascribed to them, but to the J&K Police and the CRPF.  Even a >>> Kashmiri >>> child knows the difference and if a foreigner doesn't, well, at >>> least she >>> can read the newspapers before attempting a hysterical analysis of >>> a >>> situation that needs no more hysteria. >>> >>> And 'Muslim' hospitality? As >>> opposed to 'Hindu' security forces? >>> >>> >>> >>> On 30/08/10 8:54 PM, "Shuddhabrata >>> Sengupta" wrote: >>> >>>> Dear All, >>> >>> Here is an account of >>> daily life nowadays,  in Srinagar, Kashmir, >>>> >>> through the eyes of a woman >>> student (a westerner) currently resident >>> in >>>> Kashmir University. >>> >>> >>> best >>> >>> Shuddha >>> >>> ------------------------- >>> >>> India¹s >>>> brutality has >>> turned Kashmir into a living >>>> hell >>> >>> >>> http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir- >>>> >>> >>> into-a-living-hell-3472/ >>> >>> By Giogiana Violante >>> >>> >>> This is the first time >>> in >>>> weeks I have had access to the internet. I >>> have not been allowed to >>> receive >>>> or send text messages for three >>> months. Just like all Kashmiris >>> my telephone >>>> has been barred from >>> such contact. The local news channels >>> have been banned. >>>> India >>> controls everything here. And then kills it. The >>> situation is >>>> >>> horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent >>> curfew >>> whereby >>>> all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter >>> >>> silence, suddenly a >>>> protest arises and then spreads throughout the >>> whole >>> city in a surge of >>>> frustrated and famished rioters shouting >>> ŒAZADI AZADI >>> AZADI¹ (freedom) until >>>> it dissipates suddenly into a >>> cacophony of >>> gunshots and clouds of >>>> teargas. >>> >>> I observe all this going on at a  safe >>> remove of only one metre by a >>>> >>> big thick brick wall interrupted by the >>> Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir >>>> >>> University, where I am residing. I see >>> through the iron bars hordes >>> upon >>>> hordes of protesters being shot at >>> randomly, and I stand there >>> repellently >>>> incapable of doing anything. An >>> endless cycle of silence >>> and violence. The >>>> Indian army own total control >>> and freedom to shoot >>> at will, to shoot to >>>> kill, anyone whom they choose >>> to. >>> >>> Last week a seven year old child was beaten >>>> to death. You cannot >>> >>> accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not >>>> like a bullet >>> that >>> goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven >>>> year old >>> child >>> can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being >>>> beaten >>> to death. >>> Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year- >>>> >>> old is the >>> size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person >>> beats >>>> a tiny >>> child to death when his stone throw must carry so little >>> force that >>>> it >>> barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common >>> occurrence here. >>> >>> The >>>> >>> other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only >>> one >>> minute >>>> away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private >>> road >>> attached to >>>> the university so I thought I would risk it. When I >>> returned >>> a roofless sumo >>>> vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs >>> laughing and >>> shouting came charging >>>> through the street waving their >>> batons and guns. >>> They headed for an old man >>>> and tried to hit him and >>> then they knocked a >>> 4-year-old boy off his >>>> tricycle. For fun. He was >>> only 50 centimetres >>> outside his house¹s garden so >>>> that hardly counts >>> as disobeying the curfew >>> and yet they charged at him on >>>> purpose. They >>> knocked him off the tricycle >>> and then headed for me, which as >>>> a >>> western woman I did not expect. >>> >>> I >>> am living here within the deserted >>>> university grounds, alone with >>> the >>> security guards and a few random >>>> professors and clerks. The >>> university >>> was evacuated three months ago when >>>> the troubles commenced >>> and the >>> students and school children all over the >>>> valley have >>> experienced, as >>> they always do, a great void in their >>>> education. >>> >>> The Indian army gun >>> down eleven-year-old girls banging on the >>>> doors >>> of pharmacists when it is >>> clear that their disobedience of the curfew >>>> >>> is purely out of desperation. >>> How can a full grown man gun down and >>> kill an >>>> eleven-yea- old girl >>> banging on a pharmacy door in an empty >>> street? A woman >>>> kneeling on the >>> pavement covering her face with her >>> hands had her hands >>>> beaten to a pulp >>> and they had to be amputated. >>> Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I >>>> heard the >>> usual impassioned pleads for >>> freedom hailing from Hazratbal >>>> Mosque, which >>> is just outside the >>> university. For an hour the calls of >>>> ŒAzadi¹ >>> escalated and escalated >>> until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. >>>> The >>> shots continued >>> sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that >>>> >>> the mosque >>> was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some >>>> >>> died, of >>> course. >>> >>> The Indian army have the right and the freedom to >>> behave >>>> like this, >>> invading places of worship simply because of >>> impassioned calls >>>> for >>> freedom by a people who are being totally crushed >>> and