<b>Pakistan, Saudi Arabia bankrolled Amarnath agitation: Azad</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Akhnoor (Jammu and Kashmir), July 13 (IANS) In his first public appearance in this border town, former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Sunday accused Pakistan and Saudi Arabia of bankrolling the parties behind the violent agitation on the Amarnath land row.
Lashing out at all the groups that made an 'issue' of the allotment of the land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and subsequent cancellation of the same, Azad said: 'Less than one percent of the population of the state was involved in these agitations, which were being carried out with money provided by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.'
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Pakistan, Saudi Arabia funded anti-Amarnath agitation: Azad </b>
Pioneer.com
Mohit Kandhari | JammuÂ
Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, is in no mood to spare his political adversaries celebrating his orchestrated exit from the State ahead of 2008 Assembly polls.
On Sunday, six days after submitting his resignation, Azad returned to Jammu and kick started damage control exercise to shore up chances of Congress in the forthcoming Assembly polls.
His first public appearance in Akhnoor, 28 km from Jammu, turned out to be a show of strength for the Congress where large number of former Congress Ministers, legislators and PCC chief Saifuddin Soz showed up and rallied behind Azad.
The former Chief Minister expressed deep concerns over the way Tourism industry has been hit hard due to unrest in Kashmir valley and in Jammu region. He said politicians in Kashmir may have been receiving moneybags from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan but common people are dependent on tourists for their livelihood. He responded to the allegations that the State Government had taken control over the Amarnath yatra arrangements under pressure from the separatists. He chose the occasion to clarify his stand repeatedly that the State Government was fully equipped to handle yatra rush and facilitate arrangements for the pilgrims.
Lashing out at all the groups that made an "issue" of the allotment of the land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and subsequent cancellation of the same, Azad said:<b> "Less than one percent of the population of the state was involved in these agitations, which were being carried out with money provided by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan."</b>
In his hour-long speech, Azad counted his achievements and mingled with people in order to win their support. While doing so he defied security restrictions and instead of standing behind bulletproof shield he asked for wooden dias to drum beat his achievements.
He began his speech by first explaining the circumstances and incidents preceding his resignation on July 7 and then went on to compare his rule in office with that of other successive Governments. Making a crisp remark he said, "hamari sarkar ki kamyabi dekh kar yeh sab ek saath khade ho gaye hain. (These people had developed fears that how will they come in front of you. These people, in their time had done little for your welfare). He cautioned people not to get carried away by the hate campaign spearheaded by the vested interests against the Congress party and reminded them that the party would always stand with them.
Without naming any political party he launched scathing attack against those politicians who were communalising the atmosphere in the State for their petty vote-bank politics and are already counting votes.
Political observers say by organising a public meeting Azad had made an attempt to mobilise party workers and supporters without allowing political rivals to take advantage of the volatile situation. He managed to send a clear message to the voters in Jammu region that he is down but not out of the race and will bounce back.
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He was a CM, he was sleeping ? why he let this happened? now why he is making excuse for his failures? What a jerk he and his party is?
wasn't he the one who recommended to the new Governor to take back the order of allottment?
At least he is honest.
What he is admitting is that now KSA and Pak are directly against Hindu religion.
The land of kashmir is Hindus holy land and land of our religion.
Now islamic political center in KSA can challenge it directly.
This needs to be countered by propaganda war.
The world associates kashmir with Islam and Muslim
It has to be changed to Hindu and Holy for Hindu for pilgrimages. Connect Hindu tirth yatra with kashmir
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Islamism in Valley </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Protest prelude to greater jihad?
While the Congress itself has downplayed it, the statement by the former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose actions while in office have set him apart from his self-seeking and Islam-pandering predecessors, that the violent agitation against the transfer of land -- for temporary shelters and facilities to be used by Hindu pilgrims visiting the Amaranth shrine -- was funded by Pakistani and Saudi Arabian sources, is actually fairly noteworthy. It amounts to the first serious admission, by a politician who has been in Government in Srinagar, that the so-called 'Kashmir cause' is actually camouflage for a global Islamist network that transcends borders and barriers. That the Saudis have got into the game is particularly disturbing as it would indicate a return to the early-1990s when petro-dollars funded the surge in radical Islam in this part of the world. The parallels are eerie. In 1990, after the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and after American retreat from the region, the internationalist jihadi armies turned their attention to new battlegrounds. The Kashmir Valley was one such. Jammu & Kashmir saw extensive blood-letting at the hands of not just Kashmiri and Pakistani terrorists, but Afghans and Yemenis, too. Indeed, in that turbulent period, Osama bin Laden and the nascent Al Qaeda trained terrorists at camps in Afghanistan for deployment in Jammu & Kashmir. The logistical patrons were Pakistani Generals at the Inter-Services Intelligence and rogue elements in the teeming establishment in Riyadh. Today, history may be repeating itself. The American-led forces are facing a resurgent, Pakistan-backed Taliban offensive. The jihadis smell success, perhaps even triumph. The fact that a new, untested American President will be in charge in 2009, gives them even more hope. India cannot escape the spill-over. Perhaps, as the recent Amarnath episode suggests, the pan-Islamic coalition is already training its guns in this direction. That the All-Party Hurriyat Conference and the PDP have been at the forefront of the chilling protests against the allotment of land for Hindu pilgrims only adds to suspicions. These groups have been closely linked to radical Islamist organisations, tacitly or otherwise. The Hurriyat is openly Islamist, comparing the recent Amarnath episode to the Israeli attempt to settle Jews on territories Palestinians claim as their own.
