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  • How India mistreats Kashmir

    How India mistreats Kashmir
    How India mistreats Kashmir – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs
    By Kapil Komireddi, Special to CNN

    Editor’s note: Kapil Komireddi is an Indian journalist. He has written from South Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. The views expressed are his own.

    Returning home from a visit to Pakistan in 2009, I was invited to have tea with one of the Indian army officials stationed on the international border. Inside his office, I was introduced to another traveler, a middle-aged Kashmiri man who was also on his way back from Pakistan. The three of us spent the next two hours talking about Pakistan. I spoke fondly of Lahore, but the Kashmiri was full of scorn.

    “Take my word on this, sir: Pakistan will break apart,” he told the officer. “They are all starving over there.” Later that day, on our way to Delhi, the Kashmiri spoke with great feeling about his friends in Pakistan and the wedding he’d just attended there. He had put on a performance for the officer, demonstrated his commitment to India by eagerly ratifying the most common Indian prejudices about Pakistan. It was a practiced effort. “I am happy in India,” he later told me. “But our loyalty is always questioned.”

    People in abusive relationships must adopt such displays of intense loyalty, and Kashmiris have been in an abusive relationship with the Indian state for more than two decades. What’s striking, particularly in a country that takes so much pride in its democracy, is the refusal of a large number of Indians even to acknowledge this reality. India’s much-revered public intellectuals and its voluble news media maintain a near total silence on the subject. Insulated from any serious debate on New Delhi’s conduct in Kashmir, many Indians fall back on old shibboleths to make sense of what is happening there. In these uncomplicated narratives, Kashmiri Muslims who speak up against New Delhi are naturally Pakistan-sponsored jihadis; Indian armed forces are incapable of wrongdoing; and Kashmir, without exception, is an “integral part” of India.

    It’s a belief system that asserts India’s ownership of Kashmir by effectively disenfranchising Kashmiris. Kashmiris are demonized as fifth columnists and denied the treatment extended to “fellow citizens” in other parts of the country. But they are expected, in all circumstances, to pledge constant allegiance to India.

    This explains why even the most benign reproof of New Delhi by Kashmiris can prompt so many Indians to erupt with self-righteous indignation. This happened on Monday, when Mustafa Kamal, a senior leader of Jammu & Kashmir’s ruling National Conference Party, upbraided New Delhi for not bringing down troop levels in Kashmir. The Indian Army continues to function under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Kashmir. The AFSPA is one of the cruelest pieces of legislation on India’s statue books. It provides immunity from prosecution to the troops operating in Kashmir and other restive regions of the country.

    India advertises itself to the planet as the world’s largest democracy, a nation of laws, but consider the plight of the Kashmiris who are persecuted on the mere presumption of being enemies of Indian democracy – and then denied the legal remedies of democratic India to challenge that premise. The Indian government has invoked the AFSPA in more than 40 instances to prevent soldiers from being prosecuted for crimes ranging from torture and murder to rape.

    None of this has produced any public outcry in India – unlike Kamal’s remarks. Speaking to a gathering of his party workers, Kamal bemoaned, somewhat idealistically, India’s refusal to sign a “no-war” treaty with Pakistan, before saying, as part of a much larger conversation about resolving the Kashmir crisis, that “I feel our enemy is our own country, not Pakistan.” This was enough to sound the jingoist tocsins across India. Times Now, the broadcasting arm of the Times of India and India’s answer to Fox News, almost exploded with nationalist rage. “Can Mustafa Kamal get away by calling India the enemy and Pakistan the friend?” asked one of the channel’s anchors. The Times of India published stories accusing Kamal of describing India as an enemy.

    It’s clear from Kamal’s statement that he acknowledged India as “our country” and, as a citizen, placed the burden of responsibility for Kashmir on New Delhi rather than Islamabad. But the effort to portray him as a separatist only intensified. Kamal appeared this week on Times Now’s flagship show to clarify his position. But the host, Arnab Goswami, a blowhard whose act combines the buffoonery of Glenn Beck with the belligerence of Mark Levin, cut him off. “Is India not your country?” he shouted. It was an absurd and humiliating inquisition. I don’t know if Kamal ever harbored separatist sentiments. But if he comes out in favor of Kashmir’s secession tomorrow, nobody should be surprised.

