[Reader-list] "We were mute spectators"-Omar Abdullah

[Wali Arifi]

Hi all,

Read this also from Omar Abdullah:

 Tolerance? What''s that? <http://jknc.org/blog/?p=28>May 20th, 2008

We want to find a solution to the "dispute", "issue", "disagreement" of
Kashmir and we want to do so via a dialogue. It is almost largely accepted
among the 'mainstream' and 'separatists' that a violent resolution of the
problem is simply not possible. The sentiment is admirable but the reality
is so very different.

Over the last few weeks since I started blogging I have been disappointed by
a large number of respondents inability to accept an alternate point of
view. Its almost as if the ground rule is "it's my way of the highway".
There seems to be no scope for discussion on alternate formulations and
propositions. How on earth are we going to agree on a settlement to the
problem if we can't even agree to disagree in a civilised manner? We don't
like what some one says and we want to "slap" the other person. We don't
like what the other person says so we threaten to simply ignore his (or her)
point of view. You disagree with me and suddenly my 10 year old son becomes
fair game for your abuse and threats.

May be I'm wrong but I don't remember things being like this. My elders tell
me of a time when we could agree to disagree and be gentlemen about it. We
could argue our point on the merit of our argument on not descend to
personal digs and insults or worse still threats of violence. We could argue
and argue passionately and yet still sit down over a cup of tea and enquire
about the well being of each others family and friends.

What is this change the result of? I don't really know. A naturally
impatient younger generation unhappy with a future that holds limited
promise? A community angry at what they have seen happening around them for
the last two decades? A land torn between conflicting ideas and ideologies?
I honestly don't know which of these, if any, is applicable but I'm sure you
have an opinion and I'd like to hear. I could, of course, be completely
wrong and this is nothing new.

The one thing I do know is that if we are not willing to respect an
alternate point of view we'll soon find that very few people will be willing
to respect our point of view. There are two sides to every argument and none
of us has an exclusive license to an opinion. We are not discussing religion
which more often than not is carved in stone, we are discussing politics and
politics gives us the space to agree or disagree. I just wish we could do
disagree without taking it as a personal affront.

On a different note I spent ages deciding whether to blog or not. The last
few days have been very difficult for me. The personal abuse I can manage
very well. I have been to Sanawar and there isn't an insult or abuse that
hasn't been flung at me, in jest or seriously, in the 8 years I was there so
reading them in an email is like water off a ducks back but what really
bothered me was the ease with which sections of the media were able to take
my words out of context and use them to satisfy their own editorial twist.
Suddenly Times Now claimed that I had accepted a genocide where I had done
nothing of the sort. Though how less then two hundred and fifty deaths in a
total of more than sixty thousand qualifies as a genocide is a matter of a
completely different discussion. The ease with which they took a few stray
sentences and built a completely twisted story surprised me. Similar the
rush to claim what I had said about my uncle as some sort of admission of
separatist politics or sentiment on my part would have been laughable if it
wasn't such a serious accusation. Knowing fully well that I had been clear
in accepting what had happened in 1990 as an overwhelming expression of
popular sentiment I just cautioned that the other side of the coin needed to
be seen as well no matter how insignificant a percentage of the overall
number of people who participated in what happened in the early 1990s a
reporter from one newspaper found it so easy to frame a headline that made
it look as if I had said that everything that happened in 1990 was enforced.
Things like this caused me a lot of personal anguish apart for the obvious
political difficulty. It's made me so much more cautious about what I write
and how I write about what I think because I have realised that it is so
easy to just take a sentence or two, attribute it to my blog and then build
as much fiction as a person wants to around that. The damage will be done
long before I can offer a word in explainiation.

I haven't given up on the world of blogging quite yet but I came damn close.
It's certainly a case of once bitten twice shy. I'll think long and hard
before I hit the publish key.


On Sat, May 17, 2008 at 9:03 AM, S. Jabbar <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com> wrote:

> Rashneek,  I misunderstood.  Thought those were your comments and did not
> realize that it was a news report that speculated on Omar Abdullah¹s
> motives. I¹m so sorry.
> sj
>
>
> On 5/16/08 4:19 PM, "rashneek kher" <rashneek at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>  > Dear Sonia,
> >
> > I have posted what was there on the Times Now Website.That I posted
> completely
> > without any changes.So in my part I have been fair.
> > I agree that this is the first step towards truth and reconciliation.This
> one
> > coupled with Rekha Chaudhary's recent findings should atleast put an end
> to
> > the Jagmohan conspiracy theory now.It has to be acknowledged that there
> was a
> > mass frenzy coupled with insurgency and selected killings which led to
> Pandit
> > exodus.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Rashneek
> >
> >
> > On 5/16/08, S. Jabbar <sonia.jabbar at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Dear All,
> >> Here is the full text of Omar Abdullah's blog.  I find it a breath of
> fresh
> >> air.  Rashneek I don't think you're being fair to the man.  Perhaps this
> is
> >> the beginning of the the process of truth & reconciliation that I think
> is
> >> vital for Kashmir.
> >> Best
> >> sj
> >>
> >>
> >> The one with no title
> >>
> >> This one has no title because its not a planned, thought out post. Its
> >> simply my reaction to some of the stuff that has been said. While I²²²²m
> not
> >> aiming any shots at any of the people who have responded or posted
> messages
> >> on this blog as my mum always said ³if the cap fits wear it².
> >>
> >> Lets start with Sheikh Abdullah - yes he is my grandfather and yes its
> >> difficult to be objective but even a blind man can see that he had great
> >> qualities. He never claimed to be perfect nor do we in the NC claim that
> he
> >> was. He was human and carried the baggage that any (or after reading
> this
> >> blog you²²²²d have to say almost any) human being carried. That having
> been
> >> said he struggled for a cause and suffered himself. He went to jail, he
> >> spent time in exile, he was interrogated but he didn²²²²t sit back and
> let
> >> others do the fighting for him. He didn²²²²t hand over guns to poor
> Kashmiri
> >> boys and keep his own kids out of harms way. He didn²²²²t shut down
> >> profitable business establishments through hartals and civil strikes
> while
> >> building his own big palaces. Sheikh Abdullah did what he thought was
> best
> >> for his people and the people responded in kind. Some will argue that
> his
> >> decision in 1947 was wrong - looking at the present state of Pakistan
> and
> >> the side of Kashmir with it, I can²²²²t see how they can justify that
> >> argument. Was independence an option? Sure let²²²¹¹s ask the tibetans
> about
> >> how it is to survive as an independent country with China, India and
> >> Pakistan for neighbours. Lets ask Afghanistan what it is like to be a
> >> mountainous land locked country in the region with precious little
> natural
> >> wealth, or Nepal for that matter. It²²²¹¹s all very well to dream and
> base
> >> those dreams on theoretical models of self sufficiency looking at
> >> Switzerland and places like that but Kosovo would be a better long term
> >> model to look at. We had a cold war, we had two blocks and two choices -
> >> India or Pakistan.
> >>
> >> Sheikh Abdullah signed an accord in 1975 and disbanded the Plebiscite
> front.
> >> Some will argue that this was a betrayal and they would not be
> completely
> >> wrong in as much as he settled without getting what he set out to get
> but
> >> look at the circumstances that prevailed at the time. We can²²t take the
> >> luxury of looking at events in isolation and pass judgement. Yes, he
> signed
> >> an accord but look at what was happening around him - Pakistan had not
> only
> >> lost a war it had been dismembered, the Simla Agreement had been signed
> that
> >> promised to resolve the Kashmir issue and Indira Gandhi was being
> compared
> >> to Goddess Durga. Under these circumstances Sheikh Abdullah felt that he
> had
> >> to get the best that he could for the people and the people agreed with
> him.
> >> Any Kashmir expert worth his or her salt will agree that the 1977
> election
> >> was the freest and fairest election the state has ever seen and the
> people
> >> stood behind Sheikh Abdullah and continued to stand behind him till he
> was
> >> laid to rest. Has any leader in Kashmir had a funeral on the scale that
> >> Sheikh Abdullah had in 1982? I think not, that having been said those
> that
> >> are ideologically opposed to him will remain so - such is life.
> >>
> >> Much is said about my father and by the grace of God he²¹¹s still alive
> and
> >> kicking and doesn²²t need me to set the record straight for him he does
> it
> >> for himself. Junaid mentioned that he danced when a Pakistani wicket
> fell. I
> >> wonder why the Pakistani wicket mattered so much because he dances
> whenever
> >> he watches a match and India takes a wicket. He makes no bones about
> where
> >> his loyalties lie and is not hypocritical about it. Time will tell how
> what
> >> he did, what he does and what he²²ll do will be judged. Lets not be too
> >> quick to rush in and pass judgement ourselves as yet.
> >>
> >> Politicians have let Kashmiris down - sure we have. But what of the
> >> engineers and officials who were hand in glove with us? What of those
> >> trusted individuals who on a meagre salary have built palaces and sent
> their
> >> children to the choicest colleges paying hundreds of thousands of
> rupees?
> >> Those that built roads that only existed on paper, ordered pipes that
> >> continue to rust decades later, drew salaries as doctors from the state
> >> while continuing to practice in the Gulf or UK - do they bear no
> >> responsibility for the suffering of the people? Two wrongs don²²t make a
> >> right (another thing my mum always says) but then people living in glass
> >> houses should be very careful where they throw stones (yet another of
