Even as the State ordered paramilitary and police forces to use lathis, water cannons, trucks, deep trenches baricages and razor wires against farmers marching for their rights, a farmer’s son was martyred at LoC in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Rifleman Sukhbir Singh of 18 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAK RIF) was just 22 years old, and hailed from a farmer’s family of Tarn Taran district of Punjab.

According to a report in the Indian Express, it was on Friday morning, when Kulwant Singh, a marginal farmer in village Khawaspur, Tarn Taran district, Punjab, got a life shattering phone call from the Army. He was informed that his son Sukhbir had been killed in the line of duty on the LoC in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir.  Rifleman Sukhbir Singh was just one month short of completing two years in the Army. He was among two jawans who died in the cross-border firing with the Pakistan Army that day, stated the news report.

His father was shocked and shattered, and was quoted saying, “Main taa bas che kanal zameen vich kheti karda haan. Sukhbir to saari aas si. Hun mainu pata nahi lag reya kee hoyega (I till only six kanals of land. I had pinned all my hopes on Sukhbir. Now I do not know what will happen).” 

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, condoled the death and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh for the next of his kin along with a government job for a member of the family.

Anguished to learn of the tragic demise of Sepoy Sukhbir Singh in Rajouri Sector today. Have announced ex-gratia of Rs. 50 lakh & a job to a dependent family member. My condolences to the bereaved family. Nation will always remain indebted for his supreme sacrifice. Jai Hind! ?? pic.twitter.com/WGUkiDxPKf

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) November 27, 2020

According to Kulwant Singh, Sukhbir had come home on leave just four months ago, and arranged his sister’s wedding. “Apni bhen da vyah enne hee keeta chhutti aa ke, sara kujh enne keeta. Panj lakh rupaya udhaar lae ke aaya unit ton vyah layi (He had come on leave and got his sister married. He did everything. He took a Rs 5 lakh loan from the unit for the wedding),” said Kulwant.

The martyred soldier is the youngest of Kulwant’s four children, he has two elder sisters and his elder brother works as a labourer in Malaysia. Since childhood, Kuldeep had always wanted to join the army and serve the nation, recalled his father, “Cheevein sattvin ch seega te kehnda si main fauj vich jaana. Bada cha si ennu. Maharaj ne badi kirpa keeti te ae fauj vich select ho gaya. Te hun ae ho gaya hai (He was in class six or seven when he used to say I want to join the Army. He really wanted to join the Army. God was kind that he got selected. And now this has happened).” 

A marginal farmer, the father said he was immersed deep in his work and was not too aware of the farmer’s protests, and that no one from his village had marched to Delhi, “Main ta kamman vich lagga rehna. TV te vekheya si kujh raula pae reya. Sadde pindon koi nayi gaya (I remain busy in my work. I had seen on TV that there was some trouble. No one from our village has gone there),” Kulwant told IE.

According to the news report Rifleman Sukhbir’s body is expected to reach his village Khawaspur in Khadoor Sahib Tehsil by Saturday afternoon, and the cremation will take place in the evening. Rifleman Sukhbir Singh’s martyrdom in the service of the nation is a crucial reminder of the sacrifice of the farming community. Farmers from across the country, especially, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Utarakhand, etc have always sent their sons to defend the nation’s borders, now it is to be seen how the Government recognises their sacrifice and treats the community, which is now fighting for their rights.

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The post Jai Jawaan Jai Kisaan: Punjab farmer’s soldier son martyred on the border appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A villager stands inside his damaged house after heavy shelling from the Pakistani side at Mendhar, in Poonch district ( photo by special arrangement)

“We are living in fear ever since Indian jets crossed the LoC and vice-versa, and only those people who live around the LoC know the true cost of war, as we are the first casualty,” Hussain, a Sarpanch from the Congress party, says while talking to TwoCircles.net via phone.

He says the temperature in Kargil during the day is -10 degrees Celcius. “When you don’t have water to bath, how can you think of surviving a war”? he asks.

Hussain says he along with his family are having sleepless nights these days as they worry where they will go in this “bone-chilling cold” if a war breaks out.

Hussain says the provisions stored for the winter are often not enough during normal times and if war breaks down it will be disastrous for the people of Leh, Kargil, and Ladakh.

