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-----Original Message-----
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To: reader-list at sarai.net
Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:16:39 +0530
Subject: reader-list Digest, Vol 61, Issue 46

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Today's Topics:

   1. IAKF Condemns Politicization of Amarnath Land Transfer
      (Aditya Raj Kaul)
   2. Four Women and a Room: Telecast (ambarien al qadar)
   3. Re: Gun Salutes for August 15 (Shuddhabrata Sengupta)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:11:21 +0530
From: "Aditya Raj Kaul" <kauladityaraj at gmail.com>
Subject: [Reader-list] IAKF Condemns Politicization of Amarnath Land
	Transfer
To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
Message-ID:
	<6353c690808151141n4371df6dt47e707b671bccb00 at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"

*Indo-American Kashmir Forum Condemns Politicization of Amarnath Land
Transfer*

*WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --* Indo-American Kashmir Forum
(IAKF, www.iakf.org) convened an emergency board meeting to discuss its
position and response to the evolving Amarnath crisis in the Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir.

The Board reviewed the situation following the issuance and retraction of
the State Government Order authorizing temporary transfer of land to build
comfort facilities for Amarnath pilgrims. Over 400,000 Hindu pilgrims trek
during two months of every summer to the holy Amarnath shrine, situated at
over 12,000 ft. elevation in the Himalayan Mountain range in the
predominantly Muslim region of Kashmir. As described in Kashmir's historical
text *Rajatarangni*, the centuries-old shrine forms an important part of
Hindu religious heritage and culture. Over the past twelve years, hundreds
of pilgrims have died from snowfall and other natural hazards as well as
terrorist attacks along the route. The New York Times article dated June 28,
2008 [*Land Transfer to Hindu Site Inflames Kashmir**'**s Muslims*] stated
"In previous years, the pilgrims made tempting targets for militant Islamist
separatists."

The Board expressed its deep shock and sorrow at the loss of life in Kashmir
and Jammu regions of the state resulting from a series of poor
administrative decisions executed by the State government. IAKF is
distressed in the manner the Central Government in New Delhi at first
ignored mob politics by separatists and so-called pro-India political
parties in Kashmir valley and the resulting backlash in Jammu.

The minority Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state government, before stepping down
and paving the way for the Governor's rule, exercised poor judgment in
rescinding a lawful cabinet decision on the land transfer by giving in to
mob violence and threats, even though the land transfer approval had taken
nearly four years of due diligence, and survived numerous legal challenges
and official departmental reviews.

IAKF believes in people's right to democracy and the rule of law. In the
case of pilgrim facilities for the Amarnath shrine, it means those illegal
and unilateral actions taken by authorities on July 1, 2008 must be
rescinded. Legal decisions on the land transfer taken by the State Cabinet
on May 20, 2008 and the subsequent Government Order issued on May 26, 2008
must be restored, both being consistent with the J&K State Assembly Act of
2000 and the J&K High Court decision of 2005 related to the holy Amarnath
shrine.

It is unfortunate to note that for nearly 48 days -- from June 23, 2008,
when Kashmiri separatists led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq met with both the
Pakistani Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, and the supreme commander of
the United Jihad Council (UJC), Syed Salahuddin, in Islamabad (Pakistan),
marking the start of street demonstrations in Srinagar, until August 9,
2008,  when the All Party Indian Parliament Team visited Jammu to initiate a
dialogue with Jammu protestors -- the government in New Delhi was
indifferent towards the people of Jammu.

IAKF recently organized a rally in downtown Boston, Massachusetts (USA) to
show support for the right of all pilgrims, regardless of their faith, to be
provided with safe and clean facilities en route to their place of worship,
including the Amarnath Shrine in Kashmir. Dozens of Americans of Kashmiri
origin were joined by others affected by the distressful news from J&K,
holding placards and attracting a large audience of onlookers. IAKF also
condemned the role of certain Kashmiri separatist and pseudo-secularist
politicians from the valley who have inflamed the public with rumors and
misleading statements. IAKF believes the present situation would not be as
grave had the J&K Government and the Central government in New Delhi acted
with wisdom and foresight.

IAKF was established in 1991 to inform the world community of the oppression
against Kashmiri Pandits that led to their forced exile from Kashmir due to
the influx of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism. IAKF wishes to raise
awareness of the human rights violations suffered by the Pandit community,
many of whom are still living in makeshift "refugee" camps in Jammu, India.
The organization seeks the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Kashmir valley
with guaranteed security and freedom to exercise their religious faith and
cultural way of life without fear or intrusion. IAKF provides reports to the
U.S. Administration, U.S. Congress, and several of Washington D.C.'s policy
think tanks. For more information, please visit www.iakf.org.

