Is Kashmir key to Afghan peace?

Barack Obama says resolving the Indian-Pakistani dispute over Kashmir will be a goal of his presidency, ending eight years of silence on the issue.
By Mark Sappenfield Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor and
Shahan Mufti Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

NEW DELHI; and ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - As part of his push to find new solutions to the war in Afghanistan, President-elect Barack Obama is considering a new diplomatic push on Kashmir, reversing eight years of American silence on the issue.
Mr. Obama has argued that Pakistan will not fully commit to fighting the insurgency it shares with Afghanistan until it sheds historic insecurities toward India. Talks about Kashmir, the central point of contention between the two nuclear rivals, are among the "critical tasks for the next administration," Obama said in an interview last month with Time magazine.
It is a strategy that worries Indians, who suggest the Pakistani Army is blackmailing Obama to support its claims. Yet security analysts say the Afghan insurgency has roots in the power struggle between India and Pakistan and cannot be solved without a regional approach.
"It will be very hard to put Afghanistan on a long-term positive path without alleviating some of the Indo-Pakistan tensions," says Xenia Dormandy of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.
Such ideas would appear to fit well with the doctrines of Gen. David Petraeus, who oversaw a significant improvement in law and order in Iraq. He is now the commander of American forces in the entire region, which includes Afghanistan.
General Petraeus has been an open advocate of regional diplomacy as a key counterinsurgency tactic. On Oct. 15, he told a round table of Washington Post reporters that in seeking solutions to Afghanistan, "there may be opportunities with respect to India."
The goal would be to build a level of trust between India and Pakistan, freeing Pakistan from its historic fear of India, with which it has fought three wars. The surest way to do this, Obama has said, is to find a solution to Kashmir – the state split between each but claimed in full by both.
"We should try to resolve the Kashmir crisis so that [Pakistan] can stay focused – not on India, but on the situation with those militants," he told MSNBC on Oct. 31.
Obama went further in the Time interview, mentioning he has spoken with former President Bill Clinton about becoming a special envoy to the region – a comment that has been front-page news in India and Pakistan.
Nothing could be more damaging to American interests in the region, says Raja Mohan, a member of India's National Security Advisory Board. He claims Indo-Pakistan relations are better than they have ever been, citing the recent opening of trade between Pakistan - and-Indian-controlled Kashmir as something that would have been unthinkable in the past.
Moreover, he suggests India and Pakistan have behind the scenes made significant progress on the issue of Kashmir, to the point that the two nations have a tentative road map for how to resolve the crisis. It was scuppered only by the collapse of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's regime in August.
Bush steered clear of Kashmir
The progress was partly the result of the Bush administration's decision to steer clear of Kashmir, says Mr. Mohan. Entering the fray now would only disrupt the delicate balance, making it appear as if the US was merely trying to placate Pakistan in return for its support in the war against terror.
In such a case, Mohan says, India might have a hard time winning concessions for a fair deal: "So long as the Pakistani Army thinks that the Americans are on their side, they're not going to deal with India."
Both Obama and his top South Asia adviser, Bruce Riedel, have spoken of the need to be discreet. In a 2007 teleconference for the journal Foreign Affairs, Mr. Riedel said: "I would urge the administration to seize the opportunity to quietly, but forcefully, push for a resolution there."
In the interview he called Kashmir "the itch that has driven Pakistan towards supporting terrorism for the last 20 years." Indeed, many experts say the enmity – for which Kashmir is the most potent symbol – has shaped security in the region, including Afghanistan.
Rivalry plays out in Afghanistan
For years, the mutual mistrust has led India and Pakistan to play their own version of the Great Game in Afghanistan. India has consistently been Afghanistan's main ally in the region. But Pakistan sees Afghanistan as its strategic backyard, which under no circumstances can be yielded to Indian influence.
Fears are stoked by the memories of 1971, when the Indian Army helped Bengalis secede from Pakistan to form Bangladesh. With Afghanistan historically claiming a significant chunk of Pakistan as its own, Pakistanis worry that an Indian-backed Afghanistan could dismember Pakistan further.
"Pakistan is the only country in South Asia that stands between India's complete hegemony in this region," says Fahmida Ashraf, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Studies in Islamabad, a thinktank funded by the Pakistan government.
Repeatedly, Pakistan's Army has acted to prevent this from happening. It has done this by cultivating networks of militants as a proxy army. In Afghanistan, the Pakistan-backed mujahideen chased out the Soviet Union, India's ally. Then the Pakistan-backed Taliban took control of the country, preventing it from falling into the hands of pro-India Northern Alliance warlords.
This proxy war continues. India has invested $750 million and pledged $450 million more to the government of President Hamid Karzai, who is strongly pro-India. India is Afghanistan's largest trade partner. And it has taken the provocative step of opening consulates in two cities sitting on the border with Pakistan – Jalalabad and Kandahar.
Pakistan claims Indian intelligence agencies are using these consulates as bases, though it has never made this evidence public. Generally speaking, the allegations are that India is funding separatist militants in the Pakistani province of Balochistan.
"India wants to destabilize [Pakistan's tribal areas] and Balochistan," said Rahman Malik, a Pakistani government security adviser during a trip to Washington.
Analysts say this might be true, but only to a small degree. Militants "might be getting some support from India, but it's not anywhere near what the Pakistanis like to suggest," says Marvin Weinbaum, an analyst at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
Privately, a Pakistani diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity agrees. India's involvement in the unrest along Pakistan's western front "might be no more than 5 percent of all the trouble out there."
But publicly, Pakistan "is basing its Afghan and Indian policy on its perception," says Mr. Weinbaum.
In July, militants struck the Indian Embassy in Kabul with a bomb blast that killed 41 people. American intelligence agencies have said they have evidence that Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate, was involved.
"Even today, the Pakistani military sees India as the threat," says Ms. Dormandy, of Harvard. "Until that attitude changes, you're not going to see Pakistan step back from its historically strong use of militant assets to affect foreign policy."
There are signs that this attitude is beginning to change. Pakistan is now fighting many of the militants it once sheltered in Bajaur and Swat in northern Pakistan. Obama's intent would be to accelerate this process and send a clear message to Pakistan.
"Why do you want to keep on being bogged down with [India and Kashmir], particularly at a time where the biggest threat now is coming from the Afghan border?" he told Time. "I think there is a moment where potentially we could get their attention."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1121/p01s01-wosc.html

