[Reader-list] Two Sad Incidents

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

Troubled for a year, J&K cops nab ‘kingpin’ of stone-peltersThe Times of
India
Feb 23, 2010

Link -
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Troubled-for-a-year-JK-cops-nab-kingpin-of-stone-pelters/articleshow/5605216.cms

SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir police claimed to have achieved a major
breakthrough in its campaign against stone-pelting in the Valley with the
arrest of a former militant and the alleged kingpin of a gang of
stone-pelters in Srinagar on Monday.

Near-daily incidents of stone-pelting have become a major headache for the
cops at several places in the Valley, particularly around Maisuma in
downtown Srinagar. Motley crowds, comprising mainly youth, believed to be
part of the gang regularly resort to stoning in a bid to keep the pot
boiling as the violence has dipped to an all-time low since 1989.

A police officer said Irshad Ahmed Zargar, a former member of now defunct
al- Jehad outfit, was responsible for ‘‘every stone-pelting incident on the
Valley’s streets’’. He said Zargar was picked up from his Srinagar residence
following a tip-off from ‘‘some law-abiding citizen’’. Police said another
50 stone-pelters were also arrested. ‘‘The gang gets money from some
businessmen and separatist groups,’’ the officer said.

He said Zargar was arrested after cops received an e-mail on the gang’s
modus-operandi and source of funding.
Srinagar SSP Javid Riyaz Bedar said police were investigating the issue.
‘‘It would be premature to accuse any individual of funding the gang,’’ he
said. Bedar said police were trying to get Zargar’s past militant record.

A group of five masked boys, who assailed the Hurriyat, had recently
appeared before the media and asked youth to stone cops ‘‘to divert world
attention towards the Kashmir issue’’. Bedar said the police have identified
the five and would take action against them. More than 2,000 people have
been injured in stone-pelting incidents in last one year.

A group of around 60 policemen, with another 100 in the backup team, are
dedicated to control Maisuma’s stone-pelters and have mastered the art of
shielding themselves and preventing the youth from disturbing life in the
neighbouring areas.
On Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 12:19 AM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta
<shuddha at sarai.net>wrote:

> 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
>
>
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-- 
Aditya Raj Kaul

Blog: http://activistsdiary.blogspot.com/