[Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey)

[Kshmendra Kaul]

Dear Rakesh
 
1. I did not quite understand what or who was 'brilliant'
 
2. The Survey was neither conducted by me, nor commissioned by me. I have provided the link to the article in the The News which is a mainstream Pakistani newspaper. I suggest you read the full article since it contains both the results from AIRRA survey and the author Farhat Taj's deductions from his/her own "ethnographic interactions". I found it interesting and gave no other comments of my own. In fact a lot from the contents of the article is quite contrary to my own judgment of the subject issues.
 
3. I found it fascinating that you should find equivalence between the 'Drone attack issue" in Fata and the "Azaadi issue" in Kashmir. I will humour you.
 
4. A Survey in Kashmir is not dependent on a FATA survey being first conducted. If you or anyone wants to conduct a Survey in Kashmir, they are free to do so. It has been done a number of times in the past. You might want to look up a 2002 MORI survey commissioned by "Friends of Kashmir" of Lord Avebury.
 
5. For any 'Survey" in Kashmir from which you might want to draw any reasonable conclusions, you would have to first define what is meant by 'Kashmir'. You could start with that.
 
6. Unless you redefine the parameters, "Kashmir" is usually taken to mean the erstwhile Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir. So it includes both Indian Controlled Kashmir (ICK) as well as Pakistan Controlled Kashmir (PCK).
 
7. The Kashmiri Pandits would hardly matter in any such Survey as envisioned by you. Their percentage in "Kashmir" (as defined in Point 5 above) is so miniscule that they would be absorbed by a "Margin of Error" that any such Survey allows for.
 
8. Since you spoke of 'proper identification' of those allowed to participate in the Survey you would be stumped by the situation in Pakistan Controlled Kashmir. While in ICK, the 'State Subject' identity (from 1912) continued after 1947 and got protection under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. No such instrumentation was enforced in PCK. Weeding out the 'Pakistanis' from any Survey meant for Kashmiris might be a humongous problem.
 
But, please go ahead with your Survey.
 
Kshmendra    
 
   

--- On Thu, 3/5/09, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] USA Drone attacks -FATA Pakistan (A survey)
To: kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com
Cc: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009, 6:29 PM


Dear Kshamendra 

As an initial response, brilliant. 

Indeed brilliant. 

Now that a survey has been conducted on this issue of American drones attacking Pakistan, and the response of the natives, let us do one more thing. Why not have a survey in Kashmir on what the people want there? If we can have a survey which can prove that the locals support Americans dropping bombs on Taliban locations inside NWFP, why not have a survey in Kashmir as well whether the people there want 'azadi' or not? And we can define before the campaign itself, that 'azadi' means independence from both India and Pakistan?

Is that fine with you? Is that fine with others as well? By the way, Kashmiri Pandits, after proper identification, can and should be allowed to participate in this exercise as well. 

Regards

Rakesh