Obama’s Kashmir statement finds takers in Valley

ARIF SHAFI WANI
Srinagar, Nov 3: Cutting across their ideologies, various mainstream and pro-freedom organizations have widely hailed the statement of front-runner US presidential candidate, Barrack Obama’s statement that America should try to help resolve the Kashmir dispute. Ahead of presidential election on November 4, Obama in an interview said, “We should probably try to facilitate a better understanding between Pakistan and India and try to resolve the Kashmir crisis so that they (Pakistan) can stay focused not on India, but on the situation with those militants (fighting the US). US should foster a better understanding between the two nuclear armed South Asian neighbours, that have fought wars over the decades-old Kashmir question in the past but are now engaged in a peace process.”
PRO-FREEDOM CAMP ELATED Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani welcomed Obama’s statement but with a rider. “Obama should look at the Kashmir dispute in its historical perspective. I want to remind Obama that Kashmir is not a territorial or border dispute between India and Pakistan. It concerns 13 million people,” Geelani said. Geelani said if US is serious to resolve the dispute, it should implement the UN resolutions. “India and Pakistan are signatories to many conventions, including UN resolution to give right of self-determination to Kashmiris. Other than this right nothing will be acceptable to Kashmiris,” Geelani said. Chairman of Peoples Conference, Sajad Lone, welcomed Obama’s statement saying if United States will use its clout on India and Pakistan, the Kashmir dispute can be resolved amicably. “Kashmiris have been seeking help of the international community to resolve the dispute. Obama’s statement is good news for Kashmiris. It seems he has a broader understanding on issues confronting South Asia. United States enjoys good rapport with India and Pakistan and it is high time for it to facilitate resolution of Kashmir,” Sajad said. Hailing the statement, Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said, “I appreciate the growing interest of Barrack Obama in resolving the Kashmir dispute. The US and internationally community is gradually recognizing that resolution of Kashmir dispute was imperative for peace in south Asia,” Mirwaiz said. Hurriyat leader Javid Ahmad Mir said for past 61 years the US presidents have only been advocating resolution of Kashmir. “Lip service cannot resolve the Kashmir dispute. US has to rise above the statements and impress upon India and Pakistan to resolve the dispute permanently,” Mir said. The acting chairman of Jammu Kashmir Peoples League, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, while hailing Obama’s statement, said, “At last the sacrifices of Kashmiris are getting internationally recognized.” The president of Mahaz-e-Azadi, Mir Muhammad Iqbal also welcomed Obama’s statement.
MAINSTREAM PARTIES SEE HOPE President of Peoples Democratic Party, Mehbooba Mufti, welcomed Obama’s statement saying it would help to carry forward the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan. “Situation between India and Pakistan has improved with the revival of cross-LoC trade and bus service. The peace process between India and Pakistan needs impetus and if US or any other country can extend help, they are welcome.” The Chairman of Peoples Democratic Front, Hakeen Muhammad Yaseen, sees hope in Obama’s statement. “This shows Kashmir issue is alive in the international arena and emerging leaders, like Obama are showing interest to resolve the long-standing issue. It is really a ray of hope for Kashmiris,” Yaseen said. However, the CPI (M) state secretary, M Y Tarigami said US has been propagating suppressive policies to show its power. “We can only judge Obama’s seriousness to resolve the Kashmir issue only when he takes over as US president. We have seen that instead of resolving issues, the US has been creating conflicting situations as evident in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq. The question is can Obama break the traditional policies of US,” Tarigami said. Senior leader of National Conference, Ali Muhammad Sagar, said if US wants it can resolve the Kashmir issue. “Let us hope that Obama becomes president and helps to resolve Kashmir. India and Pakistan have been taking many confidence building measures and it is high time for bloodshed to end in the state and pave way for Kashmir resolution. US intervention will be helpful in the endeavour,” Sagar said.

India jittery over Obama’s Kashmir proposal

SHEIKH AHMED

New Delhi, Nov 6: India appears jittery and uncomfortable over US President-elect Barrack Hussain Obama’s proposal to appoint former President Bill Clinton as special envoy on Kashmir to help resolve this contentious issue peacefully.“India is against third party intervention on Kashmir and had conveyed on umpteen occasions to the international community that it is a bilateral matter between the two neighbours. So America’s special envoy on Kashmir is not welcome,” a diplomat said.The Indian government feels that the issue will be again highlighted by the appointment of the envoy. India has always rejected proposal of the Organization of Islamic Conference to appoint special envoy on Kashmir, stating that the Muslim organisation has no locus standi to get involved in this issue. Similar remarks were made when South African leader Nelson Mandela made reference to Kashmiri at the Non-Aligned summit at Durban in 1999.Recently UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said he was ready to mediate between India and Pakistan on this issue provided both parties agree to it. “I am willing to do that. As you know good offices of the Secretary General are available when and whenever there is some agreed request from both parties.” However, the Indian government is opposed to UN or any third country role.Obama during his luncheon meeting with Clinton in New York recently proposed to him to take up the responsibility of the special envoy so that the issue is solved without any delay. The President-elect said, “We should probably try to facilitate a better understanding between India and Pakistan and try to resolve the Kashmir crisis so that Pakistan can stay focused not on India, but on the situation with those militants (on Pak-Afghan border).”He further stated, “I will encourage India and Pakistan to work towards resolving their differences. If Pakistan can look towards the East with confidence, it will be less likely to believe its interests are best advanced through cooperation with the Taliban.”When India and Pakistan were at the verge of war in 1999 on the Kargil conflict, Clinton along with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair played important role to defuse the crisis. Even at that time, Clinton as well as the European Union had expressed willingness to appoint an envoy for South Asia to enable India and Pakistan to stabilize their relations.Former President Jimmy Carter’s name figured prominently for this job. But then nothing materialised as the Indian government conveyed its opposition to such an idea.It is interesting to watch what will be the policy of Obama when he takes over as the President on January 20, 2009. His deputy, Jeo Biden is considered close to India and he is likely to play an important role in the foreign policy of the Obama administration.The diplomats in New Delhi feel that linking Kashmir with Afghanistan was not justified and it would help Pakistan to internationalise the issue.

Conspiracy and Jammu

As Jammu Burned…
We must all be concerned. The prosperity of Jammu is assured as long as it’s wedded to Kashmir. So let there be no acrimony, comments Kundan Lal
‘Jammu is on fire. The state of Jammu & Kashmir is on the verge of a final breakup.’ These and many such pronouncements are seen and heard everywhere these days. These are either reckless exaggerations or a product of wishful thinking. First let us try to understand as to what constitutes Jammu. Again most of its definitions in fact define the ideological perceptions of those who attempt the definitions. The definers wish to have a Jammu of their own wishes or beliefs and are not bothered to see the ground realities as they exist today and shall continue to exist in the days and years to come unless of course something spectacular takes place in the political geography of this region.

To some perverted minds Jammu is a land of temples only. To them Jammu region which is now spread over ten districts means only kanakmandi and the areas surrounding it. The whole Jammu Pradesh or Rashtra is thus colored saffron and no other colors exist in the vibgyor of human society. Of course in addition to these exalted humans there are also some exalted animals to provide the spiritual company in this land of bliss. This type of insane mental disposition can and does conveniently overlook the demography of the Jammu region. Such perverted minds wish to dub all people living in these areas as dogras and ignore that dogras constitute a small minority of the population of this region. The majority of the population is composed of scheduled tribes (gujjar and bakerwals), non-scheduled tribes fighting for their scheduled tribe status (paharis), scheduled castes (harijan) and other ethnic and racial groups like Kashmiri, Sikhs, Pothoharies, and Punjabies etc. Even on religious lines the region is anything but a monolith. We have Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists in the population. On the basis of geography and climatic zones again the region shows extreme diversity. Languages, culture, customs - every area of human activity is marked by differences and these differences can neither be surmounted nor ignored.

This being the case what then is this ‘Jammu’ which is supposedly on fire and ready to be torn asunder as a result of an agitation launched for restoration of 800 kanals of land far away in the Kashmir valley to an organization which has to look after a cave shrine at best for two months a year? What then are the unstated motives behind this ruckus? Jammu can not aspire to be a separate state for it lacks linguistic, cultural, ethnic and religious homogeneity. The carving out of a separate heterogeneous state can not be a solution to the perceived problems created by heterogeneity itself. You do not treat a person bitten by a snake by injecting venom. Then what is the agenda? Unfortunately even the best minds among us, the so called Jammuites do not know. We seem to have been too pathetically carried away by the din and noise on the streets of Jammu to understand and analyze the situation in a rational and reasonable way. What happened on the streets of Jammu city is in fact an unfolding of an agenda least known to us, the Jammuites. The agenda is laid by those who have been enjoying the hospitality of the people of Jammu for the last two decades now. Our very own Kashmiri pundits are at the bottom of this game. They are killing many birds with one arrow but they do not carry a bow. The innocent, good at heart people of Jammu are carrying the bow and shooting the arrows. What is the Kashmiri Pundit leadership up to? The answers are not too far to seek. From the days of migration the Kashmiri Pundit leadership has been trying, in every conceivable way, to pay back the Kashmiri Muslims for their perceived genocide and exodus. It is another matter that the genocide involved not more than a 100 people dead as per official data released by the Home Ministry. The KP leadership crisscrossed the entire globe with fake tales and opposed Kashmiri aspirations on every platform. They did everything they could to malign their compatriots and now they have used the last agniban (offence intended, Dr Agnishekhar).