Sometimes a simple sentence anticipates a larger truth. Mr Azad's attack on his political opponents the other day may have been just such an example. If the Pakistani meddling in Jammu & Kashmir is being re-intensified in an election year -- admittedly, it had never gone away in the first place -- and if the Saudis are entering the fray, India can brace for a long-drawn terrorist war. With vast tracts of Pakistani territory under the control of radical forces and the private armies of mullahs, India can no longer pretend that the notional regime in Islamabad offers it a buffer. The hard reality is that the frontline has shifted in these past seven years -- since 9/11 -- and India, not Pakistan, is now the frontline state; Pakistan, not Afghanistan, is the war zone. The resurgence of radical Islamist groups, after three or four quiet years, in the Valley indicates a greater design. In a nutshell, that is what Mr Azad is trying to warn New Delhi about
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Army convoy attacked, 10 dead </b>
Pioneer.com
Khursheed Wani | Srinagar
In a major strike, the Hizbul Mujahideen killed 10 Army jawans and injured 15 others by detonating a powerful IED which ripped apart a bus at Narbal near Srinagar on Saturday.
<b>The bus was part of a heavily guarded convoy from Uri to Srinagar carrying holidaying soldiers. </b>
Defence spokeswoman Capt Neha Goel confirmed the death of nine soldiers. She said that the convoy was on way to Srinagar when a powerful IED struck a bus carrying 30 soldiers. Seven died on the spot while two died on way to hospital.
The injured soldiers were airlifted to Army's Base Hospital where condition of seven of them was reported to be critical. "The bus overturned and then ripped apart under the impact of the blast. The deafening sound of the blast shook the ground like an earthquake," a civilian witness told reporters.
This is the most major strike against the Army in 2008. Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility.
Meanwhile, the Army shot dead five infiltrators while foiling two attempts of infiltration at Gulab post and Khanabal Kupwara.
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Moron Singh should resign, enough of his nonsense. <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Army major killed, 4 wounded</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->An army Major was killed and four other security men, including two jawans, were critically wounded in gubattle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Moron Singh policies in action. I hope MP keep greed for 2009 and kick out Moron Singh from power. Its better to see Mayawati as PM then impotent corrupt traitor as PM.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->JAMMU, July 23: A youth taking part in the chain hunger strike against cancellation of forest land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) today sacrificed his life after consuming poison in protest against the remarks of National Conference chief, Omar Abdullah in Parliament yesterday that the land to Amarnath shrine Board will be returned only over dead bodies of the Kashmiris.
http://dailyexcelsior.com/<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<img src='http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/08july24/photo.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Sangarsh Samiti activists surround the dead body of Kuldeep Dogra at Parade
Ground, Jammu on Wednesday.Excelsior/Rakesh
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Four children among five killed in Srinagar terror attack (Second Lead)
July 24th, 2008 - 4:42 pm ICT by IANS
Srinagar, July 24 (IANS) At least five people, including four children, were killed and 22 people wounded in a grenade attack by terrorists in a busy bus yard here Thursday, police said. Most of the victims were migrant workers from other north Indian states. The police said separatist guerrillas hurled a grenade which fell near one of the ticket counters in the main bus depot at Batamaloo, barely half a kilometre from the civil secretariat in this summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
A large number of migrant workers and their family members were milling around.
âThree children died on the spot,â said a police officer. He said a critically injured woman and a child succumbed to their injuries in SMHS Hospital where all the injured were taken.
Two of the four children killed in the blast have been identified as 12-year-old Khusboo and nine-year-old Adil, daughter and son of Muhammad Afroze from Bihar, said the police officer.
Twenty labourers were among the 22 wounded in the explosion, he added.
Unconfirmed reports said seven of the injured were Hindu pilgrims who had returned from the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir. However, the police denied the reports.
âAll the injured were migrant workers and none of them was an Amarnath pilgrim,â a police press statement said.
The intercity bus depot from where buses ply to various towns and villages in the Kashmir valley was thronged by hundreds of commuters when the explosion occurred.
The blast triggered panic and confusion as the police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) surrounded the depot.
The area was surrounded immediately by the police and CRPF for searches. However, no one was detained.
Ambulances with wailing sirens and police vehicles were seen ferrying the injured to hospital.
âI saw the injured, including children, crying for help. There was panic all around and everyone fled for safety,â said Abdul Rashid, a shopkeeper.
No group has claimed responsibility for the grenade attack which came just five days after seven soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in a massive explosion on the Srinagar-Uri highway.