obliterated. >>>> >>> This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of >>> power by the >>> occupying >>>> forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right >>> to >>> retaliate. Nor the >>>> freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear >>> >>> my complete and utter >>>> uselessness in this situation. As a rich >>> westerner >>> even I cannot get food. >>>> The other day myself and seven boys >>> shared two >>> carrots between us and a >>>> handful of rice. >>> >>> So how can these Kashmiris be >>> managing when they have not >>>> been able >>> to open their businesses for three >>> months? How can they even have >>>> the >>> money to afford food, even if there >>> WAS food to be had from >>> somewhere? >>>> You risk your life in order to get >>> food. How can you get >>> food without >>>> leaving home? Yesterday a young boy >>> working as a clerk >>> in the university >>>> showed me his mauled arms and the >>> gash in his >>> thigh. His arms were black and >>>> purple with crusted blood from >>> last >>> week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made >>>> hell. >>> >>> ŒI went to get >>> medicine¹ he said, Œand the army caught me¹. I smiled >>>> >>> and said, ŒOh you >>> people are always getting caught on the way to get >>>> >>> medicine. Rubbish it >>> was medicine. You went to get biscuits.¹ >>> >>> ŒAren¹t >>>> biscuits medicine?¹ he >>> replied, smiling the same smile as mine. >>> >>> Lat week as I >>>> circled the >>> admittedly beautiful university grounds, a >>> forest of chinar >>>> trees and >>> endless rows of roses in full bloom, >>> moghul gardens outside every >>>> >>> department (Why are these gardens >>> perfectly tendered? Given the situation >>>> >>> outside how do these people >>> have the strength and hope to even care to >>> tend >>>> their gardens? >>> Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would >>> have >>>> expected the >>> gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw >>> a thin >>>> little >>> old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one >>> doesn¹t see >>>> >>> bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these >>> conditions. >>> My >>>> mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it >>> from? >>> Had he >>>> bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I >>> >>> suddenly realised I >>>> was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. >>> The >>> ugly things hunger does >>>> to a person¹s mind is shocking. His bag >>> was >>> probably full of dirty >>>> laundry. >>> >>> Sometimes someone will address me >>> angrily as I pass by, something >>>> >>> along the lines of: >>> >>> ³Hey you, >>> America! Why aren¹t you helping us? You do >>>> something.² >>> >>> ³What can I do?² >>> I reply, ³I¹m neither a politician nor a >>>> journalist. >>> I¹m just trapped >>> here like you.² >>> >>> ³But you¹re a Westener. You >>>> see how things are here. We >>> have been >>> living like this for twenty years. >>>> When you go back to your >>> country >>> you tell them. You ask them why they aren¹t >>>> helping us.² >>> >>> >>> ³It¹s your own fault,² I reply. ³Why should we bother saving >>>> your >>> country >>> when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you¹ve >>>> >>> got is apples, >>> goats and saffron. You¹re doomed.² >>> >>> A few seconds of silence >>>> will be >>> followed by a warm invitation to >>> tea. Muslim hospitality. At this >>>> time >>> when every tea leaf is precious >>> these people will share even their last >>>> >>> few crumbs of powdered milk >>> with you. And you sit there sipping the tea >>>> >>> wondering how and where >>> they managed to procure it and how much it cost >>> them >>>> in beatings. >>> >>> >>> >>> Shuddhabrata Sengupta >>> The Sarai Programme at >>> CSDS >>> Raqs Media >>>> Collective >>> shuddha at sarai.net >>> www.sarai.net >>> >>> www.raqsmediacollective.net >>> >>> >>> _____ >>>> >>> ____________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion list >>> on >>>> media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send an >>> email to >>>> reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject >>> header. >>> To >>>> unsubscribe: >>> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: >>>> >>> <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >>> >>> >>> >>> _________________________________________ >>> reader-list: an open discussion >>> list on media and the city. >>> Critiques & Collaborations >>> To subscribe: send >>> an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject >>> header. >>> To unsubscribe: >>> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >>> List archive: >>> <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> ___________________________ >>> ______________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the >>> city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to >>> reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. >> To >>> unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: >>> <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> >> >> >> _________________________________________ >> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. >> Critiques & Collaborations >> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. >> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list >> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > From adityarajbaul at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 18:57:12 2010 From: adityarajbaul at gmail.com (Aditya Raj Baul) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:57:12 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] From the English daily, Kashmir Images In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: So Ms Jabbar, is it like road rage? On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 6:17 PM, SJabbar wrote: > Could be, Jeebesh, and that IS an interesting idea, but I'm afraid the > present is fuelled by rage and rage alone.  