Another local, Subhan Jaffari, says Ladakh shares 130 kilometres of the border area with Pakistan and even security forces are under 10ft snow.

“We will suffer heavy damage and we have suffered in past too. It will be impossible for us to shift right now to better places,” Jaffari says.
Jaffari says he has four daughters and is extremely worried for them. “Those who are beating the drums of war while sitting in their cosy rooms should see the conditions of the people living in the border area,” he adds.

Bodraj Suchetgarh of Jammu sectors RS Pura says people in his area are of the opinion that war can break down anytime and they are moving towards safer places along with their family members. Boadraj, a government school teacher by profession, lambasted the Indian media for creating a war-like situation.

“People are panicking because of the India media, the way they have created war hysteria has affected the people here. It is very unfortunate that the government  is not able to handle them,” Bodraj says. He also slammed the government for failing to construct bunkers that were promised to them.

“The tall claims of the government of constructing the bunkers remain only in papers. These bunkers could have been of use this time easily,” he says.

It is pertinent to mention the Central Government approved the construction of 14,460 bunkers along the 740-km long border with Pakistan at a cost of Rs 415.73 crore last year. However, the project is far from complete and hence of little use to the locals.

The dwellers alongside the LoC always face the brunt of cross-border shelling. In the last three years alone, 100 civilians have lost their lives and 300 civilians have been injured in border skirmishes.

The government has ordered all government and private schools within a range five km from the International Border in Samba, Jammu, Rajouri, and Poonch to remain closed since Thursday.

The nervousness is also visible in the town of Uri in Baramulla district after shelling continued late Tuesday night for several hours in the nearby villages of Kalgai and Kamalkote.

“We have not slept since the last three days due to shelling between Indian and Pakistan. We only pray that this tension comes to an end once and for all,” says Nazeer Ahmad Teli of Uri town via Phone. He adds that locals have been advised to stay indoors and switch off the lights during night

Mohammad Dilawar of Gurez sector, North Kashmir, while speaking to TwoCircles.net said the locals constructed the bunkers themselves a few years ago and many families have shifted to their underground bunkers. Although there were no reports of cross-border shelling in that region, there is a lot of fear among the locals.

According to latest reports, at least 60 families comprising around 300 people have fled their homes after firing from the Pakistan side killed 3 civilians in Poonch Village.

The civilians fled for safety as Indian and Pakistani armies continued to pound the Line of Control.

“We are poor people and cannot afford the loss of houses. We are tired of living under the fear of getting killed or our houses getting destroyed in the shelling, ” said an elderly person Ghulam Hussain of Poonch to a Srinagar-based news agency. He urged both India and Pakistan to resolve their issues peacefully.

Tension escalated between India and Pakistan after a Kashmiri suicide bomber belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit blew up a bus killing 40 CRPF troopers on February 14 which prompted Tuesday’s air strike by India on a JeM camp across the LoC.

Courtesy: Two Circle

The post ‘Those who beat war drums from their cosy homes should see our life on the border’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In a joint calling attention petition, that carried the joint datelines of Jammi and Rawalkot in POK, over 130 eminent citizens of the divided State of Jammu and Kashmir urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to resume ceasefire along the Line of Control and begin the process of dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue by including all the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This initiative was led by two eminent civil society activists across the LoC; Anuradha Bhasin, Executive Editor, daily Kashmir Times, Jammu and Ershad Mahmud, Executive Director, Center for Peace, Development and Reforms.

The petition has already gained momentum and people are coming together in a significant number to take ownership of this initiative. It so far has got signatures from various senior political leaders, poets, authors, journalists, civil society activists, former civil servants, ex-diplomats and army personnel, as well as people from the academia.

The petition pronounces that if current tension at the borders is allowed to prolong, it will jeopardize the stability of the region and might escalate into an all-out war. Besides, the skirmishes at the LoC augment the sufferings of the people residing not just near the border areas, but eventually of the entire population of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State.

It also raises concern and anxiety regarding the mushrooming growth of radical elements and war mongers in India and Pakistan who exploit the situation on LoC to promote hatred between the two countries. The petition claimed that the ongoing spate of violence would sanction the war mongers on both sides. It also urges the political leadership in New Delhi and Islamabad to impress upon their respective militaries for bringing an immediate end to this continuum of shelling and firing.