Link -
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/indo-american-kashmir-forum-condemns-politicization-of-amarnath-land-transfer,506439.shtml


------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:12:42 +0530
From: "ambarien al qadar" <ambarien at gmail.com>
Subject: [Reader-list] Four Women and a Room: Telecast
To: ambarien at gmail.com
Message-ID:
	<5ea7953c0808140342o492edfc9o666aa1bab9f7dbdf at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"

Hi.

(Apologies for cross posting)

Please watch my film Four Women and a Room (28 min, 42 min, DVCAM,
English, Hindi, India) on Saturday, August 16 at 9 am on DD-1.

(The 42 min version of the film will premier shortly at The Open Frame
Film Festival, New Delhi, September 12th-22nd.)

Director: Ambarien Al Qadar
Producer: The Public Service Broadcasting Trust
Camera: Shakeb Ahmed
Sound: Girjashanker Vohra
Additional location sound: Balbir Singh Rawat
Editing: Ambarien Al Qadar and Anil Jr.
Executive Producer: Shakeb Ahmed

About the film: Four Women and a Room is a film about the fragmented
associations of four women with the Labour Room. Late into pregnancy,
Mili is confounded with the unknown. Having gone through endless
rituals of matchmaking, Latika is wondering about her desire to be a
biological mother. The dreamscape of the filmmaker throws up images
and associations of a hospital visited sometime back and reminds her
of meeting the fourth woman; a fictitious character; who might have
undergone a sex selective abortion. The film raises critical questions
about debates around the falling sex ratios and biological motherhood
while making a strong case for the agency of women.

About the filmmaker: Ambarien has a degree in Mass Communication from
The Anwar Jamal Kidwai Mass Communication Research Center. She has
assisted on features and documentaries and worked in films like
Khamosh Pani and The City Beautiful. Her first independent
documentary, Elsewhere, won the Best Documentary Award at the 0110
Digital Film Festival, Mumbai 2005. Four Women and a Room is her
second film. Currently, she teaches Video and TV Production at the
A.J.K. Mass Communication Research Center, Jamia Millia Islamia.

Contact info:
ambarien at gmail.com, ambarien at yahoo.co.uk
9810946273.

cheers
Ambarien Al Qadar


------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:03:26 +0530
From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Gun Salutes for August 15
To: "Aditya Raj Kaul" <kauladityaraj at gmail.com>
Cc: sarai list <reader-list at sarai.net>
Message-ID: <E8A64679-8B9A-4E0A-86D1-B83C6EEFF195 at sarai.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="WINDOWS-1252"; delsp=yes;
	format=flowed

Dear Aditya Raj Kaul,

Thanks again for what must be a super prompt response. If this was a  
buzzer round in a quiz show you would be a champion. :)
By the way, I am curious, who is R. Chaudhuri?

regards, I remain,( always ready to think with as many different  
perspectives as is necessary in a given situation)

Shuddha

On 15-Aug-08, at 9:55 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote:

