[Reader-list] The Hindu on Tibet

S. Jabbar sonia.jabbar at gmail.com
Mon Apr 14 13:05:39 IST 2008 

Inder,
I am closely connected with the Wildlife Trust of India who asked the Dalai
Lama to endorse their campaign against the illegal trade in furs and skins.
The Dalai Lama agreed and immediately sent out a strong message to the
Tibetans.

I'm pasting a news report on what happened as well as the Tibetan proposal
to turn Tibet into the largest bio-reserve in the world.
Best
Sj
---------------------------
 Tibetans clash with Chinese over fur bonfires

By Richard Spencer in Beijing
Last Updated: 12:13am GMT 20/02/2006

Tibetan followers of the Dalai Lama have clashed with the Chinese
authorities after an unusual series of organised burnings of animal skins
and fur-lined clothes, campaigners said.

The Dalai Lama made a seemingly innocuous call last month for Tibetans to
stop wearing the skins of protected animal species. Tibetans have often worn
animal skins as decorations, and clothes lined with furs, including from
tigers, leopards and otters suddenly became fashionable in recent years.
     

The call was taken up with such alacrity that the Chinese saw it as a
political statement of support for the Dalai Lama, whose continued
popularity remains one of their greatest sore points.

According to the Wildlife Trust of India, which was shown a smuggled tape of
the burnings, nine people were arrested as the police moved in to put an end
to the bonfires. The group said "they were charged for public unrest and
colluding with the Dalai Lama".

Relations between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama, who is living
in exile in Dharamsala, northern India, are in an uncertain phase. A group
of the Dalai's emissaries are currently in China, on what is assumed to be
part of a series of contacts between the Communist authorities, who accuse
the Dalai of wanting to "split" China, and the Tibet government-in-exile.

Supporters say the Dalai's statement about protected animals was not
intended to be political but a response to a series of calls from
environmental groups, concerned at an upsurge in the smuggling of rare
animal skins into China and Tibet.


The smuggling had caused anger in India, which has suffered from extensive
poaching of tigers and other wildlife. But the Tibetans responded with
enthusiasm.

"An estimated six hundred million yuan [£43 million] worth of animal skins
have been burnt in eastern Tibet alone," said Lobsang Choephal, the monk who
smuggled the videotape, in Dharamsala on Friday.

"These events are significant for us as they show the world and especially
China that Tibetans all over listen to the Dalai Lama and are willing to
make sacrifices if he wishes so," he added.

Reports say that hundreds of people have been digging through their
wardrobes for fur-lined garments.

Kate Saunders, of the International Campaign for Tibet, said bonfires had
been lit in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and on hillsides near monasteries in
Tibet and Tibetan-occupied parts of neighbouring provinces.

She said that finally the authorities had stepped in to ban a mass burning
planned at a monastery at the town of Rebgong, and added that she had been
told of eight arrests.

"They are letting them burn skins in their own homes, but the situation is
very tense," she said. "This is not going to go away."

She added that neither the Dalai Lama nor the Tibetans had political
motives. 
----------------------------

It is my dream that the entire Tibetan plateau should become a free refuge
where humanity and nature can live in peace and in harmonious balance. It
would be a place where people from all over the world could come to seek the
true meaning of peace within themselves, away from the tensions and
pressures of much of the rest of the world. Tibet could indeed become a
creative center for the promotion and development of peace.

-- His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.


Tibet As A Zone of Peace

In his "FIVE POINT PEACE PLAN STATEMENT" delivered in 1987 the Dalai Lama
committed himself to developing Tibet, following liberation into a "Zone of
Peace". The specific points regarding the Zone of Peace he made in his
lecture in Norway on 12/11/89 were as follows:

    * a. the entire Tibetan plateau would be demilitarized;

    * b. the manufacture, testing, and stockpiling of nuclear weapons and
other armaments on the Tibetan plateau would be prohibited.

