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The Erotic Economy: It’s Not What You Think

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Amy Rubin

If we stopped imprisoning our emotions in industrially manufactured profit centers, desire could become an engine of social transformation.

At a recent event featuring my son’s choir in Indianapolis, I was dismayed when the director urged the audience to fill out a national “economic impact of the arts” survey that had been inserted into our concert programs. Are we still making the arts and humanities justify their existence like this? It’s a trend that emerged 20 years ago when I worked at my first arts organization at a time when Bill Clinton was elected President on the back of his famous slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid."

In the intervening years I’ve seen the business model take over more and more arts groups, universities, NGOs and even cities (aka the “city as start-upCEOS for Cities”), a process that’s been accompanied by increasing poverty and inequality, failing infrastructures and social safety nets, and systems that perpetuate war and austerity. Yet despite these failures we still cling to business-as-usual economic icons.

I turned my back on these icons long ago. Not only do I balk at creativity born in service to pragmatism (because it’s illogical as well as uninspired), but I also fear the loss of the ‘poetic’ in society—something I’ve since learned to be a gender-coded word for ‘not us,’ its power diminished to second-class status under all things feasible, fundable, scalable and profit-making.

As a social entrepreneur and a consultant to others who are trying to push the economy further in the direction of caring, equality and sharing, I’ve found it impossible to conform to what has been expected of me. Rather than sales tools, the advice I offer is purposely thoughtful and philosophical, but rejected as “too pink” by one tech incubator, so “stick to your knitting

Even the urban-creative Maker’s Movement, awash with bearded transcendentals heralding a much needed return to craft, is over-masculinized in its bias for doing and making things by artisans, tech- and tool-makers and ‘men of action.’ Meanwhile, no one is talking about the more complex, relational, change-centered, feminine equivalent called poiesis or the craft of the imagination. No concrete outputs or return on investment? You’re fired!

We are inundated daily with images of balloonishly inflated boobs, untemptingly taut torsos and artificially outsized arses or the opposite—skeletal legs and faces. This isn’t erotic, it’s neurotic, cartoonish and grotesque. These cultural fetishes are junk food, offering a momentary mirage of satisfaction but in the longer term sexually malnourishing.

All of which has made me lean out still further in my attempts to prepare for a radically different economy, but what language should I be using to describe it? ‘Poetic’ sounds fine to me but seems ‘too feminine’ to others, but then I listened to American author and activist Audre Lorde and that’s when it hit me: the erotic economy is really what we need.

“The very word erotic comes from the Greek word eros,” she writes, “the personification of love in all its aspects—born of Chaos, and personifying creative power and harmony…it has become fashionable to separate the spiritual (psychic and emotional) from the political, to see them as contradictory or antithetical. What do you mean, a poetic revolutionary, a meditating gunrunner?”

Of course, well trained by mainstream economy’s consumer and capitalist underpinnings, a phrase like eroticeconomy is bound to turn our thoughts to the sex industry, pornography and adult entertainment or, perhaps even worse, to the dreary notion of sexual capital – a dark, asset-based perspective on erotic power.

We are inundated daily with images of balloonishly inflated boobs, untemptingly taut torsos and artificially outsized arses or the opposite—skeletal legs and faces. This isn’t erotic, it’s neurotic, cartoonish and grotesque. These cultural fetishes are junk food, offering a momentary mirage of satisfaction but in the longer term sexually malnourishing. If you’re like me, you are sick of these dehumanizing cultural phenomena: tired Kardashian tropes about what is sexy and the constant application of the word capital to human beings who are used, exchanged and depleted in the process.  

But we don’t have to think this way. Here’s Lorde again

“Once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that they feel in accordance with that joy which we know ourselves to be capable of. Our erotic knowledge empowers us, becomes a lens through which we scrutinize all aspects of our existence, forcing us to evaluate those aspects honestly in terms of their relative meaning within our lives. And this is a grave responsibility, projected from within each of us, not to settle for the convenient, the shoddy, the conventionally expected, nor the merely safe.”

Unfortunately, conventional economics does just that—settling for the convenient, shoddy and expected by focusing on private profits and the financial bottom line. What’s missing is creative tension, a vital and free interplay between forces, people, ideas, exchanges, colors, genders, sexualities and intellects, brimming with hopeful and authentic purpose and satisfaction.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the depths of economic reductionism parallel the heights of capitalism’s hubris. After all, a recent Presidential ‘debate’ between Republican contenders in the USA featured Donald Trump comparing his genitals with those of a group of fellow frat boys. Definitely not erotic.

What Lorde is saying, it seems to me, is that “erotic knowledge” in the deeper and richer sense provides a radically different foundation for politics and the economy, and one that has some strong historical precedents. For example, less than a year after the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911 in which more than 100 young women perished in New York, the Bread and Roses textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts galvanized the international labor movement by refusing “an economistic approach that reduced the question of justice to the fulfillment of bare needs

Instead, their campaign slogan—“We need bread, but we need roses, too”—challenged the prevailing notion of a ‘hierarchy of needs’ by placing human dignity and creativity at the same level as physiology. As a sustainable apparel entrepreneur, I’m keenly aware that just over a century later in 2013, more than 1,100 people died in the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where many American clothing companies manufactured cheap, fast fashion. In the process, people of relative privilege in one part of the world made themselves look sexy in exchange for the blood, trauma and lives that were lost elsewhere. This is the opposite of a true, erotic economy.

In the existing scheme of things, people are objectified in a system that’s invested in making sure that we dress, act, perform and compete in the public arena as economic units, while keeping our erotic power silenced in private isolation. The conventional economy manipulates and manufactures our desires; it doesn’t liberate them to be used in processes of transformation as Lorde demands.

That sort of transformation starts with the moral and aesthetic desire to design a better system that reflects our highest ideals. Then it provides a structural platform made up from a basic income, fair labor and wealth distribution, and social-safety nets on which people can be free to learn, contribute, care and create rather than to compete, leverage and destroy. An erotic economy like this would underwrite and unleash everyone’s creativity and capacity for living, re-imagining economics not as a manipulative and mechanistic game but as a humanly crafted means to liberation.

In my own work I’m trying to put these ideals into practice by creating a radically different incubator called the Imaginarium, which aims to honor and nurture the value of poetic, creative and erotic elements in new start-ups. I envision a free, local community platform for discussion, engagement, and the development of ideas, which will help to reclaim the human capacity for free thinking and imagination.

The erotic economy is a yin economy, a full inversion of everything we currently believe about economics, driven not by unsexy abstract dollars and cardboard men in suits but by human beings who fulfill their unique capacities for inquiry, inventiveness, experimentation, emotion, love, empathy and free expression. If these things can be made into our common currency instead of money and shareholder value, then true wealth might be available to all, even to those who are already financially well-off.

If we stopped imprisoning our emotions in industrially manufactured profit centers and let them permeate our entire human enterprise, desire will be ours again. The erotic economy could be a supremely renewable form of energy and an engine of social transformation.

This article was published on Open Democracy.
 

Targeted by Bajrang Dal goons in Nagpur, Fearless Kanhaiya Kumar unhurt, unfazed

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Photo Courtesy: ANI

First they threw stones at the car in which Kanhaiya Kumar, president of JNU students union, was travelling from Nagpur airport to the city today to address a public meeting at the Dhanwate Hall on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.  Next, at the jam packed hall, some shoes and slippers were hurled and a few even tried to jump on to the dais in an unsuccessful bid to disrupt the meeting.

But Kumar was unfazed. Mocking the hooligans who called him a “traitor”, he asked if their conduct accorded with Hindutva’s idea of “patriotism”. “Nagpur is Babasaheb Ambedkar’s land, not Golwalkar’s [ideologue-in-chief of the RSS},” said Kumar. “Sangh headquarters is not Parliament and Manu Smruti is not the Constitution,” he added.

It may be recalled that on October 14, 1956, Dr. Ambedkar had converted to Buddhism along with over 3 lakh of his followers at a mammoth rally in Nagpur protesting against the inequities and indignities of the caste system.

