[Reader-list] Jashn-e-Azadi,A Kashmiri review

Thu Jul 26 14:15:59 IST 2007

Dear Rashneek 

Can you give us the non-GoI figures of civilian Pandits and Muslims killed in Kashmir since 1990? If possible include other communities as well and give the source. 

Thanks, Nishant. 

----- Original Message ---- 
From: rashneek kher <rashneek at gmail.com> 
To: reader-list at sarai.net 
Sent: Wednesday, 25 July, 2007 12:53:06 PM 
Subject: [Reader-list] Jashn-e-Azadi,A Kashmiri review 

Vivek has never been to Kashmir, he knows Kashmir as any other Indian would, 
through biased NDTV programs or through newspapers which don't present the 
true picture either. Yet somehow what he asked me surprised me. At the end 
of the movie he inquired from me as to why the movie did not have even a 
byte from Mirwaiz(in Vivek's opinion Mirwaiz is the tallest amongst Kashmiri 
separatists).I had taken Vivek with me because I thought he would relieve me 
of some boredom sitting through a rather long monologue cum endorsement 
session of two hours on Shahadat and Azadi.I half knew the answer for I was 
seeing it for the second time.The first time I had missed some initial 20 
odd minutes because I wasn't allowed into the auditorium for I might spoil 
the celebration of freedom(Jashn-e-Azadi).Wonder what censorship this was?I 
had to produce an e-mail invitation from the respected Director to get into 
the hall, for his authorities were strict on anyone who chose not to obey 
them. Anyways that's past now but the spirit of celebration should 
continue
.shouldn't it
.. 

I left without answering Vivek.I was far too buried in thoughts of Jashn. I 
took the road back to my house, not my home dear, that's already burnt, oh, 
way back in 1990, the Jashn of Azadi was being celebrated by torching my 
home in Bagat-i-Kanipora, in the night when we were all supposed to be 
celebrating Janam-Ashtami in the cool climes of our homes. The morning 
newspaper brought news of this celebration to the refugee camp which has 
been my existence since. I am sure a lot of people will say Jagmohan asked 
Pandits to leave, even for arguments sake taking that to be true, did it 
give a license to Sanjay Kak's protagonists to burn my house and desecrate 
my religious places. I wondered, was that the way of celebrating freedom. 
Maybe the director believed it was. That's why although he sat somber on the 
banks of Rembyaar in Shopian (while shooting for the movie), seeing the 
pathetic condition of a 5th Century shrine (of Kapalmochana which was now a 
broken Shivling, a desecrated spring and razed Dharamshalas) he did not deem 
it fit to be a part of the movie. 

A woman whose goat was killed by the fire that engulfed her house and 
cowshed was shown grieving for her goat. I wondered what would have happened 
to Mather and Chander, my two cows, did the spirit of celebration 
(Jashn-e-Azadi) consume them too, wonder whether they were Hindu or Muslim, 
my father bought them from one Mohd Yusuf in my village. 

My wandering thoughts much like the beard of my dear friend Masood often 
gives me sleepless nights in exile. This was destined to be one such night. 
I was instantaneously reminded of the curse of Lakshmi on us, Kashmiris 

* * 

*"Nilamata Purana 294-96. O lord, then angry Visoka cursed Kas'mira, "O 
wicked one, as I have been absorbed by you today by means of falsehood and 
you have informed Sati about my activities, so your people will be mostly 
liars, possessed of impurities, hired servants and dishonoured in the 
worlds." * 

What else explains so many gaveyards when we could have a thousand flowers 
blooming on the same land, I thought. What else explains Kashmiris being 
slaves for last 800 years? Sanjay Kak does mention our slavery of 800 years 
in his movie , what he however chooses not to mention is, who were the 
masters? Who enslaved us..he wouldn't say? Half truths as they say can be 
more dangerous than complete lies. Pyare Hatash's verses have been shown in 
a manner where an ordinary non Kashmiri viewer is made to believe as if he 
is also a protagonist of the Azadi. The translation of the couplet from 
Rajatarangni was wrong and again misappropriated. Calling Kalhana the 
chronicler of Hindu Kings was a mischief played in a subtle manner Therein 
lies the game of the movie maker, his adeptness at appropriating the 
content. 

The magnum opus (sorry for my description, but I am yet to see a longer 
documentary, probably verbosity is a virtue with Kak) has its own figures 
for dead and exiled. The movie says two hundred Kashmiri Pandits killed and 
one lakh sixty thousand exiled. The first images that flashed in front of my 
eyes when these numbers were shown on the screen were of Brijlal(my father's 
best friend) and Choti. Brijlal (a driver in Dept. of Agriculture) and his 
wife Choti were tied to a jeep in their native village and then dragged till 
dead. When we received their bodies they were chopped into small pieces as 
if someone had just brought meat from a butcher. Blood still was fresh in 
some of their veins as it had reddened the body bag in which we received 
them. What way to celebrate Azadi??? Kudos to the Robin Hoods who did this, 
kudos to the director for endorsing their way of celebration, sickness and 
creativity comes in such mental frames, I never knew. Beware
 a lot of 
modern day Neros are around the corner. 