Not sure it can sustain itself > beyond a point. Rage tends to burn itself out and then you land up at the > door of the inevitable question, "what next?"  This what next is the big > political question and implies the inevitable engaging with your enemy in a > more sustainable way, perhaps as in a dialogue.  But dialogue on what when > there is no consensus in the crowd about the meaning of azadi. > > > > On 31/08/10 5:37 PM, "Jeebesh" wrote: > >> > On 31-Aug-10, at 5:23 PM, we wi wrote: > >> Waiting for Godot >> Manzoor >> Anjum >> >> The problem with our leadership is that instead of leading, they >> >> just follow >> the crowds. > > Can we not think this as a problem? > > But as an >> emerging reality full of potential for a possible new > counter-politics that >> has already disturbed the consensus and is > striving for a new language. The >> deep enmeshing of the "political" > with state-power and capital is now a >> consensus and a common-sense. > The present " acting without leaders" maybe a >> way out in a much deeper >> > way. > > warmly > jeebesh > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: >> an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To >> subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >> the subject header. > To unsubscribe: >> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: >> <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From sonia.jabbar at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 19:49:30 2010 From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com (SJabbar) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:49:30 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] From the English daily, Kashmir Images In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Ho hum, Mr. Baul, and fee fi fo fum to you too! On 31/08/10 6:57 PM, "Aditya Raj Baul" wrote: > So Ms Jabbar, is it like road rage? On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 6:17 PM, SJabbar > wrote: > Could be, Jeebesh, and that IS an > interesting idea, but I'm afraid the > present is fuelled by rage and rage > alone.  Not sure it can sustain itself > beyond a point. Rage tends to burn > itself out and then you land up at the > door of the inevitable question, > "what next?"  This what next is the big > political question and implies the > inevitable engaging with your enemy in a > more sustainable way, perhaps as in > a dialogue.  But dialogue on what when > there is no consensus in the crowd > about the meaning of azadi. > > > > On 31/08/10 5:37 PM, "Jeebesh" > wrote: > >> > On 31-Aug-10, at 5:23 PM, we wi wrote: > >> > Waiting for Godot >> Manzoor >> Anjum >> >> The problem with our leadership is > that instead of leading, they >> >> just follow >> the crowds. > > Can we not > think this as a problem? > > But as an >> emerging reality full of potential > for a possible new > counter-politics that >> has already disturbed the > consensus and is > striving for a new language. The >> deep enmeshing of the > "political" > with state-power and capital is now a >> consensus and a > common-sense. > The present " acting without leaders" maybe a >> way out in a > much deeper >> > way. > > warmly > jeebesh > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: >> an open discussion > list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To >> subscribe: > send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in >> the > subject header. > To unsubscribe: >> > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: >> > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion > list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send > an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject > header. > To unsubscribe: > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> ___________________________ > ______________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the > city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To > unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Tue Aug 31 19:58:02 2010 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:28:02 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] From the English daily, Kashmir Images In-Reply-To: References: <580733.33597.qm@web45504.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>, Message-ID: You have to be a pervert & a sadist to draw political inferences from Manzoor Anjum's description of helplessness & vulnerability faced by common Kashmiris at the hands of proponents of 'azadi- bara- e- islam' (freedom through Islam) who now unabashedly use small children to pursue their sinister designs. It is just the way any mention of ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits is responded to in most insensitive manner. This is the tragedy of Kashmir . It continnues to feed on the perfidy of the protagnists of the turmoil-the kashmiri pan-Islamists as well as the agents provocateurs like many on this forum in the guiuse of 'sympathisers' who have in any way nothing at stake as long as it is just kashmiri blood that flows on the streets of kashmir. SJ is partly right .Present stage of 'movement' will come to an end & soon. But