"The atmosphere at the meeting was electric", Sharad Dudhat an activist from Nagpur told SabrangIndia. "The Dhanwate Hall was jam-packed and there were nothing less than 1,500-2,000 people outside the hall which accomodates around 1,200 persons, The best part is that an overwhelming majority of those assembled were students and young people.I can't remember when I last attended a meeting as exciting as today's in Nagpur". Kumar who spoke for about 45 minutes was greeted with thunderous applause time and again as he spoke about his idea of Azaadi, said Dudhat.

According to news reports five persons have been detained by the police.

Here is the text of his speech at Nagpur:

 

Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Scathing Attacks on Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra

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Babasaheb Ambedkar is equally critical of the Muslim League as the Idea of a Hindu Nation


 
On the Eve of Babasaheb's 125th Birth Anniversary, April 14, 2016, the Haryana Government Heaps Insults on Dalit History by renaming Gurgaon as Gurugram
 
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is terribly busy re-writing history these days. It will be more appropriate to call it a guillotining of history, as facts and historical realities are being sacrificed at the altar of the political ambitions of the Hindutvawaadis.
 
So far this ‘creativity’ was restricted to the works and words of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and Sardar Patel. Of late Babasaheb Ambedkar appears to have become the latest victim of the malafide manufacturing of history by the flag-bearers of Hindutva. Dr Ambedkar is being –assiduously and insidiously — presented as a leader in the league of (sic)  K.B. Hedgewar and M.S. Golwalkar: Defending the cause of the Hindu Rashtra.
 
Way back in 2003 it was Vinay Katiyar, the former head of Bajrang Dal and a diehard product of RSS cadres, who first declared that B.R. Ambedkar was a great supporter of both Hindutva and the Hindu Rashtra, just like KB Hedgewar, the founder of the RSS.
 
In the more recent past, this attempt at hijacking of Dr. Ambedkar has accelerated with the coming to power of the RSS-BJP combine in India in 2014. True to its tradition, RSS-sponsored ‘think tanks and 'thinkers' have started manufacturing their version of a manipulated history. They have –predictably but no less shamelessly –gone to the extent of putting words in Ambedkar’s mouth; attributing to him –Babasaheb—words that he neither spoke, wrote or believed.  
 
On the eve of 124th birth anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar (2015), the RSS published special issues of both its English and Hindi organs. One of the articles in these, written by a joint general secretary of the RSS, Krishna Gopal said, “Untouchability was not part of Hinduism but originated during the 'Muslim' rule.” According to Gopal: "He (Ambedkar) says Untouchability encrypted Hindu society 12 to 13 hundred years ago."
 
Now this is as bizarre as it is untrue. Dr. Ambedkar renounced Hinduism in 1956 because of its repressive elements and converted to Buddhism.
 
In his remarkably written, polemical piece, What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables, he wrote, “To put the matter in general terms, Hinduism and social union are incompatible. By its very genius Hinduism believes in social separation which is another name for social disunity and even creates social separation. If Hindus wish to be one, they will have to discard Hinduism. They cannot be one without violating Hinduism. Hinduism is the greatest obstacle to Hindu Unity. Hinduism cannot create that longing to belong which is the basis of all social unity. On the contrary Hinduism creates an eagerness to separate”.
 
These crass efforts to portray Dr. Ambedkar and his legacy,to parade him so to say, as a supporter of Hindutva do him great injustice. Throughout his life he was a great opponent to the politics of Hindutva and the Muslim League, both. His book, Pakistan or The Partition of India (1940) is a living testimony of his views. They are well articulated and speak out against the nefarious designs of communal elements in India. His ideas and warnings on Hindutva contained in this book can, and must, work as great bulwark in checking the resurgence of forces of Hindu communalism.
 
Contrary to what RSS 'thinkers' are telling us, Dr. Ambedkar felt thus, “If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt, be the greatest calamity for this country No matter what the Hindus say. Hinduism is a menace to liberty, equality and fraternity. On that account it is incompatible with democracy. Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost.” According to him the pet slogan of Hindutvawaadis —Hindustan for Hindus—is and was, not merely an arrogantly held belief but amounted to, arrant nonsense.
 
Ambedkar was of the firm opinion that Hindutva was nothing but a ploy of high caste Hindus to maintain their hegemony over the resources of society. While comparing them with Muslim communalists he said: “The Hindus are the more difficult of the two parties to the question. In this connection it is enough to consider the reaction of the high caste Hindus only. For, it is they who guide the Hindu masses and form Hindu opinion. Unfortunately, the high caste Hindus are bad as leaders. They have a trait of character which often leads the Hindus to disaster. This trait is formed by their acquisitive instinct and aversion to share with others the good things of life. They have a monopoly of education and wealth, and with wealth and education they have captured the State. To keep this monopoly to themselves has been the ambition and goal of their life. Charged with this selfish idea of class domination, they take every move to exclude the lower classes of Hindus from wealth, education and power…This attitude of keeping education, wealth and power as a close preserve for themselves and refusing to share it, which the high caste Hindus have developed in their relation with the lower classes of Hindus, is sought to be extended by them to the Muslims. They want to exclude the Muslims from place and power, as they have done to the lower class Hindus. This trait of the high caste Hindus is the key to the understanding of their politics.”

These crass efforts (by the RSS-BJP) to portray Dr. Ambedkar and his legacy,to parade him so to say, as a supporter of Hindutva do him great injustice. Throughout his life he was a great opponent to the politics of Hindutva and the Muslim League, both.

 
Ambedkar as a leader and fighter for a Secular India did not differentiate between the flag-bearers of Hindutva and the Muslim League. He treated them as two faces of the same coin bent upon destroying India. He wrote: “Strange as it may appear, Mr. Savarkar and Mr. Jinnah instead of being opposed to each other on the one nation versus two nations issue are in complete agreement about it. Both agree, not only agree but insist that there are two nations in India—one the Muslim nation and the other Hindu nation.”
 
Baba Saheb did not mince words either, when he wrote, “It must be said that Mr. Savarkar's attitude is illogical, if not queer. Mr. Savarkar admits that the Muslims are a separate nation. He concedes that they have a right to cultural autonomy. He allows them to have a national flag. Yet he opposes the demand of the Muslim nation for a separate national home. If he claims a national home for the Hindu nation, how can he refuse the claim of the Muslim nation for a national home?”
 
Dr. Ambedkar was fully conscious of the real designs the politics of Hindutva on the minorities. He believed there would not have been any problem if Hindus and Muslims were allowed to live as partners with mutual respect and accord. But according to him, “this is not to be, because Mr. Savarkar will not allow the Muslim nation to be co-equal in authority with the Hindu nation. He wants the Hindu nation to be dominant nation and the Muslim nation to be the servient one.”
 
Ambedkar as a true secularist stood for "forming mixed political parties based on an agreed programme of social and economic regeneration, and thereby avoid the danger of both Hindu Raj or Muslim Raj becoming a fact. Nor should the formation of a mixed party of Hindus and Muslims be difficult in India. There are many lower orders in the Hindu society, whose economic, political and social needs are the same as those of the majority of the Muslims and they would be far more ready to make a common cause with the Muslims for achieving common end than they would with the high caste of Hindus who have denied and deprived them of ordinary human right for centuries.”
 
We must not forget that Dr. Ambedkar was forced to resign as India’s first law minister in 1951 due to an aggressive campaign against him by these very Hindutva organisations that today brazenly try to appropriate him and his legacy. Dr Ambedkar was made the target of a bitter campaign by the proponents of Hindutva who were opposed to his draft of Hindu Code Bill which aimed at providing share to Hindu women in property and gender equality.
 
Why is it, that despite this inherent contradiction — embodied in the anti-Hindutva ideas and analyses by Dr. Ambedkar himself — and Hindutva's antipathy to the egalitarian agenda of Babasaheb, is the RSS embroiled in this Goebelsian propaganda  about his orientation and legacy? 
 
One of the reasons is that the RSS –that seeks to be the moral arbiter of the Modi Regime’s brand of Hindutva — has played absolutely no role in the freedom struggle of the country and is desperate to claim some part of that heroic heritage.