They are not interested in the Amarnath shrine or the land. Had it been so they would have demanded full control over the shrine’s affairs by demanding an exclusive Kashmiri management of the shrine. Everyone in Kashmir would support such a management comprising exclusively of Kashmiri Pundits, of this and all other Kashmiri Pundit shrines. Such a management would perhaps find it much easier to improve the facilities for pilgrims as the goodwill of local Kashmiri Muslims would stand guaranteed. KP leadership on the other hand inducted the ‘Remove Vohra’ slogan in to the agitation for it fears the advent of Governor Vohra on the scene in Kashmir. Governor Vohra is not new to Kashmir politics or the Kashmir problem. Having played an important role as an interlocutor on Kashmir, he has his own advantages. Apparently, our KP friends do not want any movement whatsoever towards conflict resolution in Kashmir. They would definitely love to have a novice at the helm and if that novice has any bhagwa leanings, so much the better.

The present agitation in Jammu has to be seen in this perspective. It may still be possible for us - Jammu’s good at heart people - to see behind the scenes. It goes to our credit that we maintained very good relations with Kashmiri Muslims even when things were very difficult. We maintained peace even when there were grave provocations such as an attack on the Raghunath temple.

Who is then today asking Kashmiri Muslims to leave Jammu? It can not be us, the people of Jammu. It is in fact the KP leadership who has already begun rejoicing on the possibility of taking revenge. But those among the KP’s who know the people of Jammu, also know that we are capable of seeing the whole game and will rise to the occasion and not allow ourselves to be used as bows for shooting someone else’s arrows. Jammu has a stake in peace. We cannot and will not allow ourselves to be treated as pawns in a dirty game. Jammu has over the years seen a new growth on every front. It is fast emerging as a hub of great economic activity. It is on the threshold of a new and modern age. It is poised to be a centre for excellence in every sphere of life, a cultural and intellectual capital, perhaps next only to Delhi and Lahore in this part of the sub-continent. We can not fritter away our energies for the sake of satisfying the ego of a handful of irrelevant political orphans. Those who feel and preach that a total separation from Kashmir shall cure all ills, should remind themselves of the economic, political and social fallouts of such an utopian dream. The sooner the futility of this exercise is realized the better for all of us. Jammu will survive, thrive, grow and prosper only as long as it remains firmly wedded to Kashmir.
It has a great future as long as it allows a pluralistic society to thrive on its land. The moment Jammu loses its multi-ethnic character it shall cease to grow. The state of Jammu and Kashmir shall continue to be an inseparable part of the Indian Union as long as Jammu remains inseparable from Kashmir.

Is there discrimination with Jammu region? Let the facts speak for themselves, writes Dr S Bashir Ahmad Veeri

