Some Pictures from the US Trip Oct ‘ 08 “Chicago”

Some pictures from the US trip Oct ‘08 “Washington DC”

Washington Monument

Smithsonian Museum of American History

National Gallery of Art

Capitol

White House

Is our judgement guided by our conscience?

Mumbai has witnessed chaos and death all over again. The incident has been compared often synonymously with the 9/11 in the US. I don’t know if that is to raise the severity of the crime committed or just for more international attention and sympathy. Coming from a land (Kashmir) that witnesses death almost everyday, I know sympathy offers very little consolation to the victims. I would imagine most of the people that died in the incident were innocent, innocent of the crimes of taking sides and equally detached from any political agendas. The question then comes to mind is why? Why would some one kill innocent people?

Taj Palace Hotel in Mumbai burns as a result of gunfire and explosions

Many voices in India are today calling for a very strong response to the perpetrators of this recent crime. Does that mean going in a “Hot Pursuit” as the US likes to call its illegal operations in foreign countries, hitting the many targets and safe havens in its neighbouring country, that India claims harbours these extremists or is the Indian People willing to go for a full fledged war with its neighbour? I don’t see either happening, both countries have more to lose than to gain if such a path is chosen. This view is however a very popular in India now, the Mubaikars (people living in Mumbai) are out in the streets demanding action from the government, saying enough is enough, wanting a payback for having been served what they truly think they didn’t deserve. Fair enough!

Its very hard to speak one’s mind in a increasingly “you ought to sound politically correct” world we are living in. Coming back to the Mumbai’s past rendezvous with death and chaos, if one analyzes the 1993 bombings which reportedly resulted in 250 civilian causalities, it was as much terrorism as it was a payback for the massacre of the minority at the hands of the majority in 1993 which claimed 900 innocent lives. Now deciding which was bigger terrorism will depend on who the jury is, I will tell you my verdict, they were both. What hits like a nail in the head is, why the Mumbaikar stands up and shows his intolerance for one kind of terrorism but is apparently unaffected by the other. When the home grown terrorists who unfortunately for India’s future hold some of the highest and most powerful government offices in India, commit crimes, similar to the magnitude of what happened in the recent attacks in Mumbai, India chooses not to say Enough is Enough. When the minority in Gujarat gets massacred at the hands of the majority, India doesn’t see it as terrorism and does nothing to show its strong resolve to uproot it.

Jugarat Riots: The other side of terror (State sponsored)

Secular as it is, on paper at least, it chooses to ban religious outfits that apparently advocate extremism, but the ban is only on those belonging the minority. It chooses to ignore the extreme acts of violence and terror perpetrated by the religious outfits of the majority. If payback is the answer, isn’t that what the minorities are then doing, for feeling neglected and terrorized at the hands of extreme factions of the majority. No arguments can ever support the killing of innocents, but that is being logical. When logic ceases to exist then everything goes and the result is never ending chaos and death.

India blames Kashmiri militants of terrorism against the state, yet it chooses to ignore the fact these are the people who face terrorism at the hands of India and then choose the way of the gun. Recently the Pro-Freedom rallies and civilian Freedom Marches in Kashmir, was seen as a new day in Kashmir revolution against Indian occupation. The people chose the parliamentary means so to say, just showing their protest in words and peaceful rallies. But the Indian response was far from peaceful. Innocent civilians were shot with an intent to kill, more than 40 innocent civilians were killed in cold blood. Most of Kashmir was under siege for over a month, civil curfew with shoot at sight orders was imposed. Food, medicine and other essential supplies to Kashmir were stopped for over a month, yet the Indians that we see in the streets protesting against terrorism, didn’t see this behaviour as terrorism against the Kashmir populace. Those from the civil society who tried to voice their concern were harassed, even international calls for restraint were ignored…and the Indian response to the world was mind your own business!

Freedom Rally: Kashmiri people rallied in millions for freedom from Indian Occupation

Not just India, it is a general problem. After 9/11 when US decided to go after Al_Qaida which it claims was responsible for the tragedy at the World Trade Centre, it managed to exterminate 30,000 civilians less than a months time of its bombing of Afghanistan. If one reads about the Atomic Bombings of the Japanese cities by the US during the World War II, one can’t ignore, that the target was not the military installations, but it was a coherent decision to hit the civilian areas to ensure major civilian casualties. Now what would you call such a behaviour…Terrorism I say! State Sponsored this time. If Saddam was executed without a proper trial for allegedly being responsible for the death of some 100-200 civilians in Iraq, what punishment would be fit for the US administration which is responsible for hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths world over. How many people in the Indian administration would need to be tried for their crimes against the people of Kashmir, for sponsoring state terrorism which has till date resulted in deaths of more than 80,000 civilians of Kashmir.

Atomic Bombing of Japan: The aftermath

Moslem Meals US to UK

Ok I am back in London now, after a fantastic trip to the US. I flew British Airways for my trip and it was unexpectedly nice. I say unexpectedly because most airlines are known for frequent delays, unfriendly staff and lost baggage these days. British Airways was nothing but absolute delight for most of their services.

Being a Muslim I had requested special meals for my flights, these are referred to as “Moslem Meals”. On my flight from Heathrow to Dulles Washington DC, the meal was Chicken Biryani with some very nice dessert, it was Ras Malai perhaps but I can’t remember exactly. The best thing about special meals is that you get served first and you don’t have to worry about the ingredients. So if you are allergic to some foods or just avoiding some because of your religious beliefs, it is the way to go. The meals on my return flight to Heathrow was equally interesting, it was rice with some Kail and fish. A fine looking small bottle of extra virgin olive oil with lime was included as dressing for the salad. The dessert was somewhat disappointing this time – it was a piece of Barfee (a sweet cube made from milk, gram flour and cheese I guess).

For those of us who can’t quench their thirst, the juices kept flowing with options from a range of orange, apple, cranberry to sodas of all kind. Alcohol is also served, its not my cup of tea however so no comments about it. I prefer orange juice with a tinge of lemonade, and I do that in-flight my mixing my cup of orange juice with a can of lime soda….ammm its very nice, maybe you should give it a try someday.

4 states in 4 days

I started of on Friday the 24th October 2008 from the Washington DC international Airport (IAD). It was interesting since this was the first time I was flying in a 4 seating aircraft, the only problem was that even my hand baggage wouldn’t fit in the overhead locker. This was the Air Canada flight operated by United Airlines and the trouble started from the word go, when we were sitting in the plane on the runway for close to one hour and then had to make a delayed departure from another runway.