But the RSS needs Dr. Ambedkar for another reason too. Despite the doublespeak by this regime on globalisation, the Indian Government led by its favourite swayamsevaks has also been functioning as a stooge for the forces of crony capitalism. India’s Dalits have been the worst victims of this process –transfer of public resources to the private sector — of both liberalisation and globalisation as they are, sectorally, the worst sufferers – among those who have lost livelihood in the public sector. The present breed of politicians governed by the ideology of Hindutva —by creating a public facade of love for Dr. Ambedkar– wants to, in actuality, through this empty symbolism, also hide its real anti-people face.

How much do the leaders who espouse Hindutva actually respect Baba Saheb and Dalit sentiments? The answer can be had from their most recent action on the eve of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar.

The RSS/BJP ruled Haryana government has decided to change the name of its major city Gurgaon to Gurugram (after Dronacharya) There could not be a worse humiliation of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, a Dalit icon on his 125th birth anniversary.

The RSS/BJP ruled Haryana government has decided to change the name of its major city Gurgaon to Gurugram. This change has been justified on the ground that this area was the abode of Guru Dronacharya during the times of the Mahabharata; hence the change is to honour him.

There could not be a worse humiliation of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, a Dalit icon on his 125th birth anniversary. Guru Dronacharya was the Guru who deceitfully deprived a fine archer, Ekalavya of his thumb (by demanding that his thumb be sacrificed as 'guru dakshina') so that he could not compete –and win—an archery contest with the Guru's high Caste Kaurav and Pandava students!

This renaming of Gurgaon to Gurugram does not merely reveal the brazen insensitivity of RSS/BJP rulers to the History of the Oppressed, Dalit Bahujan History on Dr Ambedkar's 125th Birth Anniversary. This action, like many others, also exposes the contradictions and hypocrisies inherent within the politics of Hindutva.

A Timeline on Civilian Killings in Kashmir

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The Handwara Killings, Source: Facebook;

When Jammu & Kashmir Police’s Media Centre issued a statement on the killing of two young boys at the hands of armed forces in north Kashmir’s Handwara town on April 12, it sounded all too familiar.

A description of events unfolded in this carefully drafted police statement: “Today afternoon an alleged incident of misbehaviour with / molestation of a girl by an army man took place in Handwara town. Within minutes, public in large numbers gathered there and attacked the army bunker in Handwara chowk. They assaulted the personnel deployed there, ransacked the bunker and attempted to set fire to the bunker etc. In retaliation the security forces deployed used force to disperse the violent rampaging mob. In the process, two individuals namely Mohammad Iqbal R/O Bomhama, Kupwara and Nayeem Qadir Bhat S/O Gh. Qadir Bhat R/O Banday Mohalla, Handwara, sustained fire-arm injuries. They were evacuated to hospital where they, unfortunately, succumbed to their injuries.”

“J&K Police deeply regrets the loss of life. A criminal case has been registered in Police Station Handwara and investigation launched to ascertain the facts,” it added.
After all, these killings were not the first of their kind in Kashmir. And sadly, these won’t be the last. That is the sad reality. The new normal in Kashmir; Kashmir’s unarmed civilians killed in cold blood have become mere statistics in the larger Kashmir narrative.

The Police issue a statement of regret, the army promises probes and punishment to the guilty while expressing regret in an authoritative language, the political bishops across the board sell dreams and also deliver sermons, and the pro-freedom alliance Hurriyat Conference gives a call for valley wide shutdowns against these killings. This cycle has been repeated so many times. Yes, so many times.

All of the Kashmir valley has observed a strike against the killing of four persons, including an old woman and a bright cricketer Nayeem, for the last two days. On April 14, it will be the third straight day of a complete shutdown and strike and even curfew in parts of Kupwara and Handwara; curfew-like restrictions have been applied to some parts of downtown Srinagar.

But there will be no ‘national’ prime time television debates on the killings of four unarmed civilians in Kashmir, because most channels will be busy on debating how a rich man’s son lost 108 kilos in 18 months. In sharp contrast, when some outstation (read non-Kashmiri) engineering students received minor bruises at Srinagar’s NIT last week, Indian television anchors were outraged, shouting on the Newshour at 9!. Why should they care at all if four Kashmiris have been shot dead by the Indian armed forces? The ‘national interest’ lies in protecting the guilty soldiers.

Questioning the impunity of the Indian Army under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) will ‘demoralise’ the forces working under “extraordinary circumstances” in Kashmir, dealing with a hostile (unarmed) population!

All the four civilians were shot at in Handwara after the locals there staged protests against the alleged molestation of a minor girl by the army, which the army has, since, denied.

At least 27 others are injured. The loss of Kashmiri lives however makes no news because some player in the cash-rich IPL cricket game has hit some monstrous sixes!
The London based human rights body Amnesty International too has issued a statement to saying that “security forces should refrain from excessive use of force against civilians”. “Authorities must conduct a full and independent criminal investigation into the killing of three [now four] protesters in firing by Indian Army personnel in Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir. Those responsible must be prosecuted in a civilian court of law. An incident of alleged sexual assault against a teenage girl by a soldier, which is believed to have led to the protests, must also be promptly investigated,” the AI said.


The Handwara Killings, Source: Facebook

So who cares when it comes to civilian killings in Kashmir?

After this latest killing spree, the newly installed coalition government headed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will have a lot of explaining to do. This killing spree is part of a larger malaise. Killing people for sport in Kashmir has become an ugly routine since the early 1990s. To kill is an attempt to silence the voices that call for a political resolution to the Kashmir imbroglio and further, to prevent them from articulating their political and economic aspirations. To kill is to instil a fear of the state and its security apparatus in the hearts and minds of the people. To kill is to criminalise and de-legitimise the political opinion of the people.

Jammu and Kashmir’s first woman chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has met the Indian Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, on the morning of April 13, a Wednesday, in New Delhi and “discussed with him the unfortunate firing incident at Handwara yesterday in which three [now four] civilians, including a woman, were killed.” “During the meeting, the Chief Minister called for a time-bound enquiry into the incident so that those responsible for the deaths are handed exemplary punishment,” a statement released by Jammu and Kashmir’s Information Department said.

Regardless of what happens to the PDP-BJP partnership in the immediate future, the fact is that the PDP knows fully well how successfully it has hoodwinked its own voters by promising them, first to fight the BJP’s Mission 44+ electoral dream and then ‘joining hands with the enemy’, an ultra supremacist party, simply to grab power.

A Timeline of Killings in Kashmir

February 2016
Meanwhile, not that long ago (in February 2016) Kashmir was on the boil after the killings of Danish Farooq Mir, a student of bachelor of Technology (B-Tech) at the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) in Awantipora, and Shaista Hameed, who was pursuing her Master’s degree after completing her Bachelors in Education (B.Ed).

The debate on the “collateral damage” in encounters between militants and armed forces isn’t new to Kashmir. Both Danish and Shaista were residents of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district and got killed in police and army firing following an encounter between a group of militants and government forces at Kakapora.
Police claimed to have killed one militant in the encounter. The slain militant was identified as Adil Ahmad Shergojri alias Abu Bakar, son of Muhammad Ashraf, resident of Banderpora, allegedly bearing allegiance to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

How the Events Unfolded
While the world celebrated or observed Valentine’s Day on February 14, Kashmir Valley witnessed bloodshed as two civilians, including a girl student, got killed in Pulwama district. Four others received injuries. Doctors confirmed that both Danish and Shaista had bullet wounds above their waists. After being hit by the bullets they were removed to Pulwama and Pampore hospitals, but the doctors declared them as “brought dead”.

Both factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), headed by Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq respectively, and the pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) led by Mohammad Yasin Malik had given the shutdown call against the killings.

The Srinagar-based head priest and chairman of a faction of the APHC said that “killing civilians during peaceful protests was now a new normal in Kashmir.”
“Unfortunately, killing civilians and unarmed protesters has become a routine, a new normal, in Kashmir because the government forces enjoy unbridled powers, whether under elected governments or under Governor’s rule,” the Mirwaiz said.

