04-18-2005, 08:33 PM
came in email:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Press release: panel discussion on terrorism in Kashmir in Washington DC
File: audience01
Audience listening to panelists during the discussion session session.
File: Audience02
Question/Answer session with the panelists. Several Indians and Pakistanis participated in the question/answer session
File: Panelists
From Left to right: Sanjay Tikku, Subodh Atal, Vikram Misri and Peter Bergen.
Mr Hussain Haqqani coudl not participate due to health reasons.
Press Release
Panel Discussion on âTerrorism in Kashmir: Threat of Expanding Global Jihad in South Asia
April 15, 2005
Website: http://desiumd.org/panel
Summary:
Washington DC was host to a panel discussion focusing on the effects of terrorism in Kashmir and the threat of expanding Global Jihad on the population of the Indian subcontinent with specific focus of Kashmir. The event was hosted at University of Maryland, College Park on April 10, 2005.
The discussion, attended by over 125 people and watched online by more than 60 others included experts from CNN, Indian embassy and several think tanks in Washington DC as well as community members from India and Pakistan.
Details
An Indian community, that had to bear the brunt of terrorism for the past two decades in the Indian Subcontinent, found voice for the first time on a US university campus. The panelists included Mr. Peter Bergen, CNN's terrorism analyst and a fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington D.C, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Subhash Kak, a Delaune distinguished professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Science at Louisiana State University and a renowned authority on ancient Indian science and technology. Other panelists included Mr. Vikram Misri, Political counselor for Indian embassy in Washington D.C., who previously served as political counselor in the Indian mission in Islamabad, Pakistan from August 2000-September 2003, Dr. Subodh Atal, an independent foreign policy analyst based near Washington DC who specializes in geopolitics in South and Central Asia, the war on terror and the implications of US grand strategy and Mr. Sanjay Tiku, a Kashmiri Hindu born and brought up in Srinagar, Kashmir who like other more than 300,000 civilians, was forced to leave the valley due to terrorist violence and threats in 1990.
Dr Hussain Haqqani, the former Advisor to Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif and a fellow at the Carnegie Peace Endowment, could not participate because of health reasons.
The panel discussion was followed by an hour-long interactive Q&A session moderated by Mr. Utsav Chakrabarty. A young professional from Baltimore area, Mr. Chakrabarty, is actively involved in designing an exhibition on Kashmir which will be inaugurated in Washington D.C. in July, 2005.
The discussion began with Dr. Kak giving an overview of the rich history of Kashmir going back to about 5000 years. He gave numerous examples of how Kashmir had contributed to various aspects of the Hindu culture in areas of philosophy, arts and sculpture and which are practiced even today in different parts of East Asia. He noted that after the fall of Soviet Russia in the late 1980s, the people of Pakistan who were bitterly against the idea of a democratic Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir decided to use the Jihadi extremism to snatch Kashmir away from India. This was done by forcing the Muslim population to follow the ways of orthodox extreme Islam which was very similar to what happened in Java, Indonesia. He went on to say that ideas of the extremist groups in Pakistan who support accession of Kashmir using force and terror are naive and the need of the hour was to focus on issues pertaining to progress and development.
Mr Peter Bergen delved in detail on the connection between Afghanistan terrorism in Kashmir. He explained that the fall of Soviet Union in 1980s prompted the Mujahideens (Islamic Holy warriors) of Afghanistan to focus their efforts on Kashmir. This, coupled with General Musharraf's (Pakistan's army chief) open declaration that Kashmir is a Jihad, led to the insurgency in the Kashmir valley. Mr. Bergen was successful in connecting the terrorist organizations active in Kashmir with the global network of pan-Islamic terrorists. He also gave examples of growing co-operation between Al-Qaida and various Kashmiri terrorist organizations. For e.g., the terrorist group involved in the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight in December of 1999 later worked very closely with Al-Qaida in the killing of, Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter, in 2002. He also noted that several jihadi groups are popular in Pakistan and with the LeT having about 2200 offices across the country with more than 100,000 active members.
According to Mr. Vikram Misri, one of the main reasons for the Kashmir problem was the lack of self-identity on the part of Pakistan. In late 1980, Pakistan unleashed a state policy of jihadi terror in Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir in the hopes of using the "sword of Islam" to intimidate India, which had worked successful against USSR. He emphasized that the insurgents active in Kashmir are not mere militants but terrorists. He said that India will continue to combat terror in Kashmir and also assist the evolution of a polity which will make a stable environment for solving the problem of Jammu and Kashmir. He was of the opinion that modernization and religious moderation of Pakistan will lead to a stable relation between India and Pakistan.