    Contrast this “controversy” with the arid reaction to the discovery just last year of unmarked graves containing more than 2,000 bodies in Kashmir. There were no angry newscasters demanding answers from the Indian government. Extraordinarily, a discovery of such magnitude, instead of waking us to the brutality of the AFSPA, was cast as evidence of India’s redeeming features, a cause for self-congratulation: it was a governmental body that unearthed the graves, after all. Instead of questioning a policy that so randomly distributed death among Kashmiris, India celebrated its capacity for self-monitoring.

    The novelist Amit Chaudhuri once wrote that “Indians don’t know how to fashion eloquence out of a sense of being wronged or having wronged, at least not without the unmistakable timbre of self-congratulation.” This is primarily because we ”have never really known what it means to inhabit a morally uneasy position.” The hysterical reaction to Kamal is a measure of Indian society’s sense of its own unimpeachable righteousness, and its imperviousness to the appeals of those seeking the restitution of their dignity.

    Bloodshed has ebbed in Kashmir and something like peace is returning to the valley, yet closure will not come unless there is repentance on the part of those who claim Kashmiris as their “fellow citizens” but withhold from them the privileges of citizenship.

    Kapil Komireddi can be reached at [email protected]
    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

  • #2
    It's true, and Kashmir isn't a special case. The states of Manipur, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have lived under AFSPA far longer than the Kashmiris. As for the attitudes, a lot of Indians in the hinterland have twisted notions of what India actually is. They feel entitled to the land without giving a hoot about the sentiments of the people living on that land. Hell, I'm an anti-India Khalistani secessionist to a section of Indian members on another forum. Don't know how to change these attitudes. Though it doesn't really matter much back home since each state tends to do it's own thing, except ofcourse when the central government's imposed laws come into the picture, such as the AFSPA. Finding a mechanism to resolve those issues is still allusive.
    Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
    -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

    Comment


    • #3
      ^ as long as they do not pick up the gun, the land is very their own and they are free to do all the politico-social nonsense they want to do. If you can find me an exception without gun in use and mistreatment of Union (AFSPA) together I would thank your above post. There is consensus amongst middle class Indians and unsaid mandate given to Union of India to handle anyone with Iron gloves whosoever pick up the gun.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by troung View Post
        What’s striking, particularly in a country that takes so much pride in its democracy, is the refusal of a large number of Indians even to acknowledge this reality. India’s much-revered public intellectuals and its voluble news media maintain a near total silence on the subject. Insulated from any serious debate on New Delhi’s conduct in Kashmir, many Indians fall back on old shibboleths to make sense of what is happening there.
        Because AFSPA prevents any reporting from the area. Its the same with the NE, another black area.

        Originally posted by troung View Post
        The Indian Army continues to function under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Kashmir. The AFSPA is one of the cruelest pieces of legislation on India’s statue books. It provides immunity from prosecution to the troops operating in Kashmir and other restive regions of the country.
        So here is the payload, a diatribe against AFSPA. Why hasn't this reporter interviewed any army spokespeople and asked them their opinion on whether they are confident as yet whether AFSPA can be removed.

        Originally posted by troung View Post
        This was enough to sound the jingoist tocsins across India. Times Now, the broadcasting arm of the Times of India and India’s answer to Fox News, almost exploded with nationalist rage.
        Heh, not only Times NOW but every private news channel in India has to follow the FOX model, that is to say build up their bottom line without any obligation to inform their viewers.

        Originally posted by troung View Post
        “Can Mustafa Kamal get away by calling India the enemy and Pakistan the friend?” asked one of the channel’s anchors. The Times of India published stories accusing Kamal of describing India as an enemy.
        Lol, that must be Arnab.