Terrorist activities have picked up in Jammu and Kashmir since last week and 18 people have been killed and about 60 injured in a series of attacks.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-...d_10075418.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yet we are supposed to trust this "gov't" to protect citizens rights, I feel sorry for his family, his suicide has been blocked out deliberately by the media, he would have better served his objective if he joined some VDC rather than sacrificing his life for the rest of useless Hindu society who don't even care while leaving his family in a lurch.
Our heart goes out for Kuldeep and his family. May kAshmIrapuravAsini herself give strength to the family to bear this loss.
07-28-2008, 07:47 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-28-2008, 07:48 PM by Husky.)
<!--QuoteBegin-acharya+Jul 14 2008, 10:07 AM-->QUOTE(acharya @ Jul 14 2008, 10:07 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->At least he is honest.
What he is admitting is that now KSA and Pak are directly against Hindu religion.
The land of kashmir is Hindus holy land and land of our religion.
Now islamic political center in KSA can challenge it directly.
This needs to be countered by propaganda war.
The world associates kashmir with Islam and Muslim
It has to be changed to Hindu and Holy for Hindu for pilgrimages. Connect Hindu tirth yatra with kashmir
[right][snapback]84200[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Just to point out wrong use of terminology in the above. It is not "counter propaganda" to say that Hindu holy places in Kashmir including Amarnath are holy to Hindus of all the subcontinent. It is stating a fact.
While it is islamic <i>propaganda</i> that pretends that Kashmir has anything to do with islam (other than being currently populated by a large number of islamis - descendants of Hindus forced to convert), it is a fact that Kashmir is an important place for Hindu Dharma, just as various other parts of Bharatam are.
But I think you may have written in haste and that what you actually meant when writing "What he is admitting is that now KSA and Pak are directly against Hindu religion. The land of kashmir is Hindus holy land and land of our religion. Now islamic political center in KSA can challenge it directly. <i>This needs to be countered by propaganda war.</i> The world associates kashmir with Islam and Muslim. It has to be changed to Hindu and Holy for Hindu for pilgrimages." is that it needs to be countered with an awareness campaign to spread historic truths to undo the islamic fictions that have been spread around.
In any case, when some older members of my family went around on yatras around Bharatam, they also went to various core temples and sacred sites in the far north and even braved Jammu (and cleansing in freezing cold water!).
And we're Hindus from TN, the south of the country. All of J&K was always part of Hindu land - all Hindus have always held this.
Bharatavarsha wrote two posts up:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->he would have better served his objective if he joined some VDC rather than sacrificing his life for the rest of useless Hindu society who don't even care while leaving his family in a lurch.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->I agree.
I wish Hindus would stop suiciding themselves. Stop doing christoislamicommunism a favour. The point is to stop evil ideologies from terrorising people, and that can't be done if good, principled, brave people kill themselves. Such people have to remember to be braver still, to live while they can, be an obstacle to christoislamism and grow into christoislamicommunism's worst fear. The world is bigger than you, your family, your state and Bharatam. It is bigger than today. Because it includes the future and unborn populations that deserve to be free and deserve to have the hope that Natural Traditions bring.
If terrorist ideologies win over the free and unconverted now, the world will be swamped by cruel fears, strife and the suppression of the human spirit for many long years (millennia?).
We may not yet know exactly what can stop evil ideologies, but one thing is for certain: taking one's life will not stay it at all. A living Hindu/Natural Traditionalist is a huge hindrance to christoislamism's success. Just by living you can annoy it great. Great impetus to live.
<b>BJPâs Ashok Khajuria asks Kashmiri Muslims to leave Jammu immediately</b>
Posted by jagoindia on July 29, 2008
Well said, Ashok Khajuria. Islam is a cruel, oppressive and violent religion. There should be no place in India for those who follow such a savage belief system. In India our ethos based on peace, harmony, pluralism, democracy and respect for all all beliefs.
<b>
Tension over land row heightens, Kashmiris asked to leave Jammu</b>
Indiaâs News.Net
Thursday 24th July, 2008 (IANS)
Tension gripped the curfew-bound Jammu city after some Hindu leaders asked Kashmiri Muslims to âpack upâ from here and angry crowds defying curfew staged protest marches Thursday, a day after a man allegedly committed suicide here against the cancellation of land allotted to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).
Undeterred by the curfew and agitated over the governmentâs alleged failure to restore land to the shrine board, people in several parts of this winter capital city and its suburbs held protest demonstrations and blocked the Jammu-Pathankote and Jammu-Srinagar national highways.
The protesters were raising slogans against Governor N.N. Vohra and National Conference president Omar Abdullah, whose effigies were burnt at various places.
Bharatiya Janata Partyâs (BJP) state unit president Ashok Khajuria in a news conference asked Kashmiri Muslims to leave Jammu immediately.
âOmar Abdullah should not visit Jammu, and all Kashmiris should leave the region at the earliest. They have no right to be here,â Khajuria said.
Many areas in Jammu region observed a complete shutdown in response to the general shutdown call given by Amarnath Yatra Samgarash Samiti (AYSS).
âThe protests will continue,â Leela Karan, convenor of the AYSS, told reporters here.