“The Indian soldiers deal with the protesters in a violent manner. After each killing severe restrictions are placed, and curfew is clamped. There is no accountability here,” he added.The Hurriyat chairman also said that the enquiry initiated by the authorities into the latest killings was a “farce”. “This vicious cycle of violence will only be repeated. We have to wait to receive one more body bag,” he said.He was proven right after four more civilians were killed by the armed forces on April 12, this time in north Kashmir’s Handwara town. After each civilian killing, the police and army come up with a strangely worded statement. Yes, a carefully drafted but strange statement.

 
The Srinagar-based English Daily ‘Rising Kashmir’ report revealed that at least 26 civilians were killed in Kashmir from January 1 until August 11, 2015, while 29 civilians died in 2014. Between August to December 2015, 26 more civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the civilian death toll to 55.

The Police Version

 “Today (February 14) security forces/police components of Pampore, Awantipora, Kakapora, 50 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and 183 battalion of CRPF laid cordon in Astan Mohalla Kakapora, Pulwama. As search was going on, the militants hiding in a house opened indiscriminate firing on security forces. The police started evacuating civilians trapped inside the cordon. A large number of people were evacuated but a lady named Shaista while taking cover was hit by a bullet. She was evacuated to hospital where she was declared dead. Some more miscreants/ stone-pelters received bullet injuries in the cross fire. A large number of people despite imposition of Section 144 CRPC came near encounter site where militants were firing indiscriminately on security forces from inside. They were pelting stones on security forces. One terrorist was killed in the encounter, identified as Adil Ahmad Shergojri alias Abu Bakar, son of Muhammad Ashraf, resident of Banderpora, affiliated with LeT. Due to heavy stone pelting and ensuing law and order situation the security forces had to resort to tear smoke shelling as a result of which some protesters received injuries. Due to heavy stone pelting two terrorists managed to escape. Six army men received injuries in the stone pelting. Apart from this, 15 policemen also got injured in stone pelting.”

Timeline 2015
Civilians often become cannon fodder in a conflict zone like Kashmir. Nayeem and Iqbal or Danish and Shaista are not the only civilians to have died in police and army firings. Neither will they be the last.

Last year, 2015, as many as 55 civilians were killed in different incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a report entitled ‘Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Review-2015’ compiled by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), the graph of killings witnessed upswing in 2015. The report claims that “militarisation” of the Himalayan region was responsible for the civilian killings.

“In 2015, the graph of killings witnessed upswing with 219 deaths, which belies the drop-in-violence claims by the government. The month long Kupwara siege by the army to catch or kill trapped militants again points to the tightening noose of militarisation which continues to be responsible for widespread violence in Jammu and Kashmir,” the JKCCS report says. Of the 219 deaths in 2015, at least 55 were civilian killings while 106 were killings of militants and 58 of armed forces.

“The gruesome killing of 55 civilians during the year [2015] belied the claim of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, on September 15, that ‘not a single bullet was fired on civilians’ during his 7 month tenure as chief minister (when the number of civilians killed stood at 41),” the report says.

The Srinagar-based English Daily ‘Rising Kashmir’ report revealed that at least 26 civilians were killed in Kashmir from January 1 until August 11, 2015, while 29 civilians died in
2014. Between August to December 2015, 26 more civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the civilian death toll to 55.

In August last year, a 26-year-old civilian named Bilal Ahmad Bhat of Padgampora in Pulwama district was killed after the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) personnel opened fire on a group of people protesting against the death of two LeT militants in Ratnipora area.

At that time, Jammu and Kashmir Police lodged First Information Report (FIR) number 244-2015 under Section 307 against the BSF personnel, part of the Road Opening Party, in connection with the civilian’s killing.

Strangely, the BSF filed a counter FIR on the grounds that the paramilitary troopers came under attack from a mob “putting us into a life threatening situation”. On November 7, a 22-year Gowhar Nazir of HMT Srinagar, an engineering student at SSM College Parihaspora, was killed in the firing by the CRPF in Zainakote area. More than 10 witnesses had recorded their statement before the inquiry officer in this regard. He had received bullet injuries.
It was the same day when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Srinagar.

Earlier Killings
As many as five civilians were killed in cold blood in south Kashmir’s Pathribal area and dubbed as “foreign mercenaries” following the massacre of around 35 members of the Sikh community in Chattisinghpora in March 2000. Even the CBI established that those killed and dubbed as militants by the Indian army were innocent civilians.

In July 2005, three teenaged boys were mercilessly killed by the army in north Kashmir’s frontier district of Kupwara. Tens of thousands of people protested against the killings.

At that time, the then General Officer Commanding the Srinagar-based 15 Corps in a press conference at Badami Bagh cantonment had said this:  “This incident was unfortunate and most regrettable. It was an ‘error of judgment’ on part of the troops who opened fire on the
teenaged boys.”

Afterwards, two more civilians were killed in Doodhipora village in Handwara while another 25-year old civilian Hilal Ahmad was killed at the hands of 27-Rashtriya Rifles in Aloosa Bandipora.

Defending the Indefensible
As government forces enjoy impunity by virtue of laws like the AFSPA in force since the mid-1990s, civilians have often found themselves at the receiving end. Official statements like “we do not shoot to kill,” “it was a mistaken identity,” “it was an aberration,” etc, have become superfluous. After every civilian killing the paramilitary forces and police argue that they fired in “self-defence” and also insist that the civilian killing was an “aberration”; the government orders an “impartial probe” and the pro-freedom resistance camp calls for a shutdown in protest.

Anyway, these killings are mere symptoms. The heavy presence of the army and paramilitary in every nook and cranny of the beleaguered valley is the disease. And that is the big, fat elephant in the room: the unresolved Kashmir dispute!

(The author is a journalist, commentator and political analyst from Srinagar. He is South Asia Journalism Programme/ Chevening fellow 2015 and Munich Young Leader 2014. He formerly served Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany) as Editor in Bonn for several years)

Cover Picture: Nayeem Qadir Bhat, playing Cricket on the streets of Handwara, Source: facebook

Are People More Important or IPL Matches: Bombay High Court

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UPDATE:

On April 13, the Bombay High Court directed that some of the IPL matches should be shifted out of Maharashtra. This marks more than a measure of victory for the Loksatta team that had file the petition on April 4 challenging the use of water for these matches when the state faces a crippling drought.

"We give you (BCCI) 15 days to take steps to move out the matches to venues outside the state," said a bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice M S Karnik. The Bombay High Court on April 13 asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to shift all Indian Premier League (IPL) matches out of Maharashtra after April 30.

This means only six IPL matches will be played in the state, and 13, including the final, will go out. The HC passed the order to ensure that non-potable water is not wasted in maintaining grounds and pitches at stadiums.

The petition had been filed on April 4. The first match was on April 9. Sabrangindia had reported on the filing of the petition. "Are People More Important or IPL Matches:" the  Bombay High Court had asked on the first day of hearing, April 6.

Bombay HC suggests shifting Nine IPL Matches at Three Venues out of Maharashtra as the State reels under acute water shortage caused by a third consecutive year of drought

Severely criticising the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and other cricket associations in Maharashtra and Mumbai over water wastage when the state is reeling under a severe drought, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, April 6 said ideally the Indian Premier League matches should be shifted elsewhere, where there is no water crisis. "Only if water supply to BCCI is cut, you will understand," the court observed.

The court also pulled up the state government stating that, ultimately it is the government's responsibility and duty to do something about the water wastage during the IPL games and impose some kind of restraint. It also asked the state government to spell out by Thursday, April 7 what steps it plans to take on the issue. Advocate General Rohit Deo has been directed to appear for the state government in the matter on Thursday (April 7). Sabrangindia had reported a filing of the public interest petition on April 4. A copy of the petition can be read here.

Loksatta Movement PIL against IPL matches in Maharashtra

The Loksatta movement had, on April 4 filed a petition challenging the wisdom of holding 20 matches at three venues of the IPL-9 2016 matches in Maharashtra when the state is reeling under drought and there are severe water shortages both in rural and urban areas.