The organisers have stated that the petition would be soon online for further signatures and support. Those who signed the petition include Chaudhary Latif Akbar, President Pakistan People’s Party AJK; Justice (Retd.) Hasnain Masoodi, Srinagar; ex-vice-chancellor Siddiq Wahid; Neerja Mattoo, writer and educationist; Farooq Nazki, poet; authors Mir Khalid and Badri Raina; Shujaat Bukhari, Editor Rising Kashmir, Srinagar, Dr Nitasha Kaul, writer and academic, Mr. Ghulam Murtza, President Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mirpur;  ; Justice Syed Sharif Hussain Bokhari, Lahore; Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Kapil Kak; Dr. Toqeer Gillani, Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front; Mr. Abdul Khaliq Wasi, Member Kashmir Council, Pakistan Muslim League (N); Shakeel Qalandhar and Mubeen Shah of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Ambassador Arif Kamal and Shaheen Kausar Dar, ex-Deputy Speaker, AJK Assembly. 

Here is the text of the joint petition:

Petition to End Tensions at LOC
To,
Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi
Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

Dear Sirs,
We, the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control, have been observing with great concern and most profound anguish, the escalation of tensions at the LoC that have been building up gradually since 2017 and have suddenly taken a violent turn of events since the first week of Jan 2018.   
We are distressed at the cycle of violence in Jammu and Kashmir that results in sufferings and loss of lives for all sides. In particular, we are concerned about the safety and security of people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially those living at the LoC who are directly hit by the frequent incidents of shelling and firing in the region.

These repeated violations of the ceasefire which had been in place since 2003, as a part of an agreement between India and Pakistan, have been adversely affecting people residing in proximity to the LoC.

We fear that if these tensions at the borders are allowed to prolong, it will jeopardise the stability of the region and it might turn into a full-scale war.

We apprehend that this will intensify and augment the sufferings of the people residing not just near the border areas, but eventually of the entire erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides, this ongoing spate of violence will provide more significant space to extremist, hawkish and fanatic elements in the society as well as empower the war mongers on both sides.

We call for an immediate end to the hostilities on the Line of Control and the atrocities inflicted on the innocent people of Jammu and Kashmir.  We urge upon the political leadership in New Delhi and Islamabad to impress upon their respective militaries for bringing an immediate end to this continuum of shelling and firing.

We also urge them to observe the sanctity of the ceasefire and begin the process of dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue by including all the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Our voices must be heard!