this may as well be a turning point. It is likely that public anger will get directed against those who are aspiring to be 'amir' or PM of the 'emarate of Kashmir' & chase them all the way in to POK.AMEN! Rgds all LA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > From: jeebesh at sarai.net > To: reader-list at sarai.net > Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:37:49 +0530 > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] From the English daily, Kashmir Images > > > On 31-Aug-10, at 5:23 PM, we wi wrote: > > > Waiting for Godot > > Manzoor Anjum > > > > The problem with our leadership is that instead of leading, they > > just follow > > the crowds. > > Can we not think this as a problem? > > But as an emerging reality full of potential for a possible new > counter-politics that has already disturbed the consensus and is > striving for a new language. The deep enmeshing of the "political" > with state-power and capital is now a consensus and a common-sense. > The present " acting without leaders" maybe a way out in a much deeper > way. > > warmly > jeebesh > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From lalitambardar at hotmail.com Tue Aug 31 20:23:02 2010 From: lalitambardar at hotmail.com (Lalit Ambardar) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:53:02 +0000 Subject: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante In-Reply-To: References: <75BB37B0-EF1A-48BF-B4B1-89E738E99F64@sarai.net>, Message-ID: 'Lies' can'nt be termed analogous with 'unfeigned cri de coeur'. Is this 'Stockholm syndrome' ? Next we should be watching the Ms parroting on NDTV . Rgds LA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:42:58 +0530 > From: sonia.jabbar at gmail.com > To: shuddha at sarai.net; reader-list at sarai.net > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Kashmir as Living Hell by Giogiana Violante > > This may come as a churlish response to what is obviously an unfeigned cri > de coeur, but I find it difficult to let it pass without comment. > With her very first sentence Ms. Violante condemns herself to hyperbole. She > writes: " This is the first time in weeks I have had access to the > internet." > > Why, where does she live? I have been in touch with friends every single > day over the net and when I was in Kashmir in the first week of August when > violence had peaked, there was no question of being cut off from the rest of > the world. > > To suggest that people are on the street because they are "famished > rioters," and that the shutdowns over the past 2 months have nothing to do > with the hartaal calendars and stone pelters and everything to do with > curfew is not even something that those on the street demanding azadi would > declare. > > The Indian army whom she accuses of all kinds of excesses these past 2 > months have held aloof from the present troubles. Not one of the 64 deaths > have been ascribed to them, but to the J&K Police and the CRPF. Even a > Kashmiri child knows the difference and if a foreigner doesn't, well, at > least she can read the newspapers before attempting a hysterical analysis of > a situation that needs no more hysteria. > > And 'Muslim' hospitality? As opposed to 'Hindu' security forces? > > > > On 30/08/10 8:54 PM, "Shuddhabrata Sengupta" wrote: > > > Dear All, > > Here is an account of daily life nowadays, in Srinagar, Kashmir, > > > through the eyes of a woman student (a westerner) currently resident > in > > Kashmir University. > > best > > Shuddha > > ------------------------- > > India¹s > > brutality has turned Kashmir into a living > > hell > > http://www.thecommentfactory.com/indias-brutality-has-turned-kashmir- > > > into-a-living-hell-3472/ > > By Giogiana Violante > > > This is the first time in > > weeks I have had access to the internet. I > have not been allowed to receive > > or send text messages for three > months. Just like all Kashmiris my telephone > > has been barred from > such contact. The local news channels have been banned. > > India > controls everything here. And then kills it. The situation is > > > horrific. Over these months of food rationing and persistent curfew > whereby > > all is closed and the streets totally deserted in utter > silence, suddenly a > > protest arises and then spreads throughout the > whole city in a surge of > > frustrated and famished rioters shouting > ŒAZADI AZADI AZADI¹ (freedom) until > > it dissipates suddenly into a > cacophony of gunshots and clouds of > > teargas. > > I observe all this going on at a safe remove of only one metre by a > > > big thick brick wall interrupted by the Mevlana Rumi gate to Kashmir > > > University, where I am residing. I see through the iron bars hordes > upon > > hordes of protesters being shot at randomly, and I stand there > repellently > > incapable of doing anything. An endless cycle of silence > and violence. The > > Indian army own total control and freedom to shoot > at will, to shoot to > > kill, anyone whom they choose to. > > Last week a seven year old child was beaten > > to death. You cannot > accidentally beat a seven year old to death. It is not > > like a bullet > that goes astray. I cannot see how a stone thrown by a seven > > year old > child can do sufficient damage to any man to warrant his being > > beaten > to death. Children in this part of the world are tiny. A seven-year- > > > old is the size of a three year old westerner. So what kind of person > beats > > a tiny child to death when his stone throw must carry so little > force that > > it barely deserves a shrug? This