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