When I asked Sanjay Kak the source of these figures he said he had obtained 
these from some Joint Secretary in MHA, New Delhi. The movie director being 
a respected man, I had no doubts that he had got them from GoI. When I asked 
him what's the source of his figures, one hundred thousand killed in 
Kashmirsince 1990, he strangely had no GoI statistics to support his 
figures. Who 
believes GoI anyway? I have received a reply to an RTI saying only 16455 
civilians have been killed in Kashmir since 1990.Now who would believe that. 
If GoI would have been sacred as Kak wants us to selectively believe, we 
wouldn't have the movie in the first place. 

We have Yasin Malik as a lead character in the movie, someone around whom 
the movie revolves,(a savior, a Gandhian ,an ex-terrorist in new attire all 
rolled into one),giving us sermons, telling us how he treads the path of 
non-violence. There are flashes of Azam Inquilabi and Syed Ali Shah Geelani 
(as patriarchs) but it conveniently skirts other separatist leaders, leading 
anyone to speculate whether the self styled Che Guvera's of today (based in 
Delhi) are keen to project Yasin Malik alone as a leader of the masses or is 
there more to it. His presence at the first screening raised a lot of 
eye-brows and the discussions revolved more around Yasin Malik than the 
movie itself, with heckled audience putting him in a fix over his past but 
then as they say " Every saint has a past, every thief a future". The lead 
character says India wants to impose Brahmanical Imperialism in Kashmir. 
Does our lead character even know the meaning of the term "Brahman" or was 
that a borrowed metaphor from Arundhati Roy, which he did not understand but 
knew how to use. 

One of the flashes in the movie says "Kashmir is the most militarized region 
in the valley" Maybe it is. I remember as a kid once we saw a Policeman in 
our village. We literally walked around him to see what he looks like. For 
all of us he was an alien who had somehow fallen off his spaceship and 
landed at our village. It was a quite a sight for all of us and some fun 
too. What then explains the presence of army and para-military forces in the 
same village when till 1989 it hadn't even seen a proper policeman. The 
movie does not mention why the army had to be placed there after 
1989.Isntit imperative for a film maker to show a complete picture and 
not half 
truths. 

While I was almost sobbing at the images of graveyards, I was reminded of 
Abdul Sattar Ranjoor who was not allowed to be buried in the village 
graveyard by Sanjay Kak's Robin Hoods'. The movie once again fails to 
present a balanced point of view and seems more like a mouth piece or 
propaganda machinery at work. It simply fails to take into account any 
divergent view from the agenda that the director (or whoever influences him) 
had set to. How else does one explain that no other point of view is 
reflected in the movie. Who can argue against the fact that a large section 
of the masses want Aazadi but it would be equally foolish to believe that no 
other point of view exists. Again half truths come to fore with consummate 
ease. 

This wasn't a movie on Pandits that's what Sanjay Kak wrote to me. We can 
understand that, knowing well what and whom it is about. Wouldn't it have 
been better if Pandits were simply not mentioned in the movie than have a 
falsified and intentionally biased version of Pandits' pain and sufferings 
through a minute and a half screen appearance of their abandoned 
houses.Itseemed like intentionally rubbing salt to their wounds. What 
also comes to 
fore is the lack of knowledge about the issue on which he has made the 
movie. His self hatred is clearly visible in the movie, he believes that 
Pandits have been unfair to Muslims during the Dogra rule. Maybe it is not 
entirely incorrect, but when I confronted him on his knowledge of Medieval 
Kashmir (when Hindus were persecuted), the same was found wanting. I cannot 
imagine writing a column without delving deep into the subject, but then 
Sanjay Kak is a different person, he can make a movie on Kashmir without 
even reading basic texts. A good documentary does not take sides, it simply 
documents and presents facts as they are, the director is never seen to be 
either endorsing or negating what he shows. When Sanjay Kak explains the 
meaning and essence of the term Shahadat, the swell of adrenalin is clearly 
audible in his voice, that's when he moves from being a film director to an 
invisible but strong spokesperson of his concept of what constitutes the 
celebration of Azadi. To prove his point of view he has even borrowed 
footages which make it look exactly like the sexed up Power Point 
presentation that USA made to UN as their premise for attacking Iraq. 

History is replete with neo converts going that extra mile to prove which 
side of their bread is buttered but I believe the Director wants to walk all 
through the Safar-e-Azadi(similar sounding names
.wonder who directs whom)to 
prove his loyalty to the only leader of Kashmir, Yasin Malik. 

-- 
Rashneek Kher 
http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com 

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