is such a common > occurrence here. > > The > > other day I left the university grounds to visit a professor only > one minute > > away. True there is curfew but his house is in a private > road attached to > > the university so I thought I would risk it. When I > returned a roofless sumo > > vehicle full of ten Indian army thugs > laughing and shouting came charging > > through the street waving their > batons and guns. They headed for an old man > > and tried to hit him and > then they knocked a 4-year-old boy off his > > tricycle. For fun. He was > only 50 centimetres outside his house¹s garden so > > that hardly counts > as disobeying the curfew and yet they charged at him on > > purpose. They > knocked him off the tricycle and then headed for me, which as > > a > western woman I did not expect. > > I am living here within the deserted > > university grounds, alone with > the security guards and a few random > > professors and clerks. The > university was evacuated three months ago when > > the troubles commenced > and the students and school children all over the > > valley have > experienced, as they always do, a great void in their > > education. > > The Indian army gun down eleven-year-old girls banging on the > > doors > of pharmacists when it is clear that their disobedience of the curfew > > > is purely out of desperation. How can a full grown man gun down and > kill an > > eleven-yea- old girl banging on a pharmacy door in an empty > street? A woman > > kneeling on the pavement covering her face with her > hands had her hands > > beaten to a pulp and they had to be amputated. > Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I > > heard the usual impassioned pleads for > freedom hailing from Hazratbal > > Mosque, which is just outside the > university. For an hour the calls of > > ŒAzadi¹ escalated and escalated > until suddenly I heard a spray of gunshots. > > The shots continued > sporadically over the next hour. I later found out that > > the mosque > was raided by the army and people were beaten severely. Some > > died, of > course. > > The Indian army have the right and the freedom to behave > > like this, > invading places of worship simply because of impassioned calls > > for > freedom by a people who are being totally crushed and obliterated. > > > This sort of thing happens every day. Total abuse of power by the > occupying > > forces. But the people of Kashmir have no right to > retaliate. Nor the > > freedom to even leave their homes. I cannot bear > my complete and utter > > uselessness in this situation. As a rich > westerner even I cannot get food. > > The other day myself and seven boys > shared two carrots between us and a > > handful of rice. > > So how can these Kashmiris be managing when they have not > > been able > to open their businesses for three months? How can they even have > > the > money to afford food, even if there WAS food to be had from > somewhere? > > You risk your life in order to get food. How can you get > food without > > leaving home? Yesterday a young boy working as a clerk > in the university > > showed me his mauled arms and the gash in his > thigh. His arms were black and > > purple with crusted blood from last > week. His legs were obscene. Flesh made > > hell. > > ŒI went to get medicine¹ he said, Œand the army caught me¹. I smiled > > > and said, ŒOh you people are always getting caught on the way to get > > > medicine. Rubbish it was medicine. You went to get biscuits.¹ > > ŒAren¹t > > biscuits medicine?¹ he replied, smiling the same smile as mine. > > Lat week as I > > circled the admittedly beautiful university grounds, a > forest of chinar > > trees and endless rows of roses in full bloom, > moghul gardens outside every > > department (Why are these gardens > perfectly tendered? Given the situation > > outside how do these people > have the strength and hope to even care to tend > > their gardens? > Everything here is death and hopelessness. I would have > > expected the > gardens to have been left to run to desolation), I saw a thin > > little > old man with a cotton bag full of lumps. Usually one doesn¹t see > > > bags. Certainly not ones with lumps in them. Not in these conditions. > My > > mind viciously wondered how he got the food? Who he got it from? > Had he > > bribed one of the army pigs at the university gates? I > suddenly realised I > > was frowning and in a very ugly-minded manner. > The ugly things hunger does > > to a person¹s mind is shocking. His bag > was probably full of dirty > > laundry. > > Sometimes someone will address me angrily as I pass by, something > > > along the lines of: > > ³Hey you, America! Why aren¹t you helping us? You do > > something.² > > ³What can I do?² I reply, ³I¹m neither a politician nor a > > journalist. > I¹m just trapped here like you.² > > ³But you¹re a Westener. You > > see how things are here. We have been > living like this for twenty years. > > When you go back to your country > you tell them. You ask them why they aren¹t > > helping us.² > > ³It¹s your own fault,² I reply. ³Why should we bother saving > > your > country when its got no natural resources worth raping? All you¹ve > > > got is apples, goats and saffron. You¹re doomed.