Continuous publication on the subject of "monotonous" discrimination with Jammu by every Tom, Dick & Harry in well circulated newspapers of the Jammu region forced me to pen down a few lines in order to help in the dilution of hatred and misunderstanding between two regions and the communities who are interdependent and have to live and prosper together in unalterable state called Jammu & Kashmir. One fails to understand why distorted information is being presented to pollute the mind of common masses to instigate the negative thinking! How long this blame game and demagogy will continue and what purpose it will serve?
Jammu & Kashmir including Ladakh is one state and people of any of the above three regions are free to settle, work and live anywhere they like. Why we regionalize or communalize the things or the situation that too in 21st century where whole of the world is converted into a global village due to advanced technological know-how. Even the borders between Nations have become irrelevant & people belonging to different Nationalities, religious or ethnic clans like to develop together to have participatory developmental attitude in order to achieve greater heights in every field of human activity. All the great religions in the world are passing through difficult times and facing crisis together. In such a background one feels suffocated and ashamed while examining the recent happenings throughout the state on religious exploitations.
Foundation of Jammu city as learned during our primitive schooling was laid by King Jambo Lochan purely on harmony while seeing a goat & loin drinking water together. Past 20 years are witness to the regiono-communal amity of Jammu by its great people in spite of strong provocation by anti social and fanatic elements which contributed to a larger extent for the present development of the region but the recent ugly happenings are really worrisome and need to be analyzed in a proper perspective to uncover the enemy designs.
If we look and analyse correctly, state of J&K is for behind in every sphere of development and all the three regions have not achieved much and not lived up to the expectations. Let our Jammu develop like Shanghai (one of the best developed city of China) and wish Kashmir becomes like Hong Kong or Switzerland and Ladakh becomes more advanced than the two. All the three regions are inter dependant and development or underdevelopment in one region definitely reflects in other region. Disturbance similarly in one region have its negative effects in the other region.
As a matter of fact Srinagar and whole of the Kashmir valley has written history of thousands of years old, a unique feature of civilization. With 5000 years of history, Srinagar has been the capital of most parts of sub-continent, a power centre of the likes of Ashoka the great, Lalitadatya, sultan Shabu din and great Zain ul Abudin (Bud shah)to mention a few. It is an epitome of civilization, a hub of legendry empires. Kashmir has remained a seat of learning. Buddhism Practised till date in China and Japan spread from Kashmir and it is said that one of the daughter of Ashoka went to Sri Lanka as successful ambassador of Buddhism from Kashmir and left its mark not only in Lanka but in whole of the South-East. Mughals too had a great liking for Kashmir and they changed country of Kashmir into country of gardens which are still part of its beauty.
So one cannot just take away the importance of Srinagar by rhetoric, false propaganda and by changing the name of few shopping malls and denounce the masses living there only because they preach other religion. Either these self proclaimed intellectuals are ill informed or pretend so, otherwise all the big industries of J&K are located in Jammu and Kathua districts only. The reason is simple i.e. accessibility, availability of raw material and cost effectiveness as compared to valley where it is compounded by hilly and ambiguous route and scarcity of power. Another slogan of so called discrimination is "Kashmiri Leadership domination"- this newly coined term and phraseology is meant to mislead innocent people of Jammu and instigate them on communal lines is highly unfortunate and shameful. Height of the situation was when Samiti people refused to meet Dr Farooq Abdullah only due to his religious background forgetting his uncountable sacrifices and contribution for India. It was the charismatic and articulate personality of Dr Abdullah who defeated Pakistani propaganda brigade headed by Late Benazir Bhutto, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan in UN in 1994. Pakistan could not recover from this blow till date Atal Behari Vajpayee acknowledged this contribution more than once.
There are hundreds and thousands of examples of sacrifices of Abdullah family in the history of Kashmir. Moreover he remained CM of the state more than anyone else and always advocated fair play with stress on equitable development of all the three regions. Such was communal malice in the hearts of a few fanatics who rejected to meet him and caused more damage to themselves than to him, although he was the only leader to welcome the agreement between the Balorea panel and Samiti at the cost of his political stakes on the other side of Pir Panjal. As far as discrimination by Kashmir leader ship is concerned, any sane person can very well understand that the coalition government led by Azad belonged to Jammu, major partner or big brother was from Jammu, so where is the scope of discrimination by leaders from Kashmir or was it a blame game or to instigate public by directing attention towards Kashmir leaders as it has religious connotation as well and also they were not present in the situation to defend themselves.
Besides Dr Farooq Abdullah's 1983 tenure of one year and 1987 with congress two years during which he tried to remove this feeling of discrimination by suggesting to stop the darbar move practice to save public exchequer and keep all important offices after bifurcation at Jammu and Srinagar permanently so that people on either side does not suffer during move and only three offices of CM, The Governor and GAD will move, this move was also resisted by people of Jammu tooth and nail and Dr Abdullah has to withdraw the orders overnight. How unfortunate, people with vested interest still blame him and refuse to meet him. Isn't it bigotry and communalism! The other elected Kashmiri leadership who had say in the administrative affairs of state was that of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah 1977-82.
Prior to Sheikh Abdullah all the leaders right from Bakshi Gulam Mohd to Syed Mir Qasim including G M Sadiq were selected by New Delhi in connivance with the leaders of jammu right from 1952 to 1977, so where was the scope for discrimination by Kashmiri leaders. During this period (1952-77) Kashmiris would boycott the elections and govt. of India would select "Mukhota's from kashmir" for the consumption of world opinion, so they had nothing to do with Kashmiris. If there is a feeling of discrimination during this period one should direct anger towards New Delhi and not mislead innocent people of Jammu and stop polluting their mind with hatred and misconceptions.
Dr Farooq Abdullah won 1983 election with thumping majority but it was not liked by New Delhi which followed his undemocratic removal in collaboration with Mufti Mohd Syed and G M Shah and all of us know what they did later on. First time history of Kashmir witnessed communal riots instigated by Mufti Mohd Syed in 1986 just to dislodge G M shah. Recent contribution of Mufti's we all know, be it Amarnath Land controversy or separatist stand of Mehbooba Mufti that too after misruling the state for three years.
Honest and retrospective analysis of Sheikh Mohd Abdullah's period followed by Dr Farooq's regime, Jammu witnessed much more growth than Kashmir, be it road widening, new bridges on Tawi, bye pass road, Bagh e Bahu garden, GMC Bakshi Nagar, new Jammu university campus, Agriculture university campus during Sheikhs period and flyover, road widening, better road connectivity of intercity and intra district, two more bridges on Tawi, Gandhi Nagar govt hospital, massive industrializations, private medical colleges, encouraging Mata Vishno Devi Trust to start university, stress on Railway ministry to expedite Udhampur Track & double Gauging of Pathankot Jammu track. International airport at Jammu, full fledged agriculture university, Engineering Colleges, work started on four laning of national Highway, new Police Headquarters', APHQ headquarters, CID headquarters, hundreds of modern level police stations and tehsil buildings, directorate of education building, Rail Bhavan, polytechnic college, Circuit house canal road, posh residential colonies, modern infrastructure & installation of new machines(MRI,CAT Scan, Cath Lab) for benefit of common people in GMC and Associated hospitals of Jammu, international level swimming pool, notification of land for golf course in Sidhra Jammu, J&K Bank Headquarter, Nirman Bhavan, Vikas Bhavan, Bahu Plaza all buildings at rail head complex, Van Bhavan, Forest Complex at Narwal, indoor stadium, Tawi Shopping complex Channi Himmat jammu, High court complex Janipora, Kala Kender, Abhinav theatre ...........list is endless ........are a few examples of Dr Farooq's period.
If we take "discrimination" view let's compare it with Kashmir's drain like "black spot on the natural beauty of Kashmir" fly over at Jahangir hotel, potholes and bumpy roads full of dust and mud in Srinagar city, medieval type bridges on Jhelum river in city, Afghanistan like markets, dilapidated condition of state hospitals in city and other district headquarters, shrinking Dal lake due to neglect of govt.. Asia's largest fresh water lake Wullar is receding at an alarming rate and faces threat of extinction along with Dal lake, no shopping malls in the city indicates southwards economic status of the people and region. 1950 built death High way...... Banihal cart road hardly 20 feet wide, it takes only 8 to 10 hours to travel from Delhi to Jammu to cover up distance of 628 kms while it takes 10 to 14 hours to travel a distance of 290kms from Jammu to Srinagar with all probabilities of threat of losing life during travel in the 21st century when India claims to be nuclear power. It takes almost 4 hours to travel 40 kms from Anantnag to Srinagar if not blocked at Pantachowk.
There is no rail link to Kashmir in last 60 years of accession of state to India. Kashmir has historic and cultural links with central Asia since times immemorial, we had silk road an important link to outside world which is now forgotten in the deep layers of history due to neglect of both state and central govt's, Mughal road was alternate link of Kashmir to south Asia which has been deliberately made hostage to dirty politics and is still incomplete in spite of supreme court clearance, yet another road Bani Basholi Bhadarwah Kishtwar Sinthan Daksum road is also pending since ages.
Pollution full environment in Kashmir due to non-checking of vehicles and allowing to ply all the trucks which are more than 15 years old and banned by Supreme Court in other parts of country. Above all blatant human rights violations be it security forces or militants, no one to care! Whom to blame? Discrimination by whom! Which special privileges Kashmir region received, name a few?
Computation of General Administrative Department in 2005 for Sachar committee regarding total strength of employs of J&K and their percentage religion wise was, out of total 3, 52,000 employs, %age of employs as per population of their religious communities was: 4.61% for 30 LAKH Hindus and only 2.85% for 68 lakhs Muslims. Educated unemployed youth per lakh population in Srinagar out number their counterparts in Jammu by huge margin. Top slots in administration are as under:
Administration, IAS, KAS CADRE. Total cadre strength of IAS is 94.
Kashmiri including pundits are 24. Jammuites all non Muslims are 27. From Ladakh are 02. Rest is outside state and the number is 41 all are non Muslims. Since 1947 – out of 26 Chief Secretaries only 6 (six) were from Kashmir including Kashmiri Pandits. All important departments are headed by non Kashmiri which include, Chief Secretary, Planning dept, finance, Roads & buildings, PHE & Irrigation, Agriculture, Revenue, Social Welfare, Health, Home, CAPD, Industries & Commerce, Information, PDD, Science & Technology, and Transport & Culture.
Out of 338 KAS officers, Kashmiri officers including pundits are 155. Officers from Jammu are 151. From Ladakh are 22. There are 10 junior KAS officers also.
Since 2001 till date, 478 KAS appointments were made which included only 106 from Kashmir. 360 KAS officers were appointed from Jammu & 12 are from Ladakh area. Within next five years majority KAS officers from Kashmir are retiring and 80 to 90% domination in the services will be from Jammu. Let us examine some seniority lists of certain departments. Junior agriculture assistants on April 2006: Total JAA were 1656. Agriculture Assistants from Jammu were 1015. From Kashmir were 641 only. Similarly seniority list of AEE's 164 belong to Jammu & only 114 were from Kashmir. Selection list of Accounts Assistants in April 2008. Out of total 429 AA's, 334 were fro Jammu & only 95 were from Kashmir.Police organisation, IPS, KPS & other services Since its establishment in 1914, almost in last 100 years only two Kashmiri Muslims, Peer Gh Hassan Shah and Ghulam Jeelani Pandit headed the elite force, besides two kashmiri pundits including the present DGP Mr Kuldip Khuda. Rests of the DGP's were either from Jammu or outside state. We have seven (7) senior officers of the rank of DIGP's.
Only two are Kashmir pundits and rest 5 are from outside state. Among two ADGPs only one Dr Ashok Bhan belongs to Kashmir & another is from outside state. Out of 22 IGP's, only four (4) belong to Kashmir, Five (5) are from Jammu & rest are from outside state. Out of 20 DIGP's only five (5) belong to Kashmir, Eight (8) are from Jammu & rest are from outside state. We have 62 SSP's within IPS cadre only 12 are Kashmiri, 21 are Jammuites & two are from Ladakh. However 27 are from outside state. At the same time we have 139 KPS officers with the rank of SP's. Only 46 are from Kashmir, 87 are Jammuites & three are from Ladakh.
Among 224 Dy.SP's 112 are from Kashmir, 108 are from Jammu region & only three are from Ladakh. Out of 93 inspectors holding Deputy.SP's post, only 37 are Kashmiris while as 55 are from Jammu and one from Ladakh.
Judiciary:
Another important arm of governance and watchdog of justice is judiciary.
HIGH COURT LEVEL: Out of 10 high court judges, only 03(three) are Kashmiri, 03 are from Jammu, one Kashmiri Pandit and three are from outside state.
Although J&K high court bench gives six slots each to Kashmir and Jammu of these two judges from Jammu, justice V K Gupta & justice T S Thakur are already chief justice posted on deputation and justice Bilal Nazki is posted at Bombay high court.
The state high court has so far sent three judges to Supreme Court, one of whom justice A S Anand served as chief justice of India and other two were justice Jaswant Singh and R P Sethi, all the three from Jammu.
SESSION COURT LEVEL: Out of 64 session judges in state, only 24 are Kashmiri, 08 are Kashmiri Pandits, 04 are Jammu Muslims & 28 belong to Jammu.
16 out of 24 Kashmir Muslim judges are retiring in next two years.
MUNSIF COURT LEVEL: Out of 110 sub judges/Munsiff, only 29 are Kashmiri Muslims, 02 are Pandits and 79 belong to Jammu.
Can you still count it discrimination?
If we compare with other states, demographic pattern of state has close resemblance with West Bangal, that is Hindu population there is 72.5% and Muslims are 25.2%. Whereas J&K has 68% Muslim & 29% Hindu population. In west Bengal share of Muslims is 4.8% at the level of session judges and 3.2% at level of munsiffs and same is the case with other wings of Govt. Reverse is the case here despite being a Muslim majority state. (Figures; courtesy: Alee Andrabi, GK)
Plan expenditure and taxes:
Prime Ministers rehabilitation package under healing touch policy was much celebrated for elevating the decades suffering of Kashmir due to militancy and reconstructing damaged infrastructure, creating new avenues for employment to counter militancy & bring youth to main stream in Kashmir. Rs 24,000 crores package was announced which was later on enhanced to Rs 29,000 crores. This infrastructural package on the name of Kashmir was spent as under :Only Rs 6448 crores were given to Kashmir. A whooping amount of Rs 12531 crores were allotted to Jammu & Rs 2805 crores were given to Ladakh.
The remaining amount was diverted to state level sectors & projects such as transmission & distribution, Mughal road, ADB- counterpart funding & figure stands to Rs 8929 crores. During last two decades of militancy in Kashmir region Jammu got massive diversion of funds due to non utilization in Kashmir due to disturbance. Another important industrial package of Rs 5000 crores for Kashmir was announced to generate employment and to boast dead and non-existing industries of Kashmir region which suffered heavy losses during past 16 years of militancy, with impressive incentives to entrepreneurs in the form of excise and sales tax refund.
For 2006-07,excise refund stands 950crore and Kashmir gets only Rs 90 crore, rest is taken by Jammu. Sales tax refund stands at Rs 400 crore per year and Kashmir component is less than 40 crore, rest is taken by Jammu. The whole sale depots and C& F company depots are shifted to Jammu on grounds of disturbance in the valley, they serve the consumer market in Kashmir and Rs 200 crore are collected annually as sales tax alone in Jammu but paid by dealers from Kashmir which is counted in the basket of tax collection of Jammu. Plan expenditure is 14% per capita more in Jammu division than in Kashmir region. In the last two years under central road fund, number of schemes sanctioned to Jammu stands at 13 with involved cost of Rs 205 crore & Kashmir gets just TWO with involved cost of Rs 24 crore only. Under PMGSY (Prime Ministers Gram Sadak Yojana) the number of schemes sanctioned to Jammu stands at 423 with allotted cost of Rs 1405 crore & the length of all road scheme being 2967 kms. Whereas Kashmir got only 414 schemes with an allotted cost of Rs 687.26 crores & the length of all roads in all schemes is 1451 kms.
Planning commission of India made comprehensive district wise profile based on certain indicators of development in the J&K state. Agriculture is the only area where Kashmir tops as traditionally agriculture is backbone of society & economy of Kashmir due to rich natural water resource, fertility of soil & favourable climatic conditions.
On Social sector development, Jammu stands at number one followed by Khatua, Leah and Srinagar at number 04. Though Srinagar is not a modern urban conglomerate, It has been reduced to a second class town lacking all modern facilities a state capital requires. On infrastructural development front again Srinagar ranks 04 and Jammu is at number one. On the economic development index both the capitals are placed equally. When composite index of development is taken which is average of all the developmental indices of agriculture, social, infrastructural and economic again Jammu stands at number one and Srinagar at number two.
Honestly one has to admit that Jammu certainly is a much better place to live in. Metropolitan infrastructure, international standard roads, shopping malls, clean hospitals, international level Jammu university auditorium and so many other facilities make Jammu much more attractive than Srinagar.
On the basis of comparative merit it is seems that practically Kashmir have been discriminated but one has to be pragmatic and not get swayed by emotions and join the bandwagon of hue and cry which does not serve any purpose rather becomes counterproductive, both for region as well for the state.