    * c. the Tibetan plateau would be transformed into the world¹s largest
natural park or biosphere. Strict laws would be enforced to protect wildlife
and plant life; the exploitation of natural resources would be carefully
regulated so as not to damage relevant ecosystems; and a policy of
sustainable development would be adopted in populated areas;

    * d. the manufacture and use of nuclear power and other technologies
which produce hazardous waste would be prohibited;

    * e. national resources and policy would be directed towards the active
promotion of peace and environmental protection.

    * f. organizations dedicated to the furtherance of peace and to the
protection of all forms of life would find a hospitable home in Tibet;

    * g. the establishment of international and regional orga-nisations for
the promotion and protection of human rights would be encouraged in Tibet.


Since that time the topic has appeared here and there in his lectures as he
has networked around the world. Other governmental and non-governmental
organizations have made reference to it as they have anticipating the
prospects of disrupting the stranglehold China continues to have on Tibet.
Clearly this is a vision or a "dream" as the Dalai Lama calls it that can
capture the imagination of serious scholars, environmentalists and citizens
in a world that is spinning out of control. It calls forth an idea that¹s
time has truly come. Thereis still unlimited potential for ending the
process of dissembling the earth¹s resources and reversing this avaricious
trend to bring about a healthy whole living environment in Tibet.

His Holiness' vision has been laid out, but the pressures in dealing with
world leaders and organization to put Tibet's problems high on the
international agenda has kept the focus at another political level. The
concept of "The Zone of Peace" or "Ahisma" as used by Gandhi has sadly
lacked sufficient worldwide attention.

The team that manages this web site believes that His Holiness' vision is
ripe for fuller development. This development could take the form of a
pre-visualization of how Tibet with its natural features and resources, its
wildlife, its people and culture could re-emerge as a healthy, stable and
humanistic environment dedicated to international peace.

While the world waits for the tide to shift the balance toward liberty and
justice for Tibet, it is none too soon to begin to fill in the outer and
then inner outlines of how such a society may solve its problems and be a
service to mankind.

The conceptualizations can begin from the general and eventually lead to
specifics. The areas of concern are many and all interrelated. They must
move from the arena of survival, survival of people, culture, land,
wildlife, natural environment etc. to one of thriving.

We would like to use this site as a forum to gather together ideas from
serious thinkers as to how such an exciting concept might be developed and
look once it is put in place. As the notion is almost as large as Tibet
itself, there is room for the generalist and the specialist from many fields
to contribute their thoughts.

We wish to encourage the readers of www.tew.org (Tibet Environmental Watch)
to submit their ideas to us via e-mail: rapte at dnai.com. Should one wish to
write essays or papers regarding the subject they would be seriously
considered for posting. While TEW is not an official site, useful ideas and
contributions become available for those who are working from around the
world for the future Tibet.




On 4/14/08 12:01 PM, "inder salim" <indersalim at gmail.com> wrote:

> dear Sonia

 " I think Kashmiris can
 learn something from them"

 thanks
> Sonia for endorsing what i actually want to be debated on the list.
But this
> non-violent technique to carry forward struggle(s) is just
the first step
> towards what i actually want.

Social, psychological and Environmental issues
> are  dear to me,  and
therefore, i dont see any  struggle meaningful unless
> these  are
clubbed with the freedom sturggles.  This new politics can really
> give
direction to our future on  earth. This way we will know whether
people
> of a particular area actually want a freedom or just want to
unfurl a colour
> ful piece of cloth 'flag' ( parcham ) in the backyards
or secretraits.

So
> people of Tibet too need to know that the recent gains made by
their
> non-violent methods of protesting are limited unless they learn
to club the
> issues.

When M.Yousuf said that someone can not be the SHO of a woman
> thana,
and a woman beater at the same time, i thought of those Tibetians
> who
kill Tigers and call themselves Buddhists at the same time. If
> they
continue to do so, they simply dont deserve a free country.