I was flying to Chicago O’Hare Airport and was supposed to take a connecting flight from New York LaGuardia airport. The planned transit time was 1hr 15 mins but because of the delay I just made it to the Gate for the O’ Hare Airport in time, I think it was just 15mins in time. The flight to Chicago was a pleasant one, I shared my row with two ladies, one probably in her 40s and another one my quite my age. I had a feeling that they were delighted to hear that I was travelling to US from England and wanted to know more about the English country and their ways. Ahh I could sense where they were going so I had to cut their chase and tell them that although I came to the US from England but I am not English in most ways and that I come from the far east. It would be wrong to say that their enthusiasm deflated completely but my Asian origins did have some influence.

Chicago was good fun, from the architectural tour of downtown, witnessing Chicago’s simple solutions to their massive problems (EL – the train passing through the post office building, another one sliced through to create a road) to getting on top of the Sears Tower standing at a whopping 1450 ft and 108 storeys high. The view from the top of Sears is magnificent,with the earth and all that it has on it looks exactly the way it looks when an airplane has just taken off.

Tickets for the Sears Tower and the Architectural-Tour Boat Ride

Sears Tower

Lake Michigan is another wonder, bounded my 4 states in the US makes it the largest lake entirely in one country. I have never been to the sea, but standing on its banks perhaps gives you the closest feel of a sea, you see water and just water till the eye meets the horizon and it surely is breathtakingly beautiful. There are many other places of tourist interest like the Aquarium and 6 Flags but it wasn’t for me I guess.

Lake Michigan

The journey back home today was equally adventurous. My day started of at 4 O ‘ Clock in the morning and I was in time at the terminal at 4.30 AM for my 5.45 AM flight to Philadelphia. It was all fine till I was told after waiting in a security queue for half an hour that my terminal has changed. It was a nervous moment I can tell you but I managed to reach the other terminal in 10 mins, only to discover that some Black women at the counter perhaps pissed off with someone didn’t want to let me check in even though as per rules written on my e-Ticket I should have been allowed to do that even 10 mins before the actual flight departure. Anyway to cut the long nervous moments short, I printed my boarding card at a Kiosk and thanked the lady for her kindness (yes she wan’t happy). The adventure ended right there and rest of the journey was smooth. I look my final leg at around 10Am from Philadelphia to Washington DC and was there in DC on time.

The Demons from back home

Electricity failure and power cuts is a common feature of my part of the world. In fact it is something quite expected and life without a power failure would seem alien.

Now here is the twist …. I was sitting back on the coach and enjoying some television and oops the electricity goes! Yes nothing fused in the house, I checked through the window and there no total darkness in the whole residential area. I was asking myself if it was me or the demons from back home that caused the power failure in this part of the very developed world. Turns out there was some repair work going on and hence the power cut.

It was a nice experience to experience home away from home :)

Seat belt on...

I had been waiting for this time, had already got my IDP (International Driving Permit) sorted and ensured I had it on me when I came to the US. Yes this is the first time I am driving a left hand drive (right side of the road). I had thought that it would be confusing and difficult, it wasn't for me though I am occassionally inclined towards the left side of the road.

It is good fun to be driving again after a long time. I have my car back in Kashmir, but ever since I came to England, I seldom got a chance to step into cars let alone drive. Especially London is so congested most of the times, its faster and better travelling by TUBE (metro/underground/trains). Even if people have cars, many places in London have a congestion charge and parking fee is also on the higher side. I am so fond of bikes and cars that it is hard to keep my hands away from them. I think I am fortunate that my uncle is being a good sport in letting me drive all the time (you might think a little crazy, but he isn't). I am already eyeing his SUV, hopefully soon.

O what a Life

It is funny when I think about it. I came from Kashmir to England and from England to USA and its here I get chased by Dogs :)

I had a fun day and decided to go for a walk with my aunt, it was kind of dark and I heard the barking and then fast moving footsteps and this heavy breathing near our legs. It was two big dogs seemingly about to have a big bite from our legs, it wasn’t that I learned. My aunt told me not to make any noise, move my arms around and not to look at the dogs, apparently if you ignore them, they will ignore you. They did, perhaps bored of our behaviour. But I tell you I was so scared, feeling like…. ok here come the bite…haha I survived.

Then I shared this story with my uncle and he said they weren’t even chasing us, they must have expected us to pat them and play with them and thats why they came chasing. I was so scared I wanted to call 911.

Jet Lag

There is a decent 5 hr difference between London and US east coast time zones. I was a bit tired and finally managed to sleep from 5:30 PM till 8:30PM, had some nice dinner and called off the day. I woke up at 5AM this morning, reminding me of the time when I first arrived in London, where I used to wake up at 4AM for the first couple of days.

I discovered that the UK electricity plugs and sockets are different from the US system and my laptop battery had just died on me. Fortunately my uncle had some spare cables and I used one of them as input for my laptop adapter and so I am happy again :) taking to my family and friends.

7 Hours and 45 Minutes...

OK here I am, started off at 5am this morning and boarded the birtish rail from Ilford station at 6:09 am and then 1hr and 30minutes of a train trip to the heathrow terminal 5. I had already printed my boarding card at home (yes you can do that, like you can print an e-ticket), and the baggage checkin and security clearance was fast. It was a rountine, keep all your hand carriage baggage in a tray for x-ray, yes you have to remove your shoes too. I heard Israel has developed a new security system where in the passengers might not have to remove their shoes for security clearance.
My flight is due to depart from London at 10:50 am and since it is 10 minutes to 9 am there is no sign of the gate I need to go. I found a very interesting place here, it is called the Multi faith room - " a place for prayer and reflection", I like it.

Its 9:20 AM and call for my gate, I have to take a Terminal Service to my boarding gate or a 15 minutes walk (a healthy option but not for me). Its 9.30 am and I am at my gate waiting for further information to be displayed soon (I hope sooner).

Its 10:42 am and I am inside the plane now, pretty sleak so far. People are still walking about finding their seats or maybe just for the heck of it. I have a window seat and the gentleman next to me has been busy on his blackberry ever since he boarded the flight, you know what that means :) I guess its time to logoff now and enjoy the flight, see you soon.

The terminal looks clean and sleak and as long as I don't lose my luggage I am all praises.

