Kashmir Elections

The elections are over. People came out to vote in good numbers and so did those against the elections. Although a large population did cast her vote willingly, the might of Indian army was used to prevent others from freely expressing their anti election sentiments. As people swarmed to cast their vote in certain areas, other areas were swarmed by the police to prevent any expression of dissent. Unannounced curfew was imposed. For seven consecutive friday's no prayer was allowed at the biggest mosque of Srinagar. This election exposes many. Kashmiri people who swarmed the valley streets against Indian occupation in June 2008, came out to cast vote in December. They voted in the elections held under the Indian constitution. This is oxymoron. Is it the win of Indian democracy, let us not forget its intolerance to any dissent. Or, is it the failure of the separatist movement which seemed so powerful in June. My take is, it is neither India's win nor Separatists loss, it is a different ball game altogether. It is the people's game. People of kashmir are choosing who to back and when. Indian democracy or separatists are not the ones maneuvering people but it is the other way round. Both India and the separatists happen to be the players on the bench and the people of Kashmir choose who to back. Neither one could claim any victory over people and they are unable to understand the Kashmiris. Is it because Kashmirs are so complicated?

One aspect is clear, Kashmiris are unpredictable. It is not clear what they want. It may be because they are really confused themselves or may be neither India nor the separatists really understand them. It is completely possible that Kashmiris don't trust either one. I would put my chips on the latter one. Neither one has demonstrated the character that could be trusted. At the same time I believe Kashmiris need a little introspection and could come out in the open to express what they really want. The situation is already complicated enough to need any further complications. People of kashmir would do themselves and others greater good if they made up their mind and voiced it clear.

Freedom Within

I have always been wondering about this. How much freedom do we give to each other. True, we come out on the streets, mourn the deaths of others, resent what is happening in Kashmir. The most important question is what kind of people are we when we don't have a common enemy. What kind of a people are we when we are not seeking freedom.

There are more questions than answers.Here is an example; Lots of my people don't know their language or don't want to converse in it. For some it is not hip, for others it doesn't matter. Are we really the people we are promoting ourselves to be. If we think ourselves as Kashmiris, why is it that we are not even proud of our language. This is the essence of our culture. How come it is not important. Or is it that whenever there is a rallying point we all follow it and when that time is over we get busy with the normal influences of our life. I think we are not culturally proud of ourselves or our culture is too weak to bind us together. I am basing this premise on the influence of other cultures on all of us. I am not trying to question just the ability to speak the language here, I am talking about nationhood. The moment we step out of the crowd, we are not representatives of our nation. We are someone else. May be it is that only a small portion of the people really believe in this freedom from outside, rest are just followers of the tide. However, time and again we seek freedom from outsiders. Freedom for what? Why do I need to be free? I think everyone needs to answer that.
Is it for a cause or is it just so romantic. What does it mean for us to be free? We as a nation haven't figured that out. The answer to this is not really straightforward and it is an evolution but the important point is, are we in that direction? Where is my freedom to choose within my society? Are we tolerant of each other. Are we respectful of each other? Do the weak have equal opportunities? How often do we think about others?

What do we want?

There are protests everyday in Kashmir. More people keep dying and with it more families have to take more hard decisions. Everyday is tough in Kashmir. The uncertainity, the death, destruction and the choking of the expressions is pushing Kashmiris further and further into despair. While peple are out on the streets more pople want to secede from India than to stay with it. However, secessionism carries a different meaning for different sections of the society. I was talking about this aspect of our lives with Suhail recently and with that in mind I will try to represent the major secessionist factions within the Kashmir valley:
1. Mr. Syed Ali Shah Geelani thought: Uphold the plebscite promise and fulfill the resolutions of the United Nations. The United Nations resolutions on Kashmir give one of the two choices to the people of the Jammu and Kashmir state, India or Pakistan. Mr. Geelani is a supporter of merger with Pakistan and so are his followers. He does not believe in any other solution.
2. Another prominent leader is Yasin Malik. He is the chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Libeartion front seeking complete Independence.
3. Hurriyat conference is an amalgam of various secessionist organizations. Its president Umar Farooq wants to secede from India but it is unclear whether it means merger with Pakistan or complete Independence.