About
> Kashmir, i must add that the strong Sufi traditions of Kashmir
are amply
> equpped with systems of thought that can be converted into
new forms of
> protesting. That can really be creative. This way, an
actual support can
> trickle into the valley. People like me,  who can
not take a gun in his hands
> to kill even a bird, let alone a human
being,  too can join the struggle. A
> new agenda can be fixed, that can
be part of a globalized world order,
> re-emphasizing 'the oriental' as
Edward Said might have loved to
> see....

converting a violent organization into a non-vilent organiztion is
> too
simplistic, but a significant one to march ahead for a new world
politics,
> if there is one.

I am optimistic.

with love
inder salim

On Mon, Apr 14,
> 2008 at 9:33 AM, S. Jabbar <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com> wrote:
> The article was
> directed at the people of India who have singularly failed
> to stop human
> rights violations in Kashmir.  It is extremely critical of the
> Indian
> state's militaristic response. Nowhere in the article or indeed
> anywhere in
> my writings have I supported the military action against
> civilians in
> Kashmir.  If you choose to interpret the article as hypocrisy
> I'd suggest
> you read it again. If you still choose to do so, it is your
> prerogative, and
> I am saddened by what I see as your prejudiced reading.
>
> But as someone who
> admires Gandhi I take your criticism seriously and
> somewhere I agree with
> you. I have tried since 1995 to work on Kashmir, to
> somehow stop the
> killings, rapes, disappearances and torment of innocent
> civilians whether by
> the Indian armed forces or the militants through my
> writings and activism.
> In this I have singularly failed. All I have managed
> to do in all these
> years is to generate a little debate and comfort a
> handful of families.  In
> return I have received more than my share of love
> and hospitality from the
> people of Jammu and Kashmir, a debt that I can
> never repay.  It is this debt
> that makes me continue my work in Kashmir.
>
> Having said that, I'd like to
> draw your attention to a question I have for
> you and to other young
> Kashmiris. I, as an "Indian" may have failed to help
> people in Kashmir
> through the twenty devastating years of war, but what have
> you done? I find
> the moral high ground you occupy just because you happen to
> be born a
> Kashmiri unacceptable.
>
> I am reminded of the time when I could not go to
> Kashmir for a few months
> because of Gujarat.  I was deeply involved in
> organising and coordinating
> efforts of activists, lawyers and NGOs.  When I
> returned to Kashmir, a
> prominent human rights lawyer accused me of
> forgetting Kashmir.  I explained
> the Gujarat situation to him, described to
> him how we had worked day and
> night to counter the monstrous actions of the
> Sangh Parivar, but in the end
> he said, 'OK, OK, but you haven't done much
> for Kashmir.'  I asked him what
> he had done for Gujarat and he fell
> silent.
>
> The point is I believe there cannot be an hierarchy of pain.  The
> pain of
> the Kashmiri is not greater than the pain of a Sri Lankan or an
> Afghan or
> indeed, a Tibetan. In this I find Rosa Luxembourg most instructive
> and I
> will quote her in full:
>
> What do you want with this particular
> suffering of the Jews?  The poor
> victims on the rubber plantations in
> Puntamayo, the negroes in Africa with
> whose bodies the Europeans play a game
> of catch are just as near to me.  Do
> you remember the words written on the
> work of the General Staff about
> Trotta's campaign in the Kalahari Desert?
> "And the death rattles, the mad
> cries of those dying of thirst, faded away
> into the sublime silence of
> eternity."
>
> Oh this "sublime silence of
> eternity" in which so many screams have faded
> away unheard.  It rings with
> me so strongly that I have no special corner of
> my heart reserved for the
> ghetto.  I am at home wherever in the world there
> are clouds, birds and
> human tears.
>
> ----
>
> Returning to the issue of what you call my
