[Reader-list] Noorani Reads the Fine Print of the Amarnath Accord

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

And, In a recent lecture in Jamia University, he was no different.
Advocating pan-Islamist movement in Kashmir.

On 9/3/08, Lalit Ambardar <lalitambardar at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> It is not surprising.AG Noorani is a known sympathiser of the Kashmiri pan
> Islamists & their cause.  He ran a campaign series in support of the
> separatists in HT for years .The very fact that Noorani has chosen to call
> Jammuites as 'communal forces' & 'parivar' & the accord itself as
> 'gunah-e-bey lazzat' & describe those who attempt to seek "azadi -bara -e
> -Islam" as 'victims' says it all.
>
> Noorani once went overboard in " don't be fence-sitters " (HT New Delhi/May
> 8, 2007)  in  his appreciation of Sayad Sallahudin of HM & the al-Qeada
> affiliate LeT. In a  bizarre coincidence , the day LeT chief allegedly
> assured some Gen. Patankar of his willingness to come to India for talks
> (...????....) as claimed by Noorani in the article , that very day Hafeez
> Sayad confessed to the reporters in Islamabad about the existence of
> terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan & declared his resolve to carry on the
> 'jihad' to its logical conclusion (Ref. TNN/ Times of India, DEL/May8' 07/
> page no.13).
> LA
>
>
>
>
>
> > Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2008 03:55:11 -0700> From: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com> To:
> shuddha at sarai.net> CC: reader-list at sarai.net> Subject: Re: [Reader-list]
> Noorani Reads the Fine Print of the Amarnath Accord> >  >
> http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=3_9_2008&ItemID=26&cat=1>  >  >
> > > --- On Wed, 9/3/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:>
> > From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>> Subject: Re:
> [Reader-list] Noorani Reads the Fine Print of the Amarnath Accord> To:
> "Shuddhabrata Sengupta" <shuddha at sarai.net>> Cc: "Sarai list" <
> reader-list at sarai.net>> Date: Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 4:07 PM> >
> Dear all,> > The link to the Noorani article in the Greater Kashmir
> Newspaper in > my earlier post got inadvertently truncated. Here is the
> correct link.> > http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp? >
> Date=3_9_2008&ItemID=26&cat=1> > Thanks, Tilak Upadhyay for pointing this
> out.> > best,> > Shuddha> > On 03-Sep-08, at 3:16 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta
> wrote: Dear all> > > Dear All,> >> > An unusual intensity of hunger for land
> unites corporations, state> > agencies and shrine boards in India. Captains
> of Industry,> > politicians and land hungry divines seem to be more
> interested in> > acrage than in anything else. The Mahabharata mentions the
> burning of> > the Khandava forest to appease a hungry god, inaugurating a
> long> > history of burnt and erased forests and commons. It appears as it
> we> > are surrounded now by 'hungry gods'. The Khandava-daha continues.> >>
> > Be it Chengara (thanks, Anivar Aravind for keeping us updated about> > the
> land struggle in Kerala, where the ruling CPI(M) led Left Front> > is intent
> on displacing indigenous communities from their land), or> > Singur (where
> again, the ruling CPI(M) wants to gift land 'free'> to a> > gigantic
> corporation or Amarnath, - the issues - remain the same -> > to do with
> state mediated acquisition of land, and the sequestering> > of either
> cultivator's land, or a natural commons into some form of> > 'gated' and
> 'fenced' land.> >> > There has been some premature media spin around the
> 'accord' that> has> > been reached with the Shree Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh
> Samiti based in> > Jammu. On the face of it, the accord appears to grant a
> limited usage> > right to the Shree Amarnath Shrine Board. On closer reading
> of the> > text however, it becomes evident that the terms of this 'accord'>
> are> > actually even more invasive than was the case with the substance of>
> > the original gubernatorial 'land transfer' order in May.> >> > I am
> enclosing below - an article by A. G. Noorani, a well known> > legal
> historian and practitioner of constitutional law, titled> > 'An Immoral and
> Illegal Accord' which was published in the Greater> > Kashmir newspaper
> today. It is available on line at -> >
> http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?> >
> Date=3_9_2008&ItemID=26&cat=1> >> > Noorani carefully reads the terms of the
> Amarnath Accord in this> > article. As I had pointed out before on this list
> (in my second post> > (dated 15th August, 2008) in the thread - 'Gun Salutes
> for August> > 15' in response to Sonia Jabbar and Aditya Raj Kaul - the
> anger in> > Kashmir has a lot to do with the arbitrary acquisition of land -
> I> > had shown, using state government figures, how the equivalent of one> >
> in ten fruit orchards can be said to be under the occupation of the> > Armed
> Forces. The 'Amarnath Land Transfer' issue needs to be seen> in> > this
> context.> >> > As long as that anger (regarding the alienation of land) is
> not> > addressed, the people of Kashmir will have no reason, in my> >
> estimation, to think of themselves as anything but under a brutal and> >
> unrelenting occupation. The current 'Amarnath Accord' in my view,> > worsens
> the situation, and can alienate the people of Kashmir (for> > the reasons
> that Noorani underlines below) even more. As such, it can> > only be viewed
> as yet another provocation, yet another disaster, in> > the long and
> undistinguished record of the Government of India's> > tragic blundering on
> Kashmir. It cannot but prove to be divisive in a> > situation that urgently
> requires the opposite.> >> > regards> >> > Shuddha> >> >
> ====================================================================== > >