(The author can be reached at drsbaveeri@gmail.com)

Forced Conversion In Gujarat By Shabnam Hashmi

17 September, 2008Countercurrents. org

Today morning a battery of Forest officers and police descended on the village of Nandapeda near Ahwa in the Dangs, Gujarat. They pulled out the doors and the windows, pulled out the wooden ballis which support the roof; they pulled out wood from the roof of the huts of the villagers. The forest department decided late night that it was illegal wood and they must recover it.

The ATS meanwhile rounded up a few people.
Nandapeda is the only village with majority Muslim population in the Dangs district, considered the poorest district in the whole of India.

The government has been pressurizing the Muslims to convert to the Hindu religion or face eviction from their land.


Some of the residents of this village moved the Gujarat High Court against the government's pressure of converting and changing their religion.
The families have been living in the village for over 100 years.
On June 13th 2008 a senior officer had called a meeting in Ahwa and asked them to change their religion or vacate the land.

After this meeting police and forest officers had been harassing them. Police have been searching old cases registered against any person of the community and asking them to furnish bail papers. The police targeted 33 people against whom some petty crime or a scuffle with the neighbors was registered.

Claiming that repeated representation before authorities for regularization of their land has been in vain, petitioners requested the court to restrain the government from pressurizing them to convert from their religion. Justice Jayant Panchal had in July sought explanation in this regard from the secretary in-charge, district collector and the village sarpanch.

After hearing all parties, Justice Anant Dave admitted the case on September 11, 2008 and ordered to maintain status quo on the disputed land.