11:35 am (US time), 4:36 PM (UK) Back again! I am trying to have a nice time here, watching the inflight movies, drinking orange juice mixed with lemonaide, atleast a nice way to spend the time. The view outside hasn'd changed for a long time now. We are still flying over the Atlantic ocean at about 40,000 ft and almost approaching Halifax having passed over Sydney some time back (relax, we were not flying over Australia...I am talking 'bout Canada).

1:30Pm (US): The flight just arrived right on time and it has been a pleasant journey. It took me another hour for immigration check and luggage clearance. The actual immigration time was just around 3 minutes but the ques are so long it takes time.

I just had a shower and am trying to rest for a while now. The laptop battery it seems won't last long and the charging unit doesn't fit the US system, so that is the first thing I need to figure out. Second, my T-Mobile UK prepaid sim doesn't work here, although it was supposed to be on roaming.

...and why am I so calm?

My MBA studies have finished now, infact a month back and I am still not in a panic mode for a job. Unbelievable? Yes even my friends seem to be wondering why am I suddenly so calm about things. Personally I think everything is linked by a chain of events, and each link needs to be taken care of before you can reach the next one (yes there are some shortcuts too, but we won't discuss them now). I am currently into that phase of dealing with these links one at a time and hence I am not that worried or should I say I am calm.

Its been quite some time since I updated my blog. I am on a short trip to America from tomorrow and I hope I will have things to share and perhaps more stories to tell.

From Inside of Kashmir - In the name of democracy

Looting Shops: Indian Armed forces in Kashmir (Images of State sponsored terrorism)

They don't even spare School children and non-protestors

Pictures: Aman Farooq (Greater Kashmir)

Azadi - It's the only thing the Kashmiri wants. Denial is delusion.

Arundhati Roy

For the past sixty 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.

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, raped and humiliated. That kind of rage, once it finds utterance, cannot easily be tamed, re-bottled and sent back to where it came from. For all these years, the Indian State, known amongst the knowing as the Deep State, has done everything it can to subvert, suppress, represent, misrepresent, discredit, interpret, intimidate, purchase—and simply snuff out the voice of the Kashmiri people. It has used money (lots of it), violence (lots of it), disinformation, propaganda, torture, elaborate networks of collaborators and informers, terror, imprisonment, blackmail and rigged elections to subdue what democrats would call "the will of the people". But now the Deep State, as Deep States eventually tend to, has tripped on its own hubris and bought into its own publicity. It made the mistake of believing that domination was victory, that the 'normalcy' it had enforced through the barrel of a gun was indeed normal, and that the people's sullen silence was acquiescence.

The well-endowed peace industry, speaking on people's behalf, informed us that "Kashmiris are tired of violence and want peace". What kind of peace they were willing to settle for was never clarified. Bollywood's cache of Kashmir/Muslim-terrorist films has brainwashed most Indians into believing that all of Kashmir's sorrows could be laid at the door of evil, people-hating terrorists.

To anybody who cared to ask, or, more importantly, to listen, it was always clear that even in their darkest moments, people in Kashmir had kept the fires burning and that it was not peace they yearned for, but freedom too. Over the last two months, the carefully confected picture of an innocent people trapped between 'two guns', both equally hated, has, pardon the pun, been shot to hell.

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 Islamic militant uprising in the Valley coincided with the spread of virulent Hindutva in the Indian plains, the number of pilgrims began to increase exponentially. By 2008, more than 5,00,000 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 and police firing, while the Hindutva publicity machine charged Kashmiris with committing every kind of communal excess, the 5,00,000 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.

Hadn't anybody noticed that in Kashmir even minor protests about civic issues like water and electricity inevitably turned into demands for azadi? To threaten them with mass starvation amounted to committing political suicide.

But by then the land transfer had become what senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani 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. The army was called out to clear the highway and allow safe passage of trucks between Jammu and Srinagar. But incidents of violence against Kashmiri truckers were being reported from as far away as Punjab where there was no protection at all. As a result, Kashmiri truckers, fearing for their lives, refused to drive on the highway. Truckloads of perishable fresh fruit and Valley produce began to rot. It became very obvious that the blockade had caused the situation to spin out of control. The government announced that the blockade had been cleared and that trucks were going through. Embedded sections of the Indian media, quoting the inevitable 'Intelligence' sources, began to refer to it as a 'perceived' blockade, and even to suggest that there had never been one.

But it was too late for those games, the damage had been done. It had been 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. The real blockade became a psychological one. The last fragile link between India and Kashmir was all but snapped.

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? 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. Hundreds of thousands of unarmed people have come out to reclaim their cities, their streets and mohallas. They have simply overwhelmed the heavily armed security forces by their sheer numbers, and with a remarkable display of raw courage.

Raised in a playground of army camps, checkposts 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. They're in full flow, 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? What threat does it hold? Who should know that better than the people of India who won their independence in the way that they did? The circumstances in Kashmir being what they are, it is hard for the spin doctors to fall back on the same old same old; to claim that it's all the doing of Pakistan's ISI, or that people are being coerced by militants. Since the '30s onwards, the question of who can claim the right to represent that elusive thing known as "Kashmiri sentiment" has been bitterly contested.

This time around, the people are in charge. The armed militants, who through the worst years of repression were seen carrying the torch of azadi, are content to let people do the fighting. The separatist leaders are not leaders so much as followers.

Was it Sheikh Abdullah? The Muslim Conference? Who is it today? The mainstream political parties? The Hurriyat? The militants? This time around, the people are in charge. 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—the National Conference, the People's Democratic Party—feted by the Deep State and the Indian media despite the pathetic voter turnout in election after election 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 to be content to take a backseat 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. The leaders, such as they are, have been presented with a full-blown revolution. The only condition seems to be that they have to do as the people say. If they say things that people do not wish to hear, they are gently persuaded to come out, publicly apologise and correct their course. This applies to all of them, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani who at a public rally recently proclaimed himself the movement's only leader. It was a monumental political blunder that very nearly shattered the fragile new alliance between the various factions of the struggle. Within hours he retracted his statement. Like it or not, this is democracy. No democrat can pretend otherwise.

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 chahte? 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 before an electric storm. It's the plebiscite that was never held, the referendum that has been indefinitely postponed.