        Originally posted by troung View Post
        It’s clear from Kamal’s statement that he acknowledged India as “our country” and, as a citizen, placed the burden of responsibility for Kashmir on New Delhi rather than Islamabad. But the effort to portray him as a separatist only intensified. Kamal appeared this week on Times Now’s flagship show to clarify his position. But the host, Arnab Goswami, a blowhard whose act combines the buffoonery of Glenn Beck with the belligerence of Mark Levin, cut him off. “Is India not your country?” he shouted. It was an absurd and humiliating inquisition. I don’t know if Kamal ever harbored separatist sentiments. But if he comes out in favor of Kashmir’s secession tomorrow, nobody should be surprised.
        Arnab like every other private anchor is doing his job, holding onto the viewers. Its frickin' entertainment, not news.

        Originally posted by troung View Post
        Contrast this “controversy” with the arid reaction to the discovery just last year of unmarked graves containing more than 2,000 bodies in Kashmir. There were no angry newscasters demanding answers from the Indian government.
        Can't talk about it. Can't send any correspondents in there to report on it either.

        Originally posted by troung View Post
        Extraordinarily, a discovery of such magnitude, instead of waking us to the brutality of the AFSPA, was cast as evidence of India’s redeeming features, a cause for self-congratulation: it was a governmental body that unearthed the graves, after all. Instead of questioning a policy that so randomly distributed death among Kashmiris, India celebrated its capacity for self-monitoring.
        When the army says AFSPA may be removed then it goes, until such time it stays. In the end its the army's job to defend the area. The buck stops with them.

        Originally posted by troung View Post
        The novelist Amit Chaudhuri once wrote that “Indians don’t know how to fashion eloquence out of a sense of being wronged or having wronged, at least not without the unmistakable timbre of self-congratulation.” This is primarily because we ”have never really known what it means to inhabit a morally uneasy position.” The hysterical reaction to Kamal is a measure of Indian society’s sense of its own unimpeachable righteousness, and its imperviousness to the appeals of those seeking the restitution of their dignity.
        All well and good but the peace in that area is being held to India's advantage because of AFSPA.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Tronic View Post
          It's true, and Kashmir isn't a special case. The states of Manipur, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have lived under AFSPA far longer than the Kashmiris. As for the attitudes, a lot of Indians in the hinterland have twisted notions of what India actually is. They feel entitled to the land without giving a hoot about the sentiments of the people living on that land. Hell, I'm an anti-India Khalistani secessionist to a section of Indian members on another forum. Don't know how to change these attitudes. Though it doesn't really matter much back home since each state tends to do it's own thing, except ofcourse when the central government's imposed laws come into the picture, such as the AFSPA. Finding a mechanism to resolve those issues is still allusive.
          Most Indians in the hinterland have far more important things to think about than what goes on in Punjab, J&K or northeast. And for whatever little their opinion matters, it is moulded by our ridiculous media.

          Comment


          • #6
            The author can rename himself as CommieRed.

            India has been forced to do what it has because it's neighbors won't let it live in peace.

            And certainly the west should not lecture India on human rights.
            Even someone like Ajmal Kasab who killed scores of people was afforded a fair trial and is so far living very comfortably in Indian jail and even demanding his favorite food and getting it.

            If the army is not there, terrorists will run amok. India has shown remarkable patience I would say. Kashmir and North East is quite "out of bounds" for other citizens quite against the constitution but Kashmiris have been given special status.

            @Tronic mate you know how the right wing is in India. It is quick to brand.

            Comment


            • #7
              I do feel sympathy for civilians caught in the middle and its true that there have been plenty of misdeeds and wrongful killings in both J&K and the North East.

              But....the bottom line is, The Union Must Be Preserved and secession prevented no matter the cost.
              Anyone who picks up a weapon or supports those who do is an enemy of the state and expendable.

              We should have realized much earlier that nothing we do will ever endear these people to us. They will always dream of getting out of India and standing alone.
              Follow the Han policy, flood the state with money and people from the Indian heartland.
              Within a few generations demographics will ensure that separatism is much more difficult.
              For Gallifrey! For Victory! For the end of time itself!!

              Comment


              • #8
                I had my first interaction with Indian-Kashmiris recently at my Ivy League University. These are educated men who did their PhD in Western countries. They squarely blame India for the mess. The issue is not about who is at fault but how can their opinions be accommodated.....
                Seek Save Serve Medic

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by bolo121 View Post
                  We should have realized much earlier that nothing we do will ever endear these people to us. They will always dream of getting out of India and standing alone.
                  From what i understand secession is less of an issue nowadays, it tends to be more about governance.