> >> mum²¹¹s gems). As a politician I have let the people of my state down
> but I
> >> had a lot of willing and able supporters along the way.
> >>
> >> I am a hypocrite because I draw my salary from the Parliament of India
> and I
> >> still criticise India for the excesses in my state - so be it. I²²ll
> live
> >> with being a hypocrite because it²¹¹s better than living as a mute
> >> spectator. I live with it because I am equally critical of the excesses
> of
> >> the militants. If I am critical of India²¹¹s actions in Kashmir, I am
> >> critical of Pakistan²¹¹s as well. I do a job as a member of Parliament
> but I
> >> haven²²t sold my soul. I don²²t visit the Indian Home Ministry or the
> >> Pakistani High Commission (or in some cases both together) to collect my
> >> monthly dole. But what of those who travel the world talking about the
> >> illegal nature of India²¹¹s occupation of Kashmir and do so on an INDIAN
> >> passport? These are people who feel so strongly about the disputed
> nature of
> >> Kashmir but will happily fill a landing card and mention citizenship of
> >> India. I have an uncle who more often than not I disagree with but I
> admire
> >> the conviction he has - he disagrees with what happened in 1947 and
> >> subsequent events and so refuses to carry a passport. He has never
> applied
> >> for one. For the longest time he never left the state and only travelled
> by
> >> road between Jammu and Srinagar because he refused to travel on
> ²²Indian²²
> >> Airlines.
> >>
> >> Coming to events of the last seventeen years I will only touch on a few
> >> things that come to mind because a lot of this blog is going to be taken
> up
> >> by this period so no point writing it all in one post. That the Indian
> >> security forces are guilty of some of the most horrible excesses is a
> given
> >> and I don²²t dispute that. I don²²t condone what was done and am a firm
> >> believer that the truth must emerge and the guilty must be punished.
> This
> >> must be done in a transparent manner. I have talked about the need for a
> >> truth and reconciliation commission and will write in greater detail
> about
> >> this in a subsequent post.
> >>
> >> While agreeing that nothing can justify the extra-judicial killings, the
> >> rapes, the torture, I have to ask the question - was there any of this
> >> happening before militancy started in the late 80²¹¹s? Before some of
> you
> >> rush in and go for my jugular claiming that I am using militancy to
> justify
> >> these things let me make clear that I am NOT. NOTHING can justify what
> the
> >> people have had to go through but to suggest that the people of Kashmir
> have
> >> been subjugated and brutalized for six decades is to stretch things way
> too
> >> far. I don²²t recall crack downs and searches before 1990, as I don²²t
> >> recall arrogant convoy commanders on our roads before that either. I
> recall
> >> wives of Indian Army officers teaching me in school. I recall going to
> the
> >> homes of school friends whose fathers were in the army and playing with
> >> other ²²C²² type kids all day. Incidentally while it is always unfair to
> use
> >> broad strokes to paint everyone and catagorise then simplistically like
> one
> >> of us has done with his ²²A²² ²²B²² and ²²C²² groupings it was fun to
> see
> >> the reaction that ensued. The glass houses sprung to mind again.
> >>
> >> Its so easy to say that we²²ll lay down our lives to bring Kashmiri
> pandits
> >> back to the valley and I appreciate the sentiment as I²²m sure the
> Kashmiri
> >> Pandits reading it will. Pity that sentiment was missing when our
> mosques
> >> were being used to drive these people out. None of us was willing to
> stand
> >> up and be counted when it mattered. None of us grabbed the mikes in the
> >> mosques and said this is wrong and the Kashmiri Pandits had every right
> to
> >> continue living in the valley. Our educated, well to do relatives and
> >> neighbours were spewing venom twenty four hours a day and we were mute
> >> spectators either mute in agreement or mute in abject fear, more often
> than
> >> not it was muteness driven by fear because the guns turned against the
> >> Pandits found their target elsewhere as my party workers found, but mute
> >> none the less.
> >>
> >> And talking about mosques - what a great symbol of mass uprising they
> proved
> >> to be. While I can²²t claim to have lived through it I have enough
> friends
> >> who did and they tell me about the early 90²¹¹s where attendance was
> taken
> >> in mosques at prayer time. If one missed a prayer in the mosque the
> >> neighbourhood enforcement committee knocked on the door and sought an
> >> explanation, usually with a few gun men present to ensure the message
> was
> >> received loud and clear. People were forced out of their homes to
> >> participate in ³mass uprisings² against Indian ³occupation² and the same
> >> enforcement committees went from door to door forcing people to march.
> While
> >> I don²²t deny that the overwhelming majority of people rose in anger in
> the
> >> early 90²¹¹s there are two sides to every story and we need to look at
> both
> >> or we risk losing our objectivity. Shop signs were painted green and
> white
> >> in Islamic colours and people were forced to set their watches to
> Pakistan
> >> standard time. As if these two things would make the dream of
> independence
> >> any easier to achieve - amazing how quickly peeople rediscovered the old
> >> colours when they could make a choice again.
> >>
> >> This post has been a little more long winded than I had expected but
> then
> >> Omar Khayyam once said -
> >>
> >> The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
> >> Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
> >> Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
> >> Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it
> >>
> >> I²²ve written as I felt and to be honest with you I²²ve enjoyed writing
> >> every word of it.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
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