[Reader-list] The 'secular' Freedom Movement of Kashmir

[Lalit Ambardar]

Brazen expression of intolerance can by no means be described as religious.
LA
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> Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:22:02 +0530> From: mail at shivamvij.com> To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com> CC: reader-list at sarai.net> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] The 'secular' Freedom Movement of Kashmir> > Dear Kshmendra,> > The opposite of secular is not 'communal'. The opposite of secular is> religious.> > best> shivam> > On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 7:19 PM, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>wrote:> > > Excerpts from the News Report in Daily Excelsior of 17th Aug 2008> > (dedicated weblink available only after archiving):> >> > - Geelani said that the Kashmiris had launched a movement of 'Azadi> > Bara-e-Islam' (freedom for Islam)> >> > - streams of participants today shouted maximum of pro-Pakistan and Islamic> > slogans like "Pakistan se rishta kya, la illaha illalla", "Jeevay Jeevay> > Pakistan", "Yehan kya chalega: Nizaam-e-Mustafa" besides the familiar "Ham> > kya chahte: Azadi".> >> > Kshmendra> >> > FULL NEWS REPORT BELOW> >> > Geelani asks pro-India leaders to resign or face 'social boycott'> >> > *At massive rally in Pampore, Hurriyat chief calls it 'freedom for Islam'> >> > From Ahmed Ali Fayyaz> >> > SRINAGAR, Aug 16: With the authorities losing control of the situation fast> > and a fresh phase of turbulence attaining all the trappings of a religious> > separatist movement, heads of both factions of the separatist Hurriyat> > Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, have asked> > Kashmir's pro-India politicians to immediately resign or else face 'social> > boycott'. Geelani has called this avatar of the separatist movement as> > "freedom for Islam" and warned Jammu & Kashmir Police to immediately "stop> > your shameful atrocities on the (Kashmiri) nation or face the social> > boycott".> >> > While addressing a massive condolence meeting over the death of People's> > League chairman Sheikh Abdul Aziz and over 20 others in different incidents> > of firing earlier this week, at Pampore today, Geelani said that the> > Kashmiris had launched a movement of 'Azadi Bara-e-Islam' (freedom for> > Islam), which, according to him, would be carried to its logical conclusion.> > He said that today's mammoth rally would bring it home to all and sundry> > that the Kashmiris' "freedom struggle" would continue unfazed inspite of> > "economic blockade and all other impediments".> >> > While local cable television channels reported that six lakh people> > participated in today's rally and the official figures vacillated between> > thirty and fifty thousand, independent watchers believe that over one Lakh> > Kashmiris, drawn from different parts of the Valley, participated in the> > remembrance meeting and listened to the senior separatist leaders.> > With a contrast to the dominance of pro-freedom slogans and flags in the> > last 15 years, streams of participants today shouted maximum of pro-Pakistan> > and Islamic slogans like "Pakistan se rishta kya, la illaha illalla",> > "Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan", "Yehan kya chalega: Nizaam-e-Mustafa" besides the> > familiar "Ham kya chahte: Azadi".> >> > While there were no flags of groups like Yasin Malik's JKLF and Sajjad Gani> > Lone's People's Conference, which are dominated by red, white and blue> > colours, men in the rally today carried green colour flags emblazoned with> > "Allah-o-Akbar" (God is Great). Many of the participants also traveled to> > Pampore with black flags atop their vehicles, signifying mourning over the> > death of Sheikh Abdul Aziz and over 20 others killed in different incidents> > of firing in the last few days.> >> > Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda, had announced overnight that> > Police or armed forces would not obstruct the rally if it passed off> > peacefully. His statement came hours after a green signal from another> > senior Police official who even said on local television channels that> > Sheikh Abdul Aziz's "sacrifice" would augur well for restoration of peace in> > the State.> >> > In his fiery speech, a visibly emboldened Geelani asked all leaders of the> > pro-India parties in J&K, including Members of Parliament, Ministers and> > others holding any positions in the Government, to immediately resign.> > "We'll be otherwise forced to call for social boycott against them", Geelani> > said. He also shot a warning to J&K Police to "stop your shameful atrocities> > on the Kashmiri nation, or else face social boycott". Mirwaiz too advised> > the mainstream politicians to quit and join the "freedom struggle". He too> > said that the pro-India leaders would have to face "social boycott" if they> > failed to respond to the call. "There are unimaginable consequences for them> > ahead and that day is not far away", Mirwaiz warned.> >> > Geelani advised his audiences against attacking armed forces "so that they> > don't get an excuse to open fire". While taking an oral oath from the> > audiences, Geelani asserted that only a peaceful agitation would lead in the> > "desired direction". He claimed that intelligence agencies had cultivated as> > many as 44,000 agents, whose task, according to him, was to "sabotage our> > freedom movement and change its course with chaos and confusion". He said> > that "these paid agents" had a many times in the past succeeded in "changing> > the course of our freedom struggle in favour of India".