Huge quantities (nearly 60 lakh litres) of water is proposed and ready to be willingly wasted by The Board of Control for Cricket in India, The Mumbai Cricket Association, The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, the Vidarbha Cricket Association, all being the Respondent(s) Nos. 6 to 9 in the petition.These authorities are being asked to answer, through this petition, how they can justify maintaining the Cricket Pitches in the three venues nominated for Indian Premier League, 2016, in the State of Maharashtra, especially when the State is reeling through the worst kind of drought in a century and is facing acute shortage of water as the level of water in dams and lakes in the State has gone down.

The Court’s remarks today were sharp as reported by rediff.com. "How can you (cricket associations and BCCI) waste water like this. People are more important or your IPL matches? How can you be so careless? Who wastes water like this? This is criminal wastage. You know what the condition is in Maharashtra," a division bench headed by Justices V M Kanade and M S Karnik said, while hearing a PIL filed by NGO 'Loksatta Movement'.

The court also asked whether according to BCCI and the other cricket bodies, cricket matches are more important."Ideally, you should shift the IPL matches to some other state where water is in abundance," the court observed.

Responses have been sought from all other respondents, including the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Vidarbha Cricket Association, Maharashtra government and the civic bodies of Mumbai and Nagpur. The PIL has challenged the use of nearly 60 lakh litres of water to maintain pitches at three stadiums in the state which will hold IPL matches.

The court also asked the Mumbai Cricket Association how much water would be used in Wankhede stadium, to which MCA's advocate said they would be using over 40 lakh litres water for the seven IPL matches to be held there.To this, the court said it is a huge number.

The Petitioners, the Loksatta movement have requested that, pending hearing of the PIL, the court should grant an interim order restraining all the cricket associations in Maharashtra from using water to maintain the pitches.The high court said it will consider the interim relief sought by the petitioner, during the hearing on Thursday. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's advocate Trupti Puranik told the high court on Wednesday that they are supplying water to Wankhede stadium only for drinking purposes. Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA)'s advocate told the court that they are purchasing water to maintain the pitches. This water is non-portable and cannot be used for drinking purposes. He also said that the association will come out with some contingency plan to tackle the water crisis.

The advocate appearing for the petitioner, however, said several villages in Maharashtra do not even have water for sanitation, cooking and other purposes. This non-portable water could be of use in such villages.  The court also observed that water shortage is not just in Marathwada region, the situation is equally bad in Thane, adjoining Mumbai. The petitioner's lawyer then reportedly pointed out that from April 5 to 9, there will be absolutely no water supply in Thane. The court also noted that in some places in Maharashtra, prohibitory orders under section 144 has been imposed in the vicinity of water supply spots. Notably, authorities in Parbhani town and Latur in the parched Marathwada region of the state, which is experiencing an unprecedented water scarcity this summer, have imposed prohibitory orders near water supply spots in the town.

As reported by Sabrangindia on April 4, the petition filed by Loksatta also states that:

There is already a scarcity of drinking water and water for sanitation purposes and The State of Maharashtra, Through its Water Resources Department, The Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority,The Mumbai Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), The Nagpur Municipal Corporation, The Pune Municipal Corporation, being the Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 have not raised any objection to the proposed wastage thereby violating the Article 21 and 47 of the Constitution of India as also violating the National Water Policy and the State Water Policy.
 
The citizens movement, Loksatta has prayed for a re-location and alteration of its venues for the IPL 2016 and said that the games should be held outside Maharashtra. Further, the petitioner has held that that the state government and Maharashtra Water Regulatory Authority respectively (Respondent Nos. 1 and 2) should be specifically directed by the High Court to preserve the water proposed to be used by the Corporations and Cricket associations (Respondents No. 5 to 9) and this should be utilised for the purpose of domestic use for drinking, cooking, hygiene and sanitation needs including livestock, or agriculture, as may be deemed fit by the Respondent No. 2. Among the nine respondents apart from 1 and 2 are the corporations of Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune, and the cricket associations that include BCCI, Mumbai Cricket Association, Maharashtra Cricket Association and Vidharba Cricket Association.
 
The petition also prays that the High Court should direct all respondents to ‘scrupulously follow the provisions of the Sections 11 and 12 of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority Act, 2005 before providing water to Respondent Nos. 5 to 9 for any of the purpose throughout the State of Maharashtra’. In the alternative, the petitioner has prayed for the scare quantity of water available to be used by respondents for the sole purposes Priority 4(e) / 4(d) of the State Water Policy List; and that the High Court should frame guidelines as regards the usage and allocation of water resources for the purpose of IPL and similar Priority 4(e) / 4(d) of the State Water Policy List activities..

Finally, the petition also prays that all the cricket bodies and associations should be restrained by the High Court from utilising the water for the purpose of preparing / maintaining the Cricket Pitches, by using the Municipal Water from any sources, including tankers.

First Person: How the Police Battered and Brutalised Arrested Students and Professors of UoH

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I am an M Phil research scholar, from the department of English, School of Humanities and I am one of the arrested students in connection with the protest against the VC of UoH (University of Hyderabad). I belong to a minority community of West Bengal. My family is financially backward. Here I would like to narrate the police brutality on me and my fellow victims in police van on the way from UoH to Miyapur Police Station on  March 22.

Before coming to UoH I was naive about the problems in society. I had no idea of the pathetic and dehumanised condition of the Dalits and the adivasis. I was hardly aware of the dangerous consequences of caste system in Indian society. But after coming to UoH I began to understand the real picture of the caste system which leads to utter discrimination and dehumanisation of the Dalits.

I saw that the caste system makes the lives of Dalits extremely miserable. Realising my responsibility as an independent and right-thinking citizen of this country I found that the caste system is a tool of dehumanisation and therefore it must be annihilated. I stood against this discrimination of the caste system and thus, I aligned with the movement which Rohith Vemula was part of.

Rohith Vemula, being a Dalit, was institutionally discriminated and was forced to take his own life. The university’s vice-chancellor, Appa Rao Podile directly perpetrated the institutional social boycott against the five Dalit students including Rohith. Following the suicide of Rohith, the VC was booked under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act according to whose provision the accused must be arrested within 24 hours from the lodging of FIR.

However though the FIR was lodged on January 18, 2016 till date he has not been arrested. This is a gross violation of the constitutional provision. Instead, he returned to the university and attempted to illegally reclaim his ‘vice chancellorship’ early morning on the March 22.

On the same day, I went to attend a pre-submission seminar in the department of English, School of Humanities, at around 2.00pm. Coming out of the department at around 3.00 pm, I saw that the peacefully protesting women and men teachers and students were being dragged and beaten up mercilessly by the police. The police were chasing and lathi-charging the protesters indiscriminately. It was revolting to see that the protesters were being beaten up for raising their voice against injustice.

It was a day of police violence on democratic and peaceful protesters. But it was most painful to see women students and teachers being mercilessly beaten up by the police. They were thrashed on their private parts. I also witnessed a female teacher being manhandled/molested by the police.

It was a day of police violence on democratic and peaceful protesters. I saw one student losing consciousness and he was rushed to a hospital. Many students got their clothes torn due to the brutal manhandling and lathi-charge. But it was most painful to see women students and teachers being mercilessly beaten up by the police. They were thrashed on their private parts. I also witnessed a female teacher being manhandled/molested by the police.

It was a violation of women’s rights, as women students and teachers were molested by the male police. Dr Tathagata Sengupta, an assistant professor of mathematics was beaten up too. It was a threatening moment in my life. I never saw such police violence in front of my own eyes. I could not restrain myself from speaking against the police and as a result I was the next to be assaulted.

However, the police brutality actually began when one teacher, one film maker and the 16 students including me were chased and dragged into a police van. I was standing near the ‘Goodwill canteen’ which is around 250 metres away from the VC`s lodge where the protests were happening. From where I was standing, I could see students and teacher being dragged into the police van. But I never thought that I would also be a victim of the police brutality.