Dr. Subodh Atal shed light on the US policies towards Pakistan. He emphasized how the US has turned a blind eye towards the terrorist activities and terrorist groups promoted by Pakistan and focuses on countries which have comparatively far less to do with terrorism. He presented facts like that Pakistan is left out of the list of state-sponsors of terrorism from 1990 to 2000. He said that the US continued to ignore the signs of 9/11, including the fact that the then ISI chief may be involved in the funding for Sep 11, 2001. He insisted that it is in the interest of both India and Pakistan to solve the problem bilaterally without any interference from third part.
Mr. Sanjay Tiku gave a personal narrative of how his innocent and idyllic childhood was marred by terrorism based on a distorted ideology of extreme religious exclusivity that engulfed the Kashmir valley. His family was one of the 3,00,000 families that were uprooted overnight and were forced to move from a 5-story bungalow to a dingy makeshift house. He sadly noted that his community is the first ever to be refugees in their own country. He urged the world community to understand the framework of religion-based terrorist organizations so that such tragedies don't recur. He also appealed to the world community to help his community as they are still trying to come to terms to the sudden tragic events that unfolded.
The audience was interested in knowing the history behind and the present scenario of the terrorist attacks in the Kashmir valley, the measures taken by the security forces to safe guard civilian interests and the future of Kashmiri Hindus.
The panelists and the audience agreed that efforts should be undertaken to spread awareness about terrorism fueled by extremist ideologies around the world and to work closely to combat such terrorist activities.
The event was compered by Anupama Ramchandran (volunteer from DESI). Vijayakala Vydeeswaran, DESI president, gave a brief introduction of DESI and its goals. She also concluded the event with the vote of thanks. The panel discussion drew an audience of about 125 people including students and professors from various nationalities, young professionals in the regions, medial personnel and distinguished members of the community. The event was also webcast live and was viewed by about 60 people from various locations in and outside the US.
DESI ( http://www.desiumd.org ) gratefully acknowledges the support extended to this event by Foundation Against Continuing
Terrorism (FACT) http://www.factusa.org. FACT is an initiative to raise awareness about terrorism through exhibitions, conferences and awareness drives. DESI is also thankful to Graduate Students Government, UMD for supporting the event. Thanks are also due to various groups like Kashmir Overseas Association (KOA), Panun Kashmir, TerPAC, USINPAC and the numerous community groups for their support and encouragement. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Press release: panel discussion on terrorism in Kashmir in Washington DC
File: audience01
Audience listening to panelists during the discussion session session.
File: Audience02
Question/Answer session with the panelists. Several Indians and Pakistanis participated in the question/answer session
File: Panelists
From Left to right: Sanjay Tikku, Subodh Atal, Vikram Misri and Peter Bergen.
Mr Hussain Haqqani coudl not participate due to health reasons.
Press Release
Panel Discussion on âTerrorism in Kashmir: Threat of Expanding Global Jihad in South Asia
April 15, 2005
Website: http://desiumd.org/panel
Summary:
Washington DC was host to a panel discussion focusing on the effects of terrorism in Kashmir and the threat of expanding Global Jihad on the population of the Indian subcontinent with specific focus of Kashmir. The event was hosted at University of Maryland, College Park on April 10, 2005.
The discussion, attended by over 125 people and watched online by more than 60 others included experts from CNN, Indian embassy and several think tanks in Washington DC as well as community members from India and Pakistan.
Details
An Indian community, that had to bear the brunt of terrorism for the past two decades in the Indian Subcontinent, found voice for the first time on a US university campus. The panelists included Mr. Peter Bergen, CNN's terrorism analyst and a fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington D.C, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Subhash Kak, a Delaune distinguished professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Science at Louisiana State University and a renowned authority on ancient Indian science and technology. Other panelists included Mr. Vikram Misri, Political counselor for Indian embassy in Washington D.C., who previously served as political counselor in the Indian mission in Islamabad, Pakistan from August 2000-September 2003, Dr. Subodh Atal, an independent foreign policy analyst based near Washington DC who specializes in geopolitics in South and Central Asia, the war on terror and the implications of US grand strategy and Mr. Sanjay Tiku, a Kashmiri Hindu born and brought up in Srinagar, Kashmir who like other more than 300,000 civilians, was forced to leave the valley due to terrorist violence and threats in 1990.
Dr Hussain Haqqani, the former Advisor to Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif and a fellow at the Carnegie Peace Endowment, could not participate because of health reasons.
The panel discussion was followed by an hour-long interactive Q&A session moderated by Mr. Utsav Chakrabarty. A young professional from Baltimore area, Mr. Chakrabarty, is actively involved in designing an exhibition on Kashmir which will be inaugurated in Washington D.C. in July, 2005.