On the next day the police captured approximately 80 villagers for transporting cattle into Maharashtra and also apprehended some villagers who were going on motorcycles using the reason of cow slaughter, though there were no cattle in the tempo.

The villagers gathered. There was a clash between the villagers and the police. People were beaten on both the sides. One policeman was also beaten up. Police then opened fire and a number of villagers got bullet injuries. They were taken to Ahwa civil hospitals. The relatives were not allowed to meet them. Police apprehended eight villagers for beating a policeman and though a local lawyer went for their bail, it was not given.

Next day the police came and in the name of combing operation attacked and ransacked the village. Villagers were beaten up brutally including women and children. All men fled to the jungles. The police not only took away all the goods but before going they poured kerosene into the eatable good so that they could not eat anything too.

VHP proposed a rally on 15th.

After a lot of pressure the VHP rally was stopped but they declared a Bandh on 16th.

The VHP gave a deadline to the collector it is heard to get the village vacated.
Today morning as already mentioned the forest department swooped in.
The villagers need urgent help and intervention. I have been personally informing various state politicians and centre about the developments.

STOP CRUSHING KASHMIR : RESPECT THEIR DEMOCRATIC ASPIRATIONS ! REAL DEMOCRACY INCLUDES FREEDOM FOR KASHMIRIS !

Nearly three month long agitation and counter agitation in Jammu and Kashmir has brought home extremely serious situation in J&K. In two days on August 11 and 12 Indian security forces shot dead thirty two people in Kashmir valley. Unrelenting indefinite curfew ahs been imposed in the whole of the valley since the 24th of this month and at least eight people have been killed by the security forces during this period. Already reeling under economic blockade the imposition of curfew made it worse with even hospitals not being allowed to function fully and attacks on ambulances and injured people. Food is in short supply, water and electricity disrupted and no one was being allowed to move about even with curfew passes. There were restrictions placed on media. Sixteen media persons have been brutally thrashed by security forces. The Kashmir Valley has seen massive outpouring of people in essentially peaceful demonstrations against the blockade and for their democratic rights, aspirations and freedom. Despite the peaceful nature of the protests these unarmed civilians met with state repression of a high order. But braving police firings, curfew and brutalities, Kashmiris came out in huge numbers. The people of the state groan under black laws like AFSPA and Disturbed Areas Act, Public Security Act while unarmed people are fired upon even as they gather to only attend the funeral of their leader killed in firing by armed forces. In contrast the agitation in Jammu, spearheaded by Hindu communal forces, chiefly led by Hindutva brigade of RSS-BJP and Congress, were conducting what was essentially an anti-Kashmir agitation. There was competition between these two leading parties of Indian ruling classes in harnessing majority Hindu chauvinism. Their top leaders in Jammu participated in blockade while the Congress led UPA went into a denial mode on the fact of blockade despite extensive proof of the same. Not only did the State side with the agitators, they failed to lift the economic blockade and protect victims of mob violence for more than a month. Reports suggest that drivers and passengers of Kashmiri origin had been dragged out and beaten on the highway, guarded ostensibly by the Indian army. The present exacerbation came about after the Kashmiris protested against the transfer of land in Kashmir against the law of the state. It is instructive that the valley based Anti Land Transfer Committee leaders went and reassured yatris of their being honoured guests, organized langars for the yatris and they were provided free boarding in hotels and house boats. It is also worth remembering that during this entire agitation, the yatra carried on and yatris did not encounter threats of the kind faced by Kashmiris in Jammu, Kathua and Udhampur, the Hindu majority districts. The recent announcement of agreement with SASS for handing over control of the land in Kashmir without discussion with Kashmiris clearly shows that the Central Govt. cares little for either the law of the state and rights and aspirations of the people of Kashmir. The economic blockade had severely affected the life in the valley over a month and a half. Thus the right to life of people in the valley was imperiled by it. The message being conveyed was that Indian State is unmindful of even the physical well-being of the people of Kashmir. The procession towards Muzzafarabad on August 11 was a consequence of this blockade imposed on the valley by the Jammu agitators. And paradoxically is in line with the Government of India’s own promise of opening the LOC for trade. While Central Govt. said it was not opposed to the opening, its armed forced killed 6 persons including a top leader of Hurriyat Conference. All this makes it incumbent on us to take a fresh look at developments in Jammu and Kashmir in order to understand why masses of unarmed people have come out on the streets to demand ‘azadi’ from India. We need to know whether right of self-determination is the peaceful and democratic way out? Or is there any other solution? We need to ponder over whether J&K is considered “an integral part of India” or actually it is considered a conquered Muslim majority territory won by India in war with Pakistan in 1947-48? We need to question the reason behind the Indian state’s maintaining a 700,000 strong security force for fighting just 1200 militants. Why did the issue of land become so explosive? Why did the Congress-PDP Government “divert” land to the Shrine Board, which bars permanent transfers to non-state subjects? We need to familiarize ourselves with the report and recommendations of the Nitish Sengupta Committee (1996) on Amaranath yatra. Why did they recommend that the yatra be regulated, numbers of yatris restricted to 100,000 and the time period of the yatra to be thirty days? Was not the constitution of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, which not only transfers management to outsiders but stipulates that Indian State’s representative, the Governor, can become the Chairman of the Board only if he is a Hindu, a communal project? Is it not a fact that ex-Governor S K Sinha has a history of fomenting communal discord in his earlier posting? We, Jan Hastakshep, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and Rajendra Prasad Academy are organizing a meeting on September 9, 2008 (Tuesday) from 4 P.M. at Rajendra Bhawan, Deendayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi to discuss all these aspects. We feel there is an urgent need for democrats, intellectuals and activists in the Capital to speak out for the just democratic rights and aspirations of the people of Kashmir.
Meeting on KASHMIR, PEOPLE’S RIGHTS and the INDIAN STATE Date: Tuesday, 9 September Time: 4 pm Venue: Rajendra Bhavan, Deendayal Upadhyay Marg (near ITO)