Suddenly, one police man chased me and caught the collar of my shirt. I pleaded not to apprehend me as I did not commit any crime except the fact that I stood for the justice for Rohith and supported the students’ movement for justice. I feel that I was targeted because I questioned the police on their face why Rohith did not get justice even after more than three months; why the accused for Rohith’s murder have not been punished; on what ground the VC has come to take charge of the university. In response, I was beaten up, thrashed hard and pushed into the police van.

This inhuman and brutal torture continued on all of us for around 50 minutes on the way from UoH to the Miyapur police station. Dragging me into the van the police forcefully pushed me into a corner seat. Before getting hit I quickly looked at a fellow victim Subhadeep Kumar and asked him what might happen to me as for the first time my life I got into a police van. He assured me that nothing will happen as I did not commit anything wrong.

I could not turn my face to have a look at the rest of the victims in the van, because again the police hit me on my shoulder. I pleaded with them but the police pulled my hair and punched me hard on my back. Another policeman rushed towards me, snatched my mobile and spectacle. But when I pleaded with him to give me back the spectacle as I have a serious eye problem, the policeman boxed me on my right eye, asking why despite being visually challenged I spoke against the police.

Whenever I tried to look at my fellow companions who were beaten up black and blue, the police hit me and cowed me down, so that I could not raise my head again. I heard my fellow students shrieking in pain as they were mercilessly thrashed. Those who had beards and ‘looked like Muslims’ were beaten up specifically, as the police suspected them to ‘like’ the terrorists.

The sound of slapping and hitting still haunts my mind and I feel the pain. Professor K Y Ratnam was also a victim of the police brutality. A filmmaker, Moses Abhilash too was an unlucky victim of the brutality. Abhilash was video shooting the police lathicharge which they did not want the public to see.

The police beatings left wounds on my body. When I requested for water they gave it to me only to beat me up again. The physical assault was extremely systematic and cruel. At that moment I doubted whether I was at all a human being.

While beating us, the police also unleashed a torrent of filthy verbal abuse against all of us. During the journey of police brutality from the UoH to Miyapur P. S., the police were continuously abusing us with the most vulgar and objectionable language. “Madar…., behen…., chu…., bhos….” etc were the words they were throwing at us.

While beating us, the police also unleashed a torrent of filthy verbal abuse against all of us. During the journey of police brutality from the UoH to Miyapur P. S., the police were continuously abusing us with the most vulgar and objectionable language. “Madar…., behen…., chu…., bhos….” etc were the words they were throwing at us. They called us Pakistani ISI agents and alleged that we were spending Indian money and supporting Pakistan and threatened us to send us to Pakistan. They called us anti-national alleging that we are conducting, “beef festival”, “kiss of love”, events on Afzal Guru, Yakub Memon.

They said that they were taking revenge on us for the hard time they had on duty. They also insulted the memory of our departed friend Rohith Vemula saying that he was a ‘bastard’, ‘spoiled child’, that people were unnecessarily paying attention to his death.

They used extremely anti-women, derogatory and sexist comments. They said that they would rape our mothers and sisters, vowed to bring them before us and take their naked videos. They also threatened to do the same with our women friends in the university. Hearing these comments I feel that the safety of women is at great risk and I also feel that the posting of police poses a direct threat to women teachers, students and workers on the campus. Their comments and attitude were dangerous as far as the safety and security of women is concerned. It is appalling how the police remarked against women.

After the brutal torture in the police van we were subjected to harassment in Miyapur police station. After reaching there all of us were made to sit in a dirty and cramped corridor. The police humiliated us by making our respected teacher Prof K Y Ratnam sit on the same dirty floor. The police lectured us about moral and ethical correctness. They behaved with us very rudely while taking our detailed information and pictures.

On asking about our release the police told us that everything is in hand of their “BIG BOSSES”. They also said that the Gachibowli police have already decided our fate. They kept us awake throughout the night by keeping the lights on in front of our eyes and playing songs and videos. When we requested them to let us sleep they laughed at us.

The next day, a sub-inspector of Miyapur P.S. called me for interrogation. He took down all the information in detail, including details of my family members and relatives. He also took photos of my PAN, Aadhaar and university ID cards and the contact numbers of my relatives by checking my mobile phone. He abused me repeatedly and threatened that in future if something happened in the university, I will be a target even if I do not commit any crime.

Thereafter, we were secretly taken to Balanagar police station where we were again harassed physically and mentally. The police made us sit in a dirty and suffocating room. Professor Ratnam was again humiliated by making him sit at the feet of a policeman who was sitting on a chair and giving us pedantic lecture on nationalism and education, about how we should develop our society etc. This was the same sub-inspector of Miyapur P.S. who had abused me in vulgar language.

He chuckled and lied to me when I asked him where we were being taken to. He also mocked me by calling me “team leader” and “mastermind”. I don’t know his motive for using these terms. But I am apprehensive that it is because of my Muslim identity that he was targeting me. I was also not allowed to inform my worried family or friends about my whereabouts.

From Balanagar P.S. we were secretly taken to the Government Area Hospital. I had wounds and pain caused by the police brutality the previous day. But I had no reason to expect any medical treatment. In the hospital I was forced to stand in a queue. The doctor issued me a “fit to be produced at court” certificate despite my critical health condition. I also saw Professor K Y Ratnam`s blood pressure reading to touch 220 mark in the BP machine.

After the “treatment” the Gachibowli CI J. Ramesh forced me to sign the arrest papers according to which I was arrested at around 9.00 pm on March 23, whereas actually I was arrested by the police at 5.30pm a day earlier. When I tried to object, the police officer threatened that not signing the arrest papers would result in additional cases against me.

I was denied any interaction with any legal help. When I politely told him, “Sir, my career would be shattered if my future is tarnished by these police cases”, he aggressively threatened me saying, “Shut your mouth up otherwise I will file more cases against you”. I do not know how to express the fear generated in me by officer Ramesh.

I was taken to a magistrate at around 11.40 pm. But the Gachibowli policemen Naveen and Bhupathi did not allow me to appear before the magistrate to narrate my suffering and woes.

After being medically certified as “fit to be produced at court” I was again confined in the police van. It was suffocating and scorching hot. I requested the police to let me stand out of the van until they were ready to move. But the police once again threatened us. I was very hungry as I did not get anything to eat throughout the day. The police did not bother to hear any of my problems. Then I was taken to a magistrate at around 11.40 pm. But the Gachibowli policemen Naveen and Bhupathi did not allow me to appear before the magistrate to narrate my suffering and woes.

On the magistrate’s order I was sent to Cherlapally central prison. In the prison my health deteriorated further. I requested a prison physician for treatment. He gave me a general painkiller injection and some medicine for the wounds and pain caused by the police beating on March 22. But he did not give me any proper treatment which I badly needed. It still pains me to remember that in the prison the doctor was not allowed inside and therefore, I had to take an injection through the window. I also failed to get an eye checkup as a policeman had hit me on my right eye on March 22.

The police action threatened my life and also the hopes of my family. I feel helpless, hopeless and unsafe. The police has filed false cases against me and others with the deliberate intention to destroy our future and our lives.

The police terrorised us to ensure that we do not protest against the government and its agencies. They kept saying that we should only study and not get involved in politics. They wanted to create fear in us so that before protesting again we will remember the trauma of the police brutality. This poignant memory will always be haunting my life.

Courtesy: Sanhati.

Shoot to Kill: Standard Operating Procedure in Kashmir

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Nothing unusual has happened in Handwara. The Indian state has once again proved to be a killer  in Kashmir. Three people have lost their lives because the Indian armed forces decided to defend themselves against people protesting against what they perceived to be a soldier’s harassment and molestation of a Kashmiri woman.

The troops that defend India’s honour, unity and integrity and other such stuff have been trained to shoot to kill rather than answer a town’s questions about the sense of impunity that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the entire apparatus of a de-facto military occupation gives to Indian soldiers in the Kashmir valley. Lets stop pretending this is an exceptional situation, an excess, an anomaly, or even an instance of soldiers going rogue. Whatever be the facts of the case, if the name the village of Kunan Poshpora, or of two women called Nilofar and Asiya mean anything to you, you will know that a predatory sexual profile is part of the operational signature of the Indian armed forces in Kashmir.