Karan said the situation could take any turn, and it would be better for the Kashmiris who have settled in Jammu to âpack up from hereâ. âThey (Kashmiris) have no business to be here when their leaders are rigid in conceding land for the (Amarnath) pilgrimage and pilgrimsâ facilities.â
Life in many towns of the Hindu-dominated Jammu region came to a halt with all shops, business establishments and educational institutions closed. The roads were deserted.
Divisional Commissioner (Jammu) Sudhanshu Pandey told IANS: âThe indefinite curfew was imposed at dawn as a precautionary measure.â
The lull that had descended in Jammu after a 10-day-long spell of shutdowns and curfews was broken Wednesday when Kuldip Kumar Dogra allegedly committed suicide to protest the governmentâs âinactionâ on the land row.
Dogra, in his late 20s, appeared at Parade Ground, where activists of the AYSS were on a hunger strike Wednesday. He made an emotional speech to the gathering, saying the revocation of the land transfer order to the shrine board had driven him to desperation. He said he was âsacrificing my ife for the causeâ, eyewitnesses told reporters.
Dogra, who had allegedly consumed poison before making the speech, fell unconscious. He was taken to a hospital where the doctors declared him dead, the police said. His body was cremated at his native village of Bishnah region Thursday.
The police said a suicide note was found in Dograâs pocket. It said he was upset about Omar Abdullahâs remarks in parliament Tuesday that Kashmiris would die but never give up their forest land.
Karan said the government should register a case against the National Conference president for his âcommunal and provocative utterancesâ.
The curfew continued in Jammu city but it was repeatedly defied by protesters, who raised anti-government slogans and demanded Governor Vohraâs recall from the state.
The AYSS is demanding the allocation of nearly 40 hectares of forest land to the Amarnath shrine board. The land was first diverted to the shrine board May 26 for setting up temporary prefabricated structures for pilgrims travelling to the cave shrine of Hindu god Shiva in south Kashmir.
The issue triggered massive protests in the Kashmir Valley. Protesters in the Muslim-majority region alleged that the plot would be used to settle outsiders and change the demographic character of Kashmir.
The government rescinded the order July 1. That silenced the street protests in the Kashmir Valley but ignited a counter agitation in Jammu, where people are still demanding allotment of the plot to the shrine board.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>RSS condoles death of Kuldeep Dogra </b>
pioneer.com
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on <b>Tuesday condoled the death of Kuldeep Dogra, noted scholar and intellectual from Jammu and Kashmir. Dogra was on a fast to protest the State Government's decision to take away the land given to Amarnath pilgrims. </b>
"He became very sad after hearing the views of National Conference leader and Lok Sabha member Omar Abdullah during the discussion on trust vote," said Ramesh Prakash, Sanghchaalak of RSS Delhi unit, in a Press release, adding that Abdullah's comment 'we will not give an inch of J&K land to Hindu's in Kashmir' had made Dogra upset.
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Moron Singh must be happy, one less Hindu.
Start the war in LOC and shut down the road to Muzaffarabad
Make Jammu as the state capital of Kashmir
<b>
Land row bringing J-K on verge of disintegration: PDP</b>
Srinagar (PTI): The PDP on Saturday warned that the unrest over the Amaranth land row had brought J-K on verge of disintegration and the situation could spin out of control if the authorities don't crackdown on the protesters in Jammu.
"The agitation in Jammu having assumed an anti-Kashmiri character... is bringing the state at the verge of disintegration and if not controlled will plunge the state into the communal holocaust," PDP leader Nizamuddin Bhat said in a statement.
He said it will be too late for the Governor to retrieve the situation if the "unbridled vandals are allowed to hold law at ransom". Condemning the "economic blockade" of Kashmir by Hindu outfits, senior party leader Abdul Aziz Zargar said said "such acts tantamount to the division of state along regional and ethnic lines which in no circumstances is tolerable".
He said the step justified his party's demand for opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road for trade.
"With no signs of an end to the the crises, most of industrial units and print media are running out of raw material and hundreds of tonnes of fresh fruit is decaying on the road sides. The demand of opening Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road for trade purposes stands vindicated," Zargar said addressing a public meeting in Noorabad area of Kulgam district.
<img src='http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/002200808021999.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Army jawans patrol in Jammu on Saturday. Curfew was clamped in Jammu and Samba districts, following violent protests over the Amarnath land controversy. Photo: PTI
<b>'Kashmir Pandit' at the root of J&K's misery â I</b>
Powers that be in New Delhi should get credit for some meticulous planning to bring about a welcome realisation, perhaps unintentionally. The autocratic style of Vohra has shown to Jammuites how it feels to get gagged and crushed by brute force!.
CJ: Natteri Adigal , 2 hours ago Views:93 Comments:1
JAMMU IS clearly on the boil. With or without media coverage, which has been gagged, discerning people can make out what life would be in an area where the armed forces are given licence to bring order.
This is not something new in the Indian-controlled regions of the erstwhile principality of Kashmir, known as Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). While it is the turn of Jammuites to experience turmoil since a month, the other half, Kashmir valley, has been experiencing this hell since decades.
