[Reader-list] Fwd: A Just Peace in Kashmir? Reflections on

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Dear Rahul,

I don't think Pakistan should get a free pass at all. The ruling  
elites in Pakistan have been totally cynical about Kashmir, and have  
contributed a great deal towards making sure that the situation is as  
bad as it is. Nor am I under any illusion about the state of affairs  
in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Elections in Pakistan occupied Kashmir  
have never been free or fair, and it is clear to everyone that a lack  
of commitment to the Pakistani dispensation in POK, euphemisticaly,  
and in a slightly Orwellian manner, called 'Azad' Kashmir, is a  
disqualifier. This is why, 'pro-independence' activists, who while  
they may have been supported by the Pakistani establishment, in  
Indian occupied Kashmir, have always had a rough time in Pakistani  
Occupied Kashmir. There is not much 'azadi' to be had in 'azad'  
Kashmir, but to be fair, there isn't the spectacle of the highest  
soldier-to-civilian population-ratio, or the Armed Forces Special  
Powers Act, either. A simple (and not very radical) move, like  
withdrawing the army in Kashmir to barracks, and a repeal of the  
AFSPA could make it possible to discuss the equivalence of the  
situation across the line of control. Until that happens, I think we  
have to accept that the Indian state will get the lions share of  
opprobrium, at least insofar as the handling of Kashmir is concerned.

Having said that, we know quite well how the Pakistani ruling elite  
has historically handled dissent in East Pakistan and continues to  
handle insurbordination in Sind, or in Baluchistan. Those in Kashmir  
who see (or profess to see) the political landscape of Pakistan  
through rose tinted glasses are either deluded, or cynical.

This situation is not by any means an exception. The regimes of  
Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Khomeini in Iran, routinely supported  
Kurdish nationalists (as long as they were on the 'other' side of the  
border) even as they ruthlessly persecuted the same Kurdish  
nationalists.

That said, I think it is churlish to object to Shapiro's text merely  
on the grounds that it does not 'do' Pakistan. That would be like  
saying, in order to articulate a critique of the Pakistani ruling  
elite's venality in say, Balochistan, (which has a lot to do with a  
greed for gas) one must mention Kashmir and the Indian state's record  
in Kashmir, a thousand times. Shapiro writes against the context of a  
massive ongoing and formal/informal public relations exercise that  
projects the 'Indian state' as a harmless, 'nice', 'soft' state,  
while Pakistan is typically fronted as a near pariah spiralling  
towards Talibanisation. While there may be some truth in the latter  
assertion, the view that the 'indian state' is something like the  
next best thing to sliced bread is in need of some overdue  
correction. It is interesting to see how prickly patriotic Indians  
have become to the slightest hint of criticism, and how constantly in  
need of 'Pakistan' bashing their fragile egos are. As if, if there  
were no Pakistan, it would be absolutely essential to invent it, in  
order for patriotic Indians to have their little 'hate-fix'. I am  
sure this phenomenon is mirrored, like so much else, on the other  
side of the border.

Closer to home, we have an interesting example of this narcissism,  
this petulance to do with all things 'indian', which must somehow be  
the alpha and omega of every discussion. A while ago, (not so long  
ago) there was a very interesting post, by Asad Abbasi, which could  
have begun a timely and critical discussion on Feudalism in Pakistan.  
Instead of discussing the issue, instead of allowing critical voices  
from within Pakistan to speak, this thread was hijacked by our 'uber- 
patriot' Hindutva brigade on this list, and sidetracked into a  
meaningless and irrelevant discussion on faith and conversion, in  
India, while the original posting had nothing to do with faith and  
conversion.

What should have been an interesting, critical conversation on  
feudalism, or at least the persistence of feudal values and mindsets,  
in Pakistan and South Asia in general, had to degenerate into a  
platform for pious and macho Hindutva posturing.

Till when will people in India think that they are some divine  
exception to the generality of the human species, above, beyond  
criticism and reproach, ready to leap at the slightest perceived  
slight to their fragile honour.

regards,

Shuddha






On 09-Aug-09, at 8:00 AM, Rahul Asthana wrote:

>
> " What forces must cohere to enable a just peace to emerge in a  
> democratic Kashmir in the foreseeable future?"
> And so the analysis of Richard Shapiro ensues.POK or PCK whatever  
> one may choose to call it,is never mentioned. Nor is Pakistan's  
> role in fomenting terrorism in Indian Kashmir and India finds a  
> mention. Pakistan,it seems,in his opinion, doesn't have anything to  
> do to enable "a just peace to emerge in a democratic Kashmir in the  
> foreseeable future".
> Even Junaid ignored my question about whether he things only India  
> is the occupying nation or he holds Pakistan too as one.(If he  
> replied then I missed it.)I fail to understand why Pakistan gets a  
> free pass.
>
> --- On Sun, 8/9/09, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
>
>> From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>
>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: A Just Peace in Kashmir?  
>> Reflections on
>> To: "Shuddhabrata Sengupta" <shuddha at sarai.net>
>> Cc: "Sarai Reader List" <reader-list at sarai.net>
>> Date: Sunday, August 9, 2009, 4:04 AM
>> Dear All,
>>
>> Apologies for having to make this minor, but not
>> insignificant
>> clarification. The phrase 'United States of Nigeria' used
>> in my
>> previous posting should read as the 'United States of
>> Mexico'. 'The
>> Federation of Nigeria' (invoked in the next sentence) is
>> the correct
>> form of the state in Nigeria.
>>
>> The devil (some say the divine) is in the details.
>>
>> best
>>
>> Shuddha
>>
>>
>>
>> On 09-Aug-09, at 2:07 AM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Sanjay, Kshmendra, Junaid, Inder, Dear all,
>>>
>>> I have read with care the post forwarding Professor
>> Richard Shapiro's
>>> essay on the situation in Kashmir (originally
>> circulated on South
>>> Asia Citizens Web). I looked very carefully to see if
>> there were
>>> indeed any 'sweeping generalizations'  and
>> 'misrepresentations', as
>>> Kshmendra insists this essay has embedded within it, I
>> also looked
>>> for any evidence of 'anti India biases and
>> prejudices', and I have to
>>> say that i found none.
>>
>> Shuddhabrata Sengupta
>> The Sarai Programme at CSDS
>> Raqs Media Collective
>> shuddha at sarai.net
>> www.sarai.net
>> www.raqsmediacollective.net
>>
>>
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>
>
>

Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net