Moreover, if you think that the sudden death of unarmed young people in Kashmir is an exceptional situation, just remember what happened only two months ago. A young student called Shaista Hamid, was killed when a bullet fired by Indian soldiers hit her in the verandah of her own home near Pulwama. This happened around the same time when another young person, a soldier called Hanumanthappa, died in an avalanche in Kashmir. If you weigh the accounts of these two deaths, both tragic, both unnecessary, you will find, many minutes of footage, and reams of newsprint, about Hanumanthappa. The chances are, you will find next to nothing on Shaista Hamid. When Hanumantappa joined the armed forces, he knew that he was putting himself in danger. Did Shaista Hamid simply make the mistake of being born in the wrong place, at the wrong time? If you go further back in time, you will find, month by month, unarmed young people falling to the bullets fired from the barrels of guns belonging to the Indian armed forces and paramilitaries in Kashmir. Did they all make the mistake of being simply born in Kashmir, of speaking Kashmiri, of occasionally testing the sound of ‘Azadi’ on their tongues, in their accent?

The sequence of events that unfolded this time in Handwara went something like this. (It was monotonously familiar). An Indian soldier allegedly attempted to molest a Kashmiri woman.Some young people got wind of what was happening and intervened. The public gathered in protest. They asked for the soldier to be punished. The armed forces stationed at a bunker refused to listen to them. The assembled people threw stones. The soldiers fired. Two young men, one of them a promising cricketer, and a woman were injured in the firing. They all succumbed to their injuries.

 
Nayeem Qadir Bhat, playing Cricket on the streets of Handwara

One of those killed, according to the Greater Kashmir newspaper was – Nayeem Qadir Bhat,resident of Banday Mohalla, was a first year student in Government Degree College Handwara, was a cricket buff. Nayeem was selected for All India level coaching camp for cricket three years ago. He had shown extra-ordinary performance in the state level under-19 cricket competition and was especially selected for an All India Under 19 Cricket Coaching Camp.

The Indian nationalism that makes some young people decide that the celebration of a West Indies Cricket victory by Kashmiri students is unacceptable happens to be the same mindset that pumps a bullet into the body of a Kashmiri young man who could one day have played for the cricket team that Indian patriots lose sleep over. Is it only in Kashmir that the otherwise staid game of cricket has such ridiculously tragic consequences? One good reason for the dismantling of nation-states and their imperial projects is the liberation, not just of peoples, but also of sport from the obscenity of nationalism gone rogue.

What happened next in Handwara could have been pre-scripted, The army issued a statement saying that the incident was unfortunate. The chief minister expressed regret. Tomorrow, when the funerals of these three human beings will be the venue of further protests, in all likelihood, the armed forces will use lethal force again (though we hope better sense prevails).  If there are casualties the cycle will repeat itself. Curfew will be imposed. Flag marches will occur. And gradually, another storm of rage will break over the valley of Kashmir.

An incompetent government at the centre, and its client in the state, will act with characteristic and predictable venality. A chain of military command that has learnt nothing at all over decades of facing the people of Kashmir, will commit, again, a series of horrifying and cumulative excesses. The media in Delhi, which had begun fulminating, not entirely unjustifiably, against the Jammu & Kashmir Police for a mild ‘lathe-charge’ on ‘non-local’ (mainland Indian) students when their petulant, spoilt-brattish, inability to take a defeat in cricket gracefully turned into some stone throwing, will now stay silent, or find ways to blame the people who take the bullets in the streets of Kashmir. We have seen this happen before. The army will open fire, and the people will be blamed for being in the way of the hail of bullets.

The comparison will be obvious, but nobody will make it easily in television studios, so lets make it here  – when ‘Indian’ young people at the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar throw stones after a routine cricket match result related tiff, the police beats them with canes, when Kashmiri young people throw stones after being faced with deafening silence in the wake of sexual harassment, the army shoots to kill.

‘Azadi’ in Kashmir is of course an imperative for the Kashmiri people, who understandably, want to be rid of a situation that attempts to normalize an ‘alien’ army shooting to kill young people protesting against sexual harassment, and a thousand other crimes. But echoing the demand of ‘Azadi’ for Kashmir, from India, is now perhaps the only way, we in India, can be rid of the moral stain of having these acts committed in our name.

In the past two months, we have heard, and read, and thought a lot about young people asking for ‘Azadi’, or for their dignity, in their own ways, in the campuses of different Indian universities. We have also seen the brutal police response to those calls for freedom. Notwithstanding the fact that each of those instances of police brutality in Indian universities needs to be condemned (and has been condemned), we also need to recognize the fact that so far, no Indian student in Delhi, or Hyderabad, or Jadavpur, or even, ‘non-local’ students in NIT, Srinagar, have been shot down by any soldier, police or paramilitary trooper. But the merest whisper of a protest in a Kashmir town leads to the use of lethal weapons by the Indian army. Nothing demonstrates more clearly the fact that the Indian state acts differently with different kinds of protestors. When it comes to ‘mainland Indian students in Kashmir’ or protesting students in ‘mainland India’, the Indian state  badmouths, manipulates, imprisons and harasses,in a manner which is vile and cruel, but when it comes to student protestors in Kashmir, it shoots to kill, without hesitation. If anything demonstrates the relationship (and difference) between what Kanhaiya Kumar famously called ‘freedom in’ and ‘freedom from’ India, it is this. Perhaps Kanhaiya Kumar needs to do a little more hard thinking about what the meanings of the word ‘in’ and ‘from’. He is not alone, many of us need to reflect on our unthinking acceptance of the doctrine of the ‘unity and integrity’ of the nation state and its borders. We need to ask, again –  “is the life of human beings more, or less, important than the integrity of maps drawn on paper ?”

I have no doubt that it is once again the right time to ask for Azadi, not just in, India, but also from, India, for Kashmiris. Likewise, perhaps it is also the right time to ask for Azadi, for Indians, from the culpability of being constantly rendered complicit in the enterprise of the deeply immoral military occupation of Kashmir. Students and young people in JNU, Delhi Hyderabad and elsewhere need to march, and to keep marching, not just for Rohith and Delta, but also, now, for Nayeem. Otherwise, there will never be any Azadi, not in Handwara, and not in Hyderabad.

[Note: The three images featured in this post have been taken from the Facebook wall of Suvaid Yaseen. We would be happy to credit the photographer if he/she/they  is/are identified]

UPDATE : April 13, 2016
Since this post was uploaded in the early hours today, several reports have surfaced quoting a testimony of the girl who was allegedly molested. These indicate that the molestation may have been committed by a person in uniform, perhaps school uniform. A video has also been circulated on social media with the testimony of a young woman.

Here is a news report that also quotes this testimony :


At present no one has been able to confirm, or deny,  whether the young woman who is seen speaking in the video is the same person around whom the entire crisis erupted in Handwara. If it is indeed true that she was not molested by a soldier but by someone else then the incident needs to be looked at in another light. Whatever be the case, there can be no excuse whatsoever for the army shooting to kill in response to protests about any such incident. The main point of the above post (which has been modified in the light of emerging reports) does not change, no matter what the circumstances surrounding it. The trigger happy nature of Indian forces in Kashmir is an endemic problem.The solution to this problem lies in the scrapping of the AFSPA, the lifting of the military occupation and the eventual departure of all Indian troops from the Kashmir valley.

Courtesy: Kafila.org

Appoint priests from all castes, follow Ambedkar

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Monopolistic and exclusivist reservation of the posts of priests (archakas) and assignments for collateral duties in temples for members of the upper castes is unlawfuland violates all cannons of equity and justice. It is also unconstitutional, being blatantly contrary to Article 14 (equality before law), Article 15 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) and Article 16 (equality of opportunities in matters of public employment).
 