With all these people and the majoity of the supporters for secessinism, it leaves people kinda divided about what it means to secede. Kashmiris are suffering but none of these leaders is able to give these people a single goal. While secession from India unites them but if Kashmiris have to negotite their future nobody knows what we should ask for. It is a divided society that is under opression. Leaders need to come out in the open and lay down their goals for this movement. People need to know what they are suffering for. If the leaders fail them they need to decide about their own future. How about letting people decide what they want within before they are asked to decide what they want to achieve.

Emergency?

The whole Kashmir valley has been under curfew for the past three days without a break. 8 people have been killed in police firing over the past 3 days. These deaths are on top of 31 shot from point blank range in the first two weeks of August. The newspapers cannot bring out their print editions. Local television channels have been barred from broadcasting news. This is an emergency like situation. All this because people had come out on the streets to peacefully express their desire to secede from India. India's democracy reached its limit after only 4 public demonstrations in the past two weeks when hundreds of thousands of people came out to demand freedom. Shame.

There are lots of videos on you tube showing the barbaric treatment, meted to the people for seeking freedom, by Indian security forces. Shame.

Return of the 90's

Kashmir has erupted once again just like it did in early 90's. The march to the Line of Control(LOC), pampore, UN military observers group in Srinagar and eidgah have destroyed the myth that Kashmiris have given up their desire to breathe free . All these rallies were big and people came out to express their desire to secede from India. It is funny how India thought that Kashmir problem would somehow go away if we stop recognizing the dispute. It is like you close your eyes and nobody will be able to see you. People are dying and they are saying something. Instead of brushing it away India should recognize Kashmiris as humans with dignity and listen to what they have to say. Shooting unarmed protesters will only make things worse. One of the arguments that I have heard from Indian experts is that everybody does not want to secede. Fair enough. I want to ask them, then why are you scared to hold a plebiscite or a referendum. I think it is time for India to honor its commitments to the people of Kashmir and let them decide what they want. Does India want people who will consider themselves as separate from the mainland or does it want their hearts to be with them. Kashmir's heart does not lie with India. It does not lie with Pakistan either. It is yearning for the space to decide its own fate. Don't tell it what to do. Give it a chance to breathe and to express. More curbs will make it more rebellious and India has already lost it although the territory is still under its control.
Separatists leaders must realize this as well. Don't try to be bigger than the nation. Listen to the heart beat of the people of Kashmir and do not ignore it. History in Kashmir has shown us enough times, what happens when a leader does that.

P.S.: People of Jammu and Ladakh will also get what they really want if this state is allowed to express its free will.

Blessing in Disguise

Jammu agitation for the land for amarnath shrine board and against kashmir and muslims in the Jammu region could be a blessing in disguise. Kashmir Intifada was for honor. Even during those tough days hindus were and still are being treated well in Kashmir. Jammu agitation is war against muslims. While the hindu fanatics of Jammu have yet again showed how ruthless they are by hurting muslims of Jammu and the valley as a whole through economic blockade, they have brought home the point to us, kashmiris, how dependent we are. I have always supported the idea of Jammu being a separate state. I believe they don't belong to us and we don't belong to them, so all these leaders who always consider J&K as one unit are mistaken in my opinion.
We should concentrate on ways and means to make Kashmir self reliant and live a life of honor. Calling for strikes is not the solution but working harder is, fast unto death is not a remedy but working harder to produce more to feed ourselves and others is. We need to learn to respect ourselves and always strive to be the ones giving than the ones receiving.

Kashmiri 'Intifada'