On August 15, India's Independence Day, the city of Srinagar shut down completely. The Bakshi stadium where Governor N.N. Vohra hoisted the flag was empty except for a few officials. Hours later, Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of the city (where in 1992, Murli Manohar Joshi, BJP leader and mentor of the controversial "Hinduisation" of children's history textbooks, started a tradition of flag-hoisting by the Border Security Force), 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 3,00,000 people marched to Pampore, to the village of Hurriyat leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who was shot down in cold blood five days earlier. He was part of a massive march to the Line of Control demanding that since the Jammu road had been blocked, it was only logical that the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway be opened for goods and people, the way it used to be before Kashmir was partitioned. On August 18, an equal number gathered in Srinagar in the huge TRC grounds (Tourist Reception Centre, not the Truth and Reconciliation Committee) close to the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to submit a memorandum asking for three things—the end to Indian rule, the deployment of a UN Peacekeeping Force and an investigation into two decades of war crimes committed with almost complete impunity by the Indian army and police. The day before the rally the Deep State was hard at work.

Replace the word Islam with the word Hindutva, replace the word Pakistan with Hindustan, replace the sea of green flags with saffron ones and you have BJP's nightmare vision of an ideal India.

A senior journalist friend called to say that late in the afternoon the home secretary called a high-level meeting in New Delhi. Also present were the defence secretary and the intelligence chiefs. The purpose of the meeting, he said, was to brief the editors of TV news channels that the government had reason to believe that the insurrection was being managed by a small splinter cell of the ISI and to request the channels to keep this piece of exclusive, highly secret intelligence in mind while covering (or preferably not covering?) the news from Kashmir. Unfortunately for the Deep State, things have gone so far that TV channels, were they to obey those instructions, would run the risk of looking ridiculous. Thankfully, it looks as though this revolution will, after all, be televised.

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. For the first time in eighteen years, the police had to plead with Hurriyat leaders to address the rally at the TRC grounds instead of marching right up to the UNMOGIP office which is on Gupkar Road, Srinagar's Green Zone where, for years, the Indian Establishment has barricaded itself in style and splendour.

On the morning of the 18th, 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 twisted logic of a country that needed to commit communal carnage in order to bolster its secular credentials. Or 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 to Hazratbal, Batmaloo, Sopore 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 a 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, the enemy, 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.)

What will free Kashmir be like? Will the hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits living in exile be allowed to return, paid reparations for their losses?

Everywhere there were Pakistani flags, everywhere the cry, Pakistan se rishta kya? La ilaha illa llah. What is our bond with Pakistan? There is no god but Allah. Azadi ka matlab kya? La ilaha 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.

Standing in the grounds of the TRC, surrounded by a sea of green flags, it was impossible to doubt or ignore the deeply Islamic nature of the uprising taking place around me. It was equally impossible to label it a vicious, terrorist jehad. 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 community from the Kashmir Valley.

As the crowd continued to swell, I listened carefully to the slogans, because rhetoric often clarifies things and holds the key to all kinds of understanding. I'd heard many of them before, a few years ago, at a militant's funeral. A new one, obviously coined after the blockade, was Kashmir ki mandi! Rawalpindi! (It doesn't lend itself to translation, but it means—Kashmir's marketplace? Rawalpindi!) Another was Khooni lakir tod do, aar paar jod do (Break down the blood-soaked Line of Control, let Kashmir be united again). 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). Jis Kashmir ko khoon se seencha, woh Kashmir hamara hai (The Kashmir we have irrigated with our blood, that Kashmir is ours!).

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 bhookha are—and have been—complicit in complex and historical ways with the cruel 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. It took hours for Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani to wade through the thronging crowds and make it onto the podium. When they arrived, they were born aloft on the shoulders of young men, over the surging crowd to the podium. The roar of greeting was deafening. Mirwaiz Umer spoke first. He repeated the demand that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Disturbed Areas Act and Public Safety Act—under which thousands have been killed, jailed and tortured—be withdrawn.

Of course, there are many ways for the Indian State to hold on to Kashmir. A few strategic massacres, a couple of targeted assassinations, some disappearances and a round of arrests should do the trick for a few more years.

He called for the release of political prisoners, for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road to be opened for the free movement of goods and people, and for the demilitarisation of the Kashmir Valley. Syed Ali Shah Geelani began his address with a recitation from the Quran. 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 Quran 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.

Oddly enough, the apparent doctrinal clarity of what he said made everything a little unclear. I wondered how the somewhat disparate views of the various factions in the freedom struggle would resolve themselves—the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front's vision of an independent state, Geelani's desire to merge with Pakistan and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq balanced precariously between them.

An old man with a red eye standing next to me said, "Kashmir was one country. Half was taken by India, the other half by Pakistan. Both by force. We want freedom." I wondered if, in the new dispensation, the old man would get a hearing. I wondered what he would think of the trucks that roared down the highways in the plains of India, owned and driven by men who knew nothing of history, or of Kashmir, but still had slogans on their tailgates that said, "Doodh maango to kheer denge, Kashmir maango to cheer denge (Ask for milk, you'll get cream; Ask for Kashmir, we'll tear you open)."

Briefly, I had another thought. I imagined myself standing in the heart of an RSS or VHP rally being addressed by L.K. Advani. Replace the word Islam with the word Hindutva, replace the word Pakistan with Hindustan, replace the sea of 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 Islamic 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 Quran for guidance will no doubt find guidance there. But what of those who do not wish to do that, or for whom the Quran 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. It could be argued that the prevarication of Maharaja Hari Singh in 1947 has been Kashmir's great modern tragedy, one that eventually led to unthinkable bloodshed and the prolonged bondage of people who were very nearly free.

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.)

There is absolutely no reason to believe that history will repeat itself. Not unless it is made to. Not unless people actively work to create such a cataclysm. 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 reinvite 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, malnourished 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. It's all being stirred into a poisonous brew and administered intravenously, straight into our bloodstream.
At the heart of it all is a moral question. Does any government have the right to take away people's liberty with military force?

India needs azadi from Kashmir just as much—if not more—than Kashmir needs azadi from India.

The article was originally published in THE GUARDIAN 22nd August 2008

India today - Defensive and Scared!!!

Even as life in Kashmir today completed its full month of the most harsh civil curfew which witnessed numerous killings, torture and humiliations of the civilian population at the hands of the Indian armed forces, the Ministry of External Affairs is making a joke of itself.

Earlier on when Pakistan expressed its dissent over Indian barbarism in Kashmir, the MEA was quick to respond, negating the comments as a Pakistani rhetoric to internationalise the Kashmir issue. Even as the people of Kashmir were being subjected to an Economic Blockade leading to severe shortage of food, medicine and other supplies into the region, the Indian government acted blind to the situation.