Signatures
1. Anuradha Bhasin, Peace Activist and Executive Editor,Kashmir Times
2. Mr. Ershad Mahmud, Columnist and Executive Director Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR), Rawalakot, AJK
3. Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi
4. Ghulam Rasool Sufi
5. Badri Raina
6. Mohammad Sayeed Malik, Srinagar
7. Nighat Pandit
8. Shafi Pandit
9. Prabodh Jamwal
10. Siddiq Wahid
11. Gowhar Fazili
12. Ellora Puri
12. Ezabir Ali
13. Effat Wani
14. Prof. Gull Mohd Wani
15. Zahid G. Mohammed
16. Gazalla Amin
17. Ajaz Rashid
18. Poonam Singh
19. Shujaat Bukhari, editor Rising Kashmir, Srinagar
20. Syeda Afshana
21. Saleem Beg
22. Aqsa Agha
23. Bashir Manzar, Journalist
24. Abdul Majid Zargar
25. Arshad Andrabi
26. Shafat N Ahmad
27. Vanessa Chisti
28. Ramesh Mehta
29. Manik Sharma
30. Shazana Andrabi
31. Neerja Mattoo
32. Dr Nitasha Kaul, Writer and Academic
33. Mir Khalid
34. A.V. Gupta
35. Farooq Nazki
36. Asma Khan Lone
37. Nayeema Ahmad Mehjoor
38. Hameedah Bano
39. Randheer Kaur
40. Marvi Slathia
41. Syed Salma Jameel
42. Aleem Baigh
43. Zafar Choudhary
44. Carin Jodha Fischer
45. Syed Abid Hussain Gowhar
46. Cathleen Kaur
47. Annil Suri
48. Suvir Kaul
49. Rahat Kami
50. Anjum Naqash
51. Inam-un-Nabi
52.  Mushtaq ul haq Ahmad Sikander, Writer-Activist and convenor civil society for justice and development
53. Sahil Maqbool
54. Indu Kilam
55. Sheikh Sameer
56. Sadaf Munshi
57. Salman Niami
58. Nadeem Qadri
59. Mantasha Binti Rashid
60. Ayaz Rasool Nazki
61. Dr. Noor Ahmad Baba, Dean School of Social Science, Central University of Kashmir
62. Dr Altaf Hussain
63. M.G. Hassan Mukhtar
64. Amit Bamai
65. Badrunissa Bhat
66. Gurmeet Kaur
67. Dr. Raminder Jit Singh
68. Er. S.D. Shangloo
69. Nighat Hafiz
70. Komal GB Singh
71. Mir Suhail
72. Murtaza Shibli
73. Narjees Nawab
74. Raja Muzaffar Bhat
75. Sohail Iqbal
76. Ruheed GUl
77. Syed B. Qadri
78. Masood Hussain, artist
79. Jyoti Mathur
80. Fahad Shah
81. Subaya Yasmeen
82. Jehangir Ali
83. Sardar Anwar
84. Mr. Ghulam Murtza, President Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mipur, AJK
85. Ms. Shagufta Ashraf, Lecture University of Kotli Azad Jammu and Kashmir
86. Raja Kafil Ahmed Khan, Chairman Kashmir Newspaper editors Council, AJK
87. Sardar Qaiser Khan, Commonwealth Professional Fellow, Rawalakot, AJK
88. Ms. Ammara Durrani, Social Scientist Islamabad, Pakistan
89. Mr. Murtaza Durrani, Ex-Information and Media Advisor to Prime Minister, AJK
90. Mr. Abdul Khaliq Wasi, Member AJK Council, AJK
91. Syed Sharif Hussain Bokhari. Former MLA, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, presently resident of Lahore, Pakistan
92. Mrs. Rukhsana Khan, Assistant Prof. University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad
93. Chaudhary Latif Akbar, President Peoples Party, AJK
94. Ambassador (R ) Arif Kamal, Islamabad
95. Mr. Shams Rehman, Researcher, Writer, TV Anchor, Manchester, UK
96. Syed Arif Bahar, author, columnist, Muzaffarabad, AJK
97. Mr. Amar Jahangir, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, AJK
98. Dr. N. Seema Jogezai, President  Women Welfare Organization (WWO), Islamabad
99. Mr. Muhammad Shakeel, Broadcast Journalist, Mipur, AJK
100.Sardar Kazeem Khan, President Cross-LoC Trade Union, Poonch, AJK
101.Dr. Waqas Ali Kausar, National University of Modern Language, Islamabad
102.Ms. Shaheen Kausar Dar, Ex-Deputy Speaker, AJK Assembly
103.Ms. Farzana Yaqoob, Ex-Minister of AJK Government, Rawalakot, AJK
104.Dr Shaheen Akhtar, Associate Prof, National Defence University, Islamabad
105.Mr. Waqas Idress Mughal, PhD candidate at National Defense University,  Islamabad
106. Tariq Masud, former Ombudsman /Additional Chief Secretary, AJK
107. Mr Justice (r) Azam Khan, former Chief Justice Supreme Court of AJK  
108. Professor Ms. Saleema Atta, former-Dean Azad Jammu and Kashmir University
109. Dr. Mosin Shakeel, Professor of Urology , Medical College , Muzaffarabad
110. Agha Sajjad Hussain, Development Consultant, Mirpur
111. Ambassador (r) Ishtiaq H. Andrabi, Islamabad
112. Mr. Jalaludin Mughal, Neelum Valley
113. Mr. Altaf Hameed Rao, Mirpur
114. Mr. Shaukat Majeed Malik, Mirpur
115. Sardar Abid Siddiq, editor daily Dharti, Rawalakot
116. Prof Parvaiz Majeed
117. Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Kapil Kak
118. Mubeen Shah
119. Shakeel Qalander
120. Dr. Shaikh Ghulam Rasool
121. Ruchika Raina, Ladakh
122. Chaudhary Ilyas Advocate, Kotli
123. Mr. Zulfiqar Abbasi, Founder President Jammu and Kashmir Joint Chamber of  Commerce and industry, Bagh, AJK
124. Aditya Gupta
125. Muhammad Siddique Chaughtia, Social activist, Bagh, AJK
126. Ms. Rahmat Kamal Ghanghro, Attorney-at-Law, Islamabad

The post End Hostilities at LOC, Talk Peace, PMs of India & Pak Petitioned: Citizens of J&K appeared first on SabrangIndia.