> Dear R.Chaudhuri,
>
>
>
>   Thanks for your reply. I never told you to only read these old  
> newspapers
> again (that is if you have really read them at the first place); I  
> just
> asked all in a humble way to think with a different perspective for a
> change.
>
>
>
> I'll narrate something to you on this; which I got to know from  
> someone
> on this episode. A few days back a senior official of Food  
> Cooperation of
> India called up his J&K Counterpart to verify on this media hype of
> "Economic Blockade". The person from the other side said, "Yes sir,  
> Economic
> Blockade hai". FCI official asked, "How come?". How can you say  
> that?". The
> man further replied "Jenab, har kahin shor hai ki economic blockade  
> hai"
>
>
>
> This is what has happened. It is a cry over something, which never
> really happened. Later, a journalist friend from Delhi called up many
> Traders in Delhi's Aazad Pur Mandi, asking about the same. The  
> Traders said
> that all trucks were coming; and it was a season of brisk business.
>
>
>
> Army on the other hand has ensured that all trucks to Kashmir  
> valley ply
> safely; but on the other hand Jammu city and neighboring areas have  
> been
> totally cut off with supplies for almost 40 days. I bet you never  
> had a
> thought about it. I request you to personally visit the Lakhanpur -  
> Jammu -
> Srinagar Highway and see what the ground reality is. It is just too  
> amusing
> to see posts and also those few people, screaming on news channels  
> about
> unavailability of "Baby Milk, Food, etc etc". They have stooped  
> really low
> this time around to gain publicity and world sympathy. A perfect PR
> Strategy.
>
>
>
> I can't believe that farmers + orchard owners in the valley are  
> poor. Not
> only because I belong to the valley and know the worth of these  
> multi-crore
> orchards; because I've interacted with few of them.
>
>
>
> On the second part of your post; let me tell you that the President  
> of Jammu
> Resident Doctors Association is a Muslim named Dr. Arshad. And, he  
> was the
> one who gave a call for full support to the Sanghash Samiti. Need I  
> say more
> ?
>
>
>
> I'm sure even by mistake you must have caught images of people  
> jumping into
> the Tawi river as a mark of protest (innovative indeed!). It wasn't  
> just
> your RSS/BJP. Those people were led by Sikhs and majority of people  
> were
> Gujjars+Muslims and of course Hindus; holding the tricolor high in  
> the air;
> and also a symbol of Lord Shiva - The Trishul. Its again  
> unfortunate for
> people who accuse Hindus of having arms (Trishuls). I think they  
> high time
> need to study history of religions. Isn't AK47 which was used by  
> Terrorist
> Yasin Malik to kill Hindus and of course even his own people; a  
> weapon?
>
>
>
> Jammu has been the best example of Hindu-Muslim-Sikh unity in these  
> 46 days
> of protest. Unfortunately, in Kashmir we see communal slogans; Hindu
> Truckers and at times even Amaranth Pilgrims being attacked. Not to  
> say,
> disinformation campaign is in its peak.
>
>
>
> Now, people can better judge; who adds fuel into the fire....
>
>
>
> Regards
> Aditya Raj Kaul
>
> On 8/15/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
>>
>>  Dear Aditya Raj Kaul, Dear Sonia Jabbar,
>>
>>
>> Many thanks for your responses to my post earlier today. And  
>> apologies in
>> advance for what is going to be a longish posting. So those not  
>> interested
>> in the Amarnath row, or Jammu and Kashmir, may please skip this post.
>>
>>
>> It is difficult to put all one's points across in a single posting,
>> (without making it unwieldy) and so I am grateful that your  
>> responses have
>> given me an opportunity to make some necessary elaborations.
>>
>>
>> First of all, let me categorically state that Sonia, by pointing  
>> towards
>> the violence that farmers faced in Greater Noida yesterday, and by  
>> referring
>> to the histories of the Narmada agitation, and the Nandigram issue  
>> has
>> helped me clarify some of my own thinking.
>>
>>
>> This process of clarification does not require me to revise what I  
>> had
>> written in relation to the current climate in the state of Jammu &  
>> Kashmir,
>> on the contrary, it actually allows me to extend and develop my  
>> argument. I
>> will come to this later, but first, there are some other issues  
>> that I need
>> to deal with.
>>
>>
>> When I had referred to the two kinds of treatment meted out to two
>> different kinds of protest, I had not in fact thought in 'Hindu' and
>> 'Muslim' terms, and after reading Sonia's response, I re-read my post
>> carefully to see if there was any suggestion that I was referring  
>> to a
>> difference in the state's response that could be attributed to the  
>> religious
>> composition of the two different protesting crowds. I did not find  
>> the words
>> 'Hindu' or 'Muslim' anywhere in my post. And while I do agree with  
>> Soina
>> that when Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel open fire on  
>> protesting crowds
>> in the Kashmir valley, what we witness is nominally 'Muslim'  
>> policemen,