Agitations raging in the region were precipitated by outgoing J&K governor Gen (Retd) SK Sinha. He notionally transferred a small parcel of forest land to a Trust at the fag end of his tenure. Packed with bureaucrats and sycophants, the Trust is supposed to provide facilities to pilgrims from all parts of India thronging to a Hindu shrine in Kashmir. A lot more facilities than he purportedly intended to provide could have organised without the formal transfer. The gimmick was clearly unnecessary in the first place, but was obviously a strategy of intrigue that Machiavellis of New Delhi are noted for.
The move was apparently hatched by top brass at the Congress party headquarters to impress gullible electorate across the country. With elections round the corner, this was an easy way to appeal to religious sentiments in constituencies sympathetic to Saffron parties. These outfits adopt a hawkish stand, equating nationalism with Hinduism. Sinhaâs order, it was calculated, would grab some votes from Opposition, without having to achieve anything on the ground. The backlash however was of unpredicted magnitude.
The Trust happens to be packed with non-locals, who are barred from holding land in J&K. The state supposedly enjoys that special status and autonomy under the constitution of India. A vast majority of the J&K population have already been entertaining a grouse that New Delhi has been treating the territory as if it was its colony. And, not without basis.
With half a million troops standing mobilised for decades in an area with a total population of ten million, an undercurrent of resentment is inevitable. On top of frequent skirmishes and atrocities, resulting from the resentment, governors of the state were predominantly retired military bosses. Rather than acting as ceremonial heads, like in other states, Generals tend to be perceived as colonial representatives lording over âvanquishedâ natives of their sovereign. So, people predictably smelt in the move a sinister conspiracy to start de-jure colonisation of the âdisputed territoryâ.
The politicking raised a ruckus that led to the fall of a democratically elected government. The J&K government in place could at least claim to be a democratic outfit, whatever be the merits of the claim. The veteran bureaucrat NN Vohra, sent to replace SK Sinha, turned out to be a veritable viceroy of the âcolonyâ. In the absence of an elected government, he did not even have to pretend to govern democratically. Vohra did everything possible to stoke the fire and took actions that would potentially benefit the New Delhi masters in elections. His decision to abruptly withdraw the transfer order, triggered protests from Jammu area, predominantly inhabited by Hindus.
Powers that be in New Delhi should get credit for some meticulous planning to bring about a welcome realisation, perhaps unintentionally. The autocratic style of Vohra has shown to Jammuites how it feels to get gagged and crushed by brute force! Their closed-minded leadership was cheering New Delhi at the crackdown on their brethren in Kashmir valley all these years. These leaders were exhibiting some bizarre Indian nationalism â more jingoistic than mainlanders themselves â towards India about excesses!
The predominantly Muslim population of the principality was ruled by a comparatively fair Hindu king before getting divided between the two adversarial South Asian neighbours India and Pakistan. There was much better communal harmony in the state than other India/Pakistan provinces. Most of these were under religious fundamentalist â either Hindu or Muslim â rulers, who maltreated minorities. Thanks to the tactics of New Delhi, a bitter hatred has been cultivated between the communities â even worse than seen in other Indian states. Kashmir valley inhabitants view Jammuitesâ who demand scrapping of special constitutional status as collaborators in de-jure colonisation of the âdisputed territoryâ.
Ironically, the sad plight of Kashmir Hindus â particularly of Kashmir Pandits, the tiny minority of elite among them â has its roots in the megalomania of and betrayal by a coterie of former Indian Prime Minister of Kashmiri Pandit origin, Jawaharlal Nehru. The legacy of this coterie, entrenched in high echelons of New Delhi, is still haunting the community.
Politically, the Congress Party is shameless enough to perpetrate the dynasty of Nehru, which has cunningly adopted a Gandhi tag, that is more saleable among the gullible. Nehru systematically eliminated all likely contenders for leadership so as to anoint his daughter Indira to the throne.
Sycophants in the party even now consider members of the dynasty, irrespective of qualifications, competence or achievements, to have divine sanction to inherit the party as well as the âthroneâ. The bureaucracy is too stuffed with staunch loyalists of the dynasty.
The present bloodbath in the streets of Jammu, the largest town of the state, is reminiscent of 1952-53, which too was engineered by New Delhi. A grand betrayal by Jawaharlal Nehruâs cronies triggered the slide of what could have been the Switzerland of Asia, to the longest lasting battleground of the world. Fifty five years on, if the people of J&K Valley realise the futility of being loyal to an undependable entity, while letting down each other, Kashmir could still realise its potential.
<b>Kashmir: An analysis of the dispute and the US intervention in past and present
by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai</b>
The Situation in Kashmir
India's occupation of Kashmir has thus been left undisturbed by the international community, even though its validity has never been accepted. At no stage, however, have the people of Kashmir shown themselves to be reconciled to it. There have been several uprisings, notably in 1953, 1964 and 1988 and even the relatively calmer interludes have witnessed continuous peaceful protest met with unrelenting force. Kashmir's record of opposition to its annexation by the Indian Union, can by no standard be reckoned as less genuinely demonstrated than that of countries of Eastern Europe under the dominance of the Soviet Union. But while the popular revolt in the countries of Eastern Europe was observed and reported by the international media, that in Kashmir has remained largely hidden from the world's view.