WAR

‘Mujahideen are fighting with Jazba-e-imaani’

Indian air strikes on freedom fighters are showing world that Kashmiri Muslims and India can not be together any more. I think this is the last stage of this guerrilla war and I want to salute the Mujahideen who are fighting for themselves with Jazba-e-imaani (conviction of faith), and there is victory waiting for them. It is very good that Pakistani forces are on high alert, as this is going to be the last conflict in Kashmir.
— Zahid H. Syed, USA

‘Muslims the world over (including India) should live under Islamic Rule’
Muslims the world over (including India) should live under Islamic Rule. Indian Muslims who live in the illusion that it is alright to live under non-Muslim rule should re-evaluate their stance under the light of the Quran, the Sunnah and the lives of the four Righteous Caliphs. Muslims have become slaves to economic forces and the Western Paradigm – Allah only punishes those whom He judges have gone astray from the True Path. Let this also come as a warning to those greedy Pakistanis who think that they are safe from the Wrath of Allah and Insha Allah the day will soon come when only Islamic Rule and Law will govern Muslims. Allah Hu Akbar.
— Naseem Raza, ‘Azad Kashmir’ (PoK)

‘Hindus do not have brains to make bombs’
If Pakistan had not left the job undone in 1965 we would not be seeing this day. Hindu fanatics have never accepted Pakistan and there is no way they will ever live like a peaceful neighbour. Pakistan should therefore strike India with full force and capacity and destroy their imported nuclear structure and teach them a lesson which they cannot forget for centuries. Responding to one of the opinions, Hindus do not have brains to make bombs that is the reason they have got a Muslim doing it for them. If this is not enough explanation, pick up some history books and find out our capabilities. Anyhow Pakistan should and can only get out of this mess if they follow the slogan of Tipu "It is better to live a day like a lion than a thousand days like a jackal".
— Nasim Malik, Scotland

‘Hindus must be punished for their actions’
We know the Hindu nation very well as we once lived together with them before Pakistan and now after we are Pakistanis. Hindus must be punished for their actions. Neither Europe nor America can stop them from their foolish thoughts; only the Muslim nation can teach them a lesson.
— Sajid Rashid, Pakistan

‘Pakistan has more than 13 crore Mujahids’
I want to ask those Indians who are saying that Indian forces are so great and powerful, that if they are so powerful why have they been so unsuccessful for the last 11 years to stop the freedom fighters? Remember these freedom fighters broke your father Russia. Can you count its pieces these days? India can’t control hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris in Occupied Kashmir. Do you think you guys have the guts to control the whole of Pakistan which has more than 13 crore Mujahids? Indians feel pride in saying that they are the biggest democracy in the world. If that is true, give the Kashmiris the right to choose where they want to live; if they choose India we will not even spit on it.
— Shahzad, Pakistan

‘It’s a war against evil’
It’s a war against evil. We’re proud that we’re fighting against evil. We’re not afraid of the consequences. We are doing our jobs. And we will get our reward from God.
— Basharat Ali, USA

‘We desire to be killed in a jihad’
India is not interested in implementing the UN resolution that it signed, and had first called for. India is not interested in an honourable peace. Muslims are commanded by Allah to do jihad if an honourable treaty cannot be achieved. And Muslims are like one body, when one part hurts the whole body hurts. We all remember the Babri Masjid that Hindu fanatics destroyed in India, and the Indian (Congress) government looked on and did nothing; nor has any successive government made any amends for that or arrested any culprits.

And the Indian police and civilians brutally beat Muslims in India when they protested that heinous act. In fact they arrested thousands of Muslims who wanted to make a civil protest, in India, on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Babri Mosque. We all know that the Indian government has killed, raped and tortured thousands of Kashmiri Muslims since they first started demanding that the UN resolution regarding holding of plebiscite in Kashmir be held. Indians, wake up.

You cannot rule anyone who refuses to be ruled. And Muslims believe, as is written in the Quran, that Paradise is under the shadow of the sword. We are not afraid to die; in fact we desire to be killed in Jihad. What about you?
— Asif Patel, Canada

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 1999, Year 6  No. 51, Cover Story 5

The post War and Peace appeared first on SabrangIndia.