>> firing on nominally 'Muslim' protesters. The same Jammu and  
>> Kashmir police
>> personnel firing on protesters in Jammu are likely to be a mix of  
>> nominally
>> 'Hindu' and 'Muslim' personnel firing on a similarly mixed crowd of
>> protesters (if that is, we agree with the assertion that the SASS  
>> protests
>> have featured the participation of 'Jammu Muslims'). This fact may  
>> or may
>> not be true, but let us for the sake of the argument, assume that  
>> this is
>> so.
>>
>>
>> Similarly, the caste/identity composition of western UP policemen  
>> is not
>> likely to be very different from crowds of protesting western UP  
>> farmers in
>> the unhappy place that is Greater Noida. It is a well known fact  
>> that the
>> most brutal torture in the detention centres and interrogation  
>> centres in
>> the Kashmir valley is meted out by STF (Special Task Force) personnel
>> attatched to the state police. Almost invariably, these enforcers  
>> of the
>> sharp edge of the Indian states marks on Kashmiri bodies tend to be
>> Kashmiri, and Muslim.
>>
>>
>> One clarification here though, the bulk of firing in the Kashmir  
>> valley has
>> been undertaken by CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel,  
>> and the
>> bulk of public anger has been, in this case against, the CRPF  
>> bullets, and
>> CRPF sticks that smashed so many windows last night in downtown  
>> Srinagar.
>> Now, anyone who has been to Srinagar knows, that the scared and  
>> vulnerable
>> and aggressive faces that man CRPF bunkers are not Kashmiri. Their  
>> bodies
>> (more often than not) come from hotter places in the plains and  
>> plateaus of
>> the Indian hearland. And I see their deplyoment in a war zone like  
>> Kashmir
>> as unfortunate, as saddening
>>
>>
>> Sonia has referred to Kashmiri protesting crowds 'baying for  
>> blood' during
>> the last few days during the mass gatherings that took place on  
>> the road to
>> Muzaffarabad, and in Srinagar and other towns. I have been  
>> speaking to
>> friends in the Kashmir valley today, and they told me that the  
>> slogans that
>> were raised during the protests
>>
>> on the road to Muzaffarabad were as follows (in order of frequency)
>>
>>
>> 1. 'Hum Kya Chahtey, Azaadi' (What do we want, Freedom), The  
>> staple full
>> throated cry that rings out, and has rung out in most protests in the
>> Kashmir valley for the last two decades.
>>
>>
>> 2. 'Fruit to bahaana hai, Muzaffarabad jaana hai' (Fruit is an  
>> excuse, we
>> want to go to Muzaffarabad). This has been chanted, not by the  
>> truckers
>> carrying fruit, but by the accompanying marchers.
>>
>>
>> 3. 'Aadhi Roti Khayenge, Sar nahin Jhukayenge'. (We can eat half a  
>> piece of
>> bread, but won't bow our heads')
>>
>>
>> 3. 'Jeeve, Jeeve, Pakistan' (Long live, Long live, Pakistan)
>>
>>
>> Now, whatever these slognas may or may not imply, none of these  
>> slogans,
>> bayed for anyone's blood. Not only did the marchers refrain from  
>> raising any
>> slogans that can be construed as calls to violence, the 'separatist'
>> political leadership that had aligned itself with the mass  
>> protests also
>> repeatedly called for peaceful protests, using all available  
>> channels,
>> including those afforded to them by the mainstream media. I have  
>> seen the
>> Mirwaiz calling repeatedly for protests to be peaceful. If this  
>> leadership
>> had wanted to queer the pitch by asking for violence, I am sure it  
>> would
>> have been heeded by some sections in a very angry crowd. No such  
>> call was
>> made, and no policeman, or paramilitary force personnel were  
>> attacked. In
>> some instances, CRPF bunkers were torn down (and this happenned  
>> after the
>> incidents of firing) but the demobilization of offensive  
>> fortifications on
>> the street can be hardly called a violent act. In my book, it is  
>> an act of
>> disarming the infrastructure of occupation, without causing any  
>> injury or
>> violence to the occupiers themselves.
>>
>>
>> Once the bodies of people killed by the CRPF started to make  
>> themselves
>> visible in funeral processions, many young people started shouting  
>> 'Khoon ke
>> badle Khoon' (blood for blood). But this 'baying' if it can be  
>> called that,
>> occurred once blood had been spilt, and not, as I may point out,  
>> by the
>> bayers.
>>
>>
>> On the contrary, I have seen Dr. Praveen Togadia (who has endorsed  
>> the SASS
>> agitation in Jammu by calling mass protests in other cities in India)
>> declare on television 'agar maange nahin poori ki gayi to  
>> sangharsh aur bhi
>> ugra roop lega' ('if the demands are not met, the agitation will  
>> take on
>> even more extreme forms'). We have heard crowds in Jammu chant,  
>> 'Jaan denge,
>> par baba Amarnath ki Zamin vapas lenge'  (we will give up our  
>> lives, but
>> will not give up on  Baba Amarnath's land) and variations thereof.  
>> In fact,
>> two 'jaans/lives' have been tragically offered as suicides. For  
>> me, this is
>> just as shocking, just as violent, as any other kind of call to  
>> violence.
>> These crowds have set Gujjar huts on fire. And setting shepherds  
