[Reader-list] 'Men in uniform are Kashmir's problem, not solution'

[Inder Salim]

Thanks Dear Kshmendra

the two sleeping dogs in the all the four images are witness to what i
photographed with maximum zoom of my camera
. It is south of Kashmir , few years back.

may be army jawans were helping the two girls sitting on the stones.
But note, in the third image the two girls are sitting on stones, but
iin foruth image, in front of two army jawans one can see how their
position shifts from stones to the  ground. There is a clear
sumbission, which speaks a lot.

What has happened in Shopain, as we all know is not first time, but
many numerous tragic things have happened and security forces were
found directly involved in the acts, whether punished later on or not
is another point.

And so i guess,  it is almost natural to see some echo in the images,
echo of what has happened recently in Shopain.  Why it has surpirsed
you this time, i remember, in the past you have strongly condemned
such acts, either by security forces or by militans.  i respect that

Here, i remember, Gh. Mohd. Shad ( my teacher at Anantnag College )
read a  kashmiri poem  few years back at Sahitya Academy  NewDelhi,
HEADS AND TAILS . which narratted the horrible acts commited by both
security forces and militants. He read his own translation in englith
at the same time.

It is a well known fact, even before 1990 that Army jawans used to
call or visit women from neighbouring contonmnent village areas. I
know it becasue i used to go to Nawgam village to see my aunt. Nawgam
is one of biggest cantonmnent areas in South of kashmir.
But after 1990, something else added to that. which we explicity call
Mass rape. Posh Pura tragedy is one such example.

Yes, we are not talking here about the crimes commited by militants.
They are numerous, and we all condemn that. Even the List has
condemned the atorcities commited by militants or with militant
looking guys. We know both Hindu and Muslim women suffered terribly on
this account.

yes, about the army: in ancient Greek, it was a part of traiing
programme to rape the young boys. ....and during war, its
implementation meant the necesary  penetration into  the enemy's
territory. They believed so.

One of the ways to humiliate the enemy has been to rape its women
folk. Once, the winning army used to demolish the places of worships
besides looting their property and raping women.

But, humiliating women is still practicted, silently, unofficially
during wars in third world coutires. Bangladesh women suffered
terribley in 1971. and so have millions of women suffered during war,
and silently after that. it is sad, truly sad. i am moved to tears
even while talking about all this.

I beleive, it was Japan who supplied Korean women from conquered
territories to satisfy their men in uniforms.

Few years, back my wife was travelling  alone from Jammu to Delhi, and
she had her reservation, but it happened to a full of   Army Jawans.
The noble TT changed her reservation to civilan coach. He told my wife
that it is better to change

I know some retired Army jawans, and it is very intereting to listen
to  anedotes during service....... and how they satiate their lust by
raping Goats, buffaloes, mreres and hens even.

it is terrible to think even.

