[Reader-list] 2-Amarnath Accord - What A.G.Noorani did not tell you !

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Dear Lalit Ambardar,

Many thanks for your post in response to A.G.Noorani's reading of the  
Amarnath accord. I have addressed much of the substance inherent in  
the points raised by you in my recent exchange with Pawan Durani, so  
will not repeat myself here.

There is one point that you make that does however need attention.  
You say -

"Where else in the country has a limit been put on the number of  
pilgrims? Why pick on Amarnath yatra please?"

There are very good ecological reasons to put limits on the number of  
pilgrims to Amarnath, and to restore the limited extent of pilgrim  
traffic, through the traditional (non-Baltal) route, as was always  
the case before the Government of India and several right wing Hindu  
formations decided to project that Amarnath Yatra as a 'national'  
cause in the 1990s. There also exist excellent precedents for this  
decision.

Limits have in fact been put on the number of pilgrims in the case of  
the Gomukh Yatra in Uttarakhand, the source of the Ganga, considered  
to be one of the holiest pilgrimage sites in Hinduism, in order to  
protect the fragile high altitude ecology of the Gangotri-Gomukh  
Glacier Zone. I have walked to the Gomukh glacier, and I have seen  
with my own eyes the extent of damage caused by unlimited pilgrim  
traffic.

here is a report on the Uttarakhand government's decision in the DNA  
Newspaper of May 24, 2008
http://news.indiainfo.com/ 
2008/05/24/0805241136_uttarakhand_govt_sounds_red_alert_on_ganga.html

The 'land hunger' of the Sabarimala Temple Board in Kerala (the  
Sabarimala Temple is located adjacent to a forest zone) has also come  
in for criticism from environmentalists. I had referred to this in my  
very first posting on the Amarnath Issue on this list, on the 30th of  
June, 2008.

http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/2008-June/013162.html

In this posting, I had made an argument to try and see the Amarnath  
issue not as a Kashmir or a Faith Centric issue but in terms of a  
question of what happens when state endorsed agencies, sometimes  
under the garb of faith, attempt to arrogate land to themselves. I  
had deliberately talked of instances in Kerala, as a parallel to the  
situation in Kashmir, in order to show that at its core, the Amarnath  
'Land Transfer' issue has more mundane engines than faith or  
questions of so called 'national integrity'.

I enclose below a copy of two DNA Reports on the Uttarakhand  
Government's decision to prohibit pilgrim traffic, and allow only  
restricted trekking access to Gomukh for the next five years for your  
perusal.

regards

Shuddha
------------------------------------
Uttarakhand govt sounds red alert on Ganga
Ashwin Aghor, DNA Mumbai, Saturday, May 24, 2008

Mumbai: Taking serious note of the warning by World Wide Fund for  
nature (WWF) about the Ganges being one of the most polluted and  
highly endangered rivers in the world, the Uttarakhand government has  
decided to take measures to save the river.To start with, the  
government has declared Gomukh, the origin of the Ganga, out of  
bounds for the general public.

The Gangajal Nature Foundation, a city-based non governmental  
organisation (NGO) has been instrumental in conservation of the river  
and had undertaken various projects to identify risks to the holy river.

"It is better late than never. The ban on entry of the general public  
to Gomukh is a good decision taken by the government of  
Uttarakahand," said Vijay Mudshingikar of the Foundation.

The WWF released a report about the status of 10 major rivers in the  
world. The report, released on the occasion of World Water Day in  
2007 came as a major blow to India as the Ganga and Indus rivers were  
listed among the 10 most endangered rivers in the world.

"It was a shocking revelation as in the name of religion and faith,  
we have virtually ruined these rivers," Mudshingikar said.

The Foundation began a survey of the Ganga from its origin to the  
point where it meets the Bay of Bengal in 2001. On the basis of the  
outcome of the survey that ended in 2006, the Foundation started a  
general awareness campaign all over the country. The NGO's efforts  
coupled with the WWF report led the government to ban the entry of  
the general public, including the Kavad Yatra to Gomukh, for the next  
five years.

“We will implement the ban in total. A notice to this effect has been  
put up at the base camp. All trekking expeditions will also be  
allowed only with prior permission of the central government,” said  
JK Unial, incharge of the Gangotri National Park.