The discussion began with Dr. Kak giving an overview of the rich history of Kashmir going back to about 5000 years. He gave numerous examples of how Kashmir had contributed to various aspects of the Hindu culture in areas of philosophy, arts and sculpture and which are practiced even today in different parts of East Asia. He noted that after the fall of Soviet Russia in the late 1980s, the people of Pakistan who were bitterly against the idea of a democratic Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir decided to use the Jihadi extremism to snatch Kashmir away from India. This was done by forcing the Muslim population to follow the ways of orthodox extreme Islam which was very similar to what happened in Java, Indonesia. He went on to say that ideas of the extremist groups in Pakistan who support accession of Kashmir using force and terror are naive and the need of the hour was to focus on issues pertaining to progress and development.
Mr Peter Bergen delved in detail on the connection between Afghanistan terrorism in Kashmir. He explained that the fall of Soviet Union in 1980s prompted the Mujahideens (Islamic Holy warriors) of Afghanistan to focus their efforts on Kashmir. This, coupled with General Musharraf's (Pakistan's army chief) open declaration that Kashmir is a Jihad, led to the insurgency in the Kashmir valley. Mr. Bergen was successful in connecting the terrorist organizations active in Kashmir with the global network of pan-Islamic terrorists. He also gave examples of growing co-operation between Al-Qaida and various Kashmiri terrorist organizations. For e.g., the terrorist group involved in the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight in December of 1999 later worked very closely with Al-Qaida in the killing of, Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter, in 2002. He also noted that several jihadi groups are popular in Pakistan and with the LeT having about 2200 offices across the country with more than 100,000 active members.
According to Mr. Vikram Misri, one of the main reasons for the Kashmir problem was the lack of self-identity on the part of Pakistan. In late 1980, Pakistan unleashed a state policy of jihadi terror in Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir in the hopes of using the "sword of Islam" to intimidate India, which had worked successful against USSR. He emphasized that the insurgents active in Kashmir are not mere militants but terrorists. He said that India will continue to combat terror in Kashmir and also assist the evolution of a polity which will make a stable environment for solving the problem of Jammu and Kashmir. He was of the opinion that modernization and religious moderation of Pakistan will lead to a stable relation between India and Pakistan.
Dr. Subodh Atal shed light on the US policies towards Pakistan. He emphasized how the US has turned a blind eye towards the terrorist activities and terrorist groups promoted by Pakistan and focuses on countries which have comparatively far less to do with terrorism. He presented facts like that Pakistan is left out of the list of state-sponsors of terrorism from 1990 to 2000. He said that the US continued to ignore the signs of 9/11, including the fact that the then ISI chief may be involved in the funding for Sep 11, 2001. He insisted that it is in the interest of both India and Pakistan to solve the problem bilaterally without any interference from third part.
Mr. Sanjay Tiku gave a personal narrative of how his innocent and idyllic childhood was marred by terrorism based on a distorted ideology of extreme religious exclusivity that engulfed the Kashmir valley. His family was one of the 3,00,000 families that were uprooted overnight and were forced to move from a 5-story bungalow to a dingy makeshift house. He sadly noted that his community is the first ever to be refugees in their own country. He urged the world community to understand the framework of religion-based terrorist organizations so that such tragedies don't recur. He also appealed to the world community to help his community as they are still trying to come to terms to the sudden tragic events that unfolded.
The audience was interested in knowing the history behind and the present scenario of the terrorist attacks in the Kashmir valley, the measures taken by the security forces to safe guard civilian interests and the future of Kashmiri Hindus.
The panelists and the audience agreed that efforts should be undertaken to spread awareness about terrorism fueled by extremist ideologies around the world and to work closely to combat such terrorist activities.
The event was compered by Anupama Ramchandran (volunteer from DESI). Vijayakala Vydeeswaran, DESI president, gave a brief introduction of DESI and its goals. She also concluded the event with the vote of thanks. The panel discussion drew an audience of about 125 people including students and professors from various nationalities, young professionals in the regions, medial personnel and distinguished members of the community. The event was also webcast live and was viewed by about 60 people from various locations in and outside the US.
DESI ( http://www.desiumd.org ) gratefully acknowledges the support extended to this event by Foundation Against Continuing
Terrorism (FACT) http://www.factusa.org. FACT is an initiative to raise awareness about terrorism through exhibitions, conferences and awareness drives. DESI is also thankful to Graduate Students Government, UMD for supporting the event. Thanks are also due to various groups like Kashmir Overseas Association (KOA), Panun Kashmir, TerPAC, USINPAC and the numerous community groups for their support and encouragement. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->