>> huts on
>> fire is not exactly the same thing as tearing down the sandbags of  
>> a CRPF
>> bunker. So any attempt at 'equating' the degree of violence in  
>> these two
>> instances needs to be read as disingenuous.
>>
>>
>> As for the fact that in one instance (in Jammu) the crowds carried  
>> the
>> Indian flag, and shouted pro-India slogans, and that in the other  
>> instance
>> (in Kashmir) the crowds carried Pakistani flags and that some (or  
>> many)
>> shouted pro-Pakistan slogans does not say anything about the violent
>> intentions or tenor of either of the two protesting crowds.
>>
>>
>> As someone who carries no brief, for any form of nationalism,  
>> (Indian,
>> Pakistani or Kashmiri) I am not willing to judge a crowd on the  
>> basis of
>> which kind of nationalism they choose to profess. What interests  
>> me is the
>> fact that given two crowds, with two different kinds of behaviour,  
>> one of
>> which carries an Indian flag, and another which carries a  
>> Pakistani flag,
>> black flags, or no flags at all - the Indian state chooses to fire  
>> on the
>> second crowd, even though the second crowd, which may be greater  
>> in numbers,
>> is not indicating that it is anything but a peaceful assembly of  
>> people
>> intent on going from 'A' to 'B'. That they choose not to go to  
>> 'C' (the
>> Srinagar-Leh-Manali road that Sonia refers to) cannot be a  
>> criterion on
>> which we can evaluate the merits or demerits of the state's  
>> decision to fire
>> into this amassed crowd.
>>
>>
>> Notwithstanding the multitude of links supplied by Aditya Raj Kaul  
>> in his
>> response to my posting. Facts, remain, facts. Three casualties of  
>> police
>> firing in one instance (in a very militant protest in Jammu) and  
>> now thirty
>> casualties (and likely to mount) in police and CRPF firing in the  
>> other
>> instance (in Kashmir) including instances where CRPF personnel  
>> fired on
>> ambulances ferrying the wounded to hospital, and inside hospitals.  
>> These
>> instances of violence against ambulances, the injured and doctors  
>> and nurses
>> attending to them must go down in the history of the Indian state as
>> examples of the very worst forms of state brutality.
>>
>>
>> For more details - see -
>>
>>
>> This needs to be seen also in the context of the fact that the  
>> opening of
>> the "Srinagar-Muzaffarabad' road is a long standing demand of several
>> sections of political opinion (not all of them separatist) and  
>> that in fact
>> predates the current troubles in the valley (from 1989) by several  
>> decades.
>> It needs also to be seen in the light of the fact that what the  
>> people on
>> the highways in the Kashmir valley were demanding had already been  
>> agreed to
>> in principle by the governments of India and Pakistan. If  
>> anything, the
>> current situation was an opportunity for the governments of the  
>> state of
>> Jammu and Kashmir (currently represented by the Governor, a  
>> representative
>> of the Union of India) and the Union of India to display a modicum  
>> of vision
>> and sagacity by opening the line of control, especially when the  
>> people of
>> the valley were voting with their feet, and their bodies for this  
>> to be
>> done.
>>
>>
>> Even those who wish the Indian state well in its continuing  
>> occupation of
>> the Kashmir valley would no doubt see this turn of events as a  
>> tragically
>> wasted opportunity.
>>
>>
>> Let me now turn to the second important question that has arisen  
>> from this
>> discussion. The question of what might enable us to think about the
>> situations of the Greater Noida farmers and the protesting masses  
>> in the
>> Kashmir valley (and elsewhere, in Nandigram, and in the Kashmir =20
>> valley).
>>
>>
>> Sonia has pointed out in her posting that  as far as the transfer  
>> of land
>> to the Amarnath Shrine Board is concerned, "Of the 100 acres in
>>
>> question,  only 5 acres belongs to the forest department and the  
>> rest is
>>
>> private property belonging to several locals."
>>
>>
>> If this is indeed the case, then the extent of the anger against  
>> the move
>> to effect a  transfer of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board is all  
>> the more
>> understandable. (I do not doubt that it would be understandable  
>> even if this
>> were not the case, but that is another matter. )
>>
>>
>> Land is a highly emotive issue in all parts of South Asia, and in  
>> many
>> parts of the world where it is tied to livelihood and to survival.  
>> The
>> desire to acquire land (usually with the mediation of the state) for
>> purposes other than those relevant to the livelihood and survival  
>> of the
>> customary owners, users and custodians of land is what gives the  
>> common
>> sharp edge to the question of the arbitrary acquisition of land by  
>> state or
>> state backed agencies, whether in Kashmir, or in the Narmada  
>> valley, or in
>> Nandigram is what is clearly evident. In Kashmir, (in the absence  
>> of any
>> other viable form of sustainable economic activity, barring  
>> tourism, land is
>> all that people can fall back on. And we need to remember that  