It was also perhaps the first time that the OIC (Organisation for Islamic Conference) which is comprises 57 sovereign states, raised its concerns over India's handling of the situation and its excessive use of lethal ammunition on the civilian population. As the organisation of these states urged India to end its violent behaviour in Kashmir, India rebuffed the OIC, stating that Kashmir is India's internal affair and other countries have no locus standi on the issue.

The situation in Kashmir is so bad that even the UN had to intervene. The UN said some weeks back that its monitoring the situation in Kashmir and is considering whether the Sectary General to comment on it or not. This was perhaps a hint to India, a suggestion to put its house in order. India continues to stand by its use of brute force to enforce its occupation of Kashmir, the situation has become so grave that the UN was finally forced to issue a statement calling India to respect the right to freedom of assembly and expression, and comply with international human rights principles in controlling the demonstrators in Kashmir. The Acting High Commissioner called for thorough and independent investigations into all killings that have been caused by Indian armed forces so far. India has to been so back to the wall that it has suddenly so scared, that it has lost all respect for International opinion.

India crossed all limits of arrogance when rejected the UN statement as uncalled for and irresponsible and that it does not need any advise. It is a sure sign of getting defensive, and even though, what the ultimate fate of this region should or would be is debatable, the writing on the wall is LOUD and CLEAR - Kashmiris don't want India.

Kashmir! How small is this piece of land

It isn't small by any margin, in fact larger than many independent countries.

The once sovereign state of Kashmir includes the present Indian-Occupied lands of the Kashmir valley, Ladakh and Jammu; the Pakistani- occupied lands of the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir, and the Chinese-Occupied region of Aksai Chin.

The total Land Area of Kashmir is: 264921 km² comprising of -

India Occupied areas of : -
Kashmir: Area 78,955 km²
Ladakh: Area 45,110 km²
Jammu: Area 12,378 km²

Pakistan Occupied areas of : -
Northern Area: Area 72,496 km²
Azad Kashmir: Area 13,297 km²

China Occupied area of : -
Aksai Chin : Area 42,685 km²

Interestingly the other small nations of the world include:

Austria: Area 83,872 km²

Italy: Area 301,318 km²

Poland: Area 312,679 km²

Germany: Area 357,021 km²

4th day of non stop curfew in Srinagar

The curfew imposed by Indian authorities to gag the popular voice in Srinagar, entered the 4th day today. This is the most harsh and brutal curfew seen anywhere in the modern world. A group of International journalists who tried to distribute some eatables and beverages where a witness to the highhandedness of the occupying forces. When asked "Do you want people to die of starvation?", the troops answered "Yes". Distribution of any eatable or beverage amounts to violation of curfew, a curfew which has entered its 4th day and hasn't seen a break yet.

The administration hasn't even spared the hospitals from their ruthlessness. "We had no medical supplies and equipments in store, not even cotton and bandage," the doctors at the Bone and Joint Hospital in Srinagar said. "Then the ICRC (International Committee for Red Cross) provided some 2000 pounds of cotton besides other essentials to the hospital." The blocking of the highways by the Indian communal forces has been the root cause of most of the problems, and imposing an indefinite curfew has ensured that people can't make local purchases also.

Ambulances and medical staff have never been stopped anywhere in the world even in the most difficult times of wars, but the Indian policy in Kashmir is different. Here innocent civilians are hurt with batons and in many cases fired upon and then ambulances aren't allowed to ply on the road. An ambulance carrying one woman from Bapora from South Kashmir, was stopped by Indian armed troops and wasn't allowed to head towards the hospital in Srinagar, the woman needed immediate medical attention, and died.

And you thought that Saddam committed war crimes. India has been doing this for the last 20 years. Even the bakers who tried were stopped from preparing bread for the local consumption, and were threatened by the Indian troops. The people have nothing to eat and with each passing day the children are starving.

Ironically India claims to be a civilised society and a democratic nation and attempts to join the international fraternity, but in Kashmir, India behaviour is nothing but barbaric, perhaps a true representation of its reality.

3 Days 3 Nights of House Arrest

Detainees: People of Kashmir

Aggressors: Indian Armed Military forces

Crime: Peaceful processions demanding freedom

Aggressor's Strategy: Strangulate the people to strangulate their voices

Tactics: Military at your door steps with shoot at sight orders, with occasional intrusion into homes and beating up inmates

"My brother had gone to get milk for the family," said Hilal Ahmad. "We heard a noise and rushed outside and saw my brother being beaten. My father then started to cry out to leave his son alone and the soldiers shot him. We are ordinary shopkeepers and [soldiers] used to come to our shop to buy milk. They knew us. Why did they kill us?"

Source: The Guardian, Tuesday August 26 2008

Daily routine - Breakfast: Tea...yes tea alone for lack of milk and bread, Dinner:Home grown vegetables and rice, Daily activity: See someone getting beaten up, or worse killed.

Night: You don't sleep, just pray that the Indian military personnel don't barge into your house in the night and hurt your family.

Summary: State Sponsored Terrorism

Fact: August had 26 days and 25 nights till today, in Kashmir most people spent 20 of these days and nights under Civil Curfew and shoot at sight orders from the Indian administration. It shouldn't be that hard to imagine the physical and emotional stress of being under occupation!

Nearly 5000 years of civilization - This is Kashmir

It was enlightening to learn that the Kashmir Civilization dates back nearly 5000 years, in which Kashmiri people cultivated their ways of being and sense of their identity. I found an interesting piece of literature, that not only sheds light on who is who, but goes beyond.

"KASHMIRI NATIONALISM MYTH OR REALITY" - Bashir Assad

Ace writers and scholars have offered several explanations to the separatism (political mobilization) in Kashmir and many others have tried to peep into the contemporary history to trace the origin of separatism and separatist tendency in Kashmir. A few, of course, have devised options for the resolution of Kashmir problem in the historical perspective of the problem, especially in view of the declining violence and the outbreak of peace in the state. Not for the first time, there is a widespread belief that this round of talks could actually lead to a time-bound and final settlement of this long-festering dispute between the two South Asian states. However, any solution has to be acceptable not just to the governments but also to the people. What the final shape will be, only time will tell.

There are various options being considered, including converting the Line of Control into an international border, or dividing the huge state into territories along religious lines and then parcelling them out - the Muslim valley to Pakistan, Hindu Jammu and Buddhist Ladakh to India. Notwithstanding the intractableness of the Kashmir problem, the question, however, arises. Can Kashmir be divided if the need arises? No, the Kashmiri leaders are opposed to any such idea not because of the political hegemony over their brethren but because of the Kashmiri nationalism.

