[Reader-list] Kashmir campaigns for peace , Facebook and beyond

[shuddha at sarai.net]

Dear all,

Now here is a campaign that I have no hesitation at all in supporting. Thank
you Aditya Raj Kaul for drawing my attention to this initiative. I am always in
favour of people getting books to read. Here is a list of books that I would
recommend, and I hope they can be sent to Kashmir so that as many young people,
(especially young adults in colleges and universities), as possible, are able to
read them, especially as I think that these books will help them get a better
understanding of their situation and also, because I believe that their thought
provoking contents, will help them think about the best way to overcome the
oppression and violence that grips Kashmir. 

The books are as follows : 

1. The Veiled Suite : The Collected Poems of Agha Shahid Ali
2. Azad Kashmir: A Democratic Socialist Manifesto by Prem Nath Bazaz
3. Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer
4. Kashmir : The Untold Story by Humra Quraishi
5. Languages of Belonging by Chitralekha Zutshi
6. Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects by Mridu Rai
7. Kashmir in Conflict by Victoria Schofield

Almost all the books, other then the last one, are easily available in a
bookshop like Bahri Sons in Khan Market. And the second book by Prem Nath Bazaz
is easily available in Srinagar. I can volunteer to make photocopied versions of
the last book available. I would be happy to arrange for copies of some of these
books to be delivered to the campaign, in the hope that they can be sent to
Kashmir, in order to provide better and far more effective ammunition than mere
stones into the hands of a thoughtful young person in Kashmir who might chance
upon them. 

Since Rashneek Kher is mentioned as one of the people leading this campaign, I
would be happy if he could send me an address where I can send these books to.
I do hope my offer is taken in the spirit in which it is made. 

best

Shuddha




On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:23:26 +0530 Aditya Raj Kaul <kauladityaraj at gmail.com>
wrote

> Kashmir campaigns for peace, Facebook and beyond
> The Peace Book Campaign is an effort by a motley crowd of peace loving
> Kashmiris who wants a irenic and developed Jammu and Kashmir.
> 
> Link -
> http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/10174832/Kashmir-campaigns-for-peace-F.html?h
> =A1
> Simantik Dowerah
> 
> New Delhi: Not all Kashmiris want to battle government bullets with stones.
> A fair number of citizens from Jammu and Kashmir would much prefer peace,
> and are trying to reach out to likeminded people via Facebook. Last month, *
> Mint* did a
> story<http://www.livemint.com/2010/07/07184209/Fling-it-on-Facebook.html?h=A1
> >on
> Facebook groups that supported stone throwers and urged people join
> their
> cause. But the group Roots in Kashmir, is very different.
> 
> Started four years ago with 65 members, Roots in
> Kashmir<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18880022736>was started
> to help Kashmiri pandits or the Hindu population who were forced
> out of the state due to militancy. However, with their state simmering in
> violence the group most recently launched the Peace Book
> Campaign<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112782675436590>asking
> people to help restore peace in the valley. So far, over 1,700 joined
> the campaign as on date.
> 
> “The *Peace Book Campaign* is not a sole Roots in Kashmir campaign but a
> campaign where saner Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris cutting across religious
> and sectarian lines have come together to appeal for peace in Kashmir,”
> said
> Rashneek Kher, a representative of the group.
> 
> Kher said group members were hurt to watch Kashmiri youths being killed on
> the roads. “On the face of it might seem that the young people are throwing
> stones but the malaise behind the same are instigators like (Syed Ali)
> Geelani and others. So as Kashmiris it is our duty to do our bit to bring
> down tempers, cool frayed nerves and bring some semblance of sanity,” Kher
> said.
> 
> The group has not limited its efforts to cyberspace. “Roots in Kashmir
> tried
> everything from approaching the government to sending our proposals to
> separatists to knocking at the doors of human rights commissions. But our
> plea has fallen on deaf ears,” Kher said.
> 
> “So we have set forth a mission of peace that is completely unbiased and
> requests nothing but sanity. We have no tolerance for people who support
> violence and people who seek support for stone throwers are again those who
> we think of as instigators and not someone who actually throw stones. So we
> will be sending books to them as they need it most,” he said.
> 
> And what kind of books they are going to send?
> 
> “We already have about 400 odd books on different subjects from simple
> story
> books to books on history and religion. We will send them as soon as we know
> it will reach them and not got stuck in some post office,” Kher said. Books
> are answer to stones and bullets, said Wangoo.
> 
> Explaining why he joined the *Peace Book Campaign*, another group member
> Nadeem Jafri said, “This is the true way of fighting the menace. If we
> educate people and equip them with right knowledge, I am sure they would not
> face the atrocities which they are currently facing. And even if they face
> they will be capable of fighting it out.”
> 
> On being asked, about the success of such a campaign, Kher was however, not
> very sure.
> 
> “Honestly we don’t know how far it might or will go but that
> notwithstanding
> we must make concerted efforts for peace no matter howsoever small or
> inconsequential it might seem,” said the representative of group, which has
> already registered over 1,500 members.
> 
> Jafri sounded far more positive.
> 
> He said the campaign would certainly create a flutter among the educated
> people.
> 
> “It is going to take some time but it will be effective,” he said.
> 
> *simantik.d at livemint.com*
> 
> --
> Aditya Raj Kaul
> 
> India Editor
> The Indian, Australia
> 
> Cell -  +91-9873297834
> Web: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/
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