> hypocritical engagement with the
> Tibet issue.  Instead of stopping me from
> doing so, I suggest you encourage
> more people to engage with the Kashmir
> issue.  Let there be debate.  Let the
> Indian government be shamed into
> repealing its draconian laws and punishing
> those guilty of rights
> violations.  And I don't believe that it is
> hypocritical for a Japanese to
> engage with Kashmir when his or her
> government has as yet not apologised to
> China or for an American to do so
> because of Iraq, or for a Kashmiri Muslim
> to speak up for the Tibetans
> because of the Pandit exodus.
>
> The world is
> small.  You accuse me of nationalism and yet you want my
> energies to be
> confined to the borders of my nation.  There are many
> struggles I should
> have done more for, not just Kashmir.  I am deeply
> disturbed by what the
> Indian state has done in the Northeast.  I believe
> India's attitude here has
> been one of a colonial power, and yet I have not
> had the time or energy to
> do more.  The same goes with Burma, as well as
> Balochistan.
>
> The Tibetans
> are a small nation of 6.5 million people and yet there is
> something about
> their non-violent struggle that has attracted millions of
> people across the
> globe to come to their support.  I think Kashmiris can
> learn something from
> them.
>
> If you are based in Delhi please join us.  The Tibetans have been
> camped in
> Jantar Mantar for the past few weeks and every evening there is a
> candle
> light vigil.  On the 17th we are planning a parallel peace run: the
> Torch
> for Tibet.  Nothing would make me happier than to see a Kashmiri
> running
> with us.
>
> With this I close my end of this particular debate,
> again for want of time.
>
>
>
>
>
> On 4/13/08 8:02 PM, "Wali Arifi"
> <waliarifi3 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > *"This has got to stop. People cannot be
> killed every day because our
> leaders
> > have no idea on how to proceed with
> initiatives that they themselves
> take. If
> > Kashmir is indeed an
> inseparable part of India as we have been told
> for more
> > than 50 years,
> then we must as Indians rise, and in one voice say:
> stop
> > killing our own
> people."*
>
> The end lines of Ms Jabbar's piece sums it up and
> > describes
> her position
> about places like Kashmir. All the questions raised so
> > far
> stand answered!
>
> Double standards of people like Ms Jabbar come out
> clear.
> > For her, the
> world's highest militarised area doesn't qualify as
> an occupation
> > because
> its the military of her own nation that she
> appears to be advising in
> > her
> piece.
>
> Hypocrisy... Is this?
>
>
> Best
>
>
> On 4/12/08, S. Jabbar
> > <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> FYI This is from the neo-Gandhian in 2001,
> > published in the op-ed
> section
> > in the Indian Express.
> >
> >
> > Cease
> > Firing!
> >
> > By
> Sonia Jabbar
> >
> >
> >
> > After announcing one or the other step in
> >
> Kashmir "in the right direction"
> > the Indian State is in the habit of
> falling
> > asleep with its head in the
> > sand, hoping that if and when it
> wakes up things
> > would have sorted
> > themselves out‹somehow.  The Prime
> Minister's Ramzan Cease
> > Fire announcement
> > is the most recent example
> of this policy.
> >
> >
> >
> > I was
> > in Kashmir in the early days of the
> cease-fire and the relief and
> > hope it
> > promised amongst the Kashmiris
> was remarkable. There was a
> > carnivalesque
> > feeling in the air: shops
> alight and open until late, large
> > crowds in the
> > market places, mosques
> and shrines, feasting and revellry
> > after the day's
> > fast. Even hardened
> separatists heaved a sigh of relief and
> > welcomed the
> > Centre's move.
> Three months later things are back to normal:
> > curfew,
> > custodial
> killings, firing on demonstrations, civilian casualties.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> Consider the events of the last few days: Jaleel Ahmed Shah was picked up>
> by
> > the Special Operations Group (SOG, the counter-insurgency arm of the
> J&K
> >