The status of a caste among Hindus is generally proportionate to the physical contiguity of its members to idols (murti) in temples. Persons religiously entitled and scripturally eligible to conduct devotional and sacramental rites, and theological ceremonies in the sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha)—for instance, people from the Agnihotri, Tantri, Vajpayee, Namboothiriclans—are at the top of the pecking order of Hindu castes.They are the priests.  Those engaged in miscellaneous and auxiliary temple duties like preparing items for worship (pooja) and the deity’s ceremonial food (prasad) occupy the next grade. The security providers stand next in the line.  Unfortunately, in temples administered by governments, this illegal, unethical, unjust and anachronistic system that violates two basic foundational ideals of the Constitution—equality and fraternity—are prevalent throughout India
 

Nearly 2000 temples in Kerala are administered by semi-governmental bodies—Devaswam Boards—constituted under the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950.  It must be remembered that the administrative bureaucracy of these bodies are appointed by the state government, and therefore  have to adhere to the Constitution, especially the principals enshrined in the Preamble, Part-III (Fundamental Rights) and Article 51(a) on Fundamental Duties.
 
Article 13 of the Constitution has declared that all laws which are inconsistent with the provisions of the Fundamental Rights be declared void;such laws include ordinance, order, bylaw, rule, regulation, notification, as well as any custom and usage in force in India. Recently, information about rules and regulations governing the appointment of chief and junior priests in temples under the administrative control of Travancore Devaswam Board was obtained through the RTI Act, 2005 by the author of this article. The data indicated that the posts of priests are exclusively reserved for Malayalee Brahmins. The post of the chief priest of Sabarimala temple is exclusively reserved for a Brahmin family from Chengannoor.  No foolproof, transparent or systematic selection procedure is reportedly followed for the selection of priests in temples. The same for promotions and other professional aspects of the cadre of priests performing poojas.
 
Similar unjust and illegal procedures and practices are followed throughout India in practically all temples and shrines governed by state and central governments or trusts constituted by them. To name a few:Somnath Shiva, Dakor Krishna, Ambaji Devi, and Shymlaji Krishna temples in Gujarat; Kamakhya temple in Assam; NathDwaratemple in Rajasthan; Vaishnav Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir; Kali/Durgatemples in West Bengal; Jagannathtemple in Puri, Orissa; Meenaxi Devi temple in Tamil Nadu; TirupatiBalajitemple in Andhra Pradesh, Siddhi Vinayakatemple in Mumbai.
         
This discriminatory system also goes against specific stipulations in the core scriptures of the Rigveda, the Upanishads, and the Bhagvad Gita. 
 
A few relevant extracts from the holy texts are:
 
“May you move together, speak together in one voice.  Let your minds be of one accord; and like the ancient sages, may you enjoy assigned share of fortune”.
 
“May our counsel or the public prayers be common, and common be our assembly.  May our minds move in accord; May our thinking be in harmony, – common the purpose, and common the desire.    May our prayers and worship be alike, and may our devotional offerings be one and the same.
 
“May your resolves be one; May your hearts feel alike; May your thinking be one; and thus may all of you live happily with thorough union.” (Rigveda, Mandala, 10, Sukta, 191(2 to 4)
 
“Men of self-knowledge are same-sighted on a Brahmana, imbued with learning and humility, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste”. (Bhagvad Gita, Adyaya -5, Sloka 18)
 
“He, who sees Me (universal soul/God) everywhere and sees all in Me, He never becomes lost to me, nor do I become lost to him” (Bhagvad Gita, Adyaya -6, Sloka 30)
 
 

 The metaphysical definition of a Brahmin does not validate the present system of fixing a person’s caste according to his parent’s caste.  The popular definition of Brahmin in scriptures is:
         
 “JanmanaJayate Shudra,
 Samskarodwujautbhavae,
           Veda padhethiBhavetvipraha,
                        Brahma gnanamiBrahmanaha”
           
“At the time of birth, everybody is Shudra (a person kept away from knowledge according to the the Sanskrit etymologistYaskan);  by acquiring education/culture, he becomes twice born; by mastering Veda (means any set of knowledge), one becomes vipra(a man of specialized knowledgeVisheshapragna) and by acquiring knowledge of Brahma (brahmagnanam—spiritual awareness), one becomes a Brahmin”

 
The superiority of an individual solely based on his birth (the basis for jati or caste) is unscientific, illogical and unreasonable.  The Sanskrit etymology of the word ‘jati’ is in ‘janmanajati’ that is, caste is based on birth. Since 300 CE (Common Era), the caste system has blocked socioeconomic, educational and cultural mobility in Indian society, thus keeping India backward in most fields.
 
One way to bring about change as envisaged by Ambedkar would be for the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to introduce suitable legislation for the constitution of a state-wise temple service cadre (for instance, a Gujarat State Temple Service, a Kerala State Temple Service, a Central Temple Service) on the pattern of existing state and all-India services.  Those currently serving as priests could suitably be absorbed in the proposed service structure.
 
Allowing all qualified Hindus to enter the priestly order in temples will be in line with the direction in the Rigveda which recommends sticking to the path of justice. The Vedic Sukta exhorts, “Oh men! Just as the sun and the moon move on the prescribed path with regularity, similarly men also should go on the path of justice”. (Rigveda, Mandala-5, Sukta-51-Sloka-15).The Bhagvad Gita (Adyaya -16, Sloka-24) says, “Let the Shastras (laws) be your authority in deciding what you should do and what you should desist from doing.  Having understood what is ordained by the laws, you should act accordingly.”
 
Ambedkar had spoken against exactly the sort of inequality that is prevalent in the country’s temples in his concluding speech in the Constituent Assembly after the adoption of the Constitution on November 25, 1949. He said, “Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it, social democracy, that is, a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as principles of life.  They form a union or trinity.  Without equality, liberty would produce supremacy of the few over the many.  Equality without liberty would kill individual initiative.  Without fraternity, liberty and equality could not become a natural course of things…
 
The Sanskrit etymology of the word ‘Jati’ is “JanmanaJati”, that is, caste is based on birth only.  This social construction is devoid of any appraisal of physical, psychological, emotional, mental, intellectual and spiritual dimensions of an individual personality.

“We have a society based on the principle of graded inequality, means elevation of some and degradation of others.  We are entering into a life of contradictions.   We have political equality; but in social and economic life, we will have inequality.  In politics, we follow one man, one vote and one vote one value.  In society and economics, we deny principle of one man, one value…
 
“Those who suffer from inequality, will blow up the structure of democracy…Fraternity envisages a common brotherhood of all Indians—being one people—giving unity and solidarity to social life.  (Casteism is) anti-national, (castes) bring about separation in life, generate jealousy and antipathy between caste and caste.  Without fraternity, equality and liberty will be no deeper than coats of paint…
 
“Many in India are beasts of burden, but also beasts of prey.  The downtrodden classes are tired of being governed.  People are tired of government by the people.  They are prepared to have government for the people and are indifferent whether it is government of the people and by the people.  If we wish to preserve the Constitution in which we have sought to enshrine the principles of government of the people, for the people and by the people, let us resolve not to be tardy in the recognition of evils that lie across our path and which induce people to prefer government for the people, to government by the people, nor to be weak in our initiative to remove them.  That is the only way to serve the country, I know of no better.”
 
It would be more productive to pursue this line of thinking rather than retrogressive and counterproductive programmes like ‘GharVapasi’ ( reconversion of Christians and Muslims)  and the controls being exercised on food preferences of citizens by  banning the consumption of beef. These are a distraction from the effort to remedy discriminative practices in the social, religious and cultural lives of Hindus. 
 
By absorbing the ideas of Ambedkarin public life, the country’s elite can liberate itself, as envisaged in the Vedic prayer, “Oh Lord! We have fallen in a dark cave.  In this severe darkness, many demons are harassing us.  We pray to you to destroy this darkness and bless us with donation of brightness, so that we can be liberated from these enemies”. (Rigveda, Mandala-1, Sukta-86, Sloka-10)
 
(The author, a retired IPS officer, is a former DGP of Gujarat)
 

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