[Reader-list] Two Sad Incidents

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Dear All,

Two bits of news that came in, of a Taleban beheading of two sikhs in  
Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, and of the death of an 11  
day old infant in Kashmir, during a scuffle between a group of  
protestors and the infant's parents, who were being apparently  
prevailed upon to join their protest - are shocking.

The Taleban's beheading of the two Pakistani Sikhs is barbaric and  
needs to be condemned in the strongest possible words.

And the mindless hot-headedness of those who precipitated the infants  
death in Kashmir also points to the fact that the pro-Azadi camp has  
a great deal of introspection to do about how it handles the day to  
day aspects of running a protest movement.  I think that the 'stone  
pelting' protests become in several instances, episodes for lumpen  
young men to let off their macho steam. The second Palestinian  
intifada degenerated into something that the Israeli Armed Forces  
could completely crush because the twin tactics of 'stone pelting'  
and suicide bombing totally alienated both public opinion across the  
world, and also ensured that ordinary citizens found it increasingly  
intimidating to be a part of the protest process. Protest became a  
young men and adoloscent boys fantasy of militancy, not a serious and  
non-violent challenge to state power. There is a real danger that the  
same might occur in Kashmir.

I remain convinced that the end of the military occupation of the  
Kashmir valley is a worthwhile goal. I am also fully aware that the  
pro-Azadi camp is fuelled at present by little other than rage. I do  
not think that rage alone is a basis for a worthwhile political goal.  
I find the incident in which the infant died, as regrettable as  
instances where children have either died or been severely injured by  
police, paramilitary or army actions in the recent past in the  
Kashmir valley.

The absence of a vision can never be made up for by a surfeit of stones.

sadly,

Shuddha



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