Before discussing Kashimiri nationalism it merits a mention here that in the history of political philosophies, there has never been an idea so abused to suit everyone's need as the term 'nationalism.' Albert Einstein called it juvenile delinquency. The concept of nationalism has killed more people than any other idea in human history. When the Government of India imposes its will on the state of Jammu & Kashmir, it does so in the name of 'Indian nationalism' a nationalism born during India's freedom struggle. India insists that Kashmir is part of India, that Kashmiri nationalism is nothing more than a subset of Indian nationalism. When Kashmiris talk of an independent Kashmir they do so in the name of Kashmiri nationalism. And Kashmiri nationalists insist that all Kashmiris, irrespective of religion or region, are part of Kashmir and there is no nationalism beyond or below Kashmiri nationalism.

These Kashmiri nationalists offer a very unique explanation to the variant of separatism in Kashmir which has roots in the ancient history. They describe the contemporary history since 1947 as vague and illusive. It was highlighted more than once by the Kashmiri nationalists headed by Muhammad Yasin Malik, Chairman J&K Liberation Front during the recent Safar-e-Azadi. Immaterial of peoples voice as the basis of authority to govern and as a basis of political leadership in Kashmir, in principle and in procedure being absent, the fact remains that the strongest voice in Kashmir is of the Kashmiri nationalist leader M. Yasin Malik.

Here we are supposed to discuss the Kashmiri nationalism in its entirety as put forward by the liberation front leader M. Yasin Malik. Let us exemplify the Kashmiri nationalism in its historical perspective. First, the history of India dates back to Mohanjhodaro and Harappa civilization which is only 4000 years old when the Kashmiri recorded history is 4900 years old. Kashmiri civilization is even older than the Mesopotamia civilization. Second; Kashmiri civilization based on Shivism is unique in sum and substance as it would not be influenced by the Indian Hinduism or for that matter the Budhuism. In Kashmir Shivism, Shiva was the ultimate reality and the essence of all that there is in the world. There was nothing else but Shiva, therefore there was no subject or object. This is exactly what was reflected in Kashmiri Sufism after so many centuries when Rishi order was established in Kashmir by Sheikh Noor ud Din fondly remembered as Nund Reshi and Lalleshwari fondly known as Lalla Ded.

Now civilizations had to exist congenially, then how did the clash of civilizations of India and Kashmir begin? There are two explanations given to this kind of clash. One; Shivism in Kashmir was not be influenced by Hinduism in India. There are eighteen shaloks of the Bhagwat Gita and the Kashmiri Shivism had thirteen of its own having no resemblance with the Bhag watGita. Two; Hindus of India accepted Lord Rama as their Bhagwan but the Shiv Bhakts of Kashmir didn't, why? It is said that the third but most beloved wife of Raja Dashrat , Kaykee was the daughter of a Kashmiri Pandit. She was desirous to see her son Bharat to be on the throne. However, it would not happen and Lord Rama after completing 14 years exile became the king. Here starts the clash between Kashmiri Pandits and Indian Brahmans. One more thing which too merits a mention is that Nag Arjun, a tribal chief was not acceptable to the Kashmiris because of being Indian Brahmin. He had to wait at the outer borders of Kashmir for six months and when he accepted the worship of Lord Shiva only then he was given entry into the vale of Kashmir

Then came Buddhism. As the vale of Kashmir was known as Sarada Peeth, the seat of the goddess of learning, the Buddha himself is reported to have said that this beautiful valley would be the best place for meditation and prayer. Buddhism came to Kashmir soon after Buddha's time. Asoka was the first great royal patron of Buddhism in Kashmir. In the third century B.C., he created the capital of Kashmir at Puranadhishthana (now called Pandarethan) near present-day Srinagar. He built hundreds of chaityas and viharas and settled 5,000 Buddhist monks in the valley. Scholars and learned monks converged at Harwan and stayed for six months to discuss and interpret sacred Buddhist texts. This was one of the greatest meetings of Buddhist intellectuals the world had seen. But this too would not change the demography of Kashmiris who continued to worship Lord Shiva. But this never means that the Kashmiri civilization was too rigid to accept changes. In fact, the society was built on a flexible cultural transition and every traveler had some sort of impinging ability and would leave some imprints on the society. The culture was open and receptive to the ideas, that is why Lord Budha himself made the aforementioned assertions. We can only assert, although Shivism was dominant it was flexible at the same time and within its spiritual influence one could perceive the influence of Budhism as well.

My point is that this rich philosophical tradition and the resultant cultural openness had definite implications for the religious orientation of the people. Religion, therefore, could never acquire a rigid form in Kashmir which one would observe specifically at the time when Islam was introduced in Kashmir. This indicates the flexibility of the philosophical tradition and cultural openness. The rigidity of Indian civilization was never felt in Kashmir, as such it was always a separate entity. My point is that separatism runs in blood and veins of Kashmiris.?

Kashmiri Hindu is universally recognized as Kashmiri Pandit not as Kashmiri Hindus. In the same manner Islam did not mark any break in the cultural and philosophical tradition, though it brought about great transformation in its society. It was in quite resemblance with the philosophical way of thinking of Kashmiris. In my earlier write-ups I had more than once written that the change over to Islam in Kashmir was a gradual process of social transition. However, this cultural openness, philosophical sensibility, idealistic humanism and abiding faith in the grace of God, put together form the basis of Kashimiri identity best envisaged in the composite culture. Is this not separatism.

We have the Sufi order of Islam which played a great role in laying down the humanist foundations of Islam in Kashmir. The Sufi order was a continuity of the old tradition of Shaivism and the new ideas of Islam. Again separate from the rest civilizations. Let me exemplify this; the Mughal empire was the second largest Muslim empire of the world. But Kashmiris never accepted their domain willfully, instead fought with them for sixteen years to protect and preserve their separate identity.

Now let me discuss mobilisation along religious lines in Kashmir. Religious collectivity has been recognized as a specific entity suffering from material deprivations, the eradication of which could be met through measures such as political representation. Political mobilisation along religious lines( religious collectivity) in Kashmir started in late sixties or early seventies when Jamat-e- Islamia was founded. The Jamat clerics and missionaries like other nationalist forces demanded right to self determination but with religious overtones to implement Shariah (Islamic Rule). It had some acceptability to the extent of Islamic research but was never accepted as a political force which would be an alternative to Sheikh Abdullah's National Conference or Late Maqbool Bhat's Liberation Front. This is the real separatism of Kashimiri people. Anyway, had the mobilisation by the religious community been massive and visible and had the counter mobilisation by the opposing community been weak, the state in all probability would have conceded the demand. Let me clear it again; the demands made were legitimate but had a religious cover. My point is that the claim to nationhood or nationality by a religious collectivity willy nilly implies the process of cultural homogenization, that is, evolving and imposing a common life-style.

