[Reader-list] Two Sad Incidents

Tue Feb 23 14:54:21 IST 2010

Dear  Bipin,

I find your vision of a land grab of Kashmir, and the setting up of  
so called 'industries' deeply frightening. I think Kashmir is deeply  
fortunate to not yet have fallen to the acquisitive greed of 'Indian'  
industry, and article 370, at least on that front has acted as a  
lifesaver. However, Kashmir is in enough of a mess already, without  
adding large corporate, logging and mining interests into the mix.  
Look at what has happened in Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and  
Orissa - here, it is the wholesale exploitation, or threat of  
exploitation of the earth by rapacious industrial interests that has  
completely destroyed, or is in the process of destroying the cultural  
and ecological fabric of these spaces. I hope that day never comes  
for Kashmir.

est

Shuddha

On 23-Feb-10, at 11:05 AM, Bipin wrote:

> Dear Jabbar,
>
> "An overwhelming majority 71 per cent of the Valleys population is  
> under 35. An estimated 74 per cent of the youth are educated. But  
> as a result of the strife, stagnant economy and absence of industry  
> there are no jobs. The unemployment figure has touched 4 lakh half  
> of them are college graduates."
>
> Problem with article/law 370 that no one than local Kashmiris buy  
> land there. If it is removed made free for all Indians, then you  
> will see how industries will set there and employment problem will  
> solved definitely. But, it is unfortunate that few (very minor)  
> separatists dictate the terms there.
>
> Thanks
> Bipin
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list- 
> bounces at sarai.net] On Behalf Of S. Jabbar
> Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 9:59 AM
> To: Shuddhabrata Sengupta; Sarai
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Two Sad Incidents
>
>
>
>       MAIL TODAY ePaper
>
>
> Copyright © 2008 MAIL TODAY.
>
>
> Feb 20, 2010
> 'It is stifling to be young in Kashmir'
> by Sonia Jabbar
> ( As told to Neha Tara Mehta)
>
>
> THERES a major difference between 1990 and 2010. In 1990, Kashmiris  
> really
> believed azadi was around the corner. Two historic events ‹ the  
> withdrawal
> of the Soviet army from Afghanistan and the fall of the Berlin Wall ‹
> convinced people that great powers were not invincible and the
> demonstrations in Kashmir, though full of anger, had a great degree of
> optimism. Today, the demonstrations flow from a deep well of  
> nihilism and
> the reason for this is also located in recent history.
>
> From 2000 onwards, when the Vajpayee government initiated a series of
> movements towards reconciliation with Pakistan on Kashmir ‹ the  
> ceasefire in
> 2000 and the Lahore Pact ‹ it created a very positive atmosphere.  
> Everyone,
> from General Pervez Musharraf on the Pakistani side to the mainstream
> political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Kashmiri  
> separatists, were
> outdoing each other to come up with creative solutions. There were  
> talks,
> both public and secret, Track II meetings and round- table  
> conferences at
> the highest levels. The 2002 elections were very successful and all  
> this
> generated a great degree of public confidence and optimism.
>
> Both India and Pakistan failed to take advantage of the tremendous  
> goodwill
> that they had generated. Nothing happened. By 2007, peoples hope  
> started
> dwindling. There was no alternative but a life of constant tension
> between the guns of the army and those of the militants.
>
> Most young people in Kashmir view the Indian military presence from  
> two
> perspectives: one, as an army of occupation, and two, as an  
> irritant you
> have to negotiate with every day when you come across road blocks and
> bunkers. What do you do with a life that's continually disrupted by  
> hartals
> and curfews? Young people in the rest of the country have no idea  
> of just
> how stifling it is to be young in Kashmir. There doesnt seem to be  
> a way
> out, so young people are filled with suspicion and cynicism.
>
>
> The Amarnath issue in 2008 was a non- issue. It was an excuse for the
> volcano of disappointment and frustration to erupt. The separatists  
> took
> advantage of the groundswell. At that time I spent some time in  
> downtown
> Srinagar. Though I found the stone- throwers employed by separatist  
> groups
> as agent provocateurs, most of the demonstrators were young and  
> gullible
> boys. These I found to be extremely frustrated youth who took to  
> the streets
> at the slightest provocation. For some, it was a rite of passage to  
> prove
> ones masculinity. It was considered an act of bravado to have taken  
> on the
> police.
>
> These are young people who have grown up in the last 20 years, their
> movements constricted by the military presence and restriction on  
> movements.
> An overwhelming majority ‹ 71 per cent of the Valleys population ‹  
> is under
> 35. An estimated 74 per cent of the youth are educated. But as a  
> result of
> the strife, stagnant economy and absence of industry there are no  
> jobs. The
> unemployment figure has touched 4 lakh ‹ half of them are college  
> graduates.
> And because they cant settle in life financially, they marry much  
> later. So
> you have young people who would normally have married in their  
> early 20s,
> are now marrying in their late 20s or early 30s.
>
> This large population of frustrated, nihilistic young people is most
> susceptible to being drawn into another cycle of militancy. Death  
> has more
> meaning for them than life. The only way this situation can be  
> salvaged is
> if they see some forward movement on the Kashmir problem.
>
>
>
>
>> From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>
>> Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:19:12 +0530
>> To: reader-list list <reader-list at sarai.net>
>> Subject: [Reader-list] Two Sad Incidents
>>
>> 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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Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net