> ==> > =======================> >> > An Immoral and Illegal Accord> > Greater
> Kashmir, September 03, 2008> > A G NOORANI> >> > Srinagar, Sep 2: The accord
> between the Jammu and Kashmir government> > and the Shri Amarnath Yatra
> Sangharsh Samiti on 31 August is far> > worse than the government's order
> only three months earlier on 26> > May. It grants the SAYSS concessions
> beyond what the May order did.> > It is one-sided and marks an abject
> surrender to violence, blockade> > and to communal forces. The differences
> between the order and accord> > are glaring. Here is a list:> >> > 1. The
> order was made pursuant to a decision on 20 May by the cabinet> > in which
> both Jammu and Kashmir were represented. The accord> > completely ignores
> Kashmir where the land is to be given. Jammu alone> > was represented. A
> week earlier, there was a clampdown in the Valley> > and top leaders were
> arrested.> >> > 2. Even the controversial order nowhere used the word
> "exclusive".> > The SAYSS felt so emboldened as to demand it and threaten to
> wreck> > the deal if it was not conceded. The government yielded in the
> early> > hours of 31 August. Para 6A says that the Government "shall set
> aside> > for use by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board exclusively the land in> >
> Baltal and Domail". This order unknown anywhere in the world is> > cloaked
> under a lie by calling it "traditionally under use for the> > annual yatra
> purpose". The traditional route for over a century is> > the Pahalgam route.
> The Baltal route is a recent demand. It was> > regarded by the Army and
> Nitish Sengupta Report as dangerous. It is> > also unnecessary if the limit
> of yatris set by the Report (1 lakh) is> > observed.> >> > 3. This violates
> the citizen's fundamental right under Art. 19 (1) D> > to move freely
> throughout India. The demand of exclusivity was not> > made even in May 2008
> or in decades earlier. It is pure communal> > aggression using the yatra for
> political demonstration not religious> > piety.> >> > 4. The duration of use
> is widened to cover pre and post yatra period.> > Para 6 C first says that
> the land will be used "for the duration of> > the yatra" including the
> period of preparations and winding up. But> > the very next para has these
> sinister words: "The aforesaid land> > shall be used according to the
> Board's requirements from time to> > time, including for the following".
> There follow 9 measures including> > construction, setting up of the sheds
> and shops etc. These can be> > done even beyond the yatra period "from time
> to time" and "according> > to the Board's requirements"; may be all the year
> around.> >> > 5. Para 8 of the order insisted that the land "shall return"
> to the> > State. This is dropped in the accord. This accomplishes S.K.
> Sinha's> > objective— permanent use the year round.> >> > 6. Also dropped
> totally is Para 4 on payment for user.> >> > 7. Dropped too is Para 6. An
> undertaking of "foolproof measures> > against water pollution and Para 7 on
> payment of fine for damage to> > the forest. There is a pious provision in
> accord Para 6 C (ix) among> > the objectives of land user; namely
> "undertaking measures relating to> > … preservation of ecology" etc. Breach
> entails no fine.> >> > 8. The order of 26 May was rescinded on 1 July. The
> accord will> > require a fresh order to implement it. By itself the accord
> has no> > legal force. Section 2(a) of the J&K Forest (Conservation) Act
> 1997> > says "the Government shall not, except on a resolution of the
> Council> > of Ministers based on the advice of the Advisory Committee"> >
> constituted under the Act "make any order directing that any forest> > land
> or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest purpose".> > The
> earlier phrase "Council of ministers" merely was revised by an> > amendment
> in 2001 and the Forest Advisory Committee's advice was> > added and made
> mandatory. "Council of Ministers" is specific. It is> > different from "J&K
> Government" whose powers vest now in the> governor> > alone. The law
> intentionally provides the resolution as a safeguard.> > This Council can
> come into existence only after the next elections.> > In any case the Forest
> Advisory Committees advice on 12 July 2007> > cannot apply to this new
> accord which must be vetted afresh by that> > Committee. It was given before
> the Supreme Court's final judgment in> > the T M Godavarman case on 23
> November 2007 which lays down the law> > and makes important observations on
> balancing development with> > protection of environment. Failure to consider
> it vitiates the> > decision. Precisely based on misrepresentation of opinion
> of the> > deputy CM Muzaffar Hussain Beg and advocate general Altaf Naik
> both> > of which were given in entirely difference cases.> >> > The accord
> lacks legal efficacy as well as moral and political> > legitimacy. Any order
> in its implementation will be void in law. It> > is a pity that the state
> should bend all rules to buy peace with> > communal forces including promise
> to consider compensation for law-> > breakers. What of compensation to the
> Valley for the blockade? The> > parivar in Jammu has already begun asking
> for more. The Government> > has not bought peace but trouble. It is
> gunah-e-bey lazzat (sin> > without any taste.)> >> > If the state can thus
> bend its knees before the Sangh parivar on an> > issue like this, what hopes
> of justice can Kashmiris entertain when> > it comes to restoring the raped
> Article 370 to a status of worth and> > respect?> >> > END> >> >
> ====================================================================== > >
> ==> > =======================> >> >> >> >
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> 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> > >
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