>> some of the
>> capital that the National Conference still falls back on when its  
>> naked
>> collusion with the occupation comes to the fore, is the vivid, yet  
>> fading
>> memory of land reforms in the early fifties.
>>
>>
>> So, then, what is the story about land, in the Kashmir valley.
>>
>>
>> "In 2003 Abdul Rashid, Member of Parliament was told in Rajya  
>> Sabha that
>> the army and the Central Para-Military Forces (CPMFs) have  
>> 41,594.767 acres
>> (332760 kanals) in J&K. This comes to about 170 sq kms for which  
>> records
>> exist. But an equal amount, if not more, is under illegal occupation,
>> according to The Economic Times [December 6, 2006]. The most  
>> recent figures
>> being circulated suggests that 6,81,839 kanals are under the armed  
>> forces'
>> possession. Of this 3,10,184 kanals is unauthorized possession. In  
>> Srinagar
>> officially, the defence establishment have 45,080 kanals of land  
>> located at
>> Badamibagh, Rangreth, Danodhar Karewa, Sharifabad, Tatoo and Militia
>> Grounds. In 2006, it has been reported that the Indian Army's  
>> Northern
>> Command has acquired 8000 kanals in Awantipora. There have also  
>> been reports
>> of Indian Air Force wanting land for a new air base in Mansbal and  
>> in the
>> same area 3Rashtriya Rifles (RR) has submitted a request to  
>> acquire nearly
>> 1500 kanals adjoining its garrison. Manasbal also highlights  
>> another feature
>> of this 'land grab'. Villagers complain that since the irrigation  
>> canal
>> passes through land which the 3RR wants, thousands of kanals of  
>> land would
>> be denied irrigation. So widespread is the concern in J&K over  
>> land under
>> security forces occupation that even the pro-Indian Peoples  
>> Democratic
>> Party, led by Mufti Mohammed Saeed, in a resolution adopted on  
>> February 11,
>> 2007 states "with distress… that over the last 15 years thousands  
>> of acres
>> of orchards and agricultural land have been acquired in the state
>> particularly in Kashmir Valley, districts of Rajouri, Poonch and  
>> Doda by the
>> Armed Forces." The resolution also says that "many institutional  
>> buildings
>> including hospitals and schools have been occupied by the armed  
>> forces." A
>> conservative estimate suggests that 35,000 ha of such land is  
>> under the
>> control of the Indian Army alone.
>>
>>
>> Take deployment in just one tehsil; Pattan in Baramulla, to  
>> appreciate its
>> significance. This tehsil has 92 villages. Amongst these 92  
>> villages there
>> are 4 army brigade headquarters and 12 checkposts. Pattan plus  
>> Babateng also
>> hosts camps of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border  
>> Security Force
>> (BSF) and Special Operations Group (SOG).  There are three police  
>> stations
>> in the tehsil; at Pattan, Mirgund and Kreeri. Each check post has  
>> anywhere
>> between 100-150 soldiers although there are few which have much  
>> larger
>> numbers in excess of 300. Thus roughly a cluster of nine villages  
>> come under
>> one check post. And one brigade is available for operations  
>> covering 23
>> villages whereas one police station caters to 30-31 villages. Thus  
>> all
>> movement to and from the village to fields, market, town is  
>> monitored and
>> accompanied by regular patrolling. Thus, the margin for normal human
>> 'errors', such as stepping out for a smoke after dark, or a stroll  
>> can
>> result in death. On top of this, the extent of deployment of  
>> troops and the
>> land under their occupation acts as a brake on people's own  
>> capacity to
>> propel growth. It also results in difficulties in getting easy  
>> access to
>> markets for commodity export because of delay in transportation  
>> due to
>> security drills, slowdown on highways because of military convoys  
>> carrying
>> troops, material and weaponry etc, and relatively higher fuel and  
>> labour
>> costs due to all this."
>>
>>
>> Were this land to be freed of occupation it would contribute  
>> immensely to
>> increasing agricultural/fruit production and generation of revenue  
>> and cut
>> back on net outflow from J&K.
>>
>>
>> If this is true (and the statement recorded in the minutes of the  
>> Rajya
>> Sabha do have official sanction) then, the armed forces and  
>> paramilitaries
>> of the Indian state, together occupied 41,594.767 acres, and since  
>> the
>> majority of force deployment in J&K is in the Kashmir valley, then  
>> the
>> majority of this land would logically be seen to lie in the  
>> Kashmir valley.
>>
>>
>> The net area under fruit cultivation in the State of J&K is   
>> 174,000 ha are
>> under fresh fruits (orchards). 174,000 ha is equal to 4,29,963  
>> acres. If we
>> compare this figure against the reliable estimate of land under  
>> direct
>> occupation my armed forces of the Indian state (41,594.767 acres)  
>> we get the
>> following figures. The armed forces occupy land that is roughly  
>> equivalent
>> to what would amount to 10 % of the land under fruit cultivation.  
>> In crude
>> terms, one in every ten orchards is not an orchard, it is a fortress.
>>