> >> > "This time around, however, it will be brought home to India that it has no> > room in Kashmir", Geelani said and described Pakistan as the "benefactor of> > the Kashmiri nation". He asked the Kashmiris to pursue the "one-point agenda> > of freedom for Islam". He, nevertheless, sought to assert that the> > Kashmiris' war was strictly against the Government of India and her policies> > towards Kashmir and not against the people of the country.> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > Mirwaiz reiterated his fresh set of demands and asked New Delhi to withdraw> > armed forces from J&K, revoke Armed Forces Special Powers Act, release all> > political detenues from the State and throw Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Road open> > for "free trade and travel". In a significant development, Mirwaiz, who was> > otherwise perceived to be lukewarm to Geelani's call of election boycott> > until yesterday, emphasized on "total boycott" to any elections to be held> > by India in Jammu & Kashmir. Speaking little about SASB land controversy and> > "economic blockade of Kashmiris", Mirwaiz asserted that the day of winning> > freedom from India was not far away.> >> > On this occasion, JKLF chairman, Yasin Malik, too advised the Kashmiris> > against taking any step that could weaken "our freedom movement". He said> > that "sacrifices laid by Sheikh Aziz and others would not go waste as nobody> > would be allowed to exploit the same for vested interest". He said that the> > Kashmiris had invested their life and assets in the "freedom struggle" and> > it was now "time to harvest".> >> > Sheikh Aziz's s seniormost colleague in Peoples League, Shabir Ahmed Shah,> > stressed on the need of also opening Mughal Road which, he said, would join> > the people of Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu with Kashmir valley. He> > asked the people not to attack any mediaperson and expressed his shock over> > the fact that a number of newspersons and camera crews had been attacked by> > unruly crowds in the last few days.> >> > Shah implored his audiences to respond to the call of Hurriyat Coordination> > Committee and make all of its programmes a big success. Sheikh's longtime> > colleague, Nayeem Khan, and a number of other separatist leaders were also> > present. Mirwaiz disclosed that Hurriyat would hold an important meeting on> > Sunday to chalk out "further course of action" and asked his supporters to> > similarly gather for Hurriyat's "UN Chalo" programme on Monday next.> >> > While militants have significantly silenced their guns since last> > fortnight, thousands of people in the rallies, leading to Pampore today,> > chose to maintain peace inspite of shouting hardcore pro-Pakistan slogans.> > They raised the pitch of their "Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan" when cavalcades of a> > senior CRPF officer and a Brigadier passed by but did not resort to stone> > pelting. Armed escorts observed restraint and wended their way towards a> > military formation.> >> > Army's and State Government's helicopters maintained surveillance over the> > rally and captured its movement in video cameras, occasionally flying very> > low. Sources said that two senior officials of the state government were> > among those who watched the rally's passage for several hours and reported> > it to Governor. Small groups of youth, carrying Islamic and black flags on> > their motorcycles and vehicles and shouting pro-Pakistan slogans, made> > repeated rounds in the so-called safe zones in Srinagar as if to establish> > that it was a liberated town. Police and CRPF watched them mutely for the> > day.> >> > In minutes of the separatist leaders' threats to mainstream politicians,> > hundreds of people launched an attack on the guarded house of the prominent> > counter-insurgent, Ghulam Mohammad Lone alias Papa Kishtwari, who has been> > in jail after contesting and losing several elections, at Pampore and razed> > it to rubble brick-by-brick. They also set a condemned vehicle on the> > premises on fire. Eyewitnesses said that an armed platoon of J&K Police,> > which had been guarding Kishtwari's house since 1995, cleared out and took> > refuge in the Police Station.> >> > Before the separatists' rally returned, an old time colleague of Mirwaiz> > Umar, namely Mohammad Yaqoob Vakil, reportedly announced his resignation in> > Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party (PDP). Reports said that he was> > returning to the Hurriyat. Earlier this year, PDP had celebrated Vakil's> > entry as "a remarkable achievement" for the party. After the current phase> > of the separatist movement has crippled the J&K Police, a number of> > mainstream political activists, as also the families of Police and civil> > officials, known for strengthening the Indian system in Kashmir, have> > reportedly migrated to safer places.> >> >> > _________________________________________> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.> > Critiques & Collaborations> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with> > subscribe in the subject header.> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>> > > > > -- > > National Highway - http://shivamvij.com/> _________________________________________> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.> Critiques & Collaborations> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header.> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
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