> > Police) and the army from his residence in Haigam, Sopore, on the
> 13th. Two
> >
> > days later the people of Haigam were told that Shah had been
> killed in
> >
> > "retaliatory action" when he had ambushed an army/SOG patrol
> in the forest
> >
> > area of Juhama, Baramulla.  As it often happens, the
> police delayed in
> >
> > handing over Shah's dead body to his relatives. This
> prompted the residents
> >
> > of Haigam to lead a demonstration of an
> estimated 6,000 people onto the
> >
> > Srinagar-Baramulla highway, demanding
> Shah's body be handed over to his
> >
> > relatives. An officer leading an
> army convoy, on finding the road blocked by
> >
> > the protestors, ordered
> his men to open fire on the crowd. 5 civilians were
> >
> > killed, 30 were
> injured. Police sources say that the police was already
> >
> > present,
> persuading the crowd to leave when the army opened fire. One
> >
> > policeman
> was also injured in the firing. Of the two women killed, one was a
> >
> >
> first-year B.A. student.
> >
> >
> >
> > The security forces claim that Jaleel
> Ahmed
> > Shah was a dreaded district
> > commander of the Harkat-ul Jehad-i-
> Islami
> > (HUJI) and had masterminded
> > several attacks on the army and on
> civilians.
> > But this is in direct
> > contradiction to their own claim that
> the HUJI has no
> > presence in the
> > Valley, but in the Jammu area.  Also
> contradicting the claim
> > of Shah's
> > affiliation to the HUJI is a
> statement by Yasin Malik who says
> > that Shah was
> > the Distict Secretary
> of the JKLF and had even participated in
> > the blood
> > donation camp
> recently organised by the JKLF for the victims of
> > the Gujrat
> >
> earthquake. The JKLF declared a unilateral cease-fire in 1994 and
> > has
> since
> > advocated a non-violent, secular, political struggle. Since the
> >
> Indian State
> > lifted the ban on the organisation last year it has a
> right,
> > under law, to
> > exist. Its workers and office bearers have the
> right to
> > profess their
> > ideology and engage in political activities.
>
> >
> >
> >
> > A day
> > after the Haigam firing, workers of the JKLF organised
> a
> > demonstration at
> > Lal Chowk protesting the custodial killing of Shah
> and the
> > 5 deaths at
> > Haigam.  A plain clothed security man fired into
> the
> > demonstration killing
> > one young man immediately. Another is in
> hospital with
> > a bullet in his head.
> > Curfew has been clamped in
> Srinagar. The tremendous
> > goodwill generated in
> > the early days of the
> cease fire towards the Indian
> > state stands to be lost
> > unless immediate
> measures are taken to rectify the
> > situation.
> >
> >
> >
> > The
> >
> Centre must not be tempted to retract the cease-fire in view of the
> >
> >
> escalation in violence. But an extension of the cease-fire would be
> >
> >
> meaningless if it were seen simply as an instrument to score brownie points
>
> >
> > against Pakistan in the international arena. It must demonstrate its
>
> >
> > sincerity on the ground in Kashmir *if* it genuinely wants peace in
>
> >
> > Kashmir.
> >
> >
> >
> > A high-ranking minister or official from New
> Delhi should
> > visit the Valley
> > and listen to the grievances of the
> people. In the decade
> > long war in the
> > Valley where thousands of
> innocent people have been killed,
> > it is a rare
> > occassion when a
> minister visits. And yet, Kashmiri Muslims
> > have seen how
> > the gruesome
> killings of 36 Sikhs of Chittisinghpora brought
> > planeloads of
> >
> concerned officials from the Centre.
> >
> >
> >
> > The SOG/STF
> > should be
> reined in. Fifteen of the twenty-three extrajudicial
> > executions
> >
> recorded since the cease-fire have been attributed to the
> > SOG/STF. The
> >
> granting of impunity to the security forces under the bogus
> > claim that
> >
> holding them accountable would somehow "demoralise the forces" is
> >
> >
> unacceptable to any self-respecting democracy.  Senior officers in the
> >
> >
> Police and Army while admitting to working under tremendous pressure have>
> >
