[Reader-list] 'Tolerant Kashmiris': An editorial in Etalaat
Shuddhabrata Sengupta
shuddha at sarai.net
Sat Jul 5 12:49:12 IST 2008
Dear Shivam,
I am surprised that you have suggested that the Shri Amarnathji
Shrine Board be persuaded to publish its accounts. And for once, I
see the point that our friends Aditya Raj Kaul and Pawan Durani seem
to be making.
Asking for a transparency in the accounts of the Shri Amarnathji
Shrine Board is like asking those who have Roots in Kashmir and
Branches elsewhere, to account for how much high quality organic
fertilizer it takes to keep their roots and branches elsewhere in a
suitably flourishing state, or even, to name the entities (in north,
south and ice blocks) that supply the fertilizer.
Besides, there is the delicate problem, as far as the Shri Amarnathji
Shrine Board is concerned, of the inordinate amount it has to keep
spending on dry ice, and other materials to keep the holy lingam, and
its own member(s) in an appropriate state of holy tumescence. There
have been attempts to get a handle on this figure in the past, but
they are wrapped in the shrouds of a holy mystery, as is in keeping
with its sacred and esoteric status as a precarious relic that
requires several acres of land for its own protection.
On certain afternoons, if you were to visit the hallowed grounds of
Shri Indiaji Internationalji Centreji, a holy shrine in Delhi, you
may be able to witness Shri Jagmohan ji, erstwhile guv'ner of the
state of Jammu and Kashmir, distinguished member, of the Shri
Amarnath Ji Shrine Board, and mentor of several of our dear shadow
warriors on this list, in the process of relieving himself of his
frozen turbulences, within the appropriate facilities designed for
that purpose, under the watchful eye of his security detail. Now, the
destiny of the troubled state over which he presided with such
statesmanlike aplomb on more than one occasion, and the waning icy
fortunes of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board, give our distinguished
member's member much cause for discomfort. And I have personally
witnessed the martyred expression on his face while he attempts to
adjust his attire, alleviating the momentary discomfort that his own
cchari mubarak might be experiencing.
Asking for the accounts of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board is a terrible
impertinence, because it amounts to asking for how the likes of Shri
Jagmohan ji's frozen turbulence keeps from melting, despite global
warming and all that.
I do hope you will desist from making such impertinent suggestions in
future.
And remember, while you bear the punishment for your impertinences in
the form of the righteous laughter of those you have offended, that
those who try to always have the last laugh, might end up being the
last left laughing.
regards, and it's such a pity isn't it, that the Indian Standards
Institution, also known as the ISI, whose mark helped us determine
the quality of the products that we all use in our daily life, has
fallen on such hard times.
Bum Bholey, Bum Bum Bholey,
Shuddha
On 05-Jul-08, at 12:07 PM, Pawan Durani wrote:
> If only you know the facts , Mr Jor Na Less Stick.....
>
> On 7/5/08, Shivam Vij शिवम् विज्
> <mail at shivamvij.com> wrote:
>>
>> Actually the ISI refused to finance my trip because Pakistan is not
>> taking any interest in Kashmir. Separatists here are both surprised
>> and relieved that PTV did not pay attention to the mass uprising. So
>> my employers were forced to finance my trip. Would you like to
>> look at
>> the bills and accounts? You might also wants to ask the Shri Amarnath
>> Shrine Board, in the same vein, to publish their accounts. As a Hindu
>> I demand to know how they have been spending the money they collect
>> from Muslim (Gujjar, Kashmiri) ponywalas and tentwalas, which they
>> collect as compulsory taxes but show as voluntary donation. Oh and
>> the
>> 20 years old Vaishnu Devi Shrine Board has never published its
>> accounts either...
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 4, 2008 at 12:57 PM, <radhikarajen at vsnl.net> wrote:
>>> Hi, Shivam,
>>>
>>> who is financing your stay in Srinagar, it looks like you are
>>> being
>> held hostage with good food and your thoughts are that of a
>> hostage talking
>> good about his kidnappers.! By the way I hope you are guest of
>> Gulam nabi or
>> Mufti as both are known spin doctors who use the bakras like you.?