so love
is


On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 7:39 PM, Kshmendra Kaul<kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Dear Inder
>
> Something has been troubling me about your pics from
> http://indersalim.livejournal.com/37697.html . I thought it best to ask you.
>
> You have titled the panel " A short story in four images from Kashmir" and
> found in your "story" echoes of the Shopian Rapes.
>
> 1. You are suggesting that the Army Men (security guys) were responsible for
> the Shopian Rapes. I thought guilt had to be established by evidence. Or,
> are there varying ethical standards for different situations?
>
> 2. Pardon my asking this about your "story board". Where in Kashmir is this?
> The one you call a 'local' does not appear to be a Kashmiri. The "girls" do
> not appear to be "Kashmiri" girls. Would appreciate your feedback
>
> Kshmendra
>
> --- On Sun, 6/14/09, Inder Salim <indersalim at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: Inder Salim <indersalim at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] 'Men in uniform are Kashmir's problem, not
> solution'
> To: "reader-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009, 4:27 PM
>
> thanks  for forward Mr . kapoor
>
> ... with army jawans it is a must to teach the enemy a lesson. the
> lessons are usually carried out by SPECAAL OPERATION GROUPS who are
> beyond the purview of Law or a simple enquiry. So needless of say
> that why we have witnessed a large scale disaappearances of Men in
> Kashmir, eliminated without trail often.
>
> A  HoD of Kashmir University , a close friend, was picked once by Army
> in Anantnag and released after three days, that too because he managed
> to arrange a meeting with a senior officer in Bahinal prison who
> accidentally hapened to listen to his request, and was  subsequenlty
> released. .Normally, it is the angry Jawan in uniform who controls the
> street or an area and decides on the spot about the the person in
> sight.  Rape is one such lesson.
>
>
> I was once myself caught by Army jawans in Srinagar, it was cufew
> time, and even after showing my I.card i was punished to perform Murga
> ( chicken ) and then made to run..  The 'run' word those days meant to
> shoot the runner from behind and label him as offender of curfew or a
> terrorist etc.
>
> The men in uniform are supposed to be orderly, a friend in kashmir
> told me once, while he agreed that militants usually come from weired
> backgrounds and can do many bad things,.But, unfortunately Army record
> in kahmir is very very poor in this regard,
>
> Few years back i happened to photograph two army jawans, a local man
> and two girls, I could not dare to go near, and photographed them from
> a distance. may click to see:
>
> http://indersalim.livejournal.com/37697.html
>
> Ir echoes what has happned in Shopian, recently,  alas.
>
> The Army should withdraw from towns and villages, without a second thought
>
> Kashmir issue has nothing to do with this unwanted  amry presence in
> each and every corner of  kashmir.
>
> love
> is
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 5:27 AM, Harsh Kapoor <aiindex at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/muga5v
>>
>> 'Men in uniform are Kashmir's problem, not solution'
>>
>> by Sanjay Kak
>> (The Times of India, 14 Jun 2009)
>>
>> Those who use the media filter to try to understand what is happening
>> in Kashmir should realize they're looking at a shadow play. A curtain
>> lies
>> between events and us. What is played out on the screen depends on who
>> manipulates the sources of light.
>>
>> Last summer, the Valley was overwhelmed by several months of
>> unprecedented non-violent public protest. It was triggered by the
>> complicated Amarnath land issue, but on the streets the people were
>> saying "Hum kya chahte? Azadi!" We are hearing this again this summer,
>> triggered by the rape and murder of two young women from Shopian in
>> south Kashmir. Only the stone deaf could miss the cry.
>>
>> Between these two summer uprisings came the Assembly elections of
>> December. As everyone braced for a boycott, people did turn out to
>> vote. This surprise turnout was presented as nothing short of a
>> miracle and we were informed that this was "a vote for Indian
>> democracy". Those who wondered why people who had braved bullets only
>> a month ago should suddenly queue up to vote were reminded that
>> Kashmiris were an unpredictable, even contrary, people.
>>
>> In fact, there is a frightening consistence about the Kashmiri chant
>> for decades: "Hum kya chahte? Azadi!" Protests have begun for all
>> sorts of reasons but they are a manifestation of the simmering anger
>> always close to the surface.
>>
>> The current round of protests were given a head-start by the
>> distinctly amateur vacillations of the state chief minister, not least
>> his puzzling shifts on what may have actually happened to Nilofar, 22,
>> and her sister-in-law Asiya, 17, on the night of May 29.
>> Well-intentioned though he may be, Omar Abdullah seems very badly
>> advised, or else possessed of a political death-wish.
>>
>> In its election campaign the National Conference made a point of
>> underlining that it was seeking a mandate for development, for bijli,
>> sadak, pani. It made no claim to settling masla-e-Kashmir or the
>> Kashmir issue. But once the elections were over, they went along with
>> the Indian establishment, which trumpeted the turnout as a decisive
>> mandate in India's favour. The inability of Omar Abdullah's government
>> to reach out to the people of the Valley in the past fortnight is a
>> timely reminder of the dangers of that delusion. In just a little over
>> 10 days, the protests have damaged the patina of normalcy that the
>> election 'success' painted on a deeply troubled situation.
>>
>> In the middle of all this, but almost buried by events, the J&K police
>> announced the arrest of Constable Nazir Ahmed of the India Reserve
>> Police battalion for allegedly raping a minor girl in Baramulla in
>> north Kashmir. (They admitted the constable was a former Personal
>> Security Officer of Ghulam Hassan Mir, legislator and former
>> minister). Days after the incident, a scuffle between the families of
>> the victim and the policeman led to the tragic killing of the victim's
>> grandmother.
>>
>> Both incidents of the past fortnight must be placed next to one from a
>> few years ago, when the infamous "sex scandal" led to huge protests,
>> bringing Srinagar to a grinding halt. That was a tawdry tale of the
>> sexual exploitation of vulnerable women, including the prostitution of
>> minors. It was on a massive scale, with the involvement of politicians
>> , senior bureaucrats, police and paramilitary officers. The scandal
>> exposed the ugly networks of power and oppression, which prop up the
>> structures of control in Kashmir. It also laid bare the vulnerability
>> of women all over the Valley, prey to the brutal arrogance unleashed
>> by 20 years of intense militarization and unbridled power.
>>
>> It's a good time to remember that the acquisition of land for the
>> Amarnath yatra was only the spark that set off last summer's protests.
>> But the real fuel was widespread resentment about the fact that
>> thousands of acres of agricultural, orchard and forest land is under
>> occupation by the army and paramilitary forces, housing their feared
>> camps and cantonments and vast logistics bases. The Kashmiris'
>> behaviour then turns out to be underpinned by a fairly straightforward
>> political reason: we don't need to delve into their fragile 'psyche'.
>>
>> This week, the lights behind the curtain are being moved around to
>> give the illusion of change: the CRPF's duties are to be handed over
>> to the J&K police. If true, this will need massive local police
>> recruitment and give a disturbing new twist to the Indian government's
>> promise of employment to young Kashmiris. (However, from the
>> Establishment's point of view, a policeman in every home may well be a
>> solution to Kashmir's troubles.)
>>
>> But this change of guard will not alter the lives of ordinary people.
>> They do not care if the oppressive figure of the soldier wears the
>> uniform of the Indian Army, its paramilitary forces, or is their
>> neighbour in brand new fatigues. Such shallow transformation is not
>> new: people remember the 'disbanding' of the dreaded Special
>> Operations Group, which was simply merged into regular police
>> operations; or the highly public way in which the CRPF replaced the
>> BSF in Srinagar, leaving the countryside in the Army's iron grip.
>>
>> This summer's protest is not just about the rape and murder of two
>> women, the violation of human rights, or even the repeal of some
>> draconian law. The shadow play must not distract us from the real
>> issue, which is the extraordinary and intolerable militarization of
>> Kashmir.
>>
>> Sanjay Kak is a filmmaker whose most recent documentary
>> 'Jashn-e-Azadi' explores the conflict in Kashmir
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