Arundhati Roy
The Guardian, Friday August 22 2008

For the past 60 days or so, since about the end of June, the people of Kashmir have been free. Free in the most profound sense. They have shrugged off the terror of living their lives in the gun-sights of half a million heavily armed soldiers, in the most densely militarised zone in the world.
After 18 years of administering a military occupation, the Indian government's worst nightmare has come true. Having declared that the militant movement has been crushed, it is now faced with a non-violent mass protest, but not the kind it knows how to manage. This one is nourished by people's memory of years of repression in which tens of thousands have been killed, thousands have been "disappeared", hundreds of thousands tortured, injured, and humiliated. That kind of rage, once it finds utterance, cannot easily be tamed, rebottled and sent back to where it came from.
A sudden twist of fate, an ill-conceived move over the transfer of 100 acres of state forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board (which manages the annual Hindu pilgrimage to a cave deep in the Kashmir Himalayas) suddenly became the equivalent of tossing a lit match into a barrel of petrol. Until 1989 the Amarnath pilgrimage used to attract about 20,000 people who travelled to the Amarnath cave over a period of about two weeks. In 1990, when the overtly Islamist militant uprising in the valley coincided with the spread of virulent Hindu nationalism (Hindutva) in the Indian plains, the number of pilgrims began to increase exponentially. By 2008 more than 500,000 pilgrims visited the Amarnath cave, in large groups, their passage often sponsored by Indian business houses. To many people in the valley this dramatic increase in numbers was seen as an aggressive political statement by an increasingly Hindu-fundamentalist Indian state. Rightly or wrongly, the land transfer was viewed as the thin edge of the wedge. It triggered an apprehension that it was the beginning of an elaborate plan to build Israeli-style settlements, and change the demography of the valley.
Days of massive protest forced the valley to shut down completely. Within hours the protests spread from the cities to villages. Young stone pelters took to the streets and faced armed police who fired straight at them, killing several. For people as well as the government, it resurrected memories of the uprising in the early 90s. Throughout the weeks of protest, hartal (strikes) and police firing, while the Hindutva publicity machine charged Kashmiris with committing every kind of communal excess, the 500,000 Amarnath pilgrims completed their pilgrimage, not just unhurt, but touched by the hospitality they had been shown by local people.
Eventually, taken completely by surprise at the ferocity of the response, the government revoked the land transfer. But by then the land-transfer had become what Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the most senior and also the most overtly Islamist separatist leader, called a "non-issue".
Massive protests against the revocation erupted in Jammu. There, too, the issue snowballed into something much bigger. Hindus began to raise issues of neglect and discrimination by the Indian state. (For some odd reason they blamed Kashmiris for that neglect.) The protests led to the blockading of the Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only functional road-link between Kashmir and India. Truckloads of perishable fresh fruit and valley produce began to rot.
The blockade demonstrated in no uncertain terms to people in Kashmir that they lived on sufferance, and that if they didn't behave themselves they could be put under siege, starved, deprived of essential commodities and medical supplies.
To expect matters to end there was of course absurd. Hadn't anybody noticed that in Kashmir even minor protests about civic issues like water and electricity inevitably turned into demands for azadi, freedom? To threaten them with mass starvation amounted to committing political suicide.
Not surprisingly, the voice that the government of India has tried so hard to silence in Kashmir has massed into a deafening roar. Raised in a playground of army camps, checkpoints, and bunkers, with screams from torture chambers for a soundtrack, the young generation has suddenly discovered the power of mass protest, and above all, the dignity of being able to straighten their shoulders and speak for themselves, represent themselves. For them it is nothing short of an epiphany. Not even the fear of death seems to hold them back. And once that fear has gone, of what use is the largest or second largest army in the world?
There have been mass rallies in the past, but none in recent memory that have been so sustained and widespread. The mainstream political parties of Kashmir - National Conference and People's Democratic party - appear dutifully for debates in New Delhi's TV studios, but can't muster the courage to appear on the streets of Kashmir. The armed militants who, through the worst years of repression were seen as the only ones carrying the torch of azadi forward, if they are around at all, seem content to take a back seat and let people do the fighting for a change.
The separatist leaders who do appear and speak at the rallies are not leaders so much as followers, being guided by the phenomenal spontaneous energy of a caged, enraged people that has exploded on Kashmir's streets. Day after day, hundreds of thousands of people swarm around places that hold terrible memories for them. They demolish bunkers, break through cordons of concertina wire and stare straight down the barrels of soldiers' machine guns, saying what very few in India want to hear. Hum Kya Chahtey? Azadi! (We want freedom.) And, it has to be said, in equal numbers and with equal intensity: Jeevey jeevey Pakistan. (Long live Pakistan.)
That sound reverberates through the valley like the drumbeat of steady rain on a tin roof, like the roll of thunder during an electric storm.
On August 15, India's independence day, Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of Srinagar, was taken over by thousands of people who hoisted the Pakistani flag and wished each other "happy belated independence day" (Pakistan celebrates independence on August 14) and "happy slavery day". Humour obviously, has survived India's many torture centres and Abu Ghraibs in Kashmir.
On August 16 more than 300,000 people marched to Pampore, to the village of the Hurriyat leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who was shot down in cold blood five days earlier.
On the night of August 17 the police sealed the city. Streets were barricaded, thousands of armed police manned the barriers. The roads leading into Srinagar were blocked. On the morning of August 18, people began pouring into Srinagar from villages and towns across the valley. In trucks, tempos, jeeps, buses and on foot. Once again, barriers were broken and people reclaimed their city. The police were faced with a choice of either stepping aside or executing a massacre. They stepped aside. Not a single bullet was fired.
The city floated on a sea of smiles. There was ecstasy in the air. Everyone had a banner; houseboat owners, traders, students, lawyers, doctors. One said: "We are all prisoners, set us free." Another said: "Democracy without freedom is demon-crazy." Demon-crazy. That was a good one. Perhaps he was referring to the insanity that permits the world's largest democracy to administer the world's largest military occupation and continue to call itself a democracy.
There was a green flag on every lamp post, every roof, every bus stop and on the top of chinar trees. A big one fluttered outside the All India Radio building. Road signs were painted over. Rawalpindi they said. Or simply Pakistan. It would be a mistake to assume that the public expression of affection for Pakistan automatically translates into a desire to accede to Pakistan. Some of it has to do with gratitude for the support - cynical or otherwise - for what Kashmiris see as their freedom struggle, and the Indian state sees as a terrorist campaign. It also has to do with mischief. With saying and doing what galls India most of all. (It's easy to scoff at the idea of a "freedom struggle" that wishes to distance itself from a country that is supposed to be a democracy and align itself with another that has, for the most part been ruled by military dictators. A country whose army has committed genocide in what is now Bangladesh. A country that is even now being torn apart by its own ethnic war. These are important questions, but right now perhaps it's more useful to wonder what this so-called democracy did in Kashmir to make people hate it so?)
Everywhere there were Pakistani flags, everywhere the cry Pakistan se rishta kya? La illaha illallah. (What is our bond with Pakistan? There is no god but Allah.) Azadi ka matlab kya? La illaha illallah. (What does freedom mean? There is no god but Allah.)
For somebody like myself, who is not Muslim, that interpretation of freedom is hard - if not impossible - to understand. I asked a young woman whether freedom for Kashmir would not mean less freedom for her, as a woman. She shrugged and said "What kind of freedom do we have now? The freedom to be raped by Indian soldiers?" Her reply silenced me.
Surrounded by a sea of green flags, it was impossible to doubt or ignore the deeply Islamic fervour of the uprising taking place around me. It was equally impossible to label it a vicious, terrorist jihad. For Kashmiris it was a catharsis. A historical moment in a long and complicated struggle for freedom with all the imperfections, cruelties and confusions that freedom struggles have. This one cannot by any means call itself pristine, and will always be stigmatised by, and will some day, I hope, have to account for, among other things, the brutal killings of Kashmiri Pandits in the early years of the uprising, culminating in the exodus of almost the entire Hindu community from the Kashmir valley.
As the crowd continued to swell I listened carefully to the slogans, because rhetoric often holds the key to all kinds of understanding. There were plenty of insults and humiliation for India: Ay jabiron ay zalimon, Kashmir hamara chhod do (Oh oppressors, Oh wicked ones, Get out of our Kashmir.) The slogan that cut through me like a knife and clean broke my heart was this one: Nanga bhookha Hindustan, jaan se pyaara Pakistan. (Naked, starving India, More precious than life itself - Pakistan.)
Why was it so galling, so painful to listen to this? I tried to work it out and settled on three reasons. First, because we all know that the first part of the slogan is the embarrassing and unadorned truth about India, the emerging superpower. Second, because all Indians who are not nanga or bhooka are and have been complicit in complex and historical ways with the elaborate cultural and economic systems that make Indian society so cruel, so vulgarly unequal. And third, because it was painful to listen to people who have suffered so much themselves mock others who suffer, in different ways, but no less intensely, under the same oppressor. In that slogan I saw the seeds of how easily victims can become perpetrators.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani began his address with a recitation from the Qur'an. He then said what he has said before, on hundreds of occasions. The only way for the struggle to succeed, he said, was to turn to the Qur'an for guidance. He said Islam would guide the struggle and that it was a complete social and moral code that would govern the people of a free Kashmir. He said Pakistan had been created as the home of Islam, and that that goal should never be subverted. He said just as Pakistan belonged to Kashmir, Kashmir belonged to Pakistan. He said minority communities would have full rights and their places of worship would be safe. Each point he made was applauded.
I imagined myself standing in the heart of a Hindu nationalist rally being addressed by the Bharatiya Janata party's (BJP) LK Advani. Replace the word Islam with the word Hindutva, replace the word Pakistan with Hindustan, replace the green flags with saffron ones and we would have the BJP's nightmare vision of an ideal India.
Is that what we should accept as our future? Monolithic religious states handing down a complete social and moral code, "a complete way of life"? Millions of us in India reject the Hindutva project. Our rejection springs from love, from passion, from a kind of idealism, from having enormous emotional stakes in the society in which we live. What our neighbours do, how they choose to handle their affairs does not affect our argument, it only strengthens it.
Arguments that spring from love are also fraught with danger. It is for the people of Kashmir to agree or disagree with the Islamist project (which is as contested, in equally complex ways, all over the world by Muslims, as Hindutva is contested by Hindus). Perhaps now that the threat of violence has receded and there is some space in which to debate views and air ideas, it is time for those who are part of the struggle to outline a vision for what kind of society they are fighting for. Perhaps it is time to offer people something more than martyrs, slogans and vague generalisations. Those who wish to turn to the Qur'an for guidance will no doubt find guidance there. But what of those who do not wish to do that, or for whom the Qur'an does not make place? Do the Hindus of Jammu and other minorities also have the right to self-determination? Will the hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits living in exile, many of them in terrible poverty, have the right to return? Will they be paid reparations for the terrible losses they have suffered? Or will a free Kashmir do to its minorities what India has done to Kashmiris for 61 years? What will happen to homosexuals and adulterers and blasphemers? What of thieves and lafangas and writers who do not agree with the "complete social and moral code"? Will we be put to death as we are in Saudi Arabia? Will the cycle of death, repression and bloodshed continue? History offers many models for Kashmir's thinkers and intellectuals and politicians to study. What will the Kashmir of their dreams look like? Algeria? Iran? South Africa? Switzerland? Pakistan?
At a crucial time like this, few things are more important than dreams. A lazy utopia and a flawed sense of justice will have consequences that do not bear thinking about. This is not the time for intellectual sloth or a reluctance to assess a situation clearly and honestly.
Already the spectre of partition has reared its head. Hindutva networks are alive with rumours about Hindus in the valley being attacked and forced to flee. In response, phone calls from Jammu reported that an armed Hindu militia was threatening a massacre and that Muslims from the two Hindu majority districts were preparing to flee. Memories of the bloodbath that ensued and claimed the lives of more than a million people when India and Pakistan were partitioned have come flooding back. That nightmare will haunt all of us forever.
However, none of these fears of what the future holds can justify the continued military occupation of a nation and a people. No more than the old colonial argument about how the natives were not ready for freedom justified the colonial project.
Of course there are many ways for the Indian state to continue to hold on to Kashmir. It could do what it does best. Wait. And hope the people's energy will dissipate in the absence of a concrete plan. It could try and fracture the fragile coalition that is emerging. It could extinguish this non-violent uprising and re-invite armed militancy. It could increase the number of troops from half a million to a whole million. A few strategic massacres, a couple of targeted assassinations, some disappearances and a massive round of arrests should do the trick for a few more years.
The unimaginable sums of public money that are needed to keep the military occupation of Kashmir going is money that ought by right to be spent on schools and hospitals and food for an impoverished, malnutritioned population in India. What kind of government can possibly believe that it has the right to spend it on more weapons, more concertina wire and more prisons in Kashmir?
The Indian military occupation of Kashmir makes monsters of us all. It allows Hindu chauvinists to target and victimise Muslims in India by holding them hostage to the freedom struggle being waged by Muslims in Kashmir.
India needs azadi from Kashmir just as much as - if not more than - Kashmir needs azadi from India.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is Kashmir!