  PEACE

‘Don’t we know that there are more Muslims in India?’
I just want to know from anybody on this forum whether we have the military might to encounter India. Can anybody please answer this question? What is the whole Kashmir issue about? How can we claim to support the rights of Muslims when I step out of my home worried that I will be killed by a Shiite terrorist here in Karachi itself? A group of Shiite were killed right after Namaz the other day, and we claim we’re protecting Muslims! Don’t we know that there are more Muslims in India than here in our land? Can anybody please clarify this issue?
— Shahid Anwar, Pakistan

‘Pakistan is promoting terrorism in the name of Islam’
Pakistan is a country engaged in promoting terrorism in the name of Islam. My heart bleeds when I hear that they have undertaken offensive action against Indian brothers. I have been to India and I’ve seen that it’s a country secular to the core and a protector of true democracy as against Pakistan. I regret to say that this warfare throws Pakistan in poor light and hope that the leaders of Pakistan gain some wisdom from their Indian counterparts. When India is trying to fight Pakistani-supported terrorism, we should not interfere in India’s affairs. After all Pakistan is a child of India if you consider it originated from Hindustan. Does Islam preach to go against Mother? And that is the very fact that makes my heart bleed. Jai Kashmir!
— Fakruddin Ahmed–ul–Safah, USA

‘Pak should not send soldiers disguised as Mujahideen’
Pakistan should not send regular army solders disguised as Mujahideen fighters to invade India. One shall always reap as one sows. Also the Pakistani press should not misinform the Pakistani public. I love my country and want to put an axe on its own feet. My father is a retired army major and hence I know what is going on behind the scenes and how the Pakistani army is virtually ruling the country with all our politicians only worried about their seats.
— Yousuf Malik, Pakistan

‘Allah embraced everybody in the Quran’
Start a war and see what happens; nothing but pain and suffering to ordinary people. When will the religious fanatics realise that if Allah wanted to destroy the other side, he would do a far better job and more swiftly than you moron politicians, who are the real evil behind all this. Does a new-born baby know when you burn him? That he is dying for the right God, clear your mind of hate and see that Allah embraced everybody in the Quran, there is no stupid god or religion only stupid people who are blind and want to stay blind.
— Inzaman–ul–Haq, Pakistan

‘We’ve already wasted 50 years’
It is an open secret that these "freedom fighters" are backed by Pakistan both morally and financially. Our government, in an effort to divert attention from recent follies at home, has encouraged the "freedom fighters" to create trouble at the LOC. India had no choice but to respond. It’s about time we realised that such adventures are very costly to our country. We already have wasted more than 50 years fighting over Kashmir and in the process neglected human development in Pakistan.
— Nadeem Iqbal, USA

‘India can defeat us in two days’
If there is a war between India and Pakistan, it will take not take more than two days for India to defeat Pakistan. The Pakistani economy is so screwed up that I do not understand how Pakistanis can even think of going to war with such a great country like India. "God save Pakistanis."
— Rehmat Khan, Pakistan

‘India can wipe us out completely’
It’s Pakistan which tortures and violates the rights of Mohajirs, Sindhis and other ethnic groups in Pakistan. Kashmiris in India were living a much better life than most of the Pakistanis until Pakistan started sponsoring terrorism in Kashmir. Be friendly with India and leave India and India’s Kashmir alone. India can wipe us out completely. It’s a bigger country and most of it will be safe where as we will be totally destroyed.
— Farida Mahamood, Pakistan

‘Kashmir belongs to the Kashmiris’
It seems to me that some of the extreme opinions expressed by your readers emanate from not knowing the other’s point of view or accepting that the other point of view may be rational, albeit one you disagree with. Personally, I feel that Kashmir belongs to the Kashmiris and both India and Pakistan should give up their respective pieces and leave the Kashmiris to it. This way neither India nor Pakistan will lose face, as each can claim the other has given up its land for the sake of peace as itself has….and the Kashmiris get what they want, a united Kashmir.
— Amer Husain, UK

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 1999, Year 6  No. 51, Cover Story 5

The post War and Peace appeared first on SabrangIndia.

