[Reader-list] KASHMIR SURVEY FINDS NO MAJORITY FOR INDEPENDENCE

[Sanjay Kak]

Apologies for asking a trivial question:

What is a "Kashmiri" newspaper?
The Daily Excelsior is an English language newspaper.
It comes out of Jammu.
It certainly does not have a pro-Kashmir (leave alone a pro-movement) profile.
If anything, it is seen as holding the opposite position.

And a less trivial one:
has this story been reported by the other papers, "Kashmiri",
"Indian", whatever?

Best

Sanjay Kak

On Mon, Nov 8, 2010 at 8:58 AM, Samvit <samvitr at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Inder Tikoo ji,
> Please read this article. It comes from a Kashmiri newspaper and it
> shows how the aazadi mongers are beating up innocent NGOs who want an
> end to this Geelani sponsored violence. They even burnt a white flag
> which symbolizes peace. The reality is that truth us being muffled by
> people like Geelani, Roy and Navlakha. If Geelani does not encourage
> killings he will be targeted by the ISI and if Arundhati and Navlakha
> don't encourage the Aazadi mongers then their very existence is at
> stake.
> regards,
> -SR
>
> http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/10nov08/news.htm#2
>
> People protest against strikes leads to clashes
>
> Excelsior Correspondent
>
> SRINAGAR, Nov 7: Fed up with frequent strikes and stone-pelting
> incidents, over 100 activists belonging to several NGOs today staged a
> peace rally against shutdowns in the Valley even as hardline Hurriyat
> Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani eased the protest calendar for
> next 12 days, calling for only three days of strike.
>
> In a related development, the hand cart vendors also defied the call
> for observing strike on the visit of US President Barack Obama to
> India as hundreds of roadside vendors decided to set up their stalls.
>
> The activists of Jammu and Kashmir NGO Forum, a conglomerate of
> several NGOs, assembled at TRC ground this morning and carried out a
> TATA Sumo rally from TRC crossing to Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk. They
> were carrying banners and placards which highlighted the ill effects
> of the strikes on the economy of Kashmir valley over the past five
> months.
>
> Bashir Ahmad, who was leading the protests, said they were
> demonstrating against loss of Rs 27000 crores, which has affected all
> sections of the society as a result of four months continuous hartal.
>
> While the economy of Kashmir has been shattered, it has also severely
> jeopardised the future of young Kashmiris who are not able to get free
> access to education, he said.
>
> "Today the competition demands knowledge and everything else has
> become subservient to education. How will our children compete with
> their counterparts in rest of world when they are not able to go to
> schools?" he asked.
>
> However, the peace protestors had to flee from Lal Chowk as a group of
> youth confronted them. "Who is committing injustice ... those who kill
> people or those who call for protests against the killings?" asked an
> angry youth.
>
> An altercation ensued in which Bashir Ahmad, despite heavy presence of
> police, was roughed up and injured by the mob.
>
> One of the peace protestors had hoisted a white flag on top of Ghanta
> Ghar, which was damaged during violent protests on Eidul Fitr day on
> September 11. However, the flag was taken down by a youth and set
> ablaze.
>
> Police had to fire tear smoke shells and use batons to chase away the
> mob in Lal Chowk, leading to stone-pelting in nearby Kokerbazaar,
> Court Road and Maisuma localities.
>
> Normalcy was restored within an hour as additional policemen were
> rushed to the spot for maintaining law and order.
>
> This was second protest held against the strikes in the Valley as
> political activist Farooq Ganderbali had organised a similar protest
> at Residency Road on September 1. He was also beaten up by a mob that
> day.
>
> Reacting to the protest rally, a senior Hurriyat leader said it was
> orchestrated by ruling National Conference to defame the ongoing
> "freedom struggle"
>
> Acting general secretary of the Hurriyat led by Geelani warned the
> National Conference workers to desist from such acts to sabotage the
> "people's movement" and urged people to follow the protest calendars.
>
> However, Geelani himself softened the stand later in the day by
> allowing nine normal days from November 9 to 20 while issuing a 12-day
> protest calendar.
>
> This is for the first time that people of Valley will get such a long
> reprieve from the strikes and protests. Geelani has called for strikes
> and protests on Nov 11, 13 and 15.
>
> The first act of defiance came from the roadside vendors, who set
> their stalls at Sunday Market, as they did not pay heed to Geelani's
> call for observing 'civil curfew' in connection with Obama visit.
>
> Hundreds of stalls were erected early in the morning as the vendors
> hoped to make up for some of the losses suffered over the past five
> months.
>
> Initially, there were only few customers at their stalls but as the
> day progressed, the vendors did brisk sales.
>
> On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 7:52 PM, Aditya Raj Kaul <kauladityaraj at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Inder Tikoo sahab,
>>
>> 100% members don't want you on Sarai list. Do you need helping hand to leave
>> now or would you volunteer? I won't give you even that 0.001%. No Communal
>> rhetoric.
>>
>> love
>>
>> Aditya Raj Kaul (One among lacs of J&K Citizens who are proud to be Indian)
>>
>> On Sat, Nov 6, 2010 at 11:57 PM, Aditya Raj Baul <adityarajbaul at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> did the survey find 'any' majority for Indian rule?
>>>
>>> On Fri, Nov 5, 2010 at 8:57 PM, Bipin Trivedi <aliens at dataone.in> wrote:
>>> >
>>> http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i_ynr0-yXCshxv0x802hR9DLu
>>> > 4fA
>>> >
>>> > (AFP) - May 27, 2010
>>> >
>>> > SRINAGAR, India - Less than half of residents in both the Indian and
>>> > Pakistani zones of Kashmir favour independence as a solution to end
>>> unrest
>>> > in the disputed Himalayan region, a survey said Thursday.
>>> >
>>> > Conducted by British academic Robert Bradnock, the independent survey
>>> found
>>> > that 44 percent of people in Pakistani-administered Kashmir favour
>>> > independence, and 43 percent in Indian-administered Kashmir.
>>> >
>>> > United Nations resolutions soon after the partition of the sub-continent
>>> in
>>> > 1947 called for a plebiscite to determine whether the region should
>>> belong
>>> > to India or Pakistan, both of which claim Kashmir in full.
>>> >
>>> > "These results support the already widespread view that the plebiscite
>>> > options are likely to offer no solution to the dispute," said the survey,
>>> > which was released by the London-based Chatham House think-tank.
>>> >
>>> > Titled "Kashmir: Paths to Peace", it was a rare attempt to assess the
>>> > opinions of people on both sides of the Line of Control (LOC) -- the de
>>> > facto border that splits the region between the two rival nations.
>>> >
>>> > "Any solution will depend on the Indian and Pakistani governments?
>>> > commitment to achieving a permanent settlement," Bradnock said.
>>> > The survey interviewed about 3,800 people to record their views on how
>>> they
>>> > saw the future of Kashmir -- a scenic region that has been a constant
>>> source
>>> > of tension between India and Pakistan.
>>> >
>>> > In the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, which has been at the heart of a
>>> > 20-year-old insurgency against Indian rule, between 74 percent and 95
>>> > percent respondents favoured independent Kashmir.
>>> >
>>> > But in the Hindu-dominated Jammu region -- which is also part of Indian
>>> > Kashmir -- support for independence dwindled to less than one percent.
>>> > The survey found that the "overwhelming majority" of people wanted a
>>> > solution to the dispute, even though there were no "simple fixes".
>>> > More than 47,000 people have died in Indian Kashmir since the eruption of
>>> > the insurgency in 1989.
>>> >
>>> > India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, but
>>> a
>>> > recent peace process has brought a reduction in violence.
>>> >
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