>>
>> All figures are sourced from the Fifth Economic Census [published  
>> by the
>> Central Statistical Organisation together with Directorate of  
>> Economics and
>> Statistics J&K, 2005]  and  Economic Survey 2006-07 for Jammu &  
>> Kashmir (ES
>> 2006-07) [The Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government  
>> of Jammu
>> and Kashmir, 2007]as cited in 'Understanding the J&K Economy' by  
>> Gautam
>> Navlakha, Kashmir Affairs, Volume 2, No.2, April-June 2007
>>
>> http://www.kashmiraffairs.org
>>
>> Gautam_Navlakha_understanding_J&K_economy.html
>>
>>
>> [And before anyone jumps on me for citing a source that comes by  
>> way of
>> Gautam Navlakha, let me state that Navlakha may not have read the
>> Rajtarangini with great care, but he certainly does take the time  
>> to read
>> the Economic Survey 2006-2007 for J&K, and other official  
>> documents with a
>> certain degree of care. And the figures under question here are  
>> not his
>> opinions, but notes in these same official documents.]
>>
>>
>> In a situation of direct occupation of a resource as precious as  
>> land in
>> Kashmir, the arbitrary decision to appropriate even just 100 more  
>> acres of
>> land by an unrepresentative body (the office of the governor) for  
>> whatever
>> purpose cannot but be seen as a deliberate affront to a population  
>> stretched
>> to the very limits of its patience by the violence of a continuing
>> occupation. I fail to see, why the anger of fruit growers, denied  
>> markets,
>> smarting under the knowledge that their orchards have in many  
>> cases been
>> taken over by the Indian state, should look upon any act of land  
>> acquisition
>> with kindness.
>>
>>
>> Look for instance at a news item in the Kashmir Times of Friday,  
>> April 18,
>> 2008
>>
>>
>> Rental hikes by Army may adversely affect fruit production in  
>> Jammu and
>> kashmir
>>
>> With fruit production in Kashmir static, the Kashmiri growers have  
>> asked
>> the state and central government not to acquire horticulture land  
>> for any
>> official purposes. They are also not satisfied with recent rent  
>> hike by the
>> defence ministry.
>>
>>
>> The growers fear that acquiring of the horticulture land for official
>> purposes will reduce the fruit production in the state. Jammu and  
>> Kashmir is
>> the only state in India that has around 2.75 lakh hectares of land  
>> under the
>> horticulture.The major portion of this land is used for the  
>> cultivation of
>> fresh fruits especially apples.
>>
>>
>> President, Kashmir Fruit Growers and Dealers Association, Ghulam  
>> Rasool
>> Bhat told Kashmir Times that, "The government should come up with  
>> a law for
>> banning the use of horticulture land for any official purpose." He  
>> said that
>> in Western countries, the government has already banned use of  
>> horticulture
>> land for any official purposes, he said, adding similar ban should be
>> imposed in Jammu Kashmir as well. "If steps are not taken, time  
>> will come
>> when we will lose major portion of our orchards."
>>
>>
>> How deep this connection between orchards and armed bases runs is  
>> evident
>> from another source, this time a more subjective account. Which  
>> bears being
>> read through right to the end.
>>
>>
>> There are no Djinns in Anantnag, they don't scare us anymore'
>>
>> http://bluekashmir.blogspot.com/
>>
>> Uzma Mohsin
>>
>> Originally published in the Personal Histories section of the Tehelka
>> weekly; July 28, 2007 issue. I thank Uzma Mohsin for the sketch.
>>
>>
>> "...Relations between the townspeople and the army were tense.  
>> Early each
>> morning, as the town came alive with the azaans from its many  
>> mosques, the
>> army would switch on huge loudspeakers on three sides of the hill,  
>> and Hindi
>> songs and bhajans would blare out of them for hours on end. It was  
>> some kind
>> of a unilateral, undeclared war; we all lived in terror of the day  
>> this war
>> would come down the slopes in heavy muddy boots and trample on us  
>> like ants.
>> It stopped only in the late 90s, when I left Kashmir at age 16.
>>
>>
>> THE TOWN had become very gloomy — by six in the evening, the  
>> streets wore a
>> deserted look. Lights were kept low, curtains were always drawn.  
>> People made
>> guesses about the origins of distant gunshots. Scary stories for  
>> children no
>> longer had any tasrupdars, djinns or haputs in them — there was no  
>> need for
>> them, they didn't scare us any more. Only the snow surprised us  
>> when, after
>> a perfectly clear day, we would wake up to find bright snow covering
>> everything open to the sky. In the distance, the snow-covered hill  
>> would
>> merge with the whiteness of the surrounding town, and become almost
>> invisible. These were perhaps the only happy moments for me at  
>> that time.
>>
>>
>> One apple season, many years later, we found the courage to go up  
>> the hill
>> to pick apples. A new, utterly strange city had sprung to life on  
>> the flat
>> plateau. It was such a contrast to the choked, dying town below.  
>> There was
>> an elaborate army infrastructure, with its own buildings, streets,  