During the past week, I have been involved in an interesting online debate with supporters of National Conference on their official website. I was least surprised to find most of these 'ardent' supporters of Sheikh Abdullah, living in a make belief world where their ideologies are more important to them than human lives but at the same time the opposing ideology is conveniently termed as extremism, secession and fanaticism. They have this universal trait of giving India the benefit of doubt for all its human rights violations and its illegal occupation of Kashmir. No amount of custodial killings, genocides or executions will change their basic stance. There will be an election-time shift in the usual soft rhetoric and all of a sudden National Conference will talk about 'India and Kashmir' as if Farooq Abdullah has never been on record to say that "Kashmir is an integral part of India". Overnight, the family, the party and the henchmen change their garbs and put on different masks while they run up and down the hinterlands fanning emotions and asking for votes on the same old pledge and promise of 'Autonomy'. Every single day, Kashmiris are humiliated and killed like cattle on their own soil while these pioneers of an autonomous Kashmir roam around in the cushion of security with recurring vacations in the lap of luxury. They very conveniently blame Pakistan for starting the current insurgency which, according to them, was the primary reason for us being killed, raped and burnt by the Indian Army. Stupid Kashmiris - couldn't shut up and accept a rigged election! The elections of 1987 that were rigged in favor or Farooq Abdullah are completely invisible to National Conference as if that year never came and the calendar skipped from 1986 to 1988. As if we were too uppity and hard headed to compromise with our fate and accept the Sheikh's son as our next traitor-in-chief. Their proclamation that Autonomy for Kashmir is the best option is based on a million and one variables and assumptions which they are too willing to be optimistic about. Whether the Army will be thrown out of Kashmir, whether India will resist temptations to rig elections in favor of its puppets and whether the hindutva-bloc in India will let such an arrangement survive are treated as questions from Mars. However, the same people are quick to jump in the bandwagon together and somehow drag Pakistan into the equation in the form of a wild-card which is supposed to make their dumbest arguments makes sense. The whole package about Pakistan's democratic fragmentation and failure, about its regionalism and its instability, somehow are more significant than the fact that Kashmiris cannot and will not attest to any association with a country and nation which has killed its teenagers, raped its daughters and molested the basic fabric of its society. Compromises are fine. Accepted. Thats diplomacy and like it or not, survival is more important than ideologies at times. But, there is a filter - a limit. Asking Kashmiris to compromise and sign of their existence for the pride of Indian nationalism and secularism is akin to asking the Jews to forget the concentration camps, the Kosovars to forget the Serbian atrocities and the Bosnians to forget their genocides. Although it might me easy for the Abdullahs or the Muftis to 'forget' about these wounds, these raptures in our soul.....Kashmiris cant and never will forget the faces of India that have been shown to us. The Abdullahs and Muftis have seen different faces of India. To them India is the epitome of secularism and tolerance. They are not concerned about Modi being re-elected twice after killing thousands of Mulsims. They are also not concerned about the political dissent and unrest in the East or the Khalistan Movement. Those, to these people, are just normal disturbances 'fueled' by the ISI. Maybe they are too biased and too comfortable within their Indian homes and in their Indian government bullet proof cars or in their first class plane cabins to see the reality in such deep perspectives. But are they so blind that they cannot see how our teenagers and children are being humiliated, thrashed and harrassed while their own children are growing up experiencing the great Indian story of a multicultural secular existence? Are they too blind that they cannot read the verdict of Kashmiris in the eyes of this child? Are they?