I hold no brief either for communal divisions or calls for independence. But I firmly believe that Kashmiri nationalism advocated by Muhammad Yasin Malik and his cohorts is the best way of representing the wishes and aspirations of the Kashimiri people. In fact, considering that Kashmiris keep harping on how important freedom or the right to self-determination is, surely they must be the first to recognise the rights of Jammu or Ladakhis (or for that matter, the people of Gilgit, Baltistan, and other regions in Kashmir) to make similar demands. Especially since there is no guarantee of religious freedom!

There is no doubt that the very concept of nationalism will be thoroughly tested and re-examined in the decades ahead and hopefully the world will come up with a better ideology to strengthen states.

*(The author can be mailed at bashirassad @rediffmail.com)

The Indian formula that works...or has it?

If the protest is peaceful you don't have a reason to kill and hurt the people, so make sure you instigate violence from the people and then kill them.

This is the formula that has been working for the Indian Occupying Armed forces. After killing around 30 civilians in the occupied territory of Kashmir in a week's time, the Indian armed forces could help but feel frustrated by not being able to cause any more causalities.

Seeing the Indian armed forces going on a killing spree, the Kashmiri people decided to make their "March for Freedom", as peaceful as it could be. One had started to witness a new dawn in Kashmir, with the people resorting to employ the Gandhian principles of peaceful protests against the aggressor's occupation. Even the people who had resorted to the use of arms against the India's 60 years of occupation of the sovereign land of Kashmir, said they would shun the violent path and support the non-violent means of protesting against the occupation.

India had other designs, it has continued to camouflage the freedom marches, which have had participation of half to a million people in Kashmir, as a communal issue, which it definitely is not. Having failed to stop the people from demanding what is rightfully their's, the Indian armed forces are back at it again. They have imposed indefinite curfew in the Kashmir valley, which has already been subjected to an economic blockade by India. How this manifests at the grass root level is very significant; these measures mean that people don't have access to essentials, including but not limited to food and medicines. The local news channels have been banned, reporters aren't allowed to cover the footage of the Indian armed forces going on a rampage, which many times in the past has exposed the Indian policy in Kashmir.

Clear signs of normalcy: The city centre converted into a fortress by Indian armed forces

Photo: Habib Naqash/ Greater Kashmir

While India continues to press that the situation is normal in Kashmir and the top politicians, like Mr. Arun Jaitley of the Bratiya Janata Party (BJP) so shamelessly saying on international media that there was no economic blockade of the valley...the ground situation is dying to differ. Kashmiri's continue to be labelled as violent, yes I admit violent, for being most hospitable to the people of other communities (providing them with food and water, when the valley was being subjected to economic sanctions), while India is being most democratic and secular: for preventing people from voicing their opinions and concerns, for attacking Kashmiri citizens and truckers on the highways (many have been attacked by communal mobs and 1 killed in petrol bomb attack), and there is no media coverage of these events.

Today as Kashmir prepared for another peaceful march to the city centre (Lal Chowk), the Kashmiri leaders were arrested (reasons cited: for their own safety), and since morning the Indian armed forces (now not just limited to the Reserve police forces but including the regular army also) have managed to kill 4 civilians and injure 50 others - they still claim these measures are for peace. The Indian army personnel have been regular visitors to Kashmiri houses in the recent days, threatening the civilians of dire consequences if they participate in any protest march. The tactics are not just limited to threats, but involve violence against the civilians - beating up young boys and thrashing people without provocation (indeed terror is the main weapon for occupation but as the past 20 years have witnessed, India has failed on this front). India has deployed even more armed forces on the streets of Srinagar (the capital of Kashmir) and other districts, as if the previous tally of 1 Indian armed personnel for every 13 civilians in Kashmir, wasn't enough to gag the voice of the Kashmir Revolution.

Who when and where...

I went to Madame Tussaud's in Baker Street, London today. I had been planning this for a while now, but the trip could never mature: one because something else always came up and two because I don't think the ticket prices are justified (£22 to £40). Anyway I got lucky and was able to go on a corporate account which made the going very cheap (£6.25 per head).

I had taken my camera and had thought of capturing my pictures with many celebrities in their wax forms. But there I was, little confused at first and then I knew, it was Saurav Ganguly, the Ex- Captain of the Indian Cricket team. This was my chance to catch the moment with this celebrity in flesh and blood. Over all it was a nice experience with meeting Saurav adding the extra bit of money's worth.

The Islamists!

I was at the mosque for the Friday noon prayers, another beautiful sunny day. The talk was about the holy month of Ramazan which starts 31st August this year. This is the month of fasting rendered as a duty on all Muslims, and by muslims I mean those that came after Prophet Muhammad (may Almighty's peace and blessings be upon him) and those that came before him, those we call the Jews and Christians.

The purpose of fasting is to deprive not all the lusts, the lust for food and for all the other things men today fight for. This is a month of practicing the virtues of truthfulness, empathy and mercy. The night prayers (Taraveeh) are scheduled to be held from 9pm to 11pm and as such the brethren were requested to be conscious of their neighbours sentiments and peace. "Please avoid coming in your cars as it may be a source of noise, please also try to leave quietly after your prayers so that the neighbours (non-muslims and not praying muslims) might not be disturbed". It was good to see the sensibility coming straight from people who are most listened to and followed.

A lot has changed since the time of the Prophet, the appearance of the muslims, their behaviours and language, what hasn't changed is the message of Islam. The message which says that one is not a believer till he desires for others what he desires for himself, the message which sees it in shame for one to eat to his appetite while his neighbour goes hungry. Islam is and will remain the message of peace and tolerance though many so called muslims among us might not follow the message in principle.

The medicine is for external application said the doctor, the patient followed exactly by drinking it...blame the doctor for suggesting the medicine ??