>> armoured
>> vehicles and helicopters. There were families living there,  
>> families of army
>> men. There were many shops too. Not many people in the town knew  
>> what was
>> going on here, for it was happening on the hill's invisible side.
>>
>>
>> To our dismay, we found many orchards had been torn down; our best  
>> apple
>> trees were dying for want of care. The army, we heard, was  
>> planning to build
>> an airstrip there. Years later, when I came to study in a northern  
>> Indian
>> university, I realised that the army city on the hill that  
>> overlooked my
>> town had a peculiarly North Indian town feel to it. I have been  
>> living away
>> from home for the last nine years, as have so many of my other  
>> childhood
>> friends. I hear stories from my parents about the killings and  
>> injuries of
>> some friends who stayed behind..."
>>
>>
>> I could go on. But this has been a long enough post already. In  
>> the end, we
>> need to look a little less at questions of faith and a little more at
>> questions of land, and here we need to look at the question of  
>> what happened
>> to the land left behind by Kashmiri Pandits, just as much as  
>> anything else.
>> Some of this land was of course appropriated by greedy neighbours,  
>> some of
>> it is in the occupation of the armed forces, which pay paltry rent  
>> (if they
>> pay) and some of it is cared for by diligent neigbours who wait  
>> for the
>> return of those who left.
>>
>>
>> We need to realize that when it comes to the alienation of land,  
>> we touch
>> one of the most emotive chords there can be, and this is in the  
>> end about
>> Kashmir, but it is about something much bigger than Kashmir. It is  
>> about
>> connivance and corporate greed, wherever it occurs.
>>
>>
>> In a recent report by Sravan Sukla from Kushinagar in Uttar  
>> Pradesh in the
>> Tehelka of 9 August 2008, the correspondent draws a sadly familiar  
>> picture
>> of arbitrary state action by the BSP government in Uttar Pradesh to
>> arbitrarily grab land for a complex to host a grandiose statue of the
>> Maitreya Buddha (the ostentation of which would have made the  
>> Buddha weep,
>> not smile).
>>
>>
>> Will Buddha Smile over Ryots Tears
>>
>>
>> http://www.tehelka.org/story_main40.asp? 
>> filename=Ne090808willbuddha_smile.asp
>>
>>
>> It is interesting to read a quote from this article -
>>
>>
>> "Among others, around a hundred Dalit families have been affected  
>> by the
>> land acquisition. Interestingly, a Dalit farmer is leading the  
>> agitation
>> against Mayawati. Forty-five year old Govardhan Gond, a semi- 
>> literate Dalit
>> farmer and president of the Bhoomi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, says  
>> that "there
>> is no question of
>>
>> surrendering our land so long as we are alive".
>>
>>
>> "I will slit their throats if they come to take possession of my  
>> land. It
>> is my only source of livelihood," declares Kamli Devi of Siswa  
>> village. A
>> forty-year-old mother of six, she is leading a band of woman  
>> farmers against
>> the acquisition to save her 50 bighas of land.
>>
>>
>> Apart from the land, about 400 houses, half a dozen schools,  
>> including the
>> area's only graduate institution, the Radha Krishna Inter College,  
>> a canal
>> and about a dozen link roads are also falling prey to the  
>> acquisition.
>> "Where will our children study after these schools have been  
>> closed," asks
>> Dasai Gond of Dumri village.
>>
>>
>> Significantly, a few Buddhist monks are also lending silent  
>> support to the
>> farmers' cause. "The government should try to refrain from  
>> displacing poor
>> farmers for the project. Buddhism is based on non-violence and it  
>> does not
>> allow causing pain to anyone. A project based on the woes of  
>> farmers will
>> haunt us in future," rues B. Gyaneshwar, the sangh nayak, or head,  
>> of the
>> All-India Buddhist Monk Association."
>>
>>
>> It would have been equally interesting had those who are leading the
>> agitation for the transfer of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board  
>> and their
>> sympathisers displayed even a fraction of the sensitivity that has  
>> been
>> deplayed by the head of the All India Buddhist Monk Association  
>> when it
>> comes to the acquisition of land for apparently religious purposes.
>>
>>
>> Then, they (the partisans of the SASS agitation) would have  
>> matched the
>> restraint and neighbourly feelings displayed by their Kashmiri  
>> counterparts
>> towards the Amarnath pilgrims who have time and again stated that  
>> their
>> fight is not against pilgrims or Hindus but against the move to  
>> acquire
>> land.
>>
>>
>> In fact, this year has had a record number of pilgrims travel to  
>> Amarnath,
>> both by new and old routes, and the pilgrimage has continued,  
>> peacefully.
>>
>>
>> Thank you all for the opportunity for this clarification, and  
>> apologies for
>> what has been an overlong post,
>>
>>
>> regards
>>
>>
>> Shuddha
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net




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