                  Originally posted by bolo121 View Post
                  Follow the Han policy, flood the state with money and people from the Indian heartland.
                  Within a few generations demographics will ensure that separatism is much more difficult.
                  Article 370

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Well next time the author can write why the Kashmiri's dont want Article 370 to be abolished,.. so that fellow Indians get the same rights as Kashmiris' get in other Indian states. So that children of fellow Indians get seats in the quotas reserved in Kashmiri medical and engineering colleges. etc, etc....Till then the author can correct improve his writing skills.

                    Cheers!...on the rocks!!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      How many states enjoy Article 370?
                      How much dough does the Centre gives to Govt. of J&K?
                      How many Kashmiri Muslims trading and working in other Indian States get roughened up or marginalized?
                      Kashmiri Muslims have owned land in other states, how many Non-Kashmiris own real estate in Kashmir?
                      Who killed/raped/threw out their racial kins, the Kashmiri Pundits?
                      How many Indian troop died in the hands of gun-weiling militants hiding inside mobs of stone pelting protesters, including women and children?

                      The author has a lot to answer before aspiring to get the Noble Peace Prize.
                      sigpicAnd on the sixth day, God created the Field Artillery...

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        @ All

                        Hate to be the one pointing out the Elephant in the room, but it seems like most folks here have reached a consensus that the game in Kashmir is about how best to hold a people against their will.

                        Originally posted by 667medic View Post
                        I had my first interaction with Indian-Kashmiris recently at my Ivy League University. These are educated men who did their PhD in Western countries. They squarely blame India for the mess. The issue is not about who is at fault but how can their opinions be accommodated.....
                        Kudos for addressing the real issue!

                        Everyone else here only seems to have vindicated the article. The article isn't about AFSPA or even the army. It is about the attitudes of the hinterland Indians against people living in conflict zones such as Kashmir. We have people scrambling to defend the policies of the government, without anyone addressing those alienating attitudes, which can even be seen in the posts here.
                        Last edited by Tronic; 21 Nov 12,, 10:53.
                        Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
                        -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Tronic View Post
                          Hate to be the one pointing out the Elephant in the room, but it seems like most folks here have reached a consensus that the game in Kashmir is about how best to hold a people against their will.



                          Kudos for addressing the real issue!

                          Everyone else here only seems to have vindicated the article. The article isn't about AFSPA or even the army. It is about the attitudes of the hinterland Indians against people living in conflict zones such as Kashmir. We have people scrambling to defend the policies of the government, without anyone addressing those alienating attitudes, which can even be seen in the posts here.
                          It was you who brought AFSPA in, otherwise thread was quite dormant for one or two days.

                          Then few posters have proved your point wrong by mentioning article 370, that GoI is interfering in business of natives of those states. May be you are seeing all problems in those states through the same prism you see issues pertaining to Punjab/Sikhs ?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                            From what i understand secession is less of an issue nowadays, it tends to be more about governance.


                            Article 370
                            Secession is still simmering away below the surface. Its just that they haven't recovered their energy from the last round of protests.

                            Article 370 is unjust and un Indian. Every one of us should have the right to purchase land, live and work in any part of the country.

                            The only realistic long term fix is to change the demographics in the state ala China.
                            Otherwise it will remain as it is now, a bleeding ulcer costing endless amounts of blood and treasure.
                            For Gallifrey! For Victory! For the end of time itself!!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by ambidex View Post
                              It was you who brought AFSPA in, otherwise thread was quite dormant for one or two days.

                              Then few posters have proved your point wrong by mentioning article 370, that GoI is interfering in business of natives of those states.
                              Errmm... Proved my point wrong? Quote from my post and highlight exactly which point of mines was proven wrong.

                              And take one look at the date and timings of the posts before making ridiculous assertions.

                              May be you are seeing all problems in those states through the same prism you see issues pertaining to Punjab/Sikhs ?
                              You want different yardsticks for different people?
                              Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
                              -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

                              Comment

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