> stated often enough how they would welcome a more transparent system as it
>
> >
> > would discipline the forces. But finally, it should be recognised that
>
> >
> > abuses by the security forces will only stop when they are pulled out of
> the
> >
> > Valley. And that can only happen when a genuine peace gets a
> foothold in
> >
> > Kashmir.
> >
> >
> >
> > For a genuine peace to be
> established Kashmiris need to be
> > treated like
> > other citizens of this
> country with full democratic rights. If
> > the Kar
> > Sevaks were not shot
> at in Ayodhya and the Shiv Sainiks during their
> > V-day
> > celebrations,
> why should Kashmiris be shot at for protesting against
> >
> > killings of
> non-combatant Kashmiris?
> >
> >
> >
> > The Centre should recognise that
> >
> the Kashmir issue has festered for over
> > half a century because it did
> not
> > allow any healthy opposition to grow and
> > democratically challenge
> the
> > governments that New Delhi foisted upon
> > Kashmir. Opposition and
> protest are
> > vital safety valves for any democracy.
> > Plug them and you
> have pressure
> > growing and exploding like it did in 1989
> > when Kashmiri
> youth picked up the
> > gun.
> >
> >
> >
> > Opposition to the National
> Conference government and Farooq
> > Abdullah is
> > virtually non-existent in
> the Assembly. This is hardly a healthy
> > political
> > scenario. The only
> opposition rests outside the Assembly, within
> > the
> > Hurriyat Conference.
> In such a situation the Centre needs to be a
> > little
> > less paranoid
> about the Hurriyat's miniscule pro-Pak element and
> > engage with
> > it
> seriously.  This would be the next logical step in the peace
> > process.
>
> >
> >
> >
> > The Hurriyat had announced in early December its intentions
> >
> to visit
> > Pakistan to hold talks with the militant organisations, and set
> the
> > date for
> > their departure as January 15. The mandarins in the Home
> Ministry
> > vacillated
> > and continue to stall their initiative by not
> issuing passports‹
> > a decision
> > entirely uncalled for. Abdul Ghani
> Lone's brave statements
> > against foreign
> > militants on his last trip to
> Pakistan and the Hurriyat's
> > transparent agenda
> > for Pakistan should
> have convinced the Centre how
> > necessary it is to allow
> > the Hurriyat to
> travel without impediment.  The
> > continued intransigence on
> > the
> passport issue impresses no one, and only
> > underscores the whimsical
> >
> high-handedness of the Indian State.
> >
> >
> >
> > The
> > Valley is in
> shadow again today. Six families are bereaved. There will
> > be
> > six
> funerals. I have seen this scene played out hundreds of times:
> > Mothers,
>
> > grandmothers, children, uncles will be sitting around the bodies
> >
> weeping;
> > weeping for a boy or girl who was a student, a worker, a
> >
> businessman.  He or
> > she was just going to be married or just had a child,
> or
> > there would be some
> > little detail about this person that would make
> the
> > whole thing terribly
> > tragic. Afzal or Imran or Ghulam Mohammed
> was
> > soft-spoken, I would be told,
> > had never picked up the gun.  And
> yet, here he
> > lies, cold, never to wake
> > again.
> >
> >
> >
> > This has
> got to stop. People cannot be killed every day because
> > our
> > leaders
> have no idea on how to proceed with initiatives that they
> > themselves
> >
> take. If Kashmir is indeed an inseparable part of India as we
> > have been
> told
> > for more than 50 years, then we must as Indians rise, and in
> > one
> voice say:
> > stop killing our own people.
> >
> >
> >
> > On 4/11/08 8:41
> PM,
> > "Wali Arifi" <waliarifi3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >  One would have
> hoped that this
> > response was posted on the Sarai forum.
> > These are no
> personal issues
> > though...
> >
> > Now that Ms Sonia Jabbar wants a
> response to her work/writing
> > about
> > Kashmir, may I ask if she considers
> Kashmir a military occupation,
> > just like
> > Tibet, or a law and order
> issue most nationalist Indians like to
> > beleive it
