[Reader-list] Have you seen this face of the world's largest democracy?

Tue Sep 2 23:02:46 IST 2008

And, probably your emotional one liners come from bollywood. :) :)

On 9/2/08, inder salim <indersalim at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> BE SHAK MANDIR MASJID TODO, PAR PYAR BARA DIL KABI NA TODO -
>
> ( .. may demolish a temple, a mosque, but never a heart full of love )
>
> it  is  normal for Indians to love bollywood
>
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>
> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 10:08 PM, chanchal malviya
> <chanchal_malviya at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > Do you think Islam is Laxman?
> > Laxman was obedience to his elder brother.
> > Islam is deadly against its elder brother Hinduism.
> >
> > And do not say Ramayan is a myth. All the research on Ram Sethu and
> further in Sri Lanka has gone to proove the million year old history of
> India, that is sung by every Indian even today.
> >
> > If you want the list of temples put down in Kashmir in recent decade,
> here is it:
> > http://www.awakehindu.com/Articles/ListOfTempleDemolition.htm
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----
> > From: inder salim <indersalim at gmail.com>
> > To: reader-list at sarai.net
> > Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 9:58:25 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Have you seen this face of the world's largest
> democracy?
> >
> > Lord Rama is weeping on seeing his brother Laxmana injured.
> >
> > only the most insensitive would  hesitate to derail the process of
> > healing  in Kashmir.
> >
> > so, listen to what the patient is suffereing from?
> >
> > with love
> > inder salim
> >
> > On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 7:17 PM, Shivam Vij शिवम् विज्
> > <mail at shivamvij.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Rage in Kashmir meets India's brute force
> > >
> > > http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-35279820080902
> > >
> > > By Alistair Scrutton
> > >
> > > SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - The world's largest democracy locks up
> > > protest leaders without charge, shoots dozens of demonstrators dead,
> > > beats and intimidates ordinary citizens and raids homes without
> > > warrants.
> > >
> > > Welcome to Indian Kashmir, where the biggest separatist protests in
> > > two decades have clashed with the might of the state.
> > >
> > > "They are ruthless, trigger happy," said Ghulam Rasool Bhat, a
> > > labourer who says he was beaten by federal police after he tried to
> > > buy milk for his two nephews under a curfew in Srinagar, the summer
> > > capital of Indian Kashmir.
> > >
> > > He lay in a bed, both legs bandaged where a soldier, shouting "Get
> > > your milk from Pakistan" had smashed a rifle into his shins. His legs
> > > felt, he said, as if in a continuous cramp.
> > >
> > > Police have shot dead at least 35 Muslim protesters in the
> > > Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley after a row over land for a Hindu
> > > shrine spiralled into marches and strikes against Indian rule.
> > >
> > > More than 1,000 people have been wounded in clashes over three weeks,
> > > hospital officials and police say, with the Kashmir Valley often under
> > > curfew. Hundreds of people have suffered police baton beatings and
> > > bullet wounds, doctors say.
> > >
> > > The Indian government says its security forces have been fired upon by
> > > protesters on several occasions, and said authorities had "acted
> > > within the law and with restraint".
> > >
> > > Witnesses said some protesters had thrown stones at police, but said
> > > that most were marching peacefully. India's hardline response to the
> > > protests has highlighted what critics say is its lack of strategy to
> > > find a solution to a problem that has already sparked two wars between
> > > India and Pakistan, who both claim the region in full but rule it in
> > > parts.
> > >
> > > The crackdown may also be counter-productive. Residents say the deaths
> > > and violent crackdown have fuelled anger against India and boosted the
> > > separatist cause after years of relative peace.
> > >
> > > "The government of India does not have a strategy," said Siddharth
> > > Varadarajan, diplomatic editor of The Hindu newspaper.
> > >
> > > "It is relying heavily on coercion, arresting top and middle-level
> > > leaders in the hope it will break the back of unprecedented protests."
> > >
> > > In rare criticism last week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
> > > called on India to avoid using excessive force. It drew a rebuke from
> > > India for interfering in its affairs.
> > >
> > > SIMMERING RESENTMENT
> > >
> > > For decades there has been simmering resentment at the hundreds of
> > > thousands of Indian troops stationed in Kashmir, making it one of the
> > > most militarised regions on earth.
> > >
> > > Roadblocks, verbal abuse from soldiers and raids on homes have long
> > > been a part of daily life. But as protests spiralled in August, the
> > > government sent in battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force
> > > (CRPF), a federal police force of mainly Hindus who do not speak
> > > Kashmiri. Strangers to Kashmir, most residents appear to despise them.
> > >
> > > In interviews in Srinagar and nearby villages, tales were similar:
> > > CRPF beatings, night raids on homes, verbal abuse and smashed windows.
> > > Life has been worse than in previous years.
> > >
> > > "They are not human," said Raja, a villager from Newtheed less than an
> > > hour's drive from the city. She said soldiers smashed up her home,
> > > shouting "We'll show you what freedom is".
> > >
> > > In Srinagar, the CRPF has taken over from the local Kashmiri police to
> > > enforce curfews and riot control. Residents complain of abuse at the
> > > slightest provocation -- selling bread, buying milk.
> > >
> > > One surgeon, who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of
> > > retribution from Indian authorities, said he has received around 400
> > > wounded people in three weeks, 150 of them hit by bullets.
> > >
> > > "These are target killings. It's simple to see," said the doctor,
> > > explaining that many of the chest wounds were from weapons such as
> > > AK-47s. "Most of these were intended to kill. They were not to
> > > disperse a crowd."
> > >
> > > Shabir Ahmed Dar, 22, lay in one hospital bed after three operations.
> > > He was shot in the abdomen during a protest march to the Pakistani
> > > Kashmir border.
> > >
> > > "There was no warning from the police. They just fired."
> > >
> > > The police firings drew criticism from Human Rights Watch. "To end
> > > this cycle of tragedy, the government should order security forces to
> > > act with restraint," it said in a statement.
> > >
> > > It is not just a hardline response to street protests. Authorities
> > > have detained several separatist leaders without charge. Other
> > > leaders, many committed to democratic change and who publicly reject
> > > militant violence, were in hiding.
> > >
> > > Asiya Andrabi, chief of Kashmir's women's separatist group
> > > Dukhtaran-e-Milat (Daughters of the Muslim Faith) who had led some of
> > > the protests, has been detained under the Public Safety Act that
> > > allows for a year in jail without trial.
> > >
> > > The violence still pales in comparison with previous years when
> > > officials say more than 43,000 people have been killed in clashes
> > > involving Indian troops and Muslim militants since 1989. Human rights
> > > groups put the toll at about 60,000 dead or missing.
> > >
> > > Some analysts say authorities were in a difficult situation.
> > >
> > > "This is a place where security officials are getting attacked every
> > > second day," said Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at
> > > the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, referring to the years
> > > of militant insurgency.
> > >
> > > For Shameema, a 35-year-old woman who sells bread, the fear of police
> > > was clear. She talked about how police smashed her and her family with
> > > batons for selling bread under curfew. Her husband displayed a wound
> > > to his head.
> > >
> > > She fell silent for a moment as a federal policeman official walked up
> > > to her shop, ominously tapping his baton. Then, realising he could not
> > > speak Kashmiri, she talked again.
> > >
> > > "I am scared," she said "But we have nowhere to go."
> > >
> > > (Additional reporting by Sheikh Mushtaq; Editing by Simon Denyer and
> > > Megan Goldin)
> > > _________________________________________
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> >
> > --
> >
> > http://indersalim.livejournal.com
> > _________________________________________
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