Kashmir could not remain untouched by the tide of freedom which rolled across the world in the late 1980's, sweeping away the Soviet military invasion of Afghanistan and Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, South Africa's 70-year old rule over Namibia and unpopular establishments in Eastern Europe. Inspired by it and also encouraged by the emergence from limbo of the United Nations as a central peace-making agency, the people of Kashmir intensified their struggle against the unwanted and tyrannical Indian occupation. Their uprising entered into its current phase in July 1988. The scale of popular backing for it can be judged from the established fact that, on few occasions in 1990, virtually the entire population of Srinagar came out on the streets in an unparalleled demonstration of protest against the oppressive status quo. The further fact that they presented petitions at the office of the United Nations Military Observers Group shows the essentially peaceful nature of the aims of the uprising and its trust in justice under international law. India has tried to portray the uprising as the work of terrorists or fanatics. Terrorists do not compose an entire population, including women and children; fanatics do not look to the United Nations to achieve pacific, rational settlement.
Some of the facts of the latest situation are:
*** India maintains a large and highly visible military presence in Kashmir; the troops stationed there exceed 700,000; including para-military forces, the Central Reserve Police and the Border Security Force, all of whom are thugs in uniform and equipped with state-of-the-art torture machines.
*** There are 16 Indian secret service agencies operating ubiquitously to spy on the 8.3 million citizens.
Distinguishable Characteristics of Kashmir Dispute
There are certain characteristics of the situation in Kashmir, which distinguish it from all other deplorable human rights situations around the world.
*** It prevails in what is recognized - under international law and by the United States - as a disputed territory. According to the international agreements between India and Pakistan, negotiated by the United Nations (through a commission set up for the purpose) and endorsed by the Security Council, the territory's status is to be determined by the free vote of its people under U.N. supervision. The unresolved dispute caused two wars in the not-so-remote past between India and Pakistan.
*** It represents a Government's repression not of a secessionist or separatist movement but of an uprising against foreign occupation, an occupation that was expected to end under determinations made by the United Nations. The Kashmiris are not and cannot be called separatists because they cannot secede from a country to which they have never acceded to in the first place.
*** It has been met with studied unconcern by the United States. This has given a sense of total impunity to India. It has also created the impression that the United States is invidiously selective about the application of the principles of human rights and democracy. There was a glaring contrast between the outcry over the massacre in Tiannanman Square, on the one side, and the official silence (barring some faint murmurs of disapproval) over the killing and maiming of a vastly greater number of civilians in Kashmir and the systematic violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention.
*** It is a paradoxical case of the United Nations being deactivated and rendered unable to address a situation to which, under U.S. leadership, it had devoted a number of resolutions and in which it had established a presence, though with a limited mandate. The United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) is one of the oldest peace-keeping operations of the U.N.; the force is stationed in Kashmir to observe the cease-fire between India and Pakistan.
*** All these peculiarities of the Kashmir situation become more baffling in view of the fact that the mediatory initiative, which would halt the violations of human rights and set the stage for a solution would entail no deployment of American troops, no financial outlays and no adversarial relations between U.S. and India.
Past U.S. Involvement:
In this context, the following considerations are most pertinent for an assessment of the dispute by the members of the American policy makers.
*** When the Kashmir dispute erupted in 1947-1948, the United States championed the stand that the future status of Kashmir must be ascertained in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of the territory. The U.S. was a principal sponsor of the resolution, which was adopted by the Security Council on 21 April 1948 and which was based on that unchallenged principle. Following the resolution, the U.S. as a leading member of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan, adhered to that stand. The basic formula for settlement was incorporated in the resolutions of that Commission adopted on 13 August 1948 and 5 January 1949.
*** These are not resolutions in the routine sense of the term. Their provisions were negotiated in detail by the Commission with India and Pakistan and it was only after the consent of both Governments was explicitly obtained that they were endorsed by the Security Council. They thus constitute a binding and solemn international agreement about the settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
*** The United States, Britain and France have traditionally been committed supporters of the plebiscite agreement as the only way to resolve this issue. They sponsored all of the Security Council resolutions, which called for a plebiscite. Their commitment was indicated by a personal appeal made by America's President Truman and Britain's Prime Minister Clement Atlee that differences over demilitarization be submitted to arbitration by the Plebiscite Administrator, a distinguished American war hero: Admiral Chester Nimitz. India rejected this appeal and, later on, objected to an American acting as the Plebiscite Administrator. As mentioned earlier, American Senator Frank Graham visited the Subcontinent as the United Nations Representative to negotiate the demilitarization of Kashmir prior to the plebiscite. India rejected his proposals as well.
Similarly in Britain, both Labor and Conservative governments consistently upheld the position that a plebiscite was the only way the dispute over Kashmir could be democratically and peacefully settled. When the dispute first arose, Clement Atlee launched a conciliatory effort and conveyed to the Pakistani Prime Minister the assurance of the Indian Prime Minister that India would allow Kashmir's status to be determined by the people's vote. Two years later, the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth informally proposed alternative arrangements for the demilitarization of Kashmir prior to the plebiscite. They suggested that a neutral peacekeeping force consisting either of contingents from the Commonwealth countries or composed of local troops from both sides under the control of the Plebiscite Administrator could be stationed to safeguard the state's security. India rejected all of these suggestions.