For Pakistan, responsible for this provocation, the commitment to support Kashmiri ‘freedom fighters’ in their revolt against Indian repression, runs deep — it stems from the Pakistani establishment’s ideological resolve to complete the ‘unfinished agenda of Partition’ despite the fact that the very basis of the two–nation theory has been seriously challenged within Pakistan itself and what we have today is a thoroughly dismembered state. But Kashmir still manages to recapture much of this lost sentiment. 

TheQaid–e–Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s derision for the Kashmiri people (he had dubbed the Quit Kashmir movement of the Muslim–majority Kashmiris against Maharaja Hari Singh as a movement of goondas!) is conveniently forgotten. What is being pursued with single–minded devotion is not just a territorial proxy war but also an attempt to impose the highly regimental Wahabi Islam on a valley renowned for its Rishism (Sufism). Schools and madrasas run by the local Jamaat–e–Islami have been systematically used in a continuing attempt to transform the local struggle for Kashmiriyat to visions of life under Nizam–e–Mustafa (The Order of the Prophet).

For India, too, the discourse in the past week has cynically charted familiar territory. The emphatic assertions about the territorial sovereignty and integrity of the Indian nation resound with a hollow arrogance, echoing through the perceptible absence of any Kashmiri voice in the present discourse. The government’s, the mainstream print media’s and television channels’ black out of the voices of the young leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Yasin Mallik and senior Kashmiri leader, Shabbir Shah from available public spaces is predictable, given the surge of patriotic fervour that such conflicts engender. But also absent are the views of a Balraj Puri, a senior citizen of Jammu and an ardent advocate of sanity and dialogue, or a Saifuddin Soz, senior MP representing the National Conference. The absence of a wide spectrum of other local opinion from the region, and in that category I would include representatives of ousted Kashmiri Pandits, is a sorry comment on the dearth of democratic space available here.

Why would India be at all committed, morally or otherwise, to promises made to the Kashmiri people in 1947, 1950, 1953 and 1975 when it cannot trust the state with even the bare trappings of democratic governance? The only free and fair elections to that state were in 1977, results of which aroused a Valley–wide euphoria. This legally elected government was, yet again, cynically dismissed by the Centre. Going back even further, even the ‘Lion of Kashmir’, Sheikh Abdullah, was humiliated by his most trusted friend and India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Despite a personal commitment to the region, even Nehru could not overcome his suspicions about the Kashmiri Muslims’ allegiance to India.

How much of the suspicions that have only hardened over the last 50 years have to do with the fact that the avowedly secular Indian state, under both Congress and non–Congress governments, barely trusts the people of a sensitively located region basically because they are overwhelmingly Muslim?

A failure to confront this history has been reflected in the past and continuing conduct of both the government and our troops deployed in the Valley. What comes to mind is more than just the enormity of the human loss, tragedies that have gone un–mourned by the rest of India. The cynical disregard for both the local people and their beliefs can be particularly observed from the Indian state’s apparent equanimity despite the systematic destruction, since 1989, of over 16 revered local shrines dedicated to Rishis, symbolic of inherently Kashmiri, Sufi Islam.

The Amarnath yatra has become for all Indians — not just the pilgrims who dare to make it there — an annual test of our military control over the Valley. Television images of Hindu pilgrims braving the militants’ fire in defence of their faith are both soothing and reassuring. But when Charar–e–Sharif, a glorious, all–wood shrine en route to Yusmarg in the Valley was gutted, the Indian government did not even order an official enquiry. Folklore in the Valley, however, still revolves around the relationship between Sheikh Noor Adam and a Shaivite priestess, Rishi Laleshwari, though the bitterness against an unfeeling government simmers. 

Another 14th century shrine, Khanqah at Tral, 39 kilometers south of Srinagar, very dear to the local people apart from being a symbol of the Valley’s composite culture, was similarly gutted by a mysterious fire on December 18, 1997. The list of betrayals appears endless. There has been not even superficial effort at healing bitter wounds.
Whenever Pakistan’s foreign minister steps on Indian soil, the ‘dialogue’ will chart familiar territory. Both the Pakistanis and their Indian counterparts appear united in one resolve —  keeping the talks at a bilateral level, excluding any representative from the region, despite their lip–service to tripartite talks in the last two years. This will remain an in futility until the voices from the Valley as also Jammu and Ladhakh are heard over the gunfire.    

Archived from Communalism Combat, June 1999, Year 6  No. 54, Cover Story 4

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