Indian civil society for Kashmir solution through talks

10 July 2010

New Delhi: Prominent members of India's civil society have called upon the government of India to begin a political dialogue with Kashmiri and Pakistani leadership to settle the Kashmir dispute, once and for all. Members of India's civil society in a joint statement expressed concern over the fast deteriorating situation in the occupied territory, which had recently witnessed the senseless killing of over two dozen innocent youth by Indian troops. They said that the army had now been directly deployed in many areas of the territory in a shameful attempt to cover up the utter political failure of the governments of India and its authorities in occupied Kashmir. They urged India to send the army back to the barracks and out of all inhabited areas in the territory, release all illegally detained political leaders and activists, repeal the draconian AFPSA and urgently start meaningful and result-oriented talks with Pakistan and Kashmiris for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

The signatories to the statement include, Dr JK Jain, Chairman, Jain TV, Syed Shahabuddin, President, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, Prem Shankar Jha, columnist, Professor Ram Puniyani, All India Secular Forum, N.D. Pancholi, People's Union of Civil Liberties, Manisha Sethim, Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association, Yugal Kishor Saran Shastri, Ayodhya, Professor Nirmalangshu Mukherji, Delhi University, Dr Shamsul Islam, Delhi University, Neelima Sharma, Theatre Person, Zafar Mahmood, President, Interfaith Coalition, Kamal Faruqui, Ex-Chairman, Minorities Commission Delhi, Navaid Hamid, Member, National Integration Council, Dr M.H. Jawahirullah, President, Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, Lateef Mohammad Khan, Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee and Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, Editor, The Milli Gazette.

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KASHMIRIES LIVING IN DELHI

Common Kashmiris living in Delhi protested on 11 July at 10:30am at Parliamentary Street, near Janter-Manter, New Delhi. The protest was aimed to condemn recent killings of innocent civilians in Kashmir and also to protest Indian military response to people’s right to protest.

Kashmiri families, students, business persons and professionals in New Delhi staged a silent

sit-in protest at Parliament Street near Janter-Manter against the recent killings of unarmed

civilians across the Valley in particular and ruthless military response to peaceful civilian

movement in Kashmir. We Kashmiris, living in Delhi feel morally obligated to make this statement today. Because we are witness to the escalating conditions induced by militarized governance, and the severity of psychosocial dimensions of oppression in Kashmir.

In the past month, at least 16 civilians, including children, young men and women, have been

killed in firing by CRPF on the streets of Kashmir. Their only crime was that they protested

against the killing of their children in fake encounters and in police firing. The protestors

asked, “Killing of a child in police firing would evoke angry mass protests anywhere in India.

Why are Kashmiri people then denied even the right to protest at the repeated killings of their

children in police firing or in fake encounters?”

The Government of India has recently called for "creative solutions" to resolve the "Kashmir

problem." If we map the events of the past six months inside Kashmir, the approach of the

Indian state is aggressively militaristic. While commitments to political diplomacy frame relations between India and Pakistan. However there is no acknowledgement of civil society's insistent demand for the right to self-determination.Kashmir is not a "problem" but a conflict zone. India's militarization is aimed at territorial control of Kashmir, and control over key economic and environmental resources in the region, including those of the Siachen glacier. The Government of Kashmir is unable to prevail politically or exercise control over the Indian Armed Forces. India's political dominance hinges on its ability to possess Kashmir. Institutions of democracy -- the judiciary, educational institutions, media -- are neutralized by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian Armed Forces as they function in tandem, continuing "military governance." State violence seeks to underminepeople's capacity to resist and solicits collaborators.

Kashmir in the picture

By Kuldip Nayar

With such positive talks between India and Pakistan recently, the tragic happenings in Kashmir seem more than a coincidence.

