[Reader-list] RE: RE: "India can’t afford to fall victim to psywar" - Open Statement

Fri Sep 19 13:15:27 IST 2008

..........scare whom..........????
LA
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Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:00:02 +0530From: rohitism at gmail.comTo: lalitambardar at hotmail.comSubject: Re: [Reader-list] RE: "India can’t afford to fall victim to psywar" - Open StatementCC: vivek at sarai.net; kauladityaraj at gmail.com; reader-list at sarai.net
Sanity can scare indeed!!
On Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 11:22 AM, Lalit Ambardar <lalitambardar at hotmail.com> wrote:
Why should saner voices sound scary?LA> Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:41:17 +0530> From: vivek at sarai.net> To: kauladityaraj at gmail.com> CC: reader-list at sarai.net> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] "India can't afford to fall victim to psywar" - Open Statement> > Hi,> > Because of plain text mangling, the signatories to this "either you're > with or you're against us" letter below got a little bit squished > together and unclear. I thought I would copy and repost the names of > the signatories at the top so we can clearly see who they all are:> > (update after having disaggregated this-- my god, it's a scary list!)> > Signatories to the open statement:> > 1. Subhash Chandra, chairman, Essel Group> > 2. Maj Gen Afsir Karim (retd)> > 3. Ajit Doval, KC, former Director, IB> > 4. MJ Akbar, Renowned journalist> > 5. Anil Baijal, former Union Home Secretary> > 6. Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) former Navy Chief> > 7. Air Marshal S.R. Deshpandey (retd)> > 8. Dhirendra Singh, former Union Home Secretary> > 9. G Parthasarthy, IFS (retd) former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan> > 10. Rajiv Sikri IFS (retd) former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.> > 11. CD Sahay, former Secretary (RAW)> > 12. Lt. General R.K. Sawhney (retd), former Dy Chief of Army Staff> > 13. Satish Chandra IFS (retd) former Deputy to National Security Advisor > and Secretary National Security Counsil> > 14. Lt General Shantanu Chaudhary (retd), former Vice Chief of Army Staff> > 15. Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi (retd) former Air Chief> > 16. Ved Marwah, former Director General National Security Guard and > former Governor, Manipur and Jharkhand> > 17. Vijay Kapoor, former Lt. Governor, Delhi> > 18. Vikram Sood, former Secretary (RAW)> > 19.Sudhir Agarwal, Director Dainik Bhaskar Group> > 20. K Memani, Chairman-Emeritus, Ernst & Young.> > > > > Aditya Raj Kaul wrote:> > India can't afford to fall victim to psywar 19 Sep 2008 01:11:00 AM IST Link> > -> > http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?artid=n3%7CNyKscLu8=&Title=India+can%E2%80%99t+afford+to+fall+victim+to+psywar&SectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&MainSectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&SEO=KASHMIR&SectionName=m3GntEw72ik=> > SOME stray voices in the media have been questioning, with surprising> > nonchalance and lack of depth, the wisdom and expediency of retaining> > Kashmir as a part of India. This matters not because such voices reflect any> > growing view in our country but because they play into the hands of enemies> > of the nation. Their suggestions embolden subversive forces both within and> > outside the country, and encourage our adversaries to entertain the hope> > that with a little more effort, Kashmir will secede from India. National> > will is a critical component of state power. In the absence of military> > might, psychological warfare is the weapon of choice of a devious adversary> > to attempt to break national will, and to also confuse and demoralise the> > Indian state. No nation aspiring to become a major player in global power> > dynamics can afford to fall victim to such psywar. India cannot and must not> > give any signal that could be misinterpreted to mean that its national> > resolve to preserve its unity and integrity is crumbling. The legal validity> > of Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India is unquestionable and was in> > accordance with the popular will. There is no basis on which any change in> > the political status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir could be considered.