² > > A few seconds of silence > > will be followed by a warm invitation to > tea. Muslim hospitality. At this > > time when every tea leaf is precious > these people will share even their last > > few crumbs of powdered milk > with you. And you sit there sipping the tea > > wondering how and where > they managed to procure it and how much it cost them > > in beatings. > > > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > The Sarai Programme at CSDS > Raqs Media > > Collective > shuddha at sarai.net > www.sarai.net > www.raqsmediacollective.net > > > _____ > > ____________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on > > media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to > > reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To > > unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: > > <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> > > > _________________________________________ > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > Critiques & Collaborations > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> From a.mani.cms at gmail.com Tue Aug 31 22:58:17 2010 From: a.mani.cms at gmail.com (A. Mani) Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:58:17 +0530 Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: Israeli Atrocities!: IMAGES! Message-ID: _____________ Forwarded message ___________________ From: Nidheesh Bk Date: Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 5:06 AM Please circulate to everyone you know. > [image: cid:image0] > > * > Making sure they get to school.* > > > > * > Helping Ladies across the street..* > > [image: cid:image1] > > [image: cid:image2] > > > * > Providing childcare.* > > [image: cid:image3] > > > > * > Allowing them a place to rest (permanently)* > > > [image: cid:image4] > > > [image: cid:image5] > > * > Access to Health care. > > > > > > > Construction projects (demolition) > > > *[image: cid:image6] > > [image: cid:image7] > > > * > > Respecting American and British pacifist resisters (such as American Rachel Corrie)* > > [image: cid:image8] > > > [image: cid:image9] > > [image: cid:image10] > > * > > And others.* > > > [image: cid:image11] > > *And if you are not satisfied, now, with the truth the following pictures are war crimes as defined by the UN, The Hague and the Geneva Convention. * > * > Using images of your enemy dead or alive (violation)* > > > [image: cid:image12] > > > * > Human shields (violation)* > > > [image: cid:image13] > > * > > Live Burial Torture (violation)* > > > [image: cid:image14] > > * > And as a last resort, Execution (violation)* > > > > > [image: cid:image15] > *These IDF soldiers have faces... I can clearly see them...Cant you? Why are they not being prosecuted? Because it is systematic process that is driven by the government designed to force the people of Palestine into exile so Israel can claim all the land and resources. * > > > This where my American tax dollars are going, do you know where your tax dollars are at? TAKE THE TIME TO FIND THE TRUTH. So many lives depend on it I, like so many Americans, am Caucasian, non-Arab, and religious. I can no longer sit back with good conscience and do nothing while my government is supporting the types of terrorist actions that we have condemned Muslim Fundamentalist for. Call your Congressman and Senator, send an email to the White House and demand that our government negotiate FAIRLY with both sides and bring a fair and just solution to Palestine and Israel . > > [image: cid:image16] > *(CRUELTY OF ISRAEL* * **People k* [image: http://montada.echoroukonline.com/images/smilies/no.gif]wn as "civilized" against the children and civil Palestinian. What your media never shows you !  [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/1.jpg] [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/2.jpg]* * [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/3.gif] [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/4.jpg] لقد وصلت الرسالة هذا الط٠ل كان أول من استلمها ! [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/5.jpg] وهؤلاء استلموا الرسالة [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/6.jpg] وهذا الط٠ل أيضا كان له نصيب [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/7.jpg] وصاحب هذه السيارة وصلته الرسالة [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/8.jpg] وهؤلاء الأط٠ال أيضا استلموا الرسالة [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/9.jpg] وهؤلاء [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/10.jpg] وهؤلاء [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/11.jpg] وهذا الط٠ل أيضا [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/12.jpg] وهذه المرأة كان لها نصيب من الرسالة [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/13.jpg] وهؤلاء [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/14.jpg] وهذا الط٠ل أيضا [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/15.jpg] وهذا [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/16.jpg] وهذه الط٠لة أيضا وصلتها الرسالة [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/17.jpg] وهذا وهذا [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/19.jpg] وهؤلاء جميعهم استلموا الرسالة [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/20.jpg] وهذا [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/21.jpg] وهذا [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/25.jpg] وهذه  وهذا [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/23.jpg] وهذه [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/24.jpg] وهذا " ٠شكرا لكل من ساهم Ù ÙŠ إيصال الرسالة وشكرا لكل العالم ولكل العرب الذين سكتوا عن مجرد التنديد " وهكذا أصبحت بيروت بعد استلامها لرسائلهم [image: http://www.almhml.com/labanon/imgs/26.jpg] > > *PLS SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS* _________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ -- A. Mani ASL, CLC, AMS, CMS http://www.logicamani.co.cc