>>>
>>> Regards.
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Shivam Vij शिवम् विज् <mail at shivamvij.com>
>>> Date: Thursday, July 3, 2008 8:53 pm
>>> Subject: [Reader-list] 'Tolerant Kashmiris': An editorial in Etalaat
>>> To: sarai list <reader-list at sarai.net>
>>>
>>>> Tolerant Kashmiris
>>>> 26 June, 2008 08:10:48
>>>> http://www.etalaat.net/english/viewpoint/editorial/1111.html
>>>>
>>>> Vested interests are all out to communalize the on-going agitation
>>>> against transfer of forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board.
>>>> Time and
>>>> again it has been made clear that the on-going agitation is not
>>>> against the Yatra or the Yatries. The agitation is against
>>>> politicization of the Yatra. Kashmiris want the government to
>>>> entrust
>>>> the job of conducting and facilitating Yatra to the local people
>>>> who
>>>> have been conducting it effectively since 1860.
>>>>
>>>> To understand the on-going agitation against land transfer in its
>>>> right perspectives one has to look into the history of Kashmir.When
>>>> important decisions concerning the future of Kashmir were taken
>>>> Kashmiris were always ignored. In 1947 a decision was imposed on
>>>> the
>>>> reluctant people and since then the trend continues. In early
>>>> 60s the
>>>> government of India omitted Article 238 from Indian constitution
>>>> and
>>>> thus rendered article 370 infructious. The Article 370 which
>>>> guarantees a special status to the state of Jammu Kashmir reads:
>>>> "Not
>>>> withstanding any thing nothing in Article 238 shall apply to the
>>>> state
>>>> of Jammu Kashmir." Article 370 is still there but article 238 which
>>>> contained the heart and soul of 370 is not there in the
>>>> constitution.
>>>> Kashmiris to this day do not know about this fraud.
>>>>
>>>> Similarly the government of India abolished the permit system which
>>>> required the non-state subjects to obtain a permit for entering the
>>>> state. Again the people were not taken into confidence. In 1975 a
>>>> popular movement was strangled. Again the people did not
>>>> protest. In
>>>> 1978 the draconian public safety act (PSA) was framed. People
>>>> did not
>>>> protest. In 1984 TADA was extended to the state. People remained
>>>> silent. The Gulmarg issue shook them and the transfer of land
>>>> did the
>>>> miracle. Even this time the government had taken the people for
>>>> granted.
>>>>
>>>> People are angry but they have not thrown caution to the winds.
>>>> They
>>>> have upheld the high traditions of tolerance and have not harmed
>>>> any
>>>> Yatri or a tourist. This is exactly what Islam teaches them. The
>>>> Yatries are welcome and so are the tourists. Kashmiris are known
>>>> for
>>>> their hospitality and they will not disappoint the pilgrims and
>>>> other
>>>> guests.
>>>>
>>>> History is witness to the fact that Kashmiris have always protected
>>>> their non-Muslim brethren. Hundreds of instances can be quoted to
>>>> prove the point. However, the following incident shall suffice. A
>>>> person who retired as the Chief Conservator of Forests lived in
>>>> Shahr-e-Khaas during his college days. One day while on his way
>>>> to the
>>>> college he was intercepted by a crowd. Taken for a Bakra (A
>>>> supporter
>>>> of Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah) he was given sound thrashing. Somehow he
>>>> ran
>>>> away but only to be caught by another violent group. This time
>>>> he was
>>>> taken for a Sher (Supporter of Sheikh Abdullah) and beaten to pulp.
>>>> Again he managed his escape. When caught for the third time, he
>>>> shouted: "I am a Pandit." Nobody touched him this time. He was
>>>> given
>>>> safe passage.
>>>> _________________________________________
>>>> 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/>
>>>
>> _________________________________________
>> 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/>
> _________________________________________
> 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/>
Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net
More information about the reader-list
mailing list