> > is?
> >
> > Not that
> her readership and observance is not aware of Ms
> > Jabbar's
> > neo-Gandhian
> activism in Kashmir. Could Ms Jabbar also, for the
> > benefit of
> > Sarai
> subscribers, point out any published stand on what she
> > believes
> >
> Kashmir issue to be?
> >
> > And does she also have anything to say
> > about
> Kashmir reportage by the
> > likes of Praveen Swami and Barkha Dutt both
> >
> of whom along with many others
> > owe their careers as journalists to
> >
> misrepresenting Kashmir.
> >
> > best
> >
> >
> >
> > On 4/11/08, *sonia
> jabbar*
> > <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Easy for you to accuse me
> of  enjoying 'an
> > organic
> > relationship with the powers that be.'
> Easier to say I  observe
> > criminal
> > silence than to find out what I've
> said  and  respond intelligently
> > and
> > substantively to my writings and
> activism.
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at
> > 12:28 AM, Wali Arifi
> <waliarifi3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Dear all
> >
> > It is not
> > clear why
> the signatories to the letter are agitated about the
> > way
> > The
> > Hindu
> has dealt with the Tibet issue. The editorial in question
> > actually
> >
> >
> reflects the newspaper's consistent outlook about many similar issues.
> >
> >
> The
> > newspaper's well known Rural Editor simply chose to overlook
> recently
> >
> > exposed state terrorism by the CPI(M) government in
> Nandigram. Mr P
> >
> > Sainath,
> > the interrogator of Indian social
> reality, in complete contrast to
> > what he
> > is known for, chose to remain
> silent about purging, massacre and
> > onslaught
> > of corporate world. All
> this in conformity with the newspaper's
> > proximity
> > to
> > the so called
> CPI(M) ideology and the party.
> >
> > Similarly,
> > The Hindu's "ace
> reporter" and its "Kashmir expert", Mr Praveen
> > Swami,
> > appears to have
> been left above any ethical or professional
> > scrutiny
> > - the
> > right a
> newspaper is supposed to unequivocally reserve for itself
> > and
> > its
> >
> readers. The newspaper willingly chooses to ignore how Swamiji has
> > over
>
> >
> > time been turned into a dumping yard for its scrap book by the
> country's
> >
> > intelligence establishment. The ace journalist does not even
> seem to
> >
> > exercise the basic minimum professional duty of cross checking
> information
> >
> > dolled out to him by his intelligence handlers.
> >
> >
> For patient readers the
> > link bellow provides just an example, the tip of
>
> > the
> > Swamiji iceberg.
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/04/stories/2008040458210100.htm
> >
> > While
> the
> > ace reporter was being briefed for this particular report (I am
> >
> taking the
> > sweet liberty to imagine once like Swamiji so regularly
> does),
> > his (and thus
> > The Hindu's) trusted handlers forgot to check
> that the
> > Hizbul
> > Mujahideen
> > (HM) ceasefire dates were off the mark
> only by three years.
> > According to
> > Swamiji, HM's July 2000 ceasefire
> was scripted by the group's
> > ideologue in
> > 2003!
> >
> > For a
> discerning reader, The Hindu cannot be disappointing in this
> > regard.
> >
> Be it Tibet, Kashmir, Nandigram or the issue of Northeast. In fact,
> > its
>
> > Kashmir reportage happens through the intelligence establishment with
> >
> just
> > tulip gardens from the ground. Or, may be the newspaper is mandated
>
> > only
> > to
> > write about US imperialism.
> >
> > For the signatories of
> the letter
> > to the newspaper, particularly Sonia
> > Jabbar, Shashi Tharoor
> and Ramachandra
> > Guha, who enjoy an organic
> > relationship with the
> powers that be, it is easy
> > to understand how they
> > give
> > themselves
> the moral right to talk about Tibet
> > and choose to exercise
> > criminal
> silence about what India has been doing in
> > Northeast and Kashmir.
> >
> >
> Nationalism, lady and gentlemen, is quite a
> > mandate!
> >
> > Best
> > On
> 4/9/08, radhikarajen at vsnl.net <radhikarajen at vsnl.net>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > I