I came back from Kashmir earlier this week after a two months life changing vacation. I married a wonderful girl. It was great to go back to my homeland and meet my mom and dad and the rest of the family. Since it was wedding time so I also got to meet almost all of my close as well as distant relatives. Good times.
There were ten days during my vacation when we could not move out of our houses. Whole kashmir was protesting against the land transfer to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB). This organization is responsible to manage the annual hindu pilgrimage to a cave shrine in Kashmir. For over a hundred years people (hindus) from all over India have been coming to Kashmir for this pilgrimage and the muslims of the valley have always provided the logistics. However, this year the government transferred around 40 hectares of land to this shrine board in the forest area. The transfer also included permission to make rail roads. Now wait a minute rail roads and concrete structures in forest area. This is even against the Supreme court of India ruling against the construction in forest land.
In Kashmir the problem was not just about forests it was about national pride. People saw it as an attempt by India to change the demography of the state (People outside of Jammu and Kashmir cannot purchase land in the state according to article 370 of the Indian constitution). It seemed like a back door approach to settling people from outside. People of Kashmir could not accept it and rose against the government. I saw people marching on the streets. Hundreds and thousands of them, shouting slogans against India. It seemed like early 90's when people rose against India and thousands of people would come out on the streets to protest. It was a revolution.
The leaders whether pro freedom or for India or for Pakistan had to but find ways to sail in the direction of the winds. After 10 days of street protests with 5 deaths and thousands injured, the government revoked this land transfer order. The government of Jammu and Kashmir lost support of its coalition partners (politics again) and did not have enough numbers in the state legislature to continue ruling. This resulted in the imposition of the Governors rule in the state.
The pilgrimage still continues with a record number of hindu pilgrims visiting their shrine. This is despite attempts by some hindu right wing organizations of Jammu trying to give it a racial color. They were trying to call these protests by muslims as protests against the pilgrimage itself. They were proven racists and defeated yet again. Muslims of Kashmir still continue to provide the logistic support to the hindu pilgrims.

Stereotype - Reality or Myth

Recently I had a change in my life as I received my PhD and was offered a good job. The usual congratulations were often followed by questions and comments from my friends. Initially, I thought it was just me, but later, in order to prove myself wrong (or right) I decided to compile and then average out the responses from my friends, colleagues and acquintances grouped by their ethnicity. The results were strangely consistent. I thought of compiling and presenting my findings here. Worth mentioning is the fact that when I mention an ethnicity or culture, I mean a friend who is 'fresh off the boat' and thus his frame of mind represents his upbringing in that culture. Thus an Indian friend is one who was born and brought up in India, I grouped anybody raised in the USA as American irrespective of his ethnicity. Following are the responses:

American - Awesome, congratulations. So you moving to Philadelphia, eh? Nice city, good job, getting out of Buffalo, what else would you want? I am really happy for you.

Arab - MashaAllah, congrashulashuns. This is great news brazaar. So did u get married yet or not? C'mon man, now you have a job, u should get married, get a family inshaAllah.

Desi (Indo-Pak) - Wow Man! Congrats! So now you make big bucks haan? New car, big house no?

Kashmiri - Mubarak! So, what is your salary?

This one was a classic. From a friend from bangalore, was not the usual desi response.

Friend: Great man, congrats! So can I ask you what your salary is going to be?

Me: umm.... no you cannot.

Friend: OK. So how much is it?

Me: !!!!!

A little attention

Here is the caption of a picture showing the mosque at Hazratbal and the library of the University of Kashmir that appeared in the online edition of the Srinagar Newspaper 'Greater Kashmir':

"GK lensman Habib Naqash brings together the icons of faith and knowledge- the Hazratbal shrine housing the relic of the Prophet (SAW) and the central library of Kashmir University, named after poet-philosopher Allama Iqbal."

While I noticed what the caption read, my eyes also saw something I didn't want to see. The picture also had Dal lake in the foreground. It could have been picture perfect but wasn't to be. The water of the lake appeared sick and on the verge of death. It was bizarre. The same picture depicted, as the photographer called it 'icons of faith and knowledge' and we failed on both fronts.

Our religion demands from us that we take care of our environment and our knowledge of science should tell us how we could do it efficiently. How is it that we are ignoring both and expect a miracle to happen and things to change on their own. The picture could become perfect if we just pay a little attention to these two icons and heed what they are telling us. Money does not solve problems, application of knowledge does. We have people praying everyday and academicians learning new things each day, both groups on the banks of the same dying lake, yet we can't apply the teachings of either one to give a new lease of life to this beautiful('dying') lake.

Hail Democracy

Democracy is good when it is seen on ground under all circumstances. A biased selected application of it at some places and gross violation of it at most other places renders it not only worthless and useless but just a rhetoric.

You might be wondering what I am talking about here. It was a photo that finally made me give vent to these expressions. It was a photo of a man in Srinagar protesting against the bad treatment of Kashmiri prisoners in various jails inside Jammu and Kashmir and outside. It was okay as long as the picture had this person protesting but not to be. He had company. Six of them. All in police uniform dragging him and hitting him with their batons. These were the cops in Kashmir trying to probably prevent this dangerous person from registering his protest against something very shameful. Ironically there was a shop(closed) in the background. The front shutter of the shop was rolled down and it had an ad on it. The ad was of a soda and it read 'CRUSH'. Yes, crush is a soda. Apparently, the cops took a cue from it.