*** The part played traditionally by the U.S. Government is apparent from:
a). The appeal made by President Truman that any contentious issues between India and Pakistan relating to the implementation of the agreement must be submitted to arbitration;
b). The appointment of an eminent American, Admiral Chester Nimitz, as Plebiscite Administrator;
c). The bipartisan expressions of support for the U.S. position from statesmen as different otherwise as Adlai Stevenson and John Foster Dulles; The American position was bipartisan and maintained equally by Republicans and Democrats. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles stated on 5 February 1957 that: "We continue to believe that unless the parties are able to agree upon some other solution, the solution which was recommended by the Security Council should prevail, which is that there should be a plebiscite."
On 15 June 1962, the American representative to the United Nations, Adlai Stevenson, stated that: "...The best approach is to take for a point of departure the area of common ground which exists between the parties. I refer of course to the resolutions which were accepted by both parties and which in essence provide for demilitarization of the territory and a plebiscite whereby the population may freely decide the future status of Jammu and Kashmir. This is in full conformity with the principle of the self-determination of people which is enshrined in Article I of the Charter as one of the key purpose for which the United Nations exists."
d). The appeal personally made in 1962 by President Kennedy to the President of Ireland to the effect that Ireland sponsor a resolution in the Security Council reaffirming the resolutions of the Commission;
e). The forceful advocacy by the U.S. Delegation of points regarding the demilitarization of Kashmir preparatory to the plebiscite at countless meetings of the Security Council from the years 1947-48 to 1962 and its sponsorship of twelve substantive resolutions of the Council to that effect;
f). The protracted negotiations conducted by another distinguished American, Mr. Frank Graham, from 1951 to 1958 in the effort to bring about the demilitarization of Kashmir, making possible the holding of a free and impartial plebiscite.
g). The pronouncement made by President Clinton that Kashmir is the most dangerous place in the world.
h). The clarification made by President George W. Bush that Kashmir solution must be acceptable not only to India and Pakistan but also to "those living within Kashmirâ.
i). The assertion made by Dr. Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State during Clinton Administration on Feb. 9, 2000 that the United States would continue its efforts "to ease tensions in South Asia." Kashmir is a fuse, and the region a tinderbox as a result of the Kashmir issue. "Our policy is to encourage dialogue aimed at narrowing differences and preventing violence, and we intend to remain actively engaged with both countries toward this end."
j). The declaration of General Colin Powell as Secretary of State to accept the centrality of the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan.
*** All this may be regarded as history but there is no reason why, when the human, political and legal realities of the dispute have not only changed but have become more accentuated with the passage of time, it should now be regarded as irrelevant. It is no less relevant to the settlement of the dispute than the termination of the Indonesian mandate was to the question of East Timor or than the circumstances of the incorporation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the Soviet Union were to the reassertion of their independence.
Current U.S. Engagement
a). It is commonly acknowledged that, with India and Pakistan both being nuclear-weapon states directly confronting each other, this dispute is potentially the most dangerous in the world. It should, therefore, be a major interest of the U.S. to prevent this dispute from exploding into a conflict, which can be catastrophic for a large proportion of the human race. Yet, ever since the start in 1989-90 of the popular uprising in Kashmir against alien military occupation, which accentuated the character of the dispute, the U.S. has been content with playing often a passive, at times a tentatively advisory, marginal role. It has remained unmoved by the killings of anywhere between 60,000 (India's figure) and 100,000 (popular estimate) people in Kashmir, accompanied by acts of rape and torching of localities. It has declared that it will not exercise mediation unless both parties ask for it. Since India is uncompromisingly opposed to U.S. mediation and since the United Nations also has been made inactive, the result is the total absence of a guiding hand towards a just, peaceful and lasting resolution of the conflict.
b). It is symptomatic of the U.S. approach that greater emphasis is placed on the "reduction of tensions" than on the settlement of the core issue, i.e. Kashmir. This encourages giving importance to superficial moves and temporary solutions even though it is known that such moves and solutions do not soften the animosities of the parties nor allay the life-and death concerns and anxieties of the people most directly affected.
c). An indication of this misplaced focus is the wrong-headed talk about the "sanctity" of the line of control in Kashmir. It is forgotten that this line continues to exist only because the international agreement which had been concluded between India and Pakistan, with the full support of the United States. This line was originally formalized by that agreement as a temporary cease-fire line pending the demilitarization of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the holding of a plebiscite to determine its future. As long as it will remain clamped down on the state, it will continue to impose a heavy toll of death on the people of the land. They have had no hand in creating a line which has cut through their homes, separated families and, what is worse, served as a protecting wall for massive violations of human rights. They are not resigned to its becoming some kind of a border. To treat this line overtly or otherwise as a basis for the partition of the State is to reward obduracy, countenance iniquity, encourage tyranny and oppression and destroy the hopes for peace in accordance with justice and rationality in Kashmir. Any kind of agreement procured to that end, will not only not endure; it will invite resentment and revolt against whichever leadership in Kashmir will sponsor or subscribe to it.