He said that around 15 organisations are actively involved in  
organising treks to Gomukh and lakhs of people visit the place during  
the Kavad Yatra. But all this will be stopped within three months,  
Unial added.

The biggest problem for the administration is Lalbaba Ashram situated  
at Bhojvasa. “An eviction notice has been served to the ashram,”  
Unial said. The state government has also closed all dhabas along the  
road to Gomukh.

“People should support the government of Uttarakahand in its efforts  
to save Gomukh. It is now established that the glacier is receding at  
an alarming rate of 40 metres per year. If not checked in time,  
within a few decades, it will cross the China border,” Mudshingikar  
said.

According to the survey conducted by Geological Survey of India,  
Lucknow, the glacier was receding at the rate of 10 metres per year  
between 1935 and 1956. But it increased to 27-30 metres per year  
between 1956 and 1990.

Source : DNA

==========

Unclean Ganga
May 24, 2008
http://epaper.dnaindia.com

India’s holiest river has shrunk. According to the Geological Survey  
of India, the Gomukh glacier, the mouth of the Ganga, is receding at  
the alarming rate of 40m a year. If it is not checked now, within a  
few decades the glacier would have crossed the Chinese border. Of  
course, the recession has been known since early last century, but  
the Uttarakhand government’s move to protect Gomukh is welcome, even  
if it is a little late. The state has decided to stop all pilgrimage  
and tourist traffic to the site for the next five years. Treks will  
also be monitored.

The immediate catalyst for this move is a World Wide Fund for Nature  
warning that the Ganga is one of the most polluted and endangered  
rivers in the world. For centuries, many people and all Hindus have  
believed in the purity and power of the water of the river. Some  
scientists have tried to prove that a small microbe that lives in its  
waters kept it clean. Be that as it may, the river has not been able  
to withstand the onslaught of increasing waste, mineral and  
industrial being thrown into it. As the river flows from the  
mountains to the plains and all the way to the sea at Hooghly, it is  
the receptacle of flowers, human bodies and who knows what else.  
Popular mythology says the river managed to cure itself; science  
today puts the river under threat.

The Uttarakhand government has taken a very wise if unpopular  
decision - the Gangotri Yatra is much sought-after by Hindu pilgrims  
and trekkers. The non-government organisation which has lobbied with  
the government to save the river is hopeful that people will  
appreciate and understand the need for the ban.

This is not, of course, the first Save Ganga campaign that this  
country has seen, but it can only be hoped that it will be more  
successful than the others. Rajiv Gandhi’s ambitious plan to save the  
mighty river did not yield the results it was expected to. Rivers in  
India - all variously sacred - have also been routinely mistreated.  
Some, like the Brahmaputra, show their fury often. Others like the  
once-majestic Jamuna have become placid and therefore are vanishing.  
The Narmada is being parcelled out. Even the modest Mithi showed its  
anger at being turned into a drain in the Mumbai floods of 2005. They  
all need help. The reasons why are so important that they do not bear  
repeating. At the crux of human civilisation is riverine culture.

Raj Kapoor’s film Ram Teri Ganga Maili was not about endangerment  
through pollution of this kind, but the title could well be a  
rallying cry for a country which has taken its rivers and its  
religion very seriously, but has long forgotten to give back what it  
has taken away.



On 08-Sep-08, at 3:54 AM, Lalit Ambardar wrote:

> In case the discussion is still on AG Noorani’s article consisting  
> of baseless allegations that  are only meant to mislead the  
> Kashmiri Muslim masses then  please note the following point wise  
> rebuttal to Noorani’s rhetoric( did not check mail & missed Pawan  
> Durani’s elaborate post while I  had already prepared the note,  
> therefore,  would still like to share) :
> 1. The mass movement in Jammu was against the Govt. rescind order.  
> Therefore, the accord had to be between the SASS & the govt.  
> only .The Kashmiri Islamists who refuse to recognise the law of the  
> land had rendered themselves redundant. In any case Govt. did not  
> bother to consult people of Jammu either when the land transfer  
> order was revoked under pressure from the Kashmiri Islamists. Jammu  
> & Kashmir continues to be a single entity; therefore, Jammuites as  
> state subjects have equal right on Kashmir province as well.  
> Mischievous role of the Kashmiri Muslim leaders in spreading  
> canards of cultural & demographic invasion to mislead the masses is  
> ignored by Noorani. Why?
> 2. There is nothing wrong in the using the term ‘exclusive’ unless  
> there is a sinister design behind the objection. The fact is that  
> the land is to be used is for putting up the facilities along the  
> Hindu pilgrimage route.
>  Baltal route has been in use for years now. In any case why should  
> any body object to a particular route to the shrine? There are  
> portions along Pahalgam route also which are quite dangerous.
>  Where else in the country has a limit been put on the number of  
> pilgrims? Why pick on Amarnath yatra please? In any case the local  
> service providers are always happy with the greater number as  
> obviously it adds to their income.
> 3. How does article 19(1) D get violated by merely allotting the  
> land ‘exclusively’ for the yatra? Unless there is a sinister desire  
> to disrupt the yatra. It could be only a sick man’s idea to imagine  
> misuse of yatra for ‘political’ & not ‘religious’ purposes.  
> Politics at those uninhabitable heights??? The idea probably stems  
> from the post Friday congregations in Kashmir where anti India  
> venom is spewed routinely.
> 4. Arrangements are always made before & not during the event or  
> pilgrimage.
> 5. Ownership of land doesn’t change. Hence article 370 isn’t  
> violated. Aren’t  Hindus of J& K entitled for equal rights in J&K.?
> 6. Payment for land use sounds like imposition of “jazia”.  
> Otherwise who pays whom? How are Kashmniri Muslims affected by the  
> waver? It is ironic that when the Kashmiri Islamists were up in the  
> arms against the land transfer in Kashmir, Delhi CM laid the  
> foundation stone of a multi billion dollar Haj House that is to be  
> fitted with most advanced facilities in  Dwarka & no questions are  
> asked.
> 7. It is preposterous to propose fine against water pollution &  
> against causing damage to the forests on the Hindu pilgrims in a  
> secular India. Where else is this being done in India or abroad?  
> Why is this assumed that Hindus are philistine? Sonia Jabber had  
> earlier in HT also observed sarcastically that the pilgrims  
> preferred “lota & woods”. I wonder what local Muslims do. Do they  
> use mobile lavatories? And what did Sonia Jabber do on the treck?  
> Why pick on Hindu pilgrims please?
>  Why not talk about shrinking Dal Lake & Jehlum that is more  
> pertinent. At least Kashmiri Hindus haven’t contributed any waste  
> to the rivers & lakes fro the past almost two decades since their  
> ethnic cleansing in the valley 19 years ago.
> 8. Why is there silence over the illegality of the rescind order  
> which was issued after the PDP withdrawal. There is no arrangement  
> like ‘minority govt’ in the J&K constitution.
> How can you on the one hand espouse openly the cause of Kashmiri  
> pan Islamic separatists who do not believe in the law of the land &  
> on the other talk of ‘legal efficacy’ as well as ‘moral political  
> legitimacy’???
> Why cry foul over aid to the   Jammu protestors who fought for a  
> just demand when the Govt. has also been giving aid to the families  
> of terrorists besides giving compensation to the protestors in  
> Kashmir as well. We did not hear AG Noorani scream when SAS Jillani  
> who openly demands merger of Kashmir with Pakistan ( Azadi bara e  
> Islam) was airlifted in a state owned  aircraft from Ranchi jail to  
> Mumbai for treatment a couple of years ago.
> LA
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
>> From: shuddha at sarai.net> Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2008 22:13:51 +0530> To:  
>> pawan.durani at gmail.com> CC: reader-list at sarai.net> Subject: Re:  
>> [Reader-list] 2-Amarnath Accord - What A.G.Noorani did not tell  
>> you !> > Dear Pawan Durani, dear all,> > I am grateful, Mr.Durani,  
>> for your post in response to my reply, > and I am equally happy to  
>> conduct this discussion under any heading, > be it, 'What  
>> A.G.Noorani Did Not Tell You' or 'What Pawan Durani > Does Not  
>> Want Us to Talk About'.> > You underestimate my patience in terms  
>> of taking this issue through > to its logical conclusion. I may  
>> add, that I have no pre-determined > agenda insofar as the end of  
>> any discussion is concerned. I believe > in letting a discussion  
>> proceed on the terms of a reasonable exchange > of ideas and  
>> information, not on name-calling as a means to stone- > wall a  
>> discussion and to terrorize its participants, or its audience > or  
>> readership, into submission. I invite you to try and do the same >  
>> for a change.> > Unfortunately for you, Mr.Durani, the issue is  
>> not about whether or > not someone is 'buying' the land in Baltal.  
>> The SASB is not 'buying' > the land. Its intent is to acquire the  
>> land through a state enforced > fiat, on state enforced terms, at  
>> state enforced prices. You cannot > call that 'buying'. You can  
>> buy the land if someone is willing to > sell it, if there is a  
>> perfect equality in terms between the two > parties involved in  
>> the transaction, and if their desires (to buy and > sell)  
>> intersect and are co-eval.> > If people are unwilling to 'sell'  
>> then, the land cannot be 'bought'. > In any case, here, the legal  
>> 'owner' of some of the land, happens to > be an agency of the  
>> State Government, and the legal owners of the > land in question  
>> happen to be several other private parties. The 800 > kanals in  
>> question are a mix of Foret land, State Government owned > land,  
>> and private property. (As Sonia Jabbar has pointed out > before).  
>> If all the legal owners of the land are prepared to sell the >  
>> land to the SASB, or to any other party, there cannot be any >  
>> objection. Not even from me. That would be a straightforward and >  
>> transparent transaction that is governed by the laws of how things  
>> > (especially land) are bought and sold.> > And then your argument  
>> that the SASB's intention to get land is > equivalent to the case  
>> of any citizen of Jammu or Ladakh buying land > anywhere in J&K  
>> would have some basis. I am afraid, in the absence of > sellers,  
>> or their consent, there cannot be a buyer, and certainly the >  
>> SASB is not a 'buyer'. Since no 'purchase' of land is either >  
>> occurring, or contemplated, your argument falls flat on its face.>  
>> > I might add, that It is the same issue that rears its head  
>> wherever > else land acquisition by force or fraud comes up. In  
>> Singur, the > Government of West Bengal, did not 'buy' the land  
>> from the people who > owned the land, before passing it on the  
>> Tata Group. It 'acquired' it > under the cover of a Land  
>> Acquisition Act enacted through the > violence of colonial  
>> oppression in 1894. (The same act, incidentally, > is used, by the  
>> Indian armed forces to 'acquire' land, including > orchards and  
>> fields, in J&K), Today, the West Bengal Government it > is being  
>> compelled to rethink its previously unwavering posture on > the  
>> matter of land acquisition. I am sure that in J&K, the patently >  
>> undemocratic act of 'acquisition' of land for the SASB is bound to  
>> > backfire in time on the authorities responsible for this  
>> decision. It > has already cost them a great deal, it will cost  
>> them more in future.> > I am very well aware of who lives in  
>> Baltal. Baltal was a small > impermanent settlement generally used  
>> for transhumance by nomadic > shepherds following the banks of the  
>> Sindh nullah or the Romashi > rivulet on their way to Dras and  
>> beyond from the Kashmir valley > through the Zoji-La Pass that has  
>> grown into a small settlement. It > was traditionally never used  
>> for the Amarnath Pilgrimage and came > into prominence only when  
>> the possibility of helicopter services from > the area to the  
>> Amarnath site became feasible. Today, it comes to > life during  
>> the 'pilgrimage' season, when many of the local nomadic > Gujjars,  
>> and other more sedentary Kashmiris, generally Muslim by > faith,  
>> act as guides and pilgrims to the Hindu pilgrims who use the >  
>> 'new' Baltal route. They are joined by Tibetan refugee and Ladakhi  
>> > seasonal wool and trinket traders, who do brisk business, and >  
>> volunteers or 'sevadars' from the plains who assist the pilgrims.>  
>> > See - No sign of land row in Baltal by Shujaat Bukhari, in the  
>> Hindu > of August 12, 2008, for more details about Baltal.> http:// 
>> www.thehindu.com/2008/08/12/stories/2008081254781100.htm> (The  
>> Hindu's reports on Kashmir, especially those by Praveen Swami, >  
>> are items that Mr. Durani and his friends particuarly relish  
>> offering > to this list. So, I am sure that he would take this  
>> report with > utmost seriousness)> > The trek from Baltal climbs  
>> steeply from Domail, (2 kms from the > Baltal base camp) and the  
>> area is especially prone to storms and > landslides, which is why  
>> there has always been an insistence on > keeping the number of  
>> pilgrims low along this route. The 'overall' > figure for pilgrims  
>> on the 'Baltal route' recommended by the Nitish > Sengupta  
>> committee nowhere exceeds 700 pilgrims per day. This is what > the  
>> committee recommended on the basis of what it thought was the >  
>> possible infrastructure load that the area could accommodate, and  
>> > keeping in mind reasons of health and safety of the pilgrims.  
>> Nitish > Sengupta has now emerged as a voice in support of the  
>> SASB's current > position of claims on the land, (though he  
>> continues to maintain that > the number of pilgrims, and the  
>> duration of the pilgrimage need to be > curtailed) but the one-man  
>> committee report presented by him is > explicit in terms of the  
>> number of pilgrims that the Baltal region > can take.> >  
>> Incidentally, the head priest of Dashnami Akhara Mahant Deependra  
>> > Giri the traditional custodian of the 'Cchari Mubarak' (the holy  
>> > mace) and who initiates the ritual processes that inaugurate the  
>> > annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath Shrine, is also of the express  
>> view > that the Baltal route should be avoided as it has no  
>> scriptural > sanction whatsoever.> > Here is a report quoting the  
>> Mahant on his conclusion of the > pilgrimage this year.> > Mahant:  
>> Reduce Yatra Period, Avoid Baltal> Kashmir Observer, August 19,  
>> 2008> http://www.kashmirobserver.com/index.php? >  
>> option=com_content&view=article&id=886:mahant-reduce-yatra-period-  
>> > avoid-baltal&catid=50:localnews&Itemid=81> > I quote from this  
>> report -> "Mahant, who resigned from the SASB over the issue of  
>> extending the > duration of the yatra, had urged pilgrims not to  
>> visit the cave > before the 'Vyas Purnima' and prefer the  
>> traditional 46-km Pahalgam > route to the shortest 12-km Baltal  
>> route for religious reasons."> > Clearly, Pawan Durani will tell  
>> us that the statements made in public > fora by Kashmiri Pandits  
>> based in the valley and the Mahant of the > Dashnami Akhara cannot  
>> be trusted, but we must take whatever he says > on face value.  
>> Durani says that people like Sanjay Tickoo are > 'hostage to the  
>> terrorists'. Now he will probably say that Mahant > Deependra Giri  
>> is also a 'hostage to terrorists' . A statement of > this nature  
>> is serious, and unless Tickoo corroborates what Durani > says,  
>> must be treated as a malicious attempt at putting words by >  
>> Durani into Tickoo's mouth. I could just as easily say that Durani  
>> > and the entire Panun Kashmir-Roots in Kashmir archipelago are >  
>> 'hostages to state terror' but I do not believe that arguments can  
>> be > made, won, or lost by such utterly pointless exchanges. We  
>> must argue > on the basis of publicly verifiable statements. And  
>> insofar as > publicly verifiable statements are concerned, I am  
>> afraid that Durani > & Co.s insistence that they speak on behalf  
>> of all Hindus in the > Kashmir valley, or all Hindus in Jammu &  
>> Kashmir, or even all Hindus > in India does not hold. It gives us  
>> a sense only of their exaggerated > sense of their importance and  
>> their arrogance.> > Again, we cannot pretend, like Durani, that  
>> the right to acquire land > is equal to the right to movement,  
>> Article 370 restricts transactions > in land, not movement. The  
>> right to equality operates in situations > when the same end is  
>> sought by two parties. If two parties seek > movement, the right  
>> to equality would mean that both have the equal > right to move.  
>> If two parties seek to purchase land then the right to > equality  
>> would mean that both parties have the equal right to > purchase  
>> land. You cannot counterpose the conditions attendant to the >  
>> right to purchase land as an objection to to the conditions that >  
>> apply to the right of movement, and then invoke the right to  
>> equality > as a plea in favour of a decision one way or another.  
>> The right to > equality applies when the conditions are such that  
>> the two entities s > can be seen as capable of brought under  
>> considerations in terms of > identity (I mean identity here in a  
>> logical sense, as in saying that > an apple from Himachal Pradesh  
>> and an apple from Kashmir are both > identically, apples, and must  
>> be considered as comparable units of > the same class). To do  
>> otherwise is to offer an argument that > confuses its apples for  
>> its oranges. And then says, why are apples > not being considered  
>> equal to oranges.> > Finally, I find it interesting that Pawan  
>> Durani should use the term > 'trespassing'. There is considerable  
>> literature on how traditional > commons, became sequesterd and  
>> segregated through arbitrary > invocation of 'trespassing', and  
>> how the word trespass was used to > effect enclosures upon  
>> hitherto existing commons. The violence of the > early history of  
>> Capitalism throughout the world, is full of usages > of the word  
>> 'trespass'.> > If the people of Kashmir had said to the Amarnath  
>> pilgrims - "this > land is 'ours' you cannot pass through it, and  
>> if you do, we shall > consider you to be 'trespassers'...' or  
>> something to that effect, I > would have been spoken as much  
>> against such a declaration, as I do > today against the SASB and  
>> its partisans. In fact, the people of > Kashmir, including those  
>> who have agitated against the land transfer, > have reiterated  
>> time and again that they seek to maintain the highest > standards  
>> of hospitality towards who pass through Kashmir on their > way to  
>> Amarnath. It is only the protagonists of the SASB, such as our >  
>> own Pawan Durani, who have no compunction in insulting that >  
>> generosity by invoking the language of trespass.> > And no, I do  
>> not believe that the restrictions that limit movement on > the  
>> night of 25th or the 26th of January are moral. I hold them to be  
>> > deeply immoral. And I also do not believe that there should be >  
>> borders, or barbed wire fences along borders. I guess that makes  
>> me a > trespasser. But it makes me a trespasser who has the  
>> wherewithal to > buttress my words and my beliefs with a  
>> sustainable argument. Like > many of those who invoke the law of  
>> trespass against the passage of > common people, Pawan Durani has  
>> no ethical, or reasoned argument, all > he has behind him is the  
>> brutal and immoral might of the Indian state.> > I might be basing  
>> my arguments on the basis of reports on what Pawan > Durani  
>> characterizes as "Anti-Nationalist and Islamist" newspapers > such  
>> as Greater Kashmir and Rising Kashmir. (Incidentally, They are >  
>> neither "Anti Nationalist", nor do I see in them any consistently  
>> > "Islamist" traces. They are not "anti-nationalist" because they  
>> are > clearly sympathetic to one or the other variety of Kashmiri  
>> > Nationalism. I am no doubt, an anti-nationalist, because I  
>> believe > that all forms of nationalism, including Kashmiri  
>> nationalism, are > ultimately detrimental to human beings, but it  
>> would be unfair to > confuse me with the sources I am quoting) But  
>> whatever be the case, > the instances I am quoting involve quotes  
>> from Kashmiri Pandit and > non-Muslim individuals who cannot on  
>> any grounds be considered > either "Anit-Nationalist", or  
>> "Islamist" (They have not said they are > either, and we cannot  
>> accuse people of holding political positions > that they have  
>> themselves refrained from upholding). The statements > that they  
>> have made, and which I have quoted, can be either > disproven,  
>> which would be the case if it were shown that these people > did  
>> not say these things, or they can be verified. They cannot be >  
>> considered unacceptable merely because the newspaper that reported  
>> > them is not of the same Ideological persuasion as Pawan Durani.>  
>> > In my last posting, I had offered the possibility of considering  
>> > Pawan Durani either as a fool or as a charlatan, based on a my >  
>> assessment of his demonstrated ability to hold a sustained  
>> argument. > This meant, that in my opinion, he either did not have  
>> the > intelligence to hold on to a sustained argument by  
>> reasonable means > (hence, fool), or cared not to, and was intent  
>> on misleading us with > his malafide postings (hence, charlatan).  
>> This reasoning was entirely > based on the form and substance of  
>> his argument. I would like to > known on what basis Mr.Durani has  
>> the impertinence to call me a 'neo- > convert'. What dose he think  
>> I have 'converted' and that too, newly, > to? How can he even  
>> think he knows what transpires in my conscience, > or what he  
>> calls my 'heart' especially when, not a single argument > offered  
>> by me is based on any question of faith, emotion or sentiment.> >  
>> I have revised my opinion about Pawan Durani, he is clearly not a  
>> > fool. He is using what Tapas Ray has referred to in his recent  
>> post > as - 'human tragedies' - for all that they are worth in  
>> order to > buttress a morally, ethically, rationally weak  
>> position, with enough > skill not to warrant being mistaken for a  
>> fool. That leaves only one > possibility.> > regards> > Shuddha> >  
>> > Dear Shuddha,> > It is very obvious of what way you want the  
>> discussion to end up. > > Let me> > just share with readers some  
>> example.> >> > 1. Instead of replying to my post , Mr Shuddha  
>> changes the subject to> > :Noorani Reads the fine print on  
>> Amarnath Accord", while as the > > original> > subject line was  
>> "What A.G.Noorani did not tell you".This is the first> >  
>> impression to understand of how fair Shuddha would have been to >  
>> > understand> > my write up, and Shuddha lived upto his reputation  
>> for > > that ....perfectly.> >> > 2.When I say that every state  
>> subject has an equal right to every > > inch of> > land , that  
>> does not mean to buy a piece of land in Srinagar a > > Ladakhi  
>> would> > have to go to Assembly to get an order passed. Mr  
>> Shuddhas > > understanding of> > the sentence is very poor and  
>> childish.> >> > 3.Shuddha is not aware of who lives in Baltal ?  
>> His understanding > > of the> > area is based on his passionate  
>> reading of anti nationalist and > > Islamist> > newspaper like  
>> Greater Kashmir and Rising Kashmir. Incidentally rising> > Kashmir  
>> was inaugurated by Noorani himself. What a coincidence.> >> >  
>> 4.Shuddha again ignores the report of chief Wildlife warden on > >  
>> allotment of> > land and like a "parrot" repeats the Hurriyat  
>> language. And if this > > is how> > Shuddha loves to debate  
>> without even acknowledging the report of > > those who> > are in- 
>> charge of ecology and wildlife in the Baltal area , I wonder > >  
>> no one> > would be able to satisfy his brain,which seems to be  
>> locked for any> > reasoning.> >> > 5. What Nitish Sen Gupta had  
>> wanted on priority is that on high > > grounds the> > number of  
>> pilgrims should be restricted to 20000.> >> > 6. Shuddha quotes  
>> that KPSS or Sanjay Tikoo wanted his > > participation. What> >  
>> Shuddha does not share that Sanjay Tikoo, who happens to be a  
>> close > > friend,> > is no less a hostage to the separatists. He  
>> has to tow their line. > > I would> > not discuss this issue in  
>> detail as this may cause harm to my already> > scared community  
>> members in Kashmir. Issue like this needs a > > broader vision> >  
>> which morons like Shuddha and Gautam Navlakha can not understand.>  
>> >> > 7. When I was discussing the fundamental right , I wrote "  
>> The > > right to> > Equality " which Shuddha very cunningly  
>> altered to "Fundamental > > right to> > Movement" ... It was so  
>> clever of him to change the whole context > > and to> > ignore the  
>> expected discussion of how the 100 crore citizens of > > India  
>> are> > being denied the right to be equal as against the state  
>> subjects of > > J&K> > state. And let me remind to Mr Shuddha that  
>> neither is whole of J&K > > a tribal> > place nor a forest.> >> >  
>> 8. Shuddha gives a very childish and immature rhetoric statement >  
>> > that the> > Amarnath accord violate the fundamental right to  
>> movement > > guaranteed under> > Article 19 (A) of the Indian  
>> Constitution. Does that mean> > that trespassing is no word to  
>> exist. Does that mean that I can > > stroll on> > India gate lawns  
>> on night between 25th and 26th January. Does that > > mean I> >  
>> can stand right next to barbed wire fence on the border? Does that  
>> > > mean I> > can ride my bicycle on the runway of an airport.  
>> Shuddha has no > > understand> > of where the violation applies  
>> and where not ?> >> > 9.Mr Shuddha may call me a fool or a  
>> charlatan. It does not matter > > to me . I> > know where his  
>> heart lies and what the Neo convert believes in.> >> > Pawan  
>> Durani> > _________________________________________> > reader- 
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Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net