This is democracy for you in Kashmir and most of the politicians out there are proud of this form of democracy in Kashmir and brag about it in the international forums where people hardly see it working on the ground. Shame.

To Learn and Unlearn

To question is human and none knows this better than the One that created us. I could question newtonian - either because i am a relativist or actually I did not understand an iota of physics. Where as in the first case I am intellectually inquisitive , in the second I am equally naive. So, the fallacy is not in questioning which but is idiosyncratic to human being, rather is in the underlying comprehension. Whereas we know for a fact that more dimensions exist, our mind yields beyond just three. So, its not what seems strange to us, it is how much we can fathom. And when in the conclusion of the very second chapter, it is mentioned, in retrospective, Lord! lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear - is it announcement of fragility, a meek surrender or a desolate plea? Rather it is an advise to all those that find it hard. Pity that person who blew himself to smithereens thinking he did an act of great courage, on the contrary he was a coward, for he did something that was easy and cruel and saved on the hard part - struggling with himself, fighting his own devil. The turbulent waters may seem perilous and oh so strange, but only when one dives can it be experienced. There is no end to learning, get close to learning, gain more knowledge, yearn for understanding, the same questioning might make the faith more firm than shaking it all up.

Welcome home

I read a news item recently about pandit families moving into government apartments. It is a good news because some of the pandit families can think of returning back to their homeland. Welcome home!.

However, it is not the same as living earlier when muslims and pandits lived in the same neighborhoods and shared similar experiences "Power waer", " mood swings during an India-Pakistan cricket match (in opposite directions)" etc. Living in Pandit only apartment complex might still keep them away from their roots. This time they will be close to their land but still far from home. I can understand the logic behind these apartments. They have been away for so long. Kashmir has changed. it might take some time for pandits as well as muslims of Kashmir to get aquainted with each other all over again.

At some point in future they will have to move out and become part of real Kashmir. The coexistence is very important for a healthy society. It helps each community to grow. Everyone has something to offer to others and we could learn from each other.

Cash Ban

Here is what came to my mind while thinking recently about the corruption in Kashmir. This might be applicable to lots of places but since we are kashmir bloggers so we will talk about Kashmir.
So here are my two cents. We should completely ban money in the market. Purchasing anything with cash should be made illegal. Instead all our money should stay in the bank. We may not even need to print currency bills.What we should have instead is electronic cards. All the payments made only using these cards. Each person would have his/her money's equivalent in the bank and they would be able to use only as much as is in their banks, using these electronic cards.
This technology will possibly make sure that I can't pay money to anyone unless the person accepting the money has a machine and an account to accept it. All the business owners and the government will have that facility. For those business owners who are very poor I guess we could help them in purchasing the equipment. There will be some initial costs involved but in the long run we will have a much less corrupt state. We will also save money in printing the bills.

All jumbled

When I look at Kashmir today it looks all jumbled up, to me. I tend to compare life here in Fort Collins with that in Kashmir. It seems we have the same needs in Kashmir as the people in this country. I take a look at the management here and wonder why is it so different in my home. In this town if I want to go to play golf ( just an example), I can go ahead pay for my rentals and the time spent in the golf course and that is it. It might cost me $10 which is the same as a person would earn in an hour. So easy. Kashmir has golf courses too but how accessible are they for a student like myself. I can go to any park here and use one of the tennis courts to play for as long as I want. I don't pay anything for using that space. Why is it so impossible for something like this to happen in Kashmir. One reason I feel could be because some of my tax dollars that I pay everyday here are used to build these places and made accessible to everyone.
In Kashmir people wouldn't either pay their taxes or when they pay it would be used by some corrupt officials to make themselves richer.
Everything seems so inaccessible in Kashmir unless you are either an officer in the civil administration or some police officer or very rich and have connections. GOD, you need connection even to visit a wild life sanctuary. You could have allowed us to go to these parks and we could pay for the entry to these parks . This money could be used for the maintenance of the animals there and the parks. Countries don't become rich or great by complicated processes but by simple steps which are people friendly.