d). It must be pointed out in this context that some statements from the officials of the U.S. Administration have spoken of a settlement in accordance with the "interests" of the people of Kashmir. This seems to be an unnecessary departure from the traditional stand in favor of a settlement in accordance with the "wishes" of the people. Who is competent to determine their "interests" except they themselves? It is only their wishes that reflect their interests as perceived by them.
e). The mantra has been repeated too often that the U.S. has no alternative to relying on bilateral talks between India and Pakistan to achieve a settlement. The experience of past fifty-nine years is ignored. No bilateral talks between India and Pakistan have yielded agreements without the active role of an external element. If the U.S. does not deem it prudent to get directly involved, there is no reason why the Security Council of the United Nations or, with the Council's support, the Secretary General should not be urged to play a real facilitating role.
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f). United States interests in the Kashmir conflict are manifold. Avoiding nuclear and missile proliferation is foremost. Secondary are a general predisposition favoring self-determination dating from President Woodrow Wilson's 14 points, obedience to international law and human rights.</b>
The cluster of nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan in 1998 jumped Kashmir to the forefront of the United States and United Nations agendas, but the resulting steps towards Kashmiri self-determination as prescribed by the international law have been disappointing. The policy of the
Bush Administration has been that:
i. Kashmir is a disputed territory;
ii. It is neither the integral part of India nor Pakistan;
iii. Pakistan and India must seek a peaceful settlement of the conflict, after taking into account the wishes and aspirations of the people of Kashmir;
iv. U.S. will mediate to help resolve the Kashmir issue, if both parties agree.
But United States has neglected to insist that the authentic voice of Kashmiri sentiments, the All-Parties Huniyat Conference (APHC) - be included in all Kashmir negotiations, in the same manner as IRA involvement in the Northern Ireland negotiations and PLO involvement in the Palestinian negotiations with Israel.
In this regard, the Bush Administration should realize that:
i). The bilateral India-Pakistan talks can never resolve the Kashmir conflict. That formula has proven utterly bankrupt for more than 59 years, and nothing has changed but the faces;
ii). It is implausible to believe that India and Pakistan will either cap or renounce their respective nuclear genies after they have escaped the South Asian bottle unless the chief source of antagonism Kashmir - is resolved;
iii). It should assume the position as a leader and take an active role in finding a lasting settlement on Kashmir. It is obvious that no settlement can last if it is not based on justice for the people of Kashmir and recognition of their inherent rights;
iv). The Governments of India and Pakistan should include the Kashmiri leadership - the All Parties Hurriyat Conference that represents the broader spectrum of the opinion of the people of Kashmir - with the peace process;
v). An appointment of a special envoy on Kashmir is indispensable - a person of an international standing, like Bishop Desmond Tutu or President Mandela is of an utmost importance; and
vi). The United States holds unique powers of moral suasion, economic, and other assistance in facilitating enlightened solutions to acute divisions, whether in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, East Timor, Kosovo, or Kashmir.
http://vivekajyoti.blogspot.com/
Stop Jehad against Amarnath & Hindus
Dr. Pravin Togadia tells Governments & Jehadis
First Pravin Togadia ask his own family who are President of Congress Surat. His own brother tried his luck on Congress ticket. His family were engage in Sonia and Rahul Gujarat election vacation. He and his family came against Modi.
Can't trust this guy. He is good for raising emotion, which works sometimes but action speaks louder than words.
When BJP was in power, not a single day went when he called for Ram Mandir, in front of camera. Since his madam is in power, he and his Mandir agenda is missing in action.
What a fraud he is? He should just call Queen in 10 Janpath and whole problem will solve
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Valley traders to snap ties with Jammu counterparts</b>
Srinagar (PTI): Faced with an economic blockade of the valley by Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, the Kashmir Traders Federation on Tuesday said it will snap all business ties with traders in Jammu region and instead buy products directly from other cities like Amritsar and Delhi.
"We have decided not to buy any product from traders in Jammu and instead buy products directly from other markets like Delhi and Amritsar," Chairman of the traders federation Jan Mohammad Koul told PTI here.
"We will not cooperate with the traders of Jammu anymore. We are not going to buy any goods from them ... we have decided to boycott Jammu traders," Koul said accusing the Centre of failing to provide protection to the traders of Kashmir.
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"The situation in the aftermath of economic blockade of the valley and attacks on minority community in Jammu has made it clear that it is part of a well-thought out conspiracy and the Centre is involved in it," Koul said and charged the Centre with supporting the communal groups for unleashing "naked terrorism", he said.
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Complaining that truck loads are not being allowed to move to Kashmir with the government being a mute spectator, he said the traders of Jammu have hurt their sentiments and set an example of communal hatred.
"We will continue our struggle for an alternative route to the valley," he said urging heads of multi-national companies to open their depots in the valley forthwith keeping in view the sale of their products.
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