Kashmir needs freedom from India: Arundhati Roy

Avijit Ghosh - The Times of India

SRINAGAR: Activist and author Arundhati Roy, who was present at the massive Monday rally, said that the people of Kashmir have made themselves abundantly clear. “And if no one is listening then it is because they don't want to hear. Because this is a referendum. People don't need anyone to represent them; they are representing themselves. As somebody who has followed people's movements and who has been in rallies and at the heart or the edge of things, I don't think you can dispute what you see here,” she told TOI .
Roy also said that “since the 1930s, there have been debates and disputes about who has the right to represent the Kashmiri people, whether it was Hari Singh or Sheikh Abdullah or someone else. And the debate continues till today whether it is the Hurriyat or some other party.”
Then she added, “But I think today the people have represented themselves.”
Roy concluded with words, “India needs azadi from Kashmir as much as Kashmir needs azadi from India.”

And it’s more than a tempest in a teacup, writes Carin Jodha Fischer

Carin Jodha - Greater Kashmir

History sometimes draws parallels from the strangest of places. As I am sitting here still trying to digest the magnitude of lakhs of people peacefully gathering near the Srinagar Tourist Reception Centre to once again demand their right to freedom and self-determination, I can’t help but think of the similarity of circumstances having led to the Boston Tea Party and later the infamous “shot that changed the world.” Peacenik that I am, I hesitate to tap into the spirit of the American revolutionary war, having left that country convinced that its post-9/11 actions effectively rendered useless most democratic principles its founding fathers had embraced. Yet, today I can’t help but reflect on other significant outpours of the will of the people and the momentous effect they had on their nations’ course of history. I so hope that the world will finally take more informed notice of a massive and peaceful movement for change that cannot and should not be quelled in its present form.
The current set of circumstances that has finally re-injected revolutionary fervor into the people of Kashmir shares uncanny similarities with the brewing discontent over injustices suffered in colonial America, eventually causing it to break away from a Britain that was trying to become too Great. Consider this: Boston tea traders objected to unreasonable tax policies imposed on the import of tea, leading to a symbolic “economic blockade” of tea-carrying ships entering Boston harbor, the only trade route into that part of the country at the time; prior to revolting against Britain’s discriminatory trade policies vis-à-vis its colony, much popular discontent had begun to ferment over insensitivities of British governors dispatched to America and their discriminatory land speculations; people had also increasingly risen up against unfair treatment by British troops dished out to the residents of the colony while trying to establish a more separate identity. It was hardly a tempest in a teacup, when something initially shrugged off as temporary unrest led to a declaration of independence that eventually reshaped how other countries were being governed. You must admit that there is a certain commonality of events, even if we are looking at apples here instead of tea, and even if yet another declaration of independence by the Kashmiri people may not have the same resounding effect on the rest of the world. But as revolutionary history teaches us, deeply felt sentiments, reflecting the will of an entire nation of people, should never be discounted as temporary or insignificant, nor should they be automatically labeled as frightening.
Having lived in Kashmir for less than a year, I can only look at its often-brutal post partition history through the filter of revisionist historians’ perspectives. Admittedly, because I was never here earlier, I may not be able to fully grasp the scope of destruction wrought by earlier and very different expressions of revolt. However, as a newcomer, I am blissfully free of any preconceived notions about the latest chapter of the struggle and the people who are on the forefront of trying to make it succeed. Because of my still relatively fresh perspective of the “true” nature of the “Kashmiri beast,” and having a habit of voicing my opinions very openly, I have been accused of many things since the most recent turmoil began: of romanticizing Islam and insurgency, of being biased in favor of people who are not showing me their true colors and subversive leanings, of not understanding anything and especially Pakistan, of not having the necessary experience with all things Kashmir to render accurate judgments of a brewing storm, the potential danger of which I would never be able to fathom. I don’t want to bother to comment on all that has been said to me because there is little point in trying to reshape strong and perhaps even educated opinions that were formed as a result of events I so clearly missed.
However, I do know what I see on the streets of Kashmir today and I don’t find it frightening or in need of being crushed with a heavy hammer. I see hordes of young people having grown up under the most trying of circumstances, carrying green banners with peace signs while demanding rightful changes that won’t damage their self-respect any further; I talk to the same young people while they are handing out refreshments instead of hand grenades on the road to the memorial ground of the leader they had accepted as one of their own; I observe thousands of people of all ages who have been heeding their other leaders’ calls to conduct themselves peacefully instead of provocatively during protest rallies aimed at solutions to age-old problems; I see demands for accommodation instead of new declarations of war; I see, with a fresh mind, the same thousands of people who gathered at the TRC today to express their views without a gun in their hand, and without having to duck the bullets that I have been told will one day undoubtedly pierce my chest if I continue to keep their company; and I hope that others will eventually see what I see and also view it as equally revolutionary: a peaceful, if angrily determined, grassroots movement that has united people from all walks of life and is led by leaders not advocating violence of any sort. It may be an unfamiliar sight, but I would like to assure the world that under the current Kashmir scenario there is nothing to fear but fear itself.
Unfortunately, what I don’t see is any in-depth analysis by either national or international media of the revolutionary change in the way Kashmir’s freedom movement is being carried forward these days. I don’t see the necessary revisions in their vocabulary to portray it accurately enough so the world will take notice of a renewed and stronger than ever determination having crystallized in the minds of the people that for once does not include the resorting to more violent means. As recent as last week, The Washington Post, in reporting the most recent uprising in Kashmir, suggested that it had been infiltrated by elements of Al-Qaeda! This post 9/11 mind-set of those who are supposedly observing the situation on the ground from afar is very much part of the problem and will hardly make it possible to devise any workable solutions.
To borrow a phrase from Bill Clinton, coined during a campaign speech in the early nineties, that “It’s the Economy, Stupid!” after seeing that most everybody was wrong in their assessment of the state of the nation, I now want to say to national and international media persons, as well as to those who have accused me of understanding nothing about Kashmir, that “It’s the Revolution, Stupid!” And unlike during the revolutionary war of America that was triggered by the Boston Tea Party, the Kashmiri revolution could lead to much needed change without another “bullet that changed the world” being fired. However, it would first have to be recognized for what it is by all concerned and then approached with a completely different vocabulary.

(Carin Jodha Fischer works on community based rural development initiatives in Kashmir. She is also a Consultant to the State Tourism Department.)

Kashmiri Students Stage protests in London

A group of Kashmiri students presently based in different parts of UK expressed their concerns over the recent human rights violations and economic blockade in Kashmir. The students staged peaceful protest demonstrations at the Indian High Commission in London and presented a memorandum to the High commissioners office. Later the students staged their protest in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. The Metropolitan Police had been informed prior to the protests.

Photos: irrata