> very much appreciate your concern and anguish, but it is
> > wellknown
> >
> fact
> > > that our "cadres" always hail china and welcome them with
> >
> painting red
> > the
> > > whole of the city like they did in 1962.The very
> fact
> > that the line
> > marked
> > > as Mcmohan line as border between
> british india in
> > 1945 after the end of
> > > world war, even today remains
> unsurveyed, thanks to
> > our cadre friends
> > > engineering hindi-chini bhai
> bhai. It is not late even
> > now to make a
> > joint
> > > survey and with
> dialogue end the border row and
> > disputes with China,
> > then
> > > two
> nations, the developing economies of Asia,
> > both India and China can
> >
> have
> > > honourable  interaction with all nations
> > in the comity of
> nations, even
> > US
> > >would be thinking twice if our leaders
> > think of
> the nation and its
> > freedom
> > > than kickbacks in N-deal for the
> >
> first family.!
> > > Regards.
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > >
> From: "S.
> > Jabbar" <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com>
> > > Date: Wednesday, April 9,
> 2008 5:44 pm
> >
> > > Subject: [Reader-list] The Hindu on Tibet
> > > To:
> sarai list
> > <reader-list at sarai.net>
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Letter to
> the Editor:
> > > >
> > >
> > > The Hindu's bias in favour of the Chinese
> Government in its
> > > > editorial
> > on
> > > > Tibet (March 28, 2008) is
> dismaying.  The reasons behind the recent
> >
> > > > demonstrations by
> Tibetans are transparent. You speak of sustained
> > > >
> > growth,omitting
> the fact that Han Chinese control the economy,
> > > > Party
> > and
> > > >
> government. Impartial observers have documented the onslaught on
> > >
> > >
> naturalresources, the repression of Buddhism, the enforced
> > > >
> >
> denunciations of the
> > > > Dalai Lama.
> > > >
> > > > The subjugation of
> Tibet is
> > most evident in re-settlement policy.
> > > > In 1952
> > > >
> Chairman Mao
> > complained that there were "hardly any Han in Tibet."
> > > >
> By 1953
> > > >
> > there were 100,000 Chinese in the province of Qinghai, the
> renamed
> > > >
> > easternTibetan province of Amdo. In 1985 there were 2.5
> million
> > > > Chinese
> > and 750,000
> > > > Tibetans in Qinghai. By the
> 2000 census only 20% of
> > Qinghai's
> > > > population was
> > > >
> Tibetan.
> > > >
> > > > This demographic
> > engineering undermines the
> comparison you draw
> > > > betweenTibet and Kashmir.
> > Right-wing groups in
> India have long
> > > > demanded the
> > > > re-settlement of
> > the Kashmir
> Valley. However, Article 370 disallows
> > > > non-state subjects
> > from
> buying land; and it is to allay Kashmiri
> > > > anxietiesthat New Delhi
> >
> has not granted autonomy or separate
> > > > statehood for Ladakh and
> > >
> >
> > Jammu.
> > > >
> > > > Beijing's abusive denunciations of the Dalai Lama
> and its
> >
> > > > stonewalling of
> > > > his proposals make it difficult to
> accept their
> > sincerity. A just
> > > > solution"within the framework of
> one China" is
> > precisely what the
> > > > Dalai Lama has
> > > > pursued.
>
> > > >
> > > > The Hindu's
> > wholesale reproduction of the official Chinese
> line on
> > > > Tibetdoes it
> > little credit.
> > > >
> > > > Yours 
> sincerely,
> > > >
> > > > Sonia Jabbar
> > > >
> > Ramachandra Guha
> > > > 
> Mukul Kesavan
> > > > Madhu Sarin
> > > > Jyotirmaya
> > Sharma
> > > > Dilip 
> Simeon
> > > > Tenzin Sonam
> > > > Shashi Tharoor
> > > >
> > 
> _________________________________________
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> > 
> discussion list on media and the city.
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> > 
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> > 
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> > >
> > 
> _________________________________________
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> >
> 
> _______________
> > __________________________
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