That the youth in the valley are angry for not getting their due is known to all. But why should Kashmir be on the boil when relations between India and Pakistan are on the mend? Kashmiri leader Syed Gilani took advantage of the killing of one young man at the hands of the security forces to incite the people to come on to the streets. The Hurriyat Conference gave a call to start something new. Political parties jumped into the arena. All this developed into huge protests in four cities – Srinagar, Sopore, Anantnag and Baramulla. An inept Kashmir police and the Central Reserve Police Force which has only guns at their command to tackle the protests aggravated the situation. The use of force against the protesters agitating against successive killings in the firing was excessive and what the security forces did was without restraint. This is a matter to be looked into by an inquiry committee. Yet the fact remains that extremists in Kashmir strike whenever an atmosphere of goodwill begins to prevail after some kind of engagement between India and Pakistan. Pro-India elements have become irrelevant. They, in any case, are too elitist, seldom mixing with the common Kashmiris. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah leads the exclusive club. But their distance from the people is a contributory factor — not the factor itself. Underlying the situation is the belief of the Hurriyat leaders that violence alone can lead to a solution in Kashmir. That the problem must be solved quickly goes without saying. But the extremists only stall the issue by instigating violence. They should have themselves come on to the streets to lead the protests in a peaceful manner to focus attention on the unresolved issue of Kashmir. They should understand that no discussion is possible at gunpoint. One welcome development of the Islamabad talks was that nobody, except for a few hawks, implicated Pakistan in the Kashmir happenings. This means that the talks between the two foreign secretaries and the home ministers, in that order, have reduced to some extent the deficit in confidence which New Delhi has been seeking. I do not know whether Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Interior Minister Rehman Malik discussed Kashmir. But at least the foreign ministers of the two countries should do so when they meet in Islamabad. India’s army chief has also emphasised political initiatives in Kashmir. The talks at Islamabad have made two points clear: one, New Delhi has again enunciated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurance in Egypt that the terrorists’ attack would be kept separate from the talks. Many experts in India tried to quibble over the meaning of this but there is no ambiguity now. Two, the core issue between India and Pakistan or, for that matter, before the Saarc countries is terrorism. The separation of the two points was clear when the two foreign secretaries who prepared the agenda for the forthcoming talks between their foreign ministers refrained from discussing terrorism. But they did discuss Kashmir. My information is that Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao asked her counterpart whether the ground covered on Kashmir through the back channel held good. Pakistan’s foreign secretary had told me in Delhi that the two countries would go forward from the undertaking reached through the back channel. This should set at rest the doubts some Pakistani quarters raised that a democratic government was not bound to follow what was achieved during Gen Pervez Musharraf’s regime. Chidambaram, who played to the gallery when he spoke to journalists at Delhi, was more responsible and vividly sober in his remarks in Islamabad. For him to say that he did not doubt the intention of Pakistan should be an eye-opener for retired Indian foreign secretaries who continue to follow the hard line they had taken during their careers to bring the two countries practically to the point of no return. They are openly critical of Manmohan Singh who has taken the bold initiative to talk to Pakistan despite criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party. New Delhi expects more arrests in Pakistan after the disclosures by David Headley whom the Indian intelligence agencies met in Chicago. Manmohan Singh has reportedly drawn President Barack Obama’s attention to Headley’s confession. Chidambaram has rightly reminded Pakistan of the status of Most Favoured Nation India extended to it many years ago. If Pakistan were to respond to it, Chidambaram’s ideas on trade and investment between the two countries could be implemented. India, with a bigger market and investment potential, can help Pakistan overcome the lack of openings and technology which puts its industry at a disadvantage. Action against Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed remains India’s litmus test to assess Pakistan’s steps towards normalisation. His cries of war or jihad against India are not what bothers the government and the people so much as his vast network which made 26/11 possible. In fact, Islamabad’s declaration to have a regional plan to combat the Taliban will mean a strong effort against the militants. Some elements in Pakistan consider it their duty to support fundamentalism. But religious values are the antithesis of what the Lashkar represents. Today’s world, including Muslim nations, wants religion to inculcate values, not to be used to incite violence. New Delhi and Islamabad should ensure that their rulers meet the opposition leader when their officials visit each other’s country. India has been able to establish it for visiting presidents or prime ministers. The Pakistan government should include Nawaz Sharif on the list of dignitaries during the visit of top Indian leaders.The writer is a senior journalist based in New Delhi.

Guns, army all to real in Kashmir:

Bipash says that I play a Kashmiri girl Aziza in Lamha, but she is unlike other Kashmiri girls who are shy and delicate. She is a fiery girl in a burqa who does everything a man can — she is trained in hand-to-hand combat and knows how to use firearms. Her ways may be questionable but her heart is pure; all she wants is peace in Kashmir. By the end of the film though she does realise she has been manipulated. We all live such challenging lives today that most of us prefer watching frothy films. But it is my humble request that people give films on such serious issues a chance too. As for myself, people on Twitter have approved of my look in the film and I am happy to have experimented.

Kashmir bar association chief arrested

Kashmir Bar Association|Mian Qayoom|Public Safety Act

Srinagar Jul 8, 2010: J&K police booked Kashmir Bar Association president Mian Qayoom under stringent Public Safety Act and sent him to Jammu’s Hiranagar jail on Tuesday, official sources said. Under PSA, a person can be jailed without trial for two years to maintain public order. The state police is also looking for 400 people, including separatist hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s aide Masarat Alam, who has been calling for the strikes across the Valley.

Nehru responsible for Kashmir situation: Advani

New Delhi , July07, 2010 : Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani on Tuesday alleged that India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was 'fully responsible' for the difficult situation in Kashmir. Speaking at a function organised to mark the birth anniversary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJP's parent party) founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Advani said that if Nehru could have accepted the views of Mukherjee 'then the crown of Himalayas may not have been disturbed'. Advani added that the thought and foresight of Mukherjee was very important but due to Nehru's 'wrong policies', the conditions in the Kashmir valley was very precarious today.

World cheers at soccer, Kashmiri footballers fall to bullets

Srinagar, July 06: While the entire world is cheering for FIFA WorldCup 2010, Kashmir is losing its football players to police and CRPF bullets.The playgrounds where they used score goals are becoming their funeral grounds. Muzaffar’s body was kept in a football ground near the iron goal post along with other Fayaz Ahmad Wani both of who were killed allegedly by CRPF and police. The women crossed the dangerously placed wooden bridge over Doodh Ganga to reach the ground just to get a glimpse of “the martyrs”. As the playground reverberated with pro-freedom and anti-India slogans, women waved their scarves toward the sky. Within no time, mourners swelled into thousands, paying last tributes to the duo. People had climbed the goal posts were young Muzzafar, cheered by spectators, had been kicking goals. People were having a look at his blood drenched body in that wailing ground. Fayaz, an employee of Agriculture department is survived by wife and two daughters. He too was a footballer. His wife was unconscious and two daughter were beating their faces, pulling their hair and screaming “where is our papa”. Both the bodies were laid to rest at the local graveyard.