> > The UN itself has accepted that in the vastly changed circumstances the UN> > Resolutions of 1948 and 1949 are no longer relevant. In any case, there is> > no provision for holding a referendum only in one part of the undivided> > state of Jammu and Kashmir or for holding separate referenda in the three> > geographically distinct sections of the state. Like the other states> > included in the First Schedule of the Constitution of India, Jammu and> > Kashmir is clearly an integral part of India and will remain so. There is an> > unanimous resolution of the Indian Parliament of February 22, 1994 to the> > effect that "the state of Jammu & Kashmir has been, is and shall be an> > integral part of India and any attempts to separate it from the rest of the> > country will be resisted by all necessary means." It further adds that,> > "Pakistan must vacate the areas of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir,> > which they have occupied through aggression." Section 3 of the Constitution> > of Jammu and Kashmir also plainly asserts that "the state of Jammu and> > Kashmir is and shall be an integral part of the Union of India." Section 147> > of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution prohibits any amendment of Section 3> > by the state legislature. Kashmir is an inalienable element of India's> > civilisational identity and symbolises the fundamental principles on which> > the modern Indian state has been built. We take pride that India is a> > prospering economy, but the pursuit of wealth should not make us forget the> > values that keep our nation one. India has successfully overcome all> > secessionist threats faced by it. No responsible government can ever> > compromise India's territorial integrity by even contemplating the secession> > of Kashmir. This is not a trifling issue. If the Indian state is seen as> > weak enough to let Kashmir go, other states and disaffected groups within> > India will only get emboldened, leading to the unraveling of India. Secondly,> > as borders in the plains of northern India are not defensible, Kashmir is> > vital for India's security. Finally, communal harmony could be seriously> > compromised. Detractors of secular, democratic India tend to forget that the> > overwhelming majority of Indian Muslims, who constitute over 15 per cent of> > the population, has absolutely no sympathy for the partisan few who still> > fan a tired idea called secession. It is distressing, indeed alarming, that> > these seditious views, which question India's unity and integrity, are being> > freely aired by a section of the intelligentsia. It is regrettable that the> > print and electronic media are giving undue space and prominence to these> > views. India is a free and democratic country with a vibrant media and we> > are proud of it. But freedom of expression does not mean unbridled licence> > to flout the law of the land by airing or fanning seditious views. Such> > views also do a disservice to the people of Kashmir.We call upon the> > intelligentsia that has the power to shape public opinion to use their power> > with wisdom and maturity. Irresponsible slogans do immense damage in open> > and democratic polities and can mislead people to take partisan positions> > without understanding the grave implications. We also urge the media to> > exercise restraint and show responsibility in the larger national interest. As> > proud and patriotic Indians who strongly believe that the unity and secular> > democratic fabric of our republic must be preserved at all costs, we call> > upon the Government of India to make it unequivocally clear at the highest> > level that under no circumstances will the government and people of India> > countenance any compromise with the integrity of the nation. We also call> > upon the people of India and all political parties to raise their voices and> > come out unambiguously against secessionism in any form whatsoever. Signatories> > to the open statement: 1. Subhash Chandra, chairman, Essel Group 2. Maj Gen> > Afsir Karim (retd) 3. Ajit Doval, KC, former Director, IB 4. MJ Akbar,> > Renowned journalist 5. Anil Baijal, former Union Home Secretary 6. Admiral> > Arun Prakash (retd) former Navy Chief 7. Air Marshal S.R. Deshpandey (retd) 8.> > Dhirendra Singh, former Union Home Secretary 9. G Parthasarthy, IFS (retd)> > former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan 10. Rajiv Sikri IFS (retd)> > former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs. 11. CD Sahay, former> > Secretary (RAW) 12. Lt. General R.K. Sawhney (retd), former Dy Chief of Army> > Staff 13. Satish Chandra IFS (retd) former Deputy to National Security> > Advisor and Secretary National Security Counsil 14. Lt General Shantanu> > Chaudhary (retd), former Vice Chief of Army Staff 15. Air Chief Marshal SP> > Tyagi (retd) former Air Chief 16. Ved Marwah, former Director General> > National Security Guard and former Governor, Manipur and Jharkhand 17. Vijay> > Kapoor, former Lt. Governor, Delhi 18. Vikram Sood, former Secretary (RAW) 19.> > Sudhir Agarwal, Director Dainik Bhaskar Group20. K Memani,> > Chairman-Emeritus, Ernst & Young.> > _________________________________________> > 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/>_________________________________________________________________Searching for weekend getaways? Try